Weekly Devotions

“My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them for they will refresh you.” Proverbs 3:21-22, The New Living Translation.

Is it just me? Or does it feel like common sense is a missed commodity, experience, thought these days.  Is it just me? Or does it feel like we all need refreshment? Who’s ready for some seasons of refreshing.

Living in the tropics means we don’t have seasons that are obvious. Around here people put on jackets and sweaters when the temperatures hit 69! There is always something blooming here. I pretend the yellow flowering trees are Fall colors!

But seasons are real even if not well defined on the calendar or in the air. Common sense and discernment can be refreshing

with the just right book or music

with a favorite candle scent (pumpkin in the Fall at my house!)

with recipes that trim the season with smells and tastes

in pulling out favorite seasonal clothes.

How about common sense and discernment offered

during the weight of a burden

in the ache of loss

in the hope for a beginning …or an end.

In our seasons of uncertainty, anticipation, longing, wonder, God’s gift of common sense can be our refreshment. So

reach for the easy well-loved favorite family stories

reach for the easy, well-loved mealtimes – a bowl of cereal does well at our house

put a lipstick kiss on your kids hand so they can see it all day at school

sing the doxology at meal time

listen with your eyes and not hurried activity

host an impromptu dance party in your house, on your neighborhood street

keep looking at your yard, trees around you, birdhouses and feeders

call your dear friend who you miss

hydrate your body

and your soul.

Proverbs tells us to Hang on to common sense and discernment for they will refresh you!

Is it just me or do you want to lean in for more common sense and discernment?

Hang on!

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20, NIV

On September 11, America along with her friends around the world remembered the victims of the attack on freedom and those who gave their lives that day, twenty years ago. Of the almost three thousand who died on that one-day in the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the empty field in Pennsylvania, countless thousands more have been affected forever. We have camera footage showing the towers as they imploded, and smoke and debris pushing its way down the narrow streets of New York. People covered in ash from the incinerated buildings scattered haphazardly, running, tripping, and falling trying to escape. Many of us watched on the television in real time, stunned, looking at the disaster and devastation in disbelief. Over and over the past couple of days as we honored this memory for the twentieth time since 2001, we have heard the words, “never forget!”

On a hill called “Calvary,” one man, Jesus, gave His life for all of humankind. No cameras were rolling to capture the horrid images of Jesus being beaten, smacked, and spit upon. Technology did not exist two thousand years ago that would allow humanity a way to see in real time the man, Jesus, walking through the narrow streets of Jerusalem dragging a wooden cross and wearing a crown of thorns cutting into his skin. When He tripped and fell under the weight of the cross, Jesus was beaten again and again, but no images remain for the world to replay in remembrance. In front of a hostile gathering, Jesus had nails driven into His hands and feet as He was lifted up in shame and rejection. But Jesus did not expect, nor did He ask for accolades; He just finished what He came to do, which is offer salvation to anyone who would receive it.

Yes, it is true that no cameras were rolling on that awful, yet necessary day. And there were no cameras anywhere around three days later when Jesus walked out of His tomb, alive with the promise of eternal life for all who would believe. Nevertheless, the grave is still empty! Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He basically said, never forget!

While we commemorate the occasions that affect us in this world, I pray we will remember the one occasion that will affect us for all eternity.

You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! John 4:35-36 NLT

We, as believers and followers of Christ, are all called to missions. Just because you haven’t packed up your belongings and moved to Timbuktu doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for sharing the Gospel. 

Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble, but fear not, I have overcome the world.” What great news! You don’t have to look very far to feel the effects of the most recent troubles in our world today. Turn on the news, scroll through the media, listen to the radio. The picture looks bleak. Or, your battle might have hit closer to home: marriage struggles, health crises, family issues. 

If you are like an ostrich and prefer to stick your head in the sand, I totally understand. The information bombarding us today is grim and honestly quite pessimistic. But, what are people doing that don’t know Jesus? How are they coping with the pandemic of hopelessness that is raging through society today?

Believer, we have Good News to share. Not just me, but you! Be bold, strong, and courageous! The world needs to know there is hope and that Jesus has in fact overcome the world! It’s an eternal matter. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” Boom! Victory over darkness and evil. Past tense. We can live with hope and without fear because Jesus has already won the battle. Let the victory we have in Jesus light up even your darkest moments. Look to Him and His radiance for hope.

Let’s live our lives on a mission to share this Good News everyday with all those we come in contact with. In a recent article from The Gospel Coalition titled, Hospitality is Courageous, Pastor Matt Chandler said, “As we walk courageously in our cultural climate, evangelism will look like showing hospitality.” What if sharing the hope we have in Christ looked like inviting people into your home? 

At Sweet Monday, we believe that an open heart and an open home are critical in living out the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. What if we put the hurts of our neighbors before the condition of our carpets? Don’t confuse hospitality with entertaining. Welcome your neighbors into your homes like you welcome your family. That’s what hospitality looks like in the family of God. 

Here’s even more good news! We are so excited to share with you our newest Sweet Monday product! Sweet Monday in a Box! This cute pink box contains EVERYTHING you need to open your home once a month and host a Sweet Monday as a fun,simple, and faithful way to reach women in your community for Christ. We have a whole season of brand new curriculum that makes hosting a Sweet Monday so simple you look forward to it every month. 

Our Generous God supporters have made it possible for us to send this box to you free of charge. If you are interested in living on mission in your neighborhood and becoming a Sweet Monday hostess as a way to share the Good News of the Gospel, follow the link below to request your Sweet Monday in a Box today. 

The fields are pink for harvest. Wake up and look around! The fruit we harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. William Shakespeare

For me, two minutes and 30 seconds made the whole world kin! That was the amount of time I, along with my family and thousands of others, experienced a total eclipse of the sun.

WOW! That’s the only way to describe hearing crickets chirp, seeing stars appear, and being enveloped in total darkness at 2:45 in the afternoon. Wow, wow, wow!

Those of us in the zone of totality exulted in God’s majestic splendor. And for a few moments, in a world rife with political division, civil unrest, sin and violence, we all came together. And we all looked heavenward.

It was magical. We put our differences aside and shared a common vision – an almost inexplicable and totally awesome act of nature. No matter our race, our party affiliation, our gender orientation or age, we stood side by side and witnessed in unison what was for most of us a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Lord, you reveal yourself every day in more subtle ways – a cleansing rain shower, a gorgeous flower blossom, or a towering tree. I pray that your children here on earth can bond over less spectacular signs of your omnipotence.

Thank you for drawing our eyes skyward for a brief shining moment. Cardboard glasses with special lens were essential that day. On a daily basis in the grittiness of life, we need to look all around us through your holy lens.

As Ephesians 1:18 so eloquently states it: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling.”

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” James 1:19

As a young girl, I remember my dad repeatedly using the phrase, “The good Lord gave you two ears and one mouth so you can listen twice as much as you talk.” Dad was a Marine, and a man of few words by nature. Having two daughters who spoke approximately 20,000 words daily resulted in us hearing the aforementioned phrase when dad needed a little peace and quiet.

The book of James offers such practical, life-giving advice. The ability to listen well is often times the key to understanding people and situations with a more compassionate posture. However, what I find most comforting and miraculous is not my ability (or inability) to listen well…but that the King of Kings and Creator of the entire cosmos chooses to listen to me and then He graciously allows me to hear His “voice” in return.

“I love the LORD, for he heard my voice, he heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned his ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.”

Psalm 116:1-2

My mind struggles to comprehend the wonder of unrestricted access to God’s ear and throne, but my heart is forever filled with gratitude and praise that deeply flawed but beloved children are absorbed by a love and grace too wonderful for words, a love that listens.

Sweet sisters, I pray that God’s voice will be the loudest one in your life. There is tremendous joy to be experienced when we listen for His leading, use our words wisely and remember our Heavenly Father delights in His children. (Zephaniah 3:17)

“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29, NIV.

“Seeing is believing.” Have you ever made this statement? The declaration seems like a reasonable deduction; when you see something with your own eyes, it is a little hard to deny. After Jesus conquered the grave and appeared to His disciples the first time, Thomas was not with them to see Jesus for himself. When the others tried to tell him that it was true, “Jesus is alive!” Thomas said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Scripture tells us that a week after Thomas makes this statement, Jesus makes a return visit to his disciples and this time, Thomas is with them. The passage depicting the incident is almost amusing, were it not so profound.

As the disciples are all gathered, inside a locked house, Jesus appears, saying “Peace be with you” (26). If Jesus miraculously walking through locked doors is not enough to convince Thomas that He is alive, Jesus invites him to touch His hands and side as Thomas said it would be the only way he would believe. But, Thomas, I am certain was overcome by Jesus’s presence and simply said, “My Lord and my God” (27).

Switching gears, a bit, allow me please to ask you a question. Do you believe that God created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh or do you think this Scripture in Genesis is merely symbolic? This past week, a dear friend, who is not a Christian said he has read where a lot of Christians believe this to be “just a nice story, rather than factual.” I could not help wondering if those same Christians, to which my friend was referring, and to which he believes are more rational, believe that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven as Scripture relates?

Dear Friend, if one cannot believe that God can create the world in six days, then how is it possible to believe God has power over the grave? I pray that if you are a Christian and find yourself in the camp that doubts the Creation Story, then, like Thomas, ask God to show you how it is possible because the Bible is either all truth or no truth at all. Humans are finite and God is infinite. I am glad there are mysteries concerning God that are just too vast for human understanding because not being able to solve every mystery also means God is Mightier than we could ever imagine!