Category: Devotion

I can’t tell you how many times this question has rolled through my mind…”What was I thinking?”  Sometimes it is prompted by those around me asking me what I was thinking.  And then, I can hear the response now (not from me)… “He wasn’t, that’s the problem.”  (Sometimes it just be like that). 

There are times when situations happen and they come out of nowhere.  I really did think through things and this is just what happened (what had happened was…).  As much as we try to plan and prepare, things can just go haywire.  And then there are times when I fly by the seat of my pants and everything goes better than expected.  

Planning is great and needed.  Sometimes quick decisions are called for and vital.  We can find ourselves in situations we didn’t plan or expect either way.  I think this is where wisdom comes in.  When we pay attention to those who offer sage advice, when we take the time to really listen to the stories of others, we can find such guidance in their words.  

That’s one of the many values of the Bible.  There have been way too many occasions I read the Bible and think… “What were they thinking?!”  They did ridiculous things and made some of the most foolish mistakes.  And then I look in the mirror.  Me too, Israelites, me too.  But we continue to learn and grow.  We listen, we pay attention, we seek guidance, and we also tune into our own experiences.  We often know the answer, even if it is buried deep within.  We learn from mistakes and we keep moving.  We don’t give up.  And we do think.  And we do try.  And we do work hard.  We just keep moving.  

Don’t let foolishness derail you.  Don’t let bad decisions keep you from seeking what is right and good.  And don’t stop taking chances.  Failure is a powerful teacher.  Wisdom is often costly.  Keep on thinking and reading and listening.  Growth is coming.

I am always amazed at how small changes can make such a large impact.  You don’t even notice when it happens.  A perspective change happens in an instant, almost in a stealth and undercover way.  This morning, it happened.

I was walking the trail and things looked different.  I have spent time on this trail and know it fairly well.  I have spent time walking intentionally, not just hurriedly passing through.  But today, my perspective changed.  The fog had settled in and decided to take a respite in the thick of the trail.  It was still absolutely beautiful as ever. But it seemed like the tide was lower or the marsh had grown substantially all of a sudden.  It was odd and caused me to pause to take it all in.  It was as if I was walking on a different trail.  After a while, I proceeded on.  Once the fog decided it was time for coffee and moved on out, it all returned to what was familiar.  Nothing had actually changed except my perspective.

When I am walking the trail on a normal day, I look out.  I admire the water and the trees which bank the shores.  I watch the egress search for food.  Minnows swim in schools and seem to grow even more.  But what I was missing was right in front of me.  I was looking beyond the present.  I was looking far off at the joys which the vast river held.  That was not a problem.  But I had missed the marsh right in front of me.  As the fog held close, my distance was obscured, forcing me to see what was right before me.  And it, too, was beautiful.  It was like staring into a new land.  It had been there all the time.

As I traveled on, I was reminded of how we do this in so many parts of our perspective.  We are so busy worrying about what is far off, what is to come, what may happen, what may be out there, that we miss all that is right before us.  We create anxiety and worry about tomorrow when today holds so many joys and celebrations.  There are so many wonders which fill our vision but we have decided to focus on what is outside of our reach, even when it is good.  A little fog can change it all.  

Today, the fog changed my perspective and I saw the joy of today.  I saw the beauty right before me.  I saw all of creation which was here and now.  I saw how today is a gift not to be bypassed for tomorrow.  Don’t miss it.  Today’s fog is pointing you to the glory before us.  Thanks be to God for fog.  

I’ve lost count on how many times I have had a new day 1.  You know…the times when you will start something new… AGAIN.  Maybe it is a weight loss program or an exercise regimen.  For some, it is stopping old habits like smoking or beginning good things like eating more fruits and vegetables.  At the beginning of the year, people call them New Year’s Resolutions.  During the year, we call them Mondays.  Monday is always the day folks pick for some reason.  Saturday is deep into the weekend, and why ruin that.  Wednesday is middle of the week and its survival mode.  So Monday seems to be the best.  But when Monday comes, we realize we really don’t like Mondays that much so we will begin on Tuesday.  And so the story continues…more times we have a day 1.  

