Daily Devotional

In Luke 24:13-35 two things stand out strongly that I think give us a glimpse of God’s grace upon the resurrection of Jesus. Verse 19 begins with Jesus asking, “What things?” after the two disciples essentially asked him if he was living under a rock for the past 3 days.

Last week, our staff was treated a great lunch, just before our staff meeting. Our lunch was pizza from Hideaway Pizza. I was in line to get pizza with my friend Doug. Doug is on our communications team here at St. Luke’s. Doug looked at me and told me that he was excited because his favorite pizza was one of the options. It turns out his favorite pizza is the Paradise Pie from Hideaway.

And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

One of my favorite authors is C.S. Lewis. I have loved reading many of C.S. Lewis’s books throughout my life, but my favorite has always been and continues to be The Chronicles of Narnia. These seven books tell the journey of several children who are magically taken to the land of Narnia. In Narnia they experience great adventures and learn the deepest of life’s lessons.

Recently, a Norman, Oklahoma police officer took time out of his busy day to truly help the helpless. Our daily news is often filled with the worst of crime, war, and politics, but Officer Collins reminded us that there is good news to celebrate, as well. Officer Collins demonstrated that each of us can bring joy to this world with small acts of kindness. When we take time to offer help to those in need, we not only bless those who we help, but we remind others of the joy that comes as God’s people share His love through their actions.

I have been excited to be part of our recent Wednesday Night Alive, Special Addition. This class has focused on the rise and fall of the kings of Israel. It is a timely study that lines up with our readings for the Year in the Bible. This study started in the book of 1 Samuel with God’s selection of Saul to be the first king of Israel. The class will conclude by looking at the rise and fall of Solomon. If you were not able to be part of this study in-person, you can watch it online.

What color are your eyes? Mine are green. Did you know that green is the rarest eye color? A mere 9% of the US population has green eyes. Brown is the most prevalent eye color in the US (45%), with blue being next (27%). Only 18% of the US population has hazel eyes. Whatever our eye color, we can all agree that our eyes are important to us!

The relationship between students and teachers is significant. A good teacher can have a life-long impact on their students. It is the hope of all good teachers that their lessons and their hard work will help their students succeed in life. That is what Patrick Moriaty has always hoped for as he teaches science in Rochester, New York.

Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.