BELIEVE: week nineteen: Giving My Resources

“Since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” 2 Corinthians 8:7

History tells us that during the Middle Ages, whenever a soldier was baptized, he would leave his right hand extended above the water. Why? This was the hand that he carried his sword in and he was not offering it up to God. Today we might see a person with that same hand extended above the water but with a wallet in it.

Paul challenged the Corinthian believers to drop that hand with the wallet into the water and excel in the “grace of giving.” Notice he didn’t say the “obligation of giving.” We often miss this. In the opening words of 1 Corinthians Paul wrote, “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus” (1:4, emphasis added). Aren’t you glad that when Jesus was baptized, his whole body went down into the water? Aren’t you glad his whole body went on the cross?

So grab your wallet and baptize it along with the rest of you, so you can excel in offering the same kind of grace Christ offered to you.

"I give my resources to fulfill God's purposes."

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee, pgs. 41-42.]

BELIEVE: week eighteen: Offering My Time

“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

The clock is no respecter of persons. Even single humans who has ever lived on the earth has exactly 168 hours a week. And most of us find that after spending time sleeping, working, eating, and commuting, there just isn’t much left over. So when someone requests a piece of your time, you can feel tension in your gut.

God, however, doesn’t want just a piece of your time; he wants it all. Yikes! Now, he is not asking you to go without sleep, quit your job, or stop eating. He is asking for a total shift in attitude. As you do the things you need to do, want to do, and are compelled to do because of your faith, offer it up to God in a way that pleases him.

You see, the time God wants to offer him doesn’t have to be spent only sitting in church or serving in a ministry. If you are peeling a potato, peel it in excellence for God. If you are holding a baby, hold that baby for God, offering the child love and the warmth of a caring heart. If you run into a friend in the store, offer that conversation up to God and see what a difference it might make.

What are you going to do next? Offer it up to God.

"I offer my time to fulfill God's Purposes."

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Roxanne Frazee, pgs. 39-40.]

BELIEVE: week ten: Eternity

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“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:1-2)

After twenty-two years of living in Texas, we were moving. Leaving behind our life troubled our hearts. We purchased a beautiful little bungalow in Chicago with one problem: there was no room large enough for all of us to hang out. Determined to prepare the house for our family, Randy headed up to renovate the basement to create our much-desired family room.

As he left, I wanted to go with him, but it was more strategic for me to stay behind and finish handling all the details to ensure a smooth transition. My husband would be back to take us home, to the place he was preparing for our family.

When Jesus told his disciples he was leaving, they desperately wanted to go too. But strategically he needed to leave them behind to share the gospel with others to build his kingdom. So he taught them how their hearts could be comforted while he was gone: by believing his promise to return.

Is your heart troubled by your circumstances? Comfort yourself with Jesus’ promise to return and to take all of us who believe in him home, to the place he has prepared for us.

“I believe there is a heaven and hell and that Jesus will return to judge all people and to establish his eternal kingdom.”

[Excerpt from “Believe: 31-Day Devotional” by Randy & Rozanne Frazee]

BELIEVE: week five: Identity In Christ

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Believe: Devos: Week Five: Identity In Christ

“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” ~ John 1:12

The words “It’s a boy!” at the birth of our second child brought Roxanne and me tremendous joy. We already had a girl; now we had a boy. Life was perfect—until we noticed that our baby boy was missing his left hand and forearm. Immediately questions flashed through our minds. Sports? How would the kindergarteners treat him? Where would his wedding ring go? Never mind marriage; what girl would love him with so many men out there with two hands? And the most alarming question: Would we love him?

Nurses swaddled our little David and laid him in our arms. And in that moment our greatest fear evaporated. We loved him; there was nothing he had to do to earn our love. He was our son.

Our actions sometimes make us feel that God could never love us, as if there were anything we could do to earn God’s love. God loves us not because of anything we have done, but because of what he did. He loves us because of who we are, his children.

Today David is a successful attorney and has a beautiful wife who loves him dearly. He played sports better than most kids with two hands! While that brings us great joy, it isn’t why we love hi. We love him because he’s our son.

God feels the same about you!

“I believe I am significant because of my position as a child of God.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Rozanne Frazee, pgs. 13-14.]

BELIEVE: week four: THE BIBLE

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“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Remember the first time you walked outside in the winter as a child and you saw your breath? Perhaps you leaned too close to a window and saw moisture appear as you exhaled. The oxygen we breathe in becomes carbon dioxide in our lungs. These gases are both invisible, but as we exhale, the carbon dioxide mixes with water vapor, and because cold air has less water vapor than the warm air from our lungs, it produces fog.

But what happens when God exhales? The word for “God-breathed” in 2 Timothy is theophneustos, and it gives us a clue. Theo means “God”; pneustos means “spirit” or “breath.” The first time we see God exhaling is in Genesis when he is breathing life into the nostrils of Adam. In 2 Timothy we again see him breathing out, but instead of fog, God’s Spirit or breath becomes words on the tips of men’s pens. Those words bring life to all who study them.

Next time you see your breath on a cold day, remember God exhaled and created life-sustaining words to live by. We call it the Bible.

“I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God that guides my beliefs and actions.”

[Excerpt from Believe: 31-Day Devotional by Randy & Rozanne Frazee, pgs. 11-12.]