12/10/18-12/14/18 Devo Two - The "Hope for a Baby" Tree

This is the second devotional for the week of December 10 through 14. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

The “Hope for a Baby” Tree

His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22–23

After wrapping the tree with clear twinkle lights, I tied pink and blue bows on its branches and christened it our “Hope for a Baby” Christmas tree. My husband and I had been waiting for a baby through adoption for more than four years. Surely by Christmas!

Every morning I stopped at the tree and prayed, reminding myself of God’s faithfulness. On December 21 we received the news: no baby by Christmas. Devastated, I paused by the tree that had become a symbol of God’s provision. Was God still faithful? Was I doing something wrong?

At times, God’s apparent withholding results from His loving discipline. And other times God lovingly delays to renew our trust. In Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah describes God’s correction of Israel. The pain is palpable: “He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver” (3:13). Through it all, Jeremiah also expresses ultimate trust in God’s faithfulness: “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (vv. 22–23).

I left the tree standing well beyond Christmas and continued my morning prayer. At last, on Easter weekend, we received our baby girl. God is always faithful, though not necessarily on our timeline nor always according to our desires.

My children are now in their thirties, but each year I set up a miniature version of the tree, reminding myself and others to hope in God’s faithfulness.

Dear God, help me trust You today even when I can’t see what You are doing. You are faithful.

The best reason for hope is God’s faithfulness.

By Elisa Morgan

12/10/18-12/14/18 Devo One - The Lord's

This is the first devotional for the week of December 10 through 14. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

“The Lord’s”

Read: Isaiah 44:1–5 

 

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:16

It doesn’t take much to notice that getting “inked” is very popular these days. Some tattoos are so small that one barely notices them. Others—from athletes to actors to everyday people—have opted to cover much of their bodies with multicolored inks, words, and designs. The trend seems like it’s here to stay, a trend that netted $3 billion in revenue in 2014—and an additional $66 million for tattoo removal.

Regardless of how you may feel about tattoos, Isaiah 44 speaks metaphorically about people writing something on their hands: “The Lord’s” (v. 5). This “self-tattoo” is the climax of an entire paragraph that speaks of the Lord’s care for those He had chosen (v. 1). They could count on His help (v. 2); and their land and descendants were marked for blessing (v. 3). Two simple, powerful words, “The Lord’s,” affirmed that God’s people knew they were His possession and that He would take care of them.

Those who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ can confidently say of themselves, “The Lord’s!” We are His people, His sheep, His offspring, His inheritance, His dwelling. These are the things we cling to in the varied seasons of life. While we may have no external mark or tattoo, we can take heart that we have the witness of God’s Spirit in our hearts that we belong to Him (see Romans 8:16–17).

Father, the expressions of Your love and care are all around me and Your Spirit lives within me. Thank You!

How can the truth that you belong to God impact how you live?

By Arthur Jackson

12/3/18-12/7/18 Devo Two - Questions at Christmas

This is the second devotional for the week of December 3 through 7. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Questions at Christmas

“But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15

Well before the calendar flips to December, Christmas cheer begins to bubble up in our northern town. A medical office drapes its trees and shrubs in close-fitting strings of lights, each a different color, illuminating a breathtaking nighttime landscape. Another business decorates its building to look like an enormous, extravagantly wrapped Christmas present. It’s difficult to turn anywhere without seeing evidence of Christmas spirit—or at least seasonal marketing.

Some people love these lavish displays. Others take a more cynical view. But the crucial question isn’t how others observe Christmas. Rather, we each need to consider what the celebration means to us.

A little more than thirty years after His birth, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13). They gave responses others had given: John the Baptist, Elijah, maybe another prophet. Then Jesus made it personal: “Who do you say I am?” (v. 15). Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).

Many will celebrate Christmas without a thought about who the Baby really is. As we interact with them, we can help them consider these crucial questions: Is Christmas just a heartwarming story about a baby born in a stable? Or did our Creator visit His creation and become one of us?

Father in heaven, may our Christmas celebrations this year, whether lavish or small, honor the Messiah who came to redeem His creation.

By Tim Gustafson

INSIGHT

Who was Matthew, the writer of the gospel by the same name? Matthew (also known as Levi) was one of Jesus’s twelve disciples. Prior to Jesus’s call, Matthew served as a despised tax collector (9:9). Tax collectors were particularly loathed because they exacted taxes from their own people, the Jews, to pay the Romans (the oppressive rulers of Israel). And they often collected far more than required. Matthew wrote his gospel primarily to the Jews to prove that Jesus is the Messiah (Savior), the eternal King. We see Matthew’s emphasis clearly in today’s passage. When Jesus asked His disciples about His identity, Peter declared, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:15–16).

By Alyson Kieda

12/3/18-12/7/18 Devo One - Thanks for Being You

This is the first devotional for the week of December 3 through 7. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Thanks for Being You!

Enter his gates with thanksgiving. Psalm 100:4

When I served as my mom’s live-in caregiver at a cancer center, I got to know Lori, another caregiver who lived down the hallway from us with her husband, Frank. I would chat, laugh, vent, cry, and pray with Lori in the shared living areas. We enjoyed supporting each other as we cared for our loved ones.

One day, I missed the free shuttle that took residents to buy groceries. Lori offered to drive me to the store later that evening. With grateful tears, I accepted her offer. “Thanks for being you,” I said. I truly appreciated her for who she was as a person, not just for what she did for me as a friend.

Psalm 100 demonstrates an appreciation of God for who He is, not simply for all He does. The psalmist invites “all the earth” (v. 1) to “worship the Lord with gladness” (v. 2), being confident in knowing “the Lord is God” (v. 3). Our Maker invites us into His presence to “give thanks to him and praise his name” (v. 4). Yes, the Lord remains worthy of our ongoing thankfulness because He “is good,” His “love endures forever,” and His “faithfulness continues through all generations” (v. 5).

God will always be the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and our intimately loving Father. He deserves our genuine joy-filled gratitude.

Lord, thanks for being You!

By Xochitl Dixon

INSIGHT

Psalm 100 echoes the words of Psalm 95. Both begin with an appeal to shout for joy and together call for a resounding celebration in song to the God of gods, Yahweh. This personal name of Israel’s God is translated in English versions as Lord.

But beyond their similarities, the two songs tell a different story. While Psalm 95 attempts to rouse a nation that has lost its joy (vv. 7–11), Psalm 100 invites the whole earth to erupt in shouts of praise and songs of mirth. At least fourteen times the songwriter of Psalm 100 points to this God of gods by name or pronoun. With every line the psalmist invites people of all nations to enter into the presence of One who is infinitely more to be praised than was seen in the lagging joy of His dearly loved and chosen people.

By Mart DeHaan

11/26/18-11/30/18 Devo Two - Honoring God with Thanks

This is the second devotional for the week of November 26 through 30. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Honoring God with Thanks

Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me. Psalm 50:15

The doctor wasn’t frowning, despite talking to my husband about his recent cancer diagnosis. Smiling, she offered a suggestion: start each day by giving thanks. “For at least three things,” the doctor said.  Dan agreed, knowing that gratitude opens our hearts to find encouragement in God’s goodness. Thus, Dan starts each day with words of praise. Thank You, God, for a good night’s sleep. For my clean bed. For sunshine. For breakfast on the table. For a smile on my lips.

Each word is heartfelt. But could it sound trivial? Does our praise in life’s small details matter to Almighty God? In Psalm 50, David’s chief musician, Asaph, offers a clear answer. God has “no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens” (v. 9). Instead of these once-formal Israelite sacrifices of gratitude, God wants His people to give Him our hearts and lives in gratitude (vv. 14, 23).

As my husband experienced, whole-hearted gratitude helps our spirits flourish. Then when we call on the Lord “in the day of trouble,” He will “deliver” us (v. 15).  Does this mean Dan will be healed, spiritually and physically, during his two-year treatment? Or not until after this lifetime? We don’t know. But for now, Dan delights in showing God he’s grateful for His love, and for who God is: Redeemer. Healer. Friend. And friends delight to hear these beautiful words: Thank You. 

INSIGHT

The legal language and setting in Psalm 50 are hard to miss. A universal summons is issued by God (v. 1) and the purpose of the gathering is clear—the judgment of His people (v. 4). In a manner reminiscent of the giving of the Law (Exodus 19:16–19), the Lord makes His grand entry (Psalm 50:2–3) as the righteous and just judge (v. 6). However, “judge” is not His only role; He is also witness (v. 7) and plaintiff (v. 8). Two groups of defendants enter the Lord’s courtroom and the Judge has indictments that match the transgressions of each group. The Lord’s charges against the first group (vv. 7–15) concerned their worship. Though a formal worship system was in place, the kind of worship the Lord desired was missing. Spiritual worship that included “thanksgiving” mattered to the Lord more than the flesh and blood of animals. The charges against the second group (vv. 16–23) concerned their hypocrisy. Though they were able to recite words that came from God, their actions demonstrated their hearts were far from Him (vv. 17–21). As with the first group, the Lord’s corrective included the reminder that “thank offerings” really matter to Him (v. 23).

Arthur Jackson

11/26/18-11/30/18 Devo One - Scott Homer

This is the first devotional for the week of November 26-30. This video is a devotion by Scott Homer. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post.

You can click on the video above or click on this link: https://youtu.be/p-_T4rlt5Zo

11/19/18-11/20/18 Devo One - Hard Conversations

This is the first devotional for the week of November 19 through November 20. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Hard Conversations

Read: 1 Samuel 25:21–35

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

I once drove fifty miles to have a hard conversation with a remote staff person. I had received a report from another employee that suggested he was misrepresenting our company, and I was concerned for our reputation. I felt nudged to offer an opinion that might change his choices.

