Mark 5:35-36
While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”
But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“It ain’t over til it’s over!”* On November 30, 2013, the No. 1-ranked University of Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 4-ranked Auburn University Tigers met to play the “Iron Bowl”… an in-state football rivalry. With one second left on the clock, Alabama attempted a 57-yard field goal to win the game. The kick was a miss that Auburn Tiger Chris Davis returned 100 yards to win the game, 34-28. It was a historical finish… one that sportscasters will talk about for decades… and one that has caused many people – myself included – to recognize that there is always hope… even in a football game!
And so we come to this scripture passage from Mark where a young girl has died, and the people are essentially saying, “There is no need to turn to Jesus… it’s too late.” And the simple yet profound response from Jesus is that… “It is NEVER too late for Me!”
I have a little desktop book of quips and quotes that I flip the page each day…and for today, it said, “May the dazzling rays of the sunshine of God’s love reach through the clouds of your life and brighten up your skies.” This expression of hope truly captures the essence of Christian faith. No matter the “clouds of your life”… no matter how dismal and hopeless things appear, it is never too late with Jesus! Nothing is settled… nothing is finished…His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness – and yes, HOPE… are eternal!
Many people need to hear this today. For several - perhaps even YOU - there seems to be one second left on the clock and you are facing a seemingly insurmountable 100-yard, last-ditch effort. And I am here to tell you that because of Jesus, all hope is not lost. So won’t you spend a few minutes in prayer and communication with God… reaching out to Him and asking Him to fill you with hope where perhaps you have none? Ask God to meet you on the “playing field of life” and give you the wisdom and courage for that last-second play…to fill you with hope in your darkest hour… to reach through the clouds of your life and brighten your skies with His incredible love.
With God, anything truly is possible…if only you will trust Him. Do you have hope and faith in Him today?
©2013 Debbie Robus
*Quote attributed to Yogi Berra
Showing posts with label never giving up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label never giving up. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for October 3, 2012
October 3 ~ Ezekiel 37:11-14
The Lord said: Ezekiel, the people of Israel are like dead bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the future. So tell them, “I, the Lord God, promise to open your graves and set you free. I will bring you back to Israel, and when that happens, you will realize that I am the Lord. My Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again. I will bring you home, and you will know that I have kept my promise. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I have a great recipe for a sour cream raisin pie. This may sound awful to you, but I promise, it is delicious. Raisins are suspended in a creamy, sweet custard made mostly of eggs, sugar, and sour cream… topped by a golden meringue. Now, I love raisins, but the thought of hard, chewy nuggets in a creamy pie does not appeal to me. The key to making the raisins tasty for this pie is to soak them for a few minutes in boiling water. They plump and become juicy and have an altogether different consistency from that of their dried state. The raisins are transformed!
There are many situations in life where we become like dried raisins… lifeless, hard and chewy. Or we become like dead bones… no life in us at all. We give up… we throw our hands in the air and say, “This is too hard… I just cannot continue. Things will never change. My future is hopeless.” Or we give up on someone else – or a certain situation. We humans are often pretty quick to lose our hope and throw in the towel!
Here’s the deal… with God, all things are possible. It ain’t over until He says it’s over! We must never give up. Just like dried raisins can be rejuvenated – brought back to life, so to speak – and used to create an amazingly wonderful pie… God can often breathe life back into us or our situation. He can make a way where we saw none. God can “open our graves” and set us free.
I don’t know what you are facing. I don’t know where you have admitted defeat and decided things are hopeless. I have no clue how or when you have given up… but I know that many of us have - at least for a while. And I am here to tell you that we serve a God of endless possibilities… miracles we cannot imagine. All we have to do is say, “LORD, I don’t know how, when, or where you will change my situation… but I know that you will. I am giving this to You, recognizing Your strength and power, and asking You to turn things around, according to Your perfect will.”
I pray that you will develop the kind of deep abiding faith in God that allows you to release your “dry bones” to Him. Do whatever it takes to become so in tune with Him that you trust Him completely – not just if you face uncertainties, but especially when these happen! Get to a point in your relationship with God where nothing rattles you… where you hand Him all of your troubles and truly release them. Feel the freedom of knowing that HE is in control and working things out perfectly. Learn to truly LIVE in God… to allow His Spirit to fully give you breath… and to operate in the confidence and peace of knowing that He always has your back!
©2012 Debbie Robus
The Lord said: Ezekiel, the people of Israel are like dead bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the future. So tell them, “I, the Lord God, promise to open your graves and set you free. I will bring you back to Israel, and when that happens, you will realize that I am the Lord. My Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again. I will bring you home, and you will know that I have kept my promise. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I have a great recipe for a sour cream raisin pie. This may sound awful to you, but I promise, it is delicious. Raisins are suspended in a creamy, sweet custard made mostly of eggs, sugar, and sour cream… topped by a golden meringue. Now, I love raisins, but the thought of hard, chewy nuggets in a creamy pie does not appeal to me. The key to making the raisins tasty for this pie is to soak them for a few minutes in boiling water. They plump and become juicy and have an altogether different consistency from that of their dried state. The raisins are transformed!
There are many situations in life where we become like dried raisins… lifeless, hard and chewy. Or we become like dead bones… no life in us at all. We give up… we throw our hands in the air and say, “This is too hard… I just cannot continue. Things will never change. My future is hopeless.” Or we give up on someone else – or a certain situation. We humans are often pretty quick to lose our hope and throw in the towel!
Here’s the deal… with God, all things are possible. It ain’t over until He says it’s over! We must never give up. Just like dried raisins can be rejuvenated – brought back to life, so to speak – and used to create an amazingly wonderful pie… God can often breathe life back into us or our situation. He can make a way where we saw none. God can “open our graves” and set us free.
I don’t know what you are facing. I don’t know where you have admitted defeat and decided things are hopeless. I have no clue how or when you have given up… but I know that many of us have - at least for a while. And I am here to tell you that we serve a God of endless possibilities… miracles we cannot imagine. All we have to do is say, “LORD, I don’t know how, when, or where you will change my situation… but I know that you will. I am giving this to You, recognizing Your strength and power, and asking You to turn things around, according to Your perfect will.”
I pray that you will develop the kind of deep abiding faith in God that allows you to release your “dry bones” to Him. Do whatever it takes to become so in tune with Him that you trust Him completely – not just if you face uncertainties, but especially when these happen! Get to a point in your relationship with God where nothing rattles you… where you hand Him all of your troubles and truly release them. Feel the freedom of knowing that HE is in control and working things out perfectly. Learn to truly LIVE in God… to allow His Spirit to fully give you breath… and to operate in the confidence and peace of knowing that He always has your back!
©2012 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for January 8, 2012
Psalm 148:1-4
Shout praises to the LORD! Shout the LORD's praises in the highest heavens. All of you angels, and all who serve him above, come and offer praise. Sun and moon, and all of you bright stars, come and offer praise. Highest heavens, and the water above the highest heavens, come and offer praise.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
One year ago this day, my cousin J.D. and a woman named Angie were married. While all wedding anniversaries are milestones, what makes this one particularly worthy of mention lies in the story of how these two were brought together in the first place… and how God works in our lives each and every day. On his website at www.kingdomcallministries.org, J.D. tells his story… how he became consumed with both using and dealing drugs as a teenager… how he was in and out of rehabs and jails – and ultimately he was incarcerated in prison for more than three years. True to his nature and the pull of the devil on his heart, J.D. was rebellious and uncooperative, and he became a frequent visitor to “The Hole” – also known as solitary confinement.
J.D. writes that… “Being sent to prison relegates you to a low class. Being sent to a prison within in a prison places one in the top ranks of the biggest losers… that is where I was. Most, I’m sure, had given up on me ever becoming a productive human being. My life was a mess, my brain was shot, and my situation was hopeless.” J.D. got some of it right… a few people did give up on him. But others did not. We prayed, we encouraged… and God kept working. And one day while sitting alone in “The Hole,” J.D. had a visit from Jesus that totally transformed his life.
After his release from prison in 2007, J.D. returned home and found a job – and a church home. He grew in his faith and found that God was calling Him to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others… to be a living testament to His ability to make a way where none seems possible. It wasn’t easy… and Satan would not go away. In 2009, J.D. awoke in a hospital with virtually every bone in his face broken, and his jaws wired shut. He had been involved in a horrible logging accident where a pine tree fell directly onto his face. In his words…“Satan had tried to take me out with that pine tree and had come awfully close to succeeding.”
