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Listen while you read: "Ye Gates Lift Up Your Heads"1 (Lyrics) |
I love living in Arizona, but there is one notable downside: dry skin, particularly on my feet. Many of us wear sandals year-round, so it is an ongoing problem. But I think that I've finally conquered it with daily applications of lotion, morning and night. I slather on the lotion, let it settle in, and slide my feet into an old pair of soft slippers for a while. Combined with occasional vigorous scrubbing with a foot brush or pumice stone, my feet are happy — and so am I!
I must confess that this new routine was prompted by a visit to the podiatrist for some minor repair. I was embarrassed by the condition of my feet, and I knew that something different needed to happen before I settled into his chair and my feet ended up more or less in his face.
Am I the only one who sometimes finds myself in the same situation spiritually? Something in my life gets out of control — eating, worrying, fear, envy — or any one of a number of other sinful attitudes. I let it go on, either out of laziness or a desire to keep doing it — like the chocolate that I find so hard to resist. Then, I read a Scripture, hear a sermon, talk to a friend, or read a devotional that, like my visit to the podiatrist, lets me know that it's time for a change.
Romans 1:29-31 – Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. (NLT)
Sometimes, we think that sin applies only to the "big ones", like murder, drunkenness, or sexual immorality. But this text talks about the ideas, attitudes, and interactions that could be compared to the rough skin on our feet. They make life unpleasant for us and those around us, and can even blow up into a major event if we let them go on too long. They need scrubbing, cleansing, and smoothing!
The Bible offers two solutions for our spiritual dry skin:
1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (ESV)
Romans 13:14 – But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (ESV)
Then, we can experience the "lotion" that we need — the anointing of the Holy Spirit — to cleanse our lives and enable us to look at the world through Jesus' eyes.
Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (ESV)
Prayer: Father, help us to look at our lives through Your eyes, to confess our sins, and to show the fruit of the Spirit to all those around us. Amen.
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Amen, Sharon! To God be the glory! Thanks for sharing this encouraging devotional with us again today. Blessings.
Hello Sharon
Amen to that!!
God is faithful and the Holy Spirit is a great “lotion”
God bless.
Thank you.
Thanks Sharon.
Thanks for the reminder, Sharon. Have a blessed day.
Beautiful encouragement, Sharon. Thank you very much.
Amen Sharon.
Blessings.
Blessings on Arizona just for being there! Thanks for an interesting devotional with the added plus of skin care… (and spiritual care).
Amen, Sharon! It’s so easy to slide down sin’s slippery circuitous slope into sin when we slack off praying, Bible reading, and worshipping together! May we support each other with ceaseless prayers. Blessings.
Good one Sharon. We deal with the dry skin problems over our cold winters. I like the imagine of the spirit over our cracks! We’ve moved from snow boots to sneakers but it will soon be flip flop season so I must get started on a now more meaningful foot regime. Thank you.
Sharon, I really relate to your analogy of the podiatrist visit and the need for attention. I’ve had a reoccurring foot problem that is a result of too much pressure that I allow to build up. My life can also allow pressure to make pain. You beautifully point out the remedy of Jesus’s care and treatments available. Thank you!
Hey Sharon:
Great message. Thank you.
My Birkenstocks that I wear even up here in Canada do the same things to my feet, fortunately there is a local podiatry practitioner nearby.
Blessings are all around us.
(Ontario, Canada)
Greetings Sharon,
Thanks for your very mindful devotional today. Yes, the “fruits of the spirit” are actions we should show to others very consistently and what a peaceful world it would be if more people adhered to those words and actions.
Our loving Lord is ever deserving of our gratitude as He is so forgiving of our sins. Blessings for your writings and may you have good success in staying ahead of dry skin conditions.
SHALOM
We very much enjoy your Devotionals! Please keep writing.
My wife and I are in our 80’s, and also have problems with dry skin. It was suggested to us to purchase a ‘stick’ of Cocoa Butter at the Pharmacy and apply it twice daily. What a difference!!!! Our feet are our ‘friends’ once again!
Blessings.
(Ontario, Canada)
Good morning, Sharon,
Of course, you are not the only one who finds themselves in this spiritual “dryness”. It is great when we are woken up to the need for change by something that happens, or we read. “A wake-up call” helps us move forward to find the “lotion” which will help us be better in God’s eyes and to apply that “lotion” to everyone we meet.
Thank you for the honesty of admitting that we all have periods of “dryness” which need some attention to improve us and to move deeper into our understanding of God’s plan for us.
May your feet continue to be a blessing with a little attention and your faith continue to grow as you share with others. Blessings.
Sharon, are sure we aren’t related, as we have at least 2 of the same “major” problems, feet and chocoholism!! That’s my new word that just popped up. Since I was born an alcoholic, Mother told me of her craving for any kind of chocolate when she was expecting me.
Living in the foothills of Mount Rainier, dry skin was no problem, but when my incredible husband became a Navy Chaplain, his duty took us to California.
This story is to tell you that my feet have taken a beating, especially since moving to the high desert. Oh dear, my feet, the extremely dry desert!! At least I’m allergy free. I am using some of your methods and wonder why they don’t work like the they do for my daughter.
Thank you, Sharon, you are an excellent writer, and inspire me. May what you wrote be a great blessing to many. God bless you and yours abundantly.
(Ca.)