CamDevo

Alarm clocks take an awful lot of abuse. No one likes to hear the sound they make whether it’s a shrill shriek or a gentle burble. When something wakes me from a comfortable slumber, I am angry.

But it doesn’t make sense to take out my frustrations on my poor alarm clock. For one thing, I told it to wake me up. For another thing, it is doing me a great service by reminding me of the important duty I have to get out of bed for.

One duty of church leaders and mentors is to act like a kind of alarm clock. When sin has crept its way into my life, it may feel comfortable and cozy. I may not notice that I am sinking deeper and deeper. If I am fortunate to have surrounded myself by loving followers of Christ who are willing to keep me accountable, they will sound the alarm.

“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you, and to regard them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”
‭‭(1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬-‭13,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

When someone admonishes me about sin in my life, I hope my reaction will be better than my treatment of my alarm clock. For reminding me of my important duty to love others, they deserve my recognition, high regard and sincere gratitude.

Dear God,

Thank you for putting people in my life that endeavored to help me keep my priorities straight. Forgive me for the times when I have not reacted well. Teach me how to be a loving alarm clock for others as well.

Something changed in the last several years. I don’t know if it was related to the Covid epidemic or something else, perhaps a combination of things. But it seems to me that it suddenly became OK to treat people who weren’t a part of your “group” as if they didn’t matter. Respect and consideration of other people’s needs and feelings stopped being necessary. It’s subtle sometimes and glaring at other times, but I sense a definite shift.

A trip to the grocery store, which I’ve never enjoyed, has become demoralizing. While I try to smile and be patient and gracious in the narrow aisles, other people will push past me, bump into me, and cut in front of me without an apology or even an acknowledgment that I exist. Self-interest and protection of “me and mine” is valued more than the Golden Rule.

“Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters with all purity.” (1 Timothy‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

This verse makes me realize this kind of incivility is nothing new. People have always needed the reminder that other people — regardless of age or gender — deserve respect and consideration. This verse was specifically meant for those leading the newly planted Christian churches. If we don’t find respect for each other in the world, we should at least find it within the church.

As I interact with others throughout my day, I can’t control how others behave, but I can control my behavior. And I need to fight against the urge to give in to self-preservation.

Dear God,

Please give me the strength to love in the face of contempt. Remind me that every person is your creation and worth of my utmost respect. Forgive me for discounting anyone.

An idea perpetuated by popular culture says that when people die the good people go to heaven and the bad ones go to hell. But this isn’t Biblical. The afterlife is both more complex and more simple than that, according to the Bible which has lots of vague references to our post-death future, including a judgment day when Jesus returns, the current heaven and earth being destroyed to make way for a new heaven and earth, dead being raised and the living being gathered, paradise with God or weeping and gnashing of teeth…

While there does seem to be a happy ending and a not-so-happy ending, it’s OK not to know the exact logistics of what happens when we die. The important thing to know is how to end up on the happy side, the eternal life side. Fortunately, that is the simple part.

“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.” (John‬ ‭5‬:‭24,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

Being good or bad does not factor in to my afterlife. The only thing that can save me from the unhappy ending is believing in Jesus and accepting His salvation. And if that is the case, my fate is sealed.

Dear God,

I am so glad that I don’t have to rely on my ability to be good and do good in order to spend eternity with you, enjoying your new creation. I am a failure at being good for more than a few minutes. Thank you for your forgiveness, your salvation, and your promise to provide me a beautiful eternity.

Fasting is a weird thing that Jesus modeled for His followers. It’s one thing to forgo something I just really enjoy, like sugar or TV. But to give up all food?! That’s crazy, right? I don’t just want to eat, I need to eat to survive. Don’t I?

And yet, God asks His people to fast from time to time. And He led the Israelites into the wilderness where He allowed them to go hungry for a little while. Why?

