First Presbyterian Church of El Dorado

06/15/2026

Devotion for June 15th
The City of Man
Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
Revelation 18:4–5

We shouldn’t be surprised or alarmed when Christians face continual opposition. Humanity’s natural disposition is one of proud defiance towards God and therefore against His people. Man, on the unstable foundation of his pride, “builds a city” (to use the picture language of Revelation) and constructs a lifestyle that is set against God’s ways.

Humanity has been doing this since the fall. The first godless building project was on the plain of Shinar, at a place called Babel (Genesis 11:1-9)—the place that later bore the name Babylon, and to which God’s people were exiled. Revelation 18 therefore refers to the city of man, constructed in defiance of God, as Babylon; and Babylon is then personified as a pr******te, enticing people to commit spiritual adultery. Alluring and seductive, the city of man is effective at turning many away from God. It is “the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth” (17:18), and its influence is significant and destructive.

How, then, are citizens of the city of God to respond to this worldly rival? We are to be in the world but not of the world. In other words, we are to be salt, which has a distinctive taste and a preservative quality; and we are to be light, which exposes what darkness covers but which also guides others along the way to safety (Matthew 5:13-16). We are to live in the tension of being members of this world but not belonging here: residing here but also being separate from those whose hearts and minds are set against God. The sins of the city of man must not characterize the believer, John says, lest we “share in her plagues.” If we yield to Babylon’s seduction, we prove our identity was never truly that of a citizen of God’s kingdom.

Those who follow Christ must be committed to the Bible’s truth. Christianity is more than a moral code. It’s more than a framework for living or a method to improve one’s life. Where is the cross in that? Christianity is distinct from all other religions in that we hold fast to Jesus’ death on the cross as our means of reconciliation to God. We were once dead in our sins, deserving of God’s wrath and judgment—but He redeemed us through Christ’s perfect life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection.

For now, the world goes on as it always did. But one day Christ will return and silence every false prophet, every citizen of Babylon, and even the devil himself. We may see the church hard-pressed, mocked, legislated against, and persecuted. The world will see it as weak, on the wrong side of history, and not worthy of respect or acceptance. But we take hope in this triumphant affirmation: neither the gates of Babylon nor the gates of hell will prevail because Christ will build and keep His church (Matthew 16:18). So for now, as you live in Babylon, what of its sins do you find most alluring? In what ways are you most tempted to live as though this city is all there is? And what opportunities have you been given to be salt and light to those around you? Be sure both to resist the city of man and to beckon others to the city of God.

06/14/2026

06/09/2026

Devotion for June 9th
Worshiping Through Trial and Toil
The Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
Genesis 39:2–3

If all that Joseph had was his famous brightly colored coat, he would have been ruined when his brothers took it from him and sold him into slavery. But there was character inside the man who wore that coat—and when Joseph lost his coat, he didn’t lose his character. Rather, he continued to be formed and framed as a slave in Potiphar’s household. In this crucible of affliction, God poured out blessing and favor on Joseph’s life.

It would have been understandable if, finding himself a slave in an Egyptian household, Joseph had retreated into a cocoon of isolation, refusing to become involved in the world around him, protesting Egypt’s paganism, and resenting Potiphar’s authority. This approach, though, would not have afforded him an opportunity for witness or testimony. Instead of shutting down, Joseph seemingly determined that he would be the best servant that Potiphar ever had, because he knew he ultimately served God.
While Joseph prospered on account of God’s goodness, he remained a slave. His day-to-day life was filled with drudgery—something most of us can relate to! But if you and I want to flourish in the worst or most mundane of circumstances, we must learn how to take life’s routine experiences and see God’s hand of blessing in them, whatever they might be.

Because Joseph was able to trust God through his trials, Potiphar, we’re told, saw that the Lord was with Joseph and caused all his success. Joseph didn’t have to tell Potiphar that there was special favor on his life. When God’s blessing is on a life, it will be apparent—and sometimes, as we see with Potiphar, even unbelievers can’t help but notice.

We need to learn to live with the awareness that every matter we deal with, every moment we spend, and every move we make is an opportunity to bring glory and praise to God. Wherever we find ourselves, we can (as Paul wrote to those who found themselves, like Joseph, both God’s people and enslaved) “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord [we] will receive the inheritance as [our] reward [because we] are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24). Only when we understand that we were created for His glory can we turn life’s trials and toils into acts of worship. Our responsibilities, says the Bible, are opportunities to reveal our dependence on God and evidences of His blessing. Whether we find ourselves as CEOs or street-sweepers, trading shares or building houses or changing diapers, we will be both humbled and lifted up as we pray:

Teach me, my God and King,
In all things thee to see,
And what I do in any thing,
To do it as for thee.[1]

1. George Herbert, “The Elixir,” The English Poems of George Herbert, ed. Helen Wilcox (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p 640.

06/08/2026

Devotion for Jun 8th

Gideon’s Question
The angel of the Lord appeared to [Gideon] and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?”
Judges 6:12–13

The moment in Judges 6 when Gideon meets an angel is both dramatic and incongruous. The angel calls him a “mighty man of valor” while he is hiding out in a winepress in an attempt to thresh wheat without being seen by the occupying Midianites (Judges 6:11). There is not much might or valor about him!

It’s as if God focused the camera on Gideon as a microcosm of His people. Perhaps in that moment, Gideon looked over his shoulder, wondering if the greeting was really meant for him. After all, the Lord had allowed His people to be reduced to hiding out in caves. So he asked, “If the LORD is with us, why then has all of this happened to us?”

It’s a sensible question: if God is who He claims to be, then why does He allow troubling circumstances in our lives? We can surely relate. All of our lives are full of ifs, buts, and whys. We should be encouraged, though, to know that if God could answer Gideon’s question or the cries of Israel, He can surely handle our difficult questions—even if His answer is not always what we expect.
When the Israelites cried out for God’s help in Judges 6:7, He responded not by sending a warrior to deliver them but a prophet to teach them (v 8). God knew that they needed to hear His word in the midst of their trials. Ultimately, they needed to turn back to Him and trust in His promises. The prophet told them in outline what the angel would tell Gideon: “The LORD is with you.” The presence of God and the existence of trials can co-exist.

The questions we raise are finally answered not in some list of “five easy steps” but in God’s disclosure of Himself through His word. In Gideon’s case, God’s response seemed to be no answer at all. There was no dialogue concerning Israel’s circumstances or any explanation about their enemies. Instead, the Lord turned to Gideon and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (Judges 6:14).

Gideon felt inadequate: “How can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15). Often, though, it’s exactly when we admit our inadequacy that God begins to work in us. Until we reach the point where we can see our weakness, we will not be inclined to pray, to walk steadfast through trials, or to stop trusting in ourselves. Only when we know our own shortcomings and listen to God’s promise to be with us and to work in and through us will we commit to serving Him with all that we have, weak though we feel and are. For in His word God promises that our weakness plus God’s strength is sufficient for any task He calls us to (Philippians 4:13).

06/07/2026

Worship 6-7-2026

06/03/2026

Decotion for June 3rd
Leaving a Legacy
Always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:5

Each of us is leaving a legacy. Every day we are adding something to the portrait of our lives, and eventually what we leave behind—our decisions, our contributions, our priorities—will remain, at least for a time, for others to reflect upon and consider.

At the end of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, we find the words of an older man whose life was coming to an end: “I am already being poured out as a drink offering,” he says, “and the time of my departure has come” (2 Timothy 4:6). In this context, he exhorts Timothy to take his responsibilities seriously, to consider his legacy, and to contemplate both the helpful and harmful legacies left behind by many that Paul encountered.

In the opening chapter, Paul had reminded Timothy that “all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes” (2 Timothy 1:15). These individuals receive one mention in the Bible, and it is to record the fact that they deserted a man in need. Paul also warns Timothy to be on his guard concerning people like Hymenaeus and Philetus, whose “talk … spread like gangrene” and who “swerved from the truth,” or like Alexander the coppersmith, who, Paul says, “did me great harm” (2:17-18; 4:14). When we look at the portraits these individuals left behind, we see a legacy of desertion, false teaching, and opposition to the gospel.

But Paul’s letter is also replete with mention of those who left helpful, beneficial legacies. For example, Lois and Eunice demonstrated sincere faith, which Paul is certain now dwells in the young pastor Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5). Likewise, Paul exhorts his protégé to remember Onesiphorus, who “often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me” (v 16-17). Onesiphorus left behind a legacy of faith, courage, and conviction. If he said he’d be somewhere, he was there. He was a man on whom Paul could fully rely.

We are all leaving a legacy. When we walk out of a room, either we leave behind the aroma of Christ that spreads the knowledge of Him everywhere (2 Corinthians 2:15-16), or we are leaving the less pleasant smell of self-promotion or the vacuum of saying and being nothing much at all. A legacy of faithfulness, godliness, kindness, gentleness, honesty, integrity, love, and peace is a legacy that will be remembered with affection. But most importantly, it will point people to the one whose life matters most—the Lord Jesus.
A legacy is the accretion of daily decisions to make a difference for Christ: to love Him and love our neighbor, to pursue peace and speak of Him. Today, you will build a small—or perhaps major—part of your own legacy. So do the work God has prepared for you to do and make a difference for Him. After all, we never know when we’ve just made our final deposit in the legacy we’re leaving.

06/02/2026

Devotion for June 2nd
Will He Find Fruit?
Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
Mark 11:13–14

Here is a narrative which “bristles with difficulties.”[1]
What’s staggering about Jesus cursing a fig tree here is that this is a miracle of destruction. Everything else that we see Jesus doing up to this point in Mark’s Gospel has been a miracle of transformation or of restoration. Since this is a complete aberration in contrast with Jesus’ other actions, we need to dig deeper into its significance.

In the Old Testament, both the vine and the fig tree are routinely used as metaphors to describe the Israelites’ status before God. When good fruit is growing from the vine or the tree, all is well; when bad fruit or no fruit is growing, God’s people have gone astray.

As Jesus observed the utter emptiness that was represented in the religious activities at that time, these words of the prophet Micah may have come to His mind: “Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires” (Micah 7:1).

Jesus’ cursing of a fig tree, then, was far from arbitrary. This scene was an acted parable of prophetic symbolism. He used the fig tree to demonstrate the judgment that was about to fall on Jerusalem. Jesus had come to the center of religious life looking for prayerfulness and fruitfulness and had discovered neither. The barren fig tree was emblematic of a ceremonial, religious legalism that claimed to satisfy the hungry heart and to please God, but when the people committed themselves to such religion, there was nothing there to satisfy—and this act of the divine Son shows that God was far from pleased.

Does this prophetic warning hold any significance for us, who live so far away from fig trees and temples? Yes! The challenge to bear good fruit is for us as well. Yet we must also beware confusing religious observances or rule-keeping self-righteousness with true fruit. God’s people are always in danger of an empty legalism replacing a vibrant relationship. What is the way to heed the warning of the withered fig tree? Elsewhere, Jesus tells us, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit [the Father] takes away … I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:2, 5). In other words, we must look not to do better but to know Jesus more.

Is any aspect of what this fig tree represents true of your life? When Jesus comes and searches us, will He find fruit on our branches? Will He find faith? Remain humbly connected to Jesus, our Vine, and His Spirit will grow in you the very fruit for which He is looking.

1. C. E. B. Cranfield, The Gospel According to Mark,Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary, ed. C.F.D. Moule (1959; reprinted Cambridge University Press, 2000), p 354.

05/26/2026

Devotion for May 26th
God’s Unchanging Word
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
Hebrews 11:17–18

Life can feel overwhelming. Every day brings new challenges even as old ones continue without resolution. It’s easy to allow our faith to trip on the stumbling block of our own lack of understanding of our circumstances—to take the baton of faith, as it were, and toss it to the ground, saying, “I’m finished. I can’t run any further.” In those moments, God’s word encourages us to remember that Christian faith is an enduring faith that remains resolute. It is possible to remain obedient to God’s commands even when everything around us seems to contradict what He has promised.
Until the cross, perhaps nowhere in Scripture do we find a more overwhelming moment than in the life of Abraham. It was a moment that occurred entirely at the instigation of God: “[God] said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you’ … When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son” (Genesis 22:2, 9-10). God’s command to Abraham was clear—and yet it seemed to contradict God’s promise that through Abraham’s offspring “all the nations of the earth” would “be blessed” and that “through Isaac shall your offspring be named” (Genesis 22:18; 21:12). The fulfillment of God’s promises depended upon Isaac’s survival. If Isaac was to die, how could the promise be fulfilled?
Yet Abraham still obeyed. Even though his circumstances could have led him to doubt and question God’s word, by faith Abraham said, God has a plan in this. His promise is that through Isaac all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Therefore, He must be going to resurrect him—to raise him up from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). This is why earlier, as Abraham had left to perform the commanded sacrifice, he had said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you” (Genesis 22:5, emphasis added). What an expression of faith! Do not miss this: when the command was given to Abraham, he obeyed it. Although it seemed to directly contradict the promises God had made, Abraham did his business, and he determined to let God do His.
We can do so too. Do not allow your circumstances, however daunting they may be, to lessen your obedience or cause you to call God’s promises into question. Centuries after Abraham and Isaac climbed up, and down, this mountain, God’s own Son rose from the grave on the side of that same mountain, as the ultimate testimony to the truth that God keeps His promises. So you can face whatever today brings confidently, hopefully, and prayerfully, saying, “I can keep going. I’m not finished. God will do His part, and so I can do mine.”

05/25/2026

Blessings on the week & the summer-time season ahead...