Tag: daily devotional

“As Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers…
Simon (called Peter) and Andrew …They were fishermen.
Jesus said to them, ‘Come, follow Me! I will teach you to catch people instead of fish.’
As Jesus went on, he saw two other brothers, James and John…
They were in a boat with their father, preparing to go fishing.
He called them and they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.
Jesus went all over Galilee.”
Matthew 4:18-21

Two sets of brothers out fishing. One set with their dad, one set apparently on their own in their boat. Different boats. Different dads. Same body of water, the same day, the same activity, and having separate, similar encounters with Jesus. The two sets of sons shared the same response to this Stranger’s simple invitation. One father watched his sons leave him as they got out of his boat and walked away with this Stranger. The other father was apparently absent. . .the sons on their own.

The writer does not elaborate about the fathers’ reactions, one present, one absent, but there certainly must have been some kind of response, whether internally or verbally, to this unusual disruption to the two fishing routines of their respective sons. The courses of those sons lives would be forever changed as the young men walked away from what “had been” and follow the Footsteps of Jesus and the change of Course He had prepared for them.

In Bible-times, fathers had a lot of authority in their families . . . a son being called away by a
Man outside of their family would not have been typical. Whatever internal struggles may have been going on in that daddy’s heart is not mentioned. He watched his sons drop what they had always done together and walk away, following this Man Who had called them to follow Him for a very different kind of “fishing.”

It’s not easy as a parent to let go of what “has always been” in their family’s life. From birth,
fathers have hopes and dreams for their sons’ and daughters’ futures. Good fathers have
invested their hearts, time, love, and encouragement in their child’s life. Their child carries a
part of his/her father into their future.

There is a spiritual piece of each child’s life that is also in each parent’s heart and thoughts.
We can love, teach, model, and train our child in God’s Ways, but we do not have control of that piece of our child’s life. That rests in God’s Hands.

Jesus did not speak with those two daddys first. He spoke directly to the sons. Parents cannot control the spiritual life of our children. We can teach, train, model, and invest in their spiritual lives, but ultimately, there will be a Day when Jesus Himself invites that child to follow Him. It is between Him and that son or daughter we love so much. Jesus did not talk with those fathers about details, nor permission, nor of the Plan for their sons’ futures. He spoke directly to the sons. Each personally responded . . . and followed. No information is given concerning going back home to say good-bye or grab something to bring for the unknown journey ahead. No mention is made of saying “Good-bye” to Dad or Mom….friends or siblings. Personal decisions to follow Jesus, wherever that may lead, come down to One-on-one choices.

There were two fathers. . . one present, one absent, but the interactions with Jesus were
between Him and the sons.

Jesus always makes it personal . . . between Him and “me”. . . The Path upon which each of us will walk with Him will be personal. Unique. Individual. Not the same as anyone else’s experience with Him. And the way God will interact with each of our children will be unique as well. He does not ask our permission concerning the Path He plans for our child. We have to let go, and trust Him to lead each of them.

I live in a comfortable, quiet apartment. I’m surrounded by furnishings, books, and lots of lovely memories of the life I’ve lived.

But with a simple step outside of my door, I have the privilege of seeing a large pond that has become my favorite daily view. There is nothing especially notable about the pond itself . . . until near sunset every evening. Like clockwork, the pond becomes a massive glass mirror . . .reflecting the sky and any trees or buildings along its shoreline.

Like magic, it becomes completely still, and the reflections on its glass surface are beautiful. The air stills. . . and the daylight begins to soften as the mirror captures the fading light of the sky. The stillness and mirrored sky always makes me stop . . . and simply look. I do not understand how nor why that beautiful “Moment” is repeated every day, nor why it has its notable impact on me. But it has become a daily reminder of God’s Presence and nearness . . .His faithfulness to me, despite all that Life has brought into my day, my thoughts, my worries, my sadness and my joys. His heavens are brought into my personal view. . . simply standing outside my own backdoor and looking at “my” glass Mirror of God’s artistry.

The reflections of His sky draw my thoughts to reflect on Him. Consistent, beautiful, quiet, a
Spirit-to-spirit communication that needs no words. And all I have to do is look and enjoy.

He is near. He is Present. He sees me.
And that is more than enough.

His little voice caught my attention as he walked holding his Mama’s hand
through the parking-lot. I heard him loudly, proudly spelling, “Y-B-B-O-L Y-B-B-
O-H . . . HOME DEPOT!!!”

I chuckled as they passed me as I headed to my car with my purchase. He was
so happy to think he had spelled and knew the big store sign!

I wondered how often we, as God’s children, proudly announce things to Him that
we are confident that we understand, when, in fact, we are seeing something
backwards along our Walk with Him, but excitedly conclude that we’ve “Got it!”
Does He smile at our attempts to make Him proud of us, His Kids? We think
we’ve figured something out, and are happy to show-and-tell Him what we
“know.” We may have all of the pieces of the Picture, but often in the wrong
order, and with wrong conclusions.

Does He let go of our hand as we walk together, with our mistakes and wrong
conclusions? Or does He continue holding us safely as we do our best to keep
up and make Him proud.

I think He quietly smiles, knowing that we are trying . . . still learning. Someday
we will understand, and love Him even more for His Patience and Unfailing Love
as we walk through life together.

Check out Janet’s new book, Not Forgotten on Amazon.

“Behold . . .
We go up to Jerusalem. . . “
Luke 18:31

Today’s news struck an ominous note to me . . . Lebanon was being bombed by Israel. . . and
Jerualem would be a retaliation target. That is not really anything “new”, unfortunately, in the history of our world. In Jesus’ time, Jerusalem / Israel was under Rome’s military Occupation.

But Jesus, knowing what was to come for Him . . . His ultimate Mission and Death, . . . still
went, and brought His closest friends with Him.

What might Jesus be asking you to do this day, as you follow Him?
Are you paying attention?
Is it scary?
Is it beyond what you think you can do?
Maybe it’s “the worst” you could imagine.

You . . . I . . . we do not know what lies ahead. But Jesus does. And as He calls your name this day, or tomorrow, or next week and beyond, the Call is direct . . . and clear: “Let’s go . . . “ with Him.

When you choose to follow, that is the bottom line.

Will you follow His, “Let’s go” ?

---

Check out Janet’s new book, Not Forgotten on Amazon.

“My Kindness is all you need.
My Power is strongest when you are weak.”
2 Corinthians 12:9

For most of my adult life, I was privileged to have a front row Seat in watching God carry out
some incredibly amazing Answers to some extremely difficult Problems in my personal world.

The Problem: 1 very “lost” small-town young man + 1 very shy “PK” (Pastor’s Kid) + a large population of very troubled young people + God = People (estimate unavailable) now in the Kingdom of God.

I was the “church girl / PK (pastor’s kid)” who had known Jesus since the age of 3, when I
remember asking Jesus to “forgive me and come into my heart.” I promised to love Him forever.

Of course, at that point, my sin history was fairly brief . . .such as being mad at my little sister, sticking my tongue out behind the door at my un-seeing parent on the other side of the door, clipping an ant with my blunt-nose scissors . . . but I had a sense that those things would probably not make Jesus happy or proud of me.

When, in my mid-20’s, God brought a fairly new Believer into my life, I had never imagined
marrying a Coast Guard guy . . . a former “pot-head” with a troubled teenage past, raised a
Catholic (his church highlight was drinking the left-over wine from the Host as an altar boy.)
That was followed by years of living without any personal awareness of Who God really is, nor of God’s Love and Purpose waiting in his future.

Our unlikely Math added 3 boys to our picture, and then 1+1+1+1+1….to an un-numbered Sum, of troubled young and not-so-young people from our city and beyond, all the way to the Sahara Desert of North Africa.

Our human logic can never attain the Logic of our Creator. He by-passed all human “logic”
when He created the world . . . the heavens . . . and our own human forms designed to carry His Own Spirit in each one. He far surpassed human logic when He sent His Son to die on earth so that we could live forever with Him.

May we carry that Eternal Treasure of His “illogical Math” as we individually live out our
numbered Days. And may you be numbered in the Divine “+” to His Equation into which He has added us.

Part 3

“Come to Me. I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

Rest.

