Archive — Devotionals
3 May
Spring Cleaning (Yuck!)
Spring has sprung, and although I really do love this time of year, I don’t enjoy all of the work that comes along with it. Time to clean the winter gunk out of the windows, weed the flower beds, put away the coats and sweaters we won’t need for several months, and get in some extra time exercising in order to wear our summer clothes. It’s a lot of work! Frankly, just the thought of it makes me want to throw in the towel, hunker down on the sofa, and get lost in a good book … but duty calls. I know if I will just get started that one step will lead to another, and before I know it, my work will be done. All it takes is some perseverance and a whole lot of discipline.
30 Apr
Facebook and the Incarnation
I have a twenty-something friend who recently declared that a single event signaled Facebook’s imminent demise: his mother friended him.
Bizarre annoyances are nothing new for Facebook. How many times must I hit ignore in response to a barrage of loony requests? No, thank you, I don’t want to be a pirate or join in a snowball fight or poke anyone with a broccoli stalk or plant a geranium in someone’s (virtual) garden. However, this motherly intrusion unnerved my friend on quite a different level - his virtual reality collided with real life in disturbing ways.
23 Apr
Empty Vessels
“‘Go and borrow empty containers from everyone—from all your neighbors. Do not get just a few. … pour oil into all these containers’. … When they were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another container.’ But he replied, ‘There aren’t any more.’ Then the oil stopped.”
2 Kings 4:3-4, 6
Empty is an adjective. Empty jars. Empty hands. Empty hearts. Empty pages. Hollow, aching, empty vessels … waiting to be filled, waiting for rain from heaven, waiting for oil from God’s provision. Yet, isn’t that just what a useful vessel should be? Empty? How can a jar hold oil unless it is empty? If hands and hearts are hanging on to material things, they cannot be held by the love of God. If it is already full, a page cannot be written upon. That is why Elisha told the widow to ask for all the empty jars she could find. He wanted her to be able to receive as much of God’s blessing as she could hold. As soon as she ran out of empty containers, the oil stopped flowing.
16 Apr
In Communion
This past Sunday, my church family celebrated the Lord’s Supper. As is our custom, the “body” of Christ was passed back and forth along the pews on silver trays, and each believer in the sanctuary carefully extracted a single piece to hold until all were served and the pastor had asked God to bless it. As I held the bread between my thumb and index finger, really more of a square, cracker-like substance than bread, I noted the powdery white residue that clung to my fingertips, and a thought began to grow in my mind. Yes, I know I should have been praying or meditating, but sometimes my mind has a mind of its own. (Is such a thing possible?) Anyway, I noted the fine powder on my fingers and began to think of how communion with the Lord should leave just as visible an impression on my life as the “bread” did on my hands.
9 Apr
Breathe on Me
“Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
So many things inspire us: passionate works of art, literature that gives voice to our deepest thoughts, music that speaks a message of truth, the splendor of creation, the stinging beauty of sacrifice, and on and on. This world is full of things that move us and fill us with a bittersweet sense of longing. But a longing for what? Even we are hard pressed to express what it is we desire. More beauty, more song, more meaning, more purpose? God only knows; yet, instead of turning to Him, we rush from one activity to the next, feeling self-important and useful for brief shining moments. We almost manage to grasp that illusive treasure we seek; but, at the end of the day, sighing, breathless, and exhausted, we find ourselves as limp and useless as a deflated balloon. “Finally,” I can imagine Him saying. “Finally, you are still and ready to receive what I alone can give! Now, ‘stop your fighting—and know that I am God.’” (Psalm 46:10)
6 Apr
The End of Death
Fourteen years ago, I sat on Pensacola Beach as the tide moved in and out – but I barely noticed the ocean. I was too enamored with this gorgeous woman sitting next to me, my girlfriend for a couple years. We talked. We dug our toes in the cool sand. My heart thumped like a sledgehammer trying to break free. And when the time was right, I said, for the very first time, I love you.
Truthfully, though, I had little idea what those words meant. I didn’t know the kind of desire and pain and hope and disappointment that came along with such a simple declaration. We usually grasp the gravity of our profound experiences later, as we actually begin to live them.
2 Apr
Who Do You Think You Are?
Well, we all get a little down from time to time. It was just harmless talk, right? Sadly, no. Our thoughts have a huge impact on our actions. In fact, Proverbs 23:7 basically says that the thoughts make the man. Negative words come from negative thoughts and lead to negative actions or the stagnating paralysis of no action at all.
26 Mar
Willing to Die
The journal topic was written on the board, “For what or whom would you be willing to die?” The high school English class sat writing, but the results were discouraging to their teacher. A few students wrote that they would be willing to die for their families or their country, but the majority of the class stated in no uncertain terms that they were not willing to die for anyone.
19 Mar
Tattoos of Grace
Why did Jesus keep His scars? After all, if He had the power to raise Himself from death, He certainly could have erased the terrible marks that our sin had left on His body. But, He didn’t. He didn’t even try to cover them up.
12 Mar
Dreams and Desires
Where do dreams go in the cold, harsh light of day? Some are so faint that no memory of them remains when we open our eyes. Some are frightened away by the real world and dissolve into steaming green goo like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. Remember? “I’m melting …” Yet, there are those dreams that linger.
