Hand-Me-Downs

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Five years of fashion separated my older sister’s wardrobe from my eager little frame. As I inherited the stylish clothes she grew out of, the clothes often hung off of me, because I could not wait until they actually fit. Many times, by the time they did, the trends had changed. Five years is a long time in the world of what-to-wear.

As a believer in Christ, I also inherited a wardrobe from Him: garments of salvation and robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), a crown of life (James 1:12), a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8), a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4), and a full set of armor (Ephesians 6:13-17) which includes the accessories of shoes and a belt!

Garments from the first-born of creation (Jesus) never wear out and are always in vogue for Christ-followers of either gender. They provide the perfect fit.

AUTHOR QUOTE: I’m perfectly clothed wearing the garments of God.

“…to bestow on them…a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:3 NIV).

Got Nothing?

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Sometimes I’ve got nothing. I might have overextended my energy or been sick, or had little sleep due to tending to others. Whatever the cause, sometimes I’ve got nothing left.

In the Bible, “nothing” is a void for God to fill. He created all that exists out of what was not.

God excels at taking little and making much. Israelites without food? Manna falls from the sky. No water? A touch of the rock and water flows. Gideon with only three hundred soldiers? The enemy— routed. Jars of oil and flour that never run out; a virgin’s womb carries the Son of God; water becomes fine wine at a wedding feast; a few fishes and loaves feed over five thousand—with leftovers. Broken, empty lives—like mine—made whole and filled with God’s Holy Spirit.

So when my emotions tell me I’m like a balloon with pinpricks at both ends, let me contrast how I feel with what God does with my nothing:

From depleted—to completed and replete.
From exhausted—to recharged and teeming with energy.
From drained—to supplied and satisfied.
From emptied—to filled and overflowing.
From spent—to infused and content.

Got nothing? God can do something with that!

AUTHOR QUOTE: God can do more with my nothing than I can with all my somethings. With God, “nothing” is possible!

“And I pray that you…may have power…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17b, 18a,c, 19 NIV).

Good Company

By Robin J. Steinweg –

“One of my students needs the same things repeated every week,” I said. “It’s like she’s never seen a quarter note before, and she still can’t identify the keys. She’s bright; her parents say she practices, so it must be me. Do any of my words stick with any of my students? What’s the point?” I had lain awake wondering if most of my life had been spent pouring water into a sieve.

My husband, Tom, responded, “How many students have come into our home over the years? Of those few hundred, how many have continued to play or sing—one percent? Two at the most?”

The question kicked me in the stomach. I’d already imagined that if I worked for a large company, Quality Control would’ve handed my head to HR (that’s Human Resources, AKA Heads Rolling) on a tin platter. In Willy Wonka’s factory, I’d have gone down the Bad Egg chute.

“Wait! Hear me,” Tom said. “After years of lessons I don’t play piano anymore, even though I’m a musician. But the impact those lessons had on me will continue to affect my life forever. It’s not just about playing piano. The time you spend with that little girl… you just don’t know. That is priceless.”

My husband isn’t named Thomas—“good company”—for nothing. Those encouraging words have fed me for years. He’s given me an example to live up to. My goal this new year and every year is for my words to be good company, just like my husband, Thomas.

QUOTE: Words are the most powerful thing in the universe…Words are containers. They contain faith, or fear, and they produce after their kind. –Charles Capps

BIBLE VERSE: “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is.” (Proverbs 15:23 ESV)!

One-Eighty

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I sat at a table in the food court just after Christmas. Three teen girls squeezed in next to me. I found myself included in their conversation whether I chose to be or not.

“My grandma gave me ten measly dollars.”

“That’s better than what I got. At least you get to pick out something you want. I’m stuck with ugly mittens and a hat—that my grandma made.”

I pictured a gray-haired lady in a tattered shawl and fingerless gloves huddled close to her space heater. She ignores the searing pain in her knotted joints as she knits (having gone without lunch for months in order to afford the yarn), smiling wistfully and fondly praying over this granddaughter with every painful stitch.

Manna. In Exodus 16 God’s people were hungry. He sent heavenly food to them with the dew each night. It tasted “like wafers made with honey.” By Numbers 11, they were tired of manna. They whined about it. And then Moses complained about their complaining. God became “exceedingly angry” and sent quail until they were so sick of it, it came out their nostrils.

The third girl spoke up. “I’d be happy for even a hug from my grandma. She died a few months ago.”

The girls got quiet. They got the point.

Not only they: I looked at the brand-new coat I’d planned to replace that day, complaining it wasn’t quite my style. I thanked God for it, took the money I would have spent on a new one, and tucked it into the Salvation Army bucket. Grateful.

PRAYER: Lord, You’ve caused a one-eighty in my perspective and reminded me to be grateful. Thank You!

BIBLE VERSE: “O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever” (Psalm 30:12b NIV).

The Fruity Faithful

By Robin J. Steinweg –

If the world calls me fruity, it’s an insult. But if God says I’m full of fruit, it means I’m glorifying Him; I’m doing what Christ chose and appointed me to do!

How can I make my life fruitful? A tree can’t force itself to bear fruit. It can only take in light, rain and nutrients. Fruit comes naturally.

Here’s how I can cooperate with God’s design in order to be one of the fruity faithful:
Need—agree with God that I need His Son’s gift of salvation. “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20b NIV).

Feed—surround myself with good spiritual growing conditions, especially those that will change my thinking. “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2b NIV).

Seed—the good seed is God’s Word: I can nurture it. “…and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21).

Plead—be in communication with the Lord throughout my day. “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV).

Deed—reading my Bible is good, but I can take it a step further and act on it. “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22 NIV).

Weed—get rid of the things that choke the life out of my growth in Christ. “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things” (Colossians 3:8a).

Freed—I can live bountifully! “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galations 5:1 NIV).

PRAYER: Lord, I desire to bear fruit that lasts, for Your glory. Thank You that You provide everything I need for this. I choose to feed, seed, plead, deed, weed, be freed—and trust You for the results.

BIBLE VERSE: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV).

 

 

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