Life As It Happens Devotional

By Crawford G. Clark

As all of us know, life has its ups and downs. In many ways life truly is a rollercoaster. A rollercoaster goes up, comes down, goes around curves, enters the dark at times, twists, and in some cases, goes backwards. I think that using a rollercoaster is a great example that can describe life perfectly. How is one able to navigate all the ups and downs, twists, and turns, as well as the darkness that is experienced on occasions? The key, I believe, is a faith in a living God. This living God allows Himself to be known through the person of Jesus Christ.

This devotional is slightly different than most devotionals. The devotionals contained in this volume were written over a period of time and as the current events were taking place. As you will experience, there are numerous events mentioned that were part of our lives, some that may be distant to you and some that occurred daily that you may have been somewhat close. Since I am a sports junkie, you will find several references in this devotional pertaining to sporting events that have taken place. Most of the sporting events refer to the teams in Philadelphia. Each devotion is two pages in length and is written in a way to help you think about your relationship with God. It is my prayer that after completing the reading of this devotional you will find yourself closer to God and understand who He is clearer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385017874

Crawford G. Clark

Dr. Crawford Clark is the founder and executive director of With His Love Christian Ministries located in Philadelphia, PA. For Almost 19 years, Dr. Clark and his wife Beverly, a certified Biblical counselor, has helped couples to prepare for and to have godly marriages. He has over twenty-eight years of pastoral counseling experience as well as forty years of ministerial experience as an ordained minister. He has served in several capacities over the years in local churches. He is currently serving as executive pastor in Roxborough Church and as Chaplain at Masonic Village in Lafayette Hills, PA. Dr. Clark is a certified Christian counselor, a certified life coach and a licensed financial consultant. He has authored three other books. The first being entitled “Relationships – Reflection of the Image of God” (Christian Faith Publishing); the second “Being Transformed by God in the Workplace (Xulon Press); and the third “Called According to His Purpose: A Journey into the World of Parenting Special Needs Children” (Westbow Press). He worked for thirty years for the City of Philadelphia, with twenty-six of those years being in management. He resides with his wife Beverly of thirty-five years and their two children, Danielle and David. Email: [e-mail] [e-mail]

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Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version, public domain.

Scripture quotation marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotation marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version, public domain.

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1786-7 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1787-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024901860

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/22/2024

DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this devotional in memory of my brother who passed away in May of last year.

INTRODUCTION

As all of us know, life has its ups and downs. In many ways life truly is a rollercoaster. A rollercoaster goes up, comes down, goes around curves, enters the dark at times, twists, and in some cases, goes backwards. I think that using a rollercoaster is a great example that can describe life perfectly. How is one able to navigate all the ups and downs, twists, and turns, as well as the darkness that is experienced on occasions? The key, I believe, is a faith in a living God. This living God allows Himself to be known through the person of Jesus Christ.

This devotional is slightly different than most devotionals. The devotionals contained in this volume were written over a period of time and as the current events were taking place. As you will experience, there are numerous events mentioned that were part of our lives, some that may be distant to you and some that occurred daily that you may have been somewhat close. Since I am a sports junkie, you will find several references in this devotional pertaining to sporting events that have taken place. Most of the sporting events refer to the teams in Philadelphia. Each devotion is two pages in length and is written in a way to help you think about your relationship with God. It is my prayer that after completing the reading of this devotional you will find yourself closer to God and understand who He is clearer.

CONTENTS

1.    Seeing God

2.    The Way, The Truth, and The Life

3.    Jesus, The Rock

4.    The Bridge

5.    A Look in the Mirror

6.    The Cracked Bucket

7.    Up and Down

8.    What Love

9.    A Look Down

10.   Mice and Sin

11.   Happy Birthday

12.   Salvation – Not through Performance

13.   Unkept Property

14.   The God of Patience

15.   Putting on a Pair of Fresh Eyes

16.   The Marriage

17.   A Clear Path

18.   Speaking Jesus

19.   The Wedding

20.   Reprogramming

21.   Reaching Our Full Potential

22.   Types of Soil

23.   Be Willing to Change

24.   Interruptions

25.   Knowledge of God

26.   God Hovering

27.   Dust and Sin

28.   Judgement

29.   The Ultimate Plan

30.   Lessons from a Golf Course

31.   The Spirit Fights for Us

32.   Celebrating Our Troops and Jesus

33.   Time and Circumstances

34.   The Gift

35.   Christmas

36.   Adjustments

37.   The Boy at the Piano

38.   Crying Out

39.   Food for the Soul

40.   Changed by Easter

41.   The True Happy Place

42.   Turbulence

43.   Jesus the Center

44.   Prayer and a Little Boy

45.   Being Broken

46.   Practice makes a Difference

47.   Letting Go

48.   A Reset

49.   Handle the Dirty Laundry

50.   What Road Are You On?

51.   Change of Manager

52.   Being a Witness Everywhere We Go

53.   Living in the Peace of God

54.   A Christmas Thanksgiving

55.   Gone in a Flash

56.   Truth

57.   Anticipation

58.   Say Goodbye to Yesterday

59.   A Display of Love

60.   Wandering

61.   Let Go of the Pride

62.   Cut it off at the Root!

63.   Spring Cleaning

64.   The Darkest Day

65.   Biblical Character

66.   Being in Shape!

67.   Give Thanks in All Circumstances

68.   Death and Grief

69.   March and Emotions

70.   True Freedom

71.   God Uses All of Our Experiences

72.   What Are You Getting Out of Life?

73.   Expectations!

74.   Encouragement Can Go a Long Way

75.   Transition

76.   Love Shown Through Grace

77.   Experiencing God!

78.   The Last Days

79.   Expectations Can Impact Enjoyment!

80.   Growth in Christ

81.   To Stubborn to Change

82.   Favoritism

83.   Thanks Living

84.   Where is your Investment

85.   Is Jesus in the Inn or the Stable?

86.   Forgetting and Pressing

1

SEEING GOD

I f you were told that God was going to be coming to Philadelphia and that He would only be here for one night, would you want to go see Him in person? The second part of the question would be: if it would cost you over $500 to see Him, would you pay for the opportunity to experience Him in person? The final question is this: why would you want to see Him? Most of you are probably asking yourself, Why am I asking such quest ions?

For many people, they think nothing of it when they want to see their favorite artist or go see a Broadway show. I am amazed when artists like Elton John, The Who, Billy Joel, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, or Justin Bieber would come to town, the venue would be sold out. The tickets would start north of $300 or even $500. To go see Hamilton, which was on Broadway for several years, the price of a ticket was over $700. The show sold out for months. Why? People wanted to experience the show in person. Isn’t that why people go to a concert or show, to be part of an experience in addition to being entertained?

As humans, being made in the image of God, we should want to experience Him in our lives on a regular basis. Yet, many do not desire to have such an experience. In fact, many individuals feel that they can go through life without having God be part of it. They believe that they themselves are god and that they control their world through their intellect and decision making. The individuals who think like this have been given the freedom by God to choose to think the way they do. He desires them to freely come to Him for relationship.

I John 1:3 (NIV) says We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

We can know through this verse that the Apostles were proclaiming their experience with God through Jesus and that the experience could be part of the lives of those who received their message. Not only could they have fellowship with a living God, but a relationship through God with each other. The relationship with each other would be one that is made possible through God Himself.

We do not have to go to a theater or to a venue and pay astronomical prices to see God. We can see God anywhere as we sit and read God’s Word, the Bible. He is able to reveal Himself in a very personal way in each of our lives. Why would anybody not want to meet God personally and experience a life-changing encounter?

Prayer – Jesus, help us to see all of You in Your glory. When we come before You in prayer, let us be amazed by Your splendor!

2

THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE

T he signs of spring are finally here. I can see the crocuses as well as the hyacinths coming up out of the ground. The magnolia trees are blooming with their pink and white color blossoms. The Callery pear and cherry trees are also blooming, spraying the roads with their colors as well. These blooms in nature remind us that life is present. The winter dormancy has now ended, and life is beginning to stick its head out as all of nature comes into bloom. What a beautiful depiction of life that we can get from the Great Architect Who designed springtime! We can experience life through the natural canvas in which God has painted His picture. His picture of a blue sky with white clouds, a golden sun shining with gleaming rays of light, and the various arrays of colors that cascade across the landscapes as we travel from place to p lace.

Yes, this is the handiwork of God, the Creator. But we also celebrate something else this time of the year, and that is Easter Resurrection Day. It is during this time of year that we are able to experience more than a picture that demonstrates life. We can actually experience life. In fact, in John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. What Jesus says here is profound. Here is Jesus, who really is God, letting us know that He is life. The life that is being talked about here is not from a biological perspective, but from an experience evolving from an existence with God. God Himself in Jesus is bringing about a life in God which causes us to connect with God in the spiritual realm. Easter is a reminder that Jesus is Life; it is during this season that we celebrate what took place over two thousand years ago. Friday was the crucifixion in which Jesus was placed on a cross and, because of His love for us, took on humankind’s sin in His body on the cross. God, the Father, required payment for sin, and death was the payment that was required. When Jesus went to the cross, the penalty of our sin was paid in full through His death on the cross.

We see on Easter Sunday that Jesus was resurrected from the grave…but how could this happen? Because Jesus is life. It was at that point in time, on the cross, when Jesus (God in flesh) died. But God is eternal and has always been, which means God can’t die. However, because God was in flesh in Christ, the humanity of Jesus was an acceptable sacrifice to the Father because Jesus had no sin in His flesh. A perfect flesh sacrifice was required by the Father to satisfy the dilemma in which humankind had found itself. Life comes by way of death – that is, Jesus’ death. Easter represents that Life that Jesus can provide for all of us when we receive Him as Savior. So, when we look around nature and experience the signs of life that nature provides for us, let us be reminded that Jesus provides life in Him for all those who are willing to believe.

Prayer - Lord, open our eyes so that we can experience the truth that you are life and that we will see that life is in you only. You died that we might have eternal life. Let this truth fill our hearts today.

3

JESUS, THE ROCK

I was born and raised in Roxborough, a neighborhood located in the northwest section of Philadelphia, PA. I have lived in Roxborough all my life and have grown accustomed to the hills which make it interesting when driving during the winter months. Another characteristic of Roxborough is that it is built on rock and is connected to the Wissahickon Valley which became the first piece of publicly owned land in the United States to be set aside for preservation of its natural beauty in 1868. So when planting trees and shrubs in this area, digging through rock is a necessary task.

Everybody knows what rocks are - we have them all around our homes. A rock is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or stony matter. Rocks form the Earth’s outer solid layer, the crust. As we step into our backyard, which is in the Wissahickon Valley, we will find four major types of rocks; they are pegmatite, quartzite, schist, and gneiss.

The term "rock’ is more than just a word that describes an earthly element. It typically refers to a person and, more often than not believers, it describes Jesus Christ. You can see this symbolism in the Old Testament, as well as New Testament, when referring to either Jesus Christ or God in general. The word rock is used 142 times in the Bible and is mostly used as a reference to God. In Psalm 19:15 (NIV), God is referred to as the Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. The Rock means God, who protects the Jewish people and is the center of their faith, which defines their identity and consciousness. The term indicates the trust and faith of people in God, who is immutable. In addition, we can say the following:

The word rock is equated with the idea of strength. Rock was used to build walls, fortresses, and towers in biblical times. God is our source of strength in times of distress and danger.

God is also our refuge. Like Moses, we can hide in the cleft of the Rock. God will care for us.

Rock also typifies something about the nature of God. He is solid as a rock. He is unchangeable in nature. Moses had this in mind when he spoke of God’s ways and justice (Deut. 32:4).

The rock symbolism continues in the New Testament with reference to Christ. He is the foundation, the chief cornerstone. He is the rock of offense to those who reject Him, but the spiritual rock for those who obey Him (Eph. 2:20; Rom. 9:33)

God is our Rock and our salvation and Jesus Christ is that Rock and like a Rock He will never be moved and neither shall all who stand on Him. There is no surer foundation or footing to have than on Jesus Christ. For in Him alone can we be saved (Acts 4:12).

Prayer - Lord, you know how life gets hard and difficult for us. Help us to know that You are the Rock to which we can turn to keep us steady.

4

THE BRIDGE

I had a chance to go on vacation a few weeks ago. Being able to escape the city for a week is medicine to the soul. We drove to Virginia Beach which is approximately 5 1/4 hours away from Philadelphia. There are two main routes one can take to get there; Route 95 which is mostly highway and Route 13 which is more local. Believe it or not, taking Route 13 is actually the fastest way. Despite the navigation system saying that taking Route 95 is only 35 minutes longer, when one takes into account the traffic through the Washington DC area, going Route 95 takes much longer. It makes more sense to take the shorter way because of the time fa ctor.

There was an additional reason why I wanted to take Route 13 besides it being the fastest route: I love driving across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel is a 17.6-mile bridge–tunnel crossing at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, the Hampton Roads harbor, and nearby mouths of the James and Elizabeth Rivers in the state of Virginia. If you are not familiar with it, you should look it up. It takes about 20 minutes to drive across it. It consists of 3 spans and 2 tunnels which are located between each of the spans. The purpose of the tunnels is for the ships to pass over. Every time I drive across it, I am amazed at how they built it. It is indeed a great engineering feat.

Without the bridge, it would be impossible for cars to take the route because the water could not be crossed in a car. A car could cross with the help of a fairy to carry it to the other side, but the time would be much longer than the 20 minutes it took me to get across.