Not everyone gives grace, as I found that out the other day at Walmart. Someone, not in or near a crosswalk, got mad because I did not stop the car to let them cross the road, so they gave me “the finger.” As I passed her, I saw her finger in my rear view mirror. How dare she!! I honked my horn vigorously, but all that did was to scare the people in the crosswalk ahead of me. They started scurrying like little ants, thinking a crazy woman was coming! I told my husband…I wish they made a car horn for the rear of the car so that lady would know how mad I am! After much deliberating for two days on how awful the lady was to treat me like that, I came to a jerky stop. I realized…

It is not about me. It is not about me. It is not about me. It is not about me. IT IS NOT ABOUT ME.

SO the lady got mad. So she had to wait two extra seconds to cross the road. So she felt like expressing her anger to a stranger, with her finger. Know what? I could put my finger up too, but I don’t do that. What I should be doing is pointing my index finger to Jesus. So should we all, with our actions. One of our jobs on earth is to give grace to others, to point them to Jesus. And you cannot really do that without grace. Why? Because we are all imperfect. Especially me!

What if I replay that situation at Wal-mart and make a grace-filled reaction to her anger? What would that look like? I suppose I would consider what her day or week had been like? Maybe she was not looking forward to Mother’s Day, like many others. Maybe she lost a child. Maybe she had a fight with her boyfriend or husband. Maybe she had someone sick in the family and was stressed. Whatever the case, and I will never know, I know this. People who hurt others are frustrated or hurt themselves. I should have held my hand outside the window and motioned that I was sorry. I really could have let her cross in front of me.

We have been given grace by God over and over. So how do we pass it on? How, in everyday life do we show grace? So many times it is in our reactions, responses and reaching out. When someone hurts us, we have to realize it is not about us necessarily. It could be about them and their unhappiness. Why not react with grace and in effect say, “I do not expect you to be perfect because I am not. I will pray for you and love and accept you with the grace of God. He loves you, so I do too.” It is all about considering and forgiving each other, as our verse today says.

Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:13 ESV

Easier said than done sometimes, huh?

Lord, help us to remember we are only saved sinners. Help us to see the good in people and also their need for grace. You are a great example of love and grace to us. You perfectly love our imperfect selves. Thank You for Your grace that lights our way to loving others. Amen

With love from the Father, I hope you have a great Monday!

Christina

A Song of Ascents. Of David... I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1 ESV

The other day I told someone on facebook, “See You Sunday!” It was a short response but a loving one, as I was excited to see this person at church in a few days. Some people are just so precious, you miss them until you see them again at church, right? The Lord is so good to bless us with the friendships of His other children. For what other reasons do we look forward to Sunday?

We get to SEE many things! We see families coming together to praise Jesus. We see a spirit-filled praise band sharing their passion with us. We get to see people come forward to pray for help from the Lord. We see little ones bouncing around the sanctuary, excited to see their friends. The list goes on and on. I see these things as gifts straight from the Lord. He binds us in His family with lots of family love and shows us, everywhere we look around the church, how blessed we are!

Who do we mainly want to see? We want to see the Lord of course! We can say, “See You Sunday,” to Him and be excited it means we look forward to experiencing Him in His house. Do we ever say that to Him? Maybe not, because we pray and worship at home too. But I am thinking, maybe we should say that to Him!

And so a poem begins…

Dear Father,

I love You here. I love You there.

Lord, I love You everywhere!

The most special place I see

is anywhere You are with me.

Your house is such a special place

Where I can come to seek Your face.

In Your house or mine at home,

My greatest joy comes from Your throne.

See You Sunday, Lord, I vow

to seek You then and seek You now.

©Copyright 2021 Christina Crute

When we say, “See You Sunday” to friends, it is something to look forward to, for sure. However, we can see and experience Jesus in our hearts every day! His throne is anywhere we let Him rule. I am trying to imagine what the Lord sees when He looks down from heaven, but also looks out from our hearts. It must make Him happy that we love each other and love Him and look forward to being together. See You Sunday!

With love from our awesome Father to you,

Christina

“The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” Psalm 29:11 NIV

Peace is not an easy-to-achieve blessing. We have to ask God, serve others, compromise, change and work together on a common goal, in order to make it happen. It takes all of us. It is my prayer that we do put down swords and lift up our hands and hearts in prayer.

Choosing Peace

Guide our leaders, Lord we pray.
Help them as they start each day.

Send them wisdom from above.
Let them know that they are loved.

When it comes to policy,
let them not so hostile be.

When they start to fuss and fight,
send them peace to make things right.

Show them how to work things out,
so peace will reign as love wins out.

May we play a part as well,
encourage peace among ourselves.

Knowing right and doing wrong,
we all have bickered far too long.

We, a nation must unite,
drop our swords and do things right.

