2 Corinthians 2:10-11
I will forgive anyone you forgive. Yes, for your sake and with Christ as my witness, I have forgiven whatever needed to be forgiven. I have done this to keep Satan from getting the better of us. We all know what goes on in his mind.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Each year for Lent, I add rather than “give up” something. I take this 40-day block and read Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life* again. I think this will be at least my sixth or seventh time to study this book…and each time, I gain fresh and new insights. Yesterday represented “Day 3”…the chapter titled “What Drives Your Life?” Pastor Warren notes that… “Many people are driven by resentment and anger.” He goes on to say that we don’t release our pain and irritation… we “rehearse it over and over” in our minds. He reminds us that “Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sake, learn from it, and then let it go.”
I realize this is far more easily said than done. But I believe that Pastor Warren is right. Every single one of us will experience something that either we hold onto and allow to fester and create bitterness…or we forgive the offender and move forward. We don’t have to forget what happened…in fact, we should remember the experience and use it to motivate or remind us to create something positive. But we should not allow this to mold us or shape our future.
Think of Jesus on the cross, when He asked God to…”forgive these people! They don’t know what they’re doing.”** If Jesus could forgive the heinous atrocities done to Him in that moment… how could we ever think of doing any less in our own lives? I know that a lot of evil exists in this world. I fully understand that you may have been abandoned, bullied, abused, molested…the victim of gossip, a crime or a deceit. I realize that you may be mistreated in the workplace...or even unfairly dismissed. I know that there are a few teachers and coaches who make it very hard on certain students…and many of us will at some point feel like someone ripped out our heart and stomped on it! I totally get it that you may have felt persecuted in some manner – for years. Yes, “bad things happen to good people”…and it’s really, really tough to forgive and move forward sometimes. But we must to this in good faith as Jesus’ followers.
Read this passage from 2 Corinthians again. We must forgive others in order “to keep Satan from getting the better of us.” Let’s be honest…Satan jumps up and down with delight when we flounder, stew and ruminate on our indignations and the injustices that have been set upon us. I am reminded again of sitting at my niece’s basketball game during the state tournament. The other team had come from behind…and with each basket scored, their fans grew more and more raucous. It was absolutely no fun at all to sit a few feet from people who were jumping up and down and screaming with glee…and all at “our” expense. That’s what Satan does when we harbor feelings of un-forgiveness. And I, for one, refuse to allow him that pleasure!
If un-forgiveness is “driving” you today, I urge you to prayerfully beg God to help you release these feelings. In the words of a popular song from a recently-released children’s movie, “Let it go!” Jesus’ act of forgiveness on the cross set the stage for His entire ministry of love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. His torture and mockery have not been forgotten…but they have been transformed into a fuel for reaching the world in His name. We can show others how a man who had every right to hold a grudge “turned the other cheek” and actually interceded on the behalf of His persecutors. And if Jesus can do that, surely we can forgive those who have offended or oppressed us in some manner.
I pray it will be so… for me…for you…for all of us. It gives me great pleasure to picture the devil cowered in the corner or running for his life because he could not conquer us. To imagine myself standing at the feet of Jesus and basking in His glory and pleasure because of my obedience and compassionate spirit – even toward my “enemies” – is a beautiful thing. Where are you standing today?
©2014 Debbie Robus
*The Purpose Driven Life ~ ©2002 Zondervan Press ~ http://purposedrivenlife.com
**Luke 23:34 (CEV)
Showing posts with label The Purpose Driven Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Purpose Driven Life. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for February 14, 2013
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Unless you’ve been in a coma, you know that today is Valentine’s Day… a day when we are supposed to shower others with love in the form of cards than range from “mushy and gooey” to downright silly, flowers, balloons, candy – especially chocolate – and other gifts. More than $4 billion will be spent on jewelry alone, according to an article at www.forbes.com. Overall, this will be an $18.6 billion dollar event! People will propose marriage – and others will actually tie the knot.
Tomorrow, baskets and bins in retail outlets throughout the world will be filled with discounted leftovers. The price of fresh roses and other flowers will go down - and let’s be honest…people will not be as tender and loving toward one another. It’s as if this one day of the year wields some sort of magical power over most of us. If someone purchases one of these items today to share with a loved one, is the love any less genuine? Can your February 14th gestures of love convey how you feel about others for the rest of the year?
