Author: Brian Burdett

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to live in freedom.” – Leviticus 26:13

God is still in the business of freeing people! What He did for the Israelites He wants to do for you and those you care about. Too many of us live enslaved to the fears, addictions, delights, concerns, and stuff of this world. We might hate what enslaves us or we might love it, but we remain chained to it – afraid, defensive, and feeling stuck. When offered a better and freer future, we struggle to imagine what it looks like or how to get there. That’s where God comes in!

God gave His Son Jesus to set men and women, boys and girls free. Jesus came, lived, died, and rose again so that all who put their faith in Him could live in true freedom. He frees us from death – though we will die, followers of Jesus will live on forever in the presence of God. He frees us from the penalty for our sins – by His sacrifice on the cross, we are reconciled to God. He frees us from loneliness and fear, because Christ lives within us forevermore – we are never alone and we need not fear. He empowers us to be free of the powerful appetites of our bodies and minds, that we might live truly free in God. He frees us from the labels this world sticks on us and that we stick upon ourselves and makes us children of God. He frees us from the crippling demands of transactional love and expectation-driven relationships, allowing us to live by the unearned gift of grace. He frees us from the relentless obsession with ourselves that ultimately drives us to the darkest and unhealthiest places imaginable, allowing us to instead grow in the One we were actually made to worship and love.

The reality is that we’re often so trapped by what enslaves us that we can’t even imagine how glorious true freedom is. In fact, we often think that the freedom offered by God is a burden, while the burden that crushes us daily is freedom. However God offers true, lasting, forever freedom through faith in Christ. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on March 11, 2020.

“I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” – Psalm 91:2

In this Psalm about God’s faithful protection against terrible enemies, including disease, we are encouraged to find our strength, comfort, and protection in God. During difficult times, God is our refuge, our strength, our fortress.

He is always with us, He always hears us, and He loves us. In Christ He protects us spiritually and gives us the strength we need to face the challenges, turmoil, foes, and fears that surround us! Ultimately He will deliver all who trust in Christ into His glorious presence where we will enjoy peace, comfort, healing, and wholeness forever.

Of course, we must also be wise in what we do in the face of danger. Satan tried to tempt Jesus into testing God by quoting this very Psalm. Jesus rightly rebuked the devil for suggesting that He ever put God to the test. So be wise, take appropriate precautions, and rest comfortably in the strength and protection of the Lord!

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on August 4, 2020.

“Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” – Acts 6:1

The growth of the early church was threatened by ethnic inequality in her ministry. While poor Aramaic-speaking Christian widows born in Israel were being well cared for, the Greek-speaking Christian widows born outside Israel were being neglected. This seemingly wasn’t intentional, but it was real and this injustice threatened the health and future of the church. Would the church be a place for all who followed Jesus or primarily a place for those Christ-followers fortunate enough to be born in Israel?

Praise God! The church didn’t ignore the problem, pretend it didn’t exist, try to deny it, rationalize it, explain it away, or justify it. Instead, as a body (leadership AND congregation together) they leaned into the problem and developed an effective solution. They raised up servant-leaders from the neglected ethnic group and gave them responsibility for administering this critical ministry.

Because the church cared for the neglected among them, took seriously the concerns about injustice, and developed innovative solutions that truly addressed the problem, a tremendous period of gospel advance began, as even hardened opponents were drawn to what they saw. Verse 7 reports, “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”

That same opportunity lies before the church today, if we can take seriously the problems and concerns that divide us along racial, ethnic, economic, and cultural lines and seek to genuinely heal those divisions through the gospel of Jesus Christ!

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on June 9, 2020.

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13

What a great testimony to the transforming power of Jesus! The disciples weren’t special in the eyes of the world. Ordinary fishermen, given an ordinary amount of religious education as children. Such men shouldn’t have turned the world upside! Such men shouldn’t have been able to work miracles, preach sermons, or lead thousands to faith in Jesus Christ.

But they’d been with Jesus and everyone could see that! They’d heard His teaching. They understood His character. Most importantly, they believed and had been filled with His Holy Spirit. Therefore, they were visibly different and changing the world. Is that true of you?

We enjoy many of the same opportunities as Peter and John. We have the teachings of Jesus readily available to us (most of us probably have multiple copies of the Bible in our homes and phones). We can see Him in action and understand His message and character. We believe and are filled with the very same Holy Spirit. We lack nothing spiritually. So, do people recognize that you have been with Jesus?

If not, start by spending more time with Him! Make being with Jesus your highest priority and see what follows that. Commit to read His Word each day. Spend more time in prayer each day. Meditate on His Word and what it says to change about your life as you obey it. Work in the Holy Spirit to become more like Jesus – pursue holiness and reject anything that distracts from it. Devote yourself to truly following Christ. Astonish people when they see that you’ve been with Jesus!

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on June 7, 2021.

“But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.” – Acts 3:18

There is profound meaning, power, and comfort in this reality that Jesus the Christ suffered. Though He was fully God, He took on a human body and human nature. As both God and man, He suffered physically and spiritually as He hung on the cross to atone for our sins. He bore our guilt, our shame, and God’s wrath. And He died in physical agony after betrayal, humiliation, injustice, and torture.

We have a Savior Who knows exactly what it means to suffer, to be in agony, to be abandoned, and to experience God’s wrath. When we put our faith in Christ, we are joined with Him, filled with His Spirit, and assured of His continuous presence with us in good times and bad.

When we suffer physically, spiritually, emotionally, whether from disease, disability, deprivation, persecution, abuse, abandonment, or injustice we are accompanied, comforted, transformed, and strengthened in our pain by our Savior who completely understands. As Christians, we’re never alone in suffering – Christ is always with us (even when our feelings lie and claim He’s far away) and He understands.

He hears our cries and our prayers and He’s right there with us and in us. If we lean on Him, He will carry us through every season of suffering, no matter how long or intense, for He is the Christ Who suffered!

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on June 5, 2020.