Category: Devotion

I am not always good at remembering.  When someone tells me something, I think it will be easy to remember what they said.  But time and time again, I am proven wrong.  I have often forgotten before they have walked away.  So, I do things to help me remember.  I write notes as reminders.  If I am in a central place, that is good.  If not, there is no telling where that note will end up or if I will remember I had the note.  I sometimes tell other people to help me remember.  That works if the other person has a better memory than me.  Otherwise, this can easily fail.  I have tried repeating it over and over and over.  This can work if I only have to remember something for a short period of time.  I can’t go around repeating the same thing all day, that’s unproductive and a little weird.  I even set reminders on my phone so they alert me.  You can see I try as many tactics as I can to help me remember.  Sometimes it works.  

Today’s focus scripture is about remembering something super important.  It is so important that God has given us instructions on how to remember.  He has given us tools to help us keep this at the forefront of our minds – literally.  This is just that important.  He does not want us to forget – ever.  We lose more than the thought if we forget this.  We lose ourselves.  

We are to remember:  “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”  Loving God and God alone is so very important that God teaches repetition.  He wants these words implanted in our hearts.  He wants them to become a part of who we are and how we live.  He wants these words to be the foundation for which all other is built.  

How important are these words to you?  It may help if we begin to make these words central in our lives – so we never, ever forget.

Focus Scripture:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. ⁶ Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. ⁷ Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, ⁹ and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

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

In times gone by, a handshake would seal a deal.  It was an agreement between two people that was binding.  Of course, that is not applicable today.  We have paperwork…and more paperwork…and still, more paperwork.  We have paperwork to explain the paperwork – and few people understand any of it.  All of this is done so that people feel more secure about the deal being made.  Then there are loopholes to get around the mounds of paperwork.  So new paperwork is added to take care of the loopholes.  It is a vicious cycle just to secure something, to have it firm and lasting. 

Thankfully God doesn’t need paperwork or anyone to work up any deals for him.  He has established and is firm in his promises.  What he says he means.  It is something we can count on.  It may not always be what we want.  It may not always be the outcome we would choose.  But ultimately, God is always faithful.

The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture reminds us of this very fact.  He sings of God’s steadfast love.  He proclaims God’s faithfulness.  He declares that God’s steadfast love is established forever.  And God’s faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.  In other words, we can count on it because it is written over all the earth.  Just look around, God’s promises are firm and visible.  God is who he says is and he will do what he says he will do.  That doesn’t need paperwork.  It simply needs trust.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 89:1-2

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
    with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
² I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
    your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

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

We are taught to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.  In other words, love God with our everything.  We are also taught to love our neighbor as ourselves.  That teaches we are to love ourselves (we are, after all, made in the image of God).  It also teaches we are to love others.  Our love for ourselves and others, of course, stems from our love for God.  No fruit is produced apart from God.  No true love is shared when God is not the singular focus.  

Loving God makes us not only better servants, but better parents, children, spouses, employees and so much more.  We are better because of our focused love for God.  All things spring out of this.  But it is hard to keep this singular focus.  So many things vie for our attention.  There are so many things which call for our loyalty.  Options abound of what we can give our hearts.  Yet, loving God has to be it.  It must be our guiding light in life.  When it is, all things work together.  

Love the Lord our God is more than a set of words strung together.  It is a declaration to the One who rescues and redeems us.  It is not an idea but a practice.  It is not a saying but a way of life.  To love God changes everything.  He already loves us.  He could not love us any more than he already does.  We are not trying to earn his love.  We couldn’t if we wanted to.  We are called to love him.  That is the focus. This is the goal.  

Love the Lord our God with an undivided heart.  Giving God our all is the focus.  May it be so.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 86:11-13

¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
¹² I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
¹³ For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

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

We want to do good.  We try to do good.  We think about doing good.  And then we fail.  It can feel like we are all alone in our struggle.  We wonder what is wrong with us.  We don’t always understand our path.  We know God is good but we, if we are honest, we are not always good.  This can feel defeating.  But we are not alone.  We do not struggle alone.  God understands where we are.  He sees how we try.  He knows our hearts, our inner desire to serve him.  He gets how we struggle and he loves us anyway.

The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture is there.  This is where he finds himself.  He has nearly fallen, slipping along in life, trying to find a foothold.  He knows what is right.  Yet, he finds himself looking around.  He sees how other people prospering.  He is looking around and feels like those who do not follow God seem to be doing better.  It can feel disheartening to look around.  Comparison is an enemy.  In the end, he comes back to the fact that the only place to be is near God.  If you are near God, you do not need to worry about what is going on around you.  God will take care of us.  He will love us.  He will watch over us.  He is our refuge and strength when we find a place in him.  

