Meet Me in the Morning: Spirit Meets Social Media

By Patty Howard

So much of our lives is influenced by how we see God. For author Patty Howard, these words began a two-and-a-half-year journey of listening to God every morning with the expectation that He would speak. When God speaks, He meets us where we are and shows us who we are. Sometimes we are invited to share what we hear. With social media as her pulpit and her friends as her congregation, Howard shared what God had given her every day. The Holy Spirit did the rest.

In Meet Me in the Morning, she has gathered those meditations, originally posted on social media, and compiled them into a devotional, mostly in the order and in the form they originally appeared. May these daily meditations encourage you, inspire you, convict you, and convince you that God sees you, knows you, and loves you beyond measure.

This daily devotional shows how scripture applies to real life, in real time, and invites you to carry the ideas and insights beyond the page and into your daily life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664250260

Patty Howard

Patty Howard taught high school English for nearly thirty years before leaving education to become a pastor. As she has trained for ministry, she has been challenged to be vulnerable with God and with trusted others, to grow, and to allow herself to be formed into Christlikeness. She has two sons, two daughters-in-love, and three grand-dogs. She is associate pastor at Gather Church, where she serves both congregation and community.

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Copyright © 2021 Patty Howard.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5027-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5028-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5026-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021923487

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/07/2021

Contents

JANUARY

January 1

January 2

January 3

January 4

January 5

January 6

January 7

January 8

January 9

January 10

January 11

January 12

January 13

January 14

January 15

January 16

January 17

January 18

January 19

January 20

January 21

January 22

January 23

January 24

January 25

January 26

January 27

January 28

January 29

January 30

January 31

FEBRUARY

February 1

February 2

February 3

February 4

February 5

February 6

February 7

February 8

February 9

February 10

February 11

February 12

February 13

February 14

February 15

February 16

February 17

February 18

February 19

February 20

February 21

February 22

February 23

February 24

February 25

February 26

February 27

February 28

February 29

MARCH

March 1

March 2

March 3

March 4

March 5

March 6

March 7

March 8

March 9

March 10

March 11

March 12

March 13

March 14

March 15

March 16

March 17

March 18

March 19

March 20

March 21

March 22

March 23

March 24

March 25

March 26

March 27

March 28

March 29

March 30

March 31

APRIL

April 1

April 2

April 3

April 4

April 5

April 6

April 7

April 8

April 9

April 10

April 11

April 12

April 13

April 14

April 15

April 16

April 17

April 18

April 19

April 20

April 21

April 22

April 23

April 24

April 25

April 26

April 27

April 28

April 29

April 30

MAY

May 1

May 2

May 3

May 4

May 5

May 6

May 7

May 8

May 9

May 10

May 11

May 12

May 13

May 14

May 15

May 16

May 17

May 18

May 19

May 20

May 21

May 22

May 23

May 24

May 25

May 26

May 27

May 28

May 29

May 30

May 31

JUNE

June 1

June 2

June 3

June 4

June 5

June 6

June 7

June 8

June 9

June 10

June 11

June 12

June 13

June 14

June 15

June 16

June 17

June 18

June 19

June 20

June 21

June 22

June 23

June 24

June 25

June 26

June 27

June 28

June 29

June 30

JULY

July 1

July 2

July 3

July 4

July 5

July 6

July 7

July 8

July 9

July 10

July 11

July 12

July 13

July 14

July 15

July 16

July 17

July 18

July 19

July 20

July 21

July 22

July 23

July 24

July 25

July 26

July 27

July 28

July 29

July 30

July 31

AUGUST

August 1

August 2

August 3

August 4

August 5

August 6

August 7

August 8

August 9

August 10

August 11

August 12

August 13

August 14

August 15

August 16

August 17

August 18

August 19

August 20

August 21

August 22

August 23

August 24

August 25

August 26

August 27

August 28

August 29

August 30

August 31

SEPTEMBER

September 1

September 2

September 3

September 4

September 5

September 6

September 7

September 8

September 9

September 10

September 11

September 12

September 13

September 14

September 15

September 16

September 17

September 18

September 19

September 20

September 21

September 22

September 23

September 24

September 25

September 26

September 27

September 28

September 29

September 30

OCTOBER

October 1

October 2

October 3

October 4

October 5

October 6

October 7

October 8

October 9

October 10

October 11

October 12

