Category: Devotionals

Zebedee’s wife came to Jesus with a special request for her two sons, James and John. She requested that her sons might sit on both sides of Jesus when He came into His kingdom.

I wonder how her sons felt about that? Maybe their mother had been doing this all their lives, manipulating to get them promoted in life. Were they Mama’s boys? Did Mama always run their lives? Did they not have the guts to ask themselves, so they let their mother do the asking?

But Jesus said, “You don’t even know what you are asking. It is not up to me, but it is in the Father’s hand. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” Matt 20:22.

They both said yes, they were able, but they didn’t realize that Jesus was speaking of His own death soon to come. When Jesus responded, “You will drink My cup,” He knew that James would soon be martyred.

The other ten disciples got mad, but Jesus settled it once and for all when he said, “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant,” Matt 20:26.

There is a song that says this is an upside down kingdom. The way to become great in the kingdom is to become the least. The way up is down, the way to become great is to humble yourself, the way to become the boss is to become a servant.

Even in the natural world, the best bosses are those who have come up through the ranks of employees and done the jobs that they are telling others how to do.

The way to see your child become all that God intends for her to become is to teach her to serve other people. And please don’t try to manipulate things to see that your child gets the best seat or the preferred place or the special treatment. No one likes a mother who pushes her kids to the front all the time.

And remember this: let God do the promoting. It’ll save you a lot of heartache in the long run.

One of my favorite computer games is a hidden picture game involving deep-sea diving to a ship-wreck to recover the Queen of England’s crown which was lost at sea when the ship sank. To find the crown, the player has to find all kinds of hidden objects jumbled up during the wreck in the wrong compartments of the ship and bring them to the surface to salvage them.

Games like this are good for your mind, to keep it sharp, sharpen your memory, and cause you to pay attention to your surroundings.

Hunting for hidden pictures makes my eyes and brain look beyond what I initially see to what is there but hidden. And that is what faith is–looking beyond what can be seen and seeing with our spiritual eyes the hidden things God has in store for us.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” I Corinthians 2:9-10

We frequently quote this scripture, “You know, eye hasn’t seen and ear hasn’t heard what God has in store for us,” but we stop short of the real blessing that is included in these two verses. Yes, God is a God of mystery and, yes, we don’t always see or hear or know what God is going to do, but the next verse explains further, “But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.”

God wants us to see the hidden pictures in our lives. He wants to reveal to us the things He has prepared for us, for those who love Him. When we reach the end of life, we will win the crown of Life that God has in store for all that love Him.

God isn’t hiding things from us; He is revealing them to us.

Easter was always my favorite holiday next to Christmas when I was growing up. Besides the excitement of getting a new dress and new shoes for church, it was because we got to see our cousins from Wichita after a long winter apart.

Our cousins came home to Vinita for Easter, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, Rodeo Week, and Labor Day, but they stayed in Wichita the rest of the year to celebrate the holidays there. Their daddy and my mama were brother and sister who had grown up out north of Vinita on a little farm and still called Vinita home. Since there wasn’t a house on the old farm, everyone always gathered at our little house to visit.

If they didn’t have any car trouble or flats they usually pulled into Vinita by 9 o’clock at night but I started watching for them as soon as supper was over. Every few minutes I’d go look out the front door expecting them to drive in. Any time a car drove by, I just knew it was them, so I’d race out the door.

. When the lights of the car shined on the front door, I ran out the front door, slamming the screen door behind me. I always wanted to be the first one there when the car pulled into the driveway. Before the car had even come to a complete stop, I already had the car door open, and I was inside, on their laps, hugging and kissing.

That’s how I imagine it will be when we are ready to go to heaven. Our loved ones who have gone there ahead of us will be waiting for us to arrive. Some of them will be so excited they might even show up early to escort us across the great divide. You know, it is common for people who are getting ready to go to heaven to see a loved one coming to escort them home.

Jesus told us, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2-3.

This isn’t home. Heaven is home.

 

In the Christian churches I have attended in my lifetime we have never celebrated Lent, but two years ago I decided to recognize the season as a way to grow closer to my Lord Jesus. After giving some thought to what I should give up for Lent, I decided that for me, in my case, I needed to add something, not take away something, during the Lent season, which is the 40 days prior to Easter when the Christians are to prepare their heart through repentance, prayer, penance, and self-denial.

This year I will wear a cross in one form or another, with 3 special cross necklaces that are meaningful to me.

As I put the cross on each morning, I will reflect on the scripture where Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Daily, just like Jesus said, as I take up my cross necklace, for instance, and put it on, I will be reminded to deny myself and follow Jesus that day, wherever He leads me. As I go about my daily duties and become aware of the cross necklace, I will remind myself of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for me.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Daily as I recognize the cross necklace I have taken up and placed around my neck, I will be reminded of how Jesus laid down His life for me, so I will find some way to lay down my life for my friends.

At the end of the day when I take the cross off, I will remember how Jesus was taken down off the cross and buried in a borrowed tomb for three days, but then Praise God! on Resurrection Sunday, He rose again!

And I will for 40 days remember and prepare myself for that day when I will be raised to new life with Jesus.

Won’t that be a Great Getting-Up Morning?

 

Now that Valentine’s Day is over, husbands all over the U.S. can breathe a sigh of relief. They have lived through another year of diamond advertisements. Yes, Valentine’s Day is too commercialized, as all holidays are now. Yes, it is a gimmick, a way to sell flowers, chocolates, and jewelry, but if there is one thing that deserves a holiday of its very own, it is Love.

We celebrate a mother’s love on Mother’s Day, a daddy’s love on Father’s Day, a grandparent’s love on Grandparent’s Day, but we should celebrate Jesus’ Love, pure love, true love, sweet love, on Valentine’s Day.

This year Valentine’s Day put me in a lovey-dovey mood, not that I needed anything more to make me feel loving. I am already well-known in the church circles as the huggy lady.

I’ve been feeling the emotional love bubble up in me a lot lately. For instance, when I look in your eyes, the Love of God wells up in my heart. I used to think this was because of the loving personality I was born with, and I accepted it as just the way I was.

Then one day while I was praying, I remembered that I had asked the Lord to give me love for people, even the unlovable ones. I asked Him to make me a vessel, a conduit of His great love to others, so that they would feel the love of God flowing through me.

And I realized that was exactly what had happened. God has planted His love for people in my heart. It doesn’t mean though that I act loving all the time. I have had to repent many times for unloving actions that hurt others.

Obviously you can have love in your heart but act in an unloving manner. We must make an effort to translate our love into action, based on how the Bible teaches us to treat others.

Romans 5:5 NKJV says, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Every Christian has the love of God in their hearts, but some just don’t know how to show it.

In Acts chapter 27, a great storm came up on the Mediterranean Sea when Paul was a prisoner, being taken to Rome. He had tried to tell the captain of the ship that there was a storm coming, but they decided to chance it and sailed anyway.

According to some recent studies, this was the worst storm that ever came on that sea and was recorded by the local historians. This was a killer storm.

As the ship tossed and rolled on the waves, Paul was fasting and praying. He came to the deck and told them, “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost.

 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.

.And I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” Acts 27:21–25 NIV

Some of the men tried to leave on lifeboats but Paul told them “Unless these men remain in the ship, you cannot be saved,” so they cut away the lifeboat and let it fall. Then he urged them to eat, because they hadn’t eaten in 14 days and again he said, “Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”

Paul had a destiny and the destiny of all those on that ship with him was tied up with his. Because Paul must live, they would live too. Paul had enough faith for them all.

Who is sailing through the sea of life with you? Your family, your friends, your neighbors. Their destinies are all tied in with your destiny. Remember this promise when you are praying for them.

God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.