Candy Corn and Juice Boxes

 

“I do not understand what I do. For

 what I want  to do I do not do, 

but what I hate I do.”

 Romans 7:15 (NIV)

   There is almost always a small bowl full of candy corn sitting on my coffee table. I keep it as a reminder of something that happened to me as a small child and as a reminder of my behavior as an adult.  I remember it like it was yesterday. 

   My parents played cards with several couples and we had gone with them to the home of a family we had not met before. As we were sitting on their sofa in the living room, we spotted a bowl of candy corn on the coffee table. That was a delicacy to us and one that we seldom had at our house.

   The daughter in this family frowned as she watched us dip into the bowl again and again, since we knew that we would probably not get another opportunity to eat candy corn for a long time.  

  We must have eaten almost all the sweet candy because she suddenly grabbed the bowl and shouted to her parents in the other room: “Those kids are eating ALL the candy! By the handfuls, Mom! It’s almost gone!” and gave us a look of ‘what is wrong with you’ that mortified us all. I remember thinking as my face flushed with embarrassment that I would never treat anyone like that – ever.

   Fast forward to my being a parent and buying my children a package of 12 juice boxes. I had just enough money to buy them and told my kids to make them last all week. When I came into the kitchen about an hour later and saw all 12 empty boxes, I blew up.

   “You kids drank ALL the juices at one time! Every single one! Now it’s all gone!” and gave them the ‘what is wrong with you’ look. Their faces showed how much I had hurt them with my comment.. Suddenly, I was not looking at 12 empty juice boxes but instead I envisioned a nearly empty bowl of candy corn and felt the sting of hurtful words and the weight of embarrassment.

   The very thing I hate, I end up doing. That’s what Paul is saying in Romans 7. I know what is right. I know what I should do. But instead, I do the very thing that I hate. Reading further in verses 18 and 19, Paul states that he has the desire to do what is good and right but he just doesn’t do it. Even Paul struggled with the sinful nature that urges us to ignore the right thing to do and instead to do whatever we want. 

    There is an ongoing battle between our sinful natures and God’s will for our lives. How thankful I am for the Cross and for a Savior whose grace and mercy call me to ask for forgiveness and another opportunity to be Jesus to the world. And as I hugged my three children and asked them to forgive me, I thanked the Lord for another opportunity to be Jesus - to my children. 

   Let us keep on praying, confessing our mistakes and trying again. He who is faithful will never leave us. And His grace covers candy corn and juice boxes.

   Father, how many times have I said I would never treat someone a certain way, and yet I did. Forgive me and help me to focus on you and your will. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever seen or overheard something and thought “I would never do that” but later found yourself doing the very thing you said you would never do?

• Did you immediately realize what had happened and if so,  how did you feel?

Apply

• Find something, like my bowl of candy corn, to place on your coffee table as a reminder of Romans 7:15.

• When you find yourself, as Paul did, doing the opposite of what you want to do, ask the Lord for forgiveness and ask the Holy Spirit to redirect you to God’s will.

Power

• Romans 7:15 (NIV) “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

• Romans 12:9 (NIV) “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

• Romans 7:18 -19 (NIV) “. . . For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.”

The Slippery Slope

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:18-19 (NIV)

    Snow skiing is loved by a large group of enthusiastic people. My daughter is not one of them. Her experience on the slopes of Colorado convinced her that almost any sport is preferable to one that requires the participant to freeze, despite layer upon layer of clothing, and depend on flimsy poles and two slick “boards” as she called them to get her from point A to point B safely.

    Having never snow skied before, she was initially excited to go on a winter vacation with her husband and her in-laws. Great care was taken to choose the right coordinated ski pants and jacket. Sunglasses were selected that would offer the best protection from the glare of the sun on the snow along with sunscreen and lip balm.

    She was ready. She thought. Until she took her first skiing lesson. And slipped. And fell. And stood up. And slipped again. And . . . you get the picture. For about 30 minutes she was up and down in the snow until, with a great deal of effort and support from her husband, she was able to get to the top of a small hill.

    During that time, her father-in-law was helping her mother-in-law stand upright after a hard fall. Successful at last, he turned to watch as my daughter began her descent down the slope, but his look of admiration quickly turned to one of panic as he realized that on her present path, she would make a direct hit on his wife. He was right.

    My daughter said that to this day the trip downhill is still a blur but what she will forever remember is the look on her father-in-law’s face as he frantically tried to push his now-standing wife away from the path of his daughter-in-law’s out-of-control skis, poles, and body. He was not successful.

    Can you picture the aftermath of the collision? Two women – in coordinated ski pants and jackets - laying in the snow, arms and legs wrapped around tangled-up skis and poles and accented with pieces of sunglasses. And two husbands standing over them, wondering how in the world they could have prevented the slipping, sliding accident from occurring. They could not.

    I think that life is a lot like that skiing experience. We try and try to get up the slope. And there are a few times when we can make it and stand upright and feel successful. But there are many many other times when we slip and fall, barely get up, and fall again. That’s where David was in Psalm 94:18-19.

    David probably never snow skied but he certainly knew what it was like to stand on the top of the hill as he was chosen by God to be the new king over Israel. He also knew the feeling of everything being out of control and sliding away as King Saul tried to kill him.

    What are you facing today that seems to knock you down and push and shove you as you try to get up? What is causing anxiety in your heart? What keeps you awake at night because there seems to be no clear answer? A cancer diagnosis? A prodigal child or children? A life-changing surgery that insurance won’t cover?

    Trust our Father who not only supports us when we start to fall but also keeps our feet from slipping. That was His promise to David. And that is His promise to us. Even on the ski slopes of life. 

 

    Father, I praise you for listening when I call and for holding on to me when I cannot stand on my own. I praise you for your love and mercy. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Think about a time in your life when you felt everything slipping and sliding from underneath you.

• What was your first reaction? Turning to the Creator or bracing for the crash?

Apply

• Call a prayer warrior friend, share your concerns, and ask her to lift you up in prayer.

• Memorize power verses in Scripture and thank the Lord for keeping your feet from slipping as He watches over you.

Power

• Psalm 94:18-19 (NIV) “When I said, “My foot is slipping, “your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”

• Psalm 121:3 (NIV) “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber.”

• Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV) “If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”

Do You Hear Him?

                                            “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. 

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,

I will come  in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Revelation 3:20 (NIV)

   The crowd coming out of the church auditorium was especially talkative one Sunday morning several years ago. Hundreds of voices with different pitches, tones and accents joined together in laughter and friendly chatter throughout the foyer and down the hallways.

    Suddenly, in the middle of all the commotion, one voice instantly caught my attention. It was a sweet little voice quietly calling over and over “Gaamaa! Gaamaa! I’s here. I’s coming!”

    I quickly knelt down among the sea of people and saw the source of that voice. My two-year old granddaughter Ella. She had seen me in the crowd and was calling my name, trying to get my attention.

   How did I recognize Ella’s voice out of all the others? After all, she wasn’t screaming or yelling. It’s simple. I spent time with her because I loved her. I listened to her tell me stories she had made up. I was familiar with her voice because I heard it almost daily.

   Let me ask you something: isn’t that the way we should be when it comes to the Lord? If we spend time with Him daily, it should not be hard to recognize His voice in this loud, screaming world that demands our attention.

   Scripture from Revelation 3:20 is very clear in what it says and what it doesn’t say. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

    It doesn’t say that Jesus is beating on the door of your heart. He isn’t demanding to be heard. He isn’t threatening you if you don’t answer. He doesn’t say three strikes and you’re out!

   What it does say is that He is simply standing quietly and knocking as he waits for you to hear His voice and open your life up to Him.

   Something else occurred to me. Jesus doesn’t say that He only knocks at the door on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He doesn’t whisper your name on Sunday mornings and then leave you on Sunday evenings.

   He never ever stops calling your name! He stands, waiting for you to give Him permission to live in your heart.  And when you open the door, He never leaves. Ever.

   The only way we will recognize the voice of the One standing at the door and calling us is to be in His word – every day. And as we seek Him, His voice will become more clear in our lives and the distractions of the world will fade away. 

    Listen for the voice of Jesus – you can hear it!

   Father, I can get so distracted by the voices of this world. I want to know you and your voice over everything else. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up

Reflect

• Have you ever felt like you could not hear the voice of the Lord in your heart

• Were the demanding voices of the world louder? If so, Why?

Apply

• Journal all the voices of the world that crave your attention. Make a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the quietest and 10 being the loudest voice. Rank each worldly voice along with the voice of the Lord.

• Determine which voice has the power to change your life for the better. Then throw out all the competition and focus on the Truth from the one who stands at the door and quietly knocks.

Power 

• Revelation 3:20 (NIV) “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

• John 10:27 (NIV) “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

• Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV) “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”