Enjoy these selections from the last 90 days of Walter Mouse's weekly "Field Mouse Evangelism" devotions. The devotions are listed in descending order by date with the most recent devotion at the top. Click here if you would like to read the Wending Our Way devotions.
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Many years ago, while Bill and I were still working, when we drove off to work, we spotted several of the neighborhood preschoolers gaily blowing bubbles in a front yard. They were all leaping around with great abandon, having a swell time. As we got closer, though, I could see that while most of the kids were blowing bubbles, one little girl was spending most of her time bursting the bubbles others had blown. Her face had a determined, almost mean look and her hand movements (unlike the gentle, widespread movements of her companions) were sharp stabs, directed at destroying the colorful bubbles as they floated by.
The other kids slowly moved away from her and went on enjoying their game.
Some folks are like this little girl: making almost a ministry out of bursting other people's bubbles. Sometimes the only thing we can do when assaulted by a continually negative, critical person, is to quietly move away from them and go on with our own lives.
1 Corinthians 7:15 ...God has called us to live in peace.
Many years ago, at a former house, we had a bit of water leak into the cellar. There wasn't a whole lot of water, but it did need fixing. A French drain was suggested. That's basically a slotted pipe that's laid in a trench. It catches the rainwater and channels it away from the house.
I was watching the workers dig the trench for the pipe and wondered how deep they'd have to dig. I thought maybe four or five feet, but one fellow said, "Oh no. We only dig down a foot or so. You want to catch the water before it goes too deep." That makes sense.
We should operate the same way when we find ourselves drawn into bad habits or undesirable behaviors: " catch it before it goes too deep." Then it, too, can be channeled safely away and doesn't get a foothold.
Proverbs 2:12a ... Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men....
Many years ago, I lived in a neighborhood with lots of school-age children. One morning, I looked out and some of the kids were playing tag in a nearby yard as they waited for the school bus. They were racing madly around the yard, shrieking with delight and enthusiasm. They'd designated a sturdy tree as a time-out spot for those who needed a rest or found themselves pursued too closely.
At one point, a little boy (five or so) launched himself merrily at the tree, crashed into it, and joyously yelled, "I'm safe!" as the girl chasing him darted past. His face just radiated his pleasure! He stood there a moment, puffing, and then ran off grinning.
We each have a chance to celebrate that sort of pleasure and security. As we catch hold of Jesus, we're safe as well- held in the arms of Eternity forever.
1 John 5:18 ...the one who was born of God keeps [you] safe....
Bill and I were talking to a scuba diver yesterday. He told us about diving in a quarry several years ago, a venture that required a good bit of equipment: wetsuit, flippers, gloves, mask, air tank and weighted belt. It was the weighted belt that fascinated me. Without it, divers just float on the surface of the water, but wearing it, they can descend to any depth they choose. But--the belt also KEEPS them at the bottom. In order to get back to the surface, each diver must release their belt; that is, remove it and let it go. Naturally, it sinks to the bottom, but they're then free to float back to the top.
Is there something you're carrying around, which, like a weighted belt, is holding you down? Is it something that's no longer useful and might actually drown you if you keep it? Is it time to release it so that you can float free?
If there is something heavy that's keeping you in a holding pattern, pray for strength, discernment, grace, truth and love. Strength will provide the energy and stamina to face changing circumstances. Discernment will guide you toward what needs release and how to manage that. Grace will bring kindness to you and others as you navigate this new pathway. Truth will keep you on the right path. And love, as ever, sustains the Life Within as the journey continues.
Malachi 4:2b ... you will...leap like calves released from the stall.
One time we had a birdfeeder that had a vertical tube in the middle to hold the seed and then heavy wire forming a roomy cage around the tube. This arrangement let the smaller songbirds in to the seed, but it kept the bigger birds (like grackles and starlings) out. It also protected feeding birds from marauding hawks.
It was fun to watch the little birds maneuver around within the cage so they could get to the seed. They looked like they were trapped in there, but they weren't. The cage was actually part of their provision: it protected them and their food source.
Sometimes life seems to hem me in, too. I feel surrounded and trapped by circumstances beyond my control. But sometimes, what looks like a trap to me may be used for my ultimate benefit. I'm not saying that the LORD creates discord and hardship, but He does use everything for good (Rom. 8:28), and sometimes what doesn't look like provision to me may actually be provisioning in some way.
Exodus 14:3 ...hemmed in by the desert.
Bill and I were driving along a rural road this week and passed by a neatly printed sign--maybe three feet wide and two feet high. All it said was "Betty"--with a large arrow pointing to the right. Several pink and white balloons were bobbing above the sign, and the arrow clearly pointed to a smaller road nearby. We had no idea what the occasion was, but obviously Betty was expected somewhere.
Someday, each of us is going to see a "sign" like that--with just our name, an arrow and several balloons; but this arrow will point either up or down. I'm figuring that if we know Jesus, the balloons will be a riot of color and movement, and the arrow will point upwards. For those who don't know Him, I picture a downward-pointing arrow and motionless black balloons.
