Category Archives: God’s Grace & Love

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

February 23, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, Knowing Him, Money & Wealth, Trusting God

SEEK YE FIRST

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” [John 6:26-27 (NLT)]

blue jay

It’s been said that whenever Alfred Hitchcock was asked by an actor about his character’s motivation, the famed film director’s answer was, “Your salary!” While that probably was the actor’s motivation for being in the film, what he wanted to know was the character’s motivation for his behavior. There is a reason behind all of our actions, both on and off the stage. As Christians, what’s our motivation for seeking the Kingdom of God? Is it a payoff like an actor’s salary or is it something else?

As evident from yesterday’s devotion, I’m not a proponent of prosperity theology; the Holy Spirit does not exist for our benefit and use. God’s goal is our salvation not our material wealth, physical health, or even our happiness. We can believe in Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit and faithfully act on God’s promises and still be poor as church mice or as rich as David Green of Hobby Lobby fame. Most of us, however, fall somewhere in between those extremes (and probably closer to the church mouse than the billionaire). Our wealth (or lack thereof) has nothing to do with the size of our faith in God, the amount of our tithe, or the number of good works we do. After all, if wealth was God’s plan for us, Jesus would have been a rich man. Possessions and comfort, however, meant nothing to him. It’s wise to remember that the only disciple who seemed to care about money was Judas. God is not a heavenly vending machine where we drop in a prayer, financial offering, or an act of service and out comes a blessing.

If amassing blessings and getting something from God is our motivation for seeking Him, many of us will be sorely disappointed. If the size of our faith determines the size of our investment portfolio or 401(k), one look around tells me that God needs a new accountant. A great many devout and generous believers I know have skimpy bank balances and an abundance of trials while a great many sinners seem to be enjoying wealth and a trouble-free existence. As for health—the Apostle Paul certainly wasn’t short on faith or obedience and yet the “thorn” in His flesh was not removed. Today, we can look to someone like Christian author and evangelist Joni Eareckson Tada and see that her decades of deep faith, evangelism, and service have not been rewarded with a healed body. Not everyone in Judah received miraculous healing from the Lord and we have no reason to believe that those who were healed were any more righteous or deserving than those who weren’t.

Ours is a God of grace, not of works, and thinking of our faith, prayers, service, and tithes as something that earns us a reward on this side of the grass turns our relationship into a business transaction which brings me back to my initial question. What is our motivation for seeking the Kingdom of God? Is it that we love God or love the reward we hope to get? Do we want to honor and glorify God or be honored and blessed by Him? Are we seeking some sort of salary or recompense for faith and works from a God who will serve us or are we seeking His Kingdom because we want to serve Him? God sees into our hearts—He knows our motivation for all that we do.

In God’s Kingdom, the devout may not get everything they want but they will get everything they need. And what is it that we all need most? A relationship with God! Seeking God’s Kingdom also means that salvation, forgiveness, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will be ours! That’s motivation enough for me! We seek the Kingdom of God to know Him, to love Him and to have a relationship with Him—anything else is merely frosting on the cake.

So don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2021 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

February 18, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, God's Promises, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You

BONUS GIFT

Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” [Acts 2:38-39 (NLT)]

dubbele late tulips "Freeman"

From the toy we found in the cereal box as kids to the televisions and cruises once offered by a car dealership north of here, everyone loves a bonus gift! When we were newly-weds, my husband and I collected glassware the gas station offered as a bonus for a fill-up. Those green glasses graced our table for many years as did the stainless-steel flatware we purchased with the S&H green stamps we’d gotten as a bonus from the grocery! I always wait until my favorite cosmetic brand offers a free bonus gift with a minimum purchase before restocking my moisturizer and DSW just offered a bonus tote bag with a minimum purchase. Restaurants like Outback Steakhouse frequently offer a $10 bonus card with the purchase of a $50 gift card. Even banks offer bonuses and Citibank recently offered up to $1,500 to customers opening a new checking account (to get that much, however, you had to maintain a $200,000 balance)!

I know of a bonus gift that is far better than glassware, a tote, or $1,500. No minimum purchase is required and we don’t have to spend money, go the mall, or change banks to get it. Although many bonus offers are exclusive for special customers, like those who’ve signed up for emails or spent a certain amount of money, this bonus offer is available to any who desire it. Unlike those restaurant bonus gift cards, there’s no expiration date on the benefits and there’s no fine print as there is for Citibank’s offer.

