Month: July 2016

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Welcome—Now Go Away!

Welcoming others with a true heart of love.

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

Bell in wooden tower

Turret is a tiny former mining town approximately twelve miles northeast of Salida, Colorado. While it has a rich history, all that is left of this sunburned ghost town are several re-modeled cabins and some small lots for sale. A few historic buildings remain, including the one with this bell anchored and framed by logs. Long ago, bells were used to call people to gather together—whether to announce something, call congregations to worship, call for help or signal the start of a school day. A bell summoned people in a welcoming way.

But a sign at the entrance in this town emanates a different message: “Roads and Buildings within the Townsite of Turret are PRIVATE!” Most every building has a “No Trespassing” sign. There are many signs posted in this community that indicate you are not wanted there.

As followers of Christ we are to ring out bells of welcome to all people so we might share God’s love—with ALL people who He puts in our path. But often, if those we reach out to actually come near, our actions do not ring out a welcome.  By our demeanor we put up a sign that says, “I am not comfortable with you because you do not think or act as I do.” Yet those are exactly the people Jesus reached out to and often places in our path—people in need of a Savior—and just as needy as we are. It may not be easy, but we have been blessed because someone may have reached out and done exactly that for us once.

“Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.
 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I am the worst of them all.  But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.”
1 Timothy 1:14-16 New Living Translation

So ring your bell of welcome. Embrace those who need to experience what you have found in our Lord—love, forgiveness and eternal life!

Copyright Text and Picture Desiree Bustamante

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

The Allurement of Water

Water is a wonderful reminder of how God refreshes our souls.

Christ is the water that satisfies us in the wilderness.

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

                                   “O God, you are my God.
                                        At dawn I search for you.
                                             My soul thirsts for you.
                                             My body longs for you in a dry,
                                                  parched land where there is no water.”
                              Psalm 63:1 God’s Word to the Nations

Eli took this picture on his sixth birthday. He and his friends played with a sprinkler, threw water balloons, and, of course, ate cake and ice cream. When his friends drifted home, and we had finished a round of SNAG golf, we took a stroll through Loveland’s Benson Sculpture Park. We didn’t make this trip to see the sculptures per-say, but to play…you guessed it…Pokemon Go.

I go very few places without a camera and carrying my Sony a6000 with me, I handed it to Eli. We were standing on a small bridge of a tiny creek filled with cattails. He immediately turned around, leaned over a guardrail, and snapped this picture.

Water is a wonderful reminder of how God refreshes our souls.
Water is a wonderful reminder of how God refreshes our souls.

Why?

It might be that he was captivated by the allure of the running water. I took one of my favorite pics at the Tincup Cemetery in Colorado where a small creek cascaded among the tombs; life in the midst of death. King David was experiencing a life and death moment when he wrote these words. His enemies desired to consume him. His parched soul longed for God, the water that would satisfy him even in his personal desert.

Thirst and hunger are good metaphors for something that takes place deep in the core of our being. We are not satisfied by the enticements of the world when our soul does battle in the wilderness. Like drinking salt water, finding hope in things other than Christ only leads to a deeper thirst.

David was in the middle of his wilderness experience when he sang this psalm. His hope of future satisfaction was rooted in his past experience of seeing God active in his sanctuary (v. 2). Our hope is rooted in the power of Jesus’ forgiveness; a past experience that holds true today. Though we might still be traveling through our wilderness, we can sing with David, “Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 63:7 New Living Translation

Text Copyright Douglas P Brauner
Photography Copyright Eli Brauner

 

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

It’s Not Easy Being a Big Brother

Being a big brother or sister comes with many responsibilities.

We are called to love each other as God loves 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

I can relate to Nolan, our youngest grandson. He’s the baby in the family. Though he has only his older brother, and I had two older sisters and one brother, we still bring up the rear. Nolan’s older brother, Eli, who took this picture has responsibilities that Nolan never will. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing, but an “is” thing. Both my son and daughter-in-law are very conscious of this fact and try not to put a heavy burden on Eli’s shoulders (maybe that’s because both of them are firstborns).

Being a big brother or sister comes with many responsibilities.
Being a big brother or sister comes with many responsibilities.

Even though Nolan “steals” his toys, interrupts his games, and takes grandma’s attention away from him, Eli loves his brother. A number of you reading this blog relate to Eli. You’re younger sibling(s) treated you the same way, yet you still love them.

This love that cares for each other, when it’s difficult to love, is the call of the Christian community. John calls us to love each other in the Christian community because God loves us. His love for us is not that of an older sibling, but of an ever gracious parent; a parent who keeps us accountable for our actions yet never ceases to forgive; a parent who always longs for us even when we long for other gods; a parent who brings out the best in us when all we see is the worst.

I don’t know why Eli took this picture or what was running through his mind, but I want to believe that he took Nolan’s picture because he loves him. Besides taking pictures of windows, trees, and rocks, Eli snapped shots of his family. There were many other people at this event, but he only chose to take pictures of people he loves and his brother was one of them.

As those who believe in and know personally the love of God, may we stand proud to take pictures of each other in the family of Christ because of the love we have for each other.

Text Copyright Douglas P Brauner
Picture Copyright Eli Brauner