Broken

   Have you ever gone through a time where you just don't think things can get any worse? Maybe multiple things happened to you in the period of a few days that just weren't what you were expecting. Maybe you wondered how God could allow those things to happen to you. That's when you get the typical answer from a Christian friend, "everything happens for a reason." You may not like to hear that answer, I believe it is true and even I don't like hearing it sometimes.

   God does do everything for a reason. To illustrate this let me tell you a story I once heard. Once there was a pastor. The pastor was mentoring a young man who decided he wanted to be a pastor. By meeting together, the pastor had discovered some items that had to be dispelled from this young man if he was going to be a successful pastor. Apparently, the young man was very prideful. He thought he could do it all on his own and that he knew everything. One day the young man got some bad news. His father had just died suddenly of a heart attack. The young man was upset and began to call friends to let them know what happened. When he called his first friend, his friend was already crying. The young man asked if his friend had already heard about his father. His friend said "no." The friend then told him that apparently some of their friends had just gotten into an accident and died. The young man broke down. He wondered why God would let this happen. Then he turned his back on God. He began to drink and separate himself from friends and family. Eventually the young man saw the error of his ways and went back to church. The young man spoke with the pastor and said he realized that he had to be broken in order to grow closer to God. He saw that he was prideful and changed his ways (The Bait of Satan).

   This man could be likened to Peter. Peter was almost always one of the first disciples to speak, and sometimes he spoke without thinking. Peter was one of the disciples who argued about who would be greatest. He thought he could control things that just were not in his control. Peter too, was broken. He denied Jesus 3 times when Jesus needed him most. But, after Peter was broken, he turned to Jesus and was a very influential leader in the beginning of the church. Peter gave up his pride and shined brighter than ever. If Peter hadn't gone through that experience he never would have had that influence on others for Christ.

   As Christians I think we forget that sometimes God brings about bad things for our good, even if Satan caused it to happen. We may not like the things that happen to us but they can help us grow in God, if we let them. Being broken hurts but if we are never broken we cannot grow into something more beautiful. Just think about it, even a glow stick needs to be broken before it can shine (otherwise it is useless).

   So, when bad things happen how will you view them? Will you trust that God can use everything for good? Will you let your light shine no matter what happens?

   Psalm 51:8, Psalm 147:3, Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

   Image from here. 

Courageous Fathers

   Father's day: the day where dad's get mugs that say "# 1 dad," tools, or other gifts that are considered manly. We all have a father. Unfortunately some people don't think of Father's day as a good holiday. Rather, it is a reminder that their father failed. Some children have never met their biological father, never had a father, or their father hurt them in some way.
   It is very difficult for fathers in this world. They are expected to be the head of the house, be a rock to the family, and are to be an example. They have to live up to some pretty high standards considering we all have another father: our Heavenly Father. God is the best father we could ever have. But, it is also important for us to have strong examples of fathers on earth. What can we do when our earthly father is not there for us or not a good example?
   The answer is we cannot do much. It is going to take godly men like Adam Mitchell, a police officer from the movie Courageous, to step up. In the beginning of the movie Adam was not the best example of a godly father. But, as the movie went on, Adam began to change and try to be more like God. He even encouraged others to change their ways and become examples to their children. Adam stepped up and helped a friend's child by spending time with the child because the child's birth father was in jail.
   Fathers need to step up and realize that whatever they do is being watched even if they don't realize it. Fathers must be an example to children even if they don't want to be. If we don't have fathers step up, then our world is in for a rude awakening.
   So, will you choose to be an example to children? Will you step up and help children who may not have godly fathers?

   Romans 12:2, Matthew 5:16, Proverbs 20:7

   Image from here. 

The Advocate

   If you know me, you know I enjoy taking personality quizzes. Also, because I am a teacher, I like to get to know others and their personalities. That may be why I ask my family and friends to take many random quizzes like "what Disney Princess are you?" I really like Disney, can you blame me? ;)
   One quiz I took in high school and college was the Jung personality test. I enjoyed taking that test because it told me about the way I work. Through the years I have taken that quiz many times; though people say your personality doesn't change mine tends to go back and forth between 2 personalities. The most common personality type I get is INFJ. I typically take this test on the 16 personalities website. Recently, that website put names with each of the personalities. Mine is called the advocate.

