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seven deadly sins

Starve the beast

July 7, 2017July 6, 2017 / MatthewRuttan / Leave a comment

Greed, laziness & vanity. These are behaviours that are like the monsters from kids' books. The more you feed them, the bigger and scarier they get! So here's what you do to ward them off.

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It’s not You-ianity⠀ ⠀ The “Up!” Devo for January 20⠀ ⠀ The word ‘religion’ comes from the same Latin root as ‘ligament,’ meaning ‘to bind.’⠀ ⠀ In this sense, ‘religion’ refers to a system of beliefs and practices that ‘bind’ us to God and other people in a community. That’s obviously a good thing.⠀ ⠀ But there’s another way the word ‘religion’ is used which I think is a problem. It has also come to mean all the religious boxes I can check on my to-do list which make me feel holy and which make me think I can earn my way off of God’s naughty list.⠀ ⠀ Don’t get me wrong: It’s good to do things that help us grow spiritually. And it’s good when we ‘bind’ ourselves to God and to the people around us.⠀ ⠀ But here’s the issue. Religion—at least the kind of religion that is just about checking all the right boxes—is about what you can do; but Christian faith is about what God can do.⠀ ⠀ Speaking to Paul, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). He didn’t say his power is made perfect in those who help themselves, or in those who tick all the right boxes, and in those who are the best spiritual thing since sliced bread. His power is made perfect in weakness—which, if we’re being honest, is very good news because all of us are somehow weak!⠀ ⠀ The reason I share this today is because someone told me it’s one of the most depressing weeks of the year. So this serves as a reminder that your mess ups, missteps and mistakes don’t define you—and they don’t even define your religion. God does.⠀ ⠀ It’s not You-ianity. It’s Christ-ianity.⠀ ⠀ Today, in the middle of January, celebrate that we have a powerful God who helps us with the minutia and moments when we are anything but at our best.⠀ ⠀ “Religion” is about what you can do. But power Christian faith is about what God can do.⠀ ⠀ By Matthew Ruttan⠀ ⠀ --Bible quotes are from the NIV.⠀ ⠀ #faith #religion #Christianity #Jesus #Godfirst #spirituality #inspiration #grace #powerofGod #weakness

Personal THEN powerful⠀ ⠀ The “Up!” Devo for January 17⠀ ⠀ At a monthly meeting of church elders in central Ontario, my colleague and friend, William Han, spoke about evangelism.⠀ ⠀ He’s served as a pastor, as the Executive VP at Lausanne Canada, and is currently a church planting catalyst with the North American Mission Board.⠀ ⠀ The more he spoke, the more passionate he became. Afterward he told me that his level of enthusiasm had even surprised him!⠀ ⠀ But I was so glad he shared his passion with us. I think God wanted to give us a verbal charge of power—like those pads doctors use to zap your chest after your heart has stopped beating!⠀ ⠀ One of the things Will highlighted was that Christians need to preach the good news about Jesus to themselves first. We need to know it personally, to experience it personally, to rejoice in it personally. In Jesus, God has come to us personally and victoriously to renovate all things through his teaching, work, crucifixion and resurrection. He offers us hope, love, forgiveness, salvation, truth, and purpose.⠀ ⠀ But you can’t share powerfully what you don’t know personally.⠀ ⠀ Jesus has come—for you.⠀ Jesus gives hope—to you.⠀ Jesus pours out love—for you.⠀ Jesus offers forgiveness—to you.⠀ Jesus gives salvation—to you.⠀ Jesus shares strength—with you.⠀ Jesus speaks truth—for you.⠀ Jesus sets out a purpose—for you.⠀ ⠀ No one else can do what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do—for you.⠀ ⠀ In Romans 1:16 Paul says the good news about Jesus “is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…”⠀ ⠀ Do you think the good news about Jesus is primarily for someone else? Well, it’s certainly for them. But it’s also for you. God sees you. He knows you. He reaches out to you. He loves you. You’re not perfect. And yes, you mess up on a pretty regular basis. But God still gives a life-changing gift that no one else can give—to you.⠀ ⠀ You can’t share powerfully what you don’t know personally.⠀ ⠀ So know it. Personally. Powerfully. And don’t be shy to honestly share or show the good news of Jesus that has changed—and continues to change—your life.⠀ ⠀ By Matthew Ruttan⠀ ⠀ #faith #gospel #evangelism #dailydevo #faith

The antidote to human rivalry⠀ ⠀ The “Up!” Devo for January 16⠀ ⠀ Rivalry is a bigger part of our lives than we often realize.⠀ ⠀ Maybe you have an actual rival, someone you’re always competing with—maybe in sports, at school, or in the office. And although what I’m about to say can apply to those situations, let’s think more broadly.⠀ ⠀ It’s easy to continually compare ourselves to others. And when that happens, we start to evaluate the ‘success’ of our lives based on whether or not we think we’re ‘winning’ in relation to the people around us.⠀ ⠀ Subconsciously—or even consciously—we want to be smarter, wealthier, better-looking, or more popular. The list goes on.⠀ ⠀ Ego is an internal beast, insecure and erratic, powered by rivalry, who inflates himself by sucking the peace from your own soul.⠀ ⠀ But in Isaiah 42:8, God says, “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other…” Let's ponder that for a moment. There is NO RIVAL to God’s glory. Only GOD has that kind of glory. Only GOD is perfect. Only GOD is 100% love. Only GOD is 100% truth. Only GOD is 100% goodness. And he’s the one who made you, who loves you, who saves you, and who gives you purpose. NO ONE ELSE can do any of that.⠀ ⠀ That’s why God-gazing is the antidote to human rivalry.⠀ ⠀ The more we focus on God—and on his glory, and on his power, and on his love, and on his truth, and on his holiness—the less concerned we are with measuring up to others, and to winning the hundreds of daily rivalries that trample your joy.⠀ ⠀ “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other…”⠀ ⠀ God-gazing is the antidote to human rivalry.⠀ ⠀ By Matthew Ruttan⠀ ⠀ --Bible quotes are from the NIV.⠀ ⠀ #rivalry #rivals #focusonGod #perspective #priorities #faith #inspiration #isaiah #gloryofGod #solideogloria #dailydevo

Informed decisions are good decisions⠀ ⠀ The “Up!” Devo for January 15⠀ ⠀ Informed decisions are good decisions.⠀ ⠀ I’m pretty sure we’d all agree with that statement. But when it comes to what we read and hear—especially online—it’s easy to make quick conclusions that are anything but informed.⠀ ⠀ The problem is compounded because of how quickly all the information comes at us. We’re bombarded. We hear breaking news, or see the spin of that late-breaking news by a friend or acquaintance, and we weigh into to offer our two cents—sometimes without getting all the facts and without any sober second thought—and contribute to the spread of what is sometimes misinformation.⠀ ⠀ What’s worse is that we can do it in an ungracious way because we're acting (or reacting) impulsively. ⠀ ⠀ And that doesn’t reflect well on the One we’re supposed to be following.⠀ ⠀ In Ephesians 4:1-2 Paul urges his readers to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”⠀ ⠀ I think that’s a sound approach for all of us—including those times when we wade into the hurricane of online information and are tempted to make quick conclusions that are uninformed.⠀ ⠀ -Don’t always believe the rumors.⠀ -Weight the facts.⠀ -Be humble, gentle, patient, and loving.⠀ -Represent Christ well.⠀ ⠀ Informed decisions are good decisions.⠀ ⠀ By Matthew Ruttan⠀ ⠀ --Bible quotes are from the NIV.⠀ ⠀ #decisions #decisionmaking #informationage #fakenews #fait #inspiration #ephesians #ambassadorofGod #lightofChrist

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