Devotionals from Dad

Jeff Ellis
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  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

I am a simple man that wants to be able to share short 5 to 6 minute Christian devotions based upon my own personal life experiences. The devotionals have been created for my children and grandchildren, however I am hopeful that many others will find them inspirational.

  1. 4d ago

    A House Not Made with Hands

    Love to hear from and know who is listening The year 2026 marks the 250th birthday of the United States of America. It has become a year long celebration for our nation. I will be the first to tell you that I feel very blessed to have been born in a free nation where I can worship and gather without fear. I do not consider myself to be a rich person but in comparison to other countries I am wealthy. The poorest 20 percent of Americans are richer. on average, than most European nations. The privilege of living in the US affords poor people more material resources than the averages for most of the world’s richest nations. The United States was built by visionary rulers who united fragmented groups and colonies and established centralized government. The United States government has changed over time by shifting power from individual states to a stronger central federal authority, expanding civil rights through constitutional amendments, and growing the power of the president and other federal agencies. The United States government faces deep political division, high national debt, and intense debates over executive power. I love my nation but one day all people in every nation will bow their knee to Jesus Christ.  2 Philippians 2: 10-11 ESV so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  In second Corinthians chapter 5, the apostle Paul discusses the future hope and glorious reality that awaits believers in heaven. He begins by describing a spiritual, eternal dwelling place that God has prepared for believers after they die and depart this earth: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Being a tent maker by trade, Paul considered the tent a fitting analogy for the temporary nature of our current earthly, mortal bodies. The human body is temporal, weak, and prone to decay, muck like the tents Paul made with his hands and much like my beloved country. By contrast, our future heavenly bodies will be permanent, beautiful, and glorious. 2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Right now, we live in a tent, but our permanent home is a heavenly house and our citizenship is in heaven. This “house not made with hands” is durable, built to weather every storm. No matter how much of a patriot you are you must recognize the possibility that one day The United States could cease to exist. As Christians we need not fear the fall of our nation or even death itself. As Christians, we need not fear death or the destruction of our bodies. No matter what happens to these mortal tents we live in now, we will inherit imperishable, glorified bodies. The house not made with hands in which we will dwell completes the transformation and redemption that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. After Jesus was resurrected, He told His disciples, “Because I live, you also will live.” John 14:19 ESV Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. One day, this tent will be taken down. When we die, our physical bodies will be destroyed. When Jesus returns for His church, He will raise our dead bodies in glory. Body and spirit will be joined together for all eternity, comprising a glorious building from God, a house not made with hands.  Support the show

  2. 5d ago

    Does God have OCD?

    Love to hear from and know who is listening I got married at a very young age and for all the wrong reasons. After 8 years my marriage failed. It was during this point in my life, I believe I developed OCD. My life seems to be in chaos, so I did everything I within my power to try and control that chaos. I had red and blue plates and those plates always had to be sorted by color. In my cabinets I sorted all the fruits into a section and all the vegetables into another section. I developed an odd affinity for even numbers. The volume control on the TV and radio had to be on an even number or at least a number that was a multiple of 5. None of this stuff really fixed the problems I was facing but it gave me and odd sense of control during a period of my life that seemed to be spinning out of control. One of my OCD habits that has stuck with me to this day some 30 years later is I alphabetize all the spices in my spice rack. My children, who are grown adults now, get a big kick out of messing up my OCD spice rack when they come to visit, just to see how long it will take dear old dad to notice. So my difficult, maybe even crazy question is this. Does God share my OCD? Is God a God of order? 1 Corinthians 14:33 CSB since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints. Let me begin by making this perfectly clear, I don't believe God has a disorder like my OCD, however I do believe that He is a God of order. First Corinthians 14:33 is a rebuke of the Corinthian church. Their worship services were out of control, chaotic, and even offensive to unbelievers who visited. The book of first Corinthians is, in part, a letter outlining proper conduct in the worship of God. Paul bases the command for order in the church service on the fact that God Himself is a God of order, not chaos. Order implies a neat and logical organization of items, tasks, or people. When a room is in order, it has been tidied and everything is in its proper place. God’s universe is orderly. He created everything in an orderly sequence, in a six-day span, that set the world as we know it into motion. He created the sun, moon, and stars to regulate time and seasons and the heavenly bodies operate with precise predictability.  Psalm 104:19 ESV He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. God exists outside of time as we know it, but He created time as a way to mark change. Time is orderly, sequential, and does not vary based on anything mankind can control. Time keeps us orderly. Rich or poor, young or old, we all have the same number of hours in a day. The sun will rise and set on schedule no matter what may be happening on earth. Because God is a God of order, He keeps everything in motion as He first designed. It is His orderly hand that holds the world in place. God even holds together the smallest of pieces of creation, the atom, which is extremely small, around 100 pico-meters across. A human hair is about 1 million pico-meters wide. And we all know what happens with you split an atom, you get destructive power of an Atomic bomb. Colossians 1:17 ESV And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Since God is a God of order, it makes sense that we appreciate order, too. This gives me a sense of peace, maybe my desire to put everything in order isn't so bad after all. God created us to think in orderly ways, to reason, judge, and consider all aspects of a matter. God enjoys our communion with Him, our questions, our studying of His Word, and our willingness to let Him bring order to our chaotic thoughts. The more like Him we become, the more orderly our lives will be because He is a God of order.  Support the show

  3. Jun 28

    Unanswered Prayer

    Love to hear from and know who is listening I am confident that if you are a devoted and faithful Christian you have experienced an unanswered prayer. In the fall of 2020 my father in law, Garland Hendren, was going to the doctor for some health issues, at the time seemed they seemed insignificant. A mass was found on his pancreas and surgery was scheduled to remove it. We learned he had pancreatic cancer. Garland was a faithful Christian. He had many Christian friends at his church and throughout the community that were praying for him to be healed from the cancer. Everyone in our family was praying for him as well. I know that myself and my wife Joyce, his youngest daughter, were asking God to give us a miracle and heal his body completely. However in May of 2021 the cancer got the best of him and our prayers went unanswered. Lamentations 3: 31-33 ESV For the Lord will not cast off forever, for, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. Why do you think some prayers are unanswered despite their heartfelt, sincere, and unselfish motives? I don’t think we can know why God answers some prayers the way we want and not others. Sometimes God reveals his glory by answering our prayers the way we hoped, but sometimes he reveals his glory through our learning to depend on him as we experience his faithfulness and trustworthiness through a difficult trial. He uses our life situations to make himself known to us and to the world, to draw others to himself. No matter how he responds to our prayer, we can be confident he is working to reveal his glory more fully to us. 2 Cor. 1:8–9 ESV For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. Think about it, even your salvation is based on and unanswered prayer. Just before Jesus was arrested. In the garden of Gethsemane He prayed to his Father three times asking, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as my will, but yours be done. The cup to which Jesus refers is the suffering He was about to endure. Matthew 26:39 ESV And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Jesus is fully God, but He is also fully human. His human nature, though perfect, still struggled with the need to accept the torture and shame that awaited Him. His flesh recoiled from the cross. Jesus knew of what was to come. The agony He faced was going to be more than physical; it would be spiritual and emotional, as well. Our God is a Holy God, so much so, that he can't be in the presence of sin. He is so holy that at the moment Jesus took upon himself all the sins of the world, past, present and future, at that very moment God turned his back on his only Son. Mark 15:34 ESV And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” If God had listened to his Jesus prayer and responded, you know my son, man is a mess, his thoughts and heart is filled always with sin. Let's just destroy him and start all over. But God didn't answer Jesus prayer and because of that I can place my faith in Jesus and spend eternity in Heaven. Support the show

  4. Jun 23

    Without Saying a Word

    Love to hear from and know who is listening I can always tell when I have said or did something that made my wife Joyce unhappy with me. As soon as the words leave my mouth, the expression on her face tells me what she is thinking, without her saying a word! Joyce speaks as much with her facial expressions as she does with her words. I have always jokingly told her, I was going to make a calendar that displayed her facial expressions, with a definition on each month. The only problem with this idea is that 12 months is not enough to display all the different expressions she uses. So my difficult question to you is why do so many Christians think that it acceptable or even pleasing to God to attend church and worship with a facial expression that looks like they have just drank a glass of vinegar? Luke 2:10 ESV And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. If we are honest, all of us must admit that it is very easy to become grumpy and disgruntled at times while we are working or serving others in the church. Perhaps we are overworked and interrupted by overly demanding people. That being said Christians should avoid the sourpuss syndrome at all costs! What message is this giving those attending the church, that may not yet have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior? I have a low tolerance for gloomy, melancholy Christians whose sourpuss faces contrast with the joy of the Gospel! Instead of living from a profound sense of security that you should have from knowing the love of Jesus Christ and the assurance his forgiveness! This should give us a deep-down joy! The “Good News” is a gospel of peace, because it brings peace between God and those who put their faith in Jesus Christ: Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, He has brought you into this place of undeserved privilege. Romans 5: 1-2 ESV Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Christians are ultimately just people, meaning they struggle with the same bad days, stress, and relationship issues, just like everyone else. Unfortunately, a joyless disposition can act as a poor advertisement for your faith. Some people live right but they always look like they have spent the night drinking a bottle of lemon juice. If you struggle in this area, you need to listen carefully. Your salvation should be the source of great joy, and that joy and happiness should be expressed in your life in a dynamic way! John 15:11 ESV These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Joy is one of the hallmarks of the Kingdom of God. Even when we are going through a rough patch, the Bible says we are to be full of joy. Joy makes the gospel attractive. If you put on a sour face all the time and you have a negative disposition, you will scare people away from church. You make the gospel seem like something people would never want. Like the old hymn says: “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word; just to rest upon his promise and to know, Thus saith the Lord.” I may not know what tomorrow brings but I know the one who holds tomorrow! Support the show

