Hello! After some vacation time, The Up Devotional is back. Before I begin, let me first say welcome to our new subscribers on email, social media and on the podcast! Let’s start. My family is quite particular about the movies we watch. As you probably already know, there’s a lot of junk out there. But … Continue reading We do what he does, but slower
Author: Matthew Ruttan
Sacrifice is giving up good things for great things
Jesus calls us to live sacrificially. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). But what is sacrifice? Here’s one way to think about it. Sacrifice is giving up something good for something great. For example, if you are fasting, you sacrifice a good … Continue reading Sacrifice is giving up good things for great things
Imitating the one who put others first
Gary and Mary Jane Chauncey were devoted to their 11-year old daughter, Andrea. She had cerebral palsy and was confined to a wheelchair. The Chauncey’s were on a train which was travelling over a bridge in Louisiana. A barge hit the bridge. Their train was derailed. Some of the train cars ended up on the … Continue reading Imitating the one who put others first
Is the purpose of life to arrive safely at death?
One of Jesus’ most frequently quoted sayings about discipleship is from Mark 8:34-35: “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.” Let’s … Continue reading Is the purpose of life to arrive safely at death?
All this, and Jesus too!
Darryl Dash tells a story about a Puritan who was given a meagre meal of bread and water. You’d think he would be less than excited. After all, a simple meal of bread and water isn’t really anything to write home about. Not very tasty either. But no. His attitude was much different. “All this, … Continue reading All this, and Jesus too!
PRay the long game
The past few devotionals have been focused on perseverance and playing the long game. With that in mind, let me introduce what I think is a helpful play on words: Pray the long game. Playing the long game (without the ‘r’), is about saying and doing things in the here and now which will help … Continue reading PRay the long game
By perseverance the snail reached the ark
Charles Spurgeon said: “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” Think about how small a snail is. I’m sure it was hard to get to the ark, not only because of his size but because he risked being stepped on! But alas, victory. Perseverance is all the more possible when you know you are headed … Continue reading By perseverance the snail reached the ark
Playing the long game
Have you ever been told to “play the long game”? What does it mean? I looked it up in the Cambridge online dictionary: “to plan and do things that will help you to be successful far into the future, rather than only thinking about the present or near future.” This is hard in a culture … Continue reading Playing the long game
The Jesus of Scripture, or of the mirror?
From what I’ve seen, many people have a “Bible within a Bible,” meaning that they selectively prioritize certain passages over others. It’s a temptation for all of us, myself included. What I’ve discovered is that you can learn a lot about where you need to grow by being honest about what passages you tend to … Continue reading The Jesus of Scripture, or of the mirror?
Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam
At one point in the Lord of the Rings movie, two characters, Sam and Frodo, talk about their epic journey. They had set out to defeat the evil master while preserving peace on earth. They speculate about how they might be favorably remembered by future generations. They guess at the back-and-forth between a father and … Continue reading Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam
