Welcome to Battle Drill, a weekday devotional. Join us as we share hope and encouragement as we read and study the Bible together.
Most of the daily devotionals follow on from my preaching on a Sunday. You can find the relevant sermon on the Sermons page. I try to provide positive, practical encouragement from the Bible each week.
I pray that you will enjoy these daily devotionals online and that you are equipped for your daily walk with God as you go through this Battle Drill.
There’s a new episode of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday.
Head to https://battledrilldevotional.podbean.com for more details and to subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts or you can catch up with us on the Battlefield Resources Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/battlefieldresources. Like the page and get a notification when a new episode drops. Or you can sign up to be sent an email – use this link – http://eepurl.com/h2FPND – or the form at the bottom of the page and ensure you choose Battle Drill Devotional as at least one of your Interests.
Read John 10:1-10. Are you a worrier? Do you worry so much that if you’re not worrying, you start to worry that you’re not worrying?
Worrying is a scourge. It robs us of any joy there is in the world. How can we rid ourselves of worry? One of the bes…
Jesus said, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10 MSG). This week on Battle Drill devotionals, we explore what that might mean for us today.
Read John 10:1-10. Do you feel your lif…
Read Matthew 3:13-17. Do you know how much God loves you? God created you to love you. Love is the essence of his nature. So he cannot help but love you. He wants to love you. He enjoys you. He takes pleasure in you all the time.
And it’s not because…
Read Matthew 3:13-17. It sometimes seems that the height of ambition in our society is to acquire as much as we can. To live a comfortable and enjoyable life, surrounded by our possessions and basking in our status.
That is not the life Jesus calls u…
Read Matthew 3:13-17. “If you want something done properly, do it yourself”. Have you ever said that, or heard it said? It’s often said in frustration when someone hasn’t done something in the way you would have done it.
What’s amazing about God’s wo…
Read Matthew 3:13-17. Being identified with God’s mission is dangerous. Jesus was baptised by John to validate and advance God’s work in the world. Some Christians are baptised as a sign of taking on God’s purpose for them. Salvation Army soldiers ar…
This week on Battle Drill devotionals we focus on Jesus’ obedient service to the Father, and how following his example will lead to God’s approval.
Read Matthew 3:13-17. “The name’s Bond. James Bond”. When a superhero bursts on the scene, he or she o…
Read Luke 15:11-32. Do you have a role model? It might be someone in your life whom you admire – a parent, a teacher, a leader. Or it might be a celebrity – a footballer, a singer, a dancer.
When you read the story of the Lost Son, who do you identif…
Read Philippians 3:12-21. Do you have a to-do list for 2023? Maybe it’s a work one, or maybe it’s fun things that you want to do – holidays, days out and so on.
Many of us have a to-do list, and it seems to be a never-ending one! What we sometimes do…
Read Mark 2:18-22. Do you begin the New Year with excitement and ready to make those changes in your life you’ve been promising yourself for goodness knows how many New Years? Many of us start a New Year with good intentions – me included – but end u…
Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-16. Here we are at the beginning of the New Year. Many of us are back at work today. Others are preparing to return to school or clearing up the house from the festivities. Are you still struggling to make a New Year resolution…
Welcome to 2023! What’s going to be different this year? Have you made any New Year resolutions? On Battle Drill devotionals, we’re going to consider some this week.
Read Psalm 51:1-19. Do you ever wish you could start again? That your life could be …
Read Romans 8:31-39. So here we are at the end of 2022 and the end of another year of the Battle Drill Devotional. Thank you for taking this journey with me. I look forward to sharing more daily devotionals with you in 2023. As we reach the end of th…
Read Ephesians 3:14-21. Why does Christmas even exist? It’s because God loves you. He loves you so much that he came to earth as a human – the only way you and I could really begin to know him and love him back. When you look at the baby Jesus, lying…
Read Luke 2:8-20. That’s it! It’s over. Christmas Day has come and gone. Even the extra Bank Holiday is over.
Some of you may have cleared up and put your Christmas decorations away. Some may still be enjoying meeting family and friends, eating too m…
Read Matthew 1:18-25. Have there been moments this Christmas when you have felt all alone? Perhaps you have spent Christmas alone, for whatever reason. But we can feel lonely even when surrounded by family and friends.
The good news of Christmas is t…
This week as we continue through the season of Christmas, we examine what it’s all about. Is it just a time of socialising and overindulging in food and drink? Or does it mean something more?
Read Luke 2:8-20. What are you celebrating this Christmas?…
Read Titus 3:1-11. For many of us, friends and family might be arriving today to spend the Christmas weekend with us. This can sometimes lead to strained relationships!
God calls us to love everyone. That means the unlovely. It includes the difficult…
Read Titus 3:1-11. Do you feel good enough to receive God’s love this Christmas?
The truth is that none of us deserve his love. We have all let him down in various ways. It can leave us feeling hopeless. But we are not without hope! God always shows …
Read Psalm 89:1-52. What’s your favourite carol? Have you sung it yet this Christmas?
I have so many, it’s difficult to pick just one. But this year, I have been struck once again by the words of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear:
For lo! the days are …
Read 1 John 4:7-21. The story of Christmas is that God loves us. We don’t have to make it any more complicated than that. God loves us. Christmas reminds us that God loves us so much, he is willing to wrap himself in human flesh – in the form of a he…
Advent is a time for us to renew our love for God. This week on Battle Drill devotionals we celebrate the One who “came down at Christmas” to take the initiative of loving us first.
Read 1 John 4:7-21. What’s your purpose in life? Jesus says it is to…
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22. Are you going to be driving home for Christmas? Or travelling during the season? Many of us travel to spend time with family and friends, or to go on holiday at this time of year.
As we do so, let’s take God’s joy with u…
Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. Soon, 2023 will be upon us. Another New Year. How do you feel about the future? Can you face it with joy? Or are you filled with dread?
Part of the problem, of course, is that we don’t know what the future holds. Even tho…
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22. It’s easy to turn into the Grinch at Christmas! As the season gets busier and we get more tired, there seems to be more to grumble about! Extra activities, queues in shops, late deliveries, a shortage of some foodstuffs,…
Read Isaiah 61:1-11. We live in uncertain times. There is a cost-of-living crisis. Some of us are worried about how we will pay our energy bills as the weather turns colder. The war in Ukraine continues. We face political uncertainty.
But God’s promi…
Advent reminds us that our hope is sure. We have peace with God, and his Messiah is coming to put everything right. We can choose to respond with joy. This week, in Battle Drill devotionals, we look at ways in which we can respond to God’s love and g…
Read 2 Peter 3:1-16. So, are you busy? Many of us wear busyness like a badge of honour. And the lead up to Christmas is a busy time for most.
Time is short. Today, there are only sixteen shopping days left until Christmas! Our to-do lists are long. S…
Read Colossians 1:24-29. Do you ever sympathise with Paul writing in Romans 7? He tells his readers that as a follower of Christ he wants to do what is right, but he doesn’t do it.
He goes on to say he wants to do what is good, but he doesn’t. And he…
Read Matthew 1:18-25. Do you sometimes feel as if you are your own worst enemy? Do you make choices you know are bad for you, seemingly unable to stop yourself? Many of us simply need saving from ourselves!
The problem is that each one of us entered …
Read Psalm 85:1-13. Satan doesn’t have to be very creative in tempting us to do wrong. Usually, he simply tempts us to fall back into our usual bad habits. If you think back over the sin you have battled throughout your life, I suspect you will see i…
Advent is a time when we remember Jesus first coming to earth, and eagerly await his return. This week in Battle Drill devotionals, we reflect on whether we are ready for Christ’s coming or if anything is keeping us from being at peace with God.
Read…
Read Romans 15:1-13. Will you be “driving home for Christmas this year”? Or are you opening your home to others who are coming home to spend time with their family and friends?
Many people “come home” at Christmas. Others don’t want to, because for t…
Read Revelation 21:1-7. Things are beginning to gear up for Christmas. Today is the first day of December! Before you get too far into the season, I invite you to stop and to receive the promise of Christmas: God is for us. God gets us. He understand…
Read Luke 7:36-50. Advent is full of anticipation. We anticipate the giving and receiving of gifts. We anticipate a feast. Many of us anticipate peace and quiet after a busy season!
Some of us may be anticipating the arrival of guests into our homes,…
Read Isaiah 2:1-4. The lead up to Christmas can be a stressful time. If we’re not careful, we can become tired and irritable, snapping at those around us, or cursing those who jump in the supermarket queue ahead of us or cut us up on busy roads. Adve…
The season leading up to Christmas – Advent – is an opportunity to immerse ourselves in hope. We can wait in certain hope knowing that God will always fulfil his promises to us. This week in Battle Drill Devotionals, we focus on some of those promise…
Read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. Paul’s words to the “idle” can seem quite harsh if you misunderstand who they are directed towards.
The suggestion that “those unwilling to work will not get to eat” (v.10) seems cruel until you understand that Paul is ad…
Read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. What are you working for? More stuff? To keep up with the Joneses? For recognition and approval?
The problem with working for more and more stuff is that we never have enough. John D. Rockefeller once had a net worth of a…
Read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. Do you find yourself demotivated at work? Is your default position procrastination? Do you feel stuck?
There may be one very good reason you’re feeling this way: you’ve never invited God to be in your work. Maybe that’s w…
Read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. You have a calling on your life. Sometimes, we think God’s calling is only for Salvation Army officers or church ministers and pastors. Salvation Army officers used to describe ministry as “the work”.
But the truth is tha…
Work is a fundamental foundation of human life. But often we separate God from our work and our work becomes disordered. This week in our Battle Drill devotionals, we explore ways to find God’s intended rhythm in our work and rest.
Read 2 Thessalonia…
Read Matthew 26:6-13. It may have been expensive. It may have been a family heirloom. But Mary’s decision to anoint Jesus with expensive perfume would have meant nothing if it was not given in love.
Mary could have made her sacrifice in expectation t…
Read Matthew 26:6-13. What are you good at? What capabilities has God given you? Whatever they are, they have been given to you not for your own benefit, but to benefit others. When you serve others, they remember.
Mary used what God had given her to…
Read Matthew 26:6-13. How much are you willing to give to others? Are you miserly with your time, money or other resources? Or are you willing to sacrifice your time, money and resources to give to others? People remember those who make sacrifices fo…
Read Matthew 26:6-13. All of us remember people who are generous towards us. People who can’t wait to bless us because God has blessed them. Whether it’s their time, money or other resources they share with us, we remember their generosity.
The woman…
On Battle Drill devotionals this week, in the week following Remembrance Sunday, we ask, what will we be remembered for? The brave men and women who gave their lives in the two world wars and in conflicts since leave a legacy of freedom for many peop…
Read Nehemiah 9:1-38. Which do you find the most difficult? To confess to something you did years ago? Or to confess to something you’ve just done?
There is no right answer! Sometimes, it’s easier to confess something you did ages ago, because someho…
Read Nehemiah 9:1-38. As we reminded ourselves yesterday, if we ever want to change, then we have to move from blaming and complaining about everyone else and the circumstances we face, and confess the problems we bring on ourselves.
Nehemiah and the…
Read Nehemiah 9:1-38. When things are going wrong in your life, what do you do? Do you complain that it’s everyone else’s fault or that events are conspiring against you? Or do you confess your part in what is going wrong?
Complaining comes from a se…