Since day one, mankind’s history hasn’t been good. It’s ranged from disobedience to deception, murder to theft, rebellion to jealousy, pride to cruelty, anger to revenge, and idolatry to avarice. Jesus was fully God but He also was fully human. Having encountered temptation, He knew the allure of sin and how tough it is to live in this fallen world. He had firsthand knowledge of disappointment, opposition, pain, loss, and betrayal and knew the dangers, pitfalls, and suffering of human life. Knowing how flawed we all are, Jesus didn’t want to leave us alone without a helper and so He gave us a bonus gift—the Holy Spirit.

The cereal toys of childhood were lost, the gas station glasses broke, S&H green stamps are no longer offered, and the kids took the stainless to college. Although the bonus lipstick and mascara are gone and the restaurant bonus gift cards are no longer valid, the life-changing Holy Spirit is forever! Like most bonus offers, however, Jesus’ offer comes at a cost but He is the One who paid the purchase price when he suffered and died on the cross.

We’ll often see an asterisk by the offered bonus and, if we bother to read the fine print, we’ll find there is a limited supply of gifts available. The Holy Spirit, however, is unlimited—there’s enough of Him to go around. Moreover, while most bonus offers have an expiration date, Jesus’ offer doesn’t. Instead, we are the ones with the expiration date which means we have a limited but unknown time in which we can claim His offer! The Holy Spirit is one bonus offer none of us should miss. Will you take Him up on it?

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.
[Augustine of Hippo]

But the helper, the holy spirit, the one the father will send in my name, he will teach you everything. He will bring back to your mind everything I’ve said to you. [John 14:26 (NTE)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 27, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith, Wisdom & Guidance

TRY OR DO?

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. [John 13:34-35 (NLT)]

The best welcome I’ve had at any church was from a man named Luther. Handing us a program, he’d greet us with a broad smile before saying, “Jesus loves you and I do, too!” For several years, Luther greeted everyone who came to that church with his irresistible smile and warm heartfelt words. When age and poor health finally caught up to the nonagenarian, he reluctantly moved away to be closer to family.

I later learned that Luther didn’t save his message of love for fellow church-goers. He spread the news of God’s love everywhere he went. From strangers to neighbors, servers to sales clerks, and nurses to bus boys, everyone he encountered was greeted with those same loving words. Moreover, when Luther said them, he meant exactly what he said and radiated God’s love as he spoke them. His weren’t the words of a dotty old man; they were the words of a disciple of Christ and they spread Jesus’s message of love and joy everywhere he went.

I hadn’t thought about Luther for years until I ran across a friend who also knew Luther. He was wearing a tee-shirt printed with these words: “Jesus loves you and I’m trying!” My friend has a wry sense of humor and, inspired by Luther’s loving words, he had the shirt specially made. His words were brutally honest because loving our neighbor (especially the ones we don’t like) is far easier said than done! Nevertheless, Jesus didn’t tell us to try to love God or our neighbor—He said to do it!

Trying and doing are not the same thing. While there were no qualifications or limitations to Jesus’ or Luther’s words, there were to my friend’s. Trying is a state of mind while doing is action. While trying allows for a multitude of excuses for failure, doing doesn’t. Trying to love is doing so when it’s easy or convenient; actually loving is when it isn’t. It is only when we commit to really doing something that we have any chance of success. We don’t have to love perfectly and we’ll make mistakes; nevertheless, we must love! As Jedi Master Yoda said to Luke Skywalker: “Do. Or do not. There is no try!”

Unlike Luther, most of us probably wouldn’t feel comfortable greeting everyone we encounter with, “Jesus loves you and I do, too!” I don’t think Jesus expects us to do so.  Nevertheless, He does expect us to follow Luther’s example by sharing God’s love with all we meet. What do you suppose would happen if we silently said Luther’s words every time we encountered someone? By reminding us of God’s love and the love we are supposed to have for one another, could those simple words change us? Could they move us from trying to love to actually loving? Instead of getting upset or thinking something nasty when a driver cuts us off, a person pushes ahead of us in line, a salesclerk is rude, or we’re on the receiving end of some harsh words, what if we silently said “Jesus loves you and I do, too!”?  It would be difficult to remain angry or upset with anyone when thinking about the love of Jesus and His command to love one another. Those few words, even when said only in our minds, could defuse an argument, improve our tone of voice, ease anger and resentment, bring smiles to our faces, and show us how to love!

