Devotionals for the Heart: The Light

Light of the World
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

–John 8:12 (NIV)

When you're shopping around your book, movie, or even a technical gadget, the experts tell you to be prepared to give an "elevator pitch." That means being able to explain your main idea in the time that it takes for the average elevator ride.

What would be the elevator pitch for Christianity?

The immediate answer is John 3:16, of course. It's the heart of the Gospel, after all. But to get the idea of what it's like to be a Christian, not just to become one, I think John 8:12 does a pretty good job. Boiled down to its essence, Christianity is being brought out of the darkness and into the light. It's beautiful imagery, moving from darkness into the light. In practice, though, what does it mean?

It is now December, and for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the world seems darker as winter approaches. The days are getting shorter and colder. Even the shadows grow longer due to the altered angle of the sun. Gardens and lawns get browner every day, and trees have been reduced to stick figures. It's why our northerly ancestors came up with so many traditions about the winter solstice. They were in darkness, and they craved the light. We need (as they needed) the light that doesn't change with the seasons, the light of eternal life that Jesus Christ offers through repentance and faith in Him as Savior and Lord.

Earlier in this story (John 8:1-11), Jesus was at the temple at dawn, when the people brought to him a woman to be stoned for adultery. Jesus tells the crowd, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." None do, and they leave until only Jesus and the woman are left. Jesus says, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she said.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus replied. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Can you imagine how she must have felt? Not only has she escaped a death sentence, but God has declared that she is no longer condemned. He sets her free, telling her to leave the life that brought her to that place.

Forgiveness frees! I would wear that on a T-shirt. Redemption stories are my favorite, both to read and to write. That moment of liberation when the person gives up their sin and throws themselves upon the mercy of Jesus is pure beauty. So is the moment when someone gives up the bitterness of an old wound and forgives the one who gave it to them. Forgiveness even frees the forgiver! The divine forgiveness of sins frees completely.

There are times when we don't feel the light, times when we don't feel free at all. Even in the life of a faithful Christian, some struggles leave us fumbling in the dark. But the difference is that it only looks dark. The light of Christ's grace and mercy is always with us, even when we feel surrounded by darkness, struggling to hold onto our faith.

Believer, whatever it is that has a hold on you, weighing you down, let the light shine on it. Open your heart to God in prayer and let those burdens go. You don't have to be strong enough in that moment to let it go, but at least let the light in. Give the burden a name, confess it has a hold on you, and Jesus will lead you by hand deeper into His light.

Let's Pray: Father God, help us to keep our feet on the straight and narrow path that leads to Heaven. Help our eyes to stay fixed on Jesus. Enable our hearts and minds to focus on Your plan for our lives. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen. 

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Waiting for when there will be no more night

Hoping and Waiting
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.”

–Psalm 130:5-6 (NIV)

If you’ve been a parent, then you know that children’s fevers, the scary ones, seem to come at night, usually on a weekend when the doctor’s office is closed.

More nights than I can count, I’ve sat beside a miserable kid, staring at a thermometer with phone in my hand, waiting for the on-call nurse. I’ve watched over my children, waiting for daylight and hoping for the fever to break. Whenever I read verse above, I think back to those nights where my whole being was focused on waiting in hope.

One of my favorite poems is by T. S. Eliot. It’s called “The Four Quartets: East Coker”. I’d like to share my favorite stanza from that poem. It reads:

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,

For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith

But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.

Eliot wrote these words in 1940 after living through a pandemic and World War I. When he wrote this poem, he was then trying to survive World War II. In those dire circumstances came these words about hope and waiting.

We are presently living through a fractious time. Many of us have personal struggles on top of the discord our world is showing. It’s hard to have any hope at all, much less the right sort. The world’s version of hope is more like wishing—hope that is fixed on an outcome or an object, which isn’t lasting. Human hearts are fickle. We change our minds about what we want with the slightest impetus. As soon as an urgent need or want is met, where does our focus go? To thankfulness to the God of Providence or to that next urgent need?

We typically spend our days moving from one desire to the next, fooling ourselves that we’re “living our best life”. We’ll end up with what we wanted but still feel empty. The kind of hope that matters, the true hope that can transform a dark time, is the sort that is born out of faith in God. As the Psalmist says above, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my hope.”

Wait. It’s a hard thing to do even when it’s just a whim, but when it’s life and death, it can seem impossible. Waiting in hope beside a hospital bed is a terrible place to be, especially when a miracle is all that stands between you and immeasurable loss. It’s truly a dark night of the soul. When the miracle doesn’t come, only a hope that is rooted in faith in Jesus Christ can stand.

Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). We can place our faith in Him and wait in hope knowing that He is with us and will not fail us. The watchmen waiting for the dawn didn’t doubt it was coming. They waited knowing they’d see the sun rise. We have even more reason to hope.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, please help us wait in hope through whatever it is that is troubling us. Change our focus, keep our eyes upon Jesus and our feet on the right path. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Note from Alexis: Christa’s devotional reminds me of the song “No More Night” by David Phelps. Listen to it here. 