In 1 Samuel 25, an unlikely person took great personal risk to confront a future king of Israel who was about to make a disastrous choice. Abigail was married to Nabal, whose character matched the meaning of his name (“fool”) (vv. 3, 25). Nabal had refused to pay David and his troops the customary wage for protecting his livestock (vv. 10–11). Hearing that David planned a murderous revenge on her household, and knowing her foolish husband wouldn’t listen to reason, Abigail prepared a peace offering, rode to meet David, and persuaded him to reconsider (vv. 18–31).

How did Abigail accomplish this? After sending ahead donkeys loaded with food to satisfy David and his men and settle the debt, she spoke truth to David. She wisely reminded David of God’s call on his life. If he resisted his desire for revenge, when God made him king, he wouldn’t “have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed” (v. 31).

You might also know someone dangerously close to a mistake that could harm others and compromise their own future effectiveness for God. Like Abigail, might God be calling you to a hard conversation?

Dear God, please help me know when to lovingly confront others.

Sometimes following God means difficult conversations.

By Elisa Morgan

11/12/18-11/16/18 Devo Two - Dangerous Distractions

This is the first devotional for the week of November 12 through November 16. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Dangerous Distractions

Read: John 13:31–35 

 

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:35 nlt

Artist Sigismund Goetze shocked Victorian-era England with a painting entitled “Despised and Rejected of Men.” In it, he portrayed the suffering, condemned Jesus surrounded by people of Goetze’s own generation. They were so consumed by their own interests—business, romance, politics—that they were shockingly oblivious to the Savior’s sacrifice. Indifferent to Christ, the surrounding crowd, like the mob at the foot of Jesus’s cross, had no idea what—or who—they had missed.

In our day as well, believers and unbelievers alike can easily become distracted from the eternal. How can followers of Jesus cut through this fog of distraction with the truth of God’s great love? We can begin by loving one another as fellow children of God. Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 nlt).

But real love doesn’t stop there. We extend that love by sharing the gospel in hopes of drawing people to the Savior. As Paul wrote, “We are . . . Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

In this way, the body of Christ can both reflect and project God’s love, the love we so desperately need, to both each other and to our world. May both efforts, empowered by His Spirit, be a part of cutting through the distractions that hinder us from seeing the wonder of God’s love in Jesus.

To a world living in the fog of distraction, we bring the light of the good news of Jesus.

By Bill Crowder

INSIGHT

Consider those Jesus chose as His first disciples (Luke 6:13–16). While they were all men and all Jewish, there was much that could (and sometimes did) divide them. Most were from Galilee in the north, but one (Judas Iscariot) was from Judea in the south. While most were fishermen (Mark 1:16–20), Matthew was a tax collector (Matthew 10:3) who served the Romans—harming his own people. Matthew would have been despised by everyone, especially Simon the Zealot (v. 4), a member of a radical Jewish group determined to drive Rome out of Israel. Add to that the attempts by James and John to seek higher places of honor in the kingdom (Mark 10:35–37), and you have a fertile environment for friction. These factors and more would have intensified the difficulty of loving one another. Yet, just as we love God because He first loved us, we love one another—despite our differences—in the power of the love we have received from God. As we seek to dwell together as followers of Christ, loving one another isn’t easy, but it’s vital.

Do you need God’s help to love a particular person in an intentional way this week?

Bill Crowder

11/12/18-11/16/18 Devo One - Bound to Encourage

This is the first devotional for the week of November 12 through November 16. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Bound to Encourage

Read: Hebrews 10:19–25

 

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24

The Steven Thompson Memorial Centipede is a cross-country meet unlike any other. Each seven-member team runs as a unit, holding a rope for the first two miles of a three-mile course. At the two-mile mark, the team drops the rope and finishes the race individually. Each person’s time is, therefore, a combination of the pace the team kept and his or her own speed.

This year, my daughter’s team opted for a strategy I had not previously seen: They put the fastest runner at the front and the slowest right behind her. She explained that their goal was for the strongest runner to be near enough to speak words of encouragement to the slowest runner.

Their plans depicted for me a passage from the book of Hebrews. The writer urges us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” (Hebrews 10:23) as we “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (v. 24). There are certainly many ways of accomplishing this, but the author highlighted one: “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (v. 25). Gathering together with other believers as we’re able is a vital aspect of the life of faith.

The race of life can feel like more than we can handle at times, and we may be tempted to drop the rope in hopelessness. As we run together, let’s offer one another the encouragement to run strong!

Jesus, thank You for the hope You offer. Thank You for never discouraging us. Help us imitate You by encouraging each other today.

Encouragement is water to the soul.

By Kirsten Holmberg

11/5/18-11/9/18 Devo Two - Nathan Smith

This is the second devotional for the week of November 5-9. This is a devotional Nathan Smith. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

 “Holy Hunches”

Nathan Smith 

As a Child I loved ready Dr. Suess books and there was one in particular that I enjoyed. Hunches in Bunches is one that often gets overlooked because it has a unique cadence that is not catchy. This Hilarious book tells the story of a bored indecisive boy who is urged by a string of Hunches - that come in the appearance of bizarre furry creatures - first to do this and then to do that until, finally, he follows the Munch Hunch and goes for lunch! I’d like to tell you a story about a hunch I followed and the results of that hunch and how it has lead me into ministry.

When I was 20 years old I had organized a group of college students to go the Bahamas and perform in the public school with our choral group, because we were an entertaining group the Nassau public school board allowed us into their schools and permitted us also to share the gospel message to all the high school on Nassau Island. I had never been on a mission trip before and I was not really looking to do full-time ministry.

In the evening we would often minster to the local churches in the area. One evening we drove to the middle of the Island. This area was known for their gang violence and drug trafficking. Our Island sponsor told us that we should stick close to the church seeing as we looked out of place as the only white people in that district. The Church was in the middle of a sugar cane field in the center of the Island. It was so remote that electricity had not yet been wired there. Pitch black at 7:00 pm, the church was lit with gas generators so that we could perform. After our performance that evening I was waiting for group to finish tearing down and as I was looking out towards the sugar cane field I saw a shadows in the distance. Something my spirit nudged me, let’s call it a hunch, to go and investigate. Knowing full well that I would be putting myself in some sort of danger I took along another guy from my trip. As we slowly walked I kept asking God if this was something he really wanted me to do. About 50 yards away from the church I hear a man’s voice tell me to get back to the church or you’ll get hurt. I called out to this man that I was there to help him. I then hear, “How can you help me?” I had no response other than to say, “Well what do you need?” He replied, “Do you have any money?” I usually do not carry around a lot of cash as a young college student, I didn’t have much to share, however, earlier in the day I had been snorkeling with Amy and found a $100 bill floating in the water (no joke). Our sponsor told us that money found in the ocean is not uncommon as they had drug runners that ran between Nassau Island and the coast of Florida all the time. Nassau is only 2 hours from Miami by boat. Back to my story—I gave that man the $100 instantly, for one reason it really wasn’t mine to begin with, and second I was terrified for my life.

After he realized what I had given him he immediately fell to knees and wept. I asked him to come out of the shadows and walk into the light so that I could consul him. His name was Jason and he lived near the Church yet had never attended. That evening as he was walking through the cane field he heard singing and decided to stop a listen. Because he had a hunch to stop both of our lives were changed that evening. After talking awhile and sharing the good news with him he accepted Christ into his heart for the first time. Up to that point I had never walked anyone through that process and to be honest I had not had the confidence ever to do something like that. Jason had also told me that the money given him that evening would be able to pay for a medical procedure that his mother needed. I’m not sure what $100 could pay for but to him it was the most money had ever possessed and his family was going to be blessed by it. That evening a hunch led me into a field, a hunch led Jason to stop and listen the music flowing out of the church. We often do not slow down enough to connect with the spirit and see what hunches we often ignore. The hunch that led me in to the shadows that evening was the catalyst of a calling I felt on that trip to have confidence in God’s plan and ultimately led me into full-time ministry. From that time on I knew God was going to take care of me and my family as long as I remained faithful to the calling of ministry.

A hunch is a guess based on known or unknown facts, intuition about something that might be the case. Holy means it comes from God, so I call the above hunch a “Holy Hunch”. The miracles listed below all started with Holy Hunches

John 6: Feeding of the Five Thousand: The boy that gave Jesus the bread and fish had a hunch
Mark 2:3-5: Paralytic Man: His friends had such a hunch that they tore through a roof to get the man to Jesus.
Mark 10:46-52: Blind Bartimaeus: He had a “Holy Hunch” to cry out to Jesus so loud that Jesus could hear him through the commotion and because of that he was healed.
Mark 5:25-34: Jesus healing the bleeding woman: She had a Holy Hunch that just by touching the robe of Jesus she would be healed.

Are we missing Holy Hunches around us? Are we too busy to allow the spirit to reveal to us “Holy Hunches.” I’ll be honest I’ve never heard Gods audible voice, and I often get too busy to allow the spirit to lead me. My challenge to you this week is pay attention to Holy Hunch moments and be obedient to what God has for you follow through what you believe to be a “Holy Hunch”, what’s the worst thing that can happen to you.

11/5/18-11/9/18 Devo One - Vicki Wagner

This is the first devotional for the week of November 5-9. This is a devotional from Vicki Wagner on her reflection on turning 65. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

 

Turning 65 this week makes me think about how the finish line is getting closer than ever. People say I take after my grandmother in many ways, and she lived to be 94. I've always clung to that idea of being like her! And Yes, I AM the oldest person in the Conservatory. God led me here 13 years ago, when I was looking for my next big thing. Helping realize The Conservatory turned out to be it.

