Daily Devotional for December 29, 2016

1 Corinthians 1:2-9
To: The Christians in Corinth, invited by God to be his people and made acceptable to him by Christ Jesus. And to: All Christians everywhere—whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you all of his blessings, and great peace of heart and mind.

I can never stop thanking God for all the wonderful gifts he has given you, now that you are Christ’s: he has enriched your whole life. He has helped you speak out for him and has given you a full understanding of the truth; what I told you Christ could do for you has happened! Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing his will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he guarantees right up to the end that you will be counted free from all sin and guilt on that day when he returns. God will surely do this for you, for he always does just what he says, and he is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, even Christ our Lord.

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

For months, our 4-year-old nephew, Nathan, has been talking about a toy he wanted for Christmas…a Batbot. This remote-controlled toy transforms from a robot into an “armored” tank.  Nathan never wavered.  This was what he wanted…and he was certain that it was waiting for him under the Christmas tree.  Every box that even remotely looked like it could be the right size, he would say, “That’s probably a Batbot!”  Christmas Eve, as his mother helped him open a box of assorted colors of Play-doh®, he asked her, “Is that my Batbot?”

Nathan DID get the Batbot on Christmas morning…and I am sure he has spent countless happy hours playing with it since then.  Now, can you imagine if his parents told him that he had to give it back to them?  I cannot even think about what would happen if they told him that he had to take his prized toy back to the store. He would be devastated…and his entire vision of Christmas and the hope and excitement that surround this season would probably be destroyed.  Thankfully, I don’t know anyone who rescinds their child’s Christmas gifts…or any other gifts for that matter.

I cannot imagine living with the idea that Jesus could revoke my salvation at any moment…that my “friendship” with Him teetered so precariously and could vanish in a heartbeat. One of the great joys of Christian faith is living with the childlike hope and confidence that Jesus truly will deliver the grace, blessings, gifts and power that He promised…and we get to keep them forever!

While I don’t have to consciously think about this night and day, I also cannot grow complacent or take Jesus’ gifts for granted.  If you stop and think about it, we tell our children that they have to…“be good, or Santa won’t come and bring you what you asked for.”  Jesus does NOT operate like Santa Claus...efforts on our part to “be good” do not have a direct correlation to His gift of Salvation and Eternal Life.

But we should want to do everything we can to honor Jesus’ gifts and blessings - precisely because we cannot earn them. We are offered Salvation and all of the benefits of a life in Christ – forever and ever – in spite of our ugly, egotistical, sinful selves.  Jesus knows that we are undeserving…but He loves us and generously lavishes these gifts upon us anyway.  There is no “naughty or nice list”…at least not in the way we envision with Santa Claus.  And aren’t we glad?!

I thank God every day for Jesus…for the grace, blessings, gifts, and power that are mine because HE is my Redeemer. I thank God that many people I know and love share in these same blessings and gifts…though NONE of us deserves them or can ever “earn” them. Because I know that Salvation and the abundance of a life in Christ are available to any and all who will accept His invitation, I am doing all I can to lead as many people into this relationship as I possibly can…and I hope you are with me!

If you have not accepted Jesus’ invitation, please do so today.  If you are living in His abundance and blessings already, what are you doing to show your gratitude and respect – and give others a reason to accept this invitation for themselves?  Will this be the day that you begin to answer this question?

©2016 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for December 4, 2016

James 1:16-18
Don’t be fooled, my dear friends. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. He wanted us to be his own special people, and so he sent the true message to give us new birth.

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

In a typical 7-year-old whine, Timothy lamented this weekend that “I don’t think I can wait three more weeks for Christmas!”  I told him to enjoy this month…to think of Christmas as a whole season - and Christmas Day as the culmination when many more gifts arrive. I have reminded myself to do this – especially in recent years.  I try to find joy in the events that lead up to December 25th.  Decorating, writing cards, baking, wrapping gifts…all of this is part and parcel of what “Christmas” is all about – or in my opinion, it should be.

These activities should not be thought of as “chores” to be accomplished…but rather, gifts to others – and to ourselves.  When Timothy and Nathan examined our holiday decorations this weekend and their faces lit up with joy and wonder, I felt like I had received a gift.  When I enjoy a holiday cookie or two and a cup of spiced tea, I feel as if God is saying, “Celebrate the season…every bit of it.”

When Greg, “Grandma E”, and I meet up with the children and their parents at the annual city Christmas parade – and watch the expressions on their faces as they review the entries, I feel as if God has blessed me with a gift of time spent creating happy memories. When we watch the children open gifts on Christmas Eve and hear them say, “It’s just what I wanted!”…I feel as if God is saying, “Now you know how *I* feel when I give you something that you really appreciate.”

My point is this…God’s gifts are all around us. Yes, we acknowledge the gift of Jesus during this holiday season.  But do we truly recognize all of the “good and perfect” little gifts that God is continually bestowing upon us?  Do we see the daily “gifts” of the Christmas season…or are we so narrowly focused on THE DAY that we miss everything else?  If all we can think about is December 24th and 25th, we will miss the true gifts of the “Christmas Season.”  And if we get tunnel vision about God’s gifts in general, we will miss more than a few of them.

