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Category Archives: Devotion
I’m Bored!
I’m bored! It isn’t often that I’m able to take two days off in a row, but this week everything fell into place and I am off work today and tomorrow. The problem is I AM BORED! I have already completed my list of things to do today. I’ve finished the laundry, taken out the trash, paid the bills, balanced our accounts, completed my bible study, and had my prayer time. It is only noon and I just don’t know what to do next.
There are several things I would like to do, but I just can’t seem to get excited about them. I don’t feel like watching television, Netflix, or renting a movie. If the sun would come out I might consider golfing. I could get online and check out the posted Black Friday sales, but I like going first thing Thanksgiving morning to buy a paper, looking through the deals, and then drawing up a plan of how to put my head into the mouth of the retail lion that is Black Friday! I could also go over to the mall and try to get my Christmas shopping done early; however, my son’s list is anemic at best and I don’t want to have to make two trips, so I’ll just wait until later. I just don’t have anything to do, so I AM BORED!
So, in my boredom I began to think about what it must have been like a hundred years ago when you worked from dark to dark. You had to get up before the sun, get the fire going in the house, go out and feed the animals, milk the cows, collect the eggs, get the horses ready for working in the field, and then you could sit down and enjoy a quick breakfast. After breakfast you worked out in the field until someone brought you lunch. After your short lunch-break you would get back to work until dusk. Then you had to get the animals back into the barn, feed them, and make sure they would stay warm over night. Then you had to collect enough firewood to get you through the cold winter night, fill the lantern so you could see in the morning, and then sit down for a quick dinner. Following dinner you would spend some time with the family. Then finally it was time for bed to get a few hours sleep in preparation for another day of what you just did today, yesterday, and everyday before that!
I wonder what it was like to live that type of life? What was it like to live life knowing your survival meant doing the same thing every day? That’s when it hit me, “I know exactly what it was like.” It was SATISFYING! Without a doubt it was hard work, but to sit down at night and see the work you had completed with your hands had to be satisfying. Think about it, a creative God made us; thus it only stands to reason that we are creative beings. We find satisfaction in completing things. They may not always be easy or even what we want to do, but there is great satisfaction in marking something off your to do list. Regardless of whether you point to a white board, type on a computer, farm, or run a machine all day it is satisfying to know that you made a difference.
I spend way too much time at work each week for it to only be something I do so that I can have money to spend on my 24-48 hour weekend of “Me Time!” Life as a whole should be satisfying from Sunday through Saturday. Looking back each evening at the work of our hands should bring a smile to our face and sense of accomplishment. “Look what I was able to do today!”
It may not be working a farm, it may not have anything to do with our surviving another day, but today I finished several things that will ensure my wife has plenty of free time tomorrow to do what she wants. And, for better or worse, I wrote this post. It’s not long, it’s not deep, but it is something to think about. And that is SATISFYING!
So, what have you done today that has brought a little smile of satisfaction to your face?
No Greater Love
A crippled girl, living in the slums, underwent an operation that might enable her to walk again. When the operation was over, she needed a blood transfusion; her fourteen-year-old brother, a tough boy of the streets, volunteered. He was taken to the hospital, to the bedside of his crippled sister. He stared in tight-lipped silence while the vein in his arm was opened so that the blood might flow into the body of his unconscious sister. When it was over, the doctor put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and told him that he was very brave. The boy did not comprehend; he had not understood the nature of a transfusion. After a moment, he looked up and said, “Doc, how long will it be before I croak?” As far as the boy was concerned he had been dying; slowly and willingly, he had stoically watched the blood flow—drop by drop, expecting his sister’s life to mean his own death.
There, indeed, is the highest in human love. If this human love is to be seen in it highest degree, it will be through the words of Christ, who said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13).
Jesus willing let His life slowly fade away because He knew His death was the only way for us to have life!
Source: Timeless Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching by Donald Grey Barnhouse
It is More Blessed to Give than to Receive!
Since 2009 Living Oaks Baptist Church has been working with McAuliffe Elementary School for their meet the teacher night. We provide a snack supper and drinks for the students, teachers, and parents. We also donate bicycles, skateboards, razor scooters, footballs, basketballs, and soccer balls as door prizes for the kids that show up and register. We have also been able to provide every student in the school with a brand new backpack to start the new year. It is always a wonderful night at the school and they are so kind to allow us to work with them.
I share this because I just received several hand-made “Thank You” cards from the students. They are so appreciative that someone would generously give them a special gift. As a church we decided years ago that we wanted to give ourselves away and expect nothing in return. That is how we started this ministry at McAuliffe. Little did I know how much I would personally get from giving without expecting anything in return. But today when I read through the children’s beautiful expressions of gratitude I understood more clearly what Jesus meant when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
The Limits of Liberty
Have you ever wonder if certain activities, hobbies, or habits are ok for you as a Christian. You want to glorify God in everything you do, but it seems there are some things not covered in the Bible. So, you ask yourself, “Does this glorify God?”
In “The Limits of our Liberty” John MacArthur gives us several key principles to help answer this question.
MacArthur writes:
Scripture is clear and understandable, but it’s not exhaustive. Throughout the history of the church, believers have faced countless issues that God’s Word is silent about. While the Old Testament law provided detailed instructions and restrictions for most areas of life, believers today are not bound by God’s covenant with Israel—we’ve been set free in Christ. But how do we know what to do with our freedom?
In my lifetime alone, the church has wrestled with a wide variety of practical questions about how Christians ought to live. Should believers dance? Should they smoke or drink? Should men and women go swimming together? Should women wear makeup? Should people work on Sundays? Should women work at all? Should Christians attend movies or concerts? Should they watch TV? Should they send their children to public schools, or even private schools? Should Christians gamble? And should they tattoo their bodies?
Regardless of the issue, believers must not mistake Scripture’s silence as God’s indifference. The Bible might not specifically mention movies, TV, beer, or many of the other issues facing us today. But it does give plenty of principles to help us make good, God-honoring choices when it comes to the gray areas of life.
Is It Necessary?
When faced with one of life’s many gray areas, one of the ways to determine what you should do is to ask yourself, Do I need this? Is this thing—whether it’s an object, hobby, activity, or entertainment—a benefit to me, or is it excess baggage?
Hebrews 12:1 gives believers clear instructions to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The Greek word for encumbrance basically means bulk, and it can be anything that distracts your focus or your energy from the task at hand. As God’s people we are to run the race He’s set before us with excellence. We can’t do that if we’re weighed down with worldly pursuits and distractions.
Is It Profitable?
In 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul writes, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.” Many believers have used the first half of Paul’s statement as license for the exercise of their liberty, but they miss his real point.
The question should never be What am I allowed to do?, but What is profitable for me to do? Whenever faced with a question of Christian liberty, every believer needs to ask himself if engaging in that activity is going to build him up to be a better servant of the Lord. Will it increase his effectiveness as a believer? If the answer isn’t yes, then why would you do it?
Is It Christlike?
A third principle helps us take a broad look at how to exercise our liberty. First John 2:6 says, “The one who says he abides in [Christ] ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” As believers, we know our lives are supposed to emulate Jesus—including how we live in life’s gray areas.
When it comes to making tough decisions about how to exercise your freedom, it’s always helpful to ask yourself, Is this what Christ would do? An honest examination of the issue from that perspective should push aside any personal desires and biases, and help you make God-honoring decisions that reflect the person and work of Christ in every facet of your life.
Is It a Good Testimony?
Another important question to ask yourself is How will this enhance my testimony? Colossians 4:5 says, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.” In other words, believers need to wisely consider how they behave, and how their behavior impacts their testimonies. How we live—particularly in the gray areas—shapes how the world evaluates us, our faith, and ultimately, our Savior. Is your behavior strengthening your testimony to the outside world? Does your lifestyle adorn the gospel, or is it a hindrance to it?
Is It Edifying?
And it’s not just a question of how the exercise of your liberty impacts others—you also need to consider what impact it will have on you. You need to regularly ask yourself, Will this build me up? In 1 Corinthians 10:23, Paul expands on his earlier exhortation with these words: “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.” Each of us needs to faithfully ask ourselves if each activity, entertainment, hobby, or diversion will have a positive or negative effect on our spiritual growth. An honest evaluation of what we might gain—as well as what we might lose—ought to accompany all of our gray-area decisions.
Is It Glorifying to God?
Finally, we need to regularly ask ourselves, Will doing this glorify Christ? In a way, the principle of exaltation encompasses all the others, drilling down to the most basic element of Christian life. Believers have been set aside to glorify God and worship Him forever. But those activities aren’t reserved just for our eternity in heaven—they ought to describe the pattern of our daily lives. This life isn’t “our time” to do whatever we like. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
That well-known verse comes from a landmark passage in 1 Corinthians—one that I want to examine with you in greater detail over the next few days. In it, Paul explains the limits of our liberty in Christ, and how it is to be used and governed for our sake, as well as others. His practical instructions are applicable and helpful for every believer, and timely for the church today.
Bob Pittenger 