Decision

Question to think about: What have you done?

A wrong decision was made.
The impact of the decision worsened
when it was covered up.
Eventually the truth came out.
Life became messy.
Trust was lost.
Words and actions were questioned.
As time went on . . .
trust was restored.
Life became better . . .
until the wrong decision was made . . . again.

A woman stood in the middle of the court, condemned for her wrong decisions. The presence and the words of Jesus turned attention to their own sins:
The religious rulers walked away from the woman they accused of making wrong decisions.

When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.
Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"
She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either Go From now on sin no more."
(John 8:9-11, NASB)

Christ freed the woman condemned to death. She did not deserve it . . . but she received new life.
The nameless woman was given the opportunity to live . . . it was her decision to start over . . . to live a different life through Christ . . . a decision that has been given to all of humanity.

Make the decision to live life through Christ.
Celebrate freedom from living condemned to death . . . through the power, presence, and peace of Christ.
Learning with you to decide to live life through Christ,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2009 All Rights Reserved)

Words In The Sand

Question to think about: Do you know what God said?

Miscommunication.
Offended.
Hurt.
Anger.
Refusal to forgive.
Avoidance.
Blame.
Division.
Broken.

How can individuals be reconciled?

Reconciliation is a process.
Those who reconcile must be willing to
give up their rights . . .
forgive . . .
and
reach out in peace.

Christ is the Reconciler. The presence, power, and peace of Christ has reconciled humanity to God and one another.

A woman stood between the accusations of religious leaders and the love of Christ.
Christ gave a strong message of truth and wrote a message in the sandy soil.

Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
(John 8:9, NASB)

What did Jesus write?
We can only imagine. Perhaps it was something like:
"Forgive and you will be forgiven."
"Love as I love you."
"Go in My peace."

Engage with the reconciling power of Christ.
What words would Christ write in the sand for you?
Forgive.
Love.
Go in peace.

Learning with you to live in the reconciling power of Christ,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2009 All Rights Reserved)

Stand Your Ground

Question to think about: Do you stand your ground?

It was dark . . . late at night.
I could hear footsteps behind me as I made my way into the hospital to visit an individual.
I startled the man when I turned around and said,

"Can I help you?"
He stuttered and said, "Ummm. . . I noticed the Bible in your hand."
I replied, "Walk with me and we will talk."

We walked into the hospital talking about God.

I don't know what the man was originally thinking . . .
but
I do know that we are not to fear,
facing who or what pursues us . . .
standing our ground through the presence and power of Christ.

Jesus did not fear what the religious rulers might do. He stood his ground.

But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
(John 8:7-8, NABB)

Jesus stood His ground.
He faced the attackers.
He did not give into to their divisiveness.
He spoke in truth.

Stop.
Refuse to fear who or whatever is divisive.
Face the fear through the presence of Christ.
Stand your ground in the strength and power of the Spirit of Christ.


Learning with you to stand the ground,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2009 All Rights Reserved)

BUT . . .

Question to think about: Do you see possibilities?

I listened to the words:
"It's time."
"Nothing is working."
"It's over."
"But . . . we have hope."

The word, "but," grabbed my attention . . . indicating possibility in the impossible circumstance.

Certainly, the word, "but," had significance for one woman.
She had been caught.
She must have felt the weight of shame and disgrace
as she faced the religious rulers.
There was no doubt that she would be stoned to death.
The religious rulers used her to
trap Jesus.

Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such [women--offenders] shall be stoned to death. But what do You say [to do with her--what is Your sentence]? This they said to try (test) Him, hoping they might find a charge on which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger. (John 8:5-6, AMP)

"But" . . . the word is small . . . but . . . the word has power.
But . . . there was something more.
Jesus stooped down . . . God was at work . . . as he wrote in the sand.

Stop.
Life may seem hopeless . . . but . . . there you can find hope through Christ.
Refuse to focus on the hopelessness of a circumstance.
Receive hope through Christ.

Learning with you about the possibilities of the word, "but,"
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2009 All Rights Reserved)

Tragedy

Question to think about: How does the tragedy of humanity define your life?

Long ago,
a man spent time
scaring kids in our neighborhood.
The thing is . . . he was living in our children's playhouse behind
our home.
Somewhere along the way, the man lost his purpose in life . . . a true tragedy.

The tragedy of humanity is real . . . living without purpose . . . lost . . . without God.

The story of one woman,
put on trial by religious leaders,
described the rejection and shame
that came out of the
tragedy of humanity.

The religious leaders did not see the result of the tragedy closed humanity off from living in a participating-active-ongoing relationship with God . . . it was as if their own hearts were boarded up with the sign . . . KEEP OUT . . . DO NOT ENTER. They were lost in a self-righteous-rigid-rule-keeping life . . . seeing themselves separated from others for the sake of God . . . but in reality . . . they lived separated from God.
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,
they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
John 8:2-4, NASB)

Each of us are impacted on a daily basis by the tragedy of humanity.
Stop.
Be released from the power of the tragedy . . .
receive the
presence . . . power . . . and peace of God.
Celebrate . . . with God . . . tragedy is not the end of the story.

Learning with you that life does not need to be defined by tragedy,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2009 All Rights Reserved)

He Came In Peace

Question to think about: Do you have peace?
There are certain people that impact our lives.
He was eighty-something.
He came in peace
to our church
to help us find healing
in a time of chaos and profound hurt.
Not all of us thought we were hurt.
We were.
Hurt is often hidden . . .
we tend not to deal with pain . . .
denying the presence and power it has over us.
He taught us to be honest,
to face pain,
and to receive
the presence
and power
of peace.
We did.
And . . . we began to experience peace . . . and become healthy.

We are unhealthy until we face pain and receive peace.

Christ, God with us, came to give humanity peace . . . shalom . . . well-being. Healing, at the deepest level, occurs through receiving the life-giving peace of Christ.

Christ came in active peace:
BUT JESUS went to the Mount of Olives.
Early in the morning (at dawn), He came back into the temple [court], and the people came to Him in crowds. He sat down and was teaching them,(John 8:1-2, Amplified)
Think about how this story reveals peace:
John 7 closes with the religious leaders telling the people not to believe. In response, the people went home.
Chapter 8 opens up with a dramatic scene . . . Jesus goes to Mount of Olives . . . and then early in the morning returns to the temple.
Jesus did not allow rejection to deter Him from bringing life-giving peace to humanity.
Jesus came back and the people came to Him.
No justification.
No arguments.
No strife.
He came
with life-giving peace.
He sat down.
He taught.
He sat down and taught them.

Think about it . . . God who created this world . . . comes to us . . . takes time to connect . . . and teach . . . without force . . . but with peace.

Jesus lived out the message of peace.
We are called to live in and through active peace.
Stop.
Face the pain that comes from this world.
Receive the peace of Christ.
Actively live out peace today.

Learning with you to live out the message of peace,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2009 All Rights Reserved)

Moving Your Mountains

Question to think about: What are your mountains?

It appeared that nothing more could be done,
the end seemed near,
they decided to
walk away.
A mountain of problems had piled up.
And then it happened . . .
an idea came to them.
One more try,
did not make sense;
however,
they had nothing more to lose.

Problems become mountains.

Is there something more that can be done when problems become impassable mountains in our life?
To see beyond the mountain, we need to first see the presence of God.
The thing is . . . the mountain of problems often block our view of God . . . as the problems begin to overpower faith.
Humanity has struggled since the beginning of time
with faith that God is present and more powerful than what we are facing.
In a conversation with religious rulers, the people were told not to believe that God would come and be in their midst:
Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus earlier and was both a ruler and a Pharisee, spoke up. "Does our Law decide about a man's guilt without first listening to him and finding out what he is doing?"
But they cut him off. "Are you also campaigning for the Galilean? Examine the evidence. See if any prophet ever comes from Galilee."
Then they all went home. (John 7:50-53, The Message)
God is present, regardless of the acknowledgement of humanity.
God invites humanity to faith that moves mountains. . . in the presence, power, and peace of God:

“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.

Accept the invitation to faith, even as small as a mustard seed.

Move
the
mountain.

Learning with you to move mountains,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2009 All Rights Reserved)