Category: Devotional

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1964 Mercury Comet

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Average reading time is about 2 minutes

An Amazing Fact: Most people would consider themselves fortunate should they get 150,000 miles out of a car engine. For Rachel Veitch, however, her car has passed the 150,000 mile mark well over three times. Her vehicle is a 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente. She bought it new off the lot for a mere $3,289. And that low price even included all the upgrades. Rachel has given her beloved car the nickname Chariot, which is fitting considering it has safely carried her thousands and thousands of miles on the original engine. Ms. Veitch confessed that she once drove her Comet up to 120 mph “just for a mile.” She later had cruise control added because she kept getting speeding tickets.

On March 9, 2012, the 93-year-old Rachel Veitch parked her car for good. She said her eyesight was not sharp enough anymore to be driving. The 48-year-old car has actually outlasted her three husbands. Rachel adds, “With significantly less trouble.” How many miles did she clock on her beloved Mercury? Would you believe 576,000?

What’s her secret? For one thing, Rachel faithfully takes her “Chariot” in for all scheduled maintenance. We should mention she refuses to leave the Mercury’s side during any servicing or inspections. She also makes sure to show the mechanics a diagram outlining all the grease fittings on the car. Ms. Veitch is also always on the lookout for lifetime warranties on any parts, and when she finds one she makes sure to use it. Rachel’s car has gone through seven mufflers, three sets of shocks, and 16 batteries, all for the price of only one. Those half a million miles also included a recent trip to Rachel’s 70th class reunion, a trip that added over 3,000 miles to the historic odometer reading.

If a little loving care and regular maintenance can multiply the lifespan of a car, it makes one wonder how long our bodies might last with proper care? The Lord not only wants us to be in good health (3 John 2), but would have us be prepared for the Second Coming by caring for our bodies. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). God doesn’t want us to only care for our minds, but our whole being—bumper to bumper!

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. Psalms 20:7

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Longest Burning Bulb

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Average reading time is about 2 minutes

An Amazing Fact: Hanging from a single electric wire in an old Livermore, California, firehouse, there is a light bulb. Not so amazing, you think? But there’s more. The bulb is supplied by 120 volts and puts out a meager 4 watts of amber light. You’re probably still not very impressed, until you consider this same humble light bulb was already burning when the Wright Brothers made their historic flight in 1903. This light bulb continued to persistently glow through WWI, the crash of the stock market in 1929, and on through WWII. At present this incredible light bulb has been burning for over 112 years!

The enduring bulb was originally made by the Shelby Electric Company in Ohio. The company had a legendary reputation for quality until it was bought by General Electric in 1914. This particular bulb was one of the early hand-blown models with a heavy carbon filament. Over the years there have been brief interruptions as the firehouse has been renovated and even relocated from its First Street location to the present site on 4550 East Avenue. But the same bulb went with them. With these minor exceptions it has been burning continuously as a nightlight over the fire trucks in the Livermore firehouse since 1901! This unique bulb has been declared by Guinness Book of World Records to be the oldest known working light bulb in the world.

The bulb has actually been nicknamed “The Centennial Bulb,” and there is a committee that oversees its protection. When it was last moved in 1976 the bulb’s cord was cut. People were concerned unscrewing the bulb might damage it. In 2001 the community celebrated the bulb’s 100th birthday with barbecue and music.

Did you know the Bible speaks of a sacred light that burned for over 300 years? Moses was given instructions on the wilderness tabernacle and its services. “And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat
of the peace offerings. A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out” (Leviticus 6:12, 13). That fire and its light represent Jesus, a Light that will never burn out.

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12

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Out of Power

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Average reading time is about 2 minutes

An Amazing Fact: The Northeast Blackout of 2003 was the second most widespread power outage in history. On the 14th day of a sweltering August, at approximately 4:10 p.m., parts of eight northeast states and Ontario, Canada, lost all electricity. That evening an estimated 55 million people went without power, as more than 508 generating units at 265 power plants shut down. For up to 25 hours, the blackout interrupted our modern way of life.