October 13

October 14

October 15

October 16

October 17

October 18

October 19

October 20

October 21

October 22

October 23

October 24

October 25

October 26

October 27

October 28

October 29

October 30

October 31

NOVEMBER

November 1

November 2

November 3

November 4

November 5

November 6

November 7

November 8

November 9

November 10

November 11

November 12

November 13

November 14

November 15

November 16

November 17

November 18

November 19

November 20

November 21

November 22

November 23

November 24

November 25

November 26

November 27

November 28

November 29

November 30

DECEMBER

December 1

December 2

December 3

December 4

December 5

December 6

December 7

December 8

December 9

December 10

December 11

December 12

December 13

December 14

December 15

December 16

December 17

December 18

December 19

December 20

December 21

December 22

December 23

December 24

December 25

December 26

December 27

December 28

December 29

December 30

December 31

HOLY DAYS

Ash Wednesday

First Sunday of Lent

Second Sunday of Lent

Third Sunday of Lent

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Sixth Sunday of Lent

Palm Sunday

Holy Monday

Holy Tuesday

Holy Wednesday

Maundy Thursday

Good Friday

Silent Saturday

Easter Sunday

Pentecost

First Sunday of Advent

Second Sunday of Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

Fourth Sunday of Advent

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Professional writers, people who do this for a living, often structure their days around writing. Some have a word quota or a time quota they strive to meet each day. Simple math says if a person were to write one page per day, at the end of a year, the person would have 365 pages written. That could be a novel or many short stories or the beginnings of many different things, depending on the discipline of the writer. In all of that, these folks actually set out to write a book.

I did not.

On October 9, 2017, God pressed the following on my heart: So much of our lives is influenced by how we see God. That statement was followed by one way people see God, as fickle. I wrote a social media post that morning based on Matthew 7:9-11 where Jesus asks who would give a stone to a child asking for bread? The next day, I woke to the same thought: So much of our lives is influenced by how we see God. That was accompanied by another thought and another verse. This continued for many days—if asked I would have said thirty-five or forty, in reality it was eighty—ending on Christmas. Those first eighty days are not part of this book. They were the training ground for me, training in listening, in expecting, in responding to the Holy Spirit’s nudge. During that time, God was creating a space in me where we could meet every morning. Those days made the rest possible.

After Christmas, the focus and structure changed, but the invitation to listen and share was there every morning. In fact, that invitation came every morning for over two years. There was only one morning in two years when there was nothing. I shook, I cried, I sought and asked and begged. Then I wrote. I had written every morning for so long, I couldn’t not write. I wrote about crying and shaking and begging. I wrote about recognizing that God’s ways are not my ways and that my ways are far inferior. I ended that post trusting God for the next day. If there was a word, I would trust Him. If there was not, I would trust Him. The next day, we were back to our morning meeting time.

Those years were a transition time for me. I went from being a high school English teacher, something I had done for nearly thirty years, to being an associate pastor of a small church with a large community footprint. Many of the posts I wrote came from the intersection of something I heard or read, and my own heart’s journey. Those who know me well could often read between the lines and recognize my times of deep struggle. Social media gave me a place to wrestle with ideas and realities, to give voice to what God was doing in me, to encourage by example, to be vulnerable, and to allow others to witness my transformation.

The following pages are presented in the order the posts were written, for the most part. Most of them are in their original form. There are repetitions of verses and of ideas. Some verses appear more than once, but each appearance is unique and offers a different perspective on that verse. Some ideas appear more than once. These ideas bear repeating so they can find their way deeper into our hearts.

There is an entry for every day of the year, and at the end there is a section for particular days of the liturgical year. There are pages for Ash Wednesday, the Sundays of Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost, as well as for the Sundays of Advent. These movable holy-days are significant and should be observed, no matter what date they fall on in a particular calendar year.

