Weekly Devotionals
Exodus 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
As we continue into the winter season and put away our summer and fall clothes, I’m reminded of a great experience with Faith Church’s youth. I can recall years ago, the 2013 Confirmation Class visited Our Lady of Sorrow Catholic Church to experience a Mass service. During the sermon, the Father read the scripture in Exodus from the story about Moses and the Burning Bush: “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Revelations 3:7 - “…These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
The Uber driver seemed to be driving extremely slow as she made her way down Central Ave. “Hurry up, Lady!”, I thought. I really had to use the bathroom and her current rate of speed seemed torturous. I leaned forward and politely said to her, “I really have to use the bathroom. Any way you can go a little faster?” The Uber driver smiled, gave a confirming nod and thankfully increased her speed. Before I knew it, I was home. I jumped out of the car, bolted up the stairs and tore through my purse to find my keys. The keys weren’t there. Desperately, I emptied out the contents of my purse onto the door mat. I looked through every pocket and zipper possible, but still… nothing! This was about to end very badly. I abandoned by my purse and its scattered contents and ran downstairs to my neighbor’s apartment. She graciously allowed me to use her bathroom, right in the nick of time. My goodness… that was close!
Matthew 16:19 - "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
I thought I made it through this week with sufficient catharsis. It was my dad’s birthday and my family donated his flag to the cemetery in time for the Veterans Day flag display. But there was another plan for me this week. Three hours before the week ended, I lost my broken key.
Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
During the Grizzlies’ roller coaster game against the Mavericks, one of the Grizz players received a violation for Goaltending. (In basketball, goaltending is the violation of interfering with the ball while it is on its way to the basket and is on a downward flight.) On the very next play after the violation, players Mario Chalmers and Marc Gasol worked together to successfully complete a well-executed Alley Oop! After the crowd settled down and the game continued, those two plays stuck with me. It seemed like such a contradiction for the Alley Oop to be a legal play, while goaltending isn’t. In both instances, one player shoots the ball, and as the ball makes its way to the goal, another player touches the ball to either assist in scoring or prevent scoring. It all comes down to whose side the other person is on.