Stop and “smell the roses” in the next few weeks. Give yourself the gift of an attitude adjustment, and acknowledge every single event and activity that culminates in “Christmas Day.”  Recognize – and appreciate – all of God’s good and perfect gifts…even shopping for Aunt Mary and untangling that aggravatingly twisted bundle of twinkling lights!  Take time to thank God…for Jesus – and for the amazing opportunities we have to serve and celebrate Him. All too soon, it will be a new year, and “Christmas” will have come and gone again.  We will look back and wish it hadn’t all flown by so quickly.  But will we have truly relished and respected God and his “good and perfect” gifts?  Isn’t it time we did?

©2016 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for December 3, 2016

December 3 ~ Genesis 28:20-22
And Jacob vowed this vow to God: “If God will help and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothes, and will bring me back safely to my father, then I will choose Jehovah as my God! And this memorial pillar shall become a place for worship; and I will give you back a tenth of everything you give me!”

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

We learn at an early age to “bargain.”  Little children tell adults, “Just let me have five more minutes…eat one cookie…do XYZ…and I will go straight to bed, brush my teeth, or whatever it is we are wanting them to do at the moment. On the flip side, we adults make promises to children if they will behave a certain way, clean their rooms, or simply brush their teeth and go to bed!

But we adults have truly mastered bargaining…particularly with God.  If only He will make life perfect for us, we will serve Him with our whole heart and give back to Him at least a tenth of all we have been given!  If only He will get us out of our current mess, we will serve Him with all we have for the rest of our earthly lives!  Sounds fair…right? 

I can see why Jacob bargained with God.  This was Old Testament times.  Jesus had not come to earth yet.  Jacob felt like this was a fair agreement…and perhaps for the time, it was.  But the God who loved us enough to send Jesus to die on the cross for our sins – before we were even born – deserves ALL that we can give Him.  Of course, everything we have came from God, so anything we give to Him will essentially be a “re-gift!”  But still, to put contingencies on these “gifts” seems as if we don’t believe in His promises.  Surely that is not the case!

How about we do this?  Why not just cut to the chase and lay it all out before God?  What if we simply say, “Lord…I give You my best…all that I can…whatever You desire.  You gave me a promise of eternal life with You in Heaven.  What can I give You while I’m still on this earth?”  Whatever God asks of you, He will equip you to accomplish.  Even if it seems impossible - like giving up a circle of “friends” who are not the right crowd for you…breaking a lifelong habit…or putting yourself “out there” in a way you would rather not - God will assure that everything comes together perfectly.  If GOD ordains it, you cannot fail.

So let’s quit bargaining with God, revel in His promise of Eternal Life, and serve Him on this earth with every ounce of energy and courage we can muster. Let’s put our faith into action and show the world that with God, anything and everything is possible.  And let’s give Him our very best each and every day without a single though about what is in it for us.  Are you with really ready to give?
 
©2016 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for August 11, 2015

Isaiah 5:21
Woe to those who are wise and shrewd in their own eyes!

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 recently viewed a movie called The Ultimate Gift, based on the best-selling book by Jim Stovall.  The synopsis at IMDb.com says, “A deceased billionaire leaves his spoiled adult grandson a series of odd tasks to perform in order to receive ‘the ultimate gift,’ with the resentful grandson having no idea what that might be.”  Even though this movie was released in 2006 – and a sequel, The Ultimate Life, was shown in theaters in 2013 – I encourage you to rent this one and watch it.

I won’t spoil the plot for you, but the twelve gifts this grandfather offers are: work; money (as in how to handle it wisely); unconditional love; friends; laughter; giving; family; problems; learning; dreams; gratitude; and the gift of a day.  A message of Christian faith is subtly woven through this film.  These “gifts” all come with lessons that most of us could probably stand to revisit from time to time.

Too many of us think we are “all that and a bag of chips”…that people care a whole lot more about what we think, say and do than is really the case…that we can talk or buy our way out of any scrape…that there will always be a “rich grandfather” to bail us out of any trouble we encounter. The verses in Isaiah 5 that surround this one say that many think they are “heroes” who can hold large amounts of liquor…take bribes and manipulate the justice system to suit their own agendas…or tell lies and twist things to fit their own beliefs and values.  Have I stepped on any toes yet?

At one point in the movie, the lead character is sitting in a hospital chapel with a little girl, looking at a large statue of Jesus Christ positioned on the altar. He tells the child that he doesn’t know a whole lot about God, but…”I can promise you that those arms are meant for you.” 

While the “gifts” demonstrated in this movie are important…the true “Ultimate Gift” is to dwell in the arms of Jesus…both figuratively in this life…and literally forever in Eternity.  But God has called us to live according to His plans in the meantime…to faithfully and responsibly exercise the 12 “gifts” described here, and to humbly serve Him in everything we say and do.  We are called to take ownership of our words and actions and to make sure that they line up with God’s will and design for our lives.

The challenge for each of us today is to determine what God wants us to do…and get busy doing it!  This movie might serve as a good “starting point” for ideas.  Spending some time in prayer and contemplation is another. Our life is indeed a precious gift from God that demands a level of care and appreciation in direct proportion to its value.  How well are your efforts stacking up these days?  Are you honoring God’s gifts?  Isn’t it time you did?

©2015 Debbie Robus