Sharpening Your SWORD

   This week I was at Camp YoliJwa (YOuth LIving Jesus WAy). Their theme this year is SWORD. In Hebrews 4: 12 it says: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

   At Camp we talked about how important it is to know the Word of God. One activity we did really hit home for me. Each year we have a different memory verses to memorize. There are usually 5 to memorize (5 days in the work week). However, some people pointed out that usually after we memorize them we forget them quickly so it’s not really memorization.

   One of the teachers there said she doesn’t call it memorizing, she calls it a heart verse. Many people don’t try to memorize the Bible because they think they will always have it. However, I have been in multiple situations already where I didn’t have my phone or a Bible and I was trying to think of a verse that was applicable. It’s not easy to do, especially if you are under pressure. Also, people don’t memorize scripture because the references are so confusing, and I’m kinda with you on that one.

   This teacher said she doesn’t try to memorize she keeps these verses in her heart. If she doesn’t get the whole thing right word for word that’s okay (as long as she doesn’t add or take away from the meaning of scripture). I thought even that may be tricky and I’ve grown up in the church my whole life.

   On Friday, we did an activity where we had a list of situations. Each situation was different and evoked different emotions. We were challenged to not use the Bible but instead our memory to put scripture we could use in each situation on the page. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t terribly hard either. I was honestly shocked that I knew many verses for the situations. I may not have known the reference but I knew the gist of the verse. It was a good activity because now I know some verses to use if I ever get into those situations and I will not feel pressured.

   What about you? Do you know the Bible well enough that if someone had a list of situations you could put a verse to that situation? If you do not, I encourage you to try to spend more time in the word. Try to put certain verses in your heart so you will have them when you face trials. If you are not good at memorizing, that’s okay. Just spend some time meditating on those verses you find. Ask God to show you some verses you need to see in situations you are in now.

   Hebrews 4:12, Matthew 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:16

   Image from here.

Love That Person Unless....

   If you know my  family, you know we have a pretty interesting dynamic. My sister and I, in particular, have a very interesting relationship. She's 8 years younger than me, we share a room, I'm her coach for soccer, and we're so close that we know what the other is thinking most of the time. Like all siblings we have our fights, but we always make up fairly quickly.
   We were not always that close. When she was little she was super annoying but now it's like we are on a team together. In fact, we are on a team together. We are on a soccer team but we are also on Christ's team. We both have the same ideals because we both know Christ as our personal savior. I'm not sure there's someone on earth, other than maybe my mom, who knows me as well as my sister does.
   However, there's someone who knows me better than I know myself. God knows my every thought. He is my friend, father, and savior. He knows my every quirk. He knows everything that may make me annoying to people. He knows every mistake I've made and he still loves me.
Sometimes I think Christians put too much of an emphasis on the judgement of God. We think that we need to "hate the sin and love the sinner," which isn't in the Bible by the way. We think that we need to be in the world but not of it, which is true but we take it too far sometimes.
   The Greatest commandment and the second greatest commandment are basically to love God and love others. It's funny how that commandment doesn't say "Love others unless they are committing adultery." It doesn't say, "Judge others instead of love them." It just says to love them. Yes, there will be people in our lives who we see sinning; and, in love, we will need to go to them to try to keep them accountable. But, that doesn't mean we are to stop loving them if they don't listen.
   Jesus spent his time with sinners and the sick. We are all sinners. We've all been there. Why is it so hard for us to remember it's not our place to judge? It's not our place to go to a sister and say, "Hey, I noticed that you've been gossiping a lot lately." And, if she doesn't change her ways, say to ourselves I'm not going to spend any more time with her. Yes, we need to be careful we don't fall into sin, but God will help us to not fall into temptation if we trust him. Even if we cannot spend time with that person anymore for different reasons we should still pray for her. If she needs help we should still help her. Jesus didn't always save people who believed in him. He saved sinners; he came to save us all. Why can't we show that kind of love to others too?
   So, will you love others like a brother and a sister? Do you show God's love to others? Are you too judgmental at times?

   John 13:34-35, Matthew 22:36-40, Galatians 6:1-2

   Image from here. 

What Would You Sacrifice? A Father's Day Blog

   It's that day when we honor our fathers. There have been many fathers throughout time. One father was asked to do something I'm sure many fathers would have never dreamed of doing: sacrifice his son.
   Abraham had waited years for God to fulfill his promise to him. He was promised land, children, and blessing. Now, God had blessed Abraham and protected him. Abraham did have land but it wasn't all the land he was promised. He finally got a child, Ishmael, but that created problems for his family. Then God gave Sarah and Abraham a child when they were very old. Isaac was born. Abraham loved Isaac. He tried to be a good example to Isaac. Then one day God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
   Hold up, wouldn't a loving God want this child alive? Since when did God ask for human sacrifices? This probably seemed crazy to Abraham. Yet, Abraham had seen that God is faithful. Thus, in faith, Abraham took Isaac up the mountain to be sacrificed.
   Now, imagine being Isaac. You are young, trying to follow your father's example, and all of the sudden your father ties you up. Isaac was strong and much younger than his father. He could have easily overpowered his father. But, Isaac chose to trust his father. This shows that Isaac had faith in his father because he knew that Abraham had faith in God.
   In the end, Abraham didn't have to sacrifice Isaac. More than likely those men left the mountain changed forever. They saw the power of faith. They saw that God gives and takes away for a reason. Isaac took that experience and understood that he needed to follow God in faith no matter what.
   That's what I call a fatherly example. What kind of example are you setting for your children? Do you spend time with God? If God calls you to do something do you follow him? Do your children see your faith in action through how you treat them and others? If you answered no to any of these questions I encourage you to think about what you need to change to be a better example. This includes if you don't have children, because children are watching all adults. No, we are not perfect. But, we can try to be a good example for those who will come after us.

   Ephesians 6:4 and Proverbs 22:6

   Image from here.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

   I promised a while ago that you would more than likely hear lessons from my new dog Jak Jak. Well, here is your first one.

   One day my sister was playing with Jak Jak. She had his squeaker toy and he was trying to get it from her. She held it high in the air. She was trying to get him to jump. He started barking and growling at the toy and at her. Now, you need to know that Jak Jak doesn't really bark much. He may bark at  a certain type of dog but other than that he's fairly docile.

As he was barking my sister said, "you have to try." See, Jak Jak hadn't even tried to jump to get the toy. He just barked because he wanted my sister to put the toy lower. Finally, Jak Jak jumped. He missed. Then he backed up, ran, and jumped. He got the toy. My sister said, "see, you just had to try."

   There are multiple lessons in this little episode. One is never give up. Another is try. But I want to focus on something you may not have thought of. At first, Jak Jak used his words. I don't speak dog so I don't know what he was saying but I can imagine he may have been yelling at my sister, making excuses, or he could have been saying "I am going to get it give it to me." His words didn't do him any good. We can rant and rave about something that upsets us or something we want but does that do us any good?

   It wasn't until Jan Jak tried to get the toy that he succeeded. Jak Jak stopped just using words. He stopped yelling. He stopped making excuses and let his actions speak. That little idea that actions speak louder than words is proven here. Many times we walk through life making excuses or yelling about things we don't like. But, that doesn't do us any good. We need to try. We need to work. We need to act.

   If there's something you don't like that's going on, what can yo do about it? If there's something that seems impossible do you just give up or do you keep trying? Do you ask God for guidance and help when you have problems and you are not sure what to do?

   James 1:22 and James 2:18

   Image from here. 

Kindergarten Graduation

   Last year I was blessed to be a Kindergarten teacher.  I specifically remember Kindergarten Graduation. The students worked so hard to memorize songs, lines, and verses. They did a phenomenal job!

   I have experienced graduations when I was young as well as when I was old. I do not remember my personal preschool graduation, but I do remember many preschool graduations I helped out with. They are a little different from High School and College graduations. In High School and College students who graduate are looking forward to either College or the real world. Those graduations are a milestone and very serious.

   What is the difference between preschool/kindergarten graduation and High School/College graduation? For one thing, Preschool and Kindergarten students are younger. As stated before, High School and College graduates are going into the real world. But, at Kindergarten graduation I was reminded of another difference.

   In Matthew 18 the disciples went to Jesus and asked him “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus called a child to him and said that unless we become like little children we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. It is difficult for the disciples to understand this lesson. In fact, it is difficult for anyone who has not had interaction with children to understand this.

   At Kindergarten Graduation I was reminded of this lesson. I watched my students put on their caps and gowns, look at their gifts, and talk with excitement about the ceremony. Their eyes lit up with every kind word, hug, and gift they received. Then the ceremony began. The kids sang their hearts out. They had such enthusiasm when they sang; and, if they messed up, they did not care. They just kept singing.

   Children have an innate curiosity about the world around them and faith in those around them. As we grow, we tend to lose our curiosity and faith. We also tend to lose our thankfulness for the things God has given us.

   So, whether you are younger or older, graduating or not I encourage you to remember to have faith like a child. Will you choose to be thankful for what you have been given? Will you be enthusiastic and curious about the world around you?

   Matthew 18:1-5, Jeremiah 29:11, Mark 10:13-16

   Image from here.

Do You Want to Follow a Cowboy or a Shepherd?

   Once someone told me I was a shepherd. I was confused because I didn't have any sheep. I knew that they were talking about the spiritual gift of shepherding. When you have the gift of shepherding you are kind of like a mentor or teacher to others. Once again, I didn't feel like I had any followers or sheep. I just said, "thanks" then moved on.
   Later that week I was in class at LBC. We were talking about shepherds. Now, if you were to ask children back in Jesus' time what they wanted to be when they grew up, my guess is they would not choose to be a shepherd (If they actually had a choice). Shepherds were one of the lowest jobs you could have back then. They were out in the fields all day, sweaty, smelled like sheep, and had to protect the sheep from wild animals. That doesn't sound like a dream job.
   If you were to ask a child today if they would rather play shepherds or cowboys which do you think they would say? I think they would say cowboys. When they think about cowboys they think or riding horses, herding cattle, and using guns (for some reason children like pretending to play with those, probably because we tell them not to do it).
   Back to LBC my professor talked about how Jesus was called the Good Shepherd. Jesus was a shepherd.... wait, wasn't his father a carpenter? Why would Jesus want to be a shepherd? Jesus is a shepherd to us.
   Why isn't Jesus a cowboy? Well first off, cowboys didn't exist back then. Next I don't think we, Jesus' sheep, would appreciate it if he was a cowboy. Cowboys ride behind their herd. They use force to lead their herd where they want them to go.
   Jesus doesn't force us to do anything. He gave us free-will. We get to choose if we follow Jesus. That's why Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Shepherds lead their herds. They shoe the herd where to go. But, if one of the sheep chooses to leave the herd the shepherd goes to find the sheep. We, the sheep of the shepherd's herd, have a choice. We don't have to follow the shepherd. We can choose to leave the herd, but Jesus, the shepherd, comes after us. He is always with us. He wants us to come back to the herd when we fall away. He doesn't whip us to make us come back. He picks us up, takes us back, and cares for us.
   What does this mean for us? It means that we are to be shepherds to others, because we are to be like Jesus. We are to teach others and help bring them to the herd of the Good Shepherd.
It means we need to remember that as Jesus' sheep we have a choice. We can follow the Good Shepherd or we can choose to go our own way. Jesus wants us to follow him but we have free-will. The great thing is that if we leave the herd Jesus doesn't just leave us alone. He goes after us. When we are ready to come back he accepts us. This isn't a once and done thing. We don't get one chance to be in Jesus' herd. He loves us so much that he doesn't want us to perish in our own choices or sin.
   That doesn't mean we get a pass to go do what we want until we know we are about to die. We should want to follow Christ because we know better. It is one thing to not have knowledge of what we should do. It is another thing to know the truth and choose not to follow it. We don't know when we will die. We don't know when Jesus will come back. Choose today to follow the Good Shepherd.
   So, do you want to follow a cowboy or a shepherd? Will you choose to follow the Good Shepherd? How can you shepherd others today?

   John 10:11

   Image from here.