Today Daily Devotional

He went to the Kerith Ravine. . . . The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and . . . in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

— 1 Kings 17:5-6

Last spring Chanell sat on a bench in the vacant lot adjacent to the Roseland Christian Ministries parking lot. A few years ago, with the help of a supporting contractor, that vacant lot was excavated. Good topsoil was brought in. Grass seed was planted, and that lot has become a beautiful stretch of green between an abandoned building and our parking lot.

Chanell was sitting on a bench made by the Roseland Cadets boys club. She sat in the shade, staring at the community garden boxes, in which flowers and vegetables grow in abundance. A bird feeder invites goldfinches and other birds in. One morning I walked over to her and asked, “What are you doing out here every day?”

She smiled and said, “I like to see the flowers growing, watch the birds come and eat. I’ve been through so much—abuse, domestic violence, addiction. You name it, I’ve lived it. I sit here and receive my little peace from God until I’m able to face the world again.”

In a time of drought and famine, when the leaders and people of Israel had rebelled against God, Elijah went to the Kerith Ravine. Chanell sits on a bench at a community garden. In places like those, God provides safety, security, and a restoring of the soul. We all need a Kerith Ravine. Where is yours?

Lord, lead us to restoration and security as you care for us each day. Provide us a place where we can find peace in you. Amen.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

— Matthew 10:16

Officer Clayton grew up on the South Side of Chicago and was inspired to become a police officer to serve his community. He has arrested hardened criminals in life-threatening situations. He can be tough skinned and all business in situations where he needs to be. He also comes by Roseland Christian Ministries to bring bicycles for children, tickets to the circus, and school supplies for kids when the school year starts. He is both tough and tender. He is strong-willed and sensitive to the needs of others.

I am inspired by people who are a synthesis of gifts that we don’t normally attribute together. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a sermon on this topic, titled, “Tough Minds and Tender Hearts.” This sermon is a gift to anyone who may feel like a square peg in a round hole at times.

Following Jesus requires that we not give into societal expectations if they diminish the fullness of who God made us to be. We have in us, as children of God, the capacity to be both as shrewd as a serpent and as innocent as a dove, tough and tender, creative and organized, thoughtful and action oriented.

In what ways are you a synthesis of attributes that may seem like contradictions but come together to form you?

Lord, bring together all the traits that make us who we are, even those that can seem contradictory. Make us whole by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

— Proverbs 17:22

Nobody has a better laugh than Rev. Rick. In addition to serving as the pastor of a nearby church for 35 years, he also served as the president of the board of Roseland Christian Ministries for more than a decade. While he has multiple talents and abilities, what I love most about Rev. Rick is his laugh.

There are all kinds of laughs: guttural, throaty, staccato, sinister. There are as many laughs as there are people.

Rev. Rick’s laugh is pure joy. I’ve heard him laugh across a room at the face a baby made. Sheer unadulterated joy. There is a joyful kindness to Rev. Rick’s laugh that changes the atmosphere in the room.

As Proverbs says, “a cheerful heart is good medicine,” and I’m inclined to believe that there is something healing that comes from laughter. Laughter is a gift from God.

There have been many times in my life when I have just needed to laugh. Or just to hear laughter.

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “I had to laugh to keep from crying.” We could all probably do a little bit more of both.

But today I want to laugh. As a gift from God, can we find pleasure in the fun, funny, silly, and even ridiculous? Maybe today we can find a moment to let out a cheerful laugh.

Lord, thank you for the gift of laughter. Thank you for the joy and gladness that come with shared laughter and humor in your name. Amen.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

— 1 Corinthians 13:11

Corey grew up a few blocks from Roseland Christian Ministries. His dad went to prison when Corey was a boy, but Corey and his father would often write letters and talk on the phone. Corey did well in grade school, avoided gangs and trouble, and his mother, aunts, and grandmother raised him. His broader community, schools, and churches all proudly claim investing in his life. When Corey was a senior in high school, he became a Gates Scholar and was awarded a full scholarship to Morehouse College. After graduating from Morehouse, he earned a master’s degree. He worked for the Chicago Public Schools, and now he works with a foundation serving at-risk youth around the world. Corey also serves on the board of directors of Roseland Christian Ministries.

One of the great joys of being part of a Christian community is being able to see young people grow into their gifts. There is great joy in watching boys and girls become men and women of character and integrity. Many young people who grew up in Roseland have come back and used their gifts by working in the women and children’s shelter, youth programs, and church ministries. Who are the children you have watched growing up to serve their communities and families? Who are the young people you can encourage today and lift up by name?

Lord, thank you for all who have grown up to care for your communities in faith. Amen.

Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. . . .”

— Luke 1:46-47

Lavelle tends to break into song at any given moment. Not like someone humming a favorite hymn from their childhood. Oh no. Lavelle will bellow and blast out a note of praise at the top of his lungs. He is a living testimony of God’s grace and goodness.

Now, it’s true that Lavelle likes having an audience. But even more so, he needs to praise God. He needs to express what is inside of him—belting out praise for who God is in his life. Lavelle has inside of him a song to sing. In Luke 1 we read that Mary had a song to sing. And she sang, “My soul glorifies the Lord,” because God had chosen her—of all people!—to carry the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Other translations read, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” To magnify is to make bigger—like with a magnifying glass. For us, Mary became a model of a decreased self while Christ increased in her and in her life. As John the Baptist would later say, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30, NRSV). Do you sing a song that puts life back into perspective—where you are reminded just how big God, creation, and the love of Jesus are? What are the songs that God has put in your soul to magnify the Lord?

Amazing God, you have given us a song to sing—like Mary and Lavelle—a song of victory, a song of praise. Today may we magnify you in all we do. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

The grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

— 2 Corinthians 4:15

Bob was from Chicago, and he ended up homeless in Seattle. With few resources, he did what he could for work. Bob met a barber who offered him a free haircut and a shave. Bob accepted, and when the barber was finished, Bob looked at himself in the mirror and couldn’t believe what he saw. It was the first time in months that he had looked at his face with more than just a passing glance. He looked handsome and dignified. He didn’t feel like a “bum.” His feeling of self-worth was overwhelming.

Bob began to take more steps to take care of himself. He eventually became a licensed barber. He moved back to Chicago and reconnected with family members. He now sets up a barber chair twice a month at Roseland Christian Ministries and offers free haircuts and shaves to men in the community, many of whom are homeless. Most of the men walk a foot taller as they leave, heads held high.

Something about being given the gift to be your best self is inspiring. Grace is the ignition for the motor of gratitude. Bob lives a life of gratitude, serving others in the same way he was served.

When you look back over your life, think about times when you experienced God’s grace through the kindness of another person. In what ways can you share God’s grace with others?

Lord, help us to remember the grace we have received, and guide us to show grace to the people around us, to your glory. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

— James 3:17

Five years ago the congregation of Roseland Christian Ministries gathered to worship with a partner church in a suburb of Chicago. A couple from Roseland arrived 45 minutes early at the partner church. The driver was nervous that if they were late, they would perpetuate a negative racial stereotype. So they arrived early, sat in their car, read the Bible, and drank coffee, with no music playing.

Before long, police squad cars showed up. They had received a call reporting a disturbance in the parking lot. The police unclipped their holstered guns and told the driver of the car that he was on private property. Soon the car was searched. Members from the host church began to arrive for worship as the officers finished searching the car. The police departed since nothing illegal was happening—just a black couple going to church in a white neighborhood.

I have a long way to go when it comes to issues about race; maybe you do too. What are the places in our hearts, society, and structures that need to be examined? In each of us and in the communities we serve, the wisdom from heaven is needed to form us into more “peace-loving, considerate . . . impartial,” and less fearful people. May we have the humility and strength to allow God’s wisdom to shape us and do his will on earth as it is done in heaven.

Lord, may your wisdom dwell in us, take away fear, and give us fruits of mercy, peace, and goodness. In Jesus, Amen.

“I have summoned you by name. You are mine.”

— Isaiah 43:1

“Alright, you can make one phone call.”

Gary didn’t know any of his family members’ phone numbers, and the police officer was giving him one phone call to make. The night before, he drank too much, got into an argument with a stranger, and started yelling at the top of his lungs outside a liquor store. His phone fell and was lost in the melee. He was arrested for public disturbance, slept in a jail cell, and woke up in a daze.

Again the officer said, “You can make one phone call.”

He rattled off the number of Roseland Christian Ministries by heart to the officer and said, “Ask for Kisha or Pastor Joe. They know me there. Tell them Gary is in trouble and needs some help.”

I am grateful to be part of a church where the community knows the phone number by heart. I am grateful to be part of a church where somebody in their lowest state, humiliated by bad decisions, disease, addiction, or trouble, can say, “Call them; they know me there.” I’m grateful for the God who calls us and knows us by name.

No matter how badly you have messed up, or what you may have become—God knows you by name and claims you. You belong to God.

Lord, we are grateful that you call us by name and that you claim us. We are grateful that we belong to you, body and soul. Amen.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

— Ephesians 2:8-9

Charlene sat in a chair in the Roseland Christian Ministries shelter. She stared straight ahead, her eyes grew heavy, and her head nodded as she dozed off. Earlier she had received a methadone treatment to push back the withdrawals from her addiction to heroin.

Across from Charlene was Kimberly, shuffling through a bag full of papers, envelopes, and legal pads. She suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. She talks to voices in her head, sleeps in abandoned buildings, and has trouble taking care of herself physically.

Visitors to Roseland Christian Ministries often ask whether or not the people who come there for services work for a living. “When will they get jobs?” we sometimes hear. Questions like that seem to imply that a person’s worth is based mainly on the work they do. When people ask such questions, they probably don’t mean any harm, but it’s important to know that God sees the whole person, not just what they can do or whether they have a job.

I am grateful to have a good work ethic. But I am certain that God’s measure for us is not limited to our work ethic.

Charlene has since moved into a rehabilitation facility. She is three weeks clean and sober. We are grateful that the Spirit is raising her back to life after being nearly dead for so long.

Lord, we thank you for the gift of life and all the ways you care for us. Thank you for not basing salvation on our works. In Christ, you love us freely. Amen.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

— Psalm 46:1

For most of my life I have either run through problems with my head down, or I have retreated. I’m learning the biblical practice of seeking refuge.

There is a difference between refuge and retreat. To retreat is to run from trouble with no hope or thought of returning to the crisis. Retreat is avoidance. To seek refuge in the Lord, no matter what trouble we may find ourselves in, is an act of pursuing safety with the goal of being restored so that we can enter back into relationships and community. We seek refuge in the Lord not to avoid trouble but to find strength for the journey.

Retreat involves throwing in the towel and saying “I’m done.” Refuge involves going to God to catch your breath, to regain some strength and perspective, and to keep on the journey.

Retreat is a result of fear without hope. Refuge is a result of recognizing that the world can be a dark and scary place but that God’s light shines brighter.

I am learning to take refuge in the Lord. I find refuge in the Lord through worship, silence, community, working out, running, relationships, and the beauty of creation.

In what ways do you find refuge in the Lord?

Lord, you are our refuge and our strength. So often we retreat, or we try to push through. Teach us to take refuge in you so that we can continue on the journey. Amen.