My prayer is that you will find yourself in these pages, that scripture will come alive to you, and that you will be encouraged to allow God to create a space in you, where the two of you can meet every day, morning, noon, or night.

This book is dedicated to Pastor Cole Meckle. I have spent much time hearing God’s words in your voice, in sermons, Bible studies, and coffee chats. Thank you for being my pastor, my teacher, my mentor, and my friend, and for showing me what it looks like to live the Way of Jesus.

Heavenly Father,

For the days and the hours,

For the now and the not yet,

For the time past and the time to come,

We thank you.

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January

January 1

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

—1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

When I was young and something didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to, I would ask for a do-over. There are times in my adult life that I have desperately wanted a do-over, usually when I have said or done something without thinking it through and have hurt someone. In some sense, January 1 every year we get a do-over, or at least a do-better. New Year’s resolutions are many people’s way of doing better, though they usually don’t stick. We are great at resolving to do things, but not so great at actually doing them. While it is wise to take care of our health, our finances, and our relationships (the three areas that usually warrant resolutions), it is imperative that we take care of our relationship with God in Christ.

First Thessalonians gives us an outline of how to do this, and while it is not easy, it is life-giving. Rejoice always. Joy again always. Remind yourself of the joy, and experience it over and over again. Pray continually. Have conversations with God throughout the day. Don’t save prayer for meals and bedtime, but talk as a friend to God. Give thanks in all circumstances—all circumstances. Give thanks for the good, the bad, and the ugly, knowing that God can make good out of bad and ugly. As you turn the page and enter a new year, resolve to grow in Christ and follow God’s lead. With that as your foundation, life will improve, with or without resolutions.

January 2

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

—John 13:3–5

The disciples had come to a Passover meal, fully expecting that all rules of propriety would be followed, including foot washing, which was sometimes done by a servant. In that time period and in that culture, foot washing was expected because everyone entered a house with dirty feet. In Luke, Jesus chastises Simon for not offering him water to wash his feet, as Simon is watching the woman wet Jesus’s feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. In the passage in John, we see the host of the meal, Jesus, taking off his host clothes and putting on the towel of a servant. The disciples are amazed and humbled at this act that Jesus uses as a lesson for them, telling them to wash each other’s feet. Jesus even washed the feet of Judas who he knew would betray him that very night.

Today I am thinking about the host clothes that I wear and what it would look like to exchange them for a servant’s towel. How can I take off talking and put on listening? How can I take off self-centeredness and put on care for others? How can I take off privilege and put on service? How can I take off pride and put on humility? Who in my life is Judas and how can I serve him or her? To whom can I show radical and unexpected love with no expectation of return? How can I put on Christ, today and every day? Jesus knew who he was and that serving in this way lost him nothing. We who are in Christ should be the same way. Ask God what your towel looks like, wrap it around yourself, and serve.

January 3

[T]he people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.

—Matthew 4:16

And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.

—Genesis 1:3

Isaiah prophesied that people in darkness would see light. In Matthew, Isaiah’s prophecy is quoted just before Jesus begins his ministry. In Genesis, God created light and broke through what had been utter darkness. Have you ever been in utter darkness? Somewhere so dark you can almost feel it? A place where you see nothing, no matter how wide you open your eyes? That kind of darkness is oppressive and scary because it feels like even light will not penetrate it. We know that light does overcome darkness and that physical darkness isn’t going to hurt us, but that does little to calm our fears in that kind of darkness. The darkness that hurts is the internal darkness, that hopelessness and despair that so many people experience. We all have dark areas inside ourselves that desperately need light. Christ has come to be the light that shines in our darkness. God has sent light to us more than once, first at creation and then in Jesus. It is up to us to allow the light of Christ into our darkness and to open ourselves to his gentle healing of those dark areas. Do not be afraid of the light of truth. The pain we experience in a sudden bright light is temporary; the pain of darkness is not. Let there be light!

January 4

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

—Matthew 6:22–23

I’m thinking about light and darkness again today, but this time in a different context. These are verses I thought I understood until I looked at them in context and realized I was missing something. In the Sermon on the Mount, these verses come between two often-quoted sections of text: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth... (Matthew 6:19) and No one can serve two masters (6:24). In the Greek, the words for healthy and unhealthy can imply generosity and stinginess. Just like the verses before and after them, these verses are about earthly treasure and what we do with it. If we are generous, with our time, talent, and treasure, our bodies will be full of light. If we are stingy, our bodies will be full of darkness. If we believe we are generous, but we are actually stingy, what we see as light will be darkness and we will be fooling ourselves. Generosity is the way of Jesus, the way of God. Those who see and follow Jesus’s way are full of light. Those who do not see do not follow Jesus’s way and are therefore in the dark.

The next layer in these verses, as I see it, is to look at the recipients of our generosity. It is easy to be generous when I see the benefits for myself. In other words, it is easy to help someone whom I believe will help me later. It is more difficult at times to be generous toward those who cannot repay my generosity. God has grown my heart tremendously in the last few years and generosity is easier than it used to be, although I still have times where I am stingy. My darkness comes when I find myself keeping track of my generosity. I don’t want to be someone who simply does generous acts; I want to be someone who is generous, and generous people do not keep account of their generosity. As I am generous with my time, my heart is changed. As I am generous with my talents, I am blessed. As I am generous with my treasure, my needs are met. Strive to live generously and be full of God’s light.

January 5

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

—John 3:19–21

John’s gospel makes much of light and darkness. When I think of light, I think of good, and when I think of darkness, I think of evil. In this passage, John stretches my thinking a bit and challenges me to go beyond good to truth. He talks about people doing evil deeds and hating the light, which fits with the traditional ideas of good versus evil. Verse 21, however, challenges that idea because it says that those who live by the truth come into the light. If this light is the light of truth, it exposes my good deeds done for evil reasons. I would imagine most of us have times where we do something that others see as good simply because we want others to see us as good. Is that act really good? We have times when we skirt the truth, thinking it won’t hurt anyone. Are we really truthful? I have never been set free by good, but I have been set free by truth. Jesus tells the Jews in John 8 that if they hold to the truth, they are his disciples and the truth will set them free. They object, saying they have never been slaves. In some ways, we are all slaves. I recognize there are places in my life where I am not free and some of those places have to do with doing good for the wrong reasons: fear of man, pride, hypocrisy—call it what you will. I find myself there sometimes, and while I’m not proud of it, I’m honest when I do. Stepping into the truth is difficult at times, but it brings freedom. Live by the truth and be free!

January 6

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

—Matthew 2:9–11

Today the church celebrates Epiphany, remembering when the Magi visited Jesus. Epiphany also looks to Jesus’s baptism when in one moment the Trinity appeared as Son, voice, and dove. This day, in essence, celebrates when God appeared, when He showed up on planet Earth to change us forever. Some people live as if God showed up in Jesus, lived through Jesus, resurrected Jesus, and left. I lived that way for quite a while, not really seeing God’s active presence in my own life. Several years ago, I took on the challenge of finding gifts or blessings from God every day. I have been doing this for about five years, and two days ago, I wrote gift number 7,300.

Sometimes it’s easy to see God showing up in my life, like seeing family at Christmas or having a deep conversation with a good friend. At other times, I have been challenged to see God where He seems most absent, in my mistakes, failures, and fears. Those hard gifts are the ones that ultimately reveal the most blessing. I write them down as gifts even though I don’t necessarily perceive them as such at the time. I understand why James tells us to count it joy when we face trials. Those trials build areas in us that easy can’t touch. I’ve walked with God long enough to know that He can turn anything into a gift. I now live expectantly, recognizing that God shows up all the time in the good times and bad, mountains and valleys, pleasures and pains of my life. I challenge you to watch for God to show up in your life every day. Emmanuel has come —God is with us!

