Month: January 2017

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PWTE Daily Devotion

A Road in the Wilderness

Bryce Canyon, Utah

God prepares his way in our lives.

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

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:3-5 English Standard Version

The U.S. Park Service has done a masterful job of building roads and parking lots that prepare visitors for the amazing vistas of the limestone hoodoos at Bryce Canyon National Park. Miles of trails have been constructed through these hoodoos allowing the imagination of the adventurous to explode with visions of mystical creatures.

Bryce Canyon, Utah

Take away the roads and the trails, a trip through Bryce Canyon becomes a nearly impossible adventure. The cliffs, hoodoos and canyons become obstacles rather than works of art. Pioneers who stumbled across this magnificent work of God’s hands must have been quick to find a way around it rather than through it.

Our lives reflect the canyons, hoodoos and cliffs of this canyon. We ask God to help us find a way around these obstacles, but instead God promises to make a way through our obstructions that make up the wilderness of our lives.

Isaiah proclaims that God “lifts up” every valley. God makes his way through our obstacles by raising our broken spirits.

Isaiah also announces that God makes low “every mountain and hill.” God makes his way through our obstacles by bringing low our inflated egos.

God’s work in our lives creates a highway for him to work in and through us. The power of forgiveness in Christ is God’s gift that allows us to let go of our failures and successes. Forgiveness transforms us from the inside out.

Heavenly Father, remove the obstacles that keep me from seeing the beauty of your work in my life. Lift up my broken spirit and cause my ego to bow before your throne that I might be your highway of grace. Amen

Picture and Text Copyright Douglas P Brauner

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Lost Resolution. Found Purpose.

Pursuing the best resolution of all.

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

How are your New Year’s resolutions coming?  Are you on track and feeling good? Have you given up?

Did you even make any? It’s hard to change. We may have a pretty good foundation but eventually we have to shore it up when cracks appear. It’s just a facade, so we make resolutions to improve ourselves.  But most of us fail. In fact, a mere 8% of people accomplish their resolutions.

January 17th is the most common day that people give up their New Year’s resolutions. There is even an official Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day set up to observe failure. But there is one resolution that outshines all others.

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.
And, love your neighbor as yourself.”
Luke 10:27 New Living Translation

To God all that matters is this—loving Him first and then loving others. We don’t need a special day to start. If we fail one day we can begin anew the next, because this resolution can only be accomplished by God’s power within us, not our own strength. So feel free to make this resolution. Everything else will fall into place because God will show you His plans. You have help and guidance and your Savior’s love.

And it’s not just another drudging task you need to do. It’s more of an adventure, really. You get to walk down exciting paths God designs for you. Experience new discoveries about God and yourself. Make new relationships and deepen long-standing ones. What a great way to start building your inner foundation anew—in the love and strength of the Lord!

Copyright text and photo Desiree Bustamante

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PWTE Daily Devotion

The Eyes Have It!

God desires that we keep our eyes focused on him.

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

“The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”
Psalm 145:15-16 New International Version

You’ve probably admired pictures of people where the background is blurry, even part of the person’s face is blurry, but the eyes are tack sharp. Here is an important tip when taking portraits: Make sure the subjects eyes are in focus.

To be honest with you, the eyes of this young Honduran girl are too soft. I love how her dark eyes reflect the light from the windows in the room where we were sitting, but I didn’t do a good job of finding my focus. Though my focus was off, there’s no mistaking that her eyes were focused on the camera.

What captivates our eyes?

King David declared that the eyes of “all” look to God to provide what they need at the proper time. We might read the word “all” as meaning every human creature, but David literally means everything. All of God’s creatures wait eagerly for him to provide.

There is a play on words in the Hebrew. The eyes of all living things SHABAR (wait) for God, and God SHABAH (satisfies) the desire of all living things. Waiting for God and his provision are as closely tied to each other as these two Hebrew words sound. Even when we can’t see it or taste it, God is near to provide for us.

Trust is the key in this relationship between waiting for God and his ability to provide. Two verses later King David writes, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Our eyes look to God and wait for him because we trust him to be faithful to his promises.

Though waiting for the Lord to satisfy our desires might be difficult, God calls us to keep our eyes focus on his promise. He will provide.

Picture and Text Copyright Douglas P Brauner