All Episodes
The Up Devotional — 360 episodes
You’re in good company
Diamonds don’t start as diamonds
Why does the true soldier fight?
Try something radical
When you feel in a spiritual rut
Joy is what happens when
The (real) signs of love
The love that jams the Devil’s wheels
Well done, good and faithful servant
More than just waiting around
Being a part of a plan even when life isn’t going as planned
Focus on what’s best
Born again?
With both wings, not just one
Keep believing and keep going
Wounded on the battlefield, but help is coming
When you’ve seen the final score
Waiting for the light to break
Take action as the hands and feet of Christ
Standing firm
Knowing God first
Know God, stand firm, take action
I have stored up your word in my heart
He treats me as his favorite
Just because you can’t see him working
We are an Easter people
Playing God
The fight’s been fixed
He was pierced for our transgressions
He washed Judas’ feet
God’s Plan A for your life
The true and eternal King
The physical realm and the unseen realm
Holiness and worldliness
Have these 2 things weakened your faith?
From the first day you humbled yourself before God
The biggest challenge facing most Christians today?
The ABCs of faith
Pause reminder (and a quick word on James 4:7-8)
What happened to the hands and feet of Jesus
Pleas for mercy—with fasting
The right attitude in prayer
The words of men are unstable things
How to avoid God (by C.S. Lewis)
Faithful and true, no matter what
Prayer and perseverance
The epicentre of the war in the world
What God is doing in you, not just around you
The psalms and the personal voice of Christ
The kingdoms of the world
Delay does not mean defeat
The beginning of the birth pains
The surprising detail about “strictly” following God
Marching to a different beat—through prayer
The definition of true bravery
Lent and the significance of “forty days”
Shrove Tuesday, “Shriving,” Sin and Mercy
Come to me, and I will give you rest
Aren’t all religions basically the same?
Our God is never not on the move
God uses faithful servants—no matter their age
Being someone’s answered prayer (when yours feel unanswered)
You are more than what the world says you are
Talking to God—when you want to scream
Advice for a king—and for all of us
Humility: weakness to the world, greatness to God
Humility—even when things get heated
When getting things done isn’t the point
Loyalty matters in more ways than you think
Glorifying him or denying him
Prepare for big moments by starting small
Having an “even if” kind of faith
Giving God a makeover?
When governments and kingdoms let you down
Pray—as a first resort
The darker the dark, the brighter the light
Short-sighted-ism and the presence of darkness
The relational nature of our faith
Being proactive about sermons and Bible study
Being faithful, or fitting in?
Devotion changes you
When everything is stripped away
Love makes you do things
He uses even our feeble efforts
When the Lord rubs off on you
Who are we most closely tethered to?
What is Epiphany?
Do “ordinary” things well
Glory to the newborn King
The bridge between heaven and earth
The true meaning of Christmas: Be careful
A perfect time to re-centre
Faith, loving action, perseverance
The problem is never God’s availability
How you live today—and the last day
The key word is readiness
Being Christian—up to a point
Not alone in your struggles
Born to die? Why?
You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good
Short one-sentence prayers from the Bible
Evil wants to confuse you
His performance, not yours
Ready to leave the dark night behind
Your choices matter
If you’re sitting on the fence
God can handle the truth
Perfect love casts out fear?
Surround yourself with people who make you…
Unduly attached to the earthly
Love has a rival
Bearing the family resemblance
A request
The Lord of the Rings and encouragement
Faithfulness is a team sport
The heart enlargement business
Help of the helpless, oh abide with me
Abide, abide, abide. Then abide some more.
The Spirit helps us in our weakness
What’s happening in your heart matters
He can answer our requests in a better way
If we ask anything according to his will
Following it helps, neglecting it hurts
Your three enemies and overcoming the world
And his commandments are not burdensome
When following God’s commands feels difficult
The virtue nobody wants
Loving people when you don’t “feel” very loving
Even if I could multiply myself a thousand times
God is love?
Prioritizing what Jesus prioritizes
Distracted driving, or distracted living?
The indication that you are truly alive
He loves to be ignored
Angels and demons on our shoulders?
The gospel of our liberated age?
Christian is also a verb
Do. Not. Be. Surprised.
Believing in God, or believing God
Their God is my God
Love one another, regardless
When William Tyndale was martyred
Purification
Righteousness includes love
A biblical definition of sin
Repeat it as you go about your day
When your negative thoughts need a smack
To give you the crown of glory
The more thoroughly you know him
Lord, what’s the least I need to do in this relationship?
Many antichrists have come
Do I fear? No!
When the world doesn’t keep it’s promise
You can’t illuminate darkness with darkness
Close or distant? Permanent or occasional?
Your advocate in the divine court room
If all your prayers were answered
A trustworthy eyewitness is speaking to you
Are you dying for him?
Wisdom. Purity. Clarity.
Evicting dark thoughts
Who is your highest authority?
If fifty million people say something foolish
How do I discern God’s will when the path is uncertain?
Believe big things
Think first
Knowing + Doing =
Going deeper and a quote from Spurgeon
Those who are radically loved…
Go the extra inch
The best thing yet
Pray for those who persecute you
Your inner monk?
How to approach faith-based TV shows and movies
Is A.I. neutral?
Life is more than possessions
The great beautifier of souls
The secret is Christ in me
“I’m doing this for God’s glory!” Um, really?
Without him nothing, with him everything
If you are “in Christ” his Spirit is in you
Very very good news: The verdict before the performance
The trivialization of God
They shot their books
Let your yes be yes and your no be no
Standing up for the truth of God
I burn my life to make a sunrise
What if we stopped chasing?
A servant people
In this glitter-obsessed world
The Coveting Thief
The Truly Happy Person
“Because my God is bigger”
The only one qualified to throw the stone didn’t
The tug-of-war for Jesus
What happens in the home
Thoughts are coordinates
Not because of the circumstances we’re in
Are we coming to worship entitled or thankful?
Whose voice is louder?
Reflecting God or playing God?
Anger. The sleeping giant.
Picture yourself as a literal sponge
Eyes open on Friday the 13th
The one constant element in revival
A sanctuary of time
Simplicity vs. Complexity
Like a drop of water poured into wine
Physical rest without mental rest
The Babushki
Older men like fathers, women like mothers
Chronological snobbery
How will I build my empire?
He is not shocked
Against the powers of chaos
Botching the job
Sundays in arrears
Your example to the 99
The hypocritical use of God’s name
Bearing the Name
Taking God’s name in vain
An ambassador to the King of kings
God is jealous?
A perpetual factory of idols
Modern idolatry
No other gods before me
The God-shaped hole
You gotta know ‘em to keep ‘em
Neutralized from outside sources
They’re for you, but for others too
They trigger within us the image of God
Who else could have that kind of access?
His words will never ever pass away
What we want to do
How do we know what is or isn’t true online?
Vigilance
Keep calm and…
You may fail
He knew what was going to happen
One more move
Pandemonium
When the Devil reminds you of your past
These records tell me all kinds of bad things about you
All she had to live on
He sees and values you
People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord?
Thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small
Play your part
Whose likeness is this?
Render to Caesar
Priorities and social pressure
Disordered love
What’s to be learned from a dog’s yellow fur
Not some, but all
Delays are not denials
Pulling up a chair for Jesus
How did Jesus pray day by day?
Stability
Going through the motions
Your Trust-O-Meter
Tragedy: a life without purpose
As wings burden the bird in flight
God’s word is an on ramp
Christs to one another
Does having faith mean I’ll get rich?—no and yes
Holding on to unkeepable things
The new alternative lifestyle
We can’t really complain if…
A starving man trying to eat air
Arguing in polarizing times
A word that Christians need to reclaim
Ashes, mortality and the beginning of Lent
Fatty foods in the cupboard and sin in the heart
Who’s taking care of this kid?
Loving loving your neighbour, or loving your neighbour?
Serving those who cannot repay us
Your example matters
How did Jesus define greatness?
The ripple effect of words
Call out to God. Don’t wait.
God’s will: your sanctification
Put in the time
Spiritual muscle matters
Tuning your instrument after the concert
Enduring mockery
See to it that no one takes you captive
The vortex
Listen to him
Pack your coffin
The highest joy?
What you’re gaining vs giving up
Oblivious of self
Take up your electric chair
Win within
The mocking voice stopped
The spiritual power of allegiance
Saying it out loud
A stone in his mouth for 3 years
What does it mean to be disciplined?
Know you are loved
Being mentally present
Humility and hypocrisy
Closing the gaps
Praying on the fly
What is the Devil trying to do?
Time for you is also time for others
He will never allow us utterly to fail
Proximity to Jesus
The domino effect in the kingdom
Be still. Breathe. God is God.
When God speaks through other people
A leader above all leaders
When you feel unqualified
From observation to participation
Never out of hope
In Christ you are already new
What will life be like in 100 years from now?
And there were shepherds…
Words that build up
Not just for your soul, but your brain
A prayer for all Christians
The slavery of sin
The Messiah’s (questionable) family tree
Who’s changing who?
Friday the 13th
Bringing heaven home
A colony of heaven
Whose kingdom?
When faith costs you
Building muscle together
The threshold to God
What are your pennies?
A time is coming when men will go mad
Visual reminders
God’s pure medicine for your soul
Being knocked down and knocked out are different things
Save Your
Not just eventually, but presently
You need to sift
People grow better together
Loyalty, love and a lifestyle
They hate anything that reminds them of hope
You are like a house
If you want to actually be like Jesus
Rejoice—always?
Gobble gobble gobble
Fear and panic, or the peace of God?
If you want it out there, you need it in here
Sung from the trenches
The future you
Suffering can produce perseverance
Your “calling”
Resume Virtues vs. Eulogy Virtues
The best thing you can do for tomorrow
Trust God (and leave the results to him)
Halloween… and Reformation Day
To the one who has, more will be given
When all seems broken, uncertain or wrong
To help you love others
God doesn’t expect us to grow on our own