The Bible says: “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength, eighty” (Psalms 90:10). But, also:  “My times are in your hand” (Psalms 31:15). We don’t live one day longer or shorter than God has planned for us. I never expected to be this age, but then again, I never expected NOT to be. I just lived my seasons as they were granted to me.

When I see people older (or sometimes even younger) than me, it's hard to put myself in that category. I don’t look or walk or act that way, do I?!? When I interact with most of you, I feel that we are all about the same age. I don’t feel too much older, at least. I throw away most AARP and other senior mailings, and for at least a year, I've been bombarded with Medicare information in the mail, in spam phone calls, and on TV (I guess I'm just now noticing those).

In your late 50’s, early 60’s, you “start” to wonder about retirement, wanting to spend more time with grandchildren, and travel more and do other things “before I get old.”  Friends and family get diseases they struggle with, some pass on. I'm wondering what God's plan is for me? I pray about that every day, for God to enlighten me during this period of reflection.

I have a close friend who calls it "refirement" not retirement. He left his Silicon Valley job and he now volunteers on a Lutheran seminary board of directors, for his city planning commission, and as a driver for Open Heart Kitchen, seeking out homeless people in the bushes to serve hot meals to. He’s living his passion, and is busier and more fulfilled than ever.

So how can I get refired?  I think we need to do that throughout our lives, "refire" ourselves and our goals, not just when we hit 65. I have done that several times in my life. After I had kids. After my kids started school. After my kids were in college. After they moved out (at least one has so far). I think it’s about time to refire again.

I found some fun facts about some “old” people you may know:

·       At 65 Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of England, and for the next five years led the Western world to freedom.

·       At 65, a week before he died, Bach dictated changes to his last piece “When We Are in Greatest Distress.”

·       At 69 English writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson began his last major work, The Lives of the English Poets.

·       At 67, the age he died, Leonardo da Vinci was still working on his mathematical studies and scientific research

·       At 69 Ronald Reagan became the oldest man ever sworn in as President of the United States. He was reelected at 73. (warning - political comment:  that record was broken in 2016. Not sure that's a good thing).

·       At 70 Benjamin Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence.

·       At 76, Stephen Hawking did not quit until the day he died.

·       At 77 John Glenn became the oldest person to go into space.

·       At 77 Grandma Moses started painting.

·       At 82 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe finished writing his famous Faust.

·       At 82 Winston Churchill wrote A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.

·       At 88 Michelangelo created the architectural plans for the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

·       At 89 Albert Schweitzer ran a hospital in Africa.

·       At 89 Arthur Rubinstein performed one of his greatest recitals in Carnegie Hall.

·       At 93 Strom Thurmond, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, won reelection after promising not to run again at age 99.

·       At 93 P.G. Wodehouse worked on his 97th novel, got knighted, and died.

So, youngster colleagues, keep on doing and being where God has placed you. Keep praying. Keep on loving your family, raising your kids, doing good work, enriching your students’ lives, thinking about where you are, what you're doing, what's important, and what God wants you to do next. Pray that you get to have a “next.”

That's where my thoughts are at right now. Grateful to be this age, grateful for my many blessings, grateful for the work God has given me throughout my life, and looking forward to the rest of His plan for my life.

I’ll keep you posted!

10/29/18-11/2/18 Devo Two - Agree to Disagree

This is the second devotional for the week of October 29 through November 2. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Agreeing to Disagree

  October 30, 2018  

 

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace. Romans 14:19

I remember hearing my dad talk about how difficult it was to walk away from unending arguments over differing interpretations of the Bible. By contrast he recalled how good it was when both sides agreed to disagree.

But is it really possible to set aside irreconcilable differences when so much seems to be at stake? That’s one of the questions the apostle Paul answers in his New Testament letter to the Romans. Writing to readers caught in social, political, and religious conflict, he suggests ways of finding common ground even under the most polarized conditions (14:5–6).

According to Paul, the way to agree to disagree is to recall that each of us will answer to the Lord not only for our opinions but also for how we treat one another in our differences (v. 10).

Conditions of conflict can actually become occasions to remember that there are some things more important than our own ideas—even more than our interpretations of the Bible. All of us will answer for whether we have loved one another, and even our enemies, as Christ loved us.

Now that I think of it, I remember that my dad used to talk about how good it is not just to agree to disagree but to do so with mutual love and respect.

Father, please enable us to be patient and kind with those who don’t agree with us about anything or everything.

We can agree to disagree—in love. 

By Mart DeHaan

10/29/18-11/2/18 Devo One - Gratitude

This is the first devotional for the week of October 29 through November 2. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Getting a Grip on Gratitude

  October 29, 2018  

Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them? Numbers 11:22

The years of weariness caused by chronic pain and frustrations with my limited mobility had finally caught up with me. In my discontent, I became demanding and ungrateful. I began complaining about my husband’s caregiving skills. I griped about the way he cleaned the house. Even though he’s the best cook I know, I fussed about the lack of variety in our meals. When he finally shared that my grumbling hurt his feelings, I was resentful. He had no idea what I was going through. Eventually, God helped me see my wrongs, and I asked my husband and the Lord for forgiveness.

