Rick Hamlin - 101 Moments in the Presence of God

101 Moments in the Presence of God

Published by Guideposts Books & Inspirational Media
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Copyright 2013 by Guideposts. All rights reserved.

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Acknowledgments

Every attempt has been made to credit the sources of copyrighted material used in this book. If any such acknowledgment has been inadvertently omitted or miscredited, receipt of such information would be appreciated.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The King James Version of the Bible .

Scripture quotations marked ( NIV ) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked ( RSV ) are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible . Copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

Edited by Jill Jones
Cover and interior design by Mllerhaus
Typeset by Aptara, Inc.

Printed and bound in the United States of America
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INTRODUCTION

M y wife, Carol, has gotten all too used to that look that comes over my face at certain moments, when something she or the kids have done has struck me. Are you going to turn this into a devotion? shell say.

For instance, there was that handmade beaded bracelet she started wearing one spring. I couldnt quite gather why she always had it on. Was this some new fashion statement? No, Carol explained, a friend was suffering a serious bout of depression. She had made the bracelet for Carol as part of her therapy. Every time I look at it, I remember to pray for her, Carol said.

Then one day it was gone. Wheres that bracelet? I asked.

Ive got something better, she said.

Whats that?

A friend whos well.

Or I can recall a Fathers Day when I took our younger son, Timothy, to church, then to his baseball game. We bought sodas and enchiladas from the woman who cooks them in the park. At home I scanned the newspaper, took a nap, helped Tim with some homework. After dinner I read to him and he said his prayers. Just before I kissed him good night, I asked, So Tim, what did you give me for Fathers Day?

A perfect day, he said. He did.

Ive found inspiration for devotions in places I never expected. Like in the trunk of the ancient Volvo Mom and Dad gave us when they finally bought a new one. Dad had left an old carpet sample in the trunk. What on earth for? I wondered. That winter a storm buried the car under eighteen inches of snow. I managed to shovel most of it off, but the car couldnt get any traction on the ice. Then I remembered that carpet sample. I took it out of the trunk and stuck it under the tires. Wouldnt you know? It worked like a dreama gift from heaven.

A devotion starts with a Bible verse and ends with a prayer, but what makes it compelling is how it shows God at work in the everyday moments. Its a beaded bracelet that leads to an answered prayer, a childs remark at bedtime, a carpet sample in the back of a car.

Almost two thousand years ago, two of Jesus followers were walking to the village of Emmaus when they were joined by a stranger. They couldnt believe he didnt know what had happened, how the man they thought was the Messiah was crucified and then appeared to some of the women in their group. The stranger spoke wisely and passionately to them, but not until they sat with him and broke bread did they recognize that he was their risen Lord.

Thats what a devotion feels like. That moment when I get a glimpse of Gods presence. Not that Gods ever been far away. All I needed to do was look. All I needed to be was aware.

Rick Hamlin

ONE SIMPLE VERB

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

PSALM 100:1

T he Rejoice banner goes up on New Years Day at my mom and dads home. It usually hangs over the garage, the colorful letters on a white background reminding the neighbors to rejoice. Something of a historical artifact, it made its first appearance on January 1, 1983, carried by two Boy Scouts down Colorado Boulevard before a million people in Pasadena in that years Rose Paradewhat we always refer to as Dads parade.

That was when Dad was president of the Tournament of Roses, the volunteer organization that runs the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl. He and Mom traveled across the country, meeting the bands that would march in the parade and the civic groups that would sponsor floats. They ate at pancake breakfast fundraisers, shook hands with mayors and boosters, marched in other parades, and cheered through Pac Ten/Big Ten football games. In preparation, Dad crowned a Rose queen and selected a grand marshal. But his biggest challenge was to come up with a theme for the parade.

I can remember some of the rejects: Faith and Family, Faith, Hope, and Love, Faith and Enterprise (somehow I could never see that on a banner carried down Colorado Boulevard). Clearly Dad was trying to find the right message to help people celebrate the New Year. It should have meaning for everybody, he said.

What Dad finally settled on was a simple verb, one that appears a couple of hundred times in the Bible. It was on the banner and the floats and in the band music, and it was the word he repeated that sunny morning as he waved from the horse-drawn, flower-covered carriage that led the parade.

Rejoice.

What a way to greet the New Year!

Lord, on this New Years Day, I rejoice in the world You made.

LOOKING FORWARD

He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground.

ISAIAH 53:2

T heres an old patch of wood that we keep unpainted in our back room near the storage cabinets.

The dates and names start at the bottom, a little more than three feet above the ground, in childish handwriting. The writing becomes more secure when the names rise higher, and its positively mature well above five feet. Theres William on 9-12-99 and then William a foot higher on 5-10-03. Timothy seems to make the same rapid progress a little behind his older brother. Mom and Dad never seem to change. I never rise above five feet eleven inches, but the boys leapfrog over each other until you see them leap above their mothera strong black line to mark the milestoneand then they rise above their father, leaving him in the dust.

Then the writing stopsno more updates; no need for more. But the old marks are still there, and I can glance at them when Im getting down the gardening shears or looking for a screwdriver. My friend Tib reminds me that the one prayer God never answers is Please, let nothing change. When I cling too tightly to the past, I can look at this record of how the boys grew until they towered over me. So many answers to prayer in indelible ink. Someday well have to move from this home, but I hope the new owners can make their own marks of progress along the wood.

Lord, let me look forward, always remembering the love that has been with me all along.