Swayed

By Cheri Cowell –

“Cheri, you must practice what you preach,” my mother would warn me. She recognized my leadership skills and wanted me to know that my words must be backed up with actions. If I preached honesty, I needed to be honest in my own dealings. If I talked about compassion, then I needed to be compassionate in my own life. We hear a lot of “talk” about virtue in the world today, but for all of the talk there is little proof that people are living it out. Jesus warned us about this very thing. But this warning takes a slightly different turn with the scribes and Pharisees. They boasted as much about the goodness of their works as of the orthodoxy of their teaching, and hoped to be justified by them.

Although this is wrong, this scripture was not an indictment on them. This was to warn us about being swayed by those who do not practice what they preach. Jesus says to beware of those who, in the name of God, place heavy burdens on your back while not lifting a finger to do the same things they are demanding of you.

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ‘The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them'” (Matthew 23:1-4 NIV).

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for being a God who is who He says He is, who does what He asks us to do, and who sets the example for us to follow—not only in word but in deed. Help me recognize those who are not practing what they preach so I won’t be swayed by their boasting.

Crumbs

By Cheri Cowell –

“Cheri, even the dog deserves your crumbs,” my mother would warn when I was being stingy and judgemental. Once again, unbeknownst to me, she was delivering a biblical truth. The first indictment in this statment is the division in my own mind of people into categories. We all do this, but it isn’t biblical. The second indictment was even more stinging. Without saying it outright, my mother was calling my attitude into question. I was judging some to be lowly like a dog, and therefore undeserving of my respect, love, and compassion. Jesus used these same points in this parable lesson.

The Gentiles were looked upon by the Jews with great contempt. They were called and counted as dogs. But see how the tables are turned. After the bringing of the Gentiles into the church, the Jewish zealots for the law are here called dogs. This parable cautions us to beware of our own tendencies to divide people into categories and to label some as worthy and some as unworthy. God has a way of turning tables on us and we may be the ones begging for crumbs from His table.
“Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment” (Matthew 15:21-28 NIV).
PRAYER: Dear God, please forgive me for the times when I’ve bowed to the tendency to categorize people and thus label some as more worthy of my love, respect, and compassion. Help me to respond more like Jesus who views all as worthy and valuable children of God.

Getting Technical

By Cheri Cowell –

A while back I decided it was time to merge my e-mail list into a program where I could send my e-mailed devotions while I’m on the road. Even though they touted this program as being user-friendly, I was about as friendly with it as a porcupine is with a dog. My first step was to import all the e-mail addresses- so far so good. Then I cut and pasted my devotionals into the text box- again, so far so good. Then I was asked to whom I wanted to send the test message? I inserted my own e-mail address and clicked, “send test message.” It then gave me a happy smile with the words, “test sent,” so I went to my e-mail and, you guessed it, no message. I figured I needed a break so I left the computer and when I returned my in-box was filled with messages from my readers. Over a hundred people signed up for my new e-mail program, and I don’t even know what they received! I am so glad God does not have a technical abilities test before we can enter heaven. There is only one test.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the do’s and don’ts of the faith journey that we forget the simplicity of it all. And just like my frustrations with the technicalities of a newsletter program that is supposed to make things easier, we can get lost in the technicalities of the Christian faith. But let us be reminded today, there is only one test, Christ Jesus in us. That’s as technical as it gets.

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for providing the test and the answer to the test. Help me remember when I get lost in the technicalities of the faith, that there is only one test and one answer- Christ Jesus in me.

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Cor. 13:5 ESV).

Spiritual Adultery

By Cheri Cowell –

One day while substitute teaching, I had a Kindergartener who did not want to follow any of my instructions. After the fifth or sixth time correcting him, one of the other children in the class said, “He never listens. He always does what he wants.”

To which I answered, “Wow that must be hard.” The boy stopped and looked at me quizzically. I then explained I had found that many of the people around me knew a lot of things I did not know and when I stopped long enough to listen, I saved myself a lot of heartache. It is the same thing with God and me. Sometimes I don’t listen and keep on doing what I want to do. But God has a better plan.

The bit of wisdom in today’s proverb is tucked in the midst of the chapter on the dangers of adultery. Although these scriptures make it clear they are speaking of sexual adultery, we can also glean the significance of a spiritual adultery. It says if we gain satisfaction, power, and esteem from anything other than God, then we have committed a sort of spiritual adultery. The penalty for adultery in Bible times was stoning, but God’s remedy is His grace. All He asks is that we turn from our ways and acknowledge Him. What an awesome God!

PRAYER: God, forgive me for allowing other things to become substitutes for the real thing—for You. Help me learn Your commands, learn Your teachings, and accept Your discipline. Thank You for being my lamp, my light, and my way which leads me away from spiritual adultery and into your forgiving arms.

“When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:22-23 NIV).

Hangnails

By Cheri Cowell –

Hangnails have to be one of the most annoying things of life. They are an irritant that won’t easily go away. We usually get a hangnail when we are nowhere near a pair of clippers and an Emory board. So we end up just dealing with it the best we can by either trying to ignore it or putting a bandage over it. Neither option actually fixes the problem, which only gets worse until we repair the damaged nail. God knows all about hangnails and other irritants in life. In fact, He allows them, sometimes to help us know our human limitations. What do I mean?

Much speculation has taken shape over ‘Paul’s thorn’ mentioned in today’s scripture lesson and what that thorn could have been. I actually like the fact that it was not spelled out. In this way all of us can relate his suffering to our own thorns, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. How assuring it is that Paul, who was loved dearly by God for his great faith, asked God three times to remove his thorn and God said ‘no.’ Because of that we can be assured He loves us greatly even when He has to say ‘no’ to us.

PRAYER: Thank-You, God, for being with me in whatever difficult situation I am in today. I praise You for being my strength and ask that my weaknesses may be used to glorify You in spite of life’s little irritants.

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7-9 ESV).

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