Quick daily devotions Archives

Short & Sweet: Measure Up

April 25, 2016 by MaryK 3 Comments

7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

Hebrews 13:7-10

“I’ll have your order up in a moment, Ma’am,”

the hostess said as I waited at the counter of one of my favorite restaurants. I was looking forward to my lunch. I brought a salad to school and I ordered a pint of my favorite aged-balsamic salad dressing. Tangy, sweet and savory all stirred up into one delicious hot mess. I know—I need therapy.

As the hostess approached the counter, I eyed the small container in her hand. Too small. I readied myself for battle. I had been through this before.

“That will be $7.95 for your pint of dressing.”

I said, with utmost gentleness, “Miss, that isn’t a pint. It’s only a cup.”

“Oh no, Ma’am,” she said firmly, “it’s a pint. The cooks measured it in the kitchen.”

“They may have measured it, but I assure you, it is not a pint—it is a cup,” I stated decisively.

“Ma’am, we looked it up on Google (the ultimate authority). It is a pint.”

“I am a teacher. We cover measurements and conversions at school. Plus, I have been cooking for 35 years, I know a cup when I see it. I’d like the rest of my dressing, please.” I was calm despite the twitch in my jaw muscle.

The conflicted clerk then said, “Ma’am, we measure our pints differently than anyone else. This is how we measure our pint.”

#imustbedreaming

I didn’t think I’d live to see the day … pink is the new black. Wrong is right. Up is down. A cup is the new pint. Can we count on anything, anymore?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The word same in the verse above is derived from the Greek word autos and it simply means himself. No kidding. Jesus is simply, magnificently Himself. Not new and improved. Not updated or upgraded. Jesus. Go back up to the verse and replace the same with himself and read the verse out loud. Hallelujah! We can count on Jesus. He will always be himself (I on the other hand have been several different versions of myself and God is still working on me). He is our rock our strong tower and His word will outlive skinny jeans and boots, your latest tat, selfie sticks and designer cupcakes.

With Christ I don’t need to remake myself every day because He is making me over into the image of Christ. Because Jesus never changes, I know who I am, I know whose I am, I know how to act and I know how to live.

Right is still right, wrong is still wrong. God is on his throne and HE NEVER CHANGES!

Just in case you are wondering, I left the restaurant with a pint of balsamic dressing … old school style.

Life is Sweet!

Short & Sweet: 3 Signs You’re Building on the Rock

February 1, 2016 by MaryK Leave a Comment

We live very close to Lake Michigan.

While we go to the big lake most often in the summer months, we enjoy it best in the fall and winter, after the tourists have gone home for the season. This winter the Midwest experienced days of turbulent wind, especially along the lake shore. The waves reached incredible heights, crashing the coast and pounding the beaches. Churning. Tossing. Stirring. [Read more…]

Short & Sweet: Bread Enough and Some to Spare

January 25, 2016 by MaryK Leave a Comment

“But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”

Luke 11:15-17

I am starving.

I said these words just the other day when I came home from work. The truth is, I was not starving, I was only hungry. Just like every other day of the week, I had eaten breakfast and lunch and there was plenty in the Frigidaire for dinner. I’ve have always had plenty of food. Other people — not so much.

When I was little someone broke into the garage and stole not our car but our spare food. I remember my dad saying he would not call the police because he didn’t want anyone to go hungry while we had bread enough and some to spare. People are hungry.

[Read more…]

i hear: 3 things to do when in trouble

January 19, 2016 by MaryK 2 Comments

i hear

short podcasts to bring the sacred into your everyday

Do you only have a few minutes for Bible Study today? Or do you have a few extra minutes and want to feed your soul? Try one of our new i hear podcasts. Three minutes is all you need to receive a little encouragement and refreshment from God’s word!

What do we do when we are facing trials and hardships? The Bible gives three things to do when we are waiting on the Lord to complete the good work He started in us.

To read a written version of hope, wait and pray, please click on the following link:

Hope, Wait and Pray

Be blessed!

To Do-ers List: What He Says

January 11, 2016 by MaryK Leave a Comment

Princes also sit and speak against me, but your servant meditates on your statutes.

Psalm 119:23

My mind used to be a battlefield, a theater of war used expertly by the enemy to oppress, control and render me useless for the cause of Christ. Darts of the enemy used to fly unchecked, inflicting damage on my heart and soul. Jagged wounds hemorrhaged confidence and peace as I struggled to stop the flow. I was a victim of my thoughts — at the mercy of whatever drifted into my mind. One nasty comment from a coworker or supervisor and I would embark on a three-day pity-party, complete with sleepless nights and a churning stomach.

I didn’t want to think about the harsh words echoing around the corners of my mind — I seemed to have no choice. They’d flash in HD, vivid and brutal, as I relived the hurt with each replay. I needed to learn to control my thoughts and take them captive for Christ and shut off the broken record. I needed to learn Christ had set me free.

I needed to listen to what He says.

As Christians, we decide what to meditate upon.

We have several choices. We can think about:

What we say about ourselves
What others say about us
What the world says about us
What Satan says about us (LIES, LIES, LIES) or
What God says about us (TRUTH, TRUTH, TRUTH)

Satan will always lie and friends will usually only tell us what we want to hear. We can’t trust what the world says or our own words either. Our only trustworthy source is God. If we listen to any other source we’ll miss God’s will and disobey Him in order to “eliminate” fallout from critics. Peace no longer depends on Christ, but on the absence of conflict.

So how do we silence the broken record?

Focus on God and what He says.

Simple — yet, oh so challenging.

Turn off the lies.

Stop cooperating with the enemy.

Start agreeing with God.

Listen to what He says.

The Battle Plan:

Shut down the lies. The second a thought slithers into your mind that does not agree with what God says about you, shut it down. (For example: Say the enemy wants you to believe you are not smart enough to complete a task God has given you. Literally say out loud, “That is not truth. I am not stupid, God has given me the mind of Christ.”)
Praise God. Finish off your verbal power session with a round of praise for our mighty God. “God, I thank You that You are stronger than anything that comes against me. Thank You that You have called me and chosen me for this task.” The enemy will flee at the sound of His great Name.
Re-purpose your thoughts. Remember all the hours you spent replaying some awful scene in your head in slo-mo? A fight with your husband, an attack from coworker, a mistake you made in a very public setting? The next time you are tempted to dwell on the hurt, re-purpose that time for thinking on what God says in His Word.
Repeat the steps above as often as needed.

It works. I know.

Today, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of your self talk. The moment a negative thought pops into your head, replace it.

Think truth. Speak truth. Change your life.

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Be a doer of the Word. Listen to what He says.