Today's Devotion
I’m okay, we often tell ourselves, but are we? We tend to put on a fake facade when we come to church because we don’t want people to see who we really are. After all, we have a reputation to uphold. We want others to see us as being all put together, a perfectly wrapped package with a beautifully tied bow. Inside, however, we are lying to ourselves and to others. Nor are we being truthful with God about our struggles. We’re not telling God that we’re hurting, struggling, and that the battle we’re fighting is becoming too much for…
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 NIV I’ve often heard this scripture quoted, preached, and taught, but have never actually studied what a mustard seed is. The above scripture is incredibly powerful in its imagery. What type of faith is required to speak to a mountain and have it obey? The term “mustard seed” is mentioned 10 times across 5 verses in the Bible. While…
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV): “Pray without ceasing.” Prayer, the act of talking to our Creator, is something I did not understand for years. I thought prayer was something done in certain places – prayer rooms, church buildings, our living room. I thought it was something done at certain times – prayer time at church, prayer meetings at church, altar services after a church service. I thought it was only done in one way – with a loud voice and the use of repetitive words, much like chanting. But I was wrong. Prayer, the communication of my soul with the Almighty…
As my husband and I walked out of a grocery store, we were greeted by a brilliant sunset. Pastel pink and purple hues merged with the darkening sky. A few nights later, the sky was decorated with a full moon gleaming over the suburban landscape. Each day, God paints the world. His canvas is the earth and sky. We often pass by one of the most accessible sources of inspiration—the beauty of God’s creation. Because we are occupied with responsibilities, it does not occur to us to pause and take in the beauty around us. Our minds are so clouded…
Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible was an art exhibition that displayed 197 works from the Renaissance period to present day. The exhibit addressed the question of when a work of art is finished. On display were art pieces in various stages of completion leaving behind traces of the artistic process. The “artwork in progress” reminds us of these three attributes of a masterpiece: A masterpiece takes time. Alice Neel met James Hunter by chance and asked him to sit for a portrait. The young man had just been drafted for the Vietnam War and was scheduled to leave within a week.…