I do not mean to belittle Valentine’s Day. I love sending Valentines to my little nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. I enjoy making heart-shaped treats for them and imagining their little faces when they get a surprise in the mail or on their doorstep. Although we long ago agreed to stop exchanging gifts and cards, it gives me great joy to leave love notes for my husband, or to make him a special holiday breakfast… or to share a celebratory lunch or dinner. But sending gifts and cards is relatively easy. In The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren reminds us that …”If you only serve when it’s convenient, you’re not a real servant.” It would follow that if you only love on Valentine’s Day, you very well may be only pretending to love others.
The challenge for all of us is to look around and figure out who – and how – we can love 365 days a year. Where can we show others the love of Jesus with genuine words and acts of affection and honor? How can we step out of our comfort zone in order to be obedient disciples of Christ? Is the love of Jesus Christ (and grace, mercy and forgiveness that His love encompasses) so profound in our own lives that we are ready and willing to drop everything to share it with someone else? What is so important in our own lives that we don’t have time to love another in the name of Jesus… and why do we think this requires gifts, cards, candy, or jewelry?
Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to think about love. This is a great time to examine our hearts and find any corners where our expressions of love might be less than authentic. Ask God to show you where you love others conveniently or give lip service instead of genuine care and concern. Let Him show you how to love others every day of the year… to extend to them the grace, mercy, forgiveness and compassion that Jesus showers us with continually. Be a real servant and a true disciple. Make every day Valentine’s Day in Jesus’ name. Allow Jesus to use you for His glory… and get ready to be loved like mad in the bargain!
©2013 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for March 20, 2011
Psalm 56:8-13
You have kept record of my days of wandering. You have stored my tears in your bottle and counted each of them. When I pray, LORD God, my enemies will retreat, because I know for certain that you are with me. I praise your promises!
I trust you and am not afraid. No one can harm me. I will keep my promises to you, my God, and bring you gifts. You protected me from death and kept me from stumbling, so that I would please you and follow the light that leads to life.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
On a recent episode of NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?”, Rosie O’Donnell traced her ancestry from New York and New Jersey back through Quebec, Canada, to County Kildare, Ireland. Along the way, she discovered that her great-grandfather’s first wife, Anna, was badly burned in a fire in their Manhattan home in the 1800’s. Anna was cooking breakfast and holding an infant daughter, who reached out and grabbed a kerosene lantern and pulled it toward the stove, where it exploded. The baby was not injured (probably do to the heroics of her mother), but Anna suffered for 20 days before dying. Anyone who has spent time with a small baby knows how quickly they can grab something and innocently cause havoc… so I truly felt for this woman and her family.
But that’s not all… Rosie discovered that her great-grandfather, Michael (husband of Anna), was born in Quebec… after his parents emigrated from Ireland, somewhere between 1846 and 1861, when the Murtagh family first appears in a Canadian census. Rosie learns that her great-great grandparents and four children were so poor that they had to enter a “Poor Law workhouse” during the potato famine. She visited a “workhouse” similar to the one in which her ancestors were placed, and she was devastated to see the conditions there. Straw mattresses were placed on the floor, with as many as four people assigned to one bed. Children ages 2-15 were separated from their families and relegated to the top floor. The women were placed in one area – the men in another. Over one million people died during the potato famine… many of them children, who were especially susceptible to disease and infection. Just thinking about someone taking my children from me as I entered such a place… cold, hungry and desperate… gave me chills and made me heartsick.
Rosie found records from 1854 indicating her great-great grandparents were living in a workhouse, but she also discovered that two men in charge recommended this family as suitable candidates to emigrate to Canada. Moved to tears, Rosie considers the incredible hardships her ancestors endured. She recognizes the success and accomplishments that she and her siblings have enjoyed, and she realizes that her life has always been blessed. She says in the episode that she would not be here, were it not for the two men who recommended her ancestors for emigration.
Surely God stored the tears of Rosie’s ancestors in His bottle and numbered them. Surely He had his hand upon this family – and others - even in the suffering that their great-great-granddaughter endured – and Rosie compared to a concentration camp. Rosie was able to do what King David did in the Psalm… look beyond her sadness, grief, and suffering and see the blessings God was preparing for her. And we can do the same. Every family… and every life… will have times of challenge, hardship, sadness, and suffering on some level. No one is immune to these tools of the devil… his attempts to drag us down and make us turn our back on God.
Rick Warren says in The Purpose Driven Life that “You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared to what God has planned for you…faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns.” When we stop and consider this, we can see that what we consider to be extremely difficult… even horrific… times in our lives are truly just bumps in the road in the overall scheme of God’s plans for us.
If we can learn to focus on worshipping God and making Him smile… if we can look beyond our immediate little world and realize that there is a much bigger picture, we can begin to live in the blessings that God has for us. When we realize just how important we are to Him… how everything weaves together to bring us to the exact spot we are now… we more clearly see how important it is that we stay faithful and do our part to honor and glorify the One who counts our tears.
Sometimes it’s hard to see the blessings and the intricate details of how God is working on our behalf, because we get bogged down in the everyday incidents and focus too much on the immediate rather than the long-term. Where do you need to adjust your focus? Ask God to show you how to trust Him more… and trust His promises. Begin to operate in faith that He will not only number your tears… but your steps as well. Realize how blessed you are to be a child of God… and start to live accordingly!
©2011 Debbie Robus
You have kept record of my days of wandering. You have stored my tears in your bottle and counted each of them. When I pray, LORD God, my enemies will retreat, because I know for certain that you are with me. I praise your promises!
I trust you and am not afraid. No one can harm me. I will keep my promises to you, my God, and bring you gifts. You protected me from death and kept me from stumbling, so that I would please you and follow the light that leads to life.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
On a recent episode of NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?”, Rosie O’Donnell traced her ancestry from New York and New Jersey back through Quebec, Canada, to County Kildare, Ireland. Along the way, she discovered that her great-grandfather’s first wife, Anna, was badly burned in a fire in their Manhattan home in the 1800’s. Anna was cooking breakfast and holding an infant daughter, who reached out and grabbed a kerosene lantern and pulled it toward the stove, where it exploded. The baby was not injured (probably do to the heroics of her mother), but Anna suffered for 20 days before dying. Anyone who has spent time with a small baby knows how quickly they can grab something and innocently cause havoc… so I truly felt for this woman and her family.
But that’s not all… Rosie discovered that her great-grandfather, Michael (husband of Anna), was born in Quebec… after his parents emigrated from Ireland, somewhere between 1846 and 1861, when the Murtagh family first appears in a Canadian census. Rosie learns that her great-great grandparents and four children were so poor that they had to enter a “Poor Law workhouse” during the potato famine. She visited a “workhouse” similar to the one in which her ancestors were placed, and she was devastated to see the conditions there. Straw mattresses were placed on the floor, with as many as four people assigned to one bed. Children ages 2-15 were separated from their families and relegated to the top floor. The women were placed in one area – the men in another. Over one million people died during the potato famine… many of them children, who were especially susceptible to disease and infection. Just thinking about someone taking my children from me as I entered such a place… cold, hungry and desperate… gave me chills and made me heartsick.
Rosie found records from 1854 indicating her great-great grandparents were living in a workhouse, but she also discovered that two men in charge recommended this family as suitable candidates to emigrate to Canada. Moved to tears, Rosie considers the incredible hardships her ancestors endured. She recognizes the success and accomplishments that she and her siblings have enjoyed, and she realizes that her life has always been blessed. She says in the episode that she would not be here, were it not for the two men who recommended her ancestors for emigration.
Surely God stored the tears of Rosie’s ancestors in His bottle and numbered them. Surely He had his hand upon this family – and others - even in the suffering that their great-great-granddaughter endured – and Rosie compared to a concentration camp. Rosie was able to do what King David did in the Psalm… look beyond her sadness, grief, and suffering and see the blessings God was preparing for her. And we can do the same. Every family… and every life… will have times of challenge, hardship, sadness, and suffering on some level. No one is immune to these tools of the devil… his attempts to drag us down and make us turn our back on God.
Rick Warren says in The Purpose Driven Life that “You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared to what God has planned for you…faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns.” When we stop and consider this, we can see that what we consider to be extremely difficult… even horrific… times in our lives are truly just bumps in the road in the overall scheme of God’s plans for us.
If we can learn to focus on worshipping God and making Him smile… if we can look beyond our immediate little world and realize that there is a much bigger picture, we can begin to live in the blessings that God has for us. When we realize just how important we are to Him… how everything weaves together to bring us to the exact spot we are now… we more clearly see how important it is that we stay faithful and do our part to honor and glorify the One who counts our tears.
Sometimes it’s hard to see the blessings and the intricate details of how God is working on our behalf, because we get bogged down in the everyday incidents and focus too much on the immediate rather than the long-term. Where do you need to adjust your focus? Ask God to show you how to trust Him more… and trust His promises. Begin to operate in faith that He will not only number your tears… but your steps as well. Realize how blessed you are to be a child of God… and start to live accordingly!
©2011 Debbie Robus
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