CamDevo

I think I have mentioned before that I am an introvert. That means, in my free time, I’d rather be home painting or doing a puzzle than going to a party.

This afternoon I am scheduled to attend a social event for my tennis team. We’ll play some tennis and have some food together afterwards. Sounds fun, right? But being an introvert, I grumble and just want to stay home. I will go because it’s healthy for me both physically and mentally, and I know I will even have a good time. I will come home being glad I went, but during the time leading up to it, I still grumble and regret accepting the invitation.

Then I read today’s Bible verse.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” (‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭31, ‭CSB‬‬)

God has reminded me that my life isn’t all about me. As a follower of Jesus, I gave my life to Him. Everything I do, every choice I make about how to spend my time, should be about honoring Him by loving people.

While I can honor God while painting or puzzling at home, I will have many more obvious and meaningful opportunities to love people and mirror God’s character when I go out into the world.

When I look at my day, I look forward to the comfortable moments relaxing by myself. When God looks at my day, He sees my dreaded party as the highlight because of all the ways I’ll be able to give of myself through His love and strength.

God loves me and wants me to have comfort and joy and peaceful rest. But not all the time. And not at the expense of His plans for using the gifts and resources He has blessed me with. Instead of planning my perfect day, I need to plan God’s perfect day for me. So let’s get this party started!

Dear God, I am sorry for focusing more about my comfort than about honoring you. Teach me how to use my gifts to honor you in every part of my day. Show me all the ways you want me to love people today. And fill me with joy for each opportunity to do so.

When participating in a weekly exercise class, I invited a friend to join me. I had been getting stronger and wanted her to enjoy the same success. Her response mystified me. She said, “I’ll have to get stronger before I can do something like that.”

She didn’t recognize how backward her thinking about exercise was. In her mind, I suppose, a certain level of fitness had to be achieved before working out in a group setting.

The problem was that she would never get to that level of fitness because she didn’t have the knowledge, equipment, or motivation to work out by herself. The group exercise class provided all of those things. All she had to do was commit to showing up. The rest would be provided.

She had to take the first step, not in spite of her weak state, but because of it.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you.” (Isaiah‬ ‭60‬:‭1‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

The same is true of faith. Isaiah is calling a beaten down, weak people to “arise and shine”. They don’t want to. In fact, they don’t think they can. But only by getting up and doing good things will they experience God’s glory.

You don’t have to work at getting more faith before you can step out in obedience. That’s backward thinking. Faith comes after obedience in the same way that strength comes after exercise.

Years ago, God told me to start tithing, or giving ten percent of what I earned back to Him. If I had waited until I was sure that I could afford that, it would never have happened. But when I did it anyway, worried the whole time about my bills, I learned that God did indeed provide everything I needed and more. My faith grew. I got stronger.

Now I must keep stretching. Continuing to step into uncomfortable places in obedient faith. Rising and shining with each new day!

Dear God, thank you for your promises and for proving how trustworthy you are to fulfill them. I trust you to provide everything I need to do your will after I get started doing it! Show me what you have in mind today.

I recently bought a new computer. It is shiny, slick, powerful, and fast, but it has been sitting on the floor of my office for about a month.

My old computer is too outdated and underpowered to handle the latest operating system. It is also too weak and slow to run the powerful, new photo editing software I want to run. And yet I continue to use the old one because it is already running, and it is familiar. It has all my files on it, organized in a way that I am used to. But it also has a bunch of old stuff on it that I no longer need or use. It has obsolete versions of software that has been updated or replaced. It has documents about property I no longer own. It has messages and records from the past that are irrelevant and useless.

Our lives can become like my old computer. When we dwell too much on past events, traumas, and mistakes, we get bogged down. We can’t focus on the joys and challenges of a new day. If my old way of doing things is not working anymore, it’s time to try something different. Maybe radically different.

“Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬-‭19,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

God doesn’t want His children to be stuck in the past, especially a past of heartaches and failures. Jesus came with open arms to offer forgiveness and a fresh start. He begs us to choose hope and joy with each new day by accepting His grace and looking toward the bright future with Him.

