July 21 ~ Galatians 5:13
It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?
(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.)
We all know that the natural progression of life ends in death. And as we age, more and more friends and acquaintances in our “circle” die. Sadly, I have learned of the death of folks I have known all my life, and my first question – if only to myself – is, “were they a Christian?” You see, it’s not that the person was not a nice person or lived a life that was outwardly sinful in nature. But sometimes there was nothing about the person’s life that outwardly indicated they were serving others in Jesus’ name.
Sure, you can’t get to heaven on good works and deeds. BUT… if you live your life in a way that doesn’t give others any hint of your faith – or worse yet, you claim to be a Christian and follow Jesus, but your lifestyle indicates anything BUT a Godly existence – you are abusing the freedom of a life in Christ Jesus.Truly, the life of a Christian is a “higher calling.” “But wait!” you may be saying – “Higher calling? I never signed on to become a preacher!” No, that is not what I mean… the “higher calling” to which I refer is that of a life that is above reproach. That means our goal is no longer how hearty we can party, or how much we can win at Tunica, or even how many people like us and want to include us in their social circle. Our goal is now to reach as many people for Jesus as possible… to love others, even when they are hard to love… to be the hands and feet of Jesus wherever and whenever we can – in ways great and small.
“But that will take time – and I’m tapped out already!” you may be saying. Sure, it will take time… anything worthwhile does. But can I tell you something? A few weeks ago, I spent an hour at a local nursing home, playing hymns for a friend of mine who is a resident there, as well as other residents who came to listen to the music. I had promised this friend a concert as a birthday present… for her 100th birthday! I have to tell you, the nursing home is NOT my favorite place. I would really rather do just about anything than spend an hour there. But you know what happened? I saw those residents come out of their funk and their fog and light up with smiles as they hummed along to the tunes of those hymns. They might have not had a clue where they were or who I was, but when they heard the hymns, they remembered the choruses and the tunes, and for a few minutes they were young again – and happy! It truly was one of the best hours I’ve spent in a long, long time… and I promised I would return – and I will.
How does playing hymns at a nursing home for people who won’t remember serve Jesus? I am loving those who, for many, have become unlovely. I am giving to grandmothers and grandfathers and aunts and uncles who are special to someone – especially Jesus. That could be you or me someday. Wouldn’t you want someone to come along and jar you back into the past for a few minutes and sing a hymn with you? They are trapped in a nursing home, but for a few minutes, they could have been anywhere on earth as they hummed and sang.So, how can you use your freedom in Christ this week to share Him – and the freedom He offers – with others? How can you serve? Who can you love who seems unlovely? Where can you rearrange your priorities to give up old ways that trap you and truly experience freedom in Christ Jesus? The freedom He offers IS precious – how will you grow yours?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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July 20 ~ Galatians 5:2
I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law.
(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 been to a theme park or a concert where the workers stamped your hand at the entrance? If you left the venue, the only way to get in again was to show this hand stamp. Don’t have a stamp? You stay out!
Thankfully, there is no “hand-stamp” or magic ritual or any other physical requirement to enter the Kingdom of God. ALL you have to do is invite Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your life and to forgive you of yours sins. Baptism won’t “save” you. Participating in the Lord’s Supper won’t get you into heaven. Even going to church in and of itself will not get you into heaven or make you a Christian. In Old Testament days, the men had to be circumcised to indicate loyalty and adherence to Jewish law… and to God. Sins were paid for with burnt offerings and the sacrifices of animals. Thankfully that all went out the window when Jesus came to earth and died on the cross!
Recently we watched a travelogue DVD – “Michael Palin’s New Europe” – in which Palin traveled across Europe from Slovenia to Croatia to the Ukraine, and ultimately through Latvia and what was East Berlin. In one of the villages along the route, Palin watched as men carried a beautiful little white lamb up a mountainous trek to a “minister” who slit the lamb’s throat as a sacrifice that was supposed to bring blessings on the family of the lamb’s owners. Palin cringed, as did we, as the blood flowed out on to the brick pavement, and he said, “I’ve seen this before, and I never get used to it.” I’ve said before, I would never have made a good Old Testament times person! And thankfully, such sacrifices – while practiced still by some religions – are a thing of the past for Christians. We are free… and no ritual or sacrificial lamb or burnt offering – no hand stamp or physical mark… is required to get into Heaven. All that is required is our faith and surrender to Jesus. WOW! Freedom in Jesus IS a gift - in every sense of the word!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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July 19 ~ Galatians 5:1
Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on 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.)
When I was in the fourth or fifth grade, my friend Louann invited me to come home with her one Friday and spend the night. I so wanted to go. Louann lived “out in the country,” where her family had a “farm.” My mother knew Louann had ponies, and she admonished me NOT to ride one. However, Louann convinced me they were very gentle then laughed when the ”gentle” one she chose for me bucked me to the ground. Mistake #1!!
Louann had a brother who must have been about 15. She and I were both probably 10. Louann also had a cousin who was about the same age as her brother who was visiting for the weekend. These two boys were mean. They got some baling twine from the barn and tied our hands and feet. (Have I told you I am claustrophobic and cannot STAND to be restrained?!) Then they held us to the ground – at knife-point! Okay, so it was their pocket knife, I think – or maybe a hunting knife – but I was scared to DEATH! Louann also found this situation all rather funny and silly, and knowing these boys much better, she was not bothered in the least by this, which frustrated me to no end. I don’t know if I ever stayed at her house again. It didn’t totally ruin the weekend for me, but I still remember it, some forty years later, and I vowed that I would NEVER be placed in that situation again.
In life, we are so often tied and threatened, so to speak. We are restrained by our sinful nature and how attractive Satan makes sin, and even as believers we are restrained by our lack of faith and our ineffectiveness as followers of Christ and witnesses. It’s time to take a stand! Christ HAS freed us, with His own blood. So why in the world are we still tied and lying under Satan’s knife-point? Why are we still “baby Christians” who don’t understand the richness of a life filled with Bible study, prayer, fellowship with others, and opportunities to witness? Why are we still disobeying and trying to do things our way?
What is holding YOU back today? Figure it out. Ask God to show you how to get out of the “baling twine” and away from the “knife” and NEVER, NEVER, EVER go back to that existence again!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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July 18 ~ Galatians 3:23
Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out 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.)
Have you ever had a savings bond? If so, you probably put it somewhere to keep it safe for a few years until it matured to its full value. You might even have locked it away at a bank in a safe deposit box! As the years pass, the bond increased in value. You paid $XX.00 for it, but when it fully matured, it was worth more. If you cashed it early, you would not get the full value. When the day arrived that the bond had matured to full value, you were free to cash it for that amount and spend the money however you pleased.
In Old Testament days, God gave Moses laws for us to follow, because He knew His children were not mature enough in their faith to live a life that served Him and pleased Him without them. They needed guidance – a plan – to make sure they lived as they should. Then Jesus came and died for our sins, and the old laws, while still important, underwent a facelift. No longer do we have to sacrifice burnt offerings to God for our sins. No longer do we have to take our petitions for God to a high priest who enters the Holy of Holies and talks to God for us – we talk to Him directly through our prayers. As we grow in our walk with Jesus, we no longer have to wonder IF He will fulfill His promises… we have faith that the question is now WHEN He will come again.
See, like a savings bond, God bound our ancestors with the laws He gave to Moses, for safekeeping. Now that He has sent Jesus, we are free to worship by faith, and as we mature in our faith, we experience more and more of the freedom of God’s grace and mercy – more and more of the blessings He has for us. We also experience more opportunities to serve Him and share our faith with others. We can "cash in" immediately on God's grace and mercy through Jesus. But there is an "added value” to our Spiritual savings bond. In a way, you could say the value of that bond has increased. There are more opportunities, more blessings, and the promise we will REALLY “cash in” someday in Heaven! Now that's a deal we can't afford to miss!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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July 17 ~ 2 Corinthians 11:16
Let me come back to where I started—and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down—even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff.
(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 teaching kindergarten, I had to place a little girl in “time-out” one day for 10 minutes. Her mother came to school and complained that “Ten minutes is absolutely too long to expect a 5-year-old to sit still!” Really? Then why can she sit for over an hour and watch a cartoon show or a movie on video or DVD? And why can we sit still for all sorts of trivial activities and information that we allow to invade our thoughts and lives. We sit through long movies and concerts. We hang out with friends at bars and casinos for hours on end. We waste hours playing video games on the computer – or just “surfing the ‘net.”
And yet… when it comes to God, we don’t have time. Suddenly we have bad knees that don’t allow us to kneel and a terrible cough that would disrupt the congregation, or we were up too late and can’t get ready that early, or we would rather sleep in on Sunday and then have coffee and read the newspaper. Or that is our “family day,” and there is no way we can get to church and have lunch on the table – or our family would never understand if we skipped meeting them for brunch (or golf or whatever) to go to church.
And then there is the service. The music is too loud (or too contemporary, or the hymns too old and un-meaningful). The pastor’s preaching style is not one we enjoy. We want more talk and less scripture – or we want more scripture and less talk. The people are unfriendly. There is no parking close to the sanctuary. The excuses are endless. And the Apostle Paul says they are all garbage!
As we say in the South, “that dog won’t hunt!” If we can give all manner of time to things that are not of God, we can give an ear and an hour to Him on Sunday. We can find time to make it to the annual church picnic or take a youth group to a Christian concert. We can find time to read our Bible and pray. We can watch a movie with a wholesome message or read a book that has a Spiritual theme. We can take time to visit the sick and comfort those in need. We will make time for almost anything we want to do… when what we really need to do is make time for JESUS! So what does that tell you about our priorities? Isn't it time we all give our time management a makeover?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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July 16 ~ 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
16-18 Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
(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 of you are too young to remember an old TV game show called “Let’s Make a Deal.” On this show, the host – Monty Hall - often made a “deal” with someone from the audience that involved choosing what was behind a curtain on the stage. Hall would say to the crowd… I’ll pay $50 to the first person who can show me an extra pair of pantyhose (or some other weird item) in their purse or pocket! And sure enough, somebody would have the weird item. That person would then get to go on and “deal” for bigger and better prizes. Sometimes, they might win something like a refrigerator or a pop-up camper, and Hall would say, “You can keep what you have, or you can trade it for what is behind curtain #1.” The participant would squirm and frown and think and finally make a choice. Sometimes the person sat down with what he/she had won already. Usually they chose the prize behind the curtain – and sometimes it was not as nice, but sometimes it was really big, like a new car or a boat, or a nice trip somewhere. And the contestant’s face lit up at the sight of the shiny bright object, and the crowd roared, and everyone jumped up and down and was so excited!
Many people have an image in their minds of how God looks. To non-Christians, he is a rather nebulous figure – the God behind Curtain #1 – and they think of Him in terms of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, “the man upstairs,” or this all-encompassing Being one turns to in a crunch or crisis. This narrow vision of God is really rather confining. The person is not free to truly experience Him and all that He offers us because of this barrier.
When we give our hearts to God and accept Jesus as our Savior – when we choose to trade in our old, sinful life for what is behind Curtain #1, so to speak – all is revealed. We no longer have to imagine God – we experience Him. “Really?” you might ask! “How do we experience God?” When we open our hearts and minds to God and surrender, His Spirit fills us, and like the bright shiny prizes behind the curtain on the TV show, we bask in the glow of God’s warmth – His grace and mercy. We no longer have to figure everything out on our own or with the help of outside influences – we can go to the Source – through prayer, Bible study, AND fellowship with fellow believers. We don’t have to wander in the darkness behind the barrier, because God has removed it, and His Holy Spirit is our constant companion.
For so many of us, the decision is just as difficult as it was for those zany contestants on the TV game show. Do we want the relative “safety” of the confinement to our present situation and sinful nature? Or do we want to “go for it” – to “let go and let God” and gain the biggest Prize of our lives? Unlike the game show, there are no “duds” behind the curtain… there is the amazing “prize” of God and the freedom of living in and for Him. So what are you waiting for? Which will you choose?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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July 15 ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31
So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.
(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 watched children who are playing tag, and the person who is being chased eludes the person who is “it” and makes it to a safe place… a “free” zone. Quite often, the child who escaped being caught will taunt the other, as in “Ha, ha! You can’t catch me!” Seems harmless, doesn’t it? Taunting is often harmless in a child’s game of tag… but the same thing done by one athlete to another in a football or basketball game can be serious – so serious that it is now considered a major offense and dealt with accordingly in these sports.
We Christians are often guilty of taunting. It starts out innocently enough. We are so excited and enthused by our faith and our “freedom” in being a child of God and serving Him. But remember that the other guy may not be as far along in his/her Spiritual journey – or he/she may not be a Christian at all. The person you are trying to reach may practice another “religion” besides Christianity, and telling this person that he/she is going to hell may not be the way to convince them to “switch sides.” In fact, it really IS a sort of “taunting” that may serve to turn them against Christianity for good and cause you to lose your opportunity to witness.
Think of it this way… suppose someone who was practicing another religious belief condemned YOU to hell and told you that YOUR faith in Jesus was wrong? You’d be mad as a hornet, wouldn’t you?! Suppose your friend mocked “Holy Communion” and baptism as “pagan rituals”. You would not be happy with that person at all. Now, think about us as Christians. Don’t we do that? Don’t we criticize other “religious practices,” roll our eyes and cluck our tongues?
I am not saying that I believe in the Koran, meditation altars and incense, the Book of Mormon, witchcraft, or any other religious practice or teaching. I am a Christian, and I believe there is ONE WAY to Heaven – and that is by accepting Jesus Christ, Who bought and paid for our sins on the cross with His very blood. I want EVERYONE else to believe this, too… not because I am right, but because a life in Christ is EVERYTHING to me and so glorious and freeing that I want everyone else to share in it. I also want others to become a Christian because this is what God has commanded as our goal.
BUT… Paul is telling us that God has clearly mandated us to win others to His Kingdom with love and kindness – not taunting, callousness and criticism. Hurting someone’s feelings “in the name of Jesus” is not scriptural – and here’s the proof in 1 Corinthians! Some like to argue that this amounts to “sugarcoating the truth of the Gospel,” but honestly, embarrassment and humiliation is not going to change a person’s mind, and it might just rob us of a chance to do so in a loving manner. SO… when your friends start to discuss their interest or involvement in Buddhism, Cabala, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Judaism, Mormonism, Native American Spiritualism, Scientology, Unitarian-Universalism, Witchcraft, or any other religious belief system that is different from yours, don’t openly condemn these beliefs. Rather, share the wonders and glories of the “all-you-can-eat-buffet” that is the freedom of living as a Christian, because of Jesus. Show them how amazing living for Jesus can be – by your own example – and give them a model they want so desperately for themselves that they HAVE to choose God’s glory. Don’t operate in guilt, fear and shame… share God’s grace and mercy, and see how much more you accomplish for His Kingdom!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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