Category: Devotion

I am at the point where I enjoy the subtitles.  When I watch shows, I prefer to read what they are saying (along with hearing).  It isn’t that they are not speaking English – they are.  Sometimes they have different accents (I mean – we don’t have an accent in the South, it’s everyone else, right?).  Sometimes they pronounce words differently.  It takes a moment for my mind to process what in the world they are talking about.  So if I have subtitles, I can read along with hearing what they are saying.  It seems to help me put the puzzle together a little better.  If I’m honest, I probably don’t hear as well as I once did – but that’s a discussion for another time.  I do enjoy using more of my senses when I am watching TV – I feel more engaged.

When we go outside, we have an opportunity to use all of our senses and really embrace the world around us. We can hear the birds sing, if we listen.  We can see the sun rise, if we are paying attention.  We can feel the cool, fresh air, if we stop to notice.  We can smell fresh air, if we breathe it in for a moment.  We can feel the life of the tree if we stop and touch.  We can taste the goodness of the Lord, if we take it in.  It is all there for the experience.  But most of us only smell when the smell isn’t good.  We notice things that bother us.  We only hear the birds if they are getting on our nerves or swooping way too close.  We only notice the sun rising if it is blinding us when we are riding.  We never stop to feel the earth because that would make our hands dirty.  We never taste and see that the Lord is good because we have a million other things to do and engaging the world around us isn’t on the radar.  We miss what God has provided – and given us the senses to enjoy.  Even if we used just a few of our senses, we will experience the world in a whole new way.  We may even find that God has given us an amazing place to live, breathe, grow, and love.  If only we took the time to experience.  

May your experiences use all of your senses God has given you.  And may you be changed.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 34:8-10

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.
¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

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

My dog, Leo, has a game he really enjoys.  For us, it’s not nearly as fun.  His timing seems to be a bit off and it can be, well, annoying.  But he finds so much entertainment from it.  This can happen in the early morning hours or right when we go to bed.  It can even be in the middle of the night if he is restless.  He takes a toy or his chewy and starts playing with it at the foot of the bed.  That’s not annoying enough for us, so he ends up dropping it.  He inevitably drops it down this small opening between the mattress and the footboard.  The happens every single time.  And then he sits and stares down the hole as if that is going to do something.  When that doesn’t help, he starts whining.  He is the cutest dog but has the most shrill whine, especially when we are trying to rest.  But it works for him because it definitely gets our attention.  He whines continually until one of us will reach under the bed and get it out.  It is a cycle we repeat all too often.

From the outside, there are many solutions you may dream up.  But for us, to generally just means we get up and get the toy.  It just seems to work best for us if we just take care of him.  Yes, he gets what he wants.  Yes, it drives us crazy.  But in the end, it really is worth it.  Why?  Because the joy and love that Leo brings to this house are way more important than the little inconvenience of playing his games.  Leo brings a smile to our faces when we walk through the door.  When he lays in your lap, you know you are loved and have his heart.  He keeps things lively so we do not have dull moments in our home.  And that holds more value than we could ever count.

We all have people or jobs or furry friends in our lives that drive us crazy sometimes.  They have their own quirks that make us want to scream.  They have things we would change.  But ultimately, they hold great value.  We can overlook some of the insanity for what they add to our lives.  It isn’t about perfection.  It is about love and joy.  What brings you love and joy that you may be overlooking?  What do we need to give thanks for today that we may not always appreciate?  May God fill you with love and joy today as you seek him, even in the small but invaluable things.

Focus Scripture:

Ephesians 3:20-21

²⁰ Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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

Before we speak…take a moment.  Before we act…take a moment.  Before we post…take a moment.  That moment could help us to decide if what we are about to do or speak is beneficial.  It could help us decide if what comes next is to encourage or destroy.  It could help us to detect if it is selfish or not.  One moment could make all the difference.

To take a moment requires self-control.  It requires us to have enough control over our tongues, our actions, and our posting to check ourselves.  Why are we doing or saying this?  What is behind it?  Is it fear or anger or hate?  What is driving my need to say, do or write this?  If we could have enough self-control to stop for just a moment, we might find we make better decisions.  We may see we are more disciplined in our approach and our responses.  We may even find we are more helpful than hurtful.  