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Why we should not fear anyone or anything!

Whom Shall We Fear?
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” – Psalm 27:1 (NIV)

We all go through difficult seasons in our lives, but some of us go through tremendous difficulties where comparisons to Job aren’t all that out of line.

I’m thinking of a family I know who lost their brother and just a few months later discovered that their mother had inoperable cancer. They had to endure her quick decline and passing while still in the early stages of profound grief. I think, as well, of the many families who have suffered multiple losses due to the pandemic. There’s a lot of grief in our world right now.

Along with collective grief I think a lot of us are struggling with fears we never experienced before. As a people, we Americans tend to be optimistic. We have a ‘can-do’ spirit for the most part. We believe in forward progress, making sure our kids have a better chance at a good life than we did. But the last few years have taken a toll on our optimism. Living through cultural and political upheaval is rough enough, but add in a pandemic and the safe assumptions we could make about our world seem to be gone.

Making it worse is a media that seems determined to keep us afraid. I get a newsletter from what used to be a pretty staid outlet. But the titles in the email subject line lately are giving me agita. They’re all some version of ‘things are bad and you should be worried.’ I firmly believe in being well-read, informed and educated, but I don’t need a daily email telling me to worry. Throughout the Bible God tells us not to worry, to not be afraid.

Right now it’s hard to resist fear and anxiety. There’s a lot to be worried about, but as the passage above states, who do we need to fear? Certainly not our neighbors, though they have different views and cultural ideas than we do. Every human being on Earth is an image-bearer of God (Genesis 1:27) and we are called to love all humankind. 

Should we fear governments (our own or others)? No. We must remember God is our fortress and He will not be shaken. What about disease or economic disasters? Not those either. It’s totally normal to feel the dread or stress from living in difficult times, but what’s important is how we chose to act when those feelings come.

We need to live out our faith, trusting in God, emulating Jesus. For starters, that means finding and joining a church whether that’s in a house, in a mall, or an old stone building with stained glass. Having community with other Christians in real life can keep us grounded, supported, and accountable. We need each other in times like these. While online communities can be helpful, the goal is to have local support and teaching.

Remember the verse above the next time you see an article, a Facebook post, or a video telling you to be afraid. We worship and awesome God and He has us in His hands.

Let’s Pray:

Dear God,

Please be with us.

Help us to maintain and grow our churches to support each other and reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We love You, Lord.

Help us to be ready for Your soon return.

In Jesus’s Name I pray,

Amen.

~*~
*Note from Alexis: Christa’s devotional today reminds men Keith & Kristyn Getty’s song, “The Lord Is My Salvation”. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction.

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Religion

Religion and Our Modern Day
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” 

– James 1:26-27 (NIV)

I’ve written before how I love the book of James for its fire. It’s an exhortation more than a letter or as the kids say he’s “calling us out”. If this was a sermon, the preacher would be leaning over the pulpit, arms waving, in full voice. He’d be shaking the back pews with these words. In the verse above, his focus is on how we practice our religion.

Now, hearing the word ‘religion’ can make some of us wince. The world has soured on religion and the term has taken on some negative connotations. I don’t think this is because the world is any more sinful than it has ever been. I suspect it has to do with Christians (and others) behaving badly, while claiming faith. It’s also likely a shift in the modern mindset.

In a lot of ways, technological advancement has become a kind of religion itself. It doesn’t take a lot to put your faith in modern science and medicine. It doesn’t cost you anything, asks nothing from you. You can keep the parts you like and reject the rest. Faith in Jesus Christ, however, that takes work, it will cost you your life, so to speak. We die to self when we follow Christ.

In our modern times there’s an emphasis on self-expression and individuality. Being heard is a big deal. Sometimes, that’s a good thing. But as Christians, we need to be careful about what we express. We need to watch what we put out in the world. Essentially James is calling on us to ‘mind your business’, the Kingdom’s business.

Whether its traffic when you’re running late, an obnoxious coworker, a rude customer, a family member in crisis, or even a stranger spewing hate, we need to keep a grip on ourselves. We need to remember our purpose and focus our mind and bodies on the mission, not the moment. That can be a serious challenge in times like these when we are pressed from all sides.

However, now is when we need this control and focus the most. When we’re being distracted by culture, politics and fear, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and our tongues in check.

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, please give us the strength to love our enemies, friends, and neighbors in all circumstances. Make us instruments of your peace in a fallen world. Please help us to be salt and light, unpolluted by the world while active within it. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Fitting In

Clarity Against Conformity
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

– Romans 12:2 (NIV)

As humans, we are social creatures.

Belonging—whether to a romantic partner, a family, or a group—is essential to us. 

What’s the number one concern of kids heading into a new school? Friends. They’re not stressed about what classes they’ll take; they’re focused on who they will sit with at lunch. For many kids, it’s not just a new school either. Every day can see a shifting social scene with new alliances and fractured friendships. The drama in middle school is rough, folks. Children are thrown into this high-test social environment right when they are beginning to develop the character they will take with them into adulthood. The pressure to conform so one can fit in can be exhausting. And it doesn’t stop with middle school.

We all face the pressure to fit in—whether it’s within our family, our community, or our country. We’re told if we want to belong, we need to conform. For Christians, that’s a non-starter. As Paul tells us in the verse above, we are called out of the world, transformed by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This means that we are not going to fit in.

We should look to God for what is good and right, not to the world around us. Does that mean we don’t belong? Well, yes and no. We are not of this world, but we are to live in it, form relationships, love our neighbors and even our enemies. As Christians, we should stand out, not blend in. People should know we belong to God because of how we conduct ourselves. 

In the United States, we are in a time of rancor and discord. There are so many factions forming, teams we’re urged to join, sides we’re supposed to be on. But we don’t belong to any of them; we belong to God. The Church’s only foundation is Jesus Christ, and that one Church spans the globe with members of all ethnicities, all countries.

We need to engage our discernment in times like this to live in a world that is so intent on getting us to conform. Remember the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

If the group you’re being urged to join shows none of this fruit, it’s not a place you can belong. It doesn’t mean you can’t have a relationship with others outside of the faith; on the contrary, we need to be in the world as salt and light. But for loyalties, for allegiances, we have one that transcends all others. We can give time to worldly matters, but our hearts have to stay with Jesus. It’s the only way to live in the world and not be conformed to it.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, please give our hearts and minds discernment to help us navigate the dangerous waters we find ourselves in. Bind us to You so that our feet may stay on the path that leads to an eternity spent with You in our true home (Heaven). In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction.

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Love

Love Like God
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” 

–Luke 6:32-35a (NIV)

There are plenty of passages in the Bible that take some work to understand but this passage above definitely does not. Jesus Christ is letting us know the rules: “You want to be a Christian? Follow me, do as I do, do as the Father does.”

Jesus is calling us here to be more than just countercultural in how we treat our fellow humans; He's showing us how to reset secular culture to reflect the culture of His kingdom. The world tells us to hate our enemies. We are to love them instead.

But what does that look like, loving an enemy? Is it saying “bless your heart” and ignoring them when they irk or anger us? Is it walking away from a fight? Not suing someone when we could? Not repaying their unkindness with some of our own? Yes, but it’s more heart-deep. We can curb our actions out in the world a whole lot easier than the thoughts in our heads and the feelings in our hearts. It’s easy enough to deny that we hate someone, but harder to not feel that hate, to not have hateful thoughts.

In this world, there are some truly terrible humans. How are we to love them? Billy Graham said, “You cannot pray for someone and hate them at the same time.” There I think we have the first and probably the best way to love those that hate us. Pray for them earnestly. Not the “Dear Lord, please forgive these fools for their foolishness...” sort of prayer either. Pray for them as if they were a loved one. See if you can start with words and follow with feelings.

Remember that every single person on this earth is made in the image of God.

Irrespective of their ethnicity, culture, creed, lifestyle, or habits, they are an image-bearer. All of us have people in our lives who challenge us, even actively hate us. When next faced with that person, try to lead with love (be patient, kind, longsuffering...) and have a Gospel-centered mind going into that interaction. If your particular problem person is not a believer, they’re lost, and you may be the person that God has placed in their life to help them understand repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Wow. That’s both an awesome responsibility and a privilege. How you treat them matters. How you feel about them matters.

The next time you’re tempted to lash out when wounded, or ridicule when made fun of, or criticize when criticized, think about the standard that Jesus sets in the verses above. Love everyone. Give freely, expecting no return. Do good to all. The bar is high, and we’re obviously still persevering on the road toward sanctification, but believers see the path as lighted by His Word. When we show love to those who hate us, we shine the light of the Gospel for a world in desperate need of direction.

Let’s Pray: Father God, please help us love, give freely, and do good in all the places in this world where you have sent us. Help us to spread the Gospel with our every word and deed. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Good News

The Good News About Sin
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” 

– Romans 3:23-24 (NIV)

I’ve written before how Romans is probably my favorite book of the Bible. I return to it again and again. Reading Romans steadies my steps when I’m feeling spiritually depleted, when my thoughts get clouded with too much cultural chaos, when I'm getting too much of this world and not enough of the next.

Consider Romans 8:38 (NLT): “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” How is that for a game-changer? When I’m desperate to grab some peace in the storm of a crisis or the quiet of existential dread, I remember this verse and know that, irrespective of all that, God is Provident and I am His.

The verse above is another foundational truth, one that I think is easy to gloss over. Many of us first came to faith in Jesus Christ at Vacation Bible School or Sunday School. We grew up “Christian”, so it was easy to assume that the adults around you were sinless superhumans who were naturally good. You may have even gotten the idea that there were “good” and “bad” people in this world. But it’s a lie. We’re all bad. It’s only through God's free and gracious gift of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ that any of us are redeemed. Even the most good, nicest person at your church was drowning in sin when God brought them to faith.

There is no way that we can rescue ourselves from sin. No one is immune from sin no matter how well they were raised, how hard they work, the number of good things they do—sin is in all of us. Paul here is addressing the belief that Jews were somehow closer to redemption than Gentiles. His point is clear: We are all sinners. I find some peace in that when I look at heroes of the faith. They struggled with sin like the rest of us. No one is born into this world naturally good. But Jesus can save any of us.

The other foundational truth here is that it’s by Grace alone that we are saved. There’s not a single redeeming quality in my person that leads God to save me. No, Christ’s sacrifice alone can save the human soul. 

There is a scene in C.S. Lewis’s book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, that has stuck with me for years. Near the end, we find Eustace, transformed into a dragon and desperate to return to the boy he once was, clawing at his scales. Regardless of how hard he scrapes, and the obvious pain that he causes himself, it’s only Aslan’s claws that can free him. It’s the same way with garden-variety sin in our lives. Only Jesus can free us. And there’s great freedom in that. We can give up our pathetic efforts and throw ourselves on His mercy and be saved.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for the sacrifice of your Son (Jesus Christ) to save us from sin and death. Help us to share this good news with the world. In Jesus's Name I pray. Amen.

~*~

Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction.

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: A life lesson about loving our neighbors

Loving Our Neighbors
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV) 

I am currently employed at a community newspaper group and one of my responsibilities involves cataloging the obituaries per publication. Mostly, it’s a straightforward data project, opening files and saving them into a specific folder to be exported later. I love these projects. I put on a playlist of classical tunes and get my work done while my brain takes a rest.

There’s no angst involved, no customer interaction, just data. As straightforward as it is, I also find it moving. I open each file and read the name of the person who passed, maybe catch a few details of their life, and see their picture. Some of these stop me in my tracks, leading me to read the notice in full.

Managing the obituary department, I see a lot of faces of the departed. The pictures that I find the most compelling are the candid ones—people caught in their everyday existence, their expressions a window into both the moment being captured and their lives. Grandfathers with hokey hats and crooked smiles, moms with corsages beaming with pride from weddings past, uncles in sunglasses holding up huge fish, aunts laughing with friends just out of frame, a son posing with a football, a daughter with a wide smile clutching a teddy bear in a hospital gown.

Each one of them Imago Dei, which means they were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26).

In the verse above, Jesus tells us that after loving God, loving our neighbors is next in importance. So much so that all the law and prophets (a euphemism for all of scripture) hang in the balance. Seems simple, and it’s easy to love someone when they’re loveable or similar to us. The challenge comes in loving those who differ from us, those we don’t agree with on some level. In our deeply divided country, we’ve made it easier to hate than to love. Our rhetoric can easily become extreme. Disagreements become pitched battles. Some form camps, raise flags, and list offenses, knowing that they’re right and the other guys are wrong. And they aren’t simply wrong, they’re evil, monstrous. It’s hard to love a neighbor who you’ve demonized.

Media pitches battles for us daily, presenting things for us to get upset about, throwing headlines to inflame our passions about things that simply do not matter on an eternal scale. We declare war on those we should be loving for trivial, worldly stuff, corporations changing their brands, toys changing their names, and a million other petty distractions. We engage in culture wars when we should be sharing the Gospel and serving our communities.

Loving our neighbor means looking past that person’s external details and seeing the image of God imprinted upon them. We need to see through political affiliations, socio-economic status, lifestyle choices and instead see that person as God’s creation.

We need to see the people around us as God does. We are all sinners. Some of us have been saved by Grace. We need to have that eternal perspective in mind whenever we interact with the world God loved so much that he sent his Son to die so that we might have everlasting life.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, please help us to see our neighbors as you do and to love them as you commanded. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Why we need faith in God and good works too

Faith and Works 
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” –James 2:14-18 (NIV)

The book of James is a favorite of mine. Plain-spoken and convicting, he’s dropping literary bombs through the whole text. He is on fire, like an old-time revival pastor up in the pulpit preaching with every fiber of his being.

The passage above is powerful, practical wisdom, and then that kicker in verse 18, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” Mic drop.

“Faith without works is dead.” We’ve heard it said so many times, but what does it actually mean? For me, it’s been a question I’ve asked myself at every stage of my life because faith and works at 15 can look different than it does at 50.

My family was fractured when I was growing up. Although healing and reconciliation came later, there were years of struggle. I will tell you the truth; nothing puts a chip on your shoulder faster than growing up as a have-not among the haves. It isn’t easy. You can’t help but compare yourself with those around you, and if you somehow manage to avoid it, your peers will happily remind you.

