Category: Making Disciples

Wholehearted devotion

Tucked in the setting of another king’s ebbing allegiance. And his discernible drift from God.

I see it.

The verse often quoted.

Serving as a clarion call for holy commitment. Wholehearted devotion. To the worship and ways of the Lord God Almighty.

Here it sits. Right in the middle of Hanani’s prophetic message. Calling out King Asa.

Abide in Christ through prayer and the Word. Image by Ben White on Unsplash.

Someone else’s surrender will not do. David knows this.

Thank you, Araunah, but “I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:18-25)

He buys the threshing floor, the oxen. For a price. Then builds an altar and makes the offerings to God.

Each of us must consider the cost of following Christ. And someone else’s surrender will not do.

Surrender. Image by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.

Winter trees. In crisp air at dawn. Stark. Branches bare. Empty.

The fog drifts in.

As I walk in fading darkness, I think about friends and family members who are suffering.

Standing weary. In the fog of impossible circumstances. Living with ongoing crisis. Conflict. Some with never-ending pain.

Cold and unrelenting winds whip through the lives of these loved ones.

And I ask how to pray.

What is His way for trees in winter?

Winter trees. Image by Simon Berger on Unsplash.