Daily Devotional for October 16, 2016

Matthew 5:1-3
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:

“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.
         
I don’t even have to ask if you’ve ever been “at the end of your rope.”  We all have “been there – done that”…sometimes more than once!  But how often have you considered this a blessing?  I can assure you, there have been times when I have been out of viable options…when things looked about as bleak as they could be and there was no way to “fix” this…when I had no choice but to concede that “the handwriting was on the wall” – and I could not change anything.

As I look back on these times, I see that God made the difference.  He filled in the gaps and gave me hope.  He equipped me for whatever I was facing…and yes, at times, He shielded me from the devastation and grief over what I was experiencing.  Often, when we are at the end of our rope, God doles out the impact in [relatively] more manageable doses so that we are not overwhelmed…and I am so grateful for this blessing.

I don’t know what your “rope” looks like today – or where your hands are positioned.  But I do know that God has you in HIS grip…and He will never let you go. God is ready, willing, and able to give you more of Him to compensate for less of you.  Your job is to surrender and trust Him to supply your every need – and then some!

My prayer today is that we would all come to the point where we are able to recognize God’s blessings - even in what seems like the worst of circumstances. I pray that when we reach the end of our rope (and we all will at one time or another)…we are able to trust God to tie a knot and sustain us as only He can.  With less of us, there is room for more of God. And that is always a good thing…and a blessing.  Are you ready to let Him bless you in every circumstance?  Will this be the day that you let God control the rope?  

©2016 Debbie Robus 

Daily Devotional for July 11, 2012

2 Corinthians 2:6-7
Most of you have already pointed out the wrong that person did, and that is punishment enough for what was done.

When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won’t give up in despair.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

Imagine if God hung onto your every sin. What if all of your friends and family remembered EVERY SINGLE THING you ever did that they felt was offensive, irritating, or immoral… and reminded you of these actions continually? What if people treated you with an “I-know-what-you-did-and-you-disgust-me” attitude? Would you feel loved and accepted? If you felt that others held a grudge, would you desire more of their form of “grace and mercy?” Would this reflect the love of Christ for you… would you feel His presence and tender care?

There have been times when I have had to remove children from an activity and place them in “time out.” When a child disobeyed, he/she had to suffer the consequences for the action. But at the end of the “punishment,” I tried to offer them a hug and an “I-still-love-you.” And then I made every effort to put the incident behind us and move forward. This is fairly easy to do with small children. It’s harder when you are dealing with teenagers and adults. We often find that we are far less forgiving… we have learned to carry a grudge.

Don’t misunderstand me. There are times when we are right to step away from someone… to distance ourselves from toxic situations. If you know someone who is using illegal drugs, you are smart not to hang around him/her. If someone you know is involved in something illegal or immoral… or this person has hurt your feelings or harmed your reputation… you may need to take a step back and love from afar for a little while. But withdrawing love and concern for this person is never appropriate. We never want to leave the other person asking “What’s the point of caring/trying?”

I am so glad God does not do this with His children. I am grateful beyond measure that when I fail Him and fall short, He picks me up and says, “I’m still here. I still love you.” I may have to suffer consequences for my action. There may be a period of time where God steps back and lets me wallow in my mistakes and learn a hard lesson. But He NEVER deserts me or stops loving me… and we must never do this to anyone we encounter.

Think over your circle of influence – friends, family members, acquaintances, fellow students of co-workers, church members and those in your community? Where have you exhibited an attitude of un-forgiveness? Where are you holding a grudge – and holding a past offense over someone’s head? Who have you given the impression that there is no hope… that there is nothing he/she can do to make amends? Is this how you would want to be treated by others? How would you feel if God treated you this way?

In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul tells us, “But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.” This “prize” is available to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Does your treatment of others reflect the hope of this reward… or the despair of unforgotten grudges? Who needs your offering of forgiveness and comfort in Jesus today?

©2012 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for March 5, 2011

Psalm 40:11-17
You, LORD, never fail to have pity on me; your love and faithfulness always keep me secure. I have more troubles than I can count. My sins are all around me, and I can't find my way. My sins outnumber the hairs on my head, and I feel weak. Please show that you care and come to my rescue. Hurry and help me! Disappoint and confuse all who want me dead; turn away and disgrace all who want to hurt me. Embarrass and shame all of those who say, "Just look at you now!"


Our LORD, let your worshipers rejoice and be glad. They love you for saving them, so let them always say, "The LORD is wonderful!" I am poor and needy, but, LORD God, you care about me, and you come to my rescue. Please hurry and help.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

I don’t know about you, but more than once I have felt like… “I have more troubles than I can count.” And recently, this has certainly been true for actor Charlie Sheen. Everyone seems to be talking about him and his situation… made worse by his television interviews and insistence that there is nothing wrong with him! The truth is, we do not know his heart… but he appears to be very sick and, as described in verse 2 of this Psalm, stuck in “a lonely pit full of mud and mire.”

Hopefully we will never find ourselves in a pit of the mud and mire of drug addiction and accompanying mental illness (if only temporarily). But when we do find ourselves in trouble, we know THE WAY out… and His name is Jesus!

I know I often say, “People are watching”… and they are. But people are also talking… sometimes about things that are not totally true – or at the very least, none of their business. I have heard more than one person say that they felt like everyone was talking about them and their “scandal” of sorts. My response is that we all only get about 15 minutes, and then people are on to the next big story of the day. More importantly, if you have squared your situation with God… if you have confessed any sins and wrongdoing on your part and asked for His forgiveness, then the talk and judgment of others does not matter.

If you have ever felt that you were in a situation where others were judging you – wrongfully, or even with some merit – you know how awful this feels. Don’t be that person for others… not even Charlie Sheen or others in the limelight. Ask God to lift them from the mud and the mire. Call on Him to place people in their path who can introduce them to THE WAY out of their troubles and set their feet on the Rock that is Jesus Christ!

Thank God for coming to your rescue and setting you upright again… for His forgiveness, grace and mercy. Praise Him for loving us so much… especially when we are poor and needy… and standing by to help in a hurry. There IS hope for all of us… and He stands ready to save. He will not disappoint those of us who turn to Him. Where are you looking these days?

©2011 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for August 7, 2010

Acts 1:8
But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world."

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

I really enjoy listening to the teachings of evangelist Joyce Meyer. She truly tells it like it is, and she has a great knack for putting things in ordinary terms for ordinary people. The other day I heard her say that we can hardly pray without using the word “just” in a sentence. “Lord, if you will just heal me.” “Father, if you will just help me pay my bills.” “God if you will just get me out of this mess.”

Joyce said she looked up the word “just” in the dictionary, and it said “only or merely … by a narrow margin … barely.” Now I ask you what she asked … “Do you really want God to ‘barely, by a narrow margin’ meet your needs?” Do you see how we limit God in our prayers?

Acts 1:8 tells us that we have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. By that power, we can do amazing, incredible, seemingly impossible things. We can boldly go out and share the love of Christ with others. We don’t have to have a “just” mentality … “I am just one person,” or “I am just this or that,” or “I can just get by myself, so how can I minister to anyone else?” We are more than this by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We have so many resources right at our fingertips for sharing God’s love and the Good News of Jesus with others, starting with a smile on our faces and a cheerful attitude. We have great social networking tools like Facebook, where we can post positive encouraging messages for others. It’s one thing to share our need for prayer and a concern for our health or the well-being of someone else, but some of us have made these outlets our daily sounding board for everything to how poorly we slept to our pounding headache to how much we hate our job and can’t wait for the weekend! Do these comments and the attitudes behind them reflect the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

We need to be aware of the Holy Spirit within us. More than that, we need to be recognizing His power and living and speaking in a way that says to others… “He/she has something special … something extra that is above and beyond ordinary.” We need to live this way because it is the truth! We are not “just” Christians … we are driven by the power of the Holy Spirit, and for many of us, it’s time we acted like it! How much power are you operating under today? Are you fully filled with Holy Spirit power … or are you operating in “just” enough?

©2010 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for August 2, 2010

Romans 15:13
I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

I’ve talked before about how much I love Oxi-clean. This is one amazing cleaning agent. Recently, I purchased two vintage coffee pots at an estate sale. They were really nice coffee pots … still fairly shiny on the outside, but completely darkened with stains on the inside. I sat them in my laundry sink and poured in a hefty scoop of powdered Oxi-clean, and then I filled the pot about half full of very hot water. Soon, all of that dirty black-brown stain came bubbling out of the spout of the pot! After thirty minutes or so, I was able to rinse out the insides of those coffee pots, and they sparkled like new!

I like to think that this is similar to how the Holy Spirit acts in our heart. When we give our heart to Jesus, God sends the Holy Spirit to fill us and clean out all of the dirt and grime on the inside, making us sparkling clean. All of the junk is rinsed away to make room for the Holy Spirit to fill us with hope, happiness, and peace. Just like the coffee pots can live to bubble with hot coffee again, we are filled with the warmth of the Holy Spirit.

I don’t think there are very many Christians who totally grasp the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. I think we all fail to recognize the power of the Holy Spirit to fill us with hope, peace, joy, and much more. Or maybe we just like being miserable, fearful, and discouraged from time to time. We all seem to enjoy an occasional pity party.

Because of the Holy Spirit, we really don’t need to have this pity party to begin with, but most certainly, it doesn’t have to last long when it happens. Maybe our heart is somewhat like those old coffee pots … still in need of some scrubbing. Ask God to restore you today. Invite the Holy Spirit to return to your heart, if needed. At the very least, recognize the hope we have because Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to be forever in our hearts – and be thankful for this incredible gift. This is truly a cause for great happiness and peace in all circumstances. The power of the Holy Spirit is more amazing than any cleaning agent. Have you experienced Holy Spirit power today? How clean is your heart?

©2010 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for July 31, 2010

Colossians 1:13
God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son…

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

Many years ago, some teenage boys were spelunking in the area now known as Blanchard Caverns. This was probably the late 1950’s, before the caves were developed for public exploration. These boys found themselves deep within the cave … and they got lost. As the felt around in the scary darkness - not knowing where they were, what was surrounding them, or how to escape - they felt their way along with just the tiny beams of light from their flashlights. Then the unthinkable happened … their flashlight batteries died. Now they were in total darkness.

Miraculously, help came. The boys made their way to an opening in the caves that leads to the outside world, and they were rescued. Today this opening is covered by a metal grate, so that no one can accidentally fall into what could be a world of darkness and danger.

The dark power of Satan is somewhat like that cave … full of all sorts of unknowns, holes, crevices, slick and slippery spots, and dangers at every turn. Many of us are still fumbling around in the cave of Satan’s darkness. We have not recognized that God stands ready to pull us up out of the pit and save us from all of this. He wants to bring us into the light, joy and peace that surround Jesus and give us a place of safety there – and to cover the opening with the “grate” of salvation through Jesus Christ!

For those of us who have been rescued by God, we still want to dance near the edge of the cave sometimes. We peek over the edge and dabble with the temptation and allure that lies in the dark, mysterious pit. We need to stop this! We need to recognize that the power, grace and mercy of God that saved us … the life in Christ and the blessings of His kingdom … are more than enough. We need to be done with Satan, once and for all, and rest in the joy of the awesome rescue of our Almighty God.

Where are you today? Have you managed to get far, far away from the opening to Satan’s darkness, or are you still dancing along the edge, toying with the temptation of what lies beneath? Isn’t it time you moved away once and for all? Is today the day?

©2010 Debbie Robus