Corona Devotionals

When we look in the mirror today ...what do we see?  Who do we see?   And when we look in the mirror "tomorrow" ...(in our "tomorrow" when Christ appears ): what will we see? The answer is the same for both questions: we will be like God.    If we know the Lord, then we know  how very much our Father loves us , and we will desire to look-like/be-like Him today. If we know the Lord, then we know that  he calls us his children , and therefore we will want to love, serve, and live like our Heavenly Father.  We want to be like him. It's futuristic, it's spiritual, it's (even) holy... to imagine what it will be like--   what WE  will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.  ( 3)  And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure (I John 3:2-3). We don't know exactly what "tomorrow" brings in terms of our reflection of God, bu...

In the book series, Harry Potter, no one can speak the name of "Voldemort", because he is the bad guy: so awful and powerful that it is an accepted stance throughout the series of novels that no one speaks the name of "he who must not be named".   ...And thus: no one does.   Our culture is similar with the term/title/word/ reality of the Antichrist . When was the last time we spoke of the Antichrist or any such antichrists  at the supper table or water cooler? We don't. It's accurate to say that most of us consider the Antichrist as "he who must not be named" (or even thought of).  And thus, we don't. But we mustn't call taboo (or ignore) what God has recognized and called out by name.  The Bible warns us of the Antichrist and also of those who fall prey to leaving their churches for him. Let's open our eyes today, dear children (Brothers and Sisters in Christ).   We can't be deceived!  And we won't be--if we keep reading the Bi...

When our children were small, we had a trampoline in our backyard.  One of those big ones, with the netting all around it, so that they could bounce without worry.  Or run. We had such  fun on that trampoline when they were young, and often it would be all of us running along the inside edge, around and around.  I would announce the children as if they were horses in a race as they ran and ran.   And inevitably we would all flop down and lie on our backs and stare up at clouds in the sky, deciding what shapes the clouds portrayed: such as a dragon, rooster, or turtle. We made wonderful times and memories laying there and staring up at the sky. .  When was the last time any of us laid on our backs looking up at the clouds to see what shapes they resemble?  It sounds trivial doesn't it?  Childish even.  But another word we could use is "carefree" or "peaceful".   When was the last time that we relaxed long-enough to enjoy a ...

There's something (spiritually) fishy going on here. I've been thinking that for weeks. Has it been a month? I know it's been more than twenty-one days. I believe this can happen (be experienced) both ways: positively and negatively, but h ave you ever had the feeling (sense) that something is not quite right ? Maybe we can't put our finger on it, but sometimes we can. We can sense/feel, or we just know that something is fishy. That something is off , and that something is not quite right . To coin a term: spiritual battles. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,  but against the rulers, against the authorities,  against the powers  of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  ~Ephesians 6:12 I've been waging a war at work. My whole job is about communication. Phone, and a lot of email. I send emails, and I also receive email updates/questions/ leads/and (hopefully) sales. But not this week. And not in...

Sometimes I will ask a question outloud to our children...and  no one  will answer.   It's not often, but it does happen.  They can be sitting in the next room, but they can also be in the same room  or in the same car, and no one responds.  They simply don't hear me. Either lost in concentration on studies, focused on the TV or a screen, or ears plugged with music: sometimes there is literally no recognition or response when I ask a question or make a request.   This is not so (ever) with our Heavenly Father.   Did we know that the Bible says that  the moment you began praying, a command was given (Daniel 9:23). He hears us, Brothers and Sisters in Christ!   God always hears our prayers (our "talking" to Him), and He  never  is lost in concentration on other things.  Our Lord is  always  focused on us.  And His ears are  never  plugged. Why?  And how do we know that God he...

Have you ever had a pomelo (or pummelo)? How about a shaddock? Trick question!  Because pomelos and shaddocks are actually the same thing...the same fruit.    And what a fruit they are!  A huge fruit.  A big, grapefruit-looking fruit, pomelos grow big and they go big .  When it comes to fruits in the citrus family, there is no bigger. We tried a pomelo the other day.   I saw them at the grocery store, and their size shocked and enticed me!  I decided to try one mostly because they are so big. ~~~ Go big  (for God) today. Really-- go for it.   Go big.  Go all in, and if the Lord has laid something/someone/some idea on our heart--- Go big  in making it happen today, or at least in beginning  to make it happen.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  ( 20)  and teaching them to obey everything I have comman...

I was reading the Bible in the Book of Daniel , and...that guy got it.     Daniel was a regular person, just like us, who came to know God and Daniel  loved  God, feared God, and honored God with his life.  Daniel got it .  Daniel got what it meant to follow God.  He understood that God was holy, and deserves our reverence, obedience, and praise.  But, Daniel also saw that people-are-people--we are sinful and even though God and His prophets tell us  to behave and to live well to honor the Lord... we don't.    Daniel saw the people around him (his people!) dishonor God.  Not  follow God's commands, and Daniel saw the people sin and choose their preferences and pleasures over the Lord's.   Daniel knew  this behavior was incongruent with God's expectations, and God's holiness.  Daniel knew that there would have to be (holy) consequence for the (unholy) incongruence, and he was right.   Dan...