Daily Devotions

 I made some chocolate chip cookies the other day and they were all flat and horrible. I’ve made chocolate chip cookies before many times so why the catastrophic failure this time? I thought I knew how to do it so I didn’t read the directions and just winged it. I had all the right ingredients in all the right proportions and even baked them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until golden brown. It turns out I missed a step in the preparations and ended up with my chocolate chip cookie craving unsatisfied. Directions. We sometimes don’t like to follow directions because we think we know better or maybe we think we can make it better by adding or omitting a few steps in the process. Like when we put something together from IKEA and we have a few spare parts leftover. Or we throw out the packaging and then go dig it out of the trash several times because we forgot something in the instructions. Life is too precious to leave it to chance. Especially since we have a life instruction manua

 As a child I was very close to mom especially since I was the youngest. I recall one day being at home. Mom was still in bed and I had gotten up and was playing in my room when I heard a very loud explosion they shook our house. I ran as fast as my little feet could carry me and jumped into the waiting arms of my loving mother. She wrapped me up in her arms and I knew I was safe.  Now when something comes along to shake my world I can’t go running to momma anymore and it would be weird if I did! I run to the loving arms of my Heavenly Father where I find renewed strength for whatever lies ahead. I am safe in his arms. Whatever struggle or turmoil you are facing right now take comfort in knowing that he hears your cries. He sees your hot tears running down your cheeks at night as you lay on your pillow wondering how you’re gonna make it another day. He not only sees but he is ready to respond. First he comforts us with his presence and his love holds us tight. Next he reminds us how pr

 Peace through superior firepower. That’s a great military motto but doesn’t serve us very well when we aren’t facing a military enemy. When anxiety and worries crowd out our worship we need something more powerful than guns and ammo. The stark reality is our enemy is the one looking back in the mirror. That character is usually guilty of a lot of mischief. There is so much going on in our world right now that the idea of having a peaceful Christmas season seems totally incomprehensible. Some have lost loved ones, others have lost jobs, we are still in a pandemic, we’re unsure of the vaccine, we don’t know what tomorrow may bring, and the list of real concerns goes on. There is one who just seems to exude peace. In fact the closer you get to him it just seems like all our cares and worries begin to melt off of us. He has an aura about him that makes you feel safe, loved, and accepted. There is no condemnation in his eyes. His love is so great it acts like a strong fortress around us. 

 Christmas is almost here. Most of the shopping has been done. The meal planning is starting. The cookies have been baked, decorated, shared, and enjoyed. The gifts are wrapped. The tree is trimmed. Everything is just about ready for a big celebration!  What exactly are we celebrating? That God chose to come near. That he decided to disrobe himself of heavenly glory and wrap himself in frail human flesh. Why? So he could walk alongside us. He could feel our hurts and pains. So he could know our broken-hearted lives and share in our sorrows.  He also came to bring us hope where there seemed to be none. Hope of a new beginning. A fresh start. He came to freely offer forgiveness for any who would repent and draw near to God. He came to seek and to save the lost.  Most importantly he came to demonstrate how much he truly loves us. Men yearned to know what God was really like so he came to show us in person. He healed the sick, wept with those in grief, welcomed little children, ate with ta

 A few years ago I was at a church picnic. It was at first a very beautiful day. On the horizon dark clouds started to gather and before long we could see a storm was gathering. My eye was captured by some ants. The large kind found in west Texas and they were, as ants usually are, scurrying about doing whatever it is that ants do.  A thought came to me as I began to think about the impending deluge and how the ants just kept busy doing ant work. In a few moments they would be swept away by the downpour. They seemed unconcerned or maybe just indifferent. I thought about how I could somehow warn them of the danger just ahead. I realized then that the only way to be effective was to become an ant myself and then tell them to get up to higher ground quickly. Of course this was simply an impossibility for me. As much as I wish I could transform myself into an ant there was still no guarantee that they would even listen to me. In fact they may even turn against me and completely reject my w

 We tend to put our trust in a lot of things. I trusted my gps to get me to my destination. Once without realizing it I drove right past my destination, drove a about a mile down the road, turned into a subdivision, drove around in a huge circle, came back out at the entrance, turned back down the highway where I just came from and then to the place I had passed 20 minutes ago! Needless to say I have lost faith in my gps as amazing as it is.  We’ve trusted people who have failed us miserably and now we are skeptical as well as we should be. Many people and things are simply unreliable. So it makes today’s verse more insightful. We can trust the Lord to save us. His ways are better than mine. His thoughts are so much higher. His love is so much stronger. His victory is overwhelming.  One of my favorite worship songs is by Cory Asbury, Your Love is Strong. The words of the chorus are powerful. “Your love, vanquished all my enemies, Broke the cage that silenced me, and set this songbird f

 Choices. We make thousands every single day from the time we wake to the time we fall into our beds at night. What will I wear? Which pair of shoes looks best? Shave? Bathe? Casual or pjs? What’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and more importantly dessert? The list is endless and exhausting.  Even on holidays or vacations there are so many decisions to be made. What gifts should I buy or should I make it? How many gifts do we need to get? Who’s making the holiday feast? Who is bringing what, where, and when? We make our lists and check them twice! In today’s verse there are three things on the list: rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances! They have one thing in common. They are all choices. Great! Just what we needed in our jam-packed schedules and lists. More choices to make.  You see, these things don’t happen automatically. You don’t wake up one day and all of a sudden you are doing these things. Each day along with a million other choices you

 It’s always a delightful surprise when you find out someone has been thinking about you or saying good things about you to others. Most of the time it is between two people who are in love but it also happens with family or friends. Something you did or said made an impact and at some random point in their day it was brought to their minds and they started thinking about you and it brought a smile to their face.  It becomes even more astonishing when they see you again and they tell you that they were thinking about you. For some unexplained reason we have within us an innate desire to express praise, gratitude, or love. It turns out that expressing it completes the action. In other words love is incomplete unless it is expressed. In some fashion or another, be it through words or deeds love must find an outlet.  This whole thing makes God’s love for us unbelievably amazing and it beggars description. Words fail us in any tongue, language, or dialect of men or of angels to adequately

 We are going through a dark season in our world. Life is not what we would consider normal. Everything has changed, been cancelled or even radically altered. There are moments when we simply don’t even recognize our own lives. It’s haunting.  While many are simply going through a season of darkness there are those who have a permanent residence there. Their lives are broken, hurting, and desolate. Hope left a long time ago well before Covid came along. They’ve given up on a normal life and have been living in poverty. Shame, regret, and loneliness are their only companions.  There is good news! Regardless if you are walking through darkness or have taken up permanent residence there in the midst of it all is a light. It waits to be revealed. Only those with eyes of faith are able to see it and bask in its glow.  Sometimes all it takes is someone to come along with a smile and some aid to start a spark of hope within. We are light bearers. We carry the spark of the divine within us. We

As a young boy we often went to visit our grandparents every summer in Mexico. It was always an exciting time. Then one year we were told that they were coming to visit us! I couldn’t hardly wait. They didn’t own a car so they were coming on the bus. We lived only one block away from the bus station. The way our house was positioned we could look out our front bay window on the second floor and actually see people getting off the buses as they arrived. It was nearly impossible to contain my excitement. In the day of their arrival I borrowed my dads binoculars and sat impatiently at the window watching every bus as they pulled in to see who would get off. I can still feel the anticipation as I recall this sweet memory. A bus would pull in and I would grab my binoculars and scan every passenger getting off. I wanted to be the first to announce their arrival. Finally after waiting what seemed like hours I saw an elderly couple get off the bus. Still I wasn’t sure it was them until they un

My moving days are over. I don’t mean I’m not going to move again but rather that the days of me physically, personally lugging furniture and heavy boxes is done. We’ve moved around a lot and the last couple of times I realized that it was well worth it to hire someone else to do all the heavy lifting thereby saving my back from aches and pains.  As a Pastor and Hospice Chaplain I’ve carried many burdens over the years. I’ve discovered however that I don’t have to carry them alone. My Heavenly Father comes along beside me and carries the weight of the burden. In doing so he has made my burden light.  In today’s verse we are called to carry one another’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ. But what exactly is this law of Christ? It is the law of love. It is his love that compels us to be a burden bearer for others. Often people feel that they are alone in their struggles. They will tell themselves that no one cares. They convince themselves that no one else understands what they are

 Sowing is difficult, painstaking work. You take something that is valuable and you bury it. It’s like hiding a little treasure. Something of a mystery happens to what you have buried. First it dies, then deep down inside the seed something begins to stir ushered on by moisture in the surrounding soil and the warmth of a sun above it pushes a tiny root deeper into the ground. Eventually it finds life and it starts to break upwards through soil and rock reaching for the brightness above. In time it will grow tall and even begin to reproduce.  The farmer sows in hope and expectation with blood, sweat, and tears because he knows that eventually there will be a bountiful harvest. At harvest time there are days set aside for celebrating, singing and dancing because the persistence, hard work, and waiting has paid off. You may be going through a very difficult time right now. Your seed may be in the process of dying buried beneath the weight of loss and grief. Rest assured that there is some

Most of us hope for a lot of things. We hope for a preferred future. We hope next year is better than this one was. We hope for certain outcomes. We hope the doctor gives us good news. We hope for reconciliation with an estranged family member. We hope we get that job. We hope our kids turn out ok. We hope our teams wins the championship.  Most of what we hope for depends entirely on the actions of others. Sometimes it depends on our actions alone. At times we’ve heard someone express a certain hope but because we know them well we think to ourselves, “What are the odds?” “They are better off playing cash five!” Lol. One of the most difficult emotions we experience is hopelessness. When we’ve just given up having any hope at all because we’ve been so disappointed so many times before. We become jaded and skeptical.  The wonder and joy of Christmas is that hope has come! Jesus restored our hope in the promises of God and his word. We realize that he has not forgotten us. He knows our ci

  The holidays are such a wonderful time of the year. This year more than most people are making all kinds of preparations for family and friends. Decorations have to be put up. The fine dishes come out. Recipes are poured over and the pantry is stocked with everything needed for the perfect meal. Tables are spread in splendor as every detail is gone over. Everything has to be perfect for our guests and family. Once everything is ready we wait for our first guests to arrive. The anticipation is delightful. Advent is a time of preparation, anticipation, and waiting. We are preparing our hearts for an encounter with God himself. Everything must be made ready. Our hearts must be examined to make sure all is in order. No cobwebs of unforgiveness, or dust bunnies of bitterness. All must be swept out and made clean. An examination is performed to make sure there is nothing that would grieve my special guest. Every nook and cranny is inspected, nothing is overlooked. We prepare our spiritual

I belong to several very exclusive clubs. I can get deals, specials, low financing, easy payments and of course exclusive invitations to very select events tailored to my needs. At least that is what I’m told in all the “exclusive “ emails I get. I am basically part of their family and to prove it they give me the friends and family discount. One club is so exclusive that I have to show proof of my belonging before they let me in to view their top secret, exclusive, special items that only I and other members can purchase for my enjoyment. At least they don’t ask for the secret handshake! Truth is we like belonging to exclusive organizations. It makes us feel important and special along with the other tens of thousands who are also members. We walk down the aisles and with a smug look on our faces we give an ever so subtle nod to other cars carrying members in the club. We’re special and we know it.  There is however one group so exclusive that you must be born into it to be a part of

 It was third grade. I remember slipping a small folded piece of paper to a friend to give to a cute little girl sitting only a few rows away. It was a simple question. “Will you be my girlfriend? Yes or No. Please check one.” The little girl read it, marked it and slipped it back to my friend who gave it to me. I carefully opened the note without making too much fuss as we were in class at school. My eyes fell on the word “yes” with a check mark next to it! My heart fluttered and I had the biggest smile on my face all day long.  Now what? Nobody ever told me what comes next after the proposal had been delightfully accepted. Of course it all faded away after a few days and I went back to doing whatever it is that third graders do. That was my first experience at love. Great anticipation followed by wonderful, exuberant delight and then a fading away to only become a memory.  Today’s verse talks about an everlasting love. A love that does not fade away into the cobwebs of memory. The Lo

    2020 has been quite an emotional roller coaster with the global pandemic and our national elections but it seems it has been more down than up at times. March seemed to on forever and now we are in December and quickly coming to the end of this year. Some have lost loved ones, jobs, income, and so much more. It has felt at times very overwhelming and even suffocating.       Some of our usual traditions have been cancelled or in some way drastically altered. Thanksgiving was different for so many and now Christmas will not be the same. Many suffer through loneliness and depression at the holidays but now even more.       We are collectively experiencing grief and loss. We feel as if we are going through an emotional flood or even a raging fire consuming all around us. These are all common emotions considering what we are going through. That knowledge that we aren’t going through it alone may help ease the tension or in some cases actually increase it.      Here’s the good news: you

 It’s that time of year when we basically hold Christmas gifts hostage to the good behavior of others. If you’ve been a good boy or girl you’ll get those presents you’ve really been wanting but if you are bad then you will get a lump of coal! You’ve probably seen this in some car commercials where the person declares they have been really good and they deserve a new $75 thousand dollar new truck or suv.  We are conditioned as children to think this way. We are setting up our kids and grandkids to think this way as well. We relish the idea that somehow we have earned this or that sometimes for being good and sometimes for just not being as bad as we truly could be!  This kind of thinking has crept its way into our spiritual lives as well. People declare that once they clean up their life they will come to church not realizing that church is a hospital for broken humanity and not a shrine to saints! The big problem as I see it is that when God showers down his love and forgiveness we hav

In today’s crazy political atmosphere people will say follow the money if you want to know who’s behind the curtain. Like the great Wizard of Oz we believe there is always someone behind the scenes pulling strings and levers all in an attempt to control others and produce an expected outcome. Conspiracy theories abound and new ones are created each day it seems. If we take the time to think about it all we will find that we are not so much like Dorothy trying to discover truth, or the Tin Man seeking wisdom, or the Cowardly Lion seeking his heart. We are all more like the Wizard madly trying to keep it all together somehow hoping to manipulate and construe what we desire as an outcome. All the while it turns out we are the ones being manipulated. Like gullible fish to a shiny lure we are being coerced to our own demise. The deceitfulness of riches and the illusion of security lead us down a dangerous path. We don’t even realize it because everyone else is doing it too so it must be nor