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where is God

When you feel like God isn’t there

September 25, 2018September 24, 2018 / MatthewRuttan / 1 Comment

It’s easy to think that if you don’t see God dramatically intervening in your life that he isn’t there. If you’ve ever had those kinds of thoughts, you’re not alone. Listen to these famous voices from the Bible itself: -Gideon: “If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13) … Continue reading When you feel like God isn’t there

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#Blessed is a really popular hashtag, especially at this time of year. When posting pics many people—including myself—will say we’re somehow #blessed and that God has been good to us. To be honest, I love seeing it. It's an awareness that God is a loving provider. But get this. In Luke 11:27-28 a woman in the crowd that was following and listening to Jesus cried out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” That’s a pretty nice thing to say. She’s giving him a compliment and saying how blessed Mary is. But here’s what Jesus says in response: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” I think this encourages us—quite strongly—to widen our understanding of what it means to be #blessed. Are we blessed with good friends, vacation time, and a nicely set table? Sure. But there’s more. When we commit to the Bible… #blessed When we help the poor… #blessed When we take a risk for Christ… #blessed When we give sacrificially… #blessed When we make hard, godly decisions… #blessed When we are holy… #blessed When we spend time with the sick… #blessed We live in a consumer culture. Because of that, it’s easy to think of our blessings just in terms of material blessings. But Jesus has something more to say about it: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” So yes, make sure to count your blessings. But count what truly counts. As we approach Christmas, may we hear and obey. #Blessed By Matthew Ruttan #blessed #blessings #faith #inspiration #christmas #advent #Godisgood #jesus

Dealing with criticism The “Up!” Devo for December 13 How good are you at dealing with criticism? Me neither! Lol When someone criticizes us we usually have an instinctual, impulse reaction (which is probably negative). We can immediately dismiss what the other person said, think ungenerous things about them, and go about the rest of our day with a proverbial storm cloud over our head. But Proverbs 15:31 (NLT) says, “If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.” So what I’m about to say presumes that the person is trying to be constructive—that they are trying to give, as the NIV translation puts it, a “life-giving correction.” First, take some time. When someone shares some criticism we need to create some emotional distance from our instinctual, impulse reaction (which is often negative) and the words that have been offered to us. Second, when you’re feeling more in balance, make sure any negative feelings you have toward that particular person aren’t clouding your assessment of what they said. Third, pray to God to see if there is any truth in their words. If you’re not sure, look up relevant passages in the Bible to confirm how you should live as a disciple of Jesus. If you’re still not sure, talk to a trusted and wise Christian for their input. This advice isn't theoretical; it's personal. I've taken it myself many times! Criticism is usually about as welcome as a thunderstorm at a baseball game. But if it’s intended to be constructive, it may actually help you. “If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.” By Matthew Ruttan --“Up!” is published 5 days a week (Monday – Friday) and returns on December 16. --Bible quotes are from the NIV. #wisdom #criticism #knowthyself #faith #inspiration #relationships #friends #spiritualgrowth #knowledge #discipleship

Pessimism & Optimism vs Reality The "Up!" Devo for December 12 There was a family with two boys. One was an extreme pessimist. The other was an extreme optimist. The parents didn’t like their extreme attitudes, so they tried a gift-giving experiment at Christmas to try and correct them. They thought that if they gave the pessimist a gift that was so over-the-moon awesome, he would simply have to be happy. They gave him the latest iPhone. But he just frowned: ‘Dumb thing is probably gonna break.’ Next was the gift for the optimistic boy. He was always so happy about everything that they wanted to get him something so bad that he would simply have to feel sour about. That way, he would learn a valuable lesson about disappointment. He opened his gift, only to find a pile of manure. It stunk up the whole room! But instead of a frown, a huge smile came across his face. ‘Why are you happy?’ his parents asked, ‘You got manure!’ ‘I know, I know,’ he said excitedly, ‘that means there has to be a pony around here somewhere!’* Talk about optimism! Both boys had unhelpful perspectives: one so negative that it was out-of-touch with reality, and the other so positive that it was out-of-touch with reality. How often do we do the same? We think the sky is falling when it isn’t. Or we put our hope in the wrong things which lead to disappointment. The antidote to naïve optimism and sky-is-falling pessimism is reality. In 2 Corinthians 4:16 Paul reminds us about our reality: “we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” Though we live in frail bodies in a sin-soaked world, we are being renewed on a daily basis by the power of God. In the very next verse he writes, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Life is tough. God is good. He is with you. Forever. Do you let naïve optimism or sky-is-falling pessimism take over your brain? The antidote to naïve optimism and sky-is-falling pessimism is reality. Life is tough. God is good. He is with you. Forever. By Matthew Ruttan #faith #God #perspective #optimism #dailydevo

Marana Tha The “Up!” Devo for December 11 Today I’d love to share a short, special prayer with you so that you can include it in your daily arsenal. -When you’re on your knees, or not. -When you’re driving, or walking. -When you’re calm, or fed up. -When you’re composed, or frazzled. It’s biblical, easy to memorize, and powerful. “Marana Tha.” It’s Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke) and means “Our Lord, come.” Paul tells it to us in 1 Corinthians 16:22 and offers no explanation. To me that probably means it was so widely known—at least in Corinth—that he didn’t have to. Everyone knew what he was talking about and what it meant. When we pray “Marana Tha,” I think we pray for at least two things: First, we pray for Jesus to return and bring an end to pain, tears, sin, estrangement and brokenness, and replace it with “a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). Sounds amazing! Second, we pray that Jesus come powerfully into the specific situations, thoughts and contours of our day. All that in two words? Yes! No matter who we are or what we’re going through, all of us need the powerful presence of God, don’t we? Marana Tha. By Matthew Ruttan #secondcoming #Jesus #parousia #maranatha #powerofGod #presenceofGod #discipleship #faith #inspiration

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