2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
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.
On NBC’s The Biggest Loser, there is a lot of discussion about what is taking place with contestants… both “on the outside” and internally. The coaches will readily point out that a mental shift is as important to permanent weight loss as the physical work. So when a contestant exercises vigorously all week and eats a careful diet… and then shows a very small reduction on the scale – or sometimes no weight loss at all – the coach is quick to note that we cannot always “see” the success that is taking place. Progress may still have been made… particularly in the form of an attitude adjustment. The primary focus is not on how many pounds are lost in any given week… but on what will be the final – and hopefully lasting – result. And the hope of making great strides in the long term is what keeps everyone from giving up.
In my lifetime, there have been many situations where I felt like things were falling apart on the outside… but I could not see the “new life” God was creating on the inside. When I taught a junior high Sunday school class, I came home discouraged most Sundays. I felt as if the kids didn’t understand what I was sharing with them… or care. People told me over and again, “You may never know the seeds you have planted.” There were similar feelings with some of my kindergarten and first grade students. Did I really teach them anything? Did God really use me to make a difference in their lives? Over time, I am realizing that the answer is a resounding… “YES!”
Some of the “results” are still questionable… while others are readily visible. I’ve reconnected with many of my students in recent years, particularly via Facebook. To see all that they have accomplished…to witness how they have developed into productive, upstanding, faith-filled adults... to hear them say, “I remember when you taught us this or that – or when we did such-and-such”… to hear a student say, “I was incredibly blessed to have a Sunday school teacher who cared so much for me and my classmates”…this tells me that something went right. God’s grace unfolds before me as I see how He has worked in these young lives.
In other situations, I am still waiting on answers and results… and I bet you are, too. Not everything in life will turn out like we anticipate or in the timetable we desire… and there will be plenty of times when we want to throw up our hands and say, “I simply cannot take this anymore.” But we must never give up! We must keep on listening for God’s wisdom and guidance… and doing what He wants us to do. We must trust Him to make the difference… to turn these “small potatoes hard times” into lavish good times through His amazing grace. We must have hope… and we must have it abundantly!
If we never physically “see” results from our efforts, we must have confidence that they still exist. If the scale never shows that we have lost an ounce, yet we are more fit and healthy than ever - and working hard to stay that way - we must trust that God’s not done with us yet. We must hope and wait on Him… and trust that what we can’t see is most certainly in the works – and built to last forever. Do you have this kind of hope in God’s power and promises? I'm not giving up... are you?
©2013 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label staying focused. Show all posts
Showing posts with label staying focused. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for May 2, 2013
Romans 1:18-25
But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!
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.
I’ll admit it… I’m hooked on A&E’s “Duck Dynasty!” I realize that not everyone “gets” this show, and I know that it is made-for-TV and borders on the ridiculous at times. But I laugh so hard… especially at the wacky Uncle, Si Robertson. On a recent episode, Uncle Si won $2000 at the Duck Commander Company Casino Night. He spent it on a massage chair to take to work. His nephew – and CEO of Duck Commander - Willie, told him that the chair had to go… that he had to buy something else with the money. In true “Uncle Si style,” he chose to go to a children’s pizza place, similar to Chuck E. Cheese. He said they had the best pizza in the world.
While waiting for the staff to make him a pizza, Si began to play the games. He knew these were designed for children, but he said they had two of his favorite things… lights and bells. When he learned that he could win prizes, Si became determined to win a big stuffed purple gorilla… which was “priced” at 5000 winning tickets. Willie bought $200 worth of tokens, and Si began to play the games again… and he focused on one in particular that he said he had figured out how to beat. Si soon had this electronic game spitting out a mound of tickets, which he used to “purchase” the stuffed gorilla. He used the rest of his money to buy pizza to share with his entire extended family, and the closing scene of the show depicts them all sitting down at a table laden with pizzas from this establishment. Si’s “excuse” was that (paraphrasing here)… “Hey, I won this $2000, and I can spend it any way I want!”
Now here’s the deal… Si Robertson is quoted as saying he never leaves home without his sweet tea and his Bible. He doesn’t just know about God… He KNOWS Him! But Si has a tendency to get a little obsessive about things and lose his focus – or at least to temporarily shift his attention to things like playing children’s games to win a stuffed gorilla. And yes, I do realize that this was all probably a total fabrication by the show’s writers/producers… designed to entertain us and make us laugh. But many of us have made an art of losing focus in all aspects of our lives. When it comes to our acknowledgment of God’s truth and serving Him accordingly, losing focus is not the least bit funny.
Too many of us have become sidetracked or distracted by the things of the world. We’ve decided that “it’s our life, and I’ll live it however I want!” We’ve justified our “rabbit trails” by either turning our back on God and saying that things wouldn’t be this way or that if He really existed and/or loved us… or we have decided that we are entitled to do as we please – God will love us anyway. We know better on both fronts. But it’s sort of like when you sit down at one of these “pizza parlor” games or a slot machine and lose… you just have to keep trying until you win – even though you are falling deeper into the pit of failure and despair.
I saw a news report where a “lottery expert” who had won big cash prizes seven times or more tried to show a reporter how to beat the system and win… and the reporter spent countless dollars in order to “win” only a few. It didn’t work… and neither does trying to excuse our lies, wrongdoing, and the twisting of God’s truths. And often, the more we try to satisfy our own whims and desires, the farther away from God we fall. We cannot do as we please and expect God to bless us. We cannot spend the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ however we please. I think that at the core of things, most of us know this. Our lives are not a reality TV show. The time has come for us to treat God with respect… to honor His gift of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins… to love and serve Him with our whole heart – and without excuses!
In Spiritual terms, we have more than won the lottery. We have received something much grander than the biggest stuffed purple gorilla. We feast at the table of the LORD on blessings far greater than the world’s best pizza. It’s time we opened our eyes and started acting like God’s children. It’s time we operated in God’s truth – and shared it with others each and every day. It’s time we dropped the excuses and started focusing completely on acknowledging God in every aspect of our lives. What about you? Are you ready to commit wholeheartedly… or are you still trying to win a purple gorilla?
©2013 Debbie Robus
But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!
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.
I’ll admit it… I’m hooked on A&E’s “Duck Dynasty!” I realize that not everyone “gets” this show, and I know that it is made-for-TV and borders on the ridiculous at times. But I laugh so hard… especially at the wacky Uncle, Si Robertson. On a recent episode, Uncle Si won $2000 at the Duck Commander Company Casino Night. He spent it on a massage chair to take to work. His nephew – and CEO of Duck Commander - Willie, told him that the chair had to go… that he had to buy something else with the money. In true “Uncle Si style,” he chose to go to a children’s pizza place, similar to Chuck E. Cheese. He said they had the best pizza in the world.
While waiting for the staff to make him a pizza, Si began to play the games. He knew these were designed for children, but he said they had two of his favorite things… lights and bells. When he learned that he could win prizes, Si became determined to win a big stuffed purple gorilla… which was “priced” at 5000 winning tickets. Willie bought $200 worth of tokens, and Si began to play the games again… and he focused on one in particular that he said he had figured out how to beat. Si soon had this electronic game spitting out a mound of tickets, which he used to “purchase” the stuffed gorilla. He used the rest of his money to buy pizza to share with his entire extended family, and the closing scene of the show depicts them all sitting down at a table laden with pizzas from this establishment. Si’s “excuse” was that (paraphrasing here)… “Hey, I won this $2000, and I can spend it any way I want!”
Now here’s the deal… Si Robertson is quoted as saying he never leaves home without his sweet tea and his Bible. He doesn’t just know about God… He KNOWS Him! But Si has a tendency to get a little obsessive about things and lose his focus – or at least to temporarily shift his attention to things like playing children’s games to win a stuffed gorilla. And yes, I do realize that this was all probably a total fabrication by the show’s writers/producers… designed to entertain us and make us laugh. But many of us have made an art of losing focus in all aspects of our lives. When it comes to our acknowledgment of God’s truth and serving Him accordingly, losing focus is not the least bit funny.
