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God is the greatest Master Craftsman of all, taking wasted pieces and broken shards of our lives and restoring them to worth and meaning. The prophet Jeremiah described this when he compared God’s work to that of a potter working clay: “The vessel that me made of clay was married in the hand of the potter, so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make” (Jer. 18:4). 

No matter what messes we have made of our lives, God can remold us into vessels that are good in His eyes. As we confess any sin and submit ourselves in obedience to His word, we allow the Master to do His redemptive work in our lives (2 Tim. 2:21). That is the only way for the pieces of our brokenness to be made whole and good once again.  

- Billy Crowder

Detective Alan Pinkerton became famous in the mid-1800s by solving a series of train robberies and foiling a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln as he traveled to his first inauguration. As one of the first agencies of its kind int he US, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency gained even more prominence because of its logo of a wide-open eye with the caption, “We Never Sleep.”

There is no better feeling than knowing you are protected and secure.  You feel peaceful when the doors are locked and all is quiet as you drift off to sleep at night. You feel safe. But many lie awake in their beds with fearful thoughts of the present or dread of the future.

Some are afraid of commotion outside or of a spouse who has been violent. Some cannot rest because of worry over a rebellious child. Others are anxiously listening to make sure a seriously ill child is still breathing. 

There are times when our loving God encourages us to cry out to Him, to the One who will neither “slumber nor sleep” (Ps. 121:4). Psalm 34:15 reminds us that “the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.”

Pinkerton may have been the original “Private Eye,” but the One who really has the eye that never sleeps is listening to the cries of “the righteous” (Ps. 34:17).

- Cindy Hess Kasper 

Did you hear about the church that didn’t have enough room for parking? Fortunately, it was located right next to a store that was closed on Sundays, so a church member asked the store owner if they could overflow into his parking lot. 

“No problem,” he said. “You can use it 51 weeks out of the year. On the 52nd week, though, it will be chained off.”

The man was grateful, but asked curiously, “What happens that week?” The store owner smiled, “Nothing. I just want you to remember that it’s not your parking lot.”

It’s easy to take for granted all the material and spiritual blessings that God has given us. That’s why we need to stop and remember that Scripture says the true owner of all we possess is God: “All that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all” (1 Chron. 29:11). Even our bodies do not belong to us: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit … and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

As 1 Timothy 6:17 reminds us: “God … gives us richly all things to enjoy.”

We are so abundantly blessed with good things! Let’s never take our Father for granted, but use wisely and gratefully all that He has given us.

- Cindy Hess Kasper 

An old TV sitcom featured an establishment that the patrons seemed to frequent on a daily basis. The concept was that it was a welcoming place where “everybody knows your name.”

We all want to be accepted, to fit in somewhere. But some people live on the margins of life where it can be difficult to feel that they have any value or significance, or that they matter to anyone. Children sometimes experience this: Too tall - when other kids haven’t had a growth spurt yet. Too fat - when the other kids are thinner. Too smart - when their classmates are struggling. Or “not smart enough” in comparison with others. Being different as a child can result in being mocked or bullied. But an adult who doesn’t fit into the mold may just be ignored - so insignificant that he or she feels invisible.

But what a great significance we have in God’s eyes! We were so valued that He sent His son to pay the price for our sins and to allow us to have a relationship with Him. We were created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), and He has designed us and been involved in every detail of our life since before we were born (Psalm 139:1-16). Whether or not we always feel significant, we are deeply loved by our father.

- Cindy Hess Kasper 

Every so often, my computer becomes sluggish. Frequent use of certain programs and documents causes pieces of information to become scattered, requiring my computer to search for the pieces before I can use them. To fix it, I need to run a program that retrieves the pieces and groups them together where they are easily accessible. This process is called ‘defragmentation.’

Like my computer, my life gets fragmented. One situation tugs on my emotions while I’m trying to concentrate on something else. Demands from every direction bombard me. I want to accomplish everything that needs to be done, but my mind won’t stop and my body won’t start. Soon I begin to feel weary and useless.

Recently, I attended a retreat where one of the handouts included a prayer with words that expressed how I felt: “Lord, I am scattered, restless, and only half here.”

King David also went through such times (Ps. 55:2). In prayer, David presented his needs to God morning, noon and evening, confident that he would be heard (v.17). 
 
Prayer can help to defragment our lives. When we cast our cares on the Lord, He will show us what we need to do and what only He can do.

- Julie Ackerman Link 

My grandfathers were both gardeners and so are many of my friends. I love visiting beautiful gardens - they inspire me. They make me want to create something equally beautiful in my own yard. But I have trouble moving from the inspiration to the perspiration part of gardening. My great ideas don’t become reality because I don’t spend the time and energy to make them happen. 

This can be true in our spiritual lives as well. We can listen to the testimonies of other people and marvel at the work God is doing in their lives. We can hear uplifting music and great preaching and feel inspired to follow god more diligently. But soon after we walk out of church, we have trouble finding the time or making the effort to follow through.

James described such Christians as being like those who look in a mirror, see themselves, but do nothing to fix what is wrong (James 1:23-24). They hear the Word, but it doesn’t lead to action. James says we need to do — not just hear.

When we move from inspiration of simply “hearing” about the good being done by others to the perspiration of actually “doing” good works ourselves, the implanted Word of God (1:21) will bloom into a beautiful garden of spiritual fruit.

 - Julie Ackerman Link

Displayed on the wall of my friends’ lake house is a collection of pictures. Each one of the photos is of a sunset, taken from their deck during various seasons. While each is strikingly beautiful, no two are identical. When I look at them, it reminds me of what another friend once called a sunset - “God’s beautiful signature at the end of a day.”

God writes His signature on each sunset and on each of His unique children as well. I never grow tired of discovering how every person I meet is so delightfully different. God is infinitely creative, and the variety in our personalities, sense of humor, abilities, and preferences in music and sports are all and crafted by Him.

In the body of Christ, we see how a diversity of spiritual gifts still have a common bond and can work together for God’s purposes to bring Him glory. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, we read “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.”

God’s signature that is so evident in nature is also present in His people. Let’s celebrate the differences that make of His children unique.

- Cindy Hess Kasper 

A hotel in Singapore introduced an express buffet - eat all you can in 30 minutes and pay just half the price! After the experience, one diner reported: “I lost my decorum, stuffing my mouth with yet more food. I lost my civility, … and I lost my appetite for the rest of the day, so severe was my heartburn.”

Sometimes I think in our devotional reading we treat God’s Word like an express buffet. We wolf it down as fast as we can and wonder why we haven’t learn very much. Like physical food, spiritual food needs chewing!

For those of us who have been Christians for a long time, we may have a tendency to speed-read through the passages we’ve read many times before. But in dong so, we miss what God is meaning to show us. One sure sign of this is when we learn nothing new from that passage.

David’s desire was right when he wrote in Psalm 119:15, “I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.” That’s the way to treat God’s Word - to take time to mull it over.

Let’s not come to the Bible as if we  were going to an express buffet. Only by meditating on God’s word will we get the most value for our spiritual well-being.

- C. P. Hia 

If you were to ask me who I am, I’d tell you that I’m a follower of Jesus. But I have to admit, at times following Him is a real challenge. He tells me to do things like rejoice when I’m persecuted (Matthew 5:11-12); to turn the other cheek (verse 38-39); to give someone who wants to take from me (verse 40-42); to love my enemies, bless those who curse me, and do good to those who hate me (verse 43-44). This kind of lifestyle seems very upside down to me.

But I’ve come to realize that He’s not upside down - I am. We have all been born fallen and broken. Being twisted by sin, our first instincts are often wrong, which inevitably leaves a big mess.

We’re like toast slathered with jelly that has fallen upside down on the kitchen floor. Left to ourselves, we can make a pretty big mess of things. Then Jesus comes along, like a divine spatula, scrapes us off the floor of our sinful ways, and turns us right side up. And as we follow His right-side-up ways, we discover that turning the other cheek keeps us from getting caught in a brawl, that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and that dying to self is life at its best.

After all, His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8), and I’ve come to realize that His ways are always best!

- Joe Stowell 

Can we really know whether to label life’s circumstances as good or bad?

For instance, your car breaks down right before you are to take a family road trip. But when you take the car to the shop, the mechanic says, “Good thing you didn’t take this out on the road. It could have caught fire.” Is that bad because of the inconvenience, or good because of God’s protection?

Or perhaps your child decides to pursue interests that aren’t all that interesting to you. You wanted her to play basketball and run track in high school. But she wanted to sing and play the oboe. You feel frustrated, but she excels and ends up with a music scholarship. Is that bad because your dreams weren’t fulfilled, or good because God directed her in ways you could not have predicted?

Sometimes it’s hard to see how God is working. His mysteries don’t always reveal their secrets to us, and our journey is often redirected by uncontrollable detours. Perhaps God is showing us a better route.

To make sure we benefit from what might seem bad, we must recognize and trust God’s “unfailing love” (Psalm 13:5). In the end, we’ll be able to say, “I will sing to the Lord for He has been good to me” (Verse 6).

- Dave Branon