“And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it . . . After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:43 and 46, ESV) The Bible tells us very little about the childhood of Jesus. The Gospels skip from the events surrounding His birth to the beginning of His ministry. Nothing is recorded about His childhood. But one passage at the end of Luke 2 relates an incident that happened when Jesus was twelve years old. It was the family’s practice to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem each year. This year was no different. Today the journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem by car would take us perhaps two hours. Walking, as Mary and Joseph would have traveled, would be a journey of four days. For safety and companionship, the family traveled in a group with others going to the feast. This year’s visit to Jerusalem was much the same as other years. When the celebration ended, the caravan of travelers began their journey back to Nazareth. It wasn’t until they stopped for the night…

“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3, ESV) As I passed a lady in the grocery store aisle, I overheard a snippet of her phone conversation. “Now I’m going to tell you this, but please don’t share it . . .” I turned the corner about that time, so I never learned whatever juicy bit of gossip she knew. I also wondered how quickly her friend would pass it on. (Now to be clear, most of us do not gossip. We share “interesting information” from time to time. Or perhaps very detailed “prayer requests.” But gossip? Oh, no!) A friend recently found herself in an uncomfortable situation while having coffee with two ladies from her church. What she thought would be a pleasant time of fellowship soon shifted as the other two began to gossip about mutual friends. While I’m sure neither lady would ever allow profanity or other coarse talk to come out of her mouth, they thought nothing of making spiteful and cutting remarks about others. Needless to say, my friend doesn’t plan any more coffee meetups with them. When you hear someone gossiping and tearing down another…

“You are good and do only good; teach me your decrees.” Psalms 119:68 NLT In the midst of all the chaos in our world right now, this scripture spoke loudly to me. We are bombarded every day with another tragedy, another issue that we can’t seem to fix, brokenness, and devastation. But God. He is good and does only good. Even though we are living in unprecedented and scary times, He is still good. Even though the world seems to be crumbling beneath our feet, He is still good and does only good. Even though your health may be failing and your family is broken, God is still good and does only good. Even though nothing seems to make sense right now, He is good and does only good. It is easy to become complacent in the day-to-day of our lives, but complacency is the breeding ground for disappointment and doubt. Gratitude is the attitude that stirs up a slumbering church. Take time today to recall miracles that have happened in your life. Remember times of provision, healing and restoration and give thanks to God, who is good and does only good! Devotion by Caitlin Walker

“Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.” Psalms 91:8-10 I love how we are reminded, yet again, in this passage of scripture, that it is our choice to make the Lord our refuge and shelter. We cry out in frustration, “God, where are you? Why have you left me?” In reality, we are more than likely the ones who have drifted from His presence. Living for God is a daily choice, not something that will simply fall into our lap. Either I give in to the fear, or I stand firm with Christ as my foundation. I’m either going to struggle in my faith, or I will live a life that believes God can move mountains. The state of this world cannot make these decisions for me, for chaos and disaster would surely follow. But if I live a life surrendered to the King of Kings, only goodness and mercy will follow me ALL the days of my life. Which do you choose today? Open your eyes and take…