Month: December 2016

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Unfailing Love

Park City, Cemetery, Park City, Utah

Finding shelter under the wings of God’s unfailing love.

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

“Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.” 
Psalm 36:5 New Living Translation

Janice and I have been to Park City, Utah, a couple of times, and the place where we stay is close to the city cemetery. As you might expect, this cemetery has a long history. Established in 1892, the first people buried here came to Park City to mine silver, not ski the virgin powder. Though they had come to strike it rich, many of their lives ended in tragedy.

In difficult circumstances, tragedy must have struck the Fueling family with exceptional hardship.

Park City, Cemetery, Park City, Utah

Though I don’t know the stories behind these tombstones, it appeared that eight of their children died before them. Three of these children are in the front row.

Arthur Fueling: 1903-1922
William Fueling: 1900-1900
Alfred Fueling: 1907-1910

A daughter and a grandson died in childbirth. And if you enlarge this picture and read Ernest and Minnie’s tombstone, you will note that they died on the same day; October 25, 1940; Ernest at the age of 64 and Minnie at the age of 60.

How can we sing of God’s steadfast love reaching to the heavens when we experience gut wrenching sorrow? King David, who wrote Psalm 36, knew the death of his children. He grieved the death of his baby boy born to Bathsheba. He grieved the violent death of his son, Absalom, even though Absalom had sought David’s throne. What is God’s unfailing love in the midst of tragedy?

David answers this question two verses later:

“How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.” 
Psalm 36:7 New Living Translation

God’s unfailing love isn’t always felt when escaping tragedy, but when we’re struggling our way through it. David hid under the shadow of God’s wings when facing tragedy, and so can we. God’s love produces hope in the promise that through Christ, God will always be ready to cover us in the shadow of his wings.

Text and Photograph copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

A Second Chance through Love

Restoring us to Himself through love.

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

My grandmother found this rocking chair, left behind at a house my grandparents moved into decades ago. She repaired it, refinished it and used it many years before passing it onto me. She put some work and love into the rocker and gave it new life again, so it could be loved and used for future generations.

“This means rocking-chairfx1that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 New Living Translation

God loved what He created so much that when his people sinned and the luster of perfection was gone in a single bite of forbidden fruit, He gave us another chance. He gave up His Son for love for us. Jesus was born as a gift of love, but he was quickly marked for death by Herod, disdained by His own people and scorned by the rest, and was eventually put to death, all the while loving us and promising He would come back for us one day. He will give us a new finish when he returns and He will treasure us for all eternity.

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”
Ephesians 3:18 New Living Translation

“For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:17 New Living Translation

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.” 
Ephesians 3:19 New Living Translation

Cherish that love this advent season. No one else can ever love you like He does.

Copyright text and photo Desiree Bustamante

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

You Are Loved

On Being a Child of God.

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

“See how He loved him!”
John 11:36, New International Version

These words are spoken of a weeping Jesus as he stood near the grave of his friend Lazarus.  He really did love Lazarus.  You know the story.  You know that others criticized Jesus for not acting to prevent the death of Lazarus.  You know that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.  But now, in this Advent Season, simply hear the truth of those words, “See how He loved him!”

Now, picture yourself as the object of Christ’s love.  Because you are.  See how He loves you!  Look not to Lazarus’ tomb, but to your own one day.  Christ has emptied it of any power.  Christ has changed its very function.  It functions as a reminder that our dwelling place is with him, where he is.  Always.  See how He loves you!

december-06Our oldest son and his wife welcomed their first child into the world earlier this year.  When I look at this picture of my son holding his one-hour-old son, I know the love there.  I know what that love is like.  Likely you do too.  How much he loves him!

I met with a teenage girl, along with her parents, in my office earlier this year.  She was afraid God could not love her.  She didn’t know how to trust his love for her.  I finally asked her what she thought Jesus thought of her.  She couldn’t answer.  We talked about Christ’s coming, his life, his suffering, his crucifixion, his death, his resurrection—all for her.  What would Christ say to her in the midst of her fear?  “You are the love of my life!”  That’s what he says.  I will never forget the tears of relief when this young sister in Christ knew she could trust those words.  “You are the love of my life!”

How much Jesus loves you!  Receive him again today, his arms spread wide to embrace you and your life.  The Coming Christ comes to you as the One who loves you.

Text and picture, copyright Don Schatz.