Devotionals

Take time to read, slowly and carefully, through 2 Corinthians 11-13. List the hardships the Apostle Paul endured.

Try putting yourself and your own particular circumstances and trials into Paul's constant affirmations of faith.

There are 1,130 frostbitten miles, mountain ranges, blizzards, hungry beasts, and frozen seas between Anchorage and Nome. This awful trek is the scene of the ultimate endurance test known as the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, where 12 huskies pull a sled and its driver through the most gruelling, inhuman conditions one can fathom. One frequent champion was the late Susan Butcher, whose tough-minded fixation on winning earned her the nickname Ayatollah Butcher.

Philippians 1

When money is our objective for happiness, we must live in fear of losing it, which makes us paranoid and suspicious. When fame is our aim, we become competitive lest others upstage us, which makes us envious. When power and influence drive us, we become self-serving and strong-willed, which makes us arrogant. And when possessions become our god, we become materialistic, thinking enough is never enough, which makes us greedy. All these pursuits fly in the face of contentment and joy.

1 Corinthians 13:11

Too good. That's the only way to describe my early childhood. Lots of friends in the neighbourhood. Sandlot football down at the end of Quince Street in East Houston or shooting hoops against the garage backboard. There were family reunions at my granddaddy's little bay cabin, plus fishing, floundering, crabbing, swimming, and eating.

1 Peter 5:8-9

A basketball fan at the Portland airport awaited the arrival of the Trailblazers following a victory over the Lakers and attempted to scalp a couple of tickets to the next game. As the shyster wormed through the crowd, he located a well-dressed man who listened to his offer.

"How much?" asked the gentleman.

"One hundred 50 bucks," the scalper replied under his breath.

"Do you realize you're talking to a plain clothes officer of the law?" the man asked. "I'm going to turn you in, fella."

2 Corinthians 1

Of all the letters Paul wrote, Second Corinthians is the most autobiographical. In this letter Paul records the specifics of his anguish, tears, affliction, and satanic opposition. He spells out the details of his persecution, loneliness, imprisonments, beatings, feelings of despair, hunger, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, and that "thorn in the flesh"—his companion of pain. How close it makes us feel to him when we see him as a man with real, honest-to-goodness problems, just like ours!

Philippians 4

I have discovered that a joyful countenance has nothing to do with one's age or one's occupation (or lack of it) or one's geography or education or marital status or good looks or circumstances. Joy is a choice!

Romans 12

Nobody is a whole chain. Each one is a link. But take away one link and the chain is broken.

Nobody is a whole team. Each one is a player. But take away one player and the game is forfeited.

Nobody is a whole orchestra. Each one is a musician. But take away one musician and the symphony is incomplete.

We need each other. You need someone and someone needs you. Isolated islands, we're not.

Hebrews 10:23-25

I'm a sports fan. I'm sure that comes as news to no one! For some strange reason, even when I was growing up, I could remember the most amazing details—OK, maybe "trivia" is a better word—about different ballplayers. You know, stuff nobody really cares to hear, but nevertheless sticks in my head...the way it does with most sports fans.

Ephesians 4:11-16

Many professions draw public attention like warm watermelon draws flies. Those who practise them are constantly in the news. If it isn't the money they make, it's the company they keep or the trends they set or the controversy they spawn. Their notoriety is somewhere between amazing and appalling.

There is one profession, however, that is neither notorious nor controversial. Although essential to our future as a nation, being inseparably linked to the home as few other professions are, it has been treated like a stepchild.