May

31

Stander or Runner?

By Jan Ross | 1 Comment


Running a cross-county race is a grueling task. Our oldest son, Glen, was a state record-holding cross-country runner in his teen years.  It was so exciting to see young people line up and take off running as fast as they could, then slow down to a steady pace to maintain their endurance, and then finally sprint to the finish line with every ounce of energy they could muster up.  I remember yelling across the field at him:  “You can do it, Glen!  No Pain…No Gain!”

Unless you run the race yourself, you don’t benefit from the exercise, the commitment to painstaking practice, the feeling of being totally spent, the exhilarating fresh air, the crowd’s cheers, and at last, the welcomed finish line. Watching the race only affords you the pleasure of cheering for the racers and welcoming them when they finish their course, but it does not benefit you personally.

Which are you?  Are you a runner?  Or, are you a spectator?

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1)

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to RUN that race, not to stand on the sidelines and cheer on all those who have gone before us or those we know who are running now. He encourages us to look at those who have gone before us and use them as an example.  They didn’t stop their race but gave their all in pursuit of the Love of God.

Are you willing to give your all, to lay aside every sin that holds you back?  Are you running the race or are you a spectator simply standing on the sidelines watching others?  The runner wins the trophy; the spectator walks away with nothing other than a memory of watching a good race run by others.

It’s time to get in the race pursuing God with every fiber of our being.  Standing on the sidelines and cheering on those who have gone before us may be enjoyable and have a “feel-good” feeling about it, but there’s no hope of finishing the course or winning the race unless we actually run.  And, in order to run this race we must lay aside every weight of sin that holds us down.  We have to flee from sin, cast off the heavy weights, lay down our burdens, and run the race that’s set before us, remembering that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Exchange the weights of this world and become a yokefellow with Christ.  Run the race set before you.  Serve God. Pursue Him. Worship Him.  And, do it with all that is within you.

Father, there are times I find myself on the sidelines with the “feel-good” feeling knowing that those that have gone before us have run a good race and won.  But I know I should be running, pursuing You against all odds, allowing my flesh to endure the pain in order to win the prize. Help me to cast down the weights that hold me back, to flee from sin, and to lay down the burdens of this world so I run this race until I’m totally spent, and then run some more, amen.

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)

© Jan Ross
All Rights Reserved

May

28

Leavened Life

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:33

Have you ever made homemade bread? My father used to, the old fashion way before bread makers were invented.  He always used yeast – the same brand each time because he trusted it to be the best. It had it’s special place in the fridge on the butter shelf in the door, always handy, waiting to be used in the next batch whenever Dad decided it was time to bake some more bread.  Then, the day would come. Maybe a rainy Saturday.  I remember the excitement throughout the house would build as he puttered around the kitchen flouring pans, mixing, kneading, letting the dough rise, kneading it again.  Sometimes he’d let us kids help with the menial stuff, but mostly he did it all - he was the master baker. It seemed as if it took forever, but eventually the house would be filled with that mouthwatering aroma. I can still taste that hot, fresh out of the oven bread with a pat of melting butter in the back of my mouth. Heavenly.

Yeast is leaven. It is what makes the bread rise. Actually, it is a mold. We may think of mold as a bad thing.  But under the right circumstances, and in the right use, it can produce tasty results.  It can become a little bit of Heaven here on earth given to us by our Lord. It can turn into His blessings, though sometimes they are tucked away waiting for just the right time, like that yeast in the fridge door.

Even then, while the Master is working in our lives, we can’t see that blessing to it’s fullest. It seems to take forever for Him to turn it into something- an answered prayer, a special moment of renewed faith, a ray of hope.  Maybe He let’s us help in making it come to fruition, but mostly He is the one in charge of the process. And we must wait. Wait for the leaven to do it’s work. Wait for that sweet, tantalizing aroma of grace, with a pat of mercy.

May

28

Rose & Lily

By Jan Ross | Comments Off


The Rose of Sharon and Lily of the Valleys, named to remind us of the beauty and sweetness we find in His relationship with Jesus. The rose, fragrance sweeter than honey, chief of flowers. The lily, preferred by our Christ as clothing even above that of Solomon in all his glory.

Sharon is probably where the best roses grew and in most plenty; some have termed it the “rose of the field” depicting the gospel of salvation for all.  A common salvation, that whosoever will may come and gather the rose-buds of privileges, comforts, sweetness, fragrance, that grow in the covenant of grace.

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”   (Song of Solomon 2:1)

He is not a show rose, not one to be locked up in a garden, but one in whom all may come and find comfort.

He is a lily for the whiteness, and a lily of the valleys for sweetness. For when we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, His fragrance will linger and lead us to His protection, comfort and strength.
He is the lily of the valleys, or low places, in His humiliation and “crushing” experienced on the cross of Calvary.

As you walk through your valleys (notice the plural—we’re promised there will be more than one), take heed of His fragrance.  It will be there.

As you hit the low points in your life, remember that He is a rose that has been bruised and crushed and His fragrance is become sweeter and stronger. Look for Him there also.

In the darkest of days and the longest of nights, you will find Him with you there as well.

The fragrance of His love will lead you through and remind you that He is in your midst regardless where you are.

He loves you, He yearns for you, He’s bidding you to come into His chamber where He can lavish His love upon you … from now throughout eternity.

Precious Lord, I am overwhelmed at the thought of your awesome love toward me.  I can almost hear You say, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away” (Song of Solomon 2:10).  Lord, I will follow you wherever You lead. I will respond to Your passion for me with an ever-growing passion for You. Lord, I love you and I will stop and seek out Your sweet fragrance in the flourishing fields as well as in the dark valleys. And in whatever circumstance or situation I find myself, I will know beyond a shadow of doubt that You, my precious Lord, have not left me.  Rather, You are with me alway, even unto the end of the world (ref. Matthew 28:20). Amen!

“I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.  His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.” (Hosea 14:5-6)

© Jan Ross
All Rights Reserved

May

27

It’s All Good

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,  for it is made holy by the word of  God and prayer.  I Timothy4:4-5

Paul may have been talking about food restrictions in this passage and how they were not necessary for salvation.  His churches battled whether to uphold the Hebrew food restrictions in Leviticus and whether or not to eat foods offered to the Graeco-Roman gods.  But, I see a deeper wisdom in his words to Timothy.

Everything created by God is good. It is made holy through prayer and His Word.  When God created the heavens and the earth, he claimed by Word that it was good. We are to receive everything with thanksgiving, knowing from whence it comes.  Everything.  That’s a tall order to fill, isn’t it?  How can we possibly do that when there is so much evil in the world?  This isn’t Paradise down here. Mankind is not good. We are all sinners and we continue to sin against each other and against God.

The key is to give it all to God through prayer. Put every situation, every joy, every hurt and every blessing back in His hands.  God makes good because God is good. It is His nature.  Through prayer, we can see good come even from evil.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

Evil spelled backwards is live. Live in Christ, and let Him live in you and whatever evil crosses your path, have faith that even that can be turned to good through prayer.  Turning evil around.  Sounds simple, but it isn’t easy.  It can only be done through Him. He is in the miracle business, one act at a time.

May

26

Covered

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.  Proverbs 17:9

What should you do when someone offends you? Over and over Scripture tells us to forgive and move on.

The Lord’s Prayer says “forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us.”

I Peter 4:8 states: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

Jesus, when asked how often we should forgive, said “Seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22)

This may indeed be the hardest thing of all to do. To forgive someone, especially if that person is unrepentant,  goes against our grain, doesn’t it? Where is the justice in that? Shouldn’t they be taught a lesson?  If we keep forgiving, won’t that encourage them to keep on offending us, walking all over us?  In a word- No.

There is a difference in forgiveness and forgetting.  Forgiving is still loving the person even though you don’t like what they are doing.  But until they repent and change their ways, one should not forget. Otherwise, how could you cover them also in prayer?  To forgive opens the door for you to pray for them, and for yourself as the offended, that God will justly intervene, rectify the offense and heal the wounds.

Forgiving convicts, not condones.  It covers the offense and gives the person a second chance, but that lays the responsibility back on the person  who has offended you to change his or her ways.  It sharpens their conscience whether they want to admit it or not. By covering over their sin with the blanket of love, you have exposed their soul.

“In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”  Proverbs 25:22

The reward? Less pain, more love. So cover all with love – by covering it all in prayer. Then healing can begin, for you and perhaps for them as well.

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