My Devotionals

Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (Romans 13:7)

In 1997, toward the end of his career, Fred Rogers was given television’s highest honor: a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmys. While the moment was supposed to be all about him, Fred characteristically made it all about others.

"So many people have helped me come to this night," he said. "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take along with me ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are? Ten seconds of silence. I’ll watch the time."

At this prompt, the room of Hollywood’s elite laughed awkwardly—until they realized Fred was serious. As Mister Rogers stared at the watch on his wrist, the cameras showed some of the world’s most famous faces silently honoring those who were responsible for them being in that prestigious room. 

It’s hard to watch this moment and not...

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

When Lisa Hamilton opened her front door, Fred Rogers could immediately tell something was wrong. "I was praying, and I felt you needed some help," he told her. Fred had no idea that Lisa had become a widow that morning.

"I was really panicky," Lisa said of the morning she awoke, still holding her husband’s hand, to discover he had lost his battle with cancer during the night. But then, Fred appeared out of nowhere, wept with Lisa, and stayed to arrange the funeral.

Another time, Fred "had this very strong urge" to visit a marginalized friend he hadn’t seen in a long time. Toward the end of the visit, the friend said, "Mr. Rogers, did you know this was my birthday?" He didn’t. Explaining this seeming coincidence to a journalist, Fred wondered aloud, "Why did I stop in? If it’s mind reading, it needs to be called inspired mind reading."

I long to be as sensitive to the Holy Spirit as Fred was. And as ...

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6)

The pastor in the pulpit had just wrapped up what Fred Rogers called "the most poorly crafted sermon I had ever heard in my life." And yet, his friend beside him was wiping tears from her eyes. "He said exactly what I needed to hear," she whispered.

That terrible sermon? Exactly what she needed to hear? Fred thought in disbelief.

Later, he realized, "The Holy Spirit was able to translate the words of that feeble sermon to speak to the need of my friend…That experience changed my life. Ever since, I've been able to recognize that the space between someone who is offering the best he can and someone who is in need is Holy Ground."

Humbled yet emboldened by that truth, Fred consistently offered his best on the set of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and trusted the Holy Spirit with the rest. And sometimes he was blessed to see the fruit God was growing from his feeble planting.

Like the time he he...

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9)

If neckties could tell tales, the one Fred Rogers is buried in would tell an epic one.

With a black-and-blue tartan pattern, it was the style traditionally worn by ordained Presbyterian ministers. But Fred Rogers was no pastor. He was the host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, a children's TV show that aired from 1968 to 2001.

Before he was famous, Fred was a relatively unknown TV producer on a show called The Children's Corner, feeling torn between the call to so-called "sacred" and "secular" work. So for eight years, he split the difference, working at the station every weekday while driving 30 blocks at lunchtime for classes at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

But somewhere along those drives between seminary and the studio, an idea formed within him: What if his career and calling weren't opposite trajectories? What if he was called to view his "secular" work on TV as his sacred ministry?

The idea was radical. And th...