Devotion for the Week...
If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, then you probably know I spend my days in the company of the four kids I babysit, while my own kids are in school. I have been around little ones for almost 13 years straight, and I have noticed that they really like for things to be fair, especially when it comes to food.
Don't give one child two pieces of a broken cookie and the other child a full cookie unless you're willing to hear, "Why does he get two cookies?" Be sure the pieces of cake you cut look pretty much the same, or there will be complaints about someone getting a bigger piece. And for goodness sake, make sure when you give out a handful of crackers that everyone either has the same number, or they have so many they're not going to bother counting!
They like things to be fair when it comes to taking turns with the best toys too. Everyone needs to have the same number of turns, and for the same amount of time. While I have never actually set a timer to be sure each child gets 5 minutes with the coveted toy, I know mothers who do in order to keep the peace and save their own sanity.
While we as adults know that fair doesn't always mean exactly the same, we like for things to be fair too. We want people to be paid a fair wage, for companies to be fair and honest in their advertising, for sports teams to follow the rules. We want to be given the same opportunities as others, regardless of our race, religion or gender. When these things don't happen, we too are quick to say, "That's not fair!"
Sometimes 'not fair' works in our favour, and then we're not quite so quick to protest the unfairness of the situation. That is certainly the case when it comes to our salvation. Jesus was perfect, completely without sin, and it was He who paid the price for our sins. He had never done anything wrong, and yet He was brutally beaten and murdered.
The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death," (Romans 6:23). It also says, "The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:2,3). Everyone is turned away from God, everyone is corrupt, and no one does good. That is the natural inclination of every human heart, and for that we all deserve death. That would be the fair outcome of our lives.
But that isn't what we get.
Jesus came for us. He came to rescue us and free us from that death sentence. How? "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God"(2 Corinthians 5:21). Because Jesus was perfect, He alone was qualified to be the sacrifice that would pay for our sin. He took the sin of the entire world on Himself and paid the penalty of death for it. That's the most unfair transaction ever!
As Good Friday approaches this week, we should remember how completely unfair it was that Jesus suffered as He did, and that He did it entirely for our benefit.
March 30, 2015
March 23, 2015
Lost
Devotion for the Week...
So, on Thursday morning I woke up to this:
An empty ring. I have no idea where I lost the diamond that should be in it. We have searched the house and the moms I babysit for both searched through the bags their kids' bring each day, but there has been no sign of it.
This is the first time I have ever lost something so valuable, either in terms of dollars or sentiment. This is, after all, my engagement ring which I have worn almost continually for close to 17 years. As I shook out our sheets and felt all inside the chair where I sat before bed on Wednesday night, I felt sick about it being gone. I teared up whenever I thought about it maybe being gone for good. Then, as I searched through my sewing stuff that I had been using Wednesday evening, I thought of the parables Jesus told about the lost sheep and, especially, about the lost coin.
"Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
I've read or heard these two stories many times. You probably have too. The emphasis is always on the rejoicing that happens in heaven over one sinner who repents, and certainly that is important. No matter what you have done, God will always welcome you and celebrate your decision to accept Jesus as your Savior.
But I haven't found my diamond yet. I am still like the woman who lit a lamp and is sweeping the house, searching carefully for her coin. Although in my case, I'm gently shaking out each article of clothing that needs to be folded, hoping my diamond fell into the pile of laundry somehow, or shaking out Nathan's comforter because I remember rearranging it over him when I tucked him into bed Wednesday night. I'm not at the rejoicing part of the story, and it has made me wonder how God feels about all those people who haven't accepted Jesus yet, all those people who are still lost. Does He get the divine equivalent of the sick feeling I had Thursday morning?
It's there in the stories after all. He tells of the shepherd leaving 99 sheep to go searching for the one that wandered off, and about the woman scouring her house for the coin. The parables may not describe much emotion, but you can imagine the frantic searching in both stories, which hints at God's feelings about each person who has not yet accepted Jesus.
And Jesus said He "came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus left Heaven to come to earth as a baby dependent on a young woman for His every need, He grew up and then offered Himself as the only possible sacrifice to redeem all of humanity and restore our relationship with God. He gave up so much to come looking for us! The time I spent searching the house for my diamond can't even come close to that. Which makes sense, of course. As valuable as a diamond may be, God considers each and every person to be so valuable there is nothing He wouldn't pay to get us back. He considers us to be worthy of the sacrifice of His Son.
No matter how worthless you may feel, or how certain you are that God would never want you, Jesus tells us differently. When we were lost, He gave up everything to come find us and when we come to Him all of heaven rejoices at our salvation.
So, on Thursday morning I woke up to this:
An empty ring. I have no idea where I lost the diamond that should be in it. We have searched the house and the moms I babysit for both searched through the bags their kids' bring each day, but there has been no sign of it.
This is the first time I have ever lost something so valuable, either in terms of dollars or sentiment. This is, after all, my engagement ring which I have worn almost continually for close to 17 years. As I shook out our sheets and felt all inside the chair where I sat before bed on Wednesday night, I felt sick about it being gone. I teared up whenever I thought about it maybe being gone for good. Then, as I searched through my sewing stuff that I had been using Wednesday evening, I thought of the parables Jesus told about the lost sheep and, especially, about the lost coin.
"Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”" (Luke 15:3-10).
I've read or heard these two stories many times. You probably have too. The emphasis is always on the rejoicing that happens in heaven over one sinner who repents, and certainly that is important. No matter what you have done, God will always welcome you and celebrate your decision to accept Jesus as your Savior.
But I haven't found my diamond yet. I am still like the woman who lit a lamp and is sweeping the house, searching carefully for her coin. Although in my case, I'm gently shaking out each article of clothing that needs to be folded, hoping my diamond fell into the pile of laundry somehow, or shaking out Nathan's comforter because I remember rearranging it over him when I tucked him into bed Wednesday night. I'm not at the rejoicing part of the story, and it has made me wonder how God feels about all those people who haven't accepted Jesus yet, all those people who are still lost. Does He get the divine equivalent of the sick feeling I had Thursday morning?
It's there in the stories after all. He tells of the shepherd leaving 99 sheep to go searching for the one that wandered off, and about the woman scouring her house for the coin. The parables may not describe much emotion, but you can imagine the frantic searching in both stories, which hints at God's feelings about each person who has not yet accepted Jesus.
And Jesus said He "came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus left Heaven to come to earth as a baby dependent on a young woman for His every need, He grew up and then offered Himself as the only possible sacrifice to redeem all of humanity and restore our relationship with God. He gave up so much to come looking for us! The time I spent searching the house for my diamond can't even come close to that. Which makes sense, of course. As valuable as a diamond may be, God considers each and every person to be so valuable there is nothing He wouldn't pay to get us back. He considers us to be worthy of the sacrifice of His Son.
No matter how worthless you may feel, or how certain you are that God would never want you, Jesus tells us differently. When we were lost, He gave up everything to come find us and when we come to Him all of heaven rejoices at our salvation.
March 18, 2015
WIP Wednesday
I'm working on a couple of things this week, one of which is this rather neglected Psalm 19 mini quilt. I finished the embroidery months ago, then let it just sit and wait...and wait...and wait. So a couple of weeks ago I pulled it out again and added the borders. I may end up trimming the black border a little - I think it's wider than I would like.
Now I am getting the flowers ready to fuse in place and then finish with a little hand stitching.
You can see my first Psalm 19 mini quilt here and it is for sale in my Etsy shop.
I don't have many Kona cotton colours yet, but I'd like to be able to keep track of which ones I do have. I figure knowing what the names are for these colours will make it easier should I want to reorder one of them in the future. So I made my DIY version of colour swatches yesterday by snipping a little piece off each fat quarter, gluing it onto a piece of card stock and writing the name on the back.
We had another blizzard Monday evening into Tuesday. When I opened the basement door Tuesday morning I discovered a drift that was higher than Nathan!
We are under a blizzard warning again tonight, with a possible 30+cm more snow before all is said and done. Hopefully that will be the last of it. I'm a little jealous of all the flower pictures I've been seeing on IG from people living in more southerly climates. Our ground is buried under several feet of snow, so it will be a while yet before there are any flowers around here, unless they're made of fabric!
I don't have many Kona cotton colours yet, but I'd like to be able to keep track of which ones I do have. I figure knowing what the names are for these colours will make it easier should I want to reorder one of them in the future. So I made my DIY version of colour swatches yesterday by snipping a little piece off each fat quarter, gluing it onto a piece of card stock and writing the name on the back.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)