Ridge Haven

08/13/2026

Romans 12:9-13
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
Have you ever been given instructions, only to realize later that you didn’t understand everything? Recently, a new program was introduced at the VA, which deals with patient listing. I heard the instructions, and I even took notes. Yet, I found that as I tried to “work the program”, I didn’t understand. There I sat before a computer screen that just stared back at me, refusing to cooperate. I felt helpless and did not want to call for help “again”. Sometimes I feel helpless as I try to follow God’s Word as it is found in my Bible. In our text for today, Paul tried to make clear what it meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ. It is possible that he was thinking of new converts to faith in the one true God, wanting them to understand what it meant to follow Jesus. Paul lays it all out in chapter twelve and expands on it in chapter thirteen. He attempts to make it very clear, nearly by the numbers process. He explains what it should mean when a person is converted, transformed, rejecting a worldly lifestyle. Chief among Paul’s instructions is to understand what love is, as well as what it means to reject evil. In our world today, many “Christians” recognize sin, yet seem incapable or unwilling to hate it as God hates sin. It is possible (if we are really honest) that many times we all go through the motions, making half-hearted attempts to live in a Jesus lifestyle. In Romans twelve, Paul lays it all out there, and still we don’t always understand what it means to love as God loves and hate sin as God hates sin. Paul wants everyone (especially new Believers) to live as Jesus lived. Love in English can mean a lot of different things. In Romans 12:9, the Greek word for love is agapē, which refers to an active, sacrificial, and sincere love that seeks the best for others. Paul emphasizes this by stating, "Let love [agape] be genuine." Basically, I think Paul wants all who receive his instructions to be “ALL IN” loving some and not loving others. He makes it pretty clear that there is no middle ground. Today, we hear Paul’s instruction, which follows what Jesus taught. The question do we get it?
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Devotions are reflection upon my life's study, reading, and time with God. Credits are given as I

08/12/2026

Romans 12:3-5
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
From time to time, each of our grandchildren has suffered with emotional feelings that seem to come out of nowhere. As children trying to deal with something they don’t understand, they’d find themselves crying or filled with anxious feelings of insecurity. Their mother would take them to a quiet place to help them work through their emotions. As they grew older, they became better equipped in understanding what “triggered” the emotion. As believers, we may find ourselves spiritually insecure because of some unconfessed sin. It might be something that we’ve declared insignificant, yet it naws at our relationship with God. Sometimes we are filled with remorse because of some unconfessed sin. Our guilt and lack of confession leave us in a spiritual state of disconnection with our God. The key is to learn what it is that causes the spiritual disconnect. The Psalmist cried out to God, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24) It’s easy to get caught up in the world’s standards, where right is wrong and wrong is right. There may be times when we need help to understand what is causing our disconnect with God. Paul speaks to this in Galatians 6:1. “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” When we become Believers, the standards of living are raised. We are no longer subject to the standards of the world, but rather are called to the standard of holiness of God. This is impossible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the influence of other Believers. When negative feelings are triggered in our lives, it is important to deal with them and learn the cause. Bringing it all before God clears our hearts and returns us to our place before God.
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Devotions are reflection upon my life's study, reading, and time with God. Credits are given as I

08/11/2026

Romans 11:1-2
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Does your personality change depending on your surroundings? For example, if I’m with a group of men, my behavior is different from when I’m alone with my wife. Additionally, when I’m with the Chaplains at the VA, my personality is different than when I’m with my family. Do you find this to be true for you? I suppose what I am confessing is that I tend to “conform” to the group I’m with. Of course, this can be taken to extremes, which I do not think any believer would intentionally do. Yet, I suppose it’s always been this way to some degree. Perhaps it’s most true that as a student who wants to “fit in”. In our verses today, Paul warns us not to conform to the ways of this world. That is (I think) we should try to fit in with the world’s standards. Many things the world (society) says are okay, even good, are not okay or good for a follower of Jesus Christ. Paul warns us, telling us the Believer is called to be holy, even acceptable to God. Paul affirms this is our “reasonable service”. Additionally, Paul says we are to live at a level of sacrifice. He says we are to be a “Living sacrifice” before God. This means reflecting Jesus and not trying to fit in with the “in crowd”. If you feel as if you don’t fit in, you are in good company. Jesus didn’t fit in either. He was rejected by many, cursed at by some, beaten, spat upon, until He was put to death on the cross. Never once did Jesus conform; He dared to be different. We see this reflected in the Old Testament people, such as Daniel and his friends. Noah, and in the New Testament in the Apostles, as well as Paul. They each determined not to conform to the “world” but to be transformed by the Word of God. Perhaps Paul would agree that being in a state of transformation is our reasonable service. What do you think?
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Devotions are reflection upon my life's study, reading, and time with God. Credits are given as I

08/10/2026

Romans 11:1-7
“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 Even so, then, at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work. 7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks, but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.”
Do you have a designated space in your home where you store stuff? You know stuff you may never use, but it's too good to throw away. Short pieces of wood, carpet, jars, cans, and cardboard might be part of your good stuff. They’re all remnants, we think might be useful someday, in some way. My children make fun of my remnants of stuff, yet they still come wanting to know I have this or that in my remnants. When Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he referred to them as a “faithful remnant”. While they were small in number, they were faithful followers, passionate about their faith, and who trusted God. I’ve come to learn that when we are small in number, passion can make a huge difference. Maybe that’s because we have the benefit of witnessing God’s goodness through the pages of His Word, our Bible. It’s here we learn that God is always faithful to His Word and makes good on His promises. Some still reject the Good News in spite of the overwhelming proof found all around His creation. Science even testifies to there being something bigger than humanity, which Believers call God. Jesus spoke in parables many times because He knew many would be unable to handle the truth, other easily accepted. Here’s something else I’ve learned. When someone is not spiritually hungry, there is little effort to understand the truth of Jesus. Here’s something else that may be true. When you and I fail to be seen as Believers, when we fail to have a strong presence of faithfulness, others may become hardened and turned off, desiring God. Okay, here’s my confession. I sometimes wait for the “right time” to witness Jesus or testify to His goodness in my life. This calls me to try to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit, so that the “right time” is known and not passed up.
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Devotions are reflection upon my life's study, reading, and time with God. Credits are given as I

08/08/2026

Romans 10:8-10
“But what does it say? “The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
I hear people give a lot of reasons for not reading their Bible. They give reasons such as, “it doesn’t make sense to me, It’s confusing, It’s hard to read”. These are the top reasons for not reading their Bible. I usually ask, what are you trying to read. The response is pretty much the same. Well, I thought I should start at the beginning and read through. That’s a good concept, yet perhaps not the best approach to a first-time reading plan. Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy can be hard to get captured by. I usually follow with, “Would you like to have a crash course in what it means to be a follower of Jesus”? More often than not, they counter with, “Yes, if I could understand it.” Before making a suggestion, I will ask one more question. “Can you handle an in-your-face, no bars read?” It’s then that I suggest reading the Book of James in the New Testament, followed by the Gospel of John. It is my opinion that the Book of James and the Gospel of John can give understanding of who Jesus is, what it means to invite Jesus into your life, and what it means to live for Him. Perhaps reading all of the New Testament would be good before reading the Old Testament. To be sure, the Old Testament is good and even necessary to understand the full impact of what God has accomplished in the person of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament gives an understanding of what happens in the New Testament. Reading the New Testament first may make getting through the hand to understand parts of the Old Testament. Romans 10:8-10 makes clear what it takes to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is said that what the heart believes the mouth confesses. In Paul’s time, expressing one’s faith in Christ was proof of salvation. Publicly confessing faith in Jesus typically meant persecution during Paul’s time. Saul had been converted to Paul, but there were other Sauls, who, under the umbrella of “religion,” hunted Believers. In our world today, persecution for being a true follower of Jesus remains a reality. For the student, it might mean constant bullying. In the workplace, it could mean being passed over for a promotion. In daily life, it could mean being talked about, even being labeled a “Jesus Freak”. Still, the proposition is there. “IF you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and your life gives testimony to that, you will be saved, to the praise of our Glorious God!
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08/07/2026

Romans 10:1-4
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
There is something within the human species that always looks for shortcuts. This may not be entirely true, yet it certainly seems that way. When it comes to God, I think it is true. Many do not want to go through Jesus and attempt to invent new ways to find God. Paul warned the Israelites of this very thing. While many, if not most, believed in the true God, many did not believe in Jesus. They were “zealous” for God, yet were missing the most important part. In John 14:6, Jesus made it clear that there was no way to God, except through Him, saying, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through Me.” The relationship between man and God was broken in the Garden. Even so, God promised that He would send a Messiah to restore that relationship. He did so, becoming a man Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born on Earth to save mankind. He was born to die for the sins of every person, past, present, and future. On the cross, every sin of every person, in every era, was laid upon Him to restore the relationship between God and mankind. In spite of Jesus’ word on the subject, many believe there are many roads to God. Paul would disagree, and Scripture confirms there is only one way to God, and that is through Jesus. Every other religion gives you a list you must accomplish to arrive where God is. In every other religion, you must climb the ladder of deeds to gain God. Christianity is the only faith that tells the story of God coming down to meet mankind. Christianity is the only faith that says you must receive Jesus to find God. Jesus is the only way to God. All other methods are chasing after the wind. Still, left to our own wit and devices, we will never climb up to the place God is. This being true, why do you think so many try to find a “shortcut”?
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Devotions are reflection upon my life's study, reading, and time with God. Credits are given as I

08/06/2026

Romans 9:21
“Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” Or as the NIV translates this verse, “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?”
Some of the Jewish people (especially the high priest) were outraged that Gentiles had a path to salvation. At this, they complained foul, wait, this cannot be. We are the special people of God. Still, God did not change the rules to accommodate those religious people. The same is true today, as many “religious people” complain when a known sinner walks into their local church, while their sin has been neatly covered. As I read God’s Word, I find from Genesis to Revelation that God always rescued humans according to His Grace, not our standards. If becoming a part of God’s family, it would be a very small family. Thank God that He doesn’t respond to the rules we make, but instead offers grace to save the sinner, like me. Thank God that becoming a member of God’s family doesn’t require perfection or a perfect moral resume. It only requires faith and trust. Being declared righteous has much more to do with opening ourselves up to Jesus and any effort we can muster up. I think there are at least two things that keep many from becoming members of God’s family. 1 - Thinking that they have to make themselves perfect before God will accept them. 2 - Stop trying to attain perfection, to invite Jesus into one’s life, so that HIS perfection can do its work. Paul learned that he was on shaky ground because no man is capable of fulfilling (keeping) the law. The Israelites had a most difficult time admitting to this or recognizing their failures. They believed they could “earn” God’s salvation. The concept of salvation being a free gift, received only by receiving Jesus, was a stumbling block. In many ways, we are affected by the same blindness and self-reliance. Our stubbornness and rebellion form a false ideology that we can do things our own way. As hard as we try and regardless of how many pages of the Bible we tear out, saying they are out of date, God’s rules do not change. What God commanded for Adam, Jacob, Moses, Paul, and all the others is true for us. We can go to church every week, pray, serve, and volunteer for everything, and never be right with God. Getting right with God means humbling ourselves and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
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08/05/2026

Romans 8:38-39
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Are you fearful? This is a general question intended to encompass every aspect of life. So let me ask again. Are you fearful of not getting good grades, not getting a good job, losing your job, choosing the wrong person to be your life-long spouse, losing your spouse, becoming ill, facing death, the list can go on and on. As we grow up, we learn to be cautious of life in general. We even teach our children to be aware of their environment, strangers, especially those offering candy or a toy. We can be fearful of dark places and things that go “bump” in the night. While this training is good, it can lead us to be “fearful” of many things. God wants us to have the same kind of protection we want for our children. He wants us to be aware that evil exists and that Satan is always on the prowl. While we want to offer our children protection so that they are not “overly” fearful, God does something even greater. God promises to walk with us through this earthly life, even giving us the Holy Spirit to help us navigate it. Paul went through a life-changing moment when He met Jesus. He was transformed from one who hunted those who followed Jesus to becoming one who followed Jesus. He went from someone no-one who think of attacking, beating, or throwing into prison, to being attacked, beaten, and put into prison. More than once, Paul was nearly beaten to death. More than once, he was pelted with rocks. Paul spent at least three days trying to tread water after being shipwrecked. He went hungry because no one offered him food. He suffered anxiety from being alone and perhaps even wondered if God had left him as well. Paul had a long laundry list of negative experiences. Yet, even with all the negative experiences he was able to proclaim, and own Romans 8:38-39. Let’s read it again slowly. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The quote, "You never know God is all you need until God is all you have," is attributed to the Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor and author Corrie ten Boom, who wrote, "You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have". Learn is the keyword. Paul “learned” God was all sufficent for him, reguardless of what life threw at him. Paul learned to walk in confidence as he proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ. May you and I “learn” to walk in this same confidence.
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08/04/2026

Romans 8:31-32
“ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
Romans 8:31-32 stands among some of my favorite verses in the Bible. It holds an amazing promise. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Think how amazing this promise is. I have no idea what your life has been like. I do know myself pretty well, however. I know that I disappointed my parents by not doing what they told me to do when they told me to do it. I know that I disappointed teachers when I didn’t turn in homework. I know I disappointed myself by not applying myself and reaping the consequences of my actions. Here’s the thing: my parents never stopped loving me, even when I was a disappointment in so many ways. This is only a foretaste of God’s Love. God loves us unconditionally, disappointments and all. It goes even further as God is for us …. not for our wrongdoings… rather God is calling us forward to experience His good for us. Let me give an elementary example. While being pastor of a church with a youth minister and children minister, I learned that IF I bragged on them, one of them would work harder. I could point out a failure, and then encourage a way of improving, and they would jump through hoops, trying to step up to the higher calling. I also tried to level the field by giving them permission to tell me where I stumbled or failed in some area. The other person could not handle constructive criticism and would become angry. It wasn’t long before they decided being in children’s ministry was not their calling. God empowers us many times by pointing out our faults/sins and calling us to do better. As God reaches out to us to encourage us, we need to be sure we’re not expecting God to be on our side, and that we are on God’s side. That means we must be sure that we are in God’s Will for us. When we are on God’s side, who can stand against us —it is God who went to battle for us in the person of Jesus Christ. God willingly gave up Jesus for us, on our behalf, to call us to a higher calling, which we are to operate in. Understanding God’s incomparable love transforms us to try to do better always, with confidence. God, thank You for unconditional love that continually calls us to follow Jesus with greater confidence and endurance.
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Devotions are reflection upon my life's study, reading, and time with God. Credits are given as I

08/03/2026

Romans 8:27-28
Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the Will of God.28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are “The Called” according to His purpose.”
There are several things that we should be mindful of in these two verses. For example, who is the “He” in the second word of verse 27? It is commonly agreed that this “He” is the same “He” who makes intercession for the saints, according to God’s Will. This is Jesus who makes intercession for believers from heaven, acting as a mediator who speaks to the Father on behalf of the saints, to ensure salvation and forgiveness. (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, and 1 John 2:1) Moving to verse 28, we find something that doesn’t make sense to everyone. “ALL things work together for good,” causes some to say, “I don’t think so. So let’s think together. Since the declining health of my wife, I find myself in the kitchen. I can do okay with the main course of the meal, but desserts are another issue. Yet I find God’s promises make sense as I attempt to bake a cake, for example. A cake recipe calls for several ingredients, any of which, by themselves, do not taste good. Yet when all the ingredients are put into a bowl and mixed up, the result is something that is tasty, if not delicious. I think this compares well with understanding verse 28. Any one of the ingredients of the “All Things” may be horrible by itself. It might compare to trying to eat a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder. We will have moments that are painful, such as a broken arm. Yet, the pain endured ensures that the arm, when set, heals and is functional again. The pain endured produced an arm that, in time, works without pain. The injury and the pain are part of the “All Things” working together for good. We all experience good times and bad times, and when they are all mixed together, something good can be realized. In the end, when our time on this earth is over, we will be able to look back, from God’s perspective, and see how it all worked together, for good. For now, we should take comfort knowing that God has His hand in every event (good and bad). When all our experiences are mixed by God’s hand, the result is good. Even our poor choices, God can use them and turn them into something good.
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Devotions are reflection upon my life's study, reading, and time with God. Credits are given as I