Do Overs and Shiny-ness of this World

Praise God!

 

As long as He gives us breath, we have a chance to serve Him!

 

No matter how much we've messed up.

 

No matter how far we ran away from God.

 

No matter how deep the pit of sin we wallow in.

 

If we repent, turn away from our sin and follow Him, He will use us.

 

Maybe not today.

Maybe not next week.

Maybe not next year.

 

But eventually, as we obey Him, trust His plan and wait on Him, He will use us for His glory and our good.

 

Read on to learn about Mark.

 

And, start again, today....follow Jesus, obey Him and love Him with all your thoughts, words, deeds and actions.

 

All week I've been thinking about that raccoon Frank talked about on Sunday. 

 

He related an account of a trapper from long ago. He said that raccoons were curious animals, and he described a proven method for catching them that took advantage of their tendency to investigate everything. The trapper would find a log that had fallen across a stream and bore a hole eight inches deep into it. Then he pounded small, sharp nails around the edge of the hole at a downward angle, so that a circular opening was created just large enough to allow the entry of the raccoon's hand. A shiny object was dropped into the bottom of the hole - usually a piece of tin foil - and the trapper left until the next day.

The raccoon would walk across the log to cross the stream and, ever curious, would peak inside the hole looking for grubs or other source of food. Seeing the bright object, he would immediately reach through the circular opening created by the nails to grab the object. Upon pulling back his hand, however, he would discover that with his fist doubled up, his hand was much too large to get past the nails, which were now digging into his skin as he pulled against them. The harder he pulled, the more it hurt. The next day, the raccoon would still be there, because he would have stubbornly refused to let go of the foil, and the trapper would have his prize.

As we picture this scene in our minds - the trapper approaching the frantic raccoon with raised club in his hand - we almost want to cry out, "Let go! Just let go, and you'll be free!" What a simple solution to a literally deadly problem.

What shiny things are you holding on to?

 

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Be a Mark Posted: 29 Oct 2009 02:19 PM PDT "My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)" (Colossians 4:10) In dressing up for school parties today, my preschooler has already been a football player and Spider-Man. I wish it was that easy to become like the best of the Jesus-followers. But that takes commitment, preparation and, well, beginning. Today's role-model (from Paul's entourage of ministry teammates listed in Colossians 4) is a guy called Mark, tagged forever as "Barnabas's cousin." In fact, Mark is the guy who contributed to splitting up the dynamic missionary duo of Paul and Barnabas. Mark went AWOL after joining them on a missionary journey, leaving the pair in the lurch. When it came time for the next trip, Paul wouldn't take him. Barnabas wouldn't leave him. So the friends went two different directions. Here, though, we see that later on Mark has been there for Paul in prison -- and Paul may even be sending Mark on a mission to the Colossians. He earned his way back on the team by starting again and being faithful to following Christ. Mark shows us that one big failure doesn't have to be the end our service to the Lord; we can start again. We must start again. Think: Have you avoided serving Christ on a deeper level because you've failed in some obvious or painful way? Do you feel disqualified to use your life up for Jesus? What would keep you from starting again to humbly serve God in a new way? Pray: If you've sidelined yourself from service to Christ because of a big failure in your life, ask God to give you the courage to start serving again. If you haven't been sidelined, think of someone who has and pray for that person today. Do: Read about the breakup of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15:36-41 and then check out what else Paul says about Mark later on in 2 Timothy 4:11.

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Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/