Seaford Lutheran Church

06/06/2026

Today's devotion can be found here⁠
www.lca.org.au/god-doesnt-need-our-riches-he-wants-our-hearts
⁠
Printable devotions are available a week in advance for delivery to computer-less members at www.lca.org.au/devotions

06/06/2026

One of the most powerful sermons you’ll ever preach may never come from a stage…

It may come from the way you treat people.

The patience you show when you’re frustrated.
The grace you extend when someone doesn’t deserve it.
The kindness you offer when nobody is watching.
The hope you carry in incredibly difficult seasons.

People may never open a Bible.

👉 But they will notice how a follower of Jesus lives.

This doesn’t mean we never share the gospel with our words - we absolutely should. 💯 But our words carry far more weight when our lives reflect the One we’re talking about.

May we be people who make others curious about Jesus by the way we love, serve, forgive, and live.🥰

Because for many people, we may be the closest glimpse of Christ they encounter today.🙏✝️🤎

06/06/2026

Lord, Help Me Show Kindness to Others Today.

(Published June 1st 2026)

We were at a friend's wedding this weekend, which meant a lot of meeting new people. I am not a massive fan of small talk. The "what do you do" loop runs out quickly, and you rarely gett to know each other.

So I have a few questions I tend to ask instead. When the conversation has settled in a bit, I'll ask:

"What's the kindest thing anyone's ever done for you?"

It almost always changes the temperature of the conversation. People stop and think. Their eyes drift a little. Sometimes they laugh quietly, like they've just remembered something they hadn't thought about in years.

And then the answers come, and they are extraordinary. Someone paid their rent when they were a student or a whole year. A friend came with them to every single chemo treatment. A family from church let them stay for 6 months when they were going through a divorce and lost their home. A teacher who saw something in them that nobody else did.

The stories are wildly different, but there is always a common thread. Whoever the kind person was, they did something that was clearly more trouble than it had to be.

They went past the line where the courteous thing would have ended. They didn't stop where the polite version of help would have stopped. They kept going. Above and beyond.

And every time I ask the question, I leave the conversation with the same wish.

I want to be more like that person.

I want to be the someone other people remember when they get asked this question, decades from now. Not for big dramatic reasons, but for the small ones.

Showing up. Staying. Helping when it's inconvenient. Caring when it costs me something I had been planning to spend elsewhere.

That is what Jesus did, all the time. The Gospels are full of stories where He stopped for the one person nobody else stopped for.

He healed when He was tired. He spoke to those who no one else would. He made time for children when his disciples were trying to send them away. He washed the feet of the man He knew would betray Him. Nothing was too much trouble. There was no version of love He thought was beneath Him.

So today's prayer is small but real. "Lord, help me show kindness to others today." Not someday. Not in big moments. Today. To whoever is in front of me. In a way that costs me a little, and means a lot.

You may not be the answer to anyone's big kindest-thing memory. But you might be the answer to the next one.

P.S. I write these devotionals every weekday and email them out along with a prayer and journaling prompts. You can sign up to receive them free through the link in the comments.

04/06/2026

04/06/2026

Ouch.👀

This may feel a little convicting, but it isn’t meant to be condemning.🙏

Most of us really don't actually have a time problem.

We have a priority problem.

The truth is, we make time for the things we truly value. And while there is nothing wrong with rest, hobbies, or entertainment, it's worth asking ourselves:

Am I giving God my leftovers -
or my best?💭

Even 5 minutes in prayer.
Even a few verses of Scripture.
Even one intentional conversation with Him.

Small, consistent moments with God have a way of transforming a life.✝️

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." James 4:8 📖🤎

04/06/2026

Today's devotion can be found here⁠
www.lca.org.au/can-i-pray-for-you-today
⁠
Printable devotions are available a week in advance for delivery to computer-less members at www.lca.org.au/devotions

04/06/2026

God Loves You More Than You'll Ever Understand.

(Published May 29th 2026)

My son Theo has been very sweet recently. He has started saying "I love you" at random points throughout the day.

He used to just say it, but now he's started giving it size.

"I love you more than peanut butter sandwiches" (his favorite). "I love you more than Christmas presents." "I love you more than the tallest building in the world."

The other day, he came out with one that made me smile.

"I love you to the top of God."

"Oh wow, that's very high!" I said while internally thinking I'm not sure God has a top. He's got a bit more to learn.

But the longer I sat with what he had said, the more I realized he had stumbled into something I had been missing.

He was reaching for the biggest, highest thing he could think of. And the answer was a Person without a ceiling.

A few days ago, I wrote about David's words in Psalm 103. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

The point David was reaching for is that east and west never meet. There is no end to the distance. There is no point at which His forgiveness runs out, because there is no edge to the measurement.

His love for you is the same.

There is no top to it. No floor under it that you might fall through. No outer wall you might bump into on the day you fail badly enough. The love that holds you is not a quantity that could be used up. It's infinite.

You were loved before you were born.

You were loved at your lowest, when getting out of bed felt like too much.

You were loved in the moments you felt unlovable, and the years you spent wondering if anyone had really seen you.

You were loved when you doubted Him, when you were angry at Him, when you couldn't feel Him in the room.

You were loved when you walked away, and the day you came back, and on every page of your story you wish you could rewrite.

You are loved right now, reading this sentence, in whatever shape your heart is in.

He is not running out. He is not pulling back. He is not measuring.

He loves you more than peanut butter sandwiches. More than Christmas presents. More than the tallest skyscraper. More than the biggest thing you can reach for, even if you used the rest of your life to reach.

He loves you to the top of Himself. And He has no top.

P.S. I write these devotionals every weekday and email them out along with a prayer and journaling prompts. You can sign up to receive them free through the link in the comments.

03/06/2026

Today's devotion can be found here⁠
www.lca.org.au/you-did-what-now
⁠
Printable devotions are available a week in advance for delivery to computer-less members at www.lca.org.au/devotions

03/06/2026

It is possible to know a lot about Jesus and still neglect the relationship He died to give us.

The Pharisees knew Scripture.
They knew the laws.
They knew the prophecies.

Yet many failed to recognize the very Messiah standing in front of them.

The goal has never been to simply fill our heads with information.

The goal is to walk with Him, trust Him, love Him, and be transformed by Him.🤎✝️

03/06/2026

Lord, Take My Plans and Give Me Yours

(Published May 5th 2026)

In February 2020, we packed everything we owned into a storage unit, handed back the keys to our rented apartment, and flew to Lisbon with only a one-way ticket.

It had taken a lot of planning to make it happen. But once we were there, it was everything we had hoped for. Pastel de natas in the morning. Good coffee. Long walks. Exploring a city we had fallen in love with. It was one of the happiest stretches of my life up to that point.

And then, about six weeks in, COVID happened.

Lockdowns were announced. Flights were getting cancelled. So we made the decision to come home, except we didn't have a home to come back to.

We moved in with parents, living out of bags. And within the same week, the industry I had been freelancing in, live events, collapsed completely. No trip. No work. No plan. No timeline for when any of it would change.

It was humbling. I had never had so many things in my life go wrong at the same time before. And in that forced stillness, with nothing to plan toward and nowhere to be, I did something I hadn't made much space for a long time. I sat down and asked God what He actually wanted for me.

The lockdown months became some of the most creatively alive of my life. With no events to work on, I started writing. More than I ever had. Just me, a laptop, and a lot of quiet.

Slowly, doors started opening that I never would have found if the old ones hadn't closed. Opportunities I couldn't have planned for, because I never would have thought to plan for them.

Those things ultimately led to the devotional you're reading right now (with a good few years in between).

Now, I'm not saying God sent a pandemic. But I do think He used the stillness it created to finally get my full attention. Because the honest truth is, when life is busy and plans are working, most of us don't stop to ask what God wants. We ask Him to bless what we've already decided.

Proverbs 16:9 says our hearts plan the course, but the Lord directs the steps. That directing doesn't always feel gentle. Sometimes it looks like everything falling apart in the same week. But on the other side of that, looking back, I can see His fingerprints all over what felt like collapse.

You can't always plan your way to where God wants you. Sometimes He has to clear the ground first. And sometimes the most important prayer you'll ever pray is the one you only pray when you have nothing left to plan with.

Lord, take my plans and give me Yours.

P.S. I write these devotionals every weekday and email them out along with a prayer and journaling prompts. You can sign up to receive them free through the link in the comments.