The last time our Church Body met was in March. And while we have a weekly online service…it’s just not the same. This past week our Pastor sent out 5 questions for everyone to answer, and one of them really struck home for me. The question asked in what ways had we experienced loss during the COVID 19 pandemic? The word loss got me thinking about the stages of loss – shock/disbelief, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, and finally acceptance/hope. Now while I haven’t lost a friend or family member to the Corona Virus, or lost my job or business in the aftermath…I’ve watch in stunned sadness as millions of people have. So in a way, this profound loss can not help but effect me too. And when you couple this feeling of loss with a pervasive sense of uncertainty, I’m only left with dryness…a desert within my soul. But God’s remedy for this arid condition is simple…His Word. For just as Ezekiel spoke to the Valley of the dry bones and they lived…so my soul can be made alive through His Word.
Tag: daily devotions
Colossians 3:2 ” Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Here, as well in Philippians 3:19-20, Paul was showing the moral contrast between heaven and earth. In Philippians he accused the Church of “setting their minds on earthly things”…which was demonstrating the unethical realm of fallen man and the world under the power of sin. In both occasions, Paul was urging the Church towards holy living…a putting on of their new self under Christ, and a putting off of their old self dictated by the sinful world. And even today Paul’s message rings loud and clear to all of us…for where our mindset goes, the rest of our body will follow.
Isaiah 44:9 ” Those who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant to their own shame.”
Here Isaiah was lumping together any idol crafted by man…whether it was cut, carved, cast, or sculpted. He called them all worthless, or as he wrote in Isaiah 41:24, “Less than nothing.” But sadly from the beginning of time, mankind has coveted with selfish desire idols of their own making rather than worshiping the one true God. And this vanity has only led us to deceptively think we know more than God…which is so far from the truth, or as Isaiah lamented, “They are ignorant to their own shame.” Wow!
John 10:14-15 ” I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me – just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father – and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
To know the good shepherd is to love Him. But to love Him, we must first listen to Him to be able to recognize His voice over the din of the world. For as we become attuned to His voice and incline our ears, we will learn to not only embrace His word, but Incorporate it into our lives. Right now the world is a very noisy place, and there’s times we’re not sure who or what to listen to. But if we know the voice of the good shepherd…we can rest assured He will lead us safely through all of this.
Psalm 34:4 ” I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.”
COVID 19 has introduced a whole new batch of “What ifs” invading my mind. What if they can’t find a effective vaccine against it? What if there is no immunity after you’ve contracted it? That’s why this Scripture in Psalms seems so timely today. For when all these fears are swirling around me, I need to stop and seek God’s perspective. I need to seek His face for answers when the world has none. And when I’m stressing about things that are completely out of my control, I need to trust God and have confidence that He has authority over all these matters. For even though the “What ifs” may still bombard my mind, bottom line is my dependence and hope must remain in God.
James 3:2 ” We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”
The Book of James focuses on the fact that none of us is perfect… none of us is righteous. And especially when it comes to keeping a tight rein on our tongue. In Matthew 12, the Pharisees were accusing Jesus of being Beelzebub, the prince of demons, after healing a man… but Jesus knew their thoughts and reckless words, and told them at the Judgment Day all would have to give account for every careless word spoken…”For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37) Nothing gets us into more trouble than idle conversations or blurting out something before we’ve thought it through. And as James observes, if we can’t keep our tongue in check, how can we expect to keep our whole body from stumbling.
Mother’s Day 2020
Over the course of this Corona Virus pandemic I have spoken with many a frustrated Mom. Trying to juggle working from home, with home schooling their kids, with keeping house, with maintaining social distancing, and only left feeling at the end of the day they’re failing at all of it! So on this very unique Mother’s Day, let’s get rid of all the mushy Hallmark ideas of what a Mother should look like and be honest…there is no perfect Mother. None of us is or will be everything to all our children…nor will every need be met every time. That’s not because we can’t or don’t want to do it, it’s simply because we’re not perfect. And try as we might to strive for perfection as a Mother, we usually end up struggling with guilt and regret for what we see as failure on our part. But trust me, there’s never been a perfect Mother, for not even Mary, the Mother of Jesus was faultless. For what Mother would leave Jerusalem after the Feast of Passover “assuming” that her young son was “somewhere” among the group of people they were traveling with, only to find him missing at the end of a full day of travel? (Luke 2:42-44) So today, take a deep breath and give yourself some grace…put aside the self-imposed shortcomings and congratulate yourself on what you have accomplished. For where there’s shadows, there always has to be light first! Happy Mother’s Day!
Zechariah 10:1 ” Ask the Lord for rain in the Springtime; it is the Lord Who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone.”
I was chatting with a neighbor the other day about Springtime and plants…and yes, we were social distancing! She sells wholesale plants to greenhouses in Illinois and was telling me that everyone was wanting to grow a garden this year. Which I can really appreciate the desire to grow your own food in these uncertain times. There’s something special about planting seed and watching the tiny plants emerge from the soil, and then harvesting the produce to feed your family. Springtime is a season of hope and renewal and a time to see God’s creative power vividly at work. To quote Psalms, “He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His work. He makes grass grow for the cattle and plants for man to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth.” Spring is a time that the Lord demonstrates just how much He cares for us.
Romans 10:13 “For, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The notion of calling on the name of the Lord is seen many times throughout the Bible. Psalm 105:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.” On the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:21), Peter quoted Joel 2:32 when he said, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But while there is promise for all in the gift of salvation…the responsibility still remains with us to make the initial move towards God. It’s called free will…for we have to choose to either do God’s will or our own. Jesus talked about this in John 7:17 as He was teaching in the Temple courts, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will…” The promise of salvation is there for anyone to take advantage of, but it requires a decision…a choice to seek God and call upon His name.
Micah 2:13 ” One Who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.”
In anything you do today…Jesus goes before you. In this verse of the Old Testament, the usage of the Hebrew word for “head” in the phrase, “the Lord at their head”, was carried forward into the New Testament and applied to Jesus. He spoke of this in Luke 20:17 when He referred to Himself as,”the stone the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And in Ephesians 2:20, Jesus is called the Chief cornerstone…the Head, and the One Who goes before us. Whatever barrier is holding you back today from being everything God desires for you…know that the Lord Jesus Christ has already gone before you…breaking open the way. Whatever the obstacle is that’s controlling you right now during this pandemic…fear, anxiety, doubt, anger, hopelessness…give it to the Lord and walk free.
Safetypinlove 