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Psalm 69:7-10 Listen to today’s devotional I always laughed at the old Snickers commercials. Someone would be cranky, irrational, or completely unlike themselves until they took a bite of a candy bar. Then their slogan would appear: "You're not you when you're hungry." If the sermon's ever kept you too long from lunch, you know there's truth in those funny ads. Hunger has a way of revealing what's going on within us. When our stomachs are empty, our patience gets shorter and our tempers get quicker. Those little inconveniences that never bothered us before start to get to us more. Maybe that's one reason fasting has long been a spiritual practice. In Psalm 69, David says he humbled himself through fasting. That means he did not see fasting as a way to impress God or earn God's favor. He wasn't even trying to get God to do something for him. Humbling your soul has a way of creating space for God to reveal what is in your heart. When we fast, we ...

I met with my new congregation last night. Gloria and I traveled to Del Rio to participate in an Onboarding Session. This meeting gave the church leadership and others a chance to ask questions about who I am and my approach to ministry. They also voiced their hopes and dreams about what our ministry would look like.  The meeting was led by a moderator. Or a facilitator?  My role was to come at the end to answer some questions. More than anything, I was to offer a sense that we're going to be okay. I waited in my new office and received text updates on how things were going. The group discussed six questions with the moderator. When they finished one question, someone sent me the responses.  I couldn't sit still that long. So, I started a self-guided tour. Some doors were locked. Some rooms were empty. I got turned around once and even walked around the block. It was my responsibility to close the time. I shared a bit of my call story and a few other things about my famil...

  Nehemiah 9:1-3 Listen to today’s devotional As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, it's fitting to celebrate our achievements, remember our heroes, and tell stories of courage and sacrifice. But Nehemiah also reminds us that honest reflection requires more than celebration. After returning from exile, the people of Israel gathered to fast, mourn, and listen to the Word of God. Then they did something surprising. They confessed not only their own sins but also “the iniquities of their ancestors” (Nehemiah 9:2). They seem to have understood that faithfulness requires telling the whole story. Before they could move forward, they had to acknowledge where they, and those who came before them, had fallen short of God’s purposes. It's worth asking why we so often see this kind of honesty as a weakness or inappropriate. In truth, there is deep wisdom and faithfulness in naming where we have not lived up to God’s ideals. What is true for individuals is also true for nations, ...

  Genesis 25:7-11 Listen to today’s devotional I hope not to spoil the show for you. But there's a scene in the final episode of The Buroughs that really touched me. There's a moment when someone asks what most of us would if we had the chance to see someone we've lost. Instead of being in the moment, the character asks, "How much time do we have before this ends?" The response was something like: "Just shut up and enjoy it." It sounds funny at first, but what great wisdom there is in those words. Stop counting and measuring. Stop worrying about how long the moment will last. And just be present and live. Genesis tells us that Abraham died "old and full of years." That phrase made me think of that final scene. Abraham's life was not easy. He experienced uncertainty, failure, waiting, disappointment, family conflict, and grief. He wandered far more than he ever settled. But his story ends as "full of years." That means something mo...

We've had some good rain here in Corpus Christi over the past few weeks. Even around the state, I've seen great pictures of water flowing in places that have been dry for some time. What a blessing! I've been thinking about this while processing my upcoming move. For years, we have been praying for rain and an end to the drought. I can see one older woman in our congregation who would stand up almost every week to ask us to pray for rain. I've included special prayers for relief and given my congregation prayer reminders to take with them for the week.  And here we are. I haven't checked how much of this will fully impact our drought conditions. But I imagine things have gotten better.  I took this screenshot from KIII's FB page. That means, there'll be a season of renewal after I leave here.  That reminds me of the text from John's gospel: "One sows and another reaps." And that is a facet of ministry that holds true. You don't always get t...

  1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Listen to today’s devotional Nobody wakes up one morning and says, "Today seems like a good day to lose heart." Instead, life throws in a disappointment here and an unanswered prayer there. Before long, the tiring seasons or unresolved grief settle into a weariness of spirit. Losing heart doesn’t happen in a single moment. So, let's consider a word history. The apostle Paul hopes that the Thessalonian church would not be "shaken" by his and their persecution. The word he uses for "shaken" once described a dog wagging its tail. Not exactly the image we expect when talking about persecution and suffering. But it might be helpful. Paul is not worried that suffering will knock the Thessalonians down. He worries that hardship might slowly sway them, wear them down, and coax them away from their confidence in God. Just like that puppy dog's wagging tail can work on you. And there it is. I don’t think most of us abandon faith all a...