Tuesday's Devotion: Use It or Lose It!

Proverbs 14:23  All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

My title is from an old saying but it certainly rings true.  Studies have shown that seniors who engage in activities that work their minds, like playing solitaire and other strategy games can improve their mental alertness.  The same goes for our bodies.  I hope that by living in a house that requires me to go up and down stairs frequently, I will retain my ability to climb stairs.  Many of my church members cannot get up if they have a fall. I regularly sit on the floor and get up without holding onto anything.  It may not be a pretty sight but I make it with relative ease. Use it or lose it!  What about our relationship with God?  I believe we must stay in touch with God or slowly our spirituality will be supplanted by worldly preoccupations.  Someone once used the illustration of a flashlight.  If you put it away in a drawer the batteries will eventually corrode then when the lights go out, it won’t be there to guide you.  I hope you regularly give your mind and your body a regular workout but even more I hope you work on staying in relationship with your divine creator. 

Gracious and Holy God, I pray that you will keep us healthy in mind, body and spirit.  That you will put a hedge of protection around us and that you will help us resist temptations that would lead us beyond your will for our lives.  We ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Monday's Devotion: The Comfort of Company

Acts 2:46-47 Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity.  They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.

I was asked to prepare a sermon for our Church Conference last night.  I chose verses from Acts chapter two including these to illustrate the beginning of the Christian community which became the Church.  Fellowship and sharing were an integral part of the success of their movement. Students of the Bible know that these followers of Jesus were under tremendous persecution from outsiders. They were literally putting their lives on the line in order to follow Jesus. We don’t face that same type of stress but almost everyone is faced with some type of challenge in their life.  Living in the model that God wants for us, loving God and loving others, helps us face those troubles.  The love and care of friends makes the going easier.  When we love and care for others, it helps take our mind off our own concerns.  Last night we had our second annual Holy Ghost Weiner Roast.  My heart was touched as I looked around at the assortment of people who gathered for food and fellowship.  These people care for one another, help one another and pray for one another.  It is much better to make a friend and be a friend than to isolate when troubles come.  Church and small group fellowship is a great place to start.

Heavenly Father, you call us to love you and to love our neighbors as ourselves. I pray that you will bring friends into to our life for mutual joy and care.  Be with us this week and bring us together on Sunday for worship and fellowship.  We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Friday's Devotion: Stressing Less

Luke 10:41-42 (NLT)  But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!  There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

This is the first time I’ve read this scripture from the New Living Translation and I like the way this is put.  The story is about two sisters. Martha toils in the kitchen to feed Jesus and the disciples.  Mary sits with Jesus to learn.  Martha gets upset – she’s doing all the work. Other translations say that Martha is worried and upset about many things.  What has Mary discovered?  She has discovered the joy of learning from the Master; of growing spiritually.  Our relationship with God is the One Thing.  Seek ye first the kingdom of God – then all these other things will fall into place.  How many of us worry and fuss over so many things that are trivial?  This scripture tells us to seek Jesus.  A relationship with him is more important than all the little bits and pieces that we get stressed about.  To understand our worth in Jesus eyes helps us see what is unimportant and what we should be concerned with.  The next time you find yourself getting worked up over something, go sit at Jesus feet for awhile and see what happens.

We worry over so much God.  Help us to let go and trust that you take care of our days. Give us wisdom and guidance to handle the big things and to not fret over the rest.  We ask in the name of our Lord and master. Amen.

Thursday's Devotion: Playing Dress-Up

Matthew 7:1-3 “Stop judging so that you will not be judged.  Otherwise, you will be judged by the same standard you use to judge others. The standards you use for others will be applied to you. So why do you see the piece of sawdust in another believer’s eye and not notice the wooden beam in your own eye?

I heard on TV yesterday morning that 50% of adults in this country now dress up for Halloween. 11% dress up their pets, also.  There’s just something about dressing up that’s fun.  It takes us out of the ordinariness of life.  I joked with a friend as we walked together the other day that one of the best part of horse ownership was the riding apparel – chaps, spurs, helmets, riding breeches. I almost forgot the lunge whips and riding crops used to guide the horse from the ground or under saddle.  Some conservative Christians question the appropriateness of participating in Halloween festivities.  I think for most people it is just good fun.  It gives people a reason to have a party and parents taking their children around the neighborhood to trick or treat get to meet their neighbors.  Sales of candy, costumes and decorations boost the economy.  It’s sad to see Christians focusing on activities that aren’t hurting anyone when they should be looking within their own churches to see if they are serving as the body of Christ by witnessing to the grace of God and working for justice and the welfare of the marginalized. Come to our second annual Holy Ghost Weiner Roast on the 30^th (7 p.m.) and then on Halloween go out and have a great time.  Pretend to be someone else for just a moment. Just never forget who you really are – a child of God!

Gracious God, bless us today in all our activities.  As Halloween approaches we pray that you will help us stay in touch with our inner child. We ask today that you would keep us healthy in mind, body and spirit and that you will help us resist temptation to sin.  We pray In Jesus name.  Amen.

Wednesday's Devotion: Going a Different Route

Deuteronomy 15:7 (MSG) "When you happen on someone who's in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that God, your God, is giving you, don't look the other way pretending you don't see him. Don't keep a tight grip on your purse.

I know that my back is out of alignment because I often find myself running with one hand on my hip unconsciously trying to balance myself.  Some friends recommended their chiropractor on West Ponce de Leon in Decatur.  It’s been years since I’ve been to one but have been helped a lot in the past by them.  I’ve tried several different routes to get there and back.  My Tom-tom sends me out Freedom Parkway then down Ponce to West Ponce.  It takes me through a ritzy section with large, expensive old homes like Lullwater Estate set on beautiful grounds.  Another route takes me out I-20 to Maynard Terrace and then through some modest and poor neighborhoods on the way to West Ponce.  It brings me in on the “other side” of the railroad tracks as the old saying goes.  Which route do I favor?  The second one is my choice.  I think we get good at isolating ourselves from the poor and when we do we begin to feel privileged and forget how blessed we are compared to the majority of the world’s population.  That route helps keep me real just like walking in cemeteries (something else I like to do) reminds me that death is the great equalizer.  It’s not what we have, but how we treat others that will be the ultimate judge of our character. 

Dear Lord, Open our eyes that we may see what we would rather not see.  Take our paths out of our nice little neighborhoods to places where people need to be the recipients of care and compassion.  Help us to put on the loving heart of Christ.  We ask in his name. Amen.

Tuesday’s Devotion: Recovery, Inc.

1 Corinthians 1:18  The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work.

A few years ago, I began seeing a new type of wrecker on the streets.  Instead of the old winch type these had a cross piece that went under the car for more stability. 

Every time I come up behind one like this one that I saw yesterday I think what a perfect visual example of the work of the cross of Jesus Christ. People make wrecks of their lives in so many different ways. Sometimes it’s through out and out sin and sometimes it’s through poor decision making. Thank goodness that God doesn’t abandon us completely to the consequences of our bad actions. Instead God sent his son to provide salvation and a new direction for our life. 1 Peter 2:24 says “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” The name on this wrecker was “Recovery, Inc.” Again how appropriate for a message on the cross! Through the work of the cross we recover some of the image of God in which we were created.  Through faith in Jesus Christ many people who are recovering from addictions to drugs or alcohol are finding help and new lives of sobriety. Jesus had to carry his cross on that sad day. Before that, in a foreshadowing of what was to come Jesus said, to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” And yet it is the cross that carries us in so many ways out of the wreckage and into a place where we can find recovery, new life and wholeness. Thanks be to God!

Thank you, Lord for saving us from ourselves. We get ourselves into scrapes and sometimes major wrecks because we take our eyes off you who are the pathway to a successful life. Help us to find reminders like this one that no matter how large a mess we make, you will be there with us if we call upon you. We ask this in the name of the one who carried his cross so that his cross could carry us. Amen.

Monday’s Devotion: Bumping up against Scripture in Real Life

John 21:18  “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

I saw this scripture perfectly illustrated yesterday evening as Joe and I visited three of our church members. The afternoon was taken up with a meeting and chores at church so Joe and I ate an early dinner and then set out.  Two members were in the same hospital and one in a rehabilitation center.  I love all my members (we have the best!) and I love visiting with them but it isn’t easy to see people who were once young and vibrant now unable to live on their own, being led around and dressed by others and not always able to carry on lucid conversations.  On the way home I remarked that when we got old Robert (our son) could do anything he wanted with us and we wouldn’t even know what was going on.  I sincerely hope that’s not the case and that we will stay healthy, sharp and alert right up through the day we move into our heavenly home. One of the ladies we visited was pretty alert and looked good.  One, who really has an eye for Joe was in great spirits and sound mind and even sent Joe home with two Varsity chili dogs left over from some her daughter had brought to her.  The third woman was at Homecoming last Sunday.  I even sat with her at the luncheon. As she can’t drive any more she now attends church with her daughter so it was a treat to see her at church. Other than having mobility problems she was fine.  In the middle of the week she had a TIA and was taken to the hospital. She has also been diagnosed with low oxygen levels.  She knew who we were and talked with us but no sentence made any sense at all. I called her daughter afterwards who said that they were hopeful that through medication and therapy she will regain brain function.  How quickly life can change!  I came away wanting to be more intentional about making the most of every day. I hope you do the same.

Thank you for the gift of life, Lord.  We know that our days are numbered but that you have chosen us as your own and wish for us to have life in abundance.  We ask for your strength and for good health to carry us through this new week.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.