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This is the work…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

I’m back to wrestling with this section of scripture again, particularly verses 12-14. I see parallels between this scripture and the parable of the Prodigal Son. In both, I see myself as the one doing the right thing. In both, I’m a little indignant about all that was done for the one who didn’t.

Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?

In truth, while I often do what’s expected of me, I am also prone to wandering off, taking my share and striking out on my own. I’ve talked (ad nauseam, it seems) about my proclivity to lay my worries at Jesus’s feet and snatch them right back up again. This seems like a similar issue.

Matthew 18:13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.

Jesus, Thank You for helping me see that I am the one who wanders, not the 99 who stay. I am the prodigal, striking out on my own, doing my will, not the one who stays with the Father. Forgive me–for my arrogance that that was not me, for my judgment as I thought I was doing the work. This is the work, Lord. Examining myself and seeing where I need to surrender to You. Thank You. Help me. Amen.

Matthew 18:14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Have a blessed day.

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Your Father in Heaven…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 7:9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 

I find it interesting that in today’s scripture, I automatically zero in on verse 11 and the word evil. It gets my hackles up. Evil?!? I am *not* evil!!! How dare Jesus call me evil?!?!? And, yes, as you would imagine, that “How dare Jesus…?” stopped me in my tracks. I’m not evil. I’m not the devil incarnate, but I’m certainly not Jesus. And that’s His point.

Matthew 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 

I *am* a parent. I *do* love my children fiercely. I want to give them good things in life, a leg up, a firm foundation. All of these things are true. AND I’m a hot mess. So if *my* intentions and motives are this positive with all of *my* flaws, “how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” That is Jesus’s point.

Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your fierce love of Your children. Thank You for Your willingness to get my hackles up to get my attention and drive home Your point. Thank You for using an analogy that I understand on a gut level. We are Your children. You love us unconditionally. You want to give us good things. All we have to do is ask. Thank You. Amen.

Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Have a blessed day.

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My own tendency to wander…. (devo reflection)

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A beautiful gift…. (devo reflection)

1 John 3:1a See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!…  

To be claimed, loved, accepted, is a beautiful gift. And the Lord has done that for us. He has claimed us, called us by name, we are His (Isaiah 43:1). So I guess it shouldn’t be a big surprise that I often feel like I don’t fit because Christ didn’t fit either. He wasn’t a part of this world. It wasn’t His home. It’s not mine either.

1 John 3:1b …And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

When thinking of the gift that fathers give their children–and the Lord is the ultimate Father–to be called His child, to be set apart, which often means feeling like you don’t fit, is a gift. It keeps us from getting too comfortable in a place that is not our home. It allows us to feel compassion for others who don’t feel like they fit either.

1 John 3:2a Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known….  

Precious Savior, Thank You for the gift of acceptance into Your family. Thank You that that gift means separation from this world, which is not our home. Thank You that that gift allows me to have compassion for others who feel separated and “less than.” We aren’t less than. We are Yours. Help us never forget that powerful truth. Amen.

1 John 3:2b …But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Have a blessed day.

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Relax and enjoy the present moment…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I woke up this morning worrying about something utterly inconsequential. And while I understood the inconsequential nature of the worry, I was unable to put it aside. It gnawed at me. And then my morning reflection (Jesus Calling) included this much needed gem: “If you trust that My plans are to prosper you and not to harm you, you can relax and enjoy the present moment.”

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…

Worry consumes so much of my time. To relax and enjoy the present moment sounds wonderful. The ability to trust Him with my future, to relax from All. The. Worry, that’s something *I* have complete control over. So why is it so ridiculously hard for me to let go of control, to give up the worrying, fretting, fearing and trust that God has got me? I *know* He’s got me. Truly. So why do I struggle so with letting go and trusting Him?

Proverbs 3:6 …in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder once again that You have got me, that I can trust You and Your plan for me. Help me to relax, to let go of worry and control so that I can enjoy this precious life You have given me. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Have a blessed day.

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I don’t want to miss God’s Joy…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

I’ve mentioned the Jesus Calling devotional before, a timely gift from a sweet friend. Today it brought me more much needed wisdom: “Do not miss the Joy of My Presence by carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.” As with many, I’ve got stuff that I am dealing with, stuff that brings sadness, masked by anger. Stuff that makes me feel backed into a corner, on the defensive.

Matthew 11:29a Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart…  

But this morning’s reflection brought into focus that when I allow myself to feel backed into a corner, I am absolutely missing God’s joy, and I’m not ok with that. I used to literally count my blessings when I got into this negative space: 1. A roof over my head. 2. Breath in my lungs. 3. People who love me…. Looks like I need to go back to those basics because I DO NOT want to miss God’s joy because I am too busy carrying burdens that I was never meant to carry.

Matthew 11:29b …and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus, Help me. Thank You for the realization that my actions and reactions are causing me to miss Your joy, that my actions and reactions are piling on burdens that You don’t intend for me to carry. Help me to find rest for my soul in You alone. Help me to choose Your joy. Amen.

Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Have a blessed day.

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Broken yet deeply, fiercely loved…. (devo reflection)

Exodus 32:15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 

Moses talked God out of destroying the Israelites in His anger over the golden calf incident. Yet when he, Moses, saw the Israelites dancing around the golden calf, he was so incensed that he smashed the Ten Commandments tablet. More interesting to me is the fact that the pieces of the broken tablet and the whole, rewritten tablet of the Ten Commandments both were placed in the Ark of the Covenant.

Exodus 32:16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

One article I found said, “Putting the broken tablets in the Ark of the Covenant is to put our failure at the heart of our relationship with God.” That is a powerful thought. I want to hide my failures, to keep them from God, but they are a crucial part of our relationship. It is because of my failures that I need Him so much. It is in spite of my failures that He loves me so much.

Exodus 32:19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 

Lord, Thank You for the powerful truth that I am broken yet deeply, fiercely loved by You. Thank You that even in my failure, You cover me with Your grace. Help me to love as You love–compassionately, gracefully, abundantly. Amen.

Exodus 32:20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

Have a blessed day.

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Allowing time for growth and maturity…. (devo reflection)

Exodus 32:10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

I listened to commentary the other day that posited that perhaps these verses are a test for Moses. Will he speak up for the Israelites, God’s chosen people? (He does.) And when I think about Moses’ reaction when he finally comes down the mountain and sees what they are up to, I wonder if it was God’s way, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, of reminding Moses of the godly potential in the Israelites before he descends and sees their terrible behavior.

Exodus 32:12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.

I also listened recently to a sermon by Nadia Bolz-Weber on Luke 13:6-9, the parable of the fig tree, and today’s scripture brought it to mind. The Israelites, like the fig tree, have potential, but they haven’t lived into that potential…YET. If Moses destroyed them in his anger, that potential will never be fulfilled. But if he “digs around it and put manure on it,” tending and nurturing the Israelites, there is still hope that they will fulfill their potential.

Exodus 32:13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ ” 

Lord, Just like the Israelites, You see such potential in us. Just like the Israelites, we sometimes disappoint greatly. Thank You for allowing time for growth and maturity. Thank You for not ripping us out by the roots when we disappoint. Help us to be patient and diligent as we grow and mature in our faith. Help us to be rooted and nurtured in You so that we can reach our full potential. Amen.

Exodus 32:14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Have a blessed day.

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Drawing closer to God…. (devo reflection)

Exodus 32:21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

A Google search on the weakness of Aaron yields this nugget: “His major failures were caused by his inability to stand alone. His yielding to public pressure…” We certainly see this tendency as he talks about how he came to have the gold for the idol. When the Israelites ask him to make them an idol, he offers no resistance, no words of wisdom about why that’s a bad idea. He throws himself into the task at hand.

Exodus 32:22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 

But as I was talking with a friend yesterday, she wondered what the Israelites, fickle as they were, would have done if Aaron hadn’t been there, if it had just been the Israelites hanging out by themselves while Moses was up the mountain for 40 days. Given how they acted *with* Aaron, their behavior could have been so much worse without him. Did the golden calf incident save them from a worse fate?

Exodus 32:23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’

Lord, You tell us in Romans 8:28 that You can use all things for our good and Your glory. Help me to make wise decisions. Help me to lean on trusted advisors. And when I do mess up, which is bound to happen again and again, help me to learn, to draw closer to You, and to move forward. Amen.

Exodus 32:24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

Have a blessed day.

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Open hearts and minds…. (devo reflection)

Exodus 32:21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

Way back in Exodus 3, God called Moses to deliver His people from exile. Moses came up with a bevy of excuses (“Who am I to do this?” “What am I supposed to tell them?” “What if they don’t believe me?” “I’m not a very good speaker.” “Please send someone else.” Exodus 3-4). Because Moses was so reluctant, so hesitant to accept God’s call, God suggested Moses take Aaron with him. And look how that turned out for Moses.

Exodus 32:22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 

I wonder how this scene would have turned out had Moses, back in Exodus 3, said immediately, “I’ll go, Lord. I know You are with me. I know You will guide me.” But he didn’t. He doubted and whined and made excuses. And God still used him, but Aaron led the whole golden calf debacle. I wonder how many times in my own hemming and hawing and floundering I’ve caused similar issues, similar grief and discord, when, if I had trusted and obeyed, things could have gone relatively smoothly. I’m sure I’ll never know.

Exodus 32:23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’

Lord, You don’t want automatons who mindlessly obey. You want people who love You, who follow You, who listen to You with open hearts and minds. Thank You for the ability to seek and question, even when it doesn’t turn out as I hoped. Thank You for using all of life to draw me closer to You. Help me not to be afraid, even when I can’t see what’s ahead. Amen.

Exodus 32:24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

Have a blessed day.