Daily Devotional for April 29, 2024 – Praying, listening, and loving as Christ commands – it’s time to let go and let God have complete control

Psalm 5:1-7 
O Lord, hear me praying; listen to my plea, O God my King, for I will never pray to anyone but you. Each morning I will look to you in heaven and lay my requests before you, praying earnestly.

I know you get no pleasure from wickedness and cannot tolerate the slightest sin. Therefore, proud sinners will not survive your searching gaze, for how you hate their evil deeds. You will destroy them for their lies; how you abhor all murder and deception.

But as for me, I will come into your Temple protected by your mercy and your love; I will worship you with deepest awe.

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

I listened to three sermons yesterday, and each of them had a relevant message for the days in which we are living. The first was delivered by Dr. John Robbins, Senior Pastor of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock. His theme was… “follow God’s instructions.” Dr. Robbins cited several examples where he had stubbornly tried to figure out something on his own, and once he relented and read the instructions, everything fell into place. As I read these verses in Psalm 5, I thought about how God clearly outlines how we are to speak, think and act – and He confirms and energizes these behaviors when we communicate with Him in prayer.
 
The second sermon was delivered by Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder, Senior Pastor of Pinnacle View UMC – also in Little Rock. Her sermon, titled “Are All Non-Christians Going to Hell” talked about different Christian “heritages” and their specific ideologies…from Pluralism to Christian Exclusion and Christian Inclusion – to Christian Universalism. Each group fosters a different view of what it means to be “Christian” – and the path to Eternal Life in Heaven. Rev. Singleton Snyder suggested that we consider the love of God for all…and His desire that not a single one of us perish. Again, as I thought of this scripture passage, I realized that God does not condone evil…but He constantly strives to correct each of us and return us to a right standing with Him and a position of loving and serving as He commands. And God is plenty capable of handling this on His own – without any “assistance” from us!
 
The third sermon was delivered by David Clark, Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Heber Springs. Clark’s message centered on Paul’s letters to the Corinthians that admonished the people to stop arguing and fighting among themselves. Again, with a theme that God loves all of us, Clark made the comment that he finds it sad that people who vehemently disagree on an issue cannot sit together these days and have a civil conversation. He noted that there are basic commands given to us by Jesus…love God with all our heart, mind and soul – and “love one another as God loves us.” When we keep these at the forefront and live in them, we should be able to trust God for the details as we strive to get along with others.
 
Consider what could happen if, we agreed to trust God to sort out our differences, rather than refuse to interact with a fellow child of God because he/she doesn’t approach their faith in God as we do. Imagine what could happen if we prayerfully followed God’s instructions for our own lives – and let others do the same while we showed them the love, grace, mercy, and kindness demonstrated by Jesus Christ. 
 
Envision a world where we stopped judging others and genuinely asked God to show us how to live and love – and represent Him to others in the process – and left the rest up to Him. The possibilities are astounding, Divine, and Eternal – and I think we should all give it a whirl. In my mind, the worst that could happen is that we might have an interaction with another child of God that revealed our Heavenly Father’s true desire – and His capacity to love us all equally. By following God’s instructions, we might actually find a deeper relationship with Him and others – and experience His love in a new, more profound and meaningful way in the process. 
 
Follow God’s instructions. Let Him sort out the judgment and correction. Love God with all your heart – and love others as He commands. If we do these three things, I believe amazing things can happen for God’s Kingdom. It’s surely worth a shot! Alleluia! 

©2024 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for March 1, 2024 – It’s time to observe how Christ loves us – and love like that!

Ephesians 5:1-5
Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

I saw a truly cute “reel” on social media recently of children imitating adults. Mostly, it was toddlers posing and walking like their parents and grandparents…from children standing with their tummies jutted forward to emulate the posture of a pregnant mother to a little boy who folded his hands behind his back as he walked alongside his grandfather. Then we saw a video of 4-year-old Christopher Bess, whose father, Reggie, is an assistant basketball coach for a high school in North Carolina. Christopher “coaches” alongside his dad at the games…and he has clearly been paying attention! 
 
Here’s the thing…we know our children are watching and imitating what we say and do. Most of us have noted that we better watch our words and actions – or been embarrassed when a child repeated something we said that was better left unspoken. Just yesterday I shared a meme on Facebook that said, “Every family has secrets – until a Sunday school teacher asks a group of kids if they have any prayer requests.”  My question is this…if we emulate the words and actions of our parents, when do we begin to demonstrate the love and teachings of Jesus? Why is it so easy for us to share the words and actions (the good, bad and ugly) of our human parents – and often so hard to be like our Heavenly Father?
 
Paul reminds us in this message to the Ephesians to watch what God does, then do it…to share the love of Jesus with others rather than seek to always get something from them. We are not to live with the mindset of “What’s in it for me?” or “When is it my turn?” but rather to consider, “What would Jesus want me to say and do?” When we start to live more in the head-and-heart-space of loving as Jesus loves, we draw closer to living and serving as God ordained. 
 
It’s time to start keeping company with God more often – and learning a life of genuine, unconditional love. It’s time to love with extravagance, not caution. It’s time to “walk the sidelines” with our “Heavenly Coach/Father” and say and do what He does. It is time to take our cues not from the world – but from Jesus – and always love like that. Alleluia!

©2024 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for December 7, 2023 – It is time to “be still and know!”

Psalm 46:10
“Stand silent! Know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation in the world!”

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

If I am brutally honest, I must admit that there is plenty in this world that concerns me – and much of it is downright frightening. Just yesterday, there were reports of two more mass shootings in our country, and frankly, they were reported with less alarm and time than an approaching weather front. The wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and elsewhere are horrific. Even as thousands are slaughtered, there seems to be no end in sight.
 
And at home, it feels like so many have “sold their soul to the devil” in some regard…selfishness, arrogance, hatred, bias, and pure evil in many cases are the “Standard Operating Procedure.” People I believed to be strong, Godly souls are making comments and claims that astound (and sometimes sicken) me…and far too many call on the name of Jesus while doing the devil’s bidding.
 
Yesterday while I took my walk, I talked with God about all of this. And at the end, I threw up my hands and said, “LORD, I still trust You. I believe that this disgusts and disappoints You even more, and I believe that You will fix all that I cannot. According to Your will and perfect plans, you will heal the sick, mend the brokenhearted, mete out justice upon those who do evil things, end the wars, and save our planet. I trust YOU, and I release these things to Your complete and perfect authority.”
 
I cannot tell you that I won’t continue to worry at times – or to wring my hands and even cry over some of these things at times. But my steps were lighter after this prayer. I am not putting on blinders…I am standing still and silent before my God. I am giving God room to work – and letting Him and everyone else know that I believe He will prevail. I am saying to God, “I’m with You all the way.” And I am giving God every ounce of the glory, which He so richly deserves.
 
This is a terribly troubling time in our world. And what we need to do more than any thing is to “Be still and know” that God is the One and only Authority. May we truly and sincerely glorify His name with every word and action – and trust Him to do the rest.  Alleluia!

©2023 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for September 15, 2022 – Loving others with grace, mercy, patience and understanding – do we really know God and show it?

1 John 4:7-10
My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows we have been given new life. We are now God’s children, and we know him. God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him.  God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

I must confess…I enjoy a good reality TV show or two. I watch medical shows where people are dealing with physical anomalies and challenges that boggle the mind – and remind me that an occasional blemish or the bunions on my feet are nothing compared to what many people endure every day. I watch live police patrol programs and wonder how people get into such messes. I also marvel at how, for the most part, the police officers treat these people with patience and compassion…especially those who are clearly caught up in drug addiction – and those with mental issues.

As I watch these programs, I remind myself just how much God loves these people…every single one of them. He sent Jesus to die for them just as much as for me – and you!  When we differentiate, discriminate, disparage, and disavow certain people or groups, this scripture passage clearly tells us we are advertising that we do not truly love God! “But I would NEVER do that,” I hear you saying. And I have every confidence that you believe this. The simple truth is that to truly live in our New Life in Christ, we must love each other – without exception.

Herein lies the challenge for each of us…to genuinely love others unconditionally and unequivocally. Ask yourself, “Do I love like this? Do I look past my own biases and attitudes and see each person as God does? Do I treat every person with the love and care that God has for them – and for me? Do others know that I belong to God because of my unconditional love for all people?” If the answers to each question are not a resounding “Yes!” (and there’s a good chance this is the case for each of us), then we still have work to do. Yes, we love God…but do we love as He loves us?

I simply cannot fathom God’s love for me…or why He sent Jesus to suffer and sacrifice on my behalf. But I know He did this – for me, and for every other human being. I don’t understand this, but I am truly grateful. And if His “condition” is that I love others like He loves me, I am more than willing to do my best to be obedient and faithful. I know I won’t always get it right, but I will keep trying. My prayer is that others, including you, will do the same. Imagine the difference we can make in the world – and for God’s Kingdom – if we all give this our best shot. Alleluia!

©2022 Debbie Robus