Tag: devotional

Uncategorized

A Conversation with God

The Kedge Anchor

Photo by Yan Krukov on Pexels.com

Prayer is really just talking to God. It can be transforming and life changing. But we have to first listen. We need to be still before God. As much as God wants to bestow blessings on us, He is not a genie. Prayer is so much more than just asking God for things and to do things. Prayer is about communing with God not just communicating.

Prayer is our chance to invite God into a conversation with us, not just listen to a poetic monologue, Matthew 6:7.  He’s not impressed with “thee’s” and “thou’s” or how eloquent you speak. And even though He knows what’s on your mind and in your heart, He still wants to hear all about it. He loves us, He is patient with us so even if we keep coming back with the same story, Philippians 4:6 -“…but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” He hears you and He is God and will answer according to His will. Psalm 66:19 -“But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.” (NKJV)

Have you ever been angry at God? I have. And I have gone to Him in prayer about it, with reverence. He knows what’s on my heart and why so why would I try to hide it? Have you ever been so happy and excited about something that you had to tell someone? Tell God. He wants to hear or joys and sorrows. He is our provider and blesses us. And remember to thank Him.

Sometimes I don’t know what to pray. And that’s ok. It’s ok to sit in silence with God. Just mediate on His words, pray back scripture to Him, recite the Lord’s prayer slowly and think about each word, each line. Breath in on a line and breath out on the next. Communication is a two way street and God needs a little time to get a word in.

When was the last time you just poured out your heart to God? Let it all out? He won’t be shocked or surprised, nothing goes unnoticed Hebrew 4:13 -“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (NIV).

It’s ok to talk to God like you were talking to a person of flesh and blood. Jesus was flesh and blood once, He walked as a human on His earth, He understands, He knows, He knows all. Invite God into you day, into your heart, let His words transform you.

Uncategorized

My Five Favorite Bible Apps

The Kedge Anchor

If you’re like me you like apps that make your life easier. Banking is easier, scheduling appointments is easier, shopping, entertainment, even reading the Bible has become easier and really we can carry the Bible in our back pockets everywhere we go.

There are there Bible apps that I use regularly that I’d like to share and you have probably hear of them all or at least one.

The most used Bible app on my devices is YouVersion. And with recently achieving over 500,000,000 installs, I don’t know how anyone hasn’t heard of it. But I really enjoy the verse of the day videos that help set my mind for the day. There sometimes is an excerpt from a devotional plan that ends up in my list and I have quite a long list. But from these excerpts I have come to follow some really interesting people that have deepened my knowledge of God and expanded my thoughts. I’ll share those people in another post. YouVersion is free and you can connect with friends and family like with any social media app. With YouVersion, you’re not only carrying the Bible in your back pocket wherever you go, you are carrying multiple versions of scripture. You can even earn badges to help motivate you.

Abide is next on my list and I use this a lot. This app has a free trial version and you can still use it but to gain the full benefit from it is worth the $39.99/yr for the Premium version. With the Premium Abide app it gives you the options to listen to the meditation for 2, 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Abide offers meditations on just about any struggle or emotion you may be dealing with, grief, anxiety, healing, marriage, growing spiritually. There are meditations on love, money, forgiveness, blessing and my favorite is the sleep meditations. These sleep meditations put me to sleep and I usually have a hard time falling asleep. Abide offers options for these sleep meditations to run for 15, 30, 1 hour or 8 hours! I have a few people who have really soothing voices to whom I am partial. But now that I think about it, what’s it like to have a voice that puts people to sleep? LOL. Abide also has a place where you can journal your thoughts, you can add meditations to your favorites list, it keeps track of you history and you have the option to download as well.

