ON THE
journey A Thirty-Day Devotional
LINDA C. COOPER & SANDY WISDOM-MARTIN
An imprint of Iron Stream Media Birmingham, Alabama
New Hope® Publishers 5184 Caldwell Mill Rd. St. 204-221 Hoover, AL 35244 NewHopePublishers.com An imprint of Iron Stream Media IronStreamMedia.com © 2019 by Sandy Wisdom-Martin and Linda C. Cooper All rights reserved. First printing 2019. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of the publisher. New Hope Publishers serves its authors as they express their views, which may not express the views of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Wisdom-Martin, Sandra, author. Title: On the journey : a thirty-day devotional / Sandra Wisdom-Martin, Linda C. Cooper. Description: First [edition]. | Birmingham : New Hope Publishers, 2019. Identifiers: LCCN 2019009036 | ISBN 9781563093142 (permabind) Subjects: LCSH: Christian life--Prayers and devotions. Classification: LCC BV4501.3 .W5698 2019 | DDC 242/.2--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019009036 All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission. ISBN-13: 978-1-56309-314-2 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-56309-315-9 1 2 3 4 5—23 22 21 20 19
Dedication For my family and friends who journey right beside me whether it’s down beautiful garden trails dancing over ornate stepping stones or trudging through rugged terrain with painful thistles. I’ve been blessed beyond measure by your company on the trails. You have been my guides, and I am better equipped to handle the hills and switchbacks because we have traveled together.
To my families, both biological and WMU, who have encouraged me every step along the journey, whether it was my speaking, writing, or just being mom and Gigi; you are always there. What a blessing you are to me as the Lord prompts you to say and do just what I need, at just the right moment, spurring me on in service to Him.
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Contents To the Reader ........................................................................ ix Day 1: Press On ..................................................................... 1 Day 2: Jesus Meets You Right Where You Are ................... 4 Day 3: Prayer Changes Your Perspective ............................ 7 Day 4: The Free Gift of Salvation......................................... 10 Day 5: Break Free .................................................................. 13 Day 6: Love One Another .................................................... 16 Day 7: The Refiner’s Fire ....................................................... 19 Day 8: Whatever You Do ...................................................... 22 Day 9: Every Moment a Gift ................................................. 25 Day 10: Others ...................................................................... 28 Day 11: Connect and Cultivate ............................................ 31 Day 12: Overflow with Hope ................................................ 34 Day 13: Working through Setbacks ..................................... 37 Day 14: You Are Blessed ...................................................... 40 Day 15: Leave a Legacy ........................................................ 43 Day 16: Be Kind..................................................................... 46 vii
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On the Journey
Day 17: Family of God .......................................................... 49 Day 18: Prayer Works! .......................................................... 52 Day 19: The Same Power ..................................................... 55 Day 20: Storms Will Come ................................................... 58 Day 21: Focus on the Person ............................................... 61 Day 22: It’s My Turn to Share! .............................................. 64 Day 23: Paddling Upstream ................................................. 67 Day 24: Never Too Old ......................................................... 70 Day 25: Buy Two Tents .......................................................... 73 Day 26: Someone Is Watching ............................................. 76 Day 27: Walk on the Grass ................................................... 79 Day 28: He’s Always Watching ............................................. 82 Day 29: We’re All Broken ..................................................... 85 Day 30: Meditate on His Word ............................................ 88 How To Become a Christian................................................. 91
To the Reader
Our gracious God placed breath in your lungs and created you for a purpose. Make your life worthy of the sacrifice it cost Christ. Everyone’s journey is uniquely designed. You only have one. Don’t be a spectator. Experience it all. Recognize and savor each precious, divine interaction in daily excursions. For me, the journey is not about any destination. It is about traveling in companionship with our Father and walking where He leads. Every day is an adventure. Every encounter is a potential miracle. Of course you will recognize His hand in incredible displays of His majesty. Tune your heart to celebrate His intervention in the ordinary as you travel on the journey.
The Great Commission is for every believer and can be accomplished in many different ways. God’s plan is to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things through Christ on the journey of life, wherever he has planted you. For me, it can be chairside in the dental office, at a ballgame, in the airport, during my quiet time, wherever He chooses to lead. My prayer is that I am listening, looking, and ready for the opportunities He affords me to share of His love and to grow in Him. For I am an ordinary person living with intentionality of serving Him daily. I pray you are doing the same. My hope is that you, an ordinary person, will be inspired to do extraordinary things through Christ, listening, looking, and ready for the opportunities He has for you on the journey . . . until all have heard.
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Day 1 Press On Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:13–14
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On the Journey
Every discussion with my friend Sylvia leaves me wanting more. Sylvia has the ability to plant a seed and make me think in new and different ways. I often look at the end of an email first. That’s just where my eyes naturally glance. Sylvia closed a recent email with the words, “See you on the other side.” That got my attention. I wanted to know, on the other side of what? Sylvia has a self-professed penchant for words. I still remember a word she taught in a conference decades ago. It’s now one of my favorites. The word is phrontistery. Do you know what it means? Look it up. Sylvia is always studying and learning. You see her treasured books as soon as you walk in the front door of her home—well, the books that remain. She culls her collection continually. The most recent word she taught me through an email is liminal. She says it means on the brink of what was and what will be. All the rules are changing. There is almost a constant sense of inadequacy and rapidly changing vocabulary. It is a place of passage. It is somewhere between now and the not yet. Are you partaking in liminal living? You may feel unsettled by the terrain that constantly shifts beneath your feet. Yet we need not fear the unknown of the future. We can thrive in spite of the chaos. It is in this liminal space that we have the opportunity to “ponder anew what the Almighty can do.” Even in the midst of despair, we can see God’s hand at work. Press on, committed to walk by faith and not by sight. Go deeper in a pursuit of communion with our Creator. Sense the wonder and awe and majesty of God at work in spite of circumstances.
Day 1: Press On
Father, I feel unsettled and disoriented. As I pause in this liminal space, help me become more aware of Your presence. Give me passion to pursue You wholeheartedly. Guide my steps as I move forward through this place of passage. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Day 2 Jesus Meets You Right Where You Are
Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. —Mark 5:19
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Day 2: Jesus Meets You Right Where You Are
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I am a registered dental hygienist working with Christian dentists. We all see our practice as our missions field where I am free to share Christ with the people God puts in my chair. A few years back, I had a man in my chair who was not a believer. He shared a story with me that he had actually died on the operating table during a surgery, and he claimed demons had him in a corner and were coming for him. I questioned him about the authenticity of the demons. He was very sure of what he saw. He expressed he never wanted that to happen again. I cautiously reminded him it would happen again if he did not put his faith and trust in Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and I encouraged him to do so. He confessed to having a gambling and drinking problem and said he had lived on the “wrong side of the fence too long.” I explained to him that none of us could do anything to deserve salvation. We are all sinners in need of a Savior, and Jesus paid for our sins on the Cross when He died for us. Aren’t you thankful God meets us right where we are, in our life’s story? In Mark 5:1–20 Jesus didn’t ask the demonic man to get cleaned up first or tell him to go work on that demon problem he had and then come see Him. No, Jesus met him right where he was, then gave him a new story, a testimony. Jesus then encouraged him to go home and tell his own people how much the Lord had done for him. Mark 5:19 is for all of us. As believers, we are compelled to go and tell what God has done for us. Some people say, “I’ll just live a good life in front of people.” That is a good thing to do, but God’s Word makes it clear. We are to go and tell.
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On the Journey
Are you sharing your testimony with those God puts in your path? Father, Lost people are all around me. Give me the boldness to share of your love.
Day 3 Prayer Changes Your Perspective
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. —1 Peter 4:8
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On the Journey
Love does cover a multitude of sins. God’s love for us is incomprehensible, everlasting, unconditional, immeasurable, patient, kind, perfect, fierce, compassionate, and sincere. As Christ followers, we are required to love God and love others. It can be an intense struggle, but we should love others the way God loves us. If we were honest with ourselves, we would recognize we all need the forbearance of others just as much as they need it from us. I confessed to close friends God’s jocularity directed toward me as three major life occurrences converged: raising a daughter navigating the teenage years, leading a national nonprofit, and going through a certain season of life. God thought this was a good idea? He has an awesome sense of humor. Most of the time I enjoy the whimsy of my current situation, and it invigorates my soul. However, there are times when resolution to a predicament eludes my ability to navigate. Such was the case recently. My nineteen-year-old and I were at a standoff over a disagreement. Hurt feelings complicated the quandary. Words were spoken and tears were shed. I conceded my position on one condition: we would pray together first. I would pray for her. She would pray for me. When it came to my daughter’s turn, there was a pause of silence. I wondered and waited for a response in the quietness. Then tender and sweet words tumbled from her lips. She prayed for me as a mother. She prayed for my work asking God to help me be the kind of leader I need to be. She expressed gratitude and love. In that moment, my heart melted, and my anger vanished.
Day 3: Prayer Changes Your Perspective
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I understand the wisdom of Jesus’ admonishment to pray for your enemies. It nurtures within you compassion, understanding, kindness, gentleness, and patience. The situation may not change, but your perspective does. And that could very well pave the way to peace. May it be so. Father, Stir within my heart a judgment of charity. Keep my mind from going to dark places assigning hidden agendas and wondering about motives. Give me personal courage to refuse the allure of making myself seem better in the eyes of friends and family while rushing to expose the flaws and weaknesses of others. Help me love others the way You love me. In Jesus’ name, amen.