Maybe the key isn’t trying to do better or feeling like we always have to do it right.  Maybe the key is location.  Maybe we focus on getting closer to God and pulling from his strength.  We cannot do it alone.  But the closer we get to God, the more we have all we need – and become all we were created.  Today, move closer to the only One who can provide a refuge and a strength.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 73:1-3; 28

¹ Truly God is good to the upright, 
    to those who are pure in heart.
² But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
    my steps had nearly slipped.
³ For I was envious of the arrogant;
    I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

²⁸ But for me it is good to be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my refuge,
    to tell of all your works.

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

It seems we are given a reprieve with the weather.  When we are going through cold and rainy continual days, a few days of warmth and sunshine are even more impactful.  They offer an extra bit of joy, a welcome change from the cold, dreary days.  We might not appreciate the really good days if we didn’t struggle through the tough ones.  It is in the struggle we learn to look for the good.  

I don’t know about you, but the last two days of sunshine have been a like one loving, warm hug on my weary soul.  I have been reminded better days are coming.  I am not foolish enough to think winter is over.  There will be cold and dreary days.  But for a few moments, it was great to simply soak up what was offered.  Worrying or concentrating on what is to come is unhelpful.  Taking in what is offered right now is the key.

What in our lives are going really well?  What have we taken for granted or missed because we have only focused on the difficult?  What struggles have we tackled which have opened our eyes to the joys of living?  Don’t miss the beauty of a reprieve.  It is given to us to learn to enjoy today.  Today is enough and so are we.  

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 74:15-17

¹⁵ You cut openings for springs and torrents;
    you dried up ever-flowing streams.
¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you established the luminaries and the sun.
¹⁷ You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
    you made summer and winter.

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

All too often, we hold back in our prayers.  We don’t really tell God how we feel.  We may be hurt or afraid, but we tend to minimize these feelings.  We hide them under a rug hoping no one notices.  We don’t tell other people how we are really doing, so why tell God?  

There is a problem with this, of course.  While we may be able to put on a good show for everyone else, God already knows.  While we are hiding our fears and insecurities, God sees us in our hidden places.  When we don’t truly let others know how we are feeling, God has heard our inner thoughts.  He already knows all of this.  Yet, we decide we will filter how we feel when we pray.  

Many would argue we do this out of respect for God.  I understand holding deep respect for God.  But it seems to me what we are actually doing is lying.  We aren’t actually hiding how we feel before God.  So when we come to him and hide our true insecurities, we aren’t actually hiding anything but the truth from ourselves.  It seems to me it would be better to pour out our heart and soul before the only One who can heal.  Why not tell him about all of our fears, what angers us, and what is bothering us?  Why not tell him when we are upset?  He already knows – so why pretend otherwise?  

The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture leads us in this way.  We are told to pour out our hearts before God because he is our refuge.  We can trust him.  If we hold back our feelings, it seems to me we are showing a lack of trust – as if God can’t handle our anger, our fears, and our insecurities.  The Psalms give us a great model of what it means to pour it all out before him – and it often isn’t pretty.  Maybe we spend some time today finally being honest with God.  It just may be what we need to begin to heal.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 62:8

Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us.

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

There are days when the moon feels so near, so big and beautiful.  This morning was one of those times.  It was hovering just over the horizon when I stepped out this morning.  I was able to see it descend out of my view only to be matched by the rising of the sun in the opposite direction.  The earth has rested, the earth is waking once again.  It is an amazement we get to experience when we take the time to notice, to pay close attention to the work of God.

It isn’t always this way – the views are not always this vivid.  There are rainy days (many rainy days) and there are foggy beginnings.  That’s why it is so important we not miss it.  We allow too much to pass by in the pursuit of something else.  We are often looking for something different when what is right before us is magnificent.  It is difficult to appreciate the goodness around us when we are constantly living in such discontent.  

The Psalmist begins the writings bringing our attention to the power of God.  God spoke the earth into being, as Genesis tells us.  He breathed life into humanity.  For the Psalmist to declare God speaks and summons the earth is a natural progression.  God is still moving and creating.  He is still speaking and summoning.  He is still providing so many wonders to see – his power and beauty to behold.

What is right before you that you may be missing?  Take a moment just to look around.  God has given us some incredible sights to see – we just need to take the time to notice.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 50:1

The mighty one, God the Lord,
    speaks and summons the earth
    from the rising of the sun to its setting.

