SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Month: August 2020

  • transformation

    I really enjoy watching transformations.  There are home transformation shows on all the time.  They take an old, abandoned, neglected home and transform it into something completely different.  What seems to have no potential becomes something truly remarkable.  It is hard to believe they are even the same houses in the end.  They look to improve functionality and update the style while keeping character pieces.  I find it fascinating.  And there are shows about body transformations.  People go through complete transformations as they learn to eat better and exercise.  They take on a whole new lifestyle and become someone completely different, at least on the outside.  When they are done, you can’t even believe your eyes.  It is truly something you have to see to believe.

    What is it about these transformations?  What we don’t fully understand or see is the amount of work that goes in.  If we are not involved in the steps of the transformation, we don’t really know all the struggles and sacrifice it took to get there.  For the home, they had to tear out all the old stuff.  Inevitably there are problems.  It is to be expected.  There are setbacks.  There are hidden issues that no one is prepared to tackle.  There are the long days and nights of sweat labor poured into the new drywall and the new floors.  Everything has to be rethought and reimagined.  If it is done correctly, it is a matter of remaking this house with careful detail and intention.  

    For the person that goes through their own transformation, we don’t really know what it was like to get up each morning to exercise.  We don’t get what it meant to make better food choices and stop the habits that had caused the issues initially.  We cannot comprehend the mental, physical and emotional fatigue that goes into every step, every decision, and every setback.  So much of a person’s life is poured into this transformation.  They have to learn to believe in themselves and their own potential.  They have to see themselves differently.  It is way more challenging that we could ever understand unless we have been there.

    Transformations are like that.  They look incredible on the outside, but so much work and effort…so much sacrifice…has gone into the change.  It is not something that is done in a day or a week or a month.  It is a lifetime of continual work.  Transformation is about sacrifice on a daily basis.  It is not easy.  

    Yet, this is what we are challenged with in the scripture today.  This is what is put before us.  We are called to a place of sacrifice in order to transform.  We are called to live differently.  We are called to put in this daily difficult challenging work to transform.  Let’s consider this as we hear from 

    Romans 12:1-8

    12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
    12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God–what is good and acceptable and perfect.
    12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
    12:4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function,
    12:5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
    12:6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith;
    12:7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;
    12:8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

    We are encouraged in this scripture to work for transformation.  We struggle with this ultimate call to be something unique, different than this world.  We are called to do this incredible work of love – to live it, to live by it, to let love guide us.  We are called to something that pushes us to become more like Christ.  And this takes work.  Just like transformation of houses and of bodies takes daily, difficult, struggling work – sacrifice, even – so does our spiritual transformation.  

    The good news is that we have the ultimate trainer for our journey.  We have the transformation guru to help us.  We have someone that has been doing this forever and he is the best.  We have the Holy Spirit as our trainer.  He is with us, he takes up residence – really – in us.  He becomes so much a part of us that if we listen to him, we become a new creation.  We still do the work, but he guides the process.  We still struggle daily to become all he has created us to be, but he encourages us to keep going.  Trainers do not do the work for others, they simply guide the process.  They know what we need and what we don’t.  We choose to listen or not.  If we don’t listen, we don’t change.  If we do, we find results.  Sometimes they are slow, painful, rough results – but they are results, nonetheless.  And results brings really good news.

    Sacrifice means we have to give up things.  It means we give up our hold on earthly goods.  It means we give up our single minded focus on ourselves.  It means we give up the baggage that is holding us back.  And it means we work on this daily.  We are constantly giving it our all.  If we take a day off, we can get off track so easily.  We can’t give up to achieve real transformation.

    God really is the master of transformations.  Look at his good creation for an example.  The most obvious is the butterfly.  What a miracle it is to watch this take place.  But there are so many more.  From tadpoles to frogs – from seeds to fruit – from tiny specs to flowers – trees transform every season – flowering, providing shade with their leaves, changing colors, losing leaves – always in the process of transforming.  It happens all around us without us even noticing.  

