Sunday Devotions - Grandpa's Bible

Back in the spring my grandfather passed away. I've written about my Grandpa Asa a few different times; his funeral, the long sad vacation, his western shows, and why I refuse to eat squash. The other day my mom sent me a box from Indiana with some late Christmas presents, magazines for my kids and a Bible that belonged to Grandpa Asa. Grandma auctioned off the house and the farm in November and Mom helped her out going through all of the stuff in the house. Grandpa had enough Bibles that my six brothers and sisters and I all received one of his Bibles and there were still some left over. 

I lived with Grandpa Asa while I was going to college. (Those four years with him were an adventure!)  I always remember Grandpa having a Bible sitting on the table next to his recliner. I never really thought much about it though. I mean, I never really looked to see if he had more than one Bible and I never thought to see what Bible translation he had. 

This one is the Living Bible. It's not a very old Bible, at least I don't consider it too old. The print date is 1973 but the cover is ready to fall off. He must have spent considerable years with this one if I judge by its cover. 

The pages are stained and yellowed. 

I even found where my cousin practiced writing her name. I sure hope her handwriting has improved because her last name sure isn't Goa. :) 

But throughout Grandpa's Bible he's noted various passages or chapters. This page makes me laugh because,until I saw it, I had forgotten what an awful speller my Grandpa was; Leviticus, Hebrews. I don't think he cared one way or another how things are spelled, he knew he'd get his point across. 

That page above with all those scripture references made me curious so I looked them up, or most of them anyway. I can't find a Isaiah 42-35. 

Leviticus; The Passover of the Lord, The Festival of Unleavened Bread, The Festival of First Fruits, The Festival of Pentecost, The Festival of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, The Festival of Tabernacles

Hebrews 10; The old system of Jewish laws gave only a dim foretaste of the good things Christ would do for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but even so they could never save those who lived under their rules. If they could have, one offering would have been enough; the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and their feeling of guilt would have been gone. But just the opposite happened; those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their disobedience and guilt instead of relieving their minds. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats really to take away sins. 

John 8:20 Jesus made these statements while in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, for his time had not yet run out. 

Romans 12:12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. 

Hebrews 12:12 So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky legs, and mark out a straight, smooth path for your feet so that those who follow you, though weak and lame, will not fall and hurt themselves, but become strong. 

Matthew 12:38-39 One day some of the Jewish leaders, including some of the Pharisees, came to Jesus asking him to show them a miracle. But Jesus replied, "Only an evil, faithless nation would ask for further proof; and none will be given except what happened to Jonah the prophet! For as Jonah was in the great fish for three days and three nights, so I'm the Messiah, shall be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 

Matthew 14: 22-23 As they were eating, Jesus took bread and asked God's blessing on it and broke it in pieces and gave it to them and said, "Eat it- this is my body." Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it and gave it to them; and they all drank from it.

Isaiah 55:8 This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours. 

It makes me wonder what Grandpa was thinking of and pondering when he wrote those notations. When did he write in this Bible? Is it the one I remember on the coffee table? 

Though Grandpa and I sat and talked (okay, argued) about a lot of things, we never sat down and talked about our faith. I think partly because I never felt the need to question him. He faithfully went to church and was active in his congregation and community. He wasn't perfect, none of us are, but he tried his best when it came to his family. He had doubts, frustrations, triumphs, and joys like we all do. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I miss Grandpa. I wish I had realized when I was younger that I should have talked to him more about anything, everything. It's a comfort though to know that he and I have read the same words. We have the same Savior. We have the same Home. Thank You for the wisdom of the generations. Thank You for this Bible. Thank You for a role model like Grandpa. Amen. 

Sunday Devotions - Born Again!

 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”

 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?  Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” John 3:3-15

Last week I was teaching the story of Nicodemus, Jesus and being born again to my Sunday School class, ages 3-8. I think being born again is a hard concept for some adults to grasp let alone children. 

First I showed them this photo and asked them to describe the bug they saw. 

Dirty, poky, slimy, icky, ucky were just some of the not so flattering adjectives the children came up with. 

Then I showed them this photo and asked them to describe the bug they saw. 

