Devotions from 2008 by Sheila Sattler Kale

Do You Not Understand?
By Sheila Sattler-Kale

 

Mark 8:14-18 “The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat…..Jesus asked them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?’” [NIV]

 

I’m haunted by an image I saw years ago. It was a bronze figure of a man who looked like he was on the verge of starvation. He held an empty bowl in front of him lifted just above his head. His huge eyes captured my heart as surely as if he had cried out loud. But, was he offering all he had, which was nothing, or was he begging for his bowl to be filled?

 

I stood in front of the sculpture and thought, “I am that man. I lift my bowl to God but I have nothing to offer unless God first fills it.”

 

I’ve searched for that sculpture thinking I would purchase it as a reminder of my own poverty without God. Mercifully, I’ve never found it.

 

This morning as I read Mark, I wondered, “How long have I not understood? How long have I thought of myself as a starving beggar? I’ve seen myself as having nothing to give and so offering God my nothingness hoping He would put something in my empty bowl.”

 

Finally, the deception was uncovered and Light overcame the Darkness.

 

When Jesus is with us, when the very essence of God, the Holy Spirit, resides within us, we are not empty. We are gifted beyond counting.   

 

Satan, the father of lies, would have us see ourselves as a famished paupers.

 

God would have us see ourselves as abundantly supplied with blessings heaped high, filling our own cup and running over onto everyone He puts in our path.  The blessings of His Spirit are so enmeshed and entwined within us, that truly we are a new creation.

 

Father, chase away the shadows of Satan’s lies that distort the truth of our God-given worth and beauty. Give us the courage and faith to live and base our actions on Your reality. Amen. 

  

*Copyright 2008 Sheila Sattler-Kale. Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only. Commercial copying, hiring,  lending is prohibited.   Any use of this material must include copyright information.

Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend.

 

The Lord Will Provide
By Sheila Sattler-Kale

 

Genesis 22:14 “So Abraham called the place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’”

 

We know the story of Abraham taking his son of promise, Isaac, to the mountain to sacrifice to God.  Most of us can’t imagine being sure enough of God’s voice, to follow such an outrageous plan. Rightfully, we can’t imagine sacrificing our child—God’s child entrusted to our care.  Abraham, somehow trusted God so completely that he would obey such an incomprehensible command. He focused beyond the task to God. God had miraculously brought him Isaac. He would miraculously sustain Isaac’s life.

 

From this story, thousands of sermons have been preached about trusting God. Each of us wants to have that kind of faith but without the trial.  We want to stand on the mountain of God’s provision without facing the loss of something or someone we love deeply. To stand at the altar and offer any of the things most precious to us with absolute confidence that God will bless our offering is a huge test of faith.

 

In a real sense, I am in that kind of struggle now. 

 

The last few years have been very difficult for independent Christian bookstores.  As most of you know, The Dove’s Nest in Kerrville closed almost 3 years ago. Several hundred stores close their doors each year.  Our own store faces this possibility.

 

I believe deeply that just as every town should have churches, every town should have a Christian bookstore—a place people can come and browse through books, cards, gifts, and music—a place of peace where God can direct them to what they need even if the need is yet unknown to them or find books on a certain topic even when they don’t know a title or author.  

 

I have poured myself into this calling. I’ve seen lives changed by the power of God’s message illustrated and explained in books or music. I’ve listened to people tell me how a gift or card kept them focused on God. I continually thank God for the privilege of helping provide things that will enable a person to have a ‘closer walk’ with our Savior.

 

As I see the reality of our own financial situation and watch other stores lose the battle to stay in business, I wonder what the future holds.  Will God ask me to surrender this major part of my life? Does God have a different plan for our community?

 

A business or a ministry doesn’t compare in importance to the life of a child.

Still, this feels like I am standing on the mountain called, The Lord Will Provide.  I ask for your prayers.

