Hemmed In, Wisconsin to Texas

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I blew through the days like a tumbleweed in a windstorm. Rehearsals and a choir concert for my second-born son were added to my full workweek. After the concert, I packed for my first-ever flight. My husband drove me in the wee hours of the morning to an airport five hours from home, the only flight that would get me to our firstborn son’s graduation.

Before my husband had driven halfway home, I landed a thousand miles away in Dallas, deaf due to air pressure. My son’s friends picked me up and got me to the auditorium fifteen minutes late. David was on stage with the praise band. I hadn’t seen him since Christmas, and I wept for joy. Then time suspended as I entered into worship.

It resumed in the congestion afterward, when David introduced me to more friends at the reception. I had my first meal since the quick PB&J I’d swallowed the day before.

David’s car took us homeward into an electric storm that covered the south of Oklahoma.

Around midnight we found a motel and slept a few hours.

Next afternoon we got as far as Liberty, Missouri, when BAM! The left front tire exploded. David rassled the car to the two-foot shoulder. We unloaded the trunk, picking hoards of local spiders off as we searched for jack and spare. I watched cars race past, barely missing us, and it began to dawn on me through the fog of shock that this was dangerous. As I shrank from speeding traffic, a pickup was forced into the ditch to our right. I called 911. Three squad cars responded, the officers standing in harm’s way to protect us as we waited for a tow. By evening we’d heard enough stories about that corner to be grateful we were still alive.

Home looked good the next afternoon.

Interesting contrasts in two short days. From ground level to 37,000 feet. From hearing to not hearing. From 50 degrees to 94 degrees. From North to South. From harried rushing to timeless worship. From steady, driven activity to sitting in a cramped car for two days. From the safety of an enclosed vehicle to the vulnerability of standing a couple of feet from hurtling metal.

Yet an unseen Hand hemmed us in. We were—and are—enveloped in His love and care.

PRAYER: Lord, whether my life is defined by unending change or unending sameness, You are present. Whether the pace is frenetic or flat, You are near. From my conception You have watched over me. Even to my gray hairs and old age, You’ll carry me. Bless You.

“You hem me in—behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me … Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:5, 7-10 NIV).

Sea of Forgiveness

By Cheri Cowell –

Skipping stones across the water to see how far you can send it is a favorite lakeside pastime. This summer many families will camp or enjoy a picnic along the shores of lakes ensuring this age-old tradition will continue. Young and old, male and female, will enter into the competition to see who can skim it the farthest. I was never very good at it, but my dad was the king of skimming. He could make that stone go so far it looked as if it would never stop. My father was good at this game, but my Heavenly Father is even better at it. He takes the rocks that weigh us down and sends them sailing.

It is as if God, with His mighty hands and outstretched arms, takes the sins that weigh us down and hurls them across the universe. He sends those rocks skimming across the sea of forgiveness, which runs as deep and wide as His love. We stand at the shore and try to imagine how far that must be, but we cannot. No matter what sins we have committed, no matter how badly we have behaved, no matter what rocks are weighing us down, He wants to send those rocks sailing. All He requires is that we offer Him the stones.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Praise God for the depth of the sea of His forgiveness, and for His mighty hand, which chooses to hurl your sins across that sea. Ask Him to help you to give up the rocks that are weighing you down so He can set you free.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us” (Psalm 103:12 GNT).

How Much for Your Life?

By Peter Lundell –

What would it be like to grow up without a father and your mother in jail—knowing that when you were a baby, your mother murdered her friend over twenty dollars your mom borrowed to buy you Pampers but used the money for something else?

There will soon be a boy like that. Recently in Brooklyn two young ladies ranted at each other for a few days on Facebook over twenty dollars that the teen mom borrowed and used for something other than the Pampers she said she needed it for. The one who lent the money confronted the mom, and the mom stabbed her. The one killed had just finished college and planned to go to law school. Dead in a dispute over twenty bucks.

Only now does the accused realize the absurdity of what she did. But she cannot escape the consequences.

Most people would need much higher stakes before they’d throw their lives away. But they’ll still throw them away. If the stakes were twenty million dollars rather than twenty, wouldn’t a lot of people fight or kill and risk their lives, even their souls? From God’s perspective, might that not be absurd as well? To God, would twenty dollars really be that different from twenty million? Money has no value in eternity (though we can give and use it wisely to gain a better eternity).

It could be said that from God’s perspective, anyone who chases after anything material and sacrifices his or her life in the process is ultimately committing an act of absurdity. Jesus had plenty to say about that.

Though we gasp at the absurdity of being killed over twenty dollars, from God’s perspective losing ourselves over any amount or anything in this world would be absurd. Don’t get lost!

PRAYER: Lord, knowing You is important above all else. May I never forget. And let me never give in to an opportunity, however great, that would tempt me to sell my soul.

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36 NIV).

Princess Run

By Sherri Holbert –

“Dear God, please make sure someone is behind me that can read this. If found on the side of the road, drag me across the finish line.” This was one of my favorite t-shirt sayings for my first half marathon, the Disney Princess Run.

It was indeed a magical experience! Tiaras, pink tutus, crystal bling and magic wands adorned the 16,000 princess runners. My tiara made me feel like Cinderella even though my running shoes had no resemblance to pretty, glass slippers!

I found humor in the t-shirt phrase at the beginning of the race. As I began to sweat and “sparkle” after a few miles, I realized that running 13.1 miles is no easy feat without the proper training plan.

During practice the key training goal is to increase your endurance through long distance runs. This isn’t about speed. The goal is simply to finish the run while incorporating some walk breaks in order to maintain strength and a slow breathing pattern. On race day I felt confident I had prepared myself to simply enjoy the journey, cross the finish line and receive my princess medallion.

Our spiritual run also requires dedicated training. We must train ourselves to spend daily time with God even when we have other deadlines on our agenda. We must devote ourselves to intimate, uninterrupted prayer time with our personal Trainer. We must commit to spiritual strength-training even when our muscles are tired. In this heavenly race, our goal is to finish while giving God our personal best.

Are you confident with your spiritual training plan? Are you committed to doing the hard work now so you can cross the finish line with ease? I believe we all desire to receive a first place medallion for a job well done once we enter the Heavenly Princess Run.

PRAYER: Father, help me to keep my training plan focused on You. Help me to schedule priority time for endurance training through daily quiet time and prayer.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Sherri Holbert, a co-founder of Walk of Purpose ministries. Read more of her inspirational devotions in DIVAS of the Divine: How to Live as a Designer Original in a Knock-Off World. Study or check out her blog at www.walkofpurpose.blogspot.com.

Ants

By Cheri Cowell –

“As boring as watching ants” the saying goes. It is obvious the person who created this saying never watched ants. Have you? They are fascinating. I was weeding the other day and came across an ant bed. As I paused to watch them I was struck by how busy they were, each one doing his or her own job, not caring what the other ants were up to. They seemed to be driven by a natural instinct to forge ahead no matter what obstacles were laid before them. To test this theory, I created a large log barrier in their path, and without missing a step they discovered ways around the obstacle. They continued in their pursuit of food and other things, which they dutifully carried into their home. God wants us to be more like ants, dutifully carrying out our jobs in spite of the obstacles that may come our way.

Proverbs is a collection of writings from the wise men or teachers from the time of Solomon to the time of Hezekiah in 8 B.C. This section is about one of the pet peeves of the wise men: laziness. They believed slothfulness, as it was called, only led to failure and poverty. It was a wise man that would take a lesson from the ants and work hard even if no one was around to see what they were doing.

PRAYER: God, help me become like an ant today, busy at the tasks I am given while leaving the results up to You. No matter what obstacles may come my way; I want to be found busy doing the work of You, heavenly Father, when Your Son returns once again.

“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter” (Proverbs 6:6-8 NLT).

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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