Yet, in all of this, those are important.  No matter how many you have, the fact that you even attempt a day 1 is beautiful.  Despite past failures, we are willing to try again.  Even though we have had 3,546 other day 1 starts, we are willing to have 3,547.  This time MIGHT be the time.  If we are honest, our health is worth it.  Our mental health is worth it.  Our spiritual health is worth it.  WE ARE WORTH IT.  We are worth pushing through the challenges to find another success, no matter how small.  Maybe we only made it through a few verses of the Bible.  That’s a few more verses than we may have read yesterday.  Maybe we only walked one mile.  That’s still one more mile towards good health.  Maybe we ended up eating only one healthy meal rather than the 3 we had planned.  That’s still one more meal towards our health.  Don’t discount the small wins.  Don’t get discouraged because it hasn’t worked out in the past.  That was the PAST.  

So, if this is your new Day 1…go get em!  If you are still trying to figure it out, make tomorrow your day 1 (No, Monday doesn’t HAVE to be the day).  The point is, just keep trying.  Just keep moving forward.  Never EVER give up!  Let’s conquer this day 1!

Choices are something we are faced with every single day.  We make them, often without thinking about them.  Sometimes we don’t feel like we have a choice, but in reality, we made the choice anyway.  It can be really difficult when there are multiple options in our choices.  This is displayed in way too many households, friendships, partnerships and the like today.  It begins with a familiar and almost haunting sentence…”what do you want to eat?”  It is a question that is asked way too often, likely to end in giving up, giving in, or just settling.  I can’t imagine how many times this question is asked in a day.  Because most of us are not actually hungry, this is more of an issue of what would seemingly make us happy in the moment.  It is one of the most difficult questions because while there seems to be nothing in our cabinets, the options are way too vast.  We are spoiled.

There are some choices which are not so mundane and frivolous.  We are faced with choices of where we will work, if we should marry at all and if so, to whom, where we will live, and where we will be educated.  There choices have more consequences and outcomes are more serious.  They are still not permanent, though.  We can change jobs or move homes or go back to school for a different degree.  We may find the love of our life or find we are best alone.  They are choices of a higher caliber.  They carry more importance.

And then there are choices which make an even greater impact than all of these.  In the Bible, the leader and follower of God, Joshua, challenges the people of God – choose this day… Choose on this day… and keep choosing… Whom will you serve?  It is a simple question with consequences which affect every area of their lives.  It is a question we continue to ask ourselves today.  Whom will I serve?  All too often, the answer is me.  I will serve me.  And yet, the challenge is to serve God.  Joshua reminds the people all God has brought them through.  He reminds them how powerful God is.  He helps them to remember the faithfulness, even when they weren’t.  

To choose to serve God is a life which is full of love and compassion, which isn’t always welcomed.  It is a life of kindness and patience, self-control and joy.  But it isn’t easy.  And we must continue to choose…on a regular basis.  

In the end, our actions reflect whom we have chosen to serve.  What does your life say?  Whom do you serve?  Today, I choose the Lord.

Tis the season of New Year Resolutions, promises of “a new year and new me”, thoughts of bettering ourselves and maybe just figuring out how to do things better.  For some, it is simply another day.  It is another chime of the clock or the change of a calendar so it now reads the correct year.  It seems to me this is a good time to at least take a moment and reflect on what went well – if nothing else.  Gaining a perspective can help us to move forward into the future with a little more compassion – both for ourselves and for others. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 

3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

I find today’s text to be important as we take the leap into 2022.  It signifies the gift of seasons, of the passing of times and the beauty with the difficulty of the change of times.  All are important – the planting and harvesting, the building and breaking down, the dancing and the mourning, the seeking and keeping and the losing and throwing away.  It is all important.  There is a purpose for the seasons.  We are all gifted with these times – although some times feel more like torture than gifts.  We can feel isolated and fearful as times change.  My grandmother reminds me often how tough it is to grow older – it isn’t for sissys she tells me.  Watching children go from little babies to adult children going out on their own can seem to happen so quickly.  There are so many joys in each moment and mixed in, there is often hurt and disappointment.  Seasons change and we learn to adjust to our new situations, whether we really want to or not.  

