Corona Devotionals

Have we ever had someone send us a text or an email IN ALL CAPS?  It can be a bit intimidating (ie. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? ), unless it's a positive exclamation (ie. WOW! ), and then it can be invigorating.  And utilizing 'all caps' is such a powerful (printed) stance, that I've even had people apologize after sending me a message in accidental caps.  ( I'm sorry, I didn't mean to send that in all caps. ) Do any of us work in Customer Service or Support departments?  Those poor guys and gals get some nasty   (and intended)   'all caps' messages when a customer is frustrated or just plain mad. A word or message in 'all caps' demonstrates  strong language, and i f we receive an admonishment or a command in 'all caps'...then we had better take notice and listen up, right?  Right... Well, get ready, Friends, because God has messaged us today in 'all caps': LISTEN!  The  Lord ’s arm is not too weak to save you,  nor is his ear too dea...

Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip. See that they are given everything they need.   ( 14)  Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.    (15)  Everybody here sends greetings. Please give my greetings to the believers—all who love us.    May God’s grace be with you all.  ~Titus 3:12-15 ~~~ Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.   ~Titus 3:14 Wow .  I am amazed lately at how productive our people have been.   Who are "our" people ?   Well, for Paul, they were the people he was teaching about following God.  They were the new Believers of "the Way".  They were people who had come to realize/know/and accept that God was much more than rote religious exercises carried out in compulsion.   The " our people " that Paul was add...

Is your life anything but perfect today? Mine too. Just a reminder that sometimes we think our lives should look/feel/ be /appear "perfect", but that's a myth. Nobody's life is perfect. Life wasn’t perfect for Daniel (in the Bible).  Did we know that he got recruited (taken) out of his hometown, away from his family and he had to go and work for (and serve) a king of another country called Babylonia.  That king didn’t follow God like Daniel did and the king even changed Daniel's name! (Can you imagine if someone made US change our name?).   …They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.  The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego . ~ Daniel 2:5, 7 These guys were living and working in a foreign land, and things were not perfect for them.  They missed their families, and no one around them believed in God lik...

When our kids were babies and it was bedtime, I would read them stories, I would say a prayer, and then I would lay them down and sneak out of their room as they (hopefully) drifted off to sleep.   And then I remember laying in my own bed and praying for them.  That they would be okay throughout the night .  That the darkness would not be frightening to them.  That they would know that they were safe in God's arms, even when they weren't in mine. And they were. They slept in peace (most nights!) and so did I.  When you lie down, you will not be afraid;  Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.  ~Proverbs 3:24 ~~~ We're not babies.   And most of us are not putting any babies to bed these days.   But the unrest and questions that used to float through my mind late at night...the likes of them still float sometimes. And I know I'm not the only one. ~~~ What's on your mind today?  What worry is lurking in the dark?...

On a recent road trip, a friend and I chattered for (literally) hours about life, our past (flagrant) liberties, and our current (and continued) pursuit of God and happiness.  The conversation was wild and it was wonderful.  I was almost surprised at the honesty and anecdotes that we shared as the miles passed.  In reviewing our lives, we all have high points and low points that surface.  Some are nice to share and some, well, hindsight reveals the folly and ignorance (and even danger) in them.  These were the things that we talked and mused about...and everything in between.  It was wild, and it was wonderful.   Have you ever done that?   Do I mean have we had conversations about our life, and our mistakes, and our sin, and God's grace, and His current blessings?  Do I mean have we acknowledged some of our sins to someone else?  Do I mean have we realized (in review) that God has literally  been with us through every nook...

Lord, You are not far from us today.  It is not difficult to understand You.  You desire us to know You, if we will just call on Your name .  If we will cry to You  for help, You   will   answer us today.  Lord, You speak to us.  Help us to follow Your laws and decrees  today.  Amen.   Moses and Aaron were among his priests;  Samuel also called on his name.  T hey cried to the   Lord   for help,  and he answered them.  ( 7)  He spoke to Israel from the pillar of cloud,  and they followed the laws and decrees he gave them.  ( 8)  O   Lord   our God, you answered them.   You were a forgiving God to them, b ut you punished them when they went wrong.  ~Psalm 99:6-8 Moses and Aaron and Samuel  weren't so different from you and me.  They were ordinary guys, but what made them  extraordinary  was their faith in God.  They called on his ...