Category: Devotionals

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
-Ephesians 2:8

In this gift giving season, I keep my eyes on the gift of grace that I have been given.

If not for God’s love and grace, I don’t know how I would be thriving through another year as a single father. I received His gift shortly before becoming a widower. His grace has kept me focused on what is most important, insulating me from distractions, assumptions, and expectations.

As I refocus on the birth of Christ the Savior, I pray for continued focus on His grace.

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We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18

The veil is ego. It is how we want to be seen in the world. We cover our faces by figurative and literal means to cover our shame at who we are.

The closer you come to God, the closer you come to yourself. Our true spirit feels no shame. The more we are transfigured into our true selves, the brighter we shine. The need for masks falls away. We need not hide from ourselves or others.

I have been in a deep ego state this holiday season. I am terribly concerned with how some people view me as a father and man. I’m releasing that and deepening my relationship with Christ. For in the end, it is the only relationship that matters.

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To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
-Corinthians 9:22-23

Leaning on Jesus on this short day. This season favors high highs and low lows. The peaks of joy of Christmas celebrations teeter above the stresses of preparation.

The weight of my late wife’s birthday and the desire I have to make Christmas special as a single parent are heavy. I often feel weak and am blessed that Jesus ministers to both my weak and strong parts.

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“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
-John 13:34-35

Jesus embraced the outcasts, out groups, and dis-eased. He loved us so much that He died for us (as we each belong in these categories at time) to have life.

I pray for His love to flow through me. The forces arrayed against inclusion, compassion, and mental and physical wellness are great. They are the government, media giants, and millions of foot soldiers. They are selling life on Earth. This is the Devil’s work. This material existence ends in death. The Devil’s biggest lie is life eternal in the mortal realm.

It is an absurd claim, but the prevailing cultural argument appears to be an emotional sales pitch of endless corporeal life. Two years since “SARS-CoV-2” entered the zeitgeist and there has yet to be a focus on individual health, supplements, and proven methods for improved immune systems. A few months ago the claim remained that one cannot “boost” one’s immune system. Then came the equally absurd claim that a wet piece of textile over your mouth can BOOST your immune system.

Lies are not sustainable. The details of the narrative must contradict themselves with each revelation of truth. It’s like a child who hasn’t thought out his excuse for a broken mess.

Back to truth and love. The Devil will do his work and followers of Christ must do our work.

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A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!”
-John 10:10

Love and forgiveness are God’s most abundant offerings. Forgiveness is available to everyone, there is only one rule: Accept Jesus into your heart as your Savior. We change when we let people into our hearts. We change immeasurably when we are open to the Holy Spirit.

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When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
-John 6:5-6

Jesus invites us to participate in the solutions he has laid out.

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The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
-John 4:25-26

I am cleaved cleanly in half by hope and despair. Through the coffee shop window preschoolers are heading out to play without masks. They have been masked for months and my optimism swells that the world might be growing sane. Inside, moments later, two men are yelling at each other over a takeout order. The tensions among the lunch crowd flare into my brain. Two women laughing with love are an aberration in the miasma of…what? What is driving almost everyone into this ugly state?

I must remember to be in the world, but not of it. This is a fallen and disasterous place. Not beyond redemption, but covered in sin.

I cannot begin to grasp how Jesus felt the people around him so deeply. I am terrified by compassion. I let it drag me down and anger me. I’m careful about who I let close, but being around too many people can quickly become overwhelming.

My bravery is in no longer shutting it off: no more self medication, no more callousness, and no more running away. Jesus is my model. He faced and died for all the pain of the world. I can probably handle a busy coffee shop.

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Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
-John 4:13-14

At the end of a long day it can be difficult to feel God’s wellspring of love. My sons and I have had adventures in grocery shopping, hiking, and soccer…a day of fun and growth. We’re spent and tempers are frazzled.

This devotional series brings me back to the spring. It reminds me that I am not alone, that God’s love is ever flowing. It gives me the little fuel I need to get us peacefully in bed.

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He said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
-Luke 18:29-30

I have been blessed by sacrifice. God has rarely paused before revealing future riches when I have been called to release the worldly things to which I was attached.

So much so that I’ve seen the concept as partial illusion. “Sacrifice” is dependent on a narrow focus on time. Where is the sacrifice in becoming healthier, stronger, more confident in faith, or more capable as a parent? I left a career that I had long sought to care for my children while my wife worked. That didn’t feel like sacrifice and gave me the skills neccesary to master single parenthood.

There is always more to let go. A sinful life provides many opportunities for sacrifice.

I pray to recognize what must be released next in service of God, myself, my children, my loved ones, and the future.

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