Daily Devotional for October 17, 2014

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, and force out demons. You received without paying, now give without being paid.

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

When you hear the phrase, “I don’t get no respect”...most of us think of comedian Rodney Dangerfield.  This was his “hook” for many years...the words that made him famous.  Dangerfield had a string of “examples” to illustrate how/why he was not respected...

• ”When I was a kid I got no respect. I worked in a pet store. People kept askin' how big I get. On Halloween, the parents send their kids out looking like me.”
• “When I answer the door the kids hand me candy.”

In our own lives, there may be areas where we feel we “get no respect”.  We may even cry out to God at times and say, “I have done everything you ask of me...and still, I am disrespected or unappreciated.”  I know I have shared this story countless times, but I once had a kindergarten student whose family was given all kinds of assistance...from both individuals in our school and community - and from the Department of Human Services.  Instead of being grateful and appreciative, the parents continued to misuse the resources given to them – and to disrespect their benefactors at every turn. It was very hard not to rail against them at times and ask, “What on earth is wrong with you?”!

Read Matthew 10:8 again.  Jesus tells us to minister to others – to “heal” them, encourage them, lift them up and support them – and share the Gospel with them.  That’s really what He means when He says “heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal those with leprosy, and force out demons.”  But what is critically important is his next sentence...”You received without paying, now give without being paid.”
 
I don’t know about you, but this hits me squarely between the eyes!  Jesus did all of these things – and so much more – for you and me without expecting anything in return.  In fact, there is no way we could even begin to repay Him.  So what makes us think that we should expect payment for anything we do in His name?  What right do we have to get upset when we help someone else and they treat us miserably?  Yes, it hurts...sure, it stings when we are disrespected or dishonored.  Of course we are angered when our efforts are demeaned or squandered.  But imagine how Jesus feels...because we do this to Him – all.the.time!

We have to learn to treat Jesus with more respect...we must make a concerted effort to offer Him our sincere praise and appreciation for all that He does for us every second of the day.  Additionally, we have to get over ourselves with regard to those we “heal” in His name.  We have to learn to operate so fully in the joy of serving Jesus that what others do with our offerings truly doesn’t matter to us.  We put it out there...the rest is up to that person.

Be advised...the devil will make sure to needle you every time someone doesn’t respond as you had expected.  He will be front and center to say, “How dare they!”...to make you question yourself, and to doubt your strength in Jesus. Operating above the “fray” won’t come easily...and it surely won’t happen overnight. But we must continue to work toward this goal...to study God’s word and maintain close communication with Him, so that we are strengthened and encouraged to keep trying.

We must accept that there will be a lot of things that we do in this world for which we are never given “credit” or proper respect...and that this is not the goal.  Jesus is the only One whose feelings and opinions truly matter.

I know I have a lot of work to do in this area...but I’m ready to put in the time and effort.  What about you?

©2014 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for November 19, 2013

1 Samuel 19:1-8
One day, Saul told his son Jonathan and his officers to kill David. But Jonathan liked David a lot, and he warned David, “My father is trying to have you killed, so be very careful. Hide in a field tomorrow morning, and I’ll bring him there. Then I’ll talk to him about you, and if I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”
 
The next morning, Jonathan reminded Saul about the many good things David had done for him. Then he said, “Why do you want to kill David? He hasn’t done anything to you. He has served in your army and has always done what’s best for you. He even risked his life to kill Goliath. The Lord helped Israel win a great victory that day, and it made you happy.”
 
Saul agreed and promised, “I swear by the living Lord that I won’t have David killed!”
 
Jonathan called to David and told him what Saul had said. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in Saul’s army just as he had done before.
 
The next time there was a war with the Philistines, David fought hard and forced them to retreat.
 
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
 
In 2001, Kent Heitholt, a reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune in Columbia, Missouri, was viciously bludgeoned to death as he approached his car in the newspaper’s parking lot after a work shift.  The case remained unsolved… until 2004, when a young man who had a history of problems with drugs and alcohol came forward.  Chuck Erickson claimed that he was having dreams that he had been present at a murder… and he thought these might be flashbacks.  With him in the dream was a “friend” named Ryan Ferguson.  I’ll skip all the details here and get to the nuts and bolts… Erickson implicated Ferguson, and while nothing matched… DNA, hair samples, footprints – NOTHING – Ferguson was arrested… and convicted… and sentenced to prison, where he stayed for 9 years, 8 months, and 2 days.
 
On November 12, 2013, Ryan Ferguson was released from prison and is now a free man. Try to imagine being 19 years old and hearing a judge sentence you to 40 years in prison for a crime you did not commit… something of which you had absolutely no knowledge.  Imagine how Ferguson’s parents felt as they saw their son led away as the result of a judicial system whose ruling was based on false testimony that piled up from two “key witnesses”.  Think about the incredible fear, betrayal, disrespect, and sheer panic this young man must have experienced.  Try to envision how he felt for nearly 10 years as he sat behind bars for something that he didn’t do, trying to clear his name. We would all agree that Ryan Ferguson has every right to be angry… upset… heartbroken… that he should be ready to tear the world apart for this indignity and affront.
 
There has also been a lot of information in the news lately about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy…fifty years ago this week.  I watched an interview with the Secret Service agent who is shown in film footage reaching across the trunk of the President’s limo toward Mrs. Kennedy. as she climbed toward the rear of the car.  The agent says she was retrieving the portion of Kennedy’s head that had just been blown away.  The interviewer asked, “What did she say to you?”  The agent replied, “She told me, ‘I’ve got the President’s brains in my hand.’”  Imagine her shock and horror.  Imagine the indignation of having your husband’s head blown away as you sat beside him.  Can you even fathom the dishonor and disrespect – the downright evil – of pulling the trigger and taking another person’s life?  Jackie Kennedy is reported to have refused to change from the pink Chanel suit that bore her husband’s blood stains, saying, “I want them to see what they have done.”
 
Don’t we all feel this way sometimes?  When someone disrespects, insults, or hurts us in some way, don’t we often want to lash out… and rightly so?  I have no doubt that you have been mistreated somewhere along the line – maybe even today!  And maybe much like Jonathan’s question to King Saul, you are saying, “Why is this happening to me?  I have done nothing wrong.”
 
I certainly do not have all the answers – about anything!  But here’s what keeps coming to me about this dilemma… remember Jesus.  Remember that He did nothing wrong, yet he was falsely accused, beaten, persecuted… and sentenced to death.  As if that were not enough, his murder was brutal and indignant.  He was mocked, stripped, pierced, horrifically tortured… and spit upon.  And still He cried, “Father, forgive them.”  Tall order?  You betcha!  There have been times when I have argued… “But how am I to forgive?  Haven’t I had enough?”  The answer is a resounding… “Seventy times seven.”  (Matthew 18:21-22…” Peter came up to the Lord and asked, “How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?” Jesus answered: Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!”)  The temptation for revenge can be great… even to the extent of “I want them to see what they have done.”  The answer to my prayer is found in John 13:34…” But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you.”
 
If you continue to read the book of 1 Samuel through at least Chapter 23, you will see that Saul did not keep his word.  He became consumed by the devil and tried several times to kill David.  And you may feel like you keep getting kicked and disrespected and knocked down over and again.  You may be tempted to quit… to give up and walk away from the people or situation that is causing you so much pain.  I encourage you to spend a lot of time in prayer and ask God to show you how to proceed.  Feel His hands on your shoulders, holding you and absorbing your tears and frustration.  Allow Him room to work… and listen as He shows you where to back away – and how far to go.  Let God give you the strength and wisdom to handle indignation and disrespect with grace, confidence and peace.  Continue to fight hard… in Jesus’ name…and because He did it for you.
 
I don’t know how a 28-year-old man adjusts to re-entering society after almost a decade of injustice.  But I do know that with God, all things are possible.  Won’t you allow Him to work in your life today?  Will you ask God to give you empathy and sensitivity for those who have been unfairly treated… and a strong confidence that God understands the heartbreak of disrespect and offense, because He experiences it firsthand as we mistreat Him?  Can you look beyond your own burdens and operate in God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness?
 
When was the last time you apologized to God for how you have disrespected and disappointed Him?  Isn’t this a good place to begin your healing journey?  As you begin to repair your relationship with God, you will find the strength, courage and wisdom to operate in His grace and mercy toward others.  Just as Ryan Ferguson cannot retrieve the near-decade he lost to prison… and we cannot bring back those who have been murdered and taken from us…we cannot change our past.  But God can equip us to handle the future… and to enjoy our life as Christian disciples.  Are you with me?
 
©2013 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for November 16, 2013

1 Thessalonians 5:13-15

Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

 

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.

 

Rex was the boy who sat beside me at my table in first grade.  One day, he threw up his morning milk.  Since I was not a fan of morning milk time in the first place, I scooted my chair away from the ugly puddle, for fear of becoming nauseous myself.  There were no intercoms or cell phones in this dank concrete block building with its cold cement floor, but I’m sure that somehow the janitor was summoned.  Meanwhile, my teacher, Mrs. Troy, walked over to the table and snapped, “Debra, if that is getting your goat, then MOVE!”  I never said a word.  I had the deepest respect for Mrs. Troy… call it a mixture of admiration and a healthy dose of fear.  I’d seen that little wooden ping pong paddle she kept perched atop the chalk rail at the reading circle!  I sat stock still and waited for the janitor to come sprinkle that dusty clay mixture over the puddle and wait for it to absorb so he could sweep it away.

 

I didn’t dare move, as Mrs. Troy had suggested.  But don’t you find it amazing that some 50 years later, I still vividly remember that incident and her words?  I remember going home and telling my mother what she said… crushed in spirit at what I perceived as an insult and a total lack of empathy for my feelings.  A woman I had deeply revered and respected had totally betrayed me… and even as a six-year-old first grader, it somewhat broke my spirit.  To be honest, for all of the things I lovingly remember about Mrs. Troy… that lone incident is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of her even today.

 

You can insert your jokes and jabs here… “So you were scarred for life by a first-grade puking incident?!”  You can declare me incredibly sensitive… overly so, to allow something so minor to affect me for half a century.  But here’s the point.  We truly do not know what others are thinking and feeling.  We have no clue what effect our words and actions toward them can have.  As a former teacher, I can assure you that I get it… the last thing you want in your classroom in the middle of a busy morning is for some kid to upchuck his/her milk!  I still remember the morning I was collecting lunch money and a child approached me and threw up all over my open-toed shoe… and it was not pretty!  And I remember distinctly that I did NOT snap at this child… perhaps because of my own childhood experience.

 

Still, you have to look at it from the other person’s perspective.  My teacher apparently didn’t consider how close I was to joining Rex in this disgusting “upheaval”.  She probably didn’t mean to snap at me… but once words are spoken, they are very hard to retract.  And apologies (if/when offered) have fairly little relevance for young children.  They say “Sorry!” all the time without meaning it!

 

What has all of this got to do with us today?  Plenty!  We need to work harder at respecting each other.  We need to choose our words and actions more carefully… to be kinder… to look for the best in others and point this out rather than their faults.  We need to take deep breaths and count to ten before responding, and we need to look for those who could use a little encouragement – and give it to them!  And we need to ask God to help us with every bit of this and more… to equip us with wisdom, compassion, and common sense!

 

An acquaintance of mine recently lost her husband in an airplane crash.  She wrote a blog post about how people are constantly asking her, “How are you doing?”  She said she knows the desired response is, “I’m fine.”  But the truth is… she isn’t “fine”… she is deeply hurt, scared, lonely, and feeling her way through the days in a world that she feels is spinning around her while she stands still. Several people commented to her and told her that they never fully understood these emotions until they lost someone dear to them… and now they get it.  If nothing else, the experiences of grief and loss – and personal disrespect - have a way of making us more tender and sensitive to the needs and feelings of others around us… or they should.

 

We shouldn’t have to be thrust into a situation such as the death of a loved one before we become more attuned to the feelings of others.  We should be looking for ways to show our respect for others… to offer them kindness, grace, mercy, encouragement, and support.  We should recognize that every person has value – and needs… and our job as Christian disciples is to meet them right where they are.  No one wants or deserves to be disrespected… not even a six-year-old.  Look around.  Who needs your respect today?  What will you do to find the best in others and bring it to the forefront?  Is there someone you have disrespected who needs to hear from you today?  Will you make an effort to bring out the best in others and meet their needs, in Jesus’ name?  Shouldn’t you?

 

©2013 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for November 8, 2013

Matthew 25:40
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"
 
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.
 
There is a lot of talk in the news about the Miami Dolphins linebacker Richie Incognito and his hazing of rookie lineman Jonathan Martin.  There are people who are backing up Martin’s claims that Incognito took things too far… and others who are defending Incognito and saying this was blown out of proportion… that Martin “broke the rookie code” and should have handled this internally rather than going public with it.  Either way, people have been disrespected… perhaps even bullied...and emotions are running high on both sides of the dilemma.
 
More than once, I have repeated the words of my pastor… “There is a heartache on every pew.” Several experiences in my life have left me with a mixed bag of emotions… confusion, frustration, anger, deep sadness, disappointment, betrayal, heartbreak - and an incredible weariness.  And maybe you have felt the same way.  In some cases, I’ve wanted to raise my hands and say, “That’s it!’  I’m DONE!”  Sometimes it seems as though it would be so much easier to just walk away and let things happen… to turn our backs, move ahead with our lives, and let the chips fall where they may.
 
What keeps me from throwing in the towel?  Every time I get even remotely close, I think of Jesus.  Each and every time, He reminds me that I do this same thing to Him all the time.  And He’s.Still.Here.
 
I am humbled and ashamed when I think that I have disrespected Jesus after all He has so generously and mercifully done for me.  When I think that for one instant I frustrated Him, made Him angry, or caused Him a deep and penetrating sadness or heartache, I am incredibly grieved.  To even imagine that I spoke unkindly – and my comments stung Jesus and broke His heart - is almost more than I can bear.  To think that I could accept all that Jesus offers me and then treat Him in a manner that leaves him confused and asking, “Where did THAT come from?  What in the world is she thinking?” makes me incredibly remorseful, embarrassed and ashamed.  And still, He is here…doing what He does best – loving… forgiving… restoring…blessing.  So how could I do any less in the situations that I encounter?
 
Don’t misunderstand… it hurts to be disrespected… and bullying at any age is simply not cool.  None of us like to be mistreated, betrayed, or taken for fools.  Everyone has feelings… even big ole pro football linebackers!  Just because a person is at a certain stage in life or a “rookie” at something does not give others license to ridicule and torment.  Just because someone is educated, has money and/or a respectable position - or seems to have everything in life going his/her way doesn’t mean that this person is numb to disrespect.  Just because a person operates in faith and appears to be able to handle life’s challenges rather easily doesn’t mean that he/she will not be affected by mistreatment or disrespect.
 
We all need to take a long hard look at our daily living and our relationships with others.  Where have we disrespected one another… and in doing so, disrespected Jesus?  Where have we mistreated someone with our words and/or actions… and done the same thing to Jesus in the bargain?  How have we been angered, frustrated, betrayed, and disappointed?  How have we done these things to others… and to Jesus?
 
How have we responded to the disrespect of others?  Does it fall in line with how Jesus treats us?  Do we offer compassion, forgiveness, grace and mercy – even when it isn’t requested, much less deserved?  Are we willing to love unconditionally, just as He does? Or do we tuck tail and run at the first sign that things are getting rough?  When do we say, “Enough is enough?” and walk away… and when do we say, “Maybe God can show me how to repair and restore this situation or relationship.”?
 
I don’t know what is right in every situation… and I certainly don’t know what is the right answer to the apparent problem with hazing in the NFL!  But I do know that we serve a God of second chances to the Nth degree…a God who continues to love us even when we disrespect Him.  And this keeps me going.
 
We must make every effort to be respectful of others in all situations.  At the same time, we must continue to work at showing our respect for Jesus… and that includes working through the frustrating situations that each of us encounters.  It’s a tall order… and often, it’s not a whole lot of fun!  We were not promised “free and easy” as Christians… but the blessings that we enjoy each and every day far outweigh any burdens.  Don’t you agree?
 
I pray that you will join me in asking God to instill in your heart a newfound desire to seek ways to operate with respect… toward others AND toward Him.  It may not change how everyone treats us in return, but at least we will know that we are honoring Jesus and His amazing love for us in our own daily living.  If we are certain that we are pleasing Him, surely He will give us the courage and strength to handle the rest.  Isn’t it worth a shot?

©2013 Debbie Robus