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Thanks for stopping by emilychase.com. As a speaker and author of six books, I have a passion for sharing God's love with my audience. I hope you'll become a regular part of that audience! |
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Saturday, 23 March 2013 20:13 |
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Welcome! Glad you found your way back to my website! Here's the next in my series of devotionals on woodworking. Enjoy!
Morgan was a good friend of our family. He died recently but he often came for Sunday dinner after church and joined our family for holidays like Thanksgiving and Easter. Sometimes he brought a gift of candy or a book, but the gift I enjoyed the most was an intricate set of nested wooden hearts that he made and set in a frame. Morgan cut each heart at the slightest angle so that when they nest in the frame and face the right direction, they support each other and lean out of the frame without falling into separate pieces. Occasionally someone will pick up the frame to examine the workmanship, but if the person puts the hearts back in facing the wrong direction, the slightest bump sends the pieces scattering.
One night long ago, Jesus terrified his disciples by walking on the water during a wild storm on the Sea of Galilee. When the disciples recognized Jesus and calmed down, Jesus told Peter to get out of the boat and walk on the water too, Peter obeyed. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, Peter was fine, but when he looked at the waves crashing around him, Peter lost courage and began to sink.
Have you ever taken your eyes off God and discovered that the smallest bump sends your life flying into bits and pieces? As long as we face the right direction and seek his face, he will hold us together even when everything around us falls apart.
Lord, look this way so that I may see your face and place my hand in yours as we walk through this day.
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Wednesday, 06 March 2013 14:59 |
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Back again? So glad you came! Here's the eighth devotional in my series on woodworking.
My cousin built a little desk made of solid cherry wood. Soft pine would have been easier to carve, but when a pen pressed down on the writing surface, a dent would remain. The cherry wood's hard surface resists the pressure of a ballpoint.
Hardness can be a positive quality, like firmness in a moral principle. But sometimes we harden our hearts to God's direction.
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Wednesday, 06 March 2013 14:51 |
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Here's the seventh in my series of devotionals on woodworking. The rest of this series can be found on my author page! Enjoy!
Every piece of wood has a will of its own, a unique grain. A skilled woodworker will examine a piece of wood carefully to ascertain the direction of the grain and then go with the grain. To ignore the natural tendency of the wood could spell disaster for a project.
God our Father knows that each of us has a will of our own...
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Monday, 18 February 2013 14:13 |
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Welcome back! Here is the sixth in my devotional series on woodworking. Enjoy!
My cousin discovered a treasure. He found wonderful pieces of air-dried walnut wood lying forgotten in a neighbor's barn. To the neighbor, the wood represented old logs with little value, but my cousin took them home, scraped off the bark and transformed them into unique Shaker-style side tables that sell for hundreds of dollars apiece!
Like my cousin looking at the wood, God looks on each of us and sees the real value hidden behind our warts and bumps.
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Sunday, 03 February 2013 22:54 |
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The fifth in my series of devotionals on woodworking. Keep coming back because there are lots more to come!
My cousin presented one of his handmade salad bowls to me last Christmas. How I treasure it! Every time I take it down from the shelf and serve guests, I think of him. But David also sells his wares at craft shows. Though each piece has his name engraved on the bottom, the people who buy those pieces, more often than not, never give another thought to the person who made their bowl or desk or chair. Why do I remember him but they forget? I have a personal relationship with my cousin while these other people do not.
When God made man and woman, he stamped us with his image.
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Sunday, 03 February 2013 22:47 |
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The fourth in my series of devotionals on woodworking...thanks for coming back!
Years ago, my husband and I bought a table. To our inexperienced eyes it looked well made. We were told it was solid oak. But when my cousin David looked it over, he pointed out that while the chairs were indeed solid oak, the table only had a veneer of oak. Things are not always as they appear!
What a contrast to Jesus who is the real thing. He doesn’t have just a veneer of divinity, appearing to do miracles. He healed the leper, he raised the dead, he forgave sins. He is God all the way through. Some people want to believe that he was made of lesser stuff, that he was only a great teacher. But Jesus doesn’t give us that option. According to John 14:6, he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Do truly great teachers lie? If Jesus is a great teacher, then we must accept his words at face value. I may not know real wood from a veneer, but I am convinced that Jesus is who he said he was: the Son of God.
What about your own faith? Is it only a veneer or does it reflect the depths of your heart? Who do you think Jesus is? How does your answer impact your actions?
Lord, only you know for sure what is in my heart. Rip away anything artificial so that I may live for you alone this day.
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