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Category: Devotionals

God’s Elevator Pitch

My husband has been working from home for over a year.

Since we don’t have a proper “office space,” I often hear him facilitate online classes and training sessions.

One such class is “The Elevator Pitch.”

My husband instructs his fellow employees on how to give a concise, accurate description of who they are and what they do at the company.

The introduction should take 20-30 seconds, so by the time the elevator door dings and drops you off at your floor, your companion knows exactly what you do.

Maybe you’ve never had to give one of these elevator speeches, but what if you had to?

What if your speech wasn’t just about the work you do, but who you are.

Could you describe yourself?

What would you say?

I thought about this when I was meditating on one of my favorite verses lately.

I thought, wow… this is God’s “elevator pitch.”

It happens right after Moses asks to see God’s glory.

Amazingly, God agrees to let him see in part.

He covers Moses in the cleft of the rock and then passes by and says:

The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.

This gets me every time.

God doesn’t say anything about being GLORIOUS, ALL-POWERFUL, SOVEREIGN.

(but He is.)

He doesn’t say that He’s MAJESTIC, HOLY, RIGHTEOUS.

(but He is).

Instead He chooses to introduce Himself with these attributes:

Compassionate.

Gracious.

Patient.

Overflowing love and truth.

This “elevator pitch” is proclaimed at least 7 times in the Old Testament.

(Let me know if you find more.)

For now, just soak in each of those words.

Deep, meaningful qualities of our lovely Lord.

With that kind of elevator pitch,

isn’t He someone you’d like to know more?

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Speak Truth in Your Heart

From almost the moment I wake up, I feel it.

A rumbling dark cloud settling over my head. 

I turn on some uplifting music, but it does nothing for my foul mood.

Thoughts creep in, one over another.

That person doesn’t care about you.

You won’t be accepted by that group.

What you do doesn’t matter.

You won’t be able to accomplish anything of value today.

Your whole day is ruined and it just began. 

It’s easy to allow these thoughts in.

One crawls in on top of another, 

until the black cloud bulges.

It settles down on my shoulders,

It reaches its tendrils to my heart. 

Finally I sit down. 

I open a notebook.

The thoughts slither from the cloud to the page. 

There I acknowledge them.

I look them in the eye.

They can’t be true.

But why do I still feel like this?

I open my Bible.

O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? 

Who may dwell on Your holy hill?

He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, 

And speaks truth in his heart.

Psalm 15:1

God blazoned the line with His highlighter.

Speak truth in your heart.

Truth. Not lies.

I know who He’s talking about.

The Way, the Truth, the Life.

Speak Christ, the Truth from the Father.

Truth sets me free from the power of lies.

I don’t have to believe them.

So I start to speak Christ.

The perfect, lovely One.

The One whose love is longer than eternity.

The rich One.

The humble One.

The only One whose work is perfect.

The One who is at work in me.

One by one, the lies slink away.

That person doesn’t care about you.

But He cares for me.

You won’t be accepted by that group.

But I am accepted in the Beloved.

What you do doesn’t matter.

But He is at work in me, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

You won’t be able to accomplish anything of value today.

But He is equipping me in every good thing to do His will, working in me that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.

Your whole day is ruined and it just began. 

But this is the day that He has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

I can resist those lies, knowing my Jesus has paid for my sins, and risen for my life.

He has set me free, and I can fill my mind and heart with Truth.

If you’re struggling with lies today, don’t let the heavy cloud stay on you all day.

Turn to Truth, and the lies will cower before Him.

Speak Christ in your heart.

*I quoted a lot of Scripture in this devotional… if you aren’t familiar with them and would like to know where to find these gems in the Bible, let me know and I will supply you with the references!

Let’s Run

The heat is oppressive. He gives a long sigh as he sits in the door of his tent, sweat trickling down his wrinkled skin. He swats at a pesky fly that buzzes around his head. The weak shadows of the oak branches dance as a slight breeze struggles to bring relief.

In the distance he sees three men walking. The image blurs and wavers as the heat rises from the ground. The old man squints. The men are strangers, yet as he looks, a familiarity grips his heart. He feels drawn to them.