I’m not a big fan of winter – so you can imagine how much I have enjoyed the past few days.  I do not enjoy when it gets dark before I leave my office and the sun doesn’t make an appearance until I have been up several hours.  I don’t really enjoy the trees and plants looking so bare.  I’m much more of a fan of spring.  I love to watch things bloom and come alive.  I enjoy planting in my garden and waiting for the first sprigs to appear from the ground.  But I know that winter is a preparation for spring.  I understand that during the winter, processes are happening beneath the earth so something amazing happens when the ground thaws.  I know that the trees I pass by are not dead, they are simply in restoration, waiting to produce new leaves and beautiful fruits.  I get it.  The seasons make sense – but it doesn’t mean I always look forward to the changes.  

Most of us aren’t a fan of change – that’s probably an understatement if we are honest with ourselves.  We don’t want change and even if we think we do, it can shake us to our core.  We don’t always know why we do something we do except we have always done it that way.  We get accustomed to a routine, to seeing things a certain way.  We like it that way and we want it to stay that way.  I want my garden to keep producing crops but it doesn’t work that way.  I want the sun to come up earlier and stay around a little longer, but I don’t get to decide.  But change is necessary, often healing.  It can be the key to us moving forward and finding new growth.  

When I think of the positive changes I read in the Bible, they are often the hardest, most difficult journeys.  Take just a moment and think about it.  We start in the Old Testament and we see the story of Joseph.  He went through a series of painful changes – thrown in a pit by his own family, sent to prison, lies told about him and seemingly completely forgotten.  Yet, he became the one to save his people.  I think of his words – what you meant for evil, God meant for good.  

Consider the children of Israel – those stubborn, disobedient and often ungrateful folks – reminds me a lot of us today.  They were rescued from captivity only to complain and whine at every turn, even wishing they were still in captivity.  Yet, they were on their way to the Promised Land – a place where God’s goodness flowed out of abundance.  I think of Isaiah and many of the prophets letting the people know to get themselves together, good was to come – but all they saw was bad, and kept doing wrong because of their shortsightedness.  I think of Jesus – probably one of the most controversial change agents ever to live.  He turned their faith (or lack thereof) upside down and began to shake things at the very core.  He questioned everything they did and pushed them to live very differently than they could have ever imagined.  By the way – they didn’t like this either – I mean, they did try to throw him off of a cliff and did eventually hang him on a cross.  I think of Paul – introducing to the first Christians the idea that these unclean Gentiles were worthy of God’s love too.  He was beaten, shipwrecked and starved on more than one occasion.  

My point is the most beautiful outcomes in our faith are built out of changes which were often the most painful and challenging.  None of them came without great cost.  There were times of good but there were also times of hurt, grief and disappointment.  Change comes at a cost but the outcome is better than any could have ever imagined. 

We don’t really know what changes await us in 2022.  We couldn’t have predicted a pandemic that would continue this long – even though this isn’t the first one ever to happen in history.  Many of us are shocked at the amount of hate and meanness that can be produced when the fires of change are stoked.  But this calls us to be the change for good.  This is the time when Christians should be the leaders in positive change.  We should be the example.  When all the world seems so full of hate, we should be full of love.  When everyone seems frightened and out of sorts, we should be the ones confident in the peace of God which should live in us.  When all else seems to be falling apart, we are the ones with the understanding that seasons do change but God does not.  We hear how weeping may be through the night but joy comes in the morning.  We have seen and heard how our God is faithful and shows up at just the right time – though often not as we would want him to.  We have experienced the miracles of a loving God.  We know God is merciful and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.  We should get it – but often we are stubborn to all God is doing.  We fight the change rather than being the change.  We want things our way rather than God’s way and end up in a mess we could have avoided if we simply followed Christ.  We seek our own fulfillment rather than seeking justice which may be quite costly. 

So what’s the good news?  The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way.  As we approach a new year, it is a new opportunity to love God and love our neighbor.  That, my friends, will change things.  If we could simply focus on what Jesus taught us was most important – and essentially what he spent his ministry showing us – we would bring the good news.  Love is the answer.  I’m not talking about the sappy Hallmark movie kind of love.  I’m talking about the gritty, love your enemies kind of love.  I’m talking about the Jesus love – the type of love which causes us to be uncomfortable and embrace change because we seek justice.  There is, indeed, a season for all things.  Maybe this is the season for Christians to rise up in a love which changes the world.  

May it begin with me.

Christmas is an exciting time.  There are lights and trees and ornaments.  There are movies and plays – manger scenes and big celebrations.  There is food…oh wow, is there food!  It’s a big time for many of us.  We are celebrating many things in our country and around our world, but for those of us today, we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  I’m grateful for the celebration – but Jesus’ birth was not quite the same type of celebration.  It was quite ordinary.  There really wasn’t anything all that remarkable.  If anything, it was as ordinary as ordinary can be.  We think of it as anything but ordinary, but as Luke explains, the events were typical and quite unimpressive.  That is, it was an odd birthday. 

Luke 2:4-7 – Luke tells this as if it is unremarkable.  They are being taxed – that was stinky even back then.  They are away from home and apparently Joseph was either not a great planner or a man short on funds and influence.  Can you imagine how that conversation with Mary must have gone – “no, I don’t have a place for you to sleep – yes, I know you are very, very pregnant – no, I don’t have any way to get us a better place – yes, I have learned my lesson by not getting here earlier and asking for directions so we could have had a better place to stay – yes, dear, I get it, I messed up.”  In his defense, it couldn’t have been easy to travel with a woman who was 9 months pregnant – can you imagine how many times they had to stop for her to go to the bathroom?  Now, I don’t know how it all went but we do know they end up wherever they could sleep for the night.  The baby was born among the animals.  Mary wrapped him up as any new mother would do – the best she could.  It is told as if it just happened.  Boom – a baby was born.  No big deal.  Except this was a big deal.  This was a huge deal.  This was a life changing deal.  But it was as if no one knew about it.  God kept it under wraps – or hay as it seems.  The story doesn’t end there, though.  Actually, the story has just begun.

Luke 2:8-20 – All of a sudden, Luke takes a turn.  He takes the scene from watching Mary and Joseph to a place on a hillside with shepherds.  The most common, ordinary folks with an all but ordinary experience.  There are angels, there is singing, and there are messages to go.  All of the things we would expect with God’s Son being born.  It is the shepherds who get the message.  And they are the ones who show up.  They get to experience the gift.  They get to see the baby.  They bring a message of reassurance to a new mother and father who are in a very different place than they would have thought or planned.  None of this was in their plans as they had discussed marriage and kids.  

What’s missing from the story?  I want to know – Where are the parades and the processionals?  Where are the lights, the fireworks, the royal announcements?  Jesus is born – doesn’t anyone else get it?  The place is so packed that Mary and Joseph don’t get a spot.  There are so many people around.  There are people who pass by.  Yet, no one really gets it.  A woman has a baby – well, that’s fairly ordinary.  That’s actually an extraordinary miracle we have made ordinary because, for us, we lose the miraculous when there are approximately 256 births per minute in the world.  Birth is a part of the life cycle.  So we often miss the miracle of it all.  A young woman and her beloved are gathered just like everyone else and she has a baby – okay, so what?  Did no one get the significance?  Did everyone just pass by?  

We do know of a few who got it.  But it wasn’t from the royalty.  It wasn’t the religious elite.  It wasn’t those who just knew they had the Messiah’s coming all figured out.  They were on the watch and it happened right in front of them.  They missed it.  It was, instead, those who were willing to listen and see.  It was those who were open to a message that was very different than they had ever imagined.  It was those who had willing hearts and open minds to approach a lowly stable to find a baby that would be the Messiah.  God chose shepherds because shepherds were willing to pay attention.  They were open to the miracle of God.  They had not decided what God could do and how God would do it.  They had not already placed God in the nice, neat box of their own narrow minds.  They were not the most educated or the most wealthy.  They did not have the same knowledge as the religious leaders – those trained to tell people what to do to be holy.  They were common.  But the trait I see is they were willing.  