Longing for different circumstances can lead to complaining, and even a form of relationship damaging self-centeredness. The Israelites were familiar with this dilemma. It seems they were never satisfied and always griping about God’s provision (Exodus 17:1–3). Even though the Lord cared for His people in the wilderness by sending them “bread from heaven” (16:4), they began craving other food (Numbers 11:4). Instead of rejoicing over the daily miracles of God’s faithful and loving care, the Israelites wanted something more, something better, something different, or even something they used to have (vv. 4–6). They took out their frustrations on Moses (vv. 10–14).

Trusting God’s goodness and faithfulness can help us get a good grip on gratitude. Today we can thank Him for the countless ways He cares for us.

For more, read Cultivating a Heart of Contentment at discoveryseries.org/hp052.

Grateful praise satisfies us and pleases God.

By Xochitl Dixon 

INSIGHT

When we read about the anger of the Lord (Numbers 11:1, 10), it’s important to remember that His anger is not like our own. We’re inclined to lash out in fear, irritability, or a desire to get even. God’s anger is a consuming fire of love that burns in the conscience and results in consequences for those who turn their back on Him. What could give us more reason for gratitude than to know that “the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love”? (Psalm 145:8).

Mart DeHaan

10/23/18-10/26/18 Devo Two - Where is Peace?

This is the second devotional for the week of October 23-26. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit. 

Where Is Peace?

  October 25, 2018  

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

“Do you still hope for peace?” a journalist asked Bob Dylan in 1984.

“There is not going to be any peace,” Dylan replied. His response drew criticism, yet there’s no denying that peace remains ever elusive.

About 600 years before Christ, most prophets were predicting peace. God’s prophet wasn’t one of them. Jeremiah reminded the people that God had said, “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people” (Jeremiah 7:23). Yet they repeatedly ignored the Lord and His commands. Their false prophets said, “Peace, peace” (8:11), but Jeremiah predicted disaster. Jerusalem fell in 586 bc.
Peace is rare. But amid Jeremiah’s book of dire prophecies we discover a God who loves relentlessly. “I have loved you with an everlasting love,” the Lord told His rebellious people. “I will build you up again” (31:3–4).

God is a God of love and peace. Conflict comes because of our rebellion against Him. Sin destroys the world’s peace and robs each of us of inner peace. Jesus came to this planet to reconcile us to God and give us that inner peace. “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” wrote the apostle Paul (Romans 5:1). His words are among the most hope-filled ever written.

Whether we live in a combat zone or dwell in a serene neighborhood with nary a whisper of war, Christ invites us into His peace.

God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. C. S. Lewis

By Tim Gustafson

10/23/18-10/26/18 Devo One - Joanna Condos

This is the first devotional for the week of October 23-26. This video is a devotion by Joanna Condos given on the Friday morning faculty devotional time of our inservice. Joanna is a High School English teacher. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post.

Click on the video above or this link:  https://youtu.be/3qwC3hdYwo4

10/15/18-10/18/18 Devo Two - The Prayer and the Chain Saw

This is the second devotional for the week of October 15-18. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

The Prayer and the Chain Saw

October 17, 2018

 

"Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant." Nehemiah 1:11

I respect my Aunt Gladys’s intrepid spirit, even if that very spirit concerns me sometimes. The source of my concern came in the form of news she shared in an email: “I cut down a walnut tree yesterday.”
You must understand that my chainsaw-wielding aunt is seventy-six years old! The tree had grown up behind her garage. When the roots threatened to burst through the concrete, she knew it had to go. But she did tell us, “I always pray before I tackle a job like that.”

While serving as butler to the king of Persia during the time of Israel’s exile, Nehemiah heard news concerning the people who had returned to Jerusalem. Some work needed to be done. “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). The broken walls left them vulnerable to attack by enemies. Nehemiah had compassion for his people and wanted to get involved. But prayer came first, especially since a new king had written a letter to stop the building efforts in Jerusalem (see Ezra 4). Nehemiah prayed for his people (Nehemiah 1:5–10), and then asked God for help before requesting permission from the king to leave (v. 11).

Is prayer your response? It’s always the best way to face any task or trial in life.

Father, Your Holy Spirit reminds us to pray first. Today, we commit to doing so as Your Spirit prompts us.

Make prayer a first priority, instead of a last resort.

10/15/18-10/18/18 Devo One - Trust Him First

This is the first devotional for the week of October 15-18. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Trust Him First

  October 15, 2018  

Read: Isaiah 46:3–13

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19

“Don’t let go, Dad!”

“I won’t. I’ve got you. I promise.”  

I was a little boy terrified of the water, but my dad wanted me to learn to swim. He would purposefully take me away from the side of the pool into a depth that was over my head, where he was my only support. Then he would teach me to relax and float.