That was the lens through which I viewed the world as I grew into young adulthood. It helped me see the hypocrisy in the churches that would say all the right things but ignore the needs in the community around them. They’d support missions overseas while homelessness and poverty devastated their neighbors. What’s the point of a church that has no heart for their neighbors? If they’re writing a check but not giving of themselves, what good is it? God calls us to be salt and light. The only way we can do that is by actively participating in the world around us, not to become worldly, but to shine God’s light in the darkness.

Whenever I log on to start a day at work, whenever I interact with anyone outside of my house, I remind myself that I am not just a woman, a mom, wife, and manager, but I’m also a redeemed sinner, a Christian, and my highest calling outside my home is to show my faith by my deeds in a world that is hungry for the Gospel. Every decision I make, every action I take, I need to keep my focus on God. His priorities have to come first, not mine. Not an easy task, but it’s a vital one.

God doesn’t need Christians in gated communities to write checks for good causes and only associate with other believers. He wants us out in the world, ministering, witnessing. Whatever way He has equipped you, whatever your gifts, don’t hide them away or save them for church on the weekends. Show your faith by your deeds to the world that so desperately needs the Good News. Be a light for all.

Let’s Pray: Lord, we pray that the Holy Spirit fills us each time we step out of our doors so that we live our faith in word and deed, being the salt and light in a dark and troubled world. Help us to use the gifts you’ve given us to live the Gospel and reach the lost. In Jesus Christ's Name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction.

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house. 

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Safety

Safe in God’s Love
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

– Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

I am a worrier. In fact, if there were an Olympic Games of Anxiety, I would medal in every event. It can seem helpful in some ways (I’m a great manager, seeing threats in advance and planning around them). But, the toll it takes on my peace of mind can be extreme.

When searching for a way to return to that peace, the usual Bible verses about fear often bring little comfort. In fact, sometimes they make me feel like a failure. Why do I find it so difficult to not worry?

Years ago my two-month old son, Ben, broke out in a fever. It’s not a good thing for a baby that young to have a fever. At the ER, the doctor we saw was nice, but serious, almost stern. Ben was fighting an infection and it was bad. They’d need to do a spinal tap because the kind of bad it looked like was meningitis. A positive test would mean an airlift to Boston.

They asked me to leave the room, the nurse assuring me that it would be easier on everyone involved if I waited in the lobby. I texted my husband at home with our two older children and spent the next 30 minutes in the lobby completely overcome. While on the surface I was sitting calmly, inside I was in a panic spiral.

Ben is our rainbow baby, a term used for the child carried to term following a pregnancy loss. Like a lot of women who give birth after a miscarriage, I developed postpartum anxiety. So sitting in the ER that night with my emotional reserves already depleted, I had little left to face the dread that consumed me. Heart and mind in tatters, I prayed.

My prayers were pretty incoherent, but God heard them anyway. I was allowed back into the exam room, and the moment the doctor walked in, I knew the test was negative. The grim determination in her expression was gone, she was even smiling! They’d be admitting my baby to watch overnight, but his vitals were strong, and his fever was responding to the meds.

It's absolutely no fun to lay on a cot next to your son’s crib and watch him try to sleep while being wired up to machines. But it sure beats being MedFlighted to an uncertain fate. The doctors never could figure out what it was, but it resolved on its own, and we were just glad he was okay.

Anxiety and I have a long history. The vague, ever-present sort; the unexplained “Am I crazy?” kind; the sharp and all-consuming variety; the existential kind; the kind that invades your dreams, and also the type that keeps you awake … I am well-acquainted with them all. The words of Scripture should be a comfort to me in times like these, but again, I find many verses on fear hard to internalize when my mind is ravaged by anxiety. God's Providence is genuine, but it’s hard to feel when a panic spiral of “what ifs” derail my thoughts and try to rob me of any peace.

Romans is my favorite book in the Bible, and these verses especially. Some believe that these verses are the pinnacle of the Bible’s message of the Good News. I can genuinely feel that truth when I am at my lowest, at the point when all my human resources are exhausted, and I am like David in the Bible book of Psalm, crying out to God for deliverance. Paul’s words remind me that, regardless of the outcome, God has me in His hands. There's true peace in that. Not the kind the world offers, which is paper-thin; it's God's peace. Whatever road I am walking, it's His road. No trial, however difficult or fear-inducing, can separate me from His love in Christ Jesus.

When we repent and place our faith in Jesus, we receive His Grace in salvation and are made new. Do we suddenly lose our anxiety, or depression? Rarely. We still need to persevere through them, but we're no longer a slave to them. We're not alone in them; He is now there with us.

We belong to God. We have been saved by Grace and are children of God. That doesn't spare us from the trials in this life, but it is where we can draw strength and where we can set our hearts when we're struggling.

Remember: The road we are walking ends in God's presence, and nothing on this earth can compare to that beautiful reality. Just like the song by Mack Brock says, "Your Presence is A Promise."

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house. 

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: A Season to Give and show God's Love to the world

The Giving Season
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

–Acts 20:35 (NIV)

Do you have your Christmas tree up yet?

We’re planning to do ours this weekend.

There’s something so cheerful about Christmas lights that they’re the one thing I will not procrastinate on when it comes to Christmas. I love sitting in the family room at night with just the lights from the tree shining. It has its own comforting charm. Boy, do we all need comforting. The world outside is fractious. There’s a lot of pressure in the holiday season, and this year it’s compounded by the places you can’t go, people you can’t see, and gatherings you can’t have. You can still ship gifts in from all over the world and back out again, but being present with your presents is out. It can make that shopping and wrapping feel a little empty.

In the verse above, we see Paul giving final parting instructions to people that he is sure he will never see again. Among those instructions is the reminder to work hard at what God has given you and help the weak, because it is better to give than to receive. I think there’s a potent message for us in this verse at this particular time. People of faith need to be present in their communities, actively helping the weak regardless of what that “weakness” looks like.

At our churches, we need to be sure we’re plugged in to our communities, offering whatever assistance we can to help those struggling in this challenging time. It can be as easy as calling a senior at a nursing home, writing cards, or leaving care packages on someone’s doorstep, but we need to be actively giving of ourselves. God put us here to be salt and light. He put each of us in our neighborhood, at our church, in our workplace for a reason. There are people we’re meant to serve, even if right now it has to be at a distance. God has placed us here for just such a time as this!

One of the most painful things about this pandemic has been how isolated people feel. These small acts of kindness can help ease that loneliness, as imperfect as they are. We all must reach out to those around us, checking in with each other, seeing where the needs are. And to be open when others reach out to help us. I can’t remember who said this, but I’ve often repeated it to myself: We need to practice our humility so someone else can practice their charity. Be humble enough to share your needs when asked and to accept the help that’s offered. These kinds of connections are a great way to embrace opportunities to share the Gospel.

It’s often by sharing ourselves, giving our time and energy to others that we find ourselves restored. Here’s my advice to you this holiday season: Pray for outreach opportunities then see how God leads you to connect with your church and your community.

Get out there and be the Love of God in someone’s life!

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction.

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house.

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

~*~
Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

Devotionals for the Heart: Humility

Humble in Heart
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” –Matthew 11:29 (NIV)

The world is in crisis. It’s been there before and will likely be there again, but this is the first worldwide crisis I’ve ever lived through, and it’s...a lot. 

If you, like me, have a high-risk household, you’ve probably been socially isolating. I haven’t seen the inside of anything other than my house, Costco, and my workplace since March. And that last one has been infrequent. I work from home now with my youngest son’s desk next to mine in a work/school amalgamation that has sometimes been challenging, sometimes quite wonderful.

Between politics, social upheaval, and a deadly pandemic, it’s downright fractious in our country right now, even outside a high-risk bubble. Folks are hot-tempered, and shouty, even those of us who claim a saving faith in Jesus Christ. It’s not good. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to live through this mess of existential dread, stress, and difficulty. When faced daily with a new challenge, I keep thinking of how being a Christian must inform my choices and guide my actions. “Jesus take the wheel” is a fine saying, but what does that truly look like in real life?

We need to start with who Jesus is and what He wants from us. The verse above sums it up for me. Jesus is the Son of God, but He’s also humble in heart and gentle. When we give over our lives to Him, we find rest (not more work, more struggle, more strife). Our job is to be as like Him as possible. Over and over, the New Testament calls us to humble ourselves, live in peace, be patient with our brothers and sisters, bear one another’s burden in love. This is what God wants from us. He wants our love for one another to stand out, to show that we are His. “Agape” in the Greek of the New Testament’s writers, means a non-reciprocal, giving love that doesn’t expect anything back. That’s how God loves us, and that’s how He calls us to love others.

What does that look like in real life? For me, it’s a reminder to be patient with others, to be humble, and when tempted to add my voice to the cacophony, to turn off my computer and put down my phone. I have no business putting that out in the world. As a Christian, I have a reason to resist rising to every insult, holding a grudge, or taking offense. Every moment that I walk through this world, I am a witness for Jesus Christ. I need to live my life in a way that tells others that I am under Jesus’ yoke.

When it gets hard, I try to reach for that peace. The peace of knowing that God is provident and whatever happens, it will be for His Glory and that He will be with me through every second of it. Jesus has not abandoned us to work it out for ourselves. We have Scripture and the Holy Spirit to guide us. Prayer is a wonder. 

If you’re struggling right now, and so many of us are, reach out and take hold of the tools that God has given us to dig us out of the deepest of pits. Unburden your heart, trust that God has heard you and that whatever the answer, He is with you. 

You’re not alone, Christian. There are millions of us on this planet with you. 

I’ll be praying for you.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 ACFW Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

A native New Englander, she was inspired by her travels through the north woods of Maine to write The Broken Trail, which would become the first in the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

Christa's writing focuses on the real-life challenges of the modern world, love’s sometimes crooked path, and the redemptive power of Grace.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty.