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

Traveling through the fog can skew our perspective.  We don’t always know where the next turn will be.  It even causes us to question what we know about the roads.  Everything seems out of sorts.  Our vision is distorted from what it might otherwise be.  I noticed something intriguing this morning as I was running in the fog – when I looked up, I could see the clearing of the fog and a whole dome of bright stars.  The fog was settling on the earth and left the sky completely clear.  While my vision was distorted looking all around me, I could clearly see when I looked up.

I was immediately reminded this is what life is like.  So many times I look around me and see trouble.  I feel the anxiety and chaos.  The uncertainty of each day can feel so heavy.  All too often, that’s all I see – or all I allow myself to see.  I get caught up in the fog of life.  It is when I cry out to God for rescue – when I seek him on his Holy Mountain – I find relief.  When I look up, I see clearly.  I see I am not in control, but I am not alone.  I see there is joy and hope which awaits.  I see there is a peaceful presence of beauty.  But to see it, I must look up.  I can’t get mired down in the bog of this life.  

Maybe today is the day you need to simply look up.  You may find you see so much clearer when you focus on God and not on your problems.  You may even find rescue.  He hung the stars and yet, he loves you and me – that’s the God I want to serve.  Look up, my friends – God is with us.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 147:3-5

³ He heals the brokenhearted,
    and binds up their wounds.
⁴ He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
⁵ Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.

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

Wendy and I went on a trip years ago to a place which felt like a tropical paradise.  It was warm and welcoming.  The waters were crystal clear and seemed to go on forever.  I do vividly remember one interesting aspect of this paradise – rain.  It wasn’t that it rained much at all.  We had many days of absolute beauty, no overcast.  But when the rain came, it was unexpected.  It seemed to come on in the blink of an eye.  When it rains on the beaches of North Carolina, we usually pack up and go inside – the rain seems to take a seat and stay a while.  But not here.  People would just crowd under one of the nearby trees.  Just hang on a little and the storm will pass.  There was no need to pick up your stuff.  No need to go inside.  Just hang out under the tree for a few and then return to your normal activity.  The trees provided a reprieve in a downpour.  They gave us a refuge from the storm.  It didn’t last long and it was just what we needed.  

When I read the Psalm in today’s focus scripture, I thought about how God provides refuge in our storms.  He shields us and protects us.  He provides exactly what we need just when we need it.  But he doesn’t intend for us to stay there forever.  We have to go back out.  We have to move forward, seeking to serve him.  We are called to go and serve, not stay and hideout.  We are taught to be strong and courageous, God is with us.  These are gifts as we go.  

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I want to just stay in the refuge.  I want to be covered and not come out again.  The world can be cruel.  There can be so many things which hurt us.  It can feel like too much.  But God has given us the courage to move out into the world to share his love.  We are given all we need to reach out with his kindness and spread his hope.  These are things so desperately needed in our world.  And we have the keys – the peace, love, joy and hope.  Sometimes we just need to move out of our comfort and into a hurting world.  

There is a time when refuge is exactly what we need.  There is also a time to step forward with God into the world.  Wherever you may find yourself today, may you feel the presence of the Almighty.  He is with us.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 57:1

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    until the destroying storms pass by.

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

As we begin to take a look at where we are, what we have been doing and how we might be missing the ways to be a follower of Christ, we may find our mistakes tend to add up.  We may find we keep repeating the same ridiculous errors over and over.  We may find the same things trip us up and get us off the right path.  This can be frustrating.  But the more we take the time to see, to identify those problems, the better we are equipped to give them to God.  When we do that, we are asking for help.  We are looking for a better way.  We are laying it all out before him.  Until we take that long, hard look at our mistakes, we won’t realize the things which continue to haunt us and send us in the wrong direction.

One of the issues we often run into is we want an easy fix.  We want it to all go away.  We don’t always want to put in the work to combat our weaknesses.  We just want it all to end.  Yet, there are consequences to our bad decisions.  There are outcomes to the ways that we go – and sometimes those are really challenging, even painful.  We sometimes suffer because we have chosen the wrong path.  This isn’t always the case.  But there are many times when we have gotten ourselves into the situation that is dragging us down.  While God provides mercy and redemption, we are not without consequences.  

In today’s portion of Psalm 51, the Psalmist admits to God where he has gone wrong.  He understands that God has every right to punish him, to cast judgment.  He knows he has gone off course and comes before God with it.  This is often an important step in getting back to where we need to be.  When we can understand how we have gone wrong, we can also appreciate the redemption that is before us.  It can also help us not to go that direction again.  

Today, may we come before God with an honest assessment of where we are.  May we lay it all out before him.  This is a step towards healing.  It is painful.  But it is necessary to begin to move forward.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 51:3-4

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
    and blameless when you pass judgment.

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