The Up Devotional

  • Decidophobia

    Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” (ESV) Today’s Thought I wonder how many decisions a raccoon has to make in a day. Get up? Or stay sleeping? Stay in the bushes? Or jump out and terrify that… Listen ⇢

  • What if you were water in the desert?

    Yesterday my dad would have turned 67. He died in 2014 from several aggressive cancers. After his diagnosis they gave him two years to live… maybe. Then a year. Then six months. He almost lasted two. Have you experienced the death of someone you care about? I’m sure you have.… Listen ⇢

  • Your love for someone else can’t be big IF

    Sometimes the most significant thing you can to do care for someone else is staring you right in the face… Literally. Here’s what I mean. “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Romans 13:9) Remember that one? Yeah, it’s pretty huge. Well, most of us read that principle like this: “LOVE YOUR… Listen ⇢

  • You go nowhere by accident

    Psalm 139:16 “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (NIV) Today’s Thought This week in the Up! devotional I’ve been offering super-practical ideas about how to love and connect with people, even people you just don’t like. But if you’re… Listen ⇢

  • These grow up into oak trees

    Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (ESV) Today’s Thought Imagine a child trying to put together a barbecue from scratch. All seven hundred and thirty-nine pieces laying out on the back lawn… and a 4-year old scratching… Listen ⇢

  • The cliffs just started moving closer

    James 1:19 “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…” (ESV) Today’s Thought When I was young we would go back to the cliffs behind our house. There was a tall cliff on this side, and a tall cliff on that side. In the middle… Listen ⇢

  • Your Crazy Button

    2 Timothy 1:7 “God gave us a spirit… of power and love and self-control.” (ESV) Today’s Thought The band Family Force 5 has a song called “Cray Button.” They’re talking about a “Crazy Button,” something you push and… well, go crazy! Here are some of the lyrics: “A lunatic, a… Listen ⇢

  • Do you make decisions… or reactions?

    A woman from Texas kept having her car vandalized. At first she discovered dents in the side. Then it was “keyed.” Someone ran their car key down the length of the vehicle ruining her paint job. So she had it fixed. And then it happened again! After an all-night stakeout… Listen ⇢

  • When they shook she got jabbed with the pin

    In 1911 a psychologist named Edouard Claparede was treating a woman with no short-term memory. As you can imagine, her life was drastically altered because of this condition. One day Claparede tried an experiment. At the start of every session they would shake hands. But this time, he hid a… Listen ⇢

Meet the producer, Matthew Ruttan.

Matthew is a disciple, pastor, husband, and dad of three who lives in the psalms.

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The Up Devotional

Your 1-minute shot of soul espresso

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