Daily Devotional

Every year there seems to be a new trend or family tradition popping up during different holidays. A few years ago, it was Elf on the Shelf. During the month of December, a little ornery elf appears in different places in homes to help countdown to Christmas. Every family assigns a name to their Elf and the fun begins!

I’ve also heard of parents creating specialty-filled goody bags to use on New Year’s Eve to help count down the hours until midnight. The family opens one bag every hour to enjoy the surprises inside.

Most recently, I learned of families celebrating Valentine’s Day uniquely. Each morning, from February 1- 14, they place a heart on their child’s bedroom door stating something they love about that child…

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Dost thou now believe? Then ‘the love of God is’ now ‘shed abroad in thy heart.’ Thou lovest Him, because He first loved us. And, because thou lovest God, thou lovest thy brother also. And being filled with ‘love, peace, joy,’ thou art also filled with ‘ long-suffering, gentleness, fidelity, goodness, meekness, temperance,’ and all the other fruits of the same Spirit; in a word, with whatever dispositions are holy, are heavenly, or divine. For while thou ‘ beholdest with open,’ uncovered ‘ face’ (the veil now being taken away) ‘ the glory of the Lord,’ His glorious love, and the glorious image wherein thou wast created, thou art ‘changed into the same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.’

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. – 1 Peter 4:8

In Genesis 3, we are introduced to the concept of sin when Adam and Eve partake of the tree in the Garden from which God had specifically told them not to eat. Shortly after, Adam and Eve hear God walking in the garden and hide among the trees. God calls to them, “Where are you?” Adam answers, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid.” – Genesis 3:8-10

Adam and Eve’s sin caused a brokenness in their relationship with their Creator. They were “afraid” because of their nakedness. Their sin had left them exposed and vulnerable, and their pure relationships with God and one another became tainted by fear. Oh, how easily I identify with Adam and Eve. Too often, in my own life, I have violated God’s word (through selfishness, greed, anger, unforgiveness, etc.) and been left feeling exposed and afraid…

Like a lot of you, I do not like change. I will do whatever is needed to ensure I don’t have to change. I don’t like disruptions to my routine, my profession, or even my friends. As much as I don’t like it, I have learned that I do need to embrace change. Since I became a mother seven years ago, there has been a lot of change in my life. Children are anything but predictable. They may like a certain food one day, and absolutely despise it the next. Once your children get on a good sleep schedule, don’t worry, they will soon forfeit their sleep time for playtime in the middle of the night. As frustrating as it is, we love our children throughout it all.

Can you imagine how God feels about all of us, His children?…

As a middle school student growing up at St. Luke’s, I remember my first mission trip. I was going into the 7th grade and we were spending a week of our summer traveling to West Monroe, Louisiana for Youth Force. Youth Force is a mission trip camp that St. Luke’s youth still do today. Students from all different churches come together for a week of working on homes to do repairs that the homeowners physically are not able to do themselves and cannot afford to pay someone else to do. In the evenings, the students all come together after working on homes across the city for a time of worship, games, and small groups.

I can still vividly remember the church we stayed at and sleeping on air mattresses each night…

Every week, I have the good fortune of being a part of a tangible representation of Christ’s love- our St. Luke’s Food Ministry program. It has many components: we provide home-delivered meals through Meals on Wheels, and we hand out fresh produce and other food staples to families and individuals through Community Market each week. We also help support a monthly meal to Sisu Youth Services clients, and we bring the Community Market to many in our El Sistema family.

It is a joy to participate with hundreds of volunteers from our family of faith and the community to help carry out these valuable programs. Sometimes the number of people that need these services is staggering…

My paternal grandmother, “Granny Ruth” as we called her, was a woman of great faith. She had a diligent daily devotional practice, taught Sunday School classes, and played the organ at the small Baptist church where she and my grandfather attended until she was in her 80s. When you called their home telephone and they weren’t there to answer, the voicemail message that greeted you began with the line from Psalms 118, This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

A few weeks ago, I was having of a particularly challenging weekend morning. My toddler-aged son was upset, my energy levels were zapped due to pregnancy, and I had a list of chores that needed to be completed to set my family up for a successful week ahead. As I began to feel sorry for myself…

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsem′ane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go yonder and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zeb′edee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”  And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

“God is light, and will give Himself to every awakened sinner that waiteth for Him; and thou shalt then be a temple of the living God, and Christ shall ‘dwell in thy heart by faith’: and, ‘being rooted and grounded in love, thou shalt be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of that love of Christ which passeth knowledge,’ that thou mayest be filled with all the fullness of God.”