Category Archives: Devo Drops

Thoughts on daily devotional scripture readings

The Full Extent

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“Do you understand what I have done for you?”  John 13:12

There they sat—the Twelve—with their sparkly clean feet.

Jesus had just gone around the table with a basin and a towel,
washing off the muck and the crud with His own hands.

Even the feet of Judas, the betrayer—
perhaps the first to be dipped in the water,
making it dark and cloudy.

Even the feet of Peter, the resistant—
perhaps the last to slough off his grime
in the muddy basin.

Even the other ten—
perhaps exchanging uneasy glances,
but offering no words of opposition or appreciation.

They didn’t understand.

But by the time John wrote about that night in his gospel account,
he fully grasped its significance.

“Having loved his own who were in the world,
he now showed them the full extent of his love.”
John 13:1

Lord, help me to comprehend how far Your love extends — how long, how wide, how deep, how high.  And to experience this love for myself, though it is so great that I will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it.  

Repost from October 16, 2014

Attention to Detail

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French novelist Gustave Flaubert is credited with saying,
“Le bon Dieu est dans le details.”
(“God is in the details.”)

That’s ironic because Gustave is also credited with
writing such a spicy book that he was put on trial in 1857,
accused of obscenity, immorality, and offending public and religious morals.

I guess his novel included a few too many details.

One hundred years later, the London Times printed the phrase, “The devil is in the details.” But I’m sticking with Gustave because I’ve been looking at things close-up lately, and the intricacies are astounding. Why would the Creator of the universe bother to put so much detail in things that are here and gone in a matter of days?

See for yourself.


I don’t care what anybody says.
God is in the details.
We should pay attention.

“And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.”
Matthew 10:30

Sour Patch

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A few years ago I joined the sourdough craze. My daughter gave me a jar with “starter” in it—a mix of flour and water that ferments and acts as yeast to make bread rise. I faithfully fed that gooey substance every week and kept the loaves coming.

Ancient Egyptians were the first people to make sourdough bread, discovering fermentation by accident. Around 3000 B.C., Pharaoh’s bakers left a mixture of crushed grain and water out overnight. Wild yeast and bacteria from the air got into the dough and voila! The next morning they were greeted with a bowl spilling over with bubbly, pungent goop. They mixed it into their usual flatbread recipe and were rewarded with a light, airy loaf of tangy, soft goodness.

Egyptians had a scarcity mindset, especially when it came to food. No wonder they built those pyramids and filled them with stuff. No wonder they stored up huge quantities of grain. (Remember Joseph?) Fermentation was a way to increase their food security. 

The Israelite slaves in Egypt ate sour bread for 430 years.

Imagine what it was like when God provided
a new kind of bread in the desert
and it tasted like honey –
a sweet bread. 

Slavery in Egypt was a sour patch of time for the Hebrew people.
But once they were delivered from slavery,
God gave them a taste of His sweetness.

Freedom—how sweet it is.

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36

Well, Well, Well

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Well, the old well has served us well.

Don’t you love the English language?
Three uses of the word “well”—an interjection, a noun and an adverb—in one sentence.

But I’m not here to give an English grammar lesson.
I’m here to talk about wells: noun, plural.

Well #1
Abraham told his servant to go find a wife for his son, Isaac. So the servant journeyed back to Abraham’s homeland and stopped by a well. He prayed, “Let the girl who offers to water my camels be The One.” Before he finished praying, Rebekah arrived and volunteered to water the camels.

“The girl was very beautiful.” Genesis 24:16

Well #2
Isaac’s son, Jacob, was traveling and stopped at a well for refreshment. Rachel came along with her father’s sheep and Jacob offered to water her animals. It was love at first sight and Jacob kissed Rachel right then and there. Then he cried.

“Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful.” Genesis 29:17

Well #3
Moses was on the run from Pharaoh and landed in Midian, where he sat down by a well. Zipporah and her six sisters showed up with a flock of sheep. Some shepherds started to harrass them, so Moses drove them away and drew water for the sheep. Zipporah’s dad said, “Marry that man.”

“Zipporah was admired for her loveliness.” Midrash (early Jewish literature)

See the pattern here?
It seems all the pretty girls hung out at the local watering holes.
It seems meetings at wells were especially significant.
It seems to be the reason why Jesus had to go to Samaria.

Well #4 (One more)
Jesus was hot, tired and thirsty. He sat down by a well and waited for a divine meeting with a woman. When she came, they talked about living water and true worship. Jesus mentioned the six relationships she’d had with men. Then He told her He was the Messiah. She believed Him. (John 4)

Isaac, Jacob and Moses all found their wives by a well.
Then the Bridegroom Himself
came to a well to win the heart of a Samaritan woman.
Jesus was her #7 (the number of perfection).

You can’t make this stuff up. It’s too good.


Hello, It’s Me

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It’s probably not good business sense to take a month off, but whoo-boy, it’s good for the soul.

Thanks to those of you who visited a small drop 3,273 times in August. I’m no big kahuna in the world of online blogs/substacks/current platforms, but the fact that so many of you stopped by when no one was home truly warmed my heart.

I did a little reading in August: Dante’s Divine Comedy — all 900 pages. Goodness gracious. Inferno was riveting. Purgatorio was a bit slow. Paradiso was glorious. It definitely clarified the eternal options and, believe me, you don’t want Inferno. *Horrified shudder* You want Paradiso. *Happy shiver*

I also re-read Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. I liked the book when I read it in March. I loved it when I read it in August. There were so many little things I missed the first time. The subtle foreshadowing that didn’t register in March, suddenly burst forth with depth of meaning in August. The quiet references to scripture stood out the second time through. Because I knew how the story ended, everything became clearer and much more significant. The characters came off the page and into my heart.

“Featherwood”
IYKYK

Re-reading books is a rarity for me.
(I currently have 429 titles on my To-Be-Read list—
so many books, so little time.)

But I learned something during my August Pause.

I know how The Story ends, which makes everything from Genesis to Revelation pop with meaning and significance. Every time I re-read those holy pages, I find something I missed before. A little more clarity. A little more understanding. More love—every time through—more love.

May the truth of God’s Word
jump from the page
into our hearts.
Amen.

“The Word of the Lord is worth more than gold,
even more than much fine gold.” 
Psalm 19:10

Things I Couldn’t Say Until Now

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For years, I’ve had a file folder in my desk drawer labeled
Things I Couldn’t Say Until Now.

Slips of paper with rants, complaints, and criticism were filed away.
Sharp-tongued chastisements were duly recorded and deposited.

“Someday,” I thought, “I will unload my righteous judgments.”

I came across that file folder this week.
Whoo-boy, it’s a good thing I didn’t say those things then.
There’s no need to say those things now.
It’s time to let it go.

I created that file folder years ago and since then,
I’ve found a better way to deal with expectations and disappointments.

I say,
“God, I give everyone and everything to You.”
And,
“God, I forgive everybody everything.”
And,
“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

“Love…keeps no record of wrongs.”
1 Corinthians 13:5

Home Again

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We were only gone for three days last week,
but when we pulled into our driveway,
PB and I both let go with a happy sigh.
Home.

When we walked into our house, we said,
“Ah, it’s good to be back.”

Home again, home again,
Jiggety-jig.

As a child, I loved the stories and poems from the red Childcraft books that were published in the 1950s. I grew up with those books and can still quote all five stanzas of the poem “Antonio.” Many lines from those literary treasures became part of our family’s sayings.

“Gone is gone.”

“An icery creamery conio.”

And this one:

I remember hearing my mom say,
“Home again, home again, jiggety-jig” after a long trip.
Then I started saying it when PB and I had little ones in the back seat.
I said it last week when we pulled into our garage.

That feeling of being home—
it’s only a glimpse,
just a tiny taste,
of what it will be like to arrive in heaven, our true home.

For this world is not our home;
we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven. 
Hebrews 13:14, TLB

Home again, home again,
Jiggety-jig.

Transformers

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Megatron, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee weren’t the first Transformers.

Before a yellow Volkswagon Beetle morphed into a mighty robot warrior,
transformation was quietly happening all around us.
I have proof.
It happened on my kitchen counter.

Monarch caterpillars hatch and feed on milkweed plants. I don’t know all the science around it, but while milkweed is considered toxic to most insects, these guys gorge themselves on the sticky, gooey stuff this plant oozes.

PB brought home six of the striped crawlers.
We outfitted each one in its own cozy glass house
and fed them milkweed daily.

Free from predators and lawn mowers and thunderstorms, these guys thrived. Life was good. Fresh food magically showed up, piles of worm poop were disposed of, and giants on the other side of the glass seemed to be enthralled.

Then one day, this happened.

Then this happened.

I know.
This is a Kindergarten science project.
You’ve seen it all before.

I’d like to invite you to pause and think about it.
Ponder the beauty.
Meditate on the wonder of metamorphosis.

When Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he said,
“Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed.”
Romans 12:2

The Greek word Paul chose was “metamorphoo.”

Jesus-followers are supposed to be Transformers.

Our life apart from Christ was like being a wormy thing—
stuck crawling on the ground,
eating toxic goo.

The Spirit of the Lord takes such lowly beings as us
and completely changes our form,
making us new creatures who can rise to new heights.

“If anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old has gone,
the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17

The Old Apple Tree*

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When I was a young girl, I used to love the apple tree that was in the pasture by our house. It had a low hanging branch that made it easy to climb. I would take my Nancy Drew book, jump over the fence, and then hoist myself up to sit on a limb, resting my back against the trunk. Reading a book while sitting in a tree was magical.

These days, I might sit under a tree with a book, but my climbing days are over. Still, trees hold an allure for me. I’d take a walk in the woods over a stroll on the beach any day. (Unless it’s February — then a stroll on the beach can’t be beat.)

The opening song in the Hebrew book of prayers, Psalm 1, tells me to learn from the trees.

“…be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither…” Ps. 1:3

There are some instructions on how to be this kind of tree:

  • Get planted in a good place
  • Be still to let living water saturate the roots
  • Pay attention to the seasons
  • Graciously share what develops
  • Stay refreshed and vibrant

So I’m asking myself some questions:

  • Where do I plant myself most days? In ungodly counsel and in the seat of mockers (Ps. 1:1), or in God’s Word, meditating day and night (Ps. 1:2)?
  • What am I soaking up? Fresh springs of living water from the Lord, or the lifeless stagnation of worldly advice?
  • Am I willing to accept seasons of dormancy and stillness, or do I constantly push for peak productivity?
  • During times of prosperity and growth, will I be generous and eager to share, or will I hoard the bounty for myself?
  • As I grow older, how will I keep myself from withering up and being blown away like chaff (Ps. 1:4)? Will I abide in the Vine, remaining in Him, bearing much fruit (John 15:5)?

What kind of tree would I like to be?
With over 60,000 species in the world,
there is plenty of room for variety.

I have no visions of becoming
a tall pine
or a stately oak
or a majestic redwood.
I would like to be an apple tree,
with a low hanging branch,
in a green pasture,
inviting small ones to crawl up
and sit a while with a book,
munching on the sweet fruit
of a life lived in Jesus.

*Re-post from January 10, 2022—Be Like a Tree

Other posts about trees:
Tree of Life
My Tree
10 Things I Learned in January

Withering Sights

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“Flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come.”
Song of Solomon 2:12

This is true.

The peony bush that we were gifted 4 years ago bloomed for the first time.
I literally broke out in song.

“The grass withers and the flowers fade….”
Isaiah 40:8

This is also true.

The next morning my magnificent bloom was busted.
I literally groaned.

“The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
Isaiah 40:8

This is the truest of truths.

I may be radiant one day and wrecked the next,
but the Word of God will never wither or fade.

“It is impossible for God to lie.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul,
firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:18-19