    For us, we transform by hearing God, by listening.  We transform when we read and study God’s word.  We transform when we daily work to use our gifts for God’s glory.  We transform when we hear God call us and we follow.  We transform when we love others with a radical love.  We transform when we share kindness with an unkind world.  We transform as we seek God every single day.  We seek him actively.  We seek him with our whole hearts.  We seek…and when we seek, we find.  

    When we transform, we begin to work together for God.  We begin to transform the church and the world.  We transform the places around us when we share God’s love.  God’s love will always change things, always.  God’s love will transform, always.  

    Are you ready to put in the effort to become more like Christ?  It is a daily struggle – a willingness to listen to the Holy Spirit – a giving up of self and embracing what God has for us – sacrificing our own wants for God’s – working with others, sharing our gifts for the greater good.  These challenging times call us to do the difficult work of transformation.  Are you willing to sacrifice?  We are in this together.

  • PATHS – Devotion 123

    This morning on my morning run, I was met by 2 deer.  That’s not such a big deal.  I see deer often while driving and running.  They took a look at me and I guess thought I looked fairly harmless, maybe friendly.  They were right.  I kept moving forward like I always do.  At the last minute, they decided it was best to head back into the woods.  One deer went the route I expected.  She went back along the path they had come.  It was a clear cut path, no obstacles.  The other deer, not so much.  This deer headed through the woods, and I mean straight through the brush of the woods.  When I looked, I saw no path.  I did not see a way through.  It looked thick and covered.  But she saw differently.  She saw a path just big enough for her to escape.  It was a route she identified that I would have never picked.  I was amazed at how she seemed to disappear with just a leap.  It was as if she was made for that path and the path was made for her.  

    I wonder how many times we don’t realize there is a path in front of us.  We don’t see another way.  We see the easy way and sometimes we take it.  We don’t take the time to consider there may be another way.  Jesus’ way isn’t easy.  He makes it pretty clear that to follow him means thinking beyond the path that is most obvious.  The way that looks most enticing may in fact be the way that leads to problems.  It just might be what we don’t see at first is actually the path we were made to follow.  

    Jesus’ way looks like love and peace and joy in a world filled with anything but those things.  It means reaching outside of ourselves to be kind and do justice and love mercy.  It looks like a path that isn’t always clearly marked, but we are just the right fit because we were made for this.  It’s often difficult, unconventional and scary.  But if Jesus leads the way, we must follow.  What an adventure this path will offer!  I will do my best to see and follow the challenging path of Jesus.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 42:1-2

    1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,
        so my soul longs for you, O God.
    2 My soul thirsts for God,
        for the living God.
    When shall I come and behold
        the face of God?

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • BUT – Devotion 122

    Our world is conditional.  We find ourselves putting conditions on most everything.  I will do this, BUT… I will be glad to help, IF… This will be good WHEN… We want to condition it.  If we put a condition on it, we have an out.  It really just negates what we are saying.  We want something in return or we want to make sure that our interests are covered.  We want to make sure our perspective is taken into consideration.  We all do it.  It really comes naturally.  

    I am grateful that God’s love is not conditional for me.  I am so thankful that he doesn’t say he loves me BUT.  I can’t imagine being loved by God IF.  And I know I will never be worthy enough.  I know I will never be good enough.  I know I won’t earn his love.  And I know he loves me even when I am a mess.  He doesn’t wait for me to be perfect, since I never will be.  He doesn’t sit by and look for me to do enough good things.  He simply loves me.  

    What if we really understood this?  What if we really took seriously that God loves us so much and there aren’t any conditions?  Would it change the way we see the world?  Would it change the way we see the person in the mirror?  Would it change the way we love others?  I think so.  If we really take seriously that we are loved by the Creator of this world, we have a well so deep to pour out love on others.  We experience the world in a new way because we experience God in a new way.  We may find we are more forgiving.  We may find we have patience with others.  We may even find our love is a little less conditional.  So let’s put the BUT away…and realize just how much we are loved…no conditions.  I want to live like that.

    Focus Scripture:

    1 John 4:7-11

    7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Little Differences – Devotion 121

    The weather has been so stifling hot this summer.  It seems to be way more humid with higher temperatures than I remember.  I’m sure it is just my perspective because I am living in the middle of it.  I will probably say the same thing next year when the summer heat bakes the earth.  But it is really so very hot.  So when it cools down just a few degrees, it is amazing what a difference it makes.  The morning temperatures actually fall below 70 and it is as if I have walked into a new dimension.  What would have been warm before is now a welcome coolness.  When coming from the summer’s oven, the mildness of the morning is so refreshing.  

    The interesting part for me is that the temperatures are not drastically different.  It is more that we have gotten accustomed to the extreme heat and humidity for quite a while.  We have an expectation that it will remain this hot for what seems like forever.  When we are surprised by a few degree drop, we are thrilled.  It is as if we can breathe again.  

    We are in a time of such division and chaos.  We go through these cycles.  People are more vocal and it seems that we do not always let the best of ourselves shine.  We hear division on the news, we see it on TV, we read about it – we are filled with the difficulties of transition in our world.  It can become almost a norm that we expect.  So when there are small differences, it seems to make a huge impact.  When someone is kind, it really shines through.  When someone helps another, it means so much.  When someone even smiles and says thank you, we are surprised.  

    So why don’t we surprise someone with kindness today?  Why don’t we go out of the norm and help someone else?  Why don’t we make a little change that could make a big difference?  We could be the exception that really does brighten the day.  And we could do it simply because we are loved by an amazing God that is with us every day.  The little differences can make huge impacts.  Be the difference.

    Focus Scripture:

    John 13:34-35

    34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • It’s mine – devotion 120

    When kids are growing up, we do our best to teach them to share.  They have a natural inclination to grab their own toy (or someone else’s) and claim it.  They exclaim, “it’s mine!” as they hold the toy close and dare anyone to try and take it.  As parents or teachers or friends, we try and help out.  We show the advantages to sharing and what it means to take turns.  We try to guide others in how to work together with limited toys.  Working together and sharing just makes for a better play area.  The “it’s mine” attitude just doesn’t work well.

    As we grow older, these lessons sometimes stick and sometimes don’t.  We hold onto things with all our might and continue to proclaim ownership.  We worked for it, we earned it, it is mine.  No one has any right to what is mine.  We hold so tightly to what we think is ours that we can’t see or hear that there might be a better way.  

    Today’s focus scripture proclaims ownership, but it is not our ownership.  It doesn’t say that if we earn it, it is ours.  It doesn’t talk about how we can fight for it and it is ours, fair and square.  It doesn’t suggest that we hold tightly to it because we deserve it.  Actually, the scripture tells us that everything is God’s.  Everything on the earth – everything – is God’s.  It even reads that everyone is his.  That sure isn’t how we live.  We don’t consider that this world could be God’s.  We work way too hard on a daily basis for it to be God’s.  We spend all our energy on attaining things that surely God wouldn’t expect us to give it to him.  But that is a problem – we don’t have to give it to him – it is already his, and so are we.  We are under the illusion it is all ours.

    If that really is the case – if the earth is God’s and everything in it – then we probably should take another look at what we are doing.  We likely should look at the earth a little differently.  This morning, as the sun was beginning to peak out behind the clouds and the coolness was spread over the ground, I could only give thanks that this really is God’s.  I give thanks that the birds sing because they are his.  I give thanks that I see the beautiful colors he has created for all to experience.  We want to make a mess of things, but God is the ultimate creator.  He continues to produce good, even in the face of such destruction.  God is still the owner of it all. 

    And one last thing…it says we are his too.  We are God’s.  We should not look at ourselves as a mess or a tragedy.  We are beautiful creations of his.  We are his.  We are good (sometimes the good can be hard to see, but it is there).  It is all God’s, including us.  

