Daily Devotional for May 26, 2015

James 2:19-20
Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?

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.

When Timothy was in pre-K, his class presented a Christmas program for parents, family members and friends in the sanctuary of the church campus where his “school” was held.  We were not sure what Timothy would do – or if he would even perform.  But as his class took its turn on the stage, he sang sweetly, did all of the choreography, and beamed with pride.  And when his group finished their numbers, he bowed to the audience’s applause.  He gave us the “thumbs up” and grinned from ear to ear…obviously proud of how he had performed. 

After this performance, everyone had two choices…1) to celebrate the children’s performance and encourage them to continue learning new “material” and sharing it with others; or 2) to say, “Good job!” and go on our merry way and forget about what happened…and leave those children to their own devices.  We have these same choices with new Christians, and I’m afraid that the latter is what happens quite often.

As James points out in this passage, it is one thing to decide to accept Jesus Christ…and totally another to truly live for Him.  A lot of us seem to be playing a “numbers game” in our churches.  Let’s add new members, put them to work and encourage them to “give of their time, talents and money.”  We’re all about bringing someone to know Jesus and/or join our church body.  But what happens then?  Do we nurture these people in their faith?  Do we check up on them to see how they are doing…encourage them to get to know God through scriptures and time spent in prayer and fellowship with other believers…offer them support and uplift them in their newfound faith or church home?  Or do we record their name on a membership roll and move on to the next “target”?

What about your own Christian relationship?  Have you invited Jesus to be your Lord and Savior…accepted His gift of salvation and the promise of Eternal Life in Paradise…then gone right back to your old way of living?  As I have asked before, are you “in it” for the “get-out-of-hell ticket”…or do you really want a relationship with Jesus?  Do you truly want to live in the light of His grace, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional love…or did you accept Him out of a sense of guilt, desperation, fear - or even peer pressure? 

Are you really ready to study, learn and grow in your faith…and to become all that Jesus is calling you to be as His disciple?  Or are you just one more mark in the Lamb’s Book of Life who took a bow, gave the thumbs up, and then went on your merry way?  Are you making a point as a Christian…or is Jesus really making a difference in your life?  ANYONE can say that they love Jesus and accept His gift of salvation…but this is only the beginning – or at least it should be!

What will your next move be? Will you move forward with Jesus…or remain stuck in the mud and muck of your old, sinful life?  Will this be the day that you start to figure out where to go from here?  Don’t you think it should be?

©2015 Debbie Robus


On a "housekeeping" note...I should have included these "homemade cleaner" recipes yesterday...so here goes...

Basic Cleaner...2 parts hydrogen peroxide to 1 part Dawn® dishwashing liquid.  Great for pre-soaking clothing!  If you are cleaning something like a rug stain and need less suds, use less Dawn®!

Heavy Cleaner (tile grout, etc.)...add 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda to the peroxide and Dawn® mixture.  Do this in smaller quantities to get the full benefit of the "fizz" that the soda creates...similar to Oxy-clean.

Hardwood Floor Cleaner - 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup alcohol, 2-3 drops Dawn® dish soap.  This works GREAT, cleans the floors AND smells wonderful!