Thursday Devotional - Faithful God versus Pot of Death (2/2/23)

Have you ever made a big mistake by forging ahead without asking appropriate questions or following the directions?

With one of our kids, we keep hounding the importance of reading school assignments carefully! He jumps ahead with working a problem or writing an answer without reading the instructions. He ends up making big mistakes over and over. I get quite frustrated (especially since it is so opposite my personality). I keep praying for guidance and help and direction, but I still worry. The following passage reminded me that I can trust our Faithful God with the purposes He has for our son. We can rely on God (without worry) as we continue to diligently train.

God doesn’t always spare us from the consequences of our foolish ignorance, but he did with one prophet’s cooking mistake!!!

II Kings 4:38-41  Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.”

³⁹ One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. ⁴⁰ The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

⁴¹ Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

God graciously intervened! He miraculously used the flour to negate the poison from the wild gourds. He spared this group of prophets!

When has God graciously spared you from the consequences of a foolish mistake?

He doesn’t always step in to save us from our foolishness. He is faithful, though, to work His purposes through any situation.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Faithful God versus Dead Boy (1/26/23)

Have you ever taken something impossible to God and He worked a miracle? That’s what happened to the Shunammite woman for the second time!!! She already experienced the miracle of life by getting pregnant and having a son. Then, she experienced the miracle of life all over again!!!

II Kings 4:18-21, 27-28, and 32-37 ¹⁷ But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

¹⁸ The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. ¹⁹ He said to his father, “My head! My head!”

His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. ²¹ She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out…

²⁷ When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.”

²⁸ “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

³² When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. ³³ He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. ³⁵ Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

³⁶ Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” ³⁷ She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

God doesn’t often bring people back to life, but He does continuously work miracles, whether big or small! He knows our situations way before we do and already has a plan in place. What impossible situation will you and I lay before Him today and look for His solutions?

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Faithful God versus Infertile Woman (1/19/23)

Have you ever done something generous, truly expecting nothing in return, and then received a blessing far greater than you could ever imagine?

That’s what happened to this Shunammite woman.

II Kings 4:8-17 One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. ⁹ She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. ¹⁰ Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”

¹¹ One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. ¹² He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. ¹³ Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’”

She replied, “I have a home among my own people.”

¹⁴ “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.

Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”

“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”

¹⁷ But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

Our Faithful God saw this woman’s humble, generous and content heart. Elisha experienced it, too! I love how the woman showed true contentment by not even mentioning anything she needed or wanted when Elisha asked her.  

Where can you and I humbly and generously serve others from an attitude of contentment? Our Faithful God has and will provide what He knows we need!

Thursday Devotional - Faithful God versus Frantic Widow (1/12/23)

Have you ever been in a difficult situation where you tried everything and nothing worked to resolve the situation? What did you do once you exhausted your ideas?

II Kings 4:1-7 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

I love how God, through Elisha, included the widow and her two sons in the solution! They participated and then enjoyed a greater blessing watching the miracle unfold!

When you and I pray for a need, do we ask God to just snap His finger and fix it, or do we ask how He wants to use us in the solution? How will you and I take our frantic requests to our Faithful God, looking for ways He might use us in the solution?

Alice

Happy Humbly Hustling for Him in 2023! (1/5/23)

I stumbled upon this familiar verse when I was studying the book of Micah this past week:

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

In context, it isn’t quite so glamorous!

Micah 6:6-9        With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

⁹ Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.

God, through Micah, had painted a dark future for Israel because of their consistent wickedness and rebellion against God. If they thought they could “pay” for their wickedness with thousands of sacrifices, that wasn’t going to work. God had given them clear instructions about how to live a life pleasing to Him. I think this is saying that now, they were to accept the consequences (“rod”) and learn from them. God’s greatest desire is for them to walk humbly in relationship with Him!

As you and I set goals for 2023, instead of asking ourselves what we want to do or how we want to serve God, let’s ask God!

Even if we are dealing with consequences for past sins, He can help us accept and learn from those consequences. He knows how best to move forward. Five goals God has for us just from this passage are to:

1. Walk humbly with Him
2. Listen to Him
3. Heed His correction
4. Act justly
5. Love mercy

Instead of saying “Happy New Year!” maybe a better greeting, from one Christian to another, is “Happy Humbly Hustling for Him this Year!” 😉

Thursday Devotional - God's Work in 2022! (12/29/22)

 Throughout this past year we tried to record specific answers to prayer and ways we saw God work. Then, on Thanksgiving, we read through all the ones we had recorded (and I know there are numerous others we forgot to record!). I thought I would share just a few here:

1. Healing of my broken wrist without needing surgery
2. Recovery from COVID and that we didn’t share it with my parents
3. Sparing my baby nephew’s life and healing him
4. Finding my special mug (in one piece!) that fell off the car
5. Direction and support for leading in a new ministry
6. Preserving the kids’ library book coupons (thrown away on accident)

God cares about and is involved in life and death situations and in tiny .25 cent coupons!

As I was studying Obadiah last night, I was reminded again that everything comes from God. All credit belongs to Him! When we fail to remember that, then we become prideful and the outcome won’t be pretty. God’s prophesy against Edom for their centuries of prideful living was bleak.

Obadiah 1:1-3     The vision of Obadiah.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom—

We have heard a message from the Lord:
    An envoy was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”—

² “See, I will make you small among the nations;
    you will be utterly despised.
³ The pride of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rocks
    and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
    ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?                                

It was a stark reminder of the real danger of pride. The opposite is humility, which recognizes our utter dependence on God and that everything we have and can do comes from Him. I pray you and I can grow in humility this coming year! All credit belongs to Him! He is always at work!!!

 

Thursday Devotional - Our Christmas Letter/Picture 2022 12/22/2022

The Reas - 2022 (Joe, Alice, James (10), Sarah (8), Edmund and Alexis (6))

God challenged us through our Bible Study Fellowship memory verse, II Chronicles 20:12b “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” We’ve had ups and downs, but God is faithful to us when we look to Him.

January rang in with my wrist broken after ice-skating! The kids mastered dishes, showers and zippers quickly. 

February started w/COVID for all! Thankfully it didn’t flare up James’ asthma (“COVID is better than a cold!”)

March ended with another set of twins (born to my sister) and a long/scary NICU stay for the boy.

April brought exciting horse-back riding for Sarah, even doing jumps! (“How many days until the next lesson?”)

May started new sports, w/soccer for some and T-ball for Edmund (“I’m not going!” but waits ready in the car).

June included a refreshing marriage retreat and a new experience on a swim/dive team for James and Sarah. 

July was long-awaited by Alexis, as she finally got to join a gymnastics pre-team! (“I can walk in myself, Mom!”)

August included fun camps/trips before a drastic change starting kindergarten for Edmund and Alexis!

September was filled with Edmund’s machine pitch and James’s school soccer seasons.  

October added Detroit Youth Opera Chorus rehearsals, with Sarah joining James, cousin Mark and aunt Jane. 

November unexpectedly brought several rental property issues and repairs for Joe.

December nervously started with a level 4 gymnastics competition for James and several music concerts.

James and Sarah practice piano daily before school while Edmund and Alexis do a math paper. They all continue to run regularly with me and even the twins competed in a 2-mile middle school cross country race! It’s never dull around here! As organized as I try to be, I have forgotten to take or pick up a kid at the right time!  

Merry Christmas!

I pray when you and I don’t know what to do (and even when we think we know what to do) we will look to God for wisdom and direction (as II Chronicles 20:12 says). Nothing in our lives is a surprise to Him and He already has a plan!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Joy to the World! 12/15/22

We just sang this last night before bed! Most nights we try to sing a Christmas Carol together when we do our evening Bible reading and prayer. A different kid gets to pick the carol each day. This year, the top pick has been Joy to the World! It is one of my favorite Christmas hymns because it truly expresses excited celebration of Jesus, our King and Savior!

Isaac Watts wrote the words to this hymn in 1719, at the age of 45. It was part of a huge work he wrote “The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Applied to the Christian State and Worship.” Isaac Watts saw how much David praised the Lord through song (in the Psalms) and knew we as New Testament believers have much more for which to praise God, having received Jesus!!!

Psalm 28:6-7

⁶ Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.

How will you and I truly worship God with joy (for who He is and what He’s done through Jesus)? Let our joy be contagious this time of year!!!

Alice 

Thursday Devotional - The First Noel 12/8/22

 Or, “The First Christmas,” as the word Noel is actually an early modern English synonym of "Christmas." It was believed to originate in the sixteenth century in England, but wasn’t published until 200 years ago!   

The First Noel, the Angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.

Refrain

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the East beyond them far
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night! Refrain

This star drew nigh to the northwest
O'er Bethlehem it took its rest
And there it did both Pause and stay
Right o'er the place where Jesus lay. Refrain

Then entered in those Wise men three
Full reverently upon their knee
And offered there in His presence
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense. Refrain

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made Heaven and earth of nought
And with his blood mankind has bought. Refrain

I love how this hymn ties together Jesus’ birth and death. We have reason to offer our gifts and praise, even more so than the Wise men!  

Matthew 2:1-2 and 9-11 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

⁹ 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. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ 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.

What gift will you and I give to Jesus this “Noel” season? 

Thursday Devotional - Angels We Have Heard on High Celebrates 160 years! - 12/1/22

 Luke 2:13-14       Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

The angels appeared to the shepherds to tell them the “good news of great joy” about the Messiah’s birth. I wonder if this passage in Luke influenced the writing of this Christmas carol. It was originally written in French, by an unknown author, and later translated into English in 1862 by James Chadwick. So, this year is the 160^th (English translation) anniversary!!!  

Gloria, in excelsis Deo! was not translated. It is Latin for “Glory to God in the highest.”

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o’er the plains

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains

CHORUS: Gloria, in excelsis Deo! Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song? Chorus

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him Whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King. Chorus

See Him in a manger laid

Jesus Lord of heaven and earth;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

With us sing our Savior's birth. Chorus

How are (or how will) you and I give glory to God this Christmas season?

We can publicly and verbally give Him praise and glory in our conversations to others, just like the angels did!