Spiritual Journey

30 Days with Elijah: Pointers from Elijah’s Spiritual Journey for Yours (A Devotional)

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30 Days with Elijah: Pointers from Elijah’s Spiritual Journey for Yours is the third in a series of devotionals written to pick up pointers from Bible characters for our spiritual journey. Elijah’s story is uniquely helpful because “Elijah was a man just like us” (James 5.17). To trace his life is to look in a mirror at our own.
Elijah was as human as we are. He’s not so other-than-us it makes us believe it’s impossible for us to match his faith, his prayer life, or his walk with God. He battled the same roller coaster of emotions we do. He experienced life from both ends of the spectrum like we do — from periods of undaunting courage and unwavering faith, to struggles with deep depression and frantic fear.
The story of Elijah shows us God can transform an average Christian into a person he can use despite our foibles and weaknesses.
Elijah challenged a powerful king without wavering even with his life was on the line.
He devoted the best years of his life to prove Jehovah God was the only true God, and to call Israel to turn to the Lord God Almighty from the impotent, false gods they worshiped.
Elijah persevered even though he thought he was the only one loyal to God in the entire nation, and everyone was against him.
He endured the hardships of living as a Godly man in an ungodly culture — a culture not just indifferent to God but anti-God, making every effort to erase hum completely from their history, government, schools, and homes.
Above all, Elijah was a man who prayed and obeyed.
Because Elijah was no different than you and faced the same issues you do, and because God is the same God who works today the way he did in the days of Elijah, his story can become your story.

Meet Steve Wilmot

Steve’s lifelong passion has been to encourage and inspire Christ-followers on their long and sometimes treacherous spiritual journey Home. Over the years, he’s learned valuable lessons from his own journey of faith and developed indispensable relationships that kept him from giving up when discouragement and doubts enveloped him. His purpose for the remaining years of his life is to share what he’s learned in his everyday walk with God and in his study of the Word of God.

Steve married his college sweetheart, Becki, in 1974. She was an indispensable partner during their years together when Steve pastored five churches from 1976 to 2016. They have four grown children and eight grandchildren. From 1992 until 2017, Steve worked as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service while also pastoring a church in Edgerton, Ohio, where he and his wife still live. Though retired from his bi-vocational jobs, he continues to engage with others to help them love Jesus and follow him their whole life long.

Always with an itch for writing to spur spiritual growth, Steve now writes novels, spiritual growth books, and devotionals. He also writes a weekly column for two local newspapers called “Pastor’s Ponderings.”

In his spare time, Steve enjoys reading, gardening, and landscaping around his house and as a free service for anyone who needs his expertise and labor. He stays connected with his Band of Brothers small group as they live out Ecclesiastes 4.9-12, Hebrews 10.24-25, and Acts 2.42 together.

FAQ New Believers Want to Know (And Every Believer Needs to Know)

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Would you hand the keys to the family car to your 6-year-old daughter?
Would you throw your three-month-old son into the pool to see if he can swim?
Would you expect your newborn baby to fix their own bottle and their change her own diapers?
Stupid propositions, huh? And yet that’s what we do with new believers too often. We pat them on the back and congratulate them on their decision to follow Jesus. Then… we leave them to figure out their next steps on their own.
Then we’re surprised so many who put their faith in Jesus don’t stick around very long. They’re here today, gone tomorrow. Their decision to follow Jesus was sincere and heart-felt, but no one helped them grow the relationship with him they began. They return to their old lives because no one took them under their arm to show them how to grow and successfully navigate their spiritual journey. To warn them of the obstacles they’ll face down the road and equip them to deal with them. They were abandoned to figure out everything on their own.
That’s the reason for this book. It’s my attempt to spread the word to as many people as possible that we’re dropping the ball. Our commission is not just to win people to Jesus, it’s walking with them and helping them learn how to grow and mature in their faith and relationship with him.
FAQ New Believers Want to Know sounds a warning siren to awaken the Church to this neglect of new believers, but it also provides several basic truths that lay a solid foundation new believers can build upon as they progress on their spiritual journey. It is ideal for:
** New believers to read on their own
** New believer classes
** One-on-one mentoring with a mature believer going through the chapters with a new believer
** Small group study
** Believers who are returning to their faith after leaving it for a while
** Older believers who never learned the basics when they were new believers
** Older believers who want a refresher on the basics of a closer walk with Jesus
Discussion questions for each chapter are included for personal reflection or group interaction.

Meet Steve Wilmot

Steve Wilmot’s passion is to encourage and inspire Christ-followers on their long and sometimes treacherous spiritual journey Home. Over the years, he learned valuable lessons from his own journey of faith and developed indispensable relationships that kept him from giving up when the road got difficult. His purpose in life is to pay it forward whenever he can — first as a pastor for 40 years and now as a writer and mentor.
Steve married his college sweetheart, Becki, in 1974. She supported Steve — and sometimes served as his anchor and cheerleader — during their years leading churches from 1976 to 2012. They have four grown children and eight grandchildren. He retired from his bi-vocational role as pastor and mail carrier for the United States Postal Service. Along with novels, spiritual growth books, and devotionals, Steve writes a weekly column, “Pastor’s Ponderings,” for two local newspapers.
In his spare time, Steve enjoys reading, gardening, and landscaping around his house. He stays connected with his small group, Band of Brothers, as they travel toward Christlike character and Home together.

Steve also loves sharing his spiritual journey and teaching from God’s Word at churches and conferences.

30 Days with Joseph: Inspiration from Joseph’s Spiritual Journey for Yours (A Devotional)

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How did Joseph do it?

For 13 years the circumstances of his life went from bad to worse. Slavery. Alleged rapist. Prison convict. He did nothing to deserve such rough treatment. Yet Joseph never whined or complained. He didn’t get angry or depressed. In fact, when he had the chance to take revenge, he gave mercy, grace, and generosity instead. How did he do it?

You’ll find answers in 30 Days with Joseph, the second in a series of devotionals that focuses on a Bible character. Each day of the month, you’ll accompany Joseph on his spiritual journey and learn how he overcame the challenges he encountered along the way.
And show you how you can too!

Meet Steve Wilmot

Steve Wilmot’s passion is to encourage and inspire Christians on their long and sometimes treacherous spiritual journey Home. Over the years, he learned valuable lessons from his own journey of faith and developed indispensable relationships that kept him from giving up when discouragement and lack of hope told him to. His purpose in life is to pay it forward whenever he can — first as a pastor for 40 years and now as a writer and mentor.
Steve married his college sweetheart, Becki, in 1974. She supported him — and many times served as his anchor and cheerleader — during their years leading churches from 1976 – 2016. They have four grown children and eight grandchildren. He retired from his bi-vocational jobs as a pastor and a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service. Along with devotionals, spiritual growth books, and novels, Steve writes a weekly column, “Pastor’s Ponderings,” for two local newspapers.
In his spare time, Steve enjoys engaging with his grandkids, reading, gardening, and landscaping around his house. He stays connected with his small group, the Band of Brothers, as they travel side-by-side toward Christlike character and Home. They’ve discovered the Christian life is not Jesus and me. It’s Jesus and we, and they are committed to encouragement, support, love, and unconditional acceptance of each other.
Steve also likes sharing his spiritual journey and teaching from God’s Word at churches and conferences.

30 Days with Joshua: Inspiration from Joshua’s Spiritual Journey for Yours (A Devotional)

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Joshua was just like you. As such, his spiritual journey provides insight, inspiration, and encouragement for your own trip toward Home.
Joshua blazed a trail that lays out the challenges and battles, progress and setbacks common to every traveler on their personal faith journey. In “30 Days with Joshua,” the author traces Joshua’s character development, hurdles he overcame, and the courageous faith that spurred him to take risks that scared him.
It reveals how God corrected Joshua’s incomplete perception of what he’s really like, and how that transformed Joshua from a Nervous Nelly into a man who trusted God enough he’d even follow illogical orders simply because God told him to.
Why learn the hard way? Follow Joshua’s journey highlighted in “30 Days with Joshua.”
Written in a devotional format, “30 Days with Joshua” offers bite-size chunks of Joshua’s encounters with God so you can leisurely absorb what God wants to show you rather than slam the book shut, check off “Have Devotions” on your to-do list, and rush on to the next item. 
It gives you something to chew on every day for a month allowing God to shape your character, show you how to overcome your challenges, mold your understanding of what God’s like, and build a courageous, uncompromising faith.
Grab a copy and jump in. An exciting adventure awaits you!

Meet Steve Wilmot

I wrote this book of devotional readings to guide you through the Book of Joshua and help you learn from his spiritual journey. His challenges and battles, his progress and setbacks, his ultimate rejection of fear as a motivation for his life, replaced with courage and faith. How God transformed Joshua from a Nervous Nelly into a man who trusted him enough he’d follow illogical orders simply because God told him to.
If that’s the kind of Christian you want to be, you’ll find insights and encouragement on the pages that follow.
I intentionally wrote “30 Days with Joshua” in a devotional format. Bite-size chunks of Joshua’s life so you can take your time to absorb what God wants to show you rather than slam the book shut, check off “Have Devotions” on your to-do list, and rush on to the next activity. For the biggest impact, you need time to meditate on the truths found in each daily devotional. Time to talk to God, to let him search your heart and show you what’s there, and to formulate a daily plan to follow Joshua’s example on your own spiritual journey.

Best of Pastor’s Ponderings: 40 Reflections for Your Spiritual Journey

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“You have a future regardless of what your past is like.“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.“Every person God ever used had a past he or she was ashamed of, but that didn’t matter to God. It didn’t tie his hands. Just because you have a dark past doesn’t mean God will toss you into the garbage heap as worthless. Far from it. Every saint has a past that Jesus Christ changed.“But it’s equally true that every sinner has a future. Look at Apostle Paul, for example.” We all need reminders and the lines above are a sample of what you’ll find in this book. It’s tough to trek the path of your spiritual journey. If you try to do it alone, it’s near-impossible. This book will be a valuable companion through the difficulties and trials, victories and defeats, gains and losses pilgrims encounter on their pilgrimage toward Home. The four-minute readings encourage Christ-followers to remember what really matters, to count on God’s presence and promises more, and to deal with regrets and move on. To hold on to hope even after a painful past tries to snuff it out and present-day struggles seek to sink it. They call us to see life from God’s perspective and to convince us that every hardship along the way will be worth it someday. So keep going and don’t give up.These 40 ponderings originally appeared in a weekly newspaper column created by the author. Several years later, a second area newspaper picked up the Pastor’s Ponderings column. Many readers repeatedly asked the author to combine these columns in book

Meet Steve Wilmot

Steve Wilmot is a fellow pilgrim on his long and sometimes treacherous journey Home. Over the years, he learned valuable lessons and developed indispensable relationships that kept him from giving up when discouragement and lack of hope enveloped him. His purpose in life is to pay it forward whenever he can.
In 1974, Steve married his college sweetheart, Becki, and they began their spiritual journey together. They have four grown children and eight grandchildren. He is a retired pastor and United States Postal Service mail carrier. For a few years, he owned the Edgerton Earth newspaper and wrote a “Pastor’s Ponderings” every week. Steve continues to write the weekly column, as well as novels and devotionals. In his spare time, he reads, gardens, landscapes around his house, and stays connected to a band of brothers on their mutual journey of faith.