In a minute or two, start your day with a shot of soul espresso—biblical and down-to-earth. It's written and read by disciple, pastor, and author, Matthew Ruttan. www.TheUpDevo.com
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[PAUSE ALERT – After today, The Up Daily Devotional will go on pause for 2 weeks, resuming on September 7, 2026.] ~ Let’s begin with three verses from John 15. As we go through them, let’s look for what Jesus says about joy. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide […]
In the previous devotional we talked about prayer. There is more than one way to pray, of course. I included some suggestions of short, biblical statements that you can put on a mental “loop” as you go about your day. Here’s some additional motivation to pray, no matter how you do it. It comes to […]
Have you ever heard of “The Jesus Prayer”? It’s an ancient prayer that goes like this: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It’s common for people to repeat it—as if on a loop—as they go about their day. It comes from a variety of different statements in the Bible […]
Today I’m going to say something that might sound a bit jarring. But I think it’s for your own good. Please hear me out. Do you find it difficult to find time to pray, even though you don’t find it difficult to do other less important things? Do you find it hard to focus your […]
In the world of business, companies can outsource all sorts of things. They can outsource administrative tasks, or even their payroll or legal services. As people, however, we can’t outsource intimacy. John Ortberg tells the unfortunate story of a man who became attracted to a certain woman and wanted to ask her out on a […]
This week we have been spending some time thinking about the forgiveness that God gives to his children. Today, let’s flip that coin and talk about the forgiveness that we can extend to others. First, it’s important to remember that our approach to forgiveness is grounded in what we have first received in Christ. Paul […]
We have been spending some time with Psalm 32. It is one of seven “penitential” psalms. That word is connected to repentance. If it sounds like “penitentiary,” you’re right. Prisons are intended to be houses of repentance, where inmates gather in cells (notice that a ‘cell’ is also where a monk lives as a place […]
Several years ago, I was watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie. There was a girl in a wheelchair. She was upset about how much her life had changed. Her mom, wanting the best for her, knew she needed to change her perspective. She said: “Live your life as it is, not as […]
In Psalm 32:1, David wrote: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” According to the psalm, if you have received God’s forgiveness, you are “blessed.” That’s a popular phrase to use these days. “Blessed.” It’s even used as a hashtag by people who would not otherwise call themselves “religious.” When […]
In John’s Gospel, Jesus makes a series of well-known statements that begin with the words, “I am.” Here they are: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35)“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)“I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7)“I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11)“I am the resurrection and the […]
“Abide in me, and I in you.” That’s what Jesus says in John 15:4. The idea of “abiding” with Jesus presumes closeness and time. In other words, it presumes that we are drawing near to him, and that we are prioritizing him in our schedules. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the phrase ‘Slowing down in […]
[Alert: New article for summer, link below.] ~ Recently, we have been spending time with John 15:4. That’s where Jesus said: “Abide in me, and I in you.” In the previous devotional, we talked about taking our time with Jesus’ words instead of rushing past them. This is one of the ways we can “abide” […]
In John 15:4 Jesus says something that is easy to skip over, even though it takes a lifetime to digest: “Abide in me, and I in you.” Various translation teams have tried to capture this enigmatic phrase. The NET Bible says: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” In the footnotes they also […]
Mark Zuckerberg is the co-founder of Meta and Facebook. In his early days, he had a motto: “Move fast and break things.” At first, it seems appealing. ‘Let’s innovate, move forward, and not get held back by the consequences!’ It certainly captures something about the sentiment of our times. However, let’s not kid ourselves. Our […]
The Star Wars movies have spawned a series of spin-off TV shows. One of them is called Andor. In it, rebels (who are actually the good guys) are plotting against the evil Empire who keeps trying to expand its grip. It’s appetite for darkness and control seem insatiable. In Season 2, there is a moving […]
“God is love.” That’s exactly what the apostle John says in 1 John 4:8. He is also “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 145:8). At the same time, he is holy and just. He punishes sin. There are times when he also exercises his wrath. And that, my friends, […]
I recently spent a lot of time studying 2 Peter. At the end of the letter, he said: “…take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability” (2 Peter 3:17). This was a topic that was clearly important to him. Since he had already spent […]
Peter was a fisherman. Jesus called him into a life of discipleship and leadership: “Follow me,” he said, “and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). Sure, Peter was imperfect. There was a time when he denied Jesus (Luke 22:58). He also had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth, […]
“The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him…” (Exodus 15:2) Recently, I saw a video someone recorded while passing by a home. It had been devastated by a massive fire. The entire inside was burned out. All that was left […]
As you probably know, Jerusalem has seen a lot of bombs. Fairly recently, I learned about a group of people named the Zaka. After a bomb goes off, they put on their yellow visibility vests and rush to the scene. They often get there before the paramedics. They gather the body pieces of people who […]
I recently watched Disclosure Day. It’s the latest movie from producer Steven Spielberg. I was interested because there had been a lot of talk about it, including from within the Christian community. The reason for this chatter had to do with the topic—Aliens! But not just that. Spielberg went out of his way to […]
In 2 Peter 3:3, the apostle gives a warning to his fellow Christians: “scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” He is about to teach them about the return of Jesus. There are “scoffers,” he says. Literally, the text says “scoffers in their scoffing.” They doubt God, they […]
In the previous devotional, I talked about how the future is beautiful. Yes, there can be ugliness in our world, but it won’t always be this way. This is partly based on passages like 2 Peter 3:13 where the apostle says this: “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a […]
There is a lot of beauty in our world. But let’s be honest. There is also a lot of ugliness. Let me provide a few examples: The non-stop fighting—between nations, in politics, and sometimes even in homes. Profanity and pornography which continually reinvents itself to shock and ensnare us more and more. The trafficking of […]
The world can seem like a very big place. There are lots of people. There are lots of voices—some good, some bad. There is a lot of noise. There is a lot of arguing. There is a lot of information. The word “overload” comes to mind. In light of all of this, it’s easy to […]
