Apostolic Faith Tabernacle, 1440 W 9 Mile Road, Ferndale, MI (2026)

10/31/2026

Devotions With David

More Than A Conqueror

Romans 8:37 (KJV)
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

We hear this phrase a lot in the church. We say we are more than conquerors. This term comes from a Greek word, hupernikaó. There are two words to put together here, huper and nikao. Huper means exceeding, abundantly. All of the word study sources that I looked at said that this is ‘above and beyond’. When you put it together with nikao which means conquer, overcome, prevail, or get the victory, you get the image of an overwhelming victory or a super conqueror.

This term was used as a military term that pointed to overwhelming success. In a military context, this meant pushing the enemy so far into enemy territory after the victory was secured, you risked unnecessary casualties. To many in the military, it denoted pride, a way to show how powerful you were. You can find emperor’s telling their military to not “over conquer”. In other words, don’t stretch yourself so thin that you leave yourself vulnerable. This term largely disappeared from secular military vocabulary and became a hallmark of Christian literature.

By using the word hypernikao, Paul is declaring an overwhelming victory that comes through the love of God.

Now that we have set the background for what Paul is saying, look at the next verses. Here’s the list of things he says, cannot separate us from the love of God: death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth, any other creature. Given this list, it makes sense that he used the word for overwhelming victory. The verse preceding verse 37 give us a list of military tactics that would lead to defeat: tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? All of these things would happen when a military would surround a city and not allow anything in or out. I will tell you that when I read the verses surrounding the declaration of more than conqueror, it is not a promising picture. All of these things that Paul lists would seem to bring certain failure. I want to remind you that God will fight with you and for you.

My mind goes to some of the military battles fought in the Old Testament. Gideon’s 300 men were no match for the mighty army of the Midianites. When they followed God’s command, God caused the army to destroy themselves. Jehoshaphat fought with singers leading the way and the 3 armies turn on each other, and Judah took three days to gather the things they left behind. The battle of Jericho, was won when Israel simply walked around the city. The walls fell down flat. This was an overwhelming victory. I’m sure that there are other victories that come to mind. Every time, God brings an overwhelming victory. There has never been a battle that God has lost.

Another verse that comes to mind is Ephesians 3:20 (ESV).
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.

While the Greek word is not quite the same, the English translation gives the implication that they are similar. God will help you be more than a conqueror or do far more abundantly than you can think. The key Paul says, he will do it “through the power at work within us”.

All of the things that Paul list in Romans 8 you can conquer abundantly. If you want to be a super conqueror, then keep doing the things that God has commanded us to do. Being more than a conquer means you’re going to have to fight some battles. What we must do is remember the victory comes through the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us. Let’s get back to allowing him to fight for us. The way he asks us to fight may not be conventional. We have looked at some of those through the devotions this month. Let’s do the things that will cause us to overwhelmingly conquer the battles we face. Let’s tap into the Spirit at work in us and push darkness back. Remember, it’s not your spirit. It’s God‘s Spirit at work.

I won’t rehearse other devotions, but let me leave you with this. James told us to submit then resist. We must be submitted to God’s authority and through his authority we resist the the devil and that makes him flee. More than a conqueror means to do what God asks us to do regardless of how ridiculous it may seem. Keep walking until the walls fall. Keep singing until the enemy destroys itself. Shout like Gideon‘s army and shine the light.

When we continue to do the things we know to do, God will give us an overwhelming victory. You are more than a conquer.

As always, if I can do anything for you reach out to me and I will do the best I can to help.

10/30/2026

Devotions With David

God Works In All Things

Romans 8:28 (KJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

We use this verse to say that God is working through our circumstances to bring something good. While I do believe this is applicable, I don’t know that this is exactly what Paul was talking about. Many times we think that the bad things that are happening are to bring a good outcome in our lives that we see. When you read the verses around this verse, you find Paul talking about prayer. In verse 24 he talks about being saved by Hope. In verse 25 he tells us we must patiently wait for Hope. Verse 26 is the verse that talks about the Spirit helping our infirmities or weaknesses because we don’t know what to pray. It tells us the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, according to the will of God.

Now we come to the verse 28. We know all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose. Then verse 29 tells us that he foreknew, and predestined those to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

Using all of these verses together, we can see that Paul is telling us to pray in the Spirit according to the Will of God. When we do that, it causes all things to work together for those who love God. While we have used this verse to say that God works in the midst of our trials to bring good. It is really talking to us about prayer. When we can get into a spirit of intercession, it will bring good from all things.

When we stop trying to make this verse say all things are going to be good in my life, we can understand that God is working to accomplish his Will in our lives. The purpose or the good God is working, is to conform us to the likeness of Jesus. Instead of trying to make all things work for good in this life it would benefit us to understand God is trying to shape us into Christlikeness through what happens in our lives.

We should strive to be Christlike in our character, obedience, attitude, love, endurance, and be Christ like in purpose. We will look at these verses tomorrow, but the end of this chapter tells us nothing can separate us from his love.

When we face things that are not good, it can produce good results if we will allow it to. Disappointment can bring deeper trust. Delay can cause patience. Difficulty causes us to persevere. Rejection can drive us to confidence in God. There are several more that I can list, but these are not automatic results. We need to hold onto the promise that through prayer all these things can work together for good. We must continue to pray and not allow circumstances to separate us from prayer. Because prayer keeps our relationship with God intact, we will see good come from all things.

I need to say a word about the other side of this. When we allow things to separate us from our relationship with God, disappointment can bring bitterness. Rejection can cause us to withdraw. Difficulty can cause us to quit. Don’t allow the things that come into your life that are not good, to drive you away from God. Let them drive you to a deeper relationship with him. Get into that prayer time where you are making intercession. When things come, good or bad, we need to let them push us closer to Christ.

There are four things worth remembering from Romans 8:28:

God is working.
Even when you can’t see, God is still working on our behalf. Hold onto that. Don’t let circumstances or the darkness around you convince you that God is not working.

2. God works through all things.
This is difficult when we don’t understand what is happening or why it happened. Please remember there is nothing beyond his ability to use for his purpose. When you don’t understand, remember to look for God’s working.

3. God works for good.
The good he is accomplishing is to make us more Christ like. There may not be anything else good that comes out of your situation. If you come out more like him, it will be worth it.

4. God’s purpose is what he’s working toward.
Whatever the circumstance, whatever you may be dealing with, God is trying to accomplish his purpose in us. Remember verse 30 tells us he predestinated. He called. He justified and he glorified.

We know he has something better prepared for us. The good that comes for those that love him ultimately is heaven. Let all things work together for good in your life.

As always, if I can do anything for you reach out to me and I will do the best I can to help.

10/29/2026

Devotions With David

Your Trial Is Not Your Identity

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (KJV)
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

How do you identify people? How do we identify ourselves? It has been my observation, when we introduced people we tend to identify them by something. “This is John. He is a doctor“. I’m afraid at times we do the same thing with our Christian identity. Instead of simply saying, I am a child of God we identify ourselves with what we are doing or what we are going through. In my own life there are times I choose to remain silent because it seems that everyone in the room is doing so much better than I am. While I know that is not true, my perception at times tells me otherwise. We cannot allow our trial to become our identity.

We all face trials and circumstances that are not ideal. We must turn to the scripture for our identity. Here in these verses Paul tells us that we hold this treasure in “jars of clay”. The reason is we must remember, our identity comes from the power of God, not from our own power. We cannot allow our trial to become our identity.

You may have failed, but that doesn’t make you a failure. You may be in a battle, but that doesn’t mean you’re defeated. There are times we are broken, but that doesn’t mean we are not repairable. Paul goes on to tell us that we are going to face trials. His list includes: troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down. That is a pretty devastating list if you simply look at the negative. The next verse tells us that the life of Jesus is made manifest in our body. Our identity must come from Christ. Notice that Paul did not deny the reality of what he was facing. But what he did was turned to the God who could get him out or keep him through the trial.

Some of our favorite Bible characters had failures, they did not allow them to define who they would become. Moses fled Egypt because he had committed murder. He became the first leader of the Israelites because he did not allow his failure to define him. David committed sin with Bathsheba but still gathered all the materials for Solomon to build the temple. For the sake of space, I will let you do the research of other Bible characters that did not not allow a trial or a failure to define who they were.

Let’s talk about us for a moment. Are we allowing circumstances to define us? Have you forgotten God‘s promise because it seems the trial is too long. I want to remind you today of who you are in Christ.

Romans 8 declares that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. In my life there have been times I have struggled with God loving me because of what I’ve done and the lies the enemy told me. I need you to remember today that in spite of your circumstances or your failures, God loves you. The cross of Calvary declared that we could have salvation. It is up to us to claim that free gift. Sometimes we feel embarrassed or inadequate because of the mistake we made. Others may hold those things against you God never does. He says there’s nothing that can separate us from His love. Your mistake does not make God love you any less.

You need to remember what you’re going through is not your whole story. It’s just one chapter. Peter’s denial of Jesus was not the end of his story. I love the fact that Jesus went to Peter where he was. This is the perfect picture of love. Peter declares his love for Jesus and becomes the spokesman on the day of Pentecost. He did not allow a difficult chapter to define his life or be the end of his story.

You need to remember that you have an identity in Christ. The trial may challenge your faith, but don’t forget to trust in God. Don’t let the trial cause you to be unfaithful. Continue to choose obedience even when you’re discouraged.

We’re good at pretending everything is OK when it’s not. We say things are good when we are broken inside. Find a place to pray and tell God you’re hurting. Find some close friends that you can share the trial with. Let them remind you of your identity in Christ. Don’t confuse your current condition with your identity. You might be struggling, but don’t allow the struggle to become your identity.

Remember nothing can separate you from the love God has for you.

As always, if I can do anything for you reach out to me and I will do the best I can to help.

10/28/2026

Devotions With David

Faithful To The End

Revelation 2:10 (KJV)
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

None of us really like to talk about death. Loss is hard and it leaves question and emptiness. For us death is the end of one phase and the beginning of the next. According to scripture, we are living this life for what comes next. It’s difficult to prepare for something that you know very little about. We have descriptions of heaven, but none of us have really seen it. We have to trust what scripture says and live the way that it says to live so to spend eternity with Jesus.

This is why Jesus would say in Matthew 24:13 “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”. Endurance is more than just being able to stand in the face of difficulty. Endurance is being faithful to what we were called to. Jesus doesn’t hide anything from us. He told his disciples in the world you will have tribulation, but I have overcome the world. He never promised us a life of ease. He simply promised us that we could overcome. I have been drawn to the end of Hebrews 11 lately. It talks about those who endure things that we don’t like to talk about.

Jesus tells us in the verse we quoted, to be faithful unto death, and he will give us a crown of life. I want to tell you today that things are not always as they seem. We see things with our human eyes while God sees things from a spiritual perspective. The things that we feel like are so difficult today, pale in comparison to eternity. Paul would call them “light afflictions”. With my human reasoning, I would call what Paul went through anything but light.

Can we be faithful to death? It’s easy to say yes, but it much more difficult to endure the tribulations. Here at Revelation 2, the church is looked at as poor yet Jesus says they are rich. The weight of eternity is different than what we see here on earth. What you are facing may seem impossible. You may feel like that you are never going to come out of the trial. I certainly don’t want this devotion to have a hopeless feel because we are not hopeless. I just want you to know that if you don’t come out of the trial on this side of eternity, it will be worth it when you see Jesus. The picture of Hebrews 11:35-38 gives two different sides to tribulation. Verse 35 tells us there were those that received their dead raised to life and others who are tortured. Faithfulness is continuing with unwavering endurance in whatever we face.

The enemy will war in your mind. It’s not uncommon for me to question why One gets a miracle while another doesn’t. We have to be willing to say Lord if I don’t get delivered, I’m still going to be faithful. Let’s look at Paul’s final words before he is executed.

He says in second Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith“. There are three things here that he did. He fought, finished and kept.

He fought good fight.
He continued in the face of opposition. He stood for truth when they tried to kill him for it. He fought when it would’ve been easier to do something else.

He finished his course.
He said I made it to the end. It wasn’t something he quit in the middle. He ran the race God set before him and he finished.

He kept the faith.
He had remained true to the message he believed and preached. With his last breath, he was still proclaiming that God is faithful and that the race was worth it.

In verse 8 he looked forward to the crown of righteousness God was going to give him. He gives us hope because he tells us it wasn’t just for him. It was for all who love Christ’s appearing.

Today, we must purpose to fight, finish and keep the faith. Is your mind made up today? Have you decided that you’re going to fight regardless of how difficult the battle might be? Are you going to finish the course God has set before you? Keep going when you’re tired. It’s important to finish. The last thing he said was he kept the faith. Don’t lay aside things that you need to keep. Make sure that you finish while holding onto the things that have been given to you. Do what it takes to keep the things that were trusted to you.

You will have to fight. You can finish. And it is possible to keep the faith.

As always, if I can do anything for you reach out to me and I’ll do the best I can to help.

10/27/2026

Devotions With David

Choose Waiting Over Quitting

Psalms 27:14 (KJV)
14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

This Psalm begins with David telling us the Lord is his light and his salvation, whom shall he fear? This is a psalm that has a number of recognizable verses. I want to focus on the theme David has here. It’s familiar. He’s in trouble, as he seems to be often. He talks about the things that God is going to do. He talks about his enemies stumbling. He says he will seek to dwell in the house of the Lord. It is a psalm of David looking for God to deliver him. In the last three verses of this song, David says don’t give me up to the will of my adversaries. I believe that I will look on the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And then the verse we have quoted today: Wait on the Lord: be a good courage, and he will strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

David is choosing to wait instead of choosing to quit. It seems it would’ve been easier for him at times to simply give up, yet he gives us three things in this last verse to help us choose waiting over quitting.

He tells us to:

Wait on the Lord.
The Hebrew word used here is a word that can also mean twisting, such as twisting threads together for strength. It seems he is weaving these three things together to bring us strength to not quit while waiting. When we wait on God, it means to continue to trust him instead of giving up. It is a conscious decision to place our expectation in the Lord and not in our circumstances. Have you chosen to wait instead of quit? The answer hasn’t come and you’re becoming frustrated. Are you thinking about doing something else? Choose to wait. God will come through in his time if you choose to wait on him.

Be of good courage.
This is another conscious decision we have to make. There are a number of times in scripture this same Hebrew word is used. It it’s also translated courageous. In ancient Hebrew context, it literally means to bind fast, to tighten your grip, to brace yourself, and to grow firm. Using this context, there are three things we need to do to be a good courage.

We need to tighten our grip on the things that we know.
This means trusting God is good even with circumstances are not.

We need to fortify our minds.
Choose what you think. Don’t allow negativity to stay in your mind. It will only lead somewhere bad. This picture of fortification is one of fortifying a city wall against an oncoming attack. Don’t allow your mind to become weakened because of the thoughts that you think.

We need to rely on an outside source of strength.
The picture is bracing yourself against something stronger than we are. When our lives are braided together with God, our courage can be a reflection of his strength. We stand firm because he is unmovable, and we have braced ourselves against him.

The Lord will strengthen your heart.
This is the third thing David tells us. This is the picture of us leaning against God‘s strength. God promises to strengthen our heart. We must continue to trust that the battle is the Lord. David was the one that remembered God‘s goodness when he faced a new challenge. We need to follow his example and say “if God did it before he will do it again“. The answer may not come like it did before, but it reminds us that God is faithful.

I must tell you that waiting is not easy for me. It is important for me to remember I can be faithful even when I don’t see the answer as quickly as I’d like. I can’t choose when my season will change, but I can determine my faithfulness to God through the hard seasons. So I will turn to the rest of this psalm to help me wait. I will choose to dwell in the house of the Lord. I will remind myself that he is my light and my salvation and I don’t have to be afraid. I love what David says in verse 11, Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path. This is my prayer. Lord while I’m waiting show me a path that is so plain that I can’t miss it.

Don’t let the length of your waiting cause you to quit. Keep doing what you know to do. Ask God to show you a path that you can’t miss. When he does, choose to walk it regardless of how long it seems to be. When you become weak from waiting, ask God to give you strength. Continue to do what you know to do while you wait on the Lord. He will come through for you.

As always, if I can do anything for you reach out to me and I will do the best I can to help.

10/26/2026

Devotions With David

Keep Moving Forward

Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV)
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Have you ever thought about what causes you to stop making progress? When we think about this, is it positives or negatives. Most of the time it is the struggles that we think of. We think of the blockades or the persecution that have been placed in our way. Today I want you to notice that Paul says I don’t think I have arrived. That word apprehended in our modern language means to lay hold on something. Paul says I haven’t arrived yet so I’m going to forget the things that are behind and press forward for the prize. Sometimes it’s easier to move forward from disappointment than it is to move forward from success.

You must decide to move forward. It requires you to make a decision. It doesn’t matter if you’re moving on from failure or success at some point, you have to decide that you’re going to move. You cannot change what is behind you. Yesterday’s successes or failures are simply that. Our decision today needs to be to press forward. Do not live in the glory or the defeat of yesterday, but to move into the next thing that God has for us.

I don’t think that Paul was suggesting that we erase our memory. He tells us to move from faith to faith. His pattern is to keep moving forward. To pursue what God has for you today. Think about the different times that Paul wrote about growing in Christ. This is moving toward where God wants us to be. Let’s look at three things to help us move forward.

Don’t allow your past to control your present.

Learn from the past, but don’t live there. The success you had yesterday is gone because things keep progressing and changing. The job we needed humans for yesterday is now done by AI. If you live in how great or how awful the past was, you will never accomplish what God has for you in the future. So what are you going to do? It’s time to make a decision to move forward. If you don’t have a plan, let me encourage you to pray and ask God for one. When he gives you the plan move toward it.

Stay faithful in the slow times.

There are times that progress seems slow, but it is still progress. I have a friend who started some daily discipline. He had a season where he was very successful in my opinion. He told me the reason he was successful was because of what seemed to be slow progress in the beginning. What he found was the things that he had been studying and reading were the things people started asking him to teach him.

When we are faithful in what we feel like our slow times, God notices. It might be your name that God drops into the mind of someone who’s looking for help. It may be what you’ve been studying that is what your church needs to take the next step in growth. Don’t despise slow times. Use those times to grow spiritually in your personal life because God may use you in a public way. Ask the shepherd boy, David. When it was time to face Goliath, he said, God delivered the lion and the bear, and he will deliver the giant to my hand as well.

Keep pressing toward the goal.

That’s what Paul said. I haven’t arrived. I have to keep pressing toward the mark. He understood he had to look forward. If you try to drive your car forward while constantly looking in the mirror, you will run into something. So what is your goal? I know it is ultimately to be more like Jesus. We strive to make heaven our home. But what’s your goal today? Is there something that you want to accomplish this week, this month or by next year? It is important that we have a goal. Once you decided that you can take the next step. You should have steps to meet your goals. What’s the next thing I need to do to get to where I want to go?

When looking at these three things, ask yourself what do I need to leave behind? Is there disappointment or success that needs to be moved on from? What is it that you don’t need to forget? Sometimes success brings a short memory. We forget God helped us get where we are. Remember your spiritual disciplines keep you on the right spiritual path. What is your next step? What is the next thing you need to do to keep pressing toward your mark.

Don’t become so satisfied or disappointed that you lose sight of where God wants to take you. Press toward God‘s purpose for you.

As always, if I can do anything for you reach out to me and I will do the best I can to help.

10/25/2026

Join us this morning! See you soon!

10/25/2026

Devotions With David

Patient In Tribulation

Romans 12:12 (KJV)
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

This verse is in the midst of several things that Paul says we should do. The heading in the ESV calls them “Marks of the True Christians”. At the beginning of this list that begins in verse 9, is to love genuinely and abhor, to have a hatred for, that which is evil. It would be good to read this chapter to get the context of what Paul is saying. I will focus on this verse because we are dealing with our response to tribulations. There are three things in this verse, rejoicing, patient and continuing.

Rejoice in hope.
In order to be patient in tribulation. We have to have hope. Our hope is in Jesus. This ought to cause us to rejoice. We have hope beyond this life. When tribulation comes, it tries to make us feel hopeless. When we feel hopeless is when we make rash decisions. Irrational decisions are made easily when we feel like there is no hope. The first thing I need you to understand is you cannot allow Hope to be destroyed in your life. Faith and hope are connected in Hebrews 11 “faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen”. We need hope to endure. Find some verses that bring you hope. Print them and put them where you can read them every day. Learn to rejoice in the hope that Christ brings.

Patient in tribulation.
Being patient in tribulation is remaining steadfast, faithful, and trusting God while we are enduring trouble, hardship and suffering. It is continuing to follow God when deliverance has not come, the answers are delayed and circumstances are becoming more difficult. Notice Paul tells us to remain faithful during tribulation. This is a test of our trust in God as much as it is a test of our strength. God let’s us go through testing and trials so that he can teach us patience. Patience is not pretending the burdens is light or running from the pressure. It is refusing to let the burden cause us to abandon our faith. Patience is staying in the fight. It is not giving up too soon. It is letting the tribulation do its work in our lives. In short, patience in tribulation is continuing to do what we’ve always done through a difficult season.

Continuing instant in prayer.
I realize I am “preaching to the choir” but don’t let tribulation cause you to stop praying. Instant in prayer gives a picture of doing it consistently and often. It is a relationship where we can talk to God anytime, anywhere. Tribulation comes to interrupt our routine. Since the thought of being patient here is not just waiting until it’s over, but actively continuing to trust and obey, prayer is important. It is your connection to God. If you’re going to be patient in tribulation, then you’re going to have to pray. Prayer is our lifeline. You can be tired, hurting and not understand what is happening, and still pray. Don’t let the enemy steal your time with God. If he does, you will become hopeless, and ultimately tribulation will win. Tribulation will test your faith, but don’t allow it destroy it. Remember to measure your confidence in God by his unchanging character, not by how long the trial lasts.

Refuse to make permanent decisions based on your temporary emotions. Don’t allow the pressure of the tribulation to cause you to make a decision that you will regret. In prayer ask God to help you make a right choice and decision. When you are weak, tell God. This is more for us than it is for God. He knows us, but we need to admit we need his help. Take the way of escape he provides.

Remember, there is a difference between waiting until tribulation passes and actively continuing to do what you know needs to be done. If you are in the midst of tribulation today, let me challenge you. Instead of being so focused on the problem start focusing on the God you serve in the problem. If the only hope you can find is eternity, then rejoice that you get to spend it with Jesus. The most tribulation can do is speed up that process. Focus on what God is teaching you through the trouble instead of always looking for a way out. It might be once we’ve learned the lesson, the tribulation is done. Set aside a time in your devotion to pray specifically about the tribulation. Ask God what he’s teaching you. Do your best to learn the lesson. Continue to do what he wants you to do.

Today be intentional about rejoicing in hope, being patient in tribulation and continuing instant in prayer.

As always, if I can do anything for you reach out to me and I will do the best I can to help.