The Burning Question:
When did a member of God’s animal kingdom get a little too friendly?
Morning Devotional:
July 13th, 2024 will certainly be a day for the history books.
The horrible shooting that took place in Butler County, Pennsylvania added another name to the list of U.S. Presidents, current and now former, who have been targets of assassination. It will no doubt add to the ever-intensifying rhetoric of our political climate as well – a situation which I personally find incredibly frustrating and overwhelmingly sad.
I spent the better part of Saturday night and most of Sunday glued to my news feeds with the best of intentions. In my role here at Kinship Radio, I wanted to know how we could best talk about what was happening with the story on-air from a news perspective. More importantly, I wanted to know how I should respond personally. As I sought the Lord about these things, I kept hearing three little words.
“Make every effort.”
Make every effort to do what? I thought, tempt my journalist side hard enough and I would be doing live 24/7 coverage of such an event but no, that wasn’t what the Lord was saying. The more I prayed about it, I realized what the Lord was saying to me.
How do we respond on days like this past Saturday, or any day for that matter?
I would say, “make every effort” like it says in Romans 14: “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Is there something that we’re doing that is causing someone distress? Instead of causing someone to stumble, lift someone up.
“Make every effort” like the author of Hebrews tells us: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Living in peace with everyone is a tall order. You don’t get to pick and choose.
“Make every effort” the way Paul tells us in Ephesians 4: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” We have been given a high calling from the Lord so let’s live it out by being humble, kind, patient, and loving to one another, just the way Christ loves us.
– Beth
Bible Quiz:
Question: What was Joshua’s original name?
Answer: Hoshea (Numbers 13:16)
Storytime: The Surface was fine, but under the surface, things were very different.