Category: Devotionals

Gene and I have only met Kelsey once but we pray for her daily. Our son John’s sister-in-law, Kelsey, has cancer. She is a lovely young woman, full of life. She loves the Lord. She has a wonderful husband and beautiful little daughter. Yet she is fighting pain and the effects of chemo every day. It hardly seems fair.

None of us doubt that Jesus also experienced pain. After he had a time of prayer in the garden with his disciples, soldiers arrested him and hauled him off to the courtyard of the high priest. Instead of the peace and solace he found in the garden, he faced the chaos of a crowd of angry Jewish rulers and a cohort of jeering soldiers.

At the beginning of this series of devotionals, I pointed out that the sense of touch is the only sense that is not limited to the confines of the head. Surprisingly Luke, the physician, does not describe how Jesus felt pain in every area of his body. Mark (who had an eye for details like a pillow in a boat) tells how Jesus’ captors used a whip and lashed his bare back (15:15). A crown of thorns pressed upon his brow (15:17). Spit dribbled down his cheek (15:19). The weight of a rough cross cut into his shoulder. Nails pierced his wrists, his ankles. From head to toe, his body screamed in agony.

Jesus could have shaken a fist at his Father and shouted, “It’s not fair!” But he didn’t. Instead, he chose to trust his Father. Before the pain began he declared, “Not my will but yours.” Luke 23:46 tells us, that in the midst of pain, Jesus prayed, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

When we hurt the most, when we have no other resources, that is often when we discover that God draws closest to us. We may not be able to reach out and feel him with our hands but we can be confident that his hands still support us.

A year ago I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. It is especially bad in my hips and, knowing that one of the dangers of this disease is broken bones due to falling, I talked with my physical therapist about balance exercises. She asked me try standing on one foot with my eyes open. I managed to do it as I focused on a spot on the far wall. When she asked me to close my eyes, though, I wobbled all over the place. Without the help of vision, I became disoriented. My arms flew through the air looking for a wall to support me.

My physical therapist gave me exercises to do daily to improve my balance. Over the past year, I have followed her suggestions and now can close my eyes and keep my balance for almost 20 seconds. (Try it. It is harder than you think!)

In Luke 22:54-64, soldiers arrested Jesus in the garden and then escorted him back to the high priest’s residence. There they mocked him and beat him, but they also blindfolded him. With a strip of cloth tied tightly across his eyes, Jesus became as blind as the old beggar Bartimaeus. Jesus, who in heaven was all-seeing, all-knowing, suddenly was without sight. Disoriented, without eyes to see his attackers, Jesus had no way of preparing himself for the next blow. He likely lost his balance. In pain and confusion, he had to rely on his sense of touch to make sense of the darkness around him.

Many times in life we feel confused and aren’t sure where God is leading us. Do you become disoriented or lose your way? Do you lose your balance? Perhaps we all need to do more exercises in trust and learn to lean on God for support. Proverbs 3:5,6 reminds us, “Trust in God and do not lean on your own understanding, but allow him to direct your steps.” We may walk in darkness, but God can still lead us safely.

Why do prisons provide a condemned man with a lavish meal the night before he is to die? Believe it or not, you can go on the Web and find photos of men on death row next to the last meal they chose to have before facing execution. The meals requested varied from a plate of mint chocolate chip ice cream to steak and eggs, from a single tortilla and water to a garden salad.

According to Wikipedia, “In pre-modern Europe, granting the condemned a last meal has roots in superstition that in that a meal was a highly symbolic social act. Accepting freely offered food symbolized making peace with the host. . . . in accepting the last meal, the condemned was believed to forgive the executioner, the judge, and witness(es).” And the better the meal, the more effective the peace.

Centuries earlier, in Bible times, the author of Proverbs 31:6 wrote, “Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that have heavy hearts.”

Jesus shared one final meal with his disciples. In Luke 22:19-20, Jesus met with his followers in an upper room to celebrate the Passover. Judas sat among them. Jesus lifted a cup with his hands, he broke bread with his fingers. He sipped the wine with his lips.

Like the dying man in Proverbs, Jesus had a heavy heart. He knew that the next day he would die. Yet the Passover meal, with a menu he had chosen thousands of years earlier, served a greater purpose. At the cross, Jesus offered forgiveness, but at the meal he offered a gift of peace to those he loved. “Peace I leave with you.”

You and I never know which meal might be our last. Don’t wait to make peace with those you love.

When my husband I were first married, he confessed to having some very personal concerns. He had done his own wash up until then but now I would take over that chore. I wasn’t concerned, but he felt uncomfortable having someone else handle his dirty socks and underwear.

In John 12, Peter had similar concerns that night when Jesus approached him, knelt down and prepared to wash his feet. Perhaps he felt unclean like Isaiah standing before the Lord’s throne. “Never! Lord, I’ll never let you wash my feet!” But Jesus convinced Peter that this act of service was a lesson on humility, one that the disciples should be willing to do for one another.

What was it like for Jesus to wash the leathery feet of this blustering fisherman? Jesus touched the rough callouses. He felt the scars built up from years of walking on basalt rock by the Sea of Galilee. Sharp cracked toenails didn’t give the impression of “beautiful feet” that bring the gospel of peace! Yet Jesus bent before his disciple and bathed those feet with love.

Did Peter later wash the feet of a highly educated theologian named Paul or a wise old man named Barnabas or a young upstart called Timothy? Washing feet is far more intimate than throwing another person’s dirty laundry in a machine. As skin touches skin, a bond forms that connects the two people on a deep level.

What act of humility can you perform today that will demonstrate God’s love to someone you know?

Big family gatherings at holidays mean lots of food prep.  Over the past 40 years, I can’t even begin to count the number of meals I have prepared and the number of people who have sat at our table. Those familiar with my cooking habits know I never wear an apron. Somewhere along the line, I learned that the flour and the gravy spills seemed to hit the apron, yes, but they also landed on my sleeve and my slacks and my shoes. Aprons – like bibs on babies – offered little protection and meant I had just one more thing to wash.

Jesus evidently felt differently. On the night before he died, he planned one last meal with his disciples. When they had gathered in the upper room, Jesus took off his outer robe, tied a towel around his waist. Some translations call it an apron. He poured water in a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet. He used the towel at his waist to lovingly wipe them dry.

Wikipedia offered no description of ancient towels in Palestine, but if its information on Roman towels from that period is correct, Jesus might have used a fabric made of soft wool. Cotton was available at the time but was expensive and considered a luxury fabric. A Jewish preacher, without money to pay a temple tax, likely used the less expensive option.

Jesus donned an ordinary towel in preparation for service. He wanted to express his love for those who had followed him.

Service always involves preparation. It might mean setting aside an hour in a schedule to visit a friend in the hospital. It might involve planning a Sunday school lesson. Or it might mean preparing a meal for those who sit at your table.

As you go forth to serve this season, don’t forget to put on your apron!

My childhood home was a safe place. I never remember being afraid to enter the house. I never once worried about an abusive father who might beat me or drug-addicted mother who might be strung out in a stupor. Within the walls of our home, I always felt safe and secure. My husband had a very different home. His mother’s schizophrenic behavior made it hard for him to predict what he would find when he opened the front door.

In Luke 19, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem before Passover. Jerusalem, with its magnificent temple, was in many ways his home. Wasn’t the Temple where his Father dwelt? But for Jesus, this home was not a safe place. The Jewish priests and leaders wanted to kill him.

That Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into the city on a donkey. The donkey had never been ridden before, yet it allowed Jesus to sit on its back. A crowd of people on all sides waved coats and palm branches in its face, but the donkey did not bolt from the path. Jesus’ legs hugged the flank of the animal as it swayed. Jesus touched the bristles of its neck, assuring the animal of its safety.

Did Jesus, riding on that donkey, remember another trip on a donkey many years earlier? That time the animal carried Mary and a baby away from danger and toward the safety of Egypt. On Palm Sunday, a different donkey carried Jesus into Jerusalem, toward danger.

Some of you reading this devotional look forward to being with your family at Christmas, but others of you may dread going home. Take heart from Jesus’ promise in John 14:1,2. “Don’t be troubled. You trust in God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you.” One day we can all look forward to going home to the Father’s house. Jesus is already there putting fresh sheets on the bed and dusting the dresser. His promise is like a hand steadying a frightened colt. It assures us that we will always find safety within the boundaries of his home.

When our children were small, my husband read a book by Gary Smalley entitled The Blessing. It influenced Gene deeply and thereafter he made a practice of blessing our three children each night as they headed to bed.

Blessings always had great significance In the Old Testament. Jacob cheated his brother Esau out of his blessing at Isaac’s deathbed. Jacob blessed each of his own children before he died. Moses blessed the twelve tribes of Israel as he concluded his ministry. He also instructed Aaron to carry on the practice and use the following blessing for the nation:

May the Lord bless you and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.

In Mark 9:33-37, the disciples were arguing which of them was the greatest. Jesus reached for a child in the crowd, lifted the child into his arms and replied, “Whoever receives a small child like this in my name, receives me.” In 10:13-16, parents brought their children to Jesus, and he blessed them by laying his hands on them. Unlike the Jewish leaders, these children were not out to trap him. They weren’t prepared to debate him on theological issues. They offered him no monetary benefit. Still Jesus noticed small children and he felt they were important enough to deserve his time, his attention and his touch.  He blessed them.

Those parents brought their children to Jesus and he blessed them, lifting them in his arms and laying his hands on them.  All people, even small children, have value in his eyes…so do you.

Every day I write in my prayer journal. In addition to prayers for others, I include in that book my most personal thoughts, my failures, my hurts, my needs. Some of the entries record wonderful blessings. Others reveal times when I wrestle to understand God’s perspective on life.

When my husband and I first married, he told me how he struggled with being nosy as a child. He wanted to poke into private spaces of his parents’ lives. He solemnly promised never to violate the privacy of my prayer journal. He has kept that promise all these years.

At the start of John 8, Jesus was teaching in the temple when the scribes and Pharisees dragged in a young woman caught in the very act of adultery. Making her stand out in the middle of the courtyard, they asked him what they should do with her. The Jewish law was clear on the penalty for adultery, but Jesus said nothing. He simply bent down and began writing on the ground. The tips of his fingers pushed dirt this way and that.

For years, people have speculated about what he wrote on the ground. Was it the name of the woman’s partner in adultery? The message he wrote was for those standing there, not for us.

In Ch. 21, soon after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. He revealed to Peter how the disciple would one day die for his faith. Looking around, Peter saw John nearby and asked Jesus what would become of him. Jesus replied, “What is that to you? Follow me!” In other words, it was none of Peter’s business.

Today, instead of asking what Jesus is doing in the lives of others, take time to ask yourself, ‘what is God’s message for me?’ How can you turn your life in a direction that takes you closer and closer to his Son?

One time I was on a road trip with friends from college. We stopped for gas and, eager to stretch our legs after being cooped up in the car, several of us raced to the far corner of the parking lot. I was just reaching full stride, when my friend Gary grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back. A vehicle was gunning its motor and about to hit me. Gary’s strong arms saved my life.

In Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus’ disciples experienced a second storm on the Sea of Galilee but this time Jesus was not asleep in the back of the boat; they had left him back on shore. When the storm arose, the disciples could not ask him for help. Suddenly they saw a figure walking on the water and approaching the boat. Which was more terrifying, the winds threatening to sink the craft or this specter walking on the surface of the waves? Peter called out and said, “If it is really you, Lord, command me to walk on the water too.”

Jesus replied, “Come!”

With no way to avoid losing face, Peter climbed out of the boat. Looking at Jesus, Peter began moving over the surface of the sea. But out the corner of his eye he saw the towering waves. He began to sink and shouted for help. Immediately, Jesus’ hand grabbed the fisherman and hauled him to safety. I love that word “immediately.” It occurs three times in this brief passage. We don’t often think of Jesus rushing about, but there was no delay as he reached out to help his friend. Jesus’ strong arm saved his friend’s life.

John reports the same storm in the sixth chapter of his gospel. Just a few verses later, in John 6:37-9, Jesus says, “All whom that Father has given to me will come to me . . . I will lose none of them, but raise them all up on the last day.” And in 10:28, he adds, “No one can snatch them out of my hand.” For Peter, those words had special significance!

We who trust in Christ are gripped tightly in his hand. He has saved our lives. Praise him because he holds on to us today and will never let go!

Sometimes I laugh and say that there was no way I could have escaped coming to Christ. My family has a long legacy of faith that goes all the way back to the pilgrims arriving on the Mayflower. Both my grandfathers were pastors. My father and uncle were pastors. My brother and several cousins were also ordained. God has been gracious to our extended family for many generations.

In Matthew 8:14,15, the gospel writer reports a brief incident that occurred away from the noisy public crowds. Jesus visited in the home of Peter and found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a high fever. There in the privacy of that home, Jesus touched this woman. A Jewish man touching a woman in public was improper, but to touch a female still lying in her bed? A female who was not a relative? Unthinkable! Yet Jesus took her by the hand, the fever left, and she rose to serve them.

We don’t know if this mother-in-law was a believer. We hear nothing more about her after this incident. All we know is that Jesus offered God’s grace not only to Peter but to his extended family.

Over and over, God has shown me that Jesus cares not just about those who follow him but also about those they love. He watches over my aging parents and my grown children who are believers, but also my young grandchildren who do not yet know him.

Today, before you become swept up in the day’s activities, take a moment and pray for those you love. Remember that God loves them too.