CamDevo

Our twin nieces are visiting us for their 13th birthday this week. It is fun but exhausting to be entertaining and feeding them. And it turns out the hardest part has been feeding them. They have a very short list of foods they are willing to eat. And their lists, like them, are not identical.

I’d like to try to expand their tastes and add more nutritious options, but like most children, they aren’t too open-minded when it comes to trying new things. Their diet currently seems to consist of fruit gummies, crackers, bagel bites, and macaroni and cheese (from a box).

We got one of our nieces to try adding some honey mustard to her plain hotdog last night. She was reluctant at first but ended up really liking it. Now she wants to put it on everything.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!” (Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭8,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Some people have never met God. And maybe they’ve had unpleasant experiences with His followers. That’s really unfortunate because He is indeed very good. He is like the most flavorful and nutritious food for my soul. He is always exactly what I need. I’m so glad I know Him, and I want everyone else to know just how good He is. If only they would ignore the packaging and taste and see.

Dear God,

Thank you for showing me how delicious it is to be loved by you. You have everything I will ever need. Thank you for the people who convinced me to taste your goodness and experience it for myself. Show me how to offer others a taste test so they can see your beauty themselves.

The “fruit of the Spirit” is something I heard frequently as a child growing up in a Christian church. But a familiar phrase like that loses its meaning when heard so often, especially when learning about it as a kid. I have images of grapes and bananas and apples in my head. But what does the fruit of the Spirit really mean?

For some reason, I am reminded of the Fruit of the Loom brand. They had very memorable TV commercials when I was a kid. Some of them included people dressed up as grapes and an apple… Maybe that’s where the images in my head came from.

The fruit of a loom literally means products (originally muslin fabric for the Fruit of the Loom company) that are created by the workings of a loom.

And likewise, the working of the Holy Spirit produces fruit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” (Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

As a loom weaves muslin fabrics, the Holy Spirit weaves beautiful love and joy and peace….

When I accepted Jesus’s salvation, He promised to send His Spirit to live in me until His return. The Spirit is always with me to remind me of Jesus’s commands, to guide me, and to comfort me. If I let the Spirit work in my life and affect me, He will weave great things for me: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

If I am lacking joy, maybe my loom has gone still. I have neglected the voice of God too many times. To regain peace in my life, I need to set the Spirit to weaving again.

Dear God,

Thank you for installing your Spirit in my heart. I’m sorry for closing my ears to His warnings and reminders. Open my heart to all that your Spirit wants me to hear so I can be filled with your fruit today.

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.