Romans 8:32
God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
This
morning, I subbed in the 4th/5th grade Sunday school class. The lesson was
about God’s family – and how we can become a part of it for all
Eternity. The question was asked…”Why did God give His only Son for
us? Why not pick another way to cover our sins?” Surely there were
options. After all, the God of the Universe could have chosen any
number of ways to make us His children forever and absolve us of our
sins.
We concluded that this was the only way that God could
truly redeem us in a way that we would fully understand how much He
loves us. He had to sacrifice something (or in this case, Someone) so
great that we could not even begin to comprehend it. God had to show us
that He was willing to give up what was most precious to Him – His only
Son – so that we might all be together in heaven someday. Jesus’ blood
on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice. And then, to demonstrate His
power, God raised Jesus from the dead after three days – and Jesus
ultimately ascended into heaven and waits for us there.
As long
as I live, I will never fully be able to wrap my brain around this. I
know that I could never sacrifice a child…no matter what the “gain.” I
simply cannot fathom a love that great! And yet, I know that God loves
me – and you – and all of His creatures with a love that is
indescribable. His deepest desire is for us to belong to His family…and
He will do just about anything to make that happen.
The God who
loves us this deeply also cares about our every need. He deeply desires
to meet us where we are at any given moment…to give us all that we
require…to heal us and complete us mentally, physically – and
spiritually.
What does this all mean for us? First, we must
give our hearts to Jesus and ensure that we are a part of His family for
all Eternity. We must then trust our Heavenly Father to care for us…to
fix the things that we cannot…to give us strength, courage, hope and
confidence that He will never fail us – that all things are possible
through Him. And we must tell others of this Good News. We must
demonstrate our faith and encourage others to become our brothers and
sisters in Christ Jesus – and enjoy all of the benefits that belong to
those in God’s family.
I don’t know where you are in this
journey, but I pray today that God is making a difference in your
life…that you are trusting Him to handle everything and meet all of your
needs. And I pray that you are operating in the confidence of your
“place” in His family…and living in such a way that others cannot help
but want to join you.
I can’t think of a better time than the
first day of “Thanksgiving week” to express my gratitude for God’s love
and care…and for my place in His family – now and for all eternity.
What about you?
©2015 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label thank God for His gifts blessings and Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thank God for His gifts blessings and Jesus. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for November 27, 2014
November 27 ~ Psalm 118:28-29
Blessed are you who enter in God’s name—
from God’s house we bless you!
God is God,
he has bathed us in light.
Festoon the shrine with garlands,
hang colored banners above the altar!
You’re my God, and I thank you.
O my God, I lift high your praise.
Thank God—he’s so good.
His love never quits!
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.
Yesterday, we visited Greg’s brother and sister-in-law in another city. Their son and his family came from Tennessee for Thanksgiving, so we got to play with our great-nieces, Kelsey Lynn and Ellie Grace. Our sister-in-law had filled the house from top to bottom with Thanksgiving décor. Today, we will have lunch at my mother’s house, and I am sure there will be a few pumpkins and turkeys sitting around – and maybe a cornucopia or two!
I also got the “holiday decorating gene”, and I have sprinkled quite a bit of fall décor throughout our home. In a few days, our house will be transformed into a Christmas wonderland (or as my other sister-in-law put it last year, it will look “like someone threw up Christmas” around here!). There will be “garlands and banners” of sorts…mini Christmas lights, a tree – or three!...snowmen and Santas…and dozens of nativity scenes on display throughout our house.
Not everyone decorates for the holidays - certainly not to the extent that I do! And I have a feeling that my efforts pale in comparison to those of many! The reasons for over-the-top decorating and festivities are varied. Some may understandably ask, “Why do people make themselves crazy at Thanksgiving and Christmas with cooking, decorating, shopping and ‘getting out the good stuff’ to set a holiday table?” Why do people fly halfway across the country …endure crowded lines, packed-like-sardines aircraft, buses and highways…and put up with lost luggage, delayed or cancelled flights, and unbelievable traffic jams – just to get to Grandma’s house?
At the core of it all, I believe the answer is…love. Our homes are “festooned” in holiday finery to say, “Welcome! Love abounds amidst this cozy chaos!” I would HOPE that these decorations and festivities celebrate the love of God for His people…and that this is the focus rather than commercialism. If this is not the case, it should be. We should decorate and celebrate our gratitude for God’s amazing, incredible, perfect gift of Jesus. And while every day should be Thanksgiving Day…on this particular one, we should pause somewhere between the turkey and the pumpkin pie to count our blessings…and to thank God for every one of them!
Whether you hang a banner or garland - or not…remember to celebrate God’s blessings in your life. Thank Him for giving us Jesus…and for covering us in His unfailing love and care each and every day. From my house to yours…may God bless you this Thanksgiving Day - and in each day of the coming year! May you be bathed in His light and love today – and always. Happy Thanksgiving!
©2014 Debbie Robus
Blessed are you who enter in God’s name—
from God’s house we bless you!
God is God,
he has bathed us in light.
Festoon the shrine with garlands,
hang colored banners above the altar!
You’re my God, and I thank you.
O my God, I lift high your praise.
Thank God—he’s so good.
His love never quits!
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.
Yesterday, we visited Greg’s brother and sister-in-law in another city. Their son and his family came from Tennessee for Thanksgiving, so we got to play with our great-nieces, Kelsey Lynn and Ellie Grace. Our sister-in-law had filled the house from top to bottom with Thanksgiving décor. Today, we will have lunch at my mother’s house, and I am sure there will be a few pumpkins and turkeys sitting around – and maybe a cornucopia or two!
I also got the “holiday decorating gene”, and I have sprinkled quite a bit of fall décor throughout our home. In a few days, our house will be transformed into a Christmas wonderland (or as my other sister-in-law put it last year, it will look “like someone threw up Christmas” around here!). There will be “garlands and banners” of sorts…mini Christmas lights, a tree – or three!...snowmen and Santas…and dozens of nativity scenes on display throughout our house.
Not everyone decorates for the holidays - certainly not to the extent that I do! And I have a feeling that my efforts pale in comparison to those of many! The reasons for over-the-top decorating and festivities are varied. Some may understandably ask, “Why do people make themselves crazy at Thanksgiving and Christmas with cooking, decorating, shopping and ‘getting out the good stuff’ to set a holiday table?” Why do people fly halfway across the country …endure crowded lines, packed-like-sardines aircraft, buses and highways…and put up with lost luggage, delayed or cancelled flights, and unbelievable traffic jams – just to get to Grandma’s house?
At the core of it all, I believe the answer is…love. Our homes are “festooned” in holiday finery to say, “Welcome! Love abounds amidst this cozy chaos!” I would HOPE that these decorations and festivities celebrate the love of God for His people…and that this is the focus rather than commercialism. If this is not the case, it should be. We should decorate and celebrate our gratitude for God’s amazing, incredible, perfect gift of Jesus. And while every day should be Thanksgiving Day…on this particular one, we should pause somewhere between the turkey and the pumpkin pie to count our blessings…and to thank God for every one of them!
Whether you hang a banner or garland - or not…remember to celebrate God’s blessings in your life. Thank Him for giving us Jesus…and for covering us in His unfailing love and care each and every day. From my house to yours…may God bless you this Thanksgiving Day - and in each day of the coming year! May you be bathed in His light and love today – and always. Happy Thanksgiving!
©2014 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for November 20, 2014
Psalm 92:1-3
What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks,
to sing an anthem to you, the High God!
To announce your love each daybreak,
sing your faithful presence all through the night,
Accompanied by dulcimer and harp,
the full-bodied music of strings.
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.
Timothy and I were sitting in my office, and he was watching “Wubbzy” videos on my computer. The TV was on, but I was not paying any attention. A NASCAR race was about to begin, and they sang the “Star Spangled Banner”. Timothy suddenly shouted, "BOW YOUR HEAD!" I looked over, and he had his head bowed. A minister was praying at the race venue. So I bowed my head, and when the minister was done, Timothy said, "A-MEN!" Then he muttered, "Man…that was a long one!”
