Tag: Susan Landry

Remember the Snakes

1 Corinthians 10

1 corinthians 10 10

Even though chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians is titled by Bible editors as ‘Warnings from Israel’s History’, I still didn’t expect the likes of this:

We should not test the Lord, as some of them did – and were killed by snakes. (verse 9)

Not getting eaten by snakes sounds like an outcome I’d like.  Don’t test the Lord–check.

But let’s take a minute here, what does that mean—don’t test the Lord?  In Malachi 3:10 God invites the people to test him and see if He’s faithful in what He’s promised.  Must be a different kind of testing.

What Paul is referring to here is recorded in Numbers 21:4-6.  The events took place while the Israelites were wandering in the desert.  We’re told that the people grew impatient and complained.

“Why did you…”

“We don’t have…”

“And we don’t like the food.”

So, like any good parent, God sent snakes.  hahaha   Seriously, though, he got their attention and the rest of the people repented.  Definitely good parenting.

Paul gives another example of the kind of testing that we’re not to do when he goes on to say,

And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel. (verse 10)

Grumbling.  Complaining.  Apparently God doesn’t like these things.

Paul goes on to tell us why he’s bringing these examples up:

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us… (verse 11)

The people of Israel had seen far larger acts of God than most of us can claim.  They had walked through a sea and eaten bread that appeared spontaneously.  And yet they questioned God’s care for them.  We can look at that and shake our heads at how fickle they were.  But how different are we?

Because we don’t have a map of the future, it can be frustrating to not see things lining up or happening as we think they should.  It can also become easy to question God’s care for us.

“Why did you…”

“I don’t have…”

“And I don’t like…”

Please remember today that God is big enough to handle our questions.  He invites us to test Him so we can be assured of His faithfulness.  But be intentional to catch yourself if you start to feel that God owes you something and is not coming through the way that He ought.

Remember the snakes.

 

-Susan Landry

Go! Fight! Win!

1 Corinthians 9

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize_ Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize. (1 Corinthians 9: 24)

Being competitive is sometimes presented in a negative light.  Probably because competition can bring out the ‘jerk’ in people.  That’s too bad, because in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is telling them (and us) to lean into that competitive spirit.

Paul is using this as an analogy, by the way, he’s not telling us that we are in competition with other believers.  He uses two phrases that I hope will inspire you as you run your race.

“strict training”

Athletes preparing for a big competition don’t eat whatever they want and binge Netflix all day.  What do they do instead?  They do things that will help them succeed in their goal.  (Winning!)  Paul’s goal, and ours, is “a crown that will last forever.”

How do we train for eternal life?

The word obey comes to mind.  In order to obey we need to really know Scripture.  If we want to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we need to know what the Master expects of us.  And we need to do it, even when it’s hard.  Just like the athlete in training gets off the couch and goes to practice, even when he’s tired, we need to obey even when it doesn’t make sense to our human sensibilities.

“do not run aimlessly”

If you’ve ever been to a kid’s sporting event, you know that there are players that do not have their head in the game.  They are wandering around the field, chatting with friends, maybe even picking flowers in the grass.  Adorable.

Not so adorable when it’s adults in an Olympic competition and not cute when we’re talking about forever.

So many of us say that we are sharing our faith by they way that we live our lives.  But how much of that is a cop-out because we’re not comfortable evangelizing?  If we are actively sharing our faith through our life, we will be intentional in planning ways to do it.  We won’t just be going about our life, wandering aimlessly along.

I encourage you today to make a training plan.  How are you getting ready for Christ’s return?  I also encourage you to make a game plan.  How are you looking for ways to share your faith with those around you?

-Susan Landry

 

 

Knowledge Puffs Up, But Love Builds Up

1 Corinthians 8

Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.

Would it surprise you to know that in a discussion about issues that people disagree on, Paul would bring up the subject of pride?  The Corinthians disagreed on a lot, what to eat, how to worship, what was moral behavior, and more.  Paul kind of leads with this in chapter one (1:10) saying that he ‘appealed to them’ to get rid of the divisions and live in unity with one another.

Now here, in chapter 8, Paul is in the middle of working through one of their many dividing issues.  But instead of focusing on the issue, I’d like to hone in on some wisdom that Paul shares about unity in the body.

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up”

We shouldn’t be mistaken.  Paul is not saying that knowledge itself is bad, or that the desire to pursue knowledge is in itself prideful.  He’s not suggesting that we should pursue love instead of pursuing knowledge.  Not at all.  It seems that what Paul is concerned with is what that knowledge does in us and how we share that knowledge.

Do you like to be the smartest person in the room.  That’s pride.

Do you use your tone of voice to make people feel dumb because they don’t know what you do.  That’s pride.

And here’s an important thing to note… we’ll only really know that we are building up (or edifying) with our knowledge by how others respond.  Edifying is not something we can claim.

“I hereby edify you!”

Nope.  Not how it works.

If you think that you are sharing your knowledge with love, it will be evident by the unity that you are helping to create.  When Scripture calls us to be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9, James 3:18) it implies actively building peace and unity.  Being a peacemaker is more than just not shooting anyone.  A peacemaker makes peace as opposed to division, they edify and build up those around them.

Picture a person filled with knowledge who you just love to be around because of the way they make you want to know more, to be better, simply because of the kindness and grace with which they speak.  Their whole demeanor draws you to them.  Sounds a lot like Jesus, if you ask me.  It also sounds like the kind of person Paul is calling us to be.

 

-Susan Landry

 

 

 

The Truth, the Full Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

Psalm 119 162 163

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Let’s pray it will be a great year of growth as we strive to follow Him well, relying daily on the truth of His Word.  Today, we welcome Susan Landry with her words of truth, encouragement and challenge as we look to begin our Bible reading plan with Matthew 1 on Sunday, January 6!

 

One of my favorite things about Scripture is my reliance upon the fact that it is totally, completely, absolutely, supremely TRUE.  I’ve become convinced over the years that my feelings lie to me.  As I’ve come to this conclusion, I’ve also come to realize that when my feelings lie to me, the best way to combat that is to tell myself the truth.  This has kind of been my mantra for some time.

But it got challenged recently.

I was feeling discouraged and the thoughts that were running on repeat through my head wouldn’t quit.  I tried my usual weapon of pausing and assessing my feelings to see if I could find the lie and then find a truth to combat it with.  But what I kept coming back to was that what I was feeling discouraged about WAS true.  It was a fact, in fact.

And so I wallowed in my discouragement for a few days, feeling rather hopeless, before God placed a verse in my head…a verse that was also true.  A lightbulb went on as I saw that what had been running through my head was a HALF-truth, it was not the complete truth.

Psalm 119 18 43

I may have screwed up, but the full truth is that God can work with that.  He can bring something good out of it, even.  And because I know His word is true, I can trust that and have hope even when it doesn’t feel true.  My story doesn’t end with a half-truth…and neither does yours.

 

Friends, this is why it’s so important to be in God’s word regularly.  He can’t bring verses to mind if you haven’t read them.  You can’t know the full truth if you aren’t reading it.  I’m so excited to start this New Year of reading the Bible together!

The full truth:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

 

-Susan Landry

Hupernikao!

Friday –

Romans 8-37

Confession time.  I hate running more than almost anything in the world. (Excel spreadsheets are also on that list)  That didn’t stop me, however, from trying to do a ‘couch to 5k’ running program a few years ago.  To motivate myself, I’d listen to inspiring music.

One afternoon, as I was trudging along, Mandisa’s song “Overcomer” came on.

As she sang to me, “You’re an overcomer!” I’d argue back, “No, Mandisa, I’m not.  I’m a quitter. A big quitting quitter.”

So I get feeling like giving up!  But here’s the thing, God doesn’t accept our lame excuses.  He keeps reminding us that we are indeed overcomers.

We read Romans 8:28 yesterday that said,

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

That verse comes in the middle of a passage about hardships and weakness and yet somehow strength and victory.  In all of the crap that we struggle with, there’s an amazing truth to take hold of today, found in verse 37.  Let’s look at a couple of different translations.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (NIV)

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (NASB)

No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us.  (HCB)

There is a word in Greek that means “to win, to be victorious”.  That word is “nikao”. That is NOT the word that Paul chose to use in this passage.

The word he chose to use is “hupernikao”.  Hupernikao means “to vanquish beyond recognition, to conquer exceedingly, a decisive victory.”

Do you want to stand up and cheer a little at that definition?  Just me?

With God, you are able to vanquish beyond recognition anything that stands in your way!

You are able to claim a decisive victory over sin in your life (not a just-squeaked-by victory).  A decisive victory.

What would that kind of overcoming look like in your life today?  I’m praying for you to agree with God on a little hupernikao in your life.  No quitters here.

Sneak Peek at tomorrow’s devotion:  As we start to see who we are in God’s eyes, it enables us to live boldly.

-Susan Landry

 

A Change of Perspective

Thursday –

Romans 8-28

 

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  2 Peter 1:3

Repeat after me:

“I am the masterpiece of God.  I’m a new creation in Christ.  I already have everything I need to do everything God wants me to do.  (And God DOES have something for me to do).”

If you didn’t actually repeat after me, we’ll wait.  (No, I’m not kidding).  Say it.  Out loud.  If you really want to believe something, it can help to speak it out loud.  So let’s try it again:

“I am the masterpiece of God.  I’m a new creation in Christ.  I already have everything I need to do everything God wants me to do.  (And God DOES have something for me to do).”

I’ve never made a tapestry, or any major work of art, but I can understand that those who do need to repeatedly take a step back to look at the big picture.  Just looking at the little area where the artist is currently working doesn’t allow for seeing how that bit fits with the rest of the piece.

A change of perspective can make all the difference.

When Joseph was being sold into slavery, being accused of committing a crime he didn’t commit or serving time in prison (Genesis 37, 39-41) I’ll bet he wasn’t thinking, “Hey perfect!  Slavery!  This is the next logical step in accomplishing my leadership vision!”

Of course not.  But what Joseph did do was use the gifts God had given him even in his distress.

Joseph had taken hold of God’s purpose for his life.  He believed that God had a plan for him.  But he still had to walk through very difficult experiences (for years) to see those plans fulfilled.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

How many things?

How many?

And who are you?

“I am the masterpiece of God.  I’m a new creation in Christ.  I already have everything I need to do everything God wants me to do.  (And God DOES have something for me to do).”

Sneak Peek at tomorrow’s devotion:  God made us to be overcomers, even when we don’t feel like it.

-Susan Landry

God’s Handiwork

Wednesday –

Ephesians 2 10

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

The word ‘handiwork’ in other translations shows up as:

  • Workmanship
  • Masterpiece
  • Creation

The Greek word there is “Poiema”.  So it would literally be translated that “you are God’s poem.”

Any other poetry lovers out there?

Poems paint a picture with words.  Think about that for a minute.  God wanted to paint a picture for the world and so he made YOU.

Poetry, like art in general, is typically kind of useless.

Don’t get me wrong, I love art.  Art makes us think and brings beauty to our lives.  Art expresses emotion and is a way for us to express ourselves.

What I mean is that art doesn’t ‘do’ anything constructive.  It might make me feel good when I look at it, but it’s not fixing my dinner, if you know what I mean.  A knife chops, slices…it ‘does’ something.  Art doesn’t typically ‘do’ anything.

But not God’s art!

That verse in Ephesians tells us that we were created “for” good works (as opposed to “by” our good works).

We are God’s poem, God’s masterpiece—created for a purpose.

Unfortunately, as much as we want to believe that, it can be hard to truly own it. And when we do begin to grab hold of the fact that God created us for a purpose, then we get lost in frustration at trying to figure out what that purpose is.

Anyone else been there?

Well, what do we do (what should we do) when we don’t know how something works?  ASK!

If you are unsure of what God’s purpose is for you in this season of life.  Ask Him!  Ask the one who made you…who wrote the poem of your life, what His purpose is for you right here and now.  I’m praying that for you today, too.  Let’s seek Him together.

Sneak Peek at tomorrow’s devotion:  How do we gain confidence to walk in the purpose that God has for us?

-Susan Landry

A New Name

Tuesday –

Untitled design

Yesterday we talked about labels.  Let’s take a look at some labels of folks we see in the Bible.

Gideon labeled himself the weakest member of the weakest clan of Israel.  Yet God’s angel addressed him as “mighty warrior”.  Now, he didn’t immediately become that mighty warrior, but he did eventually grow into his new name. (Judges 6)

We see other times in Scripture when people are given new names: Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Peter, and Paul, for example.  And each time, the new name carries a new purpose.

Let’s look at Peter.

 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:17-18)

I think it’s interesting to note that AFTER Jesus gives Peter his new name and new purpose, Peter STILL fails Jesus (repeatedly).  It takes him time to grow into this new name.

We all have this idea that once we accept Christ, or once we really commit ourselves, or once we decide to live to please God for real — that all of the sudden our trajectory will be consistently up.

Unfortunately, just like Gideon and Peter, we are human.  We fail.  We fall down.  We screw up.

But, just like Gideon and Peter, if we get back up and keep trying, we will keep moving upward.  Sometimes, we need someone to remind us of our new label, our new purpose.  So, I’ll remind you:

You have greatness inside you.  It’s time to act like it!

Sneak Peek at tomorrow’s devotion:  Do you ever feel like your best just isn’t good enough?

Who Are You?

Monday –

2 cor 5 17 sunrise

Do you ever feel like who you are is not really who you are?  Or maybe that you know you could be a better/different version of yourself, but aren’t sure how to find that person?

You know, all of us carry labels of some sort.  Maybe you’re the funny guy, or the smart girl, or the troublemaker.  Sometimes we may not feel like we totally deserve our label.  Like, maybe people see you as argumentative, but that’s not how you see yourself.  The fact is, right or wrong, we are all labeled in some way by those around us.

So…what’s your label?

Don’t pretend it doesn’t exist.  What is it?  How would people around you describe you?  What are you known for?

Got it in your mind?

  1. Now think this: What’s true about me now, doesn’t have to be true about me forever.

Our goal is not to reinvent ourselves by trying to be some perfect person.  It’s to uncover our true self as God created us.

Have you ever thought about that?  When God created you, he had the BEST version of you in mind.

And that is the version we need to be striving to become.  The best version of ourselves.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says that “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

We’re going to be looking this week at how we go about becoming who God says we are, who He had in mind when he created us.  So for today, remind yourself again that what is true about you now, doesn’t have to be true about you forever.  You can be a new creation!

Sneak Peek at tomorrow’s devotion:  Try to find examples in Scripture of times when God gave someone a new name.  Why do you think he did that?

-Susan Landry

In Search of … The Next Step

FUEL Devotions:  Weekly Theme – Becoming who God says you are

2 Peter 1 3

Sunday –

Hi!  I’m Susan and I’ll be bringing you your devotions for the week.  I’m what some of you might call ‘old’.  (But I wish you wouldn’t).  Instead of telling you about what I spend my time doing these days (momming and such) I thought I’d tell you a little about when I was your age, and introduce you to our topic for the week.

I grew up in the church, and was active in my church youth group.  And even though I managed to make some pretty stupid choices and do some pretty dumb stuff, I also continued to believe that God had a plan for my life.

Trying to figure that out, I travelled to Mexico with a short term mission team 4 summers to teach Bible schools, and decided to attend Atlanta Bible College after I graduated.  I knew God had something for me, and I was doing everything I could to run around and try to find it.

Maybe you’ve felt that way before. Or maybe you’ve wondered if God really does even have a purpose for your life.

I wish I could tell you that reading the devotions here for the next week will reveal to you everything God has for your future.  Unfortunately, that’s not the way God works.  He typically just reveals the next step on the path.

So that is what I’ll be praying for you this week.  That He will show you the next step in whatever area you are seeking His will for your life.  He is a good God.

We’re not going to be reading in just one book this week.  But I will give you one verse to commit to memory:

2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Sneak Peek of tomorrow’s devotion: What was God thinking when He created you?

-Susan Landry