The Up Devo

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Head held high in hope The “Up!” Devo for November 18 The. World. As. We. Know. It. Will. End. Did you know that? These days, we mostly hear about end-of-the-world speculation in Hollywood movies. Remember Armageddon starring Bruce Willis? Apparently, a lot of people also ask their smartphones about it. Someone asked Siri, “When will the world end?” Here’s what she said: “Whenever they start building that intergalactic bypass.” Weird! This past Sunday I interviewed one of my former professors, Dr. Brian Irwin, about end-times speculation. [You can hear it on MatthewRuttan.com starting tomorrow, Tuesday] One of the things we discussed was how it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. When you dive into the subject, it can be easy to get so lost in all the speculative details that you miss the big picture. In the Bible, the big picture is this: Yes, the world as we know it will end, but God is going to replace it with something better. He’s going to renew and restore all things to the beauty of how they were originally intended to be. God wins. Good wins. Love wins. Truth wins. In this sense, something ends, but something new and better begins. Revelation 21:4-5 says, “’He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” And that gives us hope. Look around you. There are a lot of good things. But there are a lot of troubling things too. And one day, because of his great love, God will make everything right. Today, walk tall with your head held high in hope. You are a living reminder to the darkness that his days are numbered. By Matthew Ruttan #endtimes #armageddon #hope #revelation #faith #inspiration #Godwins #victory

Pretending to be perfect The “Up!” Devo for November 15 Today I’d like to ask you this: If you’re going through something really tough, have you talked to someone about it? Talking to someone about your situation can be hard. It can be difficult to verbalize your feelings. Or maybe you doubt if it will do any good. But one of the reasons I think many people don’t reach out is because they (a) don’t want to admit that they’re human and need help, (b) think it makes them seem weak, or (c) wonder if they’re a “bad Christian” because they don’t have it all together. But James has a very matter-of-fact way of saying things: “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). Yup. ALL of us. None of us have all our ducks in a row (even if we pretend to). Even still, many people go on pretending to be perfect, acting as if stumbling is something other people do, but ever themselves. As a result, they suffer in silence. But think of all the biblical passages about encouraging one another like 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13 and 10:25, Acts 20:21, and Romans 12:8. Well, sometimes you’re giving the encouragement, and sometimes you’re getting it. “We all stumble in many ways.” Life isn’t always smooth sailing. If you’re going through something tough, talk to someone about it. You probably won’t talk to someone about your problems if you’re too busy pretending to be perfect. By Matthew Ruttan --"Up!" is published 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) and returns on November 18. #faith #inspiration #help #talkaboutit #mentalhealth #wellness #health #encouragement #perfect #perfectionism

God is God. You are you. The “Up!” Devo for November 14 In today’s modern society we can control more and more things in the quest for convenience and comfort. -We can control the temperature in our homes, sometimes even from a distance. -We have access to medicines that people would have died for a century ago. -We can make headaches go away with a single pill. -We have microwaves and flush toilets. -We can bank from our phones. -We can track weather patterns live, and see forecasts. -We can download music from all over the world the minute it’s released. -We can control when and where we watch our favourite shows. -We can go shopping and remain on the couch, with our purchases delivered right to our front door. Control. But just because we can control more and more things, that doesn’t mean we can or should control EVERYTHING. In Revelation 4:8 we’re given a glimpse of worship in heaven: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” That profound lyrical truth gives us some much-needed perspective: God is in control. Not you. God is Almighty. Not you. God is the Author of life. Not you. It’s a plain-faced fact. So today, when you’re tempted to get stressed out about controlling this, that, and a million others things… Breathe. Seriously. Breathe deeply. Pause, and breathe deeply. Even for 10 seconds. It's a great reminder. Just because we can control more and more things, that doesn’t mean we can or should control everything. God is God. You are you. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Breathe. And be at peace. By Matthew Ruttan #peace #relax #faith #inspiration #control #society #convenience #stress #revelation

As beggars telling others about food The “Up!” Devo for November 13 For the past two days I’ve spoken about peace. And, more specifically, the peace that only Jesus can give. For those of us who have come to know and follow Jesus, this should fill us with great… Humility. Not superiority. Not arrogance. Not self-righteousness. In the same biblical book where we are told that Jesus is God in “bodily form” (Colossians 2:9), that he is to have “the supremacy” (1:18), and that he comes to “reconcile to himself all things” (1:20), we are also told to clothe ourselves “with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. So to guard against arrogance, here’s an idea: Be quick to notice your own flaws, and slow to notice others’. It will remind you of your own imperfection, God’s overflowing patience, and the mutual need all of us have. There’s a beautiful phrase in a booklet called Living Faith that makes the point: “in the spirit of humility, as beggars telling others where food is to be found, we point to life in Christ.” Let’s point to the life and peace Jesus offers with humble confidence, in a spirit of humility, and as beggars telling others where food is to be found. Be quick to notice your own flaws, and slow to notice others.’ By Matthew Ruttan --Bible quotes are from the NIV. #humility #integrity #kindness #virtue #faith #JesusChrist #peace #worldpeace #evangelism #colossians #inspiration

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