Tiny Devotional for Monday, 08-14-2023

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, today is Vanessa’s first day on her new job.

The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.
Proverbs 14:10, NASB

From youth until I don't know when, I believed what people told me with their faces and actions, and the words they said. I don’t know when I discovered that many of the people around me were walking wounded.  

I doubt I learned that in an academic setting, ALTHOUGH that would have been a good place to get introduced to the idea. My bachelor’s degree is in psychology, I’ve got about half of a seminary degree, and I have two graduate degrees in counseling, and any one of those would have been a place to learn such an important secret.  

Certainly, in 35 years of recovery, I’ve heard many stories of people trying to maintain appearances while their lives were falling apart; that’s EVERY story I heard. But, they were alcoholics, like me; surely, the Earth People (non-alcoholics) didn’t have those kinds of issues, did they? 

I THINK I discovered it in church-related small group settings. Looking back, that seems to be where most of the ministry takes place for me, and for others.
That’s not to criticize the corporate worship service. Doing that would be like criticizing my shoe because it wasn’t my shovel. Corporate worship and small group are just about as different as my shoe and my shovel, and both are needed; just not for the same thing.
If your heart is weary with unshared bitterness, or bursting with joy, you KNOW what my recommendation is.
Time to get small! Like this:

Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 14, 2023 at 6:30 PM

    I thank God for my small group sisters at The Way!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. On Christ the Solid Rock I StandAugust 15, 2023 at 5:46 AM

    Amen my Brother Pat, thank God for our small groups. God is Good!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tiny Devotional for Wednesday, 06-21-2023

Image
A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, the Fairmount Pattersons are Papa-sitting this morning! It is better to live in a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman. Proverbs 21:9, NASB Today is the 21st of the month; so, Proverbs 21. I have written about verses 1-8;  it’s verse 9’s turn. Thus, my selection of this verse has NOTHING to do with my wife, mother, sisters, or daughters! All of them are intelligent, confident, and assertive; they are NOT contentious. ‘Contentious’ does NOT mean ‘has a different opinion’!  A man who has lived with a contentious woman gives the definition by example: I was 20 years old, and stupid (those might be the same thing).  I thought our marriage would work because she was beautiful, and I was, too. It didn’t take long before I realized I was wrong about that. Most of the time, it didn’t matter what I did; I couldn’t please her. We were married for 3 years,
Read more

Tiny Devotional for Sunday, 08-20-2023

Image
A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, Piper doesn’t like her food. Differing weights and differing measures, Both of them are abominable to the Lord. Proverbs 20:10, NASB If this verse weren’t so important, I’d skip it, because I discovered it in a painful time. Others were involved, and their stories are not mine to tell. So, you get a parable: Stockman Bubba ran a cattle station, in partnership with his horse, Nancy. They worked hard together, and although they were not rich, they had achieved a degree of success. One day, a platypus stung Bubba, incapacitating him. Bubba tried to continue running the station, but after two years had passed, he realized it was time to retire. Nancy couldn’t adjust to this, and she left for life on her own. Three years later, Bubba realized Nancy was never coming back, and considered getting another horse. However, he was concerned that the other station owners would think bad
Read more

Tiny Devotional for Sunday, 07-23-2023

Image
 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, reach for the sky. Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the Lord always. Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:17-18, NASB Today’s verse is 18, but I included 17, because I THINK they are a couplet. I wrote about verse 17 last month, and will try not to repeat myself. Our senses describe the present, our memory describes the past; the future is described by our hopes and our fears. In this little verse, we are given one of the strongest foundations for peace: yes, you DO have a future, and it’s a good one. Under most circumstances, we take the future for granted. If you have ever been forced to doubt that a future exists, you know how chilling that is. ‘No future’ is MUCH worse than ‘bad future.’ This verse draws us back away from the abyss of nothingness, and back into reality: yes, you DO have a future.  (If that
Read more