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“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” - Philippians 2:14-16a
The Bible is full of instruction on how Christians are to live. Some easy to understand and easy to apply. But most are difficult, with the goal of setting us apart from the rest of the world.
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Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. - Colossians 3:12-14
Are these the attributes that you are putting on every day. Are you clothing yourself with compassion for those around you? Are you clothing yourself with kindness even when others aren't kind to you? How about humility? Gentleness? Patience? “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. - Mark 11:22-24 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” - Matthew 17:20 Those are some incredible words: Whatever we ask for in prayer. But Jesus makes it very clear that in order to be able to accomplish great feats, like moving mountains, we need to have faith. Doubtless faith. And that’s not as easy as it sounds. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. - 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
Reflections can be tricky. Depending on the angle at which you're standing in relation to a reflective object or the surface that is reflecting you, a reflection can be either very clear and accurate or extremely distorted. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” - Galatians 5:13-14
Christians are called to a life of service. Serving Christ and serving others is a part of the territory. But people don't often get excited about what it means to serve. To be a servant. And we're asked to serve others... humbly? Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Lyrics from Come Thou Fount written by Robert Robinson. To those with an ear for music, it's easy to tell when something is out of tune. If you own a piano, you probably get it tuned regularly. My husband tunes his guitar every time before he plays. If you want to perform a song well, you need to be in tune. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. - Philippians 4:8-9
When I was going through a dark time, my friends and family were always telling me to cut out negativity and think positive. To not focus on the dark thoughts, and focus on the good things in my life. And yet, it was easy to tune them out because I felt like they couldn't possibly understand what I was going through or the darkness I was harboring. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:28-39 One of the biggest reasons I hear as to why those around me refuse to believe that there is a loving and wonderful God, is that He allows bad things to happen to good people. My favorite verse to share with them is Romans 8:28. In ALL THINGS, God is working for the good of those who love Him. All God’s words are tried and true; a shield for those who take refuge in him. - Proverbs 30:5
Who enjoys watching movies? With a group of people? When one of them is constantly asking questions about the plot line or the characters? Yeah… not my favorite either. But that was definitely me as a kid. A lot of things went over my head, and I’d ask my parents a bunch of questions to try to fill in the missing pieces. My mom often responded to my questions with the answer she’d always gotten from her older brothers: “Because it’s in the script.” I’m a youth leader at my church, and our teens are quite a curious bunch. They want to understand everything. How can they be sure that God is there for them? Is God really there even when they can’t see or feel Him? Why is prayer important? And the answer I give is often, “because it’s in the Bible.” The Bible is GOD’S WORD! It is tried and true. And it’s where we can turn for help and hope. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” - Daniel 3:16-18
Can you imagine yourself in the sandals of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Moments from being thrown into a super hot fiery furnace because of your faith in God, yet still completely confident and calm because you know you are being obedient to Him. |
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