January 7

And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

—Romans 1:6

In the New Testament, there is quite a controversy over who belongs and who doesn’t. Through Jesus, God shows His impartiality by associating with Jews and Gentiles, saints and sinners, clean and unclean, rich and poor. With Jesus, everyone belongs. There is no Jesus and requirement, such as Jesus and circumcision or Jesus and food purity laws or Jesus and Torah memorization. Belonging comes with following Jesus. We all desire to belong. Our outward selves need food, clothing, and shelter, but our inward selves need belonging. People are quite adept at finding food, clothing, and shelter or manufacturing a reasonable substitute. People also manufacture a substitute for belonging, but they are not nearly as adept at it. Gangs, drugs, alcohol, bullying—these are all substitutes for belonging. On the streets, in large corporations and everywhere in between, people resort to these things in one form or another to either belong or to numb the feelings associated with not belonging. When we feel like we don’t belong, we isolate ourselves, we criticize ourselves, we abuse ourselves, and we do everything in our power to keep from acknowledging our need. It is easy to say that in Jesus, everyone belongs, and it’s true. However, in our society, it is clear that there are places where people feel others don’t belong. Like the Jews and Gentiles of the New Testament, some have put up boundaries to keep others out. As those who follow Christ and his ways, how can we remove boundaries? How do we show others that all belong in God’s kingdom? Love. Love the lovely and love the unlovely and the heart of God through you will do the rest.

January 8

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

—Ephesians 3:17–19

So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

—Genesis 12:7

Overwhelmed. That’s how I felt last night. Overwhelmed to the point of tears at God’s love for me. As I was praying and reflecting on a variety of relationships I have, it was as if God gave me a wide-angle lens and showed me, not individual relationships, but a web of people connected by Him to me. He has orchestrated the relationships in my life through work He has done in me and through me and work He has done through others for me. What I felt last night was probably the equivalent of the tip of God’s finger brushing lightly against my cheek, but it was completely overwhelming and reduced me to tears of joy and gratitude.

After that experience, I did what I have done before, built an altar, not of stone, but of memory. In the Old Testament, when God showed up in a powerful way, the people built an altar and often named it something that reflected what God had done. These markers would serve as reminders to the people and would show others who God is and what He has done. In my heart, I have altars named God provides, God forgives, God is merciful, God is gracious, and God comforts, among others. Each of those altars has a story, and not all of them are beautiful in human terms. Some of the stories are of hard times and situations I would not want to remember if God hadn’t shown up and revealed Himself and His character to me. Our Redeemer can redeem any situation and use it to bring glory to Himself. When God redeems an experience, it is time to build an altar. Take some time and ask God to take you over the landscape of your life. Where can you build an altar, a place to revisit often and remember when God showed up? God is faithful. Be prepared to be overwhelmed.

January 9

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

—Proverbs 3:7

Today so many people are wise in their own eyes. They make decisions that benefit themselves and their friends or business associates without taking anyone else into consideration. Being wise in our own eyes involves consulting only ourselves in matters for which we need wisdom.

James tells us to pray for wisdom because it is a prayer that will always be answered. If someone genuinely desires wisdom and asks God for it, that person will gain wisdom. I think the wisest thing we can do is acknowledge our lack of wisdom because that brings the humility necessary to ask God for help. As I’ve gotten older, I have recognized my lack of wisdom and my desire to be wise. I know there is wisdom in asking people whose knowledge and experience outweigh my own. There is also wisdom in praying about the decision I’m making and then waiting and listening. The waiting and listening part is the difficult part. Once I have made up my mind to do something, I don’t want to wait. I have found, however, that the decision I make after prayer and listening is different from the decision I would have made before prayer and listening. God is in the details. Major purchases certainly fall under this category, but so do conversations and even daily interactions with people. When I open my day in prayer and ask God’s guidance for the interactions and experiences I will have, I find that my agenda fades to the background and things I wouldn’t normally see are front and center. Wisdom sharpens vision and hearing. It holds the tongue and opens the heart. It brings trust and faith. There is no substitute for wisdom and no reason to go through life without it. Pray and ask God for wisdom. Then listen and follow.

January 10

He then said, ‘God’s word: Dig ditches all over this valley. Here’s what will happen—you won’t hear the wind, you won’t see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill.’

—2 Kings 3:16–17 MSG

The Bible is full of strange stories and this is one of them. The king hears that Moab is going to attack and he asks Elisha for advice. God tells Elisha to have the people dig ditches and He promises water in the dry valley. The people obey because they trust what Elisha says. The rain does come and the pools fool the Moabites who are then defeated. Though it’s a strange direction, digging ditches is what we are all asked to do at times. What does digging ditches look like? Enforcing boundaries against those who don’t respect them; praying for a prodigal; working without any encouragement or appreciation from those in authority; investing time, and maybe money, into someone who does not seem to want to change destructive habits and attitudes; anything we do over and over that does not seem to bring change. We don’t have Elisha telling us to dig, but we have God. How do we know God wants us to dig ditches? In the Bible, Jesus tells of prodigals who return, Samaritans who are cared for, turned cheeks that lead to blessing, and investments that yield results. What ditches are you digging? Know that your effort, done on behalf of others and under the direction of God, will yield results in God’s time. Keep digging knowing that you are not alone and that the water is just out of sight, but heading your way.

January 11

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’

—2 Corinthians 12:9

Every night before I go to sleep, I do two things. The first is to reflect on the day with gratitude, regardless of how it went. The second is to turn on some music to help me relax. Last night, the first two songs I heard contained the line more than enough and I knew that this was God’s social media message for today. Sufficient equals enough. For the last several days, God has been stirring in me that He is enough. As a matter of fact, I have said that very thing in message, in person, and in prayer to several people recently. In the above verse, I think we could substitute a variety of things for the word grace, such as love, mercy, forgiveness, and provision, and still be biblically correct. In our culture, we are afraid of not having or being enough. The fear of not having enough food, money, courage, faith, strength, etc. leads people to act in ways that are often inappropriate. We are taught to see ourselves as lacking. The purpose of advertising is to convince us we need something so we will buy it. Media shows us who/what we are not and we live on a hamster wheel, chasing an illusion. I don’t have to explain the problem with this type of thinking, but the solution involves changing our perspective. When I think I have to be enough, I am using the wrong measuring tool. I will never be enough or have enough because there will always be someone who is or has more. I need to put myself under the One who is enough and realize that my needs are met in Him. As long as I am focused on my own life and possessions, I will come up short. When I turn my eyes to the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the thousand hills, I find that His enough-ness makes me enough. Step down and look up to God who is more than enough.

January 12

Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

—Matthew 22:37–39

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.’

—Matthew 25:40

For a long time, I lived insulated from the least of these. I could pretend to care for the poor by giving money, but I really didn’t know anyone who was poor. My middle-class lifestyle did not require that I actually know someone who was poor in order to help the poor. When I was reminded of the verse in Matthew 25, I would say I cared for Jesus by donating money to the poor. This verse comes from the middle of Jesus’s discussion of sheep and goats. The sheep are the ones who take care of the least of these and the goats are the ones who say they do, but do not. I was a goat. At the end of the passage, things do not look good for the goats.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus talks about the greatest commandment as part of the parable of the Good Samaritan. After saying that we should love our neighbors, he is asked who qualified as a neighbor. In essence his answer is everyone. I would add to that especially the least of these. God has brought me to a place where I can be Jesus to people whom others would classify as the least. I have found that I would rather spend my time around those who have little in material wealth, but many stories of God’s provision, than those who can tell stories of their own provision. I certainly would not choose to be homeless or destitute, but I have learned more from those who face those circumstances than I ever learned from those who live comfortably insulated from them.

Tonight, I met a young woman who without even knowing me called me her sister in Jesus. She has no place to go and no real possessions. In her, I see Christ, and through her Christ touches me. All of the money in the world could not buy what I have the privilege of being part of right now, loving my neighbor as myself. Thanks and praise to God!

January 13

For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.

—Matthew 13:15

This passage references a passage in Isaiah 6 where Isaiah is first sent out to prophesy. Just prior to God telling him this, Isaiah says he is a man of unclean lips. His lips are then purified when a seraphim touches them with a coal from the altar. From that time on, Isaiah speaks for God. His life was not easy as a result, but he wrote many prophecies regarding the coming of Christ and he saw, on some level, a future most could not see. Likewise, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah and many others spoke truth to the people, forthtelling and foretelling. These prophets had eyes to see and ears to hear and were called to speak. A prophet’s role is in both the now and the not yet. He or she is called to speak truth regarding what people are doing and to speak truth about the consequences of those actions if they do not change.

