Romans 8:3-4
We aren’t saved from sin’s grasp by knowing
the commandments of God because we can’t and don’t keep them, but God
put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a
human body like ours—except that ours are sinful—and destroyed sin’s
control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. So now we
can obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer
obey the old evil nature within us.
The Living Bible copyright ©
1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
This
is a crazy hectic week at our house. Vacation Bible School started
Sunday night. I am leading “Junior Crafts” - which translates to
4-6-year-olds (pre-K, Kindergartners, and soon-to-be-first-graders).
These are “my people,” and I am at home with them! Timothy, Zola and
Nathan are all attending VBS with me, and we’re having a great time.
Additionally, the children are spending Mondays and Fridays at our house
this month…AND…we started daily swim lessons on Monday morning. Yes, I
know, I was crazy to schedule swim lessons the same week as VBS…but it
was all our instructor had available. So we are making it work!
I
have to say, we have ALL been very tired. Night-time VBS, which is the
trend in recent years, is tough on already weary kids AND adults. And
though some of the children nap in the afternoons, some of the older
ones like Timothy fight tooth and nail to stay awake and avoid the
slumber that could relieve some of their weariness. And this can lead to
some pretty frustrating “meltdowns” and pointless conversations.
Today,
as we drove home from swim lessons, Timothy became very upset with his
younger brother, Nathan...“because Nathan thinks that Batman and Superman
aren’t friends…and everyone knows that good guy superheroes are all
friends with each other and should be nice to each other. He is making
bad choices, and he needs to stop it!” This went on for more than 5
minutes (but it seemed like 30!) before I convinced Nathan that perhaps
it would be best if he agreed that his superheroes were friends with
each other…and I redirected the children’s attention to another topic of
discussion!
When the children get so tired that they are what I
call “punch drunk”, i.e. rambling about nothing that makes sense and on
the verge of a huge meltdown, I know that there is no way that they are
going to be reasonable. All bets are off! Rules are out the window at
this point, because I know that they are not going to be on board with
following them. And the ride home from swim lessons today was one of
those times. I knew that the best thing I could do was maintain some
semblance of order and drive the children straight to their
grandmother’s house, where they were spending the afternoon.
As I read this scripture passage, I could almost hear God saying to His
children (each of us), “Oh, good grief! You children are never going
to resolve this, so I best get on with it and send my Son to fix
things.” I love my niece and nephews with all my heart. Sometimes when
they are tired and acting out, one of them will ask…“Are you mad at me?”
or “Do you still love me?” And the answer is always “No!” to the first
question…and a resounding “Yes!” to the second. And so it is with
God. In fact, He loves us SO much that He sacrificed His only Son -
Jesus - to save us!
God knows that we can’t keep the
rules…that sometimes life is so convoluted and challenging that we get
“punch drunk” and teeter on the verge of a royal meltdown. So He sent
Jesus to die for our sins…to regain order and control for us and set us
on the right course. There will be times when we all get a little weary
and fall short. But those of us who choose to follow Jesus can be
assured that He will always steer us in the right direction - and keep
us safe from the harm of Satan and his agents.
I hope and pray
that our little ones know how very much Greg and I – and so many others –
love them…that they trust us never to steer them wrong…that they feel
safe and secure – and protected. Someday they will learn that the
grownups in their lives don’t always have all of the answers – at least
not the right ones. But by then, I pray that they will know Jesus as
their “Forever Friend”…and that they will have learned to rely on His
Holy Spirit to control and conquer the evil nature that is present in
each of us. And I pray that YOU have made this choice, too.
Timothy
was right about one thing this morning…we do need to make good
choices…and the best choice that we can make is to follow Jesus. Who
have you chosen to follow and serve?
©2015 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label surrender to Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surrender to Jesus. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for June 23, 2015
Luke 9:23
Then he said to all, “Anyone who wants to follow me must put aside his own desires and conveniences and carry his cross with him every day and keep close to me!
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
A few days ago, I vacuumed the floors. Allow me to explain why this is worth noting. Vacuuming floors had been on my “to-do” list for several days. Things kept coming up that were more important – or more enjoyable – than vacuuming floors. I should wait until after I did laundry and finished a sewing project, because there would be lint and dust and all of those tiny little threads all over the floors! Then I needed to attend a funeral, so there was no time – the floors could wait another day! And then I decided that I should wait again and do the floors closer to time for our young niece and nephews to visit, so that they would have a nice clean playing surface (and yes, I do know that once the children visit, the floors need another vacuuming!)
It gets to be a vicious cycle sometimes…and at some point I have to say, “Okay…this is it! Today, I vacuum!” Maybe you can relate to this silly analogy…but even if you cannot, consider this…we make up all sorts of excuses about following Jesus that are just as silly in the scheme of things.
