Sign on the Dotted Line

  “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled  the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood  opposed to us;  he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

Colossians 2:13b-14 (NIV)

          “Jude is going to ride the “Electric Slide” this year, Grandma,” my granddaughter Ella told me with a confident smile. “What makes you so sure?” I asked her.  It wasn’t that Jude hated riding the Electric Slide at Silver Dollar City; it was actually just the opposite. More than anything Jude wanted to experience that ride with his brother and sister. 

  The problem was that every time they got in line, Jude stood at a distance, hands in pockets, trying desperately to explain that he just didn’t like the ride but failing to hide the fact that he was just too frightened.

  “Oh, he will ride this year,” she repeated, “because I made him sign a contract.” I couldn’t believe it! “You made your 5-year-old brother sign a contract? Why?” Ella, with all the wisdom of an 8-year-old, replied “He keeps saying he wants to ride and then he chickens out every time. But he really does want to ride it, Grandma. He’s just scared. So I told him that when he signs a contract, he HAS to do what it says.”

          I couldn’t help but ask. “And if he doesn’t? If he changes his mind again, what will happen?” Ella gave me a sideways glance and grinned. “Well, if he doesn’t ride, Jude is going to have to kiss our dog Sadie on the mouth.” Mercy.

  A written, binding contract. Paul mentions it in Colossians 2:13-14. He calls it a “written code.” It was a handwritten acknowledgment by a debtor of his debts, in other words, a type of contract that the Colossians lived by. Paul explained that no matter how hard the people tried to follow every regulation of that code, the result would always be a failure.

          In the same way, the Mosaic Law of their time made them debtors to God because of sin. But Paul encourages them with the good news – GREAT news – that Jesus canceled those debts in that “written code” by nailing them to the cross. He paid in full what they could not.

  Here’s my question: what contracts have you “signed” today that you have already broken? The “No-Gossip Contract?” How about the “Anti-Envy Agreement?” Or maybe the “Never Lie Pledge?”

  Jesus paid in full what we never could. He tore up those contracts by nailing them to the cross. Allow Christ to cancel the contracts you are holding on to as He forgives your sins and nails them to the cross.

  Oh, the end of the story for Jude? When they arrived at the “Electric Slide,” he was too short and was not allowed to ride. He received an official pardon from Ella and she canceled the contract.   

  Father, thank you. Thank you for taking my sins and nailing them to the cross. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 R.A.P. it up . . .

 

Reflect

• Can you think of rules in your life as a Christian that you try to obey perfectly every day?

• Is your record spotless or have you failed in some areas?

 Apply

• Write the sins in your life that you are struggling with on pieces of paper.

• Tie two sticks together in the shape of a small wooden cross. Tie those pieces of paper to the cross and toss them on a bonfire as you give them to Jesus.  

 Power 

• Colossians 2:13b-14 (NIV) “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

• Matthew 5:37 (NIV) “Simply let your ‘Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No’: anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

• I John 1:9 (NIV) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

 

Did You Forget Me?

 “But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Isaiah 49:14-15 (NIV)

My heart was almost pounding out of my shirt as I silently yelled “I’m late! I’m late!” All I could think of was my five-year-old son getting off the school bus and me not being there to hug him and welcome him home! I was chatting with the ladies at a local church after I had spoken at their meeting when I realized that I was late getting home to meet my son as he got off the bus. I always met him at the back door – except today. The door was locked and he was alone!

  I quickly put his sisters in their car seats and drove the speed limit (well, maybe a little over) to get there before the school bus did but I failed. My eyes filled with tears as I turned the corner at my home and saw my little boy sitting on the swing set, holding tightly to his lunch box as if he could somehow gain strength and courage from it.

  I jumped out of the car, pulled him into my arms, and wiped the tears running down his face. He looked up at me and only said four words: “Did you forget me?” but the way he whispered them – as if he was hurt beyond belief that I would ever do such a thing – broke my heart.

