Category Archives: Devo Drops

Thoughts on daily devotional scripture readings

Beginning – Day 6

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“Jesus had known from the beginning who would betray him.” John 6:64

I’m so glad I’m not omniscient. Knowing everything about everybody all the time would crush me. Not knowing things is actually a relief — it takes one off the hook for certain responsibilities.

For instance, if I don’t know how to start the snowblower, then I’m not expected to clear the driveway. That’s a good thing to not know.

In the early days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he called twelve men to be his disciples.  The night before he finalized the list of twelve names, he didn’t sleep a wink.  He spent the whole night praying. (Luke 6:12)

By this time, Jesus had already called Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew, so there were only seven spots left to fill. Certainly there were some good prospects, some fine men from which to choose. What kept Him up all night?

I wonder if there might have been a struggle over one application for the position of disciple. You know the one I’m talking about –Judas Iscariot.

Jesus talked the decision over with His Father out on that Galilean hillside in the moonlight. “Uh…Judas? Father? Are you sure about that one? Do I have to invite him to join the group?”

Yet, when morning came, Judas was on the list.  In fact, Mark 3:13 says, “He called to him those he wanted.” Because, in the end, Jesus wanted the will of His Father more than anything. Jesus knew Judas was the betrayer even before Judas did. But that didn’t stop Jesus from walking on water to him, or sending him out to do ministry with the other disciples, or washing his feet.

I get the same grace Judas did.

That’s all I need to know.

god_is_omniscient

 

Beginning – Day 5

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“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”  Rev. 21:6

There is no end to our beginnings.

We start over again year after year, week after week, day after day.

The steadfast sun rises.

The calendar pages turn.

The toast is lifted — cheers!

And we’re off once more, beginning again.

This is what it is to live.

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There is an end to our beginnings.

We hurry through our days, and weeks, and years.

The final curtain closes.

The last chapter concludes.

The finish line is crossed — glory!

And our one end becomes a grand genesis.

This is what it is to die.

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There is no end to The Beginning.

Always and forever Alpha-Omega – who was, and is, and is to come.

The Self-Existent One.

Limitless in scope.

Unbound by space and time — yes!

Forever before the beginning, and after the end, forever.

This is what it is to be God.

Beginning – Day 4

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“Even now this is beginning to happen.” 1 Kings 14:14

Most beginnings are unseen —

the seed germinating in the ground,

the repair of a muscle under the skin,

the cells of a new life forming in the womb.

We are often unaware of beginnings,

but they are happening all around us,

all the time.

New Year’s Day seems like a momentous event as we let go of a past and welcome a future.  But, truly, New Year’s Day is just a day.  We don’t receive the whole new year at once.  All we get is 1/366th of it. Each day is a new beginning — each one a momentous event.

A prophecy was given in 1 Kings 14:14, foretelling of a time when God would uproot Israel and send her off into exile. The fulfillment of that prophecy wouldn’t come for another 300 years, yet, according to God, it was starting to happen, even then.

So when it seems like nothing is going on

and you’re stalled out in the middle of nowhere,

believe that there is a current moving below the surface

and, even now,

something is beginning

to happen.

 seed

Beginning – Day 3

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This is about the time New Year’s resolutions start to flounder. Unexpected things come up, like a nasty cold that puts you on the sidelines for a few days. Or an early appointment messes up your work-out schedule. Or somebody brings a box of doughnuts to the office. No matter how earnest our decisions to implement good changes, it doesn’t take much to throw us off our game.

Not so with God.

When He says His eyes are going to be on us “from the beginning of the year to its end” (Deuteronomy 11:12), that means every single day, the whole year through.  No days off, no forgetfulness, no floundering.

He is watching us all day today, and will continue tomorrow and the day after that.  We will still be in His sights on March 9, and June 27 and September 19.  By the time December 31st rolls around, He will still be watching.  Not once does the Lord our God remove His watchful eyes from His people.

This is not a raised eyebrows “don’t-misbehave-because-I’m-watching-you” kind of look.

It’s more like a loving “I-can’t-take-my-eyes-off-of-you” gaze.

It seems God is resolved to keep His eye on us this year.

Maybe our best resolution would be to keep our eyes on Him all year, too.

eyes on jesus

Beginning – Day 2

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“In the beginning was the Word…” John 1:1

John was the last of the four gospel writers to record the life and times of Jesus.  He must have given great thought as to how he would begin his account. This one would be different from the other three.

Matthew began with a genealogy going all the way back to Abraham. Mark jumped right in with grown-up-Jesus coming to be baptized. Luke started with a proper introduction and the back-story before writing a detailed account of Jesus’ birth.  Luke’s family tree traced Jesus’ lineage even farther – clear back to Adam.

But John wanted to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).

Perhaps he turned to Genesis 1:1 for inspiration.  “In the beginning, God…”

John presented Jesus not as a baby, not as a man — but as The Word.

A Word with creative energy.

A self-existent Word.

A Word with skin on.

This disciple whom Jesus loved recognized his Beloved Savior in that inaugural beginning.

Before Abraham, before Adam, before time and light and molecules.

In that beginning was the Word,

who would later come and live for awhile among us.

word

Beginning – Day 1

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When I was in elementary school, every fall my history book started with Christopher Columbus discovering America. I thought the world began in 1492. Being a good Methodist Sunday school girl, I knew Jesus walked the earth sometime before that. Like maybe 1482. So….not in America. Needless to say, my concept of time was a bit skewed when I was in 3rd grade.

