Weekly Devotions

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27, NIV

“With a unique ability to see the world though their eyes, renowned dog behavior expert, Cesar Millan rehabilitates all manner of troubled canines…” On a television program that aired in 2004, the “Dog Whisperer,” Cesar Millan made a “big bark” in the world of dogs when he introduced a new training process for dogs and their owners. Merriam-Webster defines a whisperer as, “a person who excels at calming or training usually hard-to-manage animals using noncoercive methods based especially on an understanding of the animals’ natural instincts.”

While this terminology became popular as recent as twenty years ago, it is by no means a new concept. Jesus was the original “Whisperer” since He had “a unique ability to see the world through [human eyes, He was the] renowned [human] behavior expert…rehabilitating all manner of troubled [humans].” Okay, I hope you were able to hang in and follow the rewriting of the lead-in sentence. We can do the same exercise with the definition by Merriam-Webster, as Jesus “excels at calming or training usually hard-to-manage animals using noncoercive methods based especially on an understanding of the animals’ natural instincts.”

Jesus, being both divine and human, understands the human natural instincts to stubbornness, waywardness, and just plain sinfulness! Jesus often likened people to sheep as in the Scripture from the book of John. Jesus knows, however, that people are created in God’s image, so we have the ability to learn and reason. “Rehabilitation” is sometimes painful when we insist on having our way.

I have three dogs and one cat; their ages are thirteen, eleven, seven, and the cat is a little over a year old. Thirteen years ago, with the help of a friend who knows and trains dogs, I worked and still work with my golden retriever, Daisy; she is a wonderful companion, but her continued stubbornness thirteen years later keeps me on my toes. The cat was feral, meaning undomesticated when found wandering in the woods. Over the last few months, I have worked hard with him through patient love and consistent discipline, so that now he trusts me and has become another sweet pet living in my house.

Sometimes, God has to discipline you and me for our good. If we listen to His voice, He is patient and loving. Like the beautiful Christmas carol, Away In a Manger tells us, He is “fitting us for heaven to live with Him there.”

“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16, NIV

Something about getting older motivates me to learn more about my family “tree” and those who are no longer with us. After reading a book about the Johnstown flood of 1889, I reached out to a cousin who has researched our family’s history over many years to find out if any of our ancestors were involved in the flood. My dad grew up in Johnstown in the early 1900s, as did most of his relatives, so I thought we must have a connection in some way. In fact, I learned the names and stories of several family members who both survived and died in the devastating flood.

Cousin Carolyn also gave me a rundown on other interesting facts about current members of our family who are musicians, writers, artists, and quilt makers; I wonder how many of our ancestors enjoyed all of the same crafts? Carolyn told me we had at least two preachers in our family ancestry, which prompted a pondering thought for me. When we take the time to think about and notice the talents and gifts within our family, it does not take long to find a pattern, that leads one to believe our heritage plays a big part in who we are and what we become in this world. DNA is strong! My dad was a self-taught amazing musician; he could play almost any instrument simply by trying to figure it out. I love to quilt and, of course, to write as do others in my family. I’m certain these traits were the product of a rich heritage.

One of the most intriguing pieces of ancestry I discovered is having preachers in the family because most of my relatives today are strong believers in Jesus Christ. What strikes me is unlike talents that can be passed along in our bloodline, being “Christian” cannot be inherited. Growing up in our large family, I remember so well visiting my great-grandparents who lived into their nineties and who loved Jesus; they did not pound a Bible to make this known, rather they loved and prayed faithfully with and for all of us and shared the Scriptures of promise. Friend, if you are a Christian, then it is very likely someone in your family, perhaps a hundred years ago prayed for you before you were born. What you inherited is not your faith, rather the prayers of the faithful who knew the importance of salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ. Take the time to research your heritage. You just might be surprised with what you discover.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will.” Psalm 103:2-4, 21

The plate hit the floor and broke into too many pieces for it to be repaired. The design on it was so pretty that I could not bring myself to throw it away. So I took the pieces and glued them to a picture frame and now I have a pretty and unique frame to use.

I had a Balleek china dish that belonged to my grandmother. One day I dropped it and it split completely in half. I am named after my grandmother so this piece is special to me because it belonged to her. The town that I lived in at the time had a well-known glass shop. I took it to them and they were able to repair it for me. You can barely see where the pieces were put back together and now I am able to use it on a table in my living room.

I have another vase that I really like and someone dropped it and broke off part of the bottom in such a way that it could not be repaired. However, rather than throwing the vase away, I found that once I fill it with flowers and turn it just right on the table, you cannot see the broken bottom.

Although each of these pieces are not new and whole and perfect, I am still able to use and enjoy them.

We are a lot like those pieces. Genesis 1: 26 says “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. We are made in God’s image and as such, are men and women of beauty and purpose. Yet, because of sin we are broken. We are broken in our relationship with God and with one another.

But God has a plan for our brokenness. His plan is Jesus. Through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus repaired our relationship with God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God takes us in our brokenness – our character flaws, our bent to sinning, our not doing what we know that we should do, our wanting to do things our way – and uses us for His purposes and His glory.

Just as the pieces I have are not perfect yet are usable, so we are not perfect yet God uses us. He uses each of us uniquely. He is not going to use me like He uses you and vice versa. What He is going to do is use all of us to accomplish His will and His work on earth.

I don’t know about you but sometimes my brokenness is really on display. I can be bossy, pushy, grouchy and selfish. It is not pretty! But, Jesus loves me so much that He takes the time to repair me – to change me and make me more like Him – and then He uses me. Know that He does the same for you. To God be the glory!!

“He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean” Revelation 19:13,14.

Recently, a well-respected Bible teacher here in Nashville suggested reading the first 3 chapters of Genesis paired with the last 3 chapters of Revelation. These chapters bookend God’s pursuit of mankind after the fall and His redemption and restoration in the end.

Interestingly enough, it is Revelation Chapter 19 that hits close to home.
My sweet husband, Dean, graduated from West Point. Upon completion of flight school and Ranger school, he (or should I say “we” J) served 7 years in the US Army.

The instant community, the steadfast commitment to uphold “Duty, Honor, Country” coupled with a willingness to sacrifice…all very good things that come with the territory. The thing that never “comes with the territory” is a white uniform on the battlefield.

Fatigues, in a variety of patterns and colors, are worn by the various branches of military service. Fatigues are considered to be the combat or field uniform. When a soldier dons a white uniform…there is cause to celebrate…this has never been more true than in the case of Revelation 19:13,14. The saints wear white linen and enjoy the MOST splendid victory lap as they follow their Redeemer into a battle that He has already won on their behalf.

Talk about a reason to rejoice! Take heart sweet friends, the victory lap is coming!

“Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.” (Job 41:11, NIV)

The phone rang this morning; when I answered, my niece spoke sweetly from the other end, “Did I wake you up, Aunt Sherry?” Actually, she had not, although I confessed to still being in bed petting one of my (as she calls them) “fur babies.” We talked about her upcoming visit this weekend and how we were looking forward to our time together. You see, my sister, her mother, Dianne, passed away only a few weeks ago unexpectedly from the Coronavirus that is plaguing our world currently and this will be our first time together since her death.

We discussed the trials our family has endured with other members who have also been very sick, thanking God for their recent healing. My niece, whose name is also Dianne shared her struggle of letting God know that another loss of life so soon would be too hard to accept. I think she was surprised when I told her that I had had the exact same conversation with God. Because I am older and a little more “seasoned” in my Christian faith-walk, perhaps, than the younger generation, the perception is often that I am somehow less prone to the human weakness of doubt that accompanies waiting on God. One of my favorite books is by C. S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. When the young character, Lucy, meets the Lion, Aslan, the representation of Jesus, she asks, “Is He safe?” The person to whom she asks the question responds, “No. He is not safe, but He is good!”

We live in a world with a broken environment filled with broken occupants; these two things are not exclusively independent of one another, which is why believing one can fix the other is foolishness. As many of you know, my husband Richard died almost seven years ago from a form of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of only sixty-seven-years-old. During his years of illness, I prayed for healing that obviously did not come in the way I had hoped. However, there is no question that God walked this very difficult road with us in profound ways. In the Scripture above, when Job had lost everything in his world, unarguably he felt physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. We might expect for God to answer Job’s self-pity with expressions of sympathy, but He did not. Instead, God questions Job by asking him rhetorically, who are you to question Me when everything, including you belongs to Me? (Job 41:11, paraphrased and emphasized by me).

Friend, just because we ask God for what we want in prayer does not make Him bound to our wants and expectations. He loves when we bring our concerns and “wants” to Him, but He adores even more when we trust Him beyond what our eyes are able to see and our hearts are able to fully comprehend. Is God safe? No, He is not safe, but He is always, always good!

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV)

This past week I was looking through the Bible and the verse in 2 Corinthians caught my eye. What is “Godly sorrow,” I thought to myself, versus “worldly sorrow?” One thing I have learned over the years of studying the Scriptures is never take Bible passages out of context simply to make it fit a desired point. So, I read all of chapter seven to understand why the apostle Paul separated the two sorrows into different categories.

Most of the New Testament in the Bible contains letters written to the Christian churches in the known world after the death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven of Jesus Christ. The Christian communities were newly founded on the teachings of Jesus and some of those in leadership roles were at times misrepresenting Jesus. They had only the Torah, the Jewish scrolls in a written text and were being guided and taught often from afar by the apostles. Hence, the letters were written, such as Second Corinthians. In both the first and second letters to the church in Corinth, Paul teaches and admonishes the believers on how to live as representatives of Jesus. Paul also reminds the church that as followers of Jesus Christ they will endure hardship, just as he has endured. Understanding and experiencing the “growing pains” associated with being a Christ follower caused sorrow. But Paul explains that “godly sorrow brings repentance [change in behavior and attitude] that leads to salvation and leaves no regret…” On the other hand, “worldly sorrow brings death.”

Every person has room in our lives for improvement. Change is often hard! Sorrow can be a motivator and when it springs up out of a desire to bring glory to God, the outcome leads to goodness and growth. “Worldly sorrow” brings condemnation that results in death of hope and loss of joy. As Christians, when we are willing to learn, our journey on the road to salvation will “leave[s] no regret.”