It’s not convenient…or what He is asking us to do is “outside our comfort zone.” We tell Him, “I’ll do this…tomorrow!” And tomorrow never comes. We straddle the fence in the presence of our peers…makes no sense to express a different opinion and risk alienating them! We go along with the crowd six ways to Sunday. We fall down, mess up, and promise to do better next time…but then we turn right around and repeat our mistakes.
If you go back in Luke 9, some earlier verses talk about our desire to control things vs. God’s. In The Message translation, it even says “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am.” But we don’t want to hear this…we want to “drive” and be in full control. As my cousin Natalie says…we want to tell God how to do things, because we think our way is so much better. Luke reminds us in this passage that this is clearly not the case!
So while it really doesn’t make that much difference which day I vacuum…or if I choose not to for a few days longer than I ought…it does matter when we ignore God. We cannot claim to be Christ’s disciple and then insist on “driving the car.” It simply does not work that way...and if we are arrogant enough to insist that it does, we’ve as much as said, “Lie down in the seat, LORD, so no one will see that You are with me!” (Remember when you tried to pull that with your mom? You SURELY didn’t want her to sit right next to you in case you needed any sudden assistance!)
When we act embarrassed by Jesus…or insist on having control, we blow it – big time…and Jesus makes note. It’s not so much that we will be “punished” in some way for this as much as it’s the fact that this is disrespectful…hurtful…and downright unbecoming of Christian disciples. We should want Jesus by our side. We should crave His wisdom and guidance. We should seek His answers and attention at every turn, simply because of Who He is and what He has done – and does – for us.
The question of the day is…”How are you treating Jesus – and your relationship with Him?” Whose desires and conveniences are top priority – His, or your own? Your answer matters greatly. Isn’t it time you figured out Who should drive…and let Him? Will this be the day that you begin?
©2015 Debbie Robus
Then he said to all, “Anyone who wants to follow me must put aside his own desires and conveniences and carry his cross with him every day and keep close to me!
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
A few days ago, I vacuumed the floors. Allow me to explain why this is worth noting. Vacuuming floors had been on my “to-do” list for several days. Things kept coming up that were more important – or more enjoyable – than vacuuming floors. I should wait until after I did laundry and finished a sewing project, because there would be lint and dust and all of those tiny little threads all over the floors! Then I needed to attend a funeral, so there was no time – the floors could wait another day! And then I decided that I should wait again and do the floors closer to time for our young niece and nephews to visit, so that they would have a nice clean playing surface (and yes, I do know that once the children visit, the floors need another vacuuming!)
It gets to be a vicious cycle sometimes…and at some point I have to say, “Okay…this is it! Today, I vacuum!” Maybe you can relate to this silly analogy…but even if you cannot, consider this…we make up all sorts of excuses about following Jesus that are just as silly in the scheme of things.
It’s not convenient…or what He is asking us to do is “outside our comfort zone.” We tell Him, “I’ll do this…tomorrow!” And tomorrow never comes. We straddle the fence in the presence of our peers…makes no sense to express a different opinion and risk alienating them! We go along with the crowd six ways to Sunday. We fall down, mess up, and promise to do better next time…but then we turn right around and repeat our mistakes.
If you go back in Luke 9, some earlier verses talk about our desire to control things vs. God’s. In The Message translation, it even says “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am.” But we don’t want to hear this…we want to “drive” and be in full control. As my cousin Natalie says…we want to tell God how to do things, because we think our way is so much better. Luke reminds us in this passage that this is clearly not the case!
So while it really doesn’t make that much difference which day I vacuum…or if I choose not to for a few days longer than I ought…it does matter when we ignore God. We cannot claim to be Christ’s disciple and then insist on “driving the car.” It simply does not work that way...and if we are arrogant enough to insist that it does, we’ve as much as said, “Lie down in the seat, LORD, so no one will see that You are with me!” (Remember when you tried to pull that with your mom? You SURELY didn’t want her to sit right next to you in case you needed any sudden assistance!)
When we act embarrassed by Jesus…or insist on having control, we blow it – big time…and Jesus makes note. It’s not so much that we will be “punished” in some way for this as much as it’s the fact that this is disrespectful…hurtful…and downright unbecoming of Christian disciples. We should want Jesus by our side. We should crave His wisdom and guidance. We should seek His answers and attention at every turn, simply because of Who He is and what He has done – and does – for us.
The question of the day is…”How are you treating Jesus – and your relationship with Him?” Whose desires and conveniences are top priority – His, or your own? Your answer matters greatly. Isn’t it time you figured out Who should drive…and let Him? Will this be the day that you begin?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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