Your Daily Crossroad
28
Mar '19
Are You There?
28
Mar '19
I will be with thee . . .(Exodus 3:12)
When his wife contracted a terminal illness, Michael longed for her to experience the peace he had through his relationship with God. He had shared his faith with her, but she wasn’t interested. One day, as he walked through a local bookstore, a title caught his eye: God, Are You There? Unsure how his wife would respond to the book, he walked in and out of the store several times before finally buying it. To his surprise, she accepted it.
The book touched her, and she began to read the Bible too. Two weeks later, Michael’s wife passed away—at peace with God and resting in the assurance that He would never leave or forsake her.
When God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, He didn’t promise him power. Instead, He promised His presence: “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). In Jesus’s last words to His disciples before His crucifixion, He also promised God’s eternal presence, which they would receive through the Holy Spirit (John 15:26).
There are many things God could give us to help us through life’s challenges, such as material comfort, healing, or immediate solutions to our problems. Sometimes He does. But the best gift He gives is Himself. This is the greatest comfort we have: whatever happens in life, He will be with us; He will never leave nor forsake us.
How can you draw on the power of God’s presence? How can you live differently, knowing He’s there with you every step of the way?
Lord, thank You for the wonderful promise that You’ll be with me always. In the midst of life’s crises and routines, may I learn to rely on Your presence, knowing You are walking with me. Amen.
This devotion touched me. I love what it says, the greatest comfort we have: whatever happens in life, He will be with us; He will never leave nor forsake us. What a reminder, an assurance we have in this life. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, Psalm 46:1. He is always faithful.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 6:6
27
Mar '19
Watch Out!
27
Mar '19
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
I grew up in warm southern cities, so when I moved north, it took me a while to learn how to drive safely during the long, snowy months. During my first hard winter, I ended up stranded in a snowdrift three times! But after several years of practice, I began to feel comfortable driving in wintry conditions. In fact, I felt a little too comfortable. I stopped being as vigilant. And that’s when I hit a patch of black ice and skidded into a telephone pole on the side of the road!
Thankfully, no one was hurt, but I learned something important that day. I realized how dangerous it can be to feel comfortable. Instead of being watchful, I had gone on “autopilot.”
We need to practice that same kind of vigilance in our spiritual lives. Peter warns believers not to glide thoughtlessly through life, but to “be vigilant (alert)” (1 Peter 5:8). The devil is actively trying to destroy us, and so we too need to be active, resisting temptation and standing firm in our faith (v. 9). That’s not something we have to do on our own though. God promises to be with us in our sufferings and, ultimately, to make us “strong, firm and steadfast” (v. 10). By His power, we learn to remain watchful and alert in resisting evil and following Him.
Where do you need to be more alert? In what ways will you stay vigilant in following Jesus?
This devotion blessed me. May this be our prayer every single day. God, keep me from growing lazy or too comfortable in my spiritual life. Help me to remain watchful and alert so that I can resist temptation! Amen.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalms 62:7
26
Mar '19
Enjoying Beauty
26
Mar '19
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
The painting caught my eye like a beacon. Displayed along a long hallway in a big city hospital, its deep pastel hues and Navajo Native American figures were so arresting I stopped to marvel and stare. “Look at that,” I said to my husband, Dan.
He was walking ahead but I hesitated, bypassing other paintings on the wall to gaze only at that one. “Beautiful,” I whispered.
Many things in life are beautiful indeed. Master paintings. Scenic vistas. Inspired crafts. But so is a child’s smile. A friend’s hello. A robin’s blue egg. A seashell’s strong ridges. To relieve the burdens life can bring, “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In such beauty, Bible scholars explain, we get a glimpse of the perfection of God’s creation—including the glory of His perfect rule to come.
We can only imagine such perfection, so God grants us a foretaste through life’s beauty. In this way, God “has also set eternity in the human heart” (v. 11). Some days life looks drab and futile. But God mercifully provides moments of beauty to ponder.
The artist of the painting I admired, Gerard Curtis Delano, understood that. “God [gave] me a talent to create beauty,” he once said, “and this is what He wanted me to do.”
Seeing such beauty, how can we respond? We can thank God for eternity to come while pausing to enjoy the glory we already see.
How do you respond to the beauty God has placed in this world? How does beauty reflect Him?
This devotion blessed me. May this be your prayer today. Father, help me in the moments of this day to see and enjoy the beauty You bring into my life as I also look forward to eternity.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is 2 Corinthians 10:5
25
Mar '19
Set Free!
25
Mar '19
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
My mom was the only child born to a 13-year-old single mother in the 1930s. She grew up poor and feeling unloved. My mom was an angry woman who didn’t appear to like being a mom. She raised us the same way she’d been raised, with a harsh tone and little affection. So we grew up feeling unloved too. Around fourth grade, mired in shame and guilt of my own, I began to lash out at others. The girls who seemed to come from loving and caring families became the ones I targeted on the playground after school. I hated those girls. My actions didn’t make me feel better, though. In fact, I felt worse. One summer during Vacation Bible School, I learned about Jesus. I learned that he loved me to the point of death on the cross and that he died so that I would not have to feel shame and worthlessness. I couldn’t imagine someone loving me like that. I finally felt comforted, knowing that someone loved me. I was a new creation. (See 2 Cor. 5:17.) I didn’t have to hate girls whose moms took care of them. In loving others who came from better circumstances than I did, I could actually experience the love of God and become the kind of person God intended me to be.
Dear Lord, give us the desire to show others love as you have loved us and the strength to treat others well regardless of our circumstances. Amen.
This devotion blessed me. I pray it changes your perspective regardless of your circumstances and in return show The Love of Christ and pray for those who treat you badly. You never know what that individual is dealing with. A moment of hate can devastate a lifetime of work, whereas a moment of love can break barriers that took a lifetime to build. Use me today Lord to love beyond my own circumstances and help break barriers that may have taken a lifetime to build for you are The Way, The Truth and The Life. Use me to help others experience your Love so they too can become the kind of person you intended them to be.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalms 19:14