Weekly Devotion

Grace is looked at by most Christians as a gift of God. It is the unmerited favor of God and free for all of us. I thought about grace on my run this morning. Why do we need it? At my very worst, God sees my best. Through my gossiping, occasional foul language, selfish behavior, and uninspiring past, God still sees His finished work in me. And even at my best, my renewed and re-energized faith still isn’t good enough to earn this favor from God because He sees something better. Why?

I was panicked. This would have a big impact on my client and me. The fear was overwhelming. There was a link to click to appeal the decision. I clicked on it and began to fill out the form. Then, they asked for my password. I thought to myself, why would they want that? What does that matter? An alarm went off. I googled the subject line of my email adding “scam” in the query. Several articles mentioned this popular and effective phishing scam.

Christians know how the story is going to end, so having faith when going through serious times gives them something to hold on to that others don’t have. I don’t mean to be cynical, but it’s easier to show faith when we know the outcome. There are many stories of people in the Bible who showed incomparable faith while going through horrible trials, and not one of them knew how the story would end. Look at Joseph, Abraham, and Mary, sister of Lazarus. We have the book of Revelation, they didn’t.

Old Testament Psalms are more than poetry, they are Hebrew poetry. They have a unique style and structure. Poetry is not about facts or debatable details, it’s about experience. It’s about expression and feeling. In the coming weeks, we’ll unpack more about the characteristics of Psalms and how important they are in the Christian life.

“By the time I was in middle school, I realized that Jesus Christ was my Savior,” (L) replied. She went on to explain what that meant to her. “I felt that if I believe and accept God, I’m good. That’s all.” I got a strong sense that even at that age, she didn’t believe we should get caught up in a bunch of regulations and requirements for being a Christian.

“By the time I was in middle school, I realized that Jesus Christ was my Savior,” (L) replied. She went on to explain what that meant to her. “I felt that if I believe and accept God, I’m good. That’s all.” I got a strong sense that even at that age, she didn’t believe we should get caught up in a bunch of regulations and requirements for being a Christian.

Whenever you’re feeling flat, just talk with someone who is full of faith and is a light for Christ. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he includes seven spiritual gifts: perceiving, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, ruling, and mercy. I think my friend (A) is blessed with every one of them.

“I became a leader in BB through high school. When living in Denver, there was one boy I drove to meetings every Wednesday.” We didn’t go into details, but what I gained from our conversation is that this boy didn’t have the means or willing adults in his home to get him to the meetings.

More impressive than God’s created landscapes are his works of art through the people He chooses. There are two types of gifted people: those who perform for themselves, and those who perform to give God the glory. I think of all the non-believing artists who achieved a level of fame only to fulfill their own riches and desires. Then, there are those who are a stream for God’s gifts, letting His greatness pour through them. Their talents are simply reflections of God’s majesty.

Were we concerned about the trip? You bet. We purchased travel insurance and made sure that all of our excursions and travel expenses were either refundable or changeable. Beyond that, we knew that our ultimate fate and even the insignificance of this trip was in God’s hands – so why worry? Yeah right.