Month: May 2026

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Leap of Faith?

By Pastor Don Schatz

Leaping God

“The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.”
Song of Songs 2:8  the New Revised Standard Version

Two mountains dominate the Old Testament narrative.  Sinai, where Moses encountered the Lord in a blazing fire that did not consume the bush, and where the Lord entered into his covenant with Israel.  Second, Mount Zion, site of the Temple of the one-and-only God.  In that Temple the light of God’s presence burned in the candlesticks in the Holy Place.  And the tablets of the Sinai Covenant rested in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies.

In the New Testament narrative, on a bump called Golgotha on the side of Mount Zion, Jesus fulfilled the promise of both Sinai and Zion.  Indeed, he fulfilled every promise God made beginning with Genesis 3:15.  Jesus, promised seed of Eve, crushed Satan through his suffering and death, and rose again to life in an eternal exclamation point to his glorious victory.  Christ’s victory is ours through faith.

I live near tall mountains.  they are daily reminders of the presence of God Almighty (El Shaddai, God of the mountains).   They are daily reminders of God’s promises fulfilled.  They are constant reminders of God, who would not stay hidden atop Sinai, but came down in the person of his Son, Jesus, and lived among us.  The mountains, which appear as though they are eternal themselves, proclaim that the Lord God is with us still.  He will be with us always, to the end of the age.

If you live with mountains, do not ignore them today.  If you do not live with mountains, find a hill, even if it is a picture.  Look.  Behold.  If these mountains are with us, how much more certain is the promise that God our God is with us always?  Always.  In time.  Beyond time.  Even the valleys of life cannot overcome the mountain of God’s promised presence.  I look to the hills.  From where does my help come?

Find a mountain, perhaps in the form of your rocking chair, and behold the Lord God.  He is coming to you today, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Even Beavers Find Rest

by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Sleep Is Not Overrated!

These beavers worked so hard that someone needed to transported them to another stream. The rodents worked hard and fast. One day the stream flowed freely through Sondermann Park and the next there was this pond. They couldn’t stop what they were doing. They even took on trees that were above their pay grade.

They did what their Creator appointed them to do.

Though we reflect on their labor, do we think about their rest? The sun-drenched beaver hut is a reminder that even the most industrious of us need rest.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Revelation 14:13 English Standard Version

These words speak to me not only of my rest as I enter the presence of the Lamb, but of my daily rest.

I thank God for sleep. Sleep is not overrated.

God calls us to the labor of each day with each day’s tasks zapping us of energy whether that be emotional, physical, or mental energy. Fatigue might be the norm for our evening hours. We fall out of bed, put on our clothes, down a pot of coffee and head off to work, sometimes taking on a task that is larger than we are. Then we return home hoping that our nights rest in our tiny little hut will restore us for the next day’s journey into the wilds of work.

But what about this death thing that John mentions? In Jesus’ death, we die daily to the old ways of doing things and this death is precious in the sight of God. Even as we work, we die only to find that God brings us to rest from that day’s labor.

This daily routine ought to remind us of our final rest in the presence of the Lamb. Yes, the focus of this passage is on heaven, and I hope that your sleep tonight and the rest that it brings will remind you of your final rest with Christ.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Dark Matter

by Pastor Mark Moreno

Science and Faith

I am not the most scientifically minded person in the world, but I am fascinated by the topic of dark matter. Dark matter is an invisible, unknown substance that makes up roughly 27% of the universe. It does not emit, reflect, or absorb light, making it invisible to telescopes. Scientists know it exists because its gravity holds galaxies together and shapes the cosmos, acting as an invisible “cosmic glue”. How interesting!

Some people think that faith and science are somehow incompatible, in fact, perhaps even opposed to one another. I don’t believe that at all! While I may not be the most scientifically gifted person, I affirm that life is so much better because of science.

We can live in safer structures and drive more efficient cars, medicine continues to advance, and all of this is because of the progress of science. Christians believe that what we call science is simply one way in which God works: Through means!

We may pray for healing, and God likely answers that through diet and exercise, surgery and medication. But the really great thing about science is that it acknowledges its own limitations. The scientific method is defined as a structured, empirical process for investigating the world, acquiring knowledge, and testing ideas through observation, experimentation, and analysis. That means that science does not try to answer questions that the Christian faith does and the Christian faith does not try to answer questions of science.

I am saying is that even scientists are divided and have differing views and theories about dark matter. Science is not a democratic process, so when you hear that most scientists believe x, remember that Copernicus proposed that the solar system revolves around the sun and not the Earth even though the vast majority of scientists at the time believed incorrectly. he truth was, and is, the truth.

Hebrews 11 starts,

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible”.
Hebrews 11:1-2 English Standard Version

The truth is that science is not our God, nor is it our enemy. I thank God that my faith is bolstered by many disciplines, including science.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado