Acts 3:12-16
Peter saw his opportunity and
addressed the crowd. “Men of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising
about this? And why look at us as though we by our own power and
godliness had made this man walk? For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob and of all our ancestors who has brought glory to his servant
Jesus by doing this. I refer to the Jesus whom you rejected before
Pilate, despite Pilate’s determination to release him. You didn’t want
him freed—this holy, righteous one. Instead you demanded the release of a
murderer. And you killed the Author of Life; but God brought him back
to life again. And John and I are witnesses of this fact, for after you
killed him we saw him alive!
“Jesus’ name has healed this man—and
you know how lame he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name—faith given us
from God—has caused this perfect healing.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Some of you may be watching
the resurrected version of the television series “Dallas”. Back in the
70s and 80s when this show first aired, one of the main characters,
“Bobby Ewing”, played by Patrick Duffy, was killed when the sister of
his brother’s wife ran over him with a car...or so we thought. We
learned in a subsequent season that this “death” had all been the “bad
dream” of Bobby’s ex-wife Pamela. Still with me? I know this is crazy,
and even writing it all down made me wonder, “What were we thinking?!”
I
share this to tell you that we are no strangers to modern-day
“resurrection” stories. They happen all the time in television series,
movies...and even our favorite novels. Someone appears to be dead, but
we discover that they really aren’t. Children watch cartoons in which
the characters come back to life over and again. All of this combines
to create a sort of “numbness” and indifference in each of us...and on
certain levels, it causes us to detach from reality.
It is no
surprise that we are somewhat numb to the profound significance of
Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection...that we are not as cognizant of
Jesus’ healing power as we should be. It isn’t even that big of a
stretch to see how we could give ourselves and the “healers” in our
midst more credit than we deserve for our health and well-being in every
area of life. Although it’s a “slippery slope”, one can see how easy
it might be to give too much credit to physicians, therapists, coaches,
teachers, parents, friends, and even clergy for enabling us to put one
foot in front of the other.
While these people may play a
significant role in our overall health and well-being...their true power
comes from Jesus. We may benefit from their wisdom, expertise,
kindness, compassion, mercy, and life experiences, but none of this
would be available to us without our Savior. Jesus knows what we
need...when we need it...and how to get it to us. He uses human beings
as the vehicle for our healing...but ultimately, He is the Great Healer.
Unlike
the original “Dallas” series and its 2012 revival, Jesus’ life, death,
and resurrection were no television soap opera. Jesus is as real as it
gets...and His power to heal and restore us – and meet our every need –
is unsurpassed. His use of ordinary people like you and me to carry out
His missions is equally real.
Maybe it’s time for us to open our
eyes and re-align our focus a bit. Maybe we need to be more aware of
Who is really running the show...and give Him the appropriate measure of
gratitude. Maybe we need to stop thinking so highly of ourselves and
stop to recognize Who fuels our every breath! Perhaps we need to start
looking a little more closely at Who is truly the Author of our
lives...and give credit where it is due. Isn’t this the perfect time to
begin?
©2014 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label recognizing who is really in charge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recognizing who is really in charge. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for November 4, 2013
John 3:23-30
At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. (This was before John was thrown into prison.) A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
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.
All teachers know that Halloween is a turning point in the fall semester, particularly for little ones. Once the kids get their Halloween “sugar high,” it’s pretty much “Katy bar the door” until Christmas! So when my niece told me that Timothy’s teachers had declared him to be “rowdy” on November 1st, I can’t say I was surprised. I told her that my experience had proven that there would be lots of “rowdiness” between now and Christmas… and she said Timothy’s teachers had pretty much said the same thing.
This explanation doesn’t excuse “rowdy” behavior in young children… and they must accept responsibility for their actions. So when Timothy told us on Sunday, “I didn’t get to come to your house after Halloween,” I reminded him that it was because he had misbehaved… that in order to visit us overnight on Saturday, he must be good at school – and at home – during the week. That’s a tall order for a four-year-old. But he can do it. And at some point, we must hold him more accountable for his actions and intervene on his behalf less and less. Even now, as he learns in Sunday school that God created everything… that God wants us to do our very best…that God will help us with our challenges… we must allow Him to lean more on God and less on us for these things.
Learning to let go – even of your child’s spiritual journey - is a hard “parenting” lesson. It’s even harder for us sometimes as we become adults. We often have trouble recognizing Who is really in charge. We want to do things ourselves… our way…and to receive credit for our independence. So we find it hard to admit that God is in charge… that while we are allowed to handle things somewhat on our own at times, the end result came from Him – by His hand, not our own.
By the same token, we must accept responsibility for our actions and not try to blame God. Rather, we must learn to rely on Him. Just as young children must learn to develop a trust in God… to listen to Him and follow His lead… to acknowledge right from wrong and strive to do what He desires… we must do the same. And we must lead by example…not because we are wonderful, strong and mighty… but because we are made so by God’s great sacrifice – His love, grace and mercy over us.
It’s not about us… it’s about Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. It’s about God and the love He has for us that is so great that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son for our sins. It’s about the privilege of serving Him… of allowing God to use us to reach others in His name… and giving Him all of the glory and credit. We are very much still the rowdy child who has lessons to learn... but it’s high time we grew up a bit and started comprehending what we have been taught!
Where are you in this journey? Are you taking credit for the things that God has done in and through you? Are you showing the proper respect for your position in life… or do you think more highly of yourself than you ought? Are you trying to be the bridegroom instead of the best man? Do you need to acknowledge your “rowdiness” and make an effort to behave better? Isn’t it time you got started?
©2013 Debbie Robus
At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. (This was before John was thrown into prison.) A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
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.
All teachers know that Halloween is a turning point in the fall semester, particularly for little ones. Once the kids get their Halloween “sugar high,” it’s pretty much “Katy bar the door” until Christmas! So when my niece told me that Timothy’s teachers had declared him to be “rowdy” on November 1st, I can’t say I was surprised. I told her that my experience had proven that there would be lots of “rowdiness” between now and Christmas… and she said Timothy’s teachers had pretty much said the same thing.
This explanation doesn’t excuse “rowdy” behavior in young children… and they must accept responsibility for their actions. So when Timothy told us on Sunday, “I didn’t get to come to your house after Halloween,” I reminded him that it was because he had misbehaved… that in order to visit us overnight on Saturday, he must be good at school – and at home – during the week. That’s a tall order for a four-year-old. But he can do it. And at some point, we must hold him more accountable for his actions and intervene on his behalf less and less. Even now, as he learns in Sunday school that God created everything… that God wants us to do our very best…that God will help us with our challenges… we must allow Him to lean more on God and less on us for these things.
Learning to let go – even of your child’s spiritual journey - is a hard “parenting” lesson. It’s even harder for us sometimes as we become adults. We often have trouble recognizing Who is really in charge. We want to do things ourselves… our way…and to receive credit for our independence. So we find it hard to admit that God is in charge… that while we are allowed to handle things somewhat on our own at times, the end result came from Him – by His hand, not our own.
By the same token, we must accept responsibility for our actions and not try to blame God. Rather, we must learn to rely on Him. Just as young children must learn to develop a trust in God… to listen to Him and follow His lead… to acknowledge right from wrong and strive to do what He desires… we must do the same. And we must lead by example…not because we are wonderful, strong and mighty… but because we are made so by God’s great sacrifice – His love, grace and mercy over us.
It’s not about us… it’s about Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. It’s about God and the love He has for us that is so great that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son for our sins. It’s about the privilege of serving Him… of allowing God to use us to reach others in His name… and giving Him all of the glory and credit. We are very much still the rowdy child who has lessons to learn... but it’s high time we grew up a bit and started comprehending what we have been taught!
Where are you in this journey? Are you taking credit for the things that God has done in and through you? Are you showing the proper respect for your position in life… or do you think more highly of yourself than you ought? Are you trying to be the bridegroom instead of the best man? Do you need to acknowledge your “rowdiness” and make an effort to behave better? Isn’t it time you got started?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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