Author: Scott

After watching what happened last night to Damar Hamlin, I’m at a loss of words today. For those with a don’t know what took place, the young man made a seemingly routine tackle, and then went into cardiac arrest. The medical personnel performed CPR on him for several minutes and were able to get his heart beating again. This morning he is still in critical condition.

As I watched last night, I couldn’t help but get emotional. I’m getting emotional now as I type this. I don’t know this young man. I don’t know his family. I really didn’t know anything about him until last night. But for whatever reason, this is hitting home.

So today I think the devotion needs to be simply on prayer. There’s not much that we can do at this moment other than pray for this young man. Pray for the doctors. Pray for his family. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. I know that we serve an awesome God. A loving God. A God whose plan is beyond our understanding. But it is perfect.

So if you’re reading this, please take a moment to lift up Damar Hamlin. And let’s hope that he can recover from this. Let’s begin making prayer a priority in our lives. I would like to suggest that we begin each day going to our knees in prayer. Asking God for his guidance. Asking him to you lead us so we can serve him. He’s waiting for us to turn to him. And he will guide us. Because he loves us. He always has. He always will.

You are not alone. God has you. Years ago Hezekiah had to speak these words to his people. They were getting invaded. He knew that the people were fearful. He knew where that fear came from. He knew they would forget who God is. He knew they would forget His almighty power and glory. Hezekiah knew that he couldn’t just be a good king and a skilled general. He knew he must also be a wise pastor to his people.

As they were preparing for the Assyrians, he didn’t want the people of Judah to think that they were left alone. He wanted them to know that they had been blessed. And not forget God was with them. He told his people: “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side!” 2 Chronicles‬ ‭32‬:‭7‬

Being fearful isn’t something that only pertains to people from years past. Being fearful is a human experience. Therefore, we experience it in today’s time as well. But also, experiencing God is not something that is only reserved for past times as well. God is present today. And he will be present in the future. So when you experience fear, or experience times of uncertainty, remember that God is here for you. And as the Bible tells us, “Be strong and courageous.” He will see you through. But it’s up to us to turn to him. It’s up to us to ask him. It’s up to us to let him take control.

Here we are beginning a whole new year. As we age, it’s interesting to me how we view New Year’s Eve. How we celebrate it. Or how we don’t celebrate it. Some of us stay up to watch the ball drop in our time zones. Others of us watch the ball drop in New York City, and then call it a night where we are. (That’s what Barbara and I do.) So many different emotions that people feel as a new year begins. Excitement about it. Doubt about it. Determined about it. Or fear about it. These emotions are natural.

Sometimes we look at our lives and we wonder why they don’t like those around us. Because we envy them. It can be natural to do so since we are human. Sometimes we try to manipulate our circumstances to get what we want or desire. That’s natural as well. Wishing we had more things. Or more opportunities. More of this. More of that. Also natural because we are human. There are even moments that we will lower our standards because of disappointment that we are trying to avoid. Expecting less of ourselves to do so. And as we stated earlier, this is natural because we are human.

But you want to know what we have in our arsenal. We have grace. We have grace from God. Which gives us the ability to have faith. Grace and faith. Incredible! These are gifts from God. Therefore, they are not natural. They are not human. Because they are of God. So as we will begin 2023, let’s realize that God gives us the power to believe. He gives us grace in what we are facing. He gives us hope and peace. He gives us the ability to look at this new year, this new beginning, as a new opportunity to grow stronger in him. And to serve others. Let’s build our lives on belief in him. Let’s boldly seek him. And let’s see where he takes us.

Today is the last day of the year. Yes, I know. And I agree. This year has flown by. It was full of highs and lows. Joy and sorrow. Triumphs and tragedies. We have struggled at times. And we have celebrated as well. But, we made it. We’re moving on into 2023. For some it might be a fresh start. A time to begin anew. For others it might be more of the same. A year of building on from where you are now. Regardless of where you are now, or where you are headed, know that “purpose” is in the plan.

There are 3 points to this I think we need to remember. First, our purpose is to know God. Not just know who he is. We should strive to “know” him. Second, our purpose is to make disciples. We should strive to help others get to “know” God too. Finally, God has a purpose for us. Unique to each of us. He’s paved the path for us. Even in times of despair, there’s a purpose for us. We should strive to find it and follow it. No matter how hard it might be, we should work to fulfill the plan.

Here’s what is cool about these points. If we let him in, God will work in us. We will accomplish all three of these through him. He’ll give is the strength to do it. He’ll see us through. The Bible tells us that we have the tools. We can work “with everything good for doing his will” in our daily lives. So as we finish 2022, and move into 2023, let’s remember where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going. Let’s learn from our struggles. Let’s build on our successes. And let’s strive to find and fulfill our purpose for God. As we do so, let’s be thankful and praise him for the opportunity to do so. And let’s celebrate knowing that the victory has already been declared. All the while, let’s be mindful that God loves us. Always has. He always will.

I say all the time that it takes a family to do what we do. It takes a family to battle veteran suicide. I say that we all have our roles. Whether we are volunteering, praying, contributing financially, etc. We all have our roles. Each one is important. Sometimes I hear people question what it is that they have to offer. Or I hear them say that they don’t have much to offer. What a person contributes, or how much they contribute, is not what is important. What is important is that we get involved serving others with God in our hearts.

We have been blessed with tremendous support. Landowners have graciously opened up their properties to us to bring veterans to hunt. Sometimes passing up their own hunts to allow us to do this. Pretty amazing. Volunteers giving up their time to serve at our events. Whether we are at expos, hunting or fishing, or preparing meals. Doesn’t matter. They have given their time to serve. Also pretty amazing. Donors have sent financial contributions. What we do costs money. We have received everything from a few dollars to several thousand dollars. And as before, also pretty amazing.

We have already mentioned, it’s not the amount you give. It’s not how much you serve. And it’s not the capacity in which you serve. Yes they’re all important. But none of them matter if you do not do these with God in your heart. God knows our hearts. And he will bless our efforts if we are serving him. A couple years ago a woman gave us $8.00. She was actually kind of embarrassed. I told her that she just gave 75 people a bottle of water at one of our events. She just blessed 75 people. Pretty amazing. Four years ago we did our first event at Roaring River State Park. A veteran that was there understood that showing God‘s grace is the purpose. He understood the mission. That has led to eight events there. Two in Colorado. Three more next year in Colorado. Monthly horse therapy sessions. And volunteers making items for fundraising. Several hundred veterans have been served out of what took place four years ago. Pretty, pretty, pretty amazing. So remember, it’s not what you give. Give because you have God in your heart. And be ready. He will take what you have to offer to places you never dreamed.

Ever feel like you got into a rut? Feel like you are just stuck and can’t move forward? Nothing you do is enough? You try, try, and try, and seem to be going nowhere? Sure you have. We all go through times like this. Moments where we feel like nothing we do is good enough. No matter how hard we work, or try, nothing is good enough. Well let me tell you this, you are not alone. Everyone struggles at different times. And let me tell you this too, you are not alone in the fact that God has placed a gift in you. And his gift is enough.

Recently, I have had several conversations with friends of mine. Veterans that I know. People that we come in contact with. All with the same theme: “What is my purpose? I feel useless.” I tell them the same thing. Satan is after them. He is the great deceiver who uses the storm of self-doubt. He finds ways to bring you down to the depths that seem too deep to recover from. And he piles it on. The kids aren’t behaving. You can’t find your keys or your phone. Your car breaks down. The pipes in your house freeze. Stuff is piling up at work. Etc. Etc. Etc. Satan takes times like these and pokes at you. Making it hard to breathe. You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But remember this, you have the ultimate weapon to fight against these times. You have what it takes. You have Jesus in you. The Bible tells us to call him, and he will answer. He will show you the way. He will provide you the strength. And if we do it correctly, going through times like these strengthens us. Builds us. Helps us be better servants for God. People can see the light through us as we go through the storms. And how powerful is that! God‘s blessings and grace are enough. So what are you waiting for? Maybe today is the day that you go to your knees and you ask him to get you through. Maybe today is the day that you call on him. He is gracious. He is loving. He will answer. His answer may not be as clear as we hoped it would be. But his answer is enough. Because he loves you. Always has. Always will.