Daily Devo 4/5/20 – John 11

Human emotions are an integral part of who we are and how we make decisions. So if we believe that emotions are innate to human nature then we must realize that Jesus Christ, who became human, felt deep emotions too. Thinking about this today and reading John 11, I realized that if we are to mimic Jesus, then we should look to Him on how we should handle emotions. John 11 says this:

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 

John 11: 33-38

Now there are several other places throughout the gospels that display Jesus being moved by emotions so I encourage you to pay attention as you read and find those moments to help teach you more about dealing with and not being overcome by emotions.

In these verses of John, it almost makes you feel better about your own mood swings to see that Jesus went from troubled, sad, to angry again (the word my own bible uses) within a short span of time. The thing about when Jesus feels emotions throughout the bible is He does not dwell in them and let them overcome Him, but instead takes action. Be it prayer in sadness, destroying the temple in righteous anger or performing miracles when troubled by something, He does not stay still, but instead goes to the spirit inside of Him to figure out what should be done. Jesus precedes to do one of His greatest miracles in this moment and raises Lazarus up from the dead.

Something I find interesting about this is that Jesus was not in a rush to get to Lazarus (probably knowing that He was going to use that moment to glorify God), but He was still very troubled to find him dead. Remember that, even if we know that God is for us and with us, it’s okay to feel emotions of worry, sadness, and anger. Bring them to the Lord or let them inspire you to take action. The people of the Church you see today advancing the kingdom by stopping human trafficking, preaching to the homeless, aiding shelters, and trying to fight the drug epidemic got to those places because they were passionate and felt strong emotions towards those causes. Do not push down your emotions but pray to God that He uses them to further His kingdom.

Daily Devo 4/4/20

Today I was reading in Leviticus, that old book that is usually skimmed over (by myself included). I’ve been trying to push through it though and actually take something from it since I believe it is part of the living word of God. I find myself more and more surprised to see how symbolic it was then, how symbolic it is to the crucifixion of Jesus, and how symbolic it still is today. There is a beauty that comes in the reverence of offerings and preciseness. What I found has convicted me thoroughly; so keep in mind that what I say throughout this I’m accusing myself of also.

I specifically was reading Leviticus 11 today and focused on this passage:

24 “‘You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.

Leviticus 11:24-25

I don’t want to debate the eating unclean or clean animals (or right or wrong) because the bible also says this:

8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

1st Corinthians 8:8

I bring up the unclean and clean because of this fact: by just touching something unclean one had to wash immediately and was considered unclean for the rest of the day. In our modern Christianity, it seems like we are so passive on how we view sin. We are told believe and repent and your sin is washed away. Do we truly believe and feel remorse , or do we just assume our sins are washed as soon as we commit the act because we are a “christian”? The name christian means Christ follower, and is that what we are every day? To call ourselves Christians and act opposite is it’s own way of taking the Lord’s name in vain.

Now what is unclean in your life, that’s something you need to pray and bring up specifically to the Lord, and He will convict you. But I will say, ask Him about the things you watch, read, scroll through and even, yes, eat/drink. I had my own things that I’ve been convicted of for years, and it wasn’t until I decided to read through Leviticus and see the importance of being clean that it truly helped me to turn away. The bible says this:

44 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. 45 I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Leviticus 11:44-45

We can not be close to God if we are living unclean lives! Yes, Christ has come to save us and forgive us, but living in sin blocks us from being able to fully live and communicate with our savior. We are so blessed to live now in a time where we are saved by Christ’s death on the cross, but we should never take advantage of the gift He died to give us.

Daily Devo 4/3/20 – John 9

I was struck when reading John 9 this morning by several things that caught my attention. Mostly at first because just yesterday I heard someone ask the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?”. In this time of COVID-19, it’s easy to wonder that as we see the number of people who die rising and cases spreading. I want to look at this specific passage in response:

2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

John 9:2-5

I love this passage because I catch myself saying maybe if I was better at this fruit of the spirit or didn’t do this sin, I would see God working in my life more or He would allow this or that to happen. But Jesus clearly says that is not the case! The man’s blindness from birth was allowed all for that moment where Jesus could heal him. That moment where healing occurred and God was glorified.

Throughout the rest of the chapter, the blind man is questioned time and time again about who and how he was healed. I thought his response was intriguing:

25He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

John 9:25, 30-33

This man that met Jesus himself didn’t fully understand him but was able to say, look, there are good things happening and miracles being performed, God is present in that man. Even when we ourselves don’t feel or see God, we can look around and say God is good because His love is evident all around us.

I also want to touch real quick on the how of the healing, which is seen in this passage:

6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

John 9:6-7

When you read this, it almost makes it seem as if there was a miracle that happened within the mud that allowed sight, or maybe the Pool of Siloam had some magical properties to it. However, as I thought more about it, I am convinced it had nothing to do with the process, but just the faith the man had to do as Jesus told him. So I want to leave with this question: what process is God telling you to do that has nothing to deal with the healing, but your faith to do it will allow God to work?

A Christian Response to COVID-19

While I don’t usually make post like this because I don’t take lightly the responsibility that comes with interpreting the living word of God and sharing it with others, but I was reading 1st Samuel 17, the well known story of David and Goliath, and felt such a strong connection to the moment we are facing.
To some, this battle of the unknown, unemployment, loss of income, loss of community at school, and fear that your loved ones may not be safe seems as big as Goliath. There is a reason that officials refer to this as a wartime.
However, I have no doubt that the Lord allowed this to occur for a reason, and that He will work through this. We may not know the reason, but He gave us this time that allows us to meditate on Him and pursue Him without distraction.

32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

1st Samuel 17:32-40


David went into battle and faced the enemy without fear because he knew who stood beside him. While everyone laughed at his youth, David was filled with righteous anger and was able to defeat a giant in order to glorify the Lord. David refused to wear Saul’s own personal armor and instead used the tools that God had him already skilled in. The main point I want to hammer in is this: David walked into the battle a shepherd, but left it a warrior and one step closer to being anointed as King. In this moment, God is giving us the opportunity to draw closer to Him and pursue His calling for us. This could be working on and honing the gifts and talents the Lord blessed you with or just walking out of this with a deeper understanding of who God has called you to be. Whatever it may be, do not leave this moment still a shepherd and be reassured of the Lord’s presence in your life.

When Everything Feels Like It’s Falling Apart.

Say screw it.

Everyone says to hold on, it’ll all be alright. That’s the last thing anyone wants to hear, even if that may be the best way to handle it.

For a while now, life has gone completely opposite of what I had planned and wanted. There’s moments I cry, moments I’m angry at everything (even God), moments I just try to feel indifferent and believe everything’s okay.

As a Christian, I’ve heard and said God’s got His plan for me, even when it feels like I’m stuck and He’s not seeing me. The really bad thing about that is that it’s made me sit around and just wait for that plan to happen. I’ve had door continually opened and closed in my face, each time thinking maybe this is God’s will. A little hope is built, to then allow my trust in God to slip when it falls through. I’m tired of this continuous circle.

The more you dwell on what is the right or wrong way, the more you get so stuck in your head you can’t see the way. So that’s why I’m saying screw it.

Now that doesn’t mean I’m not trusting God, it just means I’m not sitting still anymore waiting for God to work a miracle when I’m not giving him anything to work a miracle with.

So now I start my adventure of art, poetry, writing, odd jobs to make money, and serving those around me. I’m take steps in different directions to let God use me how He desires. I’m believe He will bless the sowing of talents and fulfill my desires.

Rushing Water

Drip drop drip drop,
What's that sound?
Everything fading and falling down.

What then, what's next?
Only sounds of tears,
Endless cries and pleas,
That seem to go unheard.

All encompassing, all surrounding,
Covering every inch of you,
Pressing in from every side,
Making every breath a fight.

Down so low from up so high. 
There was a time full of light,
Smiles, laughs, and joy that seem so far.
Where do you go from here?

Stop a moment, clear your mind,
The racing thoughts will make you blind.
You don't have to save the world,
Saving yourself is just fine.

Don't let your past make you pause,
Forget and remember who's you are.
Love and serve despite your hurts,
Be a blessing where your are.

Hear the rushing water come,
Not just a slow trickle but a wave.
Forget the sound of despair,
Hope is almost here.

Human Nature

From this to that, 
From here to there.
To and fro is how we go.
Sometimes we feel as if we're so evolved,
but from afar can one even tell?

Instincts are how we live our lives,
It all seems so pointless in the end.
Then a glimmer, a feeling makes us wonder,
like a fire being kindled inside.

There is so much more underneath it all,
But will you ever experience it and truly live at all?
And this is why some are so adamant, so passionate,
Because that thought of going back to the beginning,
Seems so disparaging.

And the real interesting thing of human nature,
Is that thing we live for, 
Changes from person to person.
From love to religion,
From fame to money,
Our attentions go to and fro.