Corona Devotionals

Lord, we need reminded today that You are  within us.    But   the   Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will   send in My name,   He will teach you all things, and bring to your   remembrance all things that I said to you.  ~John 14:26 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.  ~Romans 8:11 ~~~ Father, we are encouraged today to know that You empower us to live out who You have created us to be. For you created my inmost being;  you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  (14)  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.  ~Psalm 139:13-14 ~~~ Almighty Lord, we are grateful today for who You have blessed us to be .  We praise You for the gifts You've given to each of us, and may we steward them well. So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, th

Has anyone ever accused us of being a slow-poke?  A snail?  A turtle?   Slowness nicknames aren't (usually) complimentary terms, are they?   But, why ?  On a recent hike, I encountered not one but two creatures (a snail and a turtle) that are traditionally associated with slowness (and that slowness is not often attributed as one of their positive traits). But, why ?   And, as I realized on my hike, if we will look a little closer at slowness and the results of it...we might find ourselves realizing that what we label "slow" may actually be "steady" instead, and that is not a bad gait to be going.    Yes, my soul, find rest in God;  my hope comes from him.  ~Psalm 62:5 The "slow" snail and turtle on my hike were in (such) purposed and active motion when I took their pictures, that the turtle picture below is actually blurry in spots,  because he was moving   too quickly  when I snapped the pic.  The turtle was a blur, not because he was moving at a  ra

Cleaning under the bathroom sink the other day, I found an old hand towel in the back of the cupboard that had been there a long time.  So long, that when I pulled it from the cupboard, the area of the hand towel that I was grasping  disintegrated  in my hand .   That hand towel  was  (literally)  rotting and falling apart, and w hile I am a saver at heart...that towel was  good for nothing.   I've never had that happen before, but when I read my Bible today, I realized that God had given me an under-the-sink image to understand and prove His Word more clearly.   You see, the people in Jeremiah's day had strayed far from the Lord and His ways.  People were wicked , and the wicked were prospering.  It bothered Jeremiah , and he came to the Lord about it: You are always righteous,  Lord ,  when I bring a case before you.   Yet I would speak with you about your justice:  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?   Why do all the faithless live at ease?  (2)  You have planted them,

Hot, hot, hot!  We have had a few very hot weather days, and last night as I took a cold shower and felt cool relief for the first time all day, I remembered a saint in my life from years gone by. I use the word "saint" in the same way that Paul alludes to believers-in-Christ as saints.  Not as "perfect" people, but as people who have received Christ's sanctification because they have received Christ.  We are not (ever) perfect, but Christ is, and so when we place our trust in Him, we become sanctified in Him and because  of Him. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ( 31)  that, as it is written,  “He who glories, let him glory in the   Lord .”  ~I Corinthians 1:30-31 Paul uses the term " sanctification" , but the roots and meaning of the two terms are the same: holy.  Because of Jesus, we become sanctified...we become (in a word) "saints".   And...some o

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.  ~Galatians 6:2 I had a (standing) event on my calendar...but I didn't want to keep it.   I was pretty sure that no one would notice if it didn't happen, because it's an unofficial gathering anyways.  No big deal, no true agenda, no gaining-ground from it, and no obligation to attend it.   But when I do  hold said-gathering, people do come.  God has an agenda everytime that I knew nothing about prior to the event.  He shows me the agenda after we gather, when I review the connections and conversations and prayers and praises and comforts.  And I am also aware that much occurs on God's agenda that I am not even privy to...that is His work also.   This is how the Lord operates: through His people  and with His people.  If we love God, then we love His people...and (if we will let them), His people will love us. Jesus replied:  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul

... Remember  my chains.    ~Colossians 4:18 Do we know anyone who is in chains because of proclaiming Jesus to others?  Remember their chains today.  And may their chains free us to be bold in serving God in whatever physical/verbal/written/ artistic way that God has gifted us to.   Remember their chains.   The apostle Paul went through many struggles, persecutions, and captivities.  I would tell you about them, but I will let him: I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.   ( 24)  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  ( 25)  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,  ( 26)  I have been constantly on the move.  I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the coun

We can't do this alone.  And we don't. Living for Christ, and sharing His love, hope and truth with others--we don't do it alone.   Linking arms with other Believers.  Staying encouraged day to day in fellowship and friendship and kinship.    We can't do this alone.   And we don't. We get by with a little help from our friends, and now and then: we should acknowledge them to ourselves and to others.  We are all in this together, and we thank God  for the good people serving Him alongside us. The apostle Paul knew that, and he told the other Jesus-followers about his friends that were Jesus-followers.   Firm faith-followers beget firm faith-followers.   Paul shared about some of his fellow spiritual soldiers who were sojourning alongside him in order to encourage others, and empower them.  If we only knew  all of the Believers around us and around the world, it would be like a faith-adrenaline shot in the arm.   Tychicus will give you a full report about how I am get