Grandchildren

Devotion by: Jill Peterson

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.

See, just as the LORD my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.

Our youngest daughter, Robin, is pregnant with her first child. This baby girl, due in March, will be named Nora after my mother, Nora Marguerite, who died just over five years ago.

There is something about new life coming into this world that makes us think about what kind of lasting impact we are having on our children and grandchildren. As these words from Deuteronomy remind us, God has taught us that we are to live by certain decrees and laws, as He has commanded. He instructs us to teach these laws and decrees to our children and their children after them. We are to remember that He is near to us and always available through prayer.

Nora Marguerite, “Maggie” as she was called, followed these decrees and laws faithfully. What an example for our children she was! She was honest, kind, fair and courageous -- and she loved the Lord. She showed us how to live by the way that she lived her life. Robin has chosen to honor her grandmother’s memory by naming this child after her. We should all live such that our children and grandchildren want to name their children after us.

PRAYER: Lord, help us this day to be an example to our children and grandchildren. They learn from what they see. Let them see us at our best in all we do and how we handle the challenges and joys of this life. Let us all be blessings, such that we will have many namesakes! Amen.

Teach Me

Devotion by: Juli Benson

Psalm 25:4-9

Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.

Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!

Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.

I love the Psalms, because they give us both wisdom and hope. Psalm 25 tells us that when we place our faith in God, we can trust Him to care for us and help us overcome the challenges life brings us. But … we must be humble and willing to let God change us. We cannot expect Him to work His transformation in our lives if we are proud and unwilling to admit that we need God’s help to bring about change. In fact, we are helpless apart from God. We need to ask Him to show us how to live according to His truths, not ours. Because of His great love for us and His compassion, He will forgive our sins when we ask Him to. And … He asks us to forgive others the same way. As we forgive others and live according to His plan, we can and will experience peace, joy and hope.

PRAYER: Gracious Father In Heaven: Thank you for the wisdom found only in your Word. Thank you for giving us a roadmap for our lives and for being that steady guide who will lead us in paths of righteousness if we are willing to humbly come before you. Thank you for loving us so much that you give your life as a ransom for ours. In Jesus’ sweet name, we pray.

Prophets At Home

Devotion by: Susan Boruff

2 Kings 5:1-15

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’

He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, ‘When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.’ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!

Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’ He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, “Wash, and be clean”?’ So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.’

The story of the healing of Naaman is a story of obedience, conversion and gratitude. Obeying God is more than an action; it is about attending to the voice of God where it shows up in your life. The Israeli servant girl, because of her love for God and her compassion -- even for her enemy -- wanted those who didn’t know about God’s healing power to benefit from it. The king of Aram, who worshipped pagan gods, encouraged Naaman to go and receive healing from the Hebrew God. Naaman’s servants, upon hearing Elisha’s plan for Naaman’s healing (which Naaman wanted to reject), encouraged him to do what God required. Even though Naaman had wealth and too much pride, he listened and obeyed. Miraculously, he was healed. God used a variety of people and circumstances to get Naaman’s attention. God was present in the most ordinary circumstances of Naaman’s life. The offer of healing came thru an ordinary event -- washing in the Jordan River. This story affirms that God will do whatever it takes to get our attention, but that God is also present in all circumstances. Our response is to pay attention to where God is showing up in our lives. And when we hear His voice, we must obey. The life of obedience is a holy life, in which we become increasingly aware that all moments are God moments.

PRAYER: Creator of the universe and Sustainer of life, please give us eyes to see and ears to hear Your voice as it manifests in our lives. May we be open to respond to Your offer of healing in our lives. Through Your mercy and love, use us as You used the people in Naaman’s life to bring Your gift of grace to all those we encounter.

Come To Me

Devotion by: Art Evans

John 4:5-42

So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’

Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’

I often observe that, although a very small percentage of Americans attend church each Sunday, there seems to be a genuine thirst for spiritual belief within humanity. I was not among that small percentage of weekly church-goers; but, I was most definitely seeking spiritual truth. Then one day, after personal events had forced the issue to the forefront, I finally listened to what my wife, Kathi, had been suggesting for years – read the Bible! I had been given a paperback of the New Testament with supplemental commentary, and thus I began my first Christian-inspired journey since Sunday School, over 50 years ago. I decided to concentrate on the teachings of Jesus and perhaps simplify my task. (Somehow, at the time, it seemed overwhelming to tackle the entire Bible at once.) It worked. I drank of the Living Water. The gospel satisfied my thirst: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10.

