Time Out! Devotions

Luke 22:42 (NIV)

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus was more than anxious; he was afraid…

How remarkable that Jesus felt such fear.  But how kind that he told us about it.  We tend to do the opposite.  Gloss over our fears.  Cover them up.  Keep our sweaty palms in our pockets, our nausea and dry mouths a secret.  Not so with Jesus.  We see no mask of strength.  But we do hear a request for strength.

“Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering.”  The first one to hear his fear is his Father.  He could have gone to his mother.  He could have confided in his disciples.  He could have assembled a prayer meeting.  All would have been appropriate, but none were his priority.  He went first to his Father.

(by Max Lucado – UpWords Ministry)

Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

In one of Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman’s meetings, a man stood up and gave his testimony: “For one year I begged the streets as a tramp and one day I tapped a man on the shoulder and said ‘Mister, could you please give me a dime?’ As soon as I saw his face, I realized it was my father. He threw his arms around me and said ‘I have found you. All I have is yours!’ I had stood there begging my father for ten cents while he had been looking for me to give me all he had.”

So often, Christians approach God like a stranger on the street, begging Him just to help them get by. But when we have accepted Christ as our Savior, He is no stranger to us; He is our Father, waiting with open arms, ready to embrace us in love and offer us everything He has.

Do we approach God from a beggar’s perspective or as His cherished child? If we have any difficulty seeing Him as our loving Father, we need to ask Him to help us develop a healthy Father/child relationship.

Luke 15:21-32 (New International Version)

²¹“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹” ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ “

God is still on His throne and man is still on His footstool.

There’s only a knee’s distance in between.

Jim Elliot

(http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/magazine.aspx?id=3602)

Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, Someone Else.

“Someone’s” passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill.  Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years, “Someone” did far more than a normal person’s share of the work.  Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, one name was on everyone’s list, “Let ‘Someone Else’ do it.”

Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results; “Someone Else can work with that group.” It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the most liberal givers in our church.  Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed Someone Else would make up the difference.

Someone Else was a wonderful person; sometimes appearing superhuman.  Were the truth known, everybody expected too much of Someone Else.  Now Someone Else is gone!

We wonder what we are going to do.  Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it?

Who is going to do the things Someone Else did?

When you are asked to help this year, remember — we can’t depend on Someone Else anymore.

(Author Unknown)