Category: Daily Devotion

Today’s Word Is … DO-OVER

Wed-Jan-1-2020

New Year’s Day has a wonderful feel to it. What happened last year is behind us, and we have a clean slate to write a new chapter of our lives.

Golfers use the word “mulligan” to describe this opportunity. If someone has a particularly bad shot, they take a mulligan, erasing the last shot and trying again. This is, of course, technically against the rules.  But who cares? A second chance is a great thing! No one knows exactly where the word mulligan came from, but the concept is widely used … and enjoyed!

The USGA (United States Golf Association) Museum mentions a fellow by the name of David Mulligan who frequented St. Lambert Country Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada during the 1920s. Mulligan let it rip off the tee one day, wasn’t happy with the results, re-teed, and hit again. According to the story, he called it a “correction shot,” but his golfing buddies thought a better name was needed and dubbed it a “mulligan.”

Perhaps because Mr. Mulligan was a prominent local businessman, the term, according to the story, caught on among his peers and then spread from there. He brought the term to the United States when he moved to New York and joined Winged Foot Country Club. Other stories of the word’s origin exist, but none can be verified.

For those of us in the Christian faith, it is clear that God is a “do-over” kind of God.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1st John 1:9

The beauty of this cleansing is that nothing in our past can prevent us from going on toward God’s preferred future in our lives. Claim your do-over! And also, grant a do-over to those around you who need one!

Thank you, Lord, for this new beginning! Today we can start over, unburdened, refreshed, and re-energized!

Have a blessed New Year!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … BUILD

Tue-Dec-31-2019

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1st Thessalonians 5:11)

Suppose you have an area of your life where you want to “get better” or “get well.” You have been inspired by some person or event, perhaps a book you have read, a sermon you heard, a difficult experience you faced. You believe God is calling you higher, toward spiritual and emotional health, toward greater faith, deeper peace, higher joy.

So, being inspired you put better things into practice in your life. You start going back to church … or you quit a bad habit … or you apologize and fix a broken relationship … etc.

Then you discover that your choice to “get better” has caused some other person to have to adjust to the “new you.” That’s because all of us are part of a system of relationships. The basic ones are family connections, and some families are healthy to various degrees while others are perhaps slightly or severely dysfunctional. The same is true for friendships, co-workers, church family, or neighbors.

To the point … There is a theory in family systems that when one person improves, another person sometimes gets worse! That person begins to act out in negative ways. The more dysfunctional the family system, the more likely this is to happen. And why would someone get worse in response to your getting better?? … Because they want things to go back to the way they used to be. They have lost some feeling of importance perhaps. Their reaction is a temper tantrum of sorts.

Suppose, for instance, that you decide to start going back to church. And someone in your family tells you that “we always have family dinner at grandma’s house every Sunday at noon, and now you have messed that up! You’re causing a problem for the rest of us. See how selfish you are!” Any number of decisions could affect others in ways they resent.

They may even react so negatively that they become angry or spiteful. This behavior makes you think they are getting ready to wreck their life … or wreck your life … or damage the whole family. You consider abandoning your plan to improve your life and going back to the way things were. You say to yourself, “This was a bad idea. I had no idea so-and-so would be against it. I don’t want to hurt their feelings or lose their friendship, etc., etc.”

But you should consider that if you give up, you are in effect giving that person control over your life, even your faith life. You may realize that this person actually has control over the whole family system. They use their switching between good and bad behavior to manipulate and control everyone else.

Everyone’s situation is different, of course, but in general this is a time in your life to stick to it. If this is God-inspired, then you can go ahead with the plan, but also step up your love and encouragement of this person. Trust God for strength and believe that you will make it, and that the upset person will finally adjust, perhaps even improve just like you did.

As believers it is our job to encourage people in these situations and to build them up. So if someone is being bullied back into regression or belittled for trying to improve, it is our privilege and a command from the Word to “go to bat” for that person. Speak up. Offer encouragement.

And if you’re the one who needs the encouragement, a good thing you can do for yourself is to make it easy for others to support you, by being open. Don’t give up on the “better” things God is calling forth in you. He will provide a way for your future. Turn the naysayers over to God. He can help them better than we can anyway.