    Maybe that changes how we see our day, how we take care of what we experience, and how we feel about God’s creation staring us in the mirror.  We are God’s.  Let’s live like it.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 24:1-2

    1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
        the world, and those who live in it;
    2 for he has founded it on the seas,
        and established it on the rivers.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • YOU – Devotion 119

    You are important.  You make a difference.  Your life is valuable and you mean something.  Sometimes we forget it.  Sometimes we don’t realize our value.  And sometimes others have diminished our worth and we have mistakenly listened.  You hold more value than you can comprehend and you have much still to accomplish.

    You may be wondering how I know this.  You may not think I am just making this up or writing this in general.  But I am really writing this for you…yep, you.  How do I know you are valuable and important and make a difference?  How do I know you are treasured and a gift?  How do I know there is so much more ahead for you?  I know because I know you were created for good.  I know you were designed perfectly.  You were shaped and molded, given life and breath for a reason, and it is good.  I know that when you were made, you were made beautifully.  I know this because I know the Creator.  God doesn’t make mistakes.  He creates and it is good.  He creates and it is beautiful.  He creates and there is life.  This is because of the amazing artist that he is.  And you are an amazing work by the most amazing Creator.  Yes, you are.

    Since you are a gift and you make a difference, it enables you to make a difference in the lives of others.  You have this opportunity to do the good you have been created to do.  You have this life to fulfill your goals and missions.  There are good things which await.

    One more time, hear that you are valuable, you are important, and you make a difference.  You have been given this incredible life for good.  Go do good.

    Focus Scripture:

    Ephesians 2:10

    10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

     

  • Moments – Devotion 118

    Isn’t it interesting the things we remember?  I remember what someone drove 20 years ago because it was special to see them drive up in the driveway.  I remember the food that we had at Christmas when I was a child – the specific smells of the goodies in the back room that were kept cool.  I can remember the cabin we stayed at just once as a child on a vacation to the mountains.  I actually remember more about my Dad’s graduation than I do my own.  We graduated from the same college just a year apart with our Bachelor’s degrees.  It is funny the moments, the smells, the tastes we remember.  And then I struggle to tell you what I ate yesterday or to remember what is on my calendar for this afternoon.

    I am no scientist, but it seems to me that our brains hold on to those important senses – sights, smells, tastes, moments – that impact us in seemingly small ways.  These are moments we would not have purposely committed to memory, but they are embedded.  They are there waiting to be awakened as we smell a cookie baking or we hear laughter or we see a particular model of a car.  And we often find ourselves smiling just because.

    What moments are we making now?  We can spend so much of our lives doing things we think matter so much only to later realize they weren’t all that important.  We won’t remember the extra hours doing things which ultimately brought no joy.  We won’t care about the extra dollars we made instead of the extra time we spent.  We won’t think about the things which we consider so important today but are forgotten tomorrow.  So maybe we make memories that count.  Maybe we focus on the small, valuable times spent with loved ones.  Maybe we take a moment and evaluate how we are making memories now.  It just might shift our focus a bit.

    Focus Scripture:

    Philippians 4:4-8

    4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

    8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

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    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

     

  • Sight – Devotion 117

    What do you see?  When we go to the eye doctor, we are given a chart.  We are asked to read the smallest line.  We are asked, “what do you see?”  Sometimes I am trying to focus and can make out some small letters and I feel accomplished.  But more often, I want to ask to be able to use both my eyes, I see better with them both.  I notice how weak one eye is compared to another.  I notice that as I get older, the small print becomes just a bit of a blur.  I notice things change.  What do I see?  I see less than I want.

    When we begin our day, what do we see?  What is it that has our focus?  What holds our attention?  Is it our problems that we see?  Do we see clearly all of the stressful things which await our attention?  Do we see the stack of work to complete?  Do we see our troubles and our anxiety staring us as we begin a new day?  It can be easy for that to come into clear focus.  It can consume our vision.  But what if the glasses are changed and we shift our focus, if just for a moment?  What if we begin to see something new and different?

    What if we change our vision just slightly and see what is all around the problems?  We might see the beauty of a new day.  We might notice the gifts contained in these opportunities.  We may notice that we have way more to look forward to than we would have imagined.  We might even find ourselves smiling at what is to come.  For there is still joy, there is still love, there is still peace.  It may not be the first thing which comes into focus, but it is definitely there.  Maybe we work on our sight…good things await.

    Focus Scripture:

    1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

    16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

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    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Garden of Goodness

    I love planting flowers.  My favorite is when I can plant a flower this year and it brings so much joy.  Next spring, it begins to bloom and shoot up again, without anything on my part.  The seeds have become a part of the soil and it continues to bring joy year after year.  It is one of those simple pleasures in life.  But flowers are not the only things that can take root.  Some choking, hateful weeds also find their way.  They can be some of the most difficult, gnarly things and their roots seem to go on forever.  It is really challenging to get rid of them.  They seem to multiply and take over when I am not looking.  Staying ahead of them seems to be almost impossible.  If I don’t constantly take action, they will take over and the plants won’t even be recognized among the weeds.  It isn’t that the beautiful flowers aren’t there any longer, it is just you can barely recognize them among the deeply rooted weeds.  It looks like a weed bed rather than a flower bed.  It can become so frustrating how quickly they take root.

    We have some weeds in our lives that take root in us too.  We can have trouble blooming and showing our true beauty because the weeds have taken their place and overshadowing the good.  That is what hear in Jesus’ words to his disciples and those willing to listen.  May we have ears to hear and hearts to receive what he has for us today:

    Matthew 15:6-20

    6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:

    8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
        but their hearts are far from me;
    9 in vain do they worship me,
        teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”

    10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

    Jesus is being pushed on the law, but not the law of God, but rather the law of man.  God’s law has been expanded to become a set of rules that worked for the advantage of the leaders rather than God.  And they wanted to impose this law on Jesus.  They wanted to catch him, to have something to accuse him of doing.  They had no true intention of following God, but rather following the rules they had created for control purposes.  And Jesus calls them out on it.

    They are being hypocritical because their mouths say one thing but their hearts tell a different story.  They pretend to follow God but really want is their own way.  They decide what they like and go with it so they look good.  But God will have none of it.  So Jesus uses a parable, as he often does, to teach a lesson.  He wants them to hear the message in a way that speaks in a different way rather than quoting rules or law.  He approaches them from the heart.  He wants to show them the right way.  And sometimes that means calling them out for where they have gone wrong.   Sometimes he calls us out too, if only we would listen.

    For Jesus, they are upset about the wrong things.  They are looking at how the disciples are eating that is defying the law.  But for Jesus, he is more concerned with what comes out of the mouth than what goes in.  He is not so much concerned about how they eat as to what they say.  Actions mean something.  Being fake is not okay with Jesus.  Putting on some false front does not work out in God’s kingdom.  He knows when it is fake and when it is real because he knows the heart.  He understands when intentions are to look good rather than to be loving and kind.  He gets it and he is trying to help them understand it as well.

    So he tells them that the problem is what comes out of the mouth.  We hear this echoed in the book of James as well.  It is a problem with what is spoken, what happens as a result of the things in our heart.  The problem is what has taken root in our hearts.  We may have beautiful things captured in our heart, but the weeds may be taking over.  The weeds of our lives may be so deeply embedded that our intentions are beginning to reflect the weeds.  The beauty of our lives, the goodness God has given us, the love that has been poured into us may become hidden.  How do we know?  What is in our hearts reflects in the things we say and do.

    Our of the heart comes some pretty foul, harsh, ugly things, Jesus says.  He gives some examples:  evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.  That’s a pretty rough list.  We may think there is no way we have any of that in our hearts.  But we also have to remember how Jesus defines these things.  We are in the Gospel of Matthew.  This is the same Gospel that gives us the sermon on the mount, right?  Matthew 5-7 gives us insight on how Jesus feels about these same things.  For instance, he reminds us that where there is hatred for a brother or sister, we have already committed murder in our heart…when there is lust for another, there has been adultery in the heart…when there is greed, there has already been theft…when there is anger, there has already been bad outcomes.  In other words, he may not speak directly of the actual actions of these things, but rather the intentions, the things that have taken root in us.  So anger, greed, malice, jealousy, hatred – just to name a few.  These come out of our mouths.  They show up in our lives and they are ugly.  The weeds begin to reflect in the ways we act and the things we say.  Our lives become stained by these ugly, destructive weeds.  They take root and cover up the goodness God has created.

    We may not even realize it.  We may not even see our own anger or greed or envy.  We may not see our hatred or jealousy.  We may not see how ugly things have gotten in our hearts.  What do we do?  We read the words given to us by God.  We hear God speak to us in the moments we feel guilty.  We begin to look at what we post or hear the things we say.  We begin to take a long, difficult look at what is in our heart.  It will show if we just look.  And it is ugly.

    It often doesn’t take a lot of investigation to realize where we are.  It doesn’t take much to realize the weeds that have taken root.  We know when we are being destroyed and overtaken.  We know when we are not doing the things we should or we are doing what we should not.  We know when anger has taken our hearts.  We know when envy has taken its ugly place as a resident.  We know.  We can see it too, if we really look.  God reveals it to us if we are simply willing to take a look.  If we are really ready to hear, we are told.  If we will quit denying, God reveals.

    We are not defeated, though.  The weeds do not have to take over.  They may have deep roots, but this does not mean they can’t be uprooted.  They may seem overwhelming, but God can help us to clean up and beautify.  He can help us to reimagine the garden of our hearts.  He can help us to start again.  It isn’t easy.  It is a regular struggle.  Just like the flower bed, it takes regular attention.  Think about it, if I clean up my flower bed today, how long do you think it would take before the weeds come back?  If I don’t pay attention, it wouldn’t take too long.  It is a constant process of cleaning up and getting back on track.  It is a continual weeding and getting rid of the things which can defile.  It is something we do daily.  But when God is the master of our garden, good things will grow.  Great things will happen.  There is more beauty that we could ever imagine.

    Will you join me in weeding out the ugliness of our hearts?  Will you plant the goodness of God?  We just might see God at work in our own lives if we do.

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  • Happy – Devotion 116

    There are so many things I enjoy about dogs.  One of those is that you can tell how a dog is feeling about you by their actions.  They don’t hide anything.  So when I walk in the door, Leo immediately runs to find something to bring to me at the door.  His whole body speaks joy.  When I am out and I see a dog, I can tell if the dog is okay with meeting me.  If the tail is wagging, it is a good sign this dog is excited to get to know me.  If there is no tail wagging and the dog is standing off a bit, I know to either not approach or approach with caution.  If a dog is showing teeth, I know to keep my distance.  But the point is I can detect the thoughts of the dog simply by the body actions.  A wagging tail is a happy friend.

    Imagine if humans were equipped like this.  We tend to put on artificial smiles.  We pretend to act in certain ways that are not at all how we actually feel.  We put on a pretty face or we show our disappointment by pouting.  I think it would be interesting if we could tell if someone was really happy simply by looking at them.  We could tell if someone was really angry by the signal.  I think it might help a lot of men figure out the mood of their loved one – she says she is fine but that tail is not wagging – proceed with caution…she says she is not angry, but those teeth are showing – do not approach.  These would be helpful.  I think it would also cut out a lot of the fake from our world.  It would cut down on the pretend.  Instead, we would know if someone was really happy.

    We could try just being real.  We can be kind and loving because we have been given kindness and love.  We can show our happiness through real smiles and laughter.  We can help others because that is who we really are.  We can make life a little more simple – maybe wag our tails once in a while.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 34:8-9

    8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
    happy are those who take refuge in him.
    9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
    for those who fear him have no want.

     

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

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