CamDevo

Some science fiction stories talk about the brain of a person encapsulating everything that they are. Preserving a whole person can be accomplished merely by saving their brain. A body to house it can be rebuilt later, as long as the brain is kept “alive” and intact.

This has led to some gruesome stories like Frankenstein or an episode of The Simpsons in which the billionaire Mr. Burns runs around in the dystopian landscape of 1,000,000 AD as a head in a jar attached to a cybernetic body.

The brain didn’t have such an important standing in ancient times. Instead, the heart was considered the core of a human. It contained everything that made a person that person — their memories, emotions, thoughts, decision-making abilities…

That’s why God told His children to store His word and commands in their hearts.

“My son, pay attention to my words; listen closely to my sayings. Don’t lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.” ‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭20‬-‭21‬, ‭CSB)‬‬

It’s also why He told us to carefully guard that storage.

“Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” (Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

If I am reckless or thoughtless about the things I pump into my brain — images, words, ideas, experiences — my soul will be littered with the same random garbage.

I’m definitely not saying God wants me to stop listening to people I disagree with or to avoid participating in new experiences. He just wants me to be more judicious, to thoughtfully consider what I watch and listen to and participate in. It is critical to who I am and who I become.

Dear God,

Forgive me for being so cavalier about the things I mindlessly watch on TV or read on the Internet. Help me to guard my heart and mind as carefully as they deserve. Remind me to refill them with your truth and your word every day.

I don’t think well on my feet, but I excel at coming up with great things to say hours after a conversation has ended.

As a kid I read MAD magazine and enjoyed the regular feature called Al Jaffee’s “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions.” (Example: Q: “Why do you want to marry my daughter?” A: “Oh no! That’s bad if you’re wondering too.”) I admired anyone who could be so quick-witted in real time.

I think my lack of confidence in oral sparring has hindered my willingness to talk about my faith. I’m happy to write about it or discuss it via email because I can take all the time I want to craft the best sentences and thoughtfully contemplate my responses.

But my lack of confidence in speaking about my faith isn’t Biblical or obedient. It highlights a general lack of faith on my part.

“We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭5,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

When God wants me to talk about Him, He promises to do the actual work behind the words. No one is ever going to be convinced of God’s love or even of His existence because of something I said. If there were magical words, He would have told us. It’s only by God’s power that hearts are changed and lives saved.

He wants me to participate by displaying my faith confidently, even if my words are flimsy and clumsily wielded. With God’s power, even my lousiest argument can demolish the enemy and win souls.

Dear God,

Thank you for providing all the power behind my words. Help me to trust you and to speak about you with confidence as you lead me. I’m sorry about my cowardice and insecurity. Teach me how to trust in your power, not in clever arguments.

Life can seem bleak and confusing. Even during times of plenty, people struggle with the meaning of life and the purpose for their existence. Suicide rates have disturbingly held steadily at their peak for the last 2 years.

Despite that data, despair is nothing new. Ecclesiastes is an ancient text, yet it describes the wisest man’s (most likely Solomon’s) search for meaning. At the end of his life, He comes up empty — or so it seems.

I worked at a summer camp as a counselor of pre-teen girls one year. One of my charges came to me with tears in her eyes after reading part of Ecclesiastes. She was struggling as she read the Bible tell her that “everything is meaningless.”

I encouraged her to read through to the end with me.

“When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is the whole duty of humanity.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12‬:‭13,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

After his life of searching, experimentation, and exploration, the wisest man finally determined that God was all that mattered. The meaning of life can be found in God. And great joy can be found by getting to know our beautiful, mysterious, and loving Creator.

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me space to explore life and make mistakes. I know it hurts you to watch me flail about in my search for meaning and purpose, especially when you offer it readily and freely. Thank you for providing the answers — all that I need to know in this life anyway. Remind me to trust you, to obey you, and be content in your wisdom and beauty.

Being a Christian is a huge risk. If it doesn’t feel that way, then you’re not doing it right.

Jesus requires everything of His followers. If I prioritize anything more than Him, I am not worthy of being His disciple. If I love my child more than I love Him, I am disqualified. If I love my job, my home, my peaceful neighborhood, my looks, my reputation, my plans, my comfort, my politics, my savings or anything at all more than I love Jesus, I am unfit to call myself a Christian.

