Psalm 36:1
Sinners don’t respect God;
sin is all they think about.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A couple of Sundays ago, we took the children to a local man-made lake to look at Trumpeter Swans that migrate here from Canada each winter .
The lake is adjacent to some pastureland on one side. On the other
side, there is a road that meanders along and leads to a nearby
subdivision. The road is narrow and has a fairly good bit of traffic.
There is a “turn-out” sort of parking lot just off this road where
spectators park to view the swans and ducks. The parking lot is
delineated in part by a row of rather large rocks that wind parallel to
the road.
So while we were looking at the swans, Timothy
discovered these rocks, and he stepped up on one and took off…hopping
from rock to rock – and getting farther and farther away from us. I
called for him to come back, but he was so caught up in his adventure
that he either ignored me – or didn’t really “hear” me calling to him.
Now, I’m pretty sure he heard me…but whether it really registered with
him that “Hey, I better turn back!” or not is another story! At any
rate, I had to go after our boy and admonish him not to go so far – and
to come back we called to him!
So often, we are like a
six-year-old boy on a big adventure. We get so caught up in our sin
that we totally lose focus. I’m not excusing sin…I’m just saying that
the devil does his dead-level best to make it fun on a stick! So while
God is calling, “Come back! You’re headed into dangerous
territory!”…all we hear is the devil whispering, “This is GREAT! You
are happy and having the time of your life. Don’t stop now!" And sin
is all we think about.
We really have to work at staying on
track…because the devil is relentless. He will use every trick in the
book – and the tiniest opportunity – to get us into his camp. He will
make it easy to disrespect God. In fact, he will do all he can to keep
us from thinking about God in the first place! Don’t let this happen in
your life. Keep your focus on the One who loves you like no other.
Never let God out of your sight…never tune out His voice. Always listen
for His call. Drown out the devil’s sly suggestions that you are doing
just fine without God…that there is no need to listen to His voice.
Despite
your best efforts not to wander too far from God, there will be times
when you get a little too far off course…when the lure of the rocks and
what lies around the bend is just too tempting. This is when the devil
will try to convince you to keep on running…to stray a little longer and
have just a little more fun. Don’t be convinced! Keep your focus and
avoid these pitfalls. Make respect for God and His authority your
number one priority - and give Him your full attention, so that there is
no opportunity for the devil to garner your notice.
The draw
of sin is often alluring – and compelling…and it’s easy to fall into the
devil’s trap – and out of respect and obedience to God. Nobody said
being a Christian would be easy…but staying on track is so worth the
effort. How are you doing these days?
©2016 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label how small sins multiply. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how small sins multiply. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for June 19, 2015
Luke 16:10-13
Jesus went on to make these comments:
If you’re honest in small things,
you’ll be honest in big things;
If you’re a crook in small things,
you’ll be a crook in big things.
If you’re not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses:
He’ll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.
You can’t serve both God and the Bank.
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.
A friend of mine works out at our local CrossFit gym. According to information at the CrossFit website*, “CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program…designed for universal scalability, making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.”
Recently, my friend shared on Facebook that she had struggled with “box jumps”…an exercise in which one jumps from the ground and lands with both feet on top of an elevated box. It’s harder than it sounds…and my friend struggled for weeks to perform this exercise. Meanwhile, she fell several times and developed a “mental block” about completing the jump…until her husband and workout buddies encouraged her and supported (quite literally) her effort. Now that she has done one successful “box jump”…she is off and running. These will likely become easier and easier for her.
Even though a “box jump” is a positive example of something getting easier with practice…we have plenty of situations and circumstances in our lives where “one thing leads to another” – and not in a good way. Small lies become big ones…stealing something seemingly insignificant becomes the gateway to taking bigger things. Looking the other way on something that doesn’t seem all that important can lead to covering up a major wrong down the road. Working too much…participating in your favorite game, sport or activity…overeating or drinking too much…and wasting time on “mindless drivel” may seem harmless in the short run…but these can become nasty (and sinful) habits over time.
The bottom line is that little things matter…in every aspect of our lives. Just like my friend who was encouraged to persist in achieving the “box jump,” we must keep focused on accomplishing the big things for God. And we must encourage others in the same manner. We must “zero in” on what pleases God…what is really significant…what furthers His missions and His kingdom…and make these the goal of our daily living.
We must demonstrate at every turn that we are trustworthy in the little things…or God will never trust us with the bigger ones. If you read a few more verses in Luke 16, you’ll see that Jesus tells the Pharisees…”What society sees and calls monumental, God sees through and calls monstrous.” This is a profound statement that needs to soak into our hearts and souls.
Are we faithful to God in all things…even the little ones? Or have we allowed ourselves to be caught up in the “monumental” things of society and created something of a “monster” in the process? It’s time we settled this once and for all…made the vertical leap to trustworthy discipleship…and left the devil in the dust. Are you ready to “jump” with me?
©2015 Debbie Robus
* http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-crossfit.html
Jesus went on to make these comments:
If you’re honest in small things,
you’ll be honest in big things;
If you’re a crook in small things,
you’ll be a crook in big things.
If you’re not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses:
He’ll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.
You can’t serve both God and the Bank.
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.
A friend of mine works out at our local CrossFit gym. According to information at the CrossFit website*, “CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program…designed for universal scalability, making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.”
Recently, my friend shared on Facebook that she had struggled with “box jumps”…an exercise in which one jumps from the ground and lands with both feet on top of an elevated box. It’s harder than it sounds…and my friend struggled for weeks to perform this exercise. Meanwhile, she fell several times and developed a “mental block” about completing the jump…until her husband and workout buddies encouraged her and supported (quite literally) her effort. Now that she has done one successful “box jump”…she is off and running. These will likely become easier and easier for her.
Even though a “box jump” is a positive example of something getting easier with practice…we have plenty of situations and circumstances in our lives where “one thing leads to another” – and not in a good way. Small lies become big ones…stealing something seemingly insignificant becomes the gateway to taking bigger things. Looking the other way on something that doesn’t seem all that important can lead to covering up a major wrong down the road. Working too much…participating in your favorite game, sport or activity…overeating or drinking too much…and wasting time on “mindless drivel” may seem harmless in the short run…but these can become nasty (and sinful) habits over time.
The bottom line is that little things matter…in every aspect of our lives. Just like my friend who was encouraged to persist in achieving the “box jump,” we must keep focused on accomplishing the big things for God. And we must encourage others in the same manner. We must “zero in” on what pleases God…what is really significant…what furthers His missions and His kingdom…and make these the goal of our daily living.
We must demonstrate at every turn that we are trustworthy in the little things…or God will never trust us with the bigger ones. If you read a few more verses in Luke 16, you’ll see that Jesus tells the Pharisees…”What society sees and calls monumental, God sees through and calls monstrous.” This is a profound statement that needs to soak into our hearts and souls.
Are we faithful to God in all things…even the little ones? Or have we allowed ourselves to be caught up in the “monumental” things of society and created something of a “monster” in the process? It’s time we settled this once and for all…made the vertical leap to trustworthy discipleship…and left the devil in the dust. Are you ready to “jump” with me?
©2015 Debbie Robus
* http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-crossfit.html
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