Corona Devotionals

I did some cleaning today.  I didn't set out with "cleaning" on my daily docket, but while in the motions of moving from one task into another, I decided to take-the-time to inspect some areas that I normally brush right by.  And boy, it became clear that I have been "brushing by" without stopping to tend and take care for too long.  It was time for a dusting, a cleansing, a wipe-down and a clean-up.   I'm embarrassed at the amount of dust and gunk that had accumulated over time in some spots.  I keep things clean, but sediment seems to happen anyway and build-up develops, even if we try to be proactive in not allowing it.   Every once in a while,  we just have to stop  our normal routine and build-in a deep clean. ~~~   In the following verses, the prophet Haggai is giving God's people a talking-to.  They needed to take a fresh look at themselves because they have been brushing-by God and taking care of themselves ...

The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be...Ain't what she used to be..Ain't what she used to be... I remember sing-songing this tune with my siblings when we were young, and I really had no idea what the words meant.   But I sure do now. This old gray mare ain't what she  used to be either!   Maybe you feel the same way.  Our bodies, once young and fresh and nimble--change over the years, no matter how hard we try.  Our bodies become less agile, more fragile, and year by year they just ain't what they used to be. But (good news!) these aging bodies that we are in are also not what they will always be. Death may be the end of this life and this body for us...but I Corinthians 15 is very clear in teaching us that the death of our earthly bodies will also be the beginning of new life and a new body for us.  It's hard to explain a concept that our brains cannot even fully grasp, but the apostle Paul does a pretty great job anyw...

I woke up today just the same as I went to bed: Tired, frazzled, grumpy. The sun hadn't risen yet, but my head already ached with "stress", most of which I create.  I'm not "sick" in the physical way, but my health is definitely broken.     Even as I start a fresh day of promise, I am bothered and definitely not at peace.  I asked God to meet me, but ever-better with words than me, the Bible says it more succinctly in Psalm 38 , where  David  ask ed  God to remember him.   ~~~ Psalm 38  A psalm of David, asking God to remember him. ...(3) ...my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins. (4) My guilt overwhelms me—it is a burden too heavy to bear. (5) My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. (6) I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. (7) A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken. (8) I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an angui...

Some people, some religions, some of us ...say Jesus was a good guy, possibly even a prophet,...but come on ...are we really supposed to buy-into the unbelievable idea that He rose from the grave?    That Jesus Christ was  resurrected from the dead ?   That's a big claim.  The biggest, actually.  No other religion, faith, belief-system, or god claims to have accomplished such a thing, such a feat, such a miracle , as overcoming death.  Only Jesus. We can believe that God is good, and kind, and even a righteous judge over us.  We might even swallow that He created the whole world in six days: from majestic mountains to lush rainforests, and everything in between.  We might even go so far as to believe that God made each different type and kind of animal (and they didn't magically morph into each other over time).  And we may choose to believe that our Intelligent Creator also made each animal, plant, insect and bird specific to the...

Do you ever feel (in terms of spiritual salvation) like there has been a mix-up? Like...if God calls Himself our "Heavenly Father"--then surely someone must have done a switched-at-birth move for me , because I don't exactly fit the "definition" or "value" of son/daughter-of-the-King.   It's too good to be true, isn't it?  Like an ornately-wrapped present that we're pretty sure wasn't intended to have our  name on it.    Maybe other people can unwrap God's gift...but not us.   Not  after the way I...  Well, I have my ending to that sentence, and you have yours, but both of them equal-- unworthy.   Unworthy of God's forgiveness, unworthy to see  His Son, Jesus and unworthy to be seen  by our Heavenly Father in a favorable way.   Unworthy.   Sometimes we act big...we pretend that we are all-that...we talk a good game or put on a great show, but underneath (if you are like me), I know that I am the leas...

I hope we  have happy memories of our father today.   Wetting a line with him next us: standing in silence, but years and even generations of fishermen speaking through each of our casts. An arm around our shoulder, a solid word of advice, an example set through years of repetition or just that look  of fatherly pride in his eyes.   I hope we  have happy memories  of our father today.   We all have happy memories of good men.  ~ Proverbs 10:7   We praise You, Lord, for the good men  and fathers that we have in our lives.  Amen. ~~~ How to be a good dad?  It's hard to have any idea when they first hand you a tiny infant swaddled in a hospital blanket. But the best father's find instruction from their Heavenly Father, and they put it into practice -not just as they raise children, but as they seek to  build  their lives on God's foundation daily.   Everyone who hears these words of mine and...

I'm not so in-tune with the latest news headlines...and that's on purpose.  When my husband does catch me up on the latest " news "--my stomach turns.  The deception, the brokenness, the division--I don't welcome it. When we hear today's report of the latest "strand"/virus/threat/or emergency and the "life-saving" recommendations that the "experts" strongly recommend in order to "stay safe"---it all sounds like a lot of division and fear-mongering to me, instead of the hope and truth (and strength) that God's Word tells us to stand firm in. All of the bad news makes my stomach turn, and frankly--it depresses me.  It sucks the song out of my heart and the spring out of my step.   That's what listening-to and trusting-in  the world  does for us, and we know that all too well.  Some of us hardly leave the house anymore as a result of it, and others of us do , but anxiety often trails.   When we receive the world...