by Denise Reed
This Week’s Verse: John 15:19, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (NIV)
Devotion
Most of us know and love singing the song “Amazing Love.” However, one day as it played on the radio, a certain verse grabbed my attention: “I’m forgiven, because you were forsaken. I’m accepted, you were condemned.”
Then it struck me; what makes us accepted in this world? Are we so worldly that we blend in with everyone else in such a way that no one can tell if we are a follower of Jesus? I knew that this conviction had come from God and it weighed on my mind for the rest of the week.
The very next Sunday we read the story of Stephen in our Sunday School class. The story is found in Acts and it reaffirmed that my earlier insight was from God. Stephen was a man full of God’s grace and power. He was chosen by the other apostles as a disciple of Christ. He did great wonders and miraculous signs, but you know what?
He was NOT accepted by the world. He WAS condemned. Because of his faith he was persecuted and stoned to death. As he died, he mirrored what Jesus said when he died on the cross by saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
This man--who was a true follower of Jesus--is a great example for us. Are we willing to stand out in the crowd, or are we trying too hard to be accepted by the world?
Oh, and to top it off, we sang “Amazing Love” during the worship hour that SAME Sunday. Was God speaking to me or what?
Dear Lord, thank you for the great example of Stephen. Help me to never take my eyes off my purpose here in this world. This world has nothing for me, Lord. Help me remember that. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application:
This week, let’s make a conscious effort to share God’s love with everyone we come into contact with, even if we think they might shun us, or make fun of us. If we are made fun of, we will rejoice!
Power Verses: 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (NIV)
2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (NIV)
1 Peter 2:11, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage was against your soul.”(NIV)
Showing posts with label self-sacrifice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-sacrifice. Show all posts
Friday, June 25, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Re-Run: It's Time to Wake Up
(*This post is a re-run of a devotion that originally appeared on this blog in September of 2007. It's a wonderful reminder of how God meets us where we are but loves us too much to leave us there.)
by Karen Keim
Verse of the Week: Psalm 73:28, "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works."
Devotion:
Okay. So here’s the deal. There’s three things I haven’t been very good at lately: 1) exercising; 2) eating breakfast; and 3) spending some good, quality time with the Lord.
I have good intentions, mind you, to do all three better. But I just can’t seem to get there. Every night when I go to bed, I say to myself, “Now, I’m going to get up an hour earlier tomorrow and go for a walk, eat breakfast and spend some time with the Lord.” Well, guess what! Sleep (that’s spelled S-A-T-A-N) always wins. The alarm goes off that hour early, and I think, “Just 15 more minutes.” (Snooze) “Okay. Just five more minutes.” (Snooze) “Well, it’s getting too late now. I might as well just sleep until my regular time.” (And don’t tell me you haven’t been there, too!)
Well, guess what! This morning I beat satan two out of three!!!! Yea!!! Now, which one of those three do you think I just couldn’t work in? Yep, you’re right! EXERCISE! But I had my egg sandwich (with catsup) and I had some quality time with the Lord. And, boy, did He have some things to tell me!
Here’s how it went.I started out praising him for winning the morning battle, telling Him how awesome He is, read a nice little devotion – you know the routine. Then I picked up my Bible and said, “Lord, speak to me through Your Word today,” and I just popped open my Bible, feeling certain that whatever page I opened to, He would have some plain, simple message for me.
Well, hmfph! I opened to Ezekiel 24, where God is giving Ezekiel the words He wanted him to say to the rebellious nation of Judah. It’s all that symbolic jargon. You know what I’m talking about, the kind where as you’re reading, you think, “Yada, yada, yada, whatever that all means!” I almost gave up on it and said, “Let’s try this again,” and opened to another passage.But I remembered how I had asked Him to speak to me and felt that he had led me to the passage He wanted me to hear, so I kept reading.
I get to the part where God tells Ezekiel that with one blow He’s going to kill the person that Ezekiel loves the most! I’m thinking, “Oh, dear, Lord, is that what you wanted me to hear? Is it my husband? Is it one of my boys?” I read on, and God told Ezekiel that He was making Ezekiel an example to the people of Judah of what he was going to do to them. He said (Ezekiel 24:25, God’s Word translation), “Son of man, on that day I will take their stronghold away from them. It makes them happy and proud. It is their hearts’ desire and the thing they love the most.” In other words, the thing the people of Judah loved the most was getting in the way of their obedience and relationship with God.
Hmmm. “Is that what you wanted to say to me, Lord? What is the thing I love and desire the most? What is the thing You want me to give up before You have to take it away from me so that I will put You first?”I laid my head back and closed my eyes and began to think . . . . is it my husband? Is it my son? Is it this, is it . . . and then all of a sudden, as I am about to drift off into my inner thoughts (okay, fall asleep!), it hits me! My eyes pop wide open and I almost laugh! It’s SLEEP! It’s as simple as sleep!
See, sleep is one of my favorite things to do. I took a survey the other day that asked, if you had an extra hour of time given to you, what would you do, and there were four or five options, like read a book, watch a movie, take a hot bath, or SLEEP! Mine was definitely SLEEP! I don’t know if it’s the empty nest thing going on or just old age, but I just can’t seem to get enough sleep these days. I wasn’t always that way. Sure, I liked my Sunday afternoon naps, but given a choice of doing just about ANYTHING these days, I’ll choose sleep. And I do it well! I NEVER have trouble sleeping. Now, if you are a person who has trouble sleeping at night (like my husband) you know what a blessing it is to be able to sleep without difficulty, and I truly believe it’s a blessing!
But I’ve come to the point where, as I said, I would rather sleep than do almost anything else – including spending time with the Lord! It’s what He calls in this verse “my heart’s desire and the thing they love the most.” It’s what’s getting in the way of me being obedient and connecting with Him in the way He wants me to.
So what’s it going to take, Karen? Are you going to give it up willingly, sacrifice a little extra sleep for a little extra time with the Lord, or is He going to have to take it away from you by removing your blessing of being able to sleep with no trouble?
What about you? Maybe you think I got a little carried away here in analyzing what the Lord was saying. Maybe you’re saying I’m making it too simple, comparing something as BIG as destroying the nation of Judah with something as SMALL as removing my ability to sleep.
But I don’t think so. God’s word meets us where we’re at, and He speaks to us in small, simple ways.
Father, thank you for your patience. Help us to put You first, making YOU and time with YOU “our heart’s desire and the thing we love the most”. We love you so much. In Jesus name, Amen.
Application:
Are you listening? Is there something you need to give up willingly so that you can be obedient to what He’s calling you to do? Is there something you need to be sacrificing so that you can spend more time with Him? I promise it will be worth it!
Power Verses:
Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. Let Thy good Spirit lead me on level ground."(American Standard)
John 10:17, "The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again." (NLT)
Exodus 20:3, "You shall have no other gods before me." (NIV)
by Karen Keim
Verse of the Week: Psalm 73:28, "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works."
Devotion:
Okay. So here’s the deal. There’s three things I haven’t been very good at lately: 1) exercising; 2) eating breakfast; and 3) spending some good, quality time with the Lord.
I have good intentions, mind you, to do all three better. But I just can’t seem to get there. Every night when I go to bed, I say to myself, “Now, I’m going to get up an hour earlier tomorrow and go for a walk, eat breakfast and spend some time with the Lord.” Well, guess what! Sleep (that’s spelled S-A-T-A-N) always wins. The alarm goes off that hour early, and I think, “Just 15 more minutes.” (Snooze) “Okay. Just five more minutes.” (Snooze) “Well, it’s getting too late now. I might as well just sleep until my regular time.” (And don’t tell me you haven’t been there, too!)
Well, guess what! This morning I beat satan two out of three!!!! Yea!!! Now, which one of those three do you think I just couldn’t work in? Yep, you’re right! EXERCISE! But I had my egg sandwich (with catsup) and I had some quality time with the Lord. And, boy, did He have some things to tell me!
Here’s how it went.I started out praising him for winning the morning battle, telling Him how awesome He is, read a nice little devotion – you know the routine. Then I picked up my Bible and said, “Lord, speak to me through Your Word today,” and I just popped open my Bible, feeling certain that whatever page I opened to, He would have some plain, simple message for me.
Well, hmfph! I opened to Ezekiel 24, where God is giving Ezekiel the words He wanted him to say to the rebellious nation of Judah. It’s all that symbolic jargon. You know what I’m talking about, the kind where as you’re reading, you think, “Yada, yada, yada, whatever that all means!” I almost gave up on it and said, “Let’s try this again,” and opened to another passage.But I remembered how I had asked Him to speak to me and felt that he had led me to the passage He wanted me to hear, so I kept reading.
I get to the part where God tells Ezekiel that with one blow He’s going to kill the person that Ezekiel loves the most! I’m thinking, “Oh, dear, Lord, is that what you wanted me to hear? Is it my husband? Is it one of my boys?” I read on, and God told Ezekiel that He was making Ezekiel an example to the people of Judah of what he was going to do to them. He said (Ezekiel 24:25, God’s Word translation), “Son of man, on that day I will take their stronghold away from them. It makes them happy and proud. It is their hearts’ desire and the thing they love the most.” In other words, the thing the people of Judah loved the most was getting in the way of their obedience and relationship with God.
Hmmm. “Is that what you wanted to say to me, Lord? What is the thing I love and desire the most? What is the thing You want me to give up before You have to take it away from me so that I will put You first?”I laid my head back and closed my eyes and began to think . . . . is it my husband? Is it my son? Is it this, is it . . . and then all of a sudden, as I am about to drift off into my inner thoughts (okay, fall asleep!), it hits me! My eyes pop wide open and I almost laugh! It’s SLEEP! It’s as simple as sleep!
See, sleep is one of my favorite things to do. I took a survey the other day that asked, if you had an extra hour of time given to you, what would you do, and there were four or five options, like read a book, watch a movie, take a hot bath, or SLEEP! Mine was definitely SLEEP! I don’t know if it’s the empty nest thing going on or just old age, but I just can’t seem to get enough sleep these days. I wasn’t always that way. Sure, I liked my Sunday afternoon naps, but given a choice of doing just about ANYTHING these days, I’ll choose sleep. And I do it well! I NEVER have trouble sleeping. Now, if you are a person who has trouble sleeping at night (like my husband) you know what a blessing it is to be able to sleep without difficulty, and I truly believe it’s a blessing!
But I’ve come to the point where, as I said, I would rather sleep than do almost anything else – including spending time with the Lord! It’s what He calls in this verse “my heart’s desire and the thing they love the most.” It’s what’s getting in the way of me being obedient and connecting with Him in the way He wants me to.
So what’s it going to take, Karen? Are you going to give it up willingly, sacrifice a little extra sleep for a little extra time with the Lord, or is He going to have to take it away from you by removing your blessing of being able to sleep with no trouble?
What about you? Maybe you think I got a little carried away here in analyzing what the Lord was saying. Maybe you’re saying I’m making it too simple, comparing something as BIG as destroying the nation of Judah with something as SMALL as removing my ability to sleep.
But I don’t think so. God’s word meets us where we’re at, and He speaks to us in small, simple ways.
Father, thank you for your patience. Help us to put You first, making YOU and time with YOU “our heart’s desire and the thing we love the most”. We love you so much. In Jesus name, Amen.
Application:
Are you listening? Is there something you need to give up willingly so that you can be obedient to what He’s calling you to do? Is there something you need to be sacrificing so that you can spend more time with Him? I promise it will be worth it!
