Weekly Devotions

“For lo the winter is passed, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is heard and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.” Song of Solomon 2:1

In Middle Tennessee, spring is a time for rejoicing. Everywhere you turn, there is beauty on display. From the early heralds of flowering quince and forsythia, spring in Tennessee gradually builds until we awaken one day to find ourselves immersed in a world that belies description – from the tiny wildflowers that hide among the grasses to the daffodils and narcissus, from the white, pink and red azaleas to the sweet dogwood – all testify in their own way to the marvelous glory of God. I grew up in Florida where the lines between seasons were blurred at best and had never truly experienced the advent and glory of spring until I moved to Tennessee. Each spring I find myself marveling at the hand of God as spring gloriously unfolds before us. It never fails to remind me, not only of the Lord’s love of beauty in nature, but also of the beauty that he puts within humanity itself.

And it is not only beauty that each man and woman on this earth carries, but a reflection of the Creator himself. I am reminded at times of the words of C.S. Lewis who tells us that “There are no ordinary people…”, and indeed there are not. As my life begins to gradually open up again, I am finding that I have never encountered more beautiful people! Perhaps it is because quarantine and isolation served as a long season of winter in my life, and now that I am visiting the grocery store and my neighborhood pharmacy and even venturing further afield to the garden store and other places, I am awakening to the true beauty of humanity and how each person is an image bearer of our great God. It is as though I am encountering a deep and true spring in my heart for the first time in a long time. I do not know about you, but I sense that a burden has been lifted. I am grateful. Deeply grateful. And I am determined not to let this awakening slip into obscurity. I am longing for the Lord to give me the opportunity and the courage to share His great love and His longing for deep relationship with each person I encounter. Would you pray that we would all awaken to the joy that is ours as children of the Living God and be willing to share it unreservedly?

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” 1 John 4:7

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:12

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13, NIV.

A “right of passage” I remember embracing as a young teenage girl is the day I used my allowance to purchase a diary. While boys have secret thoughts too, girls by nature like to document personal thoughts as “sacred writings” kept in a designated book called a diary. The importance of such writings is emphasized by the fact that most diary’s come with a key for locking away ones deepest and most personal thoughts. The key is often worn on a chain around the neck of the author, lest anyone dare be tempted to open her book and read what is meant for her eyes only!

If you are over fifty years old, you may be familiar with what I call a mother’s proverb; “Do nothing you would not want to have appear on the front page of the newspaper for all the world to see.” Given the current technology of cell phones, a camera rests in someone’s hand at all times, night and day. Security cameras run 24/7 in public areas, and social media is now the preferred platform for documenting one’s deepest thoughts. Some people see progress as exposing unbridled desires for all the world to see; such desires, once considered locked up safe and sound by the key hanging around ones neck, now threaten to find their way onto a Twitter-feed.

Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum of privacy, one thing is certain; God knows everything about you and me. Whether we choose to bare our souls before the world or not, we have no secrets before The Creator. And, He knows not only what we do, God knows every thought we have, every unspoken desire, and even the intentions of our hearts. I pray that this reality keeps us ever humble and eternally thankful for Jesus. His cross of reconciliation is our only hope of facing God “as one approved.”

For deeper insight, this week I invite you to read the book of 2 Timothy.

“But these [miraculous signs] are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” John 20:31, NLT.

“But these [miraculous signs] are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” John 20:31, NLT.

My dad always tried to make road trips fun for our family; of course, sometimes the effort required a little silliness to end in success. We lived in Virginia and my grandparents had their home in Pennsylvania. Many times, over the years, we traveled by car meaning we had to cross over two state-lines and the well-known Mason-Dixon line. With the trip taking a good five hours, my sister and I often drifted off to sleep, lulled into unconsciousness by the monotonous rumbling of the tires.

“Dianne, Sherry, wake up!!” With excitement in his voice, daddy would call out our names and, startled, we always fell for his ploy.

“What daddy? What is it?”

“Did you feel that?” he would ask, fully expecting a reply from his two young daughters.

“The state-line! We just drove over the line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania!”

I wish I could say we outgrew his taunting but in time, my sister and I played along because we knew it made him happy. Today, so many years later, daddy is no longer with us, but this story still brings a big smile to my face.

So, now I ask you; did you feel that?

“What?” you may be asking.

Easter Sunday! Yesterday, we celebrated the greatest gift from God to humankind. Jesus Christ, God’s Only Son came into the world, living among His creation. He died so that you and I might live. Jesus rose from the grave so that you and I could also rise up one day when He returns to gather His children. Today is Monday but please do not simply move onward without understanding the precious meaning of yesterday. Easter is the beginning of “the Story,” not the end. Take the time to reflect and celebrate your salvation.

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:10-1

Last year, I reached out to friends asking for prayer. My text went something like this, “Good morning ladies! Quick prayer request. My previous husband is having a medical procedure this morning. The last one didn’t go so well. Please pray for no complications.” Simple enough.

Do you ever proofread AFTER the fact? As you can imagine – there was a slow response from the group and friends wondering why I had left out a substantial part of my story. Truth be told, I’ve only been married one time and meant to request prayer for my “precious husband”…since the “C” key is directly next to the “V” key…mistakenly, I had requested prayer for a non-existent “previous” one. We had a good laugh…and a great takeaway…the order is everything.

Recently this principle was highlighted by a local pastor and friend of ours who was teaching on the woman caught in an adulterous act.

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared.

“Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:10-1

The order here has eternal significance and is truly everything!

What could have been an opportunity to publicly shame this woman…Jesus used as an opportunity to display perfect wisdom, grace, compassion and love to one who was vulnerable.

Jesus did not ask her to become presentable first…and He doesn’t ask it of us. We are completely accepted and dearly loved exactly where we are…and then encouraged to not stay in that place. The order is everything!

This is something worth smiling about on any Sweet Monday!

What’s the physical distance between you and your dearest friends? In the neighborhood? Across town, across the world? What about the distance from your aging parents or your young adult children?

Our home is in Hawaii. Our adult children are in the Northwest. Our aging parents are in the South. And lifelong friends are scattered around the world. For all but three years of my adult life, I have lived far from my parents. That means vacations are still often to go be with family. The miles have not allowed events, ordinary, unexpected, joyful and painful to be shared in person. Separation.

Who doesn’t know about life events, ordinary, unexpected, joyful and painful in which we absolutely could not be present?  For sure 2020 and counting. The ache, sadness, sometimes anger was present when we could not be present. Separation.

This Lent season has brought a new dimension to what separation means. Willingly in love and obedience, Jesus left the wonder of heaven to become one of us. Jesus’ connection to his Father was still in place. But when he took on our sin at the cross, the utter severing of God the Father from his Son was a first. It wasn’t just miles. All Jesus had known with his Father was gone. Silence in every direction. At his most painful, vulnerable, horrific time. Separation.

Reflect for a minute.

What has physical distance from loved ones created in and for you?

What does emotional distance from loved ones feel like?

Is there anyone you sense needs your nearness?

Does Jesus seem close right now?

Lean in in these last days of Lent. Consider Jesus’ sacrifice through separation. Come near. He will come near to you.

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:1-2, NIV

Many of you know I enjoy quilting in my spare time. On one of my recent projects, I used a pen to mark the sewing lines for stitching. The color of ink in the pen is purple. With a little hesitancy, I began, thinking to myself, don’t worry; the instructions say the ink disappears in a short time after air drying. Trusting, I marked a section of the fabric and began stitching. When finished, I set the project aside. The next day when I checked the project, sure enough, the marked lines of purple had vanished, like magic! What I had failed to understand from the instructions is that sometimes, if exposed to cold temperatures, the ink may reappear.

After finishing my quilt, I proudly displayed the beauty on the back of the sofa. Winter set in and the cooler temperature invited me to grab the quilt for cuddling. To my surprise and disappointment, the beautiful fabric displayed not only my hard-worked thread stitching, but also revealed the once magically disappearing purple ink used for marking.

The Bible tells us that we, all humanity, have sinned; as hard as we try to avoid it, sin follows us around wherever we go. Like the “disappearing ink” on my quilt, depending on our circumstances, you and I can appear lovely in our human nature; after all, we are created in God’s image. However, the conditions of our world are hardly consistent, revealing the natural human condition, which is to sin against God and each other.

Today’s generation wants desperately to remove all evidence of history and current events that reveal the marks of the darker side of humanity. How I wish that just by demanding and saying the word “cancel” we could make all wrongs disappear from our world, but this will never happen. The “Good News” is that Jesus Christ shed His blood once and for all; the price He paid permanently cancels our sin debt before our heavenly Father and is ours for the asking.

Will you join me today in thanking Jesus for His immeasurable gift, the assurance of God’s forgiveness that doesn’t change with the shifting conditions of this world?