Tag: devotional

September 3, 2023

September 3rd, 2023

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 107-108

Highlight Verse:

“Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭107‬:‭43‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You don’t have to have known me long to know that I am a history buff.

I’m one of those who actually sometimes stops at those roadside historical markers.

Why?

Like every history professor I’ve ever had has said,

if you don’t study the past, you’re doomed to repeat it.

(Apparently, that saying is so popular that the autocomplete on my iPad keyboard has it memorized).

I know this is the day we study poetry in the Bible, not history, but the Bible’s poetry is integral to its history.

While this section of scripture refers to Israel’s wandering in the wilderness, this concept can be applied to all of history.

We can see God’s hand of grace and mercy throughout history; His love through all generations.

Let’s learn from the mistakes of the past and embrace the love of God displayed over time.

Have you ever stopped to study how God’s hand has repeatedly been seen throughout history?
How has the hand of God affected your history?
September 2, 2023

September 2nd, 2023

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Exodus 20:1-17

Highlight Verse:

““Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Today we are driving to Nebraska to visit my Father-In-Law.

The long weekend gives us an extra day to spend with him. The only thing on our agenda is to spend time with him.

We hope that is honoring to him.

It is often mentioned that this is the first commandment with a promise.

That is true and, I believe, is significant.

But I also believe that adherence to each commandment will reward us with positive benefits.

God didn’t give us the commandments so that He could control us

or even to test our obedience. I’m pretty sure he already knew how disobedient we were going to be.

I believe He gave us the commandments to guide us along the best path for our lives.

When we follow the commandments, life becomes more fulfilling, healthy, and happy.

We all fail to follow them perfectly.

When we do, the commandments help us to get back up and get on the best path again.

Have you looked at the commandments as difficult rules or a guide to the best life?
How would your life be different if you did your best to follow the commandments? (If you don’t already.)
September 1, 2023

September 1st, 2023

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Jeremiah 37-39

Highlight Verse:

“Jeremiah was put into a dungeon cell, where he remain for many days.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭37‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Okay! Not exactly a verse that encourages someone to stand for the truth of the Gospel!

That didn’t stop Jeremiah.

He kept telling the truth.

It landed him in jail.

We still have freedom of speech here in the United States. Many are persecuted daily for following Jesus in other parts of the globe.

Even here, some would ban the message of Jesus as unfair.

We can only persevere in the midst of persecution and stand by our message. In the end it will prove true.

Have you ever been the object of persecution?
How have you reacted?
August 31, 2023

August 31st, 2023

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Ephesians 1-2

Highlight Verse:

“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If there was only one thing that I have now that I wish I had when I was young, it is that confident hope the Paul speaks of here.

Oh, I had hope. But, it was far from confident.

Now I have decades of experience and study that has built that hope to a point where it cannot be shaken.

My prayer, then, for you the reader is that you would experience that confident hope rooted in faith in the Author of our faith.

May you catch on earlier than I did, and may you not be distracted by the doubts that inevitably come.

Have you experienced the confidence that Paul speaks of here?
August 30, 2023

August 30th, 2023

Wednesday – History

Reading – 1 Samuel 29-31

Highlight Verse:

“And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭30‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

And you thought your neighborhood was bad.

In that time and place, the political system was simple feudalism. Different kings led small kingdoms which often fought against each other.

In this story, David and his men returned home to find their town burnt to the ground and their wives and children kidnapped.

David was both crushed by the loss of his wives and fearful for his own life as his men blamed him for allowing this tragedy to happen.

David turned that anguish into action as he pursued those who had attacked his home. That action paid off.

There are times in our lives when we feel we are at the rock bottom. It is then that we most want to give up. We would do well to remember David at his rock bottom. He chose to channel that anguish into action.

May we choose action over despair too.

Have you ever felt like giving up in despair?
What motivated you to not give up?
August 29, 2023

August 29th, 2023

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 7-8

Highlight Verse:

“Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s just a little verse that opens up so many questions.

First, did you know that Aaron was older than Moses?

Apparently, Pharaoh didn’t have the baby boys killed off when Aaron was born. It’s quite possible that Aaron knew about Moses the whole time he was growing up in Pharaoh’s household. Aaron obviously knew about Moses when Moses encountered God at the burning bush since Aaron was already on his way there.

Why did God choose to speak through Moses who then needed Aaron to speak publicly?

I won’t spoil the story in case you haven’t read it, but Aaron tended to be a people pleaser. He gave in to the people when Moses stood strong.

Moses even talked back to God. Think about that. Moses was no pushover!

Why did God wait until Moses and Aaron were so old to have them speak to Pharaoh?

Life expectancy in Egypt during the time of the Pharaohs was about 40 years. Many Pharaoh’s lived much shorter lives. There would have been a sharp contrast between these two extremely old (by the standards then) men and a young impetuous Pharaoh.

God may have planned this so that Pharaoh would be less likely to give in to Moses’ demands and more miracles would be displayed.

Now that I’ve bored you with that little history lesson, here’s my takeaway from this verse. We tend to think of the prime time of our lives as being when we’re younger. In reality, the most productive decade of our lives in terms of eternal legacy tends to be when we are in our 70’s! The second most productive decade is our 80’s.

So if you’re feeling old, just keep Moses and Aaron in mind and see that their most important career started in their 80’s.

Have you felt the drag of aging pulling you down?
What does it feel like knowing that the most productive years are yet to come for most of us?
August 28, 2023

August 28th, 2023

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 7

Highlight Verse:

““Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What does it mean to not throw your pearls to pigs?

I recently saw a Facebook post with some inaccurate historical information that made Jesus look like a phony.

My first inclination was to refute the false information while expressing compassion for the person who posted. They had suffered severe church abuse when young.

I prayed about it.

I sensed something dark behind the post and the comments and decided not to stir a fire of pent up anger against the church.

Let me be clear. I do not consider the poster to be a pig.

The demonic forces behind their abuse and resultant anger are what I consider to be swine.

There have been and will be times when I can express God’s love to this person. That will be far more effective at reaching them than a Facebook comment war.

We as Christians can be very quick to argue for the Lord. We see falsehood and want to shoot it down before it causes any damage.

Sometimes that’s a good thing.

Often we do more damage than the original falsehood.

A good rule of thumb is to bite your tongue (or keyboard) until after you have prayed it through. After that, do what you believe God would have you do.

Have you ever posted or said something in defense of Jesus that you later regretted because it was taken wrong?
Have you ever successfully argued in defense of Jesus? (Having the person stop replying should not be considered a success).
August 27, 2023

August 27th, 2023

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 105-106

Highlight Verse:

“Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord? Who can ever praise him enough?”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭106‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Some years ago, I was at a music festival in Northern Colorado. It was evening and everyone gathered around the main stage for a time of worship and hearing from the Word of God.

One minor problem – a massive thunder storm was headed straight for us.

Someone onstage prayed that the storm would not hit us. I am sure that thousands in the crowd were praying the same thing.

Some would call it chance that the storm split in two. Rain and lightning struck to the north and the south. The festival grounds stayed dry.

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

It was a miracle that happened in plain site that most people never noticed.

I believe there are many miracles that happen in plain site that we never notice. There is no way we could ever see all the miracles that happen around us.

This verse expresses our praise for those things we do not see.

Have you experienced miracles that were hidden to everyone else?
Share your stories here.
August 26, 2023

August 26th, 2023

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Highlight Verse:

“The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.””
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If I had to be a metaphorical body part, I would probably want to be the eye.

Definitely not the feet.

Maybe that’s because mine tend to hurt.

Or maybe it’s that odor drifting up from them after a hard day’s work.

Regardless, my feet are an essential part of my body. Without them, it would be far more difficult to get around – and my job requires a lot of walking.

Likewise, different people in the church have different roles. Some are more visible. All are essential.

I wouldn’t want to attend a church that had no one tending to the janitorial duties. Nor would it be good to have no one taking care of the toddlers.

Okay, you all know this, but I’d like to take it a step further. You can debate this theologically, but I believe this chapter also applies to different churches.

Many bemoan the fact that there are so many denominations.

I say we make the most of our differences.

The church I attend is very evangelistic, bringing many thousands to Jesus over the years.

Some churches go deep into theological teaching building up people with deep rooted faith.

Some churches appeal to those who relate to a quiet worship style. Some are far from quiet.

While it is true that I won’t agree with every theological detail of every church, if they are bringing people to Jesus, we’re on the same team.

“In the essentials unity, in the non-essentials diversity” is a motto I can relate to.

We would do well as a community of churches to practice more of that unity.

We should be building on each other’s strengths and holding each other up in our weaknesses.

Have you found your role within the church?
Have you found a church body where you can thrive in that role?
August 25, 2023

August 25th, 2023

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Jeremiah 34-36

Highlight Verse:

““Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭34‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As far as I’m concerned, you can keep that kind of freedom!

Seriously, though, God has given us freedom. We can do whatever we want whenever we want.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences.

We may choose to free ourselves from the path God directs us down, but we need to be aware that when we do that, we take ourselves out of a zone of protection that God provides along that path.

You may ask me, “why then do people who are faithful to God suffer and die?” That is a very good question. The standard answer is that we live in a fallen world and the death and evil in this world can affect anyone in it.

That seems to contradict what I said above about the zone of protection.

Perhaps it is better put like this, when we deliberately stray from God’s path, we invite negative consequences.

When we stick to God’s path, bad things can still happen, but that’s the exception, not the rule.

For example, if you consistently drive at double the speed limit, at best, you invite an expensive speeding ticket. It is also very likely that you will have an accident that could cost far more than mere money.

If you drive at the speed limit, you are very unlikely to get into an accident.

But that doesn’t mean you will never get hit by that person doing double the speed limit.

Bottom line, life is better along the path that God guides you down.

Have you had to deal with the heavy cost of straying from God’s path?
Have you told God lately how grateful you are for the protection over your life so far?

Tag: devotional

if you don’t study the past, you’re doomed to repeat it.

Let’s learn from the mistakes of the past and embrace the love of God displayed over time.

We hope that is honoring to him.

God didn’t give us the commandments so that He could control us

When we follow the commandments, life becomes more fulfilling, healthy, and happy.

Okay! Not exactly a verse that encourages someone to stand for the truth of the Gospel!

If there was only one thing that I have now that I wish I had when I was young, it is that confident hope the Paul speaks of here.

May you catch on earlier than I did, and may you not be distracted by the doubts that inevitably come.

And you thought your neighborhood was bad.

May we choose action over despair too.

First, did you know that Aaron was older than Moses?

Why did God choose to speak through Moses who then needed Aaron to speak publicly?

Why did God wait until Moses and Aaron were so old to have them speak to Pharaoh?

So if you’re feeling old, just keep Moses and Aaron in mind and see that their most important career started in their 80’s.

What does it mean to not throw your pearls to pigs?

I prayed about it.

Often we do more damage than the original falsehood.

One minor problem – a massive thunder storm was headed straight for us.

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

If I had to be a metaphorical body part, I would probably want to be the eye.

Many bemoan the fact that there are so many denominations.

We would do well as a community of churches to practice more of that unity.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences.

But that doesn’t mean you will never get hit by that person doing double the speed limit.

Bottom line, life is better along the path that God guides you down.