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  Listen to today’s devotional Psalm 90:1-8; 12 If you can believe it, my family and I once visited a church with a sign that read, “Children Not Allowed.” Worship had already begun, and we were looking for a place to sit. The church had several entrances to the sanctuary. That sign greeted us at the first door we chose. Now, I’m sure there was a service for children somewhere. Maybe keeping the sanctuary quiet was important to their production. But when we saw the sign, my wife and I looked at each other and left. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. During a Sunday message, I mentioned how important it is for all of us to worship together, especially our children. A young boy immediately began shaking his head no. Apparently, he had a different opinion. His head had been down. He looked like he was writing or coloring. You might have thought he wasn’t paying attention. But when he shook his head, he helped prove my point. We don’t always know what someone is hearing or what will stay...

  Listen to today’s devotional Psalm 123 I always thought I was a weird kid. Everyone talked about seeing shapes in the clouds. But nobody talked about seeing faces everywhere else. Coffee stains, tile designs, shadows, car parts. You name it, and I could probably find a face looking back at me. Imagine my surprise when, a few years ago, I discovered online groups like Things With Faces and Faces in Places . There are other weird people like me! People post pictures and ask whether everyone else sees the face they see. Personally, it’s as fun as looking for dinosaurs in the clouds. Someone once joked in a comment, “This group has ruined me. Now I can’t stop looking for faces everywhere.” What we practice looking for shapes what we learn to notice. Psalm 123 gives our eyes somewhere to go. One of the Songs of Ascents, associated with the journey to worship in Jerusalem, it offers this prayer: “Our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy.” When there is turmoil arou...

  Listen to today’s devotional 1 Corinthians 14:20-25 Imagine leaving worship having heard everything you wanted and missing someone who needed to hear from God. That's a part of what Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 14. In this chapter, he discusses prophecy and speaking in tongues and then tells the church to grow up. “Be infants in evil,” he says, “but in thinking be adults.” It almost sounds like he interrupted himself. But he is actually getting to what matters most. The Corinthians had spiritual gifts. What they didn't have was the maturity to consider whom those gifts were helping. Paul asks them to imagine someone walking into their gathering. What would that person encounter? Confusion? A roomful of people speaking past one another? Or something that reaches their heart and helps them realize that God is here? The whole talk about prophecy and speaking in tongues might confuse a lot of us. But it's a conversation that helps us consider whose experience we take into ...

  Listen to today’s devotional Psalm 5:1-7 God and evil are not traveling companions. Speaking of God, Psalm 5 says, “evil will not sojourn with you.” The Message Bible translates that to say that God doesn't socialize with Wicked or invite Evil as a houseguest. They aren’t cozy. God doesn’t pull up a chair for evil. I wish I could say the same about us. We know evil is wrong. But spend enough time around it, and you notice something. We trade contempt with contempt. We let resentment sound like righteousness. And we can become so determined to oppose evil that we stop noticing what it’s doing in us. Paul’s later warning makes sense then. “Do not be overcome by evil” (Romans 12:21). Evil can overcome us even while we’re arguing against it. So, what do we do with the pressure building in our souls? The psalmist says, “Through the abundance of your steadfast love, I will enter your house, I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.” With God’s steadfast love as his startin...

  Listen to today’s devotional Numbers 11:1-3 Numbers 11 says the people complained and God started a fire! Now, many questions remain unanswered in this story. That means there are several explanations for various parts of it. Today, I am reflecting on an answer to one part of the story: The fire's location. The fire started at the edge of the camp. As we see Israel in the wilderness, remember these are not tourists taking the scenic route. In a sense, they were marching like an army. In the ancient world, an enemy would attack the outskirts of the opposing army first. The edges were the most exposed and vulnerable parts. When danger came, people moved inward, closer to the protected center. So, maybe the fire was doing more than punishing their complaints. Maybe it was calling them closer. Now, Numbers doesn't tell us what the people said. But it seems that their complaints revealed that their hearts were moving from the God who had rescued them. Take all that together, and w...

  Click here to listen to today’s devotional Psalm 121 I’m not sold on it yet, but Psalm 121 has me considering putting up a billboard for my church. I’ve thought about it for weeks as I travel over the highest point in town. When you reach our bridge, two digital billboards rise into view and grab your attention. I’ve wondered whether displaying an invitation on one of them would be worthwhile. After all, as you climb the bridge, you have to look up to see them. Why not see a message from our church? That may connect with one reading of this well-known psalm of ascent. The joyful traveler is making the uphill journey toward the sanctuary of God. Along the way, he sees the surrounding hills. Some may have held rival places of worship, each offering its own god, its own promise, and its own invitation. So, the traveler looks at the hills and asks, “From where will my help come?” Then comes his answer: “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” The hills may advertise ...

  Click here to listen to today’s devotional Psalm 105:1-6 I'm about two months into a new appointment, which means a new city, a new church, and a new home. The city and church have their things in order. And most things are in place at home, too. But there have been several times when I've had to actually seek something out. That's gotten me turned around in the city, taught me what I don't have at the church, and left me wondering how in the world I lost what I could always find at home. The thing is, when I find what I'm looking for, all I have to do next is not forget it or misplace it. But what about seeking God? Considering the glory of God's name, the psalmist in Psalm 105 tells us to "seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually." Well, is that something we find once and for all? Is it something we can lose? The rest of the psalm gives us a clue. Psalm 105 is basically a long memory. The psalmist starts telling stories: Abraha...