 

Father, I place my hopes, dreams and plans in Your hands.  Whatever Your plans are for  The Closer Walk, I trust Your purposes for good. You alone know what the future holds. My sight is too limited. My feelings are too self-concerned. I thank You and praise You for all the blessings You have given and all You will do beyond this day.  Amen

  

*Copyright 2008 Sheila Sattler-Kale. Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only. Commercial copying, hiring,  lending is prohibited.   Any use of this material must include copyright information. 

Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend.

 

Peace Within Reality
By Sheila Sattler-Kale

John 14: 27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  [NIV]

 

The operation was coming much too soon.  I knew I had appendicitis. At 15, of course I understood that meant an operation. It was scheduled for the next morning. In my mind, if it was scheduled that meant everything was under control which meant everything would be okay. 

 

But it was night time. They were preparing me for surgery immediately.  I panicked. Something was going wrong. I was prepared for the morning surgery, not emergency surgery.

 

My tears came without invitation. I started trembling and felt trapped. 

 

Daddy put his hand on my shoulder and quietly said, “Now, Sheila, it has to be.” 

 

He offered no extra assurances that it would be okay or admonishments to calm down. But looking into my Daddy’s face, hearing his voice, I felt strength and peace. Even today I can’t explain exactly why.

 

The same strength and peace envelopes me when I read Jesus say, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

 

It sounds like a command, yet few of us can just decide to not be afraid unless we go into denial. The world in general seems to be falling apart. Earthquakes, hurricanes, fires. Personal tragedies or concerns entwine themselves in our lives. When someone is sick, or unexpected financial failures threaten it is illogical to simply say, “Oh, I’m not worried. It will all work out somehow.”

 

That is not what Jesus is asking us to do either. He isn’t asking us to deny reality.

 

Jesus is saying, “Look into My face. Listen to My voice. Draw your strength and peace from Me. Together we will face what ‘has to be.’”

 

Lord, help me face the reality of each day wrapped in the peace of Your promise. Filter my view of my worries through the image of Your face. Let it be Your voice that interprets the confusing language of my panic, fears, and concerns. Amen.

 

 

*Copyright 2008 Sheila Sattler-Kale. Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only. Commercial copying, hiring,  lending is prohibited.   Any use of this material must include copyright information.

Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend.

 

Telling Stories
By Sheila Sattler-Kale

Jeremiah 1:4 & 12 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart….for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” [NIV]

 

I have so many books that I want to read. I am surrounded with them all day long. For 24 years I’ve owned and managed the Closer Walk.  I want to be able to tell people what is inside the covers. Since I can’t read them all, I end up skimming many of them just to get a taste. It’s an awful injustice to the writer. Much of the message is left unknown, unheard by my heart.

 

Often I feel like I do the same thing with life.  There are so many concerns and urgencies. I can’t give my full attention to everything that deserves it. Illnesses, financial realities, or deadlines capture me. It’s like someone has put blinders on and all I can see is the crisis of the moment.  Even celebrations like weddings, milestone birthdays, or family gatherings narrow my focus. 

 

None of that is necessarily bad except when my narrow focus leaves out God. Not that I am not praying.  I am constantly talking to God.  The problem is that I am not listening well. Somewhere in the middle of everything I complain that God is being awfully quiet. I don’t see Him working. I don’t understand. 

 

I’m skimming the pages of my life. When I’m in the middle of the crisis, I want to know the outcome so I try to flip to the end because I know the ultimate end is eternal life—thank God!

 

But, I also want to know the story of the end of the crisis. So I write my own in a way that I am rescued from pain.  I concentrate on my plan for resolution—and I miss what God is doing.  I accuse Him of being silent.

 

Then Acts 3:5 reminds me: Jesus is “the author of life.” I am not the author of my life.

 

God is never really silent. He’s telling my story--our stories. We are interrupting Him—talking over Him. We’re asking for the punch line, the bottom line, or the lesson we’re supposed to learn—while

  He

      is still in the middle

of telling         

our story.

 

Lord, God, help me savor the moment. Help me see You and hear You and wait for You in the story You are writing through my life. Amen.

