What do you believe?

 

Sunday Morning we were asked “What do you believe?” and told that we answer that question by looking at what we do. I’ve been thinking about this and asking myself this question for the past few days. Actually, these are the questions I’ve been asking….

• Do I believe that there is power in prayer?  

• Do I believe that Studying God’s word is beneficial to me?
• Do I believe that all sin grieves God’s heart and puts a rift between Him and me?
• Do I believe that Jesus died to save ALL people?
• Do I believe that my children look to me as their example of what it means to be a Biblically Christian Adult?
• Do I believe that people need Jesus more than they need anything else?
• Do I believe that what I do for God is the only thing that matters?
• Do I believe that my children need to be encouraged and guided with love?
• Do I believe that my husband needs me to encourage him and support him and speak kindness to him and about him?
• Do I believe that, as a Christian, I should pattern behavior, decisions, lifestyle, and the way I treat all people after Christ?
• Do I believe that God takes all sin seriously?

The list goes on and on and on (and also contains all sorts of non-spiritual things about laundry and house work and naps and TV and my phone and bills and cooking that I wont go into here.) I ask myself these questions and then look at my life and the choices and decisions I make and my heart aches. If my daily routine, the choices I make, the way I talk to and treat people, & the ways in which I choose to spend my time all point to what I believe, then in reality, I believe that I am very important, that My feelings and My needs are important, and that I shouldn’t be uncomfortable or do without. This makes me very sad and it needs to change. It must change if I truly believe the things I think and say that I believe.

For the longest time I thought that striving to be a good person was at least aiming in the right direction. Truth be told, I feel like, overall, I do okay by “good person” standards. I certainly have a long list of rules about things I do and don’t do because I am a Christian and honestly, I love living a life that serves my Savior. By “the world’s” standards, I suppose I am a decent person but as Christians, Christ is our standard, so I’m nowhere close to where I want to be. I blogged sometime recently about how "being good" isn’t enough and I feel that today more than ever. Trying to be a good person isn’t working. I need Christ to change my heart so that I am more and more a reflection of Him.

 

I'm pretty blue right this minute because I am feeling the weight of my sin and the many ways I fail every day. It makes me thankful that Christ died for my sin and thankful that He defeated death so that we can spend eternity in heaven. I am thankful for all the many ways He has changed me and grown me to look more like Him. I am thankful that He reveals my need for more of Him every single day. I'm thankful that HE still takes time to shape me into someone He can use. I am so vey thankful that He does not give up on me.

It is my prayer that I continue to grow spiritually so that those who know me, know what I believe.

What are you reporducing in others?

Last week I shared my lunch hour with a coworker and was given the most interesting quote. She said it is something that her father has always told her.

“You can teach what you know, but you can only reproduce who you are”

I’ve rolled this around in my head for the better part of a week now, and I still don’t have a complete set of thoughts on it, but I have noticed it to be true in my life and in the lives of those who we have ministered to over the years.

Children DO what their parents DO, not what their parents TELL them to do. I saw this over and over again when we were in youth ministry. Children mimic what they see and hear at home. Of course they may rebel and act out on their own or likewise may rise above the way they are raised. Still overall, children talk and act like their parents. For example, they most always treat people the way their parents treat people.

As an adult I see that the people I surround myself with do still “rub off” on me, and I on them. I got really tickled when a coworker said, “Oh my goodness that is so stinkin cute!” As soon as she said it, her eyes got really big and she pointed her finger at me and said “YOU did that to me!!!!! I never said “stinkin” til I came to work here! This is your fault!” It still makes me giggle a little. I do use "stinkin" as my adjective choice when describing something as very cute, very funny, or very... whatever. That is just one of many examples. If you have ever been around anyone, you know how this works, but I’ve never heard it explained the way my coworker’s dad explained it.

“You can teach what you know, but you can only reproduce who you are”

So, on one hand, this tells me that I need to be careful who let into my “inner circle”. I need to be careful who I let influence me. That's nothing new.  Mom’s been telling me that as long as I’ve been able to choose friends.

There is something else to this. Something I haven’t quite worked through…

I need to look at the people closest to me…the people I invest in…the people I “teach”. I KNOW what I am teaching them….but I wonder, what am I reproducing? I don’t have an answer for that yet, and I am not sure that I will elaborate on it here when I do.

Even so, I want to challenge you to look at the people you “rub off” on… your spouse, your kids, your coworkers, your close friends and ask yourself the question:

What am I reproducing in them?

 

Something to think about!



Why is it so hard to pray?

As my  Sunday School class fills each Sunday morning, there is talk of football games, homecoming dates and dresses, coupons and sales, yard work and home improvement projects, sick children, grounded children, good / bad grades, new boyfriends/girlfriends, favorite teachers, track meets, science projects, baseball practice, aging parents, career changes, potty training, learner’s permits, and wives who take 3 years to get dressed. Sunday School "starts” at 9:15. Somewhere between 9:25 and 9:30, our teacher will get everyone’s attention and ask if we have any prayer requests.

Dead silence fills the room. Then, one by one, we mention our requests:

“Joes mom is having surgery.”

“We need to pray for our nation.”

“And our students”

“Yeah, we really need to pray for our students.”

“We need to pray for our church”

“And our staff”

“Anything else?”

Silence.

“Anyone want to lead us in prayer?”

Silence. (I think some people even stop breathing)

Some brave soul will end up praying for our church, our class, our youth, our staff, the nation, our students, and Joe’s mom’s upcoming surgery. There is a sigh of relief as we exit prayer time and get into the lesson.

Why are our prayer requests so limited and generic and... bland?

I wish that our prayer requests sounded something like this…

“Joes mom is having surgery.”

“My daughter is looking for a homecoming dress. Please pray that I am able to help her understand how precious she is to me and to God and that she can dress modestly and still be absolutely beautiful”

“We still haven’t been able to get little Johnny to poop in the potty. I have cried. I have begged. I have bribed him with candy and stickers and new big boy underwear. I don’t know what else to do. I feel like a failure.”

“Joey has been dating Suzy for about 6 months now. Y’all, there are girls their age having babies. It seems like “everyone” is having sex. I don’t want that for them. I don’t think that they are, or even that they would. They are both good kids. I just worry. Please pray that they will make good choices, that they continue to respect each other, and that they value their purity.”

The things that we talk about and ask for advice on are important to us. Why do we not pray about them while we are together?  Do we think that things like modesty, purity, career changes, potty training, and all sorts of parenting and marriage issues are unimportant to God? Do we feel like we are putting too much weight on these things if we ask to pray about them? Do we think that God can't/won't fix these things? Do we want His intervention in our daily lives?

 God’s Word says:

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6 (HCSB)

Why do you think it is so easy for us to talk about things but hard to pray about them?

 (I really want to know. Leave me a comment…)

Let’s pray

Father God,

Help me to remember that you are concerned with all things in my life and that I can bring everything to you in prayer. Let me not be hesitant to ask my church family and Christian friends to pray for the things that give me anxiety or cause me to worry. Help me to remember that nothing is to large or too small for me to bring to you in prayer.

Amen