Teach us Lord Thy will to see
and give us grace abundantly.

A hurting nation at unrest
needs all of you to do their best.

Give us eyes that we may see
the path that leads to unity.
Amen

©Copyright 2021 Christina Crute

With love from our awesome Father to you,

Christina

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4 ESV

This is my second story from a hospital visit. If you didn’t catch my first story from our visit to the hospital, check out the devotion from two days ago, Love’s Story, Tuesday,May 3. Suffice it to say, I was really impressed by the healthcare workers in Carillion’s Cardiac Wing.Here is a true story, the exact words from my notebook on that day.

Love is Alert

Oh, wow. In the bay next to ours, a man’s alert bell is going off. I hear him calling the nurses with the remote and also with his scared voice. I hope he is okay! With the curtain to our room closed so John can rest, I hear the stranger’s frantic cry for help. I now hear several nurses’ feet shuffling quickly to him. He seems confused and anxious as he moans to them, “I’m having a problem.” Poor man!

I could tell the nurses were compassionate because they seemed to put their love into overdrive to rescue this man from his distress. I heard and admired their care-filled words.

“Aw, honey, you know you’re just loving those bells.” And from another nurse, ” No worries. We got you. You’re in good hands now.” and from another, after they apparently got him situated, “You’re all set now. What else can we do for you?” And, “We are real close so just call us if you need anything else.”

That’s the story of love that touched my heart. I probably need to send that wing this devotion so the unknown nurses know what seeds of love they accidentally scattered to me. Just to hear their hearts without knowing them at all is a precious gift. If I ever do write a book about love’s story… I am praying about it…this will go in it. Why? Those nurses taught me something, three wonderful things actually:

1. Love means relieving someone else’s stress. They ran to him at the first sign of trouble and cared for him. They were eager to do so. Love is automatic and compassionate like that. Love is on alert.
2. Love means verbally committing to someone. They told him they had him, that he was in good hands. They took responsibility for him. Love commits like that.
3. Love means doing more than you are asked. Love cannot help but do that. It spills out abundantly. After they met the patient’s need, they didn’t say “so long,” they asked him what other things they could do for him. Love says, “How can I care for you even more?”

Questions for you and I to think on…Who is it that we need to commit to care for? How can we relieve the stress of one of our neighbors? Have we verbally committed to anyone outside of our family? Who does that…Offers more than someone needs? (Our Lord does!) Has someone besides the Lord, ever seen us loving abundantly and committing and being generous with our heart? How cool that we can be witnesses of God’s love!

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I never expected to learn so much about love that day, but God’s plans are always amazing like that! Thank you, Lord for allowing me to be a bystander to seeing love in action and showing me what active love looks like. I will try to look more through eyes of love like You do.

With much love from the Father to you,

Christina

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13 NIV

Here is a song I wrote, that I hope encourages you. We are in a battle which is already won by our own personal friend and Savior! He won it for us! The enemy in the world tempts, taunts and terrorizes us, trying to take back the victory. Just say, “Not today, World!”

This battle on the ground is
not my final one.
Any troubles here
last just awhile.
The world can try, but
never get my soul’s embrace.
My Jesus lives inside.

So when I get discouraged
on the battlefield,
Weary of the fight,
I lift my eyes.
I see your face,
and all the worries, Lord,
you take them from my mind,
You are my saving grace!

Not today, world.
I’m not yours to have.
Not today,
for I am His alone.
Any victory,
you may have over me,
will not destroy.
I still have joy!
My Father’s on the throne!

When trials come and chase me
on the battlefield,
I’m tempted to give in
and blame you, Lord.
I ask you why.
You dry my eyes
and all the burdens, Lord
you help me carry them,
and point me to the skies!

He won the battle on the cross.
Paid the price to set me free!
The world no longer gets to
have a hold on me.
The battle’s done.
I see the Son!
He won the victory!

Sooo…not Today, World…

© Copyright 2021 Christina Crute

With love from the Father to you,

Christina

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:2-3

I am so excited for today’s devotion! Such a cool “God-thing happened while John was at the hospital! This story is a true one and the main character is a health-care worker named Roy. Roy Dillard, if you are reading this, thank you, again, for your dedication to others and to the Lord. You never had to tell me you were a believer. I just knew. Your name tag read “Clinical Associate” but you were a much-needed angel that day. Thank you for giving me permission to share this story.

The following is what I actually wrote on April 13, while John and I were at the hospital for about 12 hours. This may be the beginning of a book I want to write, so it is a bit scary to start. There are so many stories of love to tell:)

Love’s Story

I met the sweetest Carillion employee today. Although his tag said “Clinical Associate”, I would call him a much-needed angel.

