Daily devotion

Left Handed in a Right Handed World

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I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16

Being born left-handed I painfully remember the upside down feeling of learning to write. At Hamilton Elementary, all children learned their penmanship right-handed. Nothing seemed to work for me. I gripped the pen the wrong way, I held my paper upside down, and on my report card every quarter appeared the inevitable F. Undoubtedly My teacher thought she this would help me in the long run but I could never shake the feeling of being wrong side up and different.

Being wrong side up and different is what Jesus is preparing us for when He sends us out to the world. He tells us we are going out like sheep among wolves. There is no real competition when it comes to a fight between sheep and wolves. Wolves have bigger teeth, are stronger and can run circles around sheep. Nevertheless the master sends us out. But we have one thing the wolf doesn’t- a shepherd!

Photo by kailash kumar on Pexels.com

For some of us in the church after we get into our first wolf-fight, our tendency is to sign up for the “How to fight like a Wolf” seminar. We think if we could just try a little harder, change our tactics or develop a quicker response, we would finally come out on top. But that wasn’t our Lord’s idea at all. What Jesus wanted was for us to be ready for the wolves, by walking right behind Him. Being strong and well protected by our teeth will never compare to having the protection of our Shepherd. We are no match for wolves, but they will run away as fast as they can, when they come face to face with our Shepherd. Then we can walk calmly through the valley even when our world seems upside down!

Master Gardener or The Master’s Gardener?

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I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 ESV

When I opened my first landscaping business in 1987, I came in with more than a dozen years of experience, a professional license and plenty of specialized training. My plan was to use my expertise to guide and educate customers in the “right way” to maintain their ornamental gardens and trees. Boy did that not work out! What I spent the next thirty years learning was that my job was to serve the desires of my customers. Once I figured that out after years of butting heads, running the business became a delight and people usually loved the results.

Sadly, when some of us come to know Christ, we begin with almost the same mindset. Maybe we have been to Catechism class or spent time in Sunday School and we feel pretty sure that we know how to be good Christians. But that also; most definitely won’t work out! I remember one day a customer noticed a bumper sticker on my truck that said, “We Have a Friend in Jesus” and he asked, “Is that your partner?” I shook my head and laughed answering, “Oh no! He’s the boss!”

Yes, Jesus is the boss, and we are the branches. Doing things our way is no longer an option. But when we get in synch with His garden design, then everything our life will begin to yield beautiful fruit!

The Son of God Discloses

/ pastorpete51 / 9 Comments

I don’t know why but I am just totally addicted to snapping photos while I walk. I know this probably kills the cardio workout concept, but every new blossom seems to call out for my attention. This morning as I was reading the first chapter of Romans I was remind that God shows himself in all of creation.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:20 ESV

Though He remains the invisible God it is almost as if He plays at peek-a-boo from behind every flower. Though the petals fall, the beauty that lies behind the blossom remains an eternal memory of our infinite God. So here are.my glimpses of our Savior’s beauty hidden in my rose photos taken this week. Like the line from the hymns says “And the voice I hear falling on my ear – the Son of God discloses…..and He walks with me an He talks with me!”