His joints creak as he gets up. He starts to run. When he reaches them, he falls to the ground and kneels in the dust before them.

Peering up, he begs them to sit and rest in the shade, to eat and spend time with him. When they agree, he runs to prepare the best he has. He brings the food out and sets it before them. Like a servant, he stands beside them as they sit and eat, attentive to anything they might say or request.

When they finish the meal, they turn to the old man and tell him the promise is near. His hand trembles as he wipes away the sweat and the tears clinging to his face.

It’s what he had been waiting to hear:

God has made good on His promise.

What if we took our cue from that old man, Abraham?

What would it take for us to get up out of our tent, our place of complacency, and run to Him?

What if we listened to the heart tug that draws us to Him?

​

How would my life change if I desired to spend time with Him?

What priorities would I have to clear out that I’ve put above Him?

Would I bring Him the best that I have?

Would I run to set the best things in my life before Him? [After all, didn’t He give them to me in the first place?]

​Abraham was a rich and powerful man, but he didn’t bat an eye at waiting tables. He didn’t care about decorum and dignity that a man of his stature would have possessed.

Abraham ran from his tent,

fell down before Him,

and got up to serve.

He gave Him the best he had. He listened and hung on every word. And he was not disappointed.

​Let’s run to Him.

Burden

Life has been heavy lately.

Maybe just a little more than usual, the world is groaning under the weight.

The horrible crimes, venomous words, and selfish attitudes are all over the news.

Sin is surging in our cities, communities, churches, homes, and even our own hearts.

Oh, it’s heavy.

How do you think God feels?

How does He react to the things going on?

After all, He knows more than any news outlet.

He doesn’t need camera footage to figure out what happened.

He sees and knows every. single. horrific. detail….. in the lives of 7.8 billion people.

​God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. 

Ps. 7:11

​

How heavily this must weigh on the God of justice and mercy.

His tender, compassionate heart is torn by the evil of the world.

​Way back when, in a time similar to today, God used a shepherd to warn His people.

A shepherd cares and looks out for dense and defenseless sheep.

This shepherd’s name is Amos – his name means burden.

In this point in time, ​God is sending a caring shepherd to tell His burden for His people.

He’s given them chance after chance to turn back from their evil ways.

They’ve rejected Him over and over.

So He’s sending His burden to them YET AGAIN.

I can’t get over His mercy! He really, really doesn’t want them to perish, as anguished as He is by their sin.

Behold, I am weighted down beneath you. 

Amos 2:13

​

Burden (Amos) warns the people of all the judgment that will come upon them for their sin.

But the plea has no effect.

They push back on God again.

The priest of the false god complains about Amos to the king:

“the land is unable to endure all his words.” 

Amos 7:10

​

The people can’t bear to hear about the weight of their own sin.

They don’t want to recognize the reality of how awful they’ve been.

And because they can’t see it, they can’t get rid of it.

​This is the reality for so many people today.

They can’t see their sin, and they can’t see the dark, billowing judgment looming over them.

​The Just and Merciful God loves us rebellious people so much…. He has shouldered the burden Himself.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

Isaiah 53:5

​

I’m thankful today that even in a hopeless, blinded world, there’s a God who is burdened for us.

He has taken it upon Himself to do everything possible for us to be free of the weight of our sin.

He desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

1 Timothy 2:4

​

What a beautiful heart.

​

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Listening: Prayer

Only two? I was shocked. How could there be only two?

In the 100 Bible Verse memory plan, last week was Listening: Word of God. Five verses chock-full of benefits of God’s Word. Today’s installment is Listening: Prayer. But the plan only included two passages about prayer.

I don’t want to be critical of the author who put the plan together (I think it’s wonderful!) and obviously, in order to limit to 100 verses, there has to be some prioritized over others.

But it might be indicative of our Christian culture today. Prayer? Talking to God? I sometimes find that I talk about God more often than I talk to Him. Prayer meetings are often poorly attended in comparison to other meetings of the church, yet prayer (both individual and corporate) is a privilege and a necessity. I know I’m just beginning to understand the value of prayer!

