You know, there are many times where I watch something and then it hits me that there is some sort of way to connect it to a spiritual discipline. That happened one day when I was watching an orange juice commercial.
The commercial starts with a lady drinking a cup of orange juice. There is a table and many people sitting around it. The lady asks them what is going to happen to her that day. The people go around and tell her exactly what is going to happen at the exact time it will happen; and none of it is good. The lady takes each event in stride. At the end she says, "good thing I had my orange juice."
Well, that commercial is a lot like us and the Holy Spirit. There have been many days where I feel like almost everything is going wrong. But then I feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit, a God coincidence happens, or a verse or song comes to mind at just the right moment. Without the Spirit, I'm not sure I would make it through days like that.
God is a good father. He is three in one for a reason. Jesus came to complete the work on the cross. Then he told the disciples he had to leave but he wouldn't leave us alone. He would send a helper to be with us and guide us. That is the Holy Spirit. While we may not be able to see him, he is there. And it's nice to know that he is there, and we can take on each day with him.
So, are you taking on each day with the Holy Spirit? How can you grow closer to God so you can feel the Spirit's leading more?
A few years ago, I began the journey of online dating. I was older than most people were when I started dating. I knew it may be possible that I find someone who was following Jesus but wasn't quite what I had in mind for a husband. I wasn't expecting perfection, as no one is perfect, but I was hoping for someone who could walk through life with me and who was following God.
As I began the journey, I talked with some guys who called themselves spiritual but didn't believe in Jesus as their personal savior. I stopped talking with them fairly quickly as I knew that I needed someone who would follow Christ. Then I talked with some who were believers in Christ, but something still didn't feel right.
See, I knew that there wasn’t one perfect person out there for everyone. What I was looking for was someone who could lead our family in a biblical way. Anything else was a bonus. The guys I was talking with were Christian and some were even leaders in their churches so I knew they would be good as a husband. But something kept holding me back from agreeing to be their girlfriend.
Then I met Nate. He believed in Christ and was a humble leader. In no way was Nate perfect, but he was following the same path I was, and I felt equally yoked to him. And, as a bonus, he had many of the same interests I did.
He was more than I could have hoped for. Because, for years, I thought something was wrong with me. I thought no one would want me because no one had shown an interest in me. But that was a lie. God wanted me. He wanted me to trust him. He wanted me to grow in him, lean on him, and love him before I could love another the way God loves.
He also wanted what is best for me and it was better than what I was expecting. I was ready to settle. When I say settle, I was ready to find a man who was following God. And, yes, that would have been enough and fine. But God had more in store for me. He had a different plan. And it was so much better than settling.
So, are you where you need to be in your walk with God? How can you trust in his plan more each day?
Have you ever had a time when you felt the Spirit leading you to do something, but you chose not to do it? I know I have. One of the times that sticks in my brain the most is when I was in sixth grade. I was in a fight with my best friend. We had not been talking for at least three months.
Then one day I got off the bus to walk home. My friend lived on my street. I felt the Spirit leading me to talk with her. To try to reconnect with her. To ask for forgiveness. But my pride got in the way. She was the one who wronged me. She should be the one to say sorry. She should make the first step toward reconnecting.
I didn't talk with her that day. The next day she wasn't on the bus. The cars that were normally at her house were gone. I had known they were moving but I had no idea it would be so soon. The spirit knew. The spirit told me to reconcile with her, but I chose not to listen. Now, later I did try to say sorry, but she was not receptive to it. Who knows, if I had tried to reconcile that day, maybe she would have been my friend again. I felt sorry and ashamed for not listening to the spirits leading.
Another time I was at a church event. I was running the sound system. I had just turned the lights down for prayer and began playing a prayer playlist. The person up front was praying. Suddenly, I had a vision of someone I hadn't talked to or heard from in over a year. I saw her talking at the microphone in front of everyone. I heard her ask for prayer.
I'm not going to lie, part of me didn't want to text her even though that's what I felt the Spirit telling me to do. I didn't want to because this was a girl who had been after my boyfriend. A girl who told me she hated me. And she had cut us off when we tried to help her. But I knew I should listen.
