GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

“How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!” Matthew 12:12 (NIV)

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The intruder was in her den when she walked in. She didn’t see him at first, but she could sense something wasn’t right.

And then he ran to attack her. Struggling on the floor, she reached for anything to defend herself and grabbed some scissors she had in a basket full of coupons.

Fearing for her life, she swung the scissors down as hard as she possibly could and killed the man.

And I thought, “Wow, this is a pretty intense episode.”

The reason I’ve told you about it, though, is because of what the homeowner said when the police arrived. They were trying to figure out what the intruder was after, and so one of them asked the woman, “Do you have anything of value in your house?”

What would be your response? Some jewelry? A wide-screen TV? A cutting-edge computer? An irreplaceable family heirloom?

You know what she said when asked if there was anything of value in her house?

“Yes, my nine-year-old daughter.”

“How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!” (Matthew 12:12 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 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Mark 9:5 (NIV)

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When Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the Mount of Transfiguration, he changed right before their eyes, as if filled with a dazzling light whiter than anyone could bleach him (Mark 9:3).

Then, without warning, Elijah and Moses appeared before Jesus. Peter blurted out: “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Mark 9:5 NIV).

In fairness to Peter, the Gospels indicate he was frightened and babbling on, not sure what to say (see Mark 9:6 MSG).

Peter responded no different from the way we so often respond: he wanted to build a monument to honor the greatness of Jesus, Elijah, and Moses, to commemorate the greatness of this place and the greatness of this moment.

But God spoke up and, in a sense, said: “Look, skip the monuments. Skip the building. Here’s what I want you to do: Listen to my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (based on Mark 9:7 NIV).

“It’s the Mary and Martha decision all over again. Focus on the wow; now is not the time for how. Why do you want to pull away from the dazzling glory of my Son to build monuments?

“Besides, Peter, I am building the monuments – and you are one of them. You and James and John and anyone who believes in my Son become a monument of my grace. Just as my Son’s appearance changed from the inside out, I am doing the same to you – pressing the pure, white light of forgiveness and grace through you, so others can see it, and know that I am God” (see Matthew 17:2 MSG).

And Paul picks up the chorus, singing there is “nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him” (2 Corinthians 3:18 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 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)

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Martha was busy for Jesus, and that left her too busy to be with Jesus.

Jesus was sitting in her living room, but she was in her kitchen steaming vegetables for God. Don’t misunderstand; no doubt Jesus would be blessed by a hot meal served by the best cook in Bethany.

But, as Jesus always valued relationships over anything else, his preference might have been a simple cheese and olive pita in exchange for time spent enjoying Martha’s company.

Can you think of Jesus simply relaxing among friends, blessed to be with them?

It’s easy to get so busy for Jesus that we no longer have time for Jesus, and it’s easy to get so busy serving at the church that we don’t have time for people.

The point here is not to give a free pass for sitting on the sidelines; rather, it’s to point you and me toward prioritizing for purpose. First, we seek God (spend time with Jesus), then we do the things he wants us to do.

Our objective-in-Jesus is to serve others in love without distractions, being all there, focused on them.

There is a sacramental element to serving with simply our presence.

There may be things you are doing that God never intended for you to do. Maybe you’re doing them out of guilt, maybe because you thought you had to, or maybe because it seems like everyone else is doing them.

Nudge Mary over and sit down next to her at the feet of Jesus, and find out what’s on his mind. He’ll give you a to-do list of the things he wants you specifically to do because he knows what the Father shaped you to do.

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 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10 (NIV)

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When we think of lies, we’re usually thinking about lies of commission where we specifically make false statements.

The Bible is quite specific that we’re to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully . . .” (Ephesians 4:25 NIV). As Jesus-ones, we don’t want to become like liars who have “lied so well and for so long that they’ve lost their capacity for truth,” (1 Timothy 4:2 MSG).

We’ve taken off the lying “old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:9-10 NIV). Therefore, we live and communicate, knowing we honor one another when we give an honest reply (Proverbs 24:26).

Most of us live in integrity and truth and would never think of telling a blatant lie. But, in my observations, we often live with a lie of commission so subtle it’s easy to dismiss without much of a thought.

This lie is in the exaggeration of what happened; the lie is in an unbalanced, unfair representation of how things happened, or my interpretation of what actually happened.

It’s saying nobody would help me, when, in truth, we only asked one person. It’s saying everybody hated it, when, in truth, two people out of 200 disliked it.

We denigrate others in order to maintain the lie that we’re not in anyway responsible for a conflict or misunderstanding.

Instead of facing the truth about ourselves, or about a situation, prompting us to pluck the plank out of our own eye, we recast the other person to make their sawdust look like a lumber yard.

And that is living a lie.

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 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.