April 19 ~ Romans 14:17
God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
You know, I think we waste a lot of valuable time worrying what others will think of us if we choose to serve Christ. Let me give you an example. Sadly, more than once, my husband and I have had friends who have divorced or quit dating each other. Sometimes, these partings were quite bitter. The question became, “Who gets the friends?” Loving all persons involved and not wishing to choose sides, we tried to maintain a cordial relationship with everyone. It’s not always possible to maintain a close friendship with both parties, but certainly we feel you can remain civil and friendly.
Inevitably a situation will arise where you are seen by one person in the party being friendly to the other. Let’s say, for example, that you are talking to your friend’s ex-girlfriend, and your friend walks up and sees you. Maybe you had a good reason for the conversation. Maybe you accidentally bumped into each other, and you didn’t want to be rude. But no matter the circumstances, there is room for the friend to misinterpret. Should that stop you from doing the right thing and being polite and friendly to the ex? Absolutely not!
Here’s another completely different example. Let’s say somebody did something unkind to you, or you learned that someone had said something really nasty about you behind your back. And the next thing you know, you come face to face with that person. How do you react? Do you treat them rudely in return? Do you say something unkind or try to snub them in some way? Or do you take the high road, smile and treat them as if nothing had happened?
I’m not saying you should allow people to mistreat you – that you should overlook it and become a doormat for others. But at the same time, people ARE watching and waiting to see HOW you will react. So you can choose to serve yourself – and your ego – and let the person have it. You can pick sides in breakups and draw lines in the sand. Or, you can choose to be the child of God you are called to be and carefully pick and choose your battles – and those with whom you will tangle, if you determine that is the right course of action. Do all you can to single-mindedly serve Christ, and the rest will fall into place.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 18 ~ Romans 7:24-25
I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
My former pastor, Bro. John Miles, often said, “Sin is fun! That’s why so many people keep doing it!” And let’s be honest. There are quite a few sinful activities that, at least on the surface, seem like what we often call “harmless fun.” I could name several, but I am betting you can fill in your own blanks. We all have things that tempt us, and many of them would be considered totally harmless by most of our peers.
But let’s get real here… Jesus has done SO much for us. He gave His very life for ours. He was sinless, yet He understands our sinful natures… and still He died on a cross for us! So when we are tempted to have “harmless fun” that we know is anything but, we can look up and think of Christ and the cross, and we can find the courage to say, “I’m not going there!”
I’m not saying we will be perfect. I am not saying that temptation won’t be so great from time to time – or peer pressure – that we will go to “that party” or skip church to do something else or speak unkindly to or about someone else, just to name a few. But let us remember who we are and WHOSE we are… and let us call on Jesus to help us. When we get to the end of our rope, HE is the Knot Who will not let us fall!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 17 ~ Romans 3:7
It's simply perverse to say, "If my lies serve to show off God's truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I'm doing God a favor." Some people are actually trying to put such words in our mouths, claiming that we go around saying, "The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let's just do it!" That's pure slander, as I'm sure you'll agree.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
When I was a child, my mother used to say, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” That really made me mad when I was young... maybe in part because I knew it was true, but you know how we don’t like to hear the truth from our parents!
Anyway, you may encounter people or situations from time to time that will suggest that maybe “two wrongs CAN make a right situation for God.” You may think, “Here’s a chance for God to show just how big He really is.” But if you think for one minute that God is going to let you “serve” Him by this “reverse psychology,” you are dead wrong!
Focus on doing what is right and what honors God. Focus on serving Him positively – and well… with every fiber of your being. Bad situations - wrong situations will come along, and yes, God CAN use them for good. But don’t be the catalyst for this sort of thing. Stay as far away from wrong situations as possible, and stay in God’s perfect will. THAT is service He can really use!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 16 ~ Romans 1:8
I thank God through Jesus for every one of you. That's first. People everywhere keep telling me about your lives of faith, and every time I hear them, I thank him. And God, whom I so love to worship and serve by spreading the good news of his Son—the Message!—knows that every time I think of you in my prayers, which is practically all the time, I ask him to clear the way for me to come and see you. The longer this waiting goes on, the deeper the ache. I so want to be there to deliver God's gift in person and watch you grow stronger right before my eyes! But don't think I'm not expecting to get something out of this, too! You have as much to give me as I do to you.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Over and over again, we hear people who have won a contest, race, sporting event, or special award or recognition say, “I couldn’t have done it without Xxxx, Xxxx, and Xxxx.” They recognize, verbally at least, that others helped them. And honestly, in many circumstances, it’s a good thing there were others to help share the load! The collective effort of many can often accomplish far more than that of one person.
And so it is with serving God. Each one of us does our part, but collectively, we do much more! So when I see my brothers and sisters in Christ doing their part to serve Him, I am thankful – and blessed! I truly do thank God for them when they come to mind. I pray for them and ask that their efforts be blessed and multiplied.
Do you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you ask God to bless their ministries and their service, just as He blesses you? Are you filled with joy when you hear about others’ lives of faith? We’re all in this together, you know… and the gift of serving alongside others is one the ways God blesses us. Don’t miss out on this… love your fellow servants. Pray for their ministries and for God to be glorified. Then sit back and watch Him work!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 15 ~ Acts 27:23
"Last night God's angel stood at my side, an angel of this God I serve, saying to me, 'Don't give up, Paul. You're going to stand before Caesar yet—and everyone sailing with you is also going to make it.' So, dear friends, take heart. I believe God will do exactly what he told me. But we're going to shipwreck on some island or other."
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
If you have never studied the book of Acts, I encourage you to do so. It’s quite an adventure story, and this passage is no exception. Paul is being carted by ship to stand before Caesar, and the seas are rough and stormy, and the ship wrecks. Paul even tries to tell the sailors how to avoid the storm, but they won’t listen. Then, when they sail into the storm, Paul tells the others to be courageous and hang in there. He tells them that an angel has appeared and promised they will all make it – and for Paul, that means a court date before Caesar.
I wonder… if we were facing such a fate, would we encourage those around us to have courage and keep going? When the chips are down in our life, do we stop serving the Lord? When troubles come in our life, do we keep serving, stay joyful, “hang in there?” Or do we shipwreck, so to speak, and wallow in self-pity, sadness, frustration, or feelings of futility?
It is highly unlikely that we will ever even come close to facing the challenges, persecutions, struggles, physical illnesses and injuries, and mental and emotional abuse that plagued Paul. Yet he remained a positive, encouraging, faithful servant. If Paul can do it, surely we can! So pull yourself up, and take heart. You are going to make it… and God will give you everything you need to serve Him along the way!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 14 ~ Acts 24:14
"But I do freely admit this: In regard to the Way, which they malign as a dead-end street, I serve and worship the very same God served and worshiped by all our ancestors and embrace everything written in all our Scriptures. And I admit to living in hopeful anticipation that God will raise the dead, both the good and the bad. If that's my crime, my accusers are just as guilty as I am.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Have you ever really thought about the fact that you worship the same God that Adam and Eve worshiped? Have you ever considered that the same God Who told Noah to build an ark is the God Who speaks to you and me every day? Did you ever stop to think that Jesus prayed to the same God in the Garden of Gethsemane that we pray to in our church sanctuary on Sunday? When you stop and consider this, it is really quite amazing. When you realize that the same commandments God gave to Moses more than two thousand years ago are just as solid and true today, you can’t help but be moved. When you think about those who followed Jesus, long before our ancestors came to America, you have to be amazed that His teachings are just as real for us as they were for the disciples and others who followed Him from village to village.
Do you know the saying, “There is nothing new under the sun?” There is nothing new under God’s sun, either. He is the same God today as the God Who created the universe – and the earth and everything in it. We serve the same God that all of those who came before us have served – we read the same Bible they read and learn the same verses they learned. In this fast-paced world of new inventions every day, I find it comforting to know that God has not changed. When I hear my grandmother talk of the hundreds of things that have been invented in her lifetime, I am glad to know that she and I worship a God who has not been “reinvented” but remains steady and strong, powerful and perfect. I am glad to know that I will join these generations of servants someday in heaven as we bow before our Master and Savior to worship Him face to face.
Will you be there? Will you be counted among the Lord’s servants? I hope so… I pray so! Pick up your Bible today and study some of the old servants. See where God is leading you and how you fit into this story. Then someday I’ll see you at the King’s table, and we’ll share our stories of service with those who came before us!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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April 13 ~ Acts 2:14
That's when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: "Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren't drunk as some of you suspect. They haven't had time to get drunk—it's only nine o'clock in the morning. This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen: "In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams. When the time comes, I'll pour out my Spirit On those who serve me, men and women both, and they'll prophesy. I'll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, Blood and fire and billowing smoke, the sun turning black and the moon blood-red, Before the Day of the Lord arrives, the Day tremendous and marvelous; And whoever calls out for help to me, God, will be saved."
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
If you go back and read all of Acts 2, you will see that the Jews were upset because people were filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. The Jews thought these people were acting crazy – or that they were drunk! They did not understand that God was pouring out His Holy Spirit on those who served Him.
In the same way, there may be people who don’t understand your service. They may tell you “You do too much,” or “You are wasting your time.” They may resent the time you spend in service to God and wish you spent more of your time on THEM! They may be jealous of your talents and abilities and cover their jealousy with criticism. There may be people who accuse you of trying to “buy your way into heaven” with all of your good deeds… and there may be those who excuse their own laziness or lack of service by criticizing yours.
Don’t pay any attention to these people. Focus on God and serving Him. Go where He sends you and do what He tells you to do. He will show you how much time spent in service for Him is enough. He will open and close doors and windows to signal the right path for you to take. Call on Him for help and feel His presence. Feel the Holy Spirit poured out on you and revel in His glory and blessings!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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