Jesus' Bubble

   As a teacher, you would expect that I would get hugs from students; because students are very touchy feely. It's true, I do get hugs from students. However, my love language is not physical touch. In fact, if someone is standing too close to me I feel like I need to move.
   See, I have what I call a large bubble. If someone stands too close in that bubble I get on edge. Some people have small bubbles. They enjoy standing really close to others. They like hugs and handshakes. I don't get it, but if you have a small bubble maybe you do.
   No matter how big or small your bubble is I'm sure there is someone who had a smaller one. Maybe you know him? His name is Jesus. Think about it: how many times was Jesus surrounded by a crowd? How many times did he touch someone to heal them? How many times did random people touch him in order to be healed?
   I remember in college we watched a clip from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. In the clip Jesus is overwhelmed with all the requests of the people. The people surround him and basically Jesus says "it's too much." Does this sound like Jesus to you? Because, it doesn't to me. Jesus can handle all of our needs and prayers. We may not understand that, because of our finite minds, but it's true.
   Now, that doesn't mean that Jesus gives us everything we ask for. He's a good father. If you had children and they asked for candy for supper every night, would you give it to them? No, God knows what we need.
   We can choose to give it all to him. He can handle your problems. We don't  have to carry our burdens. Your chains of burdens can be gone. Jesus is a big boy, with a tiny bubble. He will take your burden so you can be closer to him.
   So, do you believe God will take your burden? Have you chosen to give your burdens to him so you can be closer to him? What can you do to remind someone who is struggling with burdens that they can give it to Jesus today?

   Matthew 11:28-30 and Psalm 55:22

   Image from here. 

The Little Things

   One saying that I have begun to say a lot, in soccer and life, is "do the little things." In soccer, there is a very simple objective: put the ball in the other team's net. However, to actually get the ball in the other team's net you have do many different things well. You must pass, do moves, communicate, switch the field, defend, transition, check in and check out on throw ins, be aggressive, support your teammates, shoot for the corners, etc. If even one of those things isn't done well it is possible that that simple objective of getting the ball in the net will not happen. If a soccer team does the little things well, they can make big things happen like scoring and winning the game.
   In life we also need to do the little things. We need to serve joyfully, do our best each day, love others, trust in God and his plan, be patient, be loyal, have self-control, etc. It may be easy for you to do some of these things. Some of us are good at serving, for others it is a struggle. Some of us are good at trusting in God's plan, others have problems trusting in him. Some of us are good at controlling ourselves, others have issues controlling themselves.
   Doing all of these things is not easy. However, if we do these little things big things will happen. Others will see that your life is different if you do these things. That may lead them to ask you why your life is different. Then you can tell that person about Christ and the person then has the opportunity to accept Christ in his/her heart. That's the biggest thing in the world to happen. If that happens that person is now saved. That person is now our brother or sister in Christ.
   That's why we need to do the little things. We need to do our best to emulate Christ each day. Ephesians 5:1-2 says "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Jesus did the little things. He loved others and followed God. He then did a very big thing: he died on the cross to save us from our sins so we can be with him forever. It's amazing if you think about it. Christ's actions of little things led up to the biggest event in the history of mankind. And he calls us to do little things as well. What big things could we make happen if we would do the little things God calls us to do?
   So, are you doing your best to emulate God each day? Are you doing the little things in order to make big things happen? Image from here.

Quoting Love

   It is finally here. The day that is either relished or reviled: Valentine's Day. If you have a significant other, you may or may not enjoy Valentine's Day. Whether you enjoy Valentine's Day or not it is a good holiday to remind us about something really important to God: love.

   Love is a word that tends to be overused in today's society. Even though it is sometimes overused, or even used incorrectly, sometimes something very profound comes from society using this word. With that in mind, I'd like to go through some quotes about love that remind us of the true meaning of love.

   Piglet: "how do you spell love?" Pooh: "you don't spell it, you feel it." I don't know if you know this but Winnie-the-Pooh is a very profound character. He has some of my most favorite quotes and I'd encourage you to check out some others. Back to my point though: this is one quote that I don't entirely agree with. Many people nowadays think that love is just a feeling. However, in Matthew 22:37-40 says: "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Of course, we are called to love God, but we are also called to love our neighbors. Do you love everyone you come into contact with? Do you feel good, fuzzy, kind feelings about the person wrongs you? No? That's because love isn't a feeling. Love is a verb. Love is showing respect to someone even if it doesn't seem like they deserve it. I mean, just look at what Jesus did on the cross for us while we were sinning against him.

   Dug: "I was hiding under your porch because I love you." In this movie, Up, Carl is an older man who just wants to be alone. Even though he yells at Dug, who is a dog, Dug still stays loyal to Carl. He still loves Carl. Dug is like Jesus. He is always there for us; we just need to choose to let him in. It is just like in Revelation 3:20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." Jesus doesn't force himself on us. He gives us free will to choose Him. He loves us enough to wait until we are willing to let His love in.

   Olaf: "Some people are worth melting for." Olaf is a snowman in the movie Frozen. You and I both I know what happens to a snowman when he gets in front of heat: he melts. Olaf chose to care for Anna, who was sick, when he knew he could melt. Olaf is willing to sacrifice himself to care for someone else. Jesus gave an even greater sacrifice than Olaf. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus died to save all of us from our sin. He died because he loves us. He died so he could be with us in heaven. We are called to follow his example, take up our crosses, and die to ourselves each day. We are called to love others as well.

   So, on Valentine's Day, I encourage you to think about love today. Are you showing love to others no matter what? Have you let Jesus' love into your heart so you can be with him forever? What can you do to show Jesus' love to others today?

   Image from here.

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During Tests of Life...

   How can you worship something/someone you can't see? That's a question that Christians get sometimes. The argument being that we don't actually know what God looks like and we never actually hear anything from him. Why should we believe in someone we cannot see, hear, or touch?
   I don't know about you but even though I cannot physically see, hear, or touch God I know he is there. I know because I see God in the little things. When I need something like water and suddenly someone brings water to me, by coincidence, I know that is God touching me. When I'm struggling with something and someone comes to talk to me and see how I'm doing I know that's God speaking to me.
   But, sometimes I cannot see, hear, or touch God. I just cannot seem to find him. And, normally, when I cannot see him I feel that I really need him. I feel like I cannot go any longer without him and his help because I've just been beaten down by everything in life. I try to find the positive but it's hard to see the light when you are drowning in the sea of problems.
   In those times, I remember that God never gives us more than we can handle through him. Also I remember this quote from God's Not Dead 2: "the teacher's always quiet during the test." In life we will have times of trial and times of testing. Trials come from Satan. He wants to bring us down and separate us from God. Tests come from God. God wants to see if we will follow him no matter what, which is why he gives us tests (think of Abraham having to sacrifice Isaac).
   God is our teacher. He gives us everything we need to know in the Bible. He also walks with us in life. However, there are times he wants to see how much we have grown, just like any other teacher wants to. Teachers do not talk during tests. They want to see how much the student has learned; and what the student can do on his own.
   After the test is over, the teacher lets the student know how well he did. I don't know about you, but I always worked my hardest to pass tests. I wanted to become better, learn more, and grow. Therefore, I needed to know certain topics before I could learn other, harder, topics. Tests during life seem to be the hardest ones because sometimes you don't know you are in a test. But, whenever something happens in my life I try to look at it through different lenses. I look at it from my perspective, other people's perspective, and God's perspective. I do my best to pass these tests and trials in a godly way.
   So, do you ever have problems finding God? Do you see God in the little things? Do you work your hardest to pass tests given to you?

   Joshua 1:9, James 2:1-4

Sprinkles on Top

    I enjoy asking random questions. One day, at school, I asked my students what their favorite donut was (my school is right next to a Dunkin). They all had different preferences but there was pretty much one common trait on their donuts: they all wanted some form of sprinkles. I asked them why sprinkles are so important? They didn't really know how to answer that question other than it looks cool.
   Now, if my students had the option of just eating the sprinkles, I'm sure some of them would love it. But others probably wouldn't enjoy them as much. And, even if they did enjoy them by themselves, they would not want to eat them plain for long. See, sprinkles are not the bulk of the dessert. The bulk of the dessert is the ice cream, the cookies, the donut, etc. Sprinkles are just there to add color, texture, and fun to the dessert. They don't really do much other than that.
  In our lives we do, and have, many things. However, in our lives if we don't do one thing, we don't have the bulk of our dessert. If we don't accept Christ as our personal savior, we don't have the sweetness of his salvation, love, and friendship; if we don't accept Christ, we are missing the most important part of our lives.
   The thing is, when we don't have Christ as our personal savior, we feel like we are missing something. We are never satisfied. Then, when we accept Christ as our savior, we have many other challenges appear in our lives. These challenges may be so difficult that it seems like we are not being blessed by God. But we have a tendency to forget one thing: we have already been blessed by God through salvation. We already have the bulk of our dessert. We get to spend eternal life in heaven with Jesus. Everything else we get is just sprinkles on top.
   This is why we must follow the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which says, " Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." We will have difficulties in this life but if we have accepted Christ as our savior, we are able to face those problems in a new light. When problems come, we know we have someone who walks with us. When problems come, we know that no matter what happens to us we will have eternal life with Jesus.
   Rather than looking at the sprinkles, or good things, that come and go in life we should be thankful for what we do have. We should be thankful for the salvation that Jesus has given us. We should be thankful for a God who loves us and has a plan for us.
   So, do you have a tendency to forget that you have already been blessed in life? How can you be thankful for what you have each day?
   Image from here.

Ignoring the Problem

   Once I walked up to my room and I saw something very scary. It was tiny, black, and buzzing right toward me. I ducked then proceeded to calmly scream. After that I ran out of the room forgetting why I even went in there in the first place.

   I figured that the wasp had gotten through a hole where my air conditioner was in my window. That's why I thought that the wasp would just leave when it realized there wasn't any food in my room.

   I went upstairs that night to go to bed. That's when I saw it: a small wasp nest was up in the corner of my room. I peered in the tiny hole and I didn't see anything. I figured that the wasp built the nest and just left. I didn't want to touch it in case there was a wasp in there that I didn't see; so I left it there.

   The next day I went to go in my room again, and again I saw the wasp and the wasp nest. The only difference is the nest was bigger. That's when I realized my mistake. Because I ignored the nest, it got bigger. Long story short: one day I went upstairs with a fly swatter, found the wasp, killed it, and got rid of the nest.

   This experience taught me a lesson: if you ignore the problem many times it doesn't go away, it just gets worse. If I would have continued to ignore the nest, it would have gotten bigger and more wasps would have joined the nest. It is the same way with other problems and sin. If we ignore the sin in our lives it will just get bigger and worse. If we ignore a problem it will get bigger and worse.

   Ephesians 4:22 says: "So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to - the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires." We are to try not to sin when we become Christians. Will we still sin? Yes, we are not perfect and God knows this. That's why he sent Jesus to be a sacrifice for us. Yet, we are to try to follow Jesus. That means we are to do the right thing because we know what the right thing is.

   Along those lines, if we know the right thing and we keep sinning then we are just letting the wasp nest grow bigger. Hebrews 10:26-27 says "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries." We know what is right. Because we know what is right, we are required to do our best to do what is right. We cannot keep going back to our sin, or ignore certain parts of our lives where we know we are sinning.

   Which leads me to my final point: if we know someone is sinning and we don't keep them accountable that's a problem too. Galatians 6:1-2 says "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." We have a responsibility to keep each other accountable. Now that doesn't mean if someone is sinning we go to them and scream at them. We can go to them in love. We need to think about what we are going to say; and show we are saying this because we care about them.

   So, do you have a wasp's nest you are ignoring in your life? What can you do to get rid of that problem today? Do you know someone who has a problem that you can help with? What can you do to help someone today?
   Image from here.

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

   Some of you may know that I was a soccer goalie. Throughout my goalie career I received many injuries, as I'm sure you can imagine. I have had minor injuries, like brush burns. And, I've had major injuries, like black eyes and boarder line concussions. No matter what injury I received they all had one thing in common: after each injury I received, I got up. As a goalie, it is vital that I got up after each play. If I did not get up then my teammates may have thought I had given up, I would not have made the second save if I needed to, and my team may have thought I was hurt.

   One time when I was playing an indoor game I went out to make a standard breakaway save. I got the ball and then I went to get up quickly like normal, but I couldn't. I started to panic. My body felt fine except for a few brush burns. Then I realized someone or something was touching my head. Turns out my friend, who played defense, was running back and was afraid she was going to kick my head. Instead of kicking my head she used her hand to hold my head down. I don't know how she got her hand down mid sprint but she did, and I've never been more freaked out in my whole goalkeeper career. You have to understand that when I want to get up I get up. I'm not used to something or someone holding me down.

   Maybe you have felt this way about a different situation. You may have been going through a tough time and you just felt like you couldn't get up out of the situation. You may have even felt like the devil was the one holding you down. It reminds me of the commercial where the older person has fallen and she can't get up. Like I'm talking this situation is so bad that it feels like it is the devil pushing you down and you cannot get up. Believe me I have been in that situation as well and it is 10 times worse than just your head being held down. I am talking major panic attacks, worrisome thoughts, and it seems like there is no hope.

   What can you do when it feels like you've fallen and you can't get up because the devil has pushed you down? Let's take a look at the ultimate example again. Jesus was pushed around by the devil. He was out in the wilderness, fasting for 40 days. Could you imagine not eating for 40 days? Let alone, being alone for 40 days? Satan knew this would be the time that Jesus was the weakest. He went to Jesus and tempted Jesus 3 times. He, in essence, tried to hold Jesus down 3 times. Each time Jesus  rebuked the devil. Jesus knew that Satan was wrong because Jesus knew scripture. Jesus kept his eyes fixed on God. In the end Jesus said to Satan: “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Mat.4.10). Jesus used the ultimate take down: he used scripture. He flipped the script on the devil. He flipped the devil over and K.Oed him.

   Jesus gives us this power too, but we cannot do it on our own. Many people would like to think they can do it on their own. They think all of the sudden they are going to get hulk powers and rip the devil apart. Is that what Jesus did? Is that what God did? Ha, no the most powerful beings did not just flip the devil over. They could, Jesus could have that day, but instead he was an example for us. He used God's word to prove that we need him. Jesus comes and tag teams with us. We just need to be willing to call on him, tag him, and let him K.O. the devil. With his help, we cannot be held down.

   So, the next time you are held down what will you do? Do you believe that with Jesus' help you cannot be held down? What can you do to make sure that you grow in your walk with your wrestling partner, Jesus?

   Matthew 4:1-25 and Proverbs 24:16

   Image from here.