Crosswalk.com--The Devotional

[Judy Harder]

Freedom Fried
Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Managing Editor

So now, come back to your God! Act on the principles of love and justice, and always live in confident dependence on your God. ~ Hosea 12:6, NLT

The 'Fourth of July' devotional.

It fell to me this year.

And whoa if I didn't have a firecracker of a time coming up with what to write.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not riding on the trendy bandwagon of American self-loathing. I love my country. I dig personal and religious freedom. Without a free press I'd be out of a job, and without free speech I'd be locked up somewhere. But not here!

So why the long face on red-white-and-blue, take-a-day-off, fire-up-the-grill day?

Because Christianity has so little yet too much to do with the American Dream. To wit: "After centuries of shacking up with 'the American dream,' churches have perfected a dicey codependence between consumer-driven therapeutic individualism and religious pragmatism. These theological proxies gnaw, termite-like, at our identity as the Body of Christ, eroding our ability to recognize that Jesus' life of self-giving love directly challenges the American gospel of self-fulfillment and self-actualization" (Kenda Creasy Dean, Almost Christian).

Because I get sad when I consider the evolution 'Freedom' has undertaken just in my lifetime – from "allowed to act responsibly" to "if it feels good do it" to "absolutely anything goes and don't even try to suggest otherwise to us, or we might just take away your freedom."

Because "Independence Day" is a disconnect for me, devotionally speaking, from things I know to be true: that independence has never served me well where family or friends or work colleagues or the Church or the Lord are concerned.

And so, left without the trite and tried-but-true for today's devotional, I settled on the short, bittersweet, and eternal...

Neither politics nor religion nor any mixing of the two will save me.
Some things are really messed up. Most things are really not mess-up-able. A few things that are require only repentance to restore.
It's never wrong or out-of-style to be thankful, to express gratitude.
You can pledge your allegiance to the flag every day and admit your own and your country's independence, but "when you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor" (James 4:10, NLT).
Have a safe and blessed holiday, everyone.

[Judy Harder]

Life Is Beautiful and Brief
Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. -Psalm 90:12, NIV

Beneath my fun-loving exterior is a very analytical person. I love my life, I love spontaneity and I also happen to love trying to figure things out!

But like all good things taken to the extreme, my analyzing can turn obsessive and my focus fixed on that which cannot be explained anyway. It's like the quote I ran across recently from prolific author Philip Yancey: "Faith is believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse."

How true is that! Even so, I am always trying to make sense of a given situation going forward. Always.

But in light of today's verse, how sad is that that I am consumed with trying to know what I think I need to know when I think I need to know it. Surely I'm missing out on opportunities to serve the Lord and the rest that is only found in him.

In a recent siutation when I was trying to "make sense" of what was going on, I also listened to a great sermon from Pastor Ray Pritchard of Keep Believing Ministries. And the best take-away nugget was this: "When you need to know, you'll know."

How simple! And yet how hard.

Here I am trying to find wisdom in what I can see and what I can figure out, when my life could be freed up by this reminder that God is sovereign and has all things under his control—no matter the circumstance.

Whatever I am trying to figure out today may not matter tomorrow. So why am I not looking to God first and seeking his direction in what matters most in this very moment?

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom," the psalmist requests of God. And how do we gain a heart of wisdom?

By knowing the mind of Christ. By acknowledging our frailty and our humanity. And by remembering that God is God and we are not.

Earlier in Psalm 90 we read this:

You turn men back to dust ... For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

And toward the end of the passage, it says:

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.

The psalmist reminds us that God determines our life span, and he has his own timing and plans for each of our lives. Will we serve him and seek to fear and obey him before we once again turn to dust? Or will we fix our minds on ourselves, on our current circumstances and on trying to live our lives without regard to God's perfect purposes?

At the end of the day, even if our lives never make sense (even in reverse!), we are called to bend the knee and praise the one who has "brought forth the earth and the world."

Because of God's "unfailing love," life indeed is beautiful. And though it may be brief and sometimes confusing, because of his son our eternity is secure ... causing us to "sing for joy and be glad all our days."

Intersecting Faith & Life: Knowing that your life is beautiful and brief, have you made yourself available to God for him to work in and through you as you walk by faith? List one reason that causes you to "be glad" today, because of the new life the Father has prepared in advance for you (Eph. 2:1-10).

Further Reading:

Psa. 103:13-18, NIV

Psa. 119:133, NIV

"Take My Life and Let It Be"
Words & Music: Frances R. Havergal, 1874

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

[Judy Harder]

Just Keep Swimming!"

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." – Hebrews 12:1

On Saturday night, I let myself go limp in front of the TV. The blur of activity, newness, and ridiculously hot weather the week before had exhausted me, so a complete mind/body check-out seemed in order. I don't have cable and I didn't bother to turn on instant streaming, so my viewing selection was pretty limited. I soon found myself watching "Finding Nemo."

Remember the part where the all-important scuba mask slips down, down, down into the dark gorge? Marlin panics and goes after it, only to swim frantically back out of the darkness. Then the crazy blue fish with a short term memory problem frolics her way into that same blackness with nary a care. A moment later Dorrie comes back to encourage Marlin. "Hey, Mr. Grumpy Gills," she says, "When life gets you down, you know whatcha gotta do?" "No, I don't want to know watcha gotta do." "Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!"

Not that I'm taking lessons from a digitized blue fish, but Dorrie's attitude reminded me what perseverance should look like. It's not that sitting on the couch and taking a break was evil in itself, but my can't-go-any-farther attitude was. That attitude indicated that I was slogging away in my own strength and had run out of energy without looking to the Lord for supernatural help. At points like that, even though I know the answer, "I don't want to know watcha gotta do" to keep pursuing what God has called me to do. Wallowing in my exhaustion seems so much easier.

Sunday evening, someone reminded me that, "when life gets you down" and you're exhausted, God's faithfulness has the chance to shine through. The end of my rope is the beginning of grace made evident in my life, providing the strength to "keep swimming" even though I'm exhausted. And He gets the praise, because I know that strength is no longer something in me. His mercies are "new every morning" (Lam. 3:23) and enough to keep me moving in the direction that He encourages me to go. My responsibilities are just one more way to bring me to my knees and let the Lord refresh me with His grace. After that, I can keep going in His mercy, and even sing while I'm at it. His faithfulness never ends.

Intersection of Faith & Life: The Bible is full of reminders of God's faithfulness to believers, and the stories all end with God being glorified for their reliance on Him. In the end, it's when we are weak that He makes us strong (2 Cor. 12:10).

Further Reading:

Philippians 1:4-6

1 Corinthians 9:24

How to Pray on the Go

[Judy Harder]

When Life Gets Hairy
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Managing Editor

In him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:17

"It's just hair; it'll grow back. She'll still look cute."

My encouragement was falling on deaf ears. It was all my wife could do to hold it together. We had just picked up our 4-year-old goldilocked girl at a friends' house, and my wife was met at the door by a teary-eyed mother whose own daughter had just practiced for pre-K cosmetology school.

Me? I was just glad everyone still had their eyes and ears, and that Lauren had not been the one doing any cutting (though letting someone do that to you is an issue in its own right). My son - he didn't understand what the big hairy deal was at all. His sister was still his sister, and we were still going out to dinner for his excellent report card... weren't we?

Everyone had their own point of view and their own set of facts. Nobody else's views or words were doing much swaying. All that was going to fix this was a detour to the one who can right all wrongs, by which I mean, of course, Desiree, the woman who was familiar with my daughter's hair from having trimmed it on several occasions.

She worked a miracle I didn't believe was possible. The women rejoiced! "Why is Mommy hugging the woman?" asked my son. "Come, son," I said. "Come with me. Let me explain to you what hair means to a woman."

My daughter does look cute again. A special spritzing scrunching product helps you not be able to see the jagged cuts. A pleasant side effect is that her blue eyes look bigger and really pop now. Already, my wife feels silly for having reacted like she did (though I do have to point out she was gracious and forgiving to the mom of the little girl who did the dastardly deed). We have heard from untold numbers of folks who have experienced something similar. We have even begun to look back on this - as I suggested right after it happened - as a funny story.

But at the time? Nothing was going to be right; nobody was going to convince anybody else of anything, no words were going to be meaningful until everyone and everything came together in The Great Fixer.

It's no different with real-life events, real points of view, real pains, real cuts, real well-meaning people. Until we slow down and see the miracle, it's all just noise and chaos.

He makes all things new.

He makes all things hold together.

He makes you look back and shake your head at yourself and maybe even laugh.

He is the judge, doctor, professor, artist, miracle worker. And his office is always open. After he does his thing, you can count on hugging and rejoicing and chances for bonding. Multitudes will be able to relate.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Don't panic. Don't argue. Just go see him. Bring your friends and family, too. See what he can and will do.

Further Reading

All Things
Why I Believe in God
The Trend of 'Believing without Belonging'

[Judy Harder]

Friends with Benefits
by Stephen Sanders, Salem A/V Editor

"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. -1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NIV)

Anyone who has been a Christian for an amount of time has probably experienced an unfriendly encounter with another believer. It's just inevitable. People have bad days, become influenced by the wrong things and make the wrong decision sometimes. Christians, in our culture specifically, also have a tendency to be very judgmental...and that is probably a bigger problem than most of us realize.

