Devotional Crumbs
Crumbs are something we leave for the busboy at the restaurant to worry about. They are small pieces of evidence that someone has enjoyed a meal. However, God's word offers us crumbs as well.
A woman came to the Lord for healing for her daughter and Jesus said, "It is not fitting to take the children's (Jews) bread and cast it to the dogs" (Matthew 15:26). But what she said in response to is the attitude Jesus looks for in each of us. She said, "True Lord, but even the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master's table" (Matthew 15:27).
As far as Jesus was concerned, this Gentile woman expressed great faith because she understood the power of just a little crumb when that crumb comes from God's table ... from God's Word. She knew that just a crumb from Jesus could make all of the difference.
"I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread" (Job 23:12).
Go In Peace?
Did you know that major cities across the country hand out thousands of free one-way bus tickets to the homeless every year? It's called the Homeless Relocation Program. Its purpose is to ship "the problem" somewhere else. Click the link to source above for the 18-month nationwide investigation by the Guardian, which looks into what happens to these people at the end of their journey.
God brings needy people into our lives to give us the opportunity to grow in our faith. To take advantage of these opportunities, we must resist the temptation to pass them on to someone else. The Christian faith is nothing, if not a call to action. James wrote, "Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "[Here's a bus ticket] Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:15-17).
Crossing Over
Crossing over. Jars of Clay did it. So did Sixpence None the Richer, Pillar, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and one of my personal favorites… Switchfoot.
Crossover is a music industry term. It refers to acts that "cross over" from one music category to another. When Jars of Clay, for example, scored a major hit with their song "Flood," they crossed over from the contemporary Christian music charts to the pop music charts. Sixpence did the same thing a couple of years later with their song, "Kiss Me” and now Switchfoot’s “Mean to Live” is a big crossover hit.
When a contemporary Christian music act crosses over, the pop charts are like "uncharted" territory. The experience presents all sorts of challenges, not the least of which is contending for the faith within a more hostile environment.
The people of God have been "crossing over" into unfamiliar territory for many millennia.
When the nation of Israel was preparing to cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the territory was unfamiliar. So God directed the Levites to carry the Ark of the Covenant first – to represent God's presence with His people - and the Israelites were to follow them.
The same advice works for you. If you are crossing over into unfamiliar territory--from high school to college, for example, or to a new job or a new home--remember that God is with you.
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis 28:15).