WOW! It's been a while hasn't it? After taking the summer off, we've been slow starting our Real Women studies back, but...we're back! And ready and open for God to do amazing things in our lives!
We have recently started our new series by one of my favorite speakers, Priscilla Shirer, called "He Speaks to Me." It is all about the life of Samuel and the goal is to learn how to hear the voice of God through the static of our everyday, busy lives.
Our first session introduced the idea that the first thing we learn about Samuel was that he was a child and how we should approach God as a child and not with our preconceived adult ideas.
This got me to thinking on an idea and I asked our ladies to think on something over the time between our meetings: In regards to your relationship with God, are you a baby, a toddler, a teenager or an adult?
Now this idea has nothing to do with how long you've known Christ, but rather what your attitude is toward God.
You see in session 1, Priscilla has us read Luke 18:16, where, after telling numerous parables to a crowd of people, Jesus then says "Permit the children to come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." And when we see illustrated depictions of this passage, we see Christ surrounded by a pack of preschoolers.
However, if you get down to the Greek, those are not the "children' he was talking about. Rather, the Greek word used for "children" is actually better translated as "infant." A baby. A Newborn. Someone completely and totally dependent on the actions of another for their survival.
So, I ask you what I asked the girls Wednesday night: Are you a baby, a toddler, a teenager or an adult?
You might be sitting there wondering "What's the difference?!" To me, this is how I view the differences:
BABY-100% dependent on a source other than themselves for survival. A baby craves to be close to mommy or daddy so much that it makes them weep just to be away from them. They trust their care-giver to act in their best interest and more so, EXPECT their needs to be met.
TODDLER-They still love mommy and daddy, but occasionally desire to test out their own independence. They scream and throw a fit when something is taken from them, even if it's for their own good. But, they easily forget that anyway and move on to the next thing. They rush to mommy and daddy a little less everyday.
TEENAGER-Think they know everything! (right!?) There is a need to test their wings, but need to be reassured that mommy and daddy are waiting to catch them if they fall. There is a deep struggle with what's right and what's wrong.
ADULT-Have it all together. Only in drastic and dire circumstances do they express a need for help. They have lost the anticipation and sense of expectancy that kept them ever hopeful at the dawn of each new day.
So, which are you? We are all somewhere in one of those categories and during different seasons in our lives, we shift between all of them.
But if we take Christ at this word, He has called us all to be babies and as infants to come to him, so we should strive to spend as much time in the that first category as possible. And it even says that if we do...we will be rewarded with the Kingdom of God, which in this context no only means eternal life in heaven, but also a radical amazing, overflowing life in Christ, here on Earth.
Again I ask...which are you??
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday Morning Minute-May 23 . 2011
For today, I had this great devotional planned that I thought would change people's way of thinking.
However, in light of the events last night, I don't feel it would be appropriate.
For those of you who might be reading this and not know what I'm talking about, our area of the country was ravaged by at least 6 confirmed tornadoes within 3 hours. The worst of which seems to have been located in the town of Joplin, MO, where as of now there are 90 confirmed dead, scores more injured and homeless.
I personally have never lived there, but my parents did 4 years ago and, via text/email/phone calls, are trying to track down all of their friends who still live there.
In a time like this I feel the best thing I could write for a Monday Morning Minute would be a call to prayer. And not just a blanket "God be with them" prayer (which of course he still hears!), but a more focused set of prayers.
I feel we should focus on these areas:
1) Prayer for strength.
It can be so hard to find the strength to go, both physically and emotionally, during a time like this. But King David, at the end of his turmoil of war and conflict with Saul said this in 2 Samuel 22:29 & 30 "O Lord, you are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall."
For some this seems like a wall so high, they might never escape it. But David said (after his experience) that through the Lord he "can scale any wall."
Pray for strength to scale walls.
2) Prayer for guarding of hearts.
No one knows the reason for devastation such as this. There will come crazies out of the woodwork that will say all kinds of things about this being the wrath of God and other such nonsense. Just like after Katrina ravaged the Gulf, people said it was God's punishment on them (which of course in contradictory to the word because after Noah's flood, God said he would never destroy the world through water again...but that's a whole 'nother devotion!)
People will be grappling with the "whys" and the "why nots" for many months to come.