Too many of us have become sidetracked or distracted by the things of the world. We’ve decided that “it’s our life, and I’ll live it however I want!” We’ve justified our “rabbit trails” by either turning our back on God and saying that things wouldn’t be this way or that if He really existed and/or loved us… or we have decided that we are entitled to do as we please – God will love us anyway. We know better on both fronts. But it’s sort of like when you sit down at one of these “pizza parlor” games or a slot machine and lose… you just have to keep trying until you win – even though you are falling deeper into the pit of failure and despair.
I saw a news report where a “lottery expert” who had won big cash prizes seven times or more tried to show a reporter how to beat the system and win… and the reporter spent countless dollars in order to “win” only a few. It didn’t work… and neither does trying to excuse our lies, wrongdoing, and the twisting of God’s truths. And often, the more we try to satisfy our own whims and desires, the farther away from God we fall. We cannot do as we please and expect God to bless us. We cannot spend the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ however we please. I think that at the core of things, most of us know this. Our lives are not a reality TV show. The time has come for us to treat God with respect… to honor His gift of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins… to love and serve Him with our whole heart – and without excuses!
In Spiritual terms, we have more than won the lottery. We have received something much grander than the biggest stuffed purple gorilla. We feast at the table of the LORD on blessings far greater than the world’s best pizza. It’s time we opened our eyes and started acting like God’s children. It’s time we operated in God’s truth – and shared it with others each and every day. It’s time we dropped the excuses and started focusing completely on acknowledging God in every aspect of our lives. What about you? Are you ready to commit wholeheartedly… or are you still trying to win a purple gorilla?
©2013 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for March 18, 2013
March 18 ~ Job 31:4-8
Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take? “Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone? Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity. If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin, then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted.
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 is a well-documented fact in the world of caregiving that the person receiving care often “bites the hand that feeds them.” In other words, the primary caregiver bears the brunt of this person’s frustrations, unkind comments and gestures, and more. It’s not that the person receiving care is necessarily ungrateful. Experts say this happens because he/she knows that the primary caregiver probably cannot – or will not – desert them…so they feel safe to “vent” or treat them however they please. I’ve heard more than one caregiver say, “I can do nothing right… but let XYZ come to visit, and the heavens seem to open!” Or a distant relative will show up for a day or two and get the royal treatment… and maybe the family heirlooms… then be gone like a vapor!
All of this is enough to make caregivers throw up their hands and say, I’m done! I’m no longer going to care as much, visit as often, or be as nice! In your world, this may translate to, “Why should I work so hard in school when Jim never has to do anything, and he seems to get by?” Or maybe you feel like it doesn’t matter how much work you do in your job or your church, someone else is going to receive the accolades or be the “favorite.” Maybe you have been diligent to work hard, pay your bills on time, and follow the letter of the law, and you know someone who skirts the edge of all of these things and seems to breeze through life driving a nicer car, wearing better clothes, and living in a bigger house… seemingly living “the good life.” You may wonder, “What’s the point?” I know there have been times when I have observed others and said, “If I did what they were doing, I would have been bankrupt and in the ‘pokey’ years ago!”
I get it… this is enough to make us crazy at times…to frustrate us that we try so hard to do all we are supposed to do, and those who snub their nose at convention sometimes seem to get a free pass. But here’s the deal… it’s all about integrity. We can sum up the reason to “keep on keepin’ on” in the first line of this scripture passage… “Doesn’t He see everything I do and every step I take?” The professor may not ever know you cheated on a test… the police officer may not catch you speeding… the bill collectors may write off your debt… your friends may never know you lied to them or betrayed them to others… but God will know all of this – and more.
