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Do not be anxious about anything… (devo reflection)

Philippians 4:6a Do not be anxious about anything….

Lord, You know I struggle with change, and everywhere I look at the moment I see so much change. But I trust You. I believe You. I know You are in control, even with so much change in store. Help me to live that belief. Help me to lay aside my anxiety and fear.

Philippians 4:6b …but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

Lord, I know You are with me. You shower me with blessings daily. Help me to focus on You—Your presence, Your blessings, Your people—instead of focusing on my fear. Help me to lift my voice in Your praise. Help me to be so focused on You that I can’t focus on my fears.

Philippians 4:7a And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding….

Lord, Blanket me with Your peace. Help me to be still, to know that even in all the change that You are still God, still in control. Guard my heart and mind, guard those I love and all Your children, help us all to rest in Your peace. Amen.

Philippians 4:7b …will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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A ministry of inclusion…. (devo reflection)

Acts 15:1 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Jesus’s ministry was one of inclusion. He made sure that those who were marginalized, treated as less than, knew that there was a place for them at His table. Ironically (or maybe it’s more typical than ironic), Christians far and wide seem to spend an inordinate amount of time putting limits on who qualifies as Jesus’s beloved. And today’s scripture shows us that this habit of trying to limit who’s included isn’t new.

Acts 15:2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

I wonder if the human tendency to limit who can be called God’s beloved is related to the scarcity mentality that exists today. Are those who try to limit who can claim God’s love scared that if too many are allowed “in,” there won’t be any love left for them? When I think, “God surely didn’t mean *them*” (and, sadly, I’m human. I have thought that), am I afraid that if too many people love Jesus, there won’t be any of His love left for me?

Acts 15:3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad.

Lord, Your love is expansive and inclusive. You welcome all. You created all. You love all. And yet, we try to put limits on Your love. Forgive us. Help us to love inclusively like You do. Help us to know without a doubt that there is room for everyone in Your kingdom that there is enough love to go around. Help us to shine Your light. Amen.

Acts 15:4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

Have a blessed day.

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Just love everyone…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 22:36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

We are commanded to love God and love others. Again I am reminded of the billboard from my memories that reads, “Just love everyone. I’ll sort them out later. ~God.” Simple, but not easy.

Matthew 22:37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 

But we tend to put up all kinds of barriers and conditions to God’s mandate to love others. (And make no mistake, when I say “we,” I include myself.) If someone looks, loves, votes, worships, lives differently, it’s easy to dismiss them as not worthy of love. Jesus, help us.

Matthew 22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 

Lord, You ask us to be Your hands and feet in this world, but sometimes we forget we aren’t the judge and jury. Help us to get past ourselves, past whatever barriers keep us from loving as you love. Help us to love you and love others. Period. Always. Amen.

Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Have a blessed day.

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Fear and destruction…. (devo reflection)

Acts 2:8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 

A quote about fear and destruction came to mind as I read today’s verses, but I am unable to find exactly the one I remember. It was something along the lines of “What we don’t understand, we fear. What we fear, we destroy.”

Acts 2:9-11 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

A quick look at verse 13 shows the truth of this semi-remembered thought. The speakers in verse 13 didn’t understand how everyone could understand in their native tongue, regardless of what language was being spoken. They were afraid because they didn’t understand. They tore down–”They must be drunk!”–what they feared. No discussion. No attempt at understanding. No examination for the miraculous. Just harsh, dismissive words.

Acts 2:12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Lord, In this world it is far too easy, far too common, to fear what we don’t understand. When faced with fear, many seek the route of ridicule and dismissal instead of trying to understand. But Your thoughts are not our thoughts. Your ways are far beyond anything we can ever imagine. Help us to open our minds and hearts. Help us to seek to understand and to share Your love, compassion, and mercy. Always. Amen.

Acts 2:13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Have a blessed day.

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To understand and be understood…. (devo reflection)

Acts 2:5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

Language differences can be a huge barrier. I know just a tiny bit of Spanish. If I am talking to someone who only knows a tiny bit of English and we have no interpreter, it’s not going to take long for both of us to become frustrated because we are unable to clearly communicate with the other. Even as I type this, the feelings inside me are very tense and uncomfortable.

Acts 2:6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.

So imagine if I still know my tiny bit of Spanish, the person I’m conversing with still knows only a tiny bit of English, there is no translator between us, yet we completely understand and are understood with every word that is spoken. Even as I type this, I can breathe freely, I don’t have that overwhelming feeling of stress.

Acts 2:7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that to understand others and to be understood is such a gift. Help us, even when there are barriers, to seek ways to foster understanding with others. Help us to shine Your light. Amen.

Acts 2:8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

Have a blessed day.

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Trying to embrace joy…. (devo reflection)

Romans 7:15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 

This time of year is difficult for me for a host of reasons, but right now I feel like I am becoming someone I don’t want to be, someone I would not want to spend time around. My temper is short, my patience is gone, I grumble and complain A LOT.

Romans 7:18b …For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 

It seems the epitome of “…what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do,” and while a bad attitude isn’t necessarily “evil,” it certainly isn’t a good thing. It certainly isn’t something I want to continue. Jesus, Help me. Please.

Romans 7:19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 

Lord, I don’t understand my own behavior and I certainly don’t like it. Help me get a grip on this constant negativity, to embrace the joy that comes from being Your deeply loved child. Help me to give grace to myself and to others who are struggling, no matter the reason. I want to be a light for You, Lord. Please, Help me. Amen.

Romans 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Have a blessed day.

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Better than I could ever imagine…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:8a “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD….

I am terribly guilty for limiting God with my imagination. I think I know how something should be, should turn out, and all the while, God’s plan is so much bigger, so much greater, than I can even fathom.

Isaiah 55:8 b …“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

It’s no surprise that trust is the root of the issue here. And it feels frustrating and ridiculous that I struggle so to trust God, though I know that this struggle is part of being human. And honestly, I do trust Him, truly, but my fear–of the unknown, of what might be, of what won’t be– can become so great, so all-consuming that it becomes a living thing that overshadows God’s grace.

Isaiah 55:9a For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways….

Lord, I believe that You are God of all creation. I believe that Your ways are far beyond anything I can imagine. I trust that You have a better plan than I could ever fathom. I do trust, You, Lord. Truly, I do. I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). Amen.

Isaiah 55:9b …and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Have a blessed day.

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Full of emotion…. (devo reflection)

Psalm 47:1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.

I love the Psalms because they are so full of emotion, just like I am. Some days, I am so overjoyed that every word out of my mouth, every thought in my head, is a shout of praise to God for all the good things in my life. Some days those good things are abundantly evident. Praise comes easy. God is evidently, abundantly good to me.

Psalm 47:2 For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.

But the Psalms are also gritty, angry, and real. Some speakers are struggling mightily, they are questioning earnestly, they are accusing and grappling and so very angry. I love that God is big enough for all those really hard emotions. Psalm 46:10 reminds us that even in the midst of chaos and destruction, He is still God. He is still in control. We can trust Him, even when we are angry and afraid.

Psalm 47:5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.

Lord, Thank You that so often I look around and all I can see is Your beauty and goodness, Your presence and blessing. Thank You that on those days, Your praise is abundantly flowing from my lips. Thank You also that on the hard days, the days where I am angry, bitter, struggling, You don’t try to quiet and redirect me. You allow and invite me to work through my emotions, You show me that You are there, You are good, through all the chaos. You draw me closer through my struggle and doubt. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Psalm 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.

Have a blessed day.

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Be still and know…. (devo reflection)

Psalm 46:7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

“Be still and know that I am God” is a verse that resonates with me and with many. It says to me, “Hush. Be still. Take a break from all the noise. Just breathe. Just listen. Just be. And once you are still, know–really know, that I am God.” However, this morning, I truly notice verse 10 in context with the verses around it.

Psalm 46:8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.

There is a lot of chaos imagery in Psalm 46: mountains fall into the heart of the sea, earth gives way, waters roar and foam, mountains quake, desolation, breaks bows, shatters spears, burns shields. And yet, through all of this upheaval, we are told, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Psalm 46:9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

Lord, Thank You that You are God when life is calm and composed as well as when life is chaotic and falling apart. Thank You that no matter the circumstances in my life, You command me to “Be still and know that” You are God. Help me always cling to that truth. Amen.

Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Have a blessed day.

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An ever-present help…. (devo reflection)

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

I have always liked Psalm 46. There are so many verses that speak to me here, like verse 5. I know the verse is not literally talking about a woman, but I like to apply the verse to myself–God is with ME, I will not fall; God will help ME at break of day. There is much power in claiming a verse in that way.

Psalm 46:2-3 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

It doesn’t mean that there won’t ever be troubles, missteps, darkness, wilderness. Just look at verses 1 and 2. What it means is that God will be with me through whatever earth-shaking trouble I encounter. I will be able to take one slow, faltering step at a time because of His ever-present help.

Psalm 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

Lord, Thank you for this reminder that You are our refuge and strength, that You are ever-present help no matter what trouble we face. Thank You for the reminder that because You are in us, even though we may stumble, we will not fall. You’ve got us. Thank You. Amen.

Psalm 46:5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

Have a blessed day.