He Did What?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/DmIDSwDCB5g?si=gt2CtnexfOtqma-Q

“He Did What?

Philippians 2:8 NLT

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

 

We have all had many times in our lives when we are surprised, whether in a good way or bad way, at something someone else does that we would never expect.  We’ve often said, “She really did that?”, or maybe, “ He really said that?”  When someone does something that is totally unexpected, it really leaves us in complete shock and we don’t know what to say or how to react.  The situation can often leave us dumbfounded and with no words. 

 

We all have often put so much energy and emotion into how we react and respond to these times in our lives.  We have easily turned these times into gossip with others.  We can’t believe what we’ve heard or seen and we want to tell others.  It can become the talk of the group or the town.  This could be very good or very bad.

 

This past Sunday, our pastor had a sermon talking about this chapter of Philippians and how Jesus came to do what He did and how unbelievable and amazing it actually was.  What struck me was how our pastor said that we often do routine things at Christmas as we talk about how Jesus came into the world.  And, in general, it’s often easy for us to become desensitized to all the emotion we should have at what Jesus did for us.  It becomes commonplace and we totally miss the real emotion and meaning it should still hold for us. 

 

I pulled up the NLT version and the phrase, “died a criminal’s death” completely captured my attention.  Jesus did not belong on that Cross, we did.  He went up there and died to save us all.  He willingly gave it all to give us a future with Him.  Nothing about what He did makes any sense.  We deserved what He got.  I don’t think I’ll ever read this passage the same again.  He became nothing and died a criminal’s death for us.  He wasn’t a criminal, but He definitely went through all the torture a criminal would experience. 

 

I sure hope that we all experience the real emotion of what Jesus did for us.  It should daily grip us in our hearts and we should take time to remember and be truly thankful.  We should be in awe and be dumbfounded and say, “He did what?”  Yes, He did that for you and for me?  It should leave us speechless every single day.  We should be filled with great emotion and awe for what He did for us.  The world needs to see that raw emotion and gratefulness in our lives each day.

 

What Jesus did should leave us in complete awe every single day and we should be deeply thankful for the life He gives us. 

The Time Will Eventually Come

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/XNPBXVoumxo?si=VTKsYAGjygzsNrnr

“The Time Will Eventually Come”

Proverbs 4:20-22 NIV

My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words.  Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.

 

At my job, we often have computer updates pop up with a message that a restart is needed for updates to take effect.  There is usually an option to either restart immediately or to select a later time in the day instead.  The times that these notices pop up are usually when I’m in the middle of my day and I have multiple programs open, so it’s not very convenient timing for me to close out of everything, restart and then have to open everything back up after the restart.  So, every time the pop up comes up, I keep selecting the longest time I can wait to put off the restart.

 

The options I’m given are usually 4 hours, then 1 hour, then 10 minute segments until finally I am given the notice that I cannot wait any longer and the pop up will NOT go away until I restart.  In the past I’ve tried to work around that pop up and it’s very annoying.  Basically, there comes a point where I can’t put it off any longer and I have to restart my computer.  I’m actually just putting off the inevitable.  I’m trying to wait for a more “convenient” time for me to restart so that it’s not a time that disrupts my agenda. 

 

This reminds me so much of our walk with God.  There are changes that God wants to make in our lives and He wants to improve how we go about our daily lives.  However, so often, we are content with what we are doing and we just want to put things off until we feel like changing.  Or, we keep saying, “just a little longer and I’ll do it”.  Yeah, how’s that working for us???

 

We are all so guilty of putting off the inevitable.  We procrastinate, make excuses and keep going until we absolutely are forced to make a change.  Man, we are stubborn, aren’t we??  We sure are!  Friends, we need to understand that the time will eventually come to make changes in our lives that God needs to make.  These changes are vital for us to live better lives.  We get convicted by a message at church or a song we hear on the radio or by something someone else says to us and we know we need to make the change.  However, so often we just keep going and say we’ll do it later. 

 

Often, later never comes.  And, just like the computer pop up, eventually something will come up in our lives to remind us that we cannot avoid the inevitable.  It would really be better if I just closed out of all the programs, restarted my computer, and went with the changes to avoid future program issues.  Just like life, we need to heed when God says we need a different route or we need to make changes.  Putting it off usually won’t help us at all and can even hurt our relationship with Him and others in our lives. 

 

The time will eventually come, so why not just stop putting it off and make the change? 

Do We Give Our All?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/-wCfAPMGp1s?si=OkPrwR_9fiKluXtg

“Do We Give Our All?

Mark 12:41-44 NIV

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.  Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

 

Recently, for our family devotion time, we read this passage about the widow giving all that she had.  I have read this story numerous times in the past and am reminded of how powerful of a message it is showing us that giving our all in life is so important.  I’m reminded of how crucial it is for us to truly give our all in every single thing we do in life.  So often it’s easy for us to just give minimal in our efforts to various commitments. 

