I was thinking back to mid-March when life as we knew it suddenly changed. One of the things that changed for me was church buildings being closed. I have been leading a group called Life Hurts God Heals for many years. We suddenly could not meet! I decided that I should write a devotion and send it out to those whose email address I had. I chose to send a new one out every day (Monday thru Friday with online worship over the weekend). The email list grew for many reasons to include 80+ every day. We then decided to put them online along with Pastor Harris’ devotions. There are about 70 of my devotions on this page.
Well, our Life Hurts God Heals group has been meeting outside the church in the parking lot for about a month now and will be moving back into the church’s gathering room this week. You are welcome to join us Tuesday night 7:00-8:30.
With all of that being said…I will be taking a break from writing new devotions. Now that I am partially retired, my wife and I do devotions together most days. I am a great fan of devotions that give God’s Word and then apply it to our daily blessings, as well as our daily struggles. We use 5 different devotional books. When we get to the end of the book, we start over again, re-reading them. We find that they seem fresh and hit us in different ways…because we are in a different place than when we read them the first time.
My desire is for you to go to royred.org click on resources and re-read (or perhaps read for the first time) my devotions starting with my March 23rd one. Read one per day then move on to the next day. As you read, ask God to apply the verses and concepts to where you are in life. How Jesus Loves you…and how Jesus wants you to reach out to others.
My desire is that you worship each week. Royal Redeemer is back to having on-site worship…as well as live-streamed worship.
My offer is to talk with you…or meet with you if you have questions or issues. Call me at 440-237-7958 ext.118.
Join us Tuesday at 7:00.
One more devotional thought for you!
Are you a thermometer Christian or a Thermostat Christian?
Let’s define the 2 words. I heard it explained this way.
“A thermometer reflects the temperature of the environment. It simply reacts to what’s happening around it. If the temperature is hot, it tells you so. If it’s cold, the thermometer reflects that reality as well. It’s a dumb instrument in the sense it doesn’t contain intelligent, multipurpose functionality. It has one purpose and one purpose only.”
Paul urges us to not be thermometer Christians. Romans 12:2…Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
“A thermostat, on the other hand, regulates the environment. It sets the desired temperature of the room and actively works to maintain it within a given range. If the temperature rises above the goal, the thermostat signals the air conditioner to crank up and cool the room down. If the temperature falls below the goal, the thermostat causes the heater to turn on in order to warm the room up. The thermostat is intelligent in the sense it’s always monitoring the environment, and if the temperature gets too hot or cold, it decides what to do to correct the situation.”
Jesus prayed that His disciples would be in the world, but not of the world, that they would be thermostats, not thermometers. Matthew 5:13-15…“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Do not merely reflect the temperature of your environment. Instead, set the temperature.
Our world is far from God’s plan and desire! Don’t join in and compromise. Be who God created you to be…accomplish what He created you to accomplish.
How does that all work in real life? Well we took off our winter gloves and mittens a few months ago…and exchanged them for corona-free surgical gloves! Gloves can do all sorts of things…pick up a magazine…wave hello…scratch your head…shake a hand…protect us from germs. And yet…the glove can not really do anything! It just lies there on the shelf. You can yell at it, get mad at it, give it the evil eye…but it will do nothing without a hand in the glove!
It’s the same way with you. You are helpless to achieve anything unless God is in you!!!
And also, remember that by itself, a thermostat does not do the heating or cooling either! It identifies the need for more heat or cooling and initiates a change to happen….thru the furnace / air conditioner.
God wants you to be the thermostat (the light and the salt) and let the Holy Spirit cause the change! He wants you to let Him into your life (the glove so to speak) so He can accomplish much thru you.
Invite Him into your life… let Him work through you.
Where has God placed you to be a thermostat.