Daily devotionals

Say Goodbye

Posted on by Betsy

     

In the typical order of worship, there is one moment we all look forward to: the benediction. Come on, you know you do! It means the service has been completed, the message has been delivered, the songs have been sung, and the prayers faithfully prayed. It signals that the irritation of 1. trying to keep your kids quiet; 2. sitting next to someone who put on WAAAY too much perfume or aftershave; or 3. the loud whisperer behind you catching up on gossip is finally over and you can go home. Even pastors like the benediction. Trust me, we look forward to it, too. It means our week’s work is finished and for better or worse, we have offered our labor to the Lord and now get to catch our breath before starting all over again.

You know that in pastor-time, Sunday comes every 4 1/2 days, right?

Today we are reading Paul’s benediction to the people in Corinth. I love his happy goodbye as he is leaving people whom he loves.

This benediction is a sermon in itself.

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

11-13 And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.

He encourages us to be cheerful. No matter what our daily trials are, we all have eternity to look forward to at the benediction of our lives. He tells us to keep things in good repair, such as your house, your family, and especially your soul. I hear this as an encouragement to not let the small stuff get us down!

By the way, it’s all small stuff.

Paul’s invitation to harmony could be a whole sermon series. It is a great reinforcement of the fact that God desires unity in the body of Christ. That can only happen when we lay down our individuality, our differences, and we work to think in harmony. If you do these things, you will experience the peace and love of God all week. Sermon done, right there in the benediction!

Greeting one another with a “holy kiss/embrace” was a common salutation that was practiced in eastern countries during Paul’s time, as handshakes are today. Paul was encouraging them to greet one another in an affectionate manner and treat each other with kindness and love. The use of the word “holy” here serves to remind us that Paul intended it as an expression of Christian affection and not as an improper contact.

While we probably won’t adopt a practice of kissing per se, (!) it would serve us well to be holy in our approach to each other and greet each other with the kindness and love befitting a Christian community…and not just at church.

When we do that, it will be easier to be cheerful, stay in harmony with one another, and keep our souls in good repair. And when that happens, the love and the peace of God will be with us for sure.

Harmony by Kathy Schumacher

Celebratory Joy

Posted on by Betsy

     As a pastor who lives in a popular beach town, there are two words that terrify me: wedding season. The Outer Banks of North Carolina have become one of the East Coast’s most popular wedding destinations, and I get my fair share of requests to officiate. 

     All weddings involve a certain amount of complexity, but these destination weddings are even more challenging for the officiant. You don’t know the people. You are dealing with outdoor venues; thus you have weather concerns. You have to travel to large beach rental houses in heavy Saturday traffic that are impossible to find due to our house numbering system here. And there may be a dog involved in the ceremony. One never knows. But when the details are sorted, every event is filled with happiness, feasting, gifts, food, and blessings. Joy abounds, God smiles down, and even the dog is happy.

     I imagine the party that David threw after returning the ark to the temple was like a huge wedding reception. Everyone ate, danced, sang, and shared the joy of his victory. Our passage from 1 Chronicles today positively overflows with happiness. Can you feel it?

1 Chronicles 16 (Common English Bible)

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
    Share the news of his saving work every single day!
24 Declare God’s glory among the nations;
     declare his wondrous works among all people
25 because the Lord is great and so worthy of praise.
He is awesome beyond all other gods
26  because all the gods of the nations are just idols,
        but it is the Lord who created heaven!
27 Greatness and grandeur are in front of him;
     strength and joy are in his place.
28 Give to the Lord, all families of the nations—
     give to the Lord glory and power!
29     Give to the Lord the glory due his name!
        Bring gifts! Enter his presence!
        Bow down to the Lord
        in his holy splendor!
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
    Yes, he set the world firmly in place;[a]
    it won’t be shaken.
31 Let heaven celebrate!
    Let the earth rejoice!
    Let the nations say, “The Lord rules!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it roar!
    Let the countryside and everything in it celebrate!
33 Then the trees of the forest will shout out joyfully
    before the Lord, because he is coming
    to establish justice on earth!
34 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
    because his faithful love endures forever.

     And did you notice that we are not just invited to celebrate, but are actually commanded to rejoice? Words like sing, declare, share, give, bring, bow, celebrate, shout, roar, etc. are action verbs that require a response on our part. We are not meant to be passive spectators at this party, but full participants.

