Corona Devotionals

Have you ever watched the introductions to a prize fight?  The boxers bounce around the ring a bit, strutting their stuff before the audience, and then they find their respective corners of the ring and are introduced. "Ladies and gentleman!  In this corner we have....", and the first competitor is announced. And then, attentions are directed to the opposite corner of the ring.  "And in  this corner we have...." Two opponents come together for a matchup.  A smash-up.  A contest...to see who will be the victor and come out on top. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines an "opponent" as a person, group, or entity that acts against another in a contest, game, argument, or conflict.    It refers to a competitor, adversary, or rival who sits on the opposite side of a debate, match, or opposing view.  It can also describe someone who opposes a specific plan, policy, or idea.   There are daily (by-the-minute?) boxing matches that go on within...

Are we feeling cursed  today?   It's a harsh question and a blunt one, but... is it relevant to us today? If we had to paint a picture of how we feel today...what we are experiencing...and what our current condition is: would a stunted shrub in the desert  be pretty accurate? Dry. Unwatered.  Unfed.  Under-nourished.   Thirsting.  Yearning.   Dying.     ..like stunted shrubs in the desert  with no hope for the future.  ~Jeremiah 17:6 We are not unseen by the Lord who loves us.   He sees us and meets us with His Word today. Cursed  is how we can feel when the woes of this world drag us to their depths.  But we serve a God who has authority over all things, and over us .  We can trust our Lord and rely on His strength--let's tell it to our minds and  our hearts today: Trust in the  Lord  with all your heart, a nd lean not on your own understanding; ( 6)  In all your...

Happy Mother's Day!  And--how fitting...we have a new mom at our house.  A mama robin , and her babies just  hatched.   I see her perched on the edge of her nest from time to time, her head peeking and pecking down into the nest and then she plops back down on her chicks.   I researched it, and robin chicks are born nearly naked (no feathers yet), with their eyes closed for a time,  and their skin is darker and translucent.  Also, they hatch hungry! Simply speaking: the baby chicks are helpless  in their first weeks, and are fully dependent on their robin-mom (and dad) until they learn to fly. Sound like anyone else that we know? Like us ? It's Mother's Day--have we thanked our mom's for all that they've done for us since birth ?  We too were born helpless and fully dependent on our mother (and father).   And God (in His perfect plan)  prescribed it that way.   And Adam called his wife’s name  Eve, ...

It can be debated, but many polls find "public speaking" (glossophobia) to be the fear that ranks highest in people's responses when categorized.   And other fears at the top of people's lists include heights (acrophobia), bugs (entomophobia), and claustrophobia (fear of small spaces).  But another consistent response when it comes to our fears is... (can we guess it?): death.   There's no way around the fact that each of us will die one day.  And yet, the topic and acceptance and the unknown of death (and what succeeds death) has been a hot (and worrisome) button since before there were buttons. But as for those of us who read our Bibles and believe what God says in them...well, there are days when I can't wait. No, non, no, I am not saying that I literally "can't wait to die", because that would be morbid.  But, Yes(!) to the notion that we cannot wait to be with Jesus,  the Lamb,  when our time does come to do so. Sometimes when this worl...

I remember past personal captivities and  slavery .  You do too. I have not forgotten the captivity of my spirit upon the death of my mom.   The loss.  The deep sorrow.  The aftershock...for years.    That was my slavery in Egypt for a season.  I was enslaved for a time to hollowness, grief and separation.  But, (my Lord and my God!), You not only trudged through each hour and day of that (heart, mind, and body) sadness-slavery...You then rescued me, just as You rescued  the Israelites from the Egyptians .  You did a  mighty miracle , and You are  still  performing them.  In time and in Your due-process, and in Your sovereignty--You rescued me from my slavery .  I remember the time, the place, and the friend that I was with when Your deliverance came...and when my heaviness lifted.  It was a mighty miracle that you (alone) did.  “Yes,” says the   Lord ,  “I will do mighty miracles...

Micah was a prophet in the Bible (called to share His Word and ways with others).    Micah is fed up with folks rebelling against God. Micah is lonely in his service to God. Micah is angry, but righteously so. Micah desires for more people living around him to live for God, instead of themselves. Micah wants to glorify God with his life. Micah has realized that it is not just that the people around him are not serving God boldly, but it is also that they have decidedly chosen unGodly ways, methods-of-business, and wicked weights-and-measures.  Good has lost, and evil is reigning in Micah's day. Micah is sad for God's chosen people because they are choosing themselves and not God. Micah is mad that God's people are rebelling against God.  Let's meet Micah. How miserable I am!  I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest  who can find nothing to eat.  N ot a cluster of grapes or a single early fig  can be found to satisfy my hunger....