October 12 ~ Matthew 4:5-11
Then Satan took him to Jerusalem to the roof of the Temple. “Jump off,”
he said, “and prove you are the Son of God; for the Scriptures declare,
‘God will send his angels to keep you from harm,’ . . . they will
prevent you from smashing on the rocks below.”
Jesus retorted, “It also says not to put the Lord your God to a foolish test!”
Next Satan took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him
the nations of the world and all their glory. “I’ll give it all to you,”
he said, “if you will only kneel and worship me.”
“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “The Scriptures say, ‘Worship only the Lord God. Obey only him.’”
Then Satan went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale
House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc.,
Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Let’s be honest…when you tell a child NOT to touch something, there’s
a 50/50 shot that he/she will do exactly that! I once teasingly asked a
friend, “Does your wife know you are at this party without her?” and he
replied (also in jest), “I’ve learned that it is easier to ask for
forgiveness than permission!” Isn’t this how we often act? We’ll just
tell this one juicy tidbit, and then we will promise God that we will
never gossip again. We’ll just “sow some wild oats now,” and we will be
really sorry for it later and ask God to forgive us. We will look out
for ourselves now - because nobody else is going to…and we will hope
that God sees that our “heart” was in the right place. We’ll just touch
the stove and SEE if it’s really hot!
It’s time to learn that when God essentially tells us that “the stove is
hot”…the STOVE IS HOT! When He shows us how to live and gives us clear
guidelines, and we go right ahead and do our own thing, we must be
prepared to live with the consequences. We cannot assume that God will
always bail us out when we make stupid mistakes – or disobey and
disappoint Him.
We also cannot play fast and loose with our allegiance. I am here to
tell you, not a single one of us knows how long we have on this earth.
We have a LOT to do while we are here, and we had best be busy getting
it done! There is no time to listen to people who tell us that THEY
know better than God. There is not a minute to waste on selfish
agendas. There will be times when we have to sacrifice our own desires
for the greater good of others…and when we do this, God will bless our
efforts.
Here’s an example…my Mam-ma Polly had such a meager income that you
would not believe she could actually make it through each month. Yet she
was always ready to give to others…food from her table…a tithe to her
church…”shoe boxes” for needy children at Christmas…and so much more.
She always had a few dollars in her checking account at the end of the
month. She never missed a meal, and her home was cozy and comfortable.
All of her needs were met…and then some.
GOD made the difference and blessed my grandmother’s faithful obedience.
And He will do this for us, too. There will be times when the road
seems uncomfortable and/or uncertain. But when we keep our focus on
Him…when we worship only God and obey His commands and the teachings of
His only Son, Jesus Christ…nothing the devil offers can compare with
what we have been promised.
The devil is ALWAYS tempting us. Where and how is he tempting you? How
are you reacting and responding? Have you kicked him to the curb and
trusted God to make the difference…or are you hedging your bets that you
have time to show remorse and ask forgiveness later? Will this be the
day that you trust God fully and let His angels attend to your every
need? Don’t you think it should be?
©2016 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label trying God's patience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trying God's patience. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for July 28, 2016
Acts 5:1-11
But a man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.
Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.”
Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.
Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, “Tell me, were you given this price for your field?”
“Yes,” she said, “that price.”
Peter responded, “What’s going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you’re next.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.
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.
This story reminds me of a television commercial that aired in the 1970s for Chiffon margarine. A woman dressed in white and dubbed “Mother Nature” was given Chiffon margarine for her porridge, and she argued that she was eating butter. When the off-camera announcer insisted that she had been tricked – that she was eating Chiffon margarine instead, lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and she announced, “It’s not NICE to fool Mother Nature!”™
This ad became iconic…probably anyone alive in the seventies remembers - and thinks of it often in certain contexts. But as bad as it is to fool “Mother Nature,” it is far more serious to play fast and loose with God. I’m not saying that God will strike you dead if you lie to Him…although He could! But I do believe that when we are deceitful and dishonest – with ANYONE – we are treading on dangerous territory.
Remember the story from the Gospels where Jesus says that when we do something to – or for – the least among us, we have done this to/for Him. So when we lie, cheat, steal, undercut or mistreat ANYONE, we have as good as done this to Jesus – and our Heavenly Father.
I don’t believe that God causes bad things to happen to us…but I do think that sometimes He allows us to go through a few things – particularly when we have sinned and disobeyed Him. But let’s be honest…God is plenty capable of taking us out of this world if/when He wants. There have been a few times that I felt like maybe God called someone to Heaven to interrupt their sinful behavior(s) on this earth and the impact these had on others. God will not allow us to wreak havoc with His perfect plans, as the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 so clearly illustrate!
Search your heart today and see where you are harboring even the tiniest smidgeon of deception or ill will. Ask God to show you how you might be operating in dishonesty, trickery, rumors, hatred, fear mongering, and other sinful activities and behaviors. Humbly beg His forgiveness and vow to do better. The “Mother Nature” commercial was funny…and the tag line is STILL a good one. It’s not nice to fool “Mother Nature”™…but trying to deceive God is truly no laughing matter.
©2016 Debbie Robus
But a man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.
Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.”
Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.
Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, “Tell me, were you given this price for your field?”
“Yes,” she said, “that price.”
Peter responded, “What’s going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you’re next.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.
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.
This story reminds me of a television commercial that aired in the 1970s for Chiffon margarine. A woman dressed in white and dubbed “Mother Nature” was given Chiffon margarine for her porridge, and she argued that she was eating butter. When the off-camera announcer insisted that she had been tricked – that she was eating Chiffon margarine instead, lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and she announced, “It’s not NICE to fool Mother Nature!”™
This ad became iconic…probably anyone alive in the seventies remembers - and thinks of it often in certain contexts. But as bad as it is to fool “Mother Nature,” it is far more serious to play fast and loose with God. I’m not saying that God will strike you dead if you lie to Him…although He could! But I do believe that when we are deceitful and dishonest – with ANYONE – we are treading on dangerous territory.
Remember the story from the Gospels where Jesus says that when we do something to – or for – the least among us, we have done this to/for Him. So when we lie, cheat, steal, undercut or mistreat ANYONE, we have as good as done this to Jesus – and our Heavenly Father.
I don’t believe that God causes bad things to happen to us…but I do think that sometimes He allows us to go through a few things – particularly when we have sinned and disobeyed Him. But let’s be honest…God is plenty capable of taking us out of this world if/when He wants. There have been a few times that I felt like maybe God called someone to Heaven to interrupt their sinful behavior(s) on this earth and the impact these had on others. God will not allow us to wreak havoc with His perfect plans, as the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 so clearly illustrate!
Search your heart today and see where you are harboring even the tiniest smidgeon of deception or ill will. Ask God to show you how you might be operating in dishonesty, trickery, rumors, hatred, fear mongering, and other sinful activities and behaviors. Humbly beg His forgiveness and vow to do better. The “Mother Nature” commercial was funny…and the tag line is STILL a good one. It’s not nice to fool “Mother Nature”™…but trying to deceive God is truly no laughing matter.
©2016 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for May 8, 2015
Ephesians 2:1-6
It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
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.
The video clip is an old one – I first saw it a few years ago. But a dad is standing in front of the refrigerator, with twin babies seated on the floor next to him. These babies are probably not quite a year old – they are still crawling – and as the dad opens the fridge and gets out a few things, one of the babies waddles over and starts to peer into the cold box filled with food and condiments. The dad moves the baby…and as he turns back to the refrigerator, the other child advances and begins to investigate the ice box’s contents. This goes on for several seconds in a vicious cycle.
Never once does the dad get upset. He doesn’t raise his voice a single decibel. He continues his work of getting things out of the refrigerator – while gently picking up the babies and (temporarily) relocating them. Finally, Dad is able to quickly scoot both babies out of the doorway and close it. He looks at the camera (obviously operated by Mom), and heaves a weary, “Whew!”
This must be exactly how God feels about us each and every day. We are the babies getting into anything and everything…investigating, learning, testing the waters…and God is the patient Dad who gently moves us out of the way and starts all over – all the while going about the business of running the universe. I do hope you will take the less-than-two-minutes to watch this video. The babies try to stand as the dad repositions them. A couple of times, it takes several attempts before he is able to get them to fold their legs and SIT on the floor. Surprisingly, there is no kicking and screaming!
Again, this is us in a nutshell. God tries to show us how to live…the right way to do things, and while He is trying to seat us at His feet (and get His work done!), we are buckling our legs and resisting - if not out-and-out kicking and screaming!
Watch this video and think of God as the patient Father who continues to love you even when you “get into mischief” and behave sinfully. Feel His hands as He removes you over and again from situations that are, at best, not the right fit for you…and recognize His wisdom in doing so. THANK HIM for picking us up and setting us down in Highest Heaven – in company with Jesus! He certainly doesn’t have to do any this…but aren’t you glad He does?
Where will God reposition you today? Will you be ready, willing, and able to take His cue and do what He desires? Will you recognize His infinite wisdom and care for every aspect of your life? Will this be the day that you “move away from the fridge” and give God room to work? Don’t you think it should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
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.
The video clip is an old one – I first saw it a few years ago. But a dad is standing in front of the refrigerator, with twin babies seated on the floor next to him. These babies are probably not quite a year old – they are still crawling – and as the dad opens the fridge and gets out a few things, one of the babies waddles over and starts to peer into the cold box filled with food and condiments. The dad moves the baby…and as he turns back to the refrigerator, the other child advances and begins to investigate the ice box’s contents. This goes on for several seconds in a vicious cycle.
Never once does the dad get upset. He doesn’t raise his voice a single decibel. He continues his work of getting things out of the refrigerator – while gently picking up the babies and (temporarily) relocating them. Finally, Dad is able to quickly scoot both babies out of the doorway and close it. He looks at the camera (obviously operated by Mom), and heaves a weary, “Whew!”
This must be exactly how God feels about us each and every day. We are the babies getting into anything and everything…investigating, learning, testing the waters…and God is the patient Dad who gently moves us out of the way and starts all over – all the while going about the business of running the universe. I do hope you will take the less-than-two-minutes to watch this video. The babies try to stand as the dad repositions them. A couple of times, it takes several attempts before he is able to get them to fold their legs and SIT on the floor. Surprisingly, there is no kicking and screaming!
Again, this is us in a nutshell. God tries to show us how to live…the right way to do things, and while He is trying to seat us at His feet (and get His work done!), we are buckling our legs and resisting - if not out-and-out kicking and screaming!
Watch this video and think of God as the patient Father who continues to love you even when you “get into mischief” and behave sinfully. Feel His hands as He removes you over and again from situations that are, at best, not the right fit for you…and recognize His wisdom in doing so. THANK HIM for picking us up and setting us down in Highest Heaven – in company with Jesus! He certainly doesn’t have to do any this…but aren’t you glad He does?
Where will God reposition you today? Will you be ready, willing, and able to take His cue and do what He desires? Will you recognize His infinite wisdom and care for every aspect of your life? Will this be the day that you “move away from the fridge” and give God room to work? Don’t you think it should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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