  5. Jun 18

    I am Not Crazy

    Love to hear from and know who is listening If you know me very well at all you know that I have a mental illness. I have no official diagnoses and I don't seek medical attention, I just manage my own symptoms. I am sure if I went to a doctor I would be diagnosed with Obsessive Control Disorder or OCD. I count everything. I alphabetize the spices in my spice rack. The volume control on all my electronic devices must stop on an even number or at least something that is a multiple of 5. Everything has a place and everything must be in it's place. All joking aside, mental illness is a real issue in the United States. According to Mental Health America, approximately 1 in 5 adults, over 60 million people, live with a mental illness. The most common conditions are anxiety disorders which affects, 42.5 million adults that live daily with an anxiety disorder. This is followed by major depression. 14.6 million adults in the United States have experienced conditions that significantly interfere with their daily life. 21 million people experience at least one major depressive episode per year, and women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from major depression as men. Romans 5:12 ESV Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned! Mental illness, like physical illness, is a consequence of the Fall. Sin has corrupted all of creation, including human minds, leading to disorders such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis. Just as legs can break and eyes might not see, it is also possible for minds not to work as they were designed to either. It is a sad reality of the world in which we live.  Roman 8: 18 ESV For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  Even in the midst of mental illness, God is at work, and believers can hold onto hope. In Christ, we have the hope that the broken world we inhabit, the way things are now, is not how they will always be. Jesus is coming again to make all things new. There will be an end to our suffering. In the meantime, in the midst of our suffering, we can remember that, even our suffering is not wasted. God is using it, even if we cannot see or feel exactly how, to make us more like the Lord Jesus.   Romans 8: 35-39 ESV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul is pretty comprehensive here! If we have genuine faith in Christ, if our sins, past, present and future, have been nailed to the cross of Christ, than nothing can separate us from God. As the old hymn rightly says, ‘our sin, not in part, but the whole’ is included, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Not even mental illness! Christian theology generally emphasizes that God's grace and salvation are not dependent on a person's mental capacity to remember or profess faith, but on God's perfect love. Further, believers are instructed to care for the vulnerable. We are to care for the less fortunate whether that be because of physical or mental illness and we are to respect and care for the elderly. Support the show

  6. Jun 17

    Finding My Way

    Love to hear from and know who is listening Upon occasion I have been to a large office facility and just inside the door is a map of the building with locations for all the office and names of the each person, in each office. Also on the map is a big star with the words “You Are Here.” I know, at least for me, I can study that map intently, and even though the star is indicating to me where I am, I am still not confident that I know exactly where I am or even where I need to be. Sometimes my spiritual life can feel the same way. At times it can be so hard to know God's will for my life that and it can be confusing, so confusing that I am not exactly sure, where I am or where God is calling me to go! In the book of Jeremiah the prophet is given directions for the people of Judah to follow. Jeremiah sent a letter recording a message from God to the elders in exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people taken by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. In that letter, God foretells that the people of Judah would one day return to Him. Jeremiah 29: 10-11 ESV For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. God promises to return his people to their land after the captivity. He will hear their prayers for their return. So my difficult question to you is this, is it necessary to plead with God to do what he has already promised to do? Shouldn't their prayers be that of thanksgiving to God as they wait for the expectant answer to God's divine promise? From a theological perspective, it is not necessary to plead God in an attempt to change God’s mind or force His hand, as His promises are already certain, they are unchanging. However, pleading with, or reminding God, of His promises is a vital spiritual practice meant to align your heart with His, build your faith, and demonstrate your trust in His character.  Jeremiah 29: 12-14 ESV Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.  While these prophecies and promises are specifically related to the people of Judah and Israel, the principle that God will draw near to those who draw near to Him is a universal truth... But we have to draw near to God on His own terms, with clean hands and purified hearts. Clean hands and a clean heart that only God can provide by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. James 4:8 ESV Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. While Jeremiah’s letter recorded the words of God for the exiled people of Judah, readers today can benefit from recognizing that the same God who said, “You will find me when you seek me with all your heart,” has also told us that we can draw near to Him and He will draw near to us and that He will never leave or forsake us. Hebrews 13:5 ESV Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Support the show

  7. Jun 15

    Every Knee Will Bow

    Love to hear from and know who is listening I got married when I was 18 years old and my bride was only 16. I had this dream that if I loved my wife, like my father loved my mother, my marriage could survive anything. I truly thought love conquered all, boy was I ever wrong! My marriage lasted 8 years. During that time I had 3 daughters. After my divorce I spent 4 years as a single parent. This time was the most agonizing and difficult days of my entire life. One night I had a dream that my home was on fire and I couldn't find my daughters or get out of the house. In my dream the fire surrounded me and I was helpless to do anything about it. When I woke up I found myself wrapped in the sheets from my bed and drenched in sweat. The dream was so real that I called my mother and woke her up just so I could hear her voice and be assured that I wasn't burning to death. The bible describes Hell as a place of suffering, separation, and judgment. It is portrayed as a place of eternal punishment, unquenchable fire, total darkness, and a deep separation from God.  Matthew 13: 47-50 ESV Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I hear so many people talk about Hell in such a flippant manner. They think that Hell is just one giant drunken party where they will go to hang out with their friends and really raise some Hell! I also hear people out of frustration and anger tell someone that they can go to Hell! Hell is such a terrible place I wouldn't want my worst enemy to be sent there. Hell is a place far more frightful than we could ever imagine. The Bible uses many very graphic pictures to describe Hell. Each image is terrifying. But the combination is even more horrifying than you can imagine. Second Peter 2:17 tells us that Hell is a place of total darkness. Matthew 5:20 says Hell is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Revelation 21:8 says it is a lake that burns with fire and sulfur. Jude 6 says Hell is a prison of everlasting chains from which there is no hope of release. The suffering in hell is beyond all comparison to any suffering found in this world today. Revelation 20:15 ESV And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Knowing theses truths about the torment of Hell why then was it so hard for me, when I was younger to bow my knee and surrender my life to Jesus Christ? The bible tells us that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Philippians 2: 9-11 ESV Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. For those of us who are still living we must heed the warning in God's word about eternity in Hell. It is appointed for each of us to die once and then to face the judgment. Because one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Those who have hardened their hearts to the call of the gospel will bow their knees with great fear and trembling. Hell is a place of eternal punishment, where the suffering will never end! So it is better to bow your knee now, than to do so at the Judgment day. Support the show

  8. Jun 13

    Truth in Love

    Love to hear from and know who is listening I have to admit at times I can have a very sharp tongue. Sometimes the sarcasm just flows out of my mouth so quickly and easily, it is amazing! Stupid people really get my sarcasm flowing. Some of my favorites quips of sarcasm are, “I would agree with you, but then we would both be wrong,” “If I were any better there would need to be two of me,” and one of my most favorite ones is “I talk to myself because sometimes I just need some intelligent conversation.” To be completely honest I kind of love sarcasm. I understand that it may not be the most proper or civilized trait, and I fully recognize that I’m often too sarcastic for my own good. Often times my sarcasm is just unfiltered truth. Sometimes when I see someone doing something really stupid I point out their flaws rather than treating them with respect and helping them correct what may have been an honest mistake. So is sarcasm a sin? Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that it is, so we can’t make that claim. However sarcasm is often rooted in sinfulness and therefore used to increase sin, rather than increase holiness.  Proverbs 26:18-19 ESV Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, I am only joking! This might be the closest thing to a clear example of sarcasm being condemned in the Bible. What is described here in Proverbs 26 goes against what Jesus said in Matthew 5 about just talking in a trustworthy way, with integrity and honesty. Matthew 5:37 ESV Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.  Let your yes be yes, means that you should say what you mean. It’s that simple. However sometimes the truth can be hurtful! Christians often talk about the need to speak the truth in love, a command found Ephesians.  Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body is joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.  Truth may give you the message you need to share, but love gives you the method! Many times the truth I need to share is difficult, however when the truth is shared in a gentle, kind, inoffensive manner it will be more likely to be listened to or even accepted. From a practical standpoint, we know that difficult things are best heard when our defenses are not up. In a loving, non-threatening environment, hard truths are more readily received. By the grace of God, my sinful sarcastic tendencies have been confronted many times over. If yours have, don’t despair. There’s grace for the sarcastic. Christ died while we were yet joking, jabbing, and laughing at others. He came to pardon our prideful, mocking, and rebellious hearts. He made a way for us to be restored to fellowship with the Father when we deserved punishment and hell. In light of eternity, choosing to encourage and lift a soul is infinitely more valuable than my sharp tongue will ever be! God’s unmerited grace through Christ leads me to repentance when my sarcasm goes too far. It compels me to apologize when my words cut deep. So the next time you feel the need to be sarcastic do you best to bridal that sharp tongue. Your words are more powerful than your may ever know on this side of eternity! Support the show

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I am a simple man that wants to be able to share short 5 to 6 minute Christian devotions based upon my own personal life experiences. The devotionals have been created for my children and grandchildren, however I am hopeful that many others will find them inspirational.

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  • Creator
    Jeff Ellis
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    304
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Devotionals from Dad
  • Show Website
    Devotionals from Dad