Welcome to April!  It’s crazy how fast 2024 is going.  I feel like I just processed Christmas and New Year’s a few short weeks ago.  Now Easter has come and gone and spring is in full swing (or hopefully close!)…

And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.  Ezekiel 11:19 

Well it’s February and since…

OK, it probably needs to be said if you haven’t picked up on it by now:  I love Christmas music.  Every year around December, you’ve probably noticed the blogs and podcasts and things I share on social media (if…

He [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through.  And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.  And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd…

Well it’s been quite a year for many of us!  Even though it’s October, I don’t think it’s too early to consider the implications of 2023 ending and 2024 beginning.  I’ll admit, I’m a pretty reflective and contemplative guy when…

blind spot:  an area where a person's view is obstructed.  

I believe; help my unbelief!  Mark 9:24

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my need for ongoing self-examination before the Lord.  It’s probably the part of my faith I…

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.  Nahum 1:7

Alright, we’re about half-way through 2023 and I feel like it’s time for a bit of a spiritual gut-check…

I hear the Savior say,
"Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all."

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed…

As I sit down to pen this month’s blog (and what also doubles as the opening podcast episode for March), I have a lot on my mind.  God is stirring.  He’s moving in hearts and moving in places that have…

As I began this year, I wanted to take a more direct approach to my Bible reading in a way I haven’t done in previous years.  Many of you may know the impact the books of wisdom have had on…

Yet You, O Lord God, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.  Jeremiah 32:25 

As I started to do some personal and ministerial vision-casting for…

With the turning of the calendar, the march to Christmas is upon us.  Each year it comes up so fast, doesn’t it?  I find myself wanting to put the trimmings up earlier and start the baking (and eating) sooner just…

Well as we end 2022 in a few short weeks, I have to consider what this year has brought and where life’s twists and turns have brought us as a society and for me and my family.  It’s been a…

Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You.  So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands.  Psalm 63:3,4 

I’ve been reading over the Psalms…

Is this one for the people? 
Is this one for the Lord? 
Or do I simply serenade 
For things I must afford? 

From the DC Talk song “What If I Stumble?” 

With the opportunity to play and perform my own…

In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.  Psalm 4:8 

In the midst of the chaos of this world, there are so many reminders in Scripture that help us…

Alright, alright.  I know the title of this month’s blog might seem a bit misleading.  Someone might even say, “Oh you used that just as click bait…”, i.e. a means to get more visits to this page.  I can understand…

“You will not need to fight in this battle.  Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.  Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed.  Tomorrow go out…

Coming up on the halfway mark of the year, I sometimes do a bit of self-evaluation.  I usually come into a new year with a lot of goals and good intentions, but often find myself losing steam around May-June.  Some…

Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  And when all the people saw it, they fell…

If you are like me, the events over the past couple years and even the last few months have been nothing short of monumental.  It has been a roller coaster in many ways; going from one thing to the next…

As I begin this month’s blog, let me just start by asking “How is your 2022 so far?”  Many are off and running and making good on plans, goals, resolutions, and so forth.  And perhaps some didn’t get as much…

***Please note:  As previously mentioned, the blog of the week is moving to a monthly format.  These monthly blogs and wice weekly devotionals will still go out if you are on my mailing list (sign up here:  https://derekcharlesjohnson.com/as-bold-as-lions). Additionally,…

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Joel 2:28 

As…

Away in a manger 
No crib for a bed, 
The little Lord Jesus 
Laid down his sweet head. 
The stars in the sky 
Looked down where he lay, 
The little Lord Jesus 
Asleep in the hay 

The cattle are lowing …