Corona Devotionals

Is it ever okay to go against what God says?  Believe it or not… Yes.  I learned that today from a guy named Hezekiah. In a wild and bold move, Hezekiah broke God’s Law (for Passover), but he blessed God’s heart even as he did it.   Wait… what? Is it ever acceptable to God to do what is supposedly un acceptable by His “rules”? Well—I guess it all depends on the motives of our heart.  If we are pure in our desire to honor God, then (as Hezekiah demonstrated) the rules (even God’s rules!) can be bent a little. Actually, Hezekiah  was actually breaking Laws  that had been set by Moses and God together when God rescued the Israelites from the slavery of Pharaoh in Egypt.  The night before God led the Israelites “out” of Egypt and toward their Promised Land…God set some rules of for “Passover”, and God gave instruction of what the Israelites should do that night   and then every year afterwards, as they remembered  the great faith and provision that God supplied during the Passover.  Le

It’s never too late to turn to the Lord.   And--it’s never too late to turn back to the Lord.   Do we GET IT?   King Hezekiah GOT IT.   The people in his area (Israel) had not been following the Lord, and they had fallen away from the (God-ordained) traditions that the Lord had designed to connect His people with Himself,  like going to church (Temple), and like celebrating the festival of Passover.  So they sent a proclamation throughout all Israel...inviting everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the  Lord , the God of Israel. The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers as required in the Law ( 2 Chronicles 30:5). Hezekiah  invited the people back to church!  But how to get the word out? He  wrote letters of invitation to the people (2 Chronicles 30:1), but letters without delivery are dead messages.  Hezekiah needed to get the letters ... to God's people! At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried le

The earth is the   Lord ’s, and everything in it.   The world and all its people belong to him.   (2)  For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas  and built it on the ocean depths.   ~Psalm 24:1-2 We belong to Him, but also…our world belongs to Him: and  everything in it .   Everything.   Every tree and flower, every person, every pelican, everything. How are we responding to that glorious Truth today?   Can we praise Him today?  Can we acknowledge and absorb (and respond!) to the awesome Truth that we belong to Him :  the Creator of all things, and our Creator?   He laid the earth’s foundation ...and (even)  the earth  knows that it belongs to him ... Do we? Are we choosing to respond to Him today?   The trees do.    Looking out my window as I read these words of God, I saw these words  proven by God as n aked tree-branch arms were raised in praise of their Creator as the sun was rising for the day.  (1) The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.   The world...belong (s)

Ever been around boys (of any age)?  They don't concern themselves with talking about   other  boys...they are not (usually) comparative that way, and would prefer to be competitive instead.  They are often contented with jokes and sounds, rather than defaming other guys or discussing their shortfalls. But...ever been around women ( of any age )?  For some sinful reason, our conversations often seem to p ick-a-little, talk-a-little, pick some more and talk, talk, talk about other women.  We  simmer into a boil as we digress and regress into unbecoming chatter about   other  women.   It's a terrible habit and yet girls in elementary school don't need to be taught how and even elderly church biddies can't quite fully withdraw.  We all still fall to condemning others  from time to time.  We have this sinful draw to make ourselves feel good by chirping back and forth and making someone   else   feel bad. It's nasty.  It's not Godly.  And may the Lord help us turn fr

Who is holier...those that attend church service on Sunday mornings or Saturday nights? Are dressed-up people in the church pews going to get a better seat in Heaven than those wearing jeans into God's house? Fish on Friday's during Lent, or cheeseburgers? Which way do you vote? To spank or not to spank, that is the holy-parent question. Are vegetarians more righteous in God's eyes because they are not harming animals? If we have a drink once in a while, are we headed to Hell in a handbasket? If we binge-watch Netflix are we heathens? Which sides of these questions are " right " and which sides are " wrong "? Both.  And all. Huh? We can (and do!) find reasons and Biblical back-ups to back-up our "opinion" on any life-practice that we prefer, don't we?  But should we ?   God says, "No".   Stay out of the little details and be firm in the big Biblical Truths.  These are what matter to the Lord.   The rest are details that defer to (

I just loved the verses that I read in the Old Testament today!  They are seemingly so out-dated and antiquated from anything we would be a part of today...speaking of  consecrating ourselves... and people being moved to bring their  sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Temple of the  Lord ... And then some people were moved to go above and beyond  giving the regular offerings,  and all whose hearts were willing  gave more!  (I want to feel as intensely about my gratitude to God today!) Yes! I love it! I want that to happen at  our  churches this Sunday, and in  our  Bible studies, and in our school/work/church ministries, don't you?!  It's so exciting!  (Or...wait...does it make you nervous?  Does this kind of impromptu/spirit-led activity in the church seem too-much-too-fast?  Stay tuned if so...). ~~~ How did all of this exciting stuff happen at church ( the Temple of the  Lord )?   Well, King Hezekiah had come into power and he cleaned house.  He cleaned God'

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.  ( 17)  Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!  ( 18)  Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.    ~James 5:16-18   ~~~ We started doing a puzzle today.  Sorting, grouping, finding all the "frame" pieces...you know the drill.    There were a ton of pieces, and I thought I heard a couple hit the floor, but upon clean-up (until next time), I only found one piece that had strayed.  Oh well. But later that night, I felt something... Still later that night, we decided to move the puzzle from our kitchen table to another location.  We found an old (big) notepad and proceeded to slip the connected frame onto the cardboard backing for transport. After "the move", I examined the notepad.  The last time we had used it was 3 years ago, at the end of 2019

Ever been asked to save a sinking ship?   Ever "inherited" a difficult situation?  Someone or something tanked and everything fell apart...but now it's our job to pick up the pieces.     Where do we start?  How do we start?  When do we start? ~~~ King Hezekiah  inherited a bad situation.  His dad, Ahaz  had been a king that did just about everything wrong that a king could do, and God was not happy about it: Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king... He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the  Lord , as his ancestor David had done.  ( 2)  Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal.  ( 3)  He offered sacrifices in the valley... even sacrificing his own sons in the fire.  In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the  Lord  had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites... ( 21)  Ahaz took valuable items from the  Lord ’s Temple, the royal palace, .... ( 24)  The kin