Enjoy these selections from the last 90 days of Walter Mouse's weekly "Field Mouse Evangelism" devotions. The devotions are listed in descending order by date with the most recent devotion at the top. Click here if you would like to read the Wending Our Way devotions.
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As we left a public parking lot the other day, Bill noticed big, loopy tire marks on the blacktop. It looked like someone spun out purposely and left tread marks as evidence.
It got me thinking: What kind of marks do we leave on the roadways of life? Are they the "Hey! Lookit Me!!!" kind, or are they the often-invisible sort that speak of love, hope and encouragement?
We only come this way once. As people look back at where we've been, what will they see?
1 Peter 3:4 ...the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit....
Bill and I were stopped at a red light at a major intersection recently and were watching all the traffic going across in front of us. It's amazing how many different types of vehicles are out there: cars, pickup trucks, SUVs trailers, cement mixers, semis, motorcycles, horse trailers, tow trucks, ambulances, RVs, police cars, fire trucks.... Each one served a different purpose. Each one was off on its appointed rounds.
Wouldn't it be silly if someone tried to put a cement mixer and an ambulance together in one vehicle? Or how about a police car combined with a tow truck? Hee heee!! They'd look funny and they wouldn't work too well.
We're kind of like all those vehicles. We're each given various gifts to be used in service to mankind. It all works out well if we maximize our gifts and use them to help others. Things don't work too well if we try to add on a "vehicle" we're not. Then we can wind up at cross-purposes and find that it's hard to get anything accomplished.
Romans 12:6 ...We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
Bill often visits with an elderly friend who's confined to a wheelchair in a local nursing home. She struggles with a wasting disease but has a bountiful spirit. She certainly has good days and bad days, but whatever her lot for the day, her whole face lights up when she sees us coming.
Her whole being seems to say, "Welcome to my world!" We're always received with such obvious pleasure that it's actually refreshing.
Have you ever stopped to think that God receives us--every one of us--in just this way? He's just tickled pink when we show up, for whatever reason. His greatest pleasure is fellowship and we're His favorite guests.
Judges 19:20 ..."You are welcome at my house," said the old man.
Have you ever happened to leave early for something and wound up with a bit of free time on your hands? That happened to Bill and me recently. We got on the road and discovered that we were at least twenty minutes ahead of schedule. I forget where we were headed, but we didn't want to arrive early, so we dawdled a bit. Bill drove under the speed limit, letting everyone race frantically by. We took a detour past a friend's house and stopped to see her garden. We enjoyed the scenery along the way. We arrived at our destination relaxed and refreshed. It was great!
I think God wants us to dawdle through life occasionally--maybe more than occasionally. It refreshes mind and body. It's good for us physically, emotionally and spiritually. God doesn't ask us to go through life continually in overdrive. Sometimes we're just supposed to hang in neutral for a bit.
Isaiah 32:18 ...My people will live in peaceful dwelling places.
It's kind of windy today. One of our neighbor's birdfeeders is out in the open and the wind just sails across it. I can see a sparrow having its breakfast. His feathers are blowing all over the place, bless him. He has to hang on extra tight just to stay on the perch! It doesn't seem to bother him, though. He's got a good grip, and he just keeps pecking away.
Sometimes I should be like that little bird--when the going gets rough, I need to get a good grip and keep on keeping on with the business at hand. Sometimes the winds of life don't have to affect what I'm doing.
Psalms 51:10 ...renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Bill tried to eat cereal with a fork this morning! He wasn't planning to do that, but he'd just used a fork to get some peach slices out of a can, so he didn't grab a spoon when he dumped cereal on top of the peaches in his bowl. He didn't give the fork another thought until he tried to eat.
It was kind of comical, actually, but it made me realize how important it is to use the right tool to get a job done properly. Don't we sometimes "eat cereal with forks" when we rush through our devotional time and hurry on to whatever's next? We can't do that if we expect to stay nourished spiritually. We really need to scoop up the word if it's going to feed us properly.
Hosea 13:6 ...When I fed them, they were satisfied....
You see funny things on the road. Bill and I were out in the country recently and got into a line of very slow traffic. The hold-up was caused by two ancient pick-up trucks. One was being towed by the other. Nothing hi-tech here. They were tied together with a rope! It made for slow-going because they both had to watch that the towed truck didn't plow into the back end of the one doing the towing. They turned off somewhere. I hope they got where they were going.
