Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

I can’t tell you how important it is to verify the truth of someone’s word before supporting his or her message. There are many in the world today who speak with great authority and charisma about spiritual things, but who are miles away from what God says is right and true. It is crucial to check the message before supporting it. For the past two weekends we have attended numerous high school graduation parties and enjoyed all the fun, fellowship, and food. As is customary, we brought a gift for each graduate and were glad to encourage each of them with a small token of recognition for their accomplishments.

Have you ever wondered how a cell phone works? Most of us never even think about the mechanics behind our phone calls or texts. We just punch in the numbers and expect the person we’ve called to be on the other end. The younger generation has no understanding of the days before you could reach someone anytime, anywhere. But we all teake for granted the expertise and work that inventors put into making our life easier and helping us stay connected to those we love.

Sometimes there are weeks, or even months, where every day holds some type of crisis. Large or small, it seems necessary to be on the alert and constantly solve problems. As the issues stack up it is easy to fall into a pattern of worry. It is at times like these I am reminded of what Great-Grandma’s favorite preacher, J. Vernon McGee, once said.

This mindset is prevalent in so many areas of life. Students compete for the top grade point average and class ranking. Athletes compete for the highest jump, the lowest time, or the most wins. Businessmen and women compete for lucrative deals and influential positions. We crave the benefits and the honor of being recognized for rising to the top and nothing will stand in our way to achieve this goal. There is not much room for encouraging and building others up because this could cause us to lose our edge.

Today was a beautiful day! After quite a few weeks of rain, the warm sun caressed the earth and teased me through the office window. Finally, I could stand it no longer and took an hour to go home for lunch. Gulping down my salad I ventured out into the front flowerbed to pull some weeds and soak in the rays. Imagine my surprise when I knelt down to attack the unwanted vegetation to find myself peering into the wide eyes of a toad. Hidden away within the soil this little guy had dug a hole and burrowed into the ground. His skin color matched the dirt and he could hardly be seen but for the brown unblinking eyes staring up at me.

Have you ever run in the rain? Nathan did last night. He along with many other student athletes participated in our District track meet. Instead of the sunny mid 70s weather of May that we were all hoping to enjoy, the temperature was chilly and the sky was overcast. Part way through the meet the rain began to fall, but the races continued on.