Category Archives: Devo Drops

Thoughts on daily devotional scripture readings

Perfection

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“As for God, His way is perfect.”  Psalm 18:30

I like people with crooked teeth.  I enjoy being around women who don’t have a totally “put together” look.  I love my friends who have a few gray hairs and a few extra pounds.  It must be hard to be perfect – it just isn’t my thing. 

That’s why I didn’t mind when Christina Aguilera made a little mistake when singing the National Anthem at the Superbowl.  My goodness, how would any of us do singing a solo in front of 107.5 million people?  In ridiculously high heels, no less?  But this is what poor Christina faced before she even got “home of the brave” out of her mouth:

Christina Aguilera “mangled”, “botched”,  “goofed up”, made a “major mistake”, was a “disaster”, and “screwed up in the worst way”.  Those words must have made her mom mad.  I would have been. 

My younger daughter once sang the National Anthem at a high school football game.  When she finished, there was the usual applause that translated, “Let’s get this game started.”  But my husband and I looked at each other and said, “Wasn’t she great?!  She got a standing ovation!”  Never mind that everybody always stands up for the Star Spangled Banner and the clapping wasn’t really for her so much as for the team running out onto the field.  As parents we tend to see things differently, I guess.  It’s our right.

Mistakes are refreshing, in my book.  Goof ups are endearing.  I hope Christina blew it off.  I hope her mom told her not to listen to all that talk.  I hope we all face the fact that nobody’s perfect, except God. 

He is God and I am not.  What a relief.

Promised Land

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I have always felt bad that Moses didn’t get to enter the Promised Land.  After all, he did spend 40 grueling years with a bunch of stiff-necked people in a desert.  Because of one little incident, Moses was disqualified and didn’t even get to reach his little toe over into the land of promise.

Evidently when God says, “Speak to the rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water,” and instead you speak to the people (“Listen, you bunch of rebels…”) and hit the rock not once, but twice – you’ve crossed the line.  Moses lost it, and God was dishonored in front of a million Israelites.  Frustration can push you over the edge sometimes.

Just before Moses died, God had him climb a mountain (again) and allowed him a panoramic view of the Promised Land.  Oh, how Moses must have longed to see the 40 year mission to its completion and lead a glorious march into Canaan.  But, a glimpse was all he got.  Which is why my heart skipped a beat when I read Mark 9:4, “And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.”

Jesus had led Peter, James and John up a high mountain.  Suddenly, as Jesus began to transform before their eyes, Moses and Elijah appeared.  And where were they?  Smack dab in the middle of the Promised Land, that’s where!  By God’s grace, Moses finally made it!  Sure, it was 1,400 years later, but how sweet of God to allow Moses to stand on that mount with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

Up and Down Mt. Sinai

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In the midst of the thunder, lightning and smoke of Exodus 19, there is a rather amusing side story.  I love it when the Bible strikes my funny bone; God does display a great sense of humor from time to time.

In this scene, Moses has led the Israelites to Mt. Sinai, the place God had told Moses at the beginning of his adventure to come and meet up.  Now, Mt. Sinai is no Mt. McKinley, but it was still a good mile and a half hike to the top.  The Israelites set up camp at the base of the mountain and 80 year old Moses started to climb.  He was probably keeping his eye open for any burning bushes during his ascent, since that’s how God spoke to him the last time he was in the vicinity.

Moses “went up to God” (v.3) and sure enough, God had a message for Moses to take to the people.  So, Moses “went back” (v.7) and delivered the message.  Then Moses took the people’s answer “back up to the Lord” (v.8).  God was pleased and gave Moses another message for the people.  After Moses “had gone down” (v.14), it wasn’t long before God “called Moses to the top of the mountain, so Moses went up” (v.20).  Are you picturing this?

Here’s the funny part.  Moses had just made his third trek up Mt. Sinai and God’s first words to him were, “GO DOWN and bring Aaron up” (v.24).  Up and down, up and down, up and down.  Isn’t that just the way it feels sometimes?  But Moses spoke not a grumblin’ word; instead the Scripture says, “So Moses went down” (v.25).

Aside from the fact that Moses must have been in pretty good shape for an 80 year old, what do you think was going through Moses’ mind as he went up and down that mountain three times?  Bible study ladies (and anybody else that wants to chime in) think about it this week and post your comments!

**Please see post titled “Mt. Sinai Mystery” published on October 19, 2012

Don’t Forget Your Parachute

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The other morning, the 5:30 a.m. alarm set off a debate.  It went something like this:

Flesh:  Go ahead and stay in bed for another half hour.  You deserve it.  Besides, it’s still dark, and outside this nice comforter it’s c-c-c-cold.

Spirit:  But I need this time with God. 

Flesh:  You can get time with God later today.  Just nestle down in this warm, soft bed and sleep a little longer.

Spirit:  But I really like to start my day off right with prayer and devos.

Flesh:  Well, you can pray while you’re in bed, can’t you?   Take another fifteen minutes.  It won’t matter that much. 

Then, just as I was beginning to drift into dreamland, a picture burst onto the theater screen of my mind.  I was in an airplane, about to jump (only in my dreams!) and the pilot turned around and said, “Don’t jump without your parachute.”  “Of course,” I thought, “how stupid of me.”  Fully awake, I got up and hustled into the other room.  Flesh almost talked me into jumping into the day without my parachute. 

The Lord upholds all those who fall… Psalm 145:14

Remaining Steady

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“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”  Exodus 17:11-12

Picture Moses on top of the hill, looking down on his people as they engage in warfare with the fierce Amalekites.  Imagine Moses raising the staff in his hands and seeing his people make advances in the combat.  But his arms get tired; when he puts them down for a moment, the momentum in the valley changes. Suddenly, his team of unseasoned warriors struggle to maintain their hold.  Up goes the staff, and the tide turns again.  But his arms get tired….  and so on and so on.

It’s a good thing Moses thought to bring along two buddies.  This was not a one-man job.  The longer the battle, the more support he needed.  And, oh, how we need each other.  Being faithful in prayer is hard work.  Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, “Joshua never grew weary in the fighting, but Moses did grow weary in the praying; the more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it.” 

How many battles have been lost because I have grown weary in prayer?  How many battles have been won because I have remained steady in prayer?  It’s a sobering thought.

There was another hill where a man was seen with arms upraised.  That was where the battle for you and me was won.  Instead of holding a staff, his arms were nailed to it so he couldn’t put them down, until the victory was complete. 

Consider him (Jesus) who endured such oppostion…so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  Hebrews 12:3

Grumbling

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Our women’s study is currently working through the book of Exodus.  This week we read about all the grumbling going on by the Israelite people in the wilderness. (Exodus 16)   One month after the dramatic parting of the Red Sea and deliverance from slavery, they looked back at the good old days in Egypt with nostalgia.  “There we sat around pots of meat…”   So when the food supply ran out, the grumbling began.  They grumbled against Moses and accused him of leading them out into the desert to starve them all to death.  But God heard all the complaining and took it personally.  Moses told the people, “You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

After coming down pretty hard on those wilderness wanderers, I began to wonder if I ever grumbled.  If?  Boy, was I in for a rude awakening.  The experiment began as I heard PB’s alarm go off at 4:45 a.m.  Now, I’m an early riser, but my hubby’s Friday morning routine is too extreme even for me.  Grumble.  An hour later, I went into the bathroom to find the toilet paper roll was empty.  Grumble.  When I came out to the kitchen, my son’s midnight snack debris was all over the counter.  Grumble. 

The toaster was set too high and my english muffin burned…..the dishwasher needed unloading……one of the socks I put on had a hole in it……grumble, grumble, grumble.  And I hadn’t even left the house yet.  Oh my.  Oh my goodness.  I wasn’t even close to being without food and water in the middle of a desert.  And was God taking my complaints to heart?  Are my murmurings, when I come right down to it, really a way to gripe against the One who is supposed to be in charge of the world?

Try it.  I dare you.  Keep track of how many times you grumble for a day.  Then try walking around in a desert for 40 years.

In With the New

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Most days slip by; they are ordinary and plain.  Some days are heavy with significance and deserve our full attention.  Today is one of those.

I remember many New Year’s Eve celebrations with Grandpa O.  He and Grandma would invite friends and family over for a fun evening of games and good food.  But as the clock neared midnight, he would gather us all in the living room and Grandpa would “pray in” the new year.  I always loved hearing him pray, but especially on New Year’s Eve.  All of us sensed Grandpa’s deep love for God and listening to him give thanks for the year past and speak blessing into the year to come was truly hallowed.  I think we all felt that, no matter what the next year would bring or how badly we would mess up, at least we started it off right.

PB (my hubby, short for Pastor Blake) remembers when, as a boy, he would climb up in the church belfry and “ring in” the new year.  Walking through the dark, empty church at midnight was eerie; one’s imagination could run rampant climbing up the steps to the belfry.  He recalls grabbing the dangling rope, pulling with all his weight and being lifted right off the ground as the bell began ringing.  The Methodists joined in with the ringing of the Catholic and Baptist bells to announce the new year had begun.

We did not “pray in” or “ring in” 2011.  We went to a movie and went to bed early!  But today I am giving some serious thought to a new start, a fresh beginning.  I will start a new journal and make a list of goals.  I will pick out a Bible verse to pray for my children throughout the year and decide what to study.  I will choose a hymn to memorize and begin a new page of prayer requests.  In with the new!

For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19

The Christmas Necklace

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I wear this necklace every year to the kids’ Christmas program at church. In monetary value it’s worth about $1.99 in glass beads and string. In sentimental value, it is priceless. Here’s the story:

Back in December of 1991, our 9 year old daughter, Katie, was fighting for her life in the intensive care unit at Marshfield Hospital. In a matter of days, she had gone from having a rash to being deathly ill. A few weeks before this sudden turn of events, Katie was learning how to make beaded necklaces at a friend’s house. She and her crafty buddy, Leah, had gotten about halfway done with what was to be my Christmas present and the plan was to finish it together the following week.

But by then, our little girl was in pediatric ICU, 80 miles away from home. Grandpa and Grandma came to take care of our other three children and the churches we were serving. My hubby and I took turns keeping vigil at our sweet girl’s bedside; one of us stayed at the hospital while the other one tried to sleep at the Ronald McDonald House across the street.

A few days before Christmas, blond haired, blue eyed Leah made her way down the hospital corridor and found her friend’s room. She carried with her a box carefully wrapped and tagged with my name. She told me that this was a gift that Katie had intended to give me for Christmas and she figured she better get it to the hospital so Katie could give me my present. Inside the package was the finished beaded necklace. I had never seen a more beautiful piece of jewelry. I didn’t take it off until we brought our girl home 3 weeks later.

I wear it every Christmas so I don’t forget how thankful I am that we have four healthy children. And also not to forget that there are many parents sitting in waiting rooms and hospital rooms who are facing the toughest days of their lives.

Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father. Matthew 18:10 

A Snowy Sunday

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As a pastor’s wife for 25 years, I can’t remember ever sleeping in on a Sunday morning. “Should I go to church today or not?” never enters the thought process. For me, a Sunday without church is like Thanksgiving dinner without turkey, the 4th of July without fireworks, a peanut butter and apple sandwich without the apples. That’s why yesterday seemed so weird. Something was missing all day.

The midwest was hit with a winter storm Saturday night, complete with blizzard warnings in our area. For the first storm of the season, it was a real doozy. Snow piled up all night and by morning nobody was going anywhere. So instead of getting up and going over to church, like every other Sunday morning, I lolled about in my pjs. Instead of turning the lights on in all the Sunday school rooms, putting out the attendance folders, unlocking the basement enterance, welcoming the kids, running a Christmas program rehearsal, warming up praise band, and playing piano……

I sat in front of the fire and read the Christmas story, sang a few hymns, said a few prayers. I liked it. I could worship like that….. once every 25 years or so. But I just love being with my friends at church on Sunday mornings, so that’s where I’ll be next week, Lord willing.

 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”Psalm 122:1

The Gift of an Hour

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My times are in your hands.  Psalm 31:15

Today is my favorite day of the year! No, really! Today marks the end of Daylight Savings Time. There’s something lovely about getting an extra hour to use however you want. There’s something powerful about taking the minute hand and sweeping it backwards, defying time itself. There’s something magical about being given the gift of an hour. How shall it be spent?

I like this day because it’s not a holiday, so there is no hype, no advertising, no gift buying. The mail is still delivered, the grocery store is open, everything carries on as usual. But all day long I am aware that there is a bonus built into this one day. I feel a real sense of anticipation as I search for appropriately worthy ways to fill this space of time. Sometimes I read, sometimes I pray, sometimes I sleep. Tonight, I write.

Is it possible that every hour is such a gift?