Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

Prayer is part of a conversation with God. We speak to God through prayer and He speaks to us, in part, through His word. This is why it is good to use the Bible to guide our communication with our heavenly Father. One day while Jesus was praying one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus took the opportunity to instruct His followers in the appropriate way to communicate with God. He reminded them to have a proper attitude. They should not be like the hypocrites who pray for attention from others. These haughty ones would often stand on a corner or public place where they were most visible and pray out loud for all to hear. Instead, Jesus told His disciples to pray in a secret place where they would not be tempted with pride. God would hear their requests and reward their humbleness with His presence and listening ear.

It’s harvest time! How do I know? I know because the crops have turned brown, dust infiltrates the air, tractors rumble along the road blocking traffic, and bright combines lumber through the fields spitting a golden reward into the beds of gigantic grain trucks. It is harvest time, and my farmer friends are scurrying to bring in the fruit of all their labors. This week I sat in the living room of our neighbor’s house. Three of us were there to read and study the Bible together. As we discussed the passage their husbands and other farmers working together outside the window distracted me. I sensed the urgency and excitement of the task as I watched one run on foot full speed up the lane and reappear with a John Deere gator in full throttle. Back and forth they went working together to accomplish their task. Even as the darkness hid the crops the lights were still seen moving to and fro through the fields.

It is always a thrill to receive opportunities that most others will not get. This does not often happen because of who a person is, but more likely because of whom the person knows. In past years our family has had the privilege of meeting a couple of celebrities. When Luke was a little boy we were honored with the opportunity to have breakfast with the long-time country comedic storyteller, Jerry Clower. Our favorite memory of this now-deceased country comedy legend was when we first met him. Dad asked two-year-old Luke if he knew who the large, jolly man was, and Luke immediately replied in his childlike way, “Je – wee Kwower.” Jerry looked Luke in the eye, and with the Southern drawl he was well known for replied, “Well, ain’t you something!” I’d love to say that Jerry searched the phone book to look up the Sheridan family and ask us to have lunch with him, but that isn’t how it happened. We had an audience with him only because Grandpa Sheridan was on the Greene County Fairboard and Jerry was the featured show that year. Grandpa was scheduled to pick him up from the airport and make sure he got fed. We got invited not because of who we were, but because of who we knew. No other reason was sufficient.

Recently I was listening to one of your popular songs, Something More," and my heart was heavy. I sensed the frustration that many feel living a life of predictable patterns. We all go through the routine of getting up each morning, heading off to work or school, and struggling through days where everything seems to go wrong. From time to time we have all staggered under the weight of disappointment for not being appreciated for our efforts. Yet we continue on day after day until we fear we will collapse from utter burn out. This is the moment when many voice your exact thoughts, “There’s got to be something more!” Who wants to live a life of monotony going through the daily, machine-like motions if there isn’t something more to live for? Everyone longs for a little less heartache and a little more bliss. I have some good news for you! There is something more than this life of routine, but you are looking for it in the wrong places. You say you are going to take your chances looking for this elusive meaning to life, but quitting your job and engaging in all sorts of “bucket list” activities before you die is not the answer. Sure, you can create a brief time slot of happiness doing all the things you long to do, but what happens when you get older even if you have accomplished all you wanted to? Then what?

It is so much fun to experience something new. Sometimes when you learn new things you can transfer the techniques to other parts of life and other times you can’t. I have really been enjoying my photography class, but one of the challenges has been learning a program called Photoshop. It is pretty complicated when you dig into all that is available, but I have been thrilled at the few things I have been introduced to. One of the best features for me is that you can take a good picture and make it even better – in fact you can almost make it perfect. I applied these techniques the other day to an image of our house. The photo was beautiful but it really showed the flaws that were there. So, no problem, I repainted the peeling paint on the front door, removed the weeds from around the porch, brushed away the dead grass that covered the foreground, and added a little extra light to brighten things up. In a matter of minutes I Photoshopped away everything I didn’t like. And it felt so good!

Do you ever want to just break out in an exclamation of praise to God? If you don’t, why not? Our God is worthy of all praise. There is so much to be thankful for and so many blessings to enjoy. Even in the middle of a deep crisis there are little things that should turn our hearts toward God and prompt us to glorify Him. Paul interrupted his correspondence to his friend, Timothy, with words of praise to God. After explaining how God had saved his soul even though he was the worst of sinners, Paul couldn’t contain himself. He erupted into praise: “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” These words burst from his heart and exploded onto the paper as he wrote about God’s goodness.