A Seacoast Devotional beginning February 14
Twice weekly during Lent • Daily during Holy Week
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And now he [God] has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior.
2 Timothy 1:10 (NLT)
March 31, 2024
Savior
In 2012, my mother was dying. She needed a transplant and had been waiting on a very long list for some time. It was beyond painful to watch her fade away, knowing there was nothing I could do to prevent it. The hour before we received the call of a possible organ match, I had... Read More ›
Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory.
Revelation 5:5 (NLT)
March 30, 2024
Lion of Judah
When I picture Jesus, I often imagine a beyond-wise, calm, beatific man backlit by the soft glow of a full-body halo. That could be a holdover from time spent in art museums, churches, and maybe even from the drawings I grew up with in my Golden Press, Children’s Bible. Regardless, I see his more peaceful... Read More ›
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 (NIV)
March 29, 2024
The Lamb Of God
As we’ve discovered over the last few weeks, the many names of Jesus reveal much about who he is. In light of Good Friday, we’re looking at the name “The Lamb of God” and reflecting on his sacrifice on the cross to take away our sins. Growing up, I attended a traditional Methodist church with... Read More ›
He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
Isaiah 53:3 (NLT)
March 28, 2024
Man of Sorrows
Jesus lifted the goblet of wine, likening it to his own blood, shed for us, and passed around the bread, his body, broken. During this last supper, he was offering a clear warning to his beloved disciples that he was soon going to be betrayed. He was preparing them, and himself, for the seemingly insurmountable... Read More ›
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
Luke 4:18 (NIV)
March 27, 2024
Anointed One
I’m currently reading from a Bible that highlights in red, words spoken by Jesus—aptly called a red-letter Bible. Today, our verse is all in red, but the words Jesus speaks here aren’t his original words. He is quoting an Old Testament prophecy. Earlier in Luke 4, we find that Jesus has recently returned to Galilee... Read More ›
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 19:10 (NASB)
March 26, 2024
Son of Man
Have you ever been lost? When I started driving, we didn’t have the luxury of GPS. We had to either look at a map or ask directions. Then, we had to figure out how the directions corresponded to the actual terrain. Did he mean to turn at this gas station or that one? It was... Read More ›
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 (NIV)
March 25, 2024
The Vine
One of my favorite memories of my grandmother’s house was the grapevines she had growing in her backyard. The vines ran along the side of her ranch-style home tethered to an intricate system of 4x4s and wash line. The structure towered over me as a small child. I often would sit under the canopy of... Read More ›
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Matthew 21:9 (NIV)
March 24, 2024
Son of David
Palm Sunday. It’s the day that begins Holy Week. As a child, I remember walking down the aisle of the church, placing palm branches on the ground as a symbol of what the day meant and what was to come. Though it seemed like a simple act that morning, it really brought the story to... Read More ›
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Luke 9:20 (NIV)
March 20, 2024
Messiah
One of the most striking things to me as I read the Gospels is how people weren’t sure if Jesus was the Savior promised by God. We, thousands of years and countless stories later, of course know that Jesus is who he said he was, the Messiah who became human and died for our sins.... Read More ›
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 4:14 (ESV)
March 17, 2024
High Priest
One of the amazing gifts that Jesus gave us is to be able to approach God directly. As a little girl, I remember sitting with my grandmother at her breakfast nook while she did her morning prayers. One of her favorite verses was Hebrews 4:16, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious... Read More ›
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35 (NIV)
March 13, 2024
Bread of Life
Last fall, I started a new hobby, making bagels. This was my first real attempt at baking from scratch, and to my surprise, they turned out amazing! I started trying different toppings and giving extras to family and friends. Not only is this new hobby rewarding because I have my own tasty bagels, but it... Read More ›
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.”
John 10:14–15 (ESV)
March 10, 2024
The Good Shepherd
As a mom of two children, I can tell you almost anything about them. I can tell you their birth weights, who slept through the night at nine weeks, and who waited one whole year. I can tell you who likes to blare music, and who prefers headphones. I can also tell you social behaviors,... Read More ›
And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
Luke 7:19 (ESV)
March 6, 2024
The One Who Is To Come
John the Baptist knew his calling from the time he was born. Actually, we could even say he knew it before that. Luke 1:44 says he leapt for joy in the womb, when his mother received a greeting from Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus. When John was eight days old, his father, Zechariah, spoke... Read More ›
“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
Matthew 8:6–7 (ESV)
March 3, 2024
Healer
Just before Christmas, my family received heartbreaking news. My mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and chemotherapy was inevitable. We celebrated Christmas in the Poconos with my entire family, but the heaviness of the recent news weighed on our hearts. There came a moment where we confronted what the future would hold. With tears... Read More ›
Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
Luke 4:34 (CSB)
February 28, 2024
Jesus of Nazareth
Recently on Facebook, I was asked, by a “friend” whom I had not seen in 40 years, if I was The Dianna Judy from Norway (South Carolina, not the Scandinavian country), who went to Hunter-Kinard High School? I was! So often, we are known by where we come from. It is often how we are... Read More ›
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic."
Isaiah 28:16 (NIV)
February 25, 2024
Cornerstone
When we build something, we need a firm foundation, or it will fall. As a parent, I have seen the frustration on my kids’ faces as their towers of magnetic tiles have made it only a few inches high before crumbling. It wasn’t until I showed them how to build a foundation that their towers... Read More ›
And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:17 (ESV)
February 21, 2024
Beloved Son
Saturday mornings used to be for sleeping in and enjoying an extra cup of coffee, until our children reached an age where they could participate in recreational sports. That’s when Saturday morning turned into 8:00 am basketball games in a crowded gym with the rest of the town and their children. (They can fit a... Read More ›
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
John 1:14 (NIV)
February 18, 2024
The Word
How many arguments have happened throughout human history based on the definition of a word? How many legal contracts have been nullified, nations have gone to war, or marital spats have escalated unnecessarily? The right word at the right time can make or break a negotiation, a career, a relationship. Recently, a pastor asked me,... Read More ›
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Revelation 22:12–13 (NIV)
February 14, 2024
The Alpha and the Omega
Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the forty days of Lent. I didn’t grow up in a church that observed Lent, and for a long time all I knew about Ash Wednesday was that it was the name of my favorite poem by T.S. Eliot. Lent is a time when we prepare both... Read More ›