RSVP—Is It A Lost Art?

By Sherri Holbert –

A holiday party? Wow, that sounds like a fun way to kick off the Christmas season. A costume party? Exciting! I think I’ll be Cinderella. A backyard BBQ? Love her potato salad! We all enjoy getting an invitation in the mail. As invitees we are flattered, yet we don’t make it a priority to RSVP.

RSVP literally means repondez s’il vous plait, or please reply. Why do we fail to reply? Are we so busy that we’re afraid to commit to the date? Do we have so many invitations that we can’t decide which event to attend? Is our booked, minute-to-minute schedule not allowing us 30 seconds to find our way to the phone to say yes or no to the invitation?

Think about attending a party in heaven. God has sent out invitations for us to join Him in heaven for a glamorous reception. The invitations are written in crimson red and they are very expensive. They cost Him the price of His son’s life. What if we failed to RSVP to such a powerful invitation?

Fortunately, God is always prepared for the party. He knows each guest attending. We can be assured there will be plenty of food on the buffet table. The punch fountain will be overflowing. The floral centerpieces will be lavish and fresh. The band will play all night.

Are you ready to accept His invitation? Will you find the time to call in your RSVP so that you are prepared for this amazing party?

It’s important to respect the host who is preparing for you, therefore allowing no excuse for ignoring an RSVP. From an eternal perspective, an RSVP is not optional. We don’t yet know the date of this grand party but the invitation has been sent. The Host is ready to accept you with open arms.

How can we make sure the art of a proper heavenly RSVP is not lost?

• Respond to God’s invitation to join him in heaven. (Say yes to make Jesus your Lord and Savior.)
• Serve God by serving others.
• View your time on earth as preparation for the rewards you will receive in heaven.
• Plan daily time to learn from God’s Word.

The next time you RSVP to a party invitation, think about how exciting it will be to attend the best party of your life in heaven.

PRAYER: Father, help me to focus on You as the priority of my life and to realize how important an R.S.V.P. is to Your party. I don’t want to miss the party of a lifetime.

If You Have Faith the Size of a Mustard Factory

By Cynthia Ruchti –

Recognize the quote? Jesus said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard factory, you can say to this mountain, ‘Be moved,’ and poof! It’s gone.”

That’s how the quote goes, right? Oh! Mustard seed. My mistake.

What if the Bible read the way we think? Has anyone taken on the task of creating a Bible translation/paraphrase called The Reality Bible: Truth twisted to match our thought patterns?

“Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your gym membership.”

“In all your ways, acknowledge your personal trainer, and he shall direct your paths.”

“Take up your yoga mat daily…”

“The love of money is the root of all evil, but infatuation with it will take you places.”

“If someone strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek, take a deep breath, and then flatten him with a right hook. If that doesn’t work, sue.”

“If we confess our sins, we can pretty much guarantee they’ll show up in the tabloids. Or on The View.”

“Therefore to him who knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is most likely related to poor parenting on his mother’s part. Or an absentee father. Or a weak educational system. Or genetics.”

Interesting factoid about truth. We’re not supposed to change it. It’s supposed to change us.

If I created a tongue-in-cheek Reality Bible, I might find a publisher to take on the project. Some segments of our population would snatch up a “Bible” that thinks like a human.

I for one am grateful the project doesn’t exist on anyone’s drawing board. I’ll stick with the Truth that transforms me.

PRAYER: Lord, Your Word is my heart’s delight! May I read it, obey it, live it out in all its truth, rather than putting my spin on it. Make me faithful, Lord, to Your Word.

“Teach me, O Lord, the way of they statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end” (Psalm 119:33, KJV).

Today’s devotional is by Cynthia Ruchti, writer/producer of THE HEARTBEAT OF THE HOME radio ministry and president of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Cynthia’s debut novel—They Almost Always Come Home—releases with Abingdon Press May 1, 2010–http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtZb0by984g. Cynthia writes stories of Hope-that-glows-in-the-dark (www.cynthiaruchti.com).

College Coping

By Robin Steinweg –

Remember what Mark Twain said about raising teens? He suggested they be put in a barrel and fed through the bung hole. At sixteen you close up the hole.

We never went through that. In fact, we can’t get enough of our sons. Nope, the trouble we had was Texas. The three-year Bible college that was a perfect fit for our oldest boy was in Dallas, Texas, a thousand miles away. I don’t hold Texans personally responsible for this.

I think there ought to be support groups for families with youngsters going off into the world. It should begin with Lamaze—special breathing exercises to get you through a prolonged transition. Maybe ice chips. Or visualizing your young adult in your Happy Place or right at the dinner table.

Parenting classes should include at least one week of preparing to say goodbye. Pain management clinics might at least offer brochures on how to cope.

I turned to others who had (apparently) lived through it. This was not helpful. Some teared up, put a comforting (?) hand on my arm and could say nothing. Others were obviously in denial or maybe had had shock therapy. They said they could hardly wait for the Blessed Event.

His senior year included the last Christmas concert, last fundraiser, last choir tour and last prom. Summer brought his last week working at the local grocer’s, last family fun day at the Dells, last worship service together. I remembered all the firsts we’d had with him: the first goodbye as he left the womb, first smile, first tooth, first time he sat up, first word, first steps, first haircut.

We squeezed his belongings into the car. It felt like helping to build my own gallows. I can’t believe we took him down there—and left him! But we did it. We drew closer to the Lord, He helped us survive, and now it’s three years later. I am compelled to write encouragement to parents who are facing this. There is hope. They graduate, and then…

They come back!

Our younger son is a senior. Here we go again.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Find reasons to rejoice in all the firsts, lasts and in-betweens. Trust in the First and Last, who gives more grace than sufficient to meet every need.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV).

Today’s devotion 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!

Techno-Challenged

By Robin Steinweg –

“What is it?” I asked my husband and sons. I’d opened my birthday gift—a slender, metallic-pink case.

“An external hard-drive.”

I smiled. “But what is it?”

Have you ever heard of a techno-geek? I am not one. If I’d lived long ago, there’d be claw marks on my papyrus scroll as I resisted switching to parchment. I’d have struck the point of my quill pen deep into my desk and lashed myself to it. Mr. Gutenberg’s printing press would have appeared like a monster.

Even after years of daily use, I mistake computer-ese for ordinary language: a keyboard is for teaching piano; a byte is what you get from mosquitoes; ram and mouse are mammals; floppy is how I don’t like my fries; and USB (for some reason) reminds me of the United Parcel Service van bringing me my Timberdoodle book order.

When someone explains a new online technique to me, my eyes glaze over and I hear what sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher: “Bwah, bwah, bwah, bwah…” Is there any help for me?

The Lord is infinitely patient with me through these challenges. Recently (okay, this morning) He showed me the root cause of my tendency to replace technological terms with the word “thingie.”

I have fear! God’s Word has something to say about that. Fear and faith cannot co-exist. It is only possible to please God with faith. Patient He is, but persistent too. He wants to conquer fear in me. If it’s true that God is all-wise, all-powerful and absolutely good (and He is), then I can confidently yield to His work in me. I will no longer run away from what He wants me to do (like Jonah did). I will stand firm and face my giant (like David did). And with the Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind that He’s promised, Techno-Fear will give way to Techno-Faith.

PRAYER: I place my hand in Yours, Lord. I know I can trust You to give me victory as I fight fear in this and all other areas of my life. I really do want to please You.

“And the apostles said unto the Lord, ‘Increase our faith’” (Luke 17:5 KJV).

Today’s devotion 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!

Like a Sitting…Turkey

By Robin Steinweg –

On a rare, unhurried drive, I approached a corn field lying fallow just outside of town. I saw birds sitting in the middle of the field. Bigger than crows. Got to be turkeys. The car drew closer. Wrong shape for turkeys. What in the world…

No, it can’t be.

Eagles??

I grew up admiring eagles. They nested in the bluffs east of my house and flew daily right overhead, anticipating the sun’s path west to the Wisconsin River bordering our property. Sometimes their vast wings pumped the wind. Other times they soared, motionless, carried on invisible currents to the fishy depths over which they reigned. They scanned the open waters below the dam from the trees on Lookout Island, just off our beach. I saw them as majestic but fearsome creatures. We never let our dog’s puppies wander, in fear one might become a side dish for a walleye entree.

But this debacle threatened a collapse of all I’d thought of them. I was so disturbed I stopped the car and rolled down the window.

“You are eagles. Eagles don’t sit on the ground. You’re making a spectacle of yourselves, and it’s not a pretty sight. You’re giving eagles a bad name. Get up and soar! Get off the ground, you look like turkeys!”

We won’t say what I looked like, on a deserted road talking to grounded eagles. But it got me thinking about my life. Am I sitting like a turkey in an abandoned field watching for grubs when I should be soaring on the currents of my Master’s love, publishing His glory?

QUOTE: Reuben Morgan, Hillsong Publishing, “Come live in me; all my life take over. Come breathe in me and I will rise on eagle’s wings.”

“…I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God” (Deuteronomy 32:3 KJV).

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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