Devotional on Acts

2014 – Mt Rainier National Park

Telling thankful people just who to thank

Acts 14: We don’t make God; he makes us, and all of this.

Paul and Barnabas arrive in Lystra and open their ministry there by performing a miracle, healing a lame man. The town goes wild and before they know it Barnabas and Paul are identified as the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes. In the mythology of the day Hermes is the spokesman of the gods and since Paul does most of the talking they identify him as Hermes. Barnabas, though, gets the highest title. Maybe there’s a lesson here that if we keep our mouths shut people will think more of us than they would otherwise! Anyway, it takes some doing to calm the crowd down so that Paul can preach the Good News of the gospel to them. Since the theme of the day is already set, Paul focuses in on the true God and his good will toward all people. That good will, he says, is evident in the blessings that surround each of us. Here’s evangelism fueled by Creation. Even a person who’s secular to the core looks at the majesty of the Grand Canyon or some other natural wonder and feels a sense of gratitude. A good place to start a conversation about the Lord is to tell them who it is that we thank for it all.

Take Away: One of the ways the Lord has revealed himself to us is through his Creation.

Devotional on the Psalms

2019 – Lake Erie, NE Ohio

Seeing God, everywhere
Psalm 19: God’s glory is on tour in the skies.
God speaks to us in various ways. When I hear the phrase: “God’s Word” I always assume that it’s the Bible that’s being talked about. David, who thought of the written word of God as the Torah, reminds me that “God’s Word” is much more than written words making up a leather-bound book or a rare and valuable scroll. He says that Creation, itself, is the “Word of God.” Whether I am watching the sunrise or a starlit nighttime sky I’m reading God’s message of love and goodwill to me and to all human beings. These things, David says, are roadmaps to God…roadmaps with easy to follow directions. Of course, beyond the written Word, or the Word displayed in Creation, is the Living Word of God: God the Son, Jesus. David only has a dim, distant knowledge of the Word in the Flesh. Still, even lacking that, he keeps seeing God everywhere he looks. In all of life, God is speaking; I just need to learn to listen on a broader scale that I might more fully hear his message to me.
Take Away: If we pay attention we’ll hear from God in a wonderful variety of ways.

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