Weekly Devotion

I heard the news of our friend’s daughter the morning before I heard Joby Martin’s sermon. I thought about them all day, especially while listening to the message.

You might find this hard to read but we are all saved by works. There, I said it. For much of my life, I believed that if I was good enough, followed the rules of my parents and society well enough, I could go to Heaven.

We are more distracted when life goes our way than when it does not. A cloudy perspective of the truth usually appears when we’re not staring at trouble or adversity. Pastor Andrew Taylor once told me that he has always grown closer to God in the valleys than on the mountaintops.

She has always been the voice, smile, and nudge behind the cheering and instrument of faith that changed our son’s life. When I think of everything our son gained from his walk with Jesus, (T) and her husband were there.

Seeing all that water rushing past me, it looked like it was trying to find an escape. There was too much for this one place, so it had to flee. I thought that it was like our prayers. Everyone on this planet who is praying doesn’t pray for their prayers to stay put.

“In 90 minutes, I went from calling 911 to receiving a stent in my right coronary artery. I can only thank God,” my cousin’s husband said.

Our faith in Christ should be the motivating factor about how we live, not anything else. If we are part of Christ by our faith, we are accepted, no matter our actions, religious practices, or attempts at being good.

One of my favorite ‘80s TV shows was The A-Team. Actor George Peppard played Lieutenant Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith, the leader of a small band of men from the 5th Special Forces Group. “I love it when a plan comes together” was his signature calling card.

“Your text was great timing for me,” (B) replied. He went on to describe that his wife was in the hospital again. “I’m walking through some fires right now,” he said.

Christian believers face harsh realities that non-believers don’t. We live with the promise of things not seen, whereas atheists use the world to back up their claims.