She and her husband live with their three kids, two cats, and one dog along the coast of New England. Connect with Christa at www.christamacdonald.com.

Devotionals for the Heart: Why God's servants should not conform

Nonconforming Servants of God
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

–Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

Humans are social critters. We like to form groups, clubs, tribes, alliances and then define who’s in and who’s out. Anyone who attended a public high school in America can probably remember the cliques of their day and what was required for membership. Band geeks, nerds, jocks, whatever your crew was, even if it was just you and two others, there was always a code of sorts. Maybe it was dressing a certain way, talking, having the same hobbies or extracurriculars, but belonging meant conforming.

We still have our tribes and clubs as adults, but we also have cultural and societal norms influencing how we live. There’s a great deal of social pressure to conform to what the majority of people around us think is the “correct” way to live. In our age, we have to add to that the pressure from media, everything from Facebook, to movies and television, YouTube, and TikTok. We’re continually being told how to behave, what to consume, what to think.

God calls his children out of the world and all its influences. Instead of being focused on ourselves, He calls us to focus on Jesus and to live our lives as witnesses to his Grace and Mercy. And it’s not easy. Living according to God’s will makes no sense to a world that glorifies the self-indulgent. The temptation to give just a bit here and there, going along with the world, is pretty strong. In the United States and other wealthy nations, we’re insulated from sacrifice by the comforts of our daily lives. We indulge ourselves. We dull our spiritual senses with platitudes and watered-down works. We don’t give of ourselves; we write a check to someone already doing the work while our lives are unchanged, unbothered by God’s great commission.

I’ve noted in these troubled times that some of that comfort has been stripped away. I’m not as complacent as I was before. Life and death feel far more immediate. It’s like waking up from a comfortable doze to see the house on fire. It feels more urgent to share the Gospel. Far more critical to seek God’s will. Have you felt that too?

It’s time to shake off the drugging influence of the world’s creature comforts as well as its influence and remember whose we are. We need to allow the Spirit to renew our minds and change our perspectives, and then dedicate our lives to living our faith.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 ACFW Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction.

A native New Englander, she was inspired by her travels through the north woods of Maine to write The Broken Trail, which would become the first in the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

Christa's writing focuses on the real-life challenges of the modern world, love’s sometimes crooked path, and the redemptive power of Grace.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty.

She and her husband live with their three kids, two cats, and one dog along the coast of New England. Connect with Christa at www.christamacdonald.com.

Devotionals for the Heart: How to survive when the waters swell and rage

Surviving the Flood
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.” –Isaiah 43:2a (NIV)

My family lives in a small, 18th century, converted barn.

The front door is in a lean-to style addition tacked onto the original structure. It’s a funky space: narrow and long with a high, slanted ceiling and one wall made of rough-cut barn boards. It’s our mud room/home office/schoolroom and on the wall above the coat hooks hangs the white board that since the pandemic, we’ve been using to organize our life. It has the monthly calendar, important dates, various doodles, and a Bible verse that we change as the mood hits.

This week I changed it to Isaiah 43:2a. I love this verse. It reminds me that when I’m in it up to my ears, I am not alone.

Like a lot of families, we’re in various stages of back-to-school chaos. Our eldest is remotely attending college from his bedroom, our youngest is being homeschooled, and our middle child is about to start remote learning 11th grade and is not happy about it. In a long and heart-wrenching discussion of how to get through it, I said something I used to hate hearing as a kid “Have you prayed about it?”

I didn’t like hearing that advice because I didn’t think it worked. I wanted to pray and have an immediate, tangible result, like making a wish and having it granted. The middle kid’s reaction to the question was the same as mine would have been at their age, eyes rolled to the ceiling.

Being a few decades further down the path of faith, I was able to articulate what the point was of praying. Since C.S. Lewis said it better than I probably did at the time, I’ll quote him. He said, “I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me.” My kid heard this and said, “I never thought of it that way.” An answer that made my whole year.

In the middle of a trial I pray, I cry out to God and the answer isn’t an immediate change in my circumstances, it’s a change in me. Sometimes that change is the peace that passes all understanding. Sometimes the change is renewed strength. Sometimes it’s an overflow of tears held for too long and the exhausted relief that follows. Make no mistake, God is hearing me and He is at work, but I’ve learned to pin my hopes on His providence and not my desired outcome. Not my will, but His. There’s freedom in that. There’s peace to be found there too.

When the waters come, and they have, we are not alone. God is with us.

Standing knee-deep in the river it can feel like you’ve been abandoned. When one bad thing after another happens, it can feel like God has forgotten you. Do you feel like that right now? Like it’s all been too much? That you can’t take one…more…thing going wrong?

Have you prayed about it? Have you emptied your heart out to Jesus, admitted defeat, and asked for Him to take all the weight you’ve been carrying alone? He’s in it with you. The waters are swirling around His knees too, but He’s in control and He has his hand out for you.

The waters may swell and rage but they’re not going to pull you under if your faith is in Him.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 ACFW Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

A native New Englander, she was inspired by her travels through the north woods of Maine to write The Broken Trail, which would become the first in the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

Christa's writing focuses on the real-life challenges of the modern world, love’s sometimes crooked path, and the redemptive power of Grace.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty.

She and her husband live with their three kids, two cats, and one dog along the coast of New England. Connect with Christa at www.christamacdonald.com.

Devotionals for the Heart: Look up! There is Hope on the Horizon!

Look to the Horizon
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 

– 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

A company I worked for years ago went through a change in ownership at the height of the Great Recession. The new owners made numerous changes – the office's location, the database we used, they even swapped Macs for PCs. My easy part-time job became a lot more complicated. What I didn’t know at the time was that God’s Providence was at work. My husband’s industry was hit hard by the downturn and just after he was furloughed, I was offered full time and additional responsibilities. In short order, I went from team member to leader, to supervisor, to manager.

Generally, when the job I'm doing gets tough, I keep my head down and work harder. That job was demanding and all-consuming at times. The COO coached me to avoid focusing only on what was right in front of me – today's task and crisis – and instead to shift my focus upward, and to look ahead. What's coming next? What's on the horizon? His advice was to avoid preoccupation with what’s going on this minute so you don’t miss what opportunities and challenges lay head. If all you ever deal with is the day-to-day stuff, you're never going to see real progress.

That advice applies to life. Too often, when in the middle of a trial, we can be overwhelmed, lost at sea, so focused on treading water that we lose sight of the horizon. As tough as it is for us, as Christians, we need to resist the temptation to let the sufferings of today keep us focused on this present moment, on ourselves and on our pain.

As the verse says above, we need to fix our focus on the eternal. Amid historic pandemic, daily protests, cultural clashes, and a contentious election, refocusing isn't the most straightforward task. It's noisy around us. The way that news and other media saturate our environment amplifies the noise. We live in an individualistic, humanistic society that teaches us to think of our own small world first, as if our own troubles are paramount. Add to that the ‘breaking news’ constant stream of crisis into whatever peace we manage to create at home, making it feel impossible to concentrate on anything else.

As dire as our situation may seem, it's not eternal. We serve a God of Providence, and we can put our faith and trust in Him to be with us in our suffering. With our lives in God's hands, we can get back to work. God has placed us on this earth to serve Him, share the Gospel, and love our neighbors.

"He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 (ESV).

Every day, we need to look to the horizon ahead, choose to look upward and focus on the eternal. God is with us. Who can stand against us?

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 ACFW Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

A native New Englander, she was inspired by her travels through the north woods of Maine to write The Broken Trail, which would become the first in the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

Christa's writing focuses on the real-life challenges of the modern world, love’s sometimes crooked path, and the redemptive power of Grace.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty.

She and her husband live with their three kids, two cats, and one dog along the coast of New England. Connect with Christa at www.christamacdonald.com.

My Blog's 10th Year Birthday Bash: Christa MacDonald's book giveaway

Welcome to the seventh day of my blog's birthday bash!

Please welcome my author friend Christa MacDonald.

She's here to give away one of her books!

Enter the book giveaway contest via the Rafflecopter widget the end of this blog post. Only residents of the USA are eligible to receive a signed paperback copy of this author's books. International residents will only receive ebook copies due to costs of mailing books outside of the USA.

Let's learn a bit more about Christa and her books ...

Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. 

She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college’s literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house. 

Her most recent work, The Redemption Road, finished the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

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Back Cover Blurb for The Broken Trail:

Katherine Grant takes the job at Sweet River Christian Academy hoping a small town in the wilderness of Maine will be a vacation from her high-powered career and a break from the emotional toll of the secrets she has buried deep. 

With the school director on a power trip and evidence of shady dealings, there’s nothing relaxing about it. Maybe it would be easier if she wasn’t so distracted by Captain MacAlister, the local cop she can’t get along with, yet can’t get out of her head. She didn’t trek up to the middle of nowhere to lose her heart.

Mac doesn’t need the kind of trouble he believes Katherine will bring. He’s got enough to deal with from poachers to drug crime. Mac has rules to maintain his faith, like avoiding the pull of an attractive woman who doesn’t fit his life. But when he meets Katherine, he’s drawn in by her intelligence and strength, despite getting burned by her quick temper.

When near tragedy strikes, Katherine reveals her feelings, and Mac doesn’t hesitate to respond. If only their scars, both seen and unseen, didn’t threaten to tear them apart. 

Two wary hearts must soften and two steel wills bend if they have any hope of making it down the broken trail to love.

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Connect with Christa:
Website: www.christamacdonald.com
Newsletter: https://christamacdonald.com/connect-with-christa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/33uk329

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CricketMacD
Christa's book publisher: http://mountainbrookink.com/about-us/authors/christa-macdonald/

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway