Renee Andrews's Blog - Posts Tagged "devotionals"
Labor Day Devotional by Renee Andrews
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (NIV)
My family has a Labor Day tradition. The entire gang gathers at my parents’ home on the river for jet skiing, swimming, good food…and homemade ice cream. My mother makes the BEST homemade ice cream. This Labor Day we were waiting for the ice cream, but the ice cream maker just kept spinning. It went on for what seemed like forever, while we all waited, bowls and spoons in hand, to have our favorite treat. Then my dad remembered that the last time he’d cleaned and rinsed the ice cream container, he accidentally tossed the tiny part in the bottom out (and into the river, no less). That one little part ended up being important and without it, the ice cream took much longer to get firm.
Like that tiny part in the ice cream maker, each part of Christ’s body is important to the livelihood of Christ’s church. We may not feel like our tiny part matters, but in the entire scheme of things, we could be the reason the church doesn’t stand firm. He needs our part.
For me, I sometimes feel I don’t offer anything overly impressive to the growth of the Kingdom. I can speak, but I’m sure not great at it. I can sing, but it’s nothing to write home about. And it took me YEARS before I gathered the courage to pray aloud. But I do have a few things I can do and enjoy doing. I can write and share God’s message with my readers. I can be willing to attribute my good mood to my Good Lord whenever asked why I seem particularly happy. I can also let others know that God will see me through when I’m having hard times.
No, the things I bring to the table do not seem like a whole lot when you look at what Christ has given for me. But that tiny part of the ice cream maker was important to the final product, and my tiny part is important to Christ’s final product too.
Faith Step: Eat a bowl of ice cream today and think about all of the parts that were necessary for that delicious taste, and then thank God that you can be a tiny part in His Kingdom.
~Renee Andrews
Pre-order autographed copies of Mondays with Jesus 2015 for $9.99 (same price the book will sell in stores) with free U.S. shipping and free personalization at http://www.mondayswithjesus.com/
My family has a Labor Day tradition. The entire gang gathers at my parents’ home on the river for jet skiing, swimming, good food…and homemade ice cream. My mother makes the BEST homemade ice cream. This Labor Day we were waiting for the ice cream, but the ice cream maker just kept spinning. It went on for what seemed like forever, while we all waited, bowls and spoons in hand, to have our favorite treat. Then my dad remembered that the last time he’d cleaned and rinsed the ice cream container, he accidentally tossed the tiny part in the bottom out (and into the river, no less). That one little part ended up being important and without it, the ice cream took much longer to get firm.
Like that tiny part in the ice cream maker, each part of Christ’s body is important to the livelihood of Christ’s church. We may not feel like our tiny part matters, but in the entire scheme of things, we could be the reason the church doesn’t stand firm. He needs our part.
For me, I sometimes feel I don’t offer anything overly impressive to the growth of the Kingdom. I can speak, but I’m sure not great at it. I can sing, but it’s nothing to write home about. And it took me YEARS before I gathered the courage to pray aloud. But I do have a few things I can do and enjoy doing. I can write and share God’s message with my readers. I can be willing to attribute my good mood to my Good Lord whenever asked why I seem particularly happy. I can also let others know that God will see me through when I’m having hard times.
No, the things I bring to the table do not seem like a whole lot when you look at what Christ has given for me. But that tiny part of the ice cream maker was important to the final product, and my tiny part is important to Christ’s final product too.
Faith Step: Eat a bowl of ice cream today and think about all of the parts that were necessary for that delicious taste, and then thank God that you can be a tiny part in His Kingdom.
~Renee Andrews
Pre-order autographed copies of Mondays with Jesus 2015 for $9.99 (same price the book will sell in stores) with free U.S. shipping and free personalization at http://www.mondayswithjesus.com/
Christ is the Key
Mondays with Jesus 2017: Devotions to Begin Each Week of the Year“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Hebrews 7:25
Last week, Ariel, my daughter-in-law, had several items to put in her car as she was preparing to leave her house for the day. While Naomi, our nine-month-old granddaughter played just inside the door, Ariel took her purse, the diaper bag and some other items to the car. Then she returned to the house to get her little girl…and realized she’d accidentally locked the door.
She ran to the side door, which has a window, and peered in to see Naomi, crawling around, happy as she could be. Ariel tapped on the window, got her little girl’s attention, and Naomi smiled, clueless mommy couldn’t come in.
With no spare key and her phone still inside the house, Ariel began to panic. She thought about going to a neighbor’s home to use the phone, but she was fairly certain that her neighbors were all at work. Then she thought about attempting to break through the window to get to her little girl. But she wasn’t certain how that would fare either. What if Naomi crawled toward the glass, or if Ariel cut herself badly in the process?
Deciding her best option was to find a neighbor at home, she prayed for help, ran to her car, sat in the driver’s seat and glanced down to see the key that our son, Rene, had left in the cup holder. She began thanking God immediately as she grabbed the key and ran to the door to get to her baby girl.
When Ariel told me the story, I could feel her anxiety. She knew she had to get to Naomi, but she didn’t know how…until she found that key.
Aren’t we like Ariel, when we know what we want, what we need to get to more than anything else, and yet we need the key?
What do we want to get to most?
God.
What is the key to getting to God?
Christ.
He is our interceder, our path to the Father. He is our means to getting what we need most, what we want most, what will give us more joy than we can ever imagine.
To get to her daughter, Ariel needed the key.
To get to our Heavenly Father, we need Christ.
Thankfully, He is there, waiting to intercede, wanting us to gain access to what we need most. To give us even more joy than Ariel found when she opened that door and found her baby, safe on the other side.
This Week: Make a spare key for your home. Put it somewhere safe, but a place that you would remember if you’re ever locked out. Whenever you look at the key, remember the Key we have to access the door to our Father. Thank God for Christ’s ability to intercede.
Renee Andrews