 

I think about the religious leaders and other rich people who felt a sense of pride for throwing large amounts into the offering.  I’m sure they had a puffed up ego feeling all good about their so-called generosity.  However, the widow is amazing not only because she gave the least amount, but also that she gave everything she had and ended up giving more than them! 

 

This makes me consider how often I honestly put in 100% effort into the things I do each day and how much I commit to my relationship with God, my family, church and friendships that I have.  When I consider the widow, I often wonder how God wants me to give more in certain situations. 

 

Guess who else gave their all?  There’s many other examples in Scripture, but the best example every is Jesus Christ Himself.  He literally gave it all.  Just like the hymn, “Jesus Paid It All”.  No one in history could ever give what Jesus did.  Jesus gave His life to give us life. 

 

I think we all need to start asking ourselves each day, “Do we give our all in our relationship with God, in our family, in our church, and other relationships?”  In our commitments, where are we failing to give our all?  Others are busting their tails often to help us and to provide for their families, so we definitely need to make sure we are giving our best effort in everything we do. 

 

Like the widow, do we find ourselves giving our all and being as humble as possible or do we just give a little and feel prideful for at least giving something?  We need to ditch the pride and take a good lesson from not only the widow, but Jesus Himself.

He Wants Unlimited Access

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/Nsd4Nm6Fpa4?si=p4a1uxXd0KR5Icu5

“He Wants Unlimited Access”

Acts 1:8 NIV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

 

In this day and age, we have so many different subscription plans offering us unlimited access.  When we sign up for a membership, I think most often we are looking for the most perks we can get for our money.  Most phone plans nowadays all include unlimited talk, text and data.  I remember back when you had to pay extra for going over certain amount of calling minutes, texts and data caps.  That’s becoming a thing of the past.

 

So much of what we pay for these days usually provides unlimited access.  We like paying a price and getting unlimited access to the plan we’ve paid for.  We don’t want any hindrances to what we can do.  We don’t want to be restricted.  And, if there’s ever an issue, we are sure to contact customer service to get things straightened because we are a paying customer.

 

At church Sunday, this passage was used and talked about how Jesus charged His men to take His message to everywhere in the world.  He wasn’t just sending them through their town, but to other countries and all over the world.  He didn’t want them limiting themselves.  He wants full and complete access to their lives and to send them wherever he needed them to go. 

 

God wants unlimited access to our lives.  His desire is to send us wherever He leads.  However, so often, we limit Him and give excuses because we don’t feel like doing what He wants us to do or going where He wants us to go.  We always seem to have an excuse to not go certain places where He leads.  We get selfish and don’t want to leave our comfort zones.  But it doesn’t work that way if we are committed to the Great Commission.  Jesus told His men and tells us to go and make disciples of ALL nations.  There’s very inclusive! 

 

Jesus asks us to give Him all access to our lives so that He can send us wherever He chooses.  Are we giving Him all access and saying to Him first, “Yes!  Lord the answer is Yes!  Now, where do You want me to go”?

 

He wants all access of our lives.  He wants to send us wherever He desires for us to go.  Are we willing, ready and available? 

Give Thanks In All Things

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/09QIA5GAN9s?si=Eg_UpIjafWHieYkv

“Give Thanks In All Things”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to run my first half marathon here in Mankato.  This past week I have been mentally processing what happened and thinking through the whole experience.  I’ve thought about how I prepared for many months to increase my distance and endurance, and then the day came in hopes for all the preparation to pay off. 

 

I did my best to take into account what all issues I could possibly face.  I wasn’t preparing for a bad race by any means, but I just went through several scenarios in my head as I mentally prepared for what might come.  For months, I had been focusing on a certain pace that I wanted to keep, but as the time got closer within a couple of weeks, I finally just came to the mindset of, “I just want to finish and enjoy the experience”.  That’s the attitude I took into it.  I wanted to complete it…..running the whole time.

 

On race day, the hype of everything was amazing.  Being around thousands of runners definitely gave me a “runners high”.  The Saturday before I had run the course by myself to get a feel for it so that I knew what to expect.  As I ran the race, I just enjoyed the experience and asked God to give me the endurance.  After mile 7, I started having a side pain and knee problems.  I decided to slow my pace down to help with making the pain tolerable.  After a few more miles, I felt like I had it managed enough to keep running and finish.  I just kept praying for God to help me finish. 

 

As I think back, I ran into issues and I was prepared to deal with them.  Thankfully, God blessed me to finish while still running.  Every runner in the world would love to run a race with NO issues at all.  However, that’s just not reality.  Almost every runner experiences some setback at some point that is not expected. 

 

This past week I have remembered this is exactly like life.  We simply cannot expect a life that is void of any problems.  That is not reality and not the life God promised us.  However, He did promise to always be present with us, guiding us and helping us through.  Throughout the race, I was doing my best to give God thanks no matter the outcome.  No matter what obstacles I was facing, I wanted to focus on being thankful for the experience.  In life, we all experience setbacks and obstacles and we need to learn to give thanks no matter the circumstances.  God will bring us through.  We need to adjust our attitude and see things in a different light and perspective so that we can focus on Him and trust that He knows what He is doing. 

Trying To Impress Or Being Genuine?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/PZ4gbjq3YBg?si=_3oBNa6BwLjkWUaK

“Trying To Impress Or Being Genuine?”

Hebrews 11:6 NIV

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

 

A few weeks ago, I had my 6 month dental cleaning checkup.  As I prepared and flossed and brushed my teeth before going in, it brought back some funny memories of when I was a kid and how I prepared for my check ups.  I wasn’t always great at taking care of my teeth as I liked to eat a lot of candy.  I’m sure I didn’t brush twice a day and didn’t brush the best when I did brush.  I also didn’t floss on a regular basis.  The day of my dentist appts, I would usually brush my teeth really good and hoped that the dentist would be impressed.

 

As you can imagine, as they cleaned and examined my teeth, I would usually hear all the reports of what I wasn’t doing and how I needed to do it better.  I thought by just brushing really hard before my dental appt, that would be good enough.  Nope!  Years later now with numerous cavities and crowns, I’ve learned that I really need to take better care of my teeth.  My dental visits now are not as bad as they used to be, yet I often fear they will find something that is bad and needs fixed.

 

I think we treat our spiritual lives a lot like this.  We don’t always take the greatest care of our walk with God.  I think sometimes we feel like if we show up to church and put in some time, we look good to God and to others.  Just like my quick brushing attempts before going to the dentist when I was younger, we often think we can impress God and pretend with Him, but we can’t. 

 

We can sometimes fool other people for a period of time, but we never can fool God.  I think He often shakes His head in sadness and heartbreak seeing what we do to try to make ourselves look good, but what He truly wants is us being honest and doing our best to be genuine. 

 

Is our desire just to try to impress God and others when we show up Sunday for church and maybe for a small group bible study through the week to look good, or are we striving to take the time each day to grow closer to Him in a very intentional and genuine manner?

 

I know that I often fail in my attempts to be genuine with God and in being intentional in my walk with Him.  He desires for all of us to be intentional and to truly desire time with Him.  He wants our all and not just various times where we try to impress Him. 

 

I hope and pray that our desire each day is to truly be genuine and intentional to grow in our faith.  

What Richness Are We Chasing?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/Qy1P71pEaCE?si=9_Rf-ICMvxh4OXIX

“What Richness Are We Chasing?”

Colossians 3:16 NLT

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives.

 

I read this passage recently from the Air1 Radio verse of the day and it really spoke to me.  The phrase “Fill your lives” really stood out.  I got to thinking about all the different things each day that I allow to fill my life.  From the time I get up in the morning till I go to bed, I have choices to decide what fills my day.  Whether I’m at home, at work, at church, shopping with my family or if I’m at different gatherings, I can decide what I allow to fill my mind and my heart. 

 

I admit that I often allow worldly things to fill my mind and heart throughout the day.  When I begin my day, I pray that God will guide me and lead me how He wants me to go, but then it doesn’t take long before selfish desires set in.  I see ads and hear different persuasive things throughout the day that tend to woo my heart and mind to chase after more worldly things. 

 

After 49 years of life, I know full well that chasing after the things of this world will never satisfy or lead me to a fulfilled life.  However, I still choose to chase these temporary pleasures, whatever they may be.  Paul is very clear in this passage to encourage us in that we need to let the richness of Christ fill our lives. 

 

What happens when we let the richness of Christ fill our lives instead of worldly influences?  Lots of great things, of course!  We become filled with eternal satisfaction that the world cannot provide.  We shine the light of Christ to show the lost His love.  We become a light others cannot ignore.  We think of others more before ourselves. 

 

When we let the richness of the world fill our lives, we become influenced in all the wrong ways and we tread down very bad paths.  Everything is temporary and we often wonder why we remain thirsty and longing for more.  When we long for more and more of the world, there is no way we can effectively teach and counsel other people in a Godly manner.  In this times, God’s not filling our lives and the world is! 

 

When we are filled with the richness of Christ, there is no comparing!  The world can never match what we receive through the richness of Christ.  Our hearts are filled and there is so much satisfaction!

 

I challenge all of us to watch closely each day what we are filling our lives with.  What are we allowing into our hearts and minds?  What are we following and chasing after?  Either we chase the richness of Christ or we chase the richness of this world. 

 

Which will it be?