Devotional Archives
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Labels and Categories
May 16, 2012
A foul mood is spreading across our society and the world these days. Dialogue seems to have been replaced by name-calling that is little related to truth. Broadcasters fill the air with divisive labels designed ...
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Outstretched Hand
May 15, 2012
At the age of nine, I was running in my grandmother’s backyard and fell into an open garbage pit that had filled with water during a heavy rain. Somehow I managed to stretch my hand ...
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Forgiven and Clean
May 14, 2012
The sign above the 24-hour laundry/dry cleaning storefront reads, “Decent Cleaners.” This unusual name catches my attention each time I see it. Just what is the difference between decent and exceptional, decent and excellent, or ...
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A Legacy
May 13, 2012
I pulled out my sewing machine and sewing supplies, brushing off 30 years’ dust. With two granddaughters, I wanted to sew again for the first time in a long time. Pinning, cutting, and stitching, it ...
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Thirst Quencher
May 12, 2012
Years ago, I visited Ooty, a hill station in South India. The bus stopped for a while at a hairpin bend because the engine was overheated. The arduous journey had made us thirsty and hungry. ...
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Come and Get It!
May 11, 2012
We like to grill our food outside on the barbecue. We experiment with different ways of cooking: over an open flame, sometimes basting the meat with sweet teriyaki sauce, sometimes flavoring it with a zesty ...
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Say Thank You
May 10, 2012
One evening recently I took my mother to the hospital emergency room because she had a severe headache and her blood pressure was extremely high. A doctor examined her, reviewed her information, and prescribed medication ...
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The Whole Person
May 09, 2012
When I was a teenager, I started falling in love; but I worried, Would a guy accept a disabled person like me? I kept praying and hoping for someone who would love me as I ...
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Perspective
May 08, 2012
My great grandpa’s wrinkles deepen when he chuckles. His blue eyes reflect a schoolboy’s mischievous sense of humor. Nearly 100 years of living, through personal tragedies and historic disasters, has shaped my great-grandpa’s perspective. He ...
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Deferred Hope?
May 07, 2012
My heart should have been racing with anticipation, but instead I had been consumed by anxiety as I sat awaiting a sonogram. Fear had filled me during this second pregnancy. Just nine months earlier, a ...
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The Power of Humility
May 06, 2012
The description of the Last Supper can move us deeply. Yet beyond the ritual of foot washing, something tremendous is being revealed in these verses. This story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet declares the ...
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Feed the Birds
May 05, 2012
Every morning, regardless of the weather outside, a variety of birds comes and waits for us to throw bread crumbs out on the lawn. All sorts of birds come — the plain little sparrows; the ...
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Love Letters
May 04, 2012
My husband died nine years ago. Recently, I came across the letters he wrote to me while we were dating almost 60 years ago. When I saw the familiar, hard-to-read handwriting, I smiled, remembering the ...
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God Is for Us!
May 03, 2012
Earthly kings and leaders come and go. Some are good. Some do much damage before being voted out or deposed. In the U.S., we have the chance to change our leader every four years. But ...
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Wandering Ways
May 02, 2012
The bewildered child stood alone on the street in front of my house. I was alarmed, especially since none of my immediate neighbors has young children. He was not afraid as I approached him, and ...
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Bullied
May 01, 2012
From sixth grade through high school, I was constantly bullied and teased. I learned to live with it, but many days I came home in tears, wondering why God was doing this to me. When ...
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A Map to Christ
April 30, 2012
I work for a small municipality in a rural area of Tennessee. Perhaps the most interesting of my many job responsibilities is creating maps. The maps I produce vary in simplicity from a drawing representing ...
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Faithful Witness
April 29, 2012
We are a new congregation, and we still do not have a church building. Our services are held in a borrowed space. During the week, Bible studies are offered in members’ homes. One day we ...
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Resting in the Shelter
April 28, 2012
Entering the grocery store, I see a small child who is having a toddler meltdown. He throws his arms and legs out, flopping to the floor, crying, beside the rack of grocery carts. His mother ...
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A Sweet Taste
April 27, 2012
Those of us who had just participated in the Shavu’ot service at a messianic synagogue had been invited to stay and eat afterwards. I listened to the friendly woman beside me explain, “We celebrate Shavu’ot ...
