Jesus – Amy Dagit

August 7, 2024

Losing Our Old Self

Luke 9:24 (ESV)—For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Headphones on a bus to the airport. iPhone on an airplane. Glasses either at a bed and breakfast or at the terminal gate. Reading light and pajama pants in a hotel room.

I am a woman who loses things while traveling.

Although I know these things have only earthly value, and I lost money when I replaced some of the items, I mourn my losses. Especially the pretty purple headphones my hubby ordered in my favorite color. Sigh.

One loss we do not have to mourn: our old self. Because, when we pick up the cross and follow Jesus, the death of our old self saves our new self. Our life in Christ gains us our eternal reward.

As we examine our life today, let’s ask ourselves, “What other loss leads to gain?”

May 30, 2024May 30, 2024

Making a Home Away From Home

Ruth 1:16 (ESV)—But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

While on vacation, I’ve stayed in studios with tile floors and beach access, downtown apartments with charming brick walls and dark-stained wood trim, lodges with mountain views, and motel rooms with king-size beds but only a sliver of space to walk around said beds. These homes away from home can of course come with problems. Mattresses with not an ounce of padding. Lack of outlets to plug in electronics. Suffocating smoke smell on every surface.

But that’s the thing about homes away from home, they’re not always comfortable, or clean, or luxurious. The same applies to our temporary home on earth. Money becomes tight. Cars break down. We lose our jobs. Yet, like Ruth, we have a choice about how to deal with the hardships. Do we make our home on earth, or do we make our home with God?

Naomi and Ruth, after loss of their husbands, pondered these questions. Naomi, whose husband came from Bethlehem, urged her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to stay in Moab, their homeland, and marry Moabite men. Orpah chose the home most familiar to her; Ruth chose not only Bethlehem, not only Naomi, but also, and most importantly, God. A Moabite widow, Ruth’s life became ripe with hardships. Rather than despair, she made her home with Elohim instead of multiples gods, and God’s provision served her well.

In making her home with God, Ruth gleaned food from the field of a righteous man, a kinsman-redeemer, no less. This man, Boaz, accepted her proposal of kinsman-redeemer and praised her for her high character, working with a closer kinsman-redeemer before being able to marry Ruth. After Boaz and Ruth married, they became parents to a son, Obed, who became “the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:17, ESV)—a genealogical line that continued on to Jesus!

Like Ruth’s earthly home, ours has its share of hardships. But if we make our home with God while on earth, our earthly home becomes a place where God can create a beautiful story that ends with us residing in our eternal home.

May 9, 2024

Anchoring Our Faith

Matthew 8:24–27 (ESV)—And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

A snorkeling excursion—my first—on my honeymoon took my husband and I off the coast of Barbados. The sunshine shimmered on the turquoise sea, goggles complete with snorkel tube perched on top of my head, and a life jacket wrapped around my upper body.

I edged toward the back of the boat, behind others from our tour. Deep breath in, I jumped. Salt water splashed my face; I spluttered and swayed my feet.

All the while, a hint of panic set in and I snatched my husband’s arm. “Hubby, I can’t touch the bottom.”

The guide, hearing my panicked whispers, swam to us and handed me the more substantial, bright-orange life preserver. I bear-hugged the flotation device until I felt calm.

Why was I so afraid in that moment? Perhaps because I sink like a rock in the water. Maybe because I’d never ventured into water so deep, always before having the anchor of sand beneath my feet. Or, just a thought, fear settled in like a shark sinking it teeth into its dinner.

Indeed, fear caused me to falter even though I wore a life jacket. My fear overwhelmed my sense of safety because I did not understand the enormous effect on my mind of my feet being anchored to the sandy floor.

Another anchor, fear, can drown us if we don’t have knowledge of the magnitude of God’s might. The disciples learned this lesson from their fear of drowning in a storm, even though Jesus lay on the boat with them, having performed miracles in sight of the disciples that very day.

In the midst of the gales rocking the boat and waves filling it like a bathtub, the disciples needed more understanding of Jesus when fear rocked up and sank in its teeth—and did Jesus provide a showstopper. He calmed the sea, and the disciples stood in awe. Their knowledge of God’s power grew and that moment likely stayed with them as they did God’s work and faced hardship in the future.

It is understanding of God’s might that anchors our faith and helps us to trust God with one-hundred-percent confidence. Wisdom gained from God’s Word helps us to fight and defeat fear and to hear God speak over the cacophony of the storm.

January 2, 2024

Jesus Upholds: A Journey in 2023

A dirt trail with trees on both sides, turning to the right

Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)—He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

Happy New Year, Everyone! Life is a journey, for sure, and this year I embarked not only on adventures on the West Coast and in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Birmingham, and Gulf Shores but also on a path of newness toward God. Looking back at 2023, I see God’s path unwinding like a switchback up a mountain.

