Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

All ingredients are important if you want to prepare a tasty and healthy recipe. Recently I have gotten more into cooking. In the past few years our busy schedules and complicated lives have pushed me to rely more on packaged food and restaurant runs then real home cooked meals. (Please don’t remind me of the time sweet Abigail told our neighbor that our family’s main staple was Hungry Man)  But as things have slowed down this summer, I have focused on buying healthy ingredients and following healthful recipes. I’ve noticed that leaving out an important ingredient can change the taste and/or ruin the whole thing.

Human nature tends to want revenge. When someone treats you badly, it is natural to want to return the favor. But for those who are God’s children there is a better way. Our Father tells us always to seek after that which is good for ALL people – not just those who are nice to you. When a child of God is obedient to His command, sometimes the results are surprising!

Having artistic, creative friends inspires me. Such is the case with my college friend Haley Jo. Recently, she sent us handmade postcards with beautifully designed pictures, script, and, best of all, hidden messages. Using invisible ink, she embedded words personalized to each one of us that we can only see with a special flash light. The kids and I had fun searching our card to discover words popping out at us in that light.

Most of us have experienced a time when we trusted someone only to find out they were wrong. A fellow student told us what chapters to study for a test, but we arrived on exam day to find out that nothing we studied is on the test. A boss assured us of a raise or improved working conditions that never panned out. These things are very discouraging but they are nothing compared to believing what a “religious leader” tells us is from God, only to find out that God never said it. To avoid these experiences we must . . . "Trust, but verify!"

 Appreciation goes a long way. There is not much harder than working your tail off for someone who doesn’t appreciate what you are doing. We are called to do this – work without recognition – but it sure is nice when someone takes the time to thank you for what you have done.

There are just some things you can’t get enough of: encouragement, kindness, success . . . or maybe even chocolate cake to name a few. But something that exceeds all these is love. We cannot receive too much love, but we also cannot give too much love.