June 24 ~ Matthew 18:15-17
“If a fellow believer hurts you, go
and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve
made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that
the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he
still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church,
you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for
repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving 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.
Have you ever gotten
something new that required some assembly, and rather than follow the
directions, you just plowed right in and tried to do it yourself? How
many times did you have to “back-pedal” and read the directions? There
are times when following the proper order of things makes all the
difference!
In our Spiritual life, there is an “order” also…and
Jesus spells it out in this scripture passage. When we have a “beef”
with someone – or this person or another has hurt us or insulted us in
some way - we tend to run all over the countryside telling everyone who
will listen and cluck their tongue in commiseration. Or, we hope that
by telling someone else, he/she will do the work for us and confront
this person.
In truth, the best – and often easiest – solution is
to talk to the offender directly. If that does not resolve the conflict,
then we can enlist “backup.” And ultimately, if a resolution cannot be
reached, you may have to “part company.” I can recall times in my own
life where I followed this “plan” – and times when I did not. And I can
attest that doing things as Jesus directed is the best way.
There will
be times that this method does not result in the outcome for which you
hoped. Sometimes, people do not want to change or admit that their way
is not the only way…and sometimes, they are unwilling to apologize for
hurtful words and actions. But if you offer someone an opportunity
to resolve things between the two of you, at least you will be able to
say, “I tried. I did things in the manner – and order – that Jesus
commanded.” And this brings satisfaction – to yourself…and to Jesus.
Let’s
be honest…the one place where we should be especially careful to follow
the directions is where Jesus is the one giving them! He has given us a
specific outline for how to handle conflict in these verses. Don’t you
think we owe it to Him to pay attention?
©2016 Debbie Robus
Acts 2:38
And Peter replied, “Each one of you must
turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you also shall receive
this gift, the Holy Spirit.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
I cannot count the number
of times we have taken the children to the park to play. The first few
trips, Timothy and Zola would often run from us. We would call to them
to come back, and they would keep on running. And I think I shared
recently about taking the children to see the trumpeter swans on a small
lake near our town last winter, and Timothy got caught up in hopping on
some large rocks near the parking lot and would not return when I
called to him.
Almost all kids do this at some point. It seems
like a game to the children…and I’m sure they think it is fun. But we
adults are not at all amused. We know the dangers that are
lurking…traffic, strangers, a body of water, and more. Children have to
learn the importance of turning around when adults call to them!
You
and I are pretty much like toddlers and young children much of the
time. In our grown-up bodies, we defy God and run from Him…sometimes
with wild abandon. We get caught up in the moment…or we think we are
having SO MUCH FUN…or we just flat out do not want to “come when
called.” Whatever the reason, we fail to appreciate the consequences –
and dangers – that await us when we behave so foolishly. We thumb our
noses, so to speak, at God’s love and protection in favor of our own
desires. And the results can be deadly… mentally, physically - and most
certainly – spiritually.
In Acts 2:38, Peter is telling the
crowd at Jerusalem – and us – to turn around and run toward God, as fast
as we can! He is reminding us that the gift of the Holy Spirit awaits
us…that we are safe in God’s arms - and His calling is meant to bless,
not restrain. We must also realize that we are not small children…we
know better, and we must do better.
So listen for God’s
voice…turn around and fall on your knees and ask Him to forgive your
arrogance and/or stupidity – and your false notion that you know what’s
best! Turn around and run to God and bask in His blessings and
perfection. Embrace the Holy Spirit and let Him guide you at every turn.
Be grateful for God’s mercy – and His gifts…and never ever take them
for granted for even a minute!
©2016 Debbie Robus
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
If our Message is obscure to
anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because
these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to
give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god
of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they
won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re
stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with
Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.
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.
How many times have you been
told that in order to lose weight – or even maintain your current body
mass – you must take in fewer calories than you are burning. Yet we
continue to eat whatever tastes good – and put off exercising until
tomorrow, next week, next year – or never! And we wonder why our
clothes appear to be shrinking! We have convinced ourselves that it’s
not us…it must be the clothes dryer!
This is how we often
act with God. We’ve heard the Word of God…we know how He works. We
understand on some level that God’s will for our lives is perfect and
right – even when it doesn’t seem easy or go like we intended. We
believe God when He says that He will answer our prayers (but we ignore
the part about it happening when they fit within His parameters!). We never fail to call on Him whenever we need something – anything!
But
here’s the thing…we have “selective hearing” when it comes to God. We
pick and choose what to engage in and what to trust…and WE try to
decide when it is important to follow God closely – and when it is okay
to “bend the rules” a bit. And others pick up on this. They see how we
treat our relationship with God…and they pay very close attention to
what we are doing. “If it’s good enough for Joe or Kate…it’s surely
okay for me, too,” they assume. So we perpetuate the mistaken idea that
it’s acceptable to design Christ’s message to suit our own desires and
agendas. Not only are we deluded in this thinking, but we misrepresent
Jesus to others, as well…and give flawed witness to what it means to be
His disciple.
We see this everywhere we look. People are loudly
claiming the name of Jesus while acting like fools…misbehaving in ways
that are both appalling – and sadly, somewhat mainstreamed. We’ve let
down our guard and become complacent…about everything from foul language
to physically abusing people who don’t agree with us. And it needs to
stop.
We know better…it’s time to DO better! Just like we cannot
keep eating whatever and whenever we want and fit into our clothes, we
can’t “have it our way” and call ourselves honest and faithful disciples
of Christ. It’s time to open our eyes to the truths of Jesus – and the
blessings that He offers to us when we genuinely follow Him. I’m more
than ready…what about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
Ecclesiastes 3:14
I’ve also concluded that
whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition,
no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit
asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugeterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.
All rights reserved.
This morning, our three-year-old
Nathan was trying to put some “bristle blocks” together. These are
toothed plastic blocks that forge together to form objects and shapes.
We had attached a rectangle to four wheels, and Nathan wanted to add
another rectangle atop the first one. But instead of snapping this
block into place where it belonged, he kept trying to put it over a
wheel. He got really upset because this wouldn’t work – and even more
upset because I couldn’t make it happen! I kept trying to tell him,
“This is not the way it goes together. It won’t work this way.” But
Nathan was having none of it.
When I read this scripture, I
pictured us – God’s children – standing before Him with our own ideas of
how things should be. We show him the “blocks” of our lives and tell
Him, “This is how I want to do this.” God says, “That’s not how it’s
going to work.” And the argument commences. Often, we are as stubborn
as a three-year-old boy. We kick and stomp and demand that God do
things our way…that He add this or subtract that and make everything fit
our desires. And God just shakes His head in disappointment over our foolishness.
It’s
time to grow up! We need to get a grip on God’s power and autonomy
over our lives. We need to learn to operate in “holy fear” (respect)
for God and His indisputably perfect ways. We need to worship
Him…because He deserves our praise and adoration. And we need to trust
Him to meet our every need…because He is the only One who can!
The time has come to stop trying to “put the blocks together” like we
want…and trust that God has our best interests at heart – always and in
all ways. When we recognize that He truly does know what is best for
us, we are free to stop questioning and start really believing. Then we
can begin to truly live in God’s amazing love and grace – and He can
work in and through us. Isn’t this our goal as Christian disciples?
Don’t you think it should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
Psalm 37:8-9
Stop your anger! Turn off your
wrath. Don’t fret and worry — it only leads to harm. For the wicked
shall be destroyed, but those who trust the Lord shall be given every
blessing.
The Living Bible
copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of
TyndalePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights
reserved.
The children were promised a trip to the park
this afternoon when we returned home from church and a visit to our
house. We have several nice playgrounds around town, including one that
is near a lake and one that sits beside a stream. Timothy said they
were going to the one “by the water.” But as we passed our city park,
Zola insisted, “That’s where we’re going! Mom said we were going to the
one with the ladybug!” The “ladybug” is an apparatus on which a child
can “ride”…and Zola loves it!
Timothy declared, “Well, if we go
to that park, I’m just going to sit on the bench and not play!” I told
him that he would miss all the fun, and he said, “I don’t care! I don’t
want to have any fun if we’re not going to the park by the water!”
Somehow, I have a feeling that once he got to the park with the
“ladybug,” he was rarin’ to go – and had as much fun as anyone there!
If not, he wasted a lot of time and energy – and the opportunity to
enjoy himself…all because he chose to fret and be angry.
It’s a
hard thing to be six years old…and even harder not to always get your
own way. But can you see how this relates to us? Do you understand
that we often get so worked up about things that we miss out on the
blessing – and/or a good time? We often waste so much of our energy on
situations that we ought to simply hand over to God. Sometimes, it
seems as if we actually enjoy hand-wringing and the “rush” of being
angry!
But as this scripture passage points out…this can be
harmful and truly serves no good. If we will only learn to give our
troubles and frustrations to God and allow Him to have control,
there is every chance that we will enjoy life more. We might even
discover countless blessings that would otherwise be missed. I can’t
promise that God will always choose to allow us a trip to the park
beside the water. But when we let go and give Him control, we’ll surely have more opportunities to enjoy whatever activities He places in our path.
Are you ready to “let go and let God” have control in your life? Will this be the day that you redouble your efforts to do so?
©2015 Debbie Robus
2 Peter 3:8-9
Don’t overlook the obvious here,
friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand
years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure
lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the
End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and
time to change.
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.
