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365 Devotionals: Listen

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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365 Devotionals:

“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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Tiger in a Cage

Widowhood has taught me about my body. I have learned how much emotion and energy I carry in all parts of my body. When I don’t work that energy in physical ways, my whole system feels backed up and tight to the world.

This week has had a lot of soccer with some yoga and jiu-jitsu and the usual rough housing with my sons. These usually come in the evening after various combinations of church, Lego club, home education meet up, and field trip.

There’s a limit, but I need this pace. I have energetic boys, but I need time for me to work on my body. This morning during yoga I laughed and cried. I love hot vinyasa because I sweat like I have a condition and the tears are hidden as I slowly move through the posses. Soccer and jiu-jitsu are escapes from my anxieties, yoga allows me to feel. I always open my practice with a thankful prayer to Jesus and a request to help me heal and learn all that I can stand. God is good and always delivers.

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This Is Superstition

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/11/-philadelphia-reinstates-indoor-mask-mandate.html

These things are happening at the same time.

The studies that denounce masks as protective far outnumber the ones that presume to promote their protective function. Nearly all the studies that support the narrative that masks work have been published since the Covid propaganda machine went into effect. Fauci and his public health bureaucrats have been caught pushing narrative over scientific exploration.

It’s just superstition now. Politicians and government functionaries are witch doctors more interested in protecting and increasing their power than protecting people. It is becoming more obvious every day.

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Establishment Arts Are Dividing Society

I am heartbroken that arts organizations are making it harder for people like Clifton Duncan and my sons to act and work in the arts.

These organizations are dividing people with their medical demands and promoting a segregated society.

And for those of us devoid of talent; yet who feel deeply when we sit down and experience humanity distilled into a moving performance, the arts are shutting out some of their most fervent supporters.

Masks? Who still has an argument for this? Fauci and his acolytes have been lying for two years and now they are caught out. Why are arts organizations so far behind the truth?

Vaccines? What does “fully vaccinated” mean? It changes depending on location and political climate, neither of which has any basis in truth. How can you continue to pressure your neighbors into medical decisions when there is so much uncertainty and more signs of deception from public health officials?

You are forcing the emergence of an alternative community that will supplant you. Those who respect human sovereignty are driven to create truly inclusive communities. We are celebrating the great works and producing our own without poking into each others political and personal lives.

You have taken the first step towards becoming a relic of superstition. To quote Duncan from another podcast, “There aren’t enough wealthy white theater goers…” to sustain the industry.

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365 Devotionals: Do Not Love The World

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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365 Devotionals: Humility and Grace

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.

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

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Death and Heroes

My younger son and I watched a couple Marvel movies and shows tonight. His perspective on the superhero dramas is widening and deepening. “This is is kinda dark,” came out of his mouth several times.

He doesn’t just see the action and special effects any more. He sees characters dealing with loss and grief in almost every scene.

Marvel has done a remarkable job of exploring the weight of grief. The entire creative universe is now shaped by the losses it has witnessed since Tony Stark went through the painful process of killing off his hedonistic persona in the early movies.

Isaac and I don’t get much time alone together. He’s softer than me and his older brother, in the best way. He snuggles up under my arm and feels everything deeply. His compassion is raw.

I’m grateful for these moments when we can explore the hero’s journey and see how we can live our own. He knows more loss than any ten-year-old should have to. He understands loss better than most adults. His mom gifted him with empathy. She would be so proud of her sweet boy.

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365 Devotionals: Hospitality

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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Exploding Assumptions

I “fixed” the dishwasher and it poured water into the kitchen.

Rain water got into the basement.

I lost my wife.

I’m supposed to be married with a working dishwasher and dry basement.

Nothing is as it was five years ago. I wasn’t even a Christian then, but I thought I was finally figuring things out in my late thirties.

Now I’ve got nothing figured out, I’m groping for the next right thing to do.

Surfing the shifting sand is tiring, but I’m finding my rocks. Jesus is the big one. He’s immutable and constant. I’ve found a few human rocks too. Men and women who have stood tall as the world has pushed incessantly against them.

The world will win against our physical selves. It will crush our bodies and our flesh will die. Our souls will live on.