I am moving to devotoons.com

I am moving Devotoons to its own site. You can now see my devotional cartoons at www.devotoons.com. Thank you for continuing to follow my musings.

Blessings,

Kevin Spear

Cartoon: Crowning ourselves

Cartoon of a boy with a crown. He says, “Nobody treats me like a king.  Get ready for the mother of all temper tantrums!”

This cartoon is based on Psalm 36:1-2

 ¹ An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:

         There is no fear of God before his eyes.
 ² For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
         When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates. (Psalm 36:1-2, New King James Version)

We find it hard to admit when we have a pride problem. We hate to admit we like to put ourselves in front of everyone. Yet, thanks to sin, that's how we react to the world. 

We put ourselves on a pedestal. We like to flatter ourselves and we sure hate it when our faults are revealed. What does the Psalmist say is the solution? We need to put God first in our eyes. To fear God means to take him seriously. That's hard to do when we are more concerned about our own problems, or even complain to God about how He's handling the world. 

Today, let us put God first. It saves us a whole bunch of problems, and a few temper tantrums.

I drew this in Adobe Illustrator CS2

Let us rejoice.

Cartoon of a boy at the front door and a Mom. Boy says, “I know, ‘This is the day the Lord has made.’ Can't I rejoice and be glad tonight?”

  This is the day the LORD has made;
         We will rejoice and be glad in it.
          (Psalm 118:24, New King James Version)

Do rainy days (or snowy days) and Mondays get you down? Are you a night owl? does the very thought of morning make you want to file a protest with Department of Weights, Days and Measures?

It can be tough when we don't feel like rejoicing. We like to look forward and imagine when we will feel like rejoicing in the future. Not a future thinker? Some of us like to think back to glory days when we felt like a million bucks and you were sure you can take on the world.

The past is gone. We don't know what the next minute will bring All God has given us is this present moment. Let's rejoice because He has given us another day to celebrate.

Look around you today and think about reasons you can rejoice right now. You can start by being thankful your computer and Internet connection is working. That's a miracle right there!

I drew this in Adobe Illustrator CS2

Magi and Shepherds

Magi and Shepherds, originally uploaded by speartoons.

This is my sermon notes from December 27, 2009. Pastor Jim Lyon was talking about accepting all people, whether low-class shepherds or high-class Magi.

The sermon was taken from Luke 2:8-16 and Matthew 2:9-12. How different would the Christmas story be if Joseph and Mary didn't welcome the shepherds or the Magi. Yet they were two very different groups. God welcomes all groups regardless of social class.

A Dark, Bethlehem Night

Cartoon of of poem about Christmas on a Bethlehem night.

On a night, so long ago,
Bethlehem began to glow.
Our hope to break free from sin,
was born beside a shabby inn.
Darkness feared this tiny child,
with rage it drove the Devil wild!
He would kill this little one,
and not rest ’til he was done.
Thirty three years he tried and failed,
’til on a cross, this child was nailed.
Satan thought he won the game,
but things would never be the same,
for that child became our light,
like on that dark, Bethlehem night.

I originally drew this comic in 2001

Merry Christmas!

Cartoon: Frankenstein and Mirth

Spear-Cartoon_3575, originally uploaded by speartoons.

Cartoon of a reading girl and boy. The boy says, "The gold part I understand. but why did the Magi bring Frankenstein and mirth?"

This cartoon is based on Matthew 2:1, 9-11
 ^1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod's kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, "Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We're on pilgrimage to worship him." (Matthew 2:1, The Message)
 ^9-10Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
 ¹¹They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. (Matthew 2:9-11, The Message)

Wise men and women are hard to come by. The Magi discovered a special secret. The Messiah was coming! Hardly anyone else, besides shepherds and the holy family knew this. Even King Herrod's scholars knew the prophecy but missed seeing the newborn king.

Sometimes, we will stand alone when God reveals something to us. We may have to stand for what's right while others don't understand or even mock us. We can rest assured, however, that if we stand on our convictions, we can discover something amazing.

I drew this comic in Adobe Illustrator CS2

Cartoon: Santa naughty or nice?

Spear-Cartoon_3573, originally uploaded by speartoons.

Cartoon of two boys in the cold. One says, “So Santa Claus only likes you if you are on his nice list? What a grump!”

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, King James Version)

Santa is a nice guy, but one thing I always had a problem with is I never knew if I was on his naughty or nice list. Is it possible I could be nice the whole year but end up on the naughty list because of that unfortunate incident I was in on March 26?

That's why I'm glad God doesn't play those games. He loved us so much that he sent Jesus to take the place for our sins. What an incredible gift! You and I didn't deserve any good treatment. But God loves us anyway. We can be on His list and that's a list I don't want to miss!

I drew this comic in Adobe Illustrator CS2