Daily Devotion Archives — Page 14 of 16

Today’s Word Is … WORKS

Today: A plan that works.
Fri-Jan-17-2020
Humor for the Week

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis. Friday is humor day, so here we go!

An old man living alone in Idaho wanted to break the ground for his potato garden, but it was very hard work with just a mattock and a spade. His only son, Bubba, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Bubba, … I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me. … Love, Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Dad, … For heaven’s sake, Dad, don’t dig up that garden, that’s where I buried the BODIES. … Love, Bubba

At 4:00 a.m. the next morning, F.B.I. agents and local police showed up and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. A couple of days later, the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Dad, … You can go ahead and plant the potatoes now. It’s the best I could do under the circumstances. … Love, Bubba

THOUGHTS:

God chose you and me to be problem solvers in our world, and to help others in need.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

This means that God decided not to do everything directly on his own. He chose instead to involve his people in doing the speaking, the work, the going, and the sharing. Sometimes that means getting creative. And as we do things for others, we are doing them for the Lord.

Jesus spoke in Matthew 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Just one caution … we don’t do these works in order to earn our way into God’s favor, or as a requirement for being saved. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

We still must do these good works, because as Martin Luther (1483-1546) pointed out, “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.”

Have a good weekend, including rest, family, and worship,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … FOOLISH

The willingness to look foolish
Thu-Jan-16-2020

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis. If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

There’s a little fellow named Tommy who hangs out at the local grocery store. The manager doesn’t know what Tommy’s problem is, but the other boys like to tease him. They say he is two bricks shy of a load, or a couple of fries short of a happy meal.

To make fun of him in front of others, sometimes the boys will offer Tommy his choice between a nickel and a dime. He always takes the nickel, and they laugh. “Ha-ha-ha … he thinks because the nickel is bigger, it’s worth more!” Onlookers look sadly at Tommy and tell the boys to leave him alone.

One day after Tommy took the nickel again, the store manager got him off to one side and said, “Tommy, those boys are making fun of you. Why don’t you pick the dime? Don’t you know a dime is worth more than a nickel?”

Tommy said, “Well sir, if I took the dime, they’d quit doing it! I’ve gotten 67 nickels over the last three months!”

Although Tommy may have looked foolish, he had a plan that worked.

The willingness to look foolish in front of others is sometimes required when serving God. Like Moses waving a stick at the Red Sea … or Gideon picking 300 to face an army of 15,000 … or teenage David walking out with a slingshot to face gigantic Goliath.

Being a foolish person with one’s possessions or by the wagging of the tongue or by ignoring God is ill-advised, as many Proverbs say. Consider also Paul saying, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise …” (Ephesians 5:15)

Again, Paul says. “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.” (2^nd Timothy 2:23)

And this, “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.: (Titus 3:3)

But “seeming” foolish while following God’s plan is well worth the risk. After all, the things of God “seem” foolish to the world.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1^st Corinthians 1:18)

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. (1^st Corinthians 1:24)

We must learn how not to be “foolish persons,” while at the same time being bold enough to do something for God and willing to believe in God’s “mysterious ways,” all for the sake of his Kingdom.

1^st Corinthians 1:25 “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. … 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty …”

I am glad he chose me and you to be “fools for Christ!” Here we go! Woohoo!

Have a blessed day!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … COURAGE

The courage to be both bold and humble.
Wed-Jan-15-2020

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis. If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

“It often takes more courage to change one’s opinion than to stick to it.” – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1790) Physicist and Philosopher

Sometimes you need to change your opinion and sometimes you need to stick to it. A great feat of maturity is to learn when and how to do both. Many people are out of balance and are far better at one than the other.

At one extreme are folks who are good at making decisions and sticking to them … but pride will not let them admit they might be wrong … thus they lack the courage to admit a mistake or to change their opinion. From the perspective of others, it is hard to respect someone who will never change their mind. Why do people remain adamant and unchanging? Sometimes they are bullies. It may also be to avoid intimacy in relationships. Never changing your mind is a good way to keep people at a distance or under control.

At the other extreme are those who are humble and honest enough to admit their mistakes … but often will fold easily when challenged about an opinion they truly believe in … thus they lack the courage to stick to their opinion. From the perspective of others, it is hard to respect someone who wavers on nearly everything. Why do such folks as these give in so easily? It might be fear of conflict or failure, possibly a poor self-image, not understanding who they are in Christ. But again, it is also another way of avoiding intimacy in relationships or of having the need to protect oneself.

Jesus had a better way … a way that requires courage, honesty, and humility.

“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” – Jesus (Matthew 5:37)

Making yes be yes, and no be no, is in one sense about removing the playing of emotional games from our conversations. It is much more enjoyable to converse with someone who does not have a hidden agenda. It works well when both have the courage to be honest … honest about their true convictions, but also courageous to admit when they need to change their mind about something.

(If you believe there is nothing you ever need to change your mind about, your name would be “God” … just sayin’ … don’t mean to sound harsh. None of us has perfect theology or doctrines or opinions or knowledge. Surprise, surprise.)

The takeaway is this … ask God for what you need.

If you need courage to stick to your opinion … ask God. (Many folks who need the courage to be bolder are painfully aware that they need it.)

If you need courage to admit when you are wrong … ask God. (However … Many folks who need the courage to be humble are blissfully unaware that they lack humility.)

Choose to be balanced, to be able to say equally well, “I’m right this time,” or “I’m wrong this time.” This requires courage, honesty, and humility. Making it more complicated than this involves offering excuses for our behavior, and is, as Jesus said, “from the evil one.”

It takes courage to be honest, bold, and humble all at the same time!

Chaplain Mark

(NOTE: If you are in a relationship where the other person is virtually always right and certainly never wrong, and where you feel the pressure of conformity, this is a red flag. Seek some godly advice from a trusted pastor or friend.)

Today’s Word Is … AGREE

Tue-Jan-14-2020

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis. Today: Agreeing with God about your strengths. If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

I once had this conversation with a co-worker …

ME: You’re very smart.

THEM: No. Not really.

ME: I’m smart. I made straight A’s mostly.

THEM: Yeah, so did I.

ME: Then you’re pretty smart.

THEM: Well … hmmmm … Okay.

It’s okay to say you’re smart or talented in some way, or whatever your characteristics are, in an honest and humble way. It’s part of having a good, healthy, and accurate view of yourself. Many of us were taught not to compliment ourselves because it sounds like “bragging.” Often our solution is to belittle ourselves as a way of ensuring that we don’t think too highly of ourselves. It took me 40-plus years to stop this bad habit.

The Bible talks about how you should view yourself.

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” – The Apostle Paul (Romans 12:3)

A “sober judgment” means a correct evaluation. This means you should not think “too highly” nor “too lowly” of yourself. Now who do you think has the most “sober” or accurate evaluation and opinion of you? Well … It’s God, of course.

You should agree with God and his opinion of you. He knows your value, your potential, your strengths, your weaknesses. For some of us, it is a great discovery to learn that “God thinks of me more highly than I thought He did!” God is for us, not against us. (See Romans 8 below.) So, if someone has told you that God thinks poorly of you … that’s a lie. If you think you should deny your strengths as a way of being humble, consider that this is a form of false humility, and not at all biblical. Instead, affirm who you are and the gifts you have been given, and then delight in using them for God’s purposes.

In addition, don’t bemoan your weaknesses. Everyone has them. Accept them. Improve on them when you can. This is all part of agreeing with God about who you are and who you are to become. And if you can agree with God about the total you, there will be greater peace, and probably more smiles.

Ask God for more wisdom. This was King Solomon’s one desire.

1^st Kings 9:9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked…”

Agreeing with God about who you are is a good thing! Asking for more … that’s good, too!

Have a blessed day,

Chaplain Mark

Romans 8 reference

“… If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” – Romans 8:31-32

Today’s Word Is … INTIMIDATION

Mon-Jan-13-2020

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis … Today: Rejecting Intimidation. If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – The Apostle Paul (2^nd Timothy 1:7)

Sometimes fear serves a useful purpose, right? For instance, … Fear could keep you away from the edge of a dangerous cliff. … or … Fear could cause you to keep your distance from a poisonous snake. … or … Fear could cause you to run out of a burning building.

Those, of course, are things God designed into our nature to protect us. What we are not supposed to have is the type of fear that debilitates us, keeps us in misery, or prevents us from being the person that God calls us to be.

The normal Greek word for fear is “phobia,” which is used 150 times in the New Testament. Another New Testament word for fear is “deilia,” used only once by Paul in this passage, and once by Jesus (Matthew 8:26 and Mark 4:40), on the occasion where a frightening storm came up while the disciples were in a boat with Jesus. “But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

This use of the word can also be translated as “intimidation.” Why would Paul tell Timothy not to be intimidated? Interestingly, the name Timothy comes from the same root word, as if describing someone who is easily intimidated. Timothy was a young man with great potential in ministry, but how easy it is to let yourself be intimidated, being a young person teaching people older than yourself, and often much wiser. I know. I pastored my first church at age 19.

Also notice that Paul didn’t say, “we are not given fear.” He said, “We are not given a SPIRIT of fear.” This is a spiritual issue. There are evil spirits that have certain characteristics or tactics, and yes, there is a spirit of fear, whose strategy is to intimidate you out of your destiny.

In the 6^th grade my first male teacher, Mr. Webb, was a combination of caring, wise, and tough. We would go to the playground and the whole class of 30 kids played softball. He divided the class in half, and we scattered all over the field to play, lots of infielders and outfielders. Mr. Webb was the pitcher.

One day I hit a ball past the outfielders, a “for sure” home run, rare for me. I rounded first, second, third and looked back over my shoulder as I was halfway to home. And, oh no, Mr. Webb was standing in a throwing position with his arm back over his shoulder, ready to throw the ball. I stopped and froze in disbelief! How could they have retrieved the ball so quickly!? As I stood there staring, waiting for him to throw me out, the ball came bounding in from the outfield and stopped at his feet. He smiled, leaned over, and with his empty hand, scooped up the ball, and threw me out. He had bluffed me … intimidated me … out of a home run. I was so focused on Mr. Webb that I didn’t see where the ball really was. I could have had a home run! I will never forget that lesson.

Think about it … this is what your “enemy” wants to do to you … bluff you into thinking you’re not good enough, smart enough, innovative enough, persistent enough, or enough of whatever you may need to succeed. He has no weapon to harm you, so he intimidates you into giving up. I thought Mr. Webb had the ball in his hand … nope. I was not robbed by the power of the enemy, but by being intimidated out of claiming what was mine.

If you have a spirit of fear, God didn’t give it to you. I repeat … If you have a spirit of fear, God didn’t give it to you! And he wants to replace it with power, love, and a sound mind. Suppose you just “spoke” to this spirit of fear you’ve been burdened with and served it an eviction notice! I will no longer be intimidated out of my blessings! Then ask God for his three replacement gifts … power, love, and discipline.

Power – that’s like the engine of a car. The Holy Spirit will give you his kind of power.

Love – that’s the proper fuel. It will help you to do things with right motives. If you are fueled by anger, for instance, things will often not turn out so well.

A Sound Mind (or Discipline) – that’s the steering wheel. It means guiding how you apply the love and use the power God has given you. Not too fast or slow, staying on track, waiting sometimes, proceeding at others.

The experience of ridding myself of the spirit of intimidation, with God’s help, created a quantum leap forward in my faith. I still get intimidated occasionally, but I am quicker to rebuke it now.

Blessed to be a blessing,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … SLEEP

Thu-Jan-9-2020

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis … If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

Do you ever have a hard time sleeping? Do you frequently have a hard time sleeping?!

I have had issues with that sometimes. And there are many possible contributing factors which vary from person to person. If the problem for you is worrying about money or over-working, then God speaks to that, namely about losing sleep for a particular reason.

“It is vain for you to rise up early,

To sit up late,

To eat the bread of sorrows;

For so He gives His beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:2 NKJV)

When I first discovered that verse, I committed it to memory and have never forgotten it.

I doubt there are many people, if any, who get to retirement age or the end of life and say to themselves, “I spent too much time with my family. I should have worked more!” It’s the other way around, right? We discover too late that all that excessive worry and work wore us down and robbed us of precious relationship time and the joys of life.

Now, obviously work is important and work is good. But when it gets out of proportion in the priorities of life, it can steal our health, our peace, our joy, and many other things.

God wants us to be healthy, fulfilled, and yes … happy. These things happen by adopting the patterns of God, the kingdom life that Jesus taught in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5,6,7). If you will live in God’s way instead of the world’s way, you can claim the promise of Psalm 127:2 … God grants sleep (literal translation would be “peaceful sleep”) to those whom he loves.

