Red Bird Devotions #21

Living For Jesus

When the children were babies and Brent would rock them to sleep, he always sang the same song. Brent is not a singer (and I think maybe this is the only song where he knew all the words. He learned it in Cadets as a child) but his slightly off-key voice always sounded so sweet as he sang this to our sleepy babies lying in his arms.

I remember one night, when I was sad, my sweet husband sang this same song to me. As I listened to the words coming out of his mouth, I was struck by the solidity of the truth they contained. So…I decided to share them with you. Here they are:

"Living for Jesus”

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me. 
O Jesus Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

Living for Jesus can be so simple.

And we make it so hard.

When we yield allegiance to ourselves and make Him our only Master, we truly will be glad hearted and free.

Let’s try it, shall we?

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36

Ode to the Lonely Swingset

Ode to the Lonely Swing Set…

That sits in the yard forlorn

Wondering why the children won’t come out to play.

Weathered and in disrepair,

It remembers the golden years

When, strong and vibrant, it provided happiness and freedom

To little legs that reached for sky

And little hands holding on tight to childhood.

Now, splintered, ignored, abandoned

It longs to love again.

But instead, sits quietly remembering; waiting.

Dreaming of summer and sun

And barefooted children

Who have loosened their grip on the swing

And jumped into the future.

No Favorites

OK, this is the piece that will published soon, and I know it is nothing spectacular, but it conveys a simple idea that a child could easily grasp and remember. I plan to write and submit more as soon as I can. Here goes:

No Favorites

(submitted to DevoKids.com)

by Tori Haverkamp

My brothers and sisters, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So treat everyone the same.

James 2:1 (NIrV)

Mom said I couldn’t pick out the orange ones. But I do like the orange ones best.

In the summer, before we go on a hike around the lake, Mom makes trail mix. She always throws in nuts, raisins, and my favorite, M&M’s. I like to pick out the orange M&M’s and eat them first, but Mom said I couldn’t do that because I was showing “favoritism”. Favoritism means treating one thing, or one person, as more important than another.

Sometimes, when I’m at school, or playing football for my team, I pick favorites; you know, the people that are funny or have cool shoes or are great at tackling. But God says we need to love everyone the same. He said that He came to save ALL people, not just the cool ones. The people that wear old clothes are just as important as those who wear new. The kids who look differently, act differently, or smell differently than me are still the apple of God’s eye—just like I am. I need to love these people like God loves them. Then maybe they will see Jesus by looking at me.

So today when I grab a handful of trail mix, I will remember that God doesn’t have favorites. He loves everyone the same. Then, I will pick out ALL of the colors of M&M’s and eat them one by one. Yum!