Category: Sister Judy (Page 220 of 271)

Devotions based on Albert Haase’s book, Te Sacred Moment

Just like the man who changed a flat tire for an elderly woman he didn’t know, holiness is about selfless openness and response to God’s call in the present moment.  Holiness is the lifelong journey out of slavery to our own ego to looking beyond ourselves, our concerns, our interests, and our worries.  It begins with selflessness. “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.( Phil 2:4) The ego wants to control and manipulate everything and everyone within its range of influence. But instead, a selfless openness will respond to whatever the present moment is asking of us. This is an invitation from God to forget ourselves and enrich the life of another. It should be the motivating force and insight behind our selfless acts. We can see why every moment is sacred for it is an expression of God’s will for us. His call to us might be to meet a neighbor’s need, to change a tire for a stranger, to send money to a mission etc. It can be challenging when the present moment might call us to uproot and move or let go of something we cherish.  Like Abraham Let us be alert to what is going on around us so that we don’t miss His calling for us in each moment!

Devotions based on Albert  Haase’s book This Sacred Moment

This book is all about becoming holy right where we are. It is hard to find the words to really describe what it means to be a holy person but we can think of people who exemplify a holy life;  Dietrich BonHoeffer, Eliszabeh Fry, Mother Teresa and others. The dictionary says holy means, “devoted to the service of God; saints and holy men.”  Jesus command is to love God and our neighbor, and the Sermon on the Mount gives us a lot of ways to put that into action. The beatitudes attack the agenda of our ego which focuses on our self-concern, self-image, self-gratification and self-preservation. We all need to make a choice between the false attractions of the world (earthly treasures) and the eternal ( treasures of heaven).  If we chose heavenly treasures it means putting our concerns in the hands of God and trusting He will meet our needs. We are challenged to be nonjudgmental and to treat others as we want to be treated. We are not to love only in words but in actions. The flesh life ( Gal. 5:16-26) is consumed with the agenda of the ego and may lead to addictions, to seeing others as competitors and rivals, to outrageous demands, to putting exaggerated emotional investment in possessions etc. But the life of the Spirit blossoms with love and the fruit of the Spirit. Life according to the Spirit is a selfless life that forms the heart of holiness.

Devotions based on Scot McKnight’s book, One.Life

 As followers Jesus we are called to repent and have real behavioral change in our lives. That doesn’t mean just feeling bad about our sins but turning around 180 degrees and starting over by living justly and lovingly. Think about it: we may say we are sorry to our friend for gossiping about him but we must quit talking behind his back!  Concrete change! Our behavior should reveal His love!  Also, to be His follower means embracing the cross every day –to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. ( Luke9:23) That will affect every dimension of our lives.  Scot makes 5 suggestions to live the cross-life. 1. Talk to God constantly by worshiping God and by seeking His will and by interceding for others. 2.Listen to God constantly. Listen to what God says to us as we read the Word and die to our voice to hear His. 3. Commit to kingdom work locally by asking the Spirit to empower us and by entering into fellowship with others. 4. Keep Jesus’ Kingdom vision before us all the time. …Love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and our neighbor as our selves. 5. Tell others about Jesus rather than talking about ourselves all the time. We have only One Life…may it count for Him

 Today’s devotional was written by our son, Kurt.

 ‘I thought I would give my mom a break this morning and personally send a devotional.
I got into a book last night called Facing your Giants by Max Lucado.  It’s a study on the life of David and the premise is that we all have our Giants whether it would be challenges at work, divorce, addiction, sickness, moving etc……how do we face them?   The author chronicles all of the victories and struggles that David experienced…the incredible highs and as incredible lows.   David is the only person to ever have the distinction from God as “a man after his own heart”.  Considering David stumbled as often as he conquered, one might ask what God saw in this unlikely character….regardless he gives us all hope.
I like the beginning as he described how this shepherd boy approached Goliath and the Philistines.   Goliath is 9 feet 9 inches tall and has been taunting the Israelites twice a day for 40 days.  No Israelite manned-up to face this giant.  David arrives and does not focus on this Giant and his physical stature, weapons, experience etc., he focuses on the God.  “No one else discussed God.  David discusses no one but God.  David majors in God.  He sees the giant mind you, he just see God more so.”
The verse that completely jumped off the page for me was:
“As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him” 1 Samuel 17:48 (NLT)
The author sums it up like this:
” I count nine references , God-thoughts outnumber Goliath-thoughts nine to two.  How does that ratio compare with yours? Do you ponder God’s grace four times as much as your guilt? Is your list of blessings four times as long as your list of complaints? Is your mental file of hope four times as thick as your file of dread? Are you four times as likely to describe the strength of God as you are the demands of your day?  No? Then David is your man!
Some note absence of miracles in his story.  No Red Sea openings,  no dead Lazaruses walking etc.  No miracles.  But there is one.  A rough-edged walking wonder of God who neon-lights this truth:
                Focus on giants — you stumble
                Focus on God—- your giants tumble”

Devotions based on Scot McKnight’s book, One.Life

We may affirm and confess that God is love but have a much harder time embracing the God who is love… to really know He actually loves us.

Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist, says we assign personalities to God that is neurologically based on our own personality. 1. The authoritarian god (32% of us). 2.The critical god (16%) 3.The distant god (24%) 4.The Benevolent God (23%). The authoritarian /critical gods activate the fear part of our brain, the limbic areas. So we have a god shaped by fear and judgment and authority. If we have the benevolent God which activates the prefrontal cortex than we have one shaped by love and peace and compassion. As Christians we see God as both holy and loving –God produces a both –sides- of –the-brain kingdom.  Our God will be with us and He is for us! He wants to make us into what God wants us to be.  In the parable of the prodigal son Jesus lets us know that God is waiting for us,  will accept us, and will throw a party in our honor when we tell the truth about ourselves, turn from our sins, and turn back to God.  He is our gracious Father who forgives us and welcomes us and has a seat waiting for us at the table in God’s family!

Devotions based on Scot McKnight’s book, One.Life

“The wise learn to live now but to do so in the light of eternity.”

Jesus believed  there was life after death and that after we die we will meet our Maker and have to give account. Those who reject God will not inherit the kingdom of God and will experience a final endless death after physical death. Those who accept Him will experience the “new heaves and the new earth.”  This New Jerusalem is love, and it is peace, and it is wisdom, and it involves everyone loving God. This kingdom is “the people of God, living with God and living with one another in perfect shalom and love and justice.”  Everyone will be in direct contact with God . Our author defines heaven as a ” person’s awareness and overwhelming delight in being absolutely present in the utter presence of God.”.

God will make all things right. Even though we may experience horrific tragedies, one day justice will be established. God is the judge and we’re not. God’s justice will be soaked in God’s own grace. We’ve only got one life and may we live it now in light of the longer stretch of life.

Devotions based on Scot McKnight’s book, One. Life

What really matters is that we do what God has made us to do and that we live that piece of God’s dream that God gave to us.

This generation wants to make money, have a career that combines fun and challenge, and do something that is significant for the world. We need to examine our vocation and do it in light of God’s kingdom. His kingdom vision can turn what we do into something that matters and can give purpose to our lives. For example-Teaching matters when we treat our students as humans whom we love and are helping. Jobs become vocations and matter when we connect what we do to God’s kingdom vision. It’s easy to see mission work in the slums of India as something that matters . But we also have to believe that the mundane matters to God too. God is at work in whatever we do!  “What we do matters when what we do is seen as something designed for others.” It’s not just about making money etc. Harriet Beecher Stowe did what she could and was perhaps the single most powerful voice on behalf of slaves. What she wrote had a great impact and then she acted on her convictions.
God’s will and what we dream about line up well. We need to focus on the Lord and be attentive to listen to Him and discern what He created us to do in this world. We need to do what we do best and let others do what they do best. In order to do the one thing well, we must guard from trying to do too many other things.
“So keep your eyes on the kingdom, make it personal, do what you do well, do only that.”

Devotions based on Scot McKnight’s book, One.Life

“There is no such thing as free sex. It always comes at a cost. With it, either you give your heart, or you give your soul…you can have sex without giving love, but you can’t have sex without giving a part of yourself.”  Medical research shows that whenever sexual relationships occur there is a bonding that occurs chemically. . The brain creates pathways of connection that make that experience easier to repeat. When people sleep around they feel shame and our God given brain gets confused. “Sex devoid of relational commitment confuses our brain’s neurochemicals and begins to corrode our capacity for one of our deepest yearnings: the yearning for commitment and faithfulness, or bonding with someone who loves us.” Love is a rugged commitment to be with someone.  Sex is about relationship and about love. Without relationship and love, sex wounds. We were created to love God and to love others, including ( if chosen) a bonding relationship with one person. Sex flows from genuine love and genuine love craves commitment. That is not what our culture tells us today and it results in a generation that is cynical, empty, selfish and anxious about love.  God has wired us to connect with others deeply- emotionally, spiritually physically and sexually.  It’s not all about what is in it for me? But a kingdom lover loves the other and lives his or her life for that other-the way the lovers do in Song of Solomon who take delight in the other.

Devotions based on Scot McKnight’s book, One. Life

As followers of Jesus, He expects us to sell out to Him and for Him and to give Him everything, including our deepest passions. He wants a kingdom commitment that doesn’t care about what others say and what others do to us; a commitment that loves our enemies, that cares for the poor, that forgives others, that gives our entire self. He doesn’t just want our talents or dreams, our mind, our job, our gifts etc. He doesn’t want anything from us!  He wants us, our One life! This is not a commitment to a system or an idea or an ideal. When we give ourselves to Him, He transforms our talents and our dreams, our abilities, our mind, our job, our gifts. He converts them into something for His kingdom. This happens as we give our total life to Him unreservedly. In every act of love we either give our heart or trade our soul…Jesus invites us to give ourselves to Him which is an act of heart and soul.”

Devotions based on Scott McKnight’s book, One. Life
God’s kingdom happens when people are empowered by His Spirit to do His work in our communities. The Spirit transforms our human abilities and also transcends our human inabilities so we can participate in God’s kingdom community right here and now.  ”Where the Spirit is there is community. Where there is community, there is Spirit.”  Because we are not naturally loving and forgiving, it takes his Spirit for us to live in community. Community happens because the Spirit is designed to draw us to God and to one another in fellowship and community. We may have had bad experiences with annoying people or cliques etc. but it is still Jesus plan for kingdom community. A professor  and researcher from San Diego State said this present generation of 18 to 35 year olds are marked by anxiety and depression. They have been taught to be independent and to make it on their own. But the truth is we are wired to need others and to love them.. The church needs to offer this generation fellowship, caring, and real community. If we are looking for a perfect church we won’t find it. We fall short and we also live with others who fall short. But let us make a commitment to our local church for it is the way His kingdom takes root and where we strive to become a loving community. For this to happen we need God to flood us with His Spirit so we are empowered to become the community He has dreamed for us.