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The effects of this constant gathering….(devo reflection)

Exodus 16:19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

I am the queen of squirreling things away in case I need them for later. I do it with food (a random bag of chips, a “sweet treat” that I don’t want now but might at some point, a bottle of water that I know I’ll drink…eventually). I do it with things–things that I don’t need, don’t want, but I might….someday.

Exodus 16:20a However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning…

I don’t know how much I’ve ever paid attention to the effects of this constant gathering, this constant fear of being without, this constant, self-reliant squirreling away. But it feels terrible, the emotional equivalent of manna being full of maggots and stinking.

Exodus 16:20b …but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

Lord, You are my Shepherd. I lack nothing. I know this is true, and yet, I fear, I scrounge, I squirrel away manna that was never meant to be kept. Forgive me. Lead me beside quiet waters. Refresh my soul. Help me to fear no evil, Lord, because You are with me. Your rod and staff comfort me (Psalm 23:1-4). I don’t want to be a grumbling Israelite, hoarding manna that You freely provide because You love me. I want to be Your faithful, trusting servant. Help me, Lord. Amen.

Exodus 16:21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 

Have a blessed day.

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The beautiful breadcrumb trail of God’s love…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

The scripture for my church’s daily devotionals this week comes from Exodus and the grumbling Israelites. (See yesterday’s reflection.) And as I proofed tomorrow’s devo this morning, it struck to me what a gift it is that God didn’t just smite the Israelites in their grumbling. He could have. And yet, He responded with compassion.

Matthew 6:26a Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them….

God feeds the birds of the air. He fed the grumbling Israelites. What is up with me that I still struggle to trust when I am afraid, when I don’t understand? Thankfully, God responds to me with compassion as well. He will still guide me, guard me, even if I grumble, even if I fear. But if I can trust, He will not only guide and guard me, He will also grant me His peace.

Matthew 6:26b …Are you not much more valuable than they?

Lord, I long for Your peace. Forgive my misguided fear and grumbling. Thank you for the beautiful breadcrumb trail of Your love that You provide daily if I will but pay attention. I do trust You, Lord, but I am also afraid. Help me to lay my fear at Your feet so that I can be wrapped in Your peace. Amen.

Matthew 6:27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Have a blessed day.

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Help me to trust…. (devo reflection)

Exodus 16:2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 

I can so empathize with the Israelites in this passage. How many times have I taken this attitude in my own life? “Lord, Things are fine! Why do they have to change? I don’t want them to change. I don’t like change. I understand where I am right now. I know what to expect. I don’t want to have to figure out the unknown.”

Exodus 16:3a The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!…

As I am typing this reflection, God has brought to mind the end of my first year of teaching. I was miserable, but I would have stayed because it had become familiar. But God said to trust, and I did, albeit kicking and screaming. And 14 interviews later, I ended up here, where I met my husband, started a family, have taught so many wonderful young people, have made so many dear friends.

Exodus 16:3b …There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted…

Lord, You have shown me again and again that I can trust You, that You will provide, that You will make a way for me. Forgive me that trust is still so hard. Help me, when I am afraid, to remember all the times that You have provided for me daily, even when my path was uncertain. If I cannot fully conquer my fears, then help me to trust You in spite of them. Amen.

Exodus 16:3c …but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

Have a blessed day.

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The soft underbelly of my struggles…. (devo reflection)

2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

A sweet friend recently gave me a devotional entitled Jesus Calling: Enjoy Peace in His Presence. The reflections are short, yet poignant and are written as though Jesus were speaking. Today’s entry, especially, spoke to my heart: “When your focus is firmly on Me, My Peace displaces fears and worries.”

2 Thessalonians 3:13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.

I show the “soft underbelly” of my struggles, anxieties, failings, weaknesses so often in my reflections because I know how isolating it is to feel like I am the only one who deeply loves Jesus but who also struggles with fear and worry. I truly believe that God can use my struggles and also my enduring love of Him to encourage others so they don’t feel quite so alone, quite so broken.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

Lord, Thank You for reminding me once again to focus on You so that Your peace can displace my worries. Thank You for the courage to show my own failings and weaknesses again and again so that others know that they are not alone, that they can be good, God-loving people and still struggle. Thank You for holding us all securely in the palm of Your hand. Thank You for using our struggles for our good and Your glory. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 3:The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Have a blessed day.

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Cease striving and know…. (devo reflection)

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.” (NIV)

When life gets overwhelming, I often take the advice of Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God. Usually that involves sitting in my recliner, maybe listening to ocean waves or rain shower nature sounds. I breathe deeply, usually in to one part of the verse, out to the next, breathing and being until Christ’s peace begins to penetrate the shell of worry and stress.

Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (NASB 1995)

But the words “Cease striving” hit differently for me. Cease striving is less about getting still and breathing and more about stop trying to do everything just to fill the void in life. There’s only one way to fill that God-shaped hole. Cease striving and know….

1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Lord, Thank You for the reminder to be still, to cease striving, to see You, recognize You, know You. Help me to breathe in Your peace, mercy, and grace. Help me to immerse myself in Your love, Your presence, until there is no room for worry and stress. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

1 John 3:11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 

Have a blessed day.

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How God shows up…. (devo reflection)

Psalm 94:18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.

I am truly awed at how God shows up in my life when I am paying attention. (He’s always there, reminding me of His presence, His love. I just don’t always notice.) This spring, as my heart cries louder and louder in worry, fear, and anxiety, God continues to show up in so many ways, reminding me that I am His, that He sees me, knows me, loves me so very much. He does the same for you, too.

Psalm 94:19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

So I want to encourage you to pay attention to the little ways that God shows up today. This text you are reading from a hot mess on the struggle bus trying to shine His light? That’s God. The sunshine? The cool breeze? The kind word? God. And YOU can help Him shine today by passing along a kind word, a smile, an encouragement, by lifting someone up in the smallest of ways.

Psalm 94:22 But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that You are with us and in us, that we can shine Your light just by being kind to others. Thank You that when I am paying attention, I can see You, Your love, Your goodness, everywhere. Thank You that I can help lift others up in Your name. Help me to see Your love today. Help me to be Your love today. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Have a blessed day.

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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.