Friday Devotional - No Ordinary Child (by Anne Girolami)

How many mothers know that their child is different and will not have an easy life because of this difference. How many parents wish that they could change things for their child... to protect ... to make things easier for a child who is not like the other children?

And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Luke 2:34-35

No Ordinary Child…

Some days, I wake up wishing

That your life was normal…

I wish you to laugh and play in the sun.

I wish you to be surrounded by Love.

I wish you to be happy and carefree.

I wish you to fall in love and have children.

I wish you to grow old.

I wish all of this for you,

But what I wish for you… cannot be.

Your Life will not be easy.

People will not understand You,

They will not see the precious gift that You are.

They will be cruel in their ignorance,

And Your Love will be betrayed by their Fear.

Because they do not understand,

They will try to extinguish Your Light

As they try to destroy Your Life.

I love you more than life itself.

I want to protect you from all this.

I want to shield you from this cruelty,

But my wants are out of reach.

Yes…

Some days, I wake up wishing

That your life was normal…

But what I wish for you… can never be.

© 2016, Anne Marie Girolami

Thursday Devotional - True Persevering Servant

Paul was specifically called by Jesus to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. If you’ve read the book of Acts you know that his job didn’t come easy, but he persevered. He continually focused on Jesus and what Jesus had asked him to do. This is evident by the way he started each of his letters.

Romans 1:1-7         Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. ⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Would you call yourself a servant of Christ Jesus? Would He call you that?

I don’t know that Jesus would call me a true servant of His. I know several specific jobs where He’s called me to serve. However, I often get distracted by what I’m doing instead of why I’m doing it. I need to focus on WHO I actually want to serve - Jesus!  Then, I’ll truly be a servant of Jesus! I won’t burn out, get overwhelmed or give up.

Where has God called you to serve?

As God’s gospel saturates our minds and hearts, we can truly allow Him to set us apart for the task, just like Paul, persevering as a true servant to the end!

Alice

Who We Thought He Is

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.  When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.  Luke 5:18-25

I am a huge football fan.  At the end of each the game, there is always a post-game press conference where the winning and losing coaches of the teams explain their reasoning for the result of the game.  While at times rather subdued, some of them can be very animated and occasionally reach as kids nowadays say ‘epic’ levels.  One such press conference was by a man named Dennis Green.  When asked about how their team lost in spite of a multitude of errors and opportunities from the other team (the Chicago Bears), he simply answered, “The Bears were who we thought they were.”  He was referring to the fact there was nothing that surprised them about the other team, and in spite of that, they still somehow lost.  It was pretty funny stuff.  I share this story to remind us of a story about Jesus and who He is.

We have certainty that Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior.  Our relationship with Him should be an ever evolving and growing one filled with discovery and understanding.  Failure to acknowledge His authority or embrace it could result in the stunting of our spiritual growth.  The story in Luke noting how Jesus healed a paralyzed man sounds like a feel good story and rightfully so.  However if we look closer, some might miss the true point of this story.  In the chaos of the miracle, the Pharisees miss this main point.  They are hung up on the miracle itself stating, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy,” and then ironically, they answer their own question with a question saying, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?’  We too often fall into this trap of focusing on what is believable over what does it mean.  Perhaps something miraculous has happened to you, or on the flip side, maybe you are dealing with storms.  No matter which side of the coin you fall, be careful not to lose the perspective of what is happening beyond just the moment.  Be encouraged that Jesus always with you, and is the same God who loves and believes in you and died on the cross for your sins and mine.  If you remain focused on these facts, you will gain greater assurance in your blessings and strength through your struggles.

Jesus Christ’s message of Good News is meant for the heart, mind, and spirit.  There is no sin that He cannot forgive, and there is no situation that one cannot overcome with Him.  That is why we can trust in Him.  Don’t worry or fear.  You must, “Get up, take your mat and go home,” as He said to paralyzed man.  What situation do you doubt that He can handle?  How can you trust more in your forgiveness and less in your current state?  My prayer is that we remember Jesus is “who we thought He is.”  Amen.

Tues Devo: Perspective shift

Hello,

I think as followers of Jesus we have all been there – where you don’t want to seek His forgiveness AGAIN. We feel like we are wearing it out, like He is frustrated. We picture ourselves in our kids positions – with God frustrated like we are. (Thankfully, none of us – including myself – are God) But I want us to think of this differently and shift our perspective. Don’t worry about the frequency right now – keep the list of things to seek forgiveness on short. Even if now the frequency is high, it should raise your thankfulness-meter (made that term up…). Our thankfulness for His grace and mercy will help here. As we begin to focus there no His grace, our mind will begin to process our choices and actions through that lens. We see this in Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (NASB)

I hope this challenges all of us to quickly seek forgiveness, and focus on being thankful for His grace and mercy – letting that grace and mercy re-direct our choices.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill