Category: Devotionals

Hear O Isreal: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
-Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV

And I will doubly recompense their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.” O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. Can man make for himself gods? Such are no gods!” “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD.”
-Jeremiah 16:18-21 RSV

I hear this in Samuel Jackson’s voice:

“…they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations…and they shall know that my name is the LORD.”

It’s the night before Christ rose from the dead. On this night, Mary and his loved ones thought they would never listen to his voice again. I imagine they went to sleep heavy with exhaustion from watching him die on the cross and burying him the day before. Not a contented sleep, but the weighted kind that feels like its own death. The next day their bodies and spirits will feel reborn along with the risen Christ, but they don’t know that tonight. Tonight is only darkness.

Tomorrow the Lord will be heard.

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“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
-Revelation 21:4-5 RSV

Holding onto a vision of the joyous end, we can lighten our pain and create a more heavenly world.

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Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.
-1 John 2:15 RSV

Everything in this world decays and disappears. God’s realm is eternal. When your love is focused on the eternal, you can care for the things of the world without attachment to death and decay.

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Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you.
Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.
Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.
Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you.
-1 Peter 5:6-10 RSV

I am praying to cast all my anxieties on the Lord. His grace is a gift of peace.

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Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
-1 Peter 4:9

Each week we host homeschooling families at our home. The “meals” look more like snacks, but we use this time to share our concerns, anxieties, successes, questions, and advice.

My late wife taught me everything I know about hospitality. She was a queen at hosting friends and family. I have a different style, but I think about how happy she would be to see us inviting people into our home.

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Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitide of sins.
-1 Peter 4:8 NIV

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
-1 Peter 4:8 KJV

When I spotted different translations using “love” or “charity,” I was drawn to dig deeper.

The Greek word for both is “agapē.”

One commentary bridged the gap between the translations reaching back to “chariot” as a root for “charity”: …transporting of God’s love in man one to another.”

I have a strong feeling that there is only one Love in the world. Like handwritten letters, we are the vehicles by which Love is experienced.

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Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
-James 1:22

Show, don’t tell. When you love someone or something, it is obvious in your actions. Love for Jesus Christ is no different.

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Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
-James 1:20

Anger provides instant negative feedback: the body tenses, the mind scatters, and the soul aches.

Its abscence makes room for God. God’s love clears and focuses the mind on righteous goals.

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The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.
-Matthew 28:16-17 NIV

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
-Matthew 28:18-20 KJV

Jesus had just risen from the grave. He was publicly on the cross, buried, and guarded. And they doubted.

I’ve been blessed with little doubt in God since accepting Christ into my heart. My doubt lies in my ability to understand Scripture and serve the greatest good.

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