A Devotion May Be Someone's Only Bible

Peace & Presence

The peace we find in the presence of Christ is like crawling under a warm blanket on a cold winter’s day or feeling the soft breeze on a warm spring morning. Seeking after God is a continual process that grows us into a deep and long lasting relationship with Him. Come into His presence and find peace.

Adopted

I taught school in rural Oregon for several years. One of the families at our church had a rebellious teenage daughter who began to identify with her secular, drug-using step-mom instead of her Christian, single mom. A sudden job loss caused the mom to have to move away, and her daughter chose to stay behind and live with local friends.

While that tore the family apart, the Lord raised up a woman in our town who welcomed the girl as her own. The teen began to call the woman “Mom” and found stability and purpose anew. I’m sure the girl’s birth mother was crushed to be replaced by a stranger, but what a relief she must have felt to see her daughter straighten up and pursue a healthy life.

Similarly, I have wondered how Jesus’ brothers felt when He gave His mom to His young disciple, John, at the foot of the cross. We know from Scripture that Jesus’ brothers did not initially believe in Him and scorned His ministry.

When differences in values, beliefs, and expectations tear a family apart, how do we cope? Jesus acted. Knowing the agony Mary was suffering while seeing her firstborn tortured to death, Jesus tucked her under the loving care of His tender-hearted disciple.

We don’t know how Jesus’ brothers felt about Jesus giving their mom’s care to someone else. We know that after Jesus’ resurrection, they were praying in the upper room, along with Mary and the disciples. They had finally believed in Jesus. Tradition holds that Mary moved to Ephesus with John, who provided for her until her death. Ephesus may be where the good doctor Luke encountered her and transcribed her story in his gospel.

Jesus practiced adoption, giving his own mother to a new son. In fact, Jesus died so that God could adopt us into His family. Jesus always provides space for repentance, salvation, and new direction.

In places of unresolved family brokenness, look for Jesus’ grace, adoption plans, and provision. 



Caught Looking

The mere mention of Little League and outfields conjures up memories of that young family member gazing into the yonder while manning the position in brand-new baseball cleats. Inevitably, the child at bat, who has struck out the last three times, connects and sends the baseball directly toward our prospect. He redirects his attention, not because of the crack of the bat or the whizzing of the ball, but by the thud on the ground as it narrowly misses his forehead.

Often, our position, while proper, does not match our attention to the circumstances. After the disciples returned home from an empty tomb, Mary gazed into the place where Jesus should have been. Dead bodies do not move themselves. When she pivoted, Mary unknowingly encountered the resurrected Jesus while she wept. Jesus then identified Himself by calling her by name and relayed her instructions to inform the brethren of His soon ascension.

Despite Mary’s close relationship with Jesus, she eyed an empty tomb while she wept. Spiritual audits reveal our tendency to focus on apparent emptiness. Instead of recognizing our Savior’s presence enthroned at the right hand of the Father, we fixate on sickness, depravity, lostness, unconcern, and death—the empty tomb. These everyday sepulchers evidence the frailty of the flesh but can also distract us from absorbing our hope in the Sunday resurrection—our present view.

Our Savior often reminds us of our identity in Him and our relationship with Him. We then recognize His call to action as duty and privilege. A Christian can often be caught looking into the tomb by our unconscious testimony, painting gloom and doom while we survey the condition of the world.

Jesus once said that no one who puts his hand to the plow should look back. If they do, they are unfit for service in His kingdom. Our histories contain the tomb’s emptiness and separation from the Savior, but more so, encompass our testimony of transition into life through His grace and mercy.

Learn to cultivate your spiritual gardens by turning to Christ’s presence as you relay His position and plan to others. Your service is not in the sepulcher. 



The God of Second Chances

As we venture into another New Year, we have a clear calendar—a clean slate to start things fresh and anew. Committing to new diets and exercise plans, starting new jobs or retirement, dreaming about new travel plans, and launching new hobbies are just a few. We can build new relationships or pledge to work better at old ones.

We may want to mend our ways, put aside bad habits, or face up to sins where we have shown weakness. As much as the apostle Peter loved the Lord and pledged his heart to His teaching, he denied his Lord in moments of weakness. In fact, because of fear, Peter denied that he knew Jesus three times. Immediately, Peter was crushed and heartbroken. But he pulled himself together, admitted his failure, and determined to overcome flaws and fears.

Peter became a solid rock—a force to reckon with—and helped lay the foundation for spreading the gospel in the early church. God gave him a second chance. Peter didn’t give up and quit. His love for Jesus and the good news of God’s saving grace motivated him to move forward in step with God. He claimed victory over his failures.

God is a God of second chances. Many times—most of the time, but not always—God will help us overcome our fears, sins, and failures. Not everyone will get a second chance, but if you are reading this, you still have time.

Ask God to do a new work in your life during this New Year. 



Is Worry Worth a Badge?

We have all encountered people who brag about being a worrier. They pair their worry with a warrior who is skillful in caring. But let’s clear up any misconception before displaying this fretful badge, as if it adds dignity to our character.

Worry enters our lives because of sin. It is a deceitful tool used by the Devil to distract us from God. The Enemy hopes to develop a den of lies in our minds. Weaving a false belief that God won’t meet our needs and we are alone in our war is the Devil’s deception. Worry (what I refer to as anxiety or fear in a persistent state) can only take over our lives if we pay attention to our problems rather than God’s truth. When the Devil succeeds in building a den in our minds, distress will create various types of impairment.

Physical problems such as panic attacks, heart failure, intestinal disorders, eczema, insomnia, or headaches are just a few things that result from anxiety. Some people turn to earthly means such as food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, or the internet to medicate their feelings. But when we try to deaden fear by feeding our flesh, we will roll in a negative snowball.  

Anxiety drives us away from social situations and affects our work and relationships. It drains energy and interferes with concentration and healthy exercise.

Grace is the answer to our fears. And grace is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes our lives complete and fills our empty spaces. He will never leave us. Experiencing this grace is possible when we saturate our thoughts with truth. We find freedom from fear by reading God’s Word. There is no better way to eliminate anxiety. 

Look away from your problems and replace this badge of worry with God’s true peace. Worry is not worth a badge. Fear needs to be stripped of its badge and kept out of sight. Rid this robber from your life by receiving God’s grace.



Bear in the Box

Sometimes, my anger gets me into mischief. Once, on a science field trip, I railed at my students for relishing nature instead of doing their assigned observations. 

“I can’t believe you didn’t complete your workbooks. Don’t you know this is a science class, not a fun field trip? I am so frustrated. Your lack of effort and focus really disappoints me!” 

I scowled into their shocked and hurt eyes before turning to the bus driver and asking him to take us back to school. 

But then, a godly administrator in that Christian school spoke with me about my response. He called my anger my “bear in the box” and encouraged me to work this through with my students. 

We did. I asked for forgiveness, recognizing my overzealous delight in tasks and their deadlines. They had actually done quite a bit of science on that excursion. Over time, our classroom humor about the bear in the box humbled that bear until it was gentled and rarely troubled us again.

King Saul had a similar bear, and God gave him a precious, godly, and kind son who offered to help him keep that bear locked in his box. Instead, Saul’s fear that David would betray him pushed that king to become a murderous betrayer—to the point of hurling a spear at his own son.

We each have negative traits God wants to address, curtail, and transform. While our sin—like Saul and me—spews accusation, hatred, and shame, Christ, like Jonathan and my administrator, offers humble freedom and peace.

Think of areas where the Spirit of God seeks to bring about your freedom.



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