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 m...

 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 ...

 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 u...

 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 ch...

 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 re...

 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 t...

 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 oth...