I am a big fan of daily devotional guides and Bible studies. These are the bread and butter of daily spiritual growth. I have a habit of reading one or two devotionals each morning. I receive some by way of daily or weekly emails. I change around and use the calendared ones, the writings of popular authors and devotional Bibles. When I am studying a particular book of the Bible, I like to read the devotional comments of people like Herschel Hobbs, who wrote Sunday School material from 1968 to 1993—25 years of quarterly lesson books. Dorothy enjoys the Jesus Calling series by Sarah Young. Last year I came across the Simple Faith Bible: Following Jesus into a Life of Peace, Compassion and Wholeness. Included throughout this Bible are reflections from a Sunday School teacher for over 65 years, former President Jimmy Carter. Today I read the Bible in Life comment based on Matthew 8:23-27 called “Underestimating the Power of God.”

The disciples had their individual reasons for following Jesus. He had called each of them under different circumstances. But faced with a terrifying storm, they were all in the same boat—figuratively and literally! They thought they were going to die, and they felt skeptical as to whether or not Jesus cared enough for them to save them. The disciples had seen other people benefit from the healing ministries of Christ, but up until this point, they had not had that personal, profound, shocking, life-changing experience that the blind man or the leper had. In this storm, the disciples came to see that the all-encompassing power of God through Jesus Christ transcends anything they could possibly fear. They had underestimated Jesus and his power as the Son of God. We need not make the same mistake.

Simple, direct and to the point, Bible-centered devotionals help us set our minds on Jesus and our hearts on the Spirit’s leading. A breath of prayer and the fragrance of gratitude fills the air. You do not even have to search for the perfect devotional source for so many are available. The only real downside is developing a bad habit of reading the devotional while neglecting the actual reading of the Bible. That is like licking the butter off  and casting the bread away. A good practice is to read God’s Word first, pause to reflect, then read what the writer is saying.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Find strength in the Bread. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

I went camping in the Florida Everglades—once. I was in my teens and part of an active Royal Ambassador church group. You must be a Southern Baptist and of a certain age to remember the RA missions program for boys. It was sort of an alternative to scouting for some of us. The name is taken from 2 Corinthians 5:20 where Paul proclaims we are “ambassadors for Christ” as we go about the mission of reconciliation. We went camping in the Everglades National Park as preparation for a cross-country camping trip we would be taking to Washington D.C. that August to the RA National Congress.

Alligators, snakes, and mosquitoes were all on my mind as we set up our pup tents in a circle around the campfire. We had driven out to a point where our leaders parked their cars and the truck.  We hiked through mucky high grass and through some trees and overgrown bushes. We eventually arrived at a clearing that was very dry and flat.  As the darkness settled in, we crawled into our tents, zipped up our sleeping bags and tried to remember that the Lord was with us. When the sun came up, we all got up. Then we heard our leader tell us to be quiet and get very still. The men were examining the whole camp site. Then the announcement was made, no snakes in sight, but we had been visited in the night by at least one bobcat who had explored our garbage pile and everything else in the camp. I did not know I was supposed to worry about bobcats in the Everglades. After camping in the Everglades, we knew we could face just about anything together. 

The RA Pledge took on new meaning for me during that trip: As a Royal Ambassador, I will do my best: to become a well-informed, responsible follower of Christ; to have a Christ-like concern for all people; to learn how to carry the message of Christ around the world; to work with others in sharing Christ; and to keep myself clean and healthy in mind and body. These are still good words to live by and a reminder of the Kingdom adventure we are on together, representing Christ our King.  

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Share the journey. And let’s experience the love and power of God together. 

Mother’s Day, just like families, is special and complicated. Dorothy’s maternal grandfather, Paul Gummelt, was the sixth of his parents’ children. Paul’s mother, Mina, died after the birth of her 9th child and his father later married an 18-year-old woman from their Baptist church at Cottonwood, Texas named Minna. Paul’s dad and stepmother had 12 children.* Paul and his wife Lydia had one child, Freda Mae. Freda was 16 when her mother died. Her father later married another Lydia. Dorothy’s mother, Freda, was the definition of humility and contentment. She married Albert Niederer and they were married 68 years at the time of her death in 2005. She and Albert lived a simple life, he as a church furniture maker, she as a homemaker and church volunteer. Their son, Ray, was a scholar and pastor, and their daughter married a minister. Freda never learned to drive a car, so when their church relocated in 1951, they built a home a block away so she could participate in all the activities. When Dorothy moved away from home after college, her mother began writing letters to her almost daily. Throughout our married life, until she was no longer able, Freda sent us a continuing account, almost a diary, of her thoughts and the news of the day. She ended many of her letters with, “I must close before the postman comes.” Her next letter would begin telling us that the postman took her last letter to us. Sweet memories of love and devotion.

Mother’s Day 2021 is a complicated day for many people. The first Mother’s Day after a mother has died is often incredibly painful, as well as all the Mother’s Days following the loss of a child. As a pastor, I feel the heart cry of the couples who wanted children, but it did not happen. I hear the pain of the “unwanted.” I listen to some incredibly difficult stories of mother-child animosities and abusive addictions. I see the broken hearts of those who never knew their mothers, and the pain of grandmothers who have their grandchildren torn from them by divorce or court order.  Yet, God has given us a rich gift in our complicated and sometimes messy families. This week, take a few minuets to reflect upon all the mothers and grandmothers in your family story. Somehow you and I have become who we are because God’s love has embraced us, nurtured us, and redeemed us. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Happy Mother’s Day. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

*For those doing the math, Peter Gummelt, Dorothy’s great-grandfather, had 21 children born across 49 years.