That means everything I am and everything I have belongs to Him and can be used or taken away at His whim, for any reason. He doesn’t even need to tell me the reason.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.’” (Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

In exchange for this, I receive life from Him. Eternal life, in fact. I won’t receive the deserved punishment of death that I have earned but will be saved to spend eternity marveling in joy at His beauty.

But I must give the life I have here and now to Him. I can’t “have my cake and eat it too.” I can’t go on living my life for me, and still get the life He offers.

So, I have to choose. That’s the risk of faith. I gamble everything on God and win eternal life, or I hedge my bets now and lose it all in the end. If you know God, you know He’s a safe bet. I’m all in.

Dear God,

Thank you for the beautiful and generous offer of salvation you made through Jesus. Help me keep up my end of the bargain. You are my highest priority. Everything I have is yours to use as you see fit. Thank you for the reminder not to become too attached to any of the people or things you have blessed me with. You are truly all I need.

When my father was in his early 50s the company he worked for closed its doors. My parents were concerned that it would be difficult for him to find a new job at his age. I also remember being baffled by that because I knew my father. He was strong, hard-working, smart, reliable, and honest. Any company would be lucky to have him as their employee.

Ageism is another unfortunate symptom of the human condition. We find all sorts of ways to be bigoted. One person is too old to be capable. Another person is too young to be trusted. This one’s skin is too dark, that one is too short, bald, or has too many tattoos. And forget about that female altogether.

How do I combat bigotry when it’s aimed at me?

“Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” (1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭12,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

(The word “youth” above can be substituted with any prejudice you encounter.)

Although I shouldn’t have to prove myself, it is the Bible’s method of confronting bigotry in our fallen world. To fight hatred, I should love fearlessly. To fight unfair judgment of inadequacy, I should go about humbly proving myself to be more than capable. To combat suspicion, I should behave honorably and honestly in all things.

We are all God’s creation and all loved dearly by our Creator. Don’t let anyone tell you any differently. You are a beloved child of God, so act like it.

Dear God,

Thank you for your wisdom in creating me exactly the way I am. I know your purpose for me cannot be thwarted no matter how I am treated by other people. Remind me of your love and help me to behave humbly and honorably in all circumstances, obedient to you.

No good teacher wants their students to fail. They don’t get joy from using a red pen to mark up wrong answers on tests or poor grammar in essays. Putting an F on a paper is perhaps more disappointing for the teacher than the student. Good teachers want their students to learn, grow, and thrive.

So what is all that red ink for? It’s not there to make me feel bad. It’s meant to help me recognize and learn from my mistakes so I can improve.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John‬ ‭3‬:‭17,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

God’s people were getting an F in life. They weren’t prioritizing love. They were selfish, greedy, and ignorant of God’s commands. He sent them plenty of red ink in the form of the prophets, but they didn’t change their ways. They didn’t learn from their mistakes or improve.

So God had to send in the teacher Himself, a tutor to help us study for the final exam. In the end, He took the final exam for us and passed with flying colors.

Because of Jesus, I get a passing grade too.

But I want to keep studying because, while a passing grade may get me in the door, actually knowing the material and learning God’s lessons helps me be a better person and live a better life.

Dear God,

Thank you for not giving up on your people. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for sending Jesus to earn an A+ for me. Teach me what I need to know today to work toward living up to that grade.

You’ve probably heard the quote, “No matter where you go, there you are,” (attributed by some to Confucius, others to Yogi Berra or Buckaroo Banzai). The point is, I cannot escape myself.

“If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.” (Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭9-10‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

I can’t escape God either. The quote could just as easily be, “No matter where you go, there God is.” (It loses the humor, but it’s just as true.)

David wrote the very poetic Psalm 139. He discusses the wonders of God, including the various extreme places he could go and still not be able to hide from God. Heaven, Sheol, the easternmost east, the westernmost west, even utter darkness can’t hide me from God. He even saw me before I was born.

It’s ridiculous to imagine there could be anyplace I could hide from a God who sees all, created all, and knows all.

Fortunately, I don’t have to hide. God loves me and forgives me. He wants the best for me. He shows up in all my hiding places to hold my hand, to bring me out of the dark, out of the shame.

Dear God,

I’m so glad I don’t have to hide from you because I can’t. Thank you for reminding me that your presence is one of love and not wrath. Teach me to reach for your wisdom and mercy instead of obeying my instinct to run and hide.

It’s a human invention to assign degrees of “badness” to crimes. First degree murder is worse than second degree murder. Murder is worse than manslaughter. A felony is worse than a misdemeanor. A moving violation is worse than a parking ticket. The punishment varies according to the designated severity of the crime.

God doesn’t agree. To Him, every crime is equally bad, and they are each punishable by death. Murder, deceit, selfishness, arson, boasting, theft, vanity… He tolerates nothing other than perfect holiness.

That’s why Jesus’s gift of salvation is so beautiful. He lived the perfect holy life that I never could and then gave it to me, as if I lived it, as if I were the perfectly holy one, so that I could spend eternity enjoying God’s presence and favor.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬-‭24,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

Every day I commit a new crime, despite my efforts to be holy. I say something self-serving, I fail to love someone as much as I love myself, I prioritize something more than God, I lie or cheat or steal. And every other person on earth is right there with me, on God’s death row.

Unless I choose to accept Jesus’s gift. If I do that, I am more than pardoned. I am justified. I am magically made righteous, as if I never did those bad things. Each day I keep trying to be holy, and I keep failing miserably, but God’s justification keeps working, keeps washing me clean, because of His great mercy and love.

Dear God,

I know I don’t deserve to be allowed in your pure and holy kingdom. And yet I am! I am so grateful for your mercy and love. Forgive me for thinking my sins don’t count or aren’t as bad as someone else’s. I know your standard is too high for me, or anyone, to reach without Jesus hoisting me up.

I moved into a “smart” home a while ago. It has several features that communicate with my phone to inform me of activities occurring in and around my house. For example, there is a tone that plays when my garage door opens, which tells me my husband has returned from running an errand. There is a different sound when someone is at my front gate and yet another sound, along with camera views, when someone is in my back yard. I know when the garbage collector has unlocked my side gate and when they’ve locked it again.

All these notifications and alarms help me to be ready. My dog and I can greet my husband at the door because we heard the garage door chime. I can make sure my dog is inside the house when the gate is unlocked for the garbage collector. And I can see who is at my front gate before I open it and be ready to welcome visitors or collect a package.

“You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭40,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

There is no alarm for Jesus’s return. As far as I know there will be no warning chime or siren. God hasn’t given me any clues to the exact time or day because it’s not important for me to know.

What is important is to live my life as if His return were imminent. I want Him to be pleased to see me and proud of what I’m doing.

If I expect my husband to return from a trip, I won’t throw out his clothes, change the locks, and get remarried. No, I’ll make sure the groceries are stocked and his bed is ready in case he’s hungry and tired after a long flight. And I’ll be listening for his knock at any time, day or night.

How would I change what I have planned today if I knew Jesus were coming tonight? Would anything change? If so, perhaps I should go ahead and make that change now. Just in case.

Dear God,

I so look forward to your return. It can’t happen soon enough. But I trust that your timing will be perfect. In the meantime, show me what it means to be ready. Teach me how to wait productively so that you are pleased and proud of me when you do return.

I play tennis. I used to play singles, but when I started playing doubles several years ago, I realized I enjoyed playing even more. Having a partner changed the game entirely.

After playing doubles for a while, singles started to feel lonely. There was no partner to encourage me when I was playing poorly or to cheer for me when I made a great shot or just to strategize with.

The church should never feel lonely. As a member of a church, there should always be someone who cares about me, someone who notices when I’m struggling and reaches out with encouragement. Or someone who sees me succeed and joins me in celebrating.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.” (1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭11,‬ ‭CSB)

God created His church for us so we wouldn’t be lonely while we waited for His return. If there is loneliness in our churches, we are doing it wrong. If someone needs help, maybe the someone who notices should be me.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for the community of believers you intend for me to be a part of. Show me how to be the encouragement that someone else needs today or to join in someone else’s joy so that it is multiplied. Forgive me for tending to keep to myself. Help me to see how loneliness can be banished from my church.