• Devotions

    Remembrance

    30 minutes had passed.

    A parent of one of my students had not yet arrived for our conference.

    Feeling slightly annoyed, I dialed the number to her house.

    The voice on the other end of the phone sounded shaken.

    I had no idea what was going on outside of my classroom walls.

    “You don’t know what is happening, do you?  We are waiting to hear if my husband is ok.”

    We turned the television on in our room.

    It was the morning of September 11th.

    As the tragic news of the day unfolded, a number of staff came to use the phone in our room, attempting to reach loved ones who commuted into the city.

    One moment changed the landscape of lives forever.

    My eyes kept shifting to the clock.

    All I could think of was my 10 month old son.

    I could not get home fast enough to wrap him up in my arms.

    As a parent, I wanted to shield my child from the evil that had just crashed into our world.

    There was an innocence and purity in his eyes.

    He had no knowledge yet of good and evil.

    Adam and Eve did not have this knowledge either as their story unfolds in Genesis.

    There was an innocence and purity that existed in the Garden of Eden.

    And just like a parent, God wanted to shield his children from the evil that existed in the world.

    “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.  But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden – except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2: 15-17 NLT

    One moment changed the landscape of lives forever.

    “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God made.  One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”  “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees of the garden,” the woman replied, “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat.  God said, “You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”   The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some fruit and she ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at the nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves to cover themselves.”  Genesis 3: 1-7 NLT

    It is hard to remember a time when evil did not exist.

    Daily, we are bombarded with news and images that evil is ever present in this world.

    Sometimes it comes crashing into our lives.

    Others, it slithers in the door quietly.

    But God promises to those who believe that there will come a day when all that evil brings will be gone forever.

    “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying “Look, God’s home is now among His people!  He will live with them, and they will be His people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All of these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21: 3-4 NLT

    Especially on this day, I am grateful for that promise.

  • Devotions

    What’s in a Name?

    Summer break means different things to different people.

    For some, it is about swimming, barbeques and vacations.

    For me growing up, it meant staying up late watching old movies with Mom.

    Doris Day, Rock Hudson and Cary Grant became familiar faces to me, as much as any of the modern day ones, in my Tiger Beat or 16 Magazines.

    Send Me No Flowers and An Affair to Remember are still on my watch list.

    Camping out on the couches in our family room, curled up in front of the console TV is one of my favorite childhood memories.

    So you can only imagine the excitement I felt when my own children wanted to camp out in our family room.

    The scene is slightly different, with a flat screen TV, sectional and bean bags sprawled across the floor.

    But I could picture Mom’s face smiling as if she were still sitting next to me.

    On one particular summer evening, after the boys have fallen asleep, I switched the channel to TCM to find one of my all time favorites, Blossoms in the Dust.

    Based on the life of Edna Gladney, this 1941 film starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon tells the story of this child and adoption activist.

    The opening scenes highlight Edna and another young woman, raised as her sister, at a phase in life where each is about to marry. It was discovered by one of the future mothers in law that the character about to marry her son is a “nameless foundling,” The word “illegitimate” is written on her birth certificate. At the time, this was considered scandalous and meant that a child with this distinction had no inheritance rights. No birth right. The mountain of shame this brings prompts the character to take her life, as she sees no hope for her future.

    Edna Galdney is not only known for her life’s work for placing over 2000 orphans into good homes, but also for her perseverance in having Texas legislators remove the word “illegitimate” from the birth certificates of children born out of wedlock.

    Watching this movie still brings tears to my eyes as an adult, but now stirs up a different message in my heart as an adult.

    How many around us today feel hopeless because of a label attached to our lives?

    What shame and brokenness makes us feel as if we are not worthy or have legitimacy in this life?

    This classic movie, over 70 years old, still carries a timeless message.

    The Bible, over 2000 years old, carries of a message of hope and love for all of God’s children.

    None of us are nameless.

    We have been given a name by the great I AM.

    We are HIS.

    We have an inheritance.

    “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will…” Ephesians 1:11

    ”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by God’s power are guarded through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

    1 Peter 1: 3-5

    We have a birthright. We are heirs.

    “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” Galatians 3:29

    We come from a royal lineage.

    Brothers and sisters, remember that you have a name.

    Remember that you have an inheritance.

    Remember that you are HIS.

    Friends, remember to share that message of love with those around you

    Give hope to a broken world.

    Hope has a name.

    Jesus.

    Amen.