Liberty Fellowship-Atwater CA

09/07/2026

Bible Reading:
Today we want to read Proverbs 3:4-6 & James 1:1-5

Devotion:
Today I woke up in a hotel in Monterey, overlooking a golf course. I thought that golf teaches us a lot of good lessons about Christian living, so let me offer some wisdom from the links.

You have 165 yards to the flag.

One club might get there if you hit it perfectly. Another gives you enough distance without requiring your absolute best swing.

Which one do you choose?

Golf constantly asks us to make decisions. Distance matters, but so do wind, elevation, temperature, the lie, hazards, and where the safe miss is located. The correct club is not always the one you would normally hit from that yardage. Sometimes we face decisions in life the same way. At first glance, the answer seems obvious. But circumstances matter. Timing matters. Other people may be affected. What worked previously may not be right for the situation in front of us now.

That is why we need wisdom. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.”

God invites us to seek His wisdom rather than relying entirely on our first instinct. A golfer who automatically pulls the same club every time he sees the same number ignores important information. A 150-yard shot into a strong wind is different from a 150-yard shot downwind. The distance may be identical, but the situation is not. Life works that way too.

Two opportunities can look similar and still require different decisions. Something that was right for you five years ago may not be where God is leading you today.

Proverbs 3:6 tells us, “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Before important decisions, we should learn to pause.Pray. Consider what Scripture teaches. Seek wise counsel when appropriate. Then choose.

There is also a moment in every golf shot when decision-making must end. Once you have evaluated everything and selected the club, you need to commit to it. Standing over the ball still wondering whether you made the right choice usually leads to a poor swing.The same can happen in life. Seeking God’s wisdom is important, but endless indecision can become another form of fear. Ask God for direction. Pay attention to the conditions He has placed around you. Make the wisest choice you can. Then trust Him enough to make the swing.

Is there a decision in your life that needs more than your first instinct? Ask God for wisdom and consider all the circumstances carefully. Once you believe He has given you direction, move forward in faith rather than remaining trapped in indecision.
- Pastor Phil

09/06/2026

Title: Bare Your Cross
Text: Luke 14:25-33
Pastor Phil Johnson

09/04/2026

Bible Reading:
Today we want to read John 14:15-21

Devotion:
As I’ve been reflecting on the Ten Commandments, an old gospel song keeps running through my mind: “Trust and Obey.” This simple hymn expresses the bedrock faith and action of seeking to live for the Lord. By trusting God and, through his strength, turning to him for support each day, we find joy in the new life we are promised forever in Christ.

The Ten Commandments reveal to us and convict us of our sin, our deeply ingrained failure and inability to love God and our neighbors as we are called to do. But through the gracious cleansing and renewing of our hearts, the Holy Spirit sets us on a new path of obedience. And on this new path, God’s commands become a guide for gratefully living in obedience to God.

Though we continue to struggle with sin in this life, God still calls us daily to trust him and obey him. The Ten Commandments and other helpful summaries of God’s law - Micah 6:8; Romans 12; ! Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:22-25; Eph 2:8-10; and more—are faithful guides along the way.

When we trust and obey the Lord, as the song puts it, we can expect to be “happy in Jesus.” Actually, a clearer description is that we can be joyful through the inner contentment and wonder grounded in God’s amazing grace and love for us in the Savior, Jesus Christ.

In what ways can you share the joy of new life in Christ with others today?

09/04/2026

Bible Reading:
Today we want to read John 14:15-21

Devotion:
As I’ve been reflecting on the Ten Commandments, an old gospel song keeps running through my mind: “Trust and Obey.” This simple hymn expresses the bedrock faith and action of seeking to live for the Lord. By trusting God and, through his strength, turning to him for support each day, we find joy in the new life we are promised forever in Christ.
The Ten Commandments reveal to us and convict us of our sin, our deeply ingrained failure and inability to love God and our neighbors as we are called to do. But through the gracious cleansing and renewing of our hearts, the Holy Spirit sets us on a new path of obedience. And on this new path, God’s commands become a guide for gratefully living in obedience to God.

Though we continue to struggle with sin in this life, God still calls us daily to trust him and obey him. The Ten Commandments and other helpful summaries of God’s law - Micah 6:8; Romans 12; ! Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:22-25; Eph 2:8-10; and more—are faithful guides along the way.

When we trust and obey the Lord, as the song puts it, we can expect to be “happy in Jesus.” Actually, a clearer description is that we can be joyful through the inner contentment and wonder grounded in God’s amazing grace and love for us in the Savior, Jesus Christ.

In what ways can you share the joy of new life in Christ with others today?

09/03/2026

Bible Reading:
Today we want to read Matthew 22:34-40.

Devotion:
As a children's pastor, I would often play Bible Trivia games with my students to hone their knowledge of various facts in the Bible. “Name the twelve tribes of Israel.” “Name the twelve apostles.” “List the Ten Commandments in order.” "Name of books of the Bible in order." As an adult I’m not sure I could answer any of these questions without stumbling.I can, however, give a basic summary of the Ten Commandments. When tested by a teacher of the law, Jesus did that for us. He summarized God’s two main principles for living in a right relationship with the Lord and with others. Drawing on the foundation of the entire Old Testament, Jesus said, in effect, “You shall love God with your entire being, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-40).If we distill Jesus’ summary a step further, we also find the essential keyword: love.Tragically, since the fall into sin, our natural inclination is to hate God and others. Only when God has renewed our hearts can we truly love him. We can also begin truly loving others. And when we truly love others, we demonstrate that we truly love God.Though our love for God and others will never be perfect, the perfect love on which the Ten Commandments are based is perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ. There’s nothing trivial about Christ’s perfect love. His perfect love should be our highest aim as we seek to follow him.
- Pastor Phil

09/02/2026

Bible Reading:
Today we want to read Philippians 4:4-9.

Devotion:
Some people claim that we can establish a good habit in as little as 21 days. Others say it takes much longer—between 66 and 254 days—to form a good habit. By sheer effort and discipline, can we will ourselves into a habit of keeping the Ten Commandments?
No. We can only begin on a new path of living for the Lord when we recognize that we need our sins forgiven through Christ and as the Holy Spirit breathes new, eternal life into us. Then, although initiating and achieving righteousness is not up to us, we are responsible to live as God calls us to do.

In our reading for today the apostle Paul offers some helpful instructions for focusing our minds on practical Christian living. “In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God,” he says. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul also urges that we focus on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Then, day by day, as we “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), we can form holy habits that please God.
- Pastor Phil

When we concentrate on what’s pleasing to God while striving, in the Spirit, to obey him in gratitude, we become more loving toward him and others.

09/02/2026

09/01/2026

Bible Reading:
Today we want to continue with the subject of coveting by reading Roman 7:7-12.

Devotion:
Most people agree that the commandments we have been discussing lately—about promoting justice, honesty, respect for others and their property, and more—offer clear, practical boundaries for living together in society.

Guidelines like these are found in all kinds of societies around the world.We might even think, like many of God’s people in ancient Israel did, that keeping these commands is possible. But the law doesn’t satisfy God’s requirements for our hearts. The apostle Paul painfully realized this when he wrestled with the darkness in his own heart. Though he thought he had been able to keep these commandments through his actions, he was cut to the heart when he read, “You shall not covet.”

God commands that we show love not only through our actions but also with our hearts. By this standard, we are all guilty of failing to love others.Thankfully, our heart problem can be solved. “While we were still sinners,” Paul writes in Romans 5:8 , “Christ died for us.” Jesus is the only one who could ever satisfy the demands of God’s law for perfect obedience and love. And since we are forgiven through Jesus’ sacrifice for our sake, the Holy Spirit gives us new hearts directed toward loving God and our neighbors.

Our new life in Christ moves us beyond mere outward obedience. By trusting Jesus, our restless hearts find true satisfaction in him alone, so that we can truly love others.
- Pastor Phil

08/31/2026

Bible Reading:
Today we want to read Exodus 20:17 & Philippians 4:11-13.

Devotion:
If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, the right antidote can neutralize or block the venom that begins spreading into your body. The antidote can prevent death or even sickness.
Spiritually speaking, the sin of coveting can also introduce a poison that can lead to committing other sins in our lives.

The tenth commandment forbids us from coveting anything that belongs to our neighbor. When we covet what belongs to others, we develop a deep longing for what they have, and these other persons become little more than an obstacle to the fulfillment of our desires. Coveting becomes intertwined with envy, and these sins diminish us too, by making our spirits restless and filling our hearts with the toxins of bitterness and resentment.

But the Bible offers a powerful spiritual antidote. Paul wrote to the Philippians from prison, where everything had been taken from him, including his freedom. And he offers his own straightforward prescription: learn to live in contentment with what God has already graciously provided. At the most basic level, contentment means trusting that God knows what’s best for us and will always provide what we need. Deep contentment also leads us to rejoice in what God has graciously given to others.

Contentment is not a quick acting antidote. It comes gradually through the long, sometimes painful process of dying to ourselves and being made new in Christ, who died for us.

08/30/2026

Title: Pressing Towards the Mark
Text: Philippians 3:12-14
Pastor Phil Johnson