   “Did you forget me?” Have you ever asked God that question? You’ve been in a situation that has threatened to drown you day after day, month after month – maybe even year after year. And your heart wonders . . . just maybe this time God isn’t listening and answering when I pray.  Maybe this time He doesn’t care.

  Perhaps you’ve prayed for a prodigal child for years and he or she continues to run from a relationship with the Lord and with you. Or you’ve stared in shock as your doctor shares with you that the cancer is back. Maybe it seems like the harder you pray, the more distant your spouse seems to be. Or you have lost a family member suddenly. “Did you forget me, God?” you ask.

  In Isaiah 49:14-15 the Lord answers that question emphatically: “I will not forget you!” He is encouraging His people who are going to be in captivity to remember that no matter what, He has not forgotten them. God knew exactly where they were and what they were facing and – for the moment – He in His wisdom was allowing the situation to happen. 

God also knows exactly what is going on in our lives, no matter what we face. He hasn’t forgotten us. Simply put, He says that a mother could never forget her newborn child and her love for its life. But, even if she did forget, He – God – will never forget us, His children.

  

We do not always know the “why” some situations happen as they do in our lives. We pray, but the answer to what we are facing seems to be silence from God. Please know that He hears you and has not abandoned you. God has a plan for ALL things. And let me reassure you that no matter what storm you are in or crisis you are battling, our faithful Lord is at your side, He is in control and He has not forgotten you.

  Father, thank you for your reassurance in your word that you will never forget me and always stay by my side. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever felt like God has forgotten about you and what is going on in your life?

• Did you feel that God didn’t care or listen when you called His name?

 

Apply

• Journal the last five words of God’s promise in Isaiah 49:14-15

•  During your prayer time each day, speak this truth to the Lord: “I KNOW you have not forgotten me. Give me strength and hope for this day.”

 

Power

• Isaiah 49:14-15 (NIV) “But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”

• Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) “. . . God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

• Psalm 139: (NIV) “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”

 

 

Number Three

 “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15 (NIV)

 

My sister Mary told me about a life-changing experience that was a huge turning point for her and sharing her faith. She was sitting at the doctor’s office in the waiting room and noticed a man across from her who had a look of anguish on his face as he waited for his name to be called. She said “hello” and they had a brief conversation.

The Lord prompted her to share His love with this gentleman and to encourage him on whatever journey he was on but she hesitated for a second. “What if he gets angry with me? What if he thinks I am being nosey?” she thought for just a moment and then she was called back to a room. He was gone when she came out and she never saw him again.

 A few days later, Mary looked up from her desk at work and noticed an older gentleman wandering up and down the aisles in the store. As she helped him find what he wanted, she sensed his loneliness and immediately felt in her heart that she needed to share Jesus.  Mary felt the Lord’s urging: “Talk to this man. Encourage him. Share the Good News.”

 Once again - unsure of exactly what to say - she hesitated. As the man walked out of the store, the Lord gently spoke to her heart: “Please . . . don’t let there be a number three.” Her mind instantly went back to the gentleman in the doctor’s office days before and now to this man leaving her store.

  Immediately she confessed her disobedience to the Lord by not sharing His love with these two gentlemen and resolved from that day forward that she would share her Savior with everyone she met.

         God gives us one opportunity after the other to share Him with people around us. Nothing – absolutely nothing – should keep us from speaking about eternity with people we meet every day. What if we are the ones that the Lord has placed in the path of someone who is lost and hurting and needs to hear love and forgiveness?

Don’t let anything stop you from sharing Jesus. “Please…don’t let there be a number three.”

 

Father, I know you place people in my path for me to share you. Forgive me when I hesitate. Give me courage and wisdom to tell them about you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

  

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you felt the Lord nudging you to share His Good News with someone and you hesitated?
• What was your reason for not sharing Jesus with that person?

 

Apply

• Plan ahead different ways that you can share your relationship with Christ with people you meet.
• Pray for opportunities to share Jesus and listen for His voice to direct your path.