Years later, when teaching history to my own children, I was shocked to find that the timeline we put up on our wall measured several feet from 1492 to present.  But the years prior to 1492 wrapped around our whole house. Time has been around a long time.

beginningThe Bible’s opening words are, “In the beginning…”

But long before God said, “Let there be light,” there was an eternity stretching out across the formless surface of the deep. God was there before the beginning began.

January is a good time to think about beginnings. A new year, a new journal, a new budget book, a new list of goals.  New possibilities, new opportunities, new challenges.

Shall we begin?

 

2016 Bible Reading Plan

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bible readingYou are cordially invited to join me in reading the Bible in 2016!  I’ve created a little plan to help me stay on track and I am happy to offer it to you. This one is doable – reading a chapter or two every Monday through Friday, with weekends for catching up. Each month there is a new focus so if you crash and burn, you can start fresh at the start of the next month. There is a variety here from both Old and New Testament — history, prophecy, gospels, epistles and poetry. It’s all good.  Very good.

As Charles Spurgeon said, “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” So let’s wear out our Good Books this year.

Each month, a new set of readings will be available here – just click on “2016 Bible Reading Plan” at the top of the page.  I’d love to know if I’m flying solo or if you’re traveling along. Leave a comment or email me at dinah.overlien@gmail.com and say, “I’m in.”

 

Tears

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I go into my room, sit in my chair and set out to pray for this desperate, broken, sad world which God so loves.

Words don’t come.

How does one pray for the world?

Finally I say, “Father, show me Your heart for the world.”

And sudden tears spring to my eyes, taking me by surprise.

Oh, I see.

Your heart weeps for the world.

And I wonder, will God be just as relieved and happy as the rest of us when the new heaven and new earth finally arrive?

Does the promise of no more tears apply to God as well?

When He wipes every last tear from our eyes, will that also be the end of our Father’s tears?

god so loved

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  Revelation 21:4

Running the Route

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greenIt’s football season and for us Cheeseheads, there’s excitement in the crisp, cool autumn air.  Our Green Bay Packers are off to a 5-0 start.  Things are looking up after a dismal summer of baseball doldrums in Wisconsin.

I admit that I don’t completely understand football.  Other sports seem to be more straight-forward.  For instance, golf — a little ball, a little hole.  Chase the little ball around until it goes in the little hole.  What’s so hard about that?

In baseball, there is a fairly small window across home plate where the pitch is predictably coming. The batter knows the ball is arriving somewhere between his knees and the letters on his jersey.  All he has to do is hit that ball when he sees it coming straight at him.  Easy schmeesy.

In basketball, everyone on the court knows where that ball is going — through a round hole 18″ in diameter and 10 feet off the ground.  Every single time.  Yawn.

But with football, there’s this thing called a moving target.  The quarterback must throw the ball to where the receiver is GOING to be.  Sure, they plan it all out when they huddle up before the play.  Hopefully, the guy runs his route as expected so he happens to be at exactly the same place as the incoming ball at exactly the right time, if the quarterback threw the ball at exactly the right speed.

That concept is a little beyond my grasp, obviously.  But some measure of truth did leak out into my soul.

I need to get in a huddle with God at the start of every day.  I need His Word to give me the game plan.  Then, I need to run the route in obedience rather then tearing around on the field expending lots of energy but never being in the right place at the right time.  I need to be open to receive whatever comes at me during the day and run with it.

Football is complicated.

That’s why it’s so impressive when teams make it look easy.

Following through on God’s commands is not that hard.

That’s why it’s so baffling when we make it look complicated.

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  Hebrews 12:1

Adoration

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adore

The ACTS acronym has been around a long time.  It serves as a method of prayer that includes Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. I remember learning this handy dandy prayer model when I was a kid. Plus, it’s in the book “Christian Prayer for Dummies”.  So it’s nothing new.

I’ve never had trouble coming up with things to confess — there’s plenty of fodder for that.  Thanksgiving is easy — I just have to open my eyes and look in front of my nose.  My prayers tend to lean heavy on the supplication side — there’s no end to the list of things I ask God for on a regular basis.

Adoration is my weak spot.

I can’t think of much to say.

According to the dictionary, to adore means to regard with the utmost esteem, love and respect; to like or admire very much.

If I was at Menards and happened to see a certain HGTV decorating star, I’d go up to her and say, “I love your show! Your style is so warm and inviting and your creativity is so inspiring!  I so look forward to seeing your designs each week!  You are my favorite decorator!”  (Yes, I would use all those exclamation points.)  (And I would say “so” three times.)

If I was at the library and ran into an author I highly respect, I’d whisper, “Your books have meant the world to me.  I admire the way your stories connect with life.  You are so good at putting things in a way that resonates with me.  I’m so honored to meet you and be able to tell you how I feel.”

If I had a backstage pass at a concert and had the chance to speak to a musician I’ve always loved, I’d say, “The songs you sing speak right to my heart.  I play your albums all the time and know every one of your songs.  I think you’re the best songwriter ever.”

There.  That wasn’t so hard.

Adoring God is simply telling Him what I love about Him.

“God, I love Your style, Your creativity, Your words, the way You touch my heart.  You are my favorite — the best ever, and I’m honored to worship You.”

Adoration.