Month: September 2015

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PWTE Daily Devotion

“Oh, No You Don’t!”

Chico Basin Ranch, Colorado

Christians live in the tension of turning the other cheek and not letting people use us.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
1 John 4:11 English Standard Version

Have you ever wondered what horses thinks when you peer at them in their corral? I got the feeling that this horse was saying to me, “Oh, no you don’t. Don’t even think about getting out a saddle and riding me! You’ll find yourself eating dirt faster than you can say, ‘Getty up!'”

Chico Basin Ranch, Colorado
Chico Basin Ranch, Colorado

We’ve probably given that same look to others.

“Oh, no you don’t! You’re not going to use me today!”

“Oh, no you don’t! You don’t get to ignore me today!”

“Oh, no you don’t! I’ll make you pay for it if you do!”

Sound familiar?

There is tension in John’s words.

We live in a constant tension between giving ourselves to others and not being used. Our goal in this tension is not to resolve it but to manage it. In other words, we going to face situations where we’ll need to say, “Oh, no you don’t,” and other times when we say, “Take my cloak as well.”

Living in that tension means living by grace. There will be times when we say, “Oh, no you don’t” when we should have said, “Take my cloak as well,” and vice versa.  We won’t always get it right.

Fortunately, there is One who got it right for us. It is God, through Christ, who has loved us, and in that love set us free to express love even if we don’t get it right all the time.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

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PWTE Daily Devotion

What Do You Trust When Powerful Stuff Fails?

Lutheran Valley Retreat, Colorado

We can trust God no matter what.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Psalm 20:7 English Standard Version

I don’t trust horses. Don’t get me wrong, I like horses. I think that they’re beautiful creations of God. I respect horses, but I don’t trust them.

Lutheran Valley Retreat, Colorado
Lutheran Valley Retreat, Colorado

Horses are smarter than I am. In fact, horses are smarter than most human beings. They have a keen sense of their environment. They can sense a bear lurking in the forest before the horse’s rider knows there’s even a threat. A person who knows their horse pays attention to the animal’s behavior. It can save them a great deal of pain.

Horses are also mischievous. They know how to knock their rider out of the saddle as they mosey under low hanging branches, or buck them off at a most inopportune time.

They are powerful animals and for centuries people have put their trust in these amazing creatures.

What’s your “horse?” What do you trust because of its power? Do you trust another person, your job, or elected officials? It is not necessarily bad to trust someone or something. Every time I sit in my car I trust that it will start when I turn the key and then deliver me safely to my destination.

Yet the psalmist takes us to a different level of trust. Do we trust that which the created thing over its Creator? Have we pushed God out of our decision-making process because the things we have are tangible and give verifiable results?

Why would the psalmist declare his unwavering trust in God? It’s probably because all that other stuff, the horses and chariots of life, have failed him. God will not fail us. He can always be trusted. We can trust him even when he seems silent. Why? Because through his cross and empty tomb Jesus has proven that God is faithful.

God’s love in Christ is more powerful than any instrument of war. We might experience severe pain on this planet, but this pain cannot overcome us. Christ has overcome the world. He can be trusted.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

“You Want Me to Do What?”

Lutheran Valley Retreat, Colorado

You can trust Jesus even when he asks you to do what doesn’t make sense.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was.
He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
Then he said,
“Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!”
So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.”
John 21:4-6 New Living Translation

Fishermen don’t like taking advice from other people, especially if those people don’t fish. It doesn’t seem right to hear someone say, “Why don’t you try worms,” or, “I think your line is old,” or “maybe you should try the other side of the lake,” when they don’t even know how to tie a hook. 

A carpenter raised Jesus, not a fisherman. There is nothing in the Bible that says he didn’t fish while growing up, but it’s highly unlikely. As a child, he might have become familiar with the Galilean fishing industry through family trips they made to Capernaum. But these disciples were hardened fishermen. They wouldn’t take advice from anyone except another proven fisherman even if they hadn’t caught anything all night.

“Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!”
Lutheran Valley Retreat, Colorado
Lutheran Valley Retreat, Colorado

The man giving the command had recently been nailed to a criminals cross. He was buried in a tomb and now was alive, but they didn’t know that it was Jesus. It wasn’t until after the fish nearly wrecked their net that John leans over to Peter and says, “It’s the Lord.”

This shore hugging man commanded authority so that even seasoned fishermen do what he says. There is nothing in this story that hints at reluctance. No one blurts out, “You want me to do what?” They simply cast their net.

You can trust Jesus even when he asks you to do something that doesn’t make sense. You can trust Jesus when he asks you to love your enemies and pray for the people who make your life miserable. You can trust Jesus when he says to turn the other cheek to the person who strikes out at you. You can trust Jesus when he says that you are to pick up our cross and follow him.

No matter what you’re facing today, you can trust Jesus.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner