The God of All Comfort

Posted on June 28, 2025 by pastorpstephens

This week in our chapel service, we talked about the fact that everyone experiences difficult times in life; times of sadness and sorrow. As a chaplain I have sat with many people who are hurting and listened as they shared their cares and concerns. I have heard people speak of how they have been comforted during some very tough trials. Although they are still grieving, they lovingly speak of what sustains them. They speak of the way their faith, family, and friends support them. They speak of the strength received from prayer and reading scripture. They speak of the comfort received simply by having someone else sit with them, supporting them silently with their presence. As I reflect on these things, I am often reminded of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the same comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Cor. 1:3-4

In our lives we will all experience hurts and heartaches, sorrows, and sadness. That is why it is so important for us to know that God is with us and He can comfort and strengthen us in even the most difficult of situations. God is full of grace and mercy, and He longs to share His grace and mercy with us. If you are facing some difficulty today, I hope you know you can turn to God and lean on Him. I pray that you will receive His comfort and be strengthened.

And I pray that you will know that even our difficult days and our seasons of sorrow are not wasted. For one day, God will use us to comfort someone else with the same comfort we received from Him. God will use us to strengthen and support someone else who is hurting. God will work in us and through us to share His grace, His mercy, and His comfort with others.

Posted in 2 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3 - 4, Christianity, Dealing with grief, Draw close to God, encouraging others, Encouraging words, faith | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Look to the Cross

Posted on June 7, 2025 by pastorpstephens

I spent some time visiting with some young people last week and we covered some topics which included acceptance, belonging, and love. We had a good and lively discussion about how much God loves us and how our earthly relationships should honor our Heavenly Father. Afterwards, as I reflected on our discussion, I wrote this poem.

Look to the Cross

People go in search of love,
Sometimes at a break neck speed.
Never realizing that God is the only One,
Who can truly love us in all the ways we need.

But we will keep looking and longing for love,
And suffering loss after loss after loss,
Never fully experiencing the love of God,
Until we kneel at the foot of the cross.

For it was on the cross of Calvary
That God demonstrated the depths of His love for everyone.
Forgiveness and salvation were made possible
Because of the sacrifice of Christ, His Son.

So if you want your life and your heart to be filled with love,
If you want to be renewed and never be the same,
Look to the cross and turn to Jesus,
And simply call upon His Name.

I pray that you have a good week. I hope that you know how much God loves you! I hope you know that I am praying for you and the people you love. May the Lord bless you and the people you love. Until next time, stay strong in the faith.

Posted in Draw close to God, faith, God loves you, Poem, poetry | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

This is the Day

Posted on May 30, 2025 by pastorpstephens

I hope you have a blessed Friday! Earlier this week at work, I heard someone say, “I wish it was already Friday.” Their words reminded me of a conversation I had when I was a teenager working in a grocery store. It was only Tuesday and the week already seemed dreadfully long and I was complaining to somebody else at the store about it. I said, “I wish it was already Friday.” An elderly lady who was standing in the checkout line gently told me, “Son, don’t be wishing your life away. Appreciate each day even if it’s only Tuesday.” Over the years, I have often been reminded of her words any time I hear someone say, “I wish it was Friday.” And her words remind me that it is important that we appreciate each day and make the best of each day. I like the way the Bible says it in Psalm 118:24

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD has made; Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.

This day is a gift and tomorrow is not promised. My prayer for you is that you would have a good and blessed day. I pray that today would be productive and positive in all aspects for you. I pray that you would be able to enjoy this day and every other day too!

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God Works In Us and Through Us

Posted on May 24, 2025 by pastorpstephens

I have been doing a devotional in the book of Exodus and this week I have been focusing on chapter 3. In this chapter, God tells Moses that He has heard the cries of His people who are in bondage in Egypt. God tells Moses that He will deliver them from their bondage. God then goes on to make a request of Moses. God says:

Exo 3:10 “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”

When God first speaks to Moses and Moses learns that God has not forgotten about His people and that He has plans to do something about their pain and their suffering, I am sure Moses was overwhelmed with excitement and joy. I bet Moses’s heart began beating faster and he thought, “Yes Lord! Deliver Your people!” And God’s response was, “I am. I am going to deliver My people and I am going to use you.” Now I’m sure that did not make much sense to Moses and in many ways, it may not make a lot of sense to most of us. Why would God ever use Moses? Why would God ever use us? We know that God is all powerful. We know that nothing is impossible for Him. We know that God can speak and cause mountains to move. We know that He could just say a word and break the chains of bondage. It’s a good question. Why use Moses when God does not need Moses to accomplish His will. God by Himself, can do whatever He wants to do. And yet, what God often wants to do is to use His people to do His work in this world.

Why does God condescend to use people? For one thing, I think it pleases Him to involve us. It pleases Him to see our growth and development. Sometimes I had the grandkids help me do laundry even though they were still very young. They put clothes from the washer to the dryer and then they even folded clothes and help me put the clothes away. Could I have done it by myself? Yes. And I could have done it better and completed the task much more quickly by myself. But I love working with them, spending time with them and seeing how they get better at the various tasks that they help me with. It brings a smile to my face. That’s one reason I think that God involves us. I think it brings a smile to His face. I think He loves to see us grow in our faith, develop new skills, and He loves to be able to say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Another reason I think God works through us is because it provides an even greater display of His power and His glory. Think about it. God does not have to use the greatness of His might to achieve His will. He can work in various ways. God could write His words and His will in giant letters across the sky for all to see. (And if He did some still would not listen, some would question and some would doubt it was done by His Hand.) Yet rather than use such a grand display of power and might, God typically speaks in a still quiet voice. He whispers to the heart of man. He reveals His will to the heart of man as we read His word and He invites us to participate. By speaking through a whisper, by using us, I believe it is an even greater display of God’s power and His glory.  Jesus said in John 15:5

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. … 8 “By this is My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

We bring glory to the Father by letting Him work through us. Now please understand, doing some work or some task is not a way for us to earn our salvation nor is it a way for us to maintain our salvation. God’s word makes that abundantly clear in the Ephesians 2:8 -9.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

We are saved by GRACE. It is a GIFT and not because of anything we have done or will ever do! But the very next verse in Ephesians 2 makes it clear that God does have some things He intends for us to do. We read in verse 10:

Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Please understand, God has a plan and a purpose for all of us. God has some mission, some task, some request, something for all of us to do. It pleases Him to involve us. God does so, for His glory and for His divine purposes.

Posted in bear fruit, Christianity, Exodus 3:10, Exodus 3:10, faith, God works through us, godly living, ministry work | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Bold Proclamation

Posted on February 2, 2025 by pastorpstephens

I saw a haircut place a few years back that had a sign that instead of advertising bald fades had a sign that said “Bad Fades – $8.” I wanted to stop and go in and ask them how much a good fade costs. But my better discretion and a busy time schedule kept me from doing so.

I saw another sign one time that said “Bold Fades.” Bold fades…hmmm. I was not sure if that verbiage was a mistake or if a fellow could indeed expect to have lightning bolts or unicorns etched onto the side of his head when the barber was done. That would be bold. Both of those signs promoting “bad fades” and “bold fades” made me think about truth in advertising. Sometimes people, products, and services make grand promises but when all is said and done, they do not live up to their advertising claims. It is not that way with the Lord.

He is who He says He is and He does what He says He will do. He is the Living water you need when your soul thirsts for relief. He is the Bread of Life who sustains and strengthens all who partake of His goodness. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the One who delivers on the promise, “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

You may have been let down in the past by people, products and services that fell short of what you expected and certainly did not deliver what you needed. You do not have to have that fear with the Lord. You can place your trust in Him. He will make good on His word. He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do.

I hope that you have a good week and that you are able to draw near to the Lord and let Him minister to you, empower you and equip you for the good work He has for you to do.

Until next time, stay strong in the faith.

Posted in busy schedule, Christianity, Draw close to God, faith, God's Word, John 15:5, Let Your Light Shine, Numbers 23:19, Psalm 188:1, trust in the Lord | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Draw Near

Posted on January 25, 2025 by pastorpstephens


I was thinking the other day about a time when my mother took me to college with her. I must have been four or five years old because I had not started school yet. She was enrolled in Texas Women’s University in Denton, Texas which was about 50 miles away from our house. The university had one very tall building as I recall and it happened to be next to the parking lot where my mother parked. The land is pretty flat up there so this building was very noticeable from the little highway that led into town. As we got closer to the university, my mom told me to keep my eye on that building.

