The title of the devotion book is “Life Is Like Buffalo Breath” and will have a collection of 30 devotions. Each devotion will be illustrated with stunning nature photography by assorted professional and professional quality amateur photographers. Watch for the release announcement!

The week before Easter, my six year old grandson was riding in the car with me.  On every street corner, there was a church with the “cross of Calvary” newly erected on their front lawn. 

Zac, knowing what Easter is about, asked me if all the crosses were for Jesus.  I told him, “Yes”. 

 After we rode for a few moments, passing more churches with crosses, he said, “Mamaw, how many times does Jesus have to die on the cross for it to be real?” An innocent, yet stunningly profound question that each of us should ask ourselves. 

If I could be perfect on my own, there would have been no need for a savior! Scripture says that Jesus died once for all sins. (I Peter 3:18)  After accepting the blood of Christ; the decision to lead a Godly life is a choice I make moment by moment. (Romans 6:1-2) 

When I make a decision to follow Christ, I’m a new person; the old ways have been set aside. (II Corinthians 5:17)  However, when I commit my heart to Jesus, God does not MAKE me behave. 

He does offer me the awareness of sin and the strength to resist temptation. (I Corinthians 10:13)  God knows my flesh is weak, so He sent His Holy Spirit to convict me of sin. (John 16:7-10) 

Reading the Bible also makes me aware of sin; explaining in detail how to recognize AND avoid it. (I Corinthians 6:9-11). People can not judge me, the Word of God, however, does judge me.  

I don’t have to wonder what being a Christian means; the Word of God provides instruction, direction and help for when I do ‘slip’.  The book of I John teaches how to live a life that represents Christ. 

The scripture says if I ignore the sacrifice for my sins by continuing in sin, after accepting the blood shed at Calvary; I have no part in Christ!  

How many times does Jesus have to die for my sins? Once.  How many times do my rebellion and self will nail him to the cross again? Every time that I choose to go my way instead of living the Christ life.

Hebrews 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Our lives are full of ‘buts’.  Every thing we do has consequences, whether good or evil. 

Thankfully, God also has “buts”, because sometimes I can mess up pretty bad! About the time satan thinks he has taken me down, God interrupts with “but”.  

As benign as they seem, “But God” are two of the most important words in the scripture. The next time you think you can’t make it, can’t get over it, can’t work with it, can’t do without it, remember “but God”.   

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) 

“But God is rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4) 

“You meant evil against me but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20) 

“–The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7b)

God created us for relationship, sin entered the picture BUT God sent His only son to die for our sins (John 3:16) so we can once again, have relationship. 

The next time you find yourself in an impossible situation, pause for a moment, God has a “but” to change things around in your favor.  It sometimes takes awhile for us to realize it, BUT God has made a way.

We have a dear friend who had their identity stolen. The thief used our friend’s name to make a lot of unauthorized purchases.  Sadly, the friend’s reputation was soiled because of somebody who did stuff in ‘their name’.  

When we claim to be Christians, using the ‘identity’ of Christ but not living by the principals He set forth; we misrepresent Jesus to the world.  The scripture instructs us to live a life that is Holy.  (I Peter 1:15-16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”) 

It is often easy to set aside that standard and choose to take on the identity of the world in our attitudes, language and entertainment choices.  An independent Barna survey taken in 2003 found that 8 out of 10 protestant Christians, by their OWN admission, did not apply the standards of the scripture to their personal lives.   

The world watches us and judges Christ by our actions. In a 2005 article in Christianity Today (The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience; Why don’t Christians live what they preach?)  George Barna was quoted as having concluded, “because Jesus’ modern-day disciples do not act like Jesus; this scandalous behavior mocks Christ, undermines evangelism, and destroys Christian credibility.” 

We wonder why we don’t see more healing and miracles; yet we have no conviction to clean up our personal lives so a Holy God can be manifested through us. The lives of God’s people must line up with the holiness the scripture demands or we are an ineffective witness! 

It’s not enough to say, ‘the church needs to be more Christ like’ because I’m the church.  When I say, “I’m a Christian”, I can not continue to behave like the world while taking on the identity of Christ. The most influential witness is Jesus living through ME.  

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.  

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior version of Matthew 10:39 is,

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.”  

Indeed, it seems the older I get, the faster time passes!  

In my youth, I would stand before the mirror and pay great attention to putting on makeup and doing my hair.  In my youthful fervor for staying fit, I made diet and exercise a top line priority. 

Now, with a dozen grandchildren, a thick waist and arthritis in every joint, I stand in front of the mirror and wonder, “Who is that fat old lady and why is she wearing my shirt?” In spite of all my efforts, age happened.  

Many of the priorities that seemed so terribly important in my youth are no longer on the top of my list.  But, one top of the list priority I’ve made in my life has not changed. If anything, this one priority has gained in importance; my relationship with the Lord. 

Contrary to popular belief; loving God and serving Him has not meant my life has been without pain or hard lessons.  It has meant that no matter what life has brought me, God’s presence, direction and encouragement have been with me.  

God has never failed me; however, sometimes, the people who have claimed to represent Him have. I’ve had little control over circumstances. But, allowing God to be Lord of my life has been my choice.  How those circumstances affected my life was determined by my relationship with Jesus.   

No matter what age we come to the realization of who Christ is, He welcomes us into relationship.  Like buffalo breath on a cold morning, life fades quickly. Jesus is the only priority that matters—forever. Seek Him now while you still have time. 

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

If you know my husband, you know that he is a human road atlas. He has a GPS in his truck and literally challenges every direction it gives.  If the GPS says, “take the next right”, his response is to take the next left and still get to his destination.  

There is an exception to my husband’s insistence on going his own way.  Life; he seeks direction daily from the Word of God. However, life’s road can have some unexpected turns and some pretty deep pot holes even when we follow the directions!   

Life is a trip; thankfully, Jesus traveled the same ‘roads of life’ that we do and left us directions in the Word. Scripture says that Jesus was tested in every way as we are, but was without sin!

Sometimes, even with directions, you and I can still get off on a wrong road!  But, when we read the Word everyday, we can make course adjustments and find our way back. Jesus understands how the scenery could mess us up and get us off track. He has traveled this road Himself and knows how important it is to keep focused.  

The Bible has not only reliable directions, but instructions on how to find our way back to the right road when we detour off in our own direction. God’s Word provides both directions and faith (Romans 10:17) for day to day living.

The circumstances of life may change through the ages, but the temptations and trials are still the same. Stop making excuses for going down the wrong road; life is a trip—get directions and stay on course.

 Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 

When I was a child, I loved to spend the night with my Aunt Violet.

Whenever I went to her house, Hide and Seek was one of our favorite games together.

Part of the fun was that I could hide SO good, she wouldn’t be able to find me!   *)

Aunt Violet would look behind the coat rack, on the sun porch, in the cubby beside the refrigerator, laughing and calling, “Where are you?” 

The whole time, I’d be crouching down, in plain sight, beneath the dining room table, giggling into my fingers as she walked by! 

After a few moments of hiding, I’d jump out and run into her arms! Of course, my Aunt new exactly where I was all along; but she would let me hide as long as I wanted.  

As adults, sometimes, we play hide and seek with God. Like my aunt in the childhood game, God knows exactly where we are all the time. We only think we are hiding.

There are a lot of reasons why we hide from God.  Maybe we’re hiding inside our pain. Or perhaps we’re hiding behind our busyness. Sometimes, we disobey God and we hide under our sin; like Adam and Eve in the garden.  

Whatever the reason we’re hiding, God not only knows exactly where we are; He knows why we’re hiding.  No matter why we are hiding, God stands beside our hiding place and calls to us, “Where are you?”

God knows where we are. But, the first step of our choosing to not hide anymore is for us to stand up and say, “Here, I am.” Once we stop hiding, we can run into His arms and open our hearts.

When we admit to ourselves the real reason for our hiding game, God reminds us that He gave His son so that we can have relationship. We no longer need to hide, not for any reason.  He welcomes us back into His presence and holds us close.  

