Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Christian Living

Drawing Nearer to God, Part 3: The Bible, daily bread, not a buffet line
ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, National

Drawing Nearer to God, Part 3: The Bible, daily bread, not a buffet line

By Scott K. James | Commentary, ScottKJames.com Bible reading isn’t a buffet. God gives us daily bread – just enough light for the next step. Even one verse can draw us closer to Him. This is Part Three of my seven-part Drawing Nearer to God series. I heard my pastor talk about “drawing nearer to God,” and I found myself wondering - how do I actually do that? So I did what I always do: I started digging, Googling, and writing. Now I’m sharing what I’ve discovered along the way. Here’s my confession: when it comes to reading the Bible, I’ve always felt like I’m supposed to eat a buffet but end up grabbing a granola bar. You know the feeling. Somebody at church brags about finishing the Bible in a year. Another friend quotes entire Psalms like he’s got the thing tattooed on his brai...
The Sword of the Spirit – Transformative Power
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

The Sword of the Spirit – Transformative Power

By Pastor Drake Hunter | Commentary, Elevating Life Church “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 ~ When I was younger, I was fascinated with Disneyland in Anaheim, California. My dad had worked there, and my mom had books on Walt Disney—how he dreamed up new worlds, turned them into concepts, and then made them a reality. We’d watch shows about the planning, the struggles, and the breakthroughs. Then we’d stand in the park itself, surrounded by castles, rides, and lands that once existed only in his imagination. What struck me most was how a vision didn’t just stay in one man’s head—it became a place his family and millions of others could experience and enjoy. That’s the kind of transformation...
The Sword of the Spirit: Trailblazing with Common Sense
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

The Sword of the Spirit: Trailblazing with Common Sense

By Pastor Drake Hunter | Commentary, Elevating Life Church Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  ~ Hebrews 12:1–2 ~ Imagine you’re standing at the edge of a thick, wild forest. The trees tower, the brush is dense, and the way forward looks impossible. Behind you are people who need a path—your family, your friends, maybe even your whole community. Then you notice the weight in your hand. It’s not just any tool. It’s a sword, not for decoration, not for collecting dust, but for clearing a way forward and defending against hidden dangers. At that...
The Shield of Faith: The Final Move – Who Do You Want to Be?
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

The Shield of Faith: The Final Move – Who Do You Want to Be?

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice “Who do you want to be today… who do you want to be?” – Devo If you knew me back in the 80s, or if you’ve read my devotions or heard me preach, you know I wasn’t grooving to synth-pop or rocking parachute pants. I was a hard rocker through and through. Zeppelin, Dio, Ozzy… those were my peeps. My soul leaned into guitar solos, not synthesizers. But recently, I caught myself humming a Devo tune—yeah, that Devo—the 1984 track “Who Do You Want to Be Today?” And it struck me: that quirky little lyric actually echoes something Jesus asked long before the ‘80s ever got weird. Jesus said it better, and with eternal weight: “Follow Me.” Devo asked a fun question; however, Jesus asked a life-altering one. “Who do you want to be today?” ...
True Christians Called to Reject the False Gospel of Transgender Ideology
National, Approved, Commentary, The Daily Signal

True Christians Called to Reject the False Gospel of Transgender Ideology

By Tyler O’Neil | Commentary, The Daily Signal Transgender advocates say their movement is about compassion and acceptance, but is it not extremely cruel to gaslight children into taking experimental drugs with documented harms but no proof they improve their lives? Is there anything more disempowering or dehumanizing than saying your natural process of puberty is so drastic a threat to your mental health that nothing short of fundamentally reshaping your body is necessary to prevent you from committing suicide? I can think of few things as antithetical to Christian love, and, in fact, I can’t help but see transgender orthodoxy as a counterfeit gospel, competing against the faith once delivered to the saints. Cruel Activists use the gaslighting term “gender-affirmin...
Faith over fear: How Christians can stand strong when the world unravels
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

Faith over fear: How Christians can stand strong when the world unravels

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. ~ Genesis 1:2–3 Long, long ago…God brought order to chaos—and He’s still doing it today. How? Through our acts of faith. While chaos bullies its way into our lives uninvited, faith rolls out the welcome mat for God's power to bring order, peace, and purpose (Luke 24:49). Let’s talk about chaos. Not just the kind playing out on the news, but the kind that shows up in your story, in childhood wounds, military mayhem, workplace drama, and ministry madness. For me, chaos wasn’t a stranger. It was a full-time roommate. I grew up with it, wore i...
Devotional: From faking it to faithing it—walking by truth, not appearances
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

Devotional: From faking it to faithing it—walking by truth, not appearances

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. ~ 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NLT) Let’s talk about protecting faith, not just your personal beliefs, but the kind of enduring, biblical faith that can resist evil and advance good in a world that often muddies the two. This kind of faith doesn’t hide. It stands. It doesn’t just defend; it moves forward in grace and truth. The kind of faith we’re called to protect is built on more than emotion or circumstance. It’s founded on the Divine Formula we discussed last time: Belief + Action = Faith (in the Lord). This formula isn’t abstract. It’s deeply and profoundly practical. You either believe God without doubt and act accordingly, or you don’t. And how we handle that equati...
Devotional: Belief plus action equals unshakable faith
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

Devotional: Belief plus action equals unshakable faith

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Elevating Life Church Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ~ Mark 11:24 (ESV) Let’s be honest, everyone believes in something. Even the person who proudly claims to “believe in nothing” is holding on to a belief about that nothing. (Which is something... Try not to get a headache.) I still remember the first time I was taught the Big Bang Theory at Valley Junior High in Carlsbad, California. The basic idea? “In the beginning, there was nothing... and then it exploded.” Wait, what? Nothing with a bang. It exploded?! What! I’m so confused.  I don’t mean to be sarcastic (well, maybe just a little), but are we really supposed to believe that nothing, such as no time, no s...
Devotional: The Shield of Faith—How to go on the offense with truth as your defense
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

Devotional: The Shield of Faith—How to go on the offense with truth as your defense

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Take a moment to realize just how much you trust without even realizing it. Right now, you're relying on the chair supporting you, your eyes to read these words, and your brain to understand them… talk about an unintentional faith in furniture and physics! You depend on your device to stay powered, your Wi-Fi to be good, and this moment with me to feel meaningful. But let’s dig deeper… like that stubborn onion layer you keep avoiding. What about the air you’re breathing? You didn’t check its quality; you simply took a deep breath, trusting that the invisible mayhem outside isn’t plotting against you—and it wasn't. You’ll do it again, many times, probably without even thinking.  Our lives are overflowing with trust: in gravity...
Devotional: When your worldview wears on you like sagging pants
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Top Stories

Devotional: When your worldview wears on you like sagging pants

By Pastor Drake Hunter | Commentary, NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice We are now into our series, The Belt of Truth. In the introduction, we learned that trust is the foundation needed to build it, and that only comes through truth. Additionally, we covered the various aspects we will explore throughout this series: subjective, objective, normative, absolute, and applied truth. Let’s dive into subjective truth to keep the series moving. Shall we?    I used to think sagging pants were just a phase… until I became a youth pastor. It started at home with my oldest son, Joshua, who is now 36, but was 15 at the time. I’ll never forget the day he shuffled into the room with his pants hanging on for dear life, no belt in sight—just a whole lot of confidence and a look ...