I texted her that I felt the Spirit leading me to pray for her. Then prayed for her to grow in God and that she would be blessed. I heard back from her. She thanked me and asked me to pray for some more specific things and I did. I felt such peace and joy after I did that. And I don't know what me choosing to do that did for that girl, but we are called to follow the Spirit's leading. We may not see the outcome but it's our job to plant the seeds.
So, are you following the Spirit's leading? How can you grow closer to God so you can know what he wants you to do?
My husband and I enjoy the sport of archery. One day, after about twelve classes, I was shooting with a different bow. When you are shooting archery, you would think the goal would be to hit the bullseye every time. It is, but it takes a lot of steps to do that. If you have a sight, a tool that helps you aim, then your goal is to get a good grouping. That means you do everything consistently aiming at the middle of the target with your sight. If your sight is off, then you may not hit the bullseye. You shoot a round of three arrows then, if they group well, you move the sight based on where the grouping is.
I moved my sight this day until I couldn't move it any farther to the right. But my arrows were still going to the right of the target. Different instructors kept coming over to try to help me figure out why they kept going to the right. They adjusted my technique in different ways, but the arrows kept going right.
Finally, one of the lead instructors came over. She watched what I did. Then she said, "your technique looks good. Let me look at your bow." She looked at the bow and realized that it was the bow that was the problem. It was not meant to be shot that far for one thing. For another, it was a bow that wasn't really meant to have a sight so that made it harder. The instructor went to get me a different bow.
I was thinking about how that event related to life. Sometimes it can feel like you are doing everything right, but things don't work out. You can show love to others, serve, grow in God by reading the Bible and praying, etc. but sometimes bad things still happen. Your friend still leaves, your job is still a stressor, you are having financial troubles, or whatever the problem is.
Now, obviously, no one is perfect but there are times where you just feel like you are doing everything you can to make the situation better but it's still not being fixed. Sometimes it's not you. Sometimes it is a test or a trial. Other times maybe Satan is attacking you. Whatever the reason, take heart. Just because things don't seem to be working out doesn't mean what you are doing isn't good. Keep pressing on and into God. Trust in his perfect plan. Then, one day, you will hit that bullseye.
So, are you in a test or trial right now? Are you still doing your best to do what's right? If not, what can you do to grow in God and do what is right?
Have you ever felt like the world was pulling at you? Like your flesh wanted something or was focused on something that wasn’t in the Spirit? I know I have. That happens especially when I see some chocolate or yummy looking dessert that I know would be something I shouldn’t have.
What about the other way around though? Have you ever felt the spirit pulling at you to do something? I’ve talked about how as we mature in our faith; we end up committing sins of omission rather than commission. In other words, we sin when we don’t do something God is calling us to do rather than choosing to do something that is a blatant sin. Those are the ones that get me now.
I’ll give you an example. Imagine you are at church one day and your leader says, “now we are going to have a time where we share testimonies of what God has done in your life this week.” Then the microphone is opened for people to go up and share. Suddenly, you feel this tug in your gut. That’s what I call the pull. You may begin to get butterflies. Your heart may beat faster. Your head may feel a bit dizzy. That’s how I feel the Spirit pulling me to do something.
Now, I’ve felt the pull before, and I have not done anything about it. Usually, when that happens, I feel guilty or like I’ve missed out on doing something. Who knows? If I had done what the pull was calling me to do someone may have had a life-changing moment. But I don’t know that because I didn’t do anything about it.
James 4:17 talks about the sin of omission, or not doing what the pull is telling you to do. It says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” Knowing the right thing could be not doing one of those blatant sins. But it could also be feeling that calling to do something. It could be God leading you to grow and make a difference in someone else’s walk with Christ. But you won’t know that until you surrender to the pull.
So, have you ever felt the pull? What happened when you surrendered to the pull? How can you grow in your relationship with God so that the next time you feel the pull you surrender to its leading?
One day I was at
church during worship. In the past, I had not opened myself up to the Spirit's
leading. It could have been because I was worried about how others perceived me
or because I was concerned about the things of this world. That day I left all
the distractions behind. I opened to the worship.
Now, I know we
are all different and worship in different ways. That's good because that's how
God created us, different. Some people dance, others cry out, others just
meditate on the words, and much more. But there's one thing we should all have
in common during worship. We should allow the word to penetrate us.
I don't know how
you worship or if you've felt the spirit during that time. I hope you have.
When I let myself go during worship I feel the words. I feel his words in my
heart and my mind. He speaks to us when we listen.
The Bible
doesn't say that the word is dead. It says it is alive and active. It
penetrates us. It doesn't just bash into us like a shield. It has a point. And
we need to open ourselves to that point. That can be scary.
If you are like me, you like word pictures. Basically, I
picture myself on a battlefield blocking things. But here comes something that
you need to stop blocking. Oh yes, some things you need to block, namely sin.
But this is something God sends to you. And you need to choose to stop
blocking. You need to let it hit your chest and go to your heart. But when it
hits you, it doesn't hurt. It feels good. You feel peace.
So, are you
allowing God's word to penetrate you? If not, how can you allow it to penetrate
you each day?
Have you ever been hoping for someone to be something or do something for you? Maybe you are going through a hard time, and you are hoping someone will see that and help you out or encourage you. Or maybe you are expecting your significant other to show you affection, but they don't do it in the way you were expecting or wanted them to.
In these times there is something we must do. We must check ourselves. What I mean is check our expectations, motivations, feelings, and thoughts. What are you expecting out of others? Are you expecting too much out of them or expecting them to be something they shouldn't be? What are your motivates for thinking these things? How are these thoughts making you feel? Are these thoughts true and beneficial or do you need to take them captive.
You also need to check where you are looking for happiness. You may have heard it said that everyone has a God shaped hole in their heart. The problem is people look everywhere except God for things to fill that hole. We expect riches, people, or other things will fill that hole. We expect good things to happen to us. We expect others to do good things for us. But the problem is when we put these expectations on these things or people, we are creating a burden that that person or thing cannot carry or be.
Your significant other cannot love you completely because they are imperfect. Your boss will not manage every situation in the correct way, or the way you think they should, because they are imperfect. Money will not satisfy your desires. Pleasures will leave you feeling empty. Nothing can satisfy you except one person.
God is the only one who can satisfy you. He is the only person who can fill that hole in your heart. If you don't know that or don't believe me, check out the book of Ecclesiastes. It was written by the wisest person, other than Jesus, King Solomon. He searched the world for what would bring him meaning. He found that money, pleasures, work, power, etc. were all meaningless. It didn't satisfy him. It won't satisfy you either. Only God can satisfy.
So, are you looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places? How can you remember to seek after God every day?
One day my brother and I were playing a video game called Star Wars Battlefront 2. In it there is a campaign mode where you have certain objectives you need to complete. We were blazing through the levels till we hit one. And the reason we failed was for a very silly reason.
We were about midway through the level and doing well. Then we were told to go to the library. We went and when we got there, we didn't know what to do. We just assumed we should destroy the bookcases. That's what we did. No sooner did we do that than we saw the word "defeat" come across the screen. Okay, not wanting to feel any more defeated than we already did, we tried again, and the same thing happened. The third time we actually went into the objective menu and found out we were supposed to defend the bookshelves. We were losing because we didn't know what we were to do.
It is the same in life. We were all created for a purpose. We all have an objective. We are to reflect God's glory and tell others about him. If we didn't have an objective after being saved, why wouldn't God just take us to heaven after being born again? It's because we are here for a reason. We have a purpose. Do you know that? Do you know what your objective in this life is?
Many people have someone they look up to. Someone they want to be like. Someone who has characteristics they want to have. Who is that for you?
I don't know who that is for you, but I hope it is someone with godly characteristics. Let me ask you this: do you have someone who you don't want to be like? I'm not even talking about someone who is following the ways of the world, though I hope you are not following them. I am talking about someone that people say you act a lot like, but you don't want to be like. Maybe it's a sibling or a parent. You don't want to be like them because you want to be unique, or you see things in them that you don't like. Then what happens is you get so focused on not being like that person that it becomes a problem. The problem is what, or who, you are focused on.
