Taking Care of Fido

By Cheri Cowell –

I am one of those who believe all children should have a pet. My childhood home was filled with dogs, cats, rabbits and even a gerbil. My parents were very wise and made sure my sister and I learned how to care for each of them. We were expected, no matter how much we protested, to walk, groom, feed and housekeep our animals. We learned that having a pet was being responsible for all of their care no matter how inconvenient it was. In doing so we experienced the great joy of loving, and being loved by, our pets. It was a lesson that prepared us for other, more important things.

Just as I had to learn to fulfill my responsibilities to my pets no matter how I felt or what was happening in my life, God wants us to meet our obligations as followers of Christ no matter how we feel or what else is going on. Each of us is placed in a family, community, job and church with roles to play and duties to fulfill. It is no accident that we have these responsibilities. In accepting them, and in fact, actually embracing them, we will experience the joy that only comes to those who fulfill their God-given roles. God expects us to fulfill these roles with love for others even while we await His glorious return.

PRAYER: I thank You, Lord, for opportunities to serve others no matter how small or inconvenient those opportunities may seem. Help me see these duties as a chance to serve You by serving others in preparation for Your return.

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns” (Matthew 24:45-46 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, who writes and speaks on topics of Christian discipleship. In addition to her books and articles, you can learn about her speaking ministry and sign up to receive her daily devotional at www.CheriCowell.com

Scratching Where It Itches

By Rhonda Rhea –

I confess I don’t have the greenest thumb on the block. As a matter of fact, I was thinking it might be easier to just give up on all other greenery and grow a poison ivy garden instead. Except that at this point I’d have to start from scratch.

Scratch? Get it? Anyway, I decided it would probably be better not do anything that rash.

That’s because we really do have to be careful what we plant. We will reap what we sow. It’s right there in Galatians 6:7. And according to the verse that follows, not only should we be careful what we plant, but we’re told if we choose to live only to please our own sinful selves, we’ll reap a harvest of death and decay. I think I’ve grown that kind of plant before. But when we’re talking about what we’re growing spiritually, we’re talking about an especially ugly garden. Eternally worse than poison ivy. Don’t even bother with the weed-whacker. Round-Up won’t cut it either.

Take a look at the passage: “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10 NLT).

I love how Paul rounds out his point in verse 9 with the big “so.” “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good.” He lets us know that the harvest kind of thinking and learning to live to please the Spirit instead of the flesh leads to staying energized in doing good things for the Kingdom—to not give up. And that leads to a harvest of everlasting blessing.

Our gardening time here is short. We need to stay on task. Second Timothy 4:2-5 charges us to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (NIV).

Instead of catering to the poison-ivy-itchy-ears of those who simply want the easy way, and instead of letting them distract us, we’re called to keep our heads and to steadfastly keep on working in whatever ministry God has called us to. The passages in Galatians 6 and 2 Timothy 4 are the kinds of sound-the-charge verses we can put to memory. They can remind us all along the way to stay tenaciously resolute in our service. It’s then that we can become more and more the kind of Christ followers who don’t just tickle itchy ears, but truly scratch those eternal itches.

So, ready to write down those passages? First you’ll need some scratch paper.

Rhonda Rhea is a radio personality, conference speaker, humor columnist and author of seven books, including High Heels in High Places and her newest book, Whatsoever Things Are Lovely: Must-Have Accessories for God’s Perfect Peace. You can find out more at www.RhondaRhea.org.

Are You a Wet Blanket on the Spirit?

By Julie Morris –

As Thanksgiving approaches this year, let’s look at what the Bible says about giving thanks. God commands us to give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and in the next verse He warns us what will happen if we don’t—He says, “Don’t put out the Spirit’s fire”  (1 Thessalonians 5:19 NIV).

What He’s saying is that we will be a wet blanket on the Holy Spirit’s work within us if we don’t give thanks—and our spiritual, physical and emotional health will suffer. But this isn’t the once-a-year type of thanks. It’s daily thanksgiving.

Let’s look at the awesome things that the Holy Spirit does in us and what may happen if we’re a wet-blanket on the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit produces the delicious fruit of the Spirit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and (last but not least!) self-control (Ephesians 5:21-23 NIV). If we put a wet blanket on the Spirit by not giving thanks, we might find ourselves producing rotten fruit. As you read the list below, place a check next to any rotten fruit that you’re producing:

• Hatefulness instead of love
• Depression instead of joy
• Fear instead of peace
• Impatience instead of patience
• Rudeness instead of kindness
• Meanness instead of goodness
• Inconsistency instead of faithfulness
• Gruffness instead of gentleness
• Undisciplined lifestyles instead of self-control

As if rotten fruit weren’t enough, if we don’t give thanks, we’ll also be a wet blanket on our spiritual gifts. That means that we either won’t have these gifts or we’ll use them wrong. Here are some examples:

• Teachers will be impatient.
• Leaders will dictate.
• Givers will throw money away indiscriminately.
• Mercy-givers will try to “fix” people.
• Evangelists will cram truth down the throats of unbelievers.
• Helpers will get mad if people don’t appreciate them.

If we don’t give thanks, we’ll be a wet blanket on other things that the Holy Spirit does in us. Here are here are just a few examples:

• · The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26 NIV).
• · The Holy Spirit gives us power. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
• The Holy Spirit fills us with hope. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).

This Thanksgiving, make a life-changing decision to give thanks every day… in everything—no matter how challenging your circumstances— so that you won’t be a wet blanket on the Spirit at work in you.

Julie Morris (Julie@guidedbyhim.com) is the author of 12 books, a dynamic speaker and founder of two Christian weight-loss programs—Step Forward (www.stepforwarddiet.com) and a lighter and easier version of Step Forward—Guided By Him to a Thinner, Not So Stressed-Out You! (www.guidedbyhim.com).

The Vilest Offender

By Brenda W. McIntyre –

Keith was one of my favorite cousins. It didn’t matter that I suffered endless teasing from him when I was a child. In spite of his pranks, I looked up to him.

I was startled and scared when, as a teenage boy, he threw cherry bombs under the trampoline while we girls were jumping. I was frightened when he locked my sister and me in the kitchen and told us someone died in that room. But I was amazed at the new gadgets he always seemed to have—a self-inking stamper disguised as a little tube, magic plastic he made into elastic balloons, and a real American flag that took up an entire wall in his room. I quickly forgot about being mad at Keith whenever he shared his hot toothpicks or made an elastic balloon for me.

I was proud of Keith when he began racing cars at the local race track. More often than not he was the winner. Then, I was overcome with grief on the day in August, 1992, when I received a phone call about his death. Keith was the victim of a heinous murder; killed in the prime of his life.

I waited breathlessly for Keith’s killer to be sentenced for the murder. Manslaughter. The verdict was manslaughter with the possibility of parole after 18 years. I was flabbergasted.

When the man responsible for Keith’s death came up for parole a few short years later, I wrote a letter to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles asking that he not be paroled from prison. I wanted him to serve his full sentence. I wanted him to pay for his crime. Again he came up for parole and I wrote another letter. Finally, after spending 14 years behind bars the man was released from prison.

I wondered how I would react if ever our paths crossed. What if he became a Christian? What if he started going to my church? The words to Fannie J. Crosby’s hymn, “To God Be the Glory,” rang out in my mind. The touching words say, “The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.” If that man cried out to God and asked for forgiveness, he was free from his sin. Regardless of the magnitude of his sins, all he has to do is simply believe in the Son of God and ask for forgiveness and he will receive pardon from Jesus. Salvation is provided as a gift from God regardless of one’s sins.

The man responsible for Keith’s death was living in a world of sin and darkness when he took my cousin’s life, but Jesus atoned for that sin. John 12:46 says “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

That same grace is available to you and me. Maybe we haven’t taken a life. Maybe we haven’t participated in criminal activity as defined by laws that govern us, but I can assure you we have sinned against God as outlined in the Bible. No one is free from sin. The wonderful news is stated in Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

Deadly, Dawdling Dial-up vs. Instant Eternal Access

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Click. Hear the bloops and bleeps as the telephone dials for Internet service. Feel the impending tedium as you prepare to wait. Pretend with me exactly as I did—when I still had deadly dial-up:

Click—wait for Home page: Pretend to walk upstairs, put on coat, grab keys, go out to the garage, get in the car, put keys in the ignition, buckle seat belt, adjust mirrors, turn on Life 102.5 Christian radio…

Home Page at last! I want the library’s online catalogue. Click—wait: Put car in reverse, back out, wait for neighbor to cross the street for the mail, head for fifteenth street, turn onto Grande, pass high school at 15mph, stop at crosswalk for sleepy-looking teens…

Library page! Click—wait for Search page: Drive 4 blocks to stop sign at 5^th, wait for crossing guard to maneuver a 3-foot tall boy with a 4-foot tall backpack across the street, wait for bus in front of me to turn, make silly faces at waving children in back window, pass grade school, continue 4 blocks to stop sign at Water Street, wait for five cars, turn right…

Finally! Type in full title of book, Click—and wait: Proceed south on Water for 2.2 miles, turn in at library parking lot, park, turn off car, remove seatbelt, get out, lock doors, walk up sidewalk, in the door, wipe feet…

Ah Ha! Click to check out book—and wait: Walk past check-out, greet friendly librarian, admire her antique pin, head for the stacks, look for desired book, back to check-out for expert help, follow librarian to the stacks, find book plus three more, back to check-out, lay books on counter, dig for library card, hand it to smiling librarian (who swipes it, swipes books and hands back my card in 4 seconds flat because she has High-Speed Internet), take books to car…

What? The book I want is not available; I need to execute a search for another? Ack!

Before High-Speed Internet, before Dial-up, before computers, before electricity, there was instant communication with the Source of all knowledge and wisdom. The Maker of all makes Himself available to all at all times. Unhindered by time, He has all eternity to consider each word we pray. Before a word is on a person’s tongue, He knows it completely.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Prayer. Faster than High-Speed Internet / More powerful than the IBM Roadrunner /Able to leap cyberspace or the entire universe in less than an attosecond.

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24 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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