She told me that building was going to get bigger and bigger and bigger the closer we got. She was probably trying to give me something to do so that I would quit asking, “Are we there yet?” It worked. I kept my eyes on that building. I watched and watched and sure enough, the closer we got to the university, the bigger that building grew. It was amazing how big that building was by the time we parked right next to it. As I look back on that time, it reminds me of what the Bible says in Hebrews 4:16

Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The author of Hebrews talks about “drawing near to God” on at least three occasions (Heb 4:16; 7:25; and 10:22). Each exhortation to draw near is linked to having a personal relationship with Christ, our Great High Priest, who offers us forgiveness and who intercedes for us on a daily basis. Because of Christ, we have direct access to God’s throne of grace. Because of Christ we are able to draw near to God. And the closer we get, the better we understand the scope, the power, and the grandeur of our Lord. He is bigger than all of our problems. He is greater than all of our worries. And when we draw near to Him, we are always able to receive mercy and find grace and strength in our times of need.

I hope that you have a good week and that you are able to draw near to the Lord and let Him minister to you, empower you and equip you for the work He has for you to do.

Until next time, stay strong in the faith,

Pastor Phillip Stephens

Posted in busy schedule, Christianity, faith, Faith during hard times, God Answers Prayer, God's Mercy, God's Strength, John 15:5, Let Your Light Shine, Psalm 188:1 | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Every Sparrow

Posted on November 28, 2024 by pastorpstephens


I really do enjoy the fall season. The temperatures are much more pleasant and I love to see the leaves of the trees start to change color. Just being out in nature always seems to be relaxing and energizing at the same time. Here is a little poem I wrote on my walk the other day.

Every Sparrow

I hear the birds singing
As they are resting in the trees
Each note gently ringing
As it is carried by the breeze.

Lord, their sweet song lifts my spirit
With a message that is tried and true
Because every time I hear it
I am reminded to trust in You.

As every sparrow has their needs met,
And their songs carried on the breeze
Lord, I have not faced a season yet
Where You have failed to carry me.

Posted in busy schedule, Christianity, Don't give up, Encouragement, following Christ, God will help you, Let Your Light Shine, Matthew 6:26, Poem, poetry, Psalm 188:1 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Your Personal Best

Posted on November 23, 2024 by pastorpstephens

I saw a news story the other day about a high school cross country meet. The story focused on a girl named Kaylee who was running the last race of her high school career.  She told her dad she was determined to do her personal best that day. She wanted to run faster than she had ever run before. And Kaylee was doing just that.  She wasn’t in first place, but she was doing well, and she was on pace to do her personal best.

As Kaylee came down the final stretch toward the finish line, she noticed that a runner in front of her was struggling. This runner from another school was stumbling along, and in a state of exhaustion, eventually fell to her knees.  Kaylee, who started the race determined to do her best in the last race of her career, stopped running.  She helped the other runner get up, supported her, and together, they made their way to the finish line. Because Kaylee stopped to help, she didn’t finish the race with a time that was her personal best.  But because she stopped to help, Kaylee finished the race in a way that was her personal best.

I was inspired and encouraged by Kaylee’s story.  It reminded me of what Paul says to the church in Philippians 2:3-4

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Paul then goes on to say that we are to have the same attitude and demonstration of sacrificial love for others that Christ has for us.  It is good to have things we want to accomplish, goals we want to achieve, and to push ourselves to do our personal best.  But it is even better to remember that we are truly at our personal best when we demonstrate the same sacrificial love to others that Christ has demonstrated for us.

I pray that this week you will have a very good week.  I pray that you will both experience  and demonstrate the grace and love of God in a multitude of ways.

Until next time, stay strong in the faith,

Pastor Phillip Stephens

Posted in busy schedule, Christianity, doing the right thing, faith, good choices, John 15:5, Let Your Light Shine, Philippians 2:3 - 4, Psalm 188:1 | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Half of Seven Feet Tall

Posted on October 19, 2024 by pastorpstephens

We got to visit with our four-year-old grandson Theo again the other day. Theo just started preschool and he and his little sister Lilly who is 11 months old came over to eat lunch and play with their older cousins, our granddaughters Avery, who is 15, and Haley who is 13. Those kids love to play together, and it does my heart good to see the four of them enjoying each other’s company and building bonds and friendships that will last forever.

