Daily Devotional with First5

For years, I've struggled to be consistent with a daily "quiet time" or devotional. Somehow, I can't seem to make just a few minutes with the Lord a priority. There are plenty of other things I do each day...

check Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest...

drink coffee...

cook dinner...

shower, get dressed, and put on makeup...

and yet somehow I often neglect to read the Word and pray for even a few moments of the day.
Recently, I discovered First5, an iPhone app that has worked wonders in my devotional consistency. Each day, I wake up to a five-minute devotional, short prayer, and thought for the day. The Scripture for the day is included right in with the reading, so everything I need is right on my iPhone.

Probably the biggest reason I have been consistent with this is because it is not intimidating. It's so easy to get overwhelmed by the idea of a 30-minute time with the Lord—particularly on days that begin first thing in the morning. Five minutes, though? That sounds doable. And for the past several weeks, it has been!

Each daily reading includes a pretty image of the main thought of the devotional. It's always an encouragement to be consistent with something when it's pretty!

Another part of this app that I love is the built-in alarm clock. You can set your alarms for each day of the week, and slide to the daily devotional reading first thing in the morning. While I would ideally like to spend more time than this in the Word, it is a great habit to get me started!

You can download the app here... for free!

More Than Good Advice

As my church has been going through a sermon series on the book of Proverbs, I've been reading a chapter a day. (It works out grand because there are 31 days in July, and guess how many chapters in Proverbs? Why yes! 31 exactly.) My view of the book has been that it's a collection of random sayings that are slightly more inspired than the Chinese proverbs, or quotable quips from classic authors. The Proverbs, in my eyes, were God's how-to's for sticky situations and social scenarios.

However, upon reading them this time around and hearing the book preached on each week, I've come to hold a different view of the Proverbs. This inspired book is more than the good advice I gave it credit for. It's a portrayal of wisdom: who she is, what she looks like, and how to win her.

There are so many things in life I enjoy... financial security, a stable home, physical health, the approval of others, and friends and family. Yet walking through the day to day with all those things isn't the ultimate goal. No matter how many blessings I experience in life, there is still something more worth acquiring than security, stability, and stuff: wisdom.

A pastor described wisdom as the ability to navigate life in a God-honoring way. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that wisdom is an important spiritual characteristic as well as being straightforward and down-to-earth help. For example, Proverbs 3:30 says:

"Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm."

In one verse, God points me to spiritual character (patience, self-control, and joy) as well as a practical follow-through (don't become irritated with someone with no cause--a lesson I could work on from now until I'm 100 years old!).

 Navigating life is tricky... and my life is pretty simple compared to the experiences that many go through. If I desire to develop tact, grace, and a God-honoring way of living, I better be seeking wisdom. And for that, Proverbs is a good place to start.

Genuine Callings

Living out the Christian faith looks differently for different people, since God calls us to fill various roles within the church. Some individuals will pursue more intellectual work, teaching or writing or speaking. Others serve with their hands in jobs ranging from construction to sign language interpretation. Homeschooling moms devote most of their time to educating their children. Still others boldly preach the Gospel far from home. That's one of the beautiful things about Christ's church: everyone has widely diverse gifts. If each of us were forced to have the same education, career, and family life, it would be sad! Not to mention unhelpful.

Scripture encourages various manners of serving. In 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, Paul says, "Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." The author encourages quiet, virtuous living for the Christian. At the same time, the Bible clearly supports mission work and evangelism: "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:18-20). To me, these two can seem contradictory. And God says both are good ways for the believer to serve Him.

Yet lately, there seems to be a pressure to be called in a certain way. Those who make an immediate, visible change in the world are seen as dynamic, godly Christians than the ones who follow Christ in a quieter life. We glorify the paths that are risky and radical above the simple and ordinary callings. Being a missionary in a foreign country takes more bravery and devotion than I can ever imagine. I admire the men and women I know who give their lives to spreading the Gospel in other nations. Still, maybe my personal respect for missionaries doesn't make their calling more genuine than the one called to witness to a neighbor just down the street.

Anthony Bradley, in his WORLD Magazine article, wrote: "Perhaps the best antidote to these pendulum swings and fads is simply to recover an mature understanding of vocation so that youth and youth adults understand that they can make important contributions to human flourishing in any sphere of life because there are no little people or insignificant callings in the Kingdom." Perhaps I shouldn't redefine "true" Christianity as one unique type of ministry. Instead, I should acknowledge that God's callings are always intentional, and fit into His good and perfect will.

God-ward Gaze

One of my favorite passages is Psalm 34. As I read it the other day, I was struck by how the author's perspective is completely transformed when he looks at the Lord. Throughout the book of Psalms, a common theme is looking to the Lord in both good times and bad. When the Psalmist is rejoicing and safe, he sings praise. When he's in trouble, he cries out to the Lord. Over and over, God protects and delivers from trouble. This in itself is amazing! But the work of God doesn't stop there. Beyond just keeping us safe, the Father uses these troubles to get us to look to Him. Psalm 34:5 says that the ones who look to the Lord are themselves altered. God is so gloriously good that we become radiant just by gazing in His direction, and our whole countenance changes to reflect Him.

Further on in the Psalm, we are encouraged to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (verse 8). So many things that we taste and see day to day are good. Fresh morning sunshine, the warm aroma of brewed coffee, the love of family, a breathtaking sunset, a fun roadtrip, and the luxurious taste of rich chocolate all bring us delight (particularly chocolate!). And yet all these lovely things in life are like the yellow brick road leading to the very source of all this beauty: God Himself.  It brings us real and good joy to be near the Lord... just enjoying Him is refreshing.

In his book Eyes Wide Open, Pastor Steve DeWitt wrote: "Every created beauty was created by God to lead our affections to Him... We enjoy the divine music of beauty, but our enjoyment often stops there. The greatest wonder is not the music itself but the Musician, not the creation but the Creator. He is beautiful." All the beautiful things that bring us pleasure are just a hint of the overwhelming beauty of the Father.

C.S. Lewis said: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

The Psalmist tells us to "taste and see that the Lord is good" because He is beautiful, and we get to delight in that beauty! Just by turning to him, we are changed. "Those who look to him are radiant." God's beauty is lasting and satisfying, beyond the things in life that bring us pleasure. Surely this is reason to enough to join with the Psalmist and "glory in the Lord" and "exalt his name together."

Psalm 34

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;

 his praise will always be on my lips.

2 I will glory in the Lord;

 let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the Lord with me;

 let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

 he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;

 their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

 he saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,

 and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;

 blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,

 for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,

 but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me;

 I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 Whoever of you loves life

 and desires to see many good days,

13 keep your tongue from evil

 and your lips from telling lies.

14 Turn from evil and do good;

 seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

 and his ears are attentive to their cry;

16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

 to blot out their name from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

 he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

 and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,

 but the Lord delivers him from them all;

20 he protects all his bones,

 not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;

 the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

22 The Lord will rescue his servants;

 no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Lost Luggage

The flight from Nashville to Chicago is a mere 1-hour and 20-minute jaunt. Basically, the plane reaches its altitude, the flight attendants pass out peanuts and serve tiny beverages, and then the descent starts. Voilà! Flight over, destination reached.

Well, the trip home for spring break was not so idyllic. Far from being a direct flight, I switched planes in Ohio and had a layover. When I booked the trip, I knew it wasn't a nonstop. But it was less expensive than the other flights. (Now I know why.) So what could have been traversed in 2 hours became an expedition lasting 7 hours.

Anyway, when I reached Midway in Chicago, my luggage did not get off the plane safely like I did. In fact, it never came at all. Apparently, when I walked through the airport to get on the next plane, my suitcase did not follow my lead. It went over to Los Angeles instead. I headed home from the airport, my luggage on the other side of the nation.

Of course, this made me a tad bit stressed. The idea of getting ready for church without anything but the jeans and T-shirt I was wearing bothered me. Knowing I would be leaving the house on Sunday morning without an ounce of makeup was slightly less than comforting.

At 1 in the morning that night, I got a call from the airport saying my bag had arrived, and they would deliver it to the house. At 4 in the morning, I got a call that the delivery guy was at my house with my luggage. I woke up my brother (so I wouldn't have to answer the door at 4 in the morning by myself) and the delivery man saw a shocking manifestation of the word bedhead.

Once the delivery man left, my brother and I had a great conversation, since we both happened to be awake. And the next morning (or rather, that morning), I had my luggage all restored to me.

The moral of the story is: patience. Honestly, patience was a theme through my week of break. When the great question marks of life loom overhead, I don't want to wait on God. Questions like: Where will we live? What will I do? How will God provide? all seem too big to be entrusted to anyone... even the Lord. I tend to get restless, and want to know a detailed 5-year plan with a to-do list each step of the way. But a lot of times, God calls us to wait on Him. In the end, He has all the details planned out perfectly. I would have missed a meaningful conversation and the memory of an adventure if my luggage popped out with everyone else's upon arrival. God uses little things to teach big life lessons. Over spring break, He used lost luggage and a 4 a.m. delivery to teach me a little more about the importance of waiting for His timing.

Wearing Green?

During 6 years of slavery to a Celtic tribe, Patrick experienced hardship and adversity in a way that I can't imagine. While in such difficult circumstances, God brought to his mind the truth his mother had taught him years earlier. This foundation in the Word of God became the basis for his conversion.

In St. Patrick's own words:

“I was sixteen years old and knew not the true God and was carried away captive; but in that strange land the Lord opened my unbelieving eyes, and although late I called my sins to mind, and was converted with my whole heart to the Lord my God, who regarded my low estate, had pity on my youth and ignorance, and consoled me as a father consoles his children. Every day I used to look after sheep and I used to pray often during the day, the love of God and a holy fear of Him increased more and more in me. My faith began to grow and my spirit was ardently stirred. Often, I would pray as many as a hundred times in a single day — and nearly as many at night. Even when I was staying out in the woods or on the mountain, I would rise before dawn for prayer, in snow and frost and rain. I felt no ill effect and there was no slackness in me. As I now realize, it was because the Spirit was maturing and preparing me for a work yet to come.”

Despite all the suffering Patrick went through at the hands of his captors, the love Christ showed him turned into a deep love for those who had hurt him. Again, I can't even imagine. Patrick's desire to reach out to the Celtic people kept hanging on to his heart and didn't let go. Eventually, he outright decided to go back to Ireland, where he had been a mistreated slave, and preach the Good News. His efforts were incredibly effective. Because of his steadfast love for the Irish people and fire for evangelism, thousands of people became believers.

On this Saint Patrick's day, I'm wearing green, dreaming of some unknown Irish heritage. But I'm also celebrating the way God works in real people through history to advance His kingdom. Patrick's love for Ireland is just one example of the Gospel in action.

"We know that the kingdom of heaven belongs to “those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness” (Matt. 5:10) and that great 'blessings' and 'rewards' eventually await those who have been 'insulted,' 'slandered,' and 'sore vexed' who nevertheless persevere in their high callings (Matt. 5:12–13). We know that often it is in 'afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, sleeplessness, and hunger' (2 Cor. 6:4–5) that our real mettle is proven. Nevertheless, we often forget that these things are not simply to be endured. They actually frame our greatest calling. They lay the foundations for our most effective ministries. It is when, like Patrick, we come to love God’s enemies and ours that we are set free for great effectiveness."

Everyday Miracle

It's hard to find the right way to communicate to others how I feel and what's going on in my life. My words tumble out in a jumbled, hodge-podge fashion. But God knows in even more detail than I do, and doesn't even need me to speak perfectly precise and clear sentences for Him to understand.

Last night was one of those moments that God knew just what I needed, even when I didn't. He coordinated all the ins-and-outs to make a blessed moment happen.