What an odd birthday for the Savior of the world – not even cake and candles adorned the place.  There wasn’t even a clean hospital room.  But it really sets the tone for Jesus’ entire life.  It really helps us to understand who Jesus is.  When we start with his birth, we begin to see this is no ordinary life.  What seems so mundane is actually about to change the world forever.  Jesus goes on throughout his life to make a difference in the lives of the ordinary, the willing.  He heals those who have faith – not because they are taught the right ways but because they are desperate for God’s love.  They hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Those are the ones who become children of God.  It is those who don’t have it all figured out and don’t decide what God can and cannot do – or will or will not do.  God has come to those who do not always understand why things happen and why life has to be so very hard.  God has come to the questioners, the inquisitive, the seekers, and the completely clueless.  God sent Jesus because so many thought they had it all figured out and Jesus shattered all of those thoughts.  

Jesus’ beginning was the beginning of a change in it all – everything they knew (frankly, everything we think we know).  We celebrate the birth of Jesus – but do we really want him to change us?  Do we really want him to show up and turn our world in an upheaval to be able to see him?  Do we really want him to remind us he is so much more than we have him figured out to be?  Are we ready to understand we don’t have all the answers, we don’t have it all figured out and we don’t know all about him?  

I was raised in church.  My parents have always been really active.  They did all the church things – they taught Sunday School, led the youth, cooked for the events, served on the boards.  When I was 18 years old, my Dad became a pastor – maybe between raising me and my brother, he thought his prayer life was as good as it was going to get and he was ready for ministry.  I had the upbringing.  I knew who God was.  I got it.  I won the Sunday School awards and could name the beatitudes.  I knew the books of the Bible.  I went to youth group and sang the songs.  I had the history.  What I realized as I grew up was I had been given just enough to scratch the surface – I didn’t really know anything at all.  And sure, I have a doctorate now.  Guess what?  I am still learning and growing and trying to figure it out – one small piece at a time – still scratching the surface.  I am still trying to understand and be open to see God at work.  

Here’s what I don’t want to happen.  I don’t want to miss what God is doing because I see only the ordinary.  I don’t want to miss where God is showing up because I have already decided how he works.  I don’t want to go through my life and completely miss the miracles he puts right in front of me – even if they seemingly happen all the time.  I don’t want this to be just another Christmas or another birthday for Jesus.  Think about it – maybe we miss God because we are expecting to see him in places we have decided he will show up – in ways we expect him to appear.  Maybe we are like those first travelers who passed right by the birth of Jesus and missed it because there was no way the Messiah could be born there…to them…on that day.  Instead, I want to be like the shepherds – a willing heart realizing I don’t need to have it all figured out but simply be eager to learn.  I can’t do that if I don’t listen – really listen to the angels sing – to the trees clap – to the mountains proclaim.  I can’t really learn if I have decided I know it all.  We will miss him if we are not seeking him.

So here is where I land this Christmas – God is love.  Love was born and because that love is so profound, there was no fanfare needed.  This love would radiate far beyond that manger in the stable that day.  This love would begin to flood the entire world in new light.  This love would change lives like never before.  This love is changing mine – how about you?  Do you hear what I hear?

Cold and rainy mornings are the perfect combination for sleeping.  The rain hitting the window and the warm covers call for anything except getting up.  But most of us must get up, we must start the day.  We can start the day dreading it.  We can wish we were not going to work or having to get our kids to school.  We could long for a different life.  Or we could start our day completely different.  This day could be the day we get a peek at God.  Are we looking for HIM in the ordinary moments of our lives?  He’s here, don’t miss him.

We miss things we do not seek.  When our mindset is stuck in the mud and we feel defeated before we even get started, we miss the joys that surround us.  We miss the moments of majesty which come and go in the blink of an eye.  We miss how God shows up in our lives.  We, instead, sink into our problems or our worries. We forget God is with us.  We forget there are so many things to enjoy.  We miss the opportunities just around the corner.

But not today.  On this cold, rainy morning, get up and seek God.  He isn’t hiding, we are just blind from seeing him because we aren’t looking.  Seek his goodness, it abounds.  Seek his love, it is overwhelmingly good.  Seek his mercy, we all need it.  Catch a glimpse of our Creator.  May we see even more clearly today.

Blessings as you seek HIM and find HIM today!

Psalm 27

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸ “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, do I seek.