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Tag: devotion (Page 3 of 6)

A Mother’s Heart

December 7, 2023 / / 0 Comments

There was a woman who was advanced in years. Not to sound too disrespectful but she was actually old. I don’t mean how 40 is old when you’re 10 years old. This woman was well advanced in years. Being old isn’t an issue. The problem was that this woman was told she was going to be pregnant. 

You’ve probably already guessed the story. It’s the story of Abraham and Sarah. They were old. Sarah couldn’t have children. It was just not going to happen. God approaches Abraham and tells him they’re going to have a son. This causes a bit of a chuckle kind of moment as you’d imagine. But in the end it happened. An unexpecting mom is expecting. 

Christmas is a time for us to put aside all the expectations of that perfect holiday. We expect our children to behave a certain way and for family to just get along this one year that we’re hosting the family dinner. We move into a season of warmth and joy with so many expectations, but that first Christmas was all about unexpecting people. 

Mary was told by an angel that she was going to have a baby. She didn’t expect this. Sure she was engaged but she wasn’t married. She knew that she could not be pregnant. It just wasn’t possible. Yet the angel told her something different. She was the second unexpecting mom in the story of Christmas. You see Sarah had to have a child because without Isaac there would be no Jesus. And Mary had to have a son because without Jesus there would be no salvation for the world. 

It took two unexpecting moms to give birth to two sons for us to have an unexpected savior. 

Take time to look over the story of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17-18. Then think of other unexpecting people you remember from the Bible. 

Why Them?

December 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Have you ever seen one of those surprise moments? You know one of those unexpected proposals. The kind where the bride has no idea it’s coming. The kind where the secret is kept so well and it is so meticulously planned out that shock and awe are plastered on everyone’s faces. 

It’s kind of like that around Christmas time as well. We shop for gifts for our loved ones. Parents, children, nieces and nephews, siblings all of them get a little something. Each one gets that tiny gift of appreciation and love. This probably sounds a bit harsh but rarely do those people deserve a gift. They might expect something but the point of a gift is that it’s unearned. 

An unexpecting person receives a gift they didn’t expect. They didn’t plan on receiving. The gift is more than they thought possible for a person like them. Often an unexpecting recipient is speechless and left in awe. 

The second week of Advent is about those unexpecting kinds of people. For this part of our journey we jump all the way back to Genesis. You know the story. The flood covers the earth and one man and his family are welcomed into a boat that they were told to build for this very moment. But what did that family do? What caused them to be the ones who earned that amazing gift? 

Ok so if you read around Genesis 6, you’ll likely read that Noah was a righteous man. Let’s remove Noah from the picture for a second. What about the rest of the family? They weren’t the righteous ones. They didn’t deserve to be on that ark. As a matter of fact, if it wasn’t for the amazing compassion of God to give them a way out, they would all have drowned. And even worse Noah would have had to watch as it happened. 

Noah didn’t expect God to save him. The family didn’t expect God to save them. He just did it because that’s how God works. He does the unexpected things in unexpected ways. But it wasn’t just Noah and his family that are unexpecting people. We are included in that same group. We are unexpecitng people. We never met Jesus. We didn’t ask God to save us. Yet here we are just a few weeks until Christmas, ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth. It’s amazing to receive a gift! But even more amazing when you’re one of those unexpecting people

Shrubbery

December 4, 2023 / / 0 Comments

I really like to garden. I plant flowers around my house and tons of plants in my garden. I water them and fertilize them. I even cut them back in the winter, at least the ones that are supposed to last year after year. But never in all my years have I ever had a plant talk to me. Yet that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today. 

The unexpected places that God shows up in life never cease to amaze me, but this one has to be one of the coolest. There’s a story in Exodus 3 where Moses is taking care of some sheep for his father-in-law. He’s literally minding his own business when it happens. He sees a fire just off in the distance. And like any curious man would do, he went to see what was burning. Men typically think one of two things when there’s a fire by the way. Cool what’s burning and why didn’t they invite me to light the match! And Is it a barbecue? 

This was neither and I don’t think Moses even had time to think those thoughts. He was completely overwhelmed by the presence of a bush that was on fire. And if a burning bush in the middle of nowhere wasn’t enough, it started to talk to him!

Check this out from Exodus 3:6. And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Here God shows up to talk to Moses in the form of a bush! Yeah for those of you who are Monty Python fans, that’s shrubbery! That gives a whole new spin on “burning bush” to be certain. You may never see a bush on fire that isn’t being burned. You may never hear God speak to you from the middle of a bush that’s literally burning. But we can see God all over the place in nature around us. 

Take time today to look for God in the frosty ground or the colorful sunset. See if you can find him in a spiderweb or the sound of the wind rushing through the trees. Look for God in unexpected places and you’ll see Him just about everywhere. 

In Your Dreams

December 3, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Are you a dreamer? You know the kind of dream you see and experience when you’re deep in sleep. I can’t remember the last time I had a dream. As kids our dreams are active and filled with color and excitement. Sometimes those dreams turn dark and fill with scary images – we call those nightmares. But they’re still dreams. 

I know what you’re thinking this is an advent devotion and I’m reading it with my kids. What is he doing talking about nightmares!?! You got me. Advent isn’t about nightmares at all actually, but it is about the unexpected. 

Remember how this week is all about God showing up in unexpected places? Well today’s place is in dreams. There’s a story in the Bible about a man named Jacob. He had a dream one day of a huge ladder that reached all the way to heaven. Who sat atop this ladder? Yep! You guessed it – God. 

Jacob didn’t lay down to take a nap because he thought he’d see God. He slept because he was tired. You know just like we sleep when we’re tired. But the cool part here is that God showed up in Jacob’s dream! 

The point here is all about God showing up in the most unexpected of places. Some of those places are not places we’d ever expect Jesus to show up. I mean a small town in the middle of nowhere Israel? A whisper in the side of a cliff? A dream a guy has laying on a rock? 

Take time today to look for God in those unexpected places. 

Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Genesis 28:11-13 

The Sound of Silence

April 7, 2023 / / 0 Comments

In the early morning hours, before the sun began to peak above the horizon, darkness covered the landscape. The air was cool. No one was around. It’s almost as if the earth stopped for a moment. There was an eerie silence that was oddly deafening.

As your feet strolled slowly across the dew covered grass, you notice that nothing was moving. No animals were scurrying about. No birds were chirping. No rustling in the woods. Nothing. Not a single sound could be heard but that silence was so powerful it was almost audible.

The farther you walk, the more uneasy you feel. No noise around you is bringing feelings of fear to your mind. The air is heavy with humidity, yet it is cool on your lungs as you take in a slow, deep breath. You can smell the aroma of flowers cut through the moist air. But still no sound to be heard.

The only sound is that of your feet touching the ground as you make your way across the terrain. Step. Shuffle. Step. Shuffle. You stop walking to see if anything is out there, but alas nothing around you. Not a single moving thing on the face of the earth can be heard.

This sound of silence is reminiscent of the events of Good Friday and Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). It’s the sound, or lack of it, that had overcome the world. The disciples were no longer confident. They were cowering in fear. The soldiers were fast asleep. The enemies of Jesus were dreaming sweet dreams thinking they had won. Satan was even comfortable in the blow of defeat that he dealt to Jesus.

Now displayed lifeless in his tomb, Jesus was gone. No one was looking for him anymore. His cries from the cross were silenced in the moment his head fell. The silence of this moment speaks volumes in our lives today. It’s the sound of silence.

Most of the time we are somber in silence. We are fearful in dark quiet places. We think that victory is loud and boastful. But not today. Today the victory is found in the stillness of that morning. The triumph is experienced in the deafening moments of quiet.

On this Good Friday, pause for a moment. Enjoy the quiet of the early morning. Remember the silence the women heard as they traveled to the tomb. Focus on the quiet and dark of that Good Friday morning. Listen to the silence. What does this moment say to you?

Hope

March 15, 2023 / / 0 Comments

One definition of hope is the confident expectation of what is promised. I think this picture kind of sums that whole idea up with no words. Confident expectation of a promised blessing. What do you hope for today?

I think that all of us who are located in a region that has several seasons can sympathize with the idea of hoping for spring to arrive. When the cold and damp days of winter drone on forever, we are hopeful for the promise of sunshine and warmth that summer brings. Here in Ohio it seems as if we have all four seasons in one day! It’s easy to complain about the weather but we’d be better off hoping for the sunshine of tomorrow.

I took this picture this morning of a small flower starting to emerge from the snow covered ground. At first it seems as if it might be a bit confuse about the season or time of year. I mean things don’t bud, grow or bloom in the winter months. But then a quick reminder that it’s March will tell us that this flower is only doing what it is meant to do. It emerges from the ground in hope of the coming sunshine and warm weather.

I think some days it would be helpful if we acted more like these flowers. Instead of focusing on the cold, damp, snow covered ground look for chances to emerge and grow and eventually bloom into that thing we were created to be.

Ok so you’re not a flower. No matter how much you try you’re never going to be a flower. And you don’t have to emerge from the snow to thrive in this cold environment. But we were placed here in the circumstances in which we’re living for a specific purpose. To do something unique.

Just like the flower was planted for the purpose of growing and budding and blooming you were planted to grow and bloom in your own right. This reminds me of a story in the Bible. There was a woman named Esther in the Old Testament. She was a Jewish woman who ended up becoming queen of Persia. This was largely unusual but was made possible because no one really know her lineage. The king didn’t even know she was of Jewish origin.

After a lot of really awful things had happened, you can read those for yourself if you desire, the time comes for Esther to take a stand and reveal her identity as a Jewish woman. Esther is concerned to say the least! I mean if it doesn’t work out well, she would be killed without question.

A famous line comes out of that section. For such a time as this. The idea is that it is for this moment that you were placed here. It was for this purpose, this moment, this task that she was there. The same can be said for you and me. We’ve been put here for such a time as this, and if that means we have to hope against hope to move forward – then hope! Just like that flower pushing its way up through the snow, you and I were made for this moment. So we too must push up through the cold, darkness of our current circumstances. We have to do the only thing for which we were placed here. It is only then that we will emerge to bloom and thrive in the way we were created.

For now, before the bloom, before the flower can bud – hope. Move forward in the confident exception of what is promised. Live your life for such a time as this and leave the rest to the one who put you here.

Same God

January 9, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Have you ever just sat and contemplated the wonder of how big God must be? I mean for those of us who believe in God as Father, Jesus as Savior and Spirit as Comforter, there’s a hugeness to God that is really hard to get our minds around. But not only the idea that God is so big but also that he has so much on His plate that how in the world could he handle my tiny problems?

You know I think this is something that’s pretty cool about the way we understand God in the church where I serve. He’s mighty and majestic and powerful and massive and other worldly. He’s king and savior and creator and Father and all the things for the entire world (then and now). But he’s also that for me today.

There’s a personal nature to God that is something pretty significant. He’s in my corner. He’s for you. He’s in the muck and mire of your crappy day and throwing parties on your good day. He cares about your divorce or your raise. He’s just as present with you today as he has been with anyone, ever!

This week we pause to worship on this Monday morning and reflect that the God we worship is the same God that showed up in mighty ways for Abraham and Moses, Mary and Ruth, Joseph and Paul. He’s the same God who’s been present throughout history. The God of creation is the God present when you are struggling to make it through the day. The God who healed the sick is the same one sitting by your side when you get the cancer diagnosis. The God who raised Lazarus from the dead is the same one standing by your side in your mourning.

The same God is right here with us. The same power, majesty, might, love, presence. All of it. Just as real as it was for the men and women of the Bible, he’s right here and real for you and me today.

As you begin this week, pause and reflect on the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The Goodness

January 2, 2023 / / 0 Comments

To start off a new year we use a familiar name combined with a newcomer to the music scene. The song is The Goodness and it focuses on the goodness of the God who is in the midst of every part of our lives.

It’s typical to want all sunshine and roses in life. We like the sun to rise with the beautiful pinks and purples. We like the soft glow of full moon. We like the warmth of the sun or the crackle of the fireplace. We love all of these great parts of life! Who wouldn’t right!? And it’s super easy to sing and praise and see God in the middle of these really cool moments of life. But what about the dark days?

The song Goodness shows that even in the darkness and rain God is still active and vibrant and worthy of our recognition and praise. Even in the challenge and pain God is still just as present and doing what God does best – working for our good.

One part of God that’s easy to forget is the fact that he knows what we don’t know. He sees what’s coming around the corner and he often will do things to prevent us from hitting catastrophe head on. Sometimes however that detour is an unwanted illness or day that just flat sucks.

But take time to see that God has used this detour, no matter how terrible and life altering, to shape you for what’s around the next corner. He sees what you don’t only the Goodness of God can do that!

No Hold On Me

January 4, 2021 / / 0 Comments
Matty Mullins - No Hold On Me

As we begin a new year it’s time to bury the old and put on the new. The old said we weren’t enough. The old said we didn’t have what it took to thrive. The old said we’d never measure up. But what does the new say?

The bible tells us to put off the old and put on the new. To let the old ways die the pitiful death they deserve. But we are then to clothe ourselves in new things. The new things are the grace and mercy and forgiveness of God. The new says that even though the world will tell you that you’re not enough, Christ says you are His and that’s more than enough.

This week’s MusicMonday is all about reminding the old ways, reminding the devil, and reminding yourself that none of that stuff has any hold on you. Today is about losing the chains that once held you back and striving for what lies ahead.

Enjoy the first MusicMonday of 2021! Lose the chains. And live the life Christ has in store for you today!

Devotion or Distraction?

September 30, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I struggled with the title of this one a bit. Most people (myself included) have a pretty narrow definition of what devotion means. For many it looks something like sitting in a dimly lit room in a comfortable chair where everything is quiet and serene reading the bible or a special book called a devotional. If we’re not sitting contemplatively learning, we don’t really think it’s a true time of devotion. But what if we have it all wrong?

If your situation is like many in our world today, you’re probably working from home. That means your home is your place of entertainment, home gym, home office, child’s classroom, and so many more things!

Add to it the fact that all of our remote work is done on our computers and the distractions mount even more. Productivity maybe on the rise in some areas but distraction is through the roof as well.

You’re probably spending more time on Facebook or Instagram than ever before. If you’re like most people, you’re not disconnecting from work at a normal closing time like you did pre-covid.

The long and short of it is that distractions are all around us, so how can we possibly focus on a personal devotional life in the midst of the most distracted time in our lives?

Redefining Devotion

In an article I recently read this very topic was addressed. The idea of personal devotion time needs to be seen in a different light. We’re in different times than ever before so why can’t we see things a bit differently? The article made a distinction between the act of devotion and the one to whom you’re devoted.

He gave several examples of what devotion could look like throughout the article. We can live out our devotional life while raking leaves or throwing a ball with our child. We can live this devotional lifestyle by doing all that we do for the glory of God. Just because you’re in a stage right now where you can’t seem to focus for long periods of time without being distracted by other things doesn’t mean you can’ t have a devotional life.

Some things you may want to consider however if distraction has seemingly taken over your life include shutting down your computer when your work is done. Stop your phone from fetching emails after a set time of day. Have tech-free zones in your house. These are places where upon entry you have no technology turned on. Yep that includes that cool smart watch too! Make supper time personal by sitting down together and leaving phones in a basket on the counter.

When we leave some of our most distracting habits behind us for a set period of time, we’ll not only be more productive but we’ll also have a deeper connections with God and those around us.

There you have it. Devotion in a distracted age. Now don’t ask me how long it took to write this article because of all the things that I let distract me!

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