One of the first things Theo did was to tell me about a recent doctor visit he had. Theo proudly reported that he is healthy, and he is now three foot six inches tall. After he shared that same news with his aunt and uncle, he ran off to play with his cousins. My son Eric told me that Theo has been telling every grown up about his doctor visit. Theo is really excited about being three foot six inches tall. My son, who lifts weights in his garage, went on to say that he recently bought a small plastic Playskool dumbbell for Theo. It’s not heavy, it’s made for kids, and best of all it gives Theo an opportunity to “lift weights with Dad.”

Eric said that the other day when they were “working out together,” Theo walked up to his little Playskool dumbbell, took some deep breaths, and said, “I can do this. I can lift this. I am half of 7 feet tall!” Theo then squatted down, grabbed the dumbbell, made a grunting noise, and lifted it over his head and started doing some shoulder presses. Oh, I love that boy. I especially love his positive attitude.

I love the fact that Theo does not see being 3 feet six inches tall as a limitation. It might be a description, but it is not a limitation. Too many times in life, we see some physical characteristic or some other attribute as being something that limits us and holds us back. We don’t rightly esteem and properly value who we are and the potential that lies within us. Every person is fearfully and wonderfully made and created in the image of God. With that in mind, we ought to extend kindness and compassion to everyone. But although sometimes we are good at extending kindness and compassion to others, at the same time, we fail to extend kindness and compassion to ourselves. And when we fail to do that, we fail to tap into the power, the potential, and the promise that God has placed within us.

I said all that to say this, “Do you see yourself as being ONLY three foot six or do you see yourself as being HALF OF SEVEN FOOT TALL?” Do you know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made? How we see ourselves is important. If you don’t see yourself in the right way, you are limiting yourself. And you will be surprised by all that you can do and accomplish, if you simply change your perspective.

Posted in Christianity, Encouraging words, faith, God loves you, God's Grace, grandchildren, Poem | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lord Who Knows

Posted on September 27, 2024 by pastorpstephens

This week, I attended a chaplains’ conference at a camp near Kerrville. It was a great time of fellowship, worship, and discipleship. One morning we focused on Psalm 139:19-24 with an emphasis on the “search me” verses. I like that emphasis because too many times in life, we can be quick to “search others” and end up shaking our heads in frustration and then casually lift up an obligatory prayer of “straighten them out Lord, straighten them out!” While that is a valid prayer and while that should be a prayer lifted up in loving humility and concern, that’s not how David closes out Psalm 139. David closes by asking God to “search ME and try ME… see if there be any corrupt way in ME and lead ME in the everlasting way…Your way.” Our speaker gave us an assignment to write the last few verses of Psalm 139 in our own words, expressing what it means to us, and to read it from time to time. Here is my version of those closing verses of Psalm 139.

The Lord Who Knows

The Lord who knows us completely,
Invites us to reflect and know ourselves,
To bring to light all those hidden things,
We’ve placed at the back of our shelves.

There are things we’ve all purposely positioned,
So that they never see the light of day,
Cloaked in darkness and deception,
Because of fear of what others might think or say.

And yet, our Holy Creator who sees all things,
And who knows all that we have done,
Longs to meet us in those dark, secret places,
And offer healing through His Son.

So let us not fail to engage in self-reflection,
Addressing those things we do not want others to see,
For only through confession and honest introspection,
Can we be who our Creator has called us to be.

I love the message of Psalm 139. Every time I read those closing verses, I am reminded of how easy it can be to listen to a sermon or a Bible study with a shovel in our hands instead of a rake. That is to say, we can be so quick to shovel God’s word onto somebody else that we never pick up a rake and pull toward us the wisdom, the will, and the counsel and correction of God’s word, asking Him to search us and try us and lead us in the everlasting way.

Posted in Draw close to God, following Christ, godly living, good choices, Poem, Psalm 139:23, Psalm 139:24 | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment