Category: Daily Devotionals

On the Outskirts of Bethlehem

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ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF BETHLEHEM

And Joseph went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child.  Luke 1:4-5

    We know enough about life to imagine what this morning might have looked like. 

    Mary stirred.  She had slept quite fitfully during the night.  She thought of her home, her comfortable bed.  The ground hadn’t been very forgiving to her aching body.  She just couldn’t get comfortable.  Joseph hadn’t slept much either, trying to do what he could to soften the place where she lay.  In the middle of the night, during the hours that seemed to last interminably, he had taken his extra tunic and rolled it into a makeshift pillow in order to add extra cushioning to Mary’s resting place.  It helped but only enough to enable her to doze. Continue reading “On the Outskirts of Bethlehem” →

DECIDING WHAT IS MORE VALUABLE

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DECIDING WHAT IS MORE VALUABLE

The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.  Psalm 119:72

David had less of the scriptures than I have.  He only had the Torah; I have the Old and New Testaments.  Yet, is seems that he valued the scriptures more than I do.  His passionate language leads me to believe that. Continue reading “DECIDING WHAT IS MORE VALUABLE” →

VALUE OF SUFFERING

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VALUE OF SUFFERING

It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statues.  Psalm 119:71

My dad fought in WWII, in the European theatre.  He valued the freedom of this country more than we, his children, did because he was one of many who suffered for it.  He had several purple hearts to honor his wounds and his bravery. Continue reading “VALUE OF SUFFERING” →

DOUBLE CHECKING MY THEOLOGY

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DOUBLE CHECKING THEOLOGY

You are good and do good.  Psalm 119:68a

What do I really believe down deep about the character of God?  In reality, each of us can be prone to make judgment calls about God’s parenting according to our experience.  There are four choices, humanly speaking.

  1. God is a bad parent because he does bad things. If I choose to be the interpreter of all the suffering in the world, and I believe there is a God, then I might conclude that God can not be good.  There is too much pain and a God who allows that, or causes that, can not be trusted.  I never trust Him to be my Father.  I remain a son of the devil – who is a bad parent and does bad things.  Irony. Continue reading “DOUBLE CHECKING MY THEOLOGY” →

JUDGMENT AND KNOWLEDGE

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JUDGMENT AND KNOWLEDGE

Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.  Psalm 119:66

An educated person can be full of knowledge but lack good judgment.  Street smart and book smart are not one in the same.  What if I excel in one but not the other?  Can God teach me what I lack?  Yes. Continue reading “JUDGMENT AND KNOWLEDGE” →

LOVE OVERLOOKED

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LOVE OVERLOOKED

The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statues.  Psalm 119:64

Every day the earth showcases fresh outpourings of God’s steadfast love. The sun comes up.  The earth stays on its axis.  Oxygen is plentiful.  Rain falls.  Crops grow.  Deep springs are replenished to provide water.  We are such a speck in the solar system, so fragile in the big scheme of things.  It wouldn’t take much to set us off course so that sustaining life would become impossible.  Just read about any other planet and it’s a sobering experience. Continue reading “LOVE OVERLOOKED” →

HOW OFTEN I FORFEIT FAVOR

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HOW OFTEN I FORFEIT FAVOR

I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.  Psalm 119:58

There are many who feel that God’s favor is owed to them.  Perhaps this describes the majority of God’s creation.  They believe that they do more good than bad.  Because of how that set of scales reads, they believe that God owes them pleasure and ease. Continue reading “HOW OFTEN I FORFEIT FAVOR” →

TIME AND COURAGE TO PONDER

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TIME AND COURAGE TO PONDER

When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies.  Psalm 119:59

It is one thing to say I love God’s ways and will follow them for the rest of my life but another thing entirely to consider the ways my beliefs and actions betray God’s ways.  There are always the obvious sins but what about the subtle ways I neglect doing what Christ would do in my situation? Continue reading “TIME AND COURAGE TO PONDER” →

Choices And Their Implications

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CHOICES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts.  Psalm 119:56

The descent to depravity is a gradual one.  A series of bad choices, starting with what seems like small ones, ends up taking someone to ruin.  At the end of the trail, one shakes their head and wonders how they got there.  Choices. Continue reading “Choices And Their Implications” →

I’M SORRY FOR GOD

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I’M SORRY FOR GOD 

Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.  Psalm 119:53

            The writer of this emotional admission wasn’t horrified (meaning of indignation) for himself.  He wasn’t the one who was wronged.  God was.  He was so emotionally connected to God that when God was wronged, He felt it.  Continue reading “I’M SORRY FOR GOD” →