Gems in the Rummage Heap

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Thrift stores, garage sales, rummage and yard sales—oh joy, oh rapture, their season approaches!  For years I have felt like the Proverbs 31 wife of noble character. She rises while it is yet night (to get to the best sales early) and provides for her family (like-new clothes for my boys, for pennies). She’s not afraid of snow for her household (not when I managed to find warm boots and water-proof mittens in the right sizes). She makes linen garments and sells them (well, at least I repurposed items and sold them at a profit from the scraps and bits I picked up). Her children rise up and call her blessed (“Thanks, Mom!”); her husband also (“Have I told you how much I appreciate all you do to save money?”), and he praises her.

I have combed countless piles of despised, rejected or outgrown cast-offs to find the right style— the perfect size. My car, sans GPS, knows the route to at least ten thrift stores. I’ve recorded the addresses of clean garage sales whose owners have children a year or so older than mine so I could recognize next year’s sale.

Treasure hunting, that’s what it is. Sometimes the items look anything but gem-like. They might need a good cleaning or even a redo. But when I’m through, they are valuable. It takes a sacrifice of time and energy. It takes a practiced eye (or at least a persistent one) to spot them.

My Jesus has such an eye. But He doesn’t choose people who are gems—He makes gems out of the ones He chooses. He has such a loving eye. He calls me His treasured possession. Belonging to Him is what gives me worth. And His sacrifice was not of time or energy, it was His own life-blood.

So I rise up and call Him blessed. I am grateful. He understands what it’s like to be despised and rejected. Praise the Lord! “All my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits…who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion” (Psalm 103:1b-2; 4 NIV).

PRAYER: You found me and rescued me, Jesus. Because of Your incredible love, You lifted me from the rummage heap and made me Your treasured possession. Now You have given me a new song: one of praise for You, my Lord!

“You are the children of the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession” (Deuteronomy 14:1a, 2b NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Anticipated Event

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Throngs of people leap to their feet, jumping and dancing. They open their mouths and an unbroken roar flows forth. Arms raise skyward, and faces of every pigmentation reflect the excitement. For this occasion, folks have gathered from all over the world. As the opening of the anticipated event draws closer, the shouting magnifies. It rolls like thunder—riotous, pandemonic—like the roar of rushing waters.

Finally a loud command splits the air, and something like a trumpet signals the start. An abrupt, expectant silence quivers in the atmosphere. The Super Bowl is about to begin!

But hold on. This is no stadium. There is no face paint, no hot dogs or soda, and no football team waits to run on the field to the screams of fans.

The crowds drop to their knees; some fall on their faces. The Awaited One appears. This is the King of all kings, the Worthy One. The Lamb who was slain, but who lives forever.

Angels numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand encircle His throne. Countless multitudes wear white robes and hold palm branches in their hands.

“Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him…” (Revelation 1:7, NIV). He is the Alpha and the Omega, who was and who is and who now comes!

I can work up a lather over my favorite team on their biggest day of the year. If I had been at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, you might’ve seen me forget myself enough to wear a cheese hat, jump up and down and shout until my voice quit. If I can get that excited over eleven mortals chasing an oblong ball up and down a playing field, how will I respond when my Lord, the Creator of all, appears for the second time to bring salvation to all who wait for Him?

QUOTE: Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You Jesus, or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all? —Bart Millard

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To Him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’ The four living creatures said, ‘Amen,’ and the elders fell down and worshipped” (Revelation 5:13-14 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Joint Maintenance

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Joint Maintenance—TV, magazines, newspapers, health journals—everywhere I look I see supplements for joint maintenance. Well, I’m here to tell you I tried them and they don’t work; I look around this joint and it’s as much a mess as ever!

If the joint to which I refer is my soul, then the statement above isn’t precisely true. It’s not in the mess it was before Jesus saved me. In my early twenties I opened my heart’s door to Him, and He came in and swept the place clean as a whistle. White spankin’ new. He powered away my sin-stain as far as the East is from the West. The Bible word for it is justification (“just as if” I’d never sinned).

The tricky part is ongoing: maintenance. To keep up the purity Christ initiated in me isn’t possible on my own. It would be like trying to pound a nail into a board with a wet noodle. The Bible word for it is sanctification (being molded into Christ-likeness), and it requires God working in me with my cooperation.

• His Spirit convicts me of wrongdoing. I confess it to Him and ask Him to change me.
• I read His Word, the Bible. He interprets and explains it to me.
• I pray (not just asking for things, but listening to Him). He responds to me and communicates with me.
• I spend time with other growing, maturing Christians. He loves on me and speaks to me through them.
• I praise Him (because He is worthy). He inhabits my praises.
• I obey Him. He makes Himself real to me.

So if I want the joint to stay clean, I have to maintain it. But I need supernatural help. A joint venture or joint ownership requires working together.

Joint Maintenance!

AUTHOR QUOTE: The high-potency formula for the maintenance of this joint is God at work in me + me yielding to God’s work in me.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20, 21 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Ankles and Feet

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Work boots, maybe with a steel-reinforced toe; that’s the fellow two doors down. Black suit  hem, polished black shoes; the man across the street and down one. Tennis shoes, jeans; that’s the young mother next door. Nice slacks, sturdy shoes; next door on the other side.

This is my neighborhood in the winter. My neighbors are a variety of footwear, trouser-bottoms, and an occasional glimpse of sock. How can I obey God’s command to love them as myself if I never see them? And what keeps these folks isolated? Garage Door Closers—I think they’ve conspired together. In the mornings, a car with tinted glass backs out of its nightly cell and turns left or right. The Garage Door closes as the car disappears around the corner. It admits no one till evening. If I bent down quickly as it closes the gap between itself and the pavement, I might witness evidence of a real human presence. I might see enough of my neighbors’ shoes to guess whether it’s male or female, white collar or blue, adult or small child.

What can quell this wintertime technological conspiracy? The only thing I can think of is a significant fall of snow. Then the air comes alive with the surrendering groan of Garage Doors opening to release boots: tall, rubber, zippered, buckled, black, blue, pink, heeled or flat. Snow suits and heavy wool socks fill them, jeans or slacks tucked in. Shovels push the snow ahead of them, or snow blowers roar to pave a path. The Garage Doors are forced to stay up.

An elderly neighbor, someone with health issues, or an unfortunate whose snow blower is on the fritz could proclaim: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good news.”

“Here, let us clear that for you.”

This is my view of the neighborhood in the winter. My neighbors are more than a variety of footwear after all, and I guess the Garage Door Closers haven’t taken us hostage!

AUTHOR QUOTE: The best way to overcome closed garage doors is to invest in a pair of beautiful feet.

“…Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39b NET).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

As White As—Eew!

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Here in Wisconsin, the snow comes in fat, determined flakes. When it’s covered our world, the sun shines on it, and its brightness dazzles away even the memory of bare trees, brown, patchy lawns and spent rose bushes. Everything glistens with purity.

By afternoon the plows come through and it is business as usual. The traffic sprays salt, sand and grime that spreads somehow even to the far sides of the cornfield. If there’s no more snow overnight, the next day it starts to look gray, pocked, and—eew—disgusting.

That’s like we who follow Jesus. When we first experience His forgiveness, He washes us as white as snow. His blood, most powerful cleanser, removes our sin as far as the east is from the west.  We glisten with purity.  But over the course of a day, sin splatters our souls with grime and dirt. If there’s not a spiritual cleansing, it’ll get worse.

How can we remove that sin stain? We can only apply the cleanser: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. …and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:8, 9, 7b).

I don’t remember who it was that gave me this advice, but it stuck like wet snow on a sign: “Keep short accounts in spiritual as in other things.” If someone loans me something or blesses me with a good turn, I should pay it back quickly. If I sin, I do well to confess it right away.  I shouldn’t go to bed with a debt of money, deed or sin on my conscience.

PRAYER: My Lord, show me every sin splatter so I can confess it to You. Thank You for making me as clean as fresh-fallen snow, no matter how deep the stain of my sins.

“Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (Romans 4:7 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

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