1 Timothy 5:8 – And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (NRSV)
Psalm 133:1 – How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! (NRSV)
1 Corinthians 13:3 – If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (NRSV)

I thank God that I have always had a good relationship with my family, both immediate and extended. As a minister, I often speak with single parent families, and with those caught up in abusive family relationships.

It wasn't until this past summer that I realized just how important family can be to a person. Our son flew out for a summer holiday with us and suggested that the four of us take a short trip together. This, he said, would probably be the last time that he, his sister, his mother, and I would have the chance to take a family vacation. He is to be married next summer and so will be starting his own family. Even though we will still be family, it will never be quite the same. During the trip, I watched in awe as my son and his sister grew closer and closer together. They have always supported each other, but last summer, they grew to really appreciate each other and love one another. I also watched as my son walked and talked with me and/or his mother. We all grew closer together than I would have thought possible.

It was when we put my son on the plane to fly back to Ontario that I realized just what a joy a family can be. God has graced us by putting us in families. We all have a mother and a father, some of us marry and have a spouse, and some of us are truly blessed to have children.

As I was contemplating this devotional and just what to write, I was thinking strictly about our earthly family. It was not until I was well into the devotional that it struck me that no matter what our earthly family relationship is, all of us have a heavenly Father Who will always love us no matter what we do. We can mess up our earthly family lives, or have them messed up for us by someone else. The wonderful thing is that our heavenly Father will always be there for us and love us. His grace will always see us through. Need proof of this? Remember what God did for us: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 KJV)

Prayer: Almighty and loving heavenly Father, we thank You for having the wisdom and the love to give us earthly families. We also praise Your holy name for loving us so much as to give Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Through this act, You have assured and guaranteed that we will always be Your family. Amen.

When I first arrived in Alberta, Canada, at a new pastoral charge, there was great anxiety and stress. Could I survive without my wife of 25 years and my family for such a long time? We had never been separated for more than a few days at a time. I finally remembered today's verses from Matthew's gospel that had helped me so much during my time in seminary just a few short years before. I had taken the verses from Matthew 6:25-34 and blown them up on my computer and printed them out, not once, but several times. I then taped these printouts all over my room at Knox College so that wherever I looked in the room, I could see them and receive comfort.

The other day, our Editor asked me to try and write a devotional for this page. More stress and worry. But with the encouragement of God and several good friends, I have decided to put my life back into God's hands and not let the worry get me down. All of us need to realize that God is in charge of our lives and that if we would only turn them over to Him, we would not have the stress and worry that keeps so many doctors and psychiatrists in business.

Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

For many years I worked for the Post Office. I was always intrigued by letters that would come to people, especially letters which you could tell were from friends or relatives. At the end of my postal career, I reverted to being a letter carrier, and it was fascinating to watch the faces of people when I handed them their mail and they flipped through to see what they had.

My greatest joy was seeing the face of some elderly person light up when they realized they had a letter from an old friend or relative. They would positively glow. Often, they would tell me who the letter was from and who the person was. The next day, I would sometimes be invited in for tea and hear all about Aunt Mary or the long-lost son or daughter.

Now, I have changed professions; I am a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church. As one of my best friends said to me the other day, "Really you haven't change professions; just the Boss is different." It took me a while to figure this out, but then I realized I still do carry the Word to people. This time the Word comes from a loving heavenly Father. The Word now is much more than a pick-me-up, even though it can be that. Now, the Word is a matter of life and death, an invitation to a party, an invitation to come home and to join Abba (Daddy) at His banquet table.

When you think about it, each of us, as Christians, shares in this awesome responsibility to deliver God's Word. We deliver it to anyone who will hear: friends, neighbours, relatives, and, yes, even strangers.

Prayer: Lord, help me to deliver Your Word to Your people — not my word, but the Word You wish to speak through me. Help me to remember that even though I may see no reaction to speaking the Word, You promised through Isaiah that Your Word will not come back void. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

I have a Shi-Tzu dog named Daisy Mae who is also a therapy dog for St. John's Ambulance. We go into the local nursing home every Thursday and visit with the residents there. She just loves to bring joy to these older folks. They also seem to enjoy being able to pat and cuddle her. They both enjoy the treats when I pull one out to let them feed her. She sits, and then, very gently, takes it out of their hands.

Today, we were at a community college as part of a stress-relieving opportunity for the students and some of the staff. Again, Daisy just loved the attention these students gave her. One girl said that she was really stressed over being away from home for the first time and also over a paper that she was writing for one of her classes. She patted the couch beside her, and Daisy jumped up and began to cuddle with her. I could see the stress just melting away from the student.

When I got home from this outing, it made me think back to my days as a mature student studying for my undergraduate degree in university and for my Master of Divinity in seminary. After all these years, I can still remember all the stress and tension, especially when I had papers due or exams to study for. My stomach would be in knots, and sometimes, I would even be physically sick.

We didn't have therapy dogs at either of the institutions I attended, but we had something much, much better. We had a chapel where we could go and pray, and ask God to help us, to calm us, and to be a friend in need. In addition, there were other mature Christian students like me who were going into a whole new way of life. I can remember gathering in one of the larger rooms around ten o'clock every evening for a cup of tea, some friendly talk, and prayer. We could hold up our fellow students in prayer and be held up in prayer ourselves. For me, it was the most peaceful time of the day. I often took advantage of this to go to bed with this peace surrounding me.

John 14:27 – [Jesus said,] "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (NRSV)

As Christians, we know that we have a friend in Jesus, a friend who can take all our worries and tension away. It is even better when we seek out Christian friends to have fellowship, sharing, and prayer with each other. No wonder the Lord in His wisdom warned us against "neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another" (Hebrews 10:25 NRSV).

