Marianne's FLASH💥DEVOS Podcast

3 John 1:5-8 Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They’ve made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It’s good work you’re doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God! + Students, medical practitioners, teachers, friends, and church groups head out...

Job 28:20-24, 28 Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky. Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.” God understands the way to it and God alone knows where it dwells, for God views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. + If we have...

Mark 6:48 Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. + No one but Jesus has walked on water. Walk on hot coals, tightropes, caminos--yes, we can do those. That buoyant flash ending of a waterski twirl when the engine’s cut and you feel like you’re standing on water--yes, we can do that, too. But walking on water? Only Jesus knows the way. What kind of water can Jesus help you wa...

Luke 8:22-25 A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “ Where is your faith ?” he asked his disciples. + These experienced fishermen followed Jesus across the lake. Stor...

Matthew 5:44-48 “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ” + Loving enemies and persecutors feels difficult. P...

Here is my Thank-You gift to readers and listeners of my Flash💥 Devos + Podcast for July. This good book by a dear friend offers a fresh perspective on the Beatitudes. I pray that Andrew’s honesty and commitment to change reaches your heart, too. Check it out! ♥ Finding Presence in the Midst of Pain Blessed Are the Others: Jesus’ Way in a Violent World by Andrew DeCort Reviewed by Marianne Abel-L...

1 Peter 3:19-22 You know, even though God waited patiently all the days that Noah built his ship, only a few were saved then, eight to be exact—saved from the water by the water. The waters of baptism do that for you, not by washing away dirt from your skin but by presenting you through Jesus’ resurrection before God with a clear conscience. + Whether in a shower or a thunderstorm, every encounter...

Job 3:23-26 Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For sighing has become my daily food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” + People of the past and future share our despair, times when all else fails. Questions plague our thoughts, sprea...

Galatians 5:13 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of...

Psalm 7:14-17 Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made. The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads. + Imagine being “pregnant with evil.” Consider who can access our intimate lives. Who or what hides evil inside--with hurtful actions, violent...

Hosea 2:18 On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. + “On that day” sounds like a future time when God’s promises come true, God’s unbelievable and astonishing purpose...

Joshua 23:14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” + Elders who speak with authority and conviction offer those pearls of great price that can be treasured for generations. Write down dreams for your loved ones, stories...

Luke 10:8-11 “ When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. ’” + With every visit from Jesus, the kingdom comes—surrounding us, breathing withi...

Matthew 26:26-29 During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples: Take, eat. This is my body. Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them: Drink this, all of you. This is my blood, God’s new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins. + We hear “ Take, eat ,” too literally. Too much taking, too much eating. Communion rots as ju...

Isaiah 6:3-5 [The winged seraphim] were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Alm...

The spiritual life of home and place shifts with the seasons for me. As my Thank-You gift to all of you who have come alongside me during June on Flash💥Devos, I offer my article about the world I encounter on my lawnmower, an unlikely but perfect place to connect with creation. May the ways you tend to the world bring you surprise and insight, too. Around the Yard in 100 Days by Marianne Abel-Lip...

Psalm 77:2-6 When friends said, “Everything will turn out all right,” I didn’t believe a word they said. I remember God—and shake my head. I bow my head—then wring my hands. I’m awake all night—not a wink of sleep; I can’t even say what’s bothering me. I go over the days one by one, I ponder the years gone by. I strum my lute all through the night, wondering how to get my life together. + Seeking...

Ephesians 2:17-20, 22 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cor...

Psalm 22:25-26 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever! + Calling in our community with fear and praise sounds confusing. But when we witness the miraculous intervention of God in our families, cities, and towns, hope thriv...

Luke 1:46-51 God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I’m the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. + With some people there’s no doubt w...

Romans 5:1-2 We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. + June is spectacular in the Upper Midwest where vast fertile landscapes invite us to relax and breathe freely. What ca...

Ephesians 1:17-19 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know God better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which you’ve been called, the riches of this glorious inheritance in God’s holy people, and this incomparably great power for us who...

Psalm 133 How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life. + Harmony between people invites God’s blessing. How c...

John 1:16-18 We all live off his generous abundance, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day. + C...

1 Samuel 2:8-9 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked will perish in darkness, for not by might does one prevail. + The poor, the needy, faithful ones, the wicked: all...