• Lightsome

    Thomas More was beheaded in 1535 at the order of King Henry the 8th. The last thing More wrote while imprisoned in the tower of London was a devotional work called The Sadness of Christ. In it he penned this moving phrase about God: “he that by the infinite brightness… Listen ⇢

  • Real believing and real following

    Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever WATCHES me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Oh, wait a second. That’s a misquote. Of course he didn’t say that. Here’s what he actually said. “I am the light of the world. Whoever… Listen ⇢

  • Following the pillar of fire

    Very famously Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). I love that verse. I quote in on Christmas Eve when we light the Christ Candle and pass out the light to… Listen ⇢

  • Cheap grace vs. costly grace

    Jesus said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German… Listen ⇢

  • The rut of cynicism

    I heard about a judge who was hearing the case of a young repeat offender.  He was getting sick of seeing his face and was about to be harsh. But something came over him. He started to ask the young man why his life was so hard. What was making… Listen ⇢

  • The older ones first

    In the story of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus famously said this to the mob of scribes and Pharisees: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). He turned the situation around and appealed to their own… Listen ⇢

  • How can you still attend church?

    “Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world” (Isaiah 12:5). Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States. Some of you will remember the Monika Lewinsky scandal. It’s kind of hard to forget. Sometime later at a conference,… Listen ⇢

  • Grace opens doors

    She had been caught in the act of adultery. In the very act! She was dragged out in public for everyone to see. According to the law, they could have stoned her. They brought the case to Jesus to test him. He said: “Let any one of you who is… Listen ⇢

  • Science AND faith

    In a Jack Black movie called Nacho Libre, a character says: “I don’t believe in God, I believe in science.” It reveals an error in thought that some people have, as if you can’t believe in God if you “believe” in science. But the two are not opposites. This kind… Listen ⇢

Meet the producer, Matthew Ruttan.

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

The Up Devotional

Your 1-minute shot of soul espresso

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