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

Is it beneficial?

I Corinthians 10:23-24

 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the image you cast.  It talked about how teachers would be judged more strictly.   In it I mentioned that I wasn’t pleased with the impression that the teachers at my son’s school were casting on social media.  Well, this week I got myself in some trouble with the principal.  I spoke up about the issue I saw.  While it was a bit awkward, I felt like it was still the right thing to do. 

The principal made comment that they are old enough to do the things they were doing and that it was their own Facebook account.  I told her that I agreed, however that they have to realize that while they may have the right to do something, it does not mean that it is good for them or for those that they influence.  Immediately, these verses came to my mind. 

There are things that we all face that we have the right to do, however as Christians, we should be asking ourselves if it is beneficial.  And not just for ourselves but also for those that see us. 

I want to ask the same question that I asked two weeks ago:  Would others know that you are a Christian by what you post to Social Media?  Remember, some of what gets posted is not beneficial to ourselves or those around us.

Godly Intent

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  Matthew 7:1-2 

One things a friend told me is that they talk with me because I do not judge them.  I am not sure if that is a compliment or a curse.  Nonetheless, it comes from a genuine belief that if you spend a lot of time thinking how to correct a person, you cannot truly understand them.  Why?  The key to listening is to gain understanding of another person.  Not judge whether they are right or wrong.  That is only part of the nonjudgmental equation.  The second part is to assume the best of others.  Not the worst.  For example, when someone commits a sin, we can draw one of two conclusions.  Either one, we could go the Samuel L. Jackson route yelling, “Yes, they deserve to die, and I hope they burn in Hell.”  Or, we are like the loving God who looks at His child saying, “My child, why would you do that?  Do you think that pleases me” response.  The first version is judging that turns off the listener.  The second version is understanding Godly intent that seeks understanding of both your and their relationship with God. 

We must focus on Godly intent with others and ourselves.  I am always saddened when I have failed God.  I find myself thinking like Paul did when he said, “So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.  I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:14-15)  These verses are not an endorsement of sin.  Instead, they are a realistic look of our journey of faith that reminds us we all at times struggle.  We face challenges with sin, and God looks at those who have not accepted Christ with judgment.  However through Jesus Christ, we are looked on with the thought, “What can we learn from this?”  Do we grow from it, or do we continually let sin eat away at our character?  This is what Godly intent is about.  It means we look to do better even as we may have failed.  It focuses on what do we know and how could we do better.  The best thing is if we indeed get better and grow, our relationship with God grows with it. 

Understanding this, we must look at others the same way.  This is the underlining message of today’s verses.  If God looks at us with the intent we mean well even as we fail, we too must take that approach with others.  It makes the person that is supposedly beyond redeeming as a person we seek to understand why that is the case.  It becomes less about the sin and more about the person committing it.  It says, “I love you as you are,” and that is a message that a person supposedly beyond redemption may have never heard and often is desperate to hear. 

God loves us for both who we are and who we can be.  Should we accept this and continue to grow, God will be pleased.  Furthermore if we look unto others with that same belief, they perhaps will see the love of God they so long to have in their lives.  So let us push toward being open to understanding and less on judging.  When do you know you are judging and not listening?  How can you create for others a judgment free zone?  My prayer is that we remember how God’s showed us grace, and when talking to others, we have Godly intent.  Amen. 

Tues Devo: Boundary Line

Hello – I apologize for the delay the past couple of weeks and getting this out in the evening. I will strive for improvement moving forward!

1 Peter 2:11-12  “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (NASB)

As I was reading this part of the chapter I was thinking about how many times we hear about people being “in the wrong place at the wrong time”. We love to push the boundary. We like to go as far as we can justify to ourselves, and then just make sure not to cross that last piece of the line. But the reality is that when we push as far as we can to the line, we have little defense when things go down. Peter urges us here to stay back – draw our line further so that whatever things we are accused of are clearly not true. The rest of chapter 2 Peter talks about submitting to authority in this same vein, and the illustration of Christ and His lived out example. Peter mentions in verse 23 that Christ didn’t get caught up in retaliation – but just kept doing what He needed to do. Not only did He not retaliate, but He didn’t threaten it either – He kept His boundary line back from “crossing” to where it was clearly not an improper response.

I encourage all of us to look in our lives at where our actions/words/choices have proven out boundary lines to be.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

Rest

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This week has been extremely busy for me.  I feel like I haven’t been home at all, I’ve hardly seen my son and my husband.  This verse was certainly what I needed to read today.  I need to go to the Lord and find rest in him. 

I’m sure you’ve had days like this as well.  I’d like to hear from you, what is it that you do to find this much needed rest in the Lord?

Thursday Devotional - Love in Word and Action

Last summer James was constantly telling us he loved us. It was great to hear most of the time, but it got to be excessive. Maybe he needed to hear it from us that much! Before my Grandfather passed away last July, he gave us great advice to try to beat James to the punch, at some point each day. That way we were initiating the “I love you” and not always saying it in response to his “I love you.”

I think James still says “I love you” more than most children, but it isn’t constant anymore. He’s a genuinely loving and caring boy. So, this year we’ve talked numerous times about how our actions show our love. If we truly love God, we will listen and obey. If we truly love our parents, we will listen and obey.

Jesus challenged Peter to live out his love in action.

John 21:15-17         ¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

Saying “I love you” can be easy, but living a life of love is quite challenging. Peter did spend the rest of his life living out his love in action (feeding Jesus’s sheep).  

Do you and I love God as Peter did? What would our all-knowing God say about our love? If you and I do truly love Him, how has He asked us to show and live out our love in action? How well are you and I caring for His people?

Alice

Indivisible

But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”

Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?  He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat.  And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?  I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple!  But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’  For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”  Matthew 12:2-8

We live in a country divided.  I do not need to read the paper to know it or a Facebook post to feel it.  I see it on my face as well as others, and I feel it in my heart and soul.  With every protest and slur or statement and dissention, we know something is not right.  We choose sides thinking the other side is to blame.  I found myself in the book of Matthew, where, “Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed.  A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.” (Matthew 12:25) I prayed knowing that it won’t get better anytime soon.  However, I was reminded of one of my favorite movie scripture lines, “Even youths grow tired and weary.  Even young men will stumble and fall.  But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will walk and not grow faint.” (Isaiah 40:30-31/ movie: 'Remember The Titans') So while I realize there is trouble ahead, I continue to remember these basic truths.  First, God’s word is true.  Second, we are His children.  Third, He loves us.  Finally, He is always with us.  Those are the things that carry and drive me to create greater unity among those who would try to divide us.

You see, God is greater than any dissension that we may have among us.  I kept reading today's verses over and over again, and said it can’t be that simple can it?  Here was Jesus and the disciples harvesting grain on the day of the Sabbath.  Were the Pharisees worried that they were hungry?  No, they focused on them breaking the law.  There’s a reason Jesus was called ‘teacher,’ right?  He points out examples from scripture (David and the sacred loaves of bread – See Samuel 21:1-6) and priests working on the Sabbath.  Then the part that really hits home; I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.  The verses Jesus is referring to is Hosea 6:6, which says, “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.  I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”  We often get caught up into ‘what something means,’ and immediately jump to the conclusion that someone else is wrong.  Examples include, “you must be racist,” “you need to stop being overly sensitive,” or (the latest, sorry) “You are disrespecting my flag.”  But how often are we focusing on the act instead of the person?  It's more important to prove 'I'm right' instead of knowing who they are, where are they from, and why do they feel this way?  If God were to respond as we do, there would be no grace, and we would never have a relationship with Him.  Instead as Jesus tried to teach the Pharisees to do, we are asked to do something that is somewhat a mantra start with ‘why.’  This is not to necessarily agree, but through understanding, we gain clarity.  And when we have clarity, we lose an enemy and gain mutual respect for each other.

God did not mean for us to be divided.  I once told a person God would not want you on His side.  I was wrong to say that.  God wants all of us on His side.  It does not mean we will always agree.  If we did, we would never gain a wider perspective, and more importantly, greater understanding of God’s plan for us.  If everyone sees what we see, wouldn’t we potentially miss something?  One nation under God does not mean we see everything the same.  Let’s stop trying to impose our meaning on someone else.  Instead, let’s understand the other side to broaden our horizon and expand God’s future kingdom.  Who can you be more gracious to and less condemning of?  How can you be more loving and less judging?  My prayer is that even when we don’t see eye to eye, we focus on how God sees us; a nation indivisible.  Amen.