March 7 ~ Matthew 5:9
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.”
(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 husband and I spent 20 years developing a business together that was almost totally “people-based.” We published a magazine read, obviously, by people. The business was pretty much advertiser-driven, which meant we had lots of clients to satisfy – both subscribers AND advertisers. And since many of our advertisers were employers who hired our readers, this added another layer of relationships. At times, the balance was complicated and delicate. At times, as the editor of our magazine, my husband had to mediate disagreements between advertiser/employers and reader/employees – or with a disgruntled customer!
We were so fortunate to have very few situations like this in two decades, but I have to tell you, when I got an unpleasant phone call or e-mail, there were times I was tempted to be unpleasant in return! My husband was much better at keeping calm and resolving the situation without escalating the episode. Sometimes I would write a “retort” to someone and show it to him before I hit “send” and he would say, “you know, this needs to come out, and it would be better if you said that instead, and the overall tone is just too harsh,” and I would growl to myself (and sometimes him) as if to say, “But I WANT to be nasty back to this person!”
But that was not the way to go, and I see that more clearly now. And for the most part, I have to say I have learned to take a couple of steps back and let this type of situation settle before I react. I have learned how to help others take a new look at their own reactions, and hopefully I am learning, with God’s help how to promote a spirit of cooperation instead of competition or all-out battle. It’s not always want I WANT to do, but it’s what I know is the right thing to do – the “God-thing” to do. And in that knowledge, I find my place with God and my peace in honoring who I am – a child of the Most High God, and His servant on this earth. Nothing could be more of a blessing than this!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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March 6 ~ Matthew 5:8
"You're blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”
(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.)
Several translations of this verse say something like “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” What on earth does this mean – a pure heart – your mind and heart put right? And how will that help you “see” God?I did quite a bit of research and study and found my answer in Psalm 73. In verses 6-10, I see a description of people who are NOT pure in heart…
Pretentious with arrogance, they wear the latest fashions in violence,
Pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness.
They jeer, using words to kill; they bully their way with words.
They're full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace.
People actually listen to them - can you believe it?
Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.
Verses 21-24 continue the description, and also shed light on what happens when our heart becomes pure…
When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy,
I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence.
I'm still in your presence, but you've taken my hand.
You wisely and tenderly lead me,and then you bless me.
25-28 You're all I want in heaven! You're all I want on earth!
When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful.
Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they'll never be heard from again.
But I'm in the very presence of God - oh, how refreshing it is! I've made Lord God my home.
God, I'm telling the world what you do!
So when your heart becomes pure… when you put away the old, sinful ways and open yourself to God’s possibilities, you truly “see” Him… you truly feel His presence and recognize His hand in situations every single day. And you truly begin to live in His blessings. We all have areas where we could make our heart more pure. I encourage you to start today. Isn’t today as good a time as any to start “seeing” God and living in His blessings?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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March 5 ~ Matthew 5: 7
"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.”
(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.)
In 2004, I attended the Noah’s of Ark Walk to Emmaus. It was a tremendous experience for me, and I have found it to be the same for others who have “gone on a walk.” Some of you are part of the Emmaus community, or maybe you have been to Chrysalis, so you know what I am talking about. One of the most wonderful aspects of Emmaus is that the Pilgrims (as participants are known) are served 24/7 by others, many of whom are complete strangers. Short of bathing the Pilgrims, brushing their teeth and tucking them in at night, every need is met. Food abounds. Little love gifts – agape – are given. Surprises are planned. People from around the world pray for the Pilgrims before, during and after this 72-hour event. In a nutshell, people who don’t even know these Pilgrims – people who will never even meet them – CARE!
Now why on earth would someone who has never even met you care so deeply about you? Why would they sign up for prayer vigils in the middle of the night on your behalf? Why would they bake cookies and slice fresh fruit and send it to a “Walk” for people they don’t know? Why would people pay the $150-$200 fee to drive an hour or better and work their tail off all weekend in the kitchen or a prayer chapel, or to serve as a minister or lay leader to people they don’t know, all in the name of the Lord?I can tell you the answer to all of these questions in one word… blessings. I can tell you that for every blessing I got when I was a Pilgrim, I got ten times that many on each of the walks I’ve worked since. I have been blessed by the smiles (and tears) on the faces of others – by their gratitude – by their overwhelming sense of astonishment that so many strangers would care for their every need, purely out of love and service for God. And I have been blessed by the privilege of observing others come to a deeper understanding and relationship with Jesus Christ and how HE blesses.
If you are a person who tends NOT to care about others, you really need to reconsider. “I don’t want to get involved,” you may say. That’s well and good, but I’m here to tell you, you are missing SO much! You are missing blessings that you can’t possibly imagine. I can assure you, others care for YOU and are blessed for their efforts. You don’t have to go on a Walk to Emmaus – there are countless ways every day you can care for others. But it is time you got in on this! If you won’t do it for others, do it for yourself… the blessings will inspire you to keep going!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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March 4 ~ Matthew 5:6
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.”
(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 grandmother is a fabulous cook. Hot rolls, chicken and dumplings, sweet potato pie and biscuits with chocolate gravy are some of her specialties. In my lifetime, I can’t even count how many meals she has fed me, and she always makes even the simplest foods taste gourmet. Sometimes she will call in the morning and say, “I’m cooking supper – y’all come and eat.” Well, that’s all it takes. Our mouths start watering and we eagerly anticipate a good meal the rest of the day. Sometimes my husband will eat a light lunch, or forego eating altogether, saying, “I’m saving my appetite for supper!” And believe me, his appetite is always blessed!
Hopefully you have a grandma or someone who cooks this way for you… or you can think of your favorite meal at a restaurant. You understand the concept of working up a good appetite and then savoring each delicious morsel. Now think about your relationship with God. Are you hungry for His word and blessings in your life? Do you crave more of Him? Is His word and the blessings He bestows on you the best “Spiritual meal” you have ever eaten? Shouldn’t it be?
It’s time to change our diet. It’s time to go lightly – or not at all – on the “food” of the world and things that distract us and build our appetites for God. It’s time we learned to feed daily on Him, and as an added bonus, to fill ourselves with His blessings. Bon appetit!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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March 3 ~ Matthew 5:5
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.”
(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.)
Recently a friend wrote in an e-mail… “I guess we all have some story of doing horrid things to our bodies all in the name of beauty! Poor women – we’ve been so downtrodden we feel we have to make ourselves better in order to be worthy. Wish we'd just throw all the makeup and foundation garments away. But - - - unless everyone else does it I’m not going to!!” The same could be said for you guys… you will soon enough start to worry about losing your hair and those six-pack abs. It’s human nature to be self-conscious about our bodies – our weight, our hair, our skin, and even our shoe size! This obsession is fed by our culture and society. In some Eastern cultures, the feet of women are bound tightly to prevent growth so the foot looks smaller and more dainty. Countless women in these countries have been crippled and disfigured by this practice. We just don’t seem to be content with who we are.
I’m not saying we are wrong to be concerned with our weight, skin care, hair care, or even the neatness of our homes, cars, clothing, and other possessions. But when we start to focus on who we are and what we have in terms of things and other people, we stop being content “in our own skin.”
What can’t be bought in our lives? Our relationship with Jesus, first and foremost. We can’t buy happiness – although many try. We can’t buy a real contentment with who we are. We can’t buy relationships with others, though some will surely try. Ask God to show you how you can improve your level of contentment. Pray for Him to bless you with a sense of satisfaction with who you are in Him. “Let go and let God” and enjoy the blessings of His contentment.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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March 2 ~ Matthew 5:4
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear 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.)
What is the most dear thing in the world to you? If you answered “my girlfriend, my boyfriend, my car, my dog, my parents, my children, my health, or even my church,” you are probably in good company with many of us. We value people and things. So, when the EF-4 tornado hit north-central Arkansas and changed the lives and landscape of countless families, people naturally were sad about their losses. The home of one of my dearest friend’s mother will have to be bulldozed because it was so badly damaged. A high school classmate lost her life. The parents of a former neighbor had significant damage to their home and lost much of what they used to make a living in an upholstery business.
In each situation, people were forced to focus on what was dear to them. And while there is no way to diminish the anguish and sorry of their physical losses, these situations do make us turn to God in a new way and realize that, when everything is stripped away, He is still there! When we aren’t focused on things or people and our relationship to them, we can more clearly focus on God.
Let’s get a jump on this situation. Let’s start to focus on God now, and make Him the most dear One in our life. Don’t get to the point where it takes a crisis or a physical loss to make you realize what you already have. God is here NOW! He is what matters the most. If we make him our main focus, He will bless us in ways we can’t even imagine. What are you waiting for?
© Debbie Robus
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March 1 ~ Matthew 5: 1-3
1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
3"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”
(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.)
Many people these days are at “the end of their rope.” You may be just like them. The walls may be caving in on you – tough classes, finals, graduation, wedding plans, illness, relationship problems, death, war, financial woes… the list is endless.
I am reminded of two e-mails I received recently. One expressed the despair of a woman in the Air Force who has been deployed to Afghanistan and will be separated from her young daughters for the next 10 months. She shared with me how hard the “goodbye” was – how her 13-year-old daughter broke down – and how difficult it was to leave her. The other came from a friend who was commenting on the situation of someone who is struggling with a very serious illness. He said, “this breaks my heart.”
These sad situations break my heart, too. And at one time, I would have wallowed in that. But I have learned from passages like Matthew 5:3 – and what I have learned is to look for blessings in all situations, especially the tough ones. That little shift in MY attitude has enabled me to focus on God more and myself less – to truly desire “more of You and less of me,” as it says in the song “Empty Me,” by Jeremy Camp.
I believe that even in the middle of our worst situation… when things seem the most hopeless… God will bless us. I truly believe we are blessed at the end of our rope. Just this week my childhood friend lost her mother. In helping the family with some arrangements for the service, a cousin said, “God has just opened so many windows and doors today.” See… even in the middle of planning a funeral, God was there doling out blessings. Even in the middle of a serious illness, God can bless both the person who is ill and those who minister to him/her. Even in the middle of a heartbreaking separation, God can bless those who are separated. This can be a time when the mother ministers to her daughters and nurtures them through e-mail, letters and phone conversations.
While many of us did not know it before hand, my friend’s mother was an artist and a poet. At her funeral, many of her works were displayed. Not only are those poems and drawings treasures for this family to cherish in the years ahead, but sharing them with those of us who attended the funeral was a blessing to US, too. Even in death, God can bless.
So if you are at “the end of your rope” today, take a fresh look at your situation. Look at it with the eyes of Matthew 5:3. Where can you turn this situation around and let God bless you? Where can you empty yourself and let God pour in and fill the gaps? Please don’t miss the blessing. Be a Matthew 5:3 follower today!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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