Corona Devotionals

“The  Lord  our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions."  ~Deuteronomy 29:29 Lord, You alone know the secrets  of everything, from this Earth and universe to the reasonings behind the joyful/stressful/fearful circumstances that each of us face today.    The  Lord  our God has secrets known to no one. ( Deuteronomy 29:29).  We can't begin to know or understand all that occurs around us (and in us!) and for some of us that is a stumbling block of faith.  We just can't accept that we don't understand or comprehend how things work, or why they worked-out that way.   We can apply this "frustration" of "  secrets known to no one"  to science, one example being "dark matter".  Our 8th grade son came home one day saying they had been taught that scientists ...

Ever played Pinochle (pea-knuckle)? After group-family suppers and in the afternoons and evenings during downtime on family vacations--the Pinochle deck comes out and the good times are dealt. I don't play. Why? In a word--it's complicated. Not my reasoning--I mean the game and the rules of Pinochle, they are complicated to me.  I might go so far as to say that Pinochle is too difficult for me , and it is...beyond my  reach. Gamerules.com explains "Pinochle" as " a trick-taking and melding card game and the Pinochle deck has 48 cards. In each of the four suits, the deck has two of each: A, K, Q, J, 10, and 9. These cards, however, do not follow the traditional ranking. Ace is high, followed by 10, and K, and t here are several methods of scoring, some of which include Q, J, 9 as both being worth points and as NOT being worth points... ". Confused yet? I always am. I've accepted that Pinochle is  too difficult for  me , and it is...beyond  my ...

I'm blond.  My skin is fair, and ever since I can remember, each Summer there has been at least one "bad burn".   Yesterday I had lathered up our kids with sunblock because the forecast was supposed to be hot and sunny, and while I am grateful that each of them inherited their dad's math skills, they bear my skintone, which is prone to burning.  We always use sunblock, partly from my negative past experiences (bad burns!), and partly from wisdom and preventive maintenance.  There is a precautionary path to walk when it comes to the sun, and time/experience/and experts have proven that.  So have my "bad burns".   And so how it happened, I am not quite sure, because I "should have known better", but yesterday in the midst of lake fishing, kids swimming, outdoor grilling, Summer sun, and distractions, I got a bad burn.  Bad.   For instance, the  skin on my legs feels too tight  because they are a little swollen and a lot red....

Some people make cutting remarks,  but the words of the wise bring healing .  ~Proverbs 12:18 Have you ever brooded about a " cutting remark" that was made about you or your family/team/business?  Of course we have.  " Cutting remarks"  are cheap and easy and they fly frequently when we differ with another.   But " cutting remarks" bring unrest in our hearts, cause hurt, and foster resentment.  Don't they?  Do you replay "that" conversation in your head and thus get " cut " again and again as you replay it?   Cutting remarks are easy to spew but for what?  Like an arcade game token or slot-machine pull, the thrill is gone in a moment and we are left with nothing.  Except possibly a resonating seed of hurt that we have planted with our  cutting remark.  There is no satisfaction in that, and if there is, then we need to check our hearts as to whose "army" we are serving in, because   God did not send his Son i...

As I sat on our porch this morning, I couldn't help but notice these berries poking their hard heads up at me.  Green and unripe, these firm berries-in-process look nothing like the sweet red ones that we will enjoy in a few Summer weeks.  Today they are in a developing stage.  It's the necessary timeline of a berry.  The blossom comes first and then the hard berry appears, and in due process, it will eventually soften and sweeten into the final product that God had in mind when He created the red raspberry. But it takes time and t oday they are unripe.   I've got a few "unripe" berry situations in my life today, how about you?  Are you waiting for confirmation on a big decision, but there is no direction yet?  Have you extended the olive branch of peace but it hasn't been accepted by the other party yet?  Trying to decide about college/the move/the job/homeschooling/flights/reconciliation/try-outs/fill-in-your-green-berry-situation. If we ar...

As the crowd pressed in on Jesus, he said,  “This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah.   30  What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.    ~Luke 11:29-30 Where God is, miracles and salvation have always been also, and whether we read about Him in the Old or New Testament, no one but God could have woven the stories and experiences together in such perfect tandem.  The Old (Testament) proves the New (Testament), and they are  a picture of God's love for His people (then and now).  The story of Jonah is a fantastical one that we often tell our kids when they are little.  In a nutshell, Jonah got swallowed by a whale, spent three days in the belly, then the whale vomited him out and Jonah brought God's message of repentance to the ...

“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’  ( 25)  So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order.  ( 26)  Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”  ~Luke 11:24-26 When we (with God's help) take-a-stand/separate-from/or kick-to-the-curb a bad mood, critical attitude, sinful activity or anything that God finds displeasing, we have to clean house  (and heart) and lock the door.  Whatever junk that has finally "left" us is not welcome back.  Not with Jesus on duty in our hearts.    Not today, Lord.  Not if we are in You and standing with You.  We pray Your blessing and protection over us and over the "home" and heart that we have swept clean in You.  Help us to lock-the...

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today...  ~Deuteronomy 28:1 Fully obey...and carefully keep Forgive us, Lord, for the days and times when we optionally obey instead of fully obey.  Move our hearts out  of comfortably obeying and shift our hearts into fully obey   mode.   Today Lord, at Your call and at the instruction of Your Word, we will seek to " fully obey " You and "carefully keep" Your commands.  No mincing words or fudging the truth.  Remove the half-truths that we tell to please others and the proverbial "fingers crossed behind our backs" when we willingly deceive others (and ourselves) and ultimately stab You in the back.   and carefully keep all his commands... Deuteronomy 28:1 Lord, today motivate us to  fully obey...and carefully keep... Not lackadaisically keep, comfortably keep or socially-accepted keep...but with our heart mind and soul focused on You and Y...

Make vows to the   Lord   your God, and keep them.   Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One.   ~Psalm 76:11 What does it mean to " Make vows to the   Lord   your God, and keep them" ?  I picture a child standing at God's chalkboard-of-life rewriting the Ten Commandments (or some other passage of Scripture) over and over (and over) for eternity.   But I don't think that is what God has in mind when He says to  Make vows to the   Lord   your God, and keep them.  What are our vows  to the   Lord ?   I think it depends on the day, the situation, and us being "quiet" enough in our spirit to "hear" them.  God lays people, tasks, ideas and efforts on our hearts (as vows to Him) , and then it is up to us to  keep them.   It might be speaking up for God, in a room, group, or culture where He is purposely being pushed aside.  Or it may not be speaking at all: silently comfort...