Day 61 Sure Thing

Jesus always knew just what to say. He called Herod out by calling him a fox and telling him that HE would keep doing what He was doing. How I wish that I could be like that. I know that there are times when I should speak up, but I don't. I know I don't like conflict and confrontation, so I keep quiet. Other times, I don't know what to say. Then again, there are a few times when I fly off at the mouth and get myself into trouble. So I have learned to keep quiet...most of the time.

There have been times when I have been direct. But those times have been few. And in those times, I have always felt something inside me that didn't feel like me, making me do it and that is just not who I am. So I am not always direct. Or maybe the word I am looking for is that bold.

My husband can say anything to just about anyone. He is not intimidated by many. He uses this at the appropriate times, most of the time, but he is bold when it comes to being direct. He usually justifies his words by ending with "It's the truth." Now wether or not I agree with his "truth" all the time is different, but when it comes to letting others know his feelings, he is unafraid. I wish that I could have just a little bit of the confidence to say what I think is my "truth" when it comes to the "Herods" in my life.

Day 60 Service While You Wait

Is it fair for God to hold leaders to a higher level of accountability than others? Yes and no. Here's why I think yes. These leaders are those we look to for guidance. We look to them to see how we should be acting, or to see what someone who is filled with the Spirit looks like because we have not yet been filled with the Spirit. Yes, he/she should be held to a high level of accountability because they not only allowed Jesus to enter into their hearts, but they answered the call to serve in a public way. But here's the no part to this too.

We all answered the call at one point in our lives. We all have asked Jesus to fill us with His Spirit and lead us where He needs us to go. Not all people can be preachers or spiritual leaders that fulfill their purpose in the public eye. We as Christians should all be held to a high accountability level because we have said yes to the awesome job of being a disciple of Jesus. If we are to obey the Lord's commandments, we should not use our positions to get what we want. I can think of some of these types of people but who can't? We should use God's call to fulfill God's plan, which has nothing to do with us.

Watch Me Dance!

You know, this is just little ol' me, but here, I think that God wants us to see how important we are. In verse 20, it says, "...do not rejoice that spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." He is saying that we are just as important as those who we seek to save along with us. If we don't value that, we can't convince others that it is worth it too. Those around us and those who we are sent to find will see through the "mask."

And yes, we should still seek the lost, but we should rejoice that He has our name written in the Book of Life along with every name we get to help add.

My image of Jesus never included one of the Son dancing and leaping for joy, but why should He not? Why should His life not be full of celebration too? As I sit here and think about it more, I can't help but think that Jesus was a person. Flesh and bones, just like us. We can't relate to anyone who is not like us. If we only see Jesus as this somber, Holy figure, we will never be able to become more like the person He was too. Just like we read before, Jesus took baths, combed his hair, felt hunger, sorrow, and joy. We can't forget that He was like us. He was sent for the people of the world. And aren't we all flesh and bone underneath it all, just like Christ? The only thing that separates us from them is that they have never opened their hearts to this idea. And it is our job to at least plant the seed of life so that it may grow until they are ready to blossom with the love that God has given to them too.

Hey, It's Not Me!

Rejection. I don't deal well at all with that. I always take it personally. But rejection is one of satan's ways of cutting us down. He knows the human heart too. Who doesn't like to be wanted, needed, loved. When we are rejected by those around us, it cuts like a sharp, sharp knife.

But even in the throws of rejection, we can have faith in our Lord! He is there for us through it all, and for it all.

Blasted Unbelievers

I am so ashamed. I have let life get the best of me, and lost touch with what is really important. So many times, I ask God to forgive me for not making time for Him. I know that I am not perfect, nor will I ever be. All I can do is admit my sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. And knowing that, I take for granted that others can't do the same. Part of the reason they can't ask for forgiveness for the same sin I have committed is because they don't know Him yet. I really should be more ashamed of that than anything else.