Self-control is part of the fruit of the spirit.  We are given this gift which we do not always readily use.  Instead, we end up trying to repair the damage or not caring if we hurt anyone.  We can become cold and calloused.  That does allow us to share the love of Christ.  It can be difficult to exercise this gift because we have knee-jerk reactions.  This is especially true when we are bombarded with things which can make us angry or upset.  But exercising self-control is part of who we are as followers of Christ.

Today, maybe we work on that moment.  Just focus on taking a moment before we respond and evaluate if what we are about to do, say or post is really beneficial.  We may find our lives are better for that moment.  We may even find we reflect Christ a bit better – the One who taught us all about self-control through his actions.  Take a moment – it could really make the difference.

Focus Scripture:

Galatians 5:22-23a

²² By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. 

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

Whenever we are working to accomplish something, there will inevitably be setbacks.  There are those issues that arise.  There are temptations to go a different direction.  There are roadblocks that seem to tell us we are doing it all wrong.  There are people that are not only not supportive but are naysayers.  They make us question what we are doing and why.  It could be that these people are right and we need to take a second look.  It could also be that these people do not have our best interest in mind and we should move on.  Regardless, there are setbacks we encounter to any plan.  What do we do when we are faced with these?

When we run into a roadblock or a setback, all too often we simply stop.  We collapse under the weight of the task.  Our momentum is interrupted and we find ourselves ready to quit.  That’s the easy route.  If we are exercising, for instance, and we have a minor injury, we can stop exercising or find something else to do while we heal that can help.  If we are trying to eat right and don’t lose the weight we wanted or mess up on our plan, we could eat a whole cake or we could simply keep on the right path knowing that progress is slow.  If we are following God’s plan for our lives but nothing seems to go right, we could just abandon the plan and do what we want.  Or we could continue to seek God’s guidance as he leads us through the difficult terrain.  How we react to setbacks has a lot to do with our accomplishments.  

Today, if you find yourself in a tough spot, stop for just a moment.  Is what you are doing pleasing to God?  Are you helping yourself to become a better person?  Are you growing through the process in a positive way?  Is the end goal where God would want you to be?  If this is a yes, press forward.  If it is a no, reevaluate the plan.  Where is God leading you?  How is he helping you to become more like the beautiful creation he knows you can be?  Seek this.  Seek HIM.  Setbacks are temporary.  Accomplishments for God are life changing.  Don’t let a setback stop you today.  Keep moving forward.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 23:1-3

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters; 
³     he restores my soul. 
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.

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

It is easy to be divisive.  It doesn’t really take that much.  You can bring up any hot topic and find the most controversial statement and get people going. You simply insult your opponent and watch the battle.  Some people seem to live for it.  They say, think, act, post anything to get something started.  They are not trying to start a conversation or be helpful.  They are not trying to learn something.  They are trying to shove their point forward, even with vengeance if needed.  Yet, no one really grows from this.  Nothing good comes from this way.  It sows ugliness.  

In the focus scripture for today, James is trying to help his readers understand the difference in wisdom.  He basically says that when our works are done with gentleness, they are born of wisdom.  It is not about envy or selfish ambition.  Real wisdom results in peace.  And wow – could we use peace.  Our world would look a lot different if those that follow Christ also sowed peace rather than divisiveness.  

That does not mean that Christians go with whatever, though.  I am not advocating simply keeping quiet and sitting on the sidelines.  Instead, it looks like engaging in conversations for the opportunity to hear, to learn, to grow, and to understand.  It looks like working with others to show the love of Christ – which is really what transforms.  It looks like not doing or saying or posting things that are just meant to start an argument or to prove a selfish point.  It looks like kindness which does not waiver from the foundation of all the Christ teaches – Love God, Love others.  

Today, our challenge should be to seek to be wise according to God’s Word.  We should work with gentleness and kindness to sow peace.  We should reflect good fruits and mercy coming from the Lord.  May it be so. May it be so.

Focus Scripture:

James 3:13-18

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. ¹⁶ For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

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

We can have some pretty incredible experiences without even leaving our house.  We don’t think of them as experiences.  They are usually seen as something that just happens.  It goes unnoticed for the most part.  It becomes a part of our routine.  But when it does, we miss the experience.  

For me, coffee is an experience.  From start to finish, there is so much that is pretty incredible.  It starts when the coffee beans arrive to my home.  We do our best to make sure the coffee is fair trade – meaning the workers were paid fairly for their labor.  Sometimes they have been roasted local.  Someone has taken the time to roast them just right with the perfect tones to make the beans sing.  They do sing if you listen well.  Opening the package and smelling the goodness inside, grinding up the beans, and deciding how much is needed is all part of the experience.  I don’t like to set my timer on my coffee maker.  I want to hear the percolating.  I want to hear the coffee drip into the pot.  I want to be there as the aroma fills my kitchen.  Coffee is not meant to be consumed quickly.  It is meant to be enjoyed at a pace that causes us to slow and to simply breathe for a moment.  No need to rush goodness.  Why would you want to?  

Coffee may not be an experience in your home.  For some, it is the experience of creating a meal.  Or it is the joy of having clean clothes.  It is often considered menial everyday tasks by too many of us.  But there is something to the things we do.  There are simple joys in our day that we miss.  There are experiences that are at our fingertips for us to enjoy if we would just stop long enough to pay attention.  

Today, may your life be filled with good experiences.  May you find simple joys in the often mundane.  May you see the goodness in the often overlooked.  May you find happiness, right in your own home.

Focus Scripture:

Colossians 3:23a

²³ Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord 

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

In every day, there is something that goes well.  There are things we can give thanks.  There are moments that bring us joy.  There are times that spoke peace to us in the middle of the craziness.  There was good and there is good.  But we can so easily get caught up in the loop of what went wrong.  We can find our attention focused on the things that didn’t go the way we thought they should.  We can concentrate on what we should have done or should have said or should not have said.  We can lose our focus on what went right because we are so consumed with what didn’t go right.

It isn’t easy to see the good some days.  Our vision can be clouded by the fog of despair.  Our eyes can be blinded by the tears of fear or guilt or grief.  But the good is there, hidden in the middle of the mess.  We are geared to find the bad.  We are drawn to the things that shock us.  Our minds can become sucked into the news of all that has gone wrong.  That can be all we see.  It takes effort to see the good.  

Today, look for the good.  Look for what goes right.  Look for the positive.  Where is there joy?  Where is there peace?  Where is there a moment of love?  Where is the good?  It can be simple and it can be brief – so we have to pay attention.  It may come from our four legged babies or the kindness of a stranger.  It may be completely unexpected.  Be on the lookout.  Good is here because God is here.  Do you see it?

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 113:2-4

Blessed be the name of the Lord
    from this time on and forevermore.
³ From the rising of the sun to its setting
    the name of the Lord is to be praised.
⁴ The Lord is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens.

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

Not too long ago, I was cutting the grass in our back yard.  It is easier to cut the front yard because there are very few obstacles.  It does not require you to think or even pay much attention.  But the back yard requires special attention.  There are hidden recesses that can get you at any time.  They have been secretly dug by someone special.  The grass grows over these recesses so you don’t even know they are there until – bam! – there you are.  These are, of course, holes dug by Leo as he was trying to dig up a worm or catch a bug that had fallen.  I am usually good at navigating my way.  The holes are usually just minor and may knock me around a little.  This one, though, was unexpectedly large.  There was no getting out of it.  My tire was spinning and there was no traction.  I was “all in” this time.  So I had Wendy to come get on the lawn mower so I could push and reach enough grass to gain traction.  It wasn’t a huge task, just took some reconfiguring to get out.  

But too often in life, I feel like I am stuck with my wheels turning and I don’t ask for help.  I decide I can do it myself.  I spin and spin, hoping that it will make a difference.  In the end, I make the hole deeper and I am in more of a mess.  My life becomes a giant hole I have dug for myself when I was just trying to move forward. And I am stuck.  At some point, I realize that I am so stuck, my wheels are freely turning in the air, and I am never going to go anywhere if I don’t ask for some help.  Life becomes too much and I just have to reach out and seek some assistance.  

It is during these times I am so grateful for a loving wife and a wonderful family.  I am gifted with my mother, my grandmother, and so many others that love and support me.  We are there to help each other get out of the places we get stuck.  When the task becomes too much for us, we band together.  We look after each other.  We pray for each other.  And we just keep pushing.  Sometimes all we need is one good push and we are off and running again.  

It is also a gift to know that we can seek God together.  We don’t always understand why things happen the way they do.  We don’t get what is going on.  We may not know why we are stuck.  None of that really matters.  It matters that we seek the Lord and his guidance.  In the end, he ultimately is the one who gives the biggest encouragement.  He gets us “unstuck” and moving in the direction we were created.  And for that, I am most grateful.

Focus Scripture:

1 Corinthians 3:8-9

⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. ⁹ For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

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

My friend, Margaret, is working on crocheting a large blanket for me.  She does this as part of a ministry that helps beautiful people in another country.  I have seen her creations – the different stitches, designs, colors – and I am amazed.  For me, she is putting together one that is orange and black – my alma mater colors (and orange is my absolute favorite color too).  When I first mentioned the blanket, we sat down and looked at all the stitching options.  One spoke to me right away.  It was exactly what I had envisioned.  And then, she began.  She brought it for me to see as she began so I could get an idea of what it would actually look like.  It just made me even more excited.  And now, just a few short weeks later, it is almost complete.  

My Dad always loved Psalm 139, so I will often go back and read it.  There are so many “nuggets” as he would call them.  These are hidden treasures in this scripture that God is speaking to us.  Today’s nugget was God has knit us together.  That may not sound like a big deal.  But as I have watched Margaret create this blanket for me, this scripture seems to come to life.  It has taken on a new meaning.  With so many different patterns, stitches, colors, and varieties, God is knitting us together just the way he wants.  That is beautiful.  We are put together in perfection because God sees us as someone special – we are a wonderful, beautiful creation.  He watches us being born, he watches us grow and develop and he loves on us as we seek to find our way – and ultimately the way he has for us.  

I can’t help but feel assured that even in my mess, despite my struggles, in the middle of my confusion, God is creating.  God continues to love me, take care of me, shape and form me until I am his completed creation.  He feels the same about you.  You are his beautifully knit creation too.  May God remind you of just how wonderful you are today.  And may we give thanks.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 139:13-14

¹³ For it was you who formed my inward parts;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.

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

It’s a new day filled with new opportunities and new joys.  Sure, there are new challenges to be conquered and new obstacles.  But there is hope in this new day.  There is peace in this new day.  There is joy that is coming.  There is still kindness to shared and love to be given.  There is good in this new day, it is here.  

That may sound a bit optimistic.  It may sound like I am reaching a bit far.  But if we start our day dreading what is coming, we see the dread.  If we begin our day with all the problems we must face, we will see only problems.  There is good in this day.  It may be small glimpses of good.  But there is always good.  There is hope in this new day that is filled with opportunities for so much more.  We can choose to see our problems that are ahead or we can choose to see the good.  

I am not saying this day will be the best day ever – although, it is not out of the question.  You never know what good awaits.   But I am saying that we should be looking for all that God is doing in our lives.  Our day may actually get better.  Our day may improve when we see that God has not left us and there is joy in this day.  Our day may show a glimmer of hope when we realize we are not in this alone.  Our day may shine bright when we choose to love others and share kindness.  Good actually does await.  It really depends on you.  God is already doing his work.  Will you choose to see it?

May you see the good.  May you see the glimmers of hope.  May you experience the joys that await in this brand new day.  So much awaits.  May we live looking for God in this new day.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 130

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
²     Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my supplications!

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with you,
    so that you may be revered.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is great power to redeem.
⁸ It is he who will redeem Israel
    from all its iniquities.

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