Daily Devotions and Podcasts

SCRIPTURE The words of Jesus as recorded in The Gospel According to Matthew 6:34 So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. WORDS OF HOPE “Fear and Faith” If you want to find spiritual words addressing fear, the Bible is full of them. Literally hundreds of passages encouraging and even admonishing us not to fear, worry, or be anxious can be found. As I write this, I acknowledge my own fear. I am scheduled for sinus surgery the following week. It is outpatient/day surgery. There is less than 1% probability of a serious adverse outcome. And this is my third time to have endoscopic sinus surgery in my lifetime. Still, when someone is cutting, cauterizing and drilling through bone near my brain and beneath my face, I find myself less than comfortable! I am a man of faith and of science. I previously pursued a medical career before answering a call to enter seminary and work in parish ministry. I am comfortable in a hospital setting and have worked in emergency rooms both as an Emergency Medical Technician and a hospital chaplain. I trust the highly experienced medical professionals who will perform my procedure, anesthetize my body, and breathe for me while I’m sedated. Fear is simply human when we find we must surrender control of our very life to someone else so that we might gain a positive result. In Romans 8:11, the Apostle Paul wrote: “If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Paul writes that after spending ten verses talking about us focusing too much on our bodies, urges, and our own selfish tendencies. We are to be people of the Spirit of God. Transform our self. Transform the lives of those we touch. Transform the world. By the time you read or hear this my surgery will be over and I will be healing. I’ll return to work in about a week and go back to my regular exercise routine in two weeks. Faith is not the absence of fear, it is the presence of trust and hope, love and surrender. Whatever you may be facing now, faith allows us to move forward. Life is not perfect, but then life need not be perfect to still be wonderful. May it be so for you today. PRAYER Holy One, may I surrender to the faith shown by Jesus who offered us The Way that leads to life both here and hereafter. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Rev. Dr. Gary Kindley, LPC Pastoral Psychotherapist DrGK.org

SCRIPTURE  Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”? WORDS OF HOPE If you have ever had any question in your studies of the Bible about Genesis being written by more than one author, look no further than the first verse of Chapter 3 in which the serpent slithers his way into biblical immortality. The first two chapters have just wrapped up the beautiful Creation poem, concluding that all was good, very good. Then comes Chapter 3. Enter the snake. Things were not so very good anymore. The author uses the serpent to personify temptation, introducing discernment in the eternal struggle between good and evil. It reminds us of the consequences of disobedience, yet it is not pictured as the embodiment of evil itself, but rather crafty, a persuasive thinker. In the Christian Scriptures, Jesus praises the snake for its wisdom; “Be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove.” (Matthew 10.16) The snake was also used as the symbol of the Tribe of Dan in the Hebrew Scriptures, the tribe of the wise and discerning Judges. Moses himself used a sculpture of a snake as a reminder of the wisest decision to follow. But human history has not treated the snake well. Most of the misconceptions began when the snake was inaccurately interpreted as the Devil in disguise. He was not. He was just an animal that later readers in the Christian era decided to retrofit with their own characterization of evil incarnate. The snake’s reputation never recovered. Even today, many readers insist that the animal was and is the devil. There are those among us, however, who honor a knowledge of science and the ecology above centuries-old superstitions. Today is World Snake Day, an international celebration dedicated to recognizing the importance all efficient predators among our neighbors in nature. Like sharks, snakes perform an essential role in the balance of wildlife, and like sharks, they should be left alone, not only because they could do us harm, but because we could do greater harm to them. They are essential in nature. We are not. They are also not pets. 75% of all snakes that are sold in the exotic pet market do not survive and many more die in poacher-for-profit hunts. And still others are killed simply because they are snakes in the assumption that all snakes are venomous. They are not. In the United States, among the thousands of species of snakes, there are 22 recognized species that are venomous. The best known are rattlesnakes, cottonmouth water moccasins, copperheads, and coral snakes. Each is easily recognized and all are important predators of rodents and other small mammals that spread deadly diseases to humans. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors, all our neighbors, and some of our neighbors are snakes. I’m sure on that point most of us would agree. And the best way to love many of our neighbors is to leave them alone. We have invaded the snake’s world with our incessant expansion into environments where we do not belong. World Snake Day is a good day to remember we have more than enough predators in our own human community that need our full attention instead of vilifying a valuable player in God’s Creation. Let the snake have its own world while we make our best effort to patch up our own. PRAYER God of All, thank you for the vast variety of your Creation, for all the kittens and puppies, the Tasmanian Devils and the Angel fish, and we thank you on this special day for the essential work of your snakes. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Dan Peeler Order of St. Francis and St. Clare