GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 MSG)

Giggling as he played on the floor with his Aunt Merilee, my young son’s eyes danced with pleasure. Christopher’s laughter was so captivating that Merilee leaned into his face and said with a grin, “I’m going to steal your giggles!”

Without warning, Christopher grabbed Merilee in a baby bear hug and planted a playful kiss on her cheek. Merilee fell back and – guess what – she giggled.

And then she giggled some more.

Finally she said, “Oh, Christopher! I was going to steal your giggles, and you gave them to me instead.”

A lesson in life from a two-year-old! So often we walk through life thinking we have to steal or earn or grab or protect the objects that we think will bring us an abundant life of joy.

We listen to worldly voices that urge, “Go for the gusto. You only live once. Grab what you can get.”

Yet, from a simple child we can learn that true joy is not taken — It’s given.

Today, instead of stealing giggles, give them away and see how many more come back to you.

What does this mean?

• You bring pleasure – You were made to be a source of pleasure and joy – to God and to others.
• Be a joy-dispenser – Laugh loudly and as often as you can.  Smile at a stranger. Bless people with your joy. If you don’t have joy, then ask God to guide your heart toward true joy, found only in Christ.
• Thank God – Our Father delights in our joy and loves our laughter. Ask him to increase your joy that you may share it with others.
• Point others to Jesus-joy – “By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 MSG)

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen. The things which are seen are temporal and the things which are not seen are eternal. 1 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

When life begins to squeeze us, what we truly believe is revealed through our attitudes and actions. And, if the truth be told, most of us live by sight more than by the hope and certainty of our faith.

With the patience of Job, Jesus tells us again and again that we have to look past the things we see into the eternal reality of the unseen (Okay, okay … Where do you think Job got such Jesus-like patience?)

When people approached Jesus to tell him about their circumstances, he’d often say something like, “You’re looking for a drink of water, but look past your circumstances because I’m the living water. I can quench your thirst for eternity, not just in this moment. Can you see it?” Or, “You want to see bread right now, but I want you to see that I am the living bread. I can feed you for this one meal, but – Look! – I can feed you for all eternity. Can you see it?”

In one of those grand, mysterious paradoxes, Jesus is saying we should see the unseen – and the way to do that is to stay intimate with him and to let the Holy Spirit direct our sight, our physical eyes and our spiritual eyes.

When we believe that reality is confined to only what we see, we become trapped into thinking the only truth is what we see. We become prisoners to our perceptions, no longer freedom fighters walking in faith.

Time and time again we see Jesus moving the focus from the seen to the unseen. He knew that for those who walk by faith, appearances are never the ultimate reality.

Are there parts of your life that have you discouraged or depressed, that have you wondering where God is?  He’s tapping you on the shoulder, reminding you to look up beyond the horizon into eternity.

So what does this mean?

• Reality extends beyond what you can see – God, Jesus, and heaven are reality, even if they are unseen for now. The things we see are temporary; the things we do not see are eternal. (1 Corinthians 4:18 NIV)
• Don’t lose heart – Even though things may appear bad on the surface, God is working it all out for good (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11). Jesus is the author, and he knows how the story ends. So, fix your eyes on the unseen, and not solely on what is seen. (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV)

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2, NIV)

When we see in another the hurt beneath the anger, or the reason behind the behavior, we’re more likely to make allowance for each other’s faults (see Ephesians 4:2, NLT).

Developing this patience is part of the lesson plan at the school of Christ, which is why God created each of us with different shapes, interests, and personalities. We each have different backgrounds, and we’re each at a different place in our journey with Jesus.

Practicing at patience teaches us to keep looking on the things above, allowing us to see how God works in the most difficult of circumstances, or when facing the most difficult of people. In patience we learn diversity is a strength and not a weakness.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with – even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.” (Romans 14:1, MSG)

What does this mean?

• Practice at being patient – Most people can muster patience when it’s convenient; the real test comes when the day is slipping away or when you’re faced with someone making the same mistake for the third time in a week.
• Patience often comes at significant cost – It requires you set aside your agenda and yield your rights in order to welcome other with open arms.
• Ask yourself these questions:
  • How can I better understand the people who bring out my impatience?
  • What does my impatience say about my priorities?
  • In what ways do people have to be patient with me?
  • Do I give the same amount of grace to others as I expect them to give me?

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

For the sake of discussion, let’s assume there’s a long, thin line threaded across reality. This line divides what we can see from what we cannot see; it divides the temporary from the eternal.

In essence, Paul, valedictorian in his class at the school of Christ, says we should think upon the things above the line and not on the things below the line.

With our minds set above this line, we live as if there is more to reality than the things we see with our eyes; we live as if there are things of eternal significance; we live with an eye toward the things of a Jesus-life.

When our focus moves below this line, we begin living as if the only things that are real and true are those things we can see; we live as if the things of life have no eternal significance; we live with an eye on many things that are counter to the Jesus-life within us.

Shoved by our circumstances, we tend to “shuffle along, eyes to the ground.” (Colossians 3:2, MSG) To echo Eugene Peterson (Romans 12:2, MSG), we fit into our culture without even thinking, when our thinking should be set on the things above.

This doesn’t mean we deny what we see or pretend we’re always in a ‘Don’t worry; Be happy’ world; nevertheless, but we’re to intentionally set our minds on the things above, allowing the Holy Spirit to supply us with the mind of Christ.

What does this mean?

• Put life in perspective – Ask God, “Am I seeing this situation through your eyes, or my own?” Eugene Peterson paraphrases Colossians 3:2 (MSG) this way: “Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.”
• When you become discouraged – Realize that what you see is not all of reality, and what you feel is not an indication of the truth. Ask God to help you see your situation in light of eternity; ask him to help you look past your emotions into the eyes of Truth.

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.