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Tag: status anxiety

The Thief of Comparison and Criticism [Video]

September 15, 2019 MatthewRuttan

There are invisible thieves who can rob you of your contentment. One of them does so by convincing you to put too much stock in

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God is God. You are you. The “Up!” Devo for November 14 In today’s modern society we can control more and more things in the quest for convenience and comfort. -We can control the temperature in our homes, sometimes even from a distance. -We have access to medicines that people would have died for a century ago. -We can make headaches go away with a single pill. -We have microwaves and flush toilets. -We can bank from our phones. -We can track weather patterns live, and see forecasts. -We can download music from all over the world the minute it’s released. -We can control when and where we watch our favourite shows. -We can go shopping and remain on the couch, with our purchases delivered right to our front door. Control. But just because we can control more and more things, that doesn’t mean we can or should control EVERYTHING. In Revelation 4:8 we’re given a glimpse of worship in heaven: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” That profound lyrical truth gives us some much-needed perspective: God is in control. Not you. God is Almighty. Not you. God is the Author of life. Not you. It’s a plain-faced fact. So today, when you’re tempted to get stressed out about controlling this, that, and a million others things… Breathe. Seriously. Breathe deeply. Pause, and breathe deeply. Even for 10 seconds. It's a great reminder. Just because we can control more and more things, that doesn’t mean we can or should control everything. God is God. You are you. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Breathe. And be at peace. By Matthew Ruttan #peace #relax #faith #inspiration #control #society #convenience #stress #revelation

As beggars telling others about food The “Up!” Devo for November 13 For the past two days I’ve spoken about peace. And, more specifically, the peace that only Jesus can give. For those of us who have come to know and follow Jesus, this should fill us with great… Humility. Not superiority. Not arrogance. Not self-righteousness. In the same biblical book where we are told that Jesus is God in “bodily form” (Colossians 2:9), that he is to have “the supremacy” (1:18), and that he comes to “reconcile to himself all things” (1:20), we are also told to clothe ourselves “with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. So to guard against arrogance, here’s an idea: Be quick to notice your own flaws, and slow to notice others’. It will remind you of your own imperfection, God’s overflowing patience, and the mutual need all of us have. There’s a beautiful phrase in a booklet called Living Faith that makes the point: “in the spirit of humility, as beggars telling others where food is to be found, we point to life in Christ.” Let’s point to the life and peace Jesus offers with humble confidence, in a spirit of humility, and as beggars telling others where food is to be found. Be quick to notice your own flaws, and slow to notice others.’ By Matthew Ruttan --Bible quotes are from the NIV. #humility #integrity #kindness #virtue #faith #JesusChrist #peace #worldpeace #evangelism #colossians #inspiration

Neil Armstrong… and Jesus The “Up!” Devo for November 12 I read a story about an elementary school class who was learning about the moon. They wondered, ‘What does zero-gravity feel like?’ and ‘What did it really look like out there?’ As a surprise, the teacher had arranged for none other than Neil Armstrong to make a special appearance! In the middle of their discussion, in he walked. All of a sudden, their text books didn’t matter. They could talk directly with an expert, the first man to walk on the moon. He was the ultimate authority on the subject! In a similar way, Jesus is our ultimate authority on the subject of finding peace with God, and furthering peace between people. Colossians 1:19 says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Jesus]…” Think of that for a minute. If God was pleased to have ALL his FULLNESS dwell in Jesus, there’s no greater expert than him! If we truly know Jesus, we’ll know true peace. I believe that so much of the pain in our world, the uncertainty in our world, and the fear in our world, would be helped if we could be confident about our source of peace—not only for our relationship with God, but for our relationship with one another. We can be. Jesus’ identity, love, truth, integrity and example make him our ultimate authority. If Neil Armstrong was supremely qualified to talk about what it was like on the moon, how much more qualified is Jesus to talk about peace with God, and peace between people. In a troubled world, be confident in Christ, the "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). If we truly know Jesus, we’ll know true peace. By Matthew Ruttan #peace #worldpeace #peacewithGod #faith #JesusChrist #colossians #incarnation #faith #inspiration #confident

Our coordinate, route and destination for peace The “Up!” Devo for November 11 There are a lot of stories of about people over-relying on, or misusing, the GPS units in their vehicles. In England a big rainfall made the police close a road. The river went over the banks, making it impassable. But every day for two weeks at least one car drove past the warning sign and right into the river that was overflowing the road. Why? ‘Because my GPS said to go this way.’ Another is a woman from Belgium who set out to pick up a friend in Brussels. It was a 90-mile trip. But her GPS was set incorrectly. She missed the turn and kept going… for 900 miles! If the coordinates are wrong, the route is wrong, and we’ll never arrive at the right destination. I say this on November 11th because Jesus is our coordinate, route, and destination for world peace. If Jesus is not plugged in to the GPS of our hearts and minds, we will simply never arrive. I say this in a spirit of humility and with the pulse of Scripture. Colossians 1:19-20 says that through Jesus, God was reconciling "to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." ALL things, including peoples and nations. But he also works this peace between people through love. He is the one who says we should “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:31) and “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Even while hanging on the cross he said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Don’t be shy about who Jesus is or what he has done. Following him, talking about him, and loving others in his name, brings more peace into a world which needs it desperately. If Jesus is not plugged in to the GPS of our hearts and minds, we will simply never arrive. By Matthew Ruttan #remembranceday #november11 #lestweforget #love #peace #thankful #thecross #gospel #faith #gps

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