Remember, Jesus loves you and I do, too!

Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. [C.S. Lewis]

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2021 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 25, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN

When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence. And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem he has only to ask God—who gives generously to all men without making them feel foolish or guilty—and he may be quite sure that the necessary wisdom will be given him. [James 1:2-5 (PHILLIPS)]

When learning to walk, a toddler takes a lot of falls and is likely to get some bumps and bruises along the way. Yet, if we ever want the little guys to walk (let alone run or jump), we need to let them fall once in a while. That’s the only way they’ll ever learn how to how pick themselves up again. Blunders and mistakes are how children learn—they’ll spill milk before they can drink from a cup, scribble outside the lines (and on the table) with their first crayons, have several pairs of wet pants before they’re completely potty-trained, and put their shoes on the wrong feet several times before they know left from right! A few mishaps are all part of growing up.

We all want to protect our children from difficulties, pain and disappointment but, if we don’t let them to struggle and even fail at times, they won’t mature. Without having to solve and survive challenges, they won’t develop into people of character. To achieve their full potential, they have to be allowed a few difficulties and upsets, even if it means they take a fall or two.

While willing to let our children endure life’s challenges in the cause of maturity, we’re not so amenable when difficulties come our way. We may be adults, but we’re still God’s children and He is nothing like today’s “helicopter” parents. He doesn’t hover over us, constantly trying to insulate or shield us from challenges. He hasn’t sanitized everything, padded all the sharp edges, removed every obstacle or barrier, moved everything breakable out of the way, or changed the rules so we’ll never lose. Moreover, He won’t make excuses for us, clean up our messes, give us everything our hearts desire, or do for us that which we should do for ourselves. His love, while extravagant, is a tough love, not one of indulgence, coddling, or leniency.

If anything, God is more of a “free range parent.” While there for us, watching and guiding us when we ask, He gives us free will and the responsibility that goes with that freedom. While allowing us to err and stray, He makes us face the consequences of our erring and straying. He lets us experience distress and challenges and expects us to be responsible in our work and good stewards of our gifts. He won’t tolerate our having a sense of entitlement—humility, service and obedience are more to His liking. His job as parent isn’t to protect us from life—it is to empower us for life. God wants us to become people of character and, if that means letting us misstep, encounter hardship, endure difficulties, and experience failure, so be it. While we may get some bumps, bruises, and even a few scars along the way, we will, eventually, become the people He wants us to be.

Thank you, God, for loving us enough to let us fall and fail and for showing us how to get up and try again.

We don’t think there’s something wrong with one-year-old children because they can’t walk perfectly. They fall down frequently, but we pick them up, love them, bandage them if necessary, and keep working with them. Surely our heavenly Father can do even more for us than we do for our children. [Joyce Meyer]

This doesn’t mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys—we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope, a hope that will never disappoint us. Already we have some experience of the love of God flooding through our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us. [Romans 5:3-5 (PHLLIPS)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.

 

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 17, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Sharing Our Faith

SAINTS AND SINNERS

But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” [Matthew 9:11-13 (NLT)]

The Gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales. [John Stott]

moth mulleinLast week, after posting the second of two devotions mentioning David Bennett, Sr. (who received a pig’s heart in a ground-breaking transplant), I checked news links for an update on his condition. I was surprised to learn that 34 years ago, when Bennett was just 23, he was convicted of stabbing Edward Shumaker seven times, a violent assault that left the 22-year-old paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Bennett was sentenced to 10 years in prison and served 6 of those years before returning to society and moving on with his life. As for Shumaker, after enduring 19 years of staph infections, sepsis, bedsores, a stroke, and moving in and out of nursing homes, he died a week before his 41st birthday.

Understandably, Shumaker’s survivors had difficulty processing the news that the man who caused such heartache and suffering for Edward not only went on to have a normal life complete with children and grands but also received a new lease on that life with his life-saving heart transplant. For Shumaker’s sister, it seems outrageous that someone guilty of such a violent crime could undergo this lifesaving procedure when so many more “deserving” recipients die or become too ill for transplant surgery before a heart becomes available.

Officials at the Baltimore hospital where Bennett received his new heart explained that the decision about Bennett’s transplant eligibility was based solely on his medical records, explaining that they provide, “lifesaving care to every patient who comes through their doors based on their medical needs, not their background or life circumstances.” Arthur Caplan, a bioethics professor at New York University, elaborated, “The key principle in medicine is to treat anyone who is sick, regardless of who they are.…We are not in the business of sorting sinners from saints.”

Caplan’s words made me think of Jesus—the Great Physician who came into this world to heal mankind. There is no record of His assessing the purity or sinfulness of those he restored to determine whether or not they deserved healing. He didn’t evaluate people’s righteousness before making the lame walk, the blind see, or the deaf hear. He didn’t categorize acceptable from unacceptable sins or sort out the honest from the corrupt, the moral from the immoral, or the law-abiding from the criminal before healing leprosy, mental illness, fevers, or hemorrhaging. When He fed the multitude, Jesus didn’t tell the disciples to offer food only to those virtuous people worthy of receiving it and He broke bread with both the respectable and the disreputable. When it comes to God’s healing, mercy, love, provision, or forgiveness, not one of us is more or less deserving than the next; none of us are worthy because we all are sinners!

Just as the medical profession is not in the business of sorting sinners from saints, neither is the Church. Someday, the Lord will separate the sheep from the goats but, until that day comes, let us remember that His Church is a hospital for sinners, not a country club for saints! We don’t scrutinize those who come to us and weed out all of the swearers, liars, ex-cons, crude, self-righteous, alcoholics, doubters, adulterers, divorced, gossipers, or scoundrels before welcoming them through our doors. If we did, both our pews and pulpits would be empty! Our pasts, no matter how soiled or violent, do not bar us from the healing and restoration of the Lord!

Grace is the very opposite of merit… Grace is not only undeserved favor, but it is favor, shown to the one who has deserved the very opposite. [Harry Ironside]

Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. [Romans 5:7-8 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 13, 2022

Posted under

Fruit of the Spirit, God's Grace & Love, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Miracles, Salvation: A New You, Spiritual Gifts, Thanks & Praise

A NEW HEART

pigsAnd I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. [Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NLT)]

Last Friday, doctors in Maryland made history when they transplanted a genetically modified pig’s heart into a human in a last-ditch effort to save the life of David Bennett, Sr. A medical first, Bennett was too ill to qualify for a routine heart transplant or an artificial ventricular assist device. The 57-year-old’s prognosis is uncertain and it will be months before doctors know whether the transplant can be deemed a “success.” As with any organ transplant, the main risk is that of organ rejection and Bennett will need potent immunosuppressing drugs for the remainder of his life.

I remember how astonished the world was back in 1967 when Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human-to-human heart transplant. The news that a surgeon had cut open someone’s chest, lifted out a diseased heart, and successfully replaced it with a healthy one from a dead donor was astounding. Although that first heart transplant recipient lived only eighteen days, today’s recipients have an 85% chance of living one year and a 69% chance of surviving five. The survival rate continues to decrease through the years with only 50% of heart transplant recipients living ten years and just 15% making 20 years. In spite of the risks, last year over 50,000 transplant candidates worldwide vied for the 5,000 hearts that were available. Sadly, there just aren’t enough hearts to go around.

54 years ago, the medical journals were wrong when they credited Dr. Bernard with the first heart transplant; God has been replacing hearts for ages! He takes our damaged hearts of stone, hearts unwilling to respond to Him, and replaces them with a new heart and spirit. After accepting His new heart, we have no need for immunosuppressive drugs because the new heart won’t be rejected. Unlike transplant candidates, we don’t have to meet specific criteria or put our names on a waiting list. Everyone qualifies and all we have to do is repent! The best news is that there’s no heart shortage and we don’t have to wait for someone to die; Jesus did that for us 2,000 years ago!

Even with a pig’s heart, Mr. Bennett won’t to want to live in a sty, cool off with a mud bath, snuffle in the soil, or start eating a mix of corn, soybeans, sorghum, and wheat. While his new heart will give him a new lease on life (at least for a short time), it will not change him. He will be the same man with the same favorite activities, world view, media preferences, attitudes, likes and dislikes, morals and principles he had before surgery. On the other hand, the new heart God gives us will make a huge change in us. We will have a new mind, new preferences, new spiritual gifts, new beliefs and morals, a new love for who and what we may have hated, and a new aversion to things we once might have loved. Rather than getting immunosuppressant drugs, we will receive an infusion of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control! Getting a new heart in God’s hospital also yields a far better survival rate—no death, only eternal life!

O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there thy cheerful beams. [Augustine]

Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live! [Ezekiel 18:30b-32 (NLT)]

I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly. [Jeremiah 24:7 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved