In his sermon entitled, "We Believe In," Pastor Jay invited us to explore what it means to be part of the Christian faith in our confusing cultural moment where popularity has replaced credibility and social media influences us constantly.
We invite you to spend the next five days reflecting and praying through this devotional based on that message.
We invite you to spend the next five days reflecting and praying through this devotional based on that message.
Day 1: The Community of Faith
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Ephesians 2:8-10, 17-19
Reflect: Salvation is deeply personal, yet beautifully communal. While your relationship with Jesus is intimate and transformative, God never intended for you to journey alone. When Christ reconciled you to the Father, He simultaneously brought you into a family—the household of God. You are no longer a stranger or foreigner, but a fellow citizen with believers across time and space.
Consider the Viking longboat image: when your faith wavers, the collective faith of billions continues rowing. You don't carry the weight alone. Today, resist the temptation toward isolated faith. Reach out to a fellow believer. Share your struggles. Let the community's strength sustain you when yours falters. Christianity is a "we" faith, not just an "I" faith.
Who in your Christian community can you lean on during seasons of doubt or difficulty? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Ephesians 2:8-10, 17-19
Reflect: Salvation is deeply personal, yet beautifully communal. While your relationship with Jesus is intimate and transformative, God never intended for you to journey alone. When Christ reconciled you to the Father, He simultaneously brought you into a family—the household of God. You are no longer a stranger or foreigner, but a fellow citizen with believers across time and space.
Consider the Viking longboat image: when your faith wavers, the collective faith of billions continues rowing. You don't carry the weight alone. Today, resist the temptation toward isolated faith. Reach out to a fellow believer. Share your struggles. Let the community's strength sustain you when yours falters. Christianity is a "we" faith, not just an "I" faith.
Who in your Christian community can you lean on during seasons of doubt or difficulty? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 2: Surrendering to Mystery
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Hebrews 11:1-6
Reflect: Faith requires surrendering to mystery. While evidence for God abounds, belief ultimately transcends logic and language. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that without faith, pleasing God is impossible—not because God is demanding, but because relationship requires trust beyond certainty.
Faith isn't the absence of questions; it's the presence of trust amidst unknowns. Like stepping onto a tightrope, believing means relinquishing control and clinging to the One who holds you. You don't need perfect understanding or unwavering confidence—just mustard-seed faith. God rewards those who earnestly seek Him, even when seeking feels like fumbling in the dark.
What mystery about God are you struggling to surrender to in faith? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this. Ask Him to show you an area where you're demanding certainty before trusting God.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Hebrews 11:1-6
Reflect: Faith requires surrendering to mystery. While evidence for God abounds, belief ultimately transcends logic and language. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that without faith, pleasing God is impossible—not because God is demanding, but because relationship requires trust beyond certainty.
Faith isn't the absence of questions; it's the presence of trust amidst unknowns. Like stepping onto a tightrope, believing means relinquishing control and clinging to the One who holds you. You don't need perfect understanding or unwavering confidence—just mustard-seed faith. God rewards those who earnestly seek Him, even when seeking feels like fumbling in the dark.
What mystery about God are you struggling to surrender to in faith? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this. Ask Him to show you an area where you're demanding certainty before trusting God.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 3: Divine Proximity
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Psalm 139:1-12; James 4:8
Reflect: The Christian God is not distant or disinterested. From Eden's garden where He came searching for hiding Adam and Eve, to the incarnation where He took on flesh, to His promise to never leave or forsake you—God pursues proximity. He draws near to those who draw near to Him.
You may feel God is far away, especially during suffering or confusion. But our feelings are never the complete picture or the whole story. The truth is that God wants to know you even more than you want to know Him. He is present in your pain, attentive in your struggles, and closer than your next breath.
The invitation today is simple: draw near. Not through perfect prayers or flawless devotion, but through honest approach. Come as you are. God is already there, waiting, longing for communion with you.
In what ways can you intentionally draw near to God today, trusting He is already near to you? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Psalm 139:1-12; James 4:8
Reflect: The Christian God is not distant or disinterested. From Eden's garden where He came searching for hiding Adam and Eve, to the incarnation where He took on flesh, to His promise to never leave or forsake you—God pursues proximity. He draws near to those who draw near to Him.
You may feel God is far away, especially during suffering or confusion. But our feelings are never the complete picture or the whole story. The truth is that God wants to know you even more than you want to know Him. He is present in your pain, attentive in your struggles, and closer than your next breath.
The invitation today is simple: draw near. Not through perfect prayers or flawless devotion, but through honest approach. Come as you are. God is already there, waiting, longing for communion with you.
In what ways can you intentionally draw near to God today, trusting He is already near to you? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 4: Staying in the Boat
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 2 Timothy 1:12-14
Reflect: There will be seasons when rowing feels impossible—when crisis strikes, faith wavers, and doubt overwhelms. In those moments, the Christian community becomes your lifeline. Paul reminds us that the gospel we received is the same gospel passed down through generations. We stand on a faith received, not one we manufactured.
When you cannot row, stay in the boat. Let the faith of others carry you forward. The 2,000-year stream of Christian witnesses—martyrs, saints, ordinary believers—continues rowing even when you must rest. This is the power of creedal Christianity: you're connected to a faith larger than your personal experience.
Don't abandon ship during storms. Your faith may be weak today, but the collective faith of Christ's body is strong. Eventually, you'll row again. And when you do, your strength will sustain someone else.
Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this. If you are "struggling to row right now," tell him. And ask him to bring to mind someone else whom you can share this with.
And if your faith is strong, pray for someone whom you think might be struggling.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 2 Timothy 1:12-14
Reflect: There will be seasons when rowing feels impossible—when crisis strikes, faith wavers, and doubt overwhelms. In those moments, the Christian community becomes your lifeline. Paul reminds us that the gospel we received is the same gospel passed down through generations. We stand on a faith received, not one we manufactured.
When you cannot row, stay in the boat. Let the faith of others carry you forward. The 2,000-year stream of Christian witnesses—martyrs, saints, ordinary believers—continues rowing even when you must rest. This is the power of creedal Christianity: you're connected to a faith larger than your personal experience.
Don't abandon ship during storms. Your faith may be weak today, but the collective faith of Christ's body is strong. Eventually, you'll row again. And when you do, your strength will sustain someone else.
Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this. If you are "struggling to row right now," tell him. And ask him to bring to mind someone else whom you can share this with.
And if your faith is strong, pray for someone whom you think might be struggling.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 5: Crucified and Alive in Christ
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Galatians 2:15-21
Reflect: Paul's declaration is radical: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." This is the essence of Christian faith—not self-improvement, but self-surrender. Like Harry clinging to Blondin across Niagara Falls, we don't balance ourselves; we become one with Christ.
The Christian life isn't about trying harder or being better. It's about dying to self-reliance and living by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you. There is no more isolated "you"—there is only Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Stop trying to balance on your own. Stop striving to manufacture faith through willpower. Instead, cling to Jesus. Let His life become yours. Trust that the One carrying you across life's tightrope is completely capable and utterly faithful.
What areas of self-reliance do you need to surrender so Christ can truly live through you? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Galatians 2:15-21
Reflect: Paul's declaration is radical: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." This is the essence of Christian faith—not self-improvement, but self-surrender. Like Harry clinging to Blondin across Niagara Falls, we don't balance ourselves; we become one with Christ.
The Christian life isn't about trying harder or being better. It's about dying to self-reliance and living by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you. There is no more isolated "you"—there is only Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Stop trying to balance on your own. Stop striving to manufacture faith through willpower. Instead, cling to Jesus. Let His life become yours. Trust that the One carrying you across life's tightrope is completely capable and utterly faithful.
What areas of self-reliance do you need to surrender so Christ can truly live through you? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Closing Prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we believe in You. Strengthen our faith when it wavers, draw us into deeper community, and help us cling to Christ alone. May we live not by our own strength, but by the life of Jesus within us. Amen.
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