If you’re playing hide and seek with God; He’ll let you hide as long as you want. But, every moment that you continue to hide is a moment that you could be enjoying the intimacy of His presence. Come out, come out, wherever you are.  

Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

I love  old Bibles! One of my most treasured possessions is an old, very old, pocket Bible.  My husband paid only a few cents for it at a sidewalk sale.  According to the dates etched in calligraphy on the  presentation page, the Bible is over 100 years old!

Inside are hand written notes; favorite scriptures.  Faded by the ravages of time, some of the markings are almost illegible.  It is very moving to gently flip through the pages of this treasure and read the favorite verses of a dear saint who has gone on to be with Jesus. 

Odd as it would seem, the woman struggled with the same problems, temptations and failings that I do!  Our modern technologies haven’t changed the fragile human condition with all its weaknesses and trials.  One day, when I’ve gone to be with my Lord, I hope to meet this gentle soul who lived so strong for Christ. 

My heart can only hope that one day somebody who loves the Lord, hopefully my own grandchildren, will find my old Bible and be encouraged by the markings I’ve made in its pages.  What an incredible testimony of God’s faithfulness; to leave a Bible used, marked up, worn out and earmarked with tear stained pages.  

One of the verses this dear saint, whose name was “Anna”, treasured, speaks even more clearly now, as I serve God today, than it did when she wrote it in 1886:

Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

What is it about faith? Some people say if you pray and you don’t get what you want, you don’t have enough of it. 

If you believe even when it looks impossible, people say that you have lots of it.  

James 2:20  says if you have tons of it but don’t do anything with it, it’s worthless. Jesus said it only takes a little.  (Matthew 17:20)  

Jesus’ first miracle was at the wedding in Cana. (John 2:1-11) His mother didn’t ask Him to change the water into wine.  She simply stated the fact, “the wine is all gone”.  Then, she turned to the servants and with the confidence of faith, simply told them, “Do whatever He tells you to do.”  

Jesus had himself, not yet done any miracles. She had the head knowledge that He wasn’t an ordinary child.  And, with that, the heart knowledge that grows from close relationship. She had no proof that He COULD do miracles.  She didn’t know HOW He would get more wine but, she knew that He would.

In Matthew 15:21-28 Jesus ignored the Canaanite woman who pestered Him about her demon possessed daughter. Jesus finally told her ‘so what’ and was, in fact, really kind of rude to her!  She responded about how even the dogs eat the crumbs under the master’s table. 

Jesus told her, “Woman YOU have GREAT faith.” and delivered her child from the demons. Why was ‘her‘ faith great? She had (probably) seen, or at least heard about, the miracles. In spite of impossible circumstances, she knew that He could so she persisted.  

The first miracle, (water to wine) was done through a heart’s awareness that existed because of an intimate relationship. The other (demon cast out) was done because of a persistent faith that came from knowledge. 

When we have an intimate relationship with the Lord that acknowledges His sovereignty; our faith is perfected.  Faith is  knowing that He “can”.  Perfect faith acknowledges that He is Lord while trusting that He works all things for our good because He loves us.  (Romans 8:28) 

Perfect faith acknowledges the sovereignty of God. So, how DO we acquire perfect faith (?); through intimate relationship in prayer and the confirmation in knowledge that comes from Bible study.

 Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

One of the magnets on my refrigerator door reads, “Lord, give me patience, but do it NOW.”  

The hardest part of patience is waiting; I want what I want and I want it now.  

Sometimes, when patience is discussed, the example of Job is brought up.

Most people have, at one time or other, referred to “the patience of Job”. People talk about the patience of Job when it is the patience of God, Himself, that is beyond comprehension! 

God created us for relationship with Him then gave us the choice to choose Him—OR not.  Patiently He uses the circumstances of life to draw us toward an intimate relationship with Him.  

It’s interesting to note that Christianity is entirely about relationship! We were created for relationship with God. Sin ruined that relationship.

God sacrificed His own son, Jesus, so that relationship could be restored.  Jesus sent us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so we could not only have relationship but have intimate relationship.   

The Lord of all creation has literally given and done all that can be done in order to make relationship with Him possible. Now, God patiently waits on us to — respond.   

II Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.