Pray for guarding of hearts, that they might know that, even through they might not have the answers to the "whys," they will not be swayed, but will keep an understanding of the "hows"-through God, they will get through this.
3) Prayer for miraculous encounters
This is a time that God could show himself in fantastic and new ways.
Pray for divine and life changing encounters that will bring eternal changes to people's life, in spite of the physical-world devastation.
4) Prayer for Peace.
For so many, just laying their heads down to sleep, will become a test of faith in and of itself. So many will constantly relive what they have been through and safety will become a foreign concept.
Be in prayer for them, to have peace after the storm.
Psalm 4:8 says "In peace I will lie down and sleep,for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe."
Pray this and share it with everyone....
God Bless and stay safe. :)
However, in light of the events last night, I don't feel it would be appropriate.
For those of you who might be reading this and not know what I'm talking about, our area of the country was ravaged by at least 6 confirmed tornadoes within 3 hours. The worst of which seems to have been located in the town of Joplin, MO, where as of now there are 90 confirmed dead, scores more injured and homeless.
I personally have never lived there, but my parents did 4 years ago and, via text/email/phone calls, are trying to track down all of their friends who still live there.
In a time like this I feel the best thing I could write for a Monday Morning Minute would be a call to prayer. And not just a blanket "God be with them" prayer (which of course he still hears!), but a more focused set of prayers.
I feel we should focus on these areas:
1) Prayer for strength.
It can be so hard to find the strength to go, both physically and emotionally, during a time like this. But King David, at the end of his turmoil of war and conflict with Saul said this in 2 Samuel 22:29 & 30 "O Lord, you are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall."
For some this seems like a wall so high, they might never escape it. But David said (after his experience) that through the Lord he "can scale any wall."
Pray for strength to scale walls.
2) Prayer for guarding of hearts.
No one knows the reason for devastation such as this. There will come crazies out of the woodwork that will say all kinds of things about this being the wrath of God and other such nonsense. Just like after Katrina ravaged the Gulf, people said it was God's punishment on them (which of course in contradictory to the word because after Noah's flood, God said he would never destroy the world through water again...but that's a whole 'nother devotion!)
People will be grappling with the "whys" and the "why nots" for many months to come.
Pray for guarding of hearts, that they might know that, even through they might not have the answers to the "whys," they will not be swayed, but will keep an understanding of the "hows"-through God, they will get through this.
3) Prayer for miraculous encounters
This is a time that God could show himself in fantastic and new ways.
Pray for divine and life changing encounters that will bring eternal changes to people's life, in spite of the physical-world devastation.
4) Prayer for Peace.
For so many, just laying their heads down to sleep, will become a test of faith in and of itself. So many will constantly relive what they have been through and safety will become a foreign concept.
Be in prayer for them, to have peace after the storm.
Psalm 4:8 says "In peace I will lie down and sleep,for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe."
Pray this and share it with everyone....
God Bless and stay safe. :)
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday Morning Minute-May 16. 2011
This past week we have been meditating on scriptures on gentleness, the second to last fruit of the spirit.
And during this week, our Day 6 Scriptures is taken from Philippians 4:5 (in the NIV translation) and it says "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
Great Scripture, right? Paul takes time during this prison epistles (or letter) to remind them of two very important things:
(1) Let your gentleness shine always. The New Living Translation says it this way "Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do."
In no way is Paul telling people to be door mats. Instead, he is telling them to tread lightly when talking to unbelievers. Not every unbeliever will respond to the "hell fire and brimstone" approach to the gospel! Some simply need to be taken by the hand and shown a loving God.
So often in scripture we see people referred to as "sheep" and some people (who for whatever reason have a hard heart to the gospel) use that scripture as a chance to take a stab a christianity and say "oh..they're all sheep... can't think for themselves." That's not at all what it's saying.
Sheep need gentleness. Get too loud or too rough and they run. And usually, they're running for a cliff and don't even realize it.
Know anyone who's running from the gospel?
(2) "The Lord is near."
We hear constantly lately about "the end of time." The famous astrologer/astronomer, Nostradamus and the ancient Mayan calendars both predict the end of the world to be in 2012 (Nostradamus specifically says December 21, 2012.)