It wasn’t just a swimming lesson; it was a lesson in trust. I knew my father loved me and would never let me be harmed intentionally, but I was also afraid. I would cling tightly to his neck until he reassured me all would be well. Eventually his patience and kindness won out, and I began to swim. But I had to trust him first.

When I feel “over my head” in a difficulty, I sometimes think back on those moments. They help me call to mind the Lord’s reassurance to His people: “Even to your old age . . . I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you” (Isaiah 46:4).

We may not always be able to feel God’s arms beneath us, but the Lord has promised that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). As we rest in His care and promises, He helps us learn to trust in His faithfulness. He lifts us above our worries to discover new peace in Him.

Abba, Father, I praise You for carrying me through life. Please give me faith to trust that You are always with me.

God carries us to new places of grace as we trust in Him.

By James Bank

10/8/18-10/12/18 Devo Two - Lauren Daigle

This is the second devotional for the week of October 8-12. This video is a song by Lauren Daigle. It's called Trust in You. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. The lyrics are below.

Click on the video above or this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_aVFVveJNs

Trust In You

Lauren Daigle

Letting go of every single dream
I lay each one down at Your feet
Every moment of my wandering
Never changes what You see
I try to win this war
I confess, my hands are weary, I need Your rest
Mighty warrior, king of the fight
No matter what I face You're by my side

When You don't move the mountains
I'm needing You to move
When You don't part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don't give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

Truth is, You know what tomorrow brings
There's not a day ahead You have not seen
So let all things be my life and breath
I want what You want Lord and nothing less

When You don't move the mountains
I'm needing You to move
When You don't part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don't give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
I will trust in You

You are my strength and comfort
You are my steady hand
You are my firm foudation
The rock on which I stand
Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There's not a place where I'll go

You've not already stood

When You don't move the mountains
I'm needing You to move
When You don't part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don't give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

  

I will trust in You

Songwriters: Lauren Ashley Daigle / Paul Marbury / Michael Farren

Trust In You lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Essential Music Publishing, Capitol Christian Music Group

10/8/18-10/12/18 Devo One - John Piper on Imagination

This is the first devotional for the week of October 8-12. This is a devotional from John Piper on Imagination. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

October 8, 2018

Article by

John Piper

Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org

One of the great duties of the Christian mind is imagination. But not all uses of the imagination are a Christian duty. Some are exactly the opposite. Nor is the imagination the only duty of the Christian mind. The mind is also charged with the duties of observation, analysis, and organization.

Imagination happens when the mind goes beyond observation, analysis, and organization of what’s there, and imagines what is not seen, but might be there — and what might explain what we do see (as in the case of most scientific research). Imagination also happens when the mind imagines a new way of portraying what is already there (as in the case of creative writing and music and art).

Imagination Hijacked

There is imagination that is incredibly creative, and yet deceptive, even pathological. The book of Proverbs creatively portrays this kind of deceptive creativity. For example, Proverbs 26:13–16:

The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
     There is a lion in the streets!”
As a door turns on its hinges,
     so does a sluggard on his bed.
The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
     it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
     than seven men who can answer sensibly.

These picturesque (imaginative!) verses might be four distinct proverbs only related by the fact that they are all about the sluggard. But I suspect there is more going on in this grouping than that.

“When a person speaks or writes or sings or paints about breathtaking beauty in a boring way, it is probably a sin.”

The imagination of the sluggard is in full swing in verse 13. He invents, out of his own wonderfully imaginative head, a nonexistent situation in order to justify his lazy unwillingness to get up and go to work: “There’s a lion in the streets!” He does not want to go out. So his imagination kicks into gear and creates a situation in which he can’t go out. This is deceptive. He is using his imagination to lie.
But it may be worse than that. He might even believe his own imagination. The middle two proverbs emphasize the depths of this man’s sloth. He stays in bed. The greatest extent of his progress toward a productive goal is like a door on a hinge. Movement. But no progress.

As a door turns on its hinges,
     so does a sluggard on his bed.

When he manages to get to the breakfast table, he is so lazy he can get his hand into his dish, but he can’t get it out. This man is on his way to starvation. Won’t work. Can’t eat.

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
     it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

The point: sloth leads to self-destruction.
But then comes the stunner. This man thinks he’s brilliant. He is more impressed with the shrewdness of his imaginative powers (“There’s a lion in the streets!”) than he is with the true wisdom of seven sages.

The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
     than seven men who can answer sensibly.

In other words, his powers of imagination have reached such levels of creativity and cleverness in the service of his sloth that he has lost touch with reality and is living in his own masterfully crafted cage of creativity. This is why I said the imagination can be pathological. This is not Christian duty, but Christian defection. Sin has hijacked the imagination, and made it the servant of self-deception.

Minds at Their Most God-Like

So let’s turn from this destructive use of the imagination to the Christian duty of imagination. I say that imagination is a Christian duty for two reasons. One is that you can’t apply Jesus’s Golden Rule without it. He said, “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12). We must imagine ourselves in their place and imagine what we would like done to us. Compassionate, sympathetic, helpful love hangs much on the imagination of the lover.

“Imagination is the faculty of the mind that God has given us to make the communication of his beauty beautiful.”

The other reason I say that imagination is a Christian duty is that when a person speaks or writes or sings or paints about breathtaking truth in a boring way, it is probably a sin. The supremacy of God in the life of the mind is not honored when God and his amazing world are observed truly, analyzed duly, organized clearly, and communicated boringly.

Imagination is one key to killing such boredom. We must imagine ways to say truth for what it really is. And it is not boring. God’s world — all of it — rings with wonders. The imagination calls up new words, new images, new analogies, new metaphors, new illustrations, new connections to say old, glorious truth — whether from the world or from the word of God. Imagination is the faculty of the mind that God has given us to make the communication of his beauty beautiful.

Imagination may be the hardest work of the human mind. And perhaps the most God-like. It is the closest we get to creation out of nothing. When we try to express beautiful truth, we must think of a pattern of words, perhaps a poem. We must conceive something that has never existed before and does not now exist in any human mind. We must think of an analogy or metaphor or illustration which has no present existence. The imagination must exert itself to see it in the mind when it is not there. We must create word combinations, and music, and visual forms that have never existed before. All of this we do, because we are like God and because he is infinitely worthy of ever-new verbal, musical, and visual expressions.

Make a New Song to Sing

A college — or a church, or a family — which is committed to the supremacy of God in the life of the mind will cultivate many fertile, and a few great, imaginations. And oh, how the world needs God-besotted minds that can say the great things of God and sing the great things of God and play the great things of God in ways that have never been said or sung or played before.

“God is infinitely worthy of ever-new verbal, musical, and visual expressions.”

Imagination is contagious. When you are around someone (alive or dead) who uses it a lot, you tend to catch it. So I suggest that you hang out with some contagious people (dead or alive) who overflow with imaginative ways of expressing things. (The Bible may be the most imaginative book of prose in the world. Not because it creates reality that is not there, but because it puts that reality in so many surprising expressions.)

Imagination is also like a muscle. It grows stronger when you flex it. And you must flex it. It does not usually put itself into action. It awaits the will. I encourage you to exert this muscle in your mind.

Make conscious efforts to express precious truth in striking and helpful ways. Think up a new way to say an old truth. God is worthy. “Oh sing to the Lord a new song” (Psalm 96:1; 33:3; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isaiah 42:10) — or picture, or poem, or figure of speech. Let’s flee together from the sin of boring people with God and his amazing works and ways.

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, and most recently Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship.

10/1/18-10/5/18 Devo Two - Asking for Help

This is the second devotional for the week of October 1-5. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Asking for Help

October 3, 2018 

Read: Mark 10:46–51

 

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. Mark 10:51

Her email arrived late in a long day. In truth, I didn’t open it. I was working overtime to help a family member manage his serious illness. I didn’t have time, therefore, for social distractions.

The next morning, however, when I clicked on my friend’s message, I saw this question: “Can I help you in any way?” Feeling embarrassed, I started to answer no. Then I took a deep breath to pause. I noticed then that her question sounded familiar—if not divine.

That’s because Jesus asked it. Hearing a blind beggar call out to Him on the Jericho Road, Jesus stopped to ask this man, named Bartimaeus, a similar question. Can I help? Or as Jesus said: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51).

The question is stunning. It shows the Healer, Jesus, longs to help us. But first, we’re invited to admit needing Him—a humbling step. The “professional” beggar Bartimaeus was needy, indeed—poor, alone, and possibly hungry and downcast. But wanting a new life, he simply told Jesus his most basic need. “Rabbi,” he said, “I want to see.”

For a blind man, it was an honest plea. Jesus healed him immediately. My friend sought such honesty from me too. So I promised her I’d pray to understand my basic need and, more important, I’d humbly tell her. Do you know your basic need today? When a friend asks, tell it. Then take your plea even higher. Tell God.

Lord, I am needy. I want to share my heart with You now. Help me to humbly receive the help of others also.

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5

By Patricia Raybon 

INSIGHT

Today’s story is a beautiful picture of the compassion of our Savior. Even to those He initially refused to help (see the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21–28), He stretched out a merciful and loving hand. All of His actions proved the claim He made at the beginning of His ministry—He was anointed by God and came “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19).

But while Jesus is the epitome of mercy, He didn’t heal everyone. In the stories recorded in Scripture, we are told He healed all who came to him (see Matthew 8:16). But that’s the qualification—they came to Him. He healed all who admitted their need of something only He could provide.

Jesus still welcomes everyone who comes to Him. He may not always heal in the same way He did while He was here on Earth, but He still offers forgiveness and salvation to anyone who asks.

J.R. Hudberg