 

 

*Copyright 2008 Sheila Sattler-Kale. Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only. Commercial copying, hiring,  lending is prohibited.   Any use of this material must include copyright information.


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Washed in the Blood
By Sheila Sattler-Kale

Rev. 7:14 “…they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” [NIV]

 

I grew up singing songs like “Are You Washed in the Blood” The chorus reads,

     “Are you washed in the Blood,

     In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?

     Are your garments spotless?

     Are they white as snow?

     Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?”

 

As a child, I wondered how red blood could make a garment white. As I grew up the image became more troubling. I’ve seen enough reddish-brown blood stains that refused to budge even with repeated treatments of peroxide to know there is something amiss with this word picture.

 

As any painter knows, if any color touches white it becomes a pale image of the other color. No color mixed with any other makes white and certainly not red. Red mixed with blue becomes purple, red and green turns into black or brown, and red with yellow creates orange.

 

White must be alone, and un-contaminated to be white. So how can washing garments in red make them white?

 

When using paint straight out of the tube, if you mix all the pure and beautiful colors of the rainbow together they become a yucky mess closely resembling mud. 

 

Amazingly, just the opposite is true in the reality of light rays. When light rays are spun together and all the colors of the rainbow are mixed it makes white.

 

In the reality of God’s love for us, He looks through the prism of our faith in Jesus Christ and God sees us as shimmering, and spotless.

 

In our hands, blood spilled on a white garment makes a red-brown stain. A good life tainted by sin becomes ugly, stained and disfigured.

 

In God’s hands, Jesus’ blood accepted into a sin-marred life transforms it into a life that is beautiful, clean and whole.

 

Lord, God. Thank You. Though You know the ways we need to grow and change, You see us already washed and beautiful. Help us see ourselves as You do. Amen.

 

*Copyright 2008 Sheila Sattler-Kale. Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only. Commercial copying, hiring,  lending is prohibited.   Any use of this material must include copyright information.

Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend.

 

The Wonder of Christmas
By Sheila Sattler-Kale

 

Luke 1:29a “And Mary was deeply troubled…”  as she should have been.

 

The Christmas story has all the elements of the most riveting novels—courageous mortals, villains wanting to thwart salvation’s plan, supernatural proclamations.  

The account of God becoming man is infused with drama, mystery, and wonder.

 

We seek to recreate that wonder in our celebrations, musicals, books and elaborate nativities. We succeed in understanding the wonder and awe of the birth. Just as the pain and hardship of bringing a child into the world is often forgotten or minimized as a mother holds her precious child, we forget the hardships before and after Christ’s birth.

 

Christmas gives us a time to rest in wonder and peace and joy. To give gifts to those we love in remembrance of God’s immeasurable gift to us  Thank You, God for this joyful time.

 

Like breathing in fresh, cool, invigorating air, a part of me celebrates with joy as I breathe in the hope that everything might be right with the world—and with me.

 

Yet a part of me wants to cry for the ‘baby born to die.’  A part of me mourns that our sins—my sins—are so great that we need a savior. Part of me is angry that God’s justice demands a sacrifice of blood. Can’t we just be sorry? Can’t we just repent? Can’t we somehow save ourselves?  What kind of God interrupts the rapture and joy of the birth of a perfect child with the knowledge that this is a child destined as a sacrifice for each of us?

 

--A God that loves more than we can.

--A God that knows how easily we say we are sorry today and then multiply our sins tomorrow.

-- A God that knows we will rationalize and minimize our ‘little sins’ unless we are forced to look at the consequences they reap.

--A God that knows He is our only hope and will give us hope even if the cost is unthinkably, indescribably, unspeakably high.

 

Thank You, God, for Jesus, for Your love, for our salvation. Amen.

 

 

*Copyright 2008 Sheila Sattler-Kale. Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only. Commercial copying, hiring,  lending is prohibited.   Any use of this material must include copyright information.

Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend.