January 14 ~ Acts 11:22-24
When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit's ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.
(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 gone to a sporting event where the cheerleaders really had the crowd revved up and “into” the game? Did it make a difference in how the team performed? Have you ever noticed how when the opponent “takes the wind out of the sails” of your team, the crowd sometimes goes “flat?” Conversely, when your team makes a “run,” the crowd can come back and get energized and even affect the outcome of the game?
There are a lot of areas of life that operate similarly to this… and one of these is our Christian life. If people get “fired up” and excited about church and Bible study and worship, it can be infectious. Others jump on board, and attendance may increase, and certainly, the mood may improve among those who are involved on a regular basis. And often, this enthusiasm starts with one person – or two or three at best.
The sad thing is that it only takes one person to start to drag things in the WRONG direction. One person, believe it or not, can seriously affect the life of a church. Trust me, nobody knows this better than Satan! So he is watching all the time for someone he can persuade… someone he can drag down and depress and disgruntle. It doesn’t have to be church attendance itself… negativity in any area in the life of a Christian is Satan’s goal.
We must guard our hearts at all times. We must not let Satan have us as a vessel for doing his work. We must be like the cheerleaders at the ballgame, keeping our fellow believers revved up for Jesus and working for His kingdom. So everybody raise your hands and say it with me… “Let’s go, Christians!” (clap-clap-clap-clap; clap-clap-clap-clap) “Let’s go, Christians!” Get your blood pumping for Him and fill your heart with joy! Stay strong in the Master… and grow more confident in His ways each day!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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January 13 ~ John 15:9-10
I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.
(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 little kid, I lived in a very close-knit neighborhood. We had neighbors who were just about as comfortable in our home as their own – and vice versa. It was nothing for my “Aunt Martha” from next door to walk in during a meal, grab an extra plate and sit down to the table to join us. If she needed ketchup from the fridge, she helped herself. She would pour herself a glass of tea or a Coke, and she made herself completely at home – and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. We loved “Aunt Martha” and welcomed her visits… and conversely, we felt at home in her house and the homes of our other neighbors.
Because our mother had taught us not to help ourselves without being invited, we were polite when we visited, and waited to be offered a cookie or something to drink. But we always felt welcome. In fact, ours was such a cozy, tight-knit neighborhood that people felt comfortable dropping in for coffee in the early morning when you were still in your pajamas and robe – and they wearing theirs, too! Now I can’t say there weren’t some squabbles in the neighborhood from time to time – maybe more than were disclosed to us kids - but we felt such a warmth and intimacy in our relationships with many of the neighbors, and we felt very much at home in each others’ love.
I am comforted to know that Jesus loves like that – like my dear neighbors, and even more deeply than they loved! He is every bit at home in my heart, and I in His! I am welcome there. I can pull up a chair to His table and help myself to the meatloaf, mashed potatoes and iced tea! I can come as I am – pj’s, robe, and all. No need to fix up and “put on airs” for Jesus… He loves us just the way we are, 24/7! Of course, just like when I was a child and knew to respect the homes and property of others and not help myself without asking, Jesus asks us to abide by His “house rules,” so to speak. He asks us to keep His commandments, as He has done with HIS Father God, and to walk in His ways. If we do this, His door will always be open, and His heart will be full of love for us.
I long to be Jesus’ forever neighbor… and to experience His loving welcome all hours of the night and day. I pray that we might each be able to claim a place of intimacy in His home – both now and for all Eternity.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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January 12 ~ John 15:4-8
4 "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
5-8 "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
(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.)
All of my life, a good pot of brown/pinto beans has been a “comfort food” in my family. Do you know how to cook a good pot of beans? It starts with a relationship. First you have to take dried beans and submerge them in a large bowl of water for several hours – or even overnight. And you know what happens? As those beans absorb the water, they swell! By morning, it appears that you have twice as many beans or more, as each bean takes on water. Try cooking dried beans without soaking them sometime and see what happens – you end up with a pot of small, shriveled,rock-hard kernels you can barely chew! Yes, a good pot of brown/pinto beans starts with a soaking in water!
Now imagine that we are the beans… dried, shriveled, and hard. Jesus is the water. His death on the cross acts like the hydration that fills us, softens the edges, removes all of the sins and fills us with abundant life. We become new creatures in Him, just like those hard dried beans transform and become something much more palatable!
So Vine:branches – water:beans… either one without the other is unproductive. I know this sounds silly, but think of it this way… be a bean for Jesus! Soak up all He gives you, fill yourself with Him and give Him a home. Mature and swell in His love and be everything He is calling you to be. If you ever planted a bean as a child, you probably soaked it overnight first to fill it with water, and then you put it into the dirt. Several days later, a leafy green plant began to emerge… and theoretically, that plant could produce even more beans. Fill yourself with Jesus, so that you can be productive and show others how to live in Him, also! Now let’s get busy – we’ve got some soaking and growing to do!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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January 11 ~ John 10:25-30
Jesus answered, "I told you, but you don't believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don't believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind."
(Scripture 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.)
Jesus tells us that His sheep know His voice. When He speaks, they recognize Him. And as the Great Shepherd, He protects them. I don’t know whether YOU hear Jesus’ voice or not. I hope so! But He clearly shows that some will not recognize Him, because they are not His sheep. “And just what is in it for me?” you might ask. Look at what He promises. Jesus’ sheep receive real and eternal life. They are protected – NO ONE can steal them from His hand or get them away from Him. I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty good to me!