     God is worthy of our celebratory joy. We celebrate God’s “holy splendor,” reminding us that in God’s set-apart-ness, he created every big and small thing, and all of nations rejoice. We celebrate God’s presence among us as the generous host of this event. We celebrate God’s superiority over the manmade gods and idols, acknowledging that our God created the heavens and the earth. We celebrate nature’s ability to join us in our praise as further proof of God’s power.

We celebrate!

     When I am standing on that beach or that sunset pier watching two people give their lives to each other, I appreciate their choice to take their vows in these beautiful settings. For every lovely church wedding I have performed, there is nothing like the sound of waves and seagulls adding their music to the ceremony. Indeed, creation rejoices in its Maker, and we get to bask in it all.

     Do something good for yourself today. Go outside and look around. Study the sky, the clouds, the ground, the fresh air, and rejoice!

And then give thanks to the Lord, because God’s love endures forever.

Celebrate! by Michelle Robertson

Favored One

Posted on by Betsy

“Inside Out” is a wonderful movie about the exploration of emotions. We enter the world of eleven-year-old Riley, who experiences joy, fear, anger, disgust, and sadness over the prospect of moving to a new city. Along the way, young viewers learn a new vocabulary for expressing their own feelings. Some old ones do, too.

One of the blessings of the psalms is that they give voice to our many emotions. Think of them as a pre-Pixar “Inside Out”. All the “feels” are there as we see them finding expression for everything we are going through on a daily basis. The relevance of these writings is timeless.

Today’s psalm is no exception, as we see David once again fleeing for his life. This time it is his own son Absalom who was the pursuer. Absalom’s successful rebellion has driven David out of Jerusalem. In his distress, David expressed all of those emotions in just the first five verses. We see him cry out loud to God in fear. We see him disgusted with those who claim that God won’t help him. We see his anger against the many who stand against him. We see his sadness that people are talking about him. And finally, we see joy in his ability to feel confidence in his identity as a child of God, who is his shield. Can you relate to any of this? I can.

Psalm 3:1-5 (Common English Bible)

Lord, I have so many enemies!
    So many are standing against me.
2 So many are talking about me:
    “Even God won’t help him.” Selah
3 But you, Lord, are my shield!
    You are my glory!
    You are the one who restores me.
4 I cry out loud to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I lie down, sleep, and wake up
    because the Lord helps me.

By the way, “Selah” is a device in the psalms that offers a pause. It gives the reader/singer a chance to reflect before moving on. I recently told a group at a woman’s retreat that it is like saying, “Yo!” after a meaningful phrase. But I digress.

This psalm gives us permission to feel all those same things. Joy, sadness, anger, disgust, and fear are just some of the emotions we can run through on a daily basis. How we handle those feelings is an indication of where we are on our walk with Jesus. 

David handled his emotions with the confidence of a favored son. Do you know that you are God’s favored as well? And like David, God will answer us when we cry out, whether in silent prayer or by raising our voices and shouting to the heavens.

And don’t miss David’s dismissal of the people who talked behind his back and assumed that because of his past sin record, God would not come to his aid. David responds with a great big “But” and counters that God is his shield, his glory, and is the one who restores him. David knew that he was not defined by his past mistakes, but rather was defined by the future glory that came with his repentance and God’s forgiveness. Do you know that as well, or are you letting your past define your present?

Psalm 3 is a beautiful reminder of God’s continuing presence in our every emotion. It is a clear declaration that God’s mercy is always available to us when we cry out to our mighty God. 

Need help? Your Shield stands at the ready.

God’s Glory by Becca Ziegler

Weeping Through the Night

Posted on by Betsy

One fateful night, a pastor is called to the Emergency Room of a large hospital. Two teenagers have been in a horrific car crash. One is in the operating room, and the other in the morgue. Both sets of parents are there. One set waits in hopeful anticipation of the doctor coming out of surgery to say that their son will recover. The other set sits in stunned silence outside the morgue with no hope. But as the night goes on, it is discovered that the dead boy is the son of the parents outside the operating room. Those hopeful parents must now face the reality of death. It falls to the pastor to speak into this situation. What can we say to ease the horror of losing a child?

In the 37th chapter of Genesis, we read of the enormous grief that Jacob felt upon learning of the death of his favorite son, Joseph. We, the reader, know that Joseph is not actually dead but was sold into slavery by his devious and spiteful brothers. His braggadocios stories of his dreams that foretold the brothers bowing down to him as he swaggered in his precious brightly colored coat (a gift of favor from his father) led them to dispose of him in a cruel way. Even more cruel is their ability to watch their father grieve Joseph’s death without rushing to confess that he is alive as they present Jacob with Joseph’s bloody coat:

Genesis 37:33-35 (Common English Bible)

33 Jacob recognized it and said, “It’s my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph must have been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put a simple mourning cloth around his waist, and mourned for his son for many days. 35 All of his sons and daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, telling them, “I’ll go to my grave mourning for my son.” And Joseph’s father wept for him.

Jacob’s grief is expressed in a powerfully visible way. He tears his clothes, he mourns and weeps, and he resigns himself to a life of grief that he will take to his grave. Have you ever experienced grief like this? It is said that grief is the price we pay for a love well-loved, and many of us in our lifetime will know the crushing emptiness of death.

For Jacob, his belief that his son was dead was his reality. This reminds us of the power of belief, and perhaps this can be a source of calm reassurance when someone passes. What do you believe happens at death? Where is God? 

As crushing as grief can be, we must hold on to the hope of the resurrection to which we are all invited if we believe in Jesus. Upon his own death, Jesus invited the thief on the cross to join him in paradise that very day. In an act of penitence, the thief asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus came into his kingdom. This was the thief’s confession of faith, and we are assured that upon his death, the thief entered eternal life.

Thus, our belief in eternal life can begin to sooth the horror of deep and overwhelming grief. We will meet again! This is exactly what the pastor said to the grieving parents that night. This is what our Lord says to us in our lowest moments. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5, New Revised Standard Version).

Joy Comes in the Morning by Michelle Robertson

We All Fall Down

Posted on by Betsy

Ring around the rosie! A pocket full of posey. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

Who remembers this little nursery rhyme? I have fond memories of watching my mother with my girls and my niece in a Disney hotel pool, holding hands and circling around while singing this. The finale was to all fall backwards into the water, which is a clever way to help young children learn how to hold their breath and immerse their heads under water without fear. Sneaky Grandmere!

I was startled to learn that some people attribute this cute little ditty to the plagues. Yes, the plagues. It is thought that ring around the rosie refers to the fever-flush that would appear on the face with the onset of sickness. Pocket full of posey refers to the medicinal herbs that were used to treat the victim. And of course ashes refers to the necessary burning of the bodies in an attempt to stem the course of the virus that was taking out entire villages.

That is quite a morbid take on a nursery rhyme, but it does lead us into a contemplation of our own mortality as we approach the season of Lent this Ash Wednesday. 

Lent is the 40 days (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter when we are invited to slow down our frazzled pace and contemplate the meaning of life, death, and life beyond death. Lent is a remembrance of the 40 days of temptation in the wilderness that Christ endured on our behalf. We are invited to practice lenten disciplines such as prayer, bible study, meditation, self-examination, self-sacrifice, worship, and repentence. It is a season of preparation for the celebration of the resurrection on Easter morning. We are wise to approach it with a serious, soul-searching attitude. 

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Truth in the inward being is a noble pursuit. God knows the secrets of our heart, but do we? Is there stuff buried so deep that we have forgotten about it? The strength of our denial can enable us to live as though certain actions and behaviors never took place. We go along on our merry way, thinking we have gotten away with it.

Lent says otherwise. It is an opportunity to confront our deepest sin without fear, because Jesus has the power to cleanse us, FREE US, and make us whole again.

You know that the thing you have buried is still there, waiting like a ticking time bomb to resurface and explode you into pieces. God says that is not necessary. You can give it over to him and let him diffuse it once and forever.

This Lent, let us fall down before God and ask him to teach us his wisdom in our secret hearts. 

It’s time to come clean.

Sound Sunset by Brant Honeycutt

You’re My Only Hope

Posted on by Betsy

The scene is so iconic, you don’t even need to be a Star Wars fan to recognize it. It is a favorite meme and GIF even for those who have never seen the movie. In the 1977 movie “Star Wars,” the evil Empire attacked the planet Alderaan, and Princess Leia Organa of the Resistance sends a holographic message to General Obi-Wan Kenobi via a droid named R2-D2. Darth Vader has captured her ship and the situation is dire. “Help me, Obi-Wan. You’re my only hope” is the message. Have you ever felt that hopeless? Have you ever been someone’s only hope?

In the first three verses of Psalm 57, David made the same plea. He fled to the safety of a cave with insane Saul in hot pursuit. Saul was trying to kill him, and David was literally running for his life. We can hear his anxiety when he repeated himself in verse 1: “Have mercy on me God; have mercy on me.” He had already survived several attempts on his life and now found himself alone, discouraged, and fearful.

Psalm 57 (Common English Bible)

For the music leader. Do not destroy. A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.

57 Have mercy on me, God;
    have mercy on me
    because I have taken refuge in you.
    I take refuge
    in the shadow of your wings
        until destruction passes by.
2 I call out to God Most High—
    to God, who comes through for me.
3 He sends orders from heaven and saves me,
    rebukes the one who tramples me. Selah
        God sends his loyal love and faithfulness.

Yet even in this dangerous situation, David identified himself as a beloved son of God. His cry for mercy was made with full assurance that God not only heard him but would intervene. David didn’t come from a position of childish entitlement, but rather one of trust. David understood that he didn’t deserve mercy, but that God’s grace offered it, and so he placed himself in the shadow of God’s wings.

 This beautiful word picture evokes an image of a mother bird completely encasing her young in her wings to protect them from predators, the elements, and any potential danger. Jesus used this same image when he described his love for Jerusalem in Matthew: “How often I wanted to gather your people together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” (Matthew 23:37b, Common English Bible.)

It is interesting to note that even as David was in the relative safety of a cave, he acknowledged that God was his only place of true refuge. This is an important lesson for us today.

Have you ever felt the need to be protected by a merciful and mighty God in such a way? Have fear and anxiety overtaken you? When illness, disaster, disappointment, and other fearful things come into our lives, it is good to know that God spreads wide open the wings of refuge and help for everyone.

 Do you need that shelter today? Is God calling you to be somebody’s last hope? We can always flee to the refuge that is our almighty God and know that under those strong wings, we will be safe.

Refuge by Kathy Schumacher

Pay Attention

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever been an eyewitness to an event? You probably can recount it in great detail. When you witness something quite profound, your mind slows down the action and records it in detail, capturing every nuance. I was present when my youngest daughter gave birth to her first born. Even after being with her through 33 hours of labor, I can recall the moment of his birth like I am watching it on a movie screen. That eyewitness event will happily stay with me forever.

Our last devotional dealt with the Transfiguration of Jesus as observed by Peter, James, and John on the mountain top. Today we have an interesting opportunity to revisit that moment through Peter’s own recollection and writing. This passage in 2 Peter is from a letter he wrote to the early Christian community about 25-30 years after Jesus’s death and resurrection. It appears to have been written very close to the end of Peter’s life at the hands of Nero. Many stories had been circulating for years about the crucifixion, and as stories go, most had been amplified or suffered from omissions. He made the case to his listeners that regardless of what stories or “crafty myths” they have heard, they should now listen to his eyewitness account of the incident:

2 Peter 1 (Common English Bible)

16 We didn’t repeat crafty myths when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Quite the contrary, we witnessed his majesty with our own eyes. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to him from the magnificent glory, saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 

I appreciate Peter’s concise recollection of the Transfiguration and how he fails to mention that in the heat of the moment, he suggested that three shelters might be built so that they could all set a spell. How often do we retell a story in a way that makes us look better than what actually took place? Of all the things I love about Peter, that fact that he is so much like me is my favorite. But he speaks the important truth from the on-the-scene perspective, erasing any doubt about what happened there.

19 In addition, we have a most reliable prophetic word, and you would do well to pay attention to it, just as you would to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Most important, you must know that no prophecy of scripture represents the prophet’s own understanding of things, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will. Instead, men and women led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

There were over 322 prophetic writings in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah, and Jesus fulfilled everyone. Combined with what Peter saw with his own eyes, we are instructed to pay attention to it as we would to a lamp shining in a dark place. Peter then adds weight to his words by reminding us that men and women receive prophecy not through their own study and understanding of events, by God himself as conveyed by the Holy Spirit.

What is God telling you to pay attention to today? Are you overlooking something you need to attend to? Is there someone you could be encouraging and supporting who needs to hear from you? Is he calling you into prayer?

Whatever it, is pay attention to these urgings of the Holy Spirit and get it done. He just might be calling you to your own mountain top.

Mountain Top Moment by Kathy Schumacher

Forever Changed

Posted on by Betsy

Can you recall a life-changing experience you have had? Was there ever a single point of time where everything stood still and suddenly and with great clarity you knew and saw things in such a profoundly different way that immediately changed your thinking, your attitude, or even your life? Good teachers and mentors can do this with people they are helping. Good parents can do this by identifying things in their children that have gone unnoticed. Going away to focus on our spiritual lives can often result in a new understanding of where we are heading and what we need to change to get there. Addicts speak of “hitting rock bottom” and arising to find help and tools to walk away from the harmful things. Teenagers see their lives changed at youth retreats. What was your mountain top experience?

This Sunday we will celebrate “Transfiguration Sunday” in the protestant church. It celebrates a moment in time when three disciples ascended a mountain top with Jesus and experienced something quite profound:

Luke 9 (The Message)

28-31 About eight days after saying this, Jesus climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah—and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over his exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem.

When I said “quite profound” I really meant scary as heck. I can’t imagine what this was like for Peter, James, and John. They were already confused by who Jesus was and were quite mystified about what his messiahship was really about. One could hardly blame them for their dullness. But here in this moment, they were literally blinded by the light … a light so profound, they immediately fell asleep. I am sure that Jesus’ blinding white appearance hurt their eyes, but even more so, it hurt their heads.

32-33 Meanwhile, Peter and those with him were slumped over in sleep. When they came to, rubbing their eyes, they saw Jesus in his glory and the two men standing with him. When Moses and Elijah had left, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He blurted this out without thinking.

I like how Peterson in this translation writes that “when they came to … they saw Jesus in his glory.” Oh, how this applies to all of us! Oh, how this applies to the unbelieving world! We are stumbling around in the darkness of sin and despair, sleeping through all of God’s revelations around us, and we need to wake up.

And then there is Peter’s reaction, who suggests they build memorials for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Of all the things wrong with this notion, (poor Peter!) the fact that he equates the three men proves that he entirely has missed the point of Jesus’ glory. This is the moment where the Law represented in Moses and the Prophecy represented in Elijah have come in submission to the One who is Lord over all of the law and the prophets combined. Jesus was being elevated in this glory moment, and Peter missed it.

Until God spoke:

34-35 While he was babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they found themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of God. Then there was a voice out of the cloud: “This is my Son, the Chosen! Listen to him.”

By shining light on the fact that only one of these three pillars of faith was actually his Son, his Chosen, God settles one and for all what direction his children were meant to go … Jesus is the great high priest above all others. Follow him.

36 When the sound of the voice died away, they saw Jesus there alone. They were speechless. And they continued speechless, said not one thing to anyone during those days of what they had seen.

Peter, James, and John were treated to a mountain top experience like none other. There they met and saw Jesus for exactly who he really is.

Do you need to see Jesus? Are you wandering in a valley of darkness? Take some time today to pull away from the noise of your activities and go away and pray. That’s what Jesus did. May you meet him there and be forever changed.

Radiant Light by Michelle Robertson

Solid Food

Posted on by Betsy

Our nine-month-old twins are happily receiving solid foods. They are over the moon with this new adventure. Beets, kale, bananas, apples, avocados and more are now part of their diet, pureed into delightful combinations and consumed with great joy. The little girl twin loves solids so much, she bangs her palms on the tray of her highchair and squeals loud enough to cause her more thoughtful brother to rest his head on his tray and cry. He likes the food, too, but the noise coming from the next highchair … well, not so much.

Parents remember making that switch with their babies to solid foods. It is a growth milestone that is anticipated by tired mothers who have been serving as the only source of sustenance until that point finally arrives. It is a happy moment for dads, partners, and grandparents who can now take a turn at feeding the babies. And the baby food industry is a thriving, multi-million dollar concern whose happy employers and stockholders are glad that they can produce a much-needed product to the world’s families.

But we aren’t meant to stay in that milestone, just as we aren’t meant to consume milk for the rest of our lives. These things belong to babies.

Paul likened the church in Corinth to babies who had to drink milk because they weren’t ready for solid food. In his analogy, he accused them of spiritual infancy based on their infighting and divisions in the fellowship. It was a severe chastisement, and he made it clear to them that he was ashamed of their behavior:

1 Corinthians 3 (Common English Bible)

3 Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you like spiritual people but like unspiritual people, like babies in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink instead of solid food, because you weren’t up to it yet. 3 Now you are still not up to it because you are still unspiritual. When jealousy and fighting exist between you, aren’t you unspiritual and living by human standards? 

The church had divided along the lines of following the men who introduced them to the faith. They then pitted themselves against each other. Jealousy and fighting were traits of those living solely in the flesh, and Paul had a higher goal for his church. They were anointed by the spirit, and he demanded that they act like it.

4 When someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and someone else says, “I belong to Apollos,” aren’t you acting like people without the Spirit? 5 After all, what is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants who helped you to believe. Each one had a role given to them by the Lord: 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow. 

Their allegiance to these ordinary men offended Paul. It was God who made the church grow. Paul questioned their motives and accused them of being without the spirit. Instead, he encourages them to be planters and waterers, working together to bring forth a crop worthy of God’s attention. He makes the point that their fighting over these insignificant men would have an insignificant outcome. God is the master gardener here.

7 Because of this, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but the only one who is anything is God who makes it grow.8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together, but each one will receive their own reward for their own labor. 9 We are God’s coworkers, and you are God’s field, God’s building.

When churches fight within themselves, growth stops. When divisions happen, the field goes fallow and the planting and watering ceases. When we stop working together, we are acting like babies.

But there are things we can do to set aside our divisions and work toward a common goal of making disciples of Jesus Christ. The first step is to do that “one thing” that Jesus commended Mary for understanding … we need to sit at Jesus’ feet and take in all of his teaching. When we focus on the one thing we are called to do, our differences fade in the light of his glory. Centered in the unity and peace of Christ, we can arise and build the kingdom together.

Are you causing dissension in your field? Stop, sit, and feast on his word. By keeping the main thing the main thing, we can plant, water, and grow together as coworkers in the field. God will sort out the rest.

Plant. Water. Grow. by Becca Ziegler

Stay on Course

Posted on by Betsy

It takes a certain kind of insanity to run a Half Marathon eleven years after you ran your first “one-and-done” Half. It seemed like a good idea last summer. A run was being planned in a town where my daughter lives, and I had the idea that if I signed up, I would not slack off on running like I normally do in the colder months. The starting line was a five-minute walk from the house, and it started at 7:00 am, which meant I didn’t have to get up terribly early … something I absolutely hate. Everything about the race sounded appealing. Then my friend and running partner decided to join me at the last minute, making it even better. Did I set any records? Nope. Did I finish without puking (my one and only goal)? Happily, yes. Did I stay in better shape, knowing the race was coming up at the end of January? Yes, until I broke my arm three days before Christmas. But for the most part, I was satisfied with how it all came out and thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. Especially the finish line. And not puking.

God has established a finish line for each one of us. He invites us to stay on the course he has set before us and urges us to not deviate from it. His is a road that leads to redemption. His is a road that leads to salvation. His is a road that leads to a future with hope. And you’re never alone.

Psalm 119 (The Message)

1-8 You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.

There have been many times in my life when I went off on my own. How about you? I regret every step that took me away from God’s will and God’s way. Thank God, Jesus came to help us get back on track through the atonement of sin and the forgiveness he purchased on the cross on our behalf.

You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.

Do you have regrets about your past? Do you grieve over your sins? Do you carry the heaviness of your misbehavior? Jesus walks along side of you and is able to shoulder every burden you are carrying, if you are willing to submit and yield to his instruction.

I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

God will never, ever walk off and leave you. Just as my running partner joined me for the race, Jesus is ready, able, and willing to run with you and teach you the pattern of his ways. You are never alone when you invite Jesus to run the race with you.

Steady on!

See Nana Run by Sarah Haas Callahan