Month: May 2026

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Poison Ivy

By Katy Mariotti

Do Not Be Afraid

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7, English Standard Version

Lately there has been a commercial on tv showing a man with poison ivy itching at his painful blisters.  Upon seeing this commercial my husband commented on how awful it was when he got poison ivy once.  These two things combined made my young son very curious about poison ivy and poison oak, and I taught him the saying “leaves of three, let it be.”  Well, I underestimated how many plants that are NOT poison ivy have sets of three leaves.  He came to me in tears, convinced that he had found poison ivy growing in our back yard. Since I was busy in the kitchen, I had him go take a picture so we could try to identify the plant.

At his impressionable age, scary thoughts and images stick with him a lot.  They’re especially bad at night, when he’s trying to fall asleep and the negative thoughts swim in his head: an image he saw on the news, or fear of natural disasters.  I can blame his age, but don’t we adults do the same?  We could spend our whole lives worrying about all the scary things there are.  Illness, loss of loved ones, car accidents, tragedy, war, drugs, poverty… it’s a never-ending list.

God knows this.  There are SO many verses in the Bible that say “do not be afraid.”  I like this one from Philippians, though, because it gives us something to do with our fear: pray.  Make our requests known the the Lord.  And the next verse is my favorite: let the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and our minds.  God wants us to come to Him and tell Him our fears, and at the same time He promises to guard our hearts and minds with His peace.  I especially like the part that says “surpasses all understanding.”  With all there is to be scared of in the world, we can still have peace.  We don’t have to understand why bad things happen and we don’t have to understand how we can still feel peace despite that.  What a precious gift that is!

I pray God’s peace for all of us today!

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Solid Rock

by Kala Loptien

Sinking Sand

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2, English Standard Version

On the surface, rocks seem so simple and ordinary. But what appears to be basic packs a lot of power. We’ve heard of them used as weapons. They stay solid under our feet. They’re used to create a strong base. They are unwavering.

Rocks are used metaphorically throughout the Old and New Testaments. In the Psalms alone, David refers to the Lord as his rock numerous times. He cries out to God, His rock. He wants to hold tightly to that which is higher and steady. He seeks refuge, protection and deliverance. David repeatedly recognizes that God alone is our rock and salvation.

Within the New Testament, rock remains the metaphor for Jesus and is also used when describing the foundation of faith. In Matthew, Jesus very clearly states: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Later, in the same book, He says to Peter: “On this rock, I will build my church.”

Did you happen to have the same song pop into your head when reading about God as our rock? “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” We see this truth play out in the Bible when God’s people try to cling to, lean on or fall upon anything other than Jesus. Sound familiar? Sure does! We see the same struggles and and experience it for ourselves here and now. People fail, idols are folly, success is fleeting and money can quickly rule our hearts. He is our firm foundation. All other ground is sinking sand.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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PWTE Daily Devotion

A Powerful Root

By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

The Root of Bitterness

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;”
Hebrews 12:15 (ESV)

A root can be a surprisingly powerful agent as seen by this whole sidewalk pushed up by tree roots.  The writer of Hebrews warns us that if someone “fails to obtain the grace of God”, a root of bitterness can spring up and cause trouble.  This trouble can damage the person who has become bitter and many others around them.

What causes a person to become bitter and angry and revengeful?  When a person has been hurt by someone and instead of forgiving that person they store up the offense and hope for evil to happen to the person who hurt them.  Over time the bitterness becomes destructive, bringing harshness and acidity in all the offended person’s dealing with others.  Often you can actually see this bitterness displayed in a person’s face!

How can you keep bitterness from taking over your life?  When others hurt you, instead of dwelling upon the sin committed against you, pray for the person who hurt you and commend that person to the forgiveness won by our Lord Jesus Christ.  When sinned against terribly, Jesus said from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.”  On that cross Jesus paid the price for our sins.  He won forgiveness for you and me.  Surely, if Jesus won forgiveness for me, canceling all the penalty of my sin, I can forgive others.

When you are tempted to hold a grudge, to take up an offense, use the axe of grace to chop away any root of bitterness.  Live in the forgiveness and peace that comes through our Lord Jesus, who when cursed by others, blessed them. May God grant you grace to live in forgiveness and peace through Jesus!  Amen!

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado