“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…
“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…
The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Exodus 14:14 NLT We live in an era where we don’t usually have to step onto the battlefield and fight for what is rightfully ours. We aren’t bloodied and bruised from the fight, and we certainly (hopefully) don’t carry swords and shields with us for protection. We do fight spiritually, though, whether we realize it or not. We can pray, worship, intercede, and storm the gates of Hell – but we still sometimes need God to fight FOR us. Some things are simply beyond our human capabilities. When we have done all we can, that’s when God does His best work. When we come to the end of ourselves, and defeat is looming in the distance, God moves and triumphs. He will fight for you, and He is always victorious – so that means that you have victory too! Stay calm. Do your part, and watch God fight for you! Devotion by Caitlin Walker
“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…
“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…
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “masterpiece” means “a work done with extraordinary skill.” We were all created by a very skilled master. He took His time forming us, making sure everything was perfect. He decided our hair color, the exact shade of our skin, and our height. HE is the master artist and WE are his masterpiece. He knew who you would be, what your talents were, and what you would struggle with. He designed you perfectly. He knows exactly where you fit into His kingdom. The scripture above tells us that He had good things planned for us long ago. He knew every mistake you would make and every wrong path you would wander down. In spite of this, He still loves us and wants to use us to reach the world. How incredible is that? In spite of our flaws and past, we have an incredible future in Christ, that was planned long ago! Devotion by Caitlin Walker