Category Devotionals

A Reminder of His Love

Todd R Leave a comment

Dear fellow travelers,

How do we measure how much Jesus loves us?  We may say that His love is endless or infinite.  We may say that He loved us enough to take on human flesh and become a servant.  We may say that He loved us enough to suffer and die for us.  These are all true and there are good verses to tell us all of them, but I think His suffering communicates His love in a way nothing else can.  We get an example at the end of Isaiah 49:13-16, which says:

“Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
            break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the LORD has comforted his people
            and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;
            my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
            that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
            yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
            your walls are continually before me.”

Verse 13 tells God’s people to rejoice, but in verse 14, they say they have been forsaken by God.  During the exile in Babylon, we can’t blame the people of Judah for thinking this way.  The symbols and institutions of their religion had been destroyed, and they had been forcefully removed from the land God had promised to them.  What can God say to reassure these people?  What can God say to the exiles of Isaiah’s time that could comfort the spiritual exiles of our time?

Isaiah begins with the image of a woman and her young child: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?”  God had bound Himself to His people as their Father, through His covenant which was based on His character of steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6).  Unless God stops being loving (which He won’t) He won’t abandon His people.

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

But the more powerful image for us today might be verse 16: “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”  While this might have been enigmatic to Isaiah’s contemporary audience, who had no point of reference for anything “engraved” on God’s hands, today we know what marks God has on His hands: the scars of His crucifixion in the body of Jesus Christ.  The scars that He willingly received on our behalf.  Isaiah 49:16 suggests that these scars are a permanent reminder of God’s steadfast love that He has for His people.  “Your walls” would be the walls of Zion, the eternal city of God, and since God says these are “continually before me,” like the scars they are also a permanent reminder.

The Bible tells us Jesus kept the scars in His resurrected body before returning to heaven (Luke 24:39-40, John 20:27), as evidence to His followers that He really was the resurrected Messiah, but also as a reminder of His love for His people.  While it is debated whether Jesus will still have scars on His hands and feet in heaven, many believe He will, but even if He doesn’t, He will remember them.

So, if at times you feel like the people of Zion in verse 14: ““The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me,” then remember “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”  He hasn’t and won’t forget you.

He is Always Abba, Father

Todd R 1 Comment

Fellow travelers,

Just before being betrayed by Judas and arrested, Jesus sought some solitude in the garden of Gethsemane, where “he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.  And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’” (Mark 14:35-36). Jesus knew He was soon to die.

Donald McKim notes that “In Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, Abba is the word for ‘Father.’ It is a term that expresses the closest and deepest intimacy of the relationship of parent and child.”[1]  Jesus knew this intimacy even on the way to the cross.

McKim also quotes Philip Melanchthon, who said: “’Abba, Father’. By this he taught us that these two things are required in prayer, namely, the ardent affection of the mind and the faithful trust of children toward God: these two words testify that both of these aspects were present in Christ.”

The Father loves us always, even on our most difficult days.  Trust Him in prayer today.

[1] McKim, Donald K.  Everyday Prayer with the Reformers (2020).  P. 73.

The God Who Puts Food on the Table

Todd R 4 Comments

There are many reasons to praise God, many ways that He blesses us.  One of these is given in Psalm 111:5, and it’s something we shouldn’t take for granted:

“He provides food for those who fear him;
            he remembers his covenant forever.”

While this may be a reference specifically to God providing manna and quail to the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness, it applies more broadly to any food provided to anyone at any time.  Therefore, we should praise Him whenever we have something to eat.

But He doesn’t just deliver food from the grocery store to us.  He provides everything required for food to exist in the first place.  He designed everything involved in the growth of what we eat.  Sunlight, rain, soil conditions and nutrients, all have a role in the growth of fruits and vegetables.  All of these roles act the way they need to be by design.  Food doesn’t exist by chance and is not an accident of a blind nature.

Then add what’s needed to produce the meat we may eat.  First, those plants need to contain what animals need to eat and grow.  The animals need to be able to not only digest those things, but then to turn them into something edible for us.  Again, all ordained by God, the intelligent creator of our universe, who “provides food for those who fear him.”

Also, He is not only a God who designs and provides, but a God of mercy, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”[1]  He provides food even for those who do not praise Him and give thanks to Him, so they might come to know Him by His mercy towards them.

Those who fear God, praise and thank Him for the food He provides, the complexity of the world He designed, and His mercy toward all His people.  But also, to reflect His character, provide food for those in need, showing them the mercy and love of the God who puts food on our tables.

“He provides food for those who fear him;
            he remembers his covenant forever“

[1] Matthew 5:45b

Daily Readings for August 31 – September 6

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

For those looking for a Bible reading plan, each week I post 2 chapters to read per day as a main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2026, I’ll post the extra chapters to read that week.  The main readings will include nearly all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Prophets, and a few other Old Testament books.

Reading 3 chapters a day on weekdays and 4 on weekends almost exactly covers the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, so the “extra” readings will be about 9 chapters per week.  These readings will cover the Pentateuch, the OT histories, a few other OT books, plus Jude and Revelation from the NT.

Regardless, I hope this schedule encourages others to read and study their Bible more, whatever parts they decide to read.  Follow along (or not) any way you choose!

2 chapter a day plan:

Monday, August 31: Isaiah 63 – 64
Tuesday, September 1: Isaiah 65 – 66
Wednesday, September 2: 2 Corinthians 1 – 2
Thursday, September 3: 2 Corinthians 3 – 4
Friday, September 4: 2 Corinthians 5 – 6
Saturday, September 5: 2 Corinthians 7 – 8
Sunday, September 6: 2 Corinthians 9 – 10

Extra chapters for those reading the whole Bible in 2026:
2 Kings 2 – 10

When We Feel Downcast

Todd R Leave a comment

We all have bad days.  Sometimes on those days it’s hard not to dwell on what’s gone wrong.  It’s hard not to make a list of the reasons why we’re feeling bad and focus on them.  It’s hard not to think about ways to immediately fix whatever problem we’re having.  However, Psalm 42 recommends a different approach.  Verse 6 of that Psalm ends with:

“My soul is cast down within me;
            therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
            from Mount Mizar.”

When we feel like our “soul is cast down,” we might say therefore we need to spend our time thinking about why.  We might say therefore I’ll just feel bad for myself.  We might say therefore the world is a bad place, or therefore the universe is conspiring against us.

But I got helpful advice from a friend years ago that when you find a “therefore” in the Bible, you should ask what it’s there for.  Everything in the list above are not what this “therefore” is there for.

According to Psalm 42, the right “therefore” is to remember God.  The therefore is there to give us something to think about when we feel “cast down.”  But what does it mean to “remember” God?  How is it helpful?  It means to meditate on God’s works, in the world, in the Bible, and in our lives, as reminders that He is bigger than our problems.

We may have many, many reasons to feel down, and the Psalmist knows this.  In verse 7 is written:

“Deep calls to deep
            at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
            have gone over me.”

Breakers and waves – difficulties in life – can constantly come one after the other and can seem to have no end, especially if we dwell on them, but note that the Psalmist refers to the breakers and waves as “your breakers” and “your waves.”  They belong to God, and do not come to us without His permission.  Often its more natural for us to think “I need a solution” than to think “I need God,” but He is always what we need.

While difficulties can go on and on, God’s love has no end either, as written in verse 8:

“By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
            and at night his song is with me,
            a prayer to the God of my life.”

His love is steadfast, meaning He cares for us “by day … and at night.”  He is always with us and ready to remind us of His love, even when all we can see are waves crashing over us.  If your soul is cast down, remember Him and His works.

Amen.