Encouragement
Who likes Pie?
Of course in this case I am talking about the Math version.
Pi is always the Circumference divided by the diameter. The older way to say it is Pi is the Circumference divided by the Radius squared. Pi is interesting since it is an irrational number, so it never repeats.
Back in 8th grade when I was learning in Math class the teacher said something about Pi that shocked me so much I almost fell off my chair.
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A snake on a pole. Such an emblem is associated with the medical community and healing arts, whose origins are from Greek mythology. But, this emblem has earlier origins in the Bible, and has far more significant meaning and implications.
During the forty year wilderness wanderings of the people of Israel, they spoke out against Yahweh and Moses. Poisonous snakes were unleashed as punishment, resulting in the death of many. After repenting, Yahweh gave these instructions: "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” (Numbers 21.8)
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I was recently taken aback one Sunday after church when a man in his early thirties said to me, “I’m so proud of you.”
“You are?”
I couldn’t fathom why he’d be proud of me. He was about the age of my own children. Shouldn’t I be saying that to him? I hadn’t seen him for well over a year, and only a handful of times in the last ten years.
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Have you ever heard of the Okapi?
It has been described as a horse/zebra/giraffe.
Scientists say it's closely related to the giraffe with a much smaller neck. Note the zebra stripes are only in the areas with thinner skin… for fly protection like we learned on an earlier devotion…
While it was known about for a long time, scientists said it wasn’t a real animal and called it the African Unicorn, meaning just a tall story.
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The danger of deception is ever present. A seemingly legitimate email, requesting personal information, turns out to be a clever and efficient means of stealing your identity, and emptying your bank accounts. You just can’t be too careful. Likewise, spiritual deception, appearing innocently real, can rob you of spiritual vitality. Wise discernment is ever needed.
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It was an ordinary day. People went about their normal morning preparations, commuted to work, and tended to the business of the day. Nothing distinguished this day from any other day; at least at the start of the day. But, by mid morning, it would be anything but an ordinary day. Even today, the events of that day still cast a shadow. September 11, 2001 will never be remembered as an ordinary day.
"And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." (Luke 17.26-27)
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Choices are to be made every day. Some are relatively inconsequential, like your clothing selection or lunch options; others have far-reaching effects. Of the choices to be made today, none is more important than this one:
"choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)
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Knowing that someone is praying for you is encouraging, but knowing they are praying for you amidst their own personal pain and agony really punctuates their prayer. Such was the case with Jesus, on the night of his arrest and suffering.
"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me." (John 17:20-21)
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Imagine someone on death row, about to be executed, offering comfort and encouragement to those around him. That’s essentially the backdrop for these words:
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16.33)
Jesus, on the night He was arrested, leading up to His crucifixion, was focused on the well-being of His disciples.
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I think most families have traditions around the different holidays. How many of your traditions were intentional? How many of your traditions were not intentional, and just kind of sprang up and you embraced them?
In our family we use whatever we can find to box up presents. Its pretty common for the box to say one thing, but the inside to have nothing to do with the outside box. Some boxes we will break down and use the next year.
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Where you live makes all the difference in your perspective concerning the seasons. I've lived in areas where you prepare for and hunker down for harsh winter. I now live in a predominately "snow bird" community, where folks come to enjoy the winter.
"Make every effort to come to me soon ... Make every effort to come before winter" (2 Timothy 4.9, 21)
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