Calvary Chapel John Day

08/29/2026

08/17/2026

Scripture Sunday

[2Ti 3:16-17 ESV] 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Greek word theopneustos for breathed is better translated inspired; however, the root word of theopneustos, which it is presumed to be derived from, is pneō, which means to breathe. This makes the English word 'inspired' much stronger because it's not inspiration in the sense of "to fill someone with the urge, confidence, or ability to do", but rather it means that the inspiration is breathed by God or dictated to the men who penned the words. That's vastly different from the way we think of inspiration today.

Since it's from God, it follows that Scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Bible is not lofty words or creative poetry; it's the Logos of God. Let it change you.

Lord God, I trust in your inerrant Word and the power that it has to change me. Thank you for giving to us everything we need to know to be complete Christians. In Jesus' name, Amen.

08/15/2026

Stillness Saturday

[Psa 62:1b ESV] 1b. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

Do you trust God enough to sit silently and wait? I think of all the times when I am tempted to act, say, or do something instead of peacefully waiting on the Lord. It's impossible for us to do that unless we trust that God is working. This doesn't mean we sit and do nothing; it simply means that our soul is at peace as God goes to work even if we can't see the results yet.

I also think about how often I pray and then run off to the next thing instead of just sitting silent before the Lord. In some of the Psalms, there is a word you will see that says selah. Bible scholars differ on the exact meaning, but the consensus is that it's meant to be a pause and maybe even a point of reflection. Since we don't typically sing the Psalms that were written as songs, we read them poetically, and thus a pause or time of reflection is a great application. Maybe we need more pauses in our lives when we really take an account of what God has done, what He is doing, and what He has promised to do in the future.

In those intentional times of quiet and stillness, resist the urge to fill that space with noise.

Heavenly Father, I come to you admitting that I neglect sitting in the quiet and just being still before you (body, soul, and mind). Forgive me, Lord, for running off to the next thing. You are the Prince of Peace, and I need you more in my life every day. Thank you for making a way for all of my insecurities and anxieties to be silenced. Thank you for silencing the unnecessary alarms. I pray all of this in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

08/14/2026

Finish Strong Friday

[1Co 9:24 ESV] 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

Paul describes the Christian life as a race. We should run that race with the intention to win. This is not saying that we are in competition with other Christians or that we can earn God's favor by winning, but it speaks about what our attitude in running should be. Are you intentional to run your race all the way to victory?

The writer of Hebrews helps explain how we do this. If you are running to win, you cannot carry extra things. It would be silly to run your race with a monkey on your back. What about extra baggage? The Greeks took this seriously in that they competed naked. They literally removed every ounce of weight possible. What are you carrying that needs to be dropped so that you can run your race faster?
[Heb 12:1 ESV] 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Sin is our extra weight that we carry that makes it impossible to run or slows us down to a crawl. Jesus is willing to carry your burden for you if you are willing to offload it!

Lord Heavenly Father, please take this burden that I have been carrying too long. I confess my sins before you and trust that you will not only take those sins but also forgive and cleanse me from all unrighteousness so that I can run this race for you. Lord, I also commit to your other weights that are not necessarily sinful, but that weigh me down and slow my pace. Lord God, give me endurance today as I run. So often I don't feel like I have the strength to keep running or to keep the victor's pace. So I ask you, Lord, for that which I lack. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

08/13/2026

Throwback Thursday

I've heard some Christians say, "We need to be like the church in Acts!" While I think that's a very noble idea, we should also understand the context of what the early church actually looked like. Let's look at those traits.

Unity - [Acts 2:44 ESV] 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
We surely still preach the importance of Unity today, but it's a virtue that has to be lived out, not just talked about.

Sacrifice - [Acts 2:45 ESV] 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
The Bible teaches about the tithe in the Old Testament and varies in the New Testament, but became even more radical. Christians were selling their homes and possessions for the sake of the church (Brethren).

Family - [Acts 2:46 ESV] 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
Do you attend church daily? Do you visit other people's homes daily or invite people into your home daily? That's what the early church was like. They literally lived as though this was their family.

Outreach - [Acts 2:47 ESV] 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Do we live our lives with an outward expression? Are people attracted to the Lord by our daily worship? So much of our outreach to our neighbors is not as much about what we say, but how we live. Are we living out what we say we believe?

I'm sure you've come to the conclusion that today's church looks very different than this. Are we way off course, or is there another explanation? First of all, realize that this is just a small snapshot in the history of the church. Don't think that the early version was void of problems. In fact, we have stories in Acts where someone sold their house and lied about the amount they received from it and gave to the church so that they could look honorable, while keeping back profit from their house (Acts 5:1-11). The rapid growth of the church also became chaotic because there was no order. The apostles and elders had to organize to prevent chaos (Acts 6).
In addition to that, the church was under persecution, something we know very little about in the U.S. The primary source of persecution was from the religious leaders of Judaism. Some persecution also came from the hands of the Romans. Christians were literally living between a rock and a hard place.

Thus, I think it's safe to say that the church looks different today, and that's ok. In fact, the church has gone through a diverse amount of change in the last two millennia. What should remain, however, are the virtues that still make the church strong today. The church should still exemplify the traits of the early church even if it looks different today. For instance, the church should still be sacrificial, should still operate as a family, and should still be missional in its approach. This starts with each of us. As members of the Kingdom and a local body, it's up to us to live these virtues outwardly. The larger churches get, the more difficult it is to organize in such a way, but for individual believers, we can be more engaging with the brethren outside of the organized times of the church meeting. We can personally help people in need without running it by a board of elders or even making it known to the pastors.
If these things sound radical to you, that's ok because they are. This is not what our flesh gravitates to. The birth of the church was started by a work of the Holy Spirit (one of the most radical examples), and the church should still operate by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. It's by way of His Spirit that we do radical things. We also need to stay grounded in the Truth and that's where this verse comes in [Acts 2:42 ESV] 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Even though God works a little differently in every culture and each generation, these concepts should still be alive in the lives of believers. Church overseers should be teaching the word of God, Christians should be fellowshipping with each other, and we should be continually devoted to prayer.

Heavenly Father, please shower the church with Grace and mercy. Lord, we acknowledge that we live a selfish existence in this nation. Have mercy on us and heal our culture. Lord, as individuals in the church, help us to live this out in our lives. Help us to be people who truly believe it and proclaim it with our actions. God, we need to be people who are filled with the Spirit because we can't exemplify this apart from you. As an individual, show me what changes I can make to be a healthier Christian and a disciple of Christ. In Jesus name, Amen.

08/12/2026

Wonder Wednesday

Have you ever wondered why the Christian church meets on Sundays? We must first establish that from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday is technically the Sabbath. Some Christians insist that Sunday is the Sabbath, most likely to ensure themselves that they are not breaking the Sabbath. But there is a greater truth about the Sabbath. Worship alone does not make the sabbath; rest does. Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath for all believers.
[Mat 11:28 NKJV] 28 "Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Also in Hebrews:
[Heb 4:9-10 NKJV] 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God [did] from His.

Have you wondered if the 'rest' found in God is only reserved for Saturday, or Sunday for that matter? No, His rest is for every day. In the Gospels, you will notice that Jesus is attacked consistently for two reasons. Declaring Himself as God and breaking the Sabbath.
Jesus said this:
[Mar 2:27-28 NKJV] 27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 "Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
The Sabbath is a gift from God for people to rest from their labors, and every single person should take that to heart because it's good for us spiritually and physically.
Have you ever wondered why God declared the Sabbath as holy? First of all, the word holy means set apart. Do you set apart a day of rest? Make sure you get the rest you need, but always remember that Jesus fulfilled the requirements, including the Sabbath. Paul said it this way:
[Col 2:16-17 NKJV] 16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
Jesus Christ fulfills every Feast, Festival, and Sabbath.
So back to the question, "Why do Christians worship on Sunday?" The meeting on Sunday started because that was the day that Jesus rose from the dead and was commemorated weekly because of that.
[Act 20:7 NKJV] 7 Now on the first [day] of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
The early church fathers didn't move the Sabbath; they simply met on Sundays and called it "The Lord's Day". One thing we forget about the early church is that they met daily. It didn't matter what day of the week it was; it was their culture to fellowship and worship the Lord. So Don't let the day of the week stumble you, because today is the time to worship!

Father in Heaven, we thank you for this day. This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. O God, give us the heart of worship daily. Let my actions be acts of worship with everything I do. Lord, help me to be intentional in setting aside a day of rest for health and worship to you, and may you be glorified every day. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.

08/11/2026

Testimony Tuesday

After surviving the plane crash, 47 days on a raft, and more than two years as a Japanese POW, Zamperini returned home suffering from nightmares and bitterness toward his captors. He began drinking heavily, and his marriage was in serious trouble.

His wife, Cynthia, attended a Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles in 1949 and became a Christian. She urged Louis to attend. He remembered a promise he'd made while dying of thirst on the raft: if God would save him, he would serve Him.

At the Billy Graham meeting, Zamperini surrendered his life to Christ. According to the National WWII Museum's oral history, he said that after confessing and renewing his faith, the nightmares stopped, and he found peace.

Louis's journey to peace, including forgiving The Bird (The prison warden who was ruthless with beatings and humiliation)
As difficult as it was, Louis walked in obedience to the words of Christ, which say, "Forgive and love your enemies"

Do you have enemies that you need to forgive?

Father God, I don't fully understand how I can forgive that person in my life who caused so much pain. I recognize that I have been holding on to bitterness far too long. I'm asking for you to supply me with the ability to forgive. I need your supernatural love to be able to forgive, and I trust that you will supply it because you commanded it. Protect my mind from the temptation to go back to the bitter thoughts and emotions, and to be at peace with my decision to forgive. I ask it all in Jesus name, Amen.

08/10/2026

Manna Monday

[Psa 78:24 ESV] 24 and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.

We should always be grateful for God's daily provision. God works in both the practical and spiritual. He provides for us in physical daily needs while also providing for us in spiritual and sometimes even miraculous ways. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Give us this day, our daily bread." He was not only speaking of literal food but spiritual food. God will provide for every need you have: physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. The instruction given for thanksgiving is the piece of gratitude that we need to practice. You see even though the Israelites were provided the daily Manna and the water in a barren desert, they grumbled and complained. While God's provision is sure, sometimes it doesn't meet our expectations. What ways are you expecting God to provide, and is that according to your will or His? For those who overcome, God also promises a reward that He calls the hidden Manna.

[Rev 2:17 ESV] 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'

My prayer for you today is that, however God provides for you this day, it would be sufficient for your needs according to His riches in Heaven.

Father in Heaven, I lift my needs to you and thank you for your faithfulness to provide for me daily. You have also established a history in provision that goes all the way back to my birth. Thank you for your faithful promises and thank you for your daily provision, both physical and spiritual. Lord, your gracious provision is sufficient for me, and I trust that you want me to prosper in your sight. I will judge prosperity by your desire and not my own, as your plans are greater for me than the lust of my eyes and the coveteousness of my heart. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

08/09/2026

Sundae Funday was a blast! Thank you to Fire’n Ice Ice Cream for bringing delicious homemade ice cream, and most importantly for trekking down with Hilde and Kora!