It was a precious moment, and I have to admit that I was proud that our little 5-year-old nephew respected a prayer enough to bow his head – even one offered over the television airwaves! But here’s the thing…we wouldn’t think of attending a sporting event and not singing the national anthem before it began. A lot of public sporting events also begin with a prayer. MANY of us don’t give this a second thought…unless it doesn’t happen!
I don’t know about you, but when I place my hand across my heart and listen to – or sing along with – “The Star Spangled Banner”, something is stirred in my heart. I am reminded of the privileges we enjoy in this country…and the unity of standing as a group and singing an anthem for the nation we love and the freedoms we enjoy. I am humbled by how blessed we are.
But I wonder…how many of us are as concerned about singing an anthem to God each day? How many of us stop to consider the awesome privilege it is to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ – to belong to God for all eternity and rest in the assurance of spending Eternity with Him in heaven? How many of us are humbled and stirred by the tremendous blessings we enjoy because of Jesus…and how often are we moved to sing out to Him in gratitude?
Somehow, I have a feeling we are more diligent about singing the national anthem and offering a prayer at a sporting event than we are about praising God for His incredible love and care. And as kids like to say, “that’s messed up!” And there is no time like the present to start making amends.
Stop today and look around you. Thank God for ALL that He does for you 24/7/365. Give Him some of your time. BOW YOUR HEAD and tell Him just how grateful you are for His love and care…for His wisdom and power…for JESUS! God deserves our songs of gratitude and praise…our prayers of love and allegiance. Will this be the day that you begin to sing an anthem for Him? Don’t you think it should be?
©2014 Debbie Robus
What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks,
to sing an anthem to you, the High God!
To announce your love each daybreak,
sing your faithful presence all through the night,
Accompanied by dulcimer and harp,
the full-bodied music of strings.
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.
Timothy and I were sitting in my office, and he was watching “Wubbzy” videos on my computer. The TV was on, but I was not paying any attention. A NASCAR race was about to begin, and they sang the “Star Spangled Banner”. Timothy suddenly shouted, "BOW YOUR HEAD!" I looked over, and he had his head bowed. A minister was praying at the race venue. So I bowed my head, and when the minister was done, Timothy said, "A-MEN!" Then he muttered, "Man…that was a long one!”
It was a precious moment, and I have to admit that I was proud that our little 5-year-old nephew respected a prayer enough to bow his head – even one offered over the television airwaves! But here’s the thing…we wouldn’t think of attending a sporting event and not singing the national anthem before it began. A lot of public sporting events also begin with a prayer. MANY of us don’t give this a second thought…unless it doesn’t happen!
I don’t know about you, but when I place my hand across my heart and listen to – or sing along with – “The Star Spangled Banner”, something is stirred in my heart. I am reminded of the privileges we enjoy in this country…and the unity of standing as a group and singing an anthem for the nation we love and the freedoms we enjoy. I am humbled by how blessed we are.
But I wonder…how many of us are as concerned about singing an anthem to God each day? How many of us stop to consider the awesome privilege it is to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ – to belong to God for all eternity and rest in the assurance of spending Eternity with Him in heaven? How many of us are humbled and stirred by the tremendous blessings we enjoy because of Jesus…and how often are we moved to sing out to Him in gratitude?
Somehow, I have a feeling we are more diligent about singing the national anthem and offering a prayer at a sporting event than we are about praising God for His incredible love and care. And as kids like to say, “that’s messed up!” And there is no time like the present to start making amends.
Stop today and look around you. Thank God for ALL that He does for you 24/7/365. Give Him some of your time. BOW YOUR HEAD and tell Him just how grateful you are for His love and care…for His wisdom and power…for JESUS! God deserves our songs of gratitude and praise…our prayers of love and allegiance. Will this be the day that you begin to sing an anthem for Him? Don’t you think it should be?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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