The two trucks made a good picture of Christian outreach. Nothing fancy--just two banged-up souls working together to make things better. It's the same journey we're asked to take with Our Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12:28 ...in the church God has appointed...those able to help others....
One night Bill was at the dining room table writing a draft for work. He made a mistake somewhere and grabbed for the white-out tape dispenser. What he grabbed, and used, instead was a yellow hi-lighter. He wound up hi-lighting his mistake instead of erasing it.
This wasn't really a problem since this was a draft copy, but it made me think. Jesus would never mark a mistake that way! Once we spot an error in our lives, we can turn to Him, confess our sin, and receive His forgiveness. He wants us to learn from our mistakes and then move on, unburdened by guilt and shame. He doesn't want our mistakes to be hi-lighted. He wants them removed so we can get on with the business of becoming more like Him.
1 John 1:9 ...If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Bill and I were driving along a meandering country road recently. We were admiring the scenery and the somewhat quaint homes and out-buildings. At one unexpected spot, we passed a yellow road sign with a black fire truck on it. Then, not far beyond that, we drove by a sign that said, "_ire Station." It was supposed to say, "Fire Station" but the "F" had worn off. It looked kind of funny.
As we continued on our way, "-ire Station" stayed with me. I wondered how many times I've been an "Ire Station," spewing wrath on all who came near. I wonder if maybe some days I, too, should have warning signs posted so others know I'm up ahead.
Ephesians 4:31 ...Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger....
Bill and I were in a store recently and watched as a young man with a pronounced limp made his way around the department carefully straightening shelves, ringing up sales, answering questions and generally doing a fine job of serving the public. His hip had to be painful after a day on hard floors, and movement of any sort was certainly awkward for him, but he never lost his smile or his effectiveness. Every time we go in that store, he's there, happily doing whatever comes next.
What an inspiration! He's like Paul, who had some sort of "thorn" to live with also, but who also kept on keeping on in service to the Lord.
God doesn't disqualify us from service because we're not perfect. He's the only One Who needs to be prefect. He just asks the rest of us to show up faithfully and to minister to His people. His grace is sufficient. It shines through the lives of those who do His bidding...even amid difficult circumstances.
2 Corinthians 12:7 ...there was given me a thorn in my flesh....
Bill and I were shopping several years ago. We'd stopped in a really big (and really wonderful!) bookstore. People were meandering around, many with small children or toddlers.
As one innocent looking little fellow (he was maybe four) approached the exit doors, he stopped in front of his mom and gazed intently at her face. He was checking to see if it was OK to go ahead through the door and out into the parking lot. His look was one of complete trust and peace, and total assurance that she knew about the places he needed to go. She smiled lovingly at him and gently guided him through the door.
Could we not look to Christ with such trust and assurance that He, too, knows the way and will guide us just as lovingly?
Mark 9:7b ...Listen to him!
The other night, Bill was in his favorite rocker, contentedly reading a wonderfully engaging book. He passed a fair amount of time peacefully page-turning and gently rocking. As the evening progressed, so did his novel and the rocker. As his reading unfolded the silent journey in the book, the rocker meandered off on its own journey across the living room. When Bill stopped reading and looked up, he discovered the chair wasn't anywhere near where he'd started.
Our lives can be like that, too, sometimes. While we're busily engaged in things, God moves us forward and we "arrive" in a new and different spot, having completed a journey that was actually rather effortless.
Judges 18:6b ...Your journey has the LORD'S approval.
Bill's mom had a small candle burning the other day when we visited. When she blew it out, Bill noticed that the wick end had burned kind of funny, so it looked just like a cobra's head. The rest of the wick looked like a cobra's body sticking up.
I only know two things about cobras: 1. They're poisonous. 2. They can't leap at you. They can only reach as far as the upper part of their body can go--about a foot or so. The coiled part stays on the ground. This means that if you stay about two feet from a cobra, you're safe, no matter how much it threatens.
Sin's the same way, actually. If we just stay far enough away, it can't get us, either.
Ezekiel 18:30b ...Turn away from all your offenses...
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This page was last revised on February 23, 2020 at 7:41 PM.