Not so long ago, I prided myself on my independence. I lived life with an attitude of “I can go it alone.” My tune changed with an anxiety attack, one I believe God used to gain my attention to his lessons. I learned not only self-care such as meditation and yoga but also community care from my loved ones. God’s outcomes have filled my life with happiness, and these are only a few:

I shared my experiences through devotionals published on various websites.

I reached out to my family more often and shared some of my experiences.

I made an effort to expand my community through volunteering and organizing social activities.

I learned more about myself and the fruit of the Spirit I need to apply to myself.

I began memorizing Bible verses.

With each of these events, I see the connection between the trials and the joy and Jesus upholding my life. God used my reaching out in my troubles as an invitation for another to reach out to me in their troubles. I learned God’s Word to write devotionals and blog posts and subsequently used his Word to calm myself. I treated myself with the fruit of the Spirit and feel happier despite my trials.

Although my journey sometimes feels as if I’m trudging up a steep trail and I can’t see past the trees to the next turn, I know if I stay on his path, I’m traveling toward his glory. I invite you to review your 2023 and list ways God has touched your life. May you start 2024 with your mind on his glory!

December 22, 2023

Words of Affirmation: Being God’s Vessel

An affirmation: "I am God's vessel created for his purpose"

Today, I read a devotional on Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her words to the angel resounded in me: “I am the servant of the Lord” (Luke 1:38 ESV). God chose Mary for the purpose of carrying and birthing baby Jesus, and she responded with certainty that God chose her.

I also recently read the story of Gideon. His response was not as instant as Mary’s. Instead he asked the angel speaking to him, “Why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13 ESV). The response: “Do I not send you?” (Judges 6:14 ESV). Clearly, God has a purpose and a chosen one for this purpose.

For writers and editors, we are blessed to be God’s vessels. God chose us to shape words and reach if not the masses then one person. As you write this coming week, remember words touch lives and God chose you to write.

December 20, 2023

Christmas Traditions, Old and New

In years past, my hubby and I walked a Christmas tree home from the grocery store. This tradition changed last year when the local grocery store, only a couple of blocks from our home, stopped selling pine trees. That tradition ended (sigh) with a tree purchased from another nearby store and hauled home in the trunk of the car.

Come this year, neither store stocked Christmas trees (double sigh). And wanting the blissful pine smell—and not only from a wax melt—my hubby and I hopped in the car and ventured to a nearby Christmas tree farm. The trees stood in the barn like a line of stately nutcracker soldiers, no Charlie Brown trees in sight. We picked out a lovely fir and loaded it in the trunk for the journey home.

After carrying the tree inside, we fastened it into the iron tree stand my mom passed down to me. She received it from her parents. Tree snug and sturdy, I got my Christmas on, hanging baubles on branches, reminiscing of travels past, while listening to Christmas music, a yearly event I thoroughly enjoy. And since decorating, I’ve buried my nose in the branches a time or two for a whiff of piney goodness.

I love my Christmas traditions and the joy they bring. But Christmas is more than earthly traditions. It’s a celebration of the birth baby Jesus, the Light of the World. And to celebrate, I think it’s time to light up my life with new traditions: reminiscing about my spiritual journey this past year, celebrating my successes with a prayer of thankfulness, or spending more time with my nose in the Good Book rather than in the tree.

Merry Christmas! I pray your traditions bring you joy and light!

Baked cookies in shapes of trees and snowmen and topped with colored sugar crystals

December 12, 2023

Traveling Toward Jesus

Matthew 2:2 (ESV)—“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Silhouette of pine trees against a deep blue sky with stars and northern lights

When I travel, I usually have a destination in mind. Hotel booked. Tickets purchased. Stops along the route planned. Only once have my husband and I traveled in a random direction with no plan.

I imagine the Wise Men didn’t have their trip planned. They set their eyes on the star and “traveled afar,” as the song says. And they journeyed with their only plan being to worship baby Jesus, the king of the Jews.

In my life, I often have to metaphorically travel toward Jesus. I fall out of practice in reading my Bible and have to start again. I forget to pray about big decisions and a day later ask for God’s forgiveness for not coming to him first and I seek his guidance. I feel anxiety and have to read Bible verses to remind myself of God’s greatness.

No matter my physical, mental, or emotional state, the star of Jesus shines bright as a guiding point. The star leads me to a place of worship, the destination where I can sit at the cross in God’s mercy and glory.

I encourage you to travel toward Jesus today. If you feel lost, if you feel ecstatic, if you feel torn up or some other emotion, repeat this verse and say, “I have come to worship him.”

I pray your Christmas season is full of worship!