Tag: devotional

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Seeking the Breath of God

Bighorn sheep eating grass on the roadside at Badlands National Park
Acts 17:26–27 (ESV)—And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.

The bighorn sheep in Badlands National Park stood at the roadside. They munched on grass, not a care in the world about the human snapping photos from up the road.

Later in the day, while flipping through the photos on the camera screen, I noticed something. The bighorn sheep had collars around their necks, GPS tracking devices that allow for monitoring the species.

Thankfully, God created us with his own breath and not a tracking device. This mark is God’s promise he’ll guide us when we seek him.

To seek God, we choose not to weary ourselves with human ideas. Perfection. Individualism. Money. Fame. Ideas with no end result or outcomes that fade with time.

We choose, instead, to simply pray to the God who remains with us and controls the universe and all that is in it.

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Listening Then Submitting

Isaiah 55:2 (ESV)—Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

My husband and I sat on old theater seats in the back of a listening room in Nashville’s Gulch neighborhood. When the bluegrass band stepped onto the stage and the leader spoke into the microphone, a hush settled over the room. After introductions, they began to play.

My body responded to the rhythm. My head bopped; my toes tapped. I not only listened to the music but also allowed it to feed my spirit.

I think this feeling translates well to the verse for today. When we go into a listening room with God, he quenches our spiritual thirst with the rhythms of the Holy Spirit, the “rich food.”

To continue to partake in the rich food requires us to continue seeking his will and acting in obedience when he speaks. We first listen to God’s voice then submit to the rhythms of the Holy Spirit.

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Gathering in Christ’s Name

A gathering of prairie dogs in Prairie Dog Town at Devils Tower National Monument
A prairie dog peeking out of its burrow
A prairie dog standing on its hind legs
Acts 10:33 (ESV)—"So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

They stand on mounds of dirt, stick their heads out of burrows, and generally scamper about the grassy field known as Prairie Dog Town. I lift my camera and aim the lens at the prairie dog peeking out of its burrow. Another sits yards away, chewing on the grass. Still another sits upright, head moving side to side as if in search of danger.

Without this keystone creature, the ecosystem at Devils Tower National Monument and nearby Badlands National Park could collapse. The black-footed ferret could starve without its meal of prairie dog, burrowing owls couldn’t claim abandoned prairie dog burrows for homes, and the grass would grow tall and prevent other plants from sprouting.

Likewise, without the keystone of community, the wheels of Christianity could stop turning. Without gatherings, there is no listening, no sharing. Without the exchange of information, truth remains hidden in the shadows.

For Simon Peter, an invitation to share the gospel turned into a learning experience when the truth came out of the shadows. He recognized salvation was not only for Jews but also for Gentiles—for everyone!

For sure, gathering in Christ’s name causes the wheels of Christianity to move. Community creates a space of listening and learning, of sharing and hearing—a place where God reveals truth.

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Allowing God to Lift Us

Devils Tower National Monument in the background of a grove of pine trees.
Psalm 27:5 (ESV)—For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

Though there are many formation theories of Devils Tower National Monument, my favorite is the Native American belief the Great Spirit made the rock rise from the ground to save a pair of girls running from giant bears. The steep rock lifted the girls too high for the bears to climb and the striations in the rocks are claw marks from the bears trying to chase the girls. (See the NPS website for the complete story and other stories.)

Like the Great Spirit, God lifts us from danger to put us in a place of safety. He lifted Noah and his family in an ark to survive the flood. He lifted people from the alienating bonds of sickness. He even lifted people from death.

Because God has our best in mind, we can trust he will lift us high on a rock in times of tension. In this safe space, we experience comfort in loss, celebration in overcoming, peace amid anxiousness, love during loneliness, and release of fear.

For these things and so much more, our God is worthy of praise. Today, let’s tell him the strife we’re facing and allow him to lift us high upon a rock.

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Looking Beyond Dull-Brown Limbs

Psalm 29:9 (ESV)—The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

Brown leaves covered the West Mountain Trail in Hot Springs National Park. I’d been hoping to witness autumn color in a third destination this year. Instead, I gazed up at bare branches, dull-brown-colored limbs offering not a single picture-perfect scene for my travel photo collection.

A disappointment, for sure, but not as big of a letdown as missing Gods’ voice as the pagans did. Forces of nature the pagans viewed as their gods’ anger, David used to describe his all-powerful God, the Force of Nature.

It is this Force who strips us bare and calls our name. Paying attention to this voice reveals bare branches that frame a clear blue sky and allow sunlight to flood the forest floor.

Indeed, tilting our listening ear toward our Father’s voice when life’s branches feel bare allows us to cry “Glory!” when we hear the pitch-perfect thunder of God’s voice.

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Stepping Off the Train

Genesis 7:5 (ESV)—And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

I watched the flat prairie transform into grasslands with buttes in the distance and into mountainous terrain, where the train rolled into the Flagstaff station. I stared into the snowy streets and whispered to myself, “I don’t want to leave my cozy seat, but this is my stop.”

I often feel this way after meditating on God’s Word and learning about biblical figures such as Noah. I desire to stay on this adventure of learning and remain in my comfortable place. But, as I’ve learned from the Bible, these figures stepped off the train into God’s mission field and did as he commanded.

We learn from these stories of people like Noah that their pattern of life was pleasing to God. We can carry this knowledge off the train into God’s mission field and use it to guide us as we reach people in a world whose scenery includes a pattern of life different from our own.

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Laboring for God

The camera’s fall from a wooden post on a mountain in Switzerland.
2 Corinthians 11:23 (ESV)—Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.

The camera survived the fall. Twice. Once toppling from the bed onto a hardwood floor in a Pittsburgh bed and breakfast, and once tumbling from a wooden post on a mountain in Switzerland.

Not to boast, but that’s one resilient camera.

Like my camera, the apostle Paul survived a “fall” more than once in his life. He did not fall from God, though, but rather experienced falls of punishment for spreading the message of salvation. These falls could have sank his spirit. He could have given up. Pushed God’s ministry aside. But he did not. He strove to spread God’s message despite floggings and imprisonment. He did more than survive; he worked for Christ again and again.

Sounds exhausting, no? Yes, but Paul found endurance from boasting…in the Lord. Not in himself or his part in God’s ministry. He labored for God again and again because he knew effective service comes from God.

Like Paul, are we boasting in Christ again and again? Are we serving with our entire being the God who created us with the ability to bounce back from difficult situations and push forward in his ministry?

I hope the answer is a resounding “Yes!” and I pray our “afflictions, hardships, [and] calamities” (2 Corinthians 6:4, ESV) encourage us to labor for the One who created us in his image.

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Recognizing God’s Generosity

Badlands National Park landscape stretching for miles
God’s generosity extends further than we can imagine.
Matthew 8:10 (ESV)—When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

“God is generous to give us this time,” I told my husband while he drove us along Interstate 90 through South Dakota during a spur-of-the-moment trip. He agreed and we continued to enjoy the scenery.

What sparked this thought?

A moment of clarity about faith as I thought about a devotional I was writing. God loves and wants to be there for us even when our faith is not immediate or when our belief wavers. Even more, he marvels when we recognize his authority in our lives.

This recognition of God’s authority brings his Kingdom to life for others as well as ourselves. Our declaration that “God is generous” reveals the blessings we have received and it may lead others to put on the same faith so they may receive their own blessings from God.

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Accepting the Invitation

Three-course dinner menu propped against a vase of flowers in the foreground of the train window.
Luke 10:8-11 (ESV)—Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’

Settling in my coach class seat, I shot my hubby a hopeful look. “Maybe the train attendants will offer dining reservations to us today.” I crossed my fingers. From past experience I knew that the staff would offer the three-course dining-car meal to the coach passengers only when room was available. My reservation wasn’t guaranteed, and even if I received one, it locked us into a specific time.

Unlike a reservation, Jesus’ invitation of salvation is available to everyone, everywhere, at any time. This formal request for us to live for him on earth while we wait to live with him in heaven is ours for acceptance.

When we accept this invitation, we accept God’s mission for our lives, the same as the seventy-two’s: to spread the message of salvation.

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Fixing God in the Foreground

A highlander cow standing in a grassy field
Proverbs 16:1 (ESV)—The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

A caption caught my attention while I browsed photos telling stories of Frank Lloyd Wright. The simple landscape photo, part of an exhibit in the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, showed a field with cows in the foreground. According to the caption, Wright pointed out to the landowner that the cows in the foreground made the view of the grassy field better.

The same can be said when we fix God in our foreground. The plans of our heart transform from a flat view of a grassy field to a field with a clear focal point. The next steps of God’s plan for us become more evident.

Before we take our next steps, let us seek the Lord’s wisdom. When we seek his wisdom, we can hear his voice and discern his purpose. Then we can move forward with God in the foreground to guide us.