The funny thing about it though is that the Mayan calendar was written over 5,00 years ago; Nostradamus made his predictions in the mid 1500s (which equals just over 500 years ago); while Paul pens "The Lord is near" in 61 A.D.
SSSooo...who's right?
Well, if we use scripture to interpret scripture and take a look in Acts 1, we see the apostles ask the resurrected Christ when he will be coming back "to free Israel and restore our kingdom." Christ's response: "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know."
What does this tell us? Since no one on this earth is or was God (aside from Christ), no one truly knows when it will all end. So why should we waste energy worry about something scriptures tells us we will never know the answer to until the trumpets sound?
Instead, we should focus on the the first part of that scripture...let our gentleness show to all around us, being considerate of what it will take to bring each type of personality to a saving knowledge of Christ.
That is a good use of your energy. :)
And during this week, our Day 6 Scriptures is taken from Philippians 4:5 (in the NIV translation) and it says "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
Great Scripture, right? Paul takes time during this prison epistles (or letter) to remind them of two very important things:
(1) Let your gentleness shine always. The New Living Translation says it this way "Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do."
In no way is Paul telling people to be door mats. Instead, he is telling them to tread lightly when talking to unbelievers. Not every unbeliever will respond to the "hell fire and brimstone" approach to the gospel! Some simply need to be taken by the hand and shown a loving God.
So often in scripture we see people referred to as "sheep" and some people (who for whatever reason have a hard heart to the gospel) use that scripture as a chance to take a stab a christianity and say "oh..they're all sheep... can't think for themselves." That's not at all what it's saying.
Sheep need gentleness. Get too loud or too rough and they run. And usually, they're running for a cliff and don't even realize it.
Know anyone who's running from the gospel?
(2) "The Lord is near."
We hear constantly lately about "the end of time." The famous astrologer/astronomer, Nostradamus and the ancient Mayan calendars both predict the end of the world to be in 2012 (Nostradamus specifically says December 21, 2012.)
The funny thing about it though is that the Mayan calendar was written over 5,00 years ago; Nostradamus made his predictions in the mid 1500s (which equals just over 500 years ago); while Paul pens "The Lord is near" in 61 A.D.
SSSooo...who's right?
Well, if we use scripture to interpret scripture and take a look in Acts 1, we see the apostles ask the resurrected Christ when he will be coming back "to free Israel and restore our kingdom." Christ's response: "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know."
What does this tell us? Since no one on this earth is or was God (aside from Christ), no one truly knows when it will all end. So why should we waste energy worry about something scriptures tells us we will never know the answer to until the trumpets sound?
Instead, we should focus on the the first part of that scripture...let our gentleness show to all around us, being considerate of what it will take to bring each type of personality to a saving knowledge of Christ.
That is a good use of your energy. :)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Monday Morning Minute-May 9, 2011
We are into our 8th week of our study on the fruits of spirit and are slowly drawing to a close. Even though we still have one more week, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for taking this journey with me. I pray you have grown through these weeks of meditating on God's word and filling your "spiritual basket" to overflowing.
Now...on to week 8: FAITHFULNESS.
On day one of this week we started with a scripture in 2 Chronicles. In chapter 19, Jehoshephat (also known as Jehosephat) had decided to send priests and leaders to be judges in his sted to various parts of the national Israel and as he sent them forth he gave them these instructions is verse 9:
"You must always act in the fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and an undivided heart."
When I was pondering this scripture this week, I kept coming back the idea of "faithfulness" within the context of marriage. No husband or wife can make good decisions and be faithful to their spouse if their heart is divided.
The same went for the judges of Israel and still holds true for us today. We can not be faithful to Christ if our hearts are divided. Matthew and Luke both state that no one can serve two masters.Yes...they were talking about God vs. money, but money can be replaced with career or hobby or sometimes even family, if we choose to use our family as an excuse not to spend time with God.
If God's command to his first leaders was about the faithfulness of the heart, how can we believe we are called to any less?
Psalm 119:89 & 91 even say "Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven." and "Your regulations remain true to this day for everything serves your plan", respectively.
And sandwiched in the middle of those verses is that word again-faithfulness.But, this time it is not a reminder to us to be faithful. Instead, it is a reminder of his faithfulness to every generation (vs 90.)
Think about that....His faithfulness extends to every generation. The fact that it extends to every generation is the very definition of faithfulness. Being faithful means to be steady and constant.
So why, in our times of need, is it so easy to forget that constant means constant. You are not an exception to his rule of faithfulness!
Your situation is not new to him and neither is your sin.
Proverbs 16:6 says "Unfailing Love and faithfulness make atonement for sin. By fearing the Lord, people avoid sin."
It's his faithfulness to keep his promise of the cross is our cure for sin. And to take it one step farther we're told that even though the price was paid for our sin, if we choose to have a (healthy) fear of the Lord, it would help us to avoid sin altogether.
Sometime in the course of history, I'm sure God has thrown up his hands and wanted to it quits but Jesus, seated at his right hand, has talked him back from the ledge and reminded him of his promise to be faithful and forgive our sins.
OK...maybe not. But you get the idea? It's through his constant faithfulness and unfailing love that we can continually mess up and still attain heaven and live a privileged life on this earth as God's children while on earth.
And it's a message that too many times, even thousands of years ago, fell by the wayside in history of the children of Israel. they would turn to idols and false gods every few generations. Why?
Because one generation did not tell the next generation about the faithfulness of God and is doing so, condemned the younger generation to wonder in a spiritual desert, complete with mirages of righteousness. Since they were not instructed in rights/wrongs, they believed what they were doing was right!
That's why Isaiah 38:19a admonishes "The father to the children shall make known they truth (or faithfulness."
How else will they know if they don't learn it from us?
If we don't, we run the risk of becoming like the children of Israel in Hosea 4:1a, 3. The prophet Hosea, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit said, "There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land, ....that is why your land is in mourning and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing."
Not only would future generations suffer, but the word says that even the very earth will begin to mourn the lose of the knowledge of Christ from among his people.
Look at America now...We've lost so many our fundamental truths that this country was founded on and we are slowly watching a nation that was once "once nation under God" turn into a land of mourning because there is no knowledge and our land is wasting away because of it.
God's faithfulness is constant and applicable to all generations for the continual atonement for our sins, but if we choose not to tell them, we are sentencing them and all future generations to a future of a dying land.
What can we do to remember God's faithfulness? (These might, of course, be obvious, but it never hurts to be reminded of what we SHOULD be doing or what we COULD be doing better.)
1) Keep a faithfulness journal. Having your own personal experiences or experiences of those close to you to look back on can buoy your faith during seasons of uncertainty.
2) Talk about God's faithfulness. To your kids. To your friends. To unsaved friends. Whoever will listen! Much like journeling, keeping stories of God's faithfulness on the tip of your tongue keeps them in the front of your mind and not pushed back to places of shadow. Doing so will make it harder for Satan to push a wedge between you and God during those hard times.
3) Continually be in the word! Next to your own personal experiences, reading first hand accounts of his faithfulness and how it has not changed in all these years since the words of the Bible were penned is an amazing experiences. His love for Adama & Eve, Moses, Hosea, James, Luke, Paul, Rehab, David, Timothy and every other person in the bible (named or unnamed) is the same love he holds for you and obvious faithfulness in the pages of scripture are promises to you and not just mere stories.
Now...on to week 8: FAITHFULNESS.
On day one of this week we started with a scripture in 2 Chronicles. In chapter 19, Jehoshephat (also known as Jehosephat) had decided to send priests and leaders to be judges in his sted to various parts of the national Israel and as he sent them forth he gave them these instructions is verse 9:
"You must always act in the fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and an undivided heart."
When I was pondering this scripture this week, I kept coming back the idea of "faithfulness" within the context of marriage. No husband or wife can make good decisions and be faithful to their spouse if their heart is divided.
The same went for the judges of Israel and still holds true for us today. We can not be faithful to Christ if our hearts are divided. Matthew and Luke both state that no one can serve two masters.Yes...they were talking about God vs. money, but money can be replaced with career or hobby or sometimes even family, if we choose to use our family as an excuse not to spend time with God.
If God's command to his first leaders was about the faithfulness of the heart, how can we believe we are called to any less?
Psalm 119:89 & 91 even say "Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven." and "Your regulations remain true to this day for everything serves your plan", respectively.
And sandwiched in the middle of those verses is that word again-faithfulness.But, this time it is not a reminder to us to be faithful. Instead, it is a reminder of his faithfulness to every generation (vs 90.)
Think about that....His faithfulness extends to every generation. The fact that it extends to every generation is the very definition of faithfulness. Being faithful means to be steady and constant.
So why, in our times of need, is it so easy to forget that constant means constant. You are not an exception to his rule of faithfulness!
Your situation is not new to him and neither is your sin.
Proverbs 16:6 says "Unfailing Love and faithfulness make atonement for sin. By fearing the Lord, people avoid sin."
It's his faithfulness to keep his promise of the cross is our cure for sin. And to take it one step farther we're told that even though the price was paid for our sin, if we choose to have a (healthy) fear of the Lord, it would help us to avoid sin altogether.
Sometime in the course of history, I'm sure God has thrown up his hands and wanted to it quits but Jesus, seated at his right hand, has talked him back from the ledge and reminded him of his promise to be faithful and forgive our sins.
OK...maybe not. But you get the idea? It's through his constant faithfulness and unfailing love that we can continually mess up and still attain heaven and live a privileged life on this earth as God's children while on earth.
And it's a message that too many times, even thousands of years ago, fell by the wayside in history of the children of Israel. they would turn to idols and false gods every few generations. Why?
Because one generation did not tell the next generation about the faithfulness of God and is doing so, condemned the younger generation to wonder in a spiritual desert, complete with mirages of righteousness. Since they were not instructed in rights/wrongs, they believed what they were doing was right!
That's why Isaiah 38:19a admonishes "The father to the children shall make known they truth (or faithfulness."
How else will they know if they don't learn it from us?
If we don't, we run the risk of becoming like the children of Israel in Hosea 4:1a, 3. The prophet Hosea, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit said, "There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land, ....that is why your land is in mourning and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing."
Not only would future generations suffer, but the word says that even the very earth will begin to mourn the lose of the knowledge of Christ from among his people.
Look at America now...We've lost so many our fundamental truths that this country was founded on and we are slowly watching a nation that was once "once nation under God" turn into a land of mourning because there is no knowledge and our land is wasting away because of it.
God's faithfulness is constant and applicable to all generations for the continual atonement for our sins, but if we choose not to tell them, we are sentencing them and all future generations to a future of a dying land.
What can we do to remember God's faithfulness? (These might, of course, be obvious, but it never hurts to be reminded of what we SHOULD be doing or what we COULD be doing better.)
1) Keep a faithfulness journal. Having your own personal experiences or experiences of those close to you to look back on can buoy your faith during seasons of uncertainty.
2) Talk about God's faithfulness. To your kids. To your friends. To unsaved friends. Whoever will listen! Much like journeling, keeping stories of God's faithfulness on the tip of your tongue keeps them in the front of your mind and not pushed back to places of shadow. Doing so will make it harder for Satan to push a wedge between you and God during those hard times.
3) Continually be in the word! Next to your own personal experiences, reading first hand accounts of his faithfulness and how it has not changed in all these years since the words of the Bible were penned is an amazing experiences. His love for Adama & Eve, Moses, Hosea, James, Luke, Paul, Rehab, David, Timothy and every other person in the bible (named or unnamed) is the same love he holds for you and obvious faithfulness in the pages of scripture are promises to you and not just mere stories.
Monday, April 25, 2011
What does God's Goodness mean to our lives? (Real Women Bible Study-Week 7)
As we read scriptures and think on the goodness of God,
do you find it hard to figure out just how that applies to your everyday life?
do you find it hard to figure out just how that applies to your everyday life?
Here are some ways for us to look at the goodness of God in our own lives:
1) The goodness of God is a character trait that applies to all other attributes.
God’s holiness is good. God’s wrath is good. God’s righteousness is good. He only desires good things for his children. All things work for his good.
We think of stories like Joseph and how evil it was for his brothers to sell him into slavery, but God brought it to good.
Rahab the harlot was living a life of sin, but God used her to save the two spies.
The goodness to God is an all encompassing part of his character and out of that goodness flows things like gifting and talents and just the innate desire to see his children flourish and be happy.
That being said…
2) Too many people think God is a genie and the minute you are saved, everything will be perfect. This is not the case.
Yes...God wants good for his children, but the road to good is not always instant or fun.
Romans 8:28 says: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”So many people try to ignore that last part: “are called according to his purpose for them.” (bold added)
There are too many “prosperity” messages out there that say God will bless you with earthly provision as a sign of his love and when those promises doled out by man aren’t fulfilled, people usually make the decision that either God doesn’t care or that their experience of salvation wasn’t real.
The same goes for healing. I was reading a story of a Christian professor who asked his students to pray. His wife was going into have some tests and all signs and symptoms so far pointed to cancer. When the reports came back that the issue was malignant, the class of course rejoiced and many said “God is Good!” The professor had to stop them and correct something. He said “yes..God is good, but if the test results had come out differently…God would have still been good.”
Which leads us to:
3) God’s goodness is not conditional.
Much like salvation, you can’t work to receive God’s goodness. It is an ingrained part of his god-hood that is yours from the moment of salvation. And also...the reverse is true. Making a mistake does not remove you from the outpouring of his goodness.4) The greatest evidence of God’s goodness lies in the Gospel message.
There’s a reason it’s called the “good news!” For no other reason than God did not want tobe separated from his children, he chose to sacrifice his son for our GOOD. Again, there is that showing of how God turns things that from the outside we see as bad into something good.
One of our verses this week was Psalm 116:12-13: “What shall I return to the Lord for
all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” Salvation should be an automatic response once you catch hold of the goodness of God.
5) Viewing the world and God through a vision of “goodness,” can greatly change
our perspective.
There are so many times in our lives that it’s hard to see the goodness among the junk. It’s like an antique store. Something inside you tells you there is a treasure somewhere in amongst all the dust-laden pieces of broken junk. You just have to take the time to dig for it.our perspective.
The opposite can also be true. Choosing not to view things through the vision of God’s goodness can greatly impact our choices in the negative.
Take Eve in the Garden of Eden. The minute she chose to let the serpent plant the seeds
of doubt that God was not acting in their best interest by telling them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that is when it became easier for her to disobey God and eat the fruit.
It is necessary to always view God’s commands, both those things allowed and disallowed through the filter of God’s goodness.
My church from long ago used to yell this out occassionally: The Pastor would yell "God is Good!" The church would yell back "All the time." Pastor "And all the time?" Congregation "God is Good!!"
The goodness of God is all vital part of your relationship with Christ. Take time to view the goodness he has already bestowed up you and to think about the amazing things he holds for your furture.
NOTE: I borrowed some of these ideas from this great article. If you want to know more about the goodness of God, check it out: http://bible.org/seriespage/goodness-god
Monday Morning Minute-April 25, 2011
The season of bunnies, jelly beans, and colorful plastic eggs is over. How much candy did you eat? :)
This past weekend I had the luxury of having all of Saturday to myself (if you're a mom, you understand why it's a luxury!) And it was on the day, tucked between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, that I pondered this idea most of the day: on this day 2,000 years ago, Jesus' mother, Mary, would have been mourning the death of her son.
Did you stop to thing about that on Saturday? If I were her, I would have been an emotional basket-case by this point. It is stated in three of the four gospels that she was there at the foot of the cross until Jesus passed (Luke stated simply that there were "women who followed Jesus watching from a distance.) In fact, in John, Jesus talks to her from his position on the cross and in the midst of all his pain in order to secure John as her benefactor.
Since I have never lost a child, I cannot even begin to imagine the depth of pain she was going through. However, I'm sure that in those moments of her deepest despair she questions God and His plan in all this, just as Christ did. The continuous question of "WHY?" would have plagued my mind over and over.
But...we have an advantage on Mary. We know the end of the story.
We know that on the third day he rose from the dead after spending three days battling death, hell and the grave so that our sins might be forgiven and we might have eternal life.
Can you imagine the joy she felt when the other Marys came pounding on the door that Sunday morning and relaying the story of the unconscious guards, the empty tomb and the angel?!?! There would have been a fresh flood of tears, but these would be of joy and not sorrow.
What about you? Is there a situation in your life that you are mourning? Could it be a relationship that seems dead or a wayward child? Are you mourning the loss of your health or the loss of financial stability?
You may be spending years in mourning, where Mary only had a few days of it, but her joy on the third day can be your joy.
Reconciliation and peace can and will be yours; just don't lose sight of the end of the story: Jesus wins. And with Christ, so can you.
This past weekend I had the luxury of having all of Saturday to myself (if you're a mom, you understand why it's a luxury!) And it was on the day, tucked between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, that I pondered this idea most of the day: on this day 2,000 years ago, Jesus' mother, Mary, would have been mourning the death of her son.
Did you stop to thing about that on Saturday? If I were her, I would have been an emotional basket-case by this point. It is stated in three of the four gospels that she was there at the foot of the cross until Jesus passed (Luke stated simply that there were "women who followed Jesus watching from a distance.) In fact, in John, Jesus talks to her from his position on the cross and in the midst of all his pain in order to secure John as her benefactor.
Since I have never lost a child, I cannot even begin to imagine the depth of pain she was going through. However, I'm sure that in those moments of her deepest despair she questions God and His plan in all this, just as Christ did. The continuous question of "WHY?" would have plagued my mind over and over.
But...we have an advantage on Mary. We know the end of the story.
We know that on the third day he rose from the dead after spending three days battling death, hell and the grave so that our sins might be forgiven and we might have eternal life.
Can you imagine the joy she felt when the other Marys came pounding on the door that Sunday morning and relaying the story of the unconscious guards, the empty tomb and the angel?!?! There would have been a fresh flood of tears, but these would be of joy and not sorrow.
What about you? Is there a situation in your life that you are mourning? Could it be a relationship that seems dead or a wayward child? Are you mourning the loss of your health or the loss of financial stability?
You may be spending years in mourning, where Mary only had a few days of it, but her joy on the third day can be your joy.
Reconciliation and peace can and will be yours; just don't lose sight of the end of the story: Jesus wins. And with Christ, so can you.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday Morning Minute-April 18, 2011
I have a friend who, each day, sends out a mass text with a scripture for the day. Today's scripture was Colossians 3:12-14 and as I was reading the scripture in context (something we all should do!) I was pulled into reading all of Colossians 3:1-17, which in the New Living Translation is titled "Living the New Life." And one verse in particular stuck our to me today.
"In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us." Colossians 3:11
"Christ is all that matters...." Do you believe that? Is that the way you live your life?
I know the Bible gives us rules for living our life and somethings are translated or interpreted different by different people, but if we are honest with ourselves, we have to realize that no one on this earth has all of the answers. Our God is too big and vast to every fully understand everything he has for us and everything he has called us to do.
Yes...we all have differences, but according to Colossians 3:11, "Christ is all that matters."
I had a conversation recently with my sister that I can't help but feel illustrates this point so clearly. She works in a secular job and for a while was having a hard time reconciling parts of her belief with these new friendships she has forged with these great people.
And while they might have what some of us see as "sins" in their lives, she has come to realize that it is not her job to judge them for what they are doing "wrong" (or do the opposite and justify it with "we all have sins.") It is simply her job to show them Christ in a tangible form on a daily basis.
It's how we should live our life very day. Not judging someone on their "barbaric" tattoos. Or come down on them for being "slaves" to their sin. Or thinking "my religion interprets scripture better than your religion does." Or whatever else creates a wall between yourself and other followers of Christ.
"Christ is all that matters." Try living your life today with that mindset.
"In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us." Colossians 3:11
"Christ is all that matters...." Do you believe that? Is that the way you live your life?
I know the Bible gives us rules for living our life and somethings are translated or interpreted different by different people, but if we are honest with ourselves, we have to realize that no one on this earth has all of the answers. Our God is too big and vast to every fully understand everything he has for us and everything he has called us to do.
Yes...we all have differences, but according to Colossians 3:11, "Christ is all that matters."
I had a conversation recently with my sister that I can't help but feel illustrates this point so clearly. She works in a secular job and for a while was having a hard time reconciling parts of her belief with these new friendships she has forged with these great people.
And while they might have what some of us see as "sins" in their lives, she has come to realize that it is not her job to judge them for what they are doing "wrong" (or do the opposite and justify it with "we all have sins.") It is simply her job to show them Christ in a tangible form on a daily basis.
It's how we should live our life very day. Not judging someone on their "barbaric" tattoos. Or come down on them for being "slaves" to their sin. Or thinking "my religion interprets scripture better than your religion does." Or whatever else creates a wall between yourself and other followers of Christ.
"Christ is all that matters." Try living your life today with that mindset.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)