In recent months, I've seen really strong arguments online about a variety of issues. Here are a few:

-Can someone watch Harry Potter movies and still be a Christian?

-Can someone drink an alcoholic beverage from time to time and still be a Christian?

-Is it God's will for all Christians to be rich?

-Should Christians take medicine for illness or trust God for healing?

-Why did God create people that He knew would go to hell?

As you read some of these, you probably immediately formed an opinion based on what you have found to be "true" in the Bible or in your Christian walk. Maybe you have spent countless hours stewing over and standing for one of the sides to these arguments because you feel so strongly about them. You could be one of the few people who don't get caught up in such arguments and, for that, I salute you. But, regardless of who you are, there is a very important lesson to learn from all of this.

God has made it perfectly clear in the Bible that it is His will for Christians to be a light to this world. He has called us to be a people who draw the lost to Him, who share the Good News with those around us in order for them to be reconciled to Him. Those who are not Christians should look at us and see a group of people who love one another. This we know.

However, there are some things that we do not know for sure. We have not been given the ability to look into the hearts of other Christians and know what motivates them. It is absolutely impossible for any of us to walk in the same shoes as those around us come to the same conclusions about the issues of life. But isn't it funny how sometimes we still try?

Is Harry Potter something that Satan could use to pull a believer closer to him? Perhaps, but I think that he would be far more likely to use something or somebody far more unlikely to do it...like another believer. Could a Christian become addicted to alcohol and do damage to himself and others around him? Yes, but could a Christian also practice moderation and shame the devil? Definitely. Did God create people that He knew would go to hell? If so, does that really change the way we have been called to behave and minister to those around us? Absolutely not.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Everyone has their own perspective on what is beneficial or what should be permissible. This week, step outside of your regular circle of Christian friends and create some bonds with some Christians that you may not see eye to eye with on all the issues. You might be surprised at just how much God will use that to grow you. You might just find that you receive something far more valuable than the satisfaction you get when you've proven your point: a friend.

Further Reading:

1 John 3:11-24

James 4:1-12

[Judy Harder]

Dentists and Coca-Cola
by Ryan Duncan, TheFish.com Editor

"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." – Genesis 4:7

I really like drinking Coca-Cola. The habit started when I went overseas my junior year of college. None of us could drink the water because we might get parasites, so I ended up drinking Coke with most of my meals. I thought I'd kick the habit once I got back to the United States, but if anything it only made my addiction worse. I suddenly became aware of how easy it was to find a nice, cold Coke.

They were so cheap and so accessible that I barely needed an excuse to buy one. Sure, I knew drinking too much was bad for me, but I figured as long as I exercised and brushed my teeth there wasn't any harm in having one a day. Then I had my dentist appointment. I think most people would agree that going to the dentist would not be the highlight of their week. Well, imagine going to the dentist and being told you have three cavities that will require fillings. Sure, on the upside I did get to chat with a cute receptionist, but when the dentist began jabbing around in my mouth trying to find a good place to inject the Novocain, it dawned on me that maybe I should start watching how much I drank.

All joking aside, I think sin works in the same fashion. Each day we are tempted, and it's remarkably easy to find an excuse to justify our behavior. We tell ourselves it's not that bad, that as long as we read our Bible and go to church we'll be balancing the scales, but that's not how it works. Sin will slowly corrode your character until one day you'll find yourself with a serious problem. Because of the cross, we have received the grace of Jesus and are now free from sin, but the battle is not over.

Every day we will be tempted, and every day Jesus will call us to turn from sin and live a life according to his word. There cannot be any compromises with sin; it will only devour us.

Intersecting Faith and Life

Take a moment to consider where you are being tempted.

Further Reading

John 8:34

[Judy Harder]

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4, NIV

At the risk of sounding old, what I usually complain about these days is either how poor quality of sleep I got the night before or the state of the weather. Either or.

See? I'm officially old.

But today, a few weeks into the summer season, I feel like I have every right to complain about the heat. Because it is hot in my neck of the woods. Triple-digit hot, in fact. And we still have about ten weeks of summer left to go. Oy vey.

I had to laugh as I was lamenting the heat, because a song from my youth popped into my head. At the risk of sounding old again, I'll just go right on ahead and share. If you grew up in the church in the '70s (and this was back when youth musicals were popular the first time around ... so take that, Glee), then you might remember the youth choir musical, It's Cool in the Furnace.

The music was catchy, and the message was the story of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar and three fireproof amigos: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In fact, it's hard not to snap my fingers while remembering some of the lyrics ...

It isn't hot in the furnace, man
It isn't hot in the furnace, man
It isn't hot in the furnace
Man, this furnace is cool, cool, cool, cool

Yes, it's cool ... ahhhh ... in the furnace, man ...

I just loved the words from this jazzy title song with a hook that got stuck in your head for days (and, in my case, years). But what did they really mean? How could the fiery furnace in which King Nebuchadnezzar threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego not have been hot?

"Look!" King Nebuchadnezzar said when peering into the furnace after binding and throwing the three of them in," I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods" (Daniel 3:25).

Well, was it God or not? Who was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the midst of the fire? Bible commentators believe it was the pre-incarnate Christ. And even though King Nebuchadnezzar did not know the son of God, he did recognize that this was someone supernatural.

That was some pretty powerful divine protection to say the least. Yes, it was extra crispy in that furnace (heated "seven times hotter than usual," thank you very much to the king). But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's faith didn't waiver, and they were delivered.

Well, as I've been dealing with my own heat issues thanks to the weather this week, I have been doing what I can to protect myself. During the day, I keep the blinds closed and the drapes drawn. This helps to keep the heat out and the cool inside. It's not perfect, but I am more insulated and it's bearable.

Perhaps that's a good analogy for you and me today, as we walk through fiery trials and land in life's hot spots where we feel bound and about to get burned. What's wonderful for us to remember when it feels "hot" like this, is that when we're walking with the Lord we are protected and surrounded by the "peace that passes all understanding."

And when we're in the Word—and are living according to the guidelines and words of caution given to us there—we see that it isn't so hot in "the furnace" after all in our lives. Because when you know the Lord, the power of his life-saving blood certainly makes it "cool."

Intersecting Faith & Life: It may "feel" hot in the furnace of your life, but how do you "know" that it is cool? Isaiah 43:2 says: "When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned." Meditate on this scripture and be reminded from God's Word of who is walking with you and protecting you today.

Further Reading:

Job 23:10-11

Psa. 30:1-3

Psa. 34:17-19

[Judy Harder]

I Have Confidence!


"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who believe and are saved."
Hebrews 10:38

One of my favorite moments in "The Sound of Music" comes when Maria's perky "I Have Confidence" song suddenly ends at the sight of the Von Trapp mansion. She gulps and just manages to squeak, "Oh, help."

This last week presented me with some similar moments, as my husband David and I got off the proverbial bus and discovered this road led to a rather different place than we'd expected. We knew we were following God's leading, thanks to the peace He'd given us so far. But seeing that great big house - a rather different opportunity than we had expected - made us gulp and wonder if we were in over our heads. For a day, we were stuck. Unsure about walking through that gate, we thought about continuing along the road and looking for a not-so-huge opportunity to trust God. 

As we surveyed our options, we pondered what it means to take a "step of faith." We've never heard of someone taking a step backward in faith, we realized. We were confident that the Lord would direct us to the right place, and apparently this gate we need to walk through. The final push came from Hebrews 10:35, as the author writes, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." Confidence? "Oh, help."

God must chuckle when we go bug-eyed at His plans. I'm like Maria as she stands before that gate, wondering how she'll manage when this place so little resembles what she anticipated. Thankfully, the confidence to take the step of faith lies not "in me," but in knowing that God has led me to my destination. The Lord answers my cries of "oh, help!" with ultimate peace and a taste of what He has planned just beyond the bend.

The apostle Paul knew how to strip away the fears and insecurities and see the essentials. Paul visited some incredible places, and had some incredible adventures on his missionary journey. I'm sure that very little could surprise him by the end of his lifetime. Yet he wrote to the Corinthian church that even in his vast experience, nothing kept him going forward except God's calling (2 Cor. 3:5). The confidence to carry out his mission came from knowing who sent him and who directed his steps. He had seen God work, and knew that the Lord would provide everything necessary, including the confidence to walk forward.

Intersecting Faith & Life: In Jeremiah 29:11, God says simply, "I know the plans I have for you... plans to give you hope, and a future." That means God's plans for us don't include dead ends, but more opportunities. When we believe this, practical changes happen. We don't "shrink back," but step out in faith. How does this look in your job situation? In your family? In your leisure time?

Further Reading:

Hebrews 4:16
Wild Goose Chase

[Judy Harder]

I Have Confidence!
by Katherine Britton


"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who believe and are saved."
Hebrews 10:38

One of my favorite moments in "The Sound of Music" comes when Maria's perky "I Have Confidence" song suddenly ends at the sight of the Von Trapp mansion. She gulps and just manages to squeak, "Oh, help."

This last week presented me with some similar moments, as my husband David and I got off the proverbial bus and discovered this road led to a rather different place than we'd expected. We knew we were following God's leading, thanks to the peace He'd given us so far. But seeing that great big house - a rather different opportunity than we had expected - made us gulp and wonder if we were in over our heads. For a day, we were stuck. Unsure about walking through that gate, we thought about continuing along the road and looking for a not-so-huge opportunity to trust God. 

As we surveyed our options, we pondered what it means to take a "step of faith." We've never heard of someone taking a step backward in faith, we realized. We were confident that the Lord would direct us to the right place, and apparently this gate we need to walk through. The final push came from Hebrews 10:35, as the author writes, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." Confidence? "Oh, help."

God must chuckle when we go bug-eyed at His plans. I'm like Maria as she stands before that gate, wondering how she'll manage when this place so little resembles what she anticipated. Thankfully, the confidence to take the step of faith lies not "in me," but in knowing that God has led me to my destination. The Lord answers my cries of "oh, help!" with ultimate peace and a taste of what He has planned just beyond the bend.

The apostle Paul knew how to strip away the fears and insecurities and see the essentials. Paul visited some incredible places, and had some incredible adventures on his missionary journey. I'm sure that very little could surprise him by the end of his lifetime. Yet he wrote to the Corinthian church that even in his vast experience, nothing kept him going forward except God's calling (2 Cor. 3:5). The confidence to carry out his mission came from knowing who sent him and who directed his steps. He had seen God work, and knew that the Lord would provide everything necessary, including the confidence to walk forward.

Intersecting Faith & Life: In Jeremiah 29:11, God says simply, "I know the plans I have for you... plans to give you hope, and a future." That means God's plans for us don't include dead ends, but more opportunities. When we believe this, practical changes happen. We don't "shrink back," but step out in faith. How does this look in your job situation? In your family? In your leisure time?

Further Reading:

Hebrews 4:16
Wild Goose Chase

[Judy Harder]

What Is True Spirituality?
Alex Crain
Editor, Christianity.com

"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."
Genesis 3:6 NASB

It seems clear to me that the root of all human sin is unbelief. Doubt. I've heard people argue that the most basic sin is pride, and well, I suppose that's somewhere lurking on the other side of the coin. But if we start at the beginning of the Bible, the Genesis 3 account shows that Eve first doubted God. That was her sin. After her unbelief came the outward act of disobedience.

Francis Schaeffer, commenting on this, said: "By her doubting she called God a liar. Eve doubted... mankind in revolt doubts God" (chapter seven, True Spirituality).

On the contrary, the person who is at peace with God does not doubt Him. Rather, he/she trusts God. Schaeffer says this is the simplest way to describe true spirituality: it is believing God.

But it is more than just believing God at one isolated point in life. It is believing God and having ongoing belief in Him. There must be moment-by-moment personal communion with Him.

God created us to be relational, not mechanical. Healthy relationships depend on good communication. But communication is an always-in-flux, moment-by-moment kind of thing. That is why all our mechanical efforts at the Christian life fail. It's not about reading a set number of chapters of the Bible each day. It's not about praying for so long.

No. What is needed first, and what inspires trust is, throughout the day, seeing before us the most basic teachings of the Bible:

God exists and He is personal.

God is holy and sin will be judged, but Christ's atonement removes the guilt of sinners.

We are saved from condemnation by the finished work of Christ, and we are brought into a proper relationship with God in a personal way.

We are joined to Christ spiritually.

We can enjoy communication with the Creator on the basis of what Christ has done. (1 John 1:5-9)

These truths don't change, regardless of how I feel at any given moment.

The rediscovery of believing God and these truths moment-by-moment is what lifted Francis Schaeffer out of a long, dark season and re-energized his life.

In our lives, what generally causes us to distrust Christ and run elsewhere is that we often think that we have a better way. We think that, somehow, God really doesn't have our best interests at heart. Like Eve, we think that God is withholding something good from us.

Intersecting Faith & Life:
The rediscovery of believing God and these truths moment-by-moment is what lifted Francis Schaeffer out of a long, dark season and re-energized his life. If you've come to see that God doesn't deserve our suspicion, seek His aid to maintain this moment-by-moment walk of faith with Him. 

For Further Study:
Isaiah 30:15 "Thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, 'In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.'"

For further study, read Romans 6-8 and 1 John 1:5-9