Category: Devotions

Read John 16:12-15.

It would probably not be received well if a sermon began, “There are a lot of things I could tell you about God’s kingdom, but they are way too complicated and over your head.” Of course, the reality is that there is much about our life in God that we don’t understand and probably won’t understand until we arrive at God’s heavenly banquet.

If you had to make a list of the questions you want to ask God, what would it include?

In prayer, ask God for the wisdom to know that even when you don’t understand the “what” or “how” or “why” of life, God continues to work in and through all circumstances.

Read Romans 5:1-5.

The letter to the church at Rome is Paul’s attempt at laying out a framework for understanding who God is and what God has done through Jesus. He is writing to a community of believers made up of both Jews and Gentiles who are literally being made to suffer for their faith, but who are also trying to figure out what it means to live in relationship with God and with each other. The triune God (Parent, Son, and Spirit) is the very model of community – of the interconnectedness of humankind with God, with each other, and with the world. In this reality, we can expect a life of faith to be a mix of peace, hope, suffering, and love in equal measure. The peace, hope, and love do not blot out the suffering, but instead make it bearable.

Think of a time in your life when you were suffering. Was there a sense of peace, hope, and love in the midst of that suffering? What was the source of that sense? Who or what was the vehicle for it?

Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the peace, hope, and love that has brought you through difficult times.

Read Psalm 8.

In this psalm of praise, the writer marvels at God’s handiwork – at the vastness of the universe and its power to humble us as individuals. We are each but a small part of what God has created. And yet, in verse 5-6, we read, “Yet you have made them a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet.”

The psalmist takes seriously the role God has given humankind to care for God’s creation. Here, “dominion” does not indicate power over. Instead, it means responsibility to and responsibility for. We are right up there just below God in terms of responsibility and care for the natural world.

How seriously do you take your role as a steward of creation? In what ways might you do a better job of caring for the environment? How might you inspire others to be more thoughtful about creation care?

Today, make a list of five things you will do to care for God’s earth over the coming weeks.

Read Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31.

This beautiful poem helps us to think about God’s triune nature, actively engaged in community throughout the process of creating and sustaining the universe. Here, the Spirit (lady Wisdom) is portrayed as finding delight and joy in creation. The Common English Bible translates vs. 30-31 as, “I was having fun, smiling before him all the time, frolicking with his inhabited earth and delighting in the human race.”

When was the last time you frolicked in nature? Has it been since you were a child? What was your favorite way to have fun outdoors when you were younger? To what degree do you consider having fun as an expression of wisdom?

Make time today to engage with nature in a joyful way and offer a prayer of praise to the One who created it.

Read John 14:8-17, 25-27.

Phillip’s request, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied,” makes me smile. These disciples had been there when Jesus turned water into wine. They had witnessed scores of healings – from blindness, from paralysis, even raising Lazarus from death. They had feasted on the loaves and fishes. They were there when he walked across the water to join them in the boat. What more did they want? Wasn’t that enough to reveal that Jesus is God incarnate – the embodiment of God’s mercy, compassion, and power? Apparently not.

How often, when praying to God, are we like Phillip? “Just this one more thing and then I will be satisfied. I’ll be happy as soon as I get through school…get this job… meet the right person…get the kids into school…get the kids out of the house…lose the weight…make more money…retire…” On and on it goes, and we are still not satisfied with the life we’ve been given. Maybe the key to this in found in vs. 27, when Jesus says, “I do not give as the world gives.” Maybe satisfaction comes in finding peace and gratitude in the here and now. Maybe it is in grounding ourselves in all that God is doing in the present moment: bringing peace in turbulent times, giving us a good night’s rest when we are weary, surrounding us with people who love us even when we have a hard time loving ourselves.

Today, make a mental list of how God is being revealed in your life right now. Offer a prayer of thanks for each one.

Read Romans 8:14-17.

In this reading, Paul suggests that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is so much more than a personal experience. Yes, the Spirit comes to remind us that we are children of God. This truth frees us from the fear of death, but also frees us from whatever it is that disrupts our relationship with God. Beyond that, though, because we are children of God, that means we’re part of a family. “Heirs with Christ.” Our identity comes from being a child of God, from being a part of God’s family. There are certain responsibilities and expectations that come with being part of a family.

In thinking about your birth family, what were the responsibilities and expectations? What sort of identity was found in being a part of that family? To what degree do the responsibilities, expectations, and family identity of your childhood inform the way you raise your children or relate to your spouse? Now ask yourself those same questions about the family of God. What are the expectations, responsibilities, marks of identity? How do these affect the way you relate and respond to the world?

Offer a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing for all your siblings in Christ.

Read Psalm 104.

This entire psalm is a celebration of God as Creator. The psalmist marvels at the ordering of the universe and how deeply interconnected it all is. The rains water the grass on which the cattle feed and the rains water the trees in which the birds nest. The wild animals do their hunting at night while people are tucked away in their beds, allowing people to move about safely during the day while the wild animals rest.

It’s always puzzling to me when people suggest that a person must choose between science and faith. I view science as the revelation of God’s incredible care and attention to the ordered universe. As science gives us a deeper understanding of how things work, I am more in awe of what God has done and continues to do. Trusting science does nothing to undermine my feelings of wonder and awe at God’s handiwork. It does nothing to take away from the mystery of God’s ability to bring life from nothingness, to bring light from darkness, to bring balance from chaos.

Today, as you see the blue of the sky, feel the sunshine on your face, or take a sip of cold water, consider everything that God has brought together for you to be able to enjoy that. Offer a prayer of praise.

Read Acts 2:1-21.

In this reading, the disciples are gathered together ten days after Jesus has just ascended into heaven. They are waiting in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had instructed. And when it comes, it’s loud and powerful, like the rush of a mighty wind. It sets their hearts ablaze. In other passages, the Spirit enters with gentleness, much like a descending dove.

In what way have you experienced the Holy Spirit? What do you think is the significance of the variety of languages the disciples were suddenly able to speak? What does it say about who God includes? What languages might the Spirit be calling you to speak—that of other generations, of other educational backgrounds, of other cultural backgrounds, etc.?

In prayer, ask God to inspire you to share the Gospel with someone you might not normally do so.

Read Luke 24:44-53.

This reading comes just after Jesus meets two disciples on the road to Emmaus, spends time in conversation about the scriptures, shares a meal, gives them understanding about his identity and mission, and then vanishes. As the disciples are talking about it, Jesus appears among them, offering peace and understanding once again. Jesus knows that they are not ready to go out and share the gospel message because they still don’t quite get it. Instead, he instructs them to go to Jerusalem for a time of prayer, worship, and preparation.

To what degree do you view your time of worship and prayer about preparing to go out into the world and share the love, hope, and joy of Jesus? Do you come to worship expecting to feel better about yourself, about your life, about the world? I hope so! But I also hope that you come to worship expecting to be challenged, equipped, and sent to take your faith beyond yourself. I hope you view worship as a time of preparation, as the disciples did.

Today in prayer, ask God to clothe you with the power to come alongside someone who needs a kind or hopeful word, a listening ear, or a steady shoulder.

Read Ephesians 1:15-23.

What a gift this prayer must have been to the community of faith in Ephesus. Paul has taken note of the depth of their faith and the way their faith is being lived out in the way they love “all the saints”. I would imagine this means they are caring for those who are a part of their community and for those who are not. This is a church that is truly operating as the body of Christ – the voice, the hands, and the heart of Christ for the world.

Who are the people in whom you see a great depth of faith? In what ways do they live out their faith? Have you ever prayed that God would continue to nurture, strengthen, and enliven their faith? Imagine what that might mean to someone to hear that you appreciate their example of faith and that you are praying that God would continue to be at work within them and through them.

Offer that prayer to God today and find a way to let that person know about your prayer for them.