Castaway Control

Jurassic Job

The new Spielberg film sent Chaplain Dave back to Jurassic Park. John Hammond builds a park he thinks he can control, and the fences fail, the way they always do. This episode connects that story to the Garden of Eden and to God answering Job out of the whirlwind. A devotional about our exhausting need to control everything, and where real rest actually comes from.

The Rope-a-Dope

In 1974, nobody gave Muhammad Ali a chance against George Foreman. He won anyway, by leaning on the ropes and letting Foreman punch himself out. Chaplain Dave starts with the documentary "When We Were Kings" and the famous rope-a-dope, then turns to Isaiah 53 and the kind of strength that looks like losing right up until it wins. A devotional for anyone who has someone in their life waiting for them to break.

Love Your Skeletor

When Chaplain Dave was seven, he got Castle Grayskull for Christmas — and then he broke the drawbridge. In this episode, that broken toy becomes a surprisingly honest picture of us, and a way into one of the hardest things Jesus ever asked: love your enemies. A devotional on Matthew 9, the real meaning of compassion, and learning to see broken people the way God still sees them. (Yes, there's a new Masters of the Universe movie out — perfect timing.)

Robin Of The Hood

What does Robin Hood have in common with the story of Zacchaeus? More than you'd think. A devotional on Luke 19, going out of your way for the outsider, and why the King coming back changes everything.

If You Build It...

Field of Dreams is one of the most beloved movies in American culture, and Chaplain Dave thinks he knows why. In this graduation-season devotional, Dave looks at the famous dad/catch scene through the lens of Hebrews 11 and offers a word to the parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors of this year's graduates. Most of us won't get the Field of Dreams ending. So what then?