Matthew 15:13-20
Jesus answered, “Every plant
that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by the roots.
Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other
blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch.”
Peter replied, “What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?”
Jesus
then said: Don’t any of you know what I am talking about by now? Don’t
you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach
and then out of your body? But the words that come out of your mouth
come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God.
Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in
marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others.
These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will
not make you unfit to worship God.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Our
three-year-old nephew, Nathan, is in his “bath phase.” He begs to take
a bath at our house…which is more like a “swim” in a small pool with
lots of tub toys! One day last week, his mother said that he had three
baths in one day…one before coming to our house, a 30-minute soak with
us, and another bath that he insisted on taking before bedtime. Nathan
is one clean three-year-old!
If only we could soak in a bubble
bath and wash our heart clean…what a quick, easy “fix” that would be!
But this is not how matters of the heart and Christian faith work…and
sadly, Jesus says that our heart is what truly makes us unclean. I want
you to notice the list of “unclean” thoughts and actions in this
scripture passage that Jesus says come from our heart…and among them, He
lists “unfaithfulness in marriage” and “insulting others.” In my mind,
Jesus is painting with a broad brush today…and catching a lot of us
with each “stroke!”
Most of us would readily agree that things
like lying, stealing, and murder are sinful – or “unclean” – actions.
But when you start to recognize that putting work, a friendship, the
love of possessions and quest for more, or a hobby above your spouse and
family falls into the category of “unfaithfulness”…a whole lot of
people are caught in the snare. When you stop to think that the unkind
comments we all make…the criticisms, judgments and discriminations…are
all considered part of “insulting others,” we are all incredibly
guilty. Each one of us could use an extra “bath!”
The time has
come to stop picking and choosing. We’ve pigeonholed sin into neat
little categories…usually those that we feel do not encompass our own
thoughts, words, and actions. We’ve excused ourselves and pretended that
it’s the other guy who is really unclean and in need of a bath in the
blood of Jesus! Dear friend, you and I need this cleansing just as much
as anyone. We need to examine our heart and see what lies there…and we
need to ask Jesus to wash us clean from the inside out, once and for
all.
Are you ready to come before God and allow Him to strip
away the dirt and grime of your unclean actions and attitudes? Will
this be the day that you get an extra “bath” – one that signifies the
beginning of a renewed, pure heart? Don’t you think it should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label coming clean with God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coming clean with God. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for August 18, 2015
John 3:16-17
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
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.
There are countless examples in the news media of people who go to great lengths to expose a wrong…to point a finger at someone who is misbehaving or to spotlight how bad a situation has become. But one of the most ridiculous cases of this lately has been the Michigan state representative who sent out a fake e-mail in which he accused himself of having an encounter with a male prostitute. Why on earth would he do this? He said he was trying to cover up an actual affair that he was having with a fellow state representative (female). The representative also alleged that some of his co-workers were conspiring to expose his affair, so he created this elaborate – and ridiculous – ruse to divert attention!
This guy went to an awful lot of trouble just to try and cover his tracks. And he used one of the oldest tricks in the book…he tried to shine a spotlight on someone or something else in order to hide his own mistakes.
We serve a God who would never conspire to expose our sins to the world…much less create a “cover” to redirect attention or distract the attention of others. God does not play such games…and aren’t we glad?! God loves us so much that He sent Jesus Christ to live among us, to teach us and serve as the perfect example…then suffer, pour out His flesh and blood for us…and ultimately, to die for us. God welcomed Jesus back to Heaven, where He waits for each of us who give our hearts to Him. There was nothing sneaky or sinister in any of this. There were no plots to expose our failures and our flaws…no finger pointing of any kind. This was all done for one reason…incredible, amazing, incomprehensible, unconditional LOVE.
Until you understand that the message we need to hear is not one of fear and obligation, but rather one of abiding love, you will never truly “get” what it means to have a relationship with God. I know…because I operated from a vantage point of fear and dread for far too many years. God does not want to punish us…He wants to love us…and everything He does for us comes from this context. Until we understand this, we won’t really understand anything about Christian faith.
Some of us are busy trying to “cover our tracks.” We are hiding from God, and creating elaborate – and sometimes ridiculous - ruses and diversions…pointing our finger at the other guy and hoping that God will focus on him/her instead of us. This is a silly game…and we need to stop. God loves ALL of us…His desire is that we embrace Jesus and turn to Him. His grand design for sending Jesus was to rescue us, not to condemn. And are we ever grateful…or at least, we should be!
Will you take some time today to talk to God about the vantage point from which you are operating? If your relationship with God is based in fear and guilt, won’t you ask Him to help you shift to an attitude of serving out of love and gratitude? If you are wasting time and energy creating distractions and diversions to try and be something or someone you aren’t – or to hide from God - won’t you pull back the veil today and “come clean?” God already knows everything…but He wants you to acknowledge this and stand before Him…warts and all. Are you ready to get real with God? Is today “the day?”
©2015 Debbie Robus
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
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.
There are countless examples in the news media of people who go to great lengths to expose a wrong…to point a finger at someone who is misbehaving or to spotlight how bad a situation has become. But one of the most ridiculous cases of this lately has been the Michigan state representative who sent out a fake e-mail in which he accused himself of having an encounter with a male prostitute. Why on earth would he do this? He said he was trying to cover up an actual affair that he was having with a fellow state representative (female). The representative also alleged that some of his co-workers were conspiring to expose his affair, so he created this elaborate – and ridiculous – ruse to divert attention!
This guy went to an awful lot of trouble just to try and cover his tracks. And he used one of the oldest tricks in the book…he tried to shine a spotlight on someone or something else in order to hide his own mistakes.
We serve a God who would never conspire to expose our sins to the world…much less create a “cover” to redirect attention or distract the attention of others. God does not play such games…and aren’t we glad?! God loves us so much that He sent Jesus Christ to live among us, to teach us and serve as the perfect example…then suffer, pour out His flesh and blood for us…and ultimately, to die for us. God welcomed Jesus back to Heaven, where He waits for each of us who give our hearts to Him. There was nothing sneaky or sinister in any of this. There were no plots to expose our failures and our flaws…no finger pointing of any kind. This was all done for one reason…incredible, amazing, incomprehensible, unconditional LOVE.
Until you understand that the message we need to hear is not one of fear and obligation, but rather one of abiding love, you will never truly “get” what it means to have a relationship with God. I know…because I operated from a vantage point of fear and dread for far too many years. God does not want to punish us…He wants to love us…and everything He does for us comes from this context. Until we understand this, we won’t really understand anything about Christian faith.
Some of us are busy trying to “cover our tracks.” We are hiding from God, and creating elaborate – and sometimes ridiculous - ruses and diversions…pointing our finger at the other guy and hoping that God will focus on him/her instead of us. This is a silly game…and we need to stop. God loves ALL of us…His desire is that we embrace Jesus and turn to Him. His grand design for sending Jesus was to rescue us, not to condemn. And are we ever grateful…or at least, we should be!
Will you take some time today to talk to God about the vantage point from which you are operating? If your relationship with God is based in fear and guilt, won’t you ask Him to help you shift to an attitude of serving out of love and gratitude? If you are wasting time and energy creating distractions and diversions to try and be something or someone you aren’t – or to hide from God - won’t you pull back the veil today and “come clean?” God already knows everything…but He wants you to acknowledge this and stand before Him…warts and all. Are you ready to get real with God? Is today “the day?”
©2015 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for October 21, 2013
Romans 2:5-8
You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!
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.
The first house my husband and I bought was a “fixer-upper”. We painted walls, put in new flooring, and gave the lone bathroom a total re-do - with the help of family and friends. My dad had started a cultured marble manufacturing business, and he made an oversized shower stall that had a tall threshold…allowing us to create a small bath tub effect, if desired. As Daddy helped Greg install the marble walls and panels, he cracked one. It was on the inside of the threshold, so he quickly glued it together and said to Greg, “I hope she (meaning me!) doesn’t see that!”
I’ll admit… Daddy was between a rock and a hard place. He was 90 miles from home, trying to fix our only bathroom in one weekend, and he had just broken one of the components. Nobody ever saw that crack except us if we sat down to take a “bath”… and it was reparable. So we moved on with the project and laughed about it later. But how many times in life do we “break” things and hope that nobody will notice… even God?
How often do we put a patch over our mistakes and shortcomings… and forge ahead, thinking – or hoping – that we won’t be discovered? How many of us are mired in baggage from this type of behavior… yet pretending to others that nothing is the least bit amiss? How many of us are trying to hide from God?
Do you see that avoiding God and trying to cover up your blunders and lapses in judgment is disrespectful? Do you understand that you really aren’t fooling anyone… especially God? Sadly, some of us have gotten so good at running from God… masking the truth and covering up our messes… that this pattern has become a way of life. And the damage has accumulated in the process. At this point, some can no longer distinguish reality from the fantasy life they have created. But God knows the truth!
We won’t get away with this… and this shouldn’t even be part of our mindset. We may fool some of our friends and acquaintances – some of the time – but we aren’t fooling God for one minute! And all of this is incredibly disrespectful… especially to God. The scriptures tell us in Galatians 6:7-8… “Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.”
Is God’s Spirit growing in you? When you make a mistake or fall short in some area, do you readily acknowledge this and ask for forgiveness? Are you respectful in your living… toward others - and especially toward God… or are you piling up “fuel for the fire”?
I do not like to operate in threats and fearful suggestions… but I don’t believe that this message delivers either. Instead, I see an opportunity for us to respect God and His presence and influence in our lives… to “come clean” with Him and in our daily living… and to make every effort to be whoever He has called us to be. Rather than try to get by with something, why not make a careful and concerted effort to do things right on the front end?
Are you showing the proper reverence and respect to God… and to others? Isn’t it time you did?
©2013 Debbie Robus
You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!
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.
The first house my husband and I bought was a “fixer-upper”. We painted walls, put in new flooring, and gave the lone bathroom a total re-do - with the help of family and friends. My dad had started a cultured marble manufacturing business, and he made an oversized shower stall that had a tall threshold…allowing us to create a small bath tub effect, if desired. As Daddy helped Greg install the marble walls and panels, he cracked one. It was on the inside of the threshold, so he quickly glued it together and said to Greg, “I hope she (meaning me!) doesn’t see that!”
I’ll admit… Daddy was between a rock and a hard place. He was 90 miles from home, trying to fix our only bathroom in one weekend, and he had just broken one of the components. Nobody ever saw that crack except us if we sat down to take a “bath”… and it was reparable. So we moved on with the project and laughed about it later. But how many times in life do we “break” things and hope that nobody will notice… even God?
How often do we put a patch over our mistakes and shortcomings… and forge ahead, thinking – or hoping – that we won’t be discovered? How many of us are mired in baggage from this type of behavior… yet pretending to others that nothing is the least bit amiss? How many of us are trying to hide from God?
Do you see that avoiding God and trying to cover up your blunders and lapses in judgment is disrespectful? Do you understand that you really aren’t fooling anyone… especially God? Sadly, some of us have gotten so good at running from God… masking the truth and covering up our messes… that this pattern has become a way of life. And the damage has accumulated in the process. At this point, some can no longer distinguish reality from the fantasy life they have created. But God knows the truth!
We won’t get away with this… and this shouldn’t even be part of our mindset. We may fool some of our friends and acquaintances – some of the time – but we aren’t fooling God for one minute! And all of this is incredibly disrespectful… especially to God. The scriptures tell us in Galatians 6:7-8… “Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.”
Is God’s Spirit growing in you? When you make a mistake or fall short in some area, do you readily acknowledge this and ask for forgiveness? Are you respectful in your living… toward others - and especially toward God… or are you piling up “fuel for the fire”?
I do not like to operate in threats and fearful suggestions… but I don’t believe that this message delivers either. Instead, I see an opportunity for us to respect God and His presence and influence in our lives… to “come clean” with Him and in our daily living… and to make every effort to be whoever He has called us to be. Rather than try to get by with something, why not make a careful and concerted effort to do things right on the front end?
Are you showing the proper reverence and respect to God… and to others? Isn’t it time you did?
©2013 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for February 18, 2011
Psalm 31:1-2
Our God, you bless everyone whose sins you forgive and wipe away. You bless them by saying, "You told me your sins, without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you."
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Someone told me recently about baking a pie, and some of the egg yolk got in the egg whites for the meringue, and they would not beat stiffly. The baker said, “I’ll just cover the pie with frozen whipped topping, and nobody will care.” I was reminded of a time when my grandmother covered dinner rolls she had made for a family dinner with a dish towel atop her gas stove. You guessed it… the towel caught fire when she turned on a burner, and bits of ashy residue baked into the tops of the rolls. She said to me, “Maybe nobody will notice.”
I know that covering meringue on a pie with whipped topping is not a “sin” – nor is scraping ashes off of a pan of hot rolls and hoping nobody will suspect any foul play. But the fact is, we play fast and loose with the truth in situations that really do matter… and often! We pretend our sins are not really sins, and we try to smooth things over with others… and with God… when all the while, the truth would serve us far better.
Look at this passage again… God says, “You told me your sins, without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you.” Let’s face it… God knows what we do and say already. Trying to hide anything from God is impossible and only serves to make us look more foolish. When will we get how much God loves us? When will we understand that He is not waiting with a whip and a chain, ready to beat us into submission? God wants us to be real with Him… to be honest… to do our best, and confess our shortcomings… and there will be plenty!
What are you trying to hide these days? What have you “scraped off” or “covered in whipped topping?” Isn’t it time you came clean with God and basked in His mercy and forgiveness? Get everything out in the open with God… confess your sins to Him… tell Him what He already knows (but wants to hear from you)… and begin to enjoy a new level of His blessings, joy and peace.
©2011 Debbie Robus
Our God, you bless everyone whose sins you forgive and wipe away. You bless them by saying, "You told me your sins, without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you."
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Someone told me recently about baking a pie, and some of the egg yolk got in the egg whites for the meringue, and they would not beat stiffly. The baker said, “I’ll just cover the pie with frozen whipped topping, and nobody will care.” I was reminded of a time when my grandmother covered dinner rolls she had made for a family dinner with a dish towel atop her gas stove. You guessed it… the towel caught fire when she turned on a burner, and bits of ashy residue baked into the tops of the rolls. She said to me, “Maybe nobody will notice.”
I know that covering meringue on a pie with whipped topping is not a “sin” – nor is scraping ashes off of a pan of hot rolls and hoping nobody will suspect any foul play. But the fact is, we play fast and loose with the truth in situations that really do matter… and often! We pretend our sins are not really sins, and we try to smooth things over with others… and with God… when all the while, the truth would serve us far better.
Look at this passage again… God says, “You told me your sins, without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you.” Let’s face it… God knows what we do and say already. Trying to hide anything from God is impossible and only serves to make us look more foolish. When will we get how much God loves us? When will we understand that He is not waiting with a whip and a chain, ready to beat us into submission? God wants us to be real with Him… to be honest… to do our best, and confess our shortcomings… and there will be plenty!
What are you trying to hide these days? What have you “scraped off” or “covered in whipped topping?” Isn’t it time you came clean with God and basked in His mercy and forgiveness? Get everything out in the open with God… confess your sins to Him… tell Him what He already knows (but wants to hear from you)… and begin to enjoy a new level of His blessings, joy and peace.
©2011 Debbie Robus
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