Do we have prophets today? Absolutely. In fact, I know a few of them. Some people I know see and hear truth for me and I appreciate those who are willing to speak it to me. Those who see and hear from God, for one of us or for all of us, need to speak. It is less risky to stay silent, but people perish when they do not see and act on the truth. In this time when our country and culture are so polarized, we need people who will call us to repentance. Like John the Baptist in the wilderness, these prophets need to speak what we need to hear, whether we listen or not. There are too many false prophets today, speaking for the rich, the powerful, the political and societal machine that has us believing that we are in control. We need those who will speak for God, unapologetically and with compassion for those who cannot yet see and hear. Truth tellers, we need you! Prophets, we need you! God, we need you!

January 14

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

—Psalm 51:7

Freshly fallen snow is beautiful. Everything covered in white: pristine, quiet, pure. For a moment, we can imagine a world without blemish, and most of us can’t help but smile and sigh at such a thought. Then, inevitably, something happens. Cars drive by, a snowplow roars past, kids build a snowman, we walk down the driveway—something reveals the snow as simply a facade. The beauty is only skin deep.

In Psalm 51, when David prays to be washed by God, he is not asking for a covering or a skin-deep change. He is praying that he will be completely cleansed, top to bottom, inside out. Psalm 51 is his repentance psalm after his affair with Bathsheba. He knows his sin and he is asking God’s forgiveness. David is asking for a complete change. He wants sins that are as white as snow, not sins that are covered by something as white as snow.

How often do we ask for forgiveness, only to treat it as a covering? How often do we fail to receive what God offers, choosing to cover our sin, but keep the ugliness there? Forgiveness, whether from God or from others, needs to be received. Receiving forgiveness means letting go of the sin completely, not just allowing it to be covered up. Complete forgiveness, most of the time, involves receiving forgiveness from God or from another and forgiving ourselves. If I see God’s forgiveness of my sins as simply a blanket of snow that makes everything look good, then I strip Him of power and I put myself in control. I can’t redeem myself, save myself, protect myself, comfort myself, or make myself clean. Only God can do that, and only if I let Him. Is there something in you that needs forgiveness, deep and complete forgiveness? Offer that part to God and ask Him to forgive you. Then ask Him to help you forgive yourself. Receive what He offers and know that your sin is as white as snow, top to bottom, inside out.

January 15

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

—Psalm 37:4

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

—Matthew 6:33

Taken out of context and at face value, these two verses are pleasing to those who see God as a vending machine. They both promise blessing and they don’t seem to have any difficult strings attached. I am guilty of looking at them and seeing them as guaranteeing my prosperity and blessing. This is so far from what God intends for us. In reality, most people live taking delight in themselves and their accomplishments, only looking to God when things aren’t going well, and then expecting God to bail them out because He promised to give them the desires of their hearts (read: an easy life). Taking delight doesn’t mean liking the Lord or finding that He tickles our fancy. To delight in Him means to take pleasure in Him, to spend time with Him, to conform our will to His. This psalm tells us not to envy the wicked who take pleasure in their worldly gain, but to have their same focus toward taking pleasure in God. The result of that focus is that God’s desires become our desires.

Just before the verse in Matthew, Jesus tells us not to worry, about food, about clothes, about anything. He says the pagans seek those things, but we should seek God’s kingdom and righteousness. If we truly find our pleasure in God, not in the things of this world, God will provide the things we need, but He will also grow us to the point of needing fewer things. Possessions can never satisfy us, human relationships can never satisfy us, status and success can never satisfy us, children can never satisfy us, substances can never satisfy us, bigger and better can never satisfy us. Only God can satisfy us, and that only happens when we find our pleasure in Him and Him alone, not what He gives or does for us—just Him.

January 16

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

—Romans 8:22

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

—Romans 8:26

Sometimes we’re in a groaning time. There are no words to speak, think, or even pray it seems. A loved one’s death, a loss through betrayal, a traumatic event, an unraveling—many occasions bring groaning. The Bible tells us