When you are focused on not becoming, or being, like someone then you are not focused on who you should be like. Who are you to be like? The answer is Jesus. 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." We are to imitate Christ. When we are focused on being or not being like someone else then we miss who we should be like. We should be focused on Jesus and his work. We should try to be like him instead of focused on trying to be like other people.
So, who are you trying to emulate? How can you focus on being more like Jesus today?
She received me as a gift from her parents at the young age of sixteen. This girl had seen a lot of life, but I had not. I was on her left ring finger for many years since then. Through those years I have been through many events with her. I was a visual reminder of a promise made long ago. A reminder to continue to choose God each day. I am her purity ring.
Now, this girl had lived somewhat of a sheltered life compared to some. She didn’t know swear words and hadn’t been exposed to many of the darkness’s of the world. But, in time, she would be. High school friends from soccer would open her eyes to some things. I got a bit beat up then. In college she learned more about the world’s darkness. She watched some movies that were not glorifying to God and a few more nicks hit me.
She began to grow in God more as her college years went by. Eventually, I moved from her left ring finger to her right ring finger as she began to question her worth. She questioned if anyone would ever love her or care. Thankfully, she did not lose herself or me. But there were times of trials when she was weak that she would watch or read something that gave me a bit of a scuff. Yet, on I stayed even with a few marks.
After college, her kindergarten students would question if she was married. To them, having a ring on means you are married. It was interesting watching my owner try to explain why she wore me to five-year-olds! Years later she coached at a goalkeeper camp. Her middle school girls asked why she wore me. She told them that I was a purity ring. None of the girls knew what I represented. In shock, my owner explained what purity meant. One of the girls said, “I wish my uncle would have one of those.” It hit my owner hard. It made her sad that people are not being taught about purity and the promises of the Lord.
A year later she was coaching at a college. One of her goalies needed a break so she went to step in. As she was trying to step in, she was taking me off so her finger would not get jammed with me on. Suddenly, a ball was shot toward her, and I went flying. She was engrossed in the game and did not realize I had fallen on the turf!
After practice, she went to put me back on, but I was not in her pocket! She started to look around on the turf. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Finally, she crouched down and saw my gleam in the sunset. She picked me up and one of her players came over. “Did you find it?” She asked. “Yes,” my owner replied. “I am glad you did not lose it. I know it has sentimental value to you,” the player smiled. My owner looked down at me and smiled. I could tell she was happy to have not lost me, the physical reminder of a promise she made long ago.
Today, as my owner types this, I am still on her finger. You may not be able to read my text that says “true love waits” as much as you could years ago. I may have a few scuffs here and there, both physical and spiritual. Yet, the promise made remains the same. Each day my owner puts me on, she makes a choice. A choice to choose to follow the way of the Lord, not the way of the world. A choice to be pure in body. A choice to do her best to stay pure in mind. Even if she fails at that, she knows that Christ died for her so she can be pure in Him. Purity is a choice.
I am a preschool teacher in a public childcare center. Thus, I do not do much preaching/evangelizing with my actual words there. However, I have also been involved in my church’s Sunday school programs, Vacation Bible Schools, and church camp ministries. Because of this, I learned how to teach younger children the truth about God. One experiment that really helped open the eyes of the kids I was working with was an experiment using bleach.
I remember talking with the kids about how we are born into the world with a sin nature. We are unclean like this jar. The jar had the word sin on it with water and food coloring (or iodine) in it. Then, when we sin, we become unclean as well. I poured some of the sin container into a different jar labeled “you.” This made the jar labeled “you” to become red. No matter what I do, I cannot get the red to separate from the clear water that was in it before.
Then I took at jar with bleach in it labeled “Jesus” and poured some of it into the “you” jar. When you accept Christ as your savior, he comes into your life and cleanses you. I explained this to the kids and asked if anyone wanted to do that. Many of the children did so. I prayed and as I was praying, the jar labeled “you” became clear. When I said, “amen.” The kids’ eyes lit up when they saw that the water was clean again. It was an amazing example of God’s work.
