I have decided to take a hiatus from writing the devotions.  I trust your walk with the Lord will continue to flourish, and I look forward, Lord willing, to being together again in the future.

God’s best to you.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 4:8, “For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.”

Many of us remember Audrey Hepburn for her elegance and grace as portrayed on the silver screen in movies like Sabrina, My Fair Lady, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  She was also well-known for her involvement and commitment to UNICEF, the United Nations organization that provided long-term assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.  In her late thirties, Hepburn was a star, but decided to make a change in her priorities.  She later said, “I had to make a choice at one point in my life, of missing films or missing my children.”  And so, Hepburn decided to use the majority of her time to be a mother rather than an actress.  It had been thrilling, rewarding, and even quite practical for her to invest so much time and energy into films.  She had reaped the rewards and acclaim that came with her talent and devotion, but then she chose something else.

I think it was odd that all of the disciples went into town to buy food.  Certainly some number of them could have taken care of that practical matter while others stayed back with Jesus.  Perhaps they went because no one wanted to be the apparent slacker who laid around the well.  Perhaps they all went because Jesus told them all to go.  I don’t know.  But what I do know is how easily we, or I should say I, can choose the errands and the activity over the time with Jesus.  I can accomplish much that needs to be done when the other alternative is time with Jesus by the well.  The disciples did come back with food for their journey, food that Jesus could have made from the dust they walked on.  But they missed one whale of a conversation that Jesus had with the Samaritan woman.  They missed a lifetime of seminary training, but they took care of the groceries.  They didn’t get to hear Jesus explain true worship and penetrate a human heart, but they made sure they had dinner.  At some point, you have to make a choice, just like you have to eat.  Just make sure that you’re not making the wrong choice.  A lot could be going on while you’re away.

As we seek Him today, examine the things you are choosing to do in light of the things you are choosing to not do.  And then seek Jesus for your decision.

Have a delightful holiday weekend, and I will be with you next week.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 4:6, “Now Jacob’s well was there.”

If you drive around the city of Raleigh and pay special attention, especially in and around the downtown area, you will eventually notice certain signs along the way.  The ones to which I am referring, which have a distinctive look about them and differ from any other ordinary street sign, are called Raleigh City Historical Markers.  These markers serve to highlight and retell snippets of the history of our city.  But with a little more effort, one can discover the fuller story as to the significance of each marker.  One marker oddly references “Artificial Limbs.”  The text on the sign explains that North Carolina was the first state to provide limbs to Confederate amputees, and the marker notes the location of the factory which operated for that purpose.  Somewhat surprisingly, the government agreed to provide artificial legs to those wounded soldiers of the Civil War, but an artificial arm would cost them $50.  However, a year later, the policy was changed, and arms were also provided at no cost.  One other marker met with personal interest for me.  Lamar Stringfield has a sign referencing his boyhood home.  Lamar was born in 1897 and eventually organized the North Carolina Symphony and served as its first conductor.  Lamar’s father, O.L. Stringfield, who helped establish Meredith College, became pastor in 1892 of Inwood Baptist Church just south of Raleigh.  Inwood, a small country church, just happens to be where I first attended church and where I accepted Christ and was baptized.

Did the residents of Sychar erect a sign to promote the location of Jacob’s well?  As despised Samaritans whom the Jews considered heretical, perhaps they needed something to bolster their claim for legitimacy, so they pointed to the well of one of their forefathers.  It’s not uncommon to mark the claim to fame of something significant, socially or otherwise.  But for followers of Jesus, we cannot spend too much time looking in our rearview mirror, cherishing relics or reliving accomplishments.  Much good has been done, but to what avail will it become if much more does not follow?

As we seek Him today, leave some things behind, and press on toward the mark that God has set before you.

Have a progressive Thursday.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 4:10, “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'”

In the movie It’s A Wonderful Life, George Bailey has just gotten married and is on his way out of town for his honeymoon.  However, throngs of people are running past his cab in the opposite direction to the bank.  The cause of all the upheaval was a bank run, a turn of events where a large number of panicked depositors begin withdrawing their cash from the bank for fear that the bank is about to become insolvent.  Aware of the gravity of the situation, George runs back to his Building & Loan office where a crowd of people is standing outside, unable to get in for the locked gate.  After they all make their way into the office, George explains to them what is happening and how to get through it.  Desperate to overcome the panic in the room, George and his bride offer up their honeymoon cash, willing to meet the folks’ immediate needs until the bank reopens the following week.  One by one, these frightened neighbors agree to borrow from George what he had saved to splurge on himself and his new wife.  After an obnoxious gentleman demands his entire account balance rather than a reasonable amount for the time being, the next few people request a mere twenty dollars on which to get by.  Eventually, a little old lady eases to the teller window, timid and uncomfortable to ask of George what he had intended for himself.  She nervously pleas for precisely $17.50, and George adoringly leans across the counter and kisses her on the cheek.

Who among us isn’t acutely aware of the practical and immediate?  When the Samaritan woman questioned Jesus for breaking the moral code that Jews and Samaritans had of avoiding each other, she reasonably inquired about the matter at hand.  But Jesus countered with a picture much bigger than racial tension.  He declared that God and eternity was before her, and no line in the sand could hold them back.  He urged her to look beyond herself and seek the Savior.  You may think you need your $17.50, but God’s resources are limitless, and He wants to do so much more than just help you get through today.  And it all begins with faith.

As we seek Him today, remember that God began shaping his plans for you before time began, so there might be more to them than you have become accustomed to expect.

Have an exceptional Tuesday.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 2:22, “Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.”

In the Aegean Sea, a couple miles off the coast of Turkey, is a little island called Kos.  Smaller than any of the six Hawaiian Islands open to tourists, this ancient site first mentioned in Homer’s Iliad from the 8th century BC has at least one significant claim to fame. Born there was the man referred to as the Father of Western Medicine, Hippocrates.  Many firsts in the field of medicine are ascribed to Hippocrates, not the least of which is the idea that sickness and disease were caused naturally and were not a punishment from the gods.  The most common attribution to Hippocrates recognized by the ordinary citizen would most likely be the Hippocratic Oath.  This oath, historically sworn by physicians as they embark on their practice, is generally summarized by folk like me as stating that doctors are to always seek the best for the patient, and shall in no way administer harm to any.  There are, however, several significant statements in the original oath that I dare say are unfamiliar to the general populace.  For example, the oath binds the taker to consider his medical teacher as equal to his parents, and his family as his own.  Their livelihoods shall be shared and one.  He shall teach without fee his teacher’s family as well as his own, but impart his knowledge to no one who has not taken the physician’s oath.  He shall also not administer help to a woman to cause abortion.  Now, as you can imagine, most of the modern versions of the oath exclude any reference to the unusual familial responsibilities, and especially the ban on abortion.  And for obvious reasons.

Jesus said that no one can serve two masters.  To swear allegiance to the original oath of Hippocrates creates conflict with too many doctors who have sworn their lives to something less than God’s view of human life, so they make the compromise.  Allegiance to a risen Jesus, the words He said, and all of holy scripture, calls us to a supreme standard that cannot have a second master and makes no allowance for compromise.  Don’t let a cause, political party, or personal preference wrest your allegiance from Jesus.  He alone shall be our one Master.

As we seek Him today, remember the things Jesus said so that they may cause your faith in Him and His word to increase and strengthen.

Have a marvelous Monday, and I will be with you again next week.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 6:32, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.'”

Through the years, there have been some very notable and extremely successful musical artists that have enhanced their careers by winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.  Back in my day, the winners included The Beatles, The Carpenters, Carly Simon, and America.  A little more recently, the list includes Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Hootie & the Blowfish, Norah Jones, and Adele.  Oddly though, there is no winner for the year 1990.  Actually, there was a winner, but their award was vacated.  That was the year that Milli Vanilli won.  But later that year, it was discovered that the two members that made up the band had not sung any of the songs on their debut album that had led to their winning, and so they returned the award.  By the time the truth was revealed, Milli Vanilli already had a second album set for release, and so the producer had to redesign the cover with the images of the actual singers, change the name of the album to (ironically) The Moment of Truth, rename the band The Real Milli Vanilli, and ultimately distance himself from the impostors he had used as the front men for his group.  And there in a nutshell you have the rise and fall of a group that may or may not have existed, who may or may not have sung songs that you most probably have never heard of.

It’s a comforting thing to know that God is in control, even when we don’t immediately acknowledge it.  When we’re young, we are constantly reminded that others are making the decisions for us.  But as we age, we begin to make more and more of our own choices.  And that is when we can be fooled into thinking that we are in charge.  We decide whether we are going to do something, and when we are going to do it, and so it feels like we are masters of our universe.  But regardless of how we play out our days, God is the one behind all that comes our way.  It may look like we are the ones making it all happen, but we are not the real artist.  The Father in heaven is orchestrating it all.  He is the producer in control of our destiny.

As we seek Him today, acknowledge God for the indescribable King that He is, and worship Him in humble obedience to the Son.

Have an authentic weekend.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 6:20, “But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.'”

I remember a while back an incident at a local mall that has become too commonplace in our society.  Gun shots were reported that sent hundreds of shoppers fleeing to the exits, many leaving behind personal belongings and valuables as they ran to safety.  One eyewitness said he saw two men arguing and one of them pulled out a gun and began shooting, popping off as many as four shots.  Another eyewitness said he was within 15 feet of the incident and reported he heard 5 or 6 shots as he walked out of a cell phone store.  One lady said she heard something pop, and then pandemonium broke out, with people running over tables and chairs to get out of the mall.  Another said she heard the gun shot and then the floor started shaking as everyone began stampeding to the upstairs exits.  As authorities investigated, however, they were having trouble explaining exactly what happened.  In fact, no evidence whatsoever had been found to suggest that any shots were fired at all.  Police continued to seek help from those who were present to try to determine the source of the sound that created the mass panic.

Fear entered mankind the moment God came looking for Adam and Eve after their fateful meal by the forbidden tree.  Since then, every person has known what it feels like to be afraid.  And while many of us have developed ways to handle our fears, many others are not able to cope with or overcome theirs.  Jesus tried to calm the frightened disciples simply by identifying who He was.  He wanted them to know He was the one who could walk on water, and He fully intended His peace to replace their dread.  I wonder if Jesus had showed up at the mall that weekend and announced who He was while the crowds flooded to the doors, would that have been enough to restore order?  Would His deliberate gait amidst the scurrying droves have brought calm to their storm?  I don’t know.  But I do know He’s with you as your pulse races and the tension mounts.  Is it enough for you?  Do you experience the truth and power of His presence?  It is Him; do not be afraid.

As we seek Him today, let Jesus take away a fear that’s keeping you from peace.

Have a peaceful Thursday.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 5:39, “I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”

There was an exchange that went something like this: Why were you late to work?  The car wouldn’t start.  Why?  The battery was dead.  Why?  The car door was left open.  Why?  I had my five year old help unload the groceries.  Why?  Because I was watching the game and it was very close.  Now, this was not an actual conversation that I had or heard, rather it was an example illustrating a problem-solving tool simply called “The 5 Why’s.”  This tool was offered up as a method to help get to the root cause of an issue.  And as simple as the above example may be, it speaks rather loudly to much of what you and I struggle with.  We fail or underachieve in so many ways, yet we never quite seem to address what is the root cause for our shortfalls.  We have developed a tolerance for mediocrity, or we have grown accustomed to our pat answers so much so that we never uncover what is the source of our condition.  Could it be as simple as asking yourself a couple more “Why’s” to get to where you need to be to begin to get to where you want to be?  Or more importantly, where God wants you to be?  Chances are, if your answers to a “Why” question revolve around the actions of another person, then you probably need to ask one or two more.  The late employee had plenty of adequate answers for arriving tardy, but only when he got to where it addressed his actions and decisions did we begin to discover something that he needed to address.