The question becomes… “Who do you serve?” Are you concerned with getting away with things or doing just enough to get by? Are you proud of the fact that you duped the system, your friends or family members and “they didn’t even know what hit them?” Or are you willing to say, “I have done what God asked of me… I have lived in a way that honors Him and my commitment to serve as a disciple of Christ. I have worked hard and earned everything I have received ‘the old fashioned way.’ If God can find fault with how I did this, He is welcome to give all I have to someone else!”?
At the end of the day, our goal should be to walk in the confidence that we have served faithfully, honestly, and earnestly. It should not matter what the other guy is doing or how he/she is or isn’t behaving. Integrity is a hallmark in the life of a committed, faith-filled Christian. God will give us the strength and courage to conduct our lives with honor, if we will only ask Him and trust His lead. You are not accountable to God for anyone else…and accountability to God is really all that matters. How are you doing? When God sees everything you do and every step you take, is He pleased? Are you a person of true integrity? Shouldn’t you be?
©2013 Debbie Robus
Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take? “Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone? Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity. If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin, then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted.
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 is a well-documented fact in the world of caregiving that the person receiving care often “bites the hand that feeds them.” In other words, the primary caregiver bears the brunt of this person’s frustrations, unkind comments and gestures, and more. It’s not that the person receiving care is necessarily ungrateful. Experts say this happens because he/she knows that the primary caregiver probably cannot – or will not – desert them…so they feel safe to “vent” or treat them however they please. I’ve heard more than one caregiver say, “I can do nothing right… but let XYZ come to visit, and the heavens seem to open!” Or a distant relative will show up for a day or two and get the royal treatment… and maybe the family heirlooms… then be gone like a vapor!
All of this is enough to make caregivers throw up their hands and say, I’m done! I’m no longer going to care as much, visit as often, or be as nice! In your world, this may translate to, “Why should I work so hard in school when Jim never has to do anything, and he seems to get by?” Or maybe you feel like it doesn’t matter how much work you do in your job or your church, someone else is going to receive the accolades or be the “favorite.” Maybe you have been diligent to work hard, pay your bills on time, and follow the letter of the law, and you know someone who skirts the edge of all of these things and seems to breeze through life driving a nicer car, wearing better clothes, and living in a bigger house… seemingly living “the good life.” You may wonder, “What’s the point?” I know there have been times when I have observed others and said, “If I did what they were doing, I would have been bankrupt and in the ‘pokey’ years ago!”
I get it… this is enough to make us crazy at times…to frustrate us that we try so hard to do all we are supposed to do, and those who snub their nose at convention sometimes seem to get a free pass. But here’s the deal… it’s all about integrity. We can sum up the reason to “keep on keepin’ on” in the first line of this scripture passage… “Doesn’t He see everything I do and every step I take?” The professor may not ever know you cheated on a test… the police officer may not catch you speeding… the bill collectors may write off your debt… your friends may never know you lied to them or betrayed them to others… but God will know all of this – and more.
The question becomes… “Who do you serve?” Are you concerned with getting away with things or doing just enough to get by? Are you proud of the fact that you duped the system, your friends or family members and “they didn’t even know what hit them?” Or are you willing to say, “I have done what God asked of me… I have lived in a way that honors Him and my commitment to serve as a disciple of Christ. I have worked hard and earned everything I have received ‘the old fashioned way.’ If God can find fault with how I did this, He is welcome to give all I have to someone else!”?
At the end of the day, our goal should be to walk in the confidence that we have served faithfully, honestly, and earnestly. It should not matter what the other guy is doing or how he/she is or isn’t behaving. Integrity is a hallmark in the life of a committed, faith-filled Christian. God will give us the strength and courage to conduct our lives with honor, if we will only ask Him and trust His lead. You are not accountable to God for anyone else…and accountability to God is really all that matters. How are you doing? When God sees everything you do and every step you take, is He pleased? Are you a person of true integrity? Shouldn’t you be?
©2013 Debbie Robus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)