“He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭3,‬ ‭CSB)

God doesn’t want me to go hungry. His purpose is not that I suffer. The purpose, clearly stated in Deuteronomy, is humility. When I lack humility, that is the time to fast. When I think I have control of things and don’t need God, that’s when it’s time to fast. When I’m worried about things, which means I’m not relying on God, that’s the time to fast and remember God is in control, loves me, and will provide.

When Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights, the devil didn’t tempt Jesus by handing Him a loaf of bread. The devil tempted Jesus to use His power to turn the stones to bread. He tempted Jesus to take control, to grab the reigns from God. He tempted Him with pride and power and self-reliance.

But Jesus chose humility.

“He answered, ‘It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬, ‭CSB)‬‬

Jesus knew that bread is worthless without God, but with God, all His needs are met.

Dear God,

Forgive me for tending to rely on my own strength, wisdom, and resources instead of yours. Show me how to reset my priorities and rely only on you for even my basic needs. Thank you for loving me so much that you want to take care of me.

My nephew went off to college for the first time last fall, and I remember hoping he wouldn’t be hurt or confused or overwhelmed. Going out into “the world” is eye-opening, to say the least.

He is a thoughtful, caring, considerate, and fun-loving person, and I was praying that those qualities would remain intact. Away from his tight-knit family, he would be vulnerable to all manner of temptations and attacks, manipulations and deceptions. He would also be presented with countless new ideas and values, some beautiful and some ugly.

As an aunt, I felt extra powerless. I counted on the strength of his character and the wisdom his loving parents had instilled in him.

“And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,” (Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭10,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The same kinds of feelings plagued Paul when he left a newly planted church. They were vulnerable to temptations, attacks, manipulations and deceptions. That’s why he wrote letters to them when he was unable to visit. He reminded them of the truth, of God’s priorities and values. He helped them evaluate every idea and discern whether it belonged in God’s kingdom or not.

I need that kind of reminder, too. Daily. I am vulnerable to attacks, temptations, manipulations, and deceptions. I may not recognize them as such, but they bombard me constantly. Although I am more experienced than my nephew, I am just as vulnerable. So I return again and again to God’s word to set me straight, to return me to love.

Dear God,

Thank you for your word. Thank you for its availability. Remind me of my vulnerability and my need to constantly reset my priorities. Protect me from satan’s attempts to corrupt my values or lower my standards. Love is always the goal.

Sometimes I don’t take my concerns to God because they seem trivial compared with the trouble other people are going through. Undoubtedly, someone somewhere has something worse going on in their life than whatever is going on in mine. In fact, maybe everyone I see at the grocery store or the library or the gas station has bigger problems than I do today. A friend and I often say, “Everyone’s got something,” meaning that my problems are not unique or extraordinary. It helps me to keep things in perspective and to give rude people the benefit of the doubt.

That’s not to say there haven’t been times in my life that did feel desperate or hopeless or catastrophic. There definitely have been. And there will be more. It’s just not the norm, thank God.

I have come to God in those desperate, hopeless times. And God has been there for me with love, comfort, and encouragement.

But God wants me to come to Him with my less catastrophic problems as well. He wants to be my first resort, not my last one. He wants me to talk to Him about every little thing that troubles and distracts me. When I am filled with anxiety about a trip I have to take, when I am suffering from a bad headache, or when I am unable to sleep for no apparent reason, I should come to Him for help and comfort.

“When I am filled with cares, your comfort brings me joy.” (Psalms‬ ‭94‬:‭19,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The verse doesn’t say anything about my cares needing to be important or exceptional or worthy of His time. Whatever my cares are, God wants me to come to Him for comfort and joy.

Dear God,

Thank you for your interest in comforting me when I am distressed. I’m amazed at your love and care for me. Help me to remember to come to you first and to come to you with everything.

What impossible things can you think of? Winning the lottery?World peace? Healing a loved one’s mental illness?

There are plenty of impossible things that I wish for. And God, in His infinite power, can accomplish them all.

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭37,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The obvious question then is why doesn’t He? Why doesn’t He cause peace to settle on the world? Why doesn’t He send me the winning lottery ticket? Why hasn’t He cured my sister’s depression?

Along with infinite power, God also has infinite wisdom and love. He gave us free will and allows us to learn from our choices and the consequences of them. Occasionally He will step in and do the impossible, but only when doing so is wise and loving.

That’s only part of the answer though. The rest lies in God’s sovereignty. He has His plan. It’s bigger than me and will outlast me. And He reveals only what I need to know.

Fortunately, God is good. He is Love. So His plan is perfect for me, for you, and for everyone. It may not feel like it, in the same way a child’s discipline does not feel like love, but I, like the child, can’t see the whole picture. I can’t understand the why. But I don’t need to. I just need to trust in God’s goodness and love, and have hope.

Dear God,

I don’t understand why you don’t solve all my problems. But I trust in your goodness, your love, and your ultimate plan for my life and for the world. Please forgive my impatience and grumbling. Fill me instead with joy for all the blessings you provide every day and hope for the future.

God is mysterious.

If He weren’t mysterious, would I want Him as my God? If I could easily understand everything about Him, He wouldn’t be greater than me. What would there be to worship? There would be no glory, no majesty, and no faith required.

But God is mysterious. I don’t understand Him. I don’t understand where He is, how He exists, or how He can be outside of time. I don’t know why He created me, why He loves me, or why He cares one little bit about me and my little life. I don’t understand His holiness, why He allows evil to exist, or why He had to send Jesus to save me from my sin. It’s all so mysterious.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

I definitely don’t understand the Trinity or how Jesus, the Word, could be both God and with God in the beginning. And when was the beginning for that matter?

“For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭9‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

In the end, I’m glad God is so mysterious. I’m glad He is so far beyond my ability to comprehend. I’m glad He is great and omniscient and omnipotent. But most of all, I’m glad this mighty and mysterious being loves me.

Dear God,

I will never understand all that you are. At least, not in this life. Thank you for revealing the marvelous things about you that I need to know. Thank you especially for your love and mercy and caring about little old me.

I’ve always loved the Psalms. They are so expressive and lyrical. I appreciate elegant speech and clever wording, especially when it comes to praising God. Words often fail me here because God is inexplicable. He is beyond explanation or description. But the writers of Psalms do a great job. Here is a favorite verse:

“From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the Lord be praised.” (Psalms‬ ‭113‬:‭3,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

We are called to praise God all day long, every day. And I am eager to do so because He is so vast and loving and holy and creative and powerful and merciful and good and beautiful. Like I said, I’m no poet. So I turn to the Psalms for inspiration. Reading them reminds me of His glory as much as any words can.

“Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for He is coming.” (Psalms‬ ‭96‬:‭12‬-‭13a,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Dear Lord,

I want to praise you in a way that is worthy of your glory, but that bar is so high. Thank you for providing beautiful words to inspire my praise of you. I’m glad you can hear my heart of praise when my words fall short.

Who would you like to have dinner with? It can be anyone, living or dead.

That is a good first date question because it’s a good way to learn something about a stranger’s values and interests. It’s not just who they would like to meet, but who they’d like to spend the dedicated and focused time of sharing a meal with. Would it be Abraham Lincoln? Mother Teresa? Your dad?

It’s really nice to have someone’s undivided attention. Especially if it’s someone you admire, respect, or want to learn from or get to know.

I’m an introvert so don’t entertain often. But I understand the value of sharing meals with interesting and influential people. There’s something special about sitting down at a table together for a length of time, doing something enjoyable and somewhat celebratory like eating. Besides eating, there’s nothing to do but talk.

“See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬, ‭CSB)‬‬

What a tremendous offer from God! He’s inviting Himself to my house to sit down at my table and share a pizza with me. Just a chat with God. Please come on in!

Dear God,

Thank you for this beautiful promise to come spend time with me in this casual and comforting way. I would love to have you over for a meal. For every meal. I have a lot of questions for you. And I’m sure you have some things to say to me as well.