FIrst 15 is another one that I found myself going to a lot as well. This daily devotional app starts with option to listen to the entire devotional or read it. They include a song that goes along with the devotional and of course scripture. A few months ago I realized that music wasn’t a part of my life like it was a few years ago. What I really like about First 15, is it introduces me to new artists and songs that I probably wouldn’t have picked up on just listening to the radio, which by the way, I don’t like like listening to, I find myself tuning it out. Too many commercials. There is a section that provides questions where you can meditate on the scripture and like most of these apps there is a community where you can leave comments, share thoughts and ask for prayer.

Christian Art is different. If you are into art this website or app connects a painting with scripture. This helps me since I lean on the visual side and visuals help me remember. You can subscribe and receive daily emails or download the app. Christian Art is based in the UK and is translated in Spanish and Dutch. And there is a section for you to comment and connect with a community.

Ok this last one isn’t really a devotional app, but it is one of my favorites, The Chosen. If you haven’t seen this yet, you gotta see it. The Chosen is a television series that is designed to bring viewers closer to God, “Come and See!” The app is free, to watch is free it’s all free. The series is created and directed by Dallas Jenkins and if you get the chance to listen to his testimony, it’s pretty amazing. This show isn’t to replace the Bible or it’s stories. There are some gaps in the Bible and Dallas has a team of people who help to keep the show true to the scriptures and historically factual to fill in the gaps. There have been some creative liberties taken, which are either humorous or very plausible as to what the times were like and how the disciples interacted with Jesus. Essentially the Bible is brought to life. For me it has caused me to read my Bible more and reread the stories. Jonathan Roumie who portrays Jesus, I have to remind myself, this is just an actor. But I can’t help but think this is how Jesus was here on earth. He was fully human and fully God, he laughed, he cried, he had struggles, he was human but God at the same time and Jonathan Roumie does an excellent job of communicating that. The cool part about the app is you can stream it to your TV with a streaming stick or you can watch it on any device, phone, tablet, laptop. Check it out if you haven’t already.

So if you haven’t heard of these five apps check ’em out. Share you favorite apps in the comments below. And as always if you like this post please like an share.

Uncategorized

Do You Think About What You Think About?

The Kedge Anchor

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Why is it by three o’clock in the afternoon I can’t remember what I read in my devotional in the morning? I barely can remember what I ate for breakfast or dinner the night before. Has that thought ever crossed your mind, that you can’t remember what you read in your devotional? Is it just me? James 1:23-24 says, “For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,  24 and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. Ok, if I get like that… please someone help me. If I can’t remember what I read in God’s word, I am not going to carry it out.

Do you ever think about what you are thinking about at any given moment? Have you ever traced your thoughts? I could be in the middle something like sweeping the floor then the next thing I know I am thinking about something that happened in the fourth grade. Has that happened to you? Sometimes that initial thought can change my mood and remind me of something that made me mad and then I get mad and irritable for the rest of the day. I found that happening a lot. So I stop and trace my thoughts, what was I thinking about prior to that angry thought? Most of the time it’s so unrelated. But isn’t that how the enemy likes to work? He throws out the fiery darts. Sometimes the innocent of thoughts that lead to the most angry thoughts and emotions. Subtle, huh? Sneaky right? That’s how the enemy likes to trip us up.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” I know that can be hard sometimes. Thoughts can grab hold of us and fester and we can’t let go. But once again, that’s how the enemy works. Sometimes we are good at blocking out certain things, events, people. But sometimes unconsciously we aren’t even aware of our thoughts. There are times I have to stop myself from thinking about past events or people that have hurt me. Then I am either asking for forgiveness or forgiving someone and letting go of the hurt of old wounds.

So why is it by mid afternoon I’m thinking about what I read in my devotional? Is like a spiritual hunger? There have been times I have been so busy and so engulfed in what I am doing either my stomach reminds me it’s time to eat or if I am working with others, someone will ask “what’s for lunch?” Perhaps that thought about my morning devotional is a spiritual hunger pang, God gently reminding me of His presence. And what would it take to just stop for 5 minutes and give God a thank you, or simply opening a Bible app or listen to some worship and praise music? Maybe it’s just God tugging at my heart to let Him in for a tick and hear what He has to say.

Think about what you think about. Maybe start a journal to trace your thoughts. Take notes of what you read in your devotional. Share what you read and hear from God with someone, it will help you remember. Deuteronomy 11:18 “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” I guess those would be ways to take captive every thought.

Uncategorized

Homeostasis

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels.com

Homeostasis hō″mē-ō-stā′sĭs

n. A state of equilibrium, as in an organism or cell, maintained by self-regulating processes.

n.The ability and tendency of certain systems to maintain a relatively constant internal state in spite of changes in external conditions; this ability is achieved by the presence of feedback mechanisms which can adjust the state of the system to compensate for changes in the state caused by the external environment. It is exemplified in homeothermal biological systems, such as animals which maintain relatively constant blood temperature and composition in spite of variations in external temperature or the composition of the food ingested.

n.The ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a stable equilibrium; such as the ability of warm-blooded animals to maintain a constant temperature.

-American Heritage Dictionary

Back in 2020 our world changed. Our daily lives practically came to a halt, routines changed, nothing was normal. Everything from terminology, commutes, conversations, travel, work, statuses, relationships, everything that we once new as normal changed, disrupting our lives.

Homeostasis is what our physical bodies do when it encounters change in its environment. When it’s cold outside, our bodies form goose bumps raising the hairs on our skin to form a layer of air between the skin and the hair to keep warm. Our bodies are always trying to stay in a constant state of balance, equilibrium.

Why don’t our minds have a homeostasis or do they? When our environment changes in any way, we can perceive it as a threat. Back to it being cold outside, we can be outside enjoying a warm day and then a cold wind can sweep in a cold front and suddenly we are cold and we get goose bumps. But what about our minds? How can we keep our minds stable? Like when our environment effects our minds our spiritual walk can be affected as well. What about spiritual homeostasis?

When the pandemic hit and all these changes happened, how did it affect you spiritually? How easy was it for your mind to feel lost, go in a million directions, forget your routine especially when it came to your time with God? Don’t know about you, but for me it seems like that is the one of the first things to take a hit. Why is it so hard to stay consistent? Daniel in the Bible was abruptly taken from his home, his family and friends. He was taken away from all that he ever knew and thrown into an environment that went completely against what he believed. Babylon was beautiful. Imagine the most beautiful community, manicured lawns, adorned passage ways and buildings with every possible convenience right outside your door. Now there’s nothing wrong with those things but those things have their place (another post for another time).

Daniel was consistent with his walk with God. He remained faithful in praying three times a day to God (Daniel 6:10-17) and remained faithful to his Hebrew culture by continuing to eat healthy and refusing the choice foods from the kings table (Daniel 1:8-16). He resolved to continue to live as he had before he was kidnapped. He was anchored in God’s Word and it was because of his obedience God allowed him to be favored by the king (Daniel chapter 1). For myself, I find comfort in routine. Kinda like in RainMan where Dustin Hoffman playing the part of Raymond Babbit, an older brother with autism. No matter where he was he had to watch Judge Wapner. His younger brother Charlie Babbit played by Tom Cruise, somehow made it happen. He went to the great lengths of knocking on doors of strangers asking if they would let him and his brother in to watch TV. When Charlie recreated the routine or the environment for Raymond, things were good, otherwise Raymond couldn’t cope.

Think about it. How often do you find yourself out of your routine and your time with God gets derailed or pushed aside. Some days it can’t be helped but then one day turns into a week and then two weeks then you can’t remember the last time you spent with God reading His Word. How do we keep a spiritual homeostasis when our routine changes? I find it hard to cope without spending time with God each day. Some days it may happen later in the day, some days it may happen before the sun comes up, depending on what’s on the agenda for the day. But it has to happen so that when the environment changes, I can be consistent with at least one thing and remain faithful to God.

What are some things you do to keep that spiritual homeostasis? What helps you keep an equilibrium when your routine and environment change? Share your thoughts and comments and please like and share.