Jesus needed only to ask one time, for His answer was always that it was His Father’s will.  Because ours is so often not the case, we first need to accept that we have things that need addressing.  Then, if we’ll have the faith and the courage, we must ask our self why enough times to let God reveal to us His answer.  If we would do this, if we would trust Jesus and His love for us enough, then we would experience change that no gym, exercise class, diet, or self-help book could ever produce.  We would experience Christ, and the conforming to His very image.  Why?  Because God said so.

As we seek Him today, let God reveal to you what’s underneath that daily irritation, or that giant stumbling block.  And then let Him show you what to do about it.

Have an awesome Wednesday.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 5:19, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing.  For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.'”

I have a role and a certain amount of responsibility at work.  My position, such that it is, allows me to do certain things, while at the same time it limits my ability to have complete freedom to do anything I choose.  At home, I am much more autonomous.  My role as the father and husband also carries with it a responsibility, but there are no managers or supervisors determining my areas of influence or what I can and cannot do.  From before time began, God the Father and Jesus fellowshipped with the Holy Spirit in a relationship that exceeds human expression.  But one day, Jesus left His place and entered the created world to walk among His subjects.  He remained God, and in complete fellowship with the Father and the Spirit, yet He took on a new role with new responsibilities.  Experiencing the frustration, exhaustion, confusion, disillusion, anger, arrogance, coercion, helplessness, hopelessness and all else that a person could bring to Him, He might have wanted to play God with their emotions and circumstances.  Yet, Jesus was limited.  He was not free to prove every doubter wrong.  He could not convince every skeptic that He was THE God, and not just a man with some unique abilities and notions about life.

People can become rather uncomfortable when choice and free will are mentioned, especially if one is proposing the lack of choice or free will that man has.  But if Jesus so willingly laid down every right He had to do whatever He wanted, and instead did nothing of His own accord, deferring all to His heavenly Father, why are we so uncomfortable doing the same?  Am I not a better employee turning everything over to God?  Do I not lead my family and love my wife better when I give of myself as Christ gave Himself for the church?  Choosing may seem enticing, and our culture would have you get your way seemingly at any cost.  But complete freedom comes when we allow God to be God, with a capital “G.”  If you’ll make that one choice, then He will take care of the rest.

As we seek Him today, decide to let God decide, and then come to Him for everything.

Have a liberating Tuesday.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

Our verse for today comes from John 6:4, “Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.”

A friend of mine just turned 45.  To celebrate, his wife planned a surprise party for him on the day after his birthday, and sent out invitations to dozens of people.  And to pull off the surprise, she had to plan the food, coordinate the timing of all the guests arriving, and keep her husband away from the house while everything was coming together.  She even cooked some of the food herself, under the guise of making it to help out another family, only to have the dish she prepared right under his nose show back up for his own party.  Now, plenty of you have successfully orchestrated a surprise party, but in this case, there was no such track record.  The wife was notorious for being unable to keep things hidden from her husband, especially anything of this grand nature.  But to her credit, even when they drove up to the house in the rain and he saw dozens of cars surrounding his driveway, he still had no idea.  She had accomplished such misdirection that all he could think was that a neighbor was hosting an event, and why were they all parked in front of his yard.  And still, as he walked in the house and saw umbrellas piled up, he merely figured his kids had a bunch of friends over.  But finally, the surprise was discovered, and the husband was flummoxed over how he had remained in the dark for so long while so much was going on all around him, and all for him.

The Passover was no surprise to anyone, even though John took the time to explain it was a feast of the Jews.  But as it approached each year, Jesus alone knew its deepest meaning and intent.  He alone knew His gruesome death was the purpose, a death that would make the sacrificing of lambs seem like a nursery rhyme.  The joke wasn’t on Him, nor was He in the dark.  It was all about Him, and you and I, the ones living and dying in darkness, were the ones who benefitted.  He came to cover us in His blood, to give us what He alone possesses and deserves.  But don’t be surprised, that’s what a real God can do.

As we seek Him today, don’t be surprised if God reveals to you how awesome He is.

Have a terrific Monday.

#4 Rich Holt

Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.