Such a simple, common word. Such a common human need. Such a common, human
experience. . . but not always within our grasp.

Remember an experience when you were utterly exhausted. You could hardly put one foot infront of the other, because your strength was gone. There was nothing left in you to give.

Many in our world have lost the experience of true “rest.” Stress, pressure, emotional turmoil . . . so much a part of our lives in a world that is full of activity, effort, fear, insecurity.

Jesus certainly faced that common human reality while He walked in our world. He would not have experienced our earthly, human limitations in Heaven’s Realm before He chose to come in human form and live the human experience. He spoke of rest. He took rest. Even in a boat during a violent storm, His human body needed to sleep.

But “sleep” is not necessarily “rest.” We may be able to sleep. . . but wake up with the same
emotional turmoil, mental anguish, heart-aches, and spiritual emptiness that drains Life from our very beings. We carry emotional and mental weights that are too heavy to bear.We take on burdens that slow our walk to a crawl. Or to a halt.

Jesus’ simple, open Invitation is exactly what our exhausted, empty souls need. Rest. Not just a physical “rest”. Not just a mental “rest.” Not just an emotional “rest.” But a rest that only He can give. An all-encompassing rest that touches far beyond the physical need. It touches our very soul.

I will never forget an experience I had in the Sahara Desert, in the refugee camps in July one summer. Temperatures were +120 degrees Fahrenheit, with no breeze. I dragged myself into a tent and laid on a thin rug covering the sand. Completely exhausted, dehydrated, hot, and fully wrapped in my traditional covering, I fell asleep. A few hours later, I slowly began to awaken, with a soft awareness of gentle hands holding one foot, and then the other, tenderly wiping each with a soft, wet cloth. Without opening my eyes, the gentle care brought me back to awareness and the sensation of tender hands and a soft, wet cloth tenderly removing the dusty, gritty sand that coated my cracked, sore feet. First one. Then the other. I was having a little taste of Heaven on that desert floor! My senses were being awakened. . . my thoughts began to engage, . . . my exhausted mind sensed “life” returning, and my heart was aware of God’s gentle love and care . . . through the hands of a loving friend.

That simple, tender act of kindness . . . to the most unseemly, battered part of my body, brought an unmatched sense of love, care, soothing, and comfort like nothing I had experienced before. It continues to be one of those moments that I will never forget.

A worn basin, cool water, a humble cloth, and gentle hands. When offered into God’s Hands,
they bring healing that goes deeper than our eyes can see.

(Part 1)

“I have told you this so that
My Peace will be with you.
In the world you will have trouble.
But don’t be sad!
I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

They had spent the evening together. They had shared a meal, spent time together in a
comfortable setting, and had enjoyed uninterrupted time relaxing and simply enjoying each
other’s company without the frequent demands that came to Jesus from people who wanted His attention and help. Jesus had washed their feet before the meal, taking personal time in that simple, kind, practical act with each of His dearest followers. They had been through so much together in the past few years.

They did not realize what was so soon to come as they sat with Him, relaxing that evening. He showed no signs of worry, or fear, or sadness as they spent that time together. Jesus was focused on His friends, giving them encouragement. They were not aware of how frightening and difficult the coming hours and days would be. . . not only for them, but for Him.

In those hours spent together, Jesus gave His full attention to them. He was not focused on the horrors that He knew were to take place later that night and the coming days. His full attention was on them. He was focused on them. . . these friends with whom He had shared Life and ministry for the past three years.

I cannot imagine spending the final hours of my life, knowing of horrific events that would soon begin to unfold, focused on a roomful of friends, sharing a meal, being the “Perfect Host,” and being fully Present with them throughout that final evening. What Love! What selfless attention He focused on them. Simple. Practical. Needful. Care for His friends. Serving them, with the full knowledge of what was to come for Him.

May my focus . . . my priorities . . . my energies reflect to the people who matter most in my life, the selflessness that Jesus lived and breathed each day. May my eyes be focused on serving and loving well throughout my days. Even when my own heart may be troubled and broken, may I reflect the One Who has loved me so well, even when it was not deserved. May those simple, practical ways of caring for the people in my life be a reflection of Jesus. . . and allow Him to use it in ways that I never could.