The story goes like this:

After work, I somewhat randomly decided to study downtown. As I sat on a bench just outside the center circle of Main Street, a group of Christian guys and a girl came up and asked if I had a moment and they could pray for me. I cheerfully said yes! And requested they pray for me to be an encouragement to others, even when I'm stressed with school and my tendency is to become inwardly-focused The Lord gave them just the right words to sweetly lift my spirits and truthfully challenge me. When they heard I am a student, one of them reminded me to keep my precious, intimate time with the Lord as a priority over homework deadlines. Like clockwork, God had that reminder come on a day that I had pushed aside my quiet time. The fellow believer advised me to let every burden I felt to stay where it belongs: at the foot of the cross. Much of my anxiety is caused by my attempt to solve everyone else's concerns while living up to a self-imposed standard of mistake-free living. When these bold brothers in Christ prayed for peace and the joy of God to fill me up, I was truly blessed. Jesus used them to give me a timely glimpse of how time with Him is the most important rest and refreshment I can ever imagine.

As we stood in a circle on busy Main Street, we held hands and prayed. We said goodbye and they left. I sat back down, picking up my homework, and they were gone when I looked up.

I believe I have a Father in heaven who cares for me. I believe God works miracles to touch His children, and sometimes those miracles look a lot like everyday people, reaching out to pray for a stranger.

Being Grand... While Doing the Dishes

"Everybody wants to save the world but nobody wants to help mom with the dishes." -P.J. O'Rourke

There's something about ordinary, everyday work that gets hard. The day-in, day-out laundry-washing, dish-doing, work-going, homework-studying, family-crazy life. Sometimes I get up in the morning and by about lunchtime I'm exhausted with the mundane and it sounds more meaningful to do something big. You know, like serve in an orphanage in another country, teach 20 children, attend a prestigious university, or have a significant career. I want a big role that will be seen as successful and grand, one that I can announce and hear "oooh"s and "ahhh"s. I place normal life as somehow lower ranked than the "big" things, as if it's possible to do a grand thing without any ordinary, everyday work. I think I can save the world even if I'm unwilling to do the dishes.

Katie is a young woman living in Uganda, serving God and others. Talk about one of those grand, meaningful, big things, right? Surely her days are filled with only those amazing, immediately impactful things missionaries get to do. Well... her perspective isn't quite that way. (Have you read her blog? If not, check it out! It's encouraging and fabulous.) She writes:

People expect romantic, and all I have is a wildly disorganized bookshelf and dirty children shrieking with too-loud laughter. People expect that the days all hold life-saving medicine given to children on the brink of death and profound revelation and while some do, most consist more of peeling potatoes and wiping spills and listening to recited memory verses and biting my tongue as spaghetti sauce splatters everywhere and I light the pot holder on fire, again... 

I choke because my every day life begins too feel small compared to the expectation. And He breathes truth that a life is not made by lives saved or bellies fed or words written. To adore the one who created the Heavens and the Earth, to give thanks for who He is and all He has given, to worship and commune with Holy God, whispering in the quiet, clinging in the noise, believing in all circumstances – this is what makes a life large.The miracle is joy in Him in a day that goes all wrong. The miracle is standing in awe of abundance as I chop carrots and bathe babies and fold laundry. The miracle is a Son sent to die for the very likes of me and His ever-pursuing love for me still. 

It's true, I do expect some element of the romantic for someone called to be a missionary in Uganda. I imagine days filled with sharing the Gospel, grand influence in the life of a child, and no interruptions by the mundane, nitty gritty of life.

But as Katie wrote, God mixes the mundane right in with the metaphysical (thanks Nathan Clark George, for that wonderful sermon on the mundane and metaphysical!). The miracle isn't that God's calling draws us away from the mundane to experience a life more "spiritual." The amazing thing is that they go together perfectly--I can love my little brother by doing his laundry, serve God by studying hard as a student, and show God's kindness when talking to the checkout lady at Goodwill.

It's still amazing to me that people have the courage to serve in another country, or devote their lives to a specific cause. But what's even more amazing is that the most grand calling is the one that God gives--whether it's to be a Mom with 3 toddlers and babies running around like little Indians or a prolific author/speaker or an accountant or anything else. God doesn't rate our obedience to Him based on how big or little I think a situation looks. Faithfulness in "little" areas is just as important as the huge moments. 

God doesn't need to save me from the mundane parts of life to let me do something grand. Instead, I need to recognize the miracle of the everyday, and turn my eyes to God through it all. Could he call me to something different? Of course! But I can't expect to follow Him in something else if I'm unwilling to follow Him where I'm at.

Reformed vs. Reformer

Samuel Rutherford. John Knox. Patrick Hamilton. James Guthrie.

Each of these covenanters lived radically for Christ. Any tendency toward apathy in their lives was consumed by passion for the Truth. In the world's eyes, the Scottish reformers would hardly count as successful. Rather than attaining wealth and status, Rutherford devoted himself to a small congregation. Knox spent over a year as a galley slave. Faced with burning at the stake, Hamilton chose to die for Christ instead of deny Him and live. Steadfast Guthrie held to the Word of God, not the promises of man.

Successful at first glance? Not very.

Yet every one of these men were reformers who transformed lives, influenced communities, and changed culture. Today, many Christians are content to be "reformed"--that is, holding beliefs that are in accord with reformed theology. While the set of beliefs you adhere to is critical, being "reformed" is often viewed as an endpoint that marks a past-tense completion of a goal. Contrast that idea with the reformers, whose vision never let them stop growing and reaching out.

When reformation is viewed as a collection of individuals that hold a specific set of beliefs, a standstill is unavoidable.

However, if reformation takes place as it did with the covenanters, every area of life is effected. We have a "reformed" mindset. If Christians just hold to a reformed theology, we think, then the church has accomplished its mission. Centuries ago, reformers actively applied their faith, realizing that faith that does not make an impact isn't true faith.

Today, we call Christians "reformed." Scottish covenanters were reformers.

To make my faith active, I need heaps of God's grace. Praise Him that He is willing to give it.

Comparing Work

An illuminated text, which had hung on the walls of the sitting-room ever since she could remember, somehow attracted Ruth Sewell's attention on the particular evening when our story commences. It was strange that it should do so, old, faded, fly-specked, and familiar as it was. For at least ten years of her life it had hung there preaching its sermon, but never exciting a thought or emotion among its young auditors, simply because its message had been so silently delivered. No new thing had happened to it that night. The time-stained card-board was, if any thing, dingier than ever; and the fitful gleams of the wood-fire, as they for a moment illuminated its surface, failed to restore the brilliancy of coloring and gilding which had long ago departed. Nor was there any thing new in the words which the firelight thus brought into momentary prominence:--
To every man his work.
And yet, during that almost instantaneous flash of light, they came to Ruth as a revelation fresh from heaven, instinct with spirit-life and replete with food for thought.

—Margaret E. Winslow, The Sewells

Recently, I read The Sewells by Margaret E. Winslow. It was a delightful story about a motherless family who had to work together to make it through tough times. The phrase "to every man his work" was a saying the Sewells had hanging in their living room. The character in the quote above, Ruth, was troubled because she didn't know what her "work" was—she felt that she should be doing something more important and influential than taking her mother's place in many ways and caring for her brothers and invalid sister. By the end of the novel, she realized that although it wasn't what she had in mind, God had assigned to her that specific work to do with all her strength.

Her sister, Orphah, on the other hand, had the distinct impression that she was not assigned any specific work. Instead, she did whatever she pleased. Her ideal life's "work" was the lack of work. The end of her story was similar to Ruth's. She ended up discovering that she had a purpose to fulfill, which included lots of hard work. Both Orphah and Ruth followed the same principle in the end ("to every man his work"), but their specific roles were very different and certainly not what they had expected.

As I read the book, I realized how I tend to look at others' applications of Biblical principles instead of prayerfully applying Scripture in my own life. Orphah and Ruth each observed each other's work and thought her work would be the same. But it wasn't. Something I've been trying to work on is not assuming my plans for the next few years must exactly match someone else's.

Although God has laid out clear commands for living, it doesn't mean that each believer's effort to fulfill those will work out in the same way. God has allowed for much liberty and diversity within the body of Christ. I need to stop searching for a cookie-cutter mold that will tell me what college to take classes from, where to work, and how to organize my day. It's taken me this long to realize that there is no such mold. Instead, we have Scripture, which is sufficient for determining my life's purpose and direction.