Time Out! Devotions

Antiques and children – that is not a good combination. It is, in fact, an invitation to disaster. Like that lovely antique teapot my wife had out years ago when the kids were little. Well, you know what happened; one moment a teapot, the next moment pieces of a teapot. But my wife quickly rallied to remedy the situation. No, she did not disown one of our children. She sent me out for a tube of some sort of super glue. And amazingly, she put those pieces together and recreated that old teapot, and that glue has held it together to this very day!

There are times when you and I can use a little “super glue” because it’s us that’s going to pieces. And that spiritual glue is available to you right now, if you know where to get it and you know how to use it.

In fact, our word for today from the Word of God is all about this powerful agent that can hold you together, no matter what. Hebrews 4:16 puts it this way: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” I studied that “grace to help us” phrase in the original Greek words of the New Testament and I discovered that the word translated “help us” is used only one other time in the Bible – in Acts 27:17. Paul is on a ship that’s literally being blown apart by a violent storm. The Bible says “they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together.” There’s that “help” word from Hebrews 4:16, except here it’s about literally keeping the ship from coming apart in the storm.

God says that’s what His grace is able to do for you, to help hold you together when the storm is intense and things seem to be breaking apart. He invites us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence.” That word “confidence” means boldness and frankness. So when you start to pray, you go to your Lord boldly, talking, not in some fancy “prayer-ese” language, but with straight talk. You tell Him how it really is, how you really feel, and how much you need Him.

The Bible says that when you do that, you can “find grace.” I like the deeper meaning of the Greek word that we translate as “find” here. It means to “come upon” or to “discover.” There’s almost an element of surprise in it, “Wow! Look what I just found! All this grace – lots of grace to hold me together in this situation right now!” When the verse says “grace to help us in our time of need,” the original language is saying help that comes at just the right time, not before you really need it, not after you really need it, but right on time.

So this is one power-packed invitation from the One who rules the galaxies from His “throne of grace” – to come into His throne room boldly and honestly, reaching out to put in our hands the exact resources we need for this moment, this challenge, this situation, or this need. He will respond with a flood of grace, just the kind of grace you need right now: suffering grace, waiting grace, deciding grace, grieving grace, single grace, physical grace, emotional grace, or financial grace.

But the grace doesn’t just come to you automatically. You have to go for the grace that this moment requires! And so often we don’t. We struggle and worry and scheme, never going to the Grace Throne for the answers or resources we need. We could be rich, but we live in unnecessary poverty. We need to accept this incredible invitation many times a day and pray aggressively, not passively; boldly, not timidly; specifically, not generally. And it’s all available to us because of Jesus. We come there because He died to make it possible for us to get this close to the God of the universe.

So there is never any reason you need to go to pieces. The grace glue of your God can hold you together, no matter what hits you!

(by Ron Hutchcraft from Christianity.com devotionals – A Word With You)

Today’s Scripture will start with the very last word of 1 Peter 1:4, just so you know who it is talking about, and go through verse 7,

…you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Notice in verse 6 it says, Though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.  That phrase “a little while” literally means a season.  The King James Version says, Though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.

I like the phrase “a little while”.  That tells me the season is going to end.  It is not forever.  Every season ends.  Winter ends.  Spring ends.  Summer ends.  Fall ends.  Every season has a beginning, and every season has an end.

If you are in a trial right now and feeling the weight of it, you are grieved because of it,  I have good news.  It will not be forever.  Things are going to change.  It may not seem like it, but that season will come to an end.

Even if you are not experiencing a trial today, I am confident you have gone through such a season, and it is likely that you will probably experience such a season again.

When you do, or if you are today, be encouraged.  God’s Word wants you—and me—to remember it is for just a little while.

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(devotional from Christianity.com)

(from Luther Seminary – God Pause Daily Devotional)

John 2:1-11 (NCV)

¹ Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,² and Jesus and his followers were also invited to the wedding.³ When all the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Dear woman, why come to me? My time has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”

⁶ In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in their washing ceremony. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons.

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled the jars to the top.

⁸ Then he said to them, “Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast.”

So they took the water to the master. ⁹ When he tasted it, the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from, but the servants who had brought the water knew. The master of the wedding called the bridegroom¹⁰ and said to him, “People always serve the best wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking awhile, they serve the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine till now.”

¹¹ So in Cana of Galilee Jesus did his first miracle. There he showed his glory, and his followers believed in him.

A mother’s words can have a lot of power. When I was growing up, there was one phrase from my mom that I hated to hear more than anything else: “I know you’ll do the right thing, honey.” She always seemed to know when I was tempted to slack off in school or ditch my responsibilities at home. That little phrase got right at who I wanted to be inside. It pushed me to make her proud – and to make choices I could be proud of too.

Jesus’ mother seems to have that kind of power over her son, too. With one phrase – “they have no wine” – she gets under Jesus’ skin. And despite his outward insouciance – “that’s not my problem” – she appears sure her son will do the right thing. Maybe she’s just being a mom … but maybe she also knows just who Jesus is inside.

Are there any words that have that kind of power over you, that drive you to do the right thing, to be the bigger person, to make your mother – or your Father – proud?

“Lord, I want to make you proud of me. Help me be the person you created me to be. Amen.”

Shelley Cunningham
Christ the King Lutheran Church, New Brighton, Minn.
Master of Divinity, 1998

Romans 5:1-6 (NIV)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Paul used a beautiful phrase to describe the believer’s position in Christ: “We have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand . . . ” (Romans 5:2, emphasis added). This is no puddle of mercy that barely wets the toes, but rather a mighty ocean. The Lord’s kindness wraps around us without regard for our worth or merit.

God’s grace is an essential concept for believers to understand. He freely offers His favor to mankind because Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross purchased forgiveness and salvation for anyone who believes. However, many people think they are enjoying God’s kindness when what they are really trying to do is earn it. If we have to purchase, merit, or work for grace, then it is not a gift. The Lord is very clear that works cannot save us—in fact, He compares our good deeds to filthy rags (Ephesians 2:8-9; Isaiah 64:6).

On the other hand, grace is not a license to sin or to be lazy; Christians are called upon to serve the Lord every day. From the outside, it is usually impossible to distinguish between works and service in someone else’s life. But God knows the heart’s motivation. He accepts for His glory those things we do to show Him our love and to express appreciation for His countless blessings.

Dear Friend, serving God in order to earn His favor or to ensure that He continues to bless you amounts to thwarting grace. You can do nothing to deserve the Lord’s kindness! He pours it upon believers freely so that each one is standing in a full measure of grace.

(by Dr. Charles Stanley from the January 2010 issue of In Touch devotional magazine)

Hebrews 2:17 (NIV)

¹⁷For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

You’ve barely dipped a toe into Matthew’s gospel when you realize Jesus hails from the Tilted-Halo Society. Rahab was a Jericho harlot. Grandpa Jacob was slippery enough to warrant an electric ankle bracelet. David had a personality as irregular as a Picasso painting – one day writing psalms, another day seducing his captain’s wife. But did Jesus erase His name from the list? Not at all!

Why did Jesus hang His family’s dirty laundry on the neighborhood clothesline?

Because your family has some too. The dad who never came home. The grandparent who ran away with the coworker. If your family tree has bruised fruit, then Jesus wants you to know, “I’ve been there.”

The phrase “I’ve been there” is in the chorus of Christ’s theme song. To the lonely, Jesus whispers, “I’ve been there.” To the discouraged, Christ nods His head and sighs, “I’ve been there.”

(by Max Lucado from his book, Next Door Savior)