The last thing I did was reminded the kids that Jesus was tempted to sin just like we are each day. I poured the rest of the jar labeled “sin” with the food coloring in it into the “Jesus” jar with the bleach in it. But Jesus did not sin. So, the jar labeled “Jesus” stayed clear!
Jesus can make you pure again no matter what you have done. He is your advocate, brother, and friend. He loves you just as you are, warts and all. Because of that love, he died for you so you could be with him in heaven.
So, what does this experiment mean to you? How can you practice purity each day? Watch the Eustace clip below and think about how it relates to purity. How does the clip relate to you?
Okay, stay with me on this one. Obviously, there is the simple answer of “God tells us to remain pure.” That is true and a good enough reason why we should stay pure. But that reason hasn’t seemed to convince everyone in the world as many have chosen the path of sin rather than purity.
The thing is many of us have fallen so far away from the Lord that we think that this life is all we have. If this life is all we have then should we not carpi diem? Or live life to the fullest? Should we eat, drink and be merry? If this is all we have and all we believe in, then that makes sense.
But God’s word tells us that death is not the end. In God’s great grace, he sent his son to be a perfect sacrifice for all of our sins. He did this so we could spend eternal life with him, so long as we accept Christ as our savior, believe in him, and confess that we are sinners. John 3:36 tells us “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” God is a God of love. He loves us all. He wants us to all be with him in eternity. Yet, he cannot be with anything unholy. If we are not washed clean by Jesus’ blood, then we will face God’s wrath.
Some people believe lies. Lies like: “this life is all there is.” “God could never forgive all I have done.” “No one could ever love me because I am unworthy.” “Hell is where all my friends are going, and it will be a party. I don’t want to leave my friends.” They make jokes. They feel depressed. They feel alone. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Even if you take away the argument for God telling us to stay pure, you cannot take away the argument that if there is life after death, and if God tells us there is only one way to gain that life, you must make that choice to follow him or be doomed.
We must follow the words of Psalm 119:37: “turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” The things and pleasures of this world are temporary. Even if you are the richest man in the world, even if you have sports cars, a mansion, gold, jewels, the latest technology, and more but you don’t have God you have nothing. You cannot take anything you have on this earth with you into eternity. Money, drugs, alcohol, and other things that bring you temporary pleasure are destroying you. You are losing yourself to a world that lies; you are losing yourself to worthless things. But that’s your choice. You can choose the temporary pleasures of this world, or the pleasures of eternity for all time.
So, are you staying pure? Have you made the choice to follow Christ or yourself? How can you turn your eyes from worthless things today?
Purity starts with the heart. There's a reason why when we are asked to pray "the prayer" to accept Christ that we are asked to "ask Christ into our heart." If you have ever heard of the salvation bracelet, you know the first color is black. Black represents our sin. We are all sinners. We all need to be cleansed.
Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." How do we get this clean heart? Do we try to stop sinning? Well, that's a start. But we cannot cleanse ourselves. It's like when something sticky gets on the floor. We try to clean it with just water and soap, but it doesn't work. Sometimes we need something stronger, like goo be gone to clean it.
Jesus' blood is our sin be gone. When we accept him in our heart and ask him to forgive our sins, he does it. We are clean. We are white as snow. We are pure! Does that mean we should keep sinning? No, Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" That's where purity in the heart comes in. We are to grow in God. We are to try to follow him. That means we are to try to stop sinning.
Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." I don't know about you, but I want to see God. I want my heart to be pure. I want my motives and desires to be God's motives and desires. I want his will to be done. We should all, as Christians, be at the point where we want to reflect God's glory so much so that he is seen in us. That when people look at us, they don't see us so much as they see God. Not in an idol like way but like in a, "you needed water, and I gave it to you, but it was God giving it to you through me." We don't deserve the glory. He does.
So, are you pure in heart? How can you follow God each day? How are you reflecting His glory?
Have you ever taken a sip of iced coffee or of soda and it is warm? Have you ever taken a sip or hot chocolate or coffee and it is cold? Both experiences are not very pleasurable. It's not how the drink is meant to be enjoyed. Cold drinks should be cold. Warm drinks should be warm. But have you ever asked yourself if maybe you do enjoy being lukewarm?
What? Who would like that? Well, I have found that many people like being on the fence. It doesn't sound like a very comfortable position but people do enjoy it. People like waiting for the result of elections, push button issues, wars, or anything that divides us to see who wins. Then they say, "oh yeah I was on their side the whole time." But of people were watching them, they would know better. They would know that the only reason that person chose that side is because that side won.
Some people like to be this way with their faith. Maybe they have read enough of the bible to know God wins but they don't want to give their life over to him. Maybe they want to keep that one sin. They don't want to give control to God and be all in.
In choosing to do that, they are choosing to follow themselves, thus following Satan. There is no I'm going to follow God a little. There is no, I'm going to just dip my toe in this side a bit but keep the rest of me on this side. You are either all in on Gods side or you are on Satan's side. The choice is yours.
So, are you following God or Satan? How can you you choose to be all in today? How can you grow in God today?
One day I was getting ready to coach a soccer game. I had a lot to carry so I placed my soda in my bag (the soda had a straw and a lid). As I was loading myself up, I realized I forgot to grab something from the back of my car. With my backpack on, I reached for the item. Suddenly I felt a drop on my back. That’s odd, I thought. Maybe the wind just hit me there? I continued reaching for the item. Then my back became soaked.
I jumped away from the car and put my pack on the ground. I realized my mistake in that moment. I forgot about the drink. Much of it had landed in one spot on my jersey. It had saturated it so much that even using towels wasn’t a big help to dry it off. But I did my best to clean it and move on.
After I cleaned myself, and after the game, I thought about what had happened. It only took a bit of liquid to saturate my jersey, enough to leave a spot. What would have happened if I had not caught the drink in time? I could have been one sticky mess. Then I realized how closely connected my experience was to getting in the Word.
When I read the Bible, a little each day, I get drips of knowledge, God’s knowledge. If I only do that occasionally, then I don’t stay wet. I must continually be in the Word to get drips. To stay saturated. Also, the world may try to bring a towel into our lives and try to dry up our relationship with God. That’s why we must know the Word and be in it, to refute the lies of this world. We must be saturated.
So, are you saturated in God’s Word? How can you make a point to be in the Word daily?
This year Camp YoliJwa's theme is Rooted. I taught the young adults at their family camp this week. We discussed what good roots are, bad roots, and the fruits of the spirit. Now, with my husband being a landscaper I thought a lot about what we can learn from plants and there's quite a bit. First, plants need deep roots. The roots give them their nutrients and help them get water from the soil. If a root is bad or isn't in a good spot to do that then it isn't doing what the plant requires of it. The same can be said of us. We are plants that need deep roots in the right places. We need roots in the word. If we don't have that we will not grow properly. Plants also need a balance of space and closeness. If a plant doesn't have plenty of space it will be fighting other plants for nutrients, water, and sun light. If we don't have space to grow, be on our own path, or time away from others our relationship with God may be in jeopardy. We need to focus on our growth in God so that we can help others with their growth. If we are too far or too close to others that can cause problems. Too far and we don't make an impact on others for the good of the kingdom of God. Too close and we miss out on our alone time with God. Or we are fighting for the nutrients and knowledge we need. If we are too close or comparing ourselves to others, we miss out on the path and plan God has for us. And if we don't take time to be in silence with God we miss out on connecting with him and learning from him. A plants job is to produce fruit. Plants try to produce good fruit but that doesn't always happen. We can produce good or bad fruit too. Galatians 5:19-26 talks about the fruits of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit. We are to produce the things of God, or the fruits of the spirit. We are not to produce the fruits of the flesh. The things of the flesh are the things of the world. The things of the world will pass away. Only the fruit of the spirit will last and matter in heaven. Finally, a plant doesn't eat its own fruit. The point of fruit is to spread the plant to other places so others like it can grow. The purpose of our lives is not to glorify ourselves. Rather our purpose is to reflect God's glory. Our purpose is to produce fruit that others see that then get spread to others. It helps others grow in their faith. People look at us and see we are different. The fruit of the spirit that we produce is different from the fruit of the flesh. So, what kind of roots do you have? What fruit are you producing? How can you keep growing in God?
