Daily Devotional for October 24, 2016

Psalm 139:17-18
How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of 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.

My desktop flip calendar quote for today said, “A little boy ended a lengthy prayer that had included everyone he could think of by saying: ‘And dear God, take care of Yourself.  If anything happens to You, we’re all sunk.’”  While there is humor here…there is also a lot of truth. We need to stop and ponder the God who thinks about us constantly.

Today, I helped the elementary school nurse and her team screen children for hearing and vision deficiencies.  As luck would have it, the “lunch break” paralleled Timmy’s lunch time, so I went with his class to the cafeteria.  On the way back to the classroom, Timmy and another boy were talking about Christmas and how excited they were.  The other little boy said, “My favorite part of Christmas is all of the toys I will get.”  I said my favorite part was celebrating Jesus’ birthday.

Timmy agreed…”Yeah, because if we didn’t have Jesus, we would have all of those frogs and locusts!”  He was recalling our Sunday school lesson about Moses and the plagues that God sent upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians for their disobedience.  Another child chimed in and said, “Without Jesus we would just have God…and if we didn’t have GOD…that would be REALLY bad!” Talk about perfect timing for today’s message!  These second-grade boys – and the little boy offering the “prayer” on my calendar – are exactly right.  Without God, we really would be sunk!

So stop and thank God for loving us so well.  Thank Him for sending Jesus to pour out His blood for our sins, so that we no longer have to make living sacrifices for our sins.  Thank Him for watching over us…for planning our lives before we were even formed…for thinking of us even before we awaken…and turning His thoughts toward each of us countless times throughout the day.  Who else does that?!

No one loves us like God loves us.  How precious it is that He thinks about us constantly…and how truly “sunk” we would be if He didn’t!  Stop and tell God how much you love Him…and get busy demonstrating this in everything you think, say and do!

©2016 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for July 17, 2016

1 John 4:18-21
We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what he might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us and shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us. So you see, our love for him comes as a result of his loving us first.

If anyone says “I love God,” but keeps on hating his brother, he is a liar; for if he doesn’t love his brother who is right there in front of him, how can he love God whom he has never seen? And God himself has said that one must love not only God but his brother too.

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 morning as we left church, Timothy’s Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Glenda, said to him…”Remember, God loves you!”  Timothy got in the car telling me that God loves us the MOST!  I said, “Yes!  Imagine…as much as I love you – God loves you MORE!  How can that even be possible?!”  We marveled the rest of the way home about how much God loves us and how we wish we could see Him…but we know that He is with us.  Someday, we will see God face-to-face in Heaven – and it will be glorious.  (We have some pretty deep conversations in the short few blocks from church to home!)

In the pre-K class, we studied Joseph, and how he trusted God even as one bad thing after another happened to him. Through all of this, Joseph trusted God.  Our scripture memory verse has been Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” (NIV).  We have talked for at least four weeks now about how Joseph trusted God…even when bad things happened – and how we must do the same.  We must believe that God loves us the MOST…that He will take care of us, hear our prayers, and meet our needs.

Greg and I spent the afternoon with family, and when we returned home, we learned that once again, police officers have been shot and killed – this time in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  As I caught up on reading e-mail messages and social media posts, I was heartsick to see that countless people have already begun a barrage of comments and attacks on certain groups – and a particular individual.

Honestly, I don’t know how I am supposed to teach our children that God loves us and wants us to love others when so many who claim the name of Jesus are spewing such hatred and have such unloving attitudes.  I know that as heartbroken as God is about all of the violence that is occurring in our world…He must be equally devastated by the hatefulness being expressed by some of His children toward others.

I hope we will all take a collective breath and search our hearts – and prayerfully ask God to work to bring about some serious attitude adjustments in many of us.  We cannot be part of the solution until we stop being part of the problem…and hating others and assigning blame based on our own agendas or personal preferences is a problem. I don’t know your heart…what might have caused you to be so angry, fearful, or disapproving of a particular person, race, ethnic group, sexual orientation, socio-economic group, gender, religious belief – or whatever.  I know that sometimes people just don’t like someone else because of the way that he/she looks, walks or talks. We humans are terribly judgmental!  But hear this…God is not pleased with our judgments!

If you are bound and determined to continue judging someone else, then quit saying you love God.  Because scripture plainly states that we cannot love God and hate our brother.  If this offends you, take it up with God.  I cannot sugarcoat this.  I plan to meet God face-to-face someday…and I intend to be able to stand before Him and say with 100% assurance that I loved my brothers and sisters…all of them.

This is a tall order, because I must love not only those who are easy to love…but those who want to hate – and hurt.  I have to love the guy with the weird hair and that dirty person who smells funny - and the person who hurt my feelings.  I have to love my “friends” who post ugly things on social media and the people in the public spotlight who call each other horrible names! I’ll tell you, I’m gonna have to spend some time on my knees to accomplish this! But I am fully committed to doing it, because I love God, and I know that He loves me even more. And this is what He requires of me in return.  What about you?©2016 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for February 14, 2016

John 10:14-18
“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd.

This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”

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.

It’s Valentine’s Day…the day when expressions of love flow freely between almost all of us.  Flowers, candy, jewelry and more cards than can be counted are exchanged between people of all ages.  According to an article at Money.com, the average amount many will spend on Valentine’s Day this year is nearly $150.  And the words written on Valentine cards run the gamut from the silly to the sappy…but the general gist of most is that the recipient has captured our hearts!

In this scripture passage, Jesus is telling us that He has captured God’s heart…and God has captured His.  More than that…WE have captured His heart…and He wants to capture ours.  Jesus knows us intimately – and He wants us to know Him just as well.  Going one step further…Jesus wants us to share this love with others…to develop a deep, abiding affection for others that mimics His love for us.  In this manner, we can demonstrate to them how much God loves us - and create in them a desire to become part of the flock.

If God sent us a Valentine, I imagine it might feature Jesus gathering His flock of sheep, with Ephesians 3:18 written across the front…” And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.”

God wants us to be His …and to so clearly demonstrate to the world how special this relationship is that others can’t help but want to join in, also.  His love is incredible and vast - and there is room for all of us.  This is GREAT NEWS!

1 John 4:19 reminds us that…”First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.”  Who do you love…and how will you show it?  Will you demonstrate your love for God today…and will you share His love with others? You don’t have to spend $150 to do this.  There are countless ways to express your affection and appreciation for God and others.  Which ones will you choose today?

©2016 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for February 7, 2016

Romans 3:19-20
We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty.  God doesn’t accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

Today, we were driving home from a swim at the community Aquatic Center, and a car in front of us stopped at a red light.  When the intersection was clear, the driver sped through it while the light was still red.  The children saw this, and Timothy immediately said, “Aunt Debbie!  You need to call 911!” 

I agreed with him that this was a bad thing for the driver to do…he had disobeyed the law.  But I didn’t call 911 – even when Nathan chimed in and said, “Yeah, Aunt Debbie…you need to do what Timmy said and call 911!”  I told the children that perhaps this driver was having a bad day – or he didn’t realize that the light had not turned green.  There could be a lot of reasons that he broke the law…but in this case, it was not our place to report it to the police. I guess you could say…we gave him a pass!

Every one of us does things we shouldn’t.  We all break the law from time to time – if only when we drive a mile or two over the speed limit.  I am not condoning this!  But as this scripture points out – all the law does is point out that we are not perfect – that we all sin!  Our human nature often tells us that we can concoct some semblance of a reasonable excuse for what we did.  And sometimes, we react without thinking – and say and do things that we truly should not.  There is no excuse for our behaviors…but we often offer…“these things happen.”

Aren’t you glad that God does not judge us for every single law we break – or even every sin we commit?  Yes, it is wrong to break the law.  Yes, these actions hurt God and can weaken our relationship with God – from OUR vantage point.  But God never turns His back on us.  He never stops loving us…and if we commit our hearts to Jesus and make every effort to love and serve Him – God never stops forgiving us. 

This is such good news…because on any given day, we’re all stinkers…capable of lying, cheating, stealing – and yes, running a red light!  Aren’t you glad to know that God is in your corner…that the laws we are called to obey are not what truly define our relationship with Him…or our eternal destiny?!  Stop today and thank God for loving you…for His forgiveness of your sins and His willingness to set you upright after you disobey, disappoint, or disconnect in some manner with poor choices and selfish behaviors. 

Ask Him to strengthen your relationship…to help you keep your focus on the teachings of Jesus and your commitment to be a faithful servant and disciple. We shouldn’t presume that God will give us a pass – anytime on anything. But aren’t we glad that when we fall short, He restores us? Have you thanked Him today for His amazing grace and mercy?  Don’t you think you should?

©2016 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for November 22, 2015

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

Daily Devotional for April 15, 2015

Romans 3:21-24
But now God has shown us a different way to heaven — not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us —declare us “not guilty”— if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Timothy is often a serious child…and when things don’t go well, he will sometimes ask, “Are you disappointed in me?”  And more than once, he has told me, “Aunt Debbie, I’m so disappointed in you” – usually when I tell him “No” about something!

I’m afraid that God is often “so disappointed” in me…like every day at one point or another.  And I’ll let you in on a little secret…He’s disappointed in you, too!  Feeling a little “disappointed” now?  I know I am…along with embarrassed, frustrated - and a healthy dose of “why can’t I get it right?”! 

Hear the words of Romans 3:23…”all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal.”  Now hear the GREATER news that follows…”yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.”  So while we disappoint God often, He still loves us and forgives us.  We must strive to get it right…to do better…to please Him.  We should want to do this!  But the times that we fall short…God is still there.

When children disappoint us or misbehave, we may detach from them for a few minutes.  There may be a “time out” involved in which we do not communicate.  Or if the child is angry or upset with us, he/she may walk away and ignore us momentarily.  But this is usually short lived.  And while we may feel like God has left us for a while, the truth is that He never leaves us.  He may let us simmer in our misgivings for a bit, but He is right there whenever we are ready to make things right and try again.

So today as you go about your routine, remind yourself often that God is with you…that He loves you more than you can ever imagine – much less deserve.  Remember that the only thing you could ever do to disappoint God irreparably is to deny Him completely…and even then, He would fight tooth and nail to remain in your life!  Doesn’t that kind of love make you want to do all you can to please Him?  Will this be the day that you begin?

©2015 Debbie Robus