March 7 ~ James 1:25
But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
(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 caught a glimpse of something – or someone – out of the corner of your eye, then discovered it was something – or someone – wonderful? Maybe you were shopping, and you caught a brief view of the perfect article of clothing, or electronic gadget – the very thing you had been seeking. Maybe you were at a restaurant, pouring over a menu, and you happened to get a glimpse of what the person at the next table was being served, and you said, “That’s what I’ll have!” Maybe you happened to see an ad on television for some great new product, and you stopped and watched the ad, then ordered this amazing item. Maybe you saw a friend you’d been missing pass by on the street, and you were able to catch up with them to say “Hello.” This happened to me a few months ago. I was pulling out of a store parking lot onto the highway, and right in front of me passed my friends Stuart and Will, whom I had not seen in several months. I caught up with them on down the road, and we had a nice, quick visit.
When we “catch a glimpse” of something that piques our interest, we often pursue it… the shopping items, a delicious dish, a long-lost friend or acquaintance. But when we catch a glimpse of God – or His handiwork in our lives – do we pursue that with as much effort or energy? Are we as eager to pay attention to His signals, especially the subtler ones? Are we as interested in the rewards and blessings He offers us? Do we particularly recognize the smaller, seemingly insignificant gestures and the amazingly HUGE ramifications they can have in our lives? Shouldn’t we be paying more attention? Shouldn’t we be more alert, less distracted, and actually LOOKING for God even “out of the corner of our eye?”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss out on a single message from God. I don’t want to lose a blessing or an affirmation. I want all He is offering me. I pray that we would all have “eyes wide open” today for God… and that we would pursue Him and persevere as He leads us in the direction of HIS choosing.
©2009 Debbie Robus
----------------------------------------------------------------------
March 6 ~ James 1:12
Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
(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.)
Do you know someone who is meeting a testing challenge head-on and sticking it out by relying on God? Many people have challenges and situations over which they have little to no control. When a natural disaster wipes out your home and you literally lose everything you own, where do you find the strength to keep going? When a tragic accident takes several of your family members all at once, how do you endure the pain? When a trusted friend, teacher, or family member abuses you – physically and/or sexually – how do you recover? When you lose your job and the bank forecloses on your home, and you and your children have to move to a homeless shelter or live in your car, what gives you determination?
Honestly, I don’t know how people endure such situations without an incredibly strong faith in God. I once knew of a young man who topped a hill in his truck to find a small girl had stepped out into the road, directly into his path. There was nothing he could do – the little girl was struck and killed. This young man was not a Christian. Thankfully, he gave his heart to Jesus shortly before his death, but by then he was in his late eighties. I think often of how hard that must have been to carry such a burden for decades without realizing he could share it with Jesus. I’m not saying this man would not have been grieved over the accident either way. And I believe that Jesus DID share the man’s grief… and that even without the man’s knowledge, Jesus comforted him many times and in many ways. The little girls’ parents recognized this as an accident and forgave him from the start. But still… to carry such grief without pouring out your heart to God seems so sad.
And surely those who endure a testing challenge and stick it out with Jesus must have an “edge” over those who do not have a relationship with Him. I know that with Christ, all things are possible. Without Him, I imagine very little can be endured. If you are lukewarm in your relationship with God, I encourage you to start getting to know Christ better – to fully cultivate and develop your love for Him. Challenges WILL come. They may not be as severe and heart-wrenching as those I described earlier, but surely, we will all be challenged. There is an old Bee Gees song that asks, “How deep is your love?” Truly that is the question of the day when it comes to Jesus. “How deep is your love?” The answer could determine whether you can endure your own challenges… and just how fully you will live.
©2009 Debbie Robus
---------------------------------------------------------------------
March 5 ~ James 1:2-4
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
(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.)
I saw a television sitcom where two brothers were standing in the kitchen. One brother had a can of refrigerated biscuits. He commented that they were supposed to be “easy-open,” but he could not get them out of the can. The other brother explained that there was a paper wrapper on the can that had to first be removed. Once the paper was peeled away, the can “exploded” and the biscuits came out easily. The dough had been compressed into the can, and once the pressure was released, the biscuits came into the open with force and rose to be baked into something delicious!
We are like the biscuits. The devil wants us to stay “pressed down in the can,” wrapped in a “paper” of fear, intimidation, tests and challenges, and a lack of confidence. When we let go of the tricks of the devil and allow God to peel back the “paper” and “thwack” us on the counter, our faith begins to emerge. We begin to flourish and develop into the wonderful creatures God wants us to be. We are fully able to serve Him and do His work on this earth.We all have pressure in our lives from time to time – the devil loves his “pressure tool!” Our job is to put on the full armor of God and break free of the pressure – to live in faith and hope – and to show others how to do this, as well. Don’t live a “compressed” life. Given the choice between being a glob of dough pressed into a pressurized can, or a faith-filled “biscuit” for God, which will you choose?
©2009 Debbie Robus
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 4 ~ Hebrews 13:13-15
So let's go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is - not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This "insider world" is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let's take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus' name.
(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.)
I studied probably a half dozen translations of this passage, and here’s where God led me…
We all want to be comfortable. We want to be fed, clothed, warm, dry, financially secure, well liked and respected, and even loved! Everyone wants to be accepted by others. When I was teaching kindergarten, we did a “screening” of the prospective students each spring to assess their abilities and their weaknesses. The tests were developed by an educator who had observed hundreds of little children, and as she trained us, she talked over and over again of those who were “risk takers.” The “risk takers” were your brighter students, quite often. They were quite confident of their abilities and their answers… but they also were not afraid to chance making a mistake.
Spiritually, I’m afraid we are not often very big “risk takers.” We are so afraid we will get it wrong, or be judged by others, or unaccepted and unloved by mere mortals. So we “stay inside with the curtains drawn and the doors closed.” We don’t move out into the light with Jesus. We don’t want to be “abused” or “persecuted,” as if we could ever experience anything remotely close to what was done to Christ. We are more at ease with sitting inside, praying quiet prayers and keeping our relationship with Jesus to ourselves. We are more comfortable to attend church on a somewhat consistent basis and fill a pew and nod, sing and pray when prompted, then go back to our own little world where nobody bothers us.
I think one of our hardest lessons is learning that this is not about US! This is about Jesus Christ, who did it all FOR us! We need to get out of our comfort zone and into HIS zone… we need to start being bold in our faith, doing the things He asks us to do that are not necessarily comfortable for us. We need to be “risk takers” for Jesus… speaking His name to others, sharing His love in any way we can find and not worrying what others think. The Christian walk is not for sissies or the timid. Jesus does not care one whit about our comfort level! There is work to be done… there is service to be given… there are people to love and reach for our Lord and Savior. So I ask you… how many risks have you taken for Jesus lately? Isn’t it about time you upped your number?
©2009 Debbie Robus
--------------------------------------------------------------
March 3 ~ Hebrews 13:9
Don't be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don't seem to do much for those who buy them.
(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.)
”Change is good.” We’ve all heard this a zillion times, haven’t we? But when it comes to Jesus and how we worship Him, this is not always the case. And I am a firm believer in meeting people where they are and making Jesus relevant to them in a way they can understand. But how many of us have bought the fish magnet for the car, the crosses for our neck and our walls, and Christian music for our CD players and iPods, but we still “live like the devil?” In today’s culture, there has been an explosion of “Christian” ideas and “tools” and gimmicks, and we’ve bought into many of them hook line and sinker. But where does the sanctifying grace of Jesus Christ figure into all of this? Have we traded our focus on Christ for the “bells and whistles?”
Recently, I sat down at my piano and opened a book of favorite hymns. As I thumbed through the pages, I played many of them and sang the verses – words of how Jesus is the only way… praises to God and thanks for His grace and mercy over us… how Jesus’ blood had given us victory over sin and the fires of hell. The words of these hymns… some of them well over a century old… are just as real and relevant today as they were when the author wrote them. The contemporary Christian music is great – I love many of the “new” songs and even write my own! But they aren’t necessarily better than the old hymns. And quite frankly, I think we may have made a mistake to shelve the old hymns, in some instances, in favor of “new” material.
It’s not that the hymns themselves are so important – but it is more that we are always wanting something fresh and new. What we should really want is Jesus – all the time… all the way… and HE never changes! Lamentations 3:22-23 says “It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (KJV) I think the old hymns connect us to that realization – and in doing so, they still have a place in our worship, as do your crosses, your fish on your car, and your “newfangled” music. But let’s remind ourselves often that the only thing that matters is Jesus. His grace is the ONLY good ground for life. Let’s be sure to keep Him front and center!
©2009 Debbie Robus
----------------------------------------------------------------
March 2 ~ Hebrews 12:14-17
Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing - but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.
(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.)
Are there people you encounter who just “rub you the wrong way?” Throughout our lives, we will be thrust into situations with people who, for whatever reason, are weeds of bitter discontent. And we will be challenged to be kind to them and remind ourselves that they, also, are God’s precious children. While we may find it hard to believe, He loves them just as much as He loves us! I’m not saying we have to make a point to approach such people – or to go out of our way to speak to them, but when we are faced head-on with their presence, we must act out of God’s generosity toward us and be polite and tolerant of them for the moment.
In light of getting along with others, let’s talk about trading God’s gift for a short-term appetite. Who among us has not enjoyed a juicy tidbit of gossip? I have a friend who says that “Great people talk about ideas; average people talk about things, and small people talk about other people.” Rick Warren says in The Purpose Driven Life that we should tell others who “share” gossip with us that “I don’t need to know this.” And truly we do not. Even when we don’t know if we are hearing the truth or not, doesn’t that color our impression of someone else? We can no longer just love them like God loves them, because our human (sinful) nature inclines us to judge them based on what we have heard.
Words are like toothpaste – once they are out of the mouth (or tube), they are virtually impossible to retrieve. Let’s focus on God and what HE wants. Let’s remember that we are ALL His creations – and each one of us was perfectly formed by Him for His purposes. There will always be “weeds and thistles” – and we do not have to include them in our circle of friends and acquaintances. But we don’t have to talk about them, either. And when we cannot avoid speaking to them – or working with them – we must keep our eye on the prize (God’s generosity and lifelong gift) and keep our opinions to ourselves. If we want to get along with God, we have to work to get along with others.
©2009 Debbie Robus
----------------------------------------------------------------
March 1 ~ Philippians 1:3-6
Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
(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.)
I know people who start one project after another – and never finish any of them. I’m a little like that, but only because my mind races in so many directions and I have so many interests. So I find myself reading three or four books at once – a little here, a little there – and working on a scrapbook while folding laundry while writing devos and more. I guess the difference is that I do eventually finish – because it bugs me like crazy to have uncompleted projects! On a few rare occasions, I’ve had to admit that I was not going to finish something and either passed it on to someone else, shelved it unfinished for posterity, or gotten rid of it!
Man! I’m sure glad God doesn’t operate this way! Nobody has more “projects” than He does, but He never gives up! He started a good work in us, and He will stick with us until we are complete! That is such good news. Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. And I thank Him that we will NEVER be His “unfinished projects.”
©2009 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment