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
Showing posts with label putting aside our desires for Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label putting aside our desires for Jesus. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for May 11, 2014
Luke 14:33
“Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.
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.
In her book Just Give Me Jesus, author Anne Graham Lotz describes Jesus’ presence at the tomb of his dear friend Lazarus. She notes that Jesus wept in grief…a reminder of how deeply He cares about all that we are experiencing and weeps with us when we are hurting. She also recalls that Jesus had the stone rolled away. She makes the point that Jesus did not do this personally - although He surely could have commanded the stone to be moved, and it would have been so! Jesus had this done by others - many of whom protested. Even Lazarus’ sister Martha objected, saying that after four days in the tomb, the body would smell to high heavens! Still, Jesus had the stone rolled away, and He called for Lazarus to come forth. And Lazarus did exactly that!
Graham-Lotz makes the point that often, we are like Martha…so “worried about the smell”, or what someone will think...concerned over what we might have to “give up”…busy holding onto old grudges or past mistakes…unwilling to compromise or concede…and we miss the bigger picture. And the end result is catastrophic, because we miss Jesus!
We have to be willing to literally “lose everything in order to gain the world”…because without Jesus, nothing else really matters. I know that is hard for us to imagine. We hold many people, places, things and plans so very dear. But the hard reality is that none of these can save us from sin…without Jesus, none of us is destined for an eternity in heaven. You can have all of the earthly love and affection, material wealth, popularity and success, and what feels like pure joy that you can possibly muster. But if you don’t have Jesus, it’s all worthless.
Graham-Lotz asks the question, “What ‘stone’ do you need to roll back today?” And this is my question for us. What have we made more important than Jesus? What would we part with for Him…how far are we willing to go to have Him in our lives? Isn’t it time we figured this out? Will this be the day that you “roll away the stones” in your life and truly find God? Don’t you think it should be?
©2014 Debbie Robus
“Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.
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.
In her book Just Give Me Jesus, author Anne Graham Lotz describes Jesus’ presence at the tomb of his dear friend Lazarus. She notes that Jesus wept in grief…a reminder of how deeply He cares about all that we are experiencing and weeps with us when we are hurting. She also recalls that Jesus had the stone rolled away. She makes the point that Jesus did not do this personally - although He surely could have commanded the stone to be moved, and it would have been so! Jesus had this done by others - many of whom protested. Even Lazarus’ sister Martha objected, saying that after four days in the tomb, the body would smell to high heavens! Still, Jesus had the stone rolled away, and He called for Lazarus to come forth. And Lazarus did exactly that!
Graham-Lotz makes the point that often, we are like Martha…so “worried about the smell”, or what someone will think...concerned over what we might have to “give up”…busy holding onto old grudges or past mistakes…unwilling to compromise or concede…and we miss the bigger picture. And the end result is catastrophic, because we miss Jesus!
We have to be willing to literally “lose everything in order to gain the world”…because without Jesus, nothing else really matters. I know that is hard for us to imagine. We hold many people, places, things and plans so very dear. But the hard reality is that none of these can save us from sin…without Jesus, none of us is destined for an eternity in heaven. You can have all of the earthly love and affection, material wealth, popularity and success, and what feels like pure joy that you can possibly muster. But if you don’t have Jesus, it’s all worthless.
Graham-Lotz asks the question, “What ‘stone’ do you need to roll back today?” And this is my question for us. What have we made more important than Jesus? What would we part with for Him…how far are we willing to go to have Him in our lives? Isn’t it time we figured this out? Will this be the day that you “roll away the stones” in your life and truly find God? Don’t you think it should be?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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