CamDevo

Oprah Winfrey used to be fond of giving away valuable prizes to her studio audience during the run of her Oprah Winfrey Show. She would cry out delightedly, “You get a new car, and you get a new car, and you get a new car!” as she pointed to random members of the audience. On those days, everyone in attendance got a new car.

I remember seeing that on TV and thinking how nice that must be for those people. What an extravagant surprise gift! Unearned, unexpected, undeserved.

But only those folks in the studio audience got a car. The other fans, the millions watching, did not get a new car.

God delights in giving even more extravagant gifts. He gives out complete forgiveness, eternal life and love for any and all who ask.

Absolutely anyone.

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭13,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

I don’t have to be at church or ever have stepped foot in one. I don’t have to be in the United States. I don’t have to be a citizen of any particular country or have any particular kind of ID. There is nothing I can do to earn it. There is no one I have to persuade. I can be young or old, even on my death bed. I can be male, female, or consider myself someplace in between. I can be tall, short, beautiful by the world’s standards, or shunned by many for my appearance. I can be rich beyond counting or poor with nothing to offer.

God’s offer of love is the same for everyone. All you need to do is call out to His son Jesus to be saved. You get a new life, and you get a new life, and you get a new life!

Dear God, thank you for your generous and loving offer of freedom from sin and hope for the future. I don’t deserve it, but I gratefully and eagerly accept!

At one point in my career I became totally burned out. My work-life balance was so far off that I had no life. Only work. I was lonely and in pain.

One day during my Bible study (that I rarely afforded time for), I clearly heard God tell me to quit. He wanted me to have more time for Him.

I panicked. “I can’t quit,” I said. “I have rent to pay. How will I eat, buy gas, live?!”

“Trust me,” He said.

“Shouldn’t I find another job first?” I asked.

“No. Trust me.” God said.

It took a while, with more fearful complaints from me and more calm assurances from God, but I eventually did quit. Without another job to go to.

During my unemployment, I traveled some and began a photography hobby that turned into a vocation. And I had a lot more time to spend with God. He showed me the stories of His faithfulness in the Bible. As I watched my rent eat up my savings I wasn’t as panicked as before, but I asked God whether it was time to look for another job yet.

Mysteriously, He told me no. Still no.

Not long after that, a couple from my church offered me their house to live in. For free. Out of the blue. I was to be their caretaker while they took a job overseas.

God revealed His solution to my rent problem in miraculous fashion. I marveled at God’s creative solution.

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; proclaim his deeds among the peoples.” (Psalms‬ ‭105‬:‭1,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

I am so grateful to God for the way He took care of me. He has shown up miraculously in my life because I trusted Him. That’s who He is.

My story of God’s faithfulness continues.

After a couple of years, the homeowners were returning to their home. My faith was stronger, but I was concerned. I asked God what He wanted me to do next. Was I to seek full-time employment now? Should I look for an apartment? I had a lot of questions.

The day of their return loomed close, and I was looking through apartment listings and want ads when a friend on my soccer team called. She said a friend of hers had taken a job in another state and needed someone to live in her house and care for it. This friend had heard that I did housesitting and passed my name along. I ended up in another house rent free for another year before I moved across the country (where I house sat again!) I was able to hand off that 2nd housesitting gig to another friend who was praying for housing answers.

God has proven Himself more than faithful to me, in very creative ways, when I have stepped out on a limb of trust and vulnerability. Over and over again. He has done it in the past. He will do it in the future. And He will do the same for you. It’s who He is.

Dear God, thank you for the wondrous deeds you have done in my life. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share the stories with others. I hope they encourage those who hear about your faithfulness to step out in a space of trusting you.

There shouldn’t be anything surprising about prayer.

Jesus was never surprised about the outcomes of His prayers. But His disciples were. And I think most of us are too. We are surprised when prayers are answered, when things turn out the way we asked. We are awed and call them miracles. Or more often, we ascribe any positive outcome to something else. We say it was a new medicine or luck or hard work or… anything other than God’s answer to our prayer.

When I lost something important recently, I looked all over but couldn’t find it. I prayed that God would show me where to look or find some way for it to be replaced. Later that same day, I did find it. But I forgot to thank God because it didn’t feel like a miracle. It didn’t feel like an answer to my prayer. I told myself that I had just kept looking and eventually looked in the right place.