We get to choose our own signs--and our own eternity.
John 5:24 ...he has crossed over from death to life.
Bill and I used to see a lot of yards in our walks around our old neighborhood. They certainly differed in what grew in them. Some were beautifully maintained, filled with think, rich, green grass. Others were weed-filled thatch with a lot of what Bill's mom calls "sticky-ups": wild garlic, pig ear and buckhorn. One day we passed an otherwise well-tended lawn with two patches of small bright yellow flowers sprouting up. I suspect they were weeds. No one would plant flowers where these appeared. They were pretty, though--an uplifting sight amongst all the green blades of grass.
As Christians, we're called to be like those flowers: to stand out (in a positive way) in a crowd. Nothing flashy needed. Just something obviously brighter than whatever's going on around us.
Proverbs 13:9 ...The light of the righteous shines brightly....
Bill was digging in the garden last night, preparing a spot for a new plant. Things started out OK but after a bit, he hit a lot of rock. He really worked hard at it and eventually freed a rock almost the size of a dinner plate! Nothing would ever grow beyond it. No plant could develop a deep enough root system with that rock in the way. Roots would keep hitting the rocky obstruction and get stalled.
Our growth can hit rocks, too, if we rely only on ourselves and forget to include God in the mix. I often think of people who don't know God at all and so rely solely on their own thoughts in order to sift through things. How do they DO it?! After a time, we reach the end of our human capacity--rock bottom. We need a Mind and Heart greater than ours to get us through.
Jeremiah 33:3 ...Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
I'm so anxious for raspberries I could just dash out back and grab a few off the bush--except that I tried that once and the berries were TERRIBLE! All hard and green and bitter. Not what I wanted at all. I'll have to wait for them, I guess. They're just not ready yet.
Sometimes there's other stuff in our lives that's just not ready yet: jobs, finances and relationships, for instance. If we're patient and wait for circumstances to "ripen" in our lives, they will.
The raspberries will arrive at exactly the right time and will be just what we need. So will every other blessing we have the patience to wait for. Just wait and see!!
Psalms 27:13 ...I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD...
Every spring Bill and I see lots of ducklings around our local feeders. They run after the parents, quack gently, flap, eat, fall over, lag behind and generally wear their parents out. The parents start off by feeding soft things--bugs, worms and the like, and progress to seeds and cracked corn as the babies are able to digest them.
Our spiritual walk is like that. We start out on "milk," which is the softer, easier stuff in the Bible. Then, as we grow, we become ready to digest meatier content.
So--wherever you are on your spiritual walk, relax and feed on what's there. When you're ready for a different menu, God will lead you to it.
1 Corinthians 3:2 ...I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.
Twice this week Bill and I passed a truck that had So-and-So's Casket Distributors" painted on its side. Casket Distributors??!! Good heavens! I suppose they have to come from somewhere, but I never gave it a thought until I saw that truck.
Then I got to thinking: one day, one of those is going to be mine! It really brought me up short. It made me think of eternity and where I'll be spending it. I know I'll be in heaven with Jesus. How about you?
John 11:26 ...whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Many years ago, Bill and I were attending a Bible study. Our discussion led us to the fact that we all had different versions of the Bible and so sometimes wound up with very different wording for the same scripture. As we each called out the name of the Bible we used, we discovered that we had five different versions in the room: the New International Version, Living Bible, New Century Version, New King James Version, and North American Standard. Amid all the chatter, one man spoke up and said, "I have an RSVP!" He followed that immediately with a chuckle and the comment, "Oops! I guess I'm tired. Mine's actually an NRSV" (New Revised Standard).
Everyone got a laugh out of his mistake, but I wondered: Don't we all have an RSVP Bible? God wants us not only to read His word, but also to respond --to Him and to the Love that brought His word to us.
Exodus 19:8 ...The people all responded together....
Years ago, Bill had a miniature schnauzer who loved to catch flies. They'd get stuck inside on the storm door's glass panel and we'd hear the dog's nails as she scrabbled around on the tile floor in front of the door, trying to follow the insect. We'd also hear an occasional thump as the dog smashed her nose into the glass while trying to grab the fly. This scenario used to repeat itself over and over as the fly escaped and then returned and the dog kept up her relentless pursuit of her evasive target.
The dog always seemed to enjoy the thrill of the chase and certainly put her whole body and soul into it. Her chances of actually catching the fly were almost nil, but that didn't dampen her enthusiasm any. And what was the pricey reward if she did manage to catch one? A filth-ridden snack with no nutritional value and the chance to experience some nasty illness.
Temptation and sin can be a lot like chasing flies. It feels like fun, looks harmless, offers a bit of excitement, but, like catching a fly, the "rewards" are pretty gruesome--and they really endanger the good stuff I've already got.
Galatians 6:1b ...watch yourself, or you may also be tempted.
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This page was last revised on February 23, 2020 at 7:41 PM.