Their eyes brightened as they said, "Big, beautiful, pretty, bright"

They were surprised to know that these two "bugs" were the same animal. That ugly bumpy caterpillar spins his cocoon and eventually turns into this beautiful butterfly. 

But all of the children wrinkled their brows when I said, "WE are all JUST LIKE the CATERPILLAR! We are ugly because we are full of sins!!" 

Then the kids shared some sins they knew of; lying, hitting, fighting, etc. 

Does God want us to be ugly and full of sin? No of course not. God's goal for us is to become as beautiful as that butterfly up there but he's not going to change us all by himself. We have to do some work too. 

Just like the caterpillar spins a cocoon tightly around himself and then waits patiently while he changes, so must we wrap ourselves in God's Word. To truly change our sinful ways we need to surround ourselves with people, places, and things that will help us change into the loving Christians God wants us to be. It probably won't happen all at once but it will happen if we are patient and work with God. 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for the "ugly" caterpillar and the "beautiful" butterfly. Thank You for giving us the opportunity to change our sinful ways and live a beautiful life for You. Father, please provide us the cocoon we need to change. Amen. 

Sunday Devotions - Body Splendor!!!!

Let me just start off by saying that this post is probably one of the hardest I've ever written. The thought of sharing this subject with you has caused me a lot of anxiety. I'm literally biting my nails off as I write this. Why?? Well, I'm about to share a few photos of myself...in a sports bra. Showing my pregnancy stretch marks...from twins...and a c-section. (I wouldn't blame you at all if you ran screaming from this site right now.) 

Okay though, let's back up. Why exactly am I sharing a post of my half naked body with you on a SUNDAY DEVOTION? It's kind of a long story so let's start at the beginning. 

I've always been athletic. All through high school and college I played sports. After college I continued running and lifting weights and started doing some yoga. I never worked out or exercised because I was trying to attain the "perfect body" or anything. I just really enjoy how my body feels after I exercise. But any girl who spends a decade playing on sports teams spends their fair share in a locker room with other girls. It's no surprise I have a few hang ups about how my body looks. It sure hasn't helped either that my stomach has gone through some trauma. My first pregnancy I carried twins full term (and gained 60 pounds) and my second ended with an emergency c-section. Fun scars abound!! 

Earlier in the year I found a website that I have absolutely fell in love with, Bodyrock. A few times a week the Bodyrock site posts 12 minute workouts (alternating rounds of 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest) along with a video on how to do each move. Twelve minutes may not sound like a lot but these workouts are HARD!! I'm always sweating like a pig when I'm done and there's lots of times I can't make it through an exercise without a break. It's awesome that the workouts are only 12 minutes too, no excuses! Bodyrock encourages those working out with them to take a photo of themselves once a month or so to really see the difference Bodyrocking can make. Some Bodyrockers even end up sharing those photos on Facebook as inspiration for others. 

I'd thought about sharing my photos but couldn't bear the thought of showing my stretched out stomach to 50,000+ Facebook followers! AAACCCKKK!! 

But I have taken photos along the way. This is me on May 1st, 2012. I am so insecure I couldn't even bear to get my head in the image! 

So back to Bodyrock. One of the hosts, who does AWESOME workouts by the way, has shared a couple of plastic surgeries that she's had on the site; a breast enhancement and a nose job. And she's caught a lot of criticism for doing so. Lots of people say she was beautiful to begin with and she didn't need to get the plastic surgeries and that now that she's had two she won't be able to stop. I had to agree, she didn't need that work done. She had an awesome body...BUT I also thought it shared a LOT of courage a bravery to share her insecurities with others . After that I got to thinking a bit more of sharing my photos but STILL couldn't bear to do so. 

Until I was reading my Bible this week and came across this passage; 

^{1 Corinthians 15:38-44}  But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.  Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.  There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

God created my body in splendor!! He created it to do wonderful things. I had 3 babies and dang, those stretch marks are a sign of the strength my body had while bringing life into this world! Okay, can you just say "WOW". God doesn't create mistakes. He gave me this body for a specific purpose, he created stretch marks for a reason too, and who am I to question that he's made a mistake. According to God my body is grand! Why shouldn't I be proud of it?

So here's me after about 5 months of Bodyrocking on October 4, 2012

There's not a huge change but I can certainly tell a difference in my love handles and I DEFINITELY feel stronger with more energy. It's amazing the workouts I can do now, with no problems, that I couldn't do 5 months ago. It's also amazing how much more energy I have to spend on my family! 

Look, I have a head in this one!! Ha, ha! 

The previous photos were really hard for me to share on my blog. (All my fingernails are gone now!) But the next image is by far the hardest to share. 

My Twin Skin.

Yep that's my belly. Gross isn't it? 

No, no it's NOT GROSS. (I have to keep reminding myself of that!)

My stretched out tummy did wonderful things, it brought three glorious children into this world. God is more than happy with how I look and I should be too. 

In this world we get so wrapped up in how we look that we forget that this earthly body is fleeting. This will not be the body we inhabit in heaven, that body will be glorious! But this earthly body and earthly life and world holds its own splendor. God doesn't make mistakes, we don't need to "fix" anything he's created. 

Embrace it. Be proud. Our bodies, our lives are gifts. If we feel the need to strive for a "perfect" body though the earthly one shouldn't be our focus. Rather we should strive for perfection in spirit. 

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the strength of my body. Thank You for stretching out my tummy because it reminds me of just how glorious this earthly body You created is!! It can do fabulous things! Help me find perfection in spirit and not worry about this short lived earthly body. There are definitely more important things to worry about than that. Amen! 

Sunday Devotions - The Comfort of Family

Luke 15:11-32

The Parable of the Lost Son

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.  After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.  So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.  He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’  So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.  ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Recently I was able to spend a few days with my family from Indiana; mom, dad, brothers, sister, brother in law. It has been about 4 months since I had seen any of them, a relatively short time! We were all camping together for a few days, in cabins in the rain, which means we spent a LOT of time together. I realized that when I spend that much time with anyone my quirks and weirdness are bound to come out. As well as everyone else's. At least I was with my family who accepts me as I am, though they surely roll their eyes at me sometimes, and love me despite my oddities. Thank goodness for family!

It's a great comfort to know that no matter what mistakes I make in life or how quirky I am I have family who will always be there for me. I know I can go to any of my brothers or sisters for help or comfort if I ever need it.

However not all family relationships are like this. Sometimes there is someone who, for whatever reason, is estranged from their family. Maybe it's an age old argument or some misunderstanding that caused a rift in the relationship that seems beyond repair. I know there are such cases in my own family. I hope one day though that those relationships can be repaired and just like the prodigal son my family members can come together again somehow, someway. Realistically though I have to remember that may not happen.

Although my own family members, to me, seem rock solid people who I can always count on I must remember my family is only human. They aren't perfect. Their might be a time in the future that I can't rely on them for comfort or to accept some future mistake I may make.

But I can rely on God. No matter what happens in my family, arguments, misunderstandings or estrangement I know that God is ALWAYS backing me up. He's ALWAYS there to hold me. He's ALWAYS going to love me. He's ALWAYS going to be there to talk to. ALWAYS. God is just like the prodigal son's father. When the wayward son returned, his father didn't scold but accepted him home wholeheartedly. Thank goodness!!

Dear Heavenly FATHER!
Thank You for allowing me into Your Grace despite my sins and mistakes. Thank You for my earthly family that comforts me but I remember that You are the only constant place for comfort. Bless every one of my family members that they also come to You for comfort. Amen! 

Sunday Devotions - Childhood; Intense love and learning

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.  Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.  When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.  After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.  When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.  Luke 2:44-52

My boys Yip and Yap are getting the hang of second grade; longer spelling lists and more reading home. Luckily they have a great teacher this year that seems to really keep them motivated and engaged in their learning. 

More than once my boys have come home excited to share some tidbit of new information. "Did you know tomatoes are fruits NOT a vegetable?" " Did you know pigs are smarter than dogs?" It will be amazing what I'll learn by the end of the year with teachers like my sons. 

Even though my boys are only eight years old, and to me they seem so very young, they are learning new things everyday and given the opportunity they are excited to share their knowledge. That doesn't mean they always make the best decisions however. Yip made a bow from a stick and arrows from bamboo skewers...and managed to shoot me in the head while showing off hsi skills. 

Children are learning and they'll make mistakes. Even the boy Jesus made a mistake (a worldly one anyway). Instead of sticking with the traveling party or telling Joseph or Mary where he was going he stayed in the Temple to learn and gain and share understanding. He was following His Father's instructions. I wonder if the temple priests weren't just a little overwhelmed with the presence of Jesus. 

God sent Jesus to Earth not as a grown man but as a baby to grow and have a childhood and experience a childhood that each human on Earth experiences. Jesus as a child had that same willingness and excitement to learn as our children today. 

We know that God and Jesus dearly loves children in a very special way. In a way that I imagine I don't have the capacity to understand. God loves our children more than we do! 

Matthew 19:14

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 21:16

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“‘From the lips of children and infants,  you, Lord, have called forth your praise?”

Matthew 11:25

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Children can really try the patience of parents and other adults. Children are loud and messy and seem to be deaf when their parents speak. Children are reckless and impatient and have poor judgement. 

But God designed childhood to be just like this. God has a very special reason that we all had a childhood. 

Childhood is also the place in our lives where children nurture their dreams and creativity. Childhood should provide a safe environment for making mistakes and learning from them. God has provided children knowledge, faith, trust and understanding that adults may never truly fathom. Childhood is a precious, precious gift and we adults would do well to remember the details of our own just a little bit better. 

Yes, our kids can be trying. That's the way God made them....and they are perfect!! Childhood is perfect, and short, let's give our kids a break today. 

Dear Heavenly Father, Grant me patience today as a parent. When I feel like I'm at my wit's end with my children help me to remember that you made them perfect. Their childhood is fleeting and precious to them. Help me nurture them during this time in their lives and open my heart to learn from the. Amen. 

Sunday Devotions - ..that you do not do what you want...

Galatians 5:19-23 New International Version (NIV)

So I say,live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


Last Sunday my minister gave a wonderful sermon about the Fruits of the Spirit. Most of you are probably familiar with them : love,joy,peace,forbearance, kindness,goodness,faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. These are things of the Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit we are able to show the Fruits of the Spirit to the world.

I don't know about you but that's what I want to show to the world. Doesn't a life full of love, joy and peace sound wonderful!! All to often however I find myself feeling very unjoyful, unpeaceful and unloving. Why? I want to lead I life full of the Spirit? What's keeping me from it? My sinful nature is preventing me from shining with the Fruits of the Spirit. 

Imagine a flashlight (you and me) with the ability to shine brightly through the darkness. All it needs is to be filled with batteries (the Spirit of God). Yet when you try to put in the batteries there is something stopping you, in this case little pieces of paper with sinful items written on them; hatred, idolatry, envy, etc. These "little" sinful things things prevent us from being filled. In reality these sinful things are not little but we tend to overlook the power they have in our lives. In order to live a Spirit filled life these things must be first emptied out of us. Envy and Peace can not coexist. When we make room in our lives for the Spirit then do we receive the ability to shine. 

What is in our lives today that is preventing us from receiving the Holy Spirit? Anger? Envy? Selfishness? What steps can we take today to rid our life of these sinful desires? How can we live the life we WANT to live? 

(Thanks Pastor Jerry for a wonderful analogy!) 

Dear Heavenly Father, Help me rid my life of sinful desires. Help me find strength. Empty me Lord that I may be filled with Your Spirit! Help me SHINE! Amen. 

Sunday Devotions - What You Are is Beautiful!

Psalm 139:14 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

A friend of mine shared this link from Jewel on Facebook the other day. I'd listened to Jewel years ago but haven't for a while. I admit that when I listened to this song for the first time I cried. Take a minute and listen. 

Look in the mirror 

Not that's another story to tell

I give love to others

But I give myself hell

You don’t have to tell a flower how to bloom
Or light how to fill up a room
You already are what you are
And what you are is beautiful

As I was listening Yahoo came up to me and asked that we dance together to the song. Right in our kitchen I held her, with her sticky fingers and her mussed up hair and her mismatched clothes and she was beautiful. I hope that I can instill in her heart, way before she becomes a teen, that she's already beautiful and nothing she does on the outside will improve her because it's what's on the inside that counts. 

I've dealt with body issue problems for a long time. It's never been so severe that I've put my body in danger with any extreme diet but I have put my emotions under a lot of stress. For a long time I've thought, "I'm not skinny enough; I'm too bulky. The numbers on the scale are too high." I spent all my teen years in school sports and I couldn't help but compare myself to my team mates; their skills and yes, their bodies. It's hard to feel good about your body when it feels like everyone else is prettier than you are even if they aren't. I always felt awkward in my teen years and the way I looked wasn't good enough. I was VERY self conscious and as a result didn't have a lot of confidence. Even in my adulthood though those emotions are hard to put into the past. 

I still deal with those feelings with not having "the right body". I have to remember though that our bodies are physical; they grow and change and get old. God didn't design these bodies of ours to be perfect, whatever that means. 

I have to remember this. 

It is our soul that God is concerned with. So many of us, especially women, put so much time and effort and energy into improving the appearance of our outward physical bodies for others. Worrying if we are wearing the right clothes in public. Worrying if we are skinny enough. Worrying how we appear to others. But how much time have we spent improving the appearance of our souls to others? Are our souls shining when we go out in public? 

Dear Heavenly Father, I am fearfully and wonderfully made! Your works are wonderful. I am Your work and I. Am. Wonderful! Thank You for being a defender of who I am. I am perfect because I was created for You. Please help me to remember that who I am is a soul, not a body. Amen. 

Sunday Devotions - Passing the Torch, the work of Christ

The Great Commission

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said,“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

Peter Heals a Lame Beggar

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. Acts 3:1-8

This week as I was preparing for today's Sunday school class, the lesson of Peter healing the lame man, I was having trouble coming up with a suitable way to convey to the kids just how important Peter's miracle was to early Christianity. Peter's work and ability to perform miracle was showed that Jesus' work on Earth wasn't finished when he ascended into heaven. Rather, the work was passed onto Peter and the other disciples by Jesus' great commission. Peter also reminds the lame beggar, and us, that any mortal with the power to perform miracles has power from God, not themselves. 

The work Jesus passed to the apostles and that has now been passed to present day Christians is a lot like an Olympic relay race. It takes a lot of people working their very best to get to the finish. Those running the relay must grasp the baton firmly and pass it on with conviction. 

And what will we workers for Christ find at the finish line? We will be received as champions, given rest from our toils. Christians are like Olympic champions. We don't become Christians in a day nor do Olympians become champions. Doing God's work and becoming an Olympic champion takes years of sacrifice and hard work but our reward in heaven is great! 

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the work you have commissioned to us. Thank You for providing role models in your apostles. Thank You for the promise of a great reward in heaven! Amen! 

Sunday Devotions - Love for the Hatemongers

Love for Enemies

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48

Who doesn't love Facebook? I bet if you are reading this post that you are at least a little bit engulfed by the whole social media thing. It's great isn't it? I mean just this week dozens of my friends wished me happy birthday, I saw a newborn's first photo and I got to see some awesome photos of 4H fairs hundreds of miles away. Facebook can be a great way to celebrate events in my friends lives! 

Sadly though Facebook can also be a forum for negativity. Recently something very negative was directed towards me and some friends of mine by another mutual "friend". My first reaction was anger, revenge, a sense of betrayal. She's supposed to be my friend and she said that!! GGGrrrr....I really wanted to call her up and give her a piece of my mind. 

But I didn't, because it wouldn't have changed anything. Me spreading animosity and anger will never be the solution to hurtful words. Besides I was reminded that although my "friend" was spreading negativity that God still loves her. God loves the just and the unjust. God still loves my friend. God still cares about her well being. And I should too. God loves us all. The good, the bad. The positive, the negative. The just, the unjust. 

I do still love my friend, it's hard, but I do care about her. I've deleted my friend from Facebook because even though I still love my friend I won't put myself into a situation where I'm degraded. There may be a very good chance I'll never talk to this friend again. I've prayed for this friend daily for months and I'll continue to do so because.... she needs it. Once I gave up the idea of "giving her a piece of my mind" and just letting go of the whole situation, I felt a lot calmer in my spirit. 

 Dear Heavenly Father, Life is hard and sometimes people are hard to deal with. Thank You for the words of Your Son to remind me that even though someone has dealt with me unjustly that they are still one of Your children and they are loved. If You can love the unjust Lord then so can I. Please just give me the strength to do so. Amen.