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … BECOME

Mon-Dec-30-2019

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. (Proverbs 13:20)

It matters with whom we associate. We cannot avoid being around all kinds of people. Some will be likable and some not … cheerful or not … kind or not … problem solvers or not … complainers or not … and wise or not.

Contact and collaboration are necessary … with those whom we like and those whom we do not. But we do not have to “walk with” everyone in the sense referred to by this Proverb. This phrase “walk with” is about those with whom we spend time in an admiring way. It is about observing how someone has a positive or negative effect on the world around them. It is about asking questions to the one we think of as wise, hoping to learn their secrets of peace, motivation, boldness, and wisdom.

I hope you have a desire to learn and to become a better person. God loves us as we are … yes … but he loves us too much to leave us the way we are. It has been said that you can’t “go with God” and stay where you are.

Unfortunately, some folks are attracted to foolish people … because it appears at times that this type of person gets to be carefree and unburdened. Whereas the wise person appears to be doing too much work, or getting redirected sometimes by inconvenient interruptions, or even sacrificing self-indulgence to become better at serving others or better at a desired skill.

For you and I to become the best we are meant to be, it matters whom we admire and imitate. As for the one who is foolish, but appears on the outside to “have it made” … a window into their private moments might show us the “flip side” of their lifestyle of suffering undesirable consequences and repeatedly making botched attempts to reverse the results of their foolishness.  These are the things they hide from us.

Have you ever suffered harm because you were the companion of fools? Hopefully we left that behind in our younger days! Now would be a good time to resolve to walk with the wise, and in so doing become wise.

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Christmas Word Is … AFRAID

Thu-Dec-26-2019

Today’s Daily Devotion is about the change in the shepherds from being afraid to having great joy.

When the angels appeared to announce the birth of the Savior to the shepherds, they reacted by being afraid. I suppose most anyone would, but there is more background to this in their case. You see, absolutely no one would be approaching shepherds who were watching their flocks.

Shepherds were not highly revered in society. For instance, in court cases, the testimony of a shepherd by himself was not allowed unless another witness was there to corroborate.

It makes me think of the number of people I have known or ministered to in my lifetime, who have what I call a “poverty mentality.” It goes beyond just the money issue. It is about people who think of themselves as “worth less” than others.

I grew up with such thoughts about myself. I thought my opinion was not as valuable as that of others. It took more than half a lifetime to overcome this. These particular shepherds seem to have overcome it in one night!

First, they instantly grasped the meaning of the announcement. You see, Bethlehem was close to Jerusalem, and was a supplier of the lambs used for sacrifice in the Temple. A sacrificial lamb had to be unblemished, so at birthing time, the shepherds would take the new lambs that had no imperfections and wrap them in strips of cloth (swaddling) to keep them unblemished until they were taken to the Temple.

To hear the angel say that the baby would be in a manger wrapped in swaddling cloths was a connection to the prophecies of Isaiah about the suffering Messiah, the lamb of God.

Once they were no longer afraid, the shepherds were ready to go and see … now.

Luke 2:15  When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

For a group of fellows who didn’t feel very welcome in public, this was quite a significant adventure. And after their visit to see the Christ child, their courage increased even more.

Luke 2:17  When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18  And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

The birth of the Messiah was the work of God for everyone … from the lowly shepherd … to the Wise Men from the East.

For some people, it takes years and years to overcome the deeply ingrained feeling that they are not worth as much as others. But God wants to cleanse you from self-degradation and fill you with the proper value he has given you, all the while maintaining a true and healthy sense of humility.

Unto YOU a Savior has been born.

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark Davis

(The Daily Devotion “Today’s Word Is” is published Monday – Friday.)

Today’s Christmas Word Is … FULFILLED

Wed-Dec-25-2019

Today’s Daily Devotion is about the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Savior to be a light in our darkness.

This is a bit crazy, but imagine there was no Christmas, no celebration that God has fulfilled his promise. There would be a dreariness about life and a temptation to think that all is meaningless and without purpose. But thankfully, the promise has been fulfilled.

Why Christmas? The most important first step for anyone who is seeking a life of hope, peace, joy, and love is to admit that “I need help.” And Christmas is God’s gift that says he will provide the way. He knew that we could not achieve or earn our way to the blessed life. God’s plan was to wait for the right moment in which to enter our world, and show us the way, up close and personal.

God revealed in the Old Testament this promise of sending a redeemer. Isaiah the Prophet spoke of this promise 700 years before the birth of Jesus …

Isaiah 6:2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. …

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Many Israelites had been holding on to that promise. Some had given up. And many people in the rest of the world didn’t even know that a day of hope might be coming.

The original Christmas, the birth of Jesus, was the day the world had been waiting for. In Bethlehem, two thousand years ago, the promise was fulfilled. All of history was leading to that moment, and all time since looks back to that moment.

In the book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, from the C. S. Lewis series The Chronicles of Narnia, there was a spell over the land from the White Witch that made it always winter. But Aslan, the Lion, the Christ figure in those books, came to break that spell. It involved giving his own life as a ransom.

Just like that relentless winter in Narnia, our world lived in darkness, in need of a Savior. But Isaiah, in the passage above, announced well in advance that “those in darkness” would “see a great light.” A son would be born, whose reign and peace would have no end. There would be light in the darkness.

There is a secular song that speaks truth when it says that Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year.” And the Christmas carol, O, Little Town of Bethlehem, sums it up powerfully by saying, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

There is a lightness to Christmas, in some respects. We decorate, give gifts, laugh, sing, have a good time, and experience a peace that can hardly be described. But there is also a great seriousness, that this celebration is about the fulfilling of a promise that touches the depths of our souls and makes live worth living.

Not only has the world as a whole been sent a Savior, but we can even personalize it and say, “The hopes and fears of all my years” have been met in the Christ child tonight.

Merry Christmas from the Daily Devotion site “Today’s Word Is!”

Chaplain Mark Davis

(The Daily Devotion “Today’s Word Is” is published Monday – Friday.)

Today’s Christmas Word is … EXTRAORDINARY

Daily Devotion for Tue-Dec-24-2019

Today’s Daily Devotion is about Joseph’s journey from ordinary to extraordinary.

God already knew that Joseph had the makings of an extraordinary person, but my guess is that the folks in Nazareth probably thought of both Joseph and Mary as rather ordinary people. One passage that makes me think this is something that occurred years later during Jesus’ ministry …

Matthew 13:54 Coming to his hometown, [Jesus] began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

In the eyes of the townspeople, this whole family seemed ordinary. But it was this chosen family that nurtured Jesus just the way God needed. Isn’t it interesting that the Holy One of God had been raised in what seemed like an average family? Obviously, the neighbors didn’t have a clue what was happening!

Perhaps if Joseph had been mayor of the town, or a rabbi at the synagogue, the locals might have seen things differently, but instead he was thought of as just the town carpenter. But God had a plan and had been guiding Joseph on a journey from ordinary to extraordinary. This included playing a key role in the family. Although Joseph was not the “natural” father of Jesus, he was nevertheless the leader of the family in the Jewish tradition. And this was critical in fulfilling God’s purposes.

Going back to the beginning … when Joseph heard of Mary’s pregnancy, and knowing he was not the father, the norm would be to end the engagement. But here was revealed his godly character …

Matthew 1:19  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Notice these words … righteous man … and quietly. This reveals his respect for the faith and his kindness. (Pause to ask if this applies to myself.)

Now it is time for the next step of the journey. Does Joseph know how to listen for guidance?

Matthew 1:20  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

The question for Joseph, and us as well, is “are you paying attention to God?” … Because God is going to ask some surprising questions and give some out-of-the-ordinary directions. And if we believe and have the courage, we will respond according to God’s purposes (not our own).

Matthew 1:24  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25  But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

At this point, Joseph was “all in!” He demonstrated his new willingness to become the extraordinary man God had called him to be when he followed this path … he took Mary on a 97-mile trip to Bethlehem, stayed in a barn, welcomed unexpected visitors, and perhaps the most amazing … when he needed to protect his wife and child from danger …

Matthew 2:13  When [the Wise Men] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”  14  So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt …”

Would you concede that God also has you on a journey from ordinary to extraordinary? It’s not about doing something famous necessarily, nor about being widely known and admired. Regardless of how much is built into us, we all pretty much start out as ordinary. The things in between ordinary and extraordinary for Joseph were that he had a basic faith; he was kind toward others; he listened when God guided him; and he did as he was directed, regardless of the difficulty. Thus, he found himself fulfilling the extraordinary life that God had placed within him from the beginning. You can, too!

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

P.S. I hope you go to a Christmas Eve service!

Today’s Christmas Word Is … DESTINY

Wed-Dec-11-2019

Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly called it the “Play of the Year.” A local newspaper called it “the touchdown heard around the world.”

Jake Porter, 17, a member of the Northwest High football team in McDermott, Ohio, was born with chromosomal fragile X syndrome, a common cause of mental retardation. He couldn’t read. He could barely write his name. But he loved football, and he faithfully attended every practice.

Northwest coach Dave Frantz wanted to do something special for Jake in his senior year. So, several days before a game against Waverly High in the fall of 2002, Frantz called his friend Derek Dewitt, the head coach at Waverly. Frantz suggested that both teams allow Jake to run one play at the end of the game, assuming the game wasn’t on the line. Jake would get the ball and take a knee, and the game would end.

Rick Reilly’s story in Sports Illustrated told the story …

With Waverly leading 42-0 and five seconds left in the game, Frantz called a timeout. Jake trotted out to the huddle, and the two coaches met at midfield. Jake’s coach Frantz reminded the other coach of the plan, that Jake would simply take a knee. But the opposing coach wasn’t satisfied. He said, “No, we want him to score.” Frantz objected, but Dewitt insisted.

Coach Dewitt went back to the sideline and called his defense together. “They’re going to give the ball to number 45. Do not touch him! Open up a hole and let him score! Understand?”

The teams lined up and Jake got the ball. His teammates told him to run, but Jake started going in the wrong direction. The back judge rerouted him toward the line of scrimmage.

Suddenly, the Waverly defense parted like peasants for the king and urged him to go on his grinning sprint to the end zone. Imagine having 21 teammates on the field. In the stands mothers cried and fathers roared. Players on both sidelines held their helmets to the sky and whooped.

And amid the stadium-wide uproar, Jake kept running and running … all the way to the end zone. Touchdown! The moment of a lifetime!

Two thousand years ago, God had a plan. And regardless of all the obstacles and unlikeliness of how things were going to happen, God made it work. He told his plan to two surprised people, Mary and Joseph. He prepared the way, parted the opposition, and into the world was born a humble child, yet the person at the center of history.

You and I also have a destiny. Aspects of it are going to seem unlikely to us. But God will show us the way. He will part the opposition. People will be there to point us in the right direction. And God will get us all the way to the goal line. For us … well, we just keep running.

Let this be a Christmas of renewal for you. Believe in God and his plan to fulfill his promises and his destiny in your life.

Merry Christmas!

Chaplain Mark

Prayer for the Day:

Lord, thank you for this Christmas time of year, and for people like Joseph and Mary, who believed in your plan and were willing to embrace your destiny for them. I know that you have a plan for me and that I am part of something bigger than myself. Thank you for the destiny you have placed on my life. Whenever I am unsure, remind me that you are making a way. Thank you for the many times you have pointed me in the right direction, including those things I felt you doing for me, and also the ones I didn’t even know about. Keep me smiling … and help me keep running. I love you, Lord. Amen.

Today’s Christmas Word Is … GREATNESS

Tue-Dec-10-2019

James and John, two brothers who were disciples, came to Jesus and asked if they could sit at his right and left hands when Jesus came into his kingdom. (Their mother was also interested in this proposition!) At least they knew that Jesus was number one, they just wanted to be two and three! This request upset the other ten disciples, who perhaps resented the two for being so selfish … or … maybe they wished they had thought of it first!

But Jesus called them [all] to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

Christmas is a reminder that, although someday the world will see that Jesus is King, his mission among us was one of humility, sacrifice, and servanthood. The self-centeredness of the world we live in is designed to push us away from humility. If you are person of faith, then Jesus says, “Not so with you!” He is telling us that we are to be different …

By Jesus’ definition of greatness, it happens to those with the heart of a servant. Those who are fighting to be in first place in life, making demands, stepping over and on others heading for the top of the heap, are eventually going to find themselves in last place, not first.

Those who focus on serving others are the ones Jesus calls the greatest in the Kingdom. They gain the trust of others and receive favor from God.

Express your servant heart and see what happens. If this is a big change for you, it may shock some of your friends, family, or co-workers … but … they will just have to get used to it. Don’t let them talk you out of it by telling you it won’t last or it’s not worth it. Your new attitude will lead you to life at its best, a life of greatness. In the Kingdom, you don’t achieve greatness, you strive to be humble and receive greatness as a gift from the Father. To him, servanthood is greatness.

Christmas Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

KEY VERSE:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Ephesians 2:5-11)

Today’s Christmas Word Is … HOSPITALITY

Mon-Dec-9-2019

Christmas is a family time. But there are those who don’t have family nearby or anyone with whom they can celebrate the holidays. What would you think of “adopting” someone who is very lonely at Christmas? Invite them over for dinner. Buy them a present, put it under the tree, and let them open it like everyone else in the family. Help them to be part of the family, included, wanted.

Many years ago, a family in the neighborhood where we lived befriended a woman who was living in the woods nearby. The parents and their teenage son and daughter ventured into the woods and introduced themselves. The homeless lady agreed to come to their home for Christmas dinner, where she received a wonderful meal, some items that helped her through the winter, and most of all … a sense of belonging.

In our home for the last several years, we have invited a certain lady to spend Christmas day with us. She has no local family to be with and would otherwise spend that special day alone. She opens her presents from under the tree just like the rest of us.

In biblical days, God’s people were taught this: “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.” (Leviticus 25:35) This applies to us as well.

The town of Bethlehem must have been jammed with people forced to travel there for the census. Wherever it was that Joseph and Mary sought out accommodations, someone took seriously God’s directive to be hospitable. And if there was no “room,” then a substitute must be found. So, Mary and Joseph ended up in someone’s barn. We have been taught to think of that as terrible. But not necessarily so.

In the inn or “house” there were probably many people, sleeping everywhere, noisy and boisterous. The choice of the stable gave them privacy and quiet. And most of all … it fit the story God wanted to tell, one of humble surroundings and solitude, including a manger for a baby bed. The shepherds would have felt quite at home, and the wise men were far more interested in the Holy One they sought than the nature of the surroundings.

Hospitality, generosity, and humility are all close to the heart of God. Why not take someone in who is in need of hospitality and family … even just for one meal?

You could make someone’s year!

Chaplain Mark

Other Verses:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:35-36)

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (Romans 12:13)

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke 2:1-7)

Today’s Christmas Word Is … MEANING

Christmas 2019
Wed-Dec-4-2019

Getting ready for Christmas for many people in our society usually means putting up decorations and launching into gift purchasing. When my now-middle-aged children were kindergarten age, in order to add more meaning to this wonderful time of year, we decided (this means I decided) to put up a manger scene that would serve a purpose.

We put the stable in Bethlehem, which was on the buffet in the dining room. The rest of the cast was spread out over the house. Shepherds were out in the field with their sheep, close by in the living room.  Nazareth, the beginning point of Joseph and Mary’s journey, was at the far end of the house, and the wise men began from the East far away, meaning upstairs in the back bedroom. I suppose the angels could have started out on the roof, but I thought better of that.

These characters made their way to Bethlehem and the manger by being moved along an appropriate distance every few days. As we did this, we would talk about how they were feeling … excited? tired? … Did they encourage each other when they were weary? I did most of the talking, of course, while they rolled their eyes. Singing an appropriate Christmas carol helped. Their occasional comments, some funny, some profound, some absurd, and their child-like singing were precious moments.

Mary and Joseph arrived at the manger first and settled in. The shepherds stayed put in their field until the last moment, when the angels showed up with a notification, and all headed to Bethlehem on Christmas day to see the baby Jesus. The wise men arrived last, and a good time was had by all!

Have you thought about devising a way to stay focused on what your journey to Bethlehem really means this Christmas? It is, of course, far more than gifts and decorations. And considering the difficulties of late … hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts, not to mention personal difficulties and tragedies … we are surely thinking about how precious life is, and how unpredictable.

Make this Christmas season memorable for yourself and your family as we remember that God came into our world for a purpose. We didn’t make up the idea of Christmas gift-giving ourselves. God did that … and gave the first and best Christmas gift. The wise men followed suit and the tradition continues. A memorable Christmas is one upon which we may reflect long afterward, and sense our eyes getting moist or a smile breaking out, as we think about the amazing work that love does in our own heart and in our family.

Let the season of joy fill our homes!

Chaplain Mark