Deitrich Devotionals

First and first, this is an apology. I haven’t been on here in a couple months. I haven’t been ignoring the Bible or God during that time… that would be ridiculous. However, I have been more than lackadaisical about being intentional with my spiritual disciplines, and that includes daily quiet time and scripture readings. I let the world get my time, when I should be letting God get at the world through my time. So, today, it gets different. Real different. Starting here. This blog will be done daily, as a motivator for me to read my Bible daily with the most prime of my time. To help this goal along, this blog is going more public than normal: it is now attached to my facebook account. Which means a) you the reader will more easily know if I have posted yet each day, and can encourage me to do so if I am falling behind on a certain day, (Such as Monday. Something about my schedule on Mondays just destroys my down time.) and b) if I am on facebook before/instead of doing this blog post, I’ll see my posts in my feed and it will remind me to Bible and blog instead. I also intend to start working on (would that be retroblogging?) some of the days I missed, not because I can jump back in time and tell you everything I did with my Bible those days, but so I can catch what I missed in my scheduled devotions and maybe encourage you with it as well.

Secondly, this is also today’s devotional post, entitled “A Burning Desire to Be Something Different… to Be the Difference.” A song that I have listened to far too often during my hiatus from this blog is “Desire” by Phil Wickham. The chorus lyrics state “My desire is burning like a million stars… and I’ll keep reaching out, reaching out for You!” I’ve often wondered what a desire like this would be. I’ve thirsted for God before, but in a way that burns like a million stars? And that burning would not just be a glow inside, but a more brilliant light than humankind has ever seen. A million stars. And, the thought doesn’t end there. With that passion, how far would we reach out for God? How much would we throw everything else to the side to run after God?

Following the ideas of the title takes us next to being something different and being the difference. The more and more I observe the world, the more I’m terrified of it. Or, more accurately, I’m terrified of becoming of it. My desire is to be in the world, not of the world. There are stereotypes of the American Christian male that I want to shake, because first and foremost I will be a Christ-follower who strives hard for the life we are Biblically called to, a life which will and does make a difference. I hope that reading this got you thinking, so maybe I made a difference in your life today. But, beyond the comforts of our pews and steeples, how can we make differences in the lives around us who are not on the inside looking out, but instead are on the outside looking in, if they are looking at all for a god in their lives?

A few nearly rhetorical questions later, here is the meat and potatoes of today’s post, based on the one and only unchanging Holy Bible. I’ll put it out there right now that I read my daily devotions from the New Living Translation. This isn’t my favorite translation, but it is a well organized devotional Bible. Today’s Old Testament passage comes from the book of Daniel, chapter 6. As you may have hoped for by the title of the Book, this is indeed the story of Daniel and the Lions’ Den. In summary, Daniel refuses to stop praying, violates a temporary Persian law, and is punished by being thrown into the den of lions, which he survived because of the miraculous protection of God. Even though I’ve heard this story before, what stuck out this time was that Daniel did not give up praying multiple times a day to God, even when his life was at stake. My life, and probably yours too, is not at stake right now, so why is it so hard to be intentional about praying multiple times a day? This addresses another discipline worth developing, but not worth blogging the details of.

The New Testament passage today is in 2 Peter 3. It describes the end times in a way that sounds an awful lot like… right now. People mocking truth and following their own desires? (2 Peter 3:3) Check. People deliberately ignoring and forgetting creation, substituting in something like… Naturalism? (2 Peter 3:5) Check. So what are we to do? While waiting for judgment, we are to “make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight” (2 Peter 3:14) and “be on guard so that [we] will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose [our] own footing. {18} Rather, [we] must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:17-18, pronouns adjusted). Live pure lives, don’t be tripped up by the evil around you, and keep growing. That is so good, I could say we all should do that. In fact, I will. That’s today’s challenge, from God, through some various people, to us.

The Psalms reading today is 119:129-152, or the Pe, Tsadhe, and Qoph sections of the acrostic poem contained in Psalms 119. This section is entirely about how great the laws of the Lord are. However, it is not a line about the law that struck me, it is a line about promise that stood out. Psalm 119:140 says “Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much” Think on how much His promises have been tested, and how much you can love God and his promises for you.

I leave you with a parting word from Nehemiah I came across today. Nehemiah and his fellow Jews are struggling with opposition to what the Lord has told them to do. Nehemiah 6:9 (GNB) says “They were trying to frighten us into stopping work. I prayed, ‘But now, God, make me strong!’” May you also pray for strength if you ever are facing pressure around you to not do what God has commanded you.

Blessings,

Zachariah