Try a new thing today. Step away from regret and guilt and fear. Step out of familiarity and comfort. Leap with faith into God’s hopeful future of forgiveness and powerful purpose.

Dear God, thank you so much for your forgiveness and love. Help me to leave my past failures in the past and focus on my purpose for today. And thank you for the promise of a beautiful future with you.

I am a light sleeper. But that’s not a very good description for me because one of the things that keeps me up is… light. Maybe I should be called a dark sleeper.

In my bedroom, I have black out blinds on the windows, but the sliver of light that seeps in at the edges drives me crazy. I have put tape on or otherwise covered every little power light in the room, and there are many. Behind the TV, on the wall switch, a speaker, the thermostat, even the smoke detector. I get upset with my husband if his phone lights up the room with a notification because he didn’t turn it off or at least lay it face down.

When we stay at a hotel, I go around the room before bed covering up tiny sources of light as best I can. Yet, still I wake up in the middle of the night with a light that I didn’t notice seeming to glare at me, usually a smoke alarm that I couldn’t reach.

I’m very sensitive to light, especially once my eyes have adjusted to the darkness. Even the dimmest, tiniest light seems like a beacon. On the plus side, I can easily find my way to the bathroom using only the light from my watch.

“That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.” (John‬ ‭1‬:‭5,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Darkness seems so powerful. In the pitch black (midnight in a cave, for example), it can almost feel like a presence, ominous and waiting.

But the amazing thing is, the arrival of the meekest light is enough to break the power of the dark.

The devil would have me believe that darkness is overwhelming, unstoppable, and impenetrable. He wants me to lose all hope and lie defeated in the blackness.

But God says my own light of faith, dim as it is, is enough to dissolve the darkness around me. This little light of mine is like a bonfire in the spirit realm, making evil forces scatter like cockroaches to other dark corners. When I turn to God in humble faith, gratitude, and praise, my bonfire is set ablaze.

Dear God, thank you for the reminder that the darkness of this world is only a thin veil. The spark of my faith in you is enough to reveal its weakness and break its power. Set my life ablaze with your love and show me how to share my fire with others.

When I got married, I changed my name. I don’t mean just my last name. I changed the whole thing. I threw out my first name, moved my middle name to the top spot, slid my last name to the middle, and took my husband’s last name.

I was a whole new person.

So much so that I ended up on some government watch list. Every time I flew, for that entire next year, I got shuffled to a special line where my bags were searched and a wand was waved over my body. I guess anyone who undergoes such a radical transformation is a little suspect.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;  the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”
‭‭(2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Of course, simply by changing my name, I hadn’t managed to change much else about myself. I was still the same inside. I was only different as far as the TSA was concerned.

That wasn’t true when I accepted the name of “Jesus follower.” For that, I changed inside more than outside. When I accepted Jesus as Lord of my life and Savior of my soul, I underwent a transformation that should have sent me into a special travel lane. Maybe even a separate plane.

Suddenly, because of Jesus, I had the promise of eternal life. What hope! I had unlimited forgiveness, and free and constant access to the Creator of the universe. What joy and peace! I had a new purpose and a relationship with the source of all love.

When I became God’s child, my name may not have changed, but everything else about my life’s trajectory did. And I am still growing and learning all the ways my life has been rewritten.

Dear God, thank you for your transforming work in my life. Every day I learn more about you, and my life is changed. Your wisdom is powerful, your truth is perfect, your love is complete. As your child, guide me in ways I can become more like you each day.

January first always feels like a fresh start. It feels like I can become a whole new person at the start of a new year. That’s why so many people make resolutions to improve their lives, to do better, be better, in all sorts of ways.

The problem is that January first is just another day. It’s not magical. January second rolls around, and I realize the same things that weighed me down in December are still here, weighing me down. I still have the same habits, relationships, schedule, and personality. Goals aren’t suddenly closer or easier. Nothing other than the date has actually changed.

The only way to keep those resolutions is to work at them. The date won’t help me. I have to return every day to re-instill my desire for renewal. Consistency is key. To change old patterns, I have to make new ones. To get out of old ruts, I have to climb up, expecting to fall back in, but resolving to climb out again each time. To break old habits, I have to form new ones.

“Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God to walk in his statutes and to keep his commands, as you do today.” (1 Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭61,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Fortunately, when it comes to following Jesus, I am not alone. He promises to provide what I need to be successful, and to forgive me when I fail. I can be obedient to Him through His unlimited strength and loving guidance.

But I have a big part to play. I have to want it. I must be determined. I don’t have to be perfect, but I need to commit. Fully. All in. Either I want to follow Jesus or I don’t. There is no halfway when forming a new habit or changing a lifestyle. And there is no halfway with God. Jesus said He would spit out lukewarm followers (Revelation 3:16).

Are you in? If so, any day is a great day to start living according to God’s path of love. Read the Bible, pray, meet with other believers, practice truly loving people. Don’t wait for the next new year.

Dear God, thank you for the opportunity to live your way, and to start fresh every time I fail. I want to be your good and faithful servant. Remind me every morning of my commitment to you, and give me the strength, courage, and wisdom to try again today with everything I have.

Before fixed, hereditary surnames became widely used, people needed a way to distinguish between people with the same name. “Which Jane are you talking about?” Often their occupation was used (Jane Miller, Jane Carpenter) or their home’s location (John Woods, John Riverside). Patronymic surnames, where the father’s first name is used as the child’s surname, were commonplace as well. “Oh, you mean David’s son!” (John Davidson). Some cultures still use these or similar naming methods.

Of course, with patronymic surnames, if you knew the father, you probably had some ideas about the child being discussed. Reputations are powerful, rumors are abundant, and people love to judge.

So when John Davidson appears, and David is a known thief in the village, the townspeople hide their valuables and lock their doors. But when John Peterson shows up, and Peter is a beloved teacher, John becomes beloved as well.

It’s not fair to be judged based on your family, but it happens even today. If you are from “the wrong side of the tracks,” it can be hard for you to make friends, be invited to parties, or be offered many job opportunities. If I’m the daughter of the town drunk, I will spend a lot of energy convincing folks that I’m not like my dad. A move to a new town and a name change could even the playing field for me, but until I’m able to do that, I have to put up with people’s negative assumptions.

“But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,” (John‬ ‭1‬:‭12,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

No matter who I am, what I’ve done, or where I come from, when I choose Jesus, I get a whole new identity. A new family and a new name. My reputation is washed away, and I get a good name, the best name. I can now be called God’s child. John Godson, as it were.

Dear God, thank you for adopting me into your family so I can enjoy freely all the benefits of being your child. I am thrilled to give up being weighed down by the mess of my family, my sin, and my history. I am so humbled and honored to be called by your name.

It is impossible to separate God from love. He IS love. So, it follows that I can’t be a follower of God without having love as my number one goal. Every day, in everything I do and say.

“And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.” (1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬, CSB‬‬)

“The one who remains in love remains in God.”

This is why I am so confused and dismayed when I see people say things like “God hates fags,” or when they decide bombing a clinic or tearing families in desperate situations apart or kidnapping people from the street and sending them to horrible places without any due process is what God would want.

Jesus came to die for your and my sins, in our places. That is love. He also came to die for all the other sinners, too. All of them. No matter what they have done. He came to die for people you disagree with. That is not hate, it is love. He came because He loves them. We should too.

Jesus also came to teach us about God’s love in practical every day ways, as well. He had compassion on hurting people of all kinds. He listened, He healed, He taught, and He loved.

The one time He got angry was when the religious leaders had put up barriers between God and the people. He went into the temple courtyard and broke down all those barriers. He did even that for love.

If Christians get angry about anything, it should start with people or institutions, especially church leaders, that hinder people from knowing and understanding God’s true character. He is love. Not hate. He is welcoming, forgiving, and generous. He is holy, true, but that’s why Jesus came — so that love could wipe out our sins, and we could all run to Him, just we are.