God is rolling His eyes at me. I prayed to find it, and I did. Prayer answered, right? Why am I so reluctant to give God the credit?

When I look back at my prayer and the outcome, I still am too incredulous to call that a miracle because I wonder why Almighty God would care about my lost item. Why would He make the effort to turn my search toward its true hiding place? Isn’t He busy with more important prayers, like healing sick children or rescuing people from burning buildings?

“Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for — believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭24,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

One time Jesus prayed that a fig tree would die. His disciples took note of it. When they returned the next day, they were astonished to see the withered tree. Jesus was not at all surprised. That’s when He said the verse above.

The difference was faith. Jesus had faith in God. The disciples (and I) lack the faith to have prayers as effective as Jesus.

God says over and over in the Bible that He does care about me. He cares about every little thing. If it’s important to me, He wants me to bring it to Him. And He wants me to have faith and trust Him with the outcome. And He wouldn’t mind if I gave Him some credit when things turn out OK.

Dear God, I know I need more faith. Please help me to scrape up some faith so that my prayers can be more effective. I want to trust you. Keep my eyes open to the answers you provide when I do pray. Forgive me for explaining away your provision as something less than miraculous.

There’s a phenomenon that I have experienced to an extreme and frequent degree in Seattle. Two or more cars pull up to a four-way stop intersection and get stuck there because each person tries to let the other person go first. One person waves the other forward. But that person shakes their head and waves the first person forward. This goes on for a while, neither moving. Then they both start to go but stop again when they see the other car move. Then they start with the waving again. It takes a while before anyone makes it past those intersections.

In that scenario, no one wants to be a selfish taker. They both want to be the magnanimous giver. It seems kind and generous, in theory, but in practice it is a mess. Eventually someone will get so frustrated they will stomp on the gas and lurch through the intersection at a reckless speed. And sometimes it even leads to accidents.

This can happen in our daily lives as well. As a follower of Jesus, my goal is to love and care for the needs of others. Sometimes so much so that my own needs get ignored. My pride insists on being the giver, not the taker. If that goes on for a long time, eventually I will get frustrated, overwhelmed, and fly off in an unhealthy direction.

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

You’ll notice that it says to carry “one another’s” burdens. It doesn’t say I should carry “everyone else’s” burdens. Sometimes, the healthiest thing for me to do is to allow someone else help me carry my burden.

Asking for help is part of being a follower of Jesus too. We are a community. A community breaks down when the giving always comes from one place. The giving and taking, the needing and providing, must be shared for things to run smoothly.

If you feel stuck, ask for help. Being able to help others can be a big blessing. Don’t be stingy with that blessing. Take turns, and we’ll all be able to move forward.

Dear God, thank you for the reminder that, in your kingdom, I can always ask for help. Teach me how to be generous while also being humble enough to admit when I need help and to accept it graciously when it is offered.

I recently had the opportunity to enjoy a walk along an ocean beach with my niece, nephew, and their dog. This beach was fairly remote and mostly deserted so flotsam and jetsam that had washed ashore remained untouched. We had fun examining the various items strewn along the waterline.

While the kids and I enjoyed looking at colorful shells and sparkling rocks, the dog thrilled to discover dead fish, dead crabs, even dead birds or parts thereof. Anything dead seemed to be a magnificent find. She would sniff it, roll in it, and taste it before we could stop her and pull her off her treasure.

Of course, the dog got sick later. None of those “treasures” was as good as she seemed to think. The kids and I knew better than to play around with the rotting flesh in the debris. But the intriguing scents beguiled the dog.

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

There are many things in the world that beguile people too. Maybe not a rotting fish in the sand, but we are enticed by bright lights, loud music, and fawning crowds. We are drawn in by get-rich-quick schemes and promises made by politicians. We trust in corporations because of their size and celebrities because of their fame. We rely on social media followers and influencers for support and guidance.

Many of the things that seem so valuable in our broken world are illusions, tricks, and traps. When we consume them, we just find ourselves hungrier.

God is true food for His children. He provides real nourishment of love, wisdom, and beauty. His truth is actually true, and His offer is actually free.

Dear God, thank you for the truth you offer, free of charge. Forgive me for the times when I am distracted by things in the world that are contrary to your ways. Remind me to come to you daily for true nourishment for my hungry soul.

My husband and I take our dog for a walk to a coffee shop every morning. There is one route that has little shade from the hot sun and lies along a very busy, very loud road. Another route exists that has ample shade. It cuts through a quiet neighborhood with green grass, flowers, chirping birds, and frolicking bunnies. Really.

For a long time, this second route was unavailable to us because of a locked gate.

One day, a friend of mine who lived in that community offered me a key to that locked gate. I gratefully accepted, and our new route to the coffee shop has been a delightful joy ever since.

That is, until I lost the key.

I was devastated and embarrassed. How could I be so careless? I retraced my steps and looked everywhere I could think of. No key.

I had to face the facts and admit to my husband that I lost the key along with our access to the peaceful path.

To my relief, while he was as disappointed as I was, he didn’t make me feel bad about it. He didn’t call out my carelessness. He didn’t ask why I hadn’t made a copy. He didn’t grumble as we walked the loud, dusty path the next day.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭7,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

A few days later, my husband spilled an entire glass of water all over my desk. All my papers, some notebooks, a card I had been writing, the checkbook, my keyboard, and mouse were all soaked. I started to whine, but remembered how kind he had been when I had done my bone-headed thing by losing the key. I just cleaned up the mess, smiled, and said, “Accidents happen.”

It feels really good to be forgiven so easily and graciously, without groveling. I know the mistakes I’ve made. And I typically feel bad enough without extra guilt being piled on.

God doesn’t pile on. When I come to Him with my problems, mistakes, and poor choices, He is quick to forgive. Even with serious issues. He is merciful when I don’t deserve it. The least I can do is turn around and do the same for the other mistake-makers in my life.

Dear God, thank you so much for your forgiveness. I have done nothing to deserve your grace and mercy. I am so grateful. Please teach me to check my outrage and indignation when others do me wrong. Remind me of your love and fill me with your grace and mercy instead.

I heard this piece of marital advice once, and it stuck with me: “Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy?”

It’s a reminder of the goal of a marriage.

All close relationships inevitably experience disagreements, especially when cohabiting is involved. Sometimes fights can occur around the same issues again and again. Conflicting ideals, misunderstandings, and unconscious habits lead to friction.

When an argument starts, it instantly feels like a battle. My instincts tell me that I must defend my ground against an enemy attack. Wounded egos make matters worse. And the bigger an ego is, the easier it is to wound.

“Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭5,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

It’s easy to forget that my spouse should never be considered my enemy. The goal of a good relationship is not to beat the other person. It’s to build the other person up, love them, encourage them, learn from them, and grow with them.

The quickest way to end any battle is to admit defeat. But our egos make that so hard.

It’s really challenging to put aside my desire to win, to show you I’m right and you’re wrong. But that’s exactly how God says we are to behave amongst each other. Humility will win the day. Any other attitude will lead to defeat.

Dear God, forgive me for feeling that I need to defend myself whenever I am challenged. I know when I treat others with love and humility, you will take care of my needs. Thank you for the reminder to look for ways to build others up instead of tearing them down.

I once got into a debate with a young man in my church about the kingdom of heaven. He said there would be sadness in heaven. I said no way.

Jesus said He would return one day to destroy the current heaven and earth to make way for a new heaven and earth, which He called the kingdom of heaven. He gave a long speech in which He described the kinds of people that would be there.

In our society, we tend to allow only the wealthy, beautiful, powerful, and famous into all the exclusive resorts and fancy clubs.

This is the opposite of Jesus’s guest list for the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said those who enter His kingdom are those who are humble, merciful, peacemakers, pure and poor in spirit. They hunger for righteousness, and they are mourning.

This last bit was the focus of our little disagreement. This young man said there will be sadness in heaven because Jesus invited mourners into His kingdom.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭4,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

Clearly Jesus invites those who mourn into His kingdom, but my friend was forgetting the second part of this verse.

The mourners who Jesus is referring to are those who look around this world, see all the pain, injustice, and death, and are heart-broken by it. They can’t ignore the despair of others, especially those who don’t know Jesus. Wealth and fame are meaningless to them in the face of such suffering. They are mourning over the same things that break God’s heart.

These are the mourners that Jesus welcomes into His kingdom. But then, a miracle happens. In the kingdom of heaven, those mourners are comforted. Their weeping stops and is replaced by overwhelming and irrepressible joy.

When this dark world is destroyed, all the evil will go with it. There will be no more pain, death, injustice, suffering, or hatred. There will be nothing left to mourn. All the tears will be wiped away. For good. Forever.

The mourners are invited, but their tears are turned to eternal delight. There’s no crying in Heaven.

Dear God, there is a lot of suffering in this world. I don’t know how you can stand it since you see every last bit of it. I only see a tiny fraction, and it brings me to my knees. Thank you for your promise of a new kingdom without any cause for mourning. Teach me what I can do to speed its arrival.

I have never had a job that put my life in jeopardy. As a software engineer, I was at risk of repetitive use injuries and eye strain. I worked long days and suffered ulcer-inducing stress. But not once did I fear for my life because of my job.

I didn’t risk my life at my jobs as a researcher, construction worker, data entry specialist, kitchen staff, babysitter, or tour guide either. There may have been certain perils, but loss of life was not one of them.

Police officers, fire fighters, and military personnel all understand that their jobs come with just such a risk. They do everything that they can to prevent dying, but the jobs they do can put them in serious harm’s way. It is understood that by protecting someone, enforcing the law, fighting an out-of-control fire, or confronting an enemy, they may be harmed or even killed. And they do it anyway. Doing the job is meant to take priority.

“But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.” (Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭24‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

God asks this same dedication from His followers. His job for me should take priority over my own comfort, my plans, hopes, and dreams, and my well-being. God’s purpose for me should take precedence over my very survival.

The apostle Paul who wrote this verse lived it out. He didn’t let anything stop him from teaching people about God’s love and Jesus’s salvation. Prison, stoning, beatings, and eventually death. He gave it all in service of the Gospel.

What good is a police officer who runs away from a bank robbery for fear of being shot? What good is a firefighter who ignores a child’s scream for help because she is afraid to enter the burning building? What good is a soldier who abandons her post the moment an enemy appears?

What good is a Christian who turns a blind eye to injustice and oppression because it would mean risking their own safety, comfort, status, or peace?

No good at all.

Dear God, thank you for the comfort and security you have currently blessed me with. Remind me that these things are temporary gifts, and that I am sure to lose them if I don’t prioritize your will. You have called me to love others with everything I have. If that means forsaking my life, so be it. Give me the strength and courage to fight for you.

I have an embarrassing story. It is about the one time in my adult life that I threw an actual tantrum.

My sister, her husband, and I planned to go on a cruise for the millennium new year in 1999. I’m not a big cruise person, but it seemed like a good way to be away from any craziness that was predicted to happen because of the Y2K bugs. (In case you weren’t alive during that time, some people were expecting mass infrastructure outages and Purge-level events. In the end, it was much ado about nothing.)

We’d planned this trip years in advance. I bought 2 tickets. I was single at the time but thought I’d surely have someone to come with me when the time rolled around.

It turns out I did. I met a guy from South Africa earlier that year. He came to the US, and we traveled around the states planning to end up in Puerto Rico where we’d meet up with my sister and embark on our cruise. I was very excited, but when we arrived at the cruise terminal, they said my friend couldn’t board. His South African passport was apparently a potential problem in some of the ship’s ports of call.

This is where the tantrum comes in. I stood right where all the passengers stand as they board and wept loudly. I cried and wailed. I was very disappointed after waiting years for this trip so my tears were sincere, but I’d never let go like that before.

I was a little amazed at myself because I’m usually private, reserved, and avoid being the center of attention. Not that day! I really wanted that trip. My passion overwhelmed me, and I let it.

The cruise line ended up calling a customs official to come from the airport for us. He arrived, and after a short interview, we were both allowed to board. We had a great time.

My tantrum was rewarded for a silly thing like a cruise. It makes me wonder why I don’t throw more tantrums. Why don’t I have that kind of reckless passion for important things?

“During his earthly life, Jesus offered prayers and appeals  with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” (Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭7,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

Jesus modeled tantrum prayers. Maybe not childish ones like mine, but whole-hearted, put-it-all-out-there pleading prayers for important things. He sweat blood, He was so worked up. Jesus knew how to pray.

And He was heard because of it. God rewards tantrums when they are heart-felt and aimed at meaningful requests. Lukewarm prayers, He tends to spit out.

Dear God, thank you for hearing my prayers when they are sincere. Fill my heart with passion for the right things, things that matter to you. Move me to care as deeply for your will as I do for my own selfish desires.