Power Verses:
Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. Let Thy good Spirit lead me on level ground."(American Standard)
John 10:17, "The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again." (NLT)
Exodus 20:3, "You shall have no other gods before me." (NIV)
Friday, July 11, 2008
Serious Berry Pickin'
by Kathy Lay
This Week’s Verse: Hosea 10:12, “I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’”
Devotion:
Blackberry bushes line the perimeter of our yard and this time of year we’re usually out reaping the harvest. These are wild bushes; we didn’t plant them and yet we’re able to enjoy their luscious fruit.
There is a small price to pay for the bounty though. The thorns on the bushes can make berry-picking a painful experience if we’re not careful. Most of the time, we just stick to the outside berries—even though they’re usually smaller—so that we don’t have to endure being poked and pierced. We usually take the easy way out.
But while I was doing the “easy” picking last year, I spied through the leaves and branches a fat, full, succulent cluster of berries. They were so much better than “the outside berries”—so plump and huge.
I weighed my options. I could lean straight forward through a lot of thorny branches, tough it out, grab the blackberries, then deal with the consequences later. Or I could try to find a way in from the back, decreasing (only a little!) my exposure to the thorns, but increasing (a lot!) the time invested for the berries. With the heat and bugs pestering me, I opted to get right to business and leaned through about three feet of prickly hell. But I got those berries! And it was so worth it when the kids and I had dark juicy stains on our lips!
How like berry-picking is living for God. He graces us with blessings we don’t deserve (we didn’t plant those bushes), but then our will comes into play as far as what we do with them. We could ignore them altogether. We could randomly pick at them as we speed past on the lawn mower of life. We could make an intentional effort, but merely settle for small fruit while playing it safe on the outside.
Or we could sacrifice ourselves and go deep, seeking the biggest and the best waiting for us.
Lord, put a longing in our hearts to keep our eyes on the prize—the best fruit for Your kingdom. Put a yearning in us to go beyond our comfort zone and sustain us to persevere. Even if we get pierced or hurt along the way, help us to remember that You, Jesus, did it first. And thank You for that.
Power Verses:
Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”(NIV)
Mark 8:34, “Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, ‘Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?’” (MSG)
Jeremiah 45:5, “’And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,’ says the LORD. ‘But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.’” (NKJV)
This Week’s Verse: Hosea 10:12, “I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’”
Devotion:
Blackberry bushes line the perimeter of our yard and this time of year we’re usually out reaping the harvest. These are wild bushes; we didn’t plant them and yet we’re able to enjoy their luscious fruit.
There is a small price to pay for the bounty though. The thorns on the bushes can make berry-picking a painful experience if we’re not careful. Most of the time, we just stick to the outside berries—even though they’re usually smaller—so that we don’t have to endure being poked and pierced. We usually take the easy way out.
But while I was doing the “easy” picking last year, I spied through the leaves and branches a fat, full, succulent cluster of berries. They were so much better than “the outside berries”—so plump and huge.
I weighed my options. I could lean straight forward through a lot of thorny branches, tough it out, grab the blackberries, then deal with the consequences later. Or I could try to find a way in from the back, decreasing (only a little!) my exposure to the thorns, but increasing (a lot!) the time invested for the berries. With the heat and bugs pestering me, I opted to get right to business and leaned through about three feet of prickly hell. But I got those berries! And it was so worth it when the kids and I had dark juicy stains on our lips!
How like berry-picking is living for God. He graces us with blessings we don’t deserve (we didn’t plant those bushes), but then our will comes into play as far as what we do with them. We could ignore them altogether. We could randomly pick at them as we speed past on the lawn mower of life. We could make an intentional effort, but merely settle for small fruit while playing it safe on the outside.
Or we could sacrifice ourselves and go deep, seeking the biggest and the best waiting for us.
Lord, put a longing in our hearts to keep our eyes on the prize—the best fruit for Your kingdom. Put a yearning in us to go beyond our comfort zone and sustain us to persevere. Even if we get pierced or hurt along the way, help us to remember that You, Jesus, did it first. And thank You for that.
Power Verses:
Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”(NIV)
Mark 8:34, “Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, ‘Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?’” (MSG)
Jeremiah 45:5, “’And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,’ says the LORD. ‘But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.’” (NKJV)
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