Weekly Devotion

\Every morning before I read a single email, I spend quiet time in God’s word. One day this week, it began with Psalm 130, one of the seven Psalms collectively known as Songs of Ascents. The Psalm begins with a lament and ends with rays of hope that come from waiting for God. For some reason, the Psalm didn’t spiritually move me. I felt flat. It was either a lack of focus or a hardened heart that day. I was really disappointed with myself. Next, I went to read the day’s devotion.

Christian author and speaker, Joyce Meyer, once wrote that, “Anger is not a sin—it is what you do with it that becomes sin.” It sounds so logical doesn’t it? This thought is echoed through both the Old and New Testaments. Ironically, there are many things in the Bible that are implied but not declared. Anger, however, isn’t one of those things.

A very close friend of mine recently encountered this situation in his life. Some day, all of us will have to make a choice about moving, taking a new job, agreeing to terms, or staying put in our lives. Each scenario comes with its own set of reasons and for different people, the answers fit differently. After the Israelites had endured 400 years of horrible torture and slavery, God led them out of Egypt. Whatever gratitude they had towards God didn’t last.

Nearly ever world religion and Christian denomination believes in some form of salvation from God. Most also believe that this salvation is a gift from God. A major split happens when we dig deeper.

My run this morning took me on a sandy trail that skirts along a mile of beautiful shoreline. This stretch comes with different turns and views offering tall pines on one side and a blue lake on the other. At the start of my run, the wind was in my face so by the time I reached the lake, it should have been at my back. It wasn’t. It was in my face. A few hundred yards along the lake trail I had turned enough so that the wind was diminished. Then, unexpectedly, it was in my face again. Some people believe that God can speak to us in the wind. Our life has lots of turns and twists and God will speak to us at different times and different ways.

Tuesday of this week, I had a strong idea of what this devotional would be about. Since that time, the world has been thrown into a dangerous fireball. No matter what we think our plans are, God’s plans will prevail. In this case, both personal and global events didn’t change my original intent.

There’s a pastor I’ve been listening to for at least 15 years. He has a sizable library of sermons from a multitude of churches where he has served. His messages have always provided me a source of truthful inspiration. I have quoted him in conversations, in church, and in small group meetings.

Dreams were Joseph’s big thing. To be more specific, interpreting dreams. He developed quite a reputation for his ability to make sense out of people’s convoluted dreams. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph unsuccessfully so she schemed against him landing him in jail. His dream interpretations continued in prison. Two years later, Egypt’s Pharaoh started having troublesome dreams. Joseph was summoned.

Karma is a concept from Hinduism and Buddhism that loosely means “action.” It means different things to different religions, but it generally refers to cause and effect where every action a person takes will affect him or her sometime in the future. As a Christian believer, I’m not sure I buy that premise. God does correct us, sometimes for things we’ve done and sometimes to refine us. But if you believe in Jesus Christ, you know that He already paid the price for the sins we’ve done or will do in our life.

Money. It’s a topic that pulls a different response from each one of us. I have many shortcomings, but my biggest weakness relating to money is insecurity. It’s not wealth or prestige that seduces me, it’s the comfort of a security blanket or the shivering cold of not having enough. I realize this thinking requires constant correction. It shows a lack of trust in God’s provisions. Essentially, it puts Him second.