Scripture“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven… a time to tear down and a time to build.”  – Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3b (NASB1995)DevotionPastor Darren drew a box around Ecclesiastes 3 in his Bible and said he plans to start his mornings there. Why? Because it reminds him that God works in seasons, and this is a season to build.For years the church...  Read More

Scripture“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  – Psalm 90:12 (NKJV)Devotion Pastor Darren kept coming back to this idea: we are on "borrowed time". Scripture calls us sojourners, exiles, strangers in this world (1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 11:13). Philippians 3:20 says our citizenship is in heaven. This world isn’t our home; it’s our assignment.He said many believers have “...  Read More

Scripture:“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”  – John 8:36 (NKJV)  “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”  – Matthew 18:20 (NKJV)Devotion:Pastor Darren described how many times he “left it at the altar” and then picked it back up on the way out the door—because he didn’t really trust God to handle it. He kept thinkin...  Read More

Scripture:“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you… By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  – John 13:34–35 (NKJV)Devotion:Pastor Darren said something sharp: “It is not a trait of a holy people to bite and devour and to gnash and fight and be jealous and quarrelsome.” He noted how some in the older church generat...  Read More

Scripture:“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  – Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)Devotion:After listing the works of the flesh, Paul contrasts them with the fruit of the Spirit—what the Spirit produces in a holy, surrendered life. Pastor Darren sees “fruit upon fruit upon fruit” in the r...  Read More

Scripture: “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”  – Galatians 5:16 (NIV)Devotion:Pastor Darren reminded us of the ongoing war inside every believer: flesh versus Spirit. Paul describes them in direct opposition (Galatians 5:17). Our sinful nature wants what is easy, indulgent, selfish, impulsive. The Spirit wants what is pure, loving, patient, and pleas...  Read More

Scripture:“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  – John 8:36 (ESV)Devotion:Pastor Darren talked about a word that’s been confronting him: “hang-ups.” Hurts, habits, and hang-ups can keep us from moving forward with God like a leg caught in barbed wire. You see where God wants to take you. You can even see the “other side of the fence.” But something keeps snagging you every time ...  Read More

Scripture:“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  – 1 John 2:15 (NKJV)Devotion:Pastor Darren said, “If we live a life of worldliness, we will produce the fruit of the world. If we live any old way and let anything into our lives, it will produce certain kinds of fruit.”Our lives always bear fruit—visible outcomes of our ...  Read More

Scripture: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”  – Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)Devotion:Pastor Darren shared how long he let other people’s opinions hold him back from fully following Jesus. He worried what they’d say, how they’d react, whether they’d mock him. Many of us know that tension: a stirring in our heart to go “all in” with ...  Read More

Scripture“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”— Hebrews 10:14 (NASB)DevotionPastor Darren celebrated that almost ten years have passed since Jesus broke those visible chains in his life—and yet he was honest: God is still sanctifying him. He talked about his temper, frustrations, and other things God is still dealing with.This verse holds a tension:“He...  Read More

Scripture“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”— Romans 12:2a (NASB)DevotionIn Pastor Darren’s story, when he laid down chewing tobacco, alcohol, and the old lifestyle, he didn’t just leave empty space. He filled that space with the Word, prayer, and worship. He changed how he drove, what stores he went to, what he listened to, what he did in thos...  Read More

Scripture“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ (launderer’s) soap.”— Malachi 3:2 (NASB)DevotionPastor Darren read from Malachi, right before the New Covenant breaks in. God is pictured as both a refiner and a launderer: fire that burns impurities out of metal, and soap that scrubs deep-set stains.Holiness isn’...  Read More