Corona Devotionals

The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove. (4)  Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them.   “Who are you looking for?”   he asked. (5) “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) (6) As Jesus said “I am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! (7) Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”  ~John 18:3-7 Don’t forget Who is in charge.  Of us.  Of today.  Of good.  Of evil. Of everything.  Jesus is the boss. Our situations and our “stuff” are all around us, encroaching on our sanity, peace, and joy, and threatening to handcuff us and cart us away.  And sometimes I feel like I am already bound by all of it. But we must remember that no matter what is...

All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him. ~2 Samuel 14:14 Why are we holding a hot coal in our hand? We think no one can see it because it's out of sight, but the Lord does. And He (sadly) sees the festering wound and pain that it continues to bring as we stubbornly maintain our tight grip. Have we been holding onto a grudge/resentment/hurt for too long? It started out with hurt, but festered into anger and then our pride got stirred in and up with the mix of emotions and time...and so the separation stands/the silence is kept/the "wall" stays well-built between us and "them". God's way is better, and it counteracts our emotional/entitled/selfish gut-reactions and long-standing grudges.  The time and missed opportunities lost in unforgiveness are parts (and peopl...

Are you hanging on by a thread today?  Worn out  and worn thin by the world, our responsibilities and our worry?   Put your hope in God's word. I am worn out waiting for your rescue,  but I have put my hope in your word.  ~Psalm 119:81 ~~~~ We are searching for God today.  In our daily stress our eyes strain to see His promises come true , but He is faithful to us and to comfort   us.  He does so by wrapping His Word / decrees/instructions/commandments  around us like a warm blanket.  He will  comfort us--feel it now as generations  of Christ-followers have felt it before us:  (82) My eyes are straining to see your promises come true.  When will you comfort me? (90)   Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created.  ~Psalm 119:82, 90).   ~~~~ Even though our surroundings/situations/adversaries  makes us shrivel , and t hese arrogant people who hate your i...

Kneel, bow your head, and prepare to serve our King, because we have been dubbed worthy by Him, and He sends us. Have you ever read a medieval book or watched a show describing a "knighting" ceremony? Picture a young knight kneeling and bowing his head before a king or someone in authority who speaks over him and into him about the courage and strength that will be required for the challenges before him. The king touches one shoulder and then the other with a sword and then proclaims royalty, bravery, purpose, protection and victory over the young protege and his calling to service. He is then dubbed "ready" for service and action. Covered in blessing, but also pronounced into active service is how we can feel when reading John 17 . Like a knighting ceremony, Jesus' words to His disciples (and to us) are powerful and bold, and like a hopeful warrior preparing to become a knight, today may we experience the honor, excitement and "sending" as we li...

Today we received some strawberries from Heaven. I know they came from There because they were chocolate-covered.  (Is there any other way to eat fruit?)  And who else but God could know how excited and uplifted our family would be to receive those chocolate-dipped strawberry smiles?   And who else but our Heavenly Father could know that we needed a smile today? Well, Uncle Joe and Aunt Sue must have known too, because they sent the strawberries. (May the Lord bless you for your kind hearts to us, and can you hear us singing "For they're a jolly good fellow!"?)  But I also feel that God was ultimately behind that sweet delivery, because God knew  we could use some strawberries from Heaven right about now, and God's goodness and love is at the heart of every act of love. ( We love because he first loved us. ~I John 4:19 ). Every good and perfect gift is from above,  coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,  who does not change  like...

Raise your hand if you might admit to some craziness in your family history. Just out of curiosity, a s we look at the "limbs" on our family trees would we be shocked to find: Dysfunction? Family members giving bad advice or poor counsel Crafty...or should we say "conniving", (even) wicked or God-opposing family members Those who lure/plot/pull us into sinful plans Lust leading to sin, betrayal and family brokenness? Innocent people getting deeply hurt or (emotionally/physically/sexually/spiritually/mentally) traumatized because of another's selfish desire to please only themselves? Am I describing my family? Could I be describing your family? Are we reviewing a family from the Bible? The answer is: All of the above. I love my family, and I imagine you do too.  But we’re all human, and where humanity “lives”, sin lives too.  Our "families" are filled with love, but tainted with sin, and striving to serve our Heavenly Father by living within His bound...

I don’t know if this is the case with every first-born child, but when ours was old enough to understand being disciplined, he learned after only one or maybe two spankings that we meant (parental/Godly-disciplined) business ( Proverbs 13:24 ) when we set rules and boundaries for him.  At that early age, he could not have understood that we were setting limits and curbing his negative behaviors for his own good, for the good of others, and to raise him up into a man that glorified God…but he did understand that doing/saying/behaving badly brought a negative consequence, and it taught him to pay attention to our decrees.  In the same way, each of our kids has a “favorite” story to tell about the time they received soap or hot sauce (each kid’s different) on their tongue as a result of having a potty mouth/bad mouth/foul mouth.  This method involves very little product but can establish a memorable and distasteful memory, encouraging one to think twice before using their t...