Whole Heart Devotion

“But the Lord has become my fortress and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.”   Psalm 94:22 About two months ago my sister and I were boarding an airplane to attend the funeral of my last living grandparent.   My dad’s mother had fought a long battle with cancer, but ultimately it was an unfortunate fall which produced a broken hip that she never was able to recover from.   It was this mild mannered, unassuming Grandma that taught me all about fairness.   No one could have ever accused her of showing favoritism to either of her two children, nor her three grandchildren.   She was fair to a fault.   Isaac and Rebekah could have learned a lot from my Grandma and spared poor Jacob and Esau a lot of trouble! As a child, I knew I could expect the mailman to deliver packages every December to our home with Christmas presents in it.   I also knew without reservation that the contents of my package would practically mirror in size, price, and quantity the contents of my sister’s

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."             1 Corinthians 10:13 Augustus Gloop.  Violet Beauregarde.  Veruca Salt.  Mike Teavee.  Charlie Bucket.  Do these names sound familiar? If you recognize them, then you are either a product of the 70s or 80s, or have parented a child during those years.  These are the names of the five winners of the Willy Wonka Golden Tickets from the children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Ronald Dahl.  If you're like me, you're more familiar with its quirky musical adaption into a movie entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory . I had never watched that movie through a spiritual lens until recently.  I believe it was prompted by having read a statement on Facebook that garnered my attention.  It said: "The

"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.  Psalm 32:5 I have always been in awe of the inexplicable ability of God to forgive sin.  I mean, He has the ability to forgive it all.  Murder. Rape. Child abuse (I, myself, find this one near unforgivable). Adultery. Lying. Laziness.  You name it, He can forgive it. I just find that amazing!  It is a part of God's nature to be forgiving.  Knowing that God is capable of hearing the confessions and prayers of a whole entire world all at one time, I imagine that He is forgiving someone throughout every second of the day, many times over! I find God's capacity to forgive so astounding because I'm reminded daily of my incapability to forgive.  Just like God, I, too, am given the opportunity to forgive on a daily basis.  My spouse, my children, co-workers, the ridiculously slow driver in front o