Tag Archives: Christianity

Video of the Day: Clip from the 2008 movie “Fireproof”

Bible Verse of the Day:

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone, Colossians 4:5-6.

Biblical Connection:

Marriage is one of those steps people take in life like going to college. In the film Fireproof, Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron plays Caleb Holt, a fireman whose marriage is falling apart. At some point in Caleb’s life, he started going through the motions. Rather than seek a personal relationship with Jesus, church was something Caleb did on Sundays. Overtime Caleb began to set his heart on temporary pleasures instead of pouring his heart and soul into his marriage.

As you read today’s devotion, there is someone like Caleb in your own life that immediately comes to your mind. Depending upon their personality, this individual may to be open and teachable. However, this is where you have to be delicate when you weave Jesus into a daily conversation. As Caleb’s father confronts his son with God’s standards for living, tension begins to brew. This is where sharing your own faults, mistakes and weaknesses opens the door for grace and mercy.

Closing Song:

I participated in Evangelism Explosion at my church in college. Every Wednesday night a small group of us greeted members and recent visitors. With televisions often playing in the background, we were taught to try to make an instant connection at a surface level to earn someone’s trust. If the timing was right, one of us would weave Jesus into this conversation. Although not everyone is gifted in this area, these conversations plant seeds of faith for future discussions.

by Jay Mankus

Video of the Day: Clip from the 1994 movie “The Shawshank Redemption”

Biblical Connection:

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,” Acts 1:6-8.

Biblical Connection:

Tim Robbins plays Andrew Dufresne, an innocent banker sent to prison for murdering his wife. Today’s scene occurs after Dufresne is attacked by the Sodomites at Shawshank Prison. This surprise inspection by Wardon Norton serves as a test to see if Dufresne can be trusted. In the days that follow, Andy becomes a financial advisor to prison staff, working directly for the Wardon. This is the beginning of Andy’s redemption story.

Every Christmas and Easter, prodigals return to church seeking some sort of spiritual reboot. If there isn’t a special connection made, these individuals will disappear for months until Christmas. One of the reasons for this abandonment of faith is that Christians don’t know what to do after Easter Sunday. Luke provides the answer in today’s featured passage. Faith is a journey, not a sprint, where you become witnesses for Jesus everywhere you go. This is the Great Commission.

Closing Song:

As I have wrestled with God’s will for my life since moving to South Carolina, I stumbled upon today’s song. When I’m having a bad day at work, I have turned the lyrics of I Give Myself Away into a prayer. Whenever you find yourself wondering, “what should I do now, “give yourself to Jesus.

by Jay Mankus

Video of the Day: Clip from Season 1 Episode 11 “Joan of Arcadia”

Bible Verse of the Day:

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.^[a] It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus^[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. ⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. ⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. ⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. ⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water, John 21:1-7.

Biblical Connection:

Following the events of Good Friday, some of the disciples went back to their former trade of being fishermen. Whenever a crisis of faith arises, human nature leads people back to an area of strength. As for Joan of Arcadia, a high school junior, God appears in the form of people who give her an assignment. Joan reached out to a loner who got kicked out of a dance for drinking. Joan sought to calm him down, jumping into his pickup truck before police arrived to intervene.

After following their leader around for 3 years, Jesus was dead. Once the shock of this reality set in, Peter, Andrew, James and John went back to work as fishermen. Unfortunately, after this long period away from fishing, they got shut out, about to come home empty handed. Initially, Jesus appears as an innocent bystander, inquiring on how their day was going. However, after talking with this man for a few minutes, Peter realizes that it is the risen Lord.

Closing Song:

Trusting God during dark times in life is difficult. Modern day Christian don’t have the luxury of encounters with Jesus like today’s featured passage. However, Jesus did leave behind the Spirit of Truth, John 14:15-17, to guide you during your own crisis of faith in 2025.

by Jay Mankus

Video of the Day: Clip from the 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ”

Bible Verse of the Day:

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all, Isaiah 53:4-6.

Biblical Connection:

I was a high school Bible teacher when the Passion of the Christ first debuted in theaters. I recall large church groups and Christian organizations purchasing nearly all the tickets for one showing. While Jesus on the cross receives most of the attention on Good Friday Services throughout the world, the 24-hour period leading up to this moment began with a sleepless night. This was followed by accusations, betrayal, having his face bashed in and whipped beyond recognition.

The Good News about Jesus Christ can be summed up in Romans 5:8, “while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us.” This is the vision that the prophet Isaiah wrote about thousands of years ago. The author of Hebrews compares Jesus to the Great High Priest who was able to empathize with our weaknesses but did not sin, Hebrews 4:14-16. Finally, one of Jesus’ own disciples writes that Jesus died once and for all, paying the debt of our sin, 1 Peter 3:18. This is the hope of Good Friday.

Closing Song:

I played this song following the first sermon that I preached in college. One of the stanzas in the lyrics talks about playing games with God. May the lyrics to Feel the Nails inspire you like it did for me 30 years ago on this Good Friday.

by Jay Mankus

Video of the Day: Clip from the 1997 movie “Cop Land”

Bible Verse of the Day:

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers, Matthew 21:12-13.

Biblical Connection:

Sylvester Stallone plays the Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey town named Garrison. However, the locals refer to this community as Cop Land, a place where New York City police officers reside. Today’s scene has an Internal Affairs investigator played by Robert De Niro who discovers the town is a front for mob connections. De Niro asks Stallone, Freddy Heflin, to use his power as Sheriff to look into these allegations.

Jesus didn’t need anyone from Internal Affairs to see what was going on in the Jewish temple. One day after being exalted on Palm Sunday upon his entry into Jerusalem, Jesus speaks out about the secularization of God’s holy temple. Whenever political or spiritual corruption is exposed, the people in power deflect responsibility. Just as the Department of Government Efficiency has uncovered financial abuse and fraud, the people behind this are trying to cover their tracks.

Closing Song:

Confronting the corruption of Jewish leaders on the Monday of Passion Week triggered a chain of events that resulted in His crucifixion. While the findings of the Department of Government Efficiency are still playing itself out, the biblical response to any exposure of sin is to lay this at the altar in prayer. May a spirit of conviction lead readers to lay their burdens at the feet of Christ.

by Jay Mankus

Video of the Day: Clip from the 2000 film “The Patriot”

Bible Verse of the Day:

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation,” Exodus 34:6-7.

Biblical Connection:

Mel Gibson plays Benjamin Martin, an infamous French and Indian war hero who is haunted by a great sin from his past. When the Revolutionary War commences, Benjamin refuses to join this cause following the death of his wife. However, when one of Benjamin’s sons is murdered by a British officer, he pursues a caravan of prisoners to rescue Gabriel, his oldest son. Driven to lead the Colonial Militia, Gabriel’s life is lost during a battle which sets the stage for today’s scene.

Watching the Patriot recently, I am reminded of the cost of freedom paid for by members of the Continental Army. Blood was shed daily as the bodies of dead soldiers were buried like today’s scene depicts. Just as King David’s life was accompanied by war, Benjamin Martin sinful acts during the French and Indian war caught up to him in the form of generational sins. Introduced by Moses in Exodus 20:4-5, these sinful patterns and tendencies is why a Savior was sent down to earth.

Closing Song:

If you ever find yourself flooded and overwhelmed by conviction, turn to Jesus, the spiritual anchor of our faith. While there are consequences to any sin, may you hold on to Jesus this Easter Season.

by Jay Mankus

Video of the Day: Clip from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz”

Bible Verse of the Day:

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” ²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” – John 9:24-27

Biblical Connection:

After a tornado lands Dorothy and her dog Toto in Munchkin Land, she follows a yellow brick road toward the city of Oz. During this long walk, Dorothy encounters a scarecrow, tinman and a lion. Each one of these characters contain a major flaw which is preventing them from being successful in life. When Dorothy invites the scarecrow to join her, each place their hope in a figure that they’ve heard about but have never seen.

When the blind man in today’s Bible passage is questioned by the Pharisees, he’s not sure what they are trying to accomplish. This man isn’t someone planted in a healing service who pretended to be blind. Rather, this man had a personal encounter with the giver of life and sight, Jesus. This man had been born blind and following the events of John 9:6-7, he was able to see clearly for the first time. This man didn’t need to see a Wizard in Oz. He only needed an encounter with Jesus.

Closing Song:

There was a book that I read for Tentmakers, a Youth Ministry Trade School, called the Master of All Trades. The author took the miracles in the Gospel of John and highlighted that Jesus has the power over all things including elements, sight and time. This is the character and nature described in the song My God Can. The next time you face a wall of doubt in your mind, put your faith and trust in the God of miracles.

by Jay Mankus