Your Perfect Creation

By Cheri Cowell –

A friend’s daughter came home from the doctor with a video sonogram of her first child. My friend was sharing her excitement of being able to “see” the little girl being formed in her daughter’s womb. I marveled at the idea that we could participate in this way with God’s greatest miracle: the creation of a baby. Even in the first trimester, the child’s genetic make-up is already determined. The Scriptures tell us that God is there in the “secret place” and has already written the child’s days in His book. Our God is so amazing.

Every artist is said to leave a part of his or her heart in every creation. Likewise, God’s character is in the creation of every person. When you or I criticize any part of His most precious creation, I can imagine His heartache. He is the Great Creator God and He considers you His finest creation. Think about how complex your inner being is, and how perfectly your body works: heart, lungs, blood, brain, and limbs. He is an amazing God!

PRAYER: I praise You for knitting me together in my Mother’s womb, and being there with me in that secret place. Thank You, Lord, for creating me as a perfect reflection of Your character. Help me see myself as You do—Your perfect creation.

“I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:14-16, KJV).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, who writes and speaks on topics of Christian discipleship. In addition to her books and articles, you can learn about her speaking ministry and sign up to receive her daily devotional www.CheriCowell.com

It’s Not All About Me

By Carin LeRoy –

My son works in a popular coffee shop, and the other day a lady walked in and ordered a drink. After completing the cup, my son handed it to her only to be assaulted with a barrage of complaints. He forgot to dribble the chocolate syrup over her whipped cream. He was shocked by the verbal outburst she displayed in the store. She took a simple omission and made a huge deal out of it at the expense and embarrassment of my son. Perhaps she experienced a rotten week, but her anger and rage were misdirected.

A polite response to the error would say, “You forgot my syrup. Could you please add that?”   Instead she found it necessary to cause a scene in the middle of a coffee shop, even calling the manager later to complain more. Graciousness did not seem to be a part of this woman’s character, and her actions show that life was more about herself than being polite. Her performance reminds me of a two-year-old having a temper tantrum.

We will encounter such people as we walk through life, but we can choose to act with courtesy toward them. Graciousness in answer to an uncomfortable response from others comes only as we respond to the Spirit of God. As our culture strays from the constraints of self-control and civility, we should be the people who stand out from the crowd. I am reminded of the verse that says, “A fool lets fly with all his temper, but a wise person keeps it back” (Proverbs 29:11 NET). Let’s show a gracious spirit that displays courtesy toward others. Use your words to uplift rather than tear down. Kindness is like a boomerang; it always comes back to you.

PRAYER: Lord, give me a kind tongue and a gracious spirit as I encounter people today. Help me to stand out from the crowd as one who loves You. Give me self-control when I encounter a difficult situation.

“The heart of the righteous considers how to answer, but the heart of the wicked pours out evil things” (Proverbs 15: 28 NET).

Today’s devotional is by Carin LeRoy, wife to Dale and mother of three grown children and one almost-grown teenager. She has been a missionary with Pioneers since 1982. Her passions are family, missions, piano and writing to challenge others to live faithful lives for God.

Bless the Beasts, the Children and Women Like Abigail

By Cynthia Ruchti –

I have this friend (no, really I do!) who is struggling in her relationship with her husband. He’s not an ax-murderer or an adulterer, so she can’t just walk away. Nor would she want to. He’s a good man, but they’re not seeing eye-to-eye right now on a few dozen issues.

My mind flipped through the pages of Scripture and stopped to rest on passage after passage that revealed incidents of women who wrestled with less-than-ideal situations with the men in their lives.

That formed the basis of this prayer on her behalf. I’m posting it here because I’m pretty sure she’s not alone.

Great God of women with issues (of blood or otherwise),

…of women with jerks for husbands (like Abigail with Nabal),

…of women who are strong but misunderstood (like Deborah),

…of women who don’t like the choices their husbands make (like Sarai),

…of women whose husbands fail to take seriously their role as spiritual leader in the home (like Eve and Adam),

…of women who through the Adamic curse get their insides ripped out in childbirth while the men are “burdened” with oh-so-traumatic sweat and weeds, poor things,

…of women who are mentioned as followers of Christ and contributors to His work…but their husbands are not (like so many New Testament women),

…of women who “go to the tomb” because they care so deeply and have to do something with their sadness,

…of women who “happen” to be in the Garden to witness angel-speak because they care so deeply ,

…of women who put the pieces together when they hear that Jesus is alive, even though the men closest to them—who ought to know better—don’t get it,

…of women who wait for their husbands to return from war, to show up after work, to show up emotionally, and to “get it,”

PRAYER: Great God of women who from the beginning of time have found their strength—and their reward—in You, please place Your Hand of enduring blessing on the heads of the women who endure. Grant them a double dose of heart-peace for every bucket of patience they pour over their homes and relationships. Refill their reservoirs of grace, reservoirs so easily drained by life and people. May they find in You an inexhaustible measure of what their hearts most need—to be understood, appreciated, cherished, protected, encouraged, wanted, treasured, approved, believed, honored, embraced, covered and well-loved.

“Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?” (John 20:15a KJV).

Today’s devotional is by Cynthia Ruchti, writer/producer of THE HEARTBEAT OF THE HOME radio ministry and president of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). She is the author of They Almost Always Come Home (Abingdon Press Fiction) and the soon-to-be-released The Heart’s Harbor in A Door County Christmas novella collection. Cynthia writes stories of hope-that-glows-in-the-dark (www.cynthiaruchti.com).

Like a Sitting…Turkey

By Robin Steinweg –

On a rare, unhurried drive, I approached a corn field lying fallow just outside of town. I saw birds sitting in the middle of the field. Bigger than crows. Got to be turkeys. The car drew closer. Wrong shape for turkeys. What in the world…

No, it can’t be.

Eagles??

I grew up admiring eagles. They nested in the bluffs east of my house and flew daily right overhead, anticipating the sun’s path west to the Wisconsin River bordering our property. Sometimes their vast wings pumped the wind. Other times they soared, motionless, carried on invisible currents to the fishy depths over which they reigned. They scanned the open waters below the dam from the trees on Lookout Island, just off our beach. I saw them as majestic but fearsome creatures. We never let our dog’s puppies wander, in fear one might become a side dish for a walleye entree.

But this debacle threatened a collapse of all I’d thought of them. I was so disturbed I stopped the car and rolled down the window.

“You are eagles. Eagles don’t sit on the ground. You’re making a spectacle of yourselves, and it’s not a pretty sight. You’re giving eagles a bad name. Get up and soar! Get off the ground, you look like turkeys!”

We won’t say what I looked like, on a deserted road talking to grounded eagles. But it got me thinking about my life. Am I sitting like a turkey in an abandoned field watching for grubs when I should be soaring on the currents of my Master’s love, publishing His glory?

QUOTE: Reuben Morgan, Hillsong Publishing, “Come live in me; all my life take over. Come breathe in me and I will rise on eagle’s wings.”

“…I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God” (Deuteronomy 32:3 KJV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

In Wisdom and in Truth

By Cheri Cowell –

Balancing the desire to be honest and truthful with our need to be compassionate and sensitive is a difficult bill to fill. I loved the Jim Carey movie Liar, Liar. I’m not usually a Jim Carey fan, but this movie was wonderful. He played a high power lawyer who for one day, because of his son’s birthday wish, could not tell a lie. There is one hilarious scene after another as he makes his way into the office. First, while in the elevator he encounters a voluptuous woman and honestly makes a comment that gets him smacked, he then passes a receptionist who asks if he likes her new hairdo, and finally he is honest with his receptionist about cheating her out of a raise. The movie is funny, but it raises some serious questions. Is this what God meant when He told us to always be truthful? Well, we are to be honest, but we do need wisdom for the appropriate time and manner to deliver the truth.

The scribes and Pharisees had set Jesus up in a trap. If He condemned the woman before Him, He would not be showing mercy; but if He did not allow the stoning, He would have broken temple law. But they didn’t realize they were dealing with the One in who grace and truth are perfectly blended into wisdom.

PRAYER: I praise You for Your perfect wisdom, mercy and grace. My heart’s desire is always to be truthful and at the same time be wise. Thank You for standing ready to share Your perfect wisdom with me, whenever I may need it.

“Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in asking Him, He stood up straight and replied, ‘Whoever among you is guiltless may be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then He bent over again and wrote on the ground. Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones, until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up straight and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She replied, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore’” (John 8:9-11 NET).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, who writes and speaks on topics of Christian discipleship. In addition to her books and articles, you can learn about her speaking ministry and sign up to receive her daily devotional at www.CheriCowell.com

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