I think that sometimes we get caught up in what we think is right that we sometimes forget that what our human minds have created may not be the actual truth. For example, one of my sisters and I are both believers of Christ. However, we don't see eye to eye about the details. Does that mean I am wrong and she is right, or vice versa? Maybe we both are right. Maybe we both are wrong. That doesn't matter much though if we both don't have an attitude like Christ. If we both want the other to be wrong and be punished for our misguidance, we both are not following God's command. We both should be working toward a common goal: showing others the way to Christ.

Another example I can think of is with my other sister. She shared some things about herself with me that in the past I would have given her a piece of my mind about. But since I have been making a conscience effort to have an attitude of Christ, I decided to not say anything. I am just going to be there if she needs me and pray for her. Because right now, I feel that is what Jesus would do in this situation.

I love my family and I now realize that if one or more of them don't see eye to eye with me, that in the past, I have been terribly pushy to try to get them to see things my way. Now, I know that I need to pray to have a heart and attitude like Jesus or else I will be just like James and John, wanting to destroy their way so that mine will prevail.

Sowing Lessons

I am so far from a green thumb, I am almost embarrassed to admit it. (I once had a cactus that didn't make it!) But I still try. As a matter of fact, I have had a plant thrive under my care for almost three years now. My husband teases me that this is a miracle, and I sometimes wonder why this one plant has persevered through my gardening habits or lack there of and others don't.

But after reading today's study, I think I realize why. The soil wasn't right.

As a teacher, I have to teach about plants. To kindergartners, this concept has to be simple. I can't teach them ideas that are to complex or their little minds will not be able to grasp it. I have to teach them the basics and let my fellow teachers expand on it. So bear with me while I give my version of a sowing lesson.

The soil has to have the right amount of nutrients and oxygen and water for the pant to grow. The food is the Word of God. The oxygen is an open hearts. The water is the Blood of Christ that was shed for you and me. The roots are understanding the Word, the stem is perseverance, the leaves our ears to hear the Word, the flower is us pleasing God, and the seed is spreading God's word to others, and the sun represents God's love for us.

Now I could get deeper in my analogy, but like I said, I am a kindergarten teacher and I like to keep things simple. And although the drawing my look like one of my students drew it, to me it carries a beautiful message-God is in everything!

So if you get flowers this week from your loved ones, know that God loves you too and He is pleased because you are one of His beautiful flowers too!

Go In Peace

This verse says to me, continue your life from this point on and know that you have been saved from your sins by God's grace. Go in peace is definitely shorter, but these three words speak volumes. I don't think that God meant that your life will never have trials or tribulations when He gave Jesus these words to speak to us. He meant that we have been forgiven from the sins of our past, the things that have been weighing us down. I have been coming to this realization over the past few months. God never promises us that life will be easy or that we will always have peace. The peace I think we read here is peace of mind, not a peaceful world or peaceful people. We always hear that God never gives us anything we can't handle. That is true, but satan uses these opportunities to come in and steal our confidence, place doubt, and add fear. He finds our weak spots and waits until we are down in one of our valleys. We have to realize that we have been put in this situation and use God's Word and prayer to defend ourselves.

In our sermon on Sunday morning, the preacher delivered a sermon asking who the devil was. At the end of the sermon he gave us some ways to resist satan. He said to resist the devil, store His Word in our hearts, claim His strength and power, and to put on God's armor. If we do this, and we keep our eyes open to satan's schemes, we can keep conflict and doubt from destroying us. Peace only comes when we acknowledge that God sent His one and only Son to earth to take on the sins of the world. Peace comes when we acknowledge God allowed His one and only Son to bear those sins and die on the cross for you. Peace comes when we acknowledge the Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life.

I received and email today from a coworker, I'd like to share it with you now because it is so appropriate for our topic.

"May there be peace within.

May you trust that your are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.

May you use the gifts you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content with yourself just the way you are.

Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us."

No where does this quote mention anything about God, but you can plainly see where it fits in. I sent this on to a few of you before I started reading today. God is at work in my life, I can feel His loving hand touching me each day. I pray that you can feel it at work in your life too.