Now getting up early is the habit of some and staying up late is the habit of others. But this Psalm is about someone who, because of worry or stress, gets up too early or stays up too late. Maybe they even do both! It is about obsessing over your work and worrying about your provision … to the extent that you can’t sleep well, and as a result you do not enjoy the fruit of your labors. It is about the high cost of failure to trust in God’s provision. In contrast, God-given rest, peaceful sleep, is the glorious gift associated with believing his promises.

Trust God for your needs, and you can enjoy your work instead of dreading it. You can be satisfied with what you have and stop “burning your candle at both ends.”

Do you “eat the bread of sorrows”? That’s like working and fretting so much that eating the food you have bought with your paycheck is not enjoyable, because you have made yourself emotionally sick trying to “make ends meet.” (Holy cow, this means that not only do you have sleep problems, you have digestive problems as well!!!)

“Our God will supply all our needs, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) So, do the wise thing. Be satisfied. Be at peace. Settle down in your mind. Give thanks. Eat some bread of blessing, instead of “bread of sorrows.” And then, of course, go to bed and sleep well tonight!

Be blessed!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … BROKENNESS

Wed-Jan-8-2020

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis … If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” – King David (Psalm 51:17)

The first place to start is this … everybody needs fixing. I need fixing. You need fixing. The list of perfect people is not very long, there has only been one name on that list … ever.

The second thing is this … you can’t get fixed until you admit you are broken. This is a problem. Who wants to admit they need help? But we are like a broken watch in need of the watchmaker.

King David wrote some very wonderful poems. He was a wise man. He was a warrior and conqueror extraordinaire. But, he had a thirst for power and a lust for women. (You can read that story in 2^nd Samuel Chapter 11.) His attraction to Bathsheba led to adultery, followed by a plan to get rid of her husband so that no one would find out.

The prophet Nathan cornered David into a discussion and confession. David was brash and gutsy, but he knew from history that if you are guilty, you don’t challenge God or one of his prophets. It will not end well.

So he hit his knees, and admitted his brokenness.

It is amazing and sad how many people will not do the simple thing of confessing their wrongdoing, admitting their brokenness, taking on a contrite attitude, and asking God to forgive and restore. By the way, when I say “they,” I really mean “me” first. People sometimes revere pastors and spiritual leaders, but we are not exempt.

I once saw a woman get a new start on life by forgiving her sister for something done 30 years before. (She was waiting for the apology that was never coming.) I have seen an adult daughter reconcile with her mother over something that happened as a teenager. I have seen two employees look at each other with a contrite heart, and both simultaneously say, “I’m sorry.”

Feeling broken may seem like a bad thing, but if it is acceptable and even desirable to God, then it really is a very good thing. Having worked as a hospital chaplain, I have seen many patients trying to be their own doctor, instead of listening to those who know how to heal. By the same token, I have also seen many people trying to be their own spiritual doctor instead of listening to God or the wise counsel of a spiritual leader.

It is human nature to take a different approach than humble confession. One way we do this is just to deny the problem. Another is to make excuses for why we think we were justified in our sin or failure. And yet another is to defiantly think we should just be let off the hook. Court cases end up like this sometimes … the accused pays a penalty without admitting wrongdoing. For David, this was not going to happen.

If we can’t admit our wrongdoing, we won’t get far in our faith journey. A song by Micah Stampley, called “Take My Life,” starts out … ”Holiness, Holiness is what I long for; Holiness is what I need.” A later verse adds, “Brokenness, Brokenness is what I long for. Brokenness is what I need.”

God mends broken people, but first comes admitting we are broken. A good posture for this is on our knees, hands out, eyes looking up to God. At this point, tears often come. And then begins the healing and restoration. Get used to this. It will come again and again as you get washed more and more. The 51^st Psalm was written by David during the Bathsheba experience. Verse 2: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Verse 7: Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Clean on the inside, that’s what God wants to do.

Broken and Blessed!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … DISSATISFACTION

Tue-Jan-7-2020

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis … If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

Over the years the disagreements between my wife and myself have gradually diminished to very few occurrences. And hurray! … we just recently celebrated our 37^th wedding anniversary! Whatever skirmishes we have are minor and mostly humorous. But I can recall a day about three years ago when we hit a bump. Each of us was dealing with our own bothersome physical issues, plus some other stresses such as moving to a new home.

Bad days are fairly infrequent for us, and when they occur it usually works out that the one doing OK supports the one having the bad day. But … on that particular day we decided (not really) to each have our own bad day on the same day … and express it forcefully! Such times can cause intense feelings of dissatisfaction. Through the early years I occasionally thought I should just leave, and although I’m afraid to ask (LOL), I’m pretty sure she had the some thought a few times. (Or maybe quite a few times … gulp!)

In the Bible (John chapter 6), the multitude of followers of Jesus were having a rough time with some of his “difficult” teachings, to the point that many of them decided to leave. The “chosen” twelve disciples must have been struggling with the same inner conflict, and Jesus asked them if they, too, wanted to leave. But the disciple Simon Peter blurted out a gem of a confession at this point.

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:66-68)

Back to my story … For both my wife and I to be tired, cranky, and emotionally upset on the same day seemed like an enormous challenge, one which might have made us question if we could keep going. Frankly, this had probably been building for quite a few days. What do you do when this happens? As people of faith we can learn something from Simon Peter about what is the right question to ask. If we look to the God of our faith and into our inner being, the truth is obvious. After all, that same belief, foundation, attachment, and love that we have (and the disciples had) with Jesus, is also true for us in our marriage. … “Where would I go?” … and we know the answer … “You are the one.”

Many people give up on faith, marriages, jobs, friends, etc. because they jump without considering the question, “Where would I go?” That’s worth thinking about. Is there something you are about to give up on? Obviously, some things need to be abandoned, but in the case of faith or marriage or other things that God has a plan for, we need to ask, “where would I go?” The Holy Spirit reminded Simon Peter that the best place was right where he was, despite the struggle.

A few times in various circumstances of my life, I have jumped when I shouldn’t have. We all have done that. And Dr. Phil would gladly jump in and say, “And how’s that working for you?”

Sometimes dissatisfaction gives us the chance to see that we are where we are for a reason.

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

P.S. If my wife is not OK with this post, I am believe I am in big trouble. (I love you, honey!)

Today’s Word Is … ANYWAY

Mon-Jan-6-2020

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (M-F) by Chaplain Mark Davis … If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

The Paradoxical Commandments

by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. — Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. — Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. — Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. — Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. — Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. — Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. — Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. — Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. — Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. — Give the world the best you have anyway.

Blessings Always!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … DUST

Thu-Jan-2-2020

Furniture likes to collect dust. In biblical days, so did feet. And according to Jesus, so can you, in a spiritual sort of way. These are leftover emotions from negative interactions with people.

Jesus once sent his disciples out on a mission – a mission with a good purpose – healing, restoring, blessing. He knew that some people would welcome them, and others would not. Thus, his instructions to them were, that if anyone welcomed them … enjoy it … and thank them!

But he also said, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.” (Matthew 10:14)

In biblical days, a guest that was taken in for shelter or lodging, was to be treated with kindness and respect. First order of business … get their dusty feet cleaned off. If your host did this, you knew you were welcome. However, not everyone wants to hear what you have to say. They may obviously need help, and yet push you away with … “I don’t want your help! Go away!” If you are not welcome, Jesus advised that you leave the distastefulness of this rejection behind by symbolically shaking the dust off your feet.

Take note … this is different from what the world would have us do. Wiping off the dust means … not demonstrating anger, not mocking or rebuking, and not thinking up ways to get revenge. It means refraining from complaining … not using this as an opportunity to get some sympathy points. There is no need to post your hurt feelings on Facebook or Twitter, no sharing what these ungrateful people have done to offend you.

Jesus was telling his disciples that when you have been generous or noble or honest or caring or at least sincere, and someone still has an axe to grind, a complaint to register … well, you don’t have to be rude or angry back at them as you leave. Maturity is about gaining wisdom to carry with us, while leaving the “dusty” part behind.

If you are carrying “dust” around from an unpleasant rejection, shake it off and leave it behind … No anger … No disappointment … No revenge … No mumbling … Just wipe it off and go on, at peace. If you’re still angry or resentful, you took the dust with you when you left.

I think I need a paper towel,

Chaplain Mark