As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16 NIV

I do not know doves very well so when I complained to my husband about the constant hooting of an owl near our home, he replied, “That is not an owl. There are doves in our yard every day.” What? Doves sound like owls? Well, to me they do.

My husband also informed me that they usually mate for life. Well, since I am a sucker for love, I had a newfound respect for the paired-up love birds! They “coo” to each other! How sweet! Some of them mourn their mate for a very long time after they die, which is sad, but meaningful too. It speaks volumes about their attachment.

That the Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove means so much. The Holy Spirit descended from heaven as God expressed His pleasure in His Son, Jesus. Did you ever realize that, at the moment Jesus was baptized, God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus were all together, all present in the same event playing out in the water? Wow. It moves me that all three of them were in accord, united in a heavenly purpose.How special!

A dove was also a major part of Noah’s story. The dove was released from the ark and it found land and brought back an olive leaf. It was a sign that God saved Noah and his family from the flood. There was plant life outside the ark!

When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. Genesis 8:11 NIV

So when you see a dove or two, as the case may be, think of the Holy Spirit descending from Heaven as God was pleased with His Son. Think of God’s promise to Noah to save him and His family from the flood. Also think of Noah’s obedience to God in building the Ark in preparation for the flood to come. Think of a dove’s love!

A dove’s love can remind us of these ABC’s…

Ask Jesus to wash our sins away and confess that we need His love and forgiveness.

Be so obedient, that God will say He is well-pleased with us.

Celebrate that the Holy Spirit descends like a dove and guides all we do.

Doves will now remind me that we have a team of loving experts to coach us all along life’s way…The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all in one accord, attached to the events of our lives. They all love us so:)

Christina

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NIV

When you have a problem that you need help with, you may call family members or respected friends for advice. Because they love you and want you to successfully get through the trial, they will share their experience, in hopes of saying something that will be helpful to you.

Of course, we need to call on God first if we are unsure of what to do. Although unsure of answers to our problems, we can be sure He has the answers. We know God loves us and wants our best, so we look forward to what He will say.

But guess what! There is someone who gives advice without you asking! This enemy who talks to you, uninvited and invisible is Satan. He is sneaky about it, though. He will tell you the opposite of the truth. He lies.

Unlike those that love you, he tells you what will ruin you. Why? He does not love you and he does not love that you love God. It is not easy to tell sometimes when he is whispering lies in your ear, so it is important to pray always. God will protect us from the enemy if we just ask. It’s like this…

The enemy will do whatever it takes to bring you down and God will do whatever it takes to lift you up.

Here is a short poem to remind us that God is always there for you, no matter what lies the enemy is telling you.

When life is hard and you think God’s not there,

The enemy tells you He just doesn’t care.

He tells you those lies to make you despair

But just call on God. He meets you in prayer.

With love from our awesome Father to you, have a day full of God’s abundant love!

Christina Crute

Do you, like me, ever get overwhelmed with joy because of how much God loves you? He didn’t have to send His Son to save us, but He did! Why? Because of His love. He is God and can do whatever He wants. And He did what He wanted… He did it because He wants you and me to live forever with Him and bring all of our friends too! Every day He shows us He loves us. He talks and listens to us. Day-to-day, His mercies never fail. He offers us eternal life but also helps us in our temporary earthly life, every single day! Sometimes only a poem helps to express my thanks.

Hear me Father, if You may.

Thank You so much for this day.

Thank You that I get to say,

“You are mine in every way.”

Now that I’ve begun to pray,

You have something to convey?

Let me hear You, God, I pray.

I do hear You! I hear You say,

“I’m Your Father, so today

Let me guide You in your way.

Yes, I’m yours in every way

And you are mine, my piece of clay.”

Words cannot begin to say

All that’s in my heart today,

Thank You Lord. I am Your clay.

I’ll honor You, Your will obey.

©2021 Christina Crute

With love from our awesome Father,

Christina

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.18The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19 NIV

How many moms, including myself, have said to their children, when going somewhere with them…”Stay close to me?” Children have a way of wandering off if not watched, so to keep them from coming to harm, we often tell them that, or “Stay where I can see you.” Do they always obey? Nope! Once, when my daughter, Jessie, was about six or seven years old, she wandered off in a J.C. Penney store. Her sister, Kellie, and I hollered and searched for her, but a few minutes went by with no sighting of Jessie. Oh, the panic I felt! Just a few days earlier some babies had been snatched in a department store in a nice area. My mind ran straight to that scenario!

Suddenly, I heard, “MOMMY!!” Across the sales floor, a scared little girl-voice screamed for her mother. What a smart girl too. She had climbed on top of a clothing display so she could find me easier! Standing atop a rack of clothes, she announced to me, and everyone else, that she was lost! I was so relieved and proud at the same time! Needless to say, I scolded her. It was only after we got home that I told her that she did a smart thing with a bad situation.

She and her sister were gymnasts so they naturally climbed, jumped on, ran around, flipped over or cart-wheeled on everything! I was more grateful than ever that she did what came natural to her. She climbed up on top of something!

This story is not just a story to me. It is a lesson and reflection of our relationship with Jesus. He wants us to stay close to Him and not wander off, but do we always obey? Nope! As His children, we are curious and want to see what’s around the next corner or aisle. Plus we want to be independent and strong and brave with our own strength. When we get too far away, we realize we are unsafe and need His help. We cry, “Father!” We even climb on top of our problems, meaning we put ourselves in a position where we can see Him better. Letting go of our pride, we announce to Him. “I want to find You!”

And you know what? He already knew where we were, even though we thought we were all alone. He does not love us less because we wandered. In fact, I think He is proud of us for turning around and looking for Him, knowing we need Him. He always hears His children’s cries and answers as a loving Father does, saying, “I am here with you.”

Here is a verse for encouragement, which we all need, don’t we? David tells us this:

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17

I think the Lord is awesome! I hope you think so too! Have a great day:)

Christina

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.18The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19 NIV

How many moms, including myself, have said to their children, when going somewhere with them…”Stay close to me?” Children have a way of wandering off if not watched, so to keep them from coming to harm, we often tell them that, or “Stay where I can see you.” Do they always obey? Nope! Once, when my daughter, Jessie, was about six or seven years old, she wandered off in a J.C. Penney store. Her sister, Kellie, and I hollered and searched for her, but a few minutes went by with no sighting of Jessie. Oh, the panic I felt! Just a few days earlier some babies had been snatched in a department store in a nice area. My mind ran straight to that scenario!

Suddenly, I heard, “MOMMY!!” Across the sales floor, a scared little girl-voice screamed for her mother. What a smart girl too. She had climbed on top of a clothing display so she could find me easier! Standing atop a rack of clothes, she announced to me, and everyone else, that she was lost! I was so relieved and proud at the same time! Needless to say, I scolded her. It was only after we got home that I told her that she did a smart thing with a bad situation.

She and her sister were gymnasts so they naturally climbed, jumped on, ran around, flipped over or cart-wheeled on everything! I was more grateful than ever that she did what came natural to her. She climbed up on top of something!

This story is not just a story to me. It is a lesson and reflection of our relationship with Jesus. He wants us to stay close to Him and not wander off, but do we always obey? Nope! As His children, we are curious and want to see what’s around the next corner or aisle. Plus we want to be independent and strong and brave with our own strength. When we get too far away, we realize we are unsafe and need His help. We cry, “Father!” We even climb on top of our problems, meaning we put ourselves in a position where we can see Him better. Letting go of our pride, we announce to Him. “I want to find You!”

And you know what? He already knew where we were, even though we thought we were all alone. He does not love us less because we wandered. In fact, I think He is proud of us for turning around and looking for Him, knowing we need Him. He always hears His children’s cries and answers as a loving Father does, saying, “I am here with you.”

Here is a verse for encouragement, which we all need, don’t we? David tells us this:

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17

I think the Lord is awesome! I hope you think so too! Have a great day:)

Christina

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV

Sometimes I get frustrated with events in the news. My husband and I try not to watch too much news because it affects our mood, our hope. It seems that our world is changing so fast and not in a way that is always good, but more so, head-scratching, to be honest. What is our world coming to? It looks like it is coming apart, at least to me.

However, I know the One who holds all things together. ALL things. So even when we see the daily crises, the political divide, unheard of severe weather tragedies, riots, increases in crime, un-American behavior, or the very sad Miami building collapse recently, we can know we are only seeing what human eyes can see. God sees the whole picture , though. He sees what we cannot.

It is kind of like we are looking through a camera lens at something in the distance but we do not have a zoom lens or a panoramic view, so we just see one part of the view. God sees all. He has a view of everything all at once. Though we would probably be overwhelmed if we saw everything, including the future, nothing surprises Him. He has everything in control and will allow what He allows. He has our best in mind and the big picture in view.

Someday, we will see Him face-to-face and know more. We will understand better by and by. But for now, we need to be content that we are not God and what we see is only a part of our journey to a future with Him. Though we see only a little picture, God has the big picture in focus! We just have to trust the professional:)

Have a great weekend and enjoy the blessings He sends:)

Christina

Do you ever imagine what heaven looks like? I do, but not as often as I used to as a child. A friend sent me a poem the other day that reminds me of the times I did imagine heaven and how happy it made me. When I read this poem today, I sort of melted with happiness. She sent it because it reminded her of me. It reminded ME of me! This poem is about imagining seeing our beautiful Lord.

Every morning lean thine arms awhile

Upon the window-sill of Heaven

And gaze upon thy Lord,

Then, with the vision on thy heart,

Turn strong to meet thy day.

Author Unknown

Isn’t that just beautiful? It makes me want to gaze long and hard enough to carry that vision with me all day long. Sometimes we may feel rushed in doing our devotions, but it does not take much time to gaze toward heaven and imagine your Savior sitting there. While we are gazing, we can also imagine what it looks like up there! We have this hint from John, in Revelation.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5

Doesn’t that sound beautiful?If I take the liberty to imagine right now…I imagine there will be lots of trees and flowers and friendly animals and bodies of water. We will have beautiful places, hills, rocks and rolling meadows with butterflies, where we can all sit and talk and revel in the beauty of our Savior, with no thought of time. There will be no clocks, no rushing! What will that feel like?

There will be no band-aids or ventilators or ambulances or hospitals. There will be no medicine! What there will be is tangible joy that makes puffy clouds when we express it. (That is the kid in me coming out!) Everyone will hug everyone and call each other brother and sister and mean it. There will be no phones!! We will talk face to face all the time!

I imagine the streets of gold will feel cold to my bare feet. I imagine everything will be tall and grand and precious. It just will be wonderful because He is wonderful. We won’t be able to stop singing about our Lord! He is preparing our homes now, maybe even our choir robe. Can you imagine?

Thank you, God for giving us imaginations that gaze at You and our beautiful forever home. Thank You for Your Word and promise that we will spend eternity with You if we follow You all the way there. Meanwhile, help us to love others as much as we can here and spread the Word about You. You are awesome in every way! Amen

May you go throughout your day with the promise of heaven in your mind. Whatever happens on earth, it will all be worth it in the end:)

Christina

I wrote this free verse, of sorts, because I feel such an urgency in my heart to tell others about Jesus. With our world being so volatile, for lack of a better word, the need for Jesus seems more urgent than ever! The question is….why don’t I do it more? What if someone remains lost because I didn’t tell them about Jesus and what He did for me? It scares me a bit. Does witnessing sort of scare you too?

Since writing this, I have prayed and realized, we can pray for opportunities to tell others and God will definitely answer that prayer. He did that for me recently! I honestly believe He tailor-makes opportunities for shy ones like me, outgoing ones, bold people too. He made us with all kinds of different personalities and He can use all of them for His glory. If we tell Him we want to tell others, He will give us a chance to eat our words or feed them to the hungry:) His Word is filling to everyone!

So many questions roll around in my head. How much am I doing for Christ? Shouldn’t I tell that there’s really a hell? So nobody has to die? I am saved for heaven by Jesus’ grace. His forgiveness is God’s design. But do I tell everyone about our dear Lord, That He is a friend of mine? What about those who don’t even know Jesus can give them peace? Can I sleep at night, just feeling right When someone has such a need? The answer is ,I am ready to move In a much needed, better direction. I don’t dare fight it, or keep it quiet, My heart’s true and pressing reflection. Show up or shut up. Know what I mean? Time to speak from the heart. Give a loud cry, don’t hide what’s inside. Today is a great place to start. The theme is “Show and tell for the world,” It’s time to fight for the right. Let no one miss out, without a doubt, on God’s love and guiding light. Why do this, you ask? Because our Lord, He showed up, He shut up sin. His blood paid the price, our sin’s sacrifice. Now we can have Him within! Tell it now, for the love of your brother, Your sister, your friends you hold dear. They deserve the chance, a love circumstance. Tell them what they need to hear. Tell it now, tell it now! God will show you how, Tell it now!

©copyright 2021 Christina Crute

I hope you have a wonderful day! May God bless our words we use for His glory:)

Christina

Remember in the devotion yesterday, how Jesus cleaned out the temple? And the teachers of the law were not too happy about the wonderful healing that He did? The next day, while He was teaching at the temple, He was confronted by those rulers about His actions.

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority? Matthew 21:23 NIV

Is it just me or do you think they were purposely trying to accuse Him of something? In my mind, they probably had a meeting of some sort before deciding what questions to ask Him. I think they wanted to trap and attack Him verbally. Why do I think that? Because they asked in a way that suggests He had NO authority. Plus, a few verses later, after Jesus asked them a question about John’s baptism they had to conference together before answering.

 Jesus asked them…”John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” Matthew 21: 25-26 NIV

So you know what they answered? They said, “We don’t know.” (verse 27) They figured together that they did not want to answer that either John or heaven was responsible for the baptism. Therefore, Jesus did not answer their question about whose authority He was acting under.

What this means for us:

It matters, who we follow or whose authority we acknowledge and allow in our lives. We follow the doctor’s authority, the mechanic’s and the plumber’s, for the most part. Our spiritual authority, though, is God. Our pastors’ spiritual authority is God. Jesus’ authority was God too! It is important to note that God gave Jesus the authority to do what He was doing. He approved of it. He approved of Jesus doing things in His name.

This made me think, so here’s a few questions for you and me… What do I do under God’s authorization? What do I do that He has approved me to do? What do I do in His name, representing Him? Also…do I do things without His authorization sometimes? (I think so. Sometimes I rush ahead and do what I want and then when I hit a brick wall, I ask for help.) Am I a good worker for Him?

 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Timothy 2: 15-16 NIV

Wow, part of being a good worker is watching our words; what a good reminder. All we do should be subject to God’s approval. Aren’t you thankful for the Holy Spirit that whispers to us and urges us in right directions? I am. Because I cannot do it on my own. None of us can. It is a lie of the enemy that we can.

Here is to remembering to live a life authorized by God, while thanking Him for the opportunity to be His worker!

Have a great day! With love from the Father to you,

Christina

Do you ever look forward to “Spring cleaning?” I do! Really, at any time of year, isn’t it nice to take a fresh look at what you have in the house and get rid of things you don’t need? We accumulate things without realizing it, don’t we? Some things are tossed or donated because they do not fit the house anymore. Some clothes are given away because they aren’t worn anymore. Some furniture no longer serves the purpose as I brought new things in.

I realize now that we are always in a process, at least in my house, of revaluating what needs to be in the house. It often drives my husband crazy that I clean and organize so much! He cannot find things He needs. Oops, sorry sweetie!

In Matthew 21, Jesus did some evaluating and cleaning of His house, the temple. It was supposed to be a house of prayer, Jesus said, but instead of offering prayers to God, people were offering items, to make money for themselves.

It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ Matthew 21:13 NIV

Those two scenarios seem quite opposite of each other, don’t they? A house of prayers or a den of robbers… One serves God and one serves self. Jesus thought so. That’s why He cleaned His house by ridding it of things that He did not want there. That meant the moneychangers had to go. He overturned the tables and drove them out. Then, once the temple was clean of all that clutter and selfishness, the blind and lame came to Him and He healed them.

Now that seems fitting for His house, I think, but the chief priest and teachers of the law were, the Bible says, INDIGNANT!

But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. Matthew 21:15 NIV

Their anger confused me until I thought about it and researched a bit in the Bible. From what I can tell, the chief priests laid down the law and were the authority on what went on in the temple. And here was Jesus doing ‘wonderful’ things that were not approved by them.

I can see how they would be questioning Jesus’ authority to clean a temple without their approval or permission, but He was HEALING people. Surely they cared that people got healed and were amazed that He was doing it, right? Not exactly. They were mad that He was usurping their authority. It was all about them.

Does Jesus really need permission to do God’s work in His own house? I do not think so! Jesus did what needed to be done. He wanted a fresh cleaning of all the extra, un-necessary clutter that was keeping His house from being the house that it was meant to be. So should we all do in our hearts, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s do a little cleaning of our own, throwing out the clutter, selfishness and things we do not need in His house, our heart. If we have trouble parting with some of it, no worries. Just ask Jesus to turn the tables over and run out the bad, as He sees fit. Then, let’s get to God’s business at hand. When our hearts are clean, we have plenty of room for God to do God’s work:)

May you have a blessed day in the Lord. Remember He loves you so much!

Christina