But J.D. recovered fully from his injuries, and he began to share the word of God wherever a church would invite him to speak. He spent his days immersed in prayer and studying God’s word. He trusted God to provide for his needs via “love offerings” and a small business he managed selling chainsaws and parts online. And one evening as he stopped to attend a tent revival near Romance, Arkansas, he greeted the evangelist and his assistant – a woman named Angie, who would soon become his wife.
In the past year, J.D. and Angie have begun their own ministry and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others in churches and via tent revivals from Arkansas to Indiana. The young man who was hopeless and helpless is now using his own story of rescue and redemption to offer the hope and promise of a life in Christ to others. And at every turn, he and Angie are praising God for His faithfulness… and encouraging others to do the same.
J.D. and I have laughed and agreed that the God who can fix him can fix anybody! But really, this is no laughing matter… it’s the plain and simple truth. I don’t know what you are facing. I don’t know your challenges… your concerns… your needs and fears. But I know that God can accomplish ANYTHING. So I am asking you to hang on… to keep the faith… to never give up… and to always… ALWAYS, give Him the praise He so richly deserves. To God be the glory for rescuing J.D. and uniting Him with Angie. To God be the glory for the miraculous and wonderful things He is doing – and will continue – in each of our lives. Won’t you come and offer Him YOUR praise today?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Shout praises to the LORD! Shout the LORD's praises in the highest heavens. All of you angels, and all who serve him above, come and offer praise. Sun and moon, and all of you bright stars, come and offer praise. Highest heavens, and the water above the highest heavens, come and offer praise.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
One year ago this day, my cousin J.D. and a woman named Angie were married. While all wedding anniversaries are milestones, what makes this one particularly worthy of mention lies in the story of how these two were brought together in the first place… and how God works in our lives each and every day. On his website at www.kingdomcallministries.org, J.D. tells his story… how he became consumed with both using and dealing drugs as a teenager… how he was in and out of rehabs and jails – and ultimately he was incarcerated in prison for more than three years. True to his nature and the pull of the devil on his heart, J.D. was rebellious and uncooperative, and he became a frequent visitor to “The Hole” – also known as solitary confinement.
J.D. writes that… “Being sent to prison relegates you to a low class. Being sent to a prison within in a prison places one in the top ranks of the biggest losers… that is where I was. Most, I’m sure, had given up on me ever becoming a productive human being. My life was a mess, my brain was shot, and my situation was hopeless.” J.D. got some of it right… a few people did give up on him. But others did not. We prayed, we encouraged… and God kept working. And one day while sitting alone in “The Hole,” J.D. had a visit from Jesus that totally transformed his life.
After his release from prison in 2007, J.D. returned home and found a job – and a church home. He grew in his faith and found that God was calling Him to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others… to be a living testament to His ability to make a way where none seems possible. It wasn’t easy… and Satan would not go away. In 2009, J.D. awoke in a hospital with virtually every bone in his face broken, and his jaws wired shut. He had been involved in a horrible logging accident where a pine tree fell directly onto his face. In his words…“Satan had tried to take me out with that pine tree and had come awfully close to succeeding.”
But J.D. recovered fully from his injuries, and he began to share the word of God wherever a church would invite him to speak. He spent his days immersed in prayer and studying God’s word. He trusted God to provide for his needs via “love offerings” and a small business he managed selling chainsaws and parts online. And one evening as he stopped to attend a tent revival near Romance, Arkansas, he greeted the evangelist and his assistant – a woman named Angie, who would soon become his wife.
In the past year, J.D. and Angie have begun their own ministry and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others in churches and via tent revivals from Arkansas to Indiana. The young man who was hopeless and helpless is now using his own story of rescue and redemption to offer the hope and promise of a life in Christ to others. And at every turn, he and Angie are praising God for His faithfulness… and encouraging others to do the same.
J.D. and I have laughed and agreed that the God who can fix him can fix anybody! But really, this is no laughing matter… it’s the plain and simple truth. I don’t know what you are facing. I don’t know your challenges… your concerns… your needs and fears. But I know that God can accomplish ANYTHING. So I am asking you to hang on… to keep the faith… to never give up… and to always… ALWAYS, give Him the praise He so richly deserves. To God be the glory for rescuing J.D. and uniting Him with Angie. To God be the glory for the miraculous and wonderful things He is doing – and will continue – in each of our lives. Won’t you come and offer Him YOUR praise today?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)