Here are the first two passages, and then I’ll add another.

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

I love this nearness. I often envision myself tip-toeing around the corner, staring into a large, majestic hall. At the far end there is a magnificent throne. And yet, like a little kid, I sprint down the hall, making a bee-line for the throne, and for the One sitting on it. I have no fear that He won’t want to see me, or that He’ll be too busy for me, or that I don’t deserve to be there. I just crawl up on His lap and tell Him all the worries and troubles and ask Him to help. And He will! Because of Christ, I have this access. I have His righteousness, and I belong in my Father’s arms. And He is so willing to listen and to help me. This is one of my favorite truths.

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

and if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

1 John 5:14-15

Just like the last verse, this one talks of CONFIDENCE. We know! We know! I love how these verses talk about aligning our hearts and desires to His. His will is best for us, and He is delighted when we desire that and ask Him for it.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

Proverbs 15:8

This is the bonus verse that I tacked on. My heart often needs this verse. Many times I can approach God doing something He’d “like”… but I do it with a half-hearted or selfish heart. I’m not actually seeking Him, I’m just going through the motions. But my Lord knows my heart, and He truly delights in hearing my prayer. This is a reminder for me that He knows my thoughts and intentions… I can’t fool Him! And He is ecstatic when I sincerely come to Him.

Okay… I would love to know YOUR favorite verses about prayer! Please share in the comments or e-mail me info@laurakeywords.com

Listening: Word of God

I love this concept: God tells us the benefit of His Word in His Word!

This Listening section is split into two parts… God’s Word and prayer. What a gift He gives us in those two things!

This is the third installment in a series of memorizing 100 Bible Verses… Check out how it all started here.

Here we go, 6 verses God uses to tell us the benefits of His precious Word!

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16

I love how “inspired by God” is literally translated “God-breathed”. When you know who God is, and His character, you know that He is all good. So everything that comes from Him is good. It is well-worth your time to study and know the Scriptures. Granted, it’s not always easy… but it’s the best for you.

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success.

Joshua 1:8

The word for “meditate” in Hebrew is to murmur or mutter. When I memorize, I have to at least form the words with my lips if I don’t actually say them out loud (like, if my husband is trying to go to sleep!). I’m finding that the more I am consciously repeating and mulling over God’s Word, the more meaningful it becomes to me. His Word shows up in my thoughts, in my prayers, and even in my conversations with people.

Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

Psalm 119:11

This is the best preventative measure. When I “treasure” or “hide” His Word in my heart, it doesn’t leave room for other stuff. The more I’m dwelling on God’s Word, the less time I have for other words that are harmful to me.

These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

This is so all-encompassing. I love it. Pretty much wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, there’s opportunity to talk of God’s Word. I don’t have children to teach, but opportunities abound to talk with other people about God’s Word… especially if they’re first on my heart.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

This verse packs a punch. You could say that God’s Word as a whole packs a punch. God zeroes in on our hearts and uses His Word to convict us. It goes beyond the human reasoning and shows what God thinks. God’s Word is not archaic or old-fashioned but relevant for eternity.



I hope these verses have given you lots to chew on about why God’s Word is WORTH studying, learning, repeating… It’s how we get to know HIM.

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Strong Confidence

In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have refuge.

Proverbs 14:26

​

This proverb jumped out at me recently.

​Do I have strong confidence?

Lately the answer has been “no.”

​I can easily get upset by thinking through future possibilities. This past year has brought uncertainty on many levels. Whether it’s in the world, the nation, the church, the home… life has been disrupted.

​My mind convulses as I begin to imagine scenarios:

What’s going to happen this year?

What’s going to happen next year?

How long will it be like this?

​
I can quickly grow anxious thinking about all the “what if’s.”

But the Lord encourages my heart.

​

I can’t be confident in a changing world.

I can’t put my trust in fading mist.

But I can run to Refuge.

He is my strong confidence.

​

I know my Good Father loves me, and has promised to be my Shield.

In Christ, who lives forever, I have all I could ever need.

There’s no expiration date, there’s no termination.

He will never evict me from His shelter and His love.

He is always there to hold me.

So instead of crying helplessly in the wind and rain,

I will run to my Waiting Refuge.

He won’t turn anyone away.

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Talk to Me

​
​You’re talking all day.

Maybe not out loud, but you have thoughts running through your head.

Internal dialogue.

Self-talk.

Whatever you want to call it, you’ve got a lot going on in that brain of yours.

​How often do you interrupt yourself – and talk to God?

​
​For me, it often happens when there’s a problem.

Sometimes a problem pricks me.

It’s quick and sharp and in-the-moment.

Other times the problems pile on slowly until my heart groans under their weight.

​When problems arise, I find myself talking more about God than to God.

“Why is God doing this right now?”
“Why is He letting this happen?”

​
​The Israelites did that, too.

1 Samuel 4 recounts when the Philistines pummeled Israel.
The elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today?”

Their next move was to take the ark of the covenant as a good-luck charm and try again.

​They didn’t talk to God.

They didn’t ask Him why.

​They talked about Him.

They came up with their own solution that distorted something holy.

​
​Contrast that with the battle of Ai in Joshua’s day.

A tiny town comes out and defeats Israel.

​Joshua doesn’t react like the elders did.

He doesn’t ask himself why it happened.

He tears his clothes and falls to the ground.

He mourns and wails and cries out to God.

​Alas, O Lord God! Why?!

​Joshua pours out his heart to God.

He lays out his doubts and fears.

He calls upon God.

​​And God answers.

He explains what’s going on to Joshua, and gives him instructions for what to do.

​God wants us to talk to Him, not to ourselves.

He wants us to go to HIM with our problems.

Instead of spinning speculations in our own heads,

He wants us to ask Him WHY?!

And to listen for His answer.

​He’s the God of relationship.

Let’s talk to Him.

​
​

I must tell Jesus
All of my trials
I cannot bear these burdens alone
In my distress
He kindly will help me
He ever cares and loves His own
​
I must tell Jesus
I must tell Jesus
I cannot bear these burdens alone
I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone
​
--Elisha A. Hoffman

​

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Stay Connected

August 10, 2020.

It’s a day that will be marked in many Midwesterners’ minds. It was the day that the derecho swept through the plains. Straight-line winds toppled power lines and people were in the dark for days. The storm tore down barns and sheds. It snapped trees in half and stripped the branches of others. Roofs were damaged or blown entirely away. Millions of acres of corn bowed down to the wind.​
​

Clean-up went on for weeks. In our town’s neighborhoods you saw piles like this:

​

Dried up branches.

Before the storm, their leaves had been lush and green. But after the storm, they became worthless, ready to be hauled away and burned.

Some trees still had a branch or two hanging on:

​

But the branch in this picture is clearly shriveled up.

It’s no longer connected to the trunk.

It lost its life-source.

​
​The object lesson screams to be seen.

I am the vine, you are the branches. – John 15:5

​
​Just like the branch is dry and lifeless when it’s separated from the trunk, we are helpless and hopeless without the Lord Jesus.

​Shortly after the derecho, I found myself reading in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and I couldn’t help making some parallels.

First, some background:

Jehosheba, a royal princess, and her husband Jehoiada, a priest of the Lord, rescued their baby nephew Joash. He was the heir to the throne, and his evil grandmother Queen Athaliah wanted to kill him. Jehosheba and Jehoiada hid Joash in the Lord’s temple for years until the people were able to crown him king.

​Joash was a good king. He did right in the sight of the Lord. He repaired the temple that had been ransacked by idol worshippers and he started the sacrifices again. Jehoiada, his “adopted” father, influenced and guided him in the ways of the Lord. Joash did what was right for all the days of Jehoiada.

​But when Jehoiada died, other officials came and bowed down to Joash. They had a different agenda, and Joash listened to them, instead. Joash followed their advice and abandoned the Lord, turning to serve idols. ​
​

This was devastating to Joash and his kingdom. Doing life on his own brought painful consequences. Even when the Lord sent prophets to call Joash back to him, he wouldn’t listen. He went as far as to murder Jehoiada’s son, his own cousin, who tried to tell him to come back to the Lord. Enemy armies came to destroy Joash’s kingdom, and in the end, his own servants conspired to murder him.

​Jehoiada’s name means “knowledge of the Lord”. When Joash was separated from Jehoiada, he shriveled up like those broken branches. He no longer received the support and guidance that he needed to follow the Lord.

​

It brings me back to John 15 – the vine and the branches.

Jesus is our “Jehoiada” – our Knowledge of God. Jesus is our life-source. He is the one that gives us what we need to thrive. His Spirit guides and influences us and causes us to bear fruit.

If we don’t abide in Him and try to break off and do our own thing, we will shrivel up and die.

Apart from Him, we can do nothing.

​God is so merciful that He let Jehoiada live for 130 years – a really long life. People hadn’t lived that long since before the days of Moses. Even though Jehoiada lived a long time, he still eventually died.

​That’s not the way it is for us.

Our Knowledge of God is eternal.

Jesus’ life will never end.

There is no way that He will ever stop supplying us His life, knowledge, guidance.

So, what are we doing?

Are we abiding in Jesus – seeking to know Him by spending time with Him in His word?

Or are we trying to live life on our own – independent of our life source?

If we break away, it won’t be long before we see ourselves shrivel and dry up.

​Stay connected.

Abide in Him.

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Roman Road

This is not a Roman Road.

Unless…. all roads lead to Rome! (ha-ha… cue the groans)!

The Roman Road is the next section to memorize in #100BibleVerses.

If you missed the last posts, catch up on the last one, or read about the start of my journey to actively memorize God’s word.

Romans is a fascinating book to study. If you want an interesting overview, check out these videos by the Bible Project (part 1 and part 2).

The “Roman Road” is a selection of verses in Romans that highlights the gospel. Various “stops” along the road give insight into what it means to be saved.

Let’s map it out:

Stop #1

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

All. The universal need. No one has lived a perfect life (except one… more on that later!) and we can’t measure up to God’s glory.

Stop #2

for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Bad news: for the wages of sin is death. Death is the natural consequence of sin. BUT (I love that word) in the same breath is the Good News: the FREE gift of God is eternal life. That’s completely the opposite of death! In Christ Jesus our Lord signals the way we receive the gift: through Christ.

Stop #3

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

This next verse touches on how we are able to receive that gift of eternal life. It’s free to us… but it wasn’t free to Him! Christ laid down His life. He died for us, and not after we cleaned ourselves up or even loved Him first… He died for us while we were yet sinners. It’s doubly sweet to know that this great sacrifice was made because God loves us.

Stop #4

that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:9-10

It’s not enough to know the facts. It’s what you do with them. Believing that Jesus died and rose again for you… that’s you getting His righteousness. What a glorious exchange.

Stop #5

for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Romans 10:13

The reason it’s all caps is not because Paul is shouting here (it’s actually a quote from the book of Joel). Regardless, I think this phrase could be shouted from the rooftops! It’s one of the most comforting verses in the Bible, and a fitting one to end the “Roman Road.” God will take whoever calls on Him. He promises to save. It’s an invitation, open to anyone.

What about you?

Now that we’ve mapped out the Roman Road… where are you on it?

  • Do you know that you’re a sinner (3:23)?
  • Do you know what sin’s consequence is, and what glorious alternative you are offered (6:23)?
  • Do you know how (and why) that gift of eternal life was obtained for you (5:8)?
  • Do you know what to do with the facts (10:9-10)?
  • Have you called on the name of the Lord (10:13)?

If you have questions or would like more explanation, please reach out!

This is the most important “road” you’ll ever travel. And while all roads might lead to Rome, not all roads lead to God. Make sure you’re on the right one.


Bonus: I made a video quoting the Roman Road… warning: there is some singing, since that’s how I first memorized them! 🙂

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