Archived Devotions (Page 12)

I have been reflecting on the days since the stay-at-home guidelines began. I went back and started to count the days and realized we are at 116 days since the official word to stay-at-home started.  There are some other things we are able to do now other than stay-at-home, but these last 116 days have been like none other in my lifetime and many of our lifetimes. As I began to think about the emotions I have felt during this…

And If we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:15 As we approach this July 4th weekend and we remember our nation’s independence, we will continue to look at the characteristics of God that we receive from Him. God’s faithfulness to us as we walk with Him is a characteristic that we can count on. Let me ask you a question: Do you ever…

“By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told …. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.” Hebrews 11:7 (The Message) We can have hope for tomorrow because God is worth our trust. Imagine this scene: One day God comes to Noah and says, “I’m disappointed in human beings. In the entire world, no one but you thinks about me. But…

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22–24 (NRSV)   There’s an old chorus that is running through my head as I type this, the song lyrics are these verses from Lamentations 3 set to music. The refrain begins, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” In…

As the world keeps moving around us and we go from one tragedy in our world to the next, it can seem to be overwhelming.  This stress and sense of being overwhelmed can get so bad that we not only have spiritual aches, but it can affect us physically as well.  When I was a child and I would hear an older person saying “they died of a broken heart”, my mind could simply not understand the words. I never…

May we always and only see others through the lens of Christ’s love.  The view is completely different depending on which pair of glasses we use for our view.  Below is an article that was written by the Board of General Superintendents in the Church of the Nazarene.  As I read it, I felt it was important for everyone to ‘hear the heart’ of those who help guide us as a denomination.  I value these words from Peter: “Peace to…

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”                                                              Philippians 4:6 (NLT) When faced with the reality of a situation that is overwhelming, the best thing you can do is focus on God. The disciples, in Matthew 8, knew that Jesus could do something about the storm that threatened their lives as they were tossed on the sea. Their answer to the overwhelming storm was to ask Jesus…

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30) In our Zoom youth gathering the past couple of weeks we’ve been looking at the twenty-third Psalm. This has caused me to reflect on the biblical notion of rest. In this…

As the weeks go by in this time of separation from others I have found that there are good days and some not so good days.  When those not so good days come I discover that even keeping busy doesn’t keep the low feelings at bay. Those moments are when I begin to search for scripture that will turn my day around. Then I decided that if I was going to search for scripture that was uplifting to me then…

There is a theme running through commercials, news casts, newspaper ads and social media posts.  “We’re in this together.”  “If you need help, call someone!”, “Help others.  Be kind whenever you see the opportunity.” A few years ago, I made a decision that if someone was racing to get ahead of me in line at Starbucks or Wendy’s I would just let them go ahead and smile.  When there is road construction and people forget which lane to use, I…

A few years ago, I observed a small but striking act of kindness. I was walking from our house to a drugstore that was a few blocks away. As I came up to a busy intersection I saw a man who was clearly drunk, staggering his way across the street while the traffic was moving. Almost as fast as I saw him, I saw a car stop. The car was a high-end, luxury car. The man who got out was…

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.” -Deuteronomy 7:9 During this time at home, one project I’ve been working on in the spare moments is to digitize a collection of home video tapes from my parents. These videos chronicle events during my last year of high school, and my years in college primarily. It has…