Dear God, thank you so much for your undeserved love. Thank you for sending Jesus to teach us about love in so many ways. I know you are love. Fill me with your Spirit of love so that love is my first reaction in all my interactions today.

Fear is a tool of the devil.

I know that seems like a bold statement. Surely it’s not that black and white, you say. What about being afraid of a snake that is about to strike? What about being too scared to lean over the edge of a cliff? What about the fear that keeps me from tasting that unknown berry on the side of the hiking trail?

I would argue that those things are more about wisdom than fear. Or they should be. Wisdom is a gift from God. Not fear.

What if God asked me to approach the snake or lean over the cliff or taste the berry? Would fear keep me from doing so? Fear is a lack of trust in God. Obedience in God is always wise. Letting fear override my obedience makes the devil cheer.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego obeyed God when they were forced to step into the fiery furnace. They were probably afraid, but they obeyed God by not worshipping King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol. Something that should have killed them instead lead many people, then and now, to faith in God and His power to save His people from even the fiercest dangers.

Daniel obeyed God by continuing to pray regularly despite an edict not to pray to anyone but King Darius. For that he was forced into a den of lions. But he was unharmed. Daniel chose the wisdom of obedience over fear.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” (‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Do you have something in your life that is scaring you? Are you succumbing to the fear promoted by a culture that likes to tell us what and who we should be afraid of?

Jesus told His followers that our one job is to love God by loving others. Fear should never, ever stop me from doing that. Am I afraid of immigrants? Or gay people? Or people with different skin colors or languages than mine? Am I afraid of children or homeless people? Am I afraid of listening for the truth, going against the crowd, losing my job, being generous, opening my home, looking foolish, losing friends, or being uncomfortable?

Or am I ready to step out in obedient love. God is ready to protect me and guide me if I put my fear away and take a step of faith.

Dear God, it is so easy to give in to fear. Fill me with your Spirit of power, love, and wisdom so that I can step toward the scary things you want me to do with confidence and faith. I trust you to be with me in the fiery furnace and in the lion’s den.

In October 2025, a street play in Kerala, India, was performed to educate and warn people of the dangers of stray dog attacks. During the play, a stray dog ran onto the stage and bit one of the performers. Believing this was part of the play, the audience simply watched as the man was bitten on the feet and hands.

That same month, in Paris, two men dressed as construction workers drove a stolen ladder truck up to the Louvre, rode a lift up the ladder to a window, smashed through it, grabbed $88M in jewels and rode the lift back down, escaping with two more men waiting on motorcycles. Bystanders and staff didn’t recognize it as a real crime initially. They thought it was some kind of performance art installation or legitimate maintenance work.

We humans put up with odd, even horrible, events when we trust the intentions of whoever is in control. The dog play’s audience trusted that the performers had control of their stage. The Louvre attendees trusted the security of the venerable institution.

Many times a day we put our trust in institutions, authority figures, technology, and other people. We get on planes, assuming it has undergone thorough maintenance and the pilot is capable and competent. We cross the street at the walk signal assuming the drivers are paying attention to the traffic lights. We eat food delivered to us without question believing it to be prepared safely in clean conditions.

When things don’t go as expected, we are initially confused. And then shocked and rattled. Why did that plane crash? That’s not supposed to happen! Our faith in the airline company is broken.

Everything and everyone on earth is fallible. Bad things happen. All the time. People get distracted, selfish, or lazy and neglect important tasks. Other people find ways to exploit our trust.

It’s hard to keep trusting people in this environment. And maybe we should be more careful, vigilant and skeptical.

But we never have to be skeptical of God. He is the only one who is always trustworthy. His intentions for me are always good. He loves, encourages, and urges us toward growth, courage, and righteousness.

“For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
(‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

Even when bad things happen in my life — and they definitely will — I know God has a plan and purpose for my life. He can work it all out for good when I put my trust in Him.

Dear God, thank you that I can trust you in all situations. Even when I don’t understand what is happening around me, I know you are here with me, you love me, and I can trust that your will is good and your plan cannot be thwarted.