Devotion.al

Feed Your Soul

  • Life Vessel

    Psalm 71, Isaiah 55:1-13, Acts 9:19b-25

    It is easy to get lost in despair. It is easy to let the troubles of this world get you down. When the world especially tries to drag you down with, “if there really was a God…” The psalmist feels overwhelmed and opposed. There is even some feeling of being abandoned by God. Yet, the psalmist does not lose , and trust God, even when questioning. It’s okay to question what’s going on. God’s big enough to handle the question. It’s not that we question. It can be how we question. Really, it is who we look at when we question. Are we looking at ourselves? Are we looking at ? Or, are we looking, really looking at God?

    Isaiah has questions. The people of Israel have questions. They have lots of questions, and heartache, and , and , and anger, and despair, and…a whole of issues. The words shared by Isaiah are really the question…who/what are you looking at? When we look at God, we can receive – water and life. When we look elsewhere, it goes out of us. That can be good, as long as we keep looking to God to receive. However, the longer we are open to receiving, we up leaving ourselves open to being changed. Some people take a touch. Others take tap. Others require a spiritual 2×4. It is what happens afterwards that is the difference: our and how we look at God.

    Paul got the 2×4 (or something bigger). He had an experience that was so powerful that he changed. He went from a man successfully penalizing the church (including being an accomplice to murder), to being an obvious and outspoken support of Jesus Christ and his church. So much so, that it is not an unreasonable question to ponder, if he was so quickly able to successfully defend Jesus as the Messiah, why couldn’t have figured it out earlier? What if…a powerful question, that has no real answer.‌

    • ‌1) Being a vessel of God’s water (spirit) can change us deeply. Why can that be scary to people?‌
    • 2) What do you think of the Christian life in the of Isaiah’s words? Should your Christian life be changed?
    • 3) We often think of Paul being alone. Yet, he was never alone. What does that tell us about Paul, ourselves, and how we view important people?
    • FD) Sometimes we don’t understand God. Is that okay? Is it okay to not understand, and still love and trust God?
  • Moonlight Movement

    Moonlight Movement

    Psalm 65; Joshua 10:1–14; Mark 6:45–52 Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon had fallen. For comparison’s sake, it would be as if Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Boston had all fallen to a single foreign power. And, not just fallen, but completely destroyed with all their people, creatures,…

  • Show Stopper

    Show Stopper

    Psalm 65; Exodus 9:13–35; Acts 27:39–44 But I’ve left you standing for this reason: in order to show you my power and in order to make my name known in the whole world. Exodus 9:16 Depending on your context and current life situation, these words could be good or they could be bad. The Scriptures…

  • Prayer Signs

    Prayer Signs

    Psalm 65; Exodus 7:14–24; Acts 27:13–38 Do the right thing! Then, do the next right thing! If there is a question of what the right thing is? You’ll just know. Right? Sounds completely rational. You’ll just know. Except it doesn’t always (or even often for many) work that way. Many times awe-inspiring stories are told…

  • Moving Pain

    Moving Pain

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 38:1–11; 2 Corinthians 6:1–13; Mark 4:35–41 The right time. God moved at the right time. God’s timing is perfect. From a purely intellectual standpoint, these are easy to say. It is much harder to say this in the midst of trial and be at peace with that truth. We will often…