April 2 Devotion

Today, let’s ask ourselves an interesting question: Who is Jesus? Let’s sit back and think for a second. I’m questioning myself today too. Who do I think Jesus is? Who do I think he was? Then that leads me to ask you the same thing. Who do you think Jesus is? Who do you think he was?

Historians have proven that Jesus lived around 2000 years ago. We don’t question that. And the Bible teaches us about the miracles that he performed. We shouldn’t question that. We learn about the throngs of people that followed him around. Waiting for the moment to hear him speak or just to see him. The personal accounts of stories where he changed peoples lives. We read about him being a carpenter. A simple man. Leading a simple life. And more importantly, we read about him, and learn about him, being our Lord and Savior. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the key to our salvation. He is the one who died for us so we can inherit eternity with him.

So let’s go back to the questions I asked. And really think about this. Who do you say he is? Who do you believe he is? If you don’t have a relationship with him, maybe today is the day for you to start. Maybe today is the day to really dive into the Bible and learn about who Jesus was. To read more about the man that he was. Maybe today is the day for you to begin to know him. Really know him. To understand what he did for us. To know that he left paradise to come to earth to be human for us. That’s pretty powerful. To know that he paid the ultimate price for us. So maybe today is a day for you to go to your knees, and pray to him to show you who he is. To ask him into your heart. To ask him to guide you. Then I promise you, you will learn who he was. And you will learn who he is.

April 1 Devotion

Growing up in a military family, we were constantly being moved. Missouri, Michigan, Colorado, Texas, Germany, etc. My mother and I counted one time. I had 25 different addresses in the first 15 years of my life. I remember being situated for two weeks, then being told to grab your things. Time to move. It was actually an exciting lifestyle. Everyone around us was doing the same thing. That’s just what we thought was normal.

It really wasn’t until we moved into the civilian world that I began to feel unaccepted. The first time I remember that was in Colorado. Although I tried and tried, I wasn’t accepted. I think it was because we lived off base while we were there. I didn’t relate to the civilian families. The second time I felt that, was when we moved back to Missouri. My father was medically discharged due to leukemia. Small-town clicks are hard to break into. Eventually, I was welcomed. It took a couple years. I was welcome, but…I’m not sure I was truly trying to fit into the crowd as “me”. It’s hard to look back at that time in my life and determine if I was being myself or not.

But just imagine with me for a moment. What must be like to constantly try to gain acceptance by others? No matter what you do, you are not welcome. No matter how you treat others, you are not welcome. You don’t meet their expectations. Although you try, and try, and try. It’s never enough. There are people going through that all the time. It is unfortunate. What we must realize is that we will only feel true personal satisfaction when we find our identities in God. His love for us will never waiver. We will always be welcome. So today let’s focus on God. Let’s pray to God. Let’s surrender to God. Let’s find our identities in God. And let’s feel welcome and have a real sense of personal satisfaction.