What do you do when the everyday routine becomes mundane?
What do you do when things in your routine are going wrong or become an
inconvenience? One day I was at work, as a teacher with my preschool students,
and just those things were happening.
It was midway through November. This was the time of year
where Halloween, aka candy high hype, has somewhat worn off. The time of year
when kids were talking about Santa and what he was going to get them for
Christmas. When they would forget about Thanksgiving and just keep repeating
what they wanted for Christmas, which was probably annoying me as well because
I tire of people skipping Thanksgiving, but it is hard to commercialize that.
The day began pretty normal. Kids came in and began
playing. I was working on projects with the kids. The trouble began during
circle time. Kids were all up in one another’s grills (touching each other) so
I had to remind them to stay in their bubble. Then they forgot to repeat what I
was telling them to repeat (5 times I tried and failed to get them to repeat
after me). When story time came again, they were in one another’s grills. Center
time came and kids were just not following the rules at centers. I would remind
them nicely and they would not listen. Then a child I had just sent to the
bathroom had an accident five minutes after I sent her to the bathroom. This
event made us get outside late. At lunch the kids were having bad manners, and
a child spilled her whole cup of milk. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! At that point
though, it was kind of like, fine pile on the crap so I just let it roll off my
back.
Then an aide for one of my students looked at me and
said, “how are you feeling?” I didn’t answer really because I didn’t know how
to answer. Honestly, I was not feeling the greatest. I was quite annoyed and
impatient and tired and slightly overwhelmed. But I also did not want to say
all that in front of the kids and have to get into all that with her. She just
said, “it seems like you are not yourself today.”
Woah lady, who are you to tell me who I am and who I am
not?! Was my initial thought. I could feel the anger boiling up. She was
somewhat right. I was a bit more on edge because of all the little things
piling up. I felt like a mouse we read about in a book that day. The mouse just
kept finding food and piling it up on top of the next piece of food. Well, you
can imagine how that went when the cat caught up with him.
In a way, the aide was kind of like the cat. She was
calling out my bad attitude. I didn’t like it, and everything came crashing
down.
While I disagreed with how she asked and the fact that
she said I didn’t seem like myself because I was doing the normal things I do
every day, I also knew I wasn’t letting my light shine. Matthew 5:16 says, “In
the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” This not-so-great
day was taking its toll. It was diminishing my light. In a certain way, I felt
justified. How many people have to deal with all those things I was dealing
with daily? Why did all the bad things have to happen at once? I had a right to
be a bit cranky, didn’t I?
Not according to Matthew 5:16. I wasn’t doing a great job
at being set apart. I wasn’t very loving and patient. Now, to a certain extent,
some of the things the students did, did merit consequences. But that doesn’t
mean I had to be cranky as I dished those consequences out. I could have been
more patient and understanding. That doesn’t mean that being those things is
easy. It’s just what we, as Christians, are called to do.
In case you were wondering, to get back on track, I took
my break to listen to a Christian podcast, had some prayer time asking for
forgiveness, and wrote this blog. All those things helped change my attitude.
Amazing what a bit of God time can do, isn’t it?
So, when days like this happen, what is your reaction?
How can you let your light shine daily no matter your circumstances?
For those of you who don't know, I enjoy Disney movies. I don't know if its the songs, the characters, or the happily ever after but I like them. Maybe it's because I am still somewhat of a kid. Whatever the reason, there is a group of characters that relate to us quite closely in a Disney movie... aliens.
What?! How do humans relate to aliens? Let my clarify which ones I'm talking about. I'm talking about the green aliens from Toy Story 2. Still not seeing the relation? Good, that means you'll learn something new.
First off, we are aliens. This is not our home. We don't belong here. In fact, we are told that if we love the world, the Father is not in us (1 John 2:15-17). Instead, our home comes after we die. Hebrews 13:14 says, "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." We are waiting to go to heaven, to go home, to be with our Father.
Second, the aliens in question have a saying, "you have saved our lives. We are eternally grateful." They say it over and over to Mr. Potato Head so much so that he loses patience at times. See, Jesus saved our lives. Because he did that, we should be eternally grateful. We should want others to have that salvation as well. We should show love and serve others just as Jesus did.
So, how do you feel about being an alien? How can you spread the Gospel today so others can be saved by Christ?
Sometimes you are just busy being yourself and being authentic, then something great happens. True, what I am discussing now didn’t necessarily happen by itself, as Nate and I began our relationship on a dating website and chose one another, but the aftermath of this story did. Now, if you are like me, you know that you are not perfect. In fact, there are times when even I would find myself annoying or different. That is why I question how someone would want to be with me with all my downfalls but that’s beside the point.
Nate and I are both good communicators and good at nonverbal communication as well. One day, we were watching Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and he had gotten sour patch kids to share. I didn’t eat too many of them but as the movie went on there ended up being only one left. In my brain I thought, “it would be nice if he would give me the last one” but I wasn’t expecting it. Then, Nate pointed the bag toward me. I smiled and took the last sour patch kid. This began a tradition of offering the last item to one another.
Another time we were sitting on the couch talking and Nate began to get hot. He asked if we could turn the fan on. I did, and as time went on, I became cold. Nate seemed comfortable so I cuddled up to him and left the fan on.
You can see where I am going here. When you love someone, you make sacrifices. Sacrifice means you give up something. You give up time, money, comfort, food, things, etc. so that you can show someone else you care.
Hebrews 13:16 reminds us of this when it says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” We are to do good to others. What does “good” mean? Well, you could think of the golden rule. You know, do unto others as you would want them to do to you. Or, you could just say whatever you would feel most loved in, do that.
As you can see, sacrifice doesn’t have to be big. Jesus died for us, and we are to follow his example. That may not mean physically dying. It may mean dying to ourselves. To our needs and wants. That’s sacrifice. Sacrifice in the little things daily and you will be following Jesus’ example and command. So, how will you sacrifice today?
There are many times of the year where you enjoy
decorating. During Christmas, during the Fourth of July, for spring, for fall,
sometimes for Halloween, for almost any party, etc. People will decorate their
homes, offices, cars, and much more to get the ambience just right for the
celebration. It kind of puts you in a festive mood. It builds anticipation.
Well, while all those decorations and the places you put
them are fun, I’m willing to bet you probably have never thought of decorating
one place: a jail cell. Woah! We just went from fun and fancy to dark and
dreary. Why would I even bring up decorating a place like that? Isn’t that
where criminals go?
Now I don’t know if criminals do decorate their cells for
real or not. But I’m talking about how some of us have a spiritual jail cell. Some
of us choose to continue to live in sin. We all face temptations. Some of us
choose to give in to those temptations. We choose to enter the cell of sin. I
don’t know what temptations you have faced. I don’t know if you gave into them
or not. What I do know is if we begin decorating our sin cell, we are in bad
shape.
See, usually, if someone is decorating a place, they are
claiming ownership of it. They are planning on staying there for some time. Thus,
they want it to be nice, homey, and a place they and others will feel
comfortable in. Why in the world would we want to feel comfortable in sin? I
realize that it may feel good for a bit but that source of dopamine, whatever
it is, will wear off. And you will be back looking for your next fix sooner
rather than later.
People who are decorating their cells have admitted
defeat. But you don’t have to. You can give up that sin. You can leave and
decorate the home God has given you. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation
has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not
let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also
provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Even if you have
given into temptation. Even if you feel like there’s no hope, there is! God
provided us with a way of escape. He sent his Son to die for us, to be the
perfect sacrifice, so we could have a way of escape. It’s our choice whether we
stay in the cell or not.
So, are you in a cell decorating away right now? How can
you escape the cell if you are in one? How can you refuse to enter the cell
when it is presented to you?
