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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Bill was doing laundry this morning, and I noticed that there's a button on the dryer that says, "Press On." Hmmm...that turns the dryer on, I guess.
This is just what we're supposed to do in life, too, even if the road before us is dreary and bumpy and rough, and life seems way too discouraging and much too hard.
If we keep on "Pressing On," we'll find the way opening before us and will reap a harvest at the appointed time.
Galatians 6:9 ...Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap harvest if we do not give up.
Bill bought a box of teabags this week. He had the worst time finding his usual brand at the grocery store because they'd changed the appearance of the box. It said, "New Look!" The box color and designs were way different than they had been. The tea was the same, but the container wasn't. Bill almost bought the wrong thing.
Jesus called the Scribes and Pharisees "whitened sepulchers" and "painted tombs" when they spiffed up their packaging without improving what was "inside the box."
God doesn't care much about my external appearance. It's what's inside that's important.
Psalms 51:2 ...Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from sin.
We were visiting Bill's mom this week. When we arrived, she'd just made herself a cup of herbal tea. We started to chat and she thought she'd left the teabag in long enough, but when she went to drink it, it was awful--way too weak! No flavor at all. It worked out OK, though. She stuck the teabag back in the water again and about five minutes later it tasted fine. It just needed a little more time.
As I was wandering around under Mom's kitchen table searching for crumbs, it came to me that I'm often rushing the cups God sets before me. It's so hard to wait for stuff to happen that I sometimes try to hurry things along before God has finished the brewing process. This can leave me with a weakened version of the blessings He has planned for me.
It's better to wait patiently and give God time to let things fully develop around me.
James 5:7b ...See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop....
Bill and I stopped at a hospital to make a visit a while ago, and wonder of wonders, two elevators became available at the same time. Both were going up, as we were, so it didn't matter which one we took. We hopped on one and soon arrived on our floor.
It seems to be that God occasionally puts us in situations like that-- where we have two possible choices and one's as good as the other. I know Bill has been there. At one point he prayed and prayed about a new job offer but never got a clear leading from the Good Lord. Finally, God seemed to be saying, "I'll use you in whichever place you choose." How freeing! Bill chose to take the new job offer and was happy there for many years.
Sometimes, if we prayerfully consider one of several options and receive no clear understanding of God's will for us, it may be because He's leaving the choice in our hands and will use us wherever we are.
Ecclesiastes 3:6 ...a time to search and a time to give up.
Bill loves crosswords. (I try to help him with them, but I'm not very good at it.) He especially likes the ones that are a bit challenging. He loves it when one clue leads to an answer and a while later, another clue leads to another answer.
He doesn't need to see results all at once. Sometimes he carries a clue around in his head for days, awaiting an inspiration. He doesn't seem to mind the empty spots on the page or the erasures, or mysteriously obscure clues. He just keeps plugging away.
Isn't life like that---full of input and connection, but often equally full of empty spots, start-overs and mysterious silences. Through it all, we know that God is watching over us, and that life, like crosswords, comes together as we live it.
Psalms 121:3 ...he who watches over you will not slumber....
Bill and I stopped for gas this morning, a frightening experience at best! As Bill headed toward the station to pay, he stepped on a huge manhole cover. Nothing unusual there--we've walked on it before, but this time it made the worst racket when Bill's foot hit it. It scared us half to death!! Nothing seemed to be actually wrong, so we just continued on our way.
On the way back to the car, we discovered the cause of the noise. A good-sized stone had found its way onto the manhole cover and rattled loudly whenever someone stepped on it. Now we knew that we could ignore the noise and go on with our day.
Life can be like that, too. Some things can be very noisy without necessarily requiring our response. Once we're sure nothing's actually amiss, we can often ignore some of the noise that crosses our path.
Isaiah 18:4 ...I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place.
A friend of Bill's recently bought an old wooden desk at a yard sale. It was pretty banged up, but was an interesting shape and size, so Bill's friend figured he could repair and refinish it and it'd look pretty good. He ran into problems when he discovered the desk was made of plywood. There was no way to make repairs to any of it. What can you do with broken plywood?! When he tried to refinish it, it discovered that he couldn't remove the old paint completely and when he could remove the old paint, the plywood was still unattractively stained. It was an impossible job all around.
We can feel like that old desk sometimes: broken and damaged beyond repair. Man can't fix that, although we can sometimes help. Our God, however, can transform a life. The Master Carpenter is in the repair business. You can count on Him, no matter what shape you're in!
Philippians 32:20b-21 ...the Lord Jesus Christ ...will transform our lowly bodies....
Several years ago, Bill and I took a winter walk after a particularly cold spell had begun to let up. We'd had brutal cold, followed by snow and sleet, followed by melting and refreezing--it was just a mess out!
Most sidewalks were cleared that day, so we decided to venture out. At one point, we noticed that ice on the blacktop of our driveway was melting from underneath. Interesting! There was a layer of water flowing gently under the top layer of ice.
That's just the way God often works in our lives--from the inside out. Even if someone's outside looks frozen, God may be at work within. We shouldn't count anyone (including ourselves) lost just because of appearances. God is often at work within the human heart.
Hosea 11:8e ... My heart is changed within me....
Last week Bill and I wound up driving behind a dump truck with "Up in Smoke" painted across the back of the truck bed. I have no idea what it meant to the driver, but it made me think of the smoke that trails away when you blow out a candle. It's visible for a short time, then just vanishes.
So it is with our lives: they, too, are visible for a brief period and then they simply disappear. Just as we can hold onto the memory of a candle burning, once we're gone others can hold onto the memories we've created together.
What memories are you creating with the life you've been given?
Psalms 102:3 ...For my days vanish like smoke....
We were at the dentist last week---tra la---and had a bit of a wait for our turn. As were sitting there, a young mother came out of an exam room followed by a preschooler clutching a book. All seemed fine until Mom explained to her young son that the book belonged to the dentist and had to stay there.
The little one put on a very determined look and held the book even tighter. Mom finally had to gently pry it from her little one's grip, and then they left together amid his tears of genuine sadness. We felt sorry for the little guy, but it was kind of heart-warming to see how much he valued that book. Wouldn't it be great if we valued God's word like that--just wanted to carry it around with us all the time, holding it close to our hearts?
Words hidden our hearts can never be pried loose, no matter what or who intervenes. Words in our hearts are protected for eternity. They're with us always.
Psalms 119:11 ...I have hidden your word in my heart....
Bill used to belong to a local charitable organization that didn't actually have an address. The group met at the same place each month and could be reached through its members or via email. They provided a valuable community service, but people couldn't just drive up to a home-base to make a connection. They'd have to hear about the group and search out a contact.
Jesus has also been in the same situation for quite a while now. He has no address, either, so people have to hear about Him from someone else and then seek Him out.
Generally, the things we search for most diligently are those we value most. That's certainly true with Jesus.
Luke 9:58 ...the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.
Bill loves solitaire. He got a hand-held electronic game for Christmas one year. Instead of moving cards around by hand, he can move them with the touch of a button. The only trouble is, sometimes Bill responds faster than the game allows and the cards get jammed. Then he has to slow down and unstick things.
That can happen in our lives, too. If we go rushing headlong into something, we might discover that we're going too fast to be effective. Consequently, we might make mistakes, hurt ourselves, slow things down or make things difficult for others.
Sometimes we just need to slow down enough to let one thing happen at a time. We can start with the most important thing and then keep doing whatever comes next-- and things will usually get done in a workable fashion.
Mark 4:28 ...All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
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This page was last revised on February 23, 2020 at 7:41 PM.
