Month: February 2016

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Reaching into the Sky

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

God created us to grow in intimacy with him.

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

“Righteous people flourish like palm trees
and grow tall like the cedars in Lebanon.”
Psalm 92:12 God’s Word to the Nations

In some ways, winter trees are more appealing to me than summer trees. Don’t get me wrong. I’m looking forward to spring when the leaves once again appear and cloth these branches, yet I love the sculpted feel of the intertwined branches.

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

These trees become more intricate as they reach into the sky, and so it is with our life in Christ.

These trees keep pushing up, and as they grow their branches also grow, capturing more of the sun and the nourishment they need to continue to grow. For the trees to keep growing the branches must expand.

God has created us to grow both as individuals and as a community.

God wants his baptized to grow together, gaining nourishment from him by caring for each other as Christ cares for his church. We are a community. Growing together is a part of our faith. It’s what God wants for us.

Not only does God intend for his baptized to grow together, he wants each of us to grow in his mercy and grace. God wants to be intimate with us. Evidence of this fact is the meal that he wants to share with us. “Take, eat, this is my body.” “Take, drink, this is my blood.”

We tend to get hung up on the words, “body,” and “blood,” and lose sight that Jesus offers to be intimate with us. This intimacy happens in the context of community. As we experience intimacy with Christ, we also experience intimacy with each other.

As a result we continue to grow as our branches of faith intertwine and reach into the sky.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

The Delicate Balance

Colorado Springs, Colorado

God’s character remains true even when life changes.

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

Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
The wind blows, and we are gone– as though we had never been here.
But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
of those who are faithful to his covenant,
of those who obey his commandments!
Psalm 103:15-17 New Living Translation

More times than not, the wind blows when it snows in Colorado Springs. Yet, there are those few occasions when the snow falls softly and lies delicately on branches, shrubs and grass. Such was the case during a snowstorm a while back.

Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado

The wind stayed away for some time and the snow clung to many objects. Then it happened. The sun started to peek from behind the clouds and the wind began to blow.

It wasn’t long and the branches were once again exposed to winter’s brutality.

Contemplating our frailty is humbling. We are nothing more than flowers blown by the wind, as snow that remains for a moment.

Our hope is not in our immortality but in our everlasting God. And since he is eternal, his character never changes.

He is the God who forgives. He is the God who redeems. He is the God who satisfies. Though our lives are transient, his salvation endures.

And so with King David, we exclaim,

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name!”
Psalm 103:1

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

“Don’t Fence Me In!”

Wet Valley, Colorado

God’s commands lead us to Christ.

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

“How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand in the pathway with sinners,
or sit in the assembly of scoffers!
Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the LORD’s commands;
he meditates on his commands day and night.”
Psalm 1:1 New English Translation

Some people look at fences and wonder what’s on the other side. Other people look at fences and give thanks for the protection they give. Others wonder why fences are where they are. And then there are people, like me, who look at fences and get all emotional because fences do something to their psyche.

Wet Valley, Colorado
Wet Valley, Colorado

Fences are not neutral and neither are God’s commands.

Some of us look at the commands of God and believe they keep us from having “fun.” Others of us look at God’s commands and worship them as if they can save us. Still others of us wonder how far God wants us to go in obeying his commands. And then others of us look at the commands and get all emotional about their effect on our lives.

God’s calls us to meditate on his commands. His commands are not neutral. God’s law sets the boundaries of life. God’s law leads us to the cross. God’s law centers our life in Christ.

No matter our view of God’s law, when we meditate on them we must conclude that apart from Jesus, we’d be lost.  He has kept God’s commands and borne our sin.  His death was our penalty for not obeying God.  And in Jesus we’re set free to view God’s commandments from a position of life.

No matter our view of God’s commands, they are his Word and they have the power to lead us to Jesus.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner