Everyday Devotions

01/02/2026

Genesis 1

In the Beginning, God created.
The beginning is always an action, always doing something, always a choice.

God created - he chose to create all that is, was, and ever will be through an act of His divine will. And He didn’t do it all at once. He started. And then He did the next step, and then the next, and then the next. The beginning was a choice to start, and the “things” came along little by little.

Throughout the Bible, God nearly always works through a process. Things don’t shift instantaneously. When Jesus changes the water to wine, the servants have to do something first: fill the jars up with water. When God parts the river, the priests have to walk out into the water first. When Peter follows Jesus, he leaves his nets.

There’s always something; some action, some start, some Something.

We often want God to “force” change upon us. We want him to drop money in our laps, or bring that special person into our lives, or take away that bad habit or nagging pain. But God (usually) doesn’t work that way. We have to start on the journey, and then God comes along and encourages us along.

At the risk of getting many Calvinists mad at me, I will say following Christ is the same way. “Belief” doesn’t just happen to us - we make a choice, at some level, in some capacity to follow Jesus. We can debate about if the Spirit gives us that ability to choose, but from our perspective, we must DO something. Choose you this day whom you will serve, and so forth. It’s a choice we make to start, and the beginning begins.

If you want to start, if you want to change, if you want to be something other what you are now, it starts with a decision and an action. It won’t just come (unless you’re really stubborn and God has to send persecution or confuse your language to get you moving, but even then you’ll still be doing something. Why wait?)

Do something.
Start something.
Drop that habit.
Leave that group.
Turn that device off.

Do Something.

And see where the beginning takes you.

12/02/2024

“Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath. ” – Micah 7:9

If, like myself, you grew up in an American church, you have undoubtedly heard how “things have never been as bad as they are now.” For some sectors of the church, we are convinced that America is falling headlong down the steep hill of inequity and rolling to a stop on Satan’s back porch. We are sure that the world is collapsing, and we just have to hang on tightly before Jesus rescues us from the calamity.

Of course, I have heard this since I was five years old. Technically speaking, I suppose it could be true that every year is worse than the previous one, in a never-ending fondue fountain of dungitude. Seems somewhat unlikely though. Seems a little more likely that we just aren’t aware that things have been bad (arguably, much worse) at other points in history.

But for the sake of argument, let’s accept that it’s true. That this time, right here, right now is the worst in our country. The church is under attack, the people are more immoral than ever, believers are oppressed, and so forth. Why is that? What led to this situation?

IS IT I?

It’s pretty easy to point to unbelievers around us, and point the gnarled finger of blame in their direction. Surely it’s because of our righteousness, and they hate us for it, right? Surely, it’s because they hate Jesus in us. I mean, Jesus did say people would hate his followers, right? So if we are being attacked, that must mean we are following Jesus?

Or, and go with me on this, perhaps the struggles here are not from OUTSIDE the church at all. When Israel was struggling with its enemies, did God say “you know the problem, all those heathens out there are out of control”? Afraid not, my friends.

“Because I (Micah standing in for Israel) have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath.”

Note the reason for Israel’s troubles – not the outsider, not the secular culture, not forcing Israel’s morality on someone else. Nope. It’s US. We are the ones falling away from God. We are the ones disregarding his commands. Judgement starts with the House of God.

Maybe the reason you feel that things are going so badly is because the church has been more concerned with preserving its comfort and safety than in actually following Jesus commands.

MAN IN THE MIRROR

If you truly believe that your country is falling from God, rather than blaming nonbelievers or the immoral culture, you might need to look in the mirror. We all do. Where have we (the church) and I (personally) fallen away from God’s direction? Am I showing love to the poor and the foreigner? Am I helping the orphan and widow in my city? Am I bringing peace by overlooking an offense? Would I rather be wronged than prove I’m right? If not, perhaps fighting the evil forces of the world isn’t the real war I should be focused on.

We need to focus on dying daily to ourselves. That is our calling. Not to fight for our rights. Not save our country. Not even to make sure God blesses us with wealth and comfort. We are called to serve others – our neighbors and our enemies. It’s pretty hard to serve someone if you are focused on defeating them.

If you really want to see God move, winning the culture war might be more about correcting the culture in your own heart than passing Christian laws.

The Real Culture War – Micah 7 Posted by admin Posted on December 2, 2024 0 Comments on The Real Culture War – Micah 7 Posted in Uncategorized Click here to read Micah 7 on BibleGateway.com “Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath. ” – Micah 7:9 If, like myself...

09/23/2024

http://www.everydaydevotions.com/the-worst/

Click here to read 2 Corinthians 11 on BibleGateway.com

“I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” – 2 Cor 11:23-28

images (2)If you’ve been a teenager or been around one in the last few years, you may have been a part of a torturous little pastime called “Would You Rather?” The basic idea is to present two opposing ideas to your friend (i.e. “victim,” or “enemy”), and make one so bad that they are so disgusted or embarrassed or be forced to admit they’re a selfish jerk, they give up the game. For purposes of decency and decorum, we can’t discuss all of them here, but here’s a quick sampling:

*Would you rather save the life a starving orphan you’ll never meet, or have a working lightsaber?
*Would you rather live in a world with no crime or disease, or a world that you rule?
*Would you rather be a thief, or a beggar?

WOULD YOU RATHER BE AN APOSTLE OR DONATE BOTH KIDNEYS

The apostle Paul plays a little game of his own in 2 Corinthians 11. Apparently, after his time with the church in Corinth, some other wandering teachers had shown up and basically said Paul was a big do**us and everyone should listen to them instead. So Paul sends off a letter to the church there, and he spends part of the letter defending himself (which we’re lucky enough to get to read without all the felony-ness of tampering with modern mail.)

And what does Paul argue? That he has the most converts? That his television ministry is reaching the most people? That he has converted Presidents or media personalities? Nope. Instead, he talks about what he’s suffered. Beatings, accidents, poverty, prison, working without rest; all in the name of the gospel. Is this how we would judge success in our modern churches? By which pastor has the poorest members? By who works the most side jobs and doesn’t take a salary?

THE WORSTEST

More than that, look at what Paul says his greatest burden is. You might think floggings sound bad, or nearly drowning, or being so poor that you have to sleep outside in the wilderness naked. Nope. It’s the spiritual burden of pastoring. Imagine that: the worst physical problems that most of us can fathom, and the worst thing is ministering to the churches.

Anyone who has pastored or spent any close time with one will tell you that they have a spiritual/emotional/psychological burden that weighs on them almost constantly. And the worst thing is, most of their congregants will never understand, and will instead compare them to the latest sermon they found online or the most recent Preacher-of-the-Month at their last convention. Our local pastors have to carry that weight alone, and many spend long hours in depression and pain. Maybe we should give a little less thought to how our pastors make us feel on Sunday morning, and a little more time this week praying about the spiritual burdens they carry.

It may be the most important thing you can do for them.

The Worst Posted by admin Posted on September 22, 2015 0 Comments on The Worst Posted in Uncategorized Click here to read 2 Corinthians 11 on BibleGateway.com “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five ...

06/02/2023

http://www.everydaydevotions.com/acronymity-the-hidden-meaning-of-scripture/

Acronymity: The Hidden Meaning of Scripture

“…there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. – Corinthians 1:13

Computer programmers are notorious for their love of acronyms. Every time some new idea shows up, we* have to put it in acrynomical terms (no, I don’t care if it’s not a word). Is this because they are too lazy to say the whole phrase? Nay, nay I say. It’s to make the work seem more mysterious and exotic. “I’m an SEO strategist and engineer” sounds way cooler than “I try to get my links to the top of Google.” Gotta make that resume sparkle.

To be fair, programmers are a hilarious lot, at least in their own minds. So, instead of reminding the team to “Create, read, update, and delete,” they’ll say “Don’t forget the CRUD today,” and then laugh and snort, because all programmers are required to be nerds from 80s movies. I don’t make the rules.

As acronyms become more ubiquitous (yes, that one actually is a word), and it becomes harder and harder to keep track of them all, programmers start to find the humor in the acronym itself. My personal favorite example of this is the “recursive acronym.” For example, PHP stands for “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor,” and GNU is “GNU’s Not Unix.” The acronym doesn’t stand for anything, except for the acronym itself. The ”secret” meaning is right there on the surface. Stop looking deeper.

THE BIBLE CODE

This is why I get amused every time someone comes up with a “secret” new message in the Bible. “Do you know what Ezra REALLY means? Do you see the pattern in every 37th letter?” My friends, it is true there are some deeper truths in Scripture that take some time to pull out, but try to keep in mind the things we already know:

Love God.
Love Neighbor (and Enemy)
Give to the poor
Follow Jesus’ commands

The hidden message of the Bible is this: God loves you and He wants to spend eternity with you. Yes, it’s true He may use different ways of communicating it. If I love someone, I might send them love notes with metaphors, I might buy them presents that refence something personal between us, I might write poems or tell stories or even tell others how much I love them.

But changing the method doesn’t change the message: I love you.

THE NOT-SO-SECRET

We don’t have to look for the hidden meaning all the time. Sometimes, it’s staring us right in our bespectacled faces, straightening our pocket protectors, and reminding us that even our little cubicle empires, God loves us.

It’s the GLU that binds us to Him.
(I just can’t help myself.)

—————————————

*Yes, “we.” I am one of the chosen.

Click here to read 2 Corinthians 1 on BibleGateway.com "...there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. – Corinthians 1:13Computer programmers are notorious for their love of acronyms. Every time some new idea shows up, we* have to put it in acrynomical terms (no,...

02/13/2020

http://www.everydaydevotions.com/february-13-2011-job-12/

There’s a common historical debate that’s been going on for a couple centuries, every since man first started recording his past on the ole clay tablets. How much of history is manmade and how much is in God’s hands? To paraphrase Santayana, history seems to be just the same ole thing happening over and over again. Is there a plan and purpose behind it all?

HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD…

In our passage today, Job is careful to recognize the directing hand behind all of history as God. Starting in verse 13, Job goes into a long stanza about how God has power over it all; religious leaders (v. 19), politicians (v. 17 and 20), world leaders (v. 21 and 24), the rise and fall of nations (v.23), and even weather-related disasters (v. 15) are all in God’s hands. Whatever happens in this world, ultimately God is in control.

It’s easy to get bogged down in the news of the day. As Jesus said, we hear of wars and rumors of wars from every corner of the world. There are natural disasters that wipe out whole cities, and in some cases we may not even hear about it. The world seems violent, uncertain, and unfair.

TRUE POWER

But Job, despite the troubles he is going through, sees clearly the reality of the world. Verse 13 sets the stage for the whole proclamation: “True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for.” (MSG) Often we can get so focused on the problems of the world that we grasp at anything that may help: political promises, education, even religious leaders can become idols if we hope that they or their message can solve the world’s problems or give us some guidance.

The truth is the only answer comes from the One who made the world with a Word. The real power in the world is not in heads of state, armies, spy networks, educational systems, economic growth, or anything else we may lean on. Only the Master of the Cosmos can give purpose to our lives. Job knows that even though every thing seems out of control, the One who makes and topples nations has his life under control.

That’s real power.

Click here to read Job 12 on BibleGateway.com There's a common historical debate that's been going on for a couple centuries, every since man first started recording his past on the ole clay tablets. How much of history is manmade and how much is in God's hands? To paraphrase Santayana, history seem...

09/09/2019

If we love, what comes next?

Click here to read I Corithians 14 on BibleGateway.com Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy - I Corinthians 14:1 K.i.s.s.i.n.gFirst comes love, then comes marriageThen comes what's-his-name with a baby carriage.Is there any higher form of ironic mockery....

09/03/2019

http://www.everydaydevotions.com/the-maybe/

02/06/2019

http://www.everydaydevotions.com/mystery-seeds/

Click here to read Mark 4 on BibleGateway.com Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head - Mark 4:27-28 Jesus’ parables are some of…

01/31/2019

http://www.everydaydevotions.com/the-regretted-inferno/

Click here to read Esther 7 on BibleGateway.com "But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life." - Esther 7:7 Burning a bridge is the recurring daydream of everyone who has ever lived in the history of the universe. I realize that may...

07/18/2018

http://www.everydaydevotions.com/1586-2/

Click here to read Jeremiah 12 on BibleGateway.com "You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice. " - Jeremiah 12:1 Once upon a time, there was a young chap in the tender dating years of middle school, who happened to notice a young la...

07/18/2018

http://www.everydaydevotions.com/1586-2/

Do You Really Want an Answer?

01/02/2018

Remember Remember the 2nd of January

Click here to read Ezra 2 on BibleGateway.com There's a lot to be thankful for in this modern world. The Interwebs give us access to just about any information we need at the touch of a button, not to mention the occasional dancing fox or two. We can cross the globe in a few hours,…