March 13 – Thursday
Fasting Item(s): Sugars, Desserts, & Candy.
Today’s Scripture: Philippians 2:3-5 “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” NLT
Question: Do you need an attitude adjustment?
Devotion: “It was a normal day, driving his route along the Scajaquada Expressway for Buffalo bus driver Darnell Barton. Traffic was moving along its usual pace on a recent Friday, but as he crossed a bridge, he noticed a woman standing on the wrong side of the guardrail on a bridge. ‘It didn’t seem real because what was going on around, traffic and pedestrians were going by as normal.’ Barton told CBS affiliate WIVB in Buffalo. With a busload of passengers, Barton stopped in the middle of the bridge, opened his door and yelled out, ‘Ma’am, are you okay?’ The woman didn’t react, so Barton made an emergency call and unbuckled his seatbelt and exited his bus. As he approached, she still didn’t react. When he was in arms-length, the man known as ‘Big Country’ to his coworkers grabbed one of her arms, and then wrapped his other large arm around her.” (WIVB-TV, unknown author) I wanted to share this powerful story of one man’s courage and other-minded attitude and parallel it with the impact it had on one woman’s self-minded attitude. This story hits home all-to-well for me because I lost a brother to suicide and the devil throws it in my face that I didn’t save him from his mental and mortal wound. The Accuser says to me, “you are a failure on so many levels. You couldn’t do something so simple as to save your brother, what makes you think you can save your wife and children or anyone else for that matter?” Let me tell you, those days that I listen to the lies of the Accuser are pretty dark and lonely. Praise God that those days are less and less. Our attitude is a critical element in how we deal with life’s situations. We can be angry and depressed that things are tough and let that dictate our view on life OR we can see the tough times as an opportunity to grow in our dependence on Christ and His provision. Do you need an attitude adjustment? How do you see people? Are there opportunities that you’ve had to help, but instead of helping, you turned a blind eye to an obvious situation? OR, do you notice the people on the other side of the guardrail and stop the routines of the day to help as God leads? Does your attitude say to people that you love Jesus? Barton said this in the interview with WIVB-TV, “I feel like I did what I was supposed to do at that time. I’m a football guy so when you sit the bench and coach calls your number, you gotta go in there and make a play, do what the play calls for, and I think that’s what I did.” What bench are you sitting on? Who’s your coach? Are you ready to make the play? Jesus has called us to serve His people, for His glory, for Him to be their Savior through our hands and feet, and in Darnell Barton’s case, through his large arms to embrace the weary. I want to leave you with a Word from God that has been powerful to me in the constant accusations from the devil. “This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.” 1 Timothy 4:10 NLT Jesus does the saving, not me. Jesus paid the price for our sin, not me. Jesus said, “it is finished”, not me. So what’s our excuse to not work hard and to continue to struggle?
Prayer focus: Kids and Parents pray for your friends and children in other countries who may not know Jesus.
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