Prayer: Almighty and loving God, we pray that You will be with those who struggle with workloads, stress, tension, loneliness, and heavy burdens. Give them the willingness and longing to turn to You and to the fellowship of other Christians to help them cope. Amen.

I live in Wiarton, Ontario, Canada, the home of "Wiarton Willie" an albino groundhog. Each February 2nd, they wake the poor creature up so that the mayor can speak "groundhogese" to this critter and find out if there will be an early spring.

This started out as a joke back in 1957 when a man invited a bunch of his close friends over for a party, to break up the winter.

Even a Toronto newspaper sent a reporter up to see what was going on. When the reporter asked about the groundhog, the man grabbed a ladies' white fur hat, threw it out on the snow, and made the first prediction. We now have statues in our park on the way into town and stuffed toys of "Willie" in almost every store because of this first get-together.

What began as a fun morning prediction at 8:07 a.m. on February 2nd with pancakes afterwards has how turned into a three-day festival. However, as I talked with the new Baptist minister in town, we both identified a concern that we think has emerged: many people have started to almost idolize the groundhog. About ten years ago, when they tried to wake up Willie and found him dead, they actually had a funeral for him. I know that many communities have statues and other things to mark their town or city as unique. When I lived in Alberta, various towns had a giant buffalo, a giant Easter egg, and even a replica of a flying saucer. These are fine, but they weren't idolized by the people. I'm all for a little fun in a cold, wintry climate, but to actually idolize anything other than God is sin.

Exodus 20:3–5a – You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. (NKJV)

This command from God tells us about the nature of God. God is the supplier of all our joy, and through God, we can experience great joy no matter what situation we find ourselves in. But when we begin to idolize things rather than God, we lose our focus. When we idolize created things rather than the Creator, we commit idolatry. The second part of the command is all about idolatry. We can have authentic worship only when God is the only God we are bowing to. God and God alone is worthy of our worship. To sum things up, the first commandment requires us to love, desire, and find joy and hope solely in God, which naturally leads to an outward worship of prayer, praise, and meditation on His Word.

To join in some festivities is good, and God wants His children to have fun, but not to the point of forgetting that the fun comes from Him and that in our fun, we will glorify Him. The prediction and festivities surrounding Wiarton Willie should ultimately point us to Jesus, our God who made the seasons (hopefully an early spring) and groundhogs in the first place!

Prayer: Some love winter, and some hope for an early spring. Lord, help us to realize that You will give us what we need, not necessarily what we desire. Thank You for making the groundhog and all Your creatures. Thank You also for this chance to have some fun in a cold winter month. Amen.

The other day, I had a chance to meet another of the Daily devotional writers. We have corresponded by e-mail many times, and over the years have become friends.

I had a chance to be close to her area of the city, so I telephoned to see if we could actually meet in person. We set a time, and I drove to their house to meet Anne Russell and her husband, Bill. My wife had another appointment, and I told her I would pick her up later.

It was a remarkable visit. I know I felt like we had known each other for years. Sometimes, a first visit with someone can be awkward, and there is little to talk about. This wasn't the case; in fact, I was actually an hour late getting back to meet my wife. I learned later she wasn't really surprised that we talked so long and I was late.

We talked about the devotionals we had written in the past, other writers we had met, and also about the dry times when we couldn't find inspiration to write about anything. Both of us — and, I suspect, all of the writers — go through such periods. Something may inspire us, but nothing will flow from our minds to our fingers and onto the screen.

As I was driving back to pick up my wife, I couldn't help but reflect on the text from the lectionary for that coming Sunday. I had finished my sermon and had given it a title: "Jesus Calls Us Friends".

As I thought of my friendship with Anne and her husband, I thought about my friendship with Jesus. As today's Scripture tells us, this is a friendship that goes both ways. He calls us His friends.

I have e-mail friends, physical friends, and friends who are closer than others. Although I have never met Jesus face to face as I did with Anne, Jesus is my closest friend. Unlike other friends and acquaintances, Jesus is always there for me. He listens to me. He talks to me, through the Spirit. And He has laid down His life for me. What more could I ask of a friend?

Prayer: Jesus, our Friend, thank You for always being there for us. Be with our friends, and be a friend to them also. Some don't know You yet, but we pray that You will be with them also. Amen.

Each day, we put out six or seven peanuts, in the shell, on our deck railing for the blue jays, as well as the feed in the bird feeders in the backyard. But there is also a red squirrel which regularly visits our bird feeders. It is always fun to watch and see which one gets to the peanuts first: the blue jay or the red squirrel. Lately, I have been putting peanuts on two different railings so they can both have a few.

One recent morning, I went to feed the birds. Then I sat at the patio window to watch them. The blue jay arrived first, took a peanut, and then flew off into the cedar hedge at the edge of our property. The red squirrel wasn't far behind; he grabbed a peanut and then headed out.

Perhaps the blue jay saw this sneak thief stealing its peanuts, but when it came back, it started to shell and eat the peanuts right there. Shortly after, I saw the red squirrel slinking along the deck railings, trying to sneak up on the blue jay so as to get another peanut. The blue jay actually drove it off.

This made me think about the way the evil one often tries to sneak up on us and steal God's good blessings away from us. God gives us these blessings for our joy and use. He does not want sin to creep in and steal what He has given.

If we are bold enough to ask God to protect us from temptation and from losing His blessing, He will answer and drive the tempter away from us. This will leave us free to enjoy the riches He has so freely given.

James 4:7 – Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (NKJV)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many blessings You give to us each day. Help us to turn to You to give us strength to drive off the sin which would diminish these blessings. We also ask You to help us to share these blessings with all, be they animal or human. Amen.