“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 from the New International Version of the Holy Bible) It is difficult to wrap your mind around how…
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3, NIV) One of the first arguments I will often hear from friends who claim to be atheist is that too many bad things happen. I think we have all…
And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (Mark 4:38-39, Holy Bible, King James Version)
Jesus had ended a day-long session of teaching the multitudes gathered along the seashore where He sat in a ship. In the evening, He sent the crowd away and instructed His disciples to cross the lake. No doubt tired, Jesus took a rest in the back of the boat.
While crossing the lake, a storm arose and buffeted the ship with high winds and deluged it with water. When it looked like nothing they could do would save the boat and passengers, the disciples woke up Jesus. Their first words were accusations of His unconcern. When your spiritual boat is caught in a storm you can’t control, what do you say when you wake up the Master?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m caught in a spiritual storm I can’t stop. Wake up and rescue me and give me peace. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
A time to be born, and a time to die (Ecclesiastes 3:2, Holy Bible, King James Version)
“When is my baby due?” an expectant mother joyfully asks her physician. At the birth of her child, a new life is celebrated and treasured through the years. When the pendulum of life swings far to the other side, a different question might be heard from this aging mother. “How much time do I have, Doctor?”
As she relives special memories, she sees how her life has touched her family, friends and community. More importantly, she is content because she has invested her life toward shaping her own eternal destiny.
Prayer: Eternal God, You chose my birthday and have set my departure date from this earthly life. You have given me charge over using the rest of the time. I serve you, waiting for the day my earthly time clock stops and eternal life begins with You. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
Adapted from In the Right Place: A Gallery of Treasured Moments (Carr Twins & Co., 2006) © Violet Carr Moore
You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set. (Psalm 104:19, Complete Jewish Bible) Sunrise peeks through darkness to begin a new day. Sunset spreads a reddish glow across the horizon and disappears making way for nightfall. People relish these daily events, snap photos,…
While the earth remains,Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer,
And day and night Shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22, Holy Bible, New King James Version)
Routine is often seen as a rut that hinders progress toward a specific goal. Motivators tell us to get out of the rut, to abandon the stereotype, to embrace change.
I’ve seen many seasons. Fall is my favorite. I welcome it every year. Is fall a rut? No, it has a purpose. Along with the other seasons, it is proof of God’s covenant with Noah, a promise we inherited as long as earth remains.
Prayer: Eternal God, times and seasons continue as a declaration that no man can hinder Your promises. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
“But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” Matthew 13:25
Sometimes it might seem that you get up in the morning, and someone has planted weeds among your beautiful flowers. Where did they come from so fast? What happened while you were sleeping?
If we fall asleep spiritually, or slip into neutral and just try to coast along, the enemy of our souls will seize this opportunity to plant spiritual weeds in our heart. A root of bitterness will take hold, and slowly start to destroy us.
We must stay alert and on guard spiritually! Keep your eyes on your spiritual garden, and don’t let the enemy come in and plant his ungodly seeds.
Prayer: Lord, let me alert and awake spiritually. Open my eyes to the tricks of the enemy, and show me how to protect my spiritual life.
Devotion by Liane Grant
“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.” Proverbs 15:19
We can complain about weeds, get angry at them and even yell at them. (If talking to plants can help them grow, maybe that will work!) But if we really don’t want them around, we have to take steps to prevent them. It could be a weed control membrane that we place under the soil, or perhaps a weed control spray that we apply.
It’s the same spiritually. We are responsible for weed control in our hearts.. We may need an extra layer of prayer to protect us, or some more “washing of water by the Word”.
If we are slothful (lazy), weeds will overtake us. But if we are righteous and diligent, we will take steps to prevent and control spiritual weeds. And our spiritual garden will be beautiful!
Prayer: Lord, help me to be diligent in preventing and controlling spiritual weeds in my life. I want my heart to be a beautiful garden that You feel welcome in.
Devotion by Liane Grant
“For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.” Luke 6:44
Not all weeds are ugly. Some are colourful and delicate. But a weed is a weed. You won’t find anything useful such as fruit on it.
Sometimes the weeds that crop up in our spiritual life seem somewhat attractive on the outside. Stubbornness may be disguised as determination, pride as self-esteem. But call it what it is. If it is not producing spiritual fruit in your life, it’s just… a weed.
It’s what’s on the inside that always counts – in plants and in hearts. Let’s make sure we don’t get fooled by a pretty package. Get to the heart of the matter and make sure you are cultivating real plants rather than weeds.
Prayer: Lord, give me discernment to know what is really growing in my life. Give me wisdom to know the difference between true spiritual fruit and pretty weeds.
Devotion by Liane Grant