Daily Devotional

I love listening to music. There are so many wonderful Christian songs with powerful messages. Whether they are great hymns or contemporary songs, I find tremendous comfort and inspiration in the lyrics, melodies, and performances of these songs. One of the songs that I appreciate is “How Far” by Tasha Layton. It is a powerful song that beautifully reflects the message of our faith.

Our days are filled with small pictures of beauty and joy. It is sometimes difficult to see the good things around us. Our focus determines what we see. If we are focused on the negative, it will seem as though we only encounter bad things in our lives. If we are intentional about looking for the positive in our lives, we will find that we discover more beauty and joy than we realize.

Tamie Konzier and her young son were out running errands one day. They stopped off at a small restaurant for lunch. They were enjoying their lunch together. They had a wonderful waitress who helped make the experience all the more enjoyable. While they were eating, Tamie noticed that her waitress was having a difficult time walking. She then overheard her waitress telling another person that her back was constantly hurting, but her social security was not enough.

The smallest act of kindness can make a substantial difference, sending ripples across a community. Taking time to help a person can brighten their day. Kindness has the power to overcome the saddest of times. Our intentional kindness conveys the love and mercy of God in an honest and tangible way.

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

They had endured the trials of that holy week in Jerusalem. Jesus entered the city to the waving of palms and the shouting of “Hosannah.” Shortly after that, Jesus was betrayed, arrested, brutalized, and killed. This struck fear into the hearts of the ones who followed Jesus so closely.

Aimee and I recently celebrated our anniversary. We took a wonderful trip. While away we visited a lighthouse. It was a beautiful structure constructed on a tall peninsula overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The cliffs on either side were steep and rocky. At the bottom of the cliffs, the waves crashed, and the powerful ocean roared. We stood in awe as we overlooked this beautiful site.

Running a 5k, half, or full marathon is a fantastic accomplishment. Running long distances requires physical training and mental strength. This past Monday, the Boston Marathon was run. The first-place winner in the men’s division was John Korir, who ran 26.2 miles in 2:04:45. He averaged running a mile at 4.45 minutes. That is simply amazing. This weekend, Oklahoma City will host the Memorial Marathon. There will be just over 25,000 runners in this year’s race. Each person is running for a different personal reason. They will all run to help us collectively remember the events and the people we lost on April 19, 1995.

Baseball season is well underway. As the temperature rises, baseball fields across the country are filled with exceptional athletes who dream of one day playing Major League Baseball. Many start playing around the age of five, and their dreams grow with age, experience, and, of course, watching their favorite Big-League stars.