Corona Devotionals

I can remember when our kids were young and it was time for a nap.  Oh,  how they would fight it, and often there was a complete meltdown just prior to them passing out into a much-needed nap.   They needed the rest, but they would do everything in their tiny power to fight it. We are much bigger (and wiser!) than an infant or toddler, aren't we?   And yet... We certainly fight rest,  don't we?     The calendar is full and we feel proud.  The hours of shut-eye are not enough... but we just brew a stiffer cup of coffee.  The time together with the ones that count is often cut short or cut-out by our "required" time with others.     Why do  we fight rest like a child bucking a nap?   Even God  rested, and He was and is much  busier than we'll ever be.  And when we remember and recognize who God is, it makes His rest  all the more significant as an example for our rest. By the seve...

“In that day,” says the  Lord , “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.    ~Jeremiah 31:1 God is pro-family.  He wants us  to have and keep and strive for family, because He created family, He knows the benefits we receive in family, and God is for  family.    I will be the God of all the families...(Jeremiah 31:1). Seek family.  Invest in family.   Pursue family.   Make the effort.  Make the drive.  Pick up the phone and call.  Book the flight or plan the trip.   Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12     “Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” – Colossians 3:13    “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” – Psalm 1...

It's the end of the gardening season where I live.  The very end.  Not many plants are still hanging on by this time of year, but my husband pulled in one last harvest last night: basil.   Are you a fan?   We sure are, and namely in the form of pesto (walnuts, basil, parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil: all  ground-up into a loose and delicious paste).  But the star of pesto is the basil, and the star and scent  of our house last night was basil.   It's so fragrant.  We all know the smell of basil, because it's like no other and it's strong.  It's pungent.  It's telltale: you know  it's basil when you smell basil.   My kitchen was filled with the scent because I was cleaning the leaves off of their stalks and then the pesto ingredients were working their magic together while inside of the food processor.   As our kids trickled indoors from different nightly activities, they each sniffed th...

I read my Bible this morning, and usually some words jump off of the page and into my soul...and I know that the Lord meant them for me... and you .   But not this morning.  Not for twenty minutes of reading and writing and trying to be open.  I thirsted, but was not quenched, and I know it was me and not God...but I just couldn't connect. And sometimes it's through music.  An old hymn of faith, or a newly-released contemporary Christian song can break my heart wide open, and I am singing and crying, and experiencing intimacy with the Lord.   But not this morning.  My mood and my temperance panted, but there was no quenching.   I know it was me and not God...but I just couldn't connect. But then I pulled into work and something caught my eye along the driveway in.   A deer, and then I noticed that there were about five deer, all of them bedded down and resting on a bed of pine needles, welcoming the day in peace, rest, and stil...

There's a store in our city that I sometimes go to, and once you enter the store, there is a customer service desk, and some grocery items to peruse, but to begin actually shopping, and to access all of the store aisles, you have to go through a little gate.   I am not sure if they are counting customers or if it is a security measure, but they make your (shopping) path very clear: if you want to shop in that store, you have to go through their gate. I can only think of one thing every time I read that sign and walk through: Jesus. Did you know that Jesus calls out to us in the same way?  Just like the store, He has posted His direction and command for us: it is all in His Word, the Bible. The store has just one little gated entrance for any and all shoppers to pass through, and it's not very big.   The gate to following Jesus is the same.  It is accessible by all people, but the way is narrow, and the Bible says that "few find it". And yet, Jesus calls us...

Why do bad things happen? Why do bad things happen to good people?  Are any of us really good?  The answer is simply: Bad things happen.  But God is still good. There is very often no rhyme or reason to unfair outcomes, no matter how hard we seek to search for significance in them.   Some things we will not make sense of. The short (Biblical) answer occurs in Genesis Chapter 3 when Eve was deceived by the serpent and she and her husband Adam willingly took a bite of the fruit that God told them not to.  Sin was born, and we (every person and sinful choice since) have been reaping the negative outcomes ever since. Sin was born, and so then was brokenness.  Sometimes we have reason to experience it: We willfully sin and reap the consequence.   And sometimes there is every logical reason that we should not be afflicted by bad things...and yet we are.  The answer is simply: Bad things happen.  But God is still good. ~~~ A friend re...

What I love about God is that He loves us , and He that loved us even before we knew Him.  ...Even before we were trying  to live for Him...He loved us then.  And even now, when we try and fail in loving and serving Him... He loves us still.   But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  ~Romans 5:8 What I can't believe about God is that He considers us trustworthy to serve Him  and beyond that, that He has appointed us to serve Him. Us?  (And let me be more honest... ME ?)   I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him...   ~I Timothy 1:12 Yes... us.  We can praise the Lord today because He  has given us  strength to do his work. He considered (us)  trustworthy and appointed (us) to serve him...   ~I Timothy 1:12 What are we doing with those privileg...