“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” - Romans 3:24-26
We were gone recently on a trip to Arkansas for Sarah’s family reunion. While there in the hotel one day, Grant and Ruthie were playing on the bed. At some point, something happened (I don’t remember now what it was) that startled Ruthie, and she playfully said to her little brother that it had scared her. He immediately caught on that this was a game and – holding onto her with all of his might - he said “Don’t worry, Ruthie… I’ll unscare you!”
I love the phrases that young children create. It is precious to hear the way they put words together to make meaning that is comprehensible to them. I love that phrase ‘unscare you’, because of the way that it implies a complete eradication of fear. It sounds as if it will totally rid the one who is scared of their problem.
When it comes to the sin problem we all have, there is only one solution that will totally rectify our fallen state, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ. Placing our trust upon His finished work at Calvary is the only hope we have in eradicating our sin from before the judgment of God. Nothing else will justify us. Nothing else will satisfy His righteousness. It is the only thing that will ‘un-separate’ us from God.
Daniel
Monday, August 15, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
#350.3 – “Joshua and the New Bike, Part Three”
“And Moses said to God, Who am I to go to Pharaoh and take the children of Israel out of Egypt?” - Exodus 3:11
Having too much fun watching Joshua run around the house looking for his present, I didn’t bother to tell him it was out in the garage at first. Instead, I let him hunt for a while. Then I told him I would give him a hint. He stopped dead in his tracks to wait on the words that would follow from my lips. When I told him that he would need his flip-flops to find his present, he very quickly (with the help of his oldest sister) put two and two together and figured that that could only mean it was outside. He ran to his room, threw on his shoes, and took off towards the garage. As soon as he opened the door, his eyes gleamed. Standing before him was a shiny new bike. He was overjoyed!
And then he realized that such a present would require him to actually get on and ride (something he had not done very well in the past, even with his mother helping), and immediately his joy shifted to fear and he ran back in the house and into the very closet from which he had gotten his flip-flops and shut himself inside! I followed after. With a little bit of encouragement (and some patience too), I managed to get him to come out and at least sit on the bike and see how it felt. Soon after that, he was willing to pedal a little. The next thing you know, he was making a lap around my parent’s car. And before ten minutes had past, he was riding up and down the driveway.
You see, Joshua could drive that bike all along, and I knew it, but he didn’t believe it. His lack of faith caused him to want to stay where he was. But once he tried it and realized he could do it, he took off like a pro. In fact, I imagine it won’t be very long before we’ll be taking those training wheels off.
When I was talking Joshua ‘out of the tree’, so to speak, I could only see how great this was going to be… and how much fun he would have… and how easy it would be for him to master this now… but all he could see and think about was his past… and how he had fallen before… and how afraid he was of falling again.
God knows what we are capable of through Him. And in those moments when my fears and doubts overwhelm me to the point that all I want to do is go run and hide in my closet, I hope that my son’s trust in what I said to him that day and his willingness to get up on the bike and put his feet on the pedals and push remind me of how I need to exercise faith in God and let His Word and His trustworthiness decide my actions for me.
Daniel
Having too much fun watching Joshua run around the house looking for his present, I didn’t bother to tell him it was out in the garage at first. Instead, I let him hunt for a while. Then I told him I would give him a hint. He stopped dead in his tracks to wait on the words that would follow from my lips. When I told him that he would need his flip-flops to find his present, he very quickly (with the help of his oldest sister) put two and two together and figured that that could only mean it was outside. He ran to his room, threw on his shoes, and took off towards the garage. As soon as he opened the door, his eyes gleamed. Standing before him was a shiny new bike. He was overjoyed!
And then he realized that such a present would require him to actually get on and ride (something he had not done very well in the past, even with his mother helping), and immediately his joy shifted to fear and he ran back in the house and into the very closet from which he had gotten his flip-flops and shut himself inside! I followed after. With a little bit of encouragement (and some patience too), I managed to get him to come out and at least sit on the bike and see how it felt. Soon after that, he was willing to pedal a little. The next thing you know, he was making a lap around my parent’s car. And before ten minutes had past, he was riding up and down the driveway.
You see, Joshua could drive that bike all along, and I knew it, but he didn’t believe it. His lack of faith caused him to want to stay where he was. But once he tried it and realized he could do it, he took off like a pro. In fact, I imagine it won’t be very long before we’ll be taking those training wheels off.
When I was talking Joshua ‘out of the tree’, so to speak, I could only see how great this was going to be… and how much fun he would have… and how easy it would be for him to master this now… but all he could see and think about was his past… and how he had fallen before… and how afraid he was of falling again.
God knows what we are capable of through Him. And in those moments when my fears and doubts overwhelm me to the point that all I want to do is go run and hide in my closet, I hope that my son’s trust in what I said to him that day and his willingness to get up on the bike and put his feet on the pedals and push remind me of how I need to exercise faith in God and let His Word and His trustworthiness decide my actions for me.
Daniel
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
#350.2 – “Joshua and the New Bike, Part Two”
“And David said to his son Solomon, Be strong and of a good heart and do your work; have no fear and do not be troubled, for the Lord God, my God, is with you; he will not give you up, and his face will not be turned away from you...” - 1 Chronicles 28:20
On the morning that my parents arrived to present Joshua with his gift, he was still asleep. They agreed to let him wake up on his own. In the meantime, they took it out of their car and we put it in our garage.
I had already told Joshua the night before that they were coming that next day, and that they would be bringing him a present when they did. When he woke up that morning, he immediately started looking all around the house for it. We all had a good chuckle out of that, and then I told him that he could look for it after he ate a bite for breakfast (I knew that once he started riding that bicycle, he wouldn’t get off to eat a thing!). He reluctantly complied, knowing that a bike was in his very near future.
Now at any other time, I might not have been able to get him to stop for anything long enough to eat, but knowing that eating equaled getting a present meant “bring on the chow” for ol’ Joshua! He gobbled up his breakfast and resumed his quest.
Sometimes having the right motivation is the key for accomplishing any given task. Getting paid and providing for my family factors into my working hard. Do the best I can do with any given task is directly a result of my competitive nature. My desire to please others drives me at times to do the things the way I do them. But at the heart of what really should matter to me above all else as a Christian is that I please God with my life.
Today, may we please Him in who we are and all we do.
Daniel
On the morning that my parents arrived to present Joshua with his gift, he was still asleep. They agreed to let him wake up on his own. In the meantime, they took it out of their car and we put it in our garage.
I had already told Joshua the night before that they were coming that next day, and that they would be bringing him a present when they did. When he woke up that morning, he immediately started looking all around the house for it. We all had a good chuckle out of that, and then I told him that he could look for it after he ate a bite for breakfast (I knew that once he started riding that bicycle, he wouldn’t get off to eat a thing!). He reluctantly complied, knowing that a bike was in his very near future.
Now at any other time, I might not have been able to get him to stop for anything long enough to eat, but knowing that eating equaled getting a present meant “bring on the chow” for ol’ Joshua! He gobbled up his breakfast and resumed his quest.
Sometimes having the right motivation is the key for accomplishing any given task. Getting paid and providing for my family factors into my working hard. Do the best I can do with any given task is directly a result of my competitive nature. My desire to please others drives me at times to do the things the way I do them. But at the heart of what really should matter to me above all else as a Christian is that I please God with my life.
Today, may we please Him in who we are and all we do.
Daniel
I have a new conviction that I would like to share with all of you regarding these devotions: in an effort to simplify my life, I feel that it is time for me to only write a devotion when I feel I have something to say, instead of feeling pressured to have something written every single day. I admit that sometimes in the past I have forced myself to come up with something, which ends up being a little like the tail wagging the dog. So these may come a little more sporadically from now on, but hopefully they will still be a blessing to you all.
Daniel
Daniel
#350.1 – “Joshua and the New Bike, Part One”
“And David said to his son Solomon, Be strong and of a good heart and do your work; have no fear and do not be troubled, for the Lord God, my God, is with you; he will not give you up, and his face will not be turned away from you...” - 1 Chronicles 28:20
Joshua had a birthday July 24, and one of the several gifts he got was a new bicycle from his Maw Maw and Paw Paw. This was a very helpful present because, unlike the other bicycles we had at the house, this one came with training wheels. You see, Joshua is just now learning to ride a bike for himself, and he has not yet felt comfortable attempting it on his own. His mother has tried several times to work with him - holding onto his seat while he pedaled – but that has not helped him gain any confidence at all. But the training wheels have made all the difference. They have given him the support he needed to be willing to ride on his own… and ride he has. He has spent no telling how many hours on that thing since he got it – riding it in our driveway, and in his Grammie and Grandpa’s driveway.
Sometimes we need the support and confidence of something outside of us to help us take action that we know all along is best. The Holy Spirit is that for us who know Jesus as Savior and Lord. He gives us the encouragement we so often need to step out in faith and obey the Father.
Another voice of support comes from our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can share in the encouraging of one who is need of it with just a simple word. Oh the power of a well-spoken word! May we seek to be that kind of encourager to those around us. And may we pray for the Holy Spirit to give strength and courage to them.
Daniel
Joshua had a birthday July 24, and one of the several gifts he got was a new bicycle from his Maw Maw and Paw Paw. This was a very helpful present because, unlike the other bicycles we had at the house, this one came with training wheels. You see, Joshua is just now learning to ride a bike for himself, and he has not yet felt comfortable attempting it on his own. His mother has tried several times to work with him - holding onto his seat while he pedaled – but that has not helped him gain any confidence at all. But the training wheels have made all the difference. They have given him the support he needed to be willing to ride on his own… and ride he has. He has spent no telling how many hours on that thing since he got it – riding it in our driveway, and in his Grammie and Grandpa’s driveway.
Sometimes we need the support and confidence of something outside of us to help us take action that we know all along is best. The Holy Spirit is that for us who know Jesus as Savior and Lord. He gives us the encouragement we so often need to step out in faith and obey the Father.
Another voice of support comes from our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can share in the encouraging of one who is need of it with just a simple word. Oh the power of a well-spoken word! May we seek to be that kind of encourager to those around us. And may we pray for the Holy Spirit to give strength and courage to them.
Daniel
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