Sunny&80The Lemon in my Water (#jammed daily devo, day 99)
Posted on April 9, 2018
April #jammed: Grace Studies.
Day 99: Not the same without it.
The organized part of my heart has the day mapped out before it begins, and part of that
routine is a giant glass of water with fresh lemon squeezed in it. Always trying to be healthy, I’m sure it began as a part of that cause, but now I can’t stand the taste of water without it. It’s less refreshing …bland …boring.
Today’s verse is the squeeze of lemon in the water of life. Jesus. The Voice version says, “the energy of life.” He surely is. I don’t remember a day in my life that I didn’t believe in Jesus. The sweetest times in my life are those He was especially present in. Other times, I walked away. Never completely …but enough to make life start to taste bland and boring.
The path is not an easy one to walk. God never promised this life would be easy. But it’s harder without Him. Doubly hard. Double the pain, double the shame, double the suffered consequence for sinful nature. Bleh. That’s all pretty tough to swallow.
My struggle in Christianity has been in forgiving myself for wandering from the path, ignoring the truth, and sucking the energy right out of my own soul. Everytime I think I’ll never go down that road again, I’m scared into prayer …because I’ve done it before. I’ve turned on my heals and ran like the wind. Thinking I could figure life out, fix a mistake, reverse a bad decision, ignore a wrong choice …ignore His voice.
But when I pick up that lemon, slice it in half, and squeeze it into my glass of water …crackling with ice …I’m still here. I’m here on this earth drinking a glass of water. I kind of have to …I need water to live. It’s not a big deal unless I recognize the redemptive status of this extra glass full of flavor.
It’s still too much for me to understand. I don’t have all the answers. But I can’t do life without Him anymore. I become more relient on my sweet Jesus everyday. The more I get to know Him, the more I can’t believe I ever tried to wander without Him. The more I can’t believe He doesn’t shame me with guilt like I and the rest of the ‘free’ world would love to. My mistakes are unspeakable. I’m not ready to speak of them fully. But I’m working on it. For now, I’m just thankful for the lemon in my water, the flavor in my life, and Jesus in my heart.
Father, Praise You for the Energy of life! Thank You for Jesus. He truly does give us life to live. Forgive me for wasting time wandering. Bless all of the days of my life with the zest of lemony goodness, with His spark of energy in my step and smile. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Zesting,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
The Water’s Purpose (#jammed daily devo, day 93.)
Posted on April 3, 2018
April #jammed: Grace Studies.
Day 93: Water and grace.
“What’s the water for?” my youngest asked, as we watched our Pastor dunk someone under.
Brilliant question.
In today’s verse we witness the “empty waters” on earth before God’s voice spoke creation into existence. Water must be pretty significant to have a place before all other creation, and it seems fitting to me that even today we are submerged in it to symbolize new life.
Egyptian texts speak of places without function as “nonexistent…” in general it designates a situation in which positive values such as purpose and worth are lacking. “Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the Old Testament
The earth is God’s beautiful creation, yet many days we blur by the beauty that He’s placed around us. Thus is a life without Christ. Still beautiful, but blurring by the beauty that He specifically purposed. Each human life was put on earth just as intentionally as each note of nature.
When we are dunked under the water, the old is gone, the new has come. We begin to
pursue His purpose over our own, and therefore begin to feel life as it was intended to be.
Each day, we look to water to cleanse us, hydrate us, and sustain us. We wash our clothes, our cars, our kids, our hands … It makes us clean. It fills us up. It keeps us moving. It’s a basic human need for survival. It’s been here all along. Before the first tree, first cloud, first sound of God’s voice …”empty waters.”
Are we just jumping in to be refreshed, or have we been emerged in Living water to drown death?
Merriam-Webster’s definition of water begins with, “the liquid that descends from the clouds…”
Indeed, He did. To dunk us all. #revival
Father, Praise You for water. The most basic human need and yet the first element existent upon earth. You place everything with significance, and we thank You for placing such importance on water. Forgive us for not depending on the Water of life like we do the water we drink. Bless our souls to be refreshed with Your living Word, the water of life, Your Son, Jesus. In His Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Dunking,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
The Unchanging Change (#jammed daily devo, day 35)
Posted on February 4, 2018
February #jammed: Dunked in Grace
Day 35: Grace is Constant and Consistent.
“ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.” Matthew 13:13
“Ah….it’s warmer in here…” they sighed as they ducked under to stay out of the cooler
air.
Swimming in a Southern pool on a winter day is a treat, whether it’s sunny and 80 or sunny and 56. My daughters didn’t care. Their bathing suits were on and they were in that water as fast as they could be.
After a while, my six-year old’s lips turned purple. The water that seemed so warm at first now felt chilly. Bundled in towels to dry off, I could tell she was a little bewildered by the sudden change in how she felt…though the water remained the same.
Faith can feel warm one day, and challengingly chilly the next. Our hearts have trouble adjusting to the constancy of God’s provisionary love. In a perfection-driven world, we have trouble accepting what “perfect” looks like as it pertains to God’s plan for our individual lives.
Today’s verse reminds of Jesus’ baptism. The Son of Man was baptized. I often think I’m unique in that I’m drawn to the water’s edge. Maybe we’re all wired with the urge to run and jump in …the innate sense that the water will refresh our souls.
Jesus came to earth to show us the way. God Himself said, ‘this is how you do it,’ and was dunked under the water.
The temperature of life can be controlled by none other than the the One who created the universe. Diving in is surrendering control …to Him.
Father, Praise You for John the Baptist. How humbled he must have been that day to baptize Your Son Jesus. Thank You for the example that Jesus walked out for us. He showed humility and courage, kindness and fortitude …all at the same time. We confess that we do not always look for Him when we feel a temperature change. Forgive us, and re-route us. Dunk us under the water and bless us with Your Spirit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
When were you baptized? Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Dunking,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
The Lemon in my Water (#jammed daily devo, day 99)
Posted on April 9, 2017
April #jammed: Grace Studies.
Day 99: Not the same without it.
The organized part of my heart has the day mapped out before it begins, and part of that routine is a giant glass of water with fresh lemon squeezed in it. Always trying to be healthy, I’m sure it began as a part of that cause, but now I can’t stand the taste of water without it. It’s less refreshing …bland …boring.
Today’s verse is the squeeze of lemon in the water of life. Jesus. The Voice version says, “the energy of life.” He surely is. I don’t remember a day in my life that I didn’t believe in Jesus. The sweetest times in my life are those He was especially present in. Other times, I walked away. Never completely …but enough to make life start to taste bland and boring.
The path is not an easy one to walk. God never promised this life would be easy. But it’s harder without Him. Doubly hard. Double the pain, double the shame, double the suffered consequence for sinful nature. Bleh. That’s all pretty tough to swallow.
My struggle in Christianity has been in forgiving myself for wandering from the path, ignoring the truth, and sucking the energy right out of my own soul. Everytime I think I’ll never go down that road again, I’m scared into prayer …because I’ve done it before. I’ve turned on my heals and ran like the wind. Thinking I could figure life out, fix a mistake, reverse a bad decision, ignore a wrong choice …ignore His voice.
But when I pick up that lemon, slice it in half, and squeeze it into my glass of water …crackling with ice …I’m still here. I’m here on this earth drinking a glass of water. I kind of have to …I need water to live. It’s not a big deal unless I recognize the redemptive status of this extra glass full of flavor.
It’s still too much for me to understand. I don’t have all the answers. But I can’t do life without Him anymore. I become more relient on my sweet Jesus everyday. The more I get to know Him, the more I can’t believe I ever tried to wander without Him. The more I can’t believe He doesn’t shame me with guilt like I and the rest of the ‘free’ world would love to. My mistakes are unspeakable. I’m not ready to speak of them fully. But I’m working on it. For now, I’m just thankful for the lemon in my water, the flavor in my life, and Jesus in my heart.
Father, Praise You for the Energy of life! Thank You for Jesus. He truly does give us life to live. Forgive me for wasting time wandering. Bless all of the days of my life with the zest of lemony goodness, with His spark of energy in my step and smile. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Zesting,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
The Water’s Purpose (#jammed daily devo, day 93.)
Posted on April 3, 2017
April #jammed: Grace Studies.
Day 93: Water and grace.
“What’s the water for?” my youngest asked, as we watched our Pastor dunk someone under.
Brilliant question.
In today’s verse we witness the “empty waters” on earth before God’s voice spoke creation into existence. Water must be pretty significant to have a place before all other creation, and it seems fitting to me that even today we are submerged in it to symbolize new life.
Egyptian texts speak of places without function as “nonexistent…” in general it designates a situation in which positive values such as purpose and worth are lacking. “Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the Old Testament
The earth is God’s beautiful creation, yet many days we blur by the beauty that He’s placed around us. Thus is a life without Christ. Still beautiful, but blurring by the beauty that He specifically purposed. Each human life was put on earth just as intentionally as each note of nature.
When we are dunked under the water, the old is gone, the new has come. We begin to
pursue His purpose over our own, and therefore begin to feel life as it was intended to be.
Each day, we look to water to cleanse us, hydrate us, and sustain us. We wash our clothes, our cars, our kids, our hands … It makes us clean. It fills us up. It keeps us moving. It’s a basic human need for survival. It’s been here all along. Before the first tree, first cloud, first sound of God’s voice …”empty waters.”
Are we just jumping in to be refreshed, or have we been emerged in Living water to drown death?
Merriam-Webster’s definition of water begins with, “the liquid that descends from the clouds…”
Indeed, He did. To dunk us all. #revival
Father, Praise You for water. The most basic human need and yet the first element existent upon earth. You place everything with significance, and we thank You for placing such importance on water. Forgive us for not depending on the Water of life like we do the water we drink. Bless our souls to be refreshed with Your living Word, the water of life, Your Son, Jesus. In His Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Dunking,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
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