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Devotions Archive
Stop Changing the Message, and Start Changing the Method
Ministry, Reaching Out To Others Dana Rongione Ministry, Reaching Out To Others Dana Rongione

Stop Changing the Message, and Start Changing the Method

I've been watching birds from my bedroom window long enough to know the regulars. There's the suet ball crew of sparrows, blue tits, and starlings as loyal as a Tuesday morning prayer meeting. Then there's the odd assortment of birds ranging from pigeons to chaffinches, who show up on the driveway every morning like clockwork when the birdseed hits the pavement. They're sweet. They're faithful. And I enjoy studying them from the sliding glass door of my office.

Recently, Jason hung a new seed feeder out by the clothesline post. It's a little farther from the house, but still in a good enough spot to watch from the kitchen window. For a while, absolutely nothing happened. The birds ignored it so completely that I was starting to feel personally offended. We put the same seed in there! What's the problem?!

Then, one cautious little bird swooped in to investigate.

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Your Easter Sunday Is On Its Way
disappointment, Discouragement, Encouragement, Hope, Easter Dana Rongione disappointment, Discouragement, Encouragement, Hope, Easter Dana Rongione

Your Easter Sunday Is On Its Way

I want you to do something for me. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine it's the darkest stretch of days the world has ever known. The sky went black in the middle of the afternoon. The earth shook. The temple veil ripped right down the middle. And the Man they had called the Son of God took His last breath on a Roman cross.

The days that followed were devastating. The disciples huddled together in a locked room, trembling behind closed doors. Peter was a wreck. John had nothing to say. The women were weeping. And two shell-shocked followers shuffling down the road to Emmaus were kicking the dust with heavy feet and mumbling to each other about how they had hoped He was the One. Past tense. Had hoped.

They had followed Him. Believed in Him. Left everything for Him. And now He was dead, sealed behind a borrowed stone, and their hope was buried right along with Him.

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The God We Want vs. the God Who Is
Easter, disappointment, Deadly Darts of the Devil, expectations Dana Rongione Easter, disappointment, Deadly Darts of the Devil, expectations Dana Rongione

The God We Want vs. the God Who Is

It started with palm branches and praise.

"Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel!" The crowd was electric. People threw their coats on the road, waved branches, and shouted themselves hoarse. If you'd been standing in that crowd on Palm Sunday, you might have thought, This is it. The revolution is here. And honestly? That's exactly what they thought, too.

The same people who had been groaning under Roman rule for generations finally saw their moment. Jesus was riding in. A miracle worker. A man who had raised the dead, fed thousands with a few fish sandwiches, and made blind men see. If anyone could overthrow Caesar's grip, surely it was Him!

And then... He didn't.

No armies. No swords drawn. No Roman soldiers sent running. Just Jesus weeping over the city, turning over tables in the temple, and talking about things like eternal life and the kingdom of Heaven. Not quite the battle plan they had in mind.

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Do You Want To Learn To Fish?
Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione

Do You Want To Learn To Fish?

Welcome back, friends. Today's devotion is a little different—less of a devotion and more of a confession. A holy, Spirit-prompted, middle-of-Bible-study conviction. Bear with me, because I think this one matters.

Last Wednesday night, I was teaching our ladies' Bible study on the life of Gideon. We had reached the tragic, sobering, heartbreaking end. And let me tell you, it is not a pretty ending. Despite an absolutely stunning, God-orchestrated string of victories, Gideon made a golden ephod. Though he denied the title of "king," he set himself up as one. He became the one the people leaned on, rather than pointing them straight to God.

And the devastating result? The moment Gideon died, the Israelites tumbled headlong back into idolatry. Just like that. Because no one had ever taught them to stand on their own two spiritual feet and worship God for themselves, they went right back to what was comfortable.

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