Category Archives: Devo Drops

Thoughts on daily devotional scripture readings

Follow Me

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follow meJesus said, “Follow me” 20 times in the gospels.

He says it to me every day.

He has to, because I need constant reminding who is the leader and who is the follower.

Some days, I attack my to-do lists and productivity goals with gusto.  I catch a few waking moments to let Jesus know what we’re going to be doing in the coming daylight hours.  I picture Him barely keeping up with me, breathless, but proud of all my many accomplishments.

Other days, I shuffle out of sleep and dawdle through the early morning.  I approach the day with sighs and groans and no particular plan.  I picture Jesus with a bored look on His face, kicking at rocks as He plods along behind me.

Of course, I’m wrong on both counts.  Whether I’m energized or empty, His place is always out in front, never bringing up the rear.  He leads, I follow.

So why aren’t we taught how to be good followers? Type in “leadership” in a search engine and up pops hundreds of leadership courses, leadership training programs and leadership development books.  A quick search for “followership” offers a shorter list.  Interestingly enough, Harvard offers a course entitled “Followership” with sections on Hitler and Jonestown, but not one mention of Jesus Christ.  Can’t say I’m surprised, even though Jesus was the only one who came right out and said, “Follow me” and then millions did for thousands of years.  Still do.

During this season of Lent, I’m going to dig into the word “follow”.  To whom did Jesus say those words?  How did they respond?  Why did some say yes and others say no?  What does following Jesus include?  What does being a follower cost?  What does it look like to be follower?

Care to follow?

Jokers

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Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.  Proverbs 17:22

PB is a champion storyteller.  He has a whole arsenal of jokes and strange-but-true stories in his memory bank. I’ve always admired his ability to spin a captivating yarn.  The thing is, I’ve heard them all.  After 35 years of marriage I can tell when he’s getting ready to share a joke….and which joke he’s going to tell.  In my head I can relate every story right along with him, word for word.

I, on the other hand, am not a good jokester.  In an effort to be efficient and not waste people’s time, I leave out the embellishments, forego the details, and rush to the punchline.  My timing is off.  I don’t have that mischievous twinkle in my eye that endears listeners.  My anecdotes seem to lack PB’s pizzazz.

The winds of change are blowing as our children and grandchildren settle into their own homes.  PB and I are finding ourselves at a table for two more often.  Our conversation tends to center on work and church — serious stuff.  Sensing that we need to laugh together more, I challenged my man to 30 days of jokes.  New jokes.  Just to keep things fresh around here.  Besides, I found a website with enough one-liners to get me through the month.  I was ready.

It started slow.  The first morning, over our oatmeal, I said, “What did the zero say to the eight?”  PB put down the newspaper, confused.  I could see he was struggling with how to respond so I whispered, “I’m telling a joke.”  Still perplexed by his wife’s unusual question, I prompted him.  “I don’t know.  What did the zero say to the eight?”  He started to catch on.  PB: “I don’t know.  What did the zero say to the eight?”  Me: “Nice belt.”  I figured if I set the bar pretty low, things could only get better.  We shared a laugh.  He tried to pull out an old one on me, but I was firm.  30 days of new jokes.

The second week went better.  PB must have found a website, too, because he started greeting me with funny questions every morning.

“How much did the pirate pay for corn?”  

“I don’t know, how much did the pirate pay for corn?”  

“A buccaneer.”

“What did the three-legged dog say when he walked into the bar?”

“I don’t know.  What?”

“I’m looking for the man who shot my paw.”

I’ll spare you the rest…

 Sharing a laugh every morning has been good for us.

PB is learning some new jokes and I’m working on getting that twinkle in my eye.

A merry heart is good medicine.

laugh

3/1000ths

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Henry David Thoreau said, “If thou art a writer, write as if thy time is short, for it is indeed short at the longest.”

You could put anything in that sentence and it would still ring true.

If thou art a builder, build as if thy time is short….

If thou art a teacher….

If thou art a baker…

If thou art a speed skater.

stopwatch

Last night, an Olympic athlete won a gold medal by 3/1000ths of a second.  How do you split a second into one thousand little pieces?  To someone flying around a track made out of ice at a ridiculous speed, I suppose that’s a plausible concept.  In order for my mind to grasp what that minuscule moment is like, I need to zoom out.

If I live to be 80 years old, I will have a total of 29,200 days to race around this planet.

3/1000ths of 29,200 is 87.6.  In other words, 87 days is my 3/1000ths.

If I live to be 80 years old, I have about 9,490 days left.

3/1000ths of 9,490 is 28.

Life is indeed short, even at the longest.

Psalm 90 carries the subtitle “A prayer of Moses the man of God.”

He wrote, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

I just numbered my days.

Now for a heart of wisdom.

I Need Help

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So, I was on my way to Walmart yesterday to get dog food.

And I was going over my memory verses.

I’m working on 1 John 3:16-17 right now.

 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a man standing there with a sign —

NEED HELP, TRYING TO GET HOME.

I went into Walmart, picked up the dog food, and then, while standing in line at the checkout, over the loudspeaker in the store I heard, “Dinah!  Is the love of God in you?”

Well, maybe it was whispered in my heart.  Loud.

I paid $17.99 for the dog food and put it in the car.

I stopped at KFC to pick up a gift card, but by the time I drove out, he was gone.

I don’t know.  Maybe it was a scam.  Maybe the guy was making a good living standing on the corner.  Maybe he would have traded the free chicken dinner for a bottle of Scotch.  Maybe.

But I do know there are lots of times I need help.

And I’m just trying to get home, too.

And the only way I know if the love of God is really in me…

the only way I know if all those scripture memory verses I can spout off have made it from my head to my heart…

is if I lay down a little bit of my time, my money, my life.

This is how we know what love is.

A Balmy -13

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below 0What’s the difference between -10 and -20 degrees?  I mean, really, isn’t there a point when cold getting colder becomes irrelevant?  This is the third straight morning of below zero temperatures.  In my experience -9 and -29 feel about the same.  When things are bad, how can you tell when they get worse?

I suppose it works the other way, too.  When things are good, how can you tell when they get better?  Goodness heaped upon goodness stacks up, but eventually it stops registering, doesn’t it?

Maybe that’s why ups and downs are better than constant downs or even constant ups.  The give and take between highs and lows is what keeps me from becoming numb to either one.  So I should rejoice in the downs because it means I’ve had a contrasting up recently.  And the present difficulty will serve to enhance the next upward swing….which is due to arrive in April.

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”  Genesis 8:22

Thotful Spot

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Pooh

Winnie the Pooh had a Thotful Spot.

He would sit on his special log, tap his head, close one eye, and say,

“Think, think, think.”

We all need a thotful spot — somewhere to ponder and treasure moments from each day.

Mary must have had such a place.  Luke 2:19 says, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  And it’s a good thing, too.  When Luke got around to writing his gospel, who better to interview about the night Jesus was born than someone who was there?  And how does one remember every detail years later? By treasuring and pondering.  Everyone else who heard the shepherds’ story about the baby in the manger marveled at the news.  “But Mary…”

There’s a difference between hearing a sermon and marveling at the truth of it….

and giving it some serious thought.

There’s a difference between seeing a beautiful sunset and noticing its beauty….

and reflecting on creation and its Creator.

There’s a difference between enjoying small pleasures in our day….

and stopping to turn them over in our minds.

There’s a difference between reading the inspired word….

and soaking awhile in it, mulling over the meaning of the words.

Taking my cue from Mary and Winnie the Pooh, I declare this year to be a year of pondering and treasuring.

I plan to sit in my special chair, tap into the riches of the Word, close my eyes

and ponder like Mary…

think, think, think like Pooh Bear.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

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tailpipeHaving a break from the routine sure has been nice.  The week between Christmas and New Years offers slower paced mornings (sleeping in until 7:00), a lighter schedule (a blank Google calendar), and space for the spontaneous (“Want to go to a movie this afternoon?”)  It’s all been wonderful, but it can’t go on forever.

Today I feel like my 1973 Ford Pinto hatchback must have felt on a -11 degree morning.  Getting the old girl started took a few tries before she finally turned over.  Her gear shift felt like it was stuck in a bucket of molasses and could barely move.  She creaked and groaned and fumed a while.  After sitting idle for a few days, she needed some time to warm up.  So….

“This is the day the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again, rejoice.”

“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

“Without Me, you can do nothing.”

“Nothing is impossible with God.”

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches.”

There.  Now I’m humming.

Lord, as long as You are in the driver’s seat,

and You provide the fuel,

and You know where we’re headed,

this old girl will give it a go.

People Get Ready

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“And he will go on before the Lord….to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Luke 1:17

I can just imagine what Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, thought when he returned home from the temple with big news.

“But Elizabeth, honey, an angel told me.  We have to try again.”

No immaculate conception for this couple.

They had to have a baby the old fashioned way.

“Zechariah, dear, are you sure you didn’t sniff too much incense?”

This child would have a single purpose — get the people ready.  Elizabeth’s baby would grow up to be the opening act, warming up the crowd for the coming of Mary’s baby, the headliner: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

John had a one-sentence sermon to prepare people for the Savior:

“Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

So that’s how we get ready for Christmas.

That’s how we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord.

Repent.  Christmas is at hand.  People, get your hearts ready.

I’ve still got cookies to bake, cards to send, presents to wrap and floors to mop.

But there’s a voice calling in the midst of all that.

“Prepare the way for the Lord!  Make straight paths for him!  Fill in the valleys! Level off the mountains!  Straighten out the curves!  Smooth out the bumps!  Savior is coming!”

Say Thank You

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Having an almost-two-year-old boy in the house has turned every day into an adventure.  Hudson is learning new things at an incredible rate.  He’s picking up words like crazy, finding out what happens when he throws his food on the floor, and discovering how to postpone nap time.  He’s a smart little fella.  But some things don’t come naturally — they have to be taught.

Hud Bud’s parents are patiently instructing their boy to mind his manners.  When he holds out his cup and says, “More”, his mommy responds with, “More please”.  He repeats, “More peese” and then he gets his sippy cup filled.  She tells Hudson, “Say thank you” and he says, “Deet doo”.

It’s not natural to be grateful.  We have to be taught to say “thank you”.  I’m still learning.

This morning I walked outside and took in a big breath of cold air.  I heard in my heart, “Say thank you”.   So I said, “Thank you, Lord, for air.  Fresh, cold air to breath.  Every minute of every day, my whole life long.”

Then I stepped into last night’s dusting of snow and heard it again, “Say thank you”.  So I said, “Thanks, Lord, for seasons and sunshine and snowflakes and this beautiful earth.”

As I walked the dog around the block, I picked up the pace in the chilly wind but heard, “Say thank you”.  So I said, “Thanks so much for legs that walk and eyes that see and heart that beats.”

Nearing the back door, I looked in the window and saw PB making coffee and Hudson eating toast.  “Say thank you.”  “Oh, yes, Lord, for people to love and live with and laugh with — many, many thanks.”

Hudson and I are learning to be grateful.

“Thank you for Your kindness,

Thank You for Your mercy,

Thank You for the cross,

Thank You for the price You paid. 

Thank You for Your promise,

Thank You for Your favor,

Thank You for Your love,

And everything You’ve done for me.”*

In other words, Lord,

deet doo.

*”Thank You” by Hillsong

Rehab

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in sessionSince PB’s shoulder surgery last month, he’s had regular rehab appointments to get the muscles back in shape.  Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday he meets with John, who is a relentless taskmaster, putting PB through 45 minutes of challenging exercises.  Without that consistent work-out, the muscles would never recover strength or be able to function as intended.  That appointment is not optional and John expects PB to come with a willingness to work.   At first, PB dreaded going — he knew it wouldn’t be easy or comfortable.  But now, he and John are pretty good friends and after every session, the shoulder feels better and better.

I need rehab.

So every morning I meet with my Holy Therapist.

He soothes my hurts from the day before.

He rubs my sore spots with the oil of the Spirit.

He pushes me to move in new ways.

He keeps me from becoming stiff-necked.

He rehabs my soul.

Without that appointment, I grow weak and function poorly.

I know He expects me to show up and be open to His leading.

It’s not always easy or comfortable, but there is healing.

Over time, my sessions have gone from duty to delight.

Dear Lord, rehabilitate me.

“I’ll refresh tired bodies; I’ll restore tired souls.”  Jeremiah 31:25