Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Romans 8:18–28

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Paul declares that present sufferings aren't worth comparing to coming glory. He's not minimizing pain but providing eternal context. God wastes nothing. Your suffering can bring preparation, reliance on Him, ministry to others, or serve as a reminder of what truly matters. Paul's imprisonment led to a jailer's salvation. His thorn brought humility. Joseph's betrayal positioned him to save nations. God's perspective is eternal while ours is temporal. What feels unbearable today may be the very thing God uses for breakthrough tomorrow. The worker who knows his wages will endure hard labor differently than one who doesn't. Your wages are purpose, presence, and eternal life. Trust that God is working all things—even painful things—together for good.

How might God be using my current struggle for a purpose I cannot yet see?     

How have you seen God bring purpose out of a difficult situation in your life or someone else’s?  

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to help you trust His purpose in your suffering and to give you perspective beyond the present moment.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Reflect on a past hardship and identify how God used it for good.
2. Encourage someone else who is going through a difficult time with the hope God has given you.

"If you don't feel like you are under any type of spiritual warfare, there's a chance that you're doing nothing for the kingdom of God." - Pastor Matthew Johnson

The episode opens with a question that is equal parts entertaining and oddly fitting for what follows: what is the scariest thing you have ever experienced? Pastor Chris Reed describes standing up from doing sit-ups on his back porch in Lancaster only to find a copperhead snake two and a half feet from where his head had just been. His solution - a bow and arrow followed by a brick dropped from the second story - drew more than a few laughs. Pastor Anthony Lombardi recalled a terrifying night in college when two unknown men repeatedly tried to enter his family's home at 2:30 in the morning, ending with one of them tased in the front yard and another found hiding in a plastic playhouse with cocaine on him. Pastor Matthew Johnson described a canoe trip in high school where two girls in his youth group nearly drowned after their canoe was pulled under a fallen tree.

The stories are gripping. But they serve as a runway into a conversation about something the pastors argue is far more dangerous than any of those moments - and far less visible.

Pastor Anthony opens the main discussion by naming a tension that many Christians feel but rarely address directly. Western culture is deeply materialistic. People trust what they can see, touch, and measure. And while Christians might intellectually affirm that a spiritual realm exists, Pastor Anthony argues that many live as if it does not. The goal of the episode is to change that.

Pastor Chris Reed is candid about his own struggle with this. He acknowledges a personal tendency to drift toward a more materialistic view of faith - one shaped more by the culture he grew up in than by Scripture. But he is clear: Scripture is not born out of a materialistic worldview. It is saturated with the assumption that the physical and spiritual realms are not separate but overlapping, constantly interacting, and equally real.

Pastor Matthew traces the historical roots of the problem. In the mid-twentieth century, a wave of liberal Protestant theology sought to remove the mysterious and unexplainable elements of faith - what Pastor Chris describes as an attempt to strip Scripture of its supernatural worldview. The problem, as Pastor Chris puts it plainly, is that you cannot do that to Scripture. The spiritual realm is not a peripheral detail. It is embedded in the text from the first pages of Genesis to the final visions of Revelation.

The pastors work through what Scripture presents about the spiritual realm with both honesty and care. The picture, they note, is not always neat.

In the Old Testament, the spiritual world intersects with the physical in a variety of ways. The serpent in the garden carries spiritual weight that goes beyond a talking reptile. Satan appears in the book of Job interacting with God within clearly defined parameters. Angels show up as ordinary-looking people - so ordinary that in some cases, people only realized what they had encountered after the angel disappeared. At other times, the response to an angelic appearance was immediate and overwhelming terror. As Pastor Chris observes, every time an angel appears visibly in Scripture, the human response is pure fear. Whatever these beings look like, they do not look earthly.

Then there are the visions - Ezekiel, Isaiah, John in Revelation - where the physical and spiritual blur together into imagery that is rooted in the cultural and architectural language of the ancient world while pointing to something far beyond it.

In the New Testament, the language shifts. Demonic possession and oppression become more prominent. Jesus encounters and liberates people from demonic forces repeatedly throughout the Gospels. Pastor Chris notes that Scripture never gives a clean explanation for how those people ended up in that condition - and he argues that ambiguity alone should make Christians cautious about casually engaging the spiritual realm.

The pastors turn to a question that is increasingly relevant in a culture fascinated by the paranormal: what does a Christian worldview say about ghosts, contacting the dead, and fortune telling?

Pastor Chris points to the story of Saul and Samuel in 1 Samuel 28 - one of the strangest passages in the Old Testament. Saul, having been cut off from God, goes to a medium to call up the prophet Samuel from the dead. Scripture does not seem to treat what appears as a demonic counterfeit. It appears to actually be Samuel. And yet the entire episode is treated as a serious act of disobedience - not because the interaction was impossible, but because Saul was seeking knowledge and guidance from a source outside of God.

That is the heart of the issue. The scriptural warning against mediums, necromancers, and fortune tellers is not primarily a warning that these things never work. It is a warning that seeking wisdom and guidance from any source other than God is dangerous. Pastor Matthew adds a pointed example from Acts 16, where Paul casts a demon out of a slave girl who had been used by her masters to tell fortunes - and the text makes clear that the information she was providing was accurate. The demonic realm can be genuinely powerful. That is precisely why entering it uninvited is so dangerous. As Pastor Matthew puts it, when a person opens themselves up to those forces, they do not know what they are actually inviting in.

As the conversation moves into spiritual warfare, Pastor Chris lays out a framework drawn directly from Scripture: every Christian faces three distinct but interconnected enemies - the flesh, the devil, and the world.

The flesh is the sinful nature inside every person that bends toward temptation and resists the will of God. Pastor Matthew reflects on studying Romans years ago and being struck by the way Paul describes sin - not simply as something people do, but as a force embedded in human nature that wars against the spirit. The devil, along with the broader demonic realm, works primarily through deception and manipulation. Pastor Matthew is careful to note that demonic forces do not have unlimited power. The book of Job shows Satan operating within parameters set by God. But what they can consistently do is deceive, manipulate, and exploit the vulnerabilities that already exist in a person's flesh. The world - the collective current of human culture running in opposition to God - provides the environment in which the flesh and the demonic find constant reinforcement.

Pastor Chris uses the image of a fighter in a mismatched MMA bout who wins not through power but through repeatedly targeting the same vulnerable spot until his opponent collapses. That, he argues, is how the enemy operates. He identifies the flesh's specific weaknesses and keeps hitting them.

The pastors are clear that the way Christians fight spiritual battles looks nothing like a Hollywood film. There is no dramatic confrontation, no sensational moment of crisis. The battle is fought in the ordinary, consistent, daily decisions of the Christian life.
Pastor Matthew describes the difference between a foothold and a stronghold using a childhood memory of his brothers trying to slam a door shut while he got his foot in it. A foothold is where the enemy gets access. A stronghold is where he gains control. Disobedience opens the door. Obedience keeps it shut.

The practical tools the pastors point to are not new or complicated - prayer, Scripture, fasting, worship, and genuine community with other believers. Pastor Matthew reflects on what Jesus says to the disciples after they fail to cast out a demon: some only come out through prayer and fasting. His reading of that passage is not that a Christian needs to fast for days before confronting demonic forces. It is that a Christian should already be prayed up, already fasted up, already living in a posture of ongoing spiritual preparation. The discipline is not reactive. It is proactive.

Pastor Chris frames it with a military analogy. A soldier who does not believe he will ever see combat might not take his training very seriously. But a soldier who knows he is being shipped into active combat will absorb everything he can. The Christian who genuinely understands that spiritual warfare is real - and ongoing - will approach prayer, Scripture, and community not as religious obligations but as essential preparation.

Near the close of the episode, Pastor Matthew makes a personal and sobering observation. He and Pastor Anthony both experienced some of the most intense spiritual warfare of their lives during the past year - and he traces it directly to the opening of The Tree Church's Logan campus. When Christians take ground for the kingdom of God, the enemy responds. Pastor Matthew is not sharing this to frighten anyone away from obedience. He is sharing it as a reality check - and as evidence that the battle is real.

His challenge is direct: if a person feels no spiritual resistance at all, it may be worth asking whether they are doing anything for the kingdom of God. The enemy has little reason to oppose a Christian who is entirely ineffective. But for the Christian who is stepping forward in obedience, who is pursuing God and taking ground, the opposition will come - and the spirit of God who lives inside every believer is greater than any force that comes against them.

Pastor Chris closes with a book recommendation that fits the conversation well - C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters. Written from the perspective of a senior demon instructing a junior one, it offers an imaginative and deeply insightful look at the subtle ways the demonic works in everyday life. The pastors note that readers need to remember the enemy is the protagonist of that book - or the whole thing will be confusing.

The Tree Church meets every Sunday at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM at our Lancaster and Logan, Ohio campuses.

If you are searching for a church in Lancaster or a church in Logan where Scripture is taught with depth and honesty, we would love for you to join us.

Find out more at www.thetreechurch.com.

"Lament is not the lack of faith. Lament is an expression of faith." - Pastor Chris Reed

There is a moment in the book of Ruth that is easy to rush past. Naomi and Ruth have made the long journey from Moab. They have arrived in Bethlehem. The hard part, one might assume, is over. And yet when Naomi finally stands among her own people again, she does not exhale. She does not celebrate. She opens her mouth and names her pain out loud for everyone to hear.

In this episode of the Tree Church Bible Study, Pastor Stacey Crawford and Pastor Chris Reed study Ruth 1:19-22, sitting with Naomi in one of the most honest moments in all of scripture and asking what it means to bring unfiltered grief before God.

When Naomi and Ruth walked into Bethlehem, the town took notice. The text says the entire town was stirred - or in some translations, excited - by their arrival. Pastor Chris pointed out that the Hebrew here is deliberately ambiguous. The word carries the sense of a commotion, a ruckus, a stir. It could reflect genuine joy at a long-lost family member returning. It could equally reflect the kind of gossip that runs through a community when someone comes back under complicated circumstances.

Pastor Stacey noted the visual weight of the moment. Naomi had left with a husband and two sons. She was returning with neither - only a foreign woman walking beside her that no one in Bethlehem knew. After ten years in Moab, marked by famine, loss, and grief, Naomi herself may have been barely recognizable. The women of the town asked the question that the text preserves for a reason - is this really Naomi?

Whatever the town felt, the important thing, Pastor Chris observed, is that she was welcomed back. She was still family. She still belonged. And in that, he drew a connection to the posture of God himself - that when his people return, even after walking away, there is acceptance to be found.

That connection to return and acceptance opened a conversation about what Naomi's homecoming mirrors in the broader story of scripture.

Pastor Chris noted that the Hebrew word for return used repeatedly in this passage - shuv - is the same word the prophets use when calling Israel back to repentance. It is a word that means turn around and come back. And so Naomi's physical journey from Moab back to Bethlehem carries a deeper weight. It is not just a geographical return. It is a picture of repentance and restoration.

Pastor Chris drew on three stories from Luke 15 to give that picture its full shape. The lost sheep wanders off, not necessarily in rebellion but simply in the way that life can carry a person away from where they should be. The lost coin rolls under the dresser, haphazardly displaced. The prodigal son makes active choices to reject his father, squanders everything he has been given, and eventually comes to himself and turns back home. In all three stories, the response of the one doing the searching is the same - rejoicing at what was found.

That, Pastor Chris said, is the posture of God toward Naomi. And it is the posture of God toward anyone who turns back toward him.

But here is what makes this passage remarkable. Naomi comes home. She is accepted. And then she says something that stops the celebration cold.

Don't call me Naomi, she tells the women. Call me Mara. Naomi means pleasant. Mara means bitter. And she is not using the word loosely. She lays it out plainly - she went away full and the Lord has brought her back empty. The Almighty has caused her to suffer. Tragedy has been sent upon her.

Pastor Stacey acknowledged the tension in Naomi's words. In one sense, calling herself full when she left feels strange - she left during a famine, after all. But in the way that mattered most to Naomi, she had been full. She had a husband. She had sons. She had a future. Now she had none of those things. In a culture defined by honor and shame, where a woman's social standing was tied entirely to the men in her life, Naomi had lost everything that gave her a place in her community.

Pastor Chris added that the weight of that loss extended beyond grief into shame. To return to Bethlehem without a husband, without sons, bearing what could easily be read as the visible evidence of God's disfavor - that was to lose face in the most complete sense possible. Naomi was not just sad. She was exposed. And she knew it.

What she does not do, however, is pretend otherwise.

This is where the conversation turned to one of the episode's central themes - the practice of lament and why scripture is full of it.

Pastor Stacey was direct about why this matters. There is a temptation in Christian faith to smooth over the broken places too quickly, to put on a mask of faith and act as though things are fine when they clearly are not. Naomi does none of that. She comes back a mess, Pastor Stacey said, and she lets people know she is a mess. That honesty, far from being a failure of faith, is actually the beginning of where real healing can take root.

Pastor Chris built on that with a definition of lament that reframes what it actually is. Lament, he explained, is evidence of two things at once. First, it is evidence of a life lived in a world where we do not have as much control as we think we do. Loss is real. Disappointment is real. Heartbreak does not just pass. It touches people at their core. Scripture acknowledges that. Lament gives language to it.

But the second thing lament is evidence of is relationship with God. To bring grief to God - to cry out to him, to name what is broken before him - requires that there is someone there to receive it. The absence of faith would look like despair with nowhere to turn. Lament, by contrast, says that even in the depths of bitterness, there is still a God worth addressing. There is still someone who can hear.

To give that idea its fullest weight, Pastor Chris turned to Psalm 22 - and specifically to the moment Jesus quotes it from the cross.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That opening cry is lament in its rawest form. And Pastor Chris pointed out the significance of who is saying it. If anyone in the history of the world did not deserve heartbreak and abandonment, it was Jesus. And yet there he is, on the cross, giving voice to the deepest possible expression of suffering and desolation.

But the psalm does not end there. It moves through the anguish and arrives at vindication. Pastor Chris read from the closing verses - the psalmist's declaration that God has not despised or ignored the suffering of the afflicted, that he heard when the psalmist cried out, and that future generations would proclaim what he had done. The resurrection, Pastor Chris observed, is the answer to the lament of the cross. Jesus knew that when he quoted the psalm. He was not simply expressing despair. He was walking the full arc of lament - from the cry of abandonment to the confidence of God's faithfulness.

That arc, Pastor Chris said, is what lament always intends. It is not a dead end. It is a conversation with a God who hears, who sees, and who moves.

Pastor Stacey drew the conversation toward the practical reality that many people carry into their faith - the experience of believing God with their mind and their heart while simultaneously feeling angry, confused, or undone by circumstances. She described it as joy and sadness coexisting, lament and faith holding the same space at the same time.

That, she said, is not a contradiction. It is what honest faith actually looks like.

Pastor Chris added a caution worth holding onto. There is a danger, he said, in whitewashing the broken parts of life with the language of faith and calling it trust. Covering pain with spiritual language before it has been genuinely processed is not faith - it is a mask. Naomi's honesty is not a model of spiritual failure. It is a model of genuine relationship with God, one that does not pretend the wound is not there but takes it directly to the one who can heal it.

At the same time, neither Pastor Stacey nor Pastor Chris left lament as a place to stay indefinitely. The goal is not to remain in bitterness but to move through it with God. Naomi's decision to return to Bethlehem, even in the depths of her grief, was itself an act of hope. She did not know what was waiting for her. But she moved toward God's people and God's land. And that movement was enough.

The episode closes with a detail that Pastor Stacey and Pastor Chris both flagged as significant for what is coming in the study.

When Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, it was late spring - the beginning of the barley harvest. That single line at the end of Ruth 1:22 is easy to read past, but Pastor Chris pointed out that it is doing quiet, important work. The very God whom Naomi has declared is against her has already seen to it that there is food in the land. The blessing she went looking for is already present, already underway. She just cannot see it yet.

That is the rhythm this book keeps returning to. What looks impossible, what looks like it would keep God's blessing from coming to pass, is often precisely what makes the way for it. The barley harvest is not an accident. It is a sign. And in the coming episodes of the Tree Church Bible Study, it will become the stage on which the rest of Ruth's story unfolds.

"When suffering becomes your lens, everything turns dark, hope fades, clarity disappears, and bitterness grows." — Pastor Matthew Johnson

There is a question that many people carry quietly for years. They bring it to church. They bring it to prayer. They bring it to the middle of the night when sleep won't come. The question is not complicated, but it is heavy: why doesn't God make sense?

In part two of the Reconstruct series, Pastor Matthew Johnson stepped into that question without flinching. He did not offer easy answers or rush past the tension. Instead, he sat in it - and then walked the congregation through what Scripture actually says about suffering, trust, and the lens through which we choose to see God.

Pastor Matthew opened by revisiting the foundation of the Reconstruct series. Deconstruction, as it was originally conceived, was not meant to be destructive. The concept was introduced by philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1960s as a way to examine something, identify what was weak or untrue, and replace it with what was stronger. The goal was always to make things better.

Pastor Matthew used the image of a home inspector. When an inspector walks through a house, the purpose is not to condemn it. The purpose is to find what needs attention so the house can be safer and stronger. That is what healthy deconstruction looks like.

But the version of deconstruction that has spread through culture today looks very different. Instead of removing what is weak and replacing it with what is true, people are being taught to take everything and throw it away. Pastor Matthew acknowledged that some things genuinely do need to go. But the Reconstruct series exists to make sure the good is not discarded along with the bad.

Every relationship in life carries expectations. Pastor Matthew made this personal and honest. He has expectations for his wife, Mary. He has expectations for his children, his friends, the people he leads at the church, and even the drivers sharing the road with him. Expectations are simply a natural part of being in a relationship with anyone.

The relationship with God is no different. God has made specific claims about himself in Scripture. He is the creator. He is the sustainer of all things. He is the redeemer. And because those things are true, people naturally arrive at two expectations: that God should protect them personally from evil and suffering, and more broadly, that God should stop all evil and suffering in the world.

Both expectations feel completely reasonable. And both, at one point or another, go unmet.

When expectations go unmet, there is always a fallout. Pastor Matthew explained that the size of the fallout is usually proportional to the size of the expectation. Small expectations, small fallout. Large expectations, large fallout. And because the expectations placed on God are among the highest any person carries, the fallout can be significant.

But the fallout is also shaped by a second factor: relational equity. Pastor Matthew described relational equity as the healthy history built over time in a relationship. The trust, the memories, the proof of love and faithfulness that accumulates across shared experience. He and Mary will soon celebrate 25 years of marriage, with 33 years of relational history between them. That history gives him a way to interpret difficult moments. When something goes wrong or an expectation is not met, he can remind himself of what he knows to be true: she loves me. He is not convincing himself of something uncertain. He is stating a fact the evidence has already established.

That lens matters more than almost anything else. When a person chooses to view someone through the lens of relational equity, it reframes the moment and builds trust. When a person chooses to view someone through the lens of unmet expectation, it magnifies the moment and erodes trust. It begins to distort reality, coloring everything that follows with suspicion and hurt.

Pastor Matthew was direct: this is exactly what happens in many people's relationship with God. When suffering becomes the primary lens, everything read in Scripture starts to look darker. Every unanswered prayer feels like further evidence of abandonment. Trust fades. And for many, that is the beginning of walking away from faith altogether.

Pastor Matthew turned to Hebrews 11 and 12 to show a different way forward. The writer of Hebrews spends all of chapter 11 listing men and women who trusted God and saw extraordinary things happen as a result. Kingdoms were conquered. Lions were silenced. People were raised from the dead. Reading that list, a person would naturally expect what comes next to be more of the same.

But it is not.

The very next section describes people who were tortured, mocked, whipped, imprisoned, stoned, and killed. They wandered in deserts and hid in caves. They suffered deeply and died without seeing the fulfillment of what had been promised to them.

And the writer of Hebrews celebrates all of them together.

That is the point Pastor Matthew wanted the congregation to hold. Both groups - those whose expectations were exceeded and those who suffered without resolution - are held up as examples of faith. What they shared was not a particular outcome. What they shared was a choice to trust God anyway. They looked at his character, his faithfulness across history, the evidence of his love and power through generations, and they said: we trust you. Their suffering did not become the lens. God's faithfulness did.

From Hebrews 12:2, Pastor Matthew anchored the rest of the message in Jesus. The writer of Hebrews points to him as the ultimate example - the founder and perfector of faith who endured the cross because of the joy set before him. And Pastor Matthew offered three truths from the cross that give believers a way to view suffering differently.

The first truth is that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was the greatest act of love ever done. Pastor Matthew walked through what he described as the four things people need to hold together: God is present, God is fully aware, God has the power to change the situation, and God loves more deeply than anyone else ever could. Most people who struggle with suffering hold the first three and stop there. They reason that if God is present, aware, and powerful, and still allows pain, then he cannot be trusted. But the cross is the proof of the fourth. It demonstrates that God loved the lost, the broken, and even his enemies enough to leave heaven, take the form of his creation, and die for them. That love gives a new perspective on everything that follows.

The second truth is that Jesus was willing to trust the Father in suffering, knowing the outcome would be worth it. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus went to the Father three times asking if there was any other way. He knew what was coming - the physical violence, the emotional abandonment, the spiritual weight of carrying the sins of humanity. And yet each time, he returned to the same posture: not my will, but yours. He endured because he trusted that the Father's plan was better. Pastor Matthew pointed to Paul as a further example. Paul was beaten, whipped, stoned, shipwrecked, and imprisoned - and he described all of it as light and momentary troubles. Not out of denial, but out of a deep confidence in what had been promised. Even when Jesus said no to removing the thorn in Paul's flesh, Paul continued to serve joyfully. The relational equity was that strong.

The third truth is that the work of the cross gives hope for eternity. Pastor Matthew quoted Romans 8:18, where Paul writes that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed. He was careful to note that Paul was not minimizing pain or loss. He was reframing it. He used the analogy of two workers hired for the same hard day of labor in the hot sun - one paid one hundred dollars, one paid ten thousand. The man who knows what waits at the end of the day experiences the difficulty differently. For those who trust in Jesus, the cross provides not only God's sustaining presence in this life but the promise of an eternity without suffering, pain, loss, or death. That context changes everything.

Pastor Matthew closed by naming several reasons God may allow suffering in a person's life: consequences of decisions, preparation for future purpose, a reminder of dependence on him, the shaping of ministry through pain, or a reminder that this earth is not our eternal home. He was clear that not every answer can be known this side of eternity. But the call is not to figure everything out. The call is simply to trust.

Trust begins at the cross. And it deepens as a person walks in a relationship with Jesus, building relational equity, experiencing his faithfulness, and discovering that his ways - even the confusing ones - can be trusted.

Pastor Matthew closed the message in prayer, inviting everyone in the room and watching online to bring their hurt, their confusion, and their frustration directly to Jesus. He reminded the congregation that God is not distant, not fragile, and not offended by honest struggle. He meets people there.

If you are searching for a church in Lancaster, Ohio, or a church in Logan, Ohio, The Tree Church would love to welcome you. We gather every Sunday at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM at both of our campuses.

Lancaster Campus: 721 N Memorial Dr, Lancaster, OH 43130, United States
Logan Campus: 36 Hocking Mall, Logan, OH 43138, United States

Whether you are new to faith, somewhere in the middle of hard questions, or simply looking for a community that takes Scripture seriously and welcomes honest conversation, there is a place for you here. We hope to see you this Sunday.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Hebrews 12:1–3

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

We're called to run a race, not a sprint. Endurance requires intentionally removing weights and sins that hinder our trust in God. What's weighing you down? Perhaps it's toxic relationships, consuming negative content, or nursing unmet expectations that God never promised. The cloud of witnesses surrounds us—people who finished well despite hardship. But our ultimate example is Jesus, who endured the cross "for the joy set before Him." He looked past the suffering to the resurrection, past the shame to the salvation of many. You are His joy. When the race feels impossible, fix your eyes on Jesus. He understands your weariness because He ran this course first, and He's waiting at the finish line.

What specific weight or sin do I need to lay aside to run more freely?     

What practical steps can help you stay focused on Jesus when life feels overwhelming?   

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to reveal anything holding you back and give you the strength to let it go.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Identify one “weight” in your life and take a step this week to remove or limit it.
2. Spend time focusing on Jesus daily—through Scripture, worship, or prayer—to strengthen your endurance.

"You can choose humility or you can be humbled by life itself and the things that you go through." - Pastor Matthew Johnson

Pastor Chris Reed opens this episode of The Branch Podcast by asking a simple question: if you could go back and tell your younger self something, what would you say? The answers from Pastor Matthew Johnson and Pastor Anthony Lombardi are honest and unhurried. Pastor Matthew Johnson reflects on how much he stressed over things that turned out not to matter, how much of his identity was tied up in things that eventually faded. Pastor Anthony Lombardi talks about the transitions of life and how no one really prepares you for the way relationships shift and seasons change. His counselor once told him that almost every relationship in his life had a countdown clock on it. That landed hard.

What starts as a lighthearted question opens into something deeper. Life has a way of not meeting our expectations. That gap between what we thought things would be and what they actually are does not just affect our relationships or our careers. For many people, it affects their faith.

As The Tree Church moves through its Reconstruct series, this episode zooms in on a dynamic that Pastor Matthew Johnson says is at the center of why so many people find themselves questioning their faith. Disillusionment. The feeling that something promised was not delivered. The question of who failed. God? The church? A parent? A pastor?

Pastor Anthony Lombardi notes that people often start with themselves and try to work their way back to God rather than starting with God and working toward themselves. That posture, he says, reflects a deeply human tendency to set our own understanding as the standard and then measure everything else against it. Including God.

Pastor Matthew Johnson is direct about this. He says one of the major problems with modern deconstruction is arrogance. Not the kind that is easy to spot, but the kind that is baked into a consumer culture that has trained people to see themselves as the center of the universe. When that orientation gets applied to God, the expectation becomes that God has to make sense on our terms. And when he does not, the conclusion too often is that something is wrong with him.

Pastor Matthew Johnson wants to handle this carefully. He is not interested in shaming people who have questions. He says the church has done enough of that. But he also wants to be honest: if we are talking about a being who created everything, who has a level of wisdom and a plan that we cannot fully fathom, then the starting point has to be humility. Not a humility that stops asking questions, but one that acknowledges we are not God.

Pastor Anthony Lombardi builds on this with a thought that is both simple and clarifying. You do not have to fully understand something for it to be true. He points to the gap between what a young child can understand and what a parent knows, and then asks how much wider that gap must be between God and us. That reality alone, he says, should bring us to a place where we can say, "I might not fully understand this, but that does not mean it is not true."

Pastor Chris Reed adds another layer. He reflects on how science was built to answer how questions and faith was built to answer why questions. The problem is not that people are asking why. The problem is that they are directing that question to the wrong thing. Reason and observation, however useful, are not equipped to carry the weight of the questions that matter most.

One of the clearest and most repeated points in this conversation is that trust in God is built through relationship, not through accumulating enough information to finally feel settled. Pastor Matthew Johnson uses a straightforward example. He has been friends with Pastor Anthony Lombardi and Pastor Chris Reed for years. If one of them does not text him back, he is not devastated. He assumes they are with their kids or missed the notification. There is enough relational history that the mystery does not become a threat.

That is what he is pointing to when it comes to God. The lowest thought of God, scripture says, is higher than the highest thought of man. Given that, the path to peace is not more information. It is a relationship deep enough to carry trust when things do not make sense. Pastor Matthew Johnson puts it plainly: connect to God, and through that, you will gain understanding, not the other way around.

He points to Paul's thorn in the flesh as the clearest example. Paul begged God to remove it. God said no. The reason was relational and purposeful. God told Paul that if he removed it, Paul would grow arrogant in ways that could cost him everything. Paul's response, once he understood the relationship, was not bitterness. It was a surrender. "His grace is sufficient for me." Pastor Matthew Johnson says that kind of response only happens inside a relationship. On a page with no relational context, it just looks like God refusing to help.

Pastor Anthony Lombardi makes a point that cuts through the noise in a helpful way. Right now, a significant number of people are rejecting Christianity because they are associating it with a nationalistic, politically charged version of it that is, by any honest reading, a distortion. Their rejection, he says, is not actually a rejection of Christianity. It is a rejection of a misunderstanding of Christianity. That distinction matters. It means the conversation is not closed.

The pastors spend real time on what it looks like to walk with someone who is in the middle of this. Pastor Anthony Lombardi says the first thing to do when someone comes to you with doubts is to recognize it as an honor. They felt safe enough to say it out loud. Acknowledge that. Do not immediately go into defense mode. Do not reach for apologetics as a weapon. The person in front of you may not even know where they land yet. They are asking questions for a reason. What they need first is to feel heard.

Pastor Matthew Johnson talks about what the church got wrong for so long. Pastors performed perfection. They shared successes and kept failures hidden, which created an unrealistic standard that made people feel broken when they struggled. He says he has been intentional about communicating his own failures to the congregation at The Tree Church because he does not want his mistakes to rock anyone's faith. When he fails, he wants people to think, of course he did, he is human.

He also says the church needs to apologize more. Not as a performance, but as an honest acknowledgment that certain issues, including how the church handled people with questions, were handled badly for a long time. When people see that kind of humility, it helps them.

Toward the end of the conversation, all three pastors speak to something they clearly believe and want people to hear. Deconstruction, done well, is not the enemy of faith. It is part of how faith becomes your own. Pastor Matthew Johnson has encouraged his own kids to ask hard questions, read different perspectives, and sit with tension. He has told them that his own mind has changed on significant issues over the last ten years. He does not want them to feel shame if they eventually see something differently than he taught them.

He shares the story of his son Tyus writing a 30-page paper at Bible college that challenged a traditional perspective on scripture. The professor disagreed with the paper's conclusion and gave it a 98. He told Tyus it was one of the best papers he had read. What Tyus heard was not "he disagrees with me." What he heard was "it is safe." That, Pastor Matthew Johnson says, is exactly what the church has failed to offer and what it must learn to give.

Pastor Anthony Lombardi closes with a word about security. He says a faith that cannot withstand questions is not a deep faith. He is completely comfortable having these conversations because his foundation is not going to be shaken by them. That kind of confidence and the willingness to keep learning are not in tension. They belong together.

The Tree Church gathers every Sunday at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM at both our Lancaster, Ohio, and Logan, Ohio campuses. We are a church that takes Scripture seriously and believes honest questions belong in the room.

If you are looking for a church in Lancaster or a church in Logan where faith and real life intersect, we would love to have you.

Learn more at thetreechurch.com.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Romans 5:6–11

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

The cross is God's ultimate answer to our doubts about His love. When we question whether God truly cares, we must return to Calvary. Jesus didn't suffer because the Father was absent or powerless, but because love required sacrifice for our redemption. God said "no" to Jesus' request to avoid the cross because there was a redemptive purpose worth the pain—you. If God loves you enough to sacrifice His Son, then when He allows suffering in your life, trust there's a redemptive reason you cannot yet see. Power, knowledge, and presence are incomplete without love. The cross completes the picture, proving that God's love is not passive but sacrificial, not distant but deeply personal.

How does the cross change my perspective on God's love during difficult seasons?     

What does Jesus’ sacrifice reveal about God’s character when life doesn’t make sense?    

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Thank Jesus for His sacrifice and ask God to help you trust His love even when you don’t understand your circumstances.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Spend time reflecting on the cross and write down what it personally means for your life.
2. Share with someone how God has shown His love to you, especially during a difficult time.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Hebrews 11:32–40

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

The heroes of faith experienced both miracles and suffering. Some conquered kingdoms while others were tortured, yet all trusted God through their circumstances. The difference wasn't in their outcomes but in their lens. When we view God through our suffering, everything becomes dark. When we view suffering through God's faithfulness, we find endurance. Today, identify what lens you're using. Are you judging God's character by your current pain, or are you trusting His proven faithfulness despite your circumstances? The saints who suffered didn't receive immediate promises, yet they persevered because they believed God's purpose extended beyond their present moment. Choose today to shift your perspective from disappointment to trust.

What current disappointment am I allowing to define how I see God?

How can remembering God’s past faithfulness help you shift your perspective in difficult seasons?             

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to help you see your circumstances through the lens of His faithfulness rather than your pain.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Write down one current struggle and intentionally thank God for how He has been faithful in similar situations before.
2. Replace one negative or doubtful thought today with a truth about God’s character.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Romans 12:1–2; Philippians 4:8–9

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Transformation happens through the renewal of your mind—testing and discerning God's good, acceptable, and perfect will. You've examined the blocks; now it's time to rebuild intentionally. Not every teaching you received was false. Not every experience was harmful. Don't throw out truth with error. As you reconstruct, focus on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. Build with Jesus' words, practiced in relationship with Him. Invite Him into every area—your relationships, sexuality, finances, anxiety, purpose. He doesn't just give rules; He offers Himself. The strongest life isn't built on having perfect theology—it's built on knowing the Person of Jesus. Today, choose one "block" to place back intentionally. Let it be founded on truth you've tested and a God you're learning to trust.  

What truth is God calling you to rebuild your life on in this season?             

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to renew your mind and guide you as you rebuild your faith on what is true and lasting.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Identify one truth from Scripture you want to build your life on and meditate on it daily this week.
2. Take one practical step to align an area of your life with that truth.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Psalm 23; Matthew 11:28–30

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Sometimes God gives answers. Often, He gives something better—His presence. In your valley of questions, you may be demanding explanations when God is offering companionship. The psalmist didn't say, "I understand the valley, therefore I fear no evil." He said, "You are with me." Jesus didn't promise to remove every burden; He invited us to carry them alongside Him. What if the peace you're seeking isn't found in resolving every theological tension, but in experiencing God's nearness in the midst of uncertainty? Today, stop asking "why" long enough to ask "where are You?" Sit quietly. Tell Him what you're struggling with. Don't rush to fill the silence with answers. Let His presence speak what words cannot.    

Are you seeking answers from God more than you are seeking His presence?             

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Invite God into your uncertainty and ask Him to help you recognize and rest in His presence.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Spend time in silence with God today, focusing on being with Him rather than solving your questions.
2. When anxiety or questions arise, pause and intentionally remind yourself that God is with you.

"Deconstruction in and of itself is not bad. It's only bad or harmful when you don't reconstruct with truth." - Pastor Matthew Johnson

Few words have reshaped the cultural conversation more in recent years than deconstruction. It shows up in social media threads, in podcast discussions, and in the quiet, painful stories of people who have walked away from the church. But before it became a cultural flashpoint, it was a philosophical concept with a very specific and constructive intent.

In a recent Sunday message at The Tree Church, Pastor Matthew Johnson opened a brand new series by tracing the word back to its origin. In 1967, French philosopher Jacques Derrida introduced deconstruction as a method for examining the complexity of words and communication. His core idea was that people naturally filter what they hear and read through their own biases, cultural influences, and personal experiences. Derrida's proposed solution was not to tear things down for the sake of tearing them down. His goal was to strip away what was incomplete or false so that what remained was stronger and more solid than what existed before.

That original intent, Pastor Matthew Johnson argued, is one the church should understand clearly - because what culture has done with the concept since then tells a very different story.

From its origins in literature and philosophy, deconstruction gradually expanded. By the 1980s and 1990s it was being applied to governments, businesses, and the structures of culture. By the 2000s it had moved into entertainment and media. Then, around 2010, something shifted. People began turning the lens inward - examining their own identities, their beliefs, and their faith.

That inward turn was not inherently the problem. The problem, Pastor Matthew Johnson explained, was that many people began doing the first part of deconstruction without the second. They identified what felt broken or incomplete, but instead of replacing it with something true and solid, they simply discarded it. Cancel culture, he noted, is perhaps the clearest expression of this pattern. If any part of a person, an institution, or a belief system can be shown to be flawed, the response is to throw everything out entirely.

Pastor Matthew Johnson was careful and compassionate in how he addressed this. He shared that a friend who has gone through his own deconstruction reached out to his community and gathered pages of responses from others who had walked away from the church. Reading through those accounts, Pastor Matthew Johnson said what unified nearly all of them was not intellectual argument but deep personal hurt. People had been damaged by religion. They had been manipulated, let down, and disillusioned. Their pain was real, and it deserved to be acknowledged honestly.

At the same time, Pastor Matthew Johnson made the case that the answer to that pain is not a deconstruction that leaves nothing standing. It is a deconstruction that leads somewhere.

One of the most grounding moments in the message came when Pastor Matthew Johnson turned to Scripture and made a straightforward observation: Jesus himself was a deconstructionist.

When Jesus stepped into first-century Jewish culture, he encountered a religious system that had taken something originally good - the law of God - and distorted it into a tool of control and manipulation. Religious leaders had added their own traditions and taught them as if they carried the same authority as God's commands. In Matthew 23, Jesus dismantled that system directly and without apology. His rebuke was not that the law of God was bad. It was that what the religious leaders had done to it was bad.

Jesus was not tearing down for the sake of it. He was stripping away what was false so that what could stand in its place was true.

Pastor Matthew Johnson pointed to the Bereans in Acts 17 as a further example. When the Apostle Paul came to them with the message that Jesus was the fulfillment of their scriptures, they did not simply accept it. They received it with eagerness and then examined the scriptures daily to see whether it was true. They were willing to test what they heard. And when they found it to be solid, they owned it fully.

The Apostle Paul gave the same charge in 2 Corinthians 13:5, calling believers to examine themselves and test whether they are truly in the faith. In Romans 12:2, he urged the church in Rome not to conform to the patterns of the world but to be transformed by the renewal of the mind - testing and discerning what is good, acceptable, and perfect. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul described the work plainly: "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

Deconstruction, done this way, is not a departure from faith. It is an expression of it.

To bring the concept closer to home, Pastor Matthew Johnson introduced a hands-on object lesson. He held up a Jenga tower - or as he clarified with some humor, the off-brand version - and used it to picture the structure of a person's life. Every block represents something that has been learned, experienced, or believed. Some blocks were chosen. Many were not. But the way they were assembled is uniquely personal, shaped by personality, relationships, and individual experience.

As life progresses, certain blocks begin to feel less secure. A new idea challenges something long held. An experience calls a belief into question. A block gets pulled. At that point, Pastor Matthew Johnson said, there is a choice. The block can be examined, evaluated, and replaced with something stronger. Or it can simply be discarded - left on top of the tower, adding weight and pressure without ever being truly processed.

He invited the room to be honest about where they were in that process. Some people, he suggested, feel like they are midway through the game - not completely unstable, but noticeably less secure than they once were. Others feel like one more block could bring everything down. And some feel like the tower has already fallen - the blocks scattered, the structure gone.

His question to all three groups was the same: how does Jesus see that?

The answer, Pastor Matthew Johnson argued, is found in Matthew 7:24-27. Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount with a picture of two builders - one who builds on rock and one who builds on sand. When the storms come, and Jesus is clear that they will come, only one house stands.

Pastor Matthew Johnson was careful to reframe what Jesus was actually offering in that moment. For many people, he acknowledged, the idea of obeying Jesus's teaching sounds like an exhausting list of rules enforced by a distant and demanding God. That misunderstanding has been reinforced by generations of teaching that reduced Christianity to moral compliance.

But the Sermon on the Mount, read in its entirety, is something else. It is a relational invitation. Jesus addressed anger, sexuality, marriage, integrity, retaliation, generosity, prayer, finances, and anxiety - not as a legislator handing down a code, but as the creator of the human heart explaining how that heart was designed to function. He was not giving people more rules. He was telling them the truth about themselves and about the life they were made for.

At the center of it all, Pastor Matthew Johnson brought the message back to John 3:16. God did not send Jesus because the world had gotten its act together. He sent Jesus because he loved the world while it was still broken. That love came first. The greatest commandment - to love God with all of one's heart, mind, soul, and strength - is not a demand issued by a distant authority. It is a response to a God who loved first.

Pastor Matthew Johnson closed the message with a direct and gentle challenge. Whatever has been unsettled - whatever blocks have been pulled, whatever things about God feel confusing, painful, or unresolved - the invitation is to bring all of it to Jesus rather than simply walking away from it.

He reminded the room that Scripture says God has already searched every heart. Coming to him honestly is not informing him of something he does not know. It is acknowledging what he already sees and inviting him to move in it.

The goal of this series, Pastor Matthew Johnson made clear, is not to protect faith from hard questions. It is to show that hard questions, handled rightly, can lead somewhere stronger than where they began. To deconstruct what is false. To reconstruct with what is true. To build, together, on something that will hold when the storms arrive.

If you are searching for a church in Lancaster, Ohio, or a church in Logan, Ohio, The Tree Church would love to have you join us. We gather every Sunday at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM at both our Lancaster and Logan campuses.

Lancaster Campus: 721 N Memorial Dr, Lancaster, OH 43130, United States
Logan Campus: 36 Hocking Mall, Logan, OH 43138, United States

Learn more and watch messages online at thetreechurch.com.

"I believe God honors those who want to honor him. If you want to honor him in your life, it starts by pursuing him." - Pastor Anthony Lombardi

The episode opens with a question that is equal parts disarming and convicting. Pastor Matthew Johnson asks his co-hosts whether there is something in their lives they know is good and true but still do not do. The answers are lighthearted - bicycle helmets, seatbelts, stretching before a run, flossing the night before a dentist appointment. The laughter is easy and the honesty is immediate.

But the question is not really about helmets or flossing. It is a runway for something much more significant. Because the same dynamic that keeps a person from stretching after a run is the same dynamic that keeps a person from fully surrendering to God. Knowing something is true does not automatically produce the behavior that truth should generate. That gap - between knowing and doing, between belief and action - is exactly where this conversation lives.

Pastor Matthew frames it plainly: today's episode is about faith. Not faith as a buzzword or a feeling, but faith as a living, breathing, active reality that either shapes a person's life or exposes the absence of genuine trust in God.

The first major question Pastor Matthew puts to the table is one that has occupied theologians for centuries: what is the difference between saving faith and the everyday faith that produces obedience?

Pastor Chris Reed points to the Greek word pistus, the single word Scripture uses for faith across its many expressions. Whether faith appears as a spiritual gift, as the key to justification, or as the daily posture of a follower of Jesus, the word is the same. Pastor Chris argues that the line between saving faith and ongoing obedient faith is not a hard line at all. It is a spectrum. Saving faith is not a separate category from the faith that sustains and shapes a Christian's life. It is the beginning of it.

Pastor Matthew brings Ephesians 2:8-9 and James 2 into conversation with each other. Ephesians makes clear that salvation is by faith, not by works. James makes equally clear that a genuine, living faith will produce works. These are not contradictions. They are two angles on the same truth. And then there is Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus warns that not everyone who calls him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. The word Jesus uses for knowing - the intimacy of genuine relationship - is what separates those who are truly his from those who only claimed to be.

Pastor Chris frames the progression this way: a person is justified in the moment of genuine faith, and then sanctified - made more like Christ - over the rest of their life. Neither justification nor sanctification is the product of human effort. Both flow from a real, living trust in Jesus.

Pastor Matthew raises a question that carries real weight: has the church made saving faith too easy? Has the emphasis on grace alone, faith alone - rooted in the Protestant Reformation and shaped by Martin Luther's own tortured search for peace with God - produced a version of Christianity that is so thin it barely resembles what Scripture describes?

Pastor Chris traces Luther's journey honestly. Luther, an Augustinian monk who could never shake the weight of his own guilt, came to a passage in Romans that broke through - salvation is by faith alone, by grace alone. It was a genuine and important recovery of biblical truth. But Pastor Chris argues that the emphasis, over time, became detached from the fuller picture Scripture paints. The result, in many churches, is a version of belief that lives entirely in the intellect. A person acknowledges that Jesus is savior, and that is treated as sufficient - with no inner transformation, no growing desire to love and obey God, no fruit.

He uses a pointed illustration. A person can say they trust a parachute. The real test is whether they jump. Intellectual agreement is not the same as genuine trust. And genuine trust, when it is real, changes everything - not instantly, not perfectly, but really.

Pastor Anthony Lombardi puts it plainly. The early confession of the church was not simply "Jesus is savior." It was "Jesus is Lord." And he finds it very difficult to separate those two things. A faith that receives Christ's grace while rejecting his lordship is not a faith Scripture recognizes.

The conversation moves into practical territory. How does a person tell the difference between weak faith and no faith at all? Pastor Chris offers what he calls the simplest baseline: is there a genuine desire to know and love God? Not perfection. Not a flawless track record. But a real, persistent longing to pursue God - to receive his love and respond to it.

He has sat across from people in pastoral ministry and had honest conversations about whether they are actually Christians. Not to condemn, but because the evidence of the spirit's work in a person's life is not invisible. If there is no conviction, no desire to honor God, no pursuit of him in any form, that is worth taking seriously.

Pastor Matthew adds an important clarifying note: what a person does in the moment of sin matters enormously. A person of genuine faith recognizes sin for what it is and repents. Tolerating sin - being comfortable with ongoing disobedience and feeling no pull toward God - is a warning sign that goes deeper than backsliding.

Pastor Chris connects this to 1 John, where John says the person born of God cannot keep on sinning. He is not saying Christians do not sin. He is describing what happens internally when the spirit of God is genuinely at work. There is conviction. There is what Paul calls a godly grief that produces repentance. The spirit keeps drawing a person back. That is not human willpower. Pastor Chris traces it to Ezekiel 36, where God promises to give his people a new heart and put his spirit within them - so that they want to keep his ways. The desire to obey is itself a gift.

Pastor Matthew shifts to something more personal. He admits that even after decades of following Jesus and 26 years in pastoral ministry, he still struggles at times with fear and anxiety. He still feels the pull toward comfort and control. How does a person fight that?

Pastor Anthony's answer is straightforward: become aware of the tendency. Name it. Know where you are most likely to pull back from God's call. When a person can identify their own patterns - the pull toward comfort, the grip of control - they can take those things to God specifically rather than being ambushed by them.

He is also honest that this kind of awareness took him years to develop. He has been following Jesus seriously since he was eighteen years old, and it was only in the last six or seven years that he became purposeful about counteracting his own propensity toward comfort. The process is not fast. But it is real. And what accelerates it, he says, is when a person takes a step of obedience and sees God show up. That experience becomes fuel for the next step.

Pastor Chris brings Philippians 4:6-7 into the conversation. The verse is widely known and, he suggests, widely not lived. The pattern Paul describes - bringing everything to God in prayer, with thanksgiving, and receiving a peace that surpasses understanding - is not just for crisis moments. It is a posture for every day. Most Christians, Pastor Chris observes, do most of their life in their own strength and only bring God in when things fall apart. That is not the model Paul describes. The person who deals God into the ordinary moments of life is far better prepared when the extraordinary and frightening moments arrive.

Near the close of the episode, Pastor Matthew raises the story of Caleb and Joshua - two of the twelve spies sent into the promised land who returned with a different report than the other ten. He pushes back gently on the way these figures are often presented. They are not superheroes. They saw the same giants the other ten saw. They experienced the same reality. The difference was not that they felt no fear. The difference was that they had a different spirit inside of them.

Pastor Chris connects this directly to what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. The question for a Christian wrestling with fear is not whether they feel it. It is what they do with it. Caleb and Joshua looked at an impossible situation and chose to remember what God had promised and what God had done. They allowed faith - not their feelings - to determine their response.

Pastor Anthony closes with a challenge that is both practical and urgent. Whatever it is that a person listening knows God is calling them to - whether it is a step of repentance, a decision they have been avoiding, or an act of obedience they have been delaying - the time to take that step is now. Because until a person takes those steps, they will not see God move in the ways they are hoping for. And Pastor Matthew adds the consequence plainly: saying no to God is not just disobedience. It is missing out on the depth of intimacy, purpose, and assurance that obedience makes possible.

The Tree Church meets every Sunday at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM at our Lancaster and Logan, Ohio campuses.

If you are looking for a church in Lancaster or a church in Logan where the Bible is taught with honesty and care, we would love to have you join us.

Find service times, locations, and more at www.thetreechurch.com.

"Faithful, willing obedience is what defines genuine loyal love. It's what defines genuine faithfulness." - Pastor Chris Reed

The book of Ruth is a story about ordinary people in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It is also a story about loyalty - what it looks like, what it costs, and what it reveals about the character of God. In this episode of the Tree Church Bible Study, Pastor Stacey Crawford and Pastor Chris Reed pick up in Ruth 1:6-18, following Naomi and her daughters-in-law as they face one of the most consequential decisions in the entire narrative.

The famine is over. Judah is flourishing again. And Naomi is going home.

When Naomi heard that God had restored blessing to Judah, she made a decision. After roughly ten years in Moab - years marked by loss, grief, and displacement - she would return to her people. Her husband Elimelech was gone. Her sons Mahlon and Chilion were gone. Three widows remained where a family had once been.

As Pastor Stacey noted, ten years is long enough for a place to start feeling like home. Naomi's world had been turned completely upside down. But the news from Judah carried something with it - a glimmer of hope. God's hand was moving again among his people, and Naomi was attuned enough to recognize it. She was going to go where God was moving.

Ruth and Orpah began the journey with her. But somewhere along the road, Naomi stopped and turned to face them both.

What Naomi said to her daughters-in-law in verses 8 and 9 was both practical and deeply tender. Go back, she told them. Return to your mother's homes. May the Lord reward you for the kindness you have shown to your husbands and to me. May he bless you with the security of another marriage.

Pastor Stacey reflected on the maternal weight of that moment. Naomi had loved these women. When her sons died, Ruth and Orpah had become her family. And yet her love for them was precisely what moved her to release them. Going back to their families of origin gave them a real future - the possibility of new husbands, children, protection, and provision. Taking them to Judah as foreign widows offered none of those things.

Pastor Chris pointed out that embedded in Naomi's blessing is a key word that will echo throughout the entire book - the Hebrew word hesed, often translated as kindness or loyal love. Naomi prays that God would repay Ruth and Orpah with the same hesed they had shown her. It is a word tied to God's own character, and its introduction here is not accidental. From this point forward, the question the book keeps asking is what does hesed look like when it is lived out in real life?

They all wept. Then Naomi kissed them goodbye.

When both women initially insisted on staying with her, Naomi pressed harder. Her argument in verses 11 through 13 draws on the levirate law - an ancient provision designed to protect women who had been left without a male protector.

Pastor Chris explained the levirate law and its significance. In this culture, women had no social standing, no legal rights, and no independent means of providing for themselves. The law existed to ensure that a widow would be cared for - typically by the next surviving brother of her deceased husband, who would marry her and continue the family line. It was protection built into the structure of Israelite society for some of its most vulnerable members.

Naomi's point was devastating in its honesty. She had no more sons. She was too old to remarry and bear children. And even if by some miracle she could, would Ruth and Orpah really wait decades for those sons to grow up? The case was airtight. There was no levirate provision available to them. No family structure waiting to receive them. No future she could offer.

And then Naomi said something even more striking. Things are far more bitter for me than for you, she told them, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.

Pastor Chris unpacked that phrase carefully. The Hebrew expression Naomi uses - describing Yahweh's hand going out against her - appears nowhere else in the Old Testament in quite this form. Elsewhere in scripture, that language is reserved for God going out to fight against the enemies of Israel. Naomi was saying that God had turned toward her the way he turns toward his enemies. She felt not simply abandoned but actively opposed.

That declaration opened a rich conversation between Pastor Stacey and Pastor Chris about what it means when God's hand seems to be working against a person's life.

Pastor Stacey was direct. God cannot bless disobedience. While the text does not spell out every detail of Elimelech's decision to leave Judah during the famine, the surrounding context of the period of the judges - a season defined by Israel's repeated turning away from God - points toward disobedience as the backdrop. Naomi was part of that household. She went along. And now, sitting on a road between Moab and Judah, she was beginning to reckon honestly with what that cost her.

But Pastor Chris was equally clear about what God's resistance is not. It is not rejection. It is not abandonment. God resists, he explained, for the purpose of calling people back - drawing them once again into alignment with his will and his blessing. The very fact that Naomi was returning to Bethlehem was itself an act of hope. She was moving back toward God's people, back toward the place where God was blessing, back toward the possibility of restoration.

Pastor Stacey added a personal note that many listeners will recognize. When we know we have stepped out of God's will, the temptation is to avoid him rather than run to him. Shame and guilt become the loudest voices in the room. But those voices, she said, are not the final word. Christ came precisely to address both of them. His mercies are new every morning. His hands are not stretched out in rejection - they are open, ready to receive anyone who turns back toward him.

In verse 14, the two daughters-in-law made their choices.

Orpah kissed Naomi goodbye and turned back toward Moab. Pastor Chris was careful not to cast her decision as a failure. Naomi had made a compelling case. Returning to her family of origin was the sensible, culturally expected thing to do. Orpah had been kind. She had honored Naomi. And when Naomi released her a second time, she accepted that release and went.

Ruth did something else entirely.

She clung to Naomi. Pastor Chris drew attention to the specific Hebrew word used here - dabaq - the same word found in Genesis 2:24 to describe a husband leaving his father and mother and clinging to his wife. It is the language of covenant. Of total union. Of choosing to make someone else's life your own.
And then Ruth spoke.

Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if anything but death separates us.

Pastor Stacey noted that this passage has become so familiar - quoted at weddings, printed on coffee cups - that it is easy to miss the full weight of what Ruth was saying. This was not a warm sentiment. It was a total reorientation of identity.

Ruth was a Moabite. She was walking away from her culture, her family, her gods, and every form of security available to her. Pastor Chris pointed out that the text gives no indication that Ruth had abandoned her family's gods during her years of marriage to Mahlon. That was simply part of life in Moab. But here, on this road, she was turning her back on all of it - not just for the sake of Naomi the person, but for Naomi's people and Naomi's God.

Pastor Chris drew a parallel to David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel, whose covenant of loyalty uses similar language. What Ruth was doing, he explained, was the fullest possible expression of commitment short of the oneness of marriage - a vow of partnership, adoption, and belonging. Through this act, Ruth was being grafted into the people of Israel. A foreign widow and orphan was choosing to become part of the family of God.

Naomi saw that Ruth was determined. She said nothing more. And they walked on together toward Bethlehem.

As Pastor Chris and Pastor Stacey brought the episode to a close, Pastor Chris returned to the theme that will carry through the rest of the book. Ruth's vow was emotional - but it was not only emotional. Emotion alone does not define hesed. What defines it is faithful, willing obedience. Ruth did not simply say the right words. She was going to live them out, step by step, all the way to Bethlehem and beyond.

That, Pastor Chris observed, is the same pattern the New Testament holds up as the mark of genuine faith. Not a verbal declaration alone. Not a feeling in the moment. But a life that puts action to its commitments - the way God himself does for his people through Jesus Christ.

The book of Ruth is just beginning. But the foundation has been laid. And at the center of it is a woman from Moab who chose, against all reason and at great personal cost, to cling to something she could not fully see yet - and in doing so, became one of the clearest pictures of loyal love in all of scripture.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Matthew 7:24–27

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Jesus doesn't promise a storm-free life—He promises a foundation that holds when storms hit. Rain falls on both houses; the difference is what they're built upon. Your deconstruction may feel like a storm, but perhaps it's revealing whether your faith was built on religious performance, others' expectations, or cultural Christianity rather than on Christ Himself. The wise builder doesn't just hear Jesus' words; they do them. They experience Him. Knowledge alone won't sustain you when questions rage and doubts flood in. Relationship will. Today, identify one teaching of Jesus you've heard but haven't truly practiced. Choose to obey it—not from duty, but as an experiment in trust. Let experience deepen what knowledge alone cannot.    

What is your faith currently built on—and will it hold when storms come?             

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to strengthen your foundation and help you build your life on obedience to His Word.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Identify one teaching of Jesus you haven’t been living out and commit to practicing it this week.
2. Reflect on a recent “storm” and consider what it revealed about your spiritual foundation.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Acts 17:10–12; 2 Corinthians 13:5

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

The Bereans didn't blindly accept Paul's teaching—they examined the Scriptures daily to test what they heard. This is biblical deconstruction: careful evaluation with the goal of finding truth, not just tearing down. God invites your honest questions. He's not threatened by your doubts. But examination requires intention. Are you deconstructing to discover what's true, or simply to justify walking away? There's a profound difference. Today, bring your hardest question to God. Write it down. Then commit to genuinely seeking His answer through Scripture, prayer, and trusted community. Don't pull blocks randomly from your faith—examine them carefully, remove what's false, and intentionally replace it with truth that makes you stronger.    

Are your questions leading you toward truth, or away from it?             

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to guide your questions and give you clarity, wisdom, and a sincere desire to know the truth.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Write down one honest question or doubt you have and begin seeking answers through Scripture.
2. Talk with a trusted believer or mentor about what you’re wrestling with this week.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Matthew 22:36–40; John 3:16

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Before you deconstruct anything in your life, remember what stands at the foundation: God's love for you. Jesus simplified everything to this core truth—love God who first loved you, then love others. When questions arise and doubts surface, return to this bedrock. God didn't wait for you to understand everything before loving you. He loved you first. Your faith journey isn't about having all the answers before believing; it's about experiencing relationship with the One who is the Answer. Today, instead of demanding God make sense intellectually, ask Him to reveal His love personally. Spend time simply receiving His affection. Let love be the first block you examine—and the one you keep.    

Have you been approaching God more for answers or for relationship—and how might that need to shift?              

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to help you receive His love personally and to anchor your faith in that truth.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Spend intentional time today simply sitting with God, focusing on His love rather than asking questions.
2. Write down one way you’ve experienced God’s love and reflect on it throughout the day.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." - Pastor Matthew Johnson

There are moments in the life of a church that deserve more than a passing acknowledgment. They deserve a pause. A full stop. A deliberate look backward before moving forward. On Sunday, Pastor Matthew Johnson led The Tree Church through exactly that kind of moment - a celebration of God's faithfulness, an honest reckoning with the present, and a clear-eyed challenge toward the future.

The message was rooted in the book of Joshua. But it was also unmistakably the story of The Tree Church.

Pastor Matthew opened by noting one of the things he loves most about scripture - that it captures critically important moments in the lives of individuals, families, and entire nations. It records both their successes and their failures. And in doing so, it gives God's people a precedent.

A precedent to pause.

He drew the congregation to Joshua 23, where an aging Joshua gathers all of Israel together for one final address. Joshua's life was drawing to a close. The promised land had largely been conquered. And before he passed leadership to the next generation, he wanted his people to do something specific - to look back at what God had done, to assess where they stood in the present, and to prepare themselves honestly for what was still ahead.

Pastor Matthew made clear that this is precisely what The Tree Church was doing that Sunday morning.

Before opening the text fully, Pastor Matthew walked the congregation through the larger arc of Israel's history - the kind of backstory that gives Joshua's words their full weight.

God had called Abraham out of his homeland and made him a promise - that his descendants would become a great nation and that through them the entire world would be blessed. That promise carried a cost. Four hundred years of slavery in Egypt. A family transformed into a nation under the most brutal of circumstances. Then Moses. Then the plagues. Then the parting of the Red Sea, water from a rock, manna from heaven, and miracle after miracle as God led his people toward the land he had promised.

And yet when the nation of Israel first stood at the edge of that promised land, they hesitated. Moses had sent in twelve spies - one from each tribe - to assess what they were walking into. Joshua and Caleb came back ready to go. The other ten came back afraid. The land was everything God said it would be, they admitted, but the people were large, the cities were fortified, and they did not believe they could win.

That unbelief cost an entire generation the promised land. God allowed every man over the age of twenty to wander the wilderness for forty years until that generation died off. Only Joshua and Caleb, the two who had trusted God's promise, lived to see the other side.

Pastor Matthew did not tell this story as a distant history lesson. He told it because Joshua carried it with him into every address he ever gave. The man knew from personal experience what obedience produced and what disobedience cost.

Returning to Joshua 23:3, Pastor Matthew read Joshua's opening words to the gathered nation - "You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you." And then he turned that same lens onto The Tree Church.

The numbers alone were striking. In 2010, the church went through a difficult leadership transition. When Pastor Matthew became lead pastor in 2011, attendance sat around 375 people. Fifteen years later, average weekly attendance has grown to approximately 2,500. Last Easter, 4,665 people came through the doors of both campuses, with well over a hundred giving their hearts to Christ in a single weekend. In the church's history, more than 1,500 people have been baptized. Each week, around 600 children and youth are being discipled. Over a thousand adults attend connect groups every single week.

And then there was the building itself. Pastor Matthew recalled the moment years ago when the church had outgrown its old space and he had personally looked at every available property in Lancaster without finding an answer. Then a realtor called with a simple question - had he ever considered the Roses building? The conversation was almost comical. There was a business there. But the realtor noticed there were never any cars in the parking lot. A call was made. And to everyone's surprise, the current owners said they were planning to list the property the following year and were happy to share the packet early. The church received a ten-month head start, given by God, to arrange everything needed to secure the space.

Eight years later, that building was not only finished but had been joined by a youth center and a brand new campus in Logan, Ohio. A year before that Sunday's service, there was no church in Logan. Last Easter, over a thousand people came through those doors, with forty to fifty giving their hearts to Christ.

Pastor Matthew paused. He got emotional. He thanked every person who two years ago heard the vision and said yes - who gave sacrificially to invest in communities they might never visit and a generation they might never meet. He spoke on behalf of those communities. He meant every word.

But celebration was only part of the message.

In Joshua 23:4-5, Joshua told the people that even as they celebrated, there was still land to be taken. He had already allotted it to the tribes - spoken over it in complete confidence that God would deliver it - but the enemy still occupied it. The work was not finished. And Joshua's charge to them was to be strong, to cling to God, and to keep every command he had given.

Pastor Matthew applied this directly. There are communities God has called The Tree Church to reach that are still waiting. There are campuses yet to be planted. There is still a need to build facilities that will expand the church's ministry to families with children who have special needs - a ministry that Pastor Matthew described as requiring multi-million dollar facilities and that he wants to eventually grow to serve youth, young adults, and adults as well. Men's and women's ministries need to be rebuilt. A ministry to support those walking through addiction and recovery is on the horizon.

Not Coming Down, the initiative launched two years ago, has not ended. The vision has not changed. Sunday was a pause to reflect - to get mentally, emotionally, and spiritually ready for the next season.

Then Pastor Matthew said something that took courage to say out loud.

He acknowledged the tension. Many people in The Tree Church responded to the Not Coming Down vision and said yes. They gave. They served. They made sacrifices. And they experienced God's faithfulness in return - things about faith and provision and true ministry that they never would have learned otherwise.

But many people said no. Commitments were not made. Some that were made were not honored. And Pastor Matthew said plainly that as a church, they had to own that. Elements of disobedience existed alongside faithfulness. Both things were true at the same time.

He was not angry. He was grieved. Because he knew what those people had missed - not as a punishment, but as a loss. God had wanted to teach them. To bless them. To use them. And that window had passed.

But grace was also present in that grief. Because God always welcomes repentance. And today was a new opportunity for every person in that room to say yes.

Joshua's final challenge to Israel in Joshua 24:14-15 was not a soft invitation. It was a demand for honesty. Fear the Lord. Serve him in sincerity and faithfulness. And if you are not willing to do that - then declare it. Name it. Stop deceiving yourself.

Pastor Matthew walked through what that self-deception looks like in modern life. Faith placed in a job. Faith placed in a bank account or investment portfolio. Faith placed in the economy, in personal ability, in government, in family. None of these are God. And Joshua's point - and Pastor Matthew's point - was that if those are the things a person actually trusts, they should at least be honest enough to admit it rather than going through the motions of following a God they are not actually trusting.

Then Joshua made his own declaration. As for me and my house, they would serve the Lord. Not in words only - but demonstrated through action and obedience.

Pastor Matthew extended the same challenge to every person in the room. The question was not abstract. It was practical and immediate. Are you serving? Are you connected in a group? Are you giving? Because The Tree Church needs every member to take one more step forward. Not a dramatic leap - just one more step.

Joshua closed his address by writing the covenant in the book of the law and setting up a large stone as a witness. Every time the people passed that stone, it would remind them of the agreement they had made. It would stand for or against them depending on whether they had been faithful to their word.

Pastor Matthew asked the Lancaster campus to do something similar. On the way out, a board bearing the words Not Coming Down has stood on the wall for two years. That Sunday, every person willing to commit to serving, connecting, and giving was invited to take a marker and initial the board. The Logan campus had the same opportunity available in their space.

It was not a formal contract. But it was a witness. A reminder of what was promised and to whom.

Pastor Matthew closed in prayer, thanking Jesus for every person, every talent, every dollar of provision, and every stirred heart that had made the last fifteen years possible. And he asked for the same faithfulness going forward - in Lancaster, in Logan, and in every community God calls The Tree Church to serve next.

The vision has not changed. The calling has not shrunk. And the God who has been faithful to every promise he has ever made is not finished yet.

The Tree Church is a multi-campus church serving the communities of Lancaster and Logan, Ohio.

If you are looking for a church in Lancaster, Ohio, Sunday services are held at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM at our Lancaster Campus. Whether you are new to faith or simply looking for a church home, you are welcome here.

The Tree Church also has a growing campus in Logan, Ohio, with services at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM every Sunday at our Logan Campus. If you are searching for a church in Logan, come and see what God is doing in your community.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Joshua 24:19–27

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

When Israel committed to serve God, Joshua erected a stone witness—a permanent reminder of their covenant. Spiritual growth requires tangible commitments, not just emotional moments. What stone of remembrance will mark this season of renewal? Perhaps it's a financial commitment that demonstrates trust, a service role that displays availability, or a relational connection that reflects community. Joshua knew human hearts drift, so he created accountability. The stone "heard" their promise and would testify against unfaithfulness. This isn't legalism; it's wisdom. We need visible reminders of invisible commitments. As you conclude this devotional, make one specific, measurable commitment to God. Write it down. Share it with someone. Let it stand as your witness that you're not coming down from what God has called you to build.      

What specific commitment is God calling you to make in this season, and how will you follow through?              

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to help you follow through on your commitments and remain faithful in what He’s calling you to build.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Write down one clear, measurable commitment you’re making to God in this season.
2. Share that commitment with a trusted friend or mentor for accountability and encouragement.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Joshua 24:14–18

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

"Choose this day whom you will serve." Joshua forced a decision because neutrality is impossible—you serve whoever you obey. This isn't a one-time altar call but a daily declaration lived through behavior. Your calendar, bank account, and conversations reveal your true allegiances more than your Sunday worship. Joshua's boldness inspires: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." He planted his flag regardless of others' choices. Who will you serve today? Not theoretically, but practically—in that difficult conversation, financial decision, or time allocation. Your choices are your worship. God doesn't demand perfection, but He does require direction. Where your obedience goes, your heart follows. Make your declaration, then live it.        

What does choosing to serve God look like in your everyday decisions right now?               

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Commit your day to God and ask for strength to choose Him in every decision you face.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Start your day by verbally declaring your commitment to serve God.
2. Make one intentional choice today that reflects your decision to follow Him (in time, attitude, or action).

"God consistently is like, first of all, slow down. And sometimes he's like, nothing. I just want you to sit here. And when I try to take matters into my own hands, it never works out well." - Pastor Stacey Crawford

The book of Ruth wastes no time. In just five verses, an entire world is established - a nation in turmoil, a family in crisis, a series of losses that leave one woman with nothing. Pastor Stacey Crawford, Pastor Chris Reed, and Pastor Zach open this episode by stepping into those five verses carefully, making sure nothing gets missed along the way.

It would be easy to read Ruth 1:1-5 quickly. The events move fast. But the pastors slow the pace down, pulling back the historical curtain, paying attention to names, and sitting with the complexity of decisions that the text itself refuses to judge too quickly.

Before the story can be understood, the world it takes place in has to be felt. Ruth 1:1 opens with a single phrase that carries enormous weight: in the days when the judges ruled.

Pastor Chris described that period plainly - it was chaos. The nation of Israel as most modern readers imagine it did not exist. There were no clean borders, no unified government, no standing army. What existed were twelve tribes operating in constant tension with each other and with the surrounding Canaanite peoples. Pastor Stacey offered an image that landed well: it would be something like Lancaster being a tribe and Logan being a tribe, each doing whatever seemed right to them at the time. That is the world of the judges.

The last book of Judges ends with one of the most haunting summaries in all of scripture - everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The judges themselves were a mixed lot. Pastor Chris pointed to the contrast between Samson and Samuel as the two starkest examples of what the period produced at its worst and at its best. For the most part, the people of Israel had failed to drive out the Canaanite influences as God had instructed, and that failure had been compounding for generations.

Into that world, a famine arrives. And it arrives, notably, in Bethlehem - a name that in Hebrew means house of bread. People are starving in the house of bread. The irony is not accidental. The author is already signaling that something is deeply wrong.

A man named Elimelech takes his wife Naomi and their two sons and leaves Bethlehem for the country of Moab. On the surface, the decision makes practical sense - there is no food at home, and food can be found across the Dead Sea. But Pastor Chris was careful to note that Moab was not a neutral destination.

The Moabites were neighbors to Israel, but they were not friends. When Israel had come to take the promised land, the Moabites had hired a prophet named Balaam to curse them. The attempt failed - Balaam's donkey famously saw the angel of the Lord before Balaam did - but the hostility behind the attempt was remembered. Journeying to Moab was not simply finding the nearest source of food. It carried the weight of history.

Pastor Chris also noted that Moab had origins that would have been deeply uncomfortable to any Israelite who knew their own scriptures - tracing back through the story of Lot and his daughters in Genesis. This was not a place that would have felt safe or welcome to a Hebrew family. And yet Elimelech goes.

The text does not say. That silence is intentional, and the pastors honored it.

Pastor Chris made the point clearly - the author of Ruth is not going to render a verdict on Elimelech's choice. The story is designed to stir the question in the reader rather than answer it. Was leaving Bethlehem an act of faithlessness, or was it a father doing the only thing he could think of to feed his family? The commentaries Pastor Chris referenced wrestled with whether Elimelech had other options, whether he should have looked for another way, whether his departure represented a failure of trust in God.

Pastor Zach pushed back gently against the instinct to judge from a distance. No food, a family depending on you, no clear word from God telling you to stay - the practical thing is to go where the food is. Pastor Stacey agreed, noting that she tells her daughter all the time how one person's disobedience can bring consequences on an entire group. It is possible Elimelech and his family were among those caught in the fallout of Israel's collective unfaithfulness, not the authors of it.

What the pastors landed on together was that the story is meant to make the reader uncomfortable - to raise the question of where the line is between wisdom and compromise, between caring for your family and walking away from your place in God's story.

Before the losses arrive, the pastors paused on the names - because in Hebrew narrative, names carry meaning that modern readers can easily miss.

Elimelech means my God is king. Naomi means pleasant or sweet. Their two sons are named Mahlon and Chilion - and this is where the names take a darker turn. Mahlon carries the meaning of great infirmity, sickly, or weak. Chilion means wasting or pining. Pastor Zach noted what everyone in the room was already thinking - mom and dad had beautiful names. The boys did not fare as well.

Pastor Chris explained how names function in Hebrew narrative. Normally a name is given before the action it predicts, setting the reader up for what is coming. In this passage, the structure works a little differently - the names come alongside the action, functioning as a narrative signal about who these characters are and what their role in the story will be. Elimelech will not live up to his name. Naomi will eventually ask to be called something else entirely. And the boys will live up to theirs.

Then the losses come, one after another.

Elimelech dies. Naomi is left with her two sons. The sons marry Moabite women - Orpah and Ruth. The marriage to foreign women was itself a violation of the law God had given Israel, another thread in the complicated moral texture of these opening verses. And then, about ten years later, both Mahlon and Chilion die as well.

Three women. No husbands. No sons. No inheritance. No male provider in a society that had almost no framework for supporting widows outside of the structures built around male lineage.

Pastor Chris laid out what this meant practically. Naomi was not young enough to realistically remarry. Orpah and Ruth were widows who had not borne children, which raised its own questions about their prospects. There was no state welfare system. The only safety net that existed was the gleaning system God had built into the law - a provision the pastors noted will become central to the story ahead.

What begins to take shape in these five verses, Pastor Chris observed, is a group of central characters who would have been considered overlooked and forgotten by their society - a widow, a foreigner, women without male covering. These are precisely the people the world of the judges would have passed by. And they are the people God is about to move toward.

The episode closed with a question Pastor Stacey put to both of her colleagues: when have you taken matters into your own hands, and what happened?

Pastor Zach described accepting a significant job promotion without praying about it - drawn in by the money, convinced it must be God's blessing, only to find himself working seventy and eighty hour weeks, missing his children's mornings and evenings, watching his marriage strain under the weight of his absence. Within a year he had left the position, taken a sixty to sixty-five percent pay cut, and returned to a job that gave him his life back. The money he never missed.

Pastor Chris described a similar season - taking a position at a juvenile court facility not because he had prayed about it, but because the opportunity appeared and he moved toward it. The shift schedule isolated him from family, from church, from the things that gave his life shape. But he also acknowledged that the misery of that season was what pushed him to reach out about ministry - which led directly to where he is today. God used the poor choice. That did not make it a good choice, but it was not wasted either.

Pastor Stacey was honest that her pattern is less dramatic and more constant. She tends toward control - toward wanting to know what God needs her to do so she can do it and move on. What she keeps learning is that God often calls her to sit still. To wait. To resist the instinct to engineer an outcome. Every time she ignores that and moves on her own, she ends up with more lessons to learn than she started with.

Pastor Chris offered a quiet but important caution to close. The story of Ruth is not meant to teach that obedience equals a smooth life. Faithfulness is not a transaction. God is sovereign, and that sovereignty does not run on a reward system where the obedient are spared from hardship. What obedience demonstrates is trust - and trust, over time, shapes a person into someone who can be used for something beautiful. That is exactly what this story is about to show.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Joshua 23:12–16

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Joshua's warning cuts deep: the same God who blesses obedience will discipline disobedience. This isn't about earning God's love—that's already secured—but about experiencing His best. Divided loyalty always leads to diminished life. What competes for God's place in your heart? Career success? Financial security? Others' approval? These aren't inherently evil, but when they command the obedience that belongs to God alone, they become functional gods. Joshua witnessed an entire generation miss the Promised Land because they trusted their fears more than God's faithfulness. What are you missing by serving lesser things? Today, identify one area where you've given another voice authority over God's. Repentance isn't condemnation; it's the pathway back to blessing.        

What is competing for your loyalty to God, and how is it affecting your relationship with Him?                 

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God to reveal anything competing for His place in your heart and help you realign your priorities with Him.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Identify one area where your loyalty is divided and intentionally surrender it to God in prayer.
2. Replace that competing influence with a God-centered habit (Scripture, prayer, worship) this week.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Joshua 23:4–10

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Joshua did something remarkable—he gave Israel land as inheritance that enemies still occupied. This reveals a profound truth: God's promises often require our participation. There are territories in your life—relationships, callings, character growth—that God has already assigned to you, but opposition remains. The enemy still lives there. Yet God's promise stands: "One of you puts to flight a thousand." What promised land has God shown you that still feels occupied by fear, doubt, or circumstance? Your inheritance isn't based on current conditions but on God's covenant faithfulness. The work isn't done, but neither is God. He's given you the land; now walk in faith to possess it.        

What area of your life is God calling you to step into, even though it still feels uncertain or contested?                 

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God for courage and faith to step into the areas He has already promised you.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Identify one “area” in your life where you know God is calling you to grow or step out in faith.
2. Take one practical step this week toward that calling, even if it feels uncomfortable.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: Joshua 23:1–11

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Before moving forward, we must look back. Joshua gathered Israel to recount God's miraculous interventions—parted rivers, fallen walls, supernatural victories. What has God done in your life? Perhaps He provided when resources seemed impossible, healed a relationship you thought was dead, or opened doors you never imagined. These memories aren't nostalgia; they're fuel for faith. When we rehearse God's past faithfulness, we build confidence for future battles. Today, write down three specific ways God has proven faithful in your journey. Let these testimonies become stones of remembrance, anchoring your trust when new challenges arise. God's track record in your yesterday guarantees His presence in your tomorrow.        

How has God been faithful in your life, and how can remembering that strengthen your faith today?                 

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Thank God for His faithfulness in your life and ask Him to strengthen your trust as you move forward.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Write down at least three specific ways God has been faithful to you and revisit them throughout the week.
2. Share one of those testimonies with someone to encourage their faith.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: John 19:38–42; Ephesians 5:8–14

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Nicodemus, who first came to Jesus by night, eventually stepped into the light. After the crucifixion, he publicly identified with Jesus, bringing burial spices and caring for His body. The secret seeker became a bold disciple. When he encountered the resurrected Christ, Nicodemus must have understood fully what being "born again" meant. His transformation from midnight questioner to daylight follower illustrates what Jesus does in every surrendered life. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. The same resurrection power that raised Jesus transforms everyone who believes. Your response to Jesus determines everything.        

How has your life changed since encountering Jesus? Are you living as light in the darkness?  

Share your faith story with someone this week. Step out of hiding and publicly identify with Jesus, just as Nicodemus finally did.                 

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Ask God for boldness to live openly for Him and to reflect His light in your everyday life.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Share your testimony or what God has done in your life with at least one person this week.
2. Choose one way to visibly live out your faith—through kindness, truth, or encouragement—in your daily environment.

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: John 3:18–21; 2 Corinthians 6:1–2

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Jesus didn't come to condemn, yet some face condemnation. What makes the difference? Not God's willingness—He proved His love at the cross. The difference is our response. Belief isn't mere intellectual agreement; it's surrendering control of your life to Jesus. Some refuse because they love darkness more than light, preferring to hide rather than be exposed and healed. But today is the day of salvation. The invitation stands open. Jesus offers new birth, forgiveness, eternal life, and relationship. The most powerful Being in existence, who has a redemptive plan for your life, loves you more than anyone ever has or will.

Have you truly surrendered your life to Jesus, or are you still holding back control?  

If you've never surrendered to Christ, do it today. If you have, identify any areas you're still controlling and release them to Him in prayer.                 

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Surrender every area of your life to Jesus and ask Him to take full control.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Steps:

1. Identify one area of your life you’ve been holding back and intentionally surrender it to God in prayer.
2. Take a practical step of obedience in that area, trusting God with the outcome.