I know following Jesus is all about faith and trust. We are trusting that the Bible is infallible and that all of the things Jesus commands us to do really did come from Him. We are believing that God truly did authorize Jesus to heal the sick, blind and crippled. We accept on faith that Jesus fed thousands with a small sack lunch, turned water into wine, and died on the cross for our sins - then rose again three days later. We are trusting that He truly does hold us in His hands and protect us – both now and for all eternity. I believe all of this and more because I WANT to be His sheep. When I asked Him to be my Shepherd, something changed inside, and now I am certain I hear His voice – that I belong to Him. I do not want to be “fair game” for the one He refers to as “The Destroyer!” That doesn’t sound very pleasant to me!
If you are not yet one of Jesus’ sheep – if you do not hear His voice calling to you and His arms protecting you – or if you have wandered away - this can all change. Humbly ask Jesus to become your Great Shepherd. Ask Him to forgive your sins and be the Lord of your life forever and ever. Free yourself from any possibility of capture by the “Destroyer and Thief” and start believing – and hearing - today!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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January 10 ~ John 8:31-32
Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you."
(Scripture 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.)
Sticking with it… why is this such a hard concept for us much of the time? We stick with our resolutions – all day January 1st! We stick with a diet for a few days – or maybe even for the first 10 lbs. – and then, we’re right back to the fridge and the cookie jar! We stick with an exercise program until it gets hot – or cold – or we get the flu and miss a week or two – and then we just never seem to get back to it. We set out to get a degree in something and find a good job in a chosen field, but then “life happens,” and we never seem to get back to where we left off and finish.
We have drawers full of unfinished projects – half-painted rooms and gardens we started but never completed. And worst of all, we have lives that we set out to live for Christ, and somewhere along the way, we derailed. I don’t know about you, but unfinished projects drive me wacky! They gnaw at the corners of my mind and call to me… “What about that material you bought for making pillows and never used? What about all those photos you were going scan and/or put into a scrapbook? It’s been three days since you even looked at the treadmill. When was the last time you cracked open your Bible? Just HOW long has it been since you went to church or even thought about your relationship with God?”
Slowly but surely, unfinished business – of any kind, but especially the Spiritual kind – begins to wear on us. It begins to imprison us and make us feel heavily burdened. We buy into all sorts of lies and excuses to try to make ourselves feel better, but honestly, there is only One Way out – only ONE TRUTH… and that is JESUS! He will lead us and help us to live in a way that glorifies Him. He will free us from the burdens of unfinished business. I can’t promise He will keep you on your diet or finish your project or your college degree for you, but I know He will surely help YOU to do it! Sticking with it… finishing what you start and running the good race – especially when it comes to living for Jesus… will give you a freedom better than you ever imagined. What could be better than this?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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January 9 ~ John 6:35-38
Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don't really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.
(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 bet at least once during the holidays you ate so much that you thought you couldn’t possibly hold one more morsel. You felt if you ate or drank anything else, you might absolutely explode! And for awhile at least, that feeling of fullness stayed around. You didn’t want to even think about more food or drink! Imagine being that full Spiritually – and all the time! Imagine being so full of Jesus that you thought your heart might just explode through your chest. Sounds crazy? It’s not! Jesus wants to fill us this way… and He can, if we will stay close to Him.
You may wonder if I am saying that Jesus will fill us so completely that we don’t need more of Him. No… we must constantly feed on His word… pray… study and fellowship with others… minister and witness. In other words, in order to stay FULL, we have to continually be reloading AND sharing! The food we eat and drink each day may fill us for a short while… maybe even a day or so… but eventually, we have to stop and have a meal and replenish our body. The “Bread of Life” replenishes constantly… IF we stay close to Jesus.
I love the part of this passage that says “once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go.” That is such a beautiful image… of Jesus holding onto me and not letting go. I pray that this is true for you, also. I pray that you have run into Jesus’ arms and He has you wrapped securely there. I pray that you are feeding continually on the Bread of Life. If you aren’t, don’t you think it’s time to start? All you have to do is to desire a constant relationship with Jesus… and then invite Him to live in your heart and be the Lord of your life. It’s that easy. We can all hunger and thirst no more in Him. Run to Jesus, and rest in His arms today.
©2008 Debbie Robus
January 8 ~ Luke 22:31-32
Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start.
(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.)
Okay, show of hands… how many of you feel like Simon? How many of you feel like Satan has tried his best to separate you from God? Man, I know I have! I think to myself, “Why did I say that?” or “What was I thinking?” or “Come back, God… come BACK! How could He let such a terrible thing happen?” There have been times when I wondered, “What’s the point? Nothing seems to be working and things seem to be just getting steadily worse! If God loves me, how could He desert me like this?” And I bet you have felt the same way!
But the truth of the matter is that while God does NOT desert us. Satan truly DOES do all he can to pull us away from our Heavenly Father. It is SATAN who plants those doubts and fears. It is Satan who gives us frustrations and temptations and tests to steer us in the wrong direction. It is vital that we realize that Satan is the bad guy here… certainly not God! The devil is real, and he is on the job 24/7, and we have to fight and stay strong to ward off his attempts to derail us.
My prayer is that each of us would not give in or “give out.” My prayer is that we would turn to our Christian friends and family for support and encouragement. And in turn, as we come through our own trials and tests, we must be there for others. We’re all in this together… so stay on your toes and stay strong in the Lord!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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