Corona Devotionals

Where are some of your favorite places to be?   At a county fair: walking through the hay-covered flooring of animal barns, riding brightly lit carnival rides, and eating my way through an expensive buffet of fried veggies, sausage sandwiches, elephant ears and freshly-squeezed lemonade... I want to be there!   At a family gathering: loved ones visiting, playing, cooking, eating... being  together.  They can't happen often enough for my heart, and the times spent together build our memories and who-we-are...   I want to be there!   How about being with other followers-in-faith and lovers-of-Jesus?  Gathered with God's people...reading His Word, understanding it, and being affected by it ...  It's more than powerful, it's invigorating and motivating to be surrounded with others who love the Lord... I want to be there!   Nehemiah and the Israelites had been working hard and working together to do God's work (against much opposition a...

The Spring is bringing wet, soggy days and bright, promising ones too--and I'm not just talking about the weather.   Our minds and our spirits can get dampened too.  The clouds of worry, stress and fear can hover over us, darkening our temperament, and our clarity too.  The rains of pain, anxiety and sorrow can soak us to the bone some days.  Not to mention downpours of depression and even paranoia, with and without indication or cause.  And then, even after the waters of trauma recede, that sogginess still sits within us.   Yes--the showers and storms of life can water-log our hearts and faith , and leave us in shambles.   The thought of my suffering and homelessness  is bitter beyond words.  ( 20)  I will never forget this awful time...    ( 21)  Yet I still dare to hope  when I remember this: ( 22)  The faithful love of the  Lord  never ends!   His mercies never cease....

I'm ashamed to admit that when I was younger, I used to read my horoscope daily.  I would look forward to opening the newspaper and "finding out what kind of day I was going to have".   Thankfully, I have matured in my wisdom and my relationship to the Bible and with Jesus Christ enough to know that depending on a horoscope to define my day is malarkey! I'm embarrassed that I ever looked to such nonsense to  try and make sense  of my days and my life. But I am not embarrassed  to admit that now I read something besides the newspaper daily to find out what kind of day I am going to have, and it is anything  but nonsense.  It's The Bible. And if I didn't know better (and know Jesus), I might call it many things (uncanny, ironic, amazing), but with Jesus, I know that the direction, comfort and hope that I find daily in the pages of the Bible is God's authority over my life and His intimate knowledge of me  and my daily happenings. ...

What does your ministry look like today?   Mine looks like this (so far): the prep for stuffed peppers and a pan of graham cracker toffee. How is this ministry?   Well, because our middle child requested stuffed peppers for supper, and when one of my people actually likes something enough to ask for it, I am blessed to make it, even if it involves a few steps such as browning ground meat, cleaning and then blanching peppers, cooking rice, mixing it all and then covering with a magical tomato soup-sauce mix.  Is it work?  Yes.  Is it worth it to me, because it will be worth it to my family?  Yes.   Loving the people in our family well--that is definitely ministry, and so... Meals made with love-that's ministry. We love because he first loved us.  ~I John 4:19 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.  ~Galatians 6:10 Do to others as you would have them...

Do what is right today, even if we have fallen-in-to, gotten-used-to, or just gone-along-with doing the wrong thing. It's not so hard to do...falling into "the system", but God is waking us up today with the alarm clock of His Word.   Look around... look inside.  The only difference between us and them is a circumstance, but we can get caught up and blinded by our comfort and privilege, while turning a blind eye (and heart) to the hardship of others just like us. The Book of Nehemiah showcases it this way: God's people had dropped what they were doing to follow God and rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.  Some  people could handle the financial hit of not earning their salaries during the wall-work, but it hit others hard.  They were strapped...and still had bills.  Plus, the white collar (if you will) Israelites were charging the blue collar (if you will) Israelites  interest  on their bills--sinking them deeper in debt-despair! Nehemiah hear...

We watched a show the other day, and in the first scene they introduce an older-adult brother and sister who live together.  The (strict) sister is talking and talking and talking.  She asserts her one-way opinion on the day/their homelife/and the world around them, as  her (silent) brother sits there patiently.  As she states her self-declared "laws", she doesn't invite her brother's opinion or thoughts, and she seems completely unaware (and uninterested) of the possibility that his-say might (also) matter. My eyes nervously glance around my living room wondering if anyone in my family is looking at me because I AM LOOKING AT ME.  This woman is me  at times with my husband, with my kids, and with others. Haughty eyes, a proud heart,  and evil actions are all sin.  ~Psalm 21:4 Haughty :   having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior (Merriam Webster). A proud heart : conside...

In @400 B.C. the Israelites were rebuilding their wall around Jerusalem.  Everyone was pitching in, and they were making great progress, which some people didn't like.   As we work steadily, consistently, progressively for God, some  people won't like what we are doing for His glory.  And they will have something to say about it.  But God will also have something to say about it.  And God will have the final  say.   When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,  ( 2)  and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”  ( 3)  Tobiah   the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a ...