 

Power

• Mark 16:15 (NIV) “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
• Isaiah 52:7 (NIV) “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news…”
  
• Psalm 96:2 (NIV) “Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.”

 

Do You Need A Time-out Lesson?

 “But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish  three days and three nights.” Jonah 1:17 (NIV)

  My kids hated time-out when they were little and got into trouble. To be honest, I think it was as much for me as it was for them. Love my kids? Passionately with every ounce in my body. Protect them if someone tried to hurt them? Like a seven-foot-tall gorilla with a stun gun. But when they could not handle a situation themselves without falling apart or attacking each other, a time-out seemed like the perfect answer. They could sit down and I could calm down.

  I remember a few of the many reasons for assigning a time-out through the years: when my son attempted to sweep up his sister in the vacuum. And when my daughters tried to darken their bedroom by putting a blanket over a light bulb and caused a fire. Almost every time they received a time-out, it served as a punishment for not obeying our rules at home. But I also reminded them that this was a perfect opportunity to think about what they had done and what they could do differently the next time. There was always a lesson to learn and an option different than what they had chosen. 

Jonah 1:17 talks about someone else who was in time-out but he wasn’t sitting on a kitchen chair thinking about his choice. He was in the belly of a whale. And it wasn’t a mom who had put him there but God. His name was Jonah. He had been given a specific directive by God. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:2) But Jonah did not want to obey. Perhaps he knew about their idol worship and cruelty to prisoners of war and didn’t want to go near the people who lived there. Or maybe he just didn’t trust God to take care of him.

  No matter the reason, Jonah didn’t obey and God quickly gave him a time-out to think about his poor choice – by allowing him to be swallowed by a whale. Now, can I just say here that one gulp and I think I would have been a believer and confessed my disobedience to God? I’m sure I would have. And Jonah, from the whale guts, probably prayed immediately to God and repented, thanking Him for saving his life and vowing to do exactly what God had asked him to do in the first place, by preaching to the people of Nineveh.

  However God, in His infinite wisdom, allowed Jonah to sit a bit longer in time-out to learn an important lesson: when God says “go,” you go. Jonah needed to be obedient to God’s direction for his journey in life. Jonah also needed to understand that in His mercy and forgiveness, the Lord had provided for him and answered his prayer to save his life.

  In Jonah 2:10 we read that, after three days and three nights, God commanded the whale to spit Jonah out on dry land so that he could immediately do what he should have done in the first place: preach the message of God’s destruction to the people of Nineveh if they did not repent.

  Have you ever experienced a time-out from God? Perhaps you didn’t find yourself in a corner, face to the wall on a kitchen chair, and hopefully not in the belly of a whale! Maybe the Lord prompted you to write a note or visit an elderly neighbor or buy groceries for the person in line ahead of you but you ignored that nudge because you had not yet checked off everything on your to-do list. And then you found yourself fighting a cold and not able to leave your home to do anything on your list. Did your living room resemble a whale’s belly?

  Or perhaps you drove past a neighbor with a flat tire on the side of the road because you knew someone else would stop and help and besides, you were late for an important meeting, only to find yourself minutes later stopped at a railroad crossing, waiting on a slow train. And waiting and waiting. Could your car in line possibly be God’s whale think tank for you?

  I encourage you to listen to the Lord speaking to your heart and to obey. He is faithful to His children. But if needed, He will use a time-out.

  Father, I want to listen and obey but sometimes I’m like Jonah. Thank you for your mercy, forgiveness, and patience to do exactly as you direct. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

  

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever felt the Lord nudging you to do something but you chose to ignore the Spirit and make a totally different choice? 

• Did you find yourself in a period of time out after that?

Apply

• Write on a note card “Is this from you, God?” and put it in your purse. When you feel a nudge to help someone, glance at the card and ask God that simple question. 

• Follow His guidance.

 Power

• Jonah 1:17 (NIV) “But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.”

• Proverbs 16:9 (NIV) “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

• Psalm 32:8 (NIV) “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”