Thousands of people were stranded by the blackout. Airports canceled flights—traffic control centers were offline, passengers could no longer be screened, and electronic ticket information was unavailable. Amtrak service was stopped, and many gas stations were unable to pump gas. In New York City, traffic lights went out, causing a gridlock nightmare. Many commuters were stranded in the city overnight, and some slept in parks and on the steps of public buildings. Hundreds of people were trapped in elevators, as well as in stopped subway cars.

Cellular circuits were overloaded, and in some cases backup generators at cellular sites ran out of fuel. In New York City, even 9-1-1 was out of service for several 15-minute periods throughout the evening. Water supply was affected when electric pumps failed—residents in Detroit, Lansing, and Cleveland were instructed to boil their water for the next four days. In addition, sewage pumps failed, causing untreated sewage to flow into rivers and waterways near Lansing, Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Newark, and Kingston, Ontario. Unfortunately, the blackout even contributed to as many as eleven deaths. It also caused fear that blackouts might be used during a terrorist attack.

As often happens, a task force was given the job of discovering what went wrong. Eventually, industry experts reported that old and inadequate grid connections were to blame.

Life is all about our connections with family and friends, but the most important connection is with God. Just as our modern way of life grinds to a halt without sufficient electricity, our spiritual life is unsustainable when we’re disconnected—our inner peace, outer witness, and ultimate salvation all depend upon a solid relationship with our Maker. Nothing could be more important than getting connected today!

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John 15:4

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Missing Declaration of Independence

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Average reading time is about 2 minutes

An Amazing Fact: After Stan Caffy and his wife Linda married, as part of combining households, she urged him to clean out the garage. Stan, an admitted pack rat, was reluctant to part with a reprint of the Declaration of Independence he kept hanging in his shop. He bought the yellowed document about 10 years earlier at a yard sale for a couple of dollars. Linda won the clean-out-the-garage debate, and so in March 2006 she rolled up the old parchment and took it, along with an antique table, and donated them to a local thrift store.

Fast forward one year. Michael Sparks was visiting the Music City Thrift Shop in Nashville, where he bought a candle holder, a set of salt and pepper shakers, and a yellowed print of the Declaration of Independence. Sparks, a music equipment technician, also figured the document was a worthless modern reprint, so he paid the asking price of $2.48 and headed home.

After looking over the document for a few days, he wondered if it might be older than he thought. So he clicked around on the Internet to do some research and soon realized, based on a number of clues, he had purchased one of only 200 official copies of the Declaration of Independence! Copies of the original document were commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820, when he was secretary of state. They were printed by William Stone in 1823. Of those 200 early copies, only 35 had been found intact. Michael now had number 36.

It took a year for Sparks to have the print authenticated and preserved. Then he put it up for auction in Burlington, North Carolina. The bidding opened at $125,000 and climbed to the sale price of $477,650. Stan Caffey confessed he felt like the village idiot when he read in the paper the document he had hanging in his garage for 10 years was this rare copy of the Declaration of Independence.

This is not the only time a precious national document has been misplaced or unrealized. During the reign of King Josiah in Judah, a lost parchment was found. “Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord’” (2 Chronicles 34:14, 15). Finding this precious document brought about a national revival. Have you discovered the authentic truth in the Word lately?

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7:7

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How to Make the Right Decision

We often face ethical dilemmas in our work. How can we use the Bible to make the right decisions? Each day of this plan provides a real-life case study on a tough decision, plus biblical decision-making principles that you can take to work.

A Theology of Work Project

Day 1

What Are the Consequences of Your Decisions?

In the fall of 1982, James Burke, the chairman of Johnson & Johnson, faced the biggest crisis of his career. J&J learned from a reporter that their flagship product, Tylenol, had been linked to seven poisoning deaths in the Chicago area. No one knew how or why the capsules had been poisoned, and Burke didn’t know how widespread the danger to the public might be.

What would you do?

The Bible suggests we should start the decision-making process by considering the potential consequences of our actions. Deuteronomy 28 shows that some actions bring blessings while others bring curses. What actions could Burke take to save his company from potential curses? How could he bless consumers and the Tylenol brand for the future?

Burke quickly considered the consequences of several strategies, with a focus on keeping customers safe. Though it cost Johnson & Johnson $100 million in the short term, Burke convinced J&J shareholders to recall all Tylenol capsules. Burke also directed an expensive media campaign to warn consumers against taking Tylenol until it was deemed safe again.

The effort was costly for Johnson & Johnson in the short term, but it saved the Tylenol brand in the long term. After J&J launched a new tamper-proof packaging, Tylenol quickly regained its lost market share. The public rewarded Burke for the trust he had built up during the crisis through his transparency and ethical decision-making.

When you face a tough ethical dilemma, think about the potential consequences of each of your choices. List all the consequences you can think of, both short term and long term. Does one choice yield more blessing?

Prayer
Lord, give me your insight into the consequences of my choices. Guide me towards blessing and away from curses. Amen.

Bible Verse

Deuteronomy 28:1-2

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

Day 2

What Type of Person Do You Want to Be?

Our decisions in tough situations reveal our character. Ephesians asks us to be imitators of God, so one way to make the right decision is to ask, “What type of person do I want to be?” Micah tells us that God demands justice, kindness, and humility. So we can trust that if a course of action makes us more just, kind, or humble, it is probably the right decision.

Sallie Krawcheck had just taken over leadership of Merrill Lynch’s wealth management division when she learned that their “Stable Value Fund” was in trouble. Customers had been sold this fund as a safe place to put their pension investments, but Merrill Lynch had managed the fund more riskily than advertised and lost money. Since Walmart had invested heavily in this fund, Merril Lynch’s loss would be felt most harshly by low-income workers in retirement. Krawcheck saw two options in front of her. One was to say “tough luck” to the Walmart employees; the other was to take money from Merrill Lynch’s coffers to replace the money that was lost.

Which decision embodies justice, kindness, and humility?

Ultimately, Sallie decided that she wanted to be the type of person who apologized for mistakes. She didn’t want to be the type of person who profited from other people’s loss. She reimbursed the fund’s losses from Merrill Lynch’s profits, even though she risked losing her job over it.

When you face a tough decision at work, ask yourself, “What type of person do I want to be?” Weigh each option by its effect on your character, and then make your decision.

Prayer
Lord, I want to imitate you in my actions. Shape my character through your word. Amen.

Bible Verse

Ephesians 5:2

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.

Day 3

A Golden Rule for Making the Right Decision

Anthony Soohoo worked for Apple on the launch of the Apple PowerBook. Testing had shown that a very small sample of PowerBooks contained a harmful flaw. Soohoo was “under tremendous pressure to make a decision on whether or not to hold off bringing the product to market.” Millions of dollars would be lost through a delay, but there was also long-term risk in moving forward.

Soohoo made the decision to hold off on the product launch by putting himself in his customer’s shoes.

“If the flaw was bigger than we thought, it could have created a huge loss of trust with our customers,” Soohoo said. “Putting myself in the shoes of our customers, I think that’s what they would have expected Apple to do. Not a popular decision at the time, but it was the right decision for the business.”

Soohoo’s reasoning was a reformulation of the golden rule that Jesus set out in Matthew 7: Do to others as you would have them do to you. It’s a simple rule to apply to decisions because there’s only one question to ask: If roles were reversed, what would I like done to me?

Even though this rule is simple to apply, following through on the right decision isn’t always easy. Doing the right thing often entails personal risk. And there are competing pressures in the workplace. You may feel pressure to do something easier, rather than go through with the decision you know is right.

We can evaluate decisions by their consequences, by their effect on our character or by their effect on others around us. In the end, doing the right thing is a habit we cultivate with practice. Ask God for both the wisdom to make the right decision and the courage to follow through.

Prayer
Lord, give me guidance to make the right decision and strength to follow through. Amen.

Bible Verse

Matthew 7:12

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

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Working Through Failure

A devotional from Theology of Work Project

Day 1

Success and Failure Don’t Define Who We Are

Many think the apostle Paul was successful. Because of his work, the gospel spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. Within 100 years of his death, strong churches existed everywhere he had been. But few in Paul’s day, including Paul, would call him a success. Paul evidently was not much to look at or listen to. By his own admission, at best he was a so-so speaker. His work often got him in trouble, which led to beatings, imprisonment, and getting thrown out of town.

Then-prevailing standards of success or failure didn’t much matter to Paul; he didn’t use them to measure his personal worth or his work. Interestingly, Paul still says that he had to learn to be content with his circumstances. He didn’t start out with that attitude. It’s not human nature to be happy despite our circumstances; we want to be happy because of our circumstances

But as a result of Christ’s transforming presence in our lives, we can learn to shift the source of contentment (and discontentment) from circumstances to God. We are His beloved sons and daughters—loved for our place in Christ, not because we succeed or fail. That is our truest source of joy.

In his book, Winning Smart After Losing Big, entrepreneur Rob Stearns echoes this perspective regarding his own failures. Stearns writes that there’s a big difference between experiencing a failure and being a failure: “You are the same person after your loss as you were before your loss.” It is strength of character that enables us to get up and keep moving when we’ve failed.

But where do we find strength to move forward? Paul freely acknowledged that such strength is not native to his soul. It came to him from Christ. “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13, NIV). Hardships and failures taught the apostle to ask for strength. He learned to “fail forward” into the everlasting arms of God.

Prayer
God, as I face failure, I pray that I would find my value in who you say I am. Help me draw strength and joy from your everlasting arms. Thank you for your unchanging love. Amen.

Day 2

Learning from Your Mistakes

In Matthew 5:4, Jesus states, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” As we reflect on our failures, we can receive this promise.

Failure can be the result of others’ actions, circumstances beyond our control, our own actions, or a combination of all three. While failure is no fun, it can benefit us in the long run. When mourning our mistakes compels us to make ourselves right with God and others, God comforts us and our relationships improve.

For those who struggle with perfectionism, grieving humbles us and puts us in touch with our humanity. Anxiety-driven striving alienates us from our emotions. Allowing ourselves to feel unadulterated sadness dispels this anxiety and the stress that comes with it.

Feeling sadness is uncomfortable. Without the emotional blessing of sadness, however, we would probably never muster the guts to admit our mistakes. But when we do admit mistakes, we may be surprised how often people are ready to forgive us. If we make a mistake with a colleague, student, customer, employee, or other person, we can admit it, ask their pardon, and commit to learning from our mistakes.

Of course, we must also deal with our failures in prayer. We can ask for forgiveness first, and then for the wisdom, courage, and perseverance to meet future challenges. Failure teaches us that we must depend on God’s living power. Faith in Christ enables us to do through God’s power what we could not otherwise.

Prayer
Dear God, thank you for this opportunity to grow. I pray for the wisdom, courage, and perseverance to properly mourn and learn from my mistakes. Amen.

Bible Verse

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Day 3

Success and Failure as Part of Life

It’s easy to blame ourselves or those around us for failures. However, we should not fool ourselves into thinking that failure is always a result of our shortcomings. Nor should we believe that success is exclusively due to our merits. Success or failure may be due to chance.

For example, Microsoft had a crack at success largely because of IBM’s offhand decision to use the MS-DOS operating system for a backwater project called the personal computer. Bill Gates later reflected, “Our timing in setting up the first software company aimed at personal computers was essential to our success. The timing wasn’t entirely luck, but without great luck it couldn’t have happened.” Asked why he had started a software company just at the time IBM was trying its luck with a personal computer, he replied, “I was born at the right place and time.”[1]

This is not to say that hard work and ingenuity aren’t important. They prepare us to make the most of the chances we get in life, and they may create opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Yet one who succeeds at work may be no more deserving than another who fails.

If our response to success is solely self-congratulation, we are practicing idolatry. If our response is thankfulness, then we are worshipping God. If our reaction to failure is despair, then we are feeling the hollowness of a broken idol. But if our reaction is perseverance, then we are experiencing the gracious power of God.

Prayer
Faithful Father, some circumstances are not in my control, though I often wish they were. Thank you for the opportunities and skills that have allowed me to succeed (in big ways and in small ways) in the past. After the sting of failure, help me to pick myself up and move forward with what I’ve learned. Amen.

Bible Verse

Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

Day 4

God Accomplishes His Purposes

Sometimes work is thwarted by our weakness. We fall short of the mark. If we recognize that our work is hobbled by disobedience, resentment, laxity, fear, selfishness, and other ailments, we can find comfort in the stories in the Bible.

Consider the list of names in Hebrews 11: Abraham, Samson, David, and more. When we read their stories we can clearly see their failures which were often significant. For example, if we read about Barak’s timidity as a general (Judges 4:8-9, NIV) through human eyes, we likely would see no faith at all. Yet God sees these heroes’ faith through his eyes and credits their success to his grace, not their own accomplishment.

The story of Jonah is another example. Jonah ran away from God by boarding a ship going in the opposite direction God told him to go. Yet even Jonah’s small, halting moments of obedience to God end up blessing those around him. On the ship he acknowledges, “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven” (Jonah 1:9, NIV) and sacrifices himself for the sake of his shipmates.

As a result the others on the ship are saved from a storm, and they become followers of the Lord. “The men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him” (Jonah 1:16, NIV). God accomplishes the fullness of his mission through Jonah’s halting, flawed, intermittent service. By God’s power, even our poor service may accomplish everything that God intends.

We can take heart in these examples when we’ve stumbled. We may have spoken harshly to a coworker, been impatient with a student, ignored our responsibility to our family, or done our work poorly. But we have faith that God is able to bring about his intent for the world even in the midst of our weakness and failure.

Prayer
Father, thank you that I am no different from any other person who has served you. We have all sinned and fallen short at times. Yet, you still use our efforts to accomplish your purposes. You are a great God. Amen.

Day 5

Don’t Dwell

In Luke 22, we glimpse a conversation between Peter and Jesus. It begins with bad news, namely, that Satan intends to “sift all of you as wheat” (Luke 22:31, NIV). Peter boldly claims that he is ready to go to prison with Jesus, even to die with him. Jesus responds with a chilling prediction: “Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me” (Luke 22:34, NIV). Luke does not report Peter’s response, but surely Peter is distressed, whether he believes Jesus or not.

However, we find encouragement in this passage. Right after Jesus says that he has prayed for Peter, he adds, “And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32, NIV).

Jesus is certain Peter is going to fail. But it doesn’t keep him from assigning to Peter the task of strengthening his fellow disciples. Jesus sees beyond Peter’s obvious faults and upcoming failures. He sees that which is good in Peter, his strength, faith, and compassion. He knows that Peter will be the one to build up his fellow disciples, in spite of the fact that Peter himself will fail along the way.

What an encouragement this is for us! We know our weaknesses. We know how many times we fail to live up to God’s standards. We are broken, sinful people. Yet Jesus sees beyond our faults and failures. Jesus calls us into his service, not because he has an unrealistic picture of us, but because he sees us fully. He sees that we are bound to make mistakes. At the same time he sees us as gifted for service in his ministry.

It’s important to learn from our mistakes, but we can’t let them become obstacles. We have to move forward, trust God for both forgiveness and guidance, and prepare for what’s next.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me learn from my mistakes. And when I’ve received your forgiveness and guidance, strengthen me to move forward, knowing that you see me and call me into a life of purpose. Amen.

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