So, I am sitting in a hospital room, all set up for a long day of tests for my husband John. His heart has several serious issues that need looked at, so today is an information-gathering day for us all. The surgeons will poke and prod by way of a scope and then a catheterization. They will put a camera down his esophagus and a catheter to his heart. It dawns on me this moment that God knows the condition and issues of his heart, even though we do not have a clue. The doctors are going in to see what God already sees. I trust You, Lord, to help the doctors get to the root of his heart issues. Thank you for them as they are making a difference in our lives for the better.

I am considering how caring and compassionate the healthcare workers are. Do they ever get tired of serving others? Just then a “Clinical Associate” comes in to hook John’s heart monitor up. He is wearing a wooden amulet of sorts, around his neck. I wonder about it, but instead I blurt out, “Don’t you ever get tired of taking care of everyone?”

He looked kind of shocked, but then slowly answered… “People come in here all vulnerable and scared. They have serious conditions. They face their own mortality.”

I wondered how this answered my question, and seeming to catch my thoughts, he said, “Tina, It’s not just me helping people. It’s how they help ME. Their strength, their courage helps ME.” Can I tell you a story?”

“Of course,” I replied, intrigued. Here is the story that Roy told to me about a lady patient that I will call “Helen,” although Roy never told me any names.

“Helen” was in here for a serious heart condition, as are most of the people I see. She asked me if she could tell me a story. She patted the bed for me to sit beside her. I did. I felt bad that she was having to face difficult things. What she told me was a story from her youth.

When this lady was about the age of 14 or so, she was on a school bus on her way to school. She and her friends always sat together in the front of the bus. At one of the bus stops, some black kids got on and instantly went to the back of the bus, as was the norm at the time. She wondered why that had to be, so she turned to the back and told some of the black kids to come sit with her. However, as the invited kids considered it, Helen’s own friends thought she was crazy. They were saying things like, “What are you doing? You can’t do that! and Don’t let them come up here. They belong in the back.” So, after consideration of losing her friends, “Helen” turned back around to them, not wanting them to be mad at her.”

Helen felt such regret for years and years that she did that. She never told anyone until she told me. She dared, after seventy-some years, to ask me, a black man, to sit with her, something she did not have the courage to do when she was young. She apologized to me, saying something like, “I know you are not one of those kids, but I feel so bad that I never apologized to those kids, so I want to apologize to you and anyone of your race. I am so sorry I did that. I did not stand up to my friends and did not make friends with the kids in the back. They did not deserve to be treated that way. I was so very wrong.”

I forgave her and thanked her for sharing that with me. It meant a lot, her having the courage to tell me that story. That’s what I mean when I say I get more from them than I give. She blessed me that day!”

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I teared up. He told me he teared up, too, when Helen told him the story. I felt the pain and regret of Helen. It had been building up for years. I also felt the love in the story. Helen loved and appreciated Roy’s care of her and that must have given her courage to tell him a difficult story and admit her wrongdoing. I told Roy this..

“Roy, love made her do that. You cared for her, then she cared for you. She told you a love story, then you told me one and now I will tell others with your permission. As Helen blessed you, you have blessed me, Roy. You are a black man and I am a white woman. You told me that story with courage, knowing I would love and accept it, didn’t you? Helen’s love went to you and yours comes to me and now mine will go to someone else. Love travels like that. Love has many stories to tell. Thank you for sharing that with me. You are here to take care of John and you just worked on MY heart real good.”

THE END

Or maybe the beginning. Love does have many stories to tell. Maybe I will tell you another story sometime:)

I truly love and appreciate you all. May God bless you real good today!

Christina

It is a poem/song day, but it is always a “God’s Word Day!” We all need encouragement and there’s no better place to find it than in God’s Word. Isn’t it awesome that we have a soft place to fall when we need it? The Lord is so good! Here are a few verses that reassure us that He is compassionate and totally there for us. Here is a song also, with a tune that is still in the making. (I am no musician!) It’s about falling into Jesus’ arms. He has never dropped anyone:)

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. Psalm 145:9,13b,14 NIV

If I Fall

I approach You, beating heart makes me want to fall apart. I’m so scared you won’t like what you see. Can’t stop now, I’m coming Lord, closer than I have before. Show me the last steps before I fall. And let me fall on You, fall into your arms, arms of love I need to feel. Keep me close and help me heal, Catch me now Show me how. Catch me Keep me Make me more like you. In your arms I feel relief, stress and problems at your feet. All I want is your will to obey. Use my feet, my heart, my all. Make me strong but if I fall, show me things I don’t know that I need. And let me fall on You, fall into your arms, arms of love I need to feel. Keep me close and help me heal Catch me now Show me how Catch me Keep me Make me more like You.

Have a great day and a restful weekend! I will be praying for you:)

Christina

Paul was in chains for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. His letters to Timothy are touching in their appeal to have Timothy continue to spread the gospel. Paul is driven, inspired, even eager to reach more and more people for Christ through Timothy’s efforts. So how can this happen while Paul is in chains? Paul says it best himself here:

 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 2 Timothy 2:8-9 NIV

God’s Word is not chained! It cannot be chained, contained or put in prison. It is living and active and enters and changes hearts and souls. The catch is, the gospel needs a spreader. Much like a farmer uses a spreader for seeds, we can be a spreader for seeds of God’s Word. Paul is a spreader! He is spreading what he calls, his gospel, through Timothy.

Not only is Paul a spreader, he is a leader-maker. He tells Timothy:

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 2 Timothy 2:2 NIV

Paul is telling Timothy, a leader in the making, to copy Him, not for his own glory, but to make more spreaders and teachers. That is the Unchained Gospel on the move!

Some questions for us to think on…

Am I a spreader? How so? Who do I tell about our Savior?

Am I a leader-maker? What would that look like in my life? Who would I entrust with the gospel and encourage them to tell others, as Paul did?

Personally, I pray I can be a better spreader with the goal of encouraging others to tell others, who tell others. I humbly believe this can only happen if we desire all glory go to God and the glorious gospel and not ourselves. Let’s not chain the gospel but spread it everywhere. People need to hear the message of a loving Savior and God before it is too late to tell them.

The music in my ears this morning? I Serve a Savior by Josh Turner. The chorus reminds me of Paul’s goal…

I serve a Savior
It’s what I was made for
His grace and love I don’t deserve
I will be faithful
Humble and grateful
My life is greater ’cause I serve a Savior

With love from our wonderful Father, have a wonderful day!

Christina

Do you, like me, ever get so wrapped up in handling trials that you feel down without realizing how you got there? I had a hard day yesterday and got so turned around so quickly by the enemy. On Monday, I was on a spiritual high, praising God for His care of mine and my husband’s health issues. The same day, I was made to wear a huge boot for my foot issue that hasn’t resolved, our laundry room pipe busted and we have to have the floor jack hammered and a few feet of pipe replaced, or perhaps many more. Unknown to us until Monday, John’s license was suspended three years ago! That was news to us! He found out when he got pulled over for expired car stickers. The suspension was related to a CDL work certification thing and them not receiving the paperwork that we mailed them twice, all for a CDL certification he no longer needs.

And the expired stickers? That got missed in the shuffle. We requested three times that the car be registered here in Roanoke, but Campbell County can’t seem to make that happen no matter how many people I talk to. I am pretty sure they mailed our plate stickers to our old address. Fortunately, the officer was sympathetic and John was not fined for any of this, but it will take a couple months to get his license back with the DMV slowdown, so he can’t drive for awhile. There are a couple more trials but I will not bore you with the details. I told John that I felt like laughing about it all, but it wasn’t funny! (I am laughing now…it IS funny!) We all have these trials, of that I am VERY sure and yours may be much worse than mine. So how do we stay joyful while trying to handle them? Well, we shouldn’t do what I did and let it weigh us down, lol! We need to use our faith in God.

However…our faith is not faith unless we enact it. So, how do we enact our faith? I think Paul said it best when he prayed for the Ephesians:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Ephesians 3: 16 NIV

Our faith comes from the glorious, rich abundance of God, and not from our being strong enough to handle it all. The more trials we have, the more prayer and stillness we need. That sounds kind of counter-productive at first but it’s true. We need to stop and think about how great and loving God is instead of focusing first on how big our trials are. Paul describes God’s love. I used to think Paul contradicted himself in the verses below:

…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3: 18b-21 NIV

How can we both know God’s love but it be more than we can think? We can grasp and know and be filled! We do not have to understand our trials to grasp His goodness. Though our joy sometimes depends on our circumstances, His joy and strength do NOT. He is always enough, more than enough and totally capable of filling us with joy, no matter what.

Love and prayers to you all for a blessed day in our Father’s abundant love,

Christina

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” John 14:23 ESV

I wrote this poem/letter to God last January, but changed it a bit. As in any relationship, but especially in our relationship with God, we need to reevaluate often to make sure we are giving our all and telling God what He already knows, that we love Him and want to serve Him better every day.

The Vessel

Dear God,

I think I may be overdue

to tell You of my love that’s true,

to ask You for right things to do,

to act in ways You taught me to.

May my life a mission be,

serving others so they see

a vessel sold out all to Thee

and not a cup that’s filled with me.

Make me thine and thine alone.

Fill this vessel from Your throne.

Pour me out to friends unknown.

Help me point them to Your home.

Open up my eyes to see

Where I don’t give all to Thee.

Grant me opportunity

And I’ll a better vessel be.

© Copyright 2020, Christina Crute