My friend John posted a
picture of his dog, Winston, this morning…with the comment that he was
giving himself a week to grieve his beloved pet’s death. John has
posted a picture of Winston every day since he passed…and he commented
that he has “one more day.” At the same time, I know several people who
are caring for loved ones on Hospice care…just waiting for God to call
them home. In some cases, they wonder why it’s taking so long. Still
others believe that changes of one sort or another will come. They are
praying to God and begging Him to intervene…and wishing that He would
hurry up and fix the mess!
Here’s the thing…God’s timing is
perfect – but it is not the same as ours. He will heal our grief and
give us peace…but the amount of time it takes each of us to “get there”
is vastly different. You cannot package these emotions into a set
number of days on the calendar…and God doesn’t expect us to do this. As
for those who are nearing the time when they will to go to heaven…we
cannot dictate this, either. When you are watching and waiting, the
minutes, hours and days may seem to drag by…the suffering may appear to
be unending – and more than you can endure. But God’s got each person
involved in this journey in the palm of His hand. I assure you, He will
operate on a perfect schedule that we will understand someday…if only
when we get to Heaven and visit with Him face-to-face.
Probably
the hardest “wait” many of us have is for God to work in all sorts of
situations that seem impossible and unbearable for us – or deeply
frustrating. I cannot imagine how those who work in in various civil
rights movements must feel as they call on God to help them in their
struggle and fight for changes to occur. The part of this scripture
passage about God restraining Himself on account of us was particularly
poignant as I thought of the escaped convict in New York…and the young
shooter of nine church members in South Carolina. Both lives were
spared as police apprehended them. Could this be so that they have
another chance to hear about Jesus and turn to Him? Remember Jesus’
parable of the 99 sheep and the one who was lost!
I don’t know
what you are waiting on…but at some point in our lives, we are all
waiting. We wait for good things to happen…special milestones like
graduation, weddings, new babies, new houses or jobs, and “big”
birthdays. We also wait for things to change…for relationships to
improve, for children to grow out of bad habits, for hearts to soften
and people to become more tolerant. We wait for death…and for grief to
end. And we wait for Jesus to come back for us – either collectively,
or when we are called to Heaven.
In all of these situations and
circumstances, God is with us…and He orchestrates the details and the
timing. And it is all perfect. We don’t have to understand this…or
even like it! We just have to trust God and believe that He has our
back…that He is with us…and that He loves us so much that He plans every
single second to perfection. Amazing love…amazing grace…amazing
timing…God offers all of this – and more – to each of us. Do you trust
Him to handle every detail? Don’t you think you should?
©2015 Debbie Robus
Matthew 10:38
“If you don’t go all the way with me,
through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is
to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget
about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and 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.
It happens almost every time
we are together. Timothy gets so engrossed in playing with his Legos®…or
watching videos or a movie…or whatever has grabbed his attention at the
moment…and he totally ignores our summons. At least that’s how it
seems…because, you see, we KNOW that he hears us! We call, “C’mon…it’s
time to go,” or "Dinner is ready…you can play with that again after you
eat.” And he acts as if nothing has been said to him until we call to
him two or three (or more) times! If we start to move on without him,
Timothy will often look up and say, “Wait! Wait for me!” and come
running to join us.
This is not a case of childhood misbehavior, necessarily. Timothy’s siblings – and all children – do this, because they are immature children!
They lack the ability to understand that there will be plenty of time
to do what they want after they complete the task being required by the
adult(s). And most surely, they lack the capacity to fully comprehend
that there is a time and a place for us to do what we please and follow
our own desires…and a time to set those aside for someone or something
else. No kid of any age ever likes to hear the words, “Time’s up!”
I
know this scripture verse is almost identical to the passage from Luke 9
that I shared yesterday. And I’ll be honest, the outline I created for
these
devotionals called for me to use another passage from the Book of Mark, Chapter 8, that says virtually the same thing. So I surmised
that God really wants me to share this thought again today. We
cannot be true disciples of Jesus Christ and focus on our own desires
and agendas. We must understand that HIS desires and plans come first.
When He calls, we must drop what we are doing…and answer!
Most
likely, there will be plenty of time for us to do the things that we
want to do…and if not, they weren’t all that important anyway. If God
supports your desires and activities, He will see that you have the
means to pursue them. And if you choose to pursue them without
His blessing, don’t be surprised if the end results are less than
stellar. I’m not suggesting that God will sabotage you…but He surely
will not support and enhance your selfish behavior.
Let’s all
stop today and spend a few minutes talking to God about what He wants
for us. Let’s ask Him to show us which pursuits and desires are
selfish…and which are on point with what Jesus requires from His
disciples – including us. When Jesus calls, let’s drop what we are
doing and answer right away. If we are not willing to do this – to go
all the way with Him through thick and thin – we really don’t deserve to
have a relationship with Him. I don’t want to be like a child who keeps
on playing…and look up to find Jesus leaving without me. What about
you?
©2015 Debbie Robus
