Corona Devotionals

And on that day the Lord God will rescue His people... They will sparkle in his land  like jewels in a crown. 17  How wonderful and beautiful th ey will be!  ~Zechariah 9:16-17 Jesus!  We want to sparkle in your land like jewels in a crown!  We can.  We should  be.  There is nothing stopping us except ourselves. Lord, allow us to glisten in Your light that shines upon us and through us!  But what does it look like  in real life to " sparkle in his land  like jewels in a crown" , you ask?  We already know.  We know people that do this.  We ARE people that do this, and God gives us permission and authority to sparkle for Him! People that have been touched by God's word or His truth in their life--they have a radiance about them.  There is a beauty within them that doesn't come from lipstick or a tiny waistline.  Our outward appearance is always fading and that is NOT true beauty. Your beauty should not come...

Have you ever watched a tiny thing become a big thing, simply because you didn't take the proper time to "deal with" the thing?   A couple weeks ago we stayed with a gracious aunt and uncle who have a pool in their back yard.  It was hot weather, and our kids lived  in their pool.  We are early risers, and by 7:30 or 8 A.M., the kids had their suits on and were begging for a chaperone.   Most of the day was spent in the pool, until it got too dark to see and the mosquitos were feasting on our flesh.  It was Summer defined.   Except for our daughter's hair.  Normally long and blonde and tame, the pool took it's toll on her locks which reach her waistline.  Each day I would think to myself, "We should brush that out."  But then they would hop back in the pool for another swim session.   Let's just say, too many days went by.  She looked like she had dread locks, but it was just mini-tornadoes of snarls and kno...

Does anyone else have any "panoramic" photos tucked in amongst bags or boxes of old family pictures?  I am not sure if it was the late 90's or early 2000's when our family "got into" them, but we have a number of l-o-n-g photos and they are unique in that they encompass much more terrain than any normal photo ever could.  They are horizontal and capture the collective beauty of a scene in a way that seems to tell the whole story, where as a regular picture might just tell a chapter.  God's perspective and sovereignty (supreme authority) over our days and our lives is the same.  He sees our "big picture", whereas it is so easy (and understandable) for us to get stuck in today as if it's a freeze-frame.  We can trust God and the outcome that He has for our days.   We cannot see the full "panoramic" of our lives, but God can, and it is not His plan for us to spend our days in worry and fear.  Or frustration.   So many unprecedented t...

Is it "against the rules" to pray for blessings?  Should we feel guilty about asking God for good things?   I went through a (brief!) period in my faith where I tried to teach-myself-to-feel/live with an "ascetic" approach to life, which means "a severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence" because I thought this might be more pleasing to God.  Not only did I not last long, but more importantly, I realized that the Lord has never asked that of us.  Over and over in the Bible He speaks of His love for us and He came so that we could have a full life (I came so that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.  ~John 10:10)   Have you ever considered praying for God's blessing, bounty and harvest in your life and over it?   Why not? And why not today?   Psalm 144 leads us: 12 May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a...

“This is what the  Lord  of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!"  ~Zechariah 8:2 Have you ever considered that the God of the entire universe has a love for  you  that is  passionate and strong ?  It is Biblical truth that God is  consumed with passion for (us)  Jerusalem! We all want to be loved.  It is perhaps our most basic desire.  Love means comfort during our trials in life.  Love means understanding and an interest in understanding what we are going through.  Love means patience when we mess up, which we will.  Love means we are safe to be ourselves. Early in life, we dream of what a passionate and strong love will look like in our lives.  We search for it in many places and often in many people.  We seek it in accomplishments and accolades and in serving.   But true love is found in none of those things.  We...

Yesterday our daughter came to the car red faced and holding back tears after a hot morning at a local soccer camp.  I wish it had just been the heat that had gotten to her, but instead it was "the world".  The world can be mean, cold, unjust and painful.  She had experienced all of those things through another 9-year old that day.   We have all been on the receiving end of a mean person.  Is anyone else honest enough to admit that we have also been  the mean person?   Our ego's get out of control, or our jealousy, or maybe we are just having a bad day.  I am not sure what the other little girl's story was, but from what I understood, she had tripped our daughter from behind three times during scrimmages, and the last one was such a hard fall in full motion that it knocked the wind out of our girl.  Our daughter's upper arm also bore a greenish-blue fresh bruise from where the other child had punched her during a play.  And the...

Caution!  Today's scripture sort-of calls us on the carpet for behaviors we have been telling ourselves are "Godly", or "religious", or "righteous".   What is the root reason for our "Christian" behavior?  I believe the Lord is us to more closely examine our motives in serving Him. How much of our faith is just routine?  Or for show?  Have we been conditioned-over-time to "know the drill" (if you will) of church attendance, tithing, serving, "living like a Christian" and even prayer? The first time I read through today's scripture verses, I was impressed.  I saw the Israelites as being pious.  Religious.  Faithful.  That may have been true.  And sometimes these things may be the impetus of our actions also. But as I stepped back from the verses, a different interpretation washed over me.  And it wasn't a wash that made me feel clean.  On the contrary, I felt dirty and blemished before the Lord.  The Israelites were...