Was it that simple? Yes! If we are humble, we believe in Him and we truly come to Him with an open heart; nothing in our past will prevent His acceptance of us. But my Teacher said it so much better: “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14.

PRAYER: My Lord and Savior, we seek your help. Lead us all to your well of Truth. Guide us to your fountain of Righteousness. Show us the way, and we will be yours. Amen.

God's Joy

Devotion by: Steve O'Connor

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

So he told them this parable, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.

‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’

In these verses, Luke tells the story of the prodigal son. After demanding his inheritance and then squandering it, the younger of two brothers is left destitute and starving in a distant country. In essence, he has hit rock bottom. At that point, Luke tells us that “he comes to his senses” and makes a decision to return to his father and seek his forgiveness. Does that sound familiar? Why is it that we often have to reach a point of desperation before coming to our senses and recognizing that we have sinned, and that we are in need of God’s forgiveness?

Fortunately for the prodigal son, despite his transgressions, his father still loves him and forgives him. Although the son has treated the father badly, the father nonetheless welcomes his son back with joy and celebration. What an incredible source of comfort for him! (And for us!)

I am sure that we can all recall experiences growing up when we had done something that we knew would upset our fathers (and mothers), and we did not know what the consequences might be. How angry would our father be with us? Would we lose our father’s affection? If so, would we ever be forgiven and reconciled with our father again?

The lesson of this parable is that God will always joyfully forgive our sins. All we have to do to receive that forgiveness is sincerely ask for it. How incredibly fortunate we are! As we reflect on our relationship with God during this season of Lent, remember the story of the prodigal son. And take comfort in knowing that God will joyfully embrace us back into his Kingdom, if we just ask Him.

PRAYER: Heavenly father, thank you for your gracious and ever-present love for us, with which you bless us -- even when we do not deserve it. During this season of Lent, open our hearts to seek reconciliation with you, knowing with certainty that, like the prodigal son, you will welcome us back into your Kingdom. Amen.

Shepherd Me, Lord

Devotion by: Kyle Babirak

1 Peter 5:1-4

Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away.

Peter is talking about how you can follow in Christ’s footsteps to help others. Christ did not put himself first; but instead, he helped others in the hope that they would follow his example. In Scouting, the First Class Scouts have the choice to be leaders for the new Scouts. These older Scouts advise the younger ones and help to make decisions. They do this without bragging or showing off, and they do it willingly to serve them. This can be an example of being like Christ.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, please help all leaders to be willing to help others by serving.

Drying Up?

Devotion by: Susan and Bill Canis

Luke 16:19-31

‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

As we prepare for Easter, it’s Christmas we should be thinking of right now. That’s when Americans collectively spend billions of dollars showering themselves and their families with gifts of all types. Meanwhile, we read that U.S. food pantries for the unfortunate have bare shelves; many elderly shut-ins are alone; and, overseas, millions wait daily for a decent meal.

This parable in Luke should be a wake-up call to all Christians throughout the year. Its message is that we have a personal responsibility, like the rich man’s brothers who still have time to change their ways. This is not only about the church’s mission work, but also about what we do for others individually, by ourselves.

Several years ago, we decided that we could do better than exchange gifts at Christmas. We volunteered as a family at a homeless shelter on Christmas morning. It wasn’t in an inner city area. It was in Chantilly, a stone’s throw from Dulles airport, where over 80 or 90 men, women and children had slept overnight on the floor in sleeping bags. These current-day Lazaruses are just like us but have stumbled on hard times or unemployment. We cooked them breakfast and talked with them and exchanged all kinds of personal stories. We ate, laughed and prayed with them. This year, we did a similar service in Arlington. We feel we are living truer to Luke’s words with this service, and we’d encourage more Christians to find the spirit of Christ in this way. Let this kind of Christmas service and compassion be our guide at Christmas, Easter and throughout the year.

PRAYER: Lord, as we seek constructive change in our world, keep our attention on the path you have shown us with your Word. Amen.