   This got me thinking about how Jesus is our advocate. 1 John 2:1-2 says: "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." How does Jesus relate to the advocate personality? I'm glad you asked.
   People with the INFJ personality connect easily with others. That is because they speak in human terms rather than in logical ones. Looking at the Bible we see that Jesus differentiated how he spoke to people based off of the peoples' education. Most of the time he was speaking to people who were not educated. Jesus told these people Parables that they could relate to. Does that mean he told the people exactly what they needed to know in plain terms? No, he wanted people to think and seek him. Jesus did make it easy for people to understand the principles he wanted to get across because he used stories they would understand.
   Another strength the advocate has is they are altruistic. I mean, just look at what Jesus did for us. Even while he was on earth, Jesus did not really do much for himself. He went far distances and sometimes went without food just so he could tell others about how they could be saved. Then he completed the greatest act of unselfishness: he died for us. He did not die for himself, he died for us.
   According to the website previously mentioned, a weakness of the advocate is they can burn out easily. This is the dark side when it comes to unselfishness. Jesus was human while on earth. He completed so many acts that many of us may have been done after his first month of teaching. However, Jesus knew that it was important to rest. Go figure, God gave us a day of rest and he knows the importance of resting. :D Jesus spent time resting, praying, and walking with God. That's how Jesus avoided burn out. He knew he needed to step back sometimes and rejuvenate.
   Advocates are loyal friends. No matter how many times we fall away from God Jesus calls us back to him and accepts us when we return to him. He also wants to see us grow in him. He sees our potential and who we can become. He wants to help us grow into that person.
   Finally, the advocate sees subordinates as equals in the workplace. Wait, Jesus sees us as equals?! How can we be his equal? He is God. Yeah, we definitely are not his equal in that way but Romans 8:17 says: "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." We get the same inheritance Christ has: we get to have eternal life. We get to go to heaven. You may be saying, "sweet, I accepted Christ so I'm going to heaven to get my inheritance no matter what I do." There's a catch. 

   According to this verse we need to share in his sufferings.  Advocates expect workers to be as motivated and reliable as they are. In short we are to act like Jesus. How can we act like Jesus? He is God and he is perfect. That does not mean we are to be perfect. It just means we are to try and be like him. Jesus knows we will not be perfect, that's why he died on the cross, and because he loves us. We just have to continue to grow in him and try to be like him.
   Why does it matter that the advocate personality sounds a lot like Jesus? It matters because without Jesus having these attributes we would not be saved. Why should you care about these personality types? It helps you know yourself and others, which is what Jesus calls us to do. He calls us to love others which means getting to know them.
   So, do you know how important it is for Jesus to be your advocate? How can you grow in Jesus?

   How can you use personality types to show love to others?

   Image from here.

Good Grain

   Imagine you had to go out and harvest items in order to make dinner. In Bible times they had to do just that. They did not have a store they could go to in order to buy food. They had to work for their food.
   One activity they had to do was grain threshing. It kind of reminds me of searching for gold in one of those strainer like pans. Except, rather than sifting, they threw the grain up in the air. Why did they throw the grain in the air? In Psalm 1 we find the answer: "Not so the wicked, They are like chaff, that the wind blows away." Chaff is not a word that we hear too often nowadays. Chaff is the parts of the grain we don't use in the bread. The grain is the good part that we need to make bread.
   Why should you care about grain and chaff? I am not saying you should. What I am saying is that there is another lesson in this activity. Each day you go out and work in some way, shape, or form. I am sure that you don't come home from work every day saying, "I can't wait to go back. I love my job." More than likely you wake up thinking, "Oh I have to deal with that situation again." Or, "I cannot believe I have to work with that person." Those thoughts are like the chaff. We must hold on to the grain, which are the good thoughts.
   We have a choice. We can choose to focus on the positive each day, the grain. Or, we can focus on the negative things, the chaff. I don't know about you but I don't want to focus on something that won't produce anything. Grain gives life because it makes bread. Chaff will just bring death if that is all we focus on.
   So, do you focus too much on the negative? What can you do to stop focusing on the negative chaff? How can you focus on the good grain today?

   Philippians 4:8 and Proverbs 17:22

   Image from here.