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When is being nice a bad thing?

November 27, 2018November 26, 2018 / MatthewRuttan / Leave a comment

My wife and I are in a small group. We meet weekly with people from our church to talk about Sunday’s sermon, the Bible passage, and pray together. One of the real benefits is hearing other people’s insights and ideas. Recently we were talking about how easy it is to over-commit. For a lot of … Continue reading When is being nice a bad thing?

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Why your brokenness can be useful The "Up!" Devo for May 24 All of us carry a certain amount of brokenness. These are problems we have, mistakes we’ve made, good-plans-gone-wrong that weight us down like the proverbial tonne of bricks. Because we think of these things as negative, we think they have no redeeming value. But know this: Your temporary brokenness can have eternal usefulness. Here’s what I mean. First, all of your brokenness is temporary. On the other side of death, we’ll all quickly realize that life on earth was a short sprint, and that who we were then isn’t who we’ll always be. We will be remade. Second, the experiences you’ve had—even the negative ones—can have eternal usefulness. In other words, because of what you’ve been through, you can now have a unique perspective, or a more understanding attitude, or some hard-fought wisdom that might benefit someone else who is struggling through something similar. It might just be what someone else needs to get them through, to open up to God, and to muster hope for a new day. In Romans 8:28 Paul writes, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This doesn’t mean that all things are good, but that, for those who have been called according to God’s purpose, that all things can work together for good. Just because you’ve had challenging experiences, that doesn’t mean those experiences are wasted. You may now have a unique experience, or a more understanding attitude, or some hard-fought wisdom that can significantly help someone else who’s going through a hard time. Your temporary brokenness can have eternal usefulness. By Matthew Ruttan -"Up!" is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on May 27. #broken #faith #inspiration #hardship #suffering #servingothers #eternity #dailydevotional

When comfort is the enemy The "Up!" Devo for May 23 I really don’t like what I’m about to say: Comfort is the enemy of discipleship. The problem is that I like comfort. I also like being a disciple of Jesus. But why are those two things supposedly in conflict? Comfort is about maximizing convenience, and minimizing inconveniences which take us out of our comfort zones. With that in mind, Jesus comes along and says, “whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Carrying a cross is about sacrificing our own selfish desires so that we can be more fully committed to the mission and Way of Jesus. As I write these words I’m fully aware that I’m often a hypocrite. I like comfort. There are times when I’d much rather just do what I want to do instead of what Jesus wants me to do. The important thing is that I’m honest about it. Am I always a beloved child of God? Yes. But let’s get real: When I prioritize comfort over the cross, I’m not being a disciple. In those moments, I’m being lazy. And selfish. But when I put Jesus and his Way first, I am being a disciple. There are times when we can in fact be comfortable, and rest, and just have a great time. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s good to enjoy life. But when we only ever want to be comfortable, and when we neglect Christ in the process, there’s a problem. And one way to know there’s a problem is if you’re never in situations where your faith in Christ makes you stand out, take a risk, serve boldly, or feel different. Are you single-minded in your pursuit of comfort to the detriment of your discipleship? If so, make a change. Live closer to the edge. Stand out. Act out of love and self-sacrifice. It’s better to shine bright for Christ than to fade away into a lesser life. By Matthew Ruttan #dailydevotional #comfort #faith #enemy #discipleship #JesusChrist

Feeling gross and dense The "Up!" Devo for May 22 At some point or another, all of us struggle with guilt. We do something wrong, we act poorly toward another person, we disobey one (or many) of God’s commands, we make a bad decision that results in many negative consequences. And that weighs heavily on us. Have you ever fell into the water with all your clothes on and then tried to walk around on dry land afterwards? You can do it; but you feel gross and dense. That experience is like the guilt we carry around in our souls. We know we should pray to God to ask for forgiveness. But other than “I’m sorry,” we’re not sure what to say. If that’s you, you should look at Psalm 51. Historically, it’s one of the seven “penitential” (or confession) psalms. It’s David’s prayer of confession after he committed adultery. He asks for mercy, and that God cleanse and correct him. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (v.10). He also asks that God not take his presence away from him. So read through Psalm 51 and make those prayers your own. Add in specific details about your own situation. Heaviness of spirit doesn’t have to be your modus operandi. Make David’s prayer your own, and ask God to renew you: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” By Matthew Ruttan #dailydevotional #prayer #honesty #faith #inspiration #guilt #forgiveness

Drinking Culture’s Kool-Aid? The “Up!” Devo for May 21 James 4:4 (CSB) says: “Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” Let’s think about that much-neglected passage for a moment. First, “friendship with the world” means just thoughtlessly approving and going along with the values of the society around us. Second, James teaches that when we do that, we are being hostile toward God. In other words, when we just simply agree with the values of our society we might be demonstrating hostility toward God and what he teaches. I say “might” because there are of course some areas of positive overlap—values that are deemed to be good by both our society and by God. For example, being kind to others and respecting the environment are good all around. But what James means is that we shouldn’t just uncritically bow to societal pressure about what is right or wrong. In particular, he’s arguing that we shouldn’t take a highly individualistic and me-first approach to life; that would sideline God’s role in our lives. That’s a faulty outlook which contaminates how we approach things. So instead of just drinking the cultural Kool-Aid about what is right and wrong, and about what our priorities should be, we should ensure our perspective, morals, and decisions are consistent with biblical teachings. Be diligent. Be loving to our world and the people around us. And be faithful to God first. “Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” By Matthew Ruttan ---My UPDATED WEBSITE is now ready! Check out blogs, some of my music, info on my book and devotional, an updated bio, sermons, videos, resources and more. www.MatthewRuttan.com. Enjoy! #dailydevotional #society #values #culture #faith #inspiration #Godfirst

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