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 …

O come all ye faithful 
Joyful and triumphant 
O come ye O come ye to Bethlehem 
Come and behold Him 
Born the King of Angels 
O come let us adore Him 
O come let us adore Him 
O come let…

What Child is this Who, laid to rest 
On Mary’s lap is sleeping? 
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet 
While shepherds watch are keeping? 
This, this is Christ the King 
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing 
Haste, haste, to bring…

Hark! The herald angels sing, 
“Glory to the newborn King! 
Peace on earth and mercy mild, 
God and sinners reconciled.” 
Joyful, all ye nations rise, 
Join the triumph of the skies, 
With th’angelic host proclaim: 
“Christ is born in Bethlehem.” …

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land…

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than…

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.  2…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.  Proverbs 3:5,6 

Going into this last month of the year before…

(Every year in October, I take some blogs from over the past few years that have resonated perhaps more deeply and repost them as the blog of the week.  Praying that this content will be a blessing to you --…

(Every year in October, I take some blogs from over the past few years that have resonated perhaps more deeply and repost them as the blog of the week.  Praying that this content will be a blessing to you --…

(Every year in October, I take some blogs from over the past few years that have resonated perhaps more deeply and repost them as the blog of the week.  Praying that this content will be a blessing to you --…

(Every year in October, I take some blogs from over the past few years that have resonated perhaps more deeply and repost them as the blog of the week.  Praying that this content will be a blessing to you --…

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 

In reworking and bringing this series back for a few weeks…

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You hem me in — behind and before.  Search me, O God, and know my…

Back in 2019, I published a blog entitled I Will Not Be Shaken.  It really was a response to much of what I’ve noticed in Christianity.  Certain voices who had once been given a platform in the faith community…

With this Letters To The Hurting series I’ve been compelled to put myself in the shoes of the respective audience each week.  For me, last week’s topic was easy to identify with (Dear Worn Out & Weary).  My…

Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength.  It is wisdom to take occasional furlough.  In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.  Charles Spurgeon 

I’m dusting off and reintroducing a…

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of…

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of…