August 26, 2025
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles…” (Isaiah 40:31)
The Golden Eagle in the Mediterranean referenced in the Bible likes to build its nest at least ten thousand feet above sea level, preferably in a craig near the top of a cliff. From that elevation the eagle can see a storm approaching while the storm is still far off.
With great patience the eagle waits until the winds of that storm reach a high velocity and engulf the eagle and its nest. The eagle then leaps fifteen feet from its nest directly into the adverse wind of that storm. This adverse wind gives the eagle the lift and aerodynamics it needs to soar over the storm.
When the prophet Isaiah exhorts the people of God to mount up with wings as eagles do, he is referring to this storm strategy of the eagle. When a storm comes into our lives, our reflex response should not always be to ask God to deliver us from the storm. We should consider applying this exhortation of Isaiah. We can wait on the Lord until God shows us it is the right time. Then we can leap into the adverse winds and find the spiritual aerodynamics to soar over the storm.
When the Church was born at Pentecost the great miracle happened after the apostles had waited on the Lord for forty days. The apostles found miraculous spiritual aerodynamics by moving out against severe persecution, obeying the Great Commission, and making disciples for Jesus Christ.
When God permits or directs a storm into your life and mine, are we willing to wait on the Lord until God gives us the power to soar over the storm?
Dick Woodward, 29 August 2011
Leave a Comment » | 
faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, eagles, endurance, faith, Hope, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, Pentecost, prayer | 
Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
August 22, 2025
“…that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:23)
God is love. God’s Son, Jesus, is ‘God with skin on.’ Love was the most mesmerizing dynamic of His life on this earth. The people who met Jesus were loved as they had never been loved before.
We are also designed to be ‘God with skin on.’ The Holy Spirit can be described as Love Incarnate: the love of God with skin on, yours and mine. Love is the primary fruit of the Spirit and evidence of the Spirit’s residence in us. People who are filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit are always conduits of the love of Jesus Christ.
Do you know and believe that God loves you? Many people don’t feel worthy of being loved by anybody – not even God. When someone says, “I love you,” a negative tape begins to play that says, “No, you don’t. If you really knew me, you wouldn’t!”
The two beautiful Gospel words mercy and grace declare that God does not love us if and when we are worthy, because He loves us even while we are sinners. (Romans 5:6-10)
Jesus prayed that those who make up the Church would live in such a way that this world of hurting people will know and believe God loves them as much as God loves His only begotten Son. If you do not know that God loves you, then we who are part of the Church have failed you.
God loves you! …Because by the grace and mercy of God, I know that God loves me.
Dick Woodward, from Happiness That Doesn’t Make Good Sense
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, faith, Grace of God, Holy Spirit, Hope, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, love, Mercy, prayer | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
August 19, 2025
“Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)
When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He gave us a principle that has many applications. At the end of Matthew 6, which records the central part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states that we should not worry about tomorrow. Many have made that obvious application to this prayer petition.
People with tragic challenges like addictions and overwhelming suffering are only able to get their heads and hearts around the concept of a solution one day at a time.
Another legitimate application of this principle for living is to apply this concept to divine guidance. In Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul states that one way to discern the will of God for our life is to live up to the light we now have. He promises that as we do, God will give us more light.
To illustrate that concept someone said, “If you want to see further ahead into the will of God for your life move ahead into the will of God just as far as you can see.”
When I was a college student I drove across the United States several times. I drove at night because there was less traffic. My headlights illuminated about 100 yards at a time. I discovered that if I kept driving into the light the headlights gave me, I eventually traveled from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles.
It is easier for God to steer a moving vehicle than one that is stationary. As we respond to the light God is giving us God adds more light to our path. The application of that principle leads us into God’s will one day at a time.
Dick Woodward, 17 August 2010
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, faith, Hope, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, prayer, spiritual guidance | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
August 15, 2025
“…for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty…” (Philippians 4:11-12)
Throughout the history of the church, patience has always been considered a great virtue by spiritual heavyweights like Augustine, Thomas à Kempis and Francis of Assisi. Why is patience such an important virtue? For starters, patience is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
In our relationship with God, we might call patience “faith-waiting.” In the Bible we are exhorted to “wait on the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14) It takes faith to wait when life situations challenge our walk with God. There are few spiritual disciplines that will focus our faith like those times when all we can do is wait on the Lord. When we are praying for something and receiving no answer, God may be teaching us that there are times when faith waits.
In our relationships with people, patience could be called “love-waiting.” I had no idea how selfish I was until I got married. I had no idea how impatient I was until I became a father and found myself waiting for teenage children to grow up. The Lord wants to grow two dimensions of patience in my life: vertical patience by teaching me to have a faith that waits on Him, and horizontal patience by teaching me that in relationships, love waits.
We all eventually find ourselves facing circumstances that are beyond our control. Imagine Paul chained in that awful prison in Rome. Would he find and maintain the peace of God if his formula for peace was to rattle his chains?
Patience is the supernatural fruit of the Holy Spirit that gives us the grace to accept the things we cannot control.
Dick Woodward, from A Prescription for Peace
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, faith, Hope, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, love, patience, peace | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
August 12, 2025
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…” (Psalm 23:1)
These are some of the most familiar words in the Bible beloved by devout people everywhere. According to this psalm of David, the key to the real blessing of this life and the next is a relationship with God. The green pastures, still waters, table of provision, God’s blessing of anointing oil and cup that runs over all the time are all conditioned on our relationship with God as our Good Shepherd.
The spirit in which we recall these words, however, is often something like this: “The Lord is my Shepherd — but I have a health problem.” Or, “the Lord is my Shepherd — but I have marriage problems!” Or, “The Lord is my Shepherd — but I cannot control my children.”
When we say “The Lord is my Shepherd — but,” we are putting our “but” in the wrong place. We need to get our “but” in the right place and recall the precious promise of these words this way: “I have a health problem, but THE LORD is my Shepherd! I have marriage problems, but THE LORD is my Shepherd! I cannot control my children, but THE LORD is my Shepherd!”
One way the Lord makes us lie down is to use health problems, marriage problems, problems with our children, finances, careers, and other kinds of challenges to teach us about the relationship with God which is key to all the blessings profiled in Psalm 23.
Will you let the Great Shepherd use whatever challenges you are facing to establish the deeper relationship with God David described so beautifully three thousand years ago?
Dick Woodward, 14 August 2008
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, faith, Hope, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, love, prayer, Psalm 23 | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
August 8, 2025
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
The applications of the metaphors of Jesus seem endless. One application to the metaphor above is that for our candle to give light it must be consumed. Unlighted candles are not consumed, but the candles that shine are candles that burn.
There is no shining without burning.
In another great metaphor Jesus told us we are like branches and He is the Vine. As branches, if we are properly intersected with Him, we draw from Him the love force to be fruitful. Jesus promised if we are plugged into Him and are fruitful, we will be cut back and pruned to be made more fruitful.
Cutbacks and pruning can really hurt. They can come in the form of suffering, but they improve the quality and the quantity of our fruit. In light of these teachings, we should not be surprised when we find ourselves burning our way through suffering that our brightest light for Christ yields the best fruit.
Like many others I thought I experienced my most fruitful years when I was able bodied and active. But I am joyfully surprised to discover that my most fruitful service for Christ has been as a bedfast quadriplegic. Using voice activated computer software from my bed, 782 Bible studies have been produced and are being heard in 31 languages in 60 countries. Worldwide more than 45,000 small groups are listening to Bible studies on solar powered digital audio players.
Have you discovered there is no shining without burning?
Dick Woodward, 09 August 2013
Editor’s Note: The MBC has now been translated into over 60 languages!
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, faith, Hope, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, ministry, prayer | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
August 5, 2025
“Delight yourselves in the Lord; yes, find your joy in Him at all times.” Philippians 4:4
Misery is optional even though pain and suffering are inevitable. Those words were written by a man who lives with excruciating pain every day. How can misery be optional for someone in pain? How is it Paul mentions joy 17 times in a short letter he wrote from prison?
For those who experience and express the fruit of the Holy Spirit, who have a relationship with the risen, living Christ, there is a joy that is not controlled by circumstances.
The peace Paul experienced and prescribes for you and me is a peace that doesn’t make sense. It is peace that “transcends all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7) The joy of which Paul writes can be called happiness that doesn’t make sense. This is true because this peace and joy are the fruit and evidence of the Holy Spirit Who lives in us. This peace and this joy are not controlled by our circumstances.
What is the foundation of that peace and joy? According to Paul, the foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to delight ourselves in the Lord and find our joy in Him at all times.
What is the foundation of your serenity and joy?
When Paul writes his words about joy, he directs us here to a foundation for serenity and joy that is not fragile: “Delight yourselves in the Lord; yes, find your joy in Him at all times.”
Dick Woodward, Marketplace Disciples
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, faith, Hope, inner peace, inspiration, Jesus, joy, lifestyle, peace, prayer, serenity | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
August 1, 2025
“…When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” (Luke 7:42)
Some of the greatest Christians were once the greatest sinners. As we read the seventh chapter of Luke (verses 36-50), we cannot help but think of The Confessions of Saint Augustine. It is not necessary to sin much to love God – we should be careful not to give that impression. There is nothing good about sin. It is true, however, that the truly repentant and contrite sinner can love much because he (or she) has been forgiven much. This was a driving force in the lives of King David, the Apostle Paul and Saint Augustine.
At issue here are the condescending thoughts of this Pharisee toward the woman who is washing Jesus’ feet. As he compares himself, the Pharisee is self-righteous. Like his colleague in Luke 18, he is looking upon this woman with an attitude, “I thank God I am not as other people are – sinners!”
The question of Jesus focuses this for him and for us. The Pharisee is the man forgiven the smaller debt, which means he saw his sin as a small thing. This teaching also focuses that the way we perceive ourselves has a profound effect upon how we perceive others. Positively and negatively our self-image is a strong force in our interpersonal relationships.
The subtle message of Jesus to this Pharisee is that the real sinner at that luncheon was not the woman whose sin was obvious and known to everybody. Jesus’ message to her was the good news, that, because of her faith, her sins were forgiven. When the real sinner stood up at that luncheon, however, he was a sinner named “Simon, the Pharisee.”
Dick Woodward, MBC New Testament Handbook
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, faith, Forgiveness, Hope, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, love, prayer, Saint Augustine, the Jesus prayer | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
July 30, 2025
“… I being in the way the Lord led me…” (Genesis 24:27)
When we discover the context of these words of Scripture, we realize they are teaching us a principle of how God works in our lives. It is easier to steer a moving vehicle than one that is stationary.
God can sometimes steer us more easily when we are moving. That’s why we often find that one step frequently leads to the next step when we have faith to be led by the Holy Spirit.
The words above were spoken by Abraham’s servant who was commissioned by Abraham to travel to the land of his people to find a wife for Isaac. As Abraham’s servant journals the events of his search, he writes that while he was in the way the Lord led him, he encountered the family of Rebekah. When he met her, he knew that his search had ended.
Committed followers of Christ were commissioned two thousand years ago to go to all nations and make disciples for Jesus Christ.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Like the servant of Abraham, as we embark on the adventure of obeying our great commission, we should expect that each step will lead to the next step.
We don’t always have to know where the road leads as long as we know it is the right road. While we are in the way our Lord has commissioned us to go, we must have the faith to take that first step. Then, one step at a time, expect God to lead us to the next step.
Dick Woodward, 28 July 2009
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, Divine Guidance, faith, Hope, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, prayer | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
July 25, 2025
Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:15)
In this verse James gives us what we might call the “Anatomy of a Sin.” One day more than twenty years ago, my wife had to be gone for six or seven hours. Watching sports television that evening, every thirty minutes or so an advertisement promoting pizza came on. I love pizza but I’m not supposed to have it because I am a diabetic. Each time I saw the commercial I developed a stronger desire for pizza.
I had a telephone and some money in my pocket, so eventually I called and ordered a pizza. I told them I was in a wheelchair so please walk in. When the delivery man arrived, I asked him to place the pizza on the blanket in my lap and take the box with him (to leave no evidence.)
When my wife returned, however, as she picked up the blanket to fold it a small pizza crust dropped to the floor. Needless to say, I got in trouble, big time!
According to James sin involves a lure, a look, a strong desire, and eventually temptation – then sin and death, which means “the pits.” The lure is like a piece of metal and our strong desire is a powerful magnet. If we don’t do something to break up that magnetic field between our desire and that lure, we will sin.
I didn’t do that, so pizza landed in my lap.
James shared this with us so we would understand the importance of breaking up the magnetic sequence of sin. Are you willing to do that?
Dick Woodward, 24 June 2011
Leave a Comment » | faith | Tagged: Bible Study, devotions, faith, Hope, humor, inspiration, Jesus, lifestyle, prayer | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
4SpiritualSecrets 