Clothes
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If
you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say,
“Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there”
or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? James 2:1-4
There is a friend of mine that I work with, and for some reason we
always end up dressing in very similar color, if not the exact same
color shirts. After the razzing from the various entities in our suite
each time we dress alike, I think about how interesting it is that two
people from seemingly separate backgrounds, living very different lives,
dress alike and how people view that situation. It is amazing in our
society how much we look at other people's appearances, and then begin
to automatically start putting a picture together of who that person is,
whether they are good looking, messy, or have a proficiency for style.
We can be very judgmental which is not a good thing, but it can be
controlled. If we think about looking at people through Christ's eyes,
then we can begin to see things that we normally wouldn't see. I always
think that if you look closely at a person that you can truly tell their
heart. We should stop focusing so much on the clothes of people and
more on the internal clothing of individuals and who they truly are in
this world. This is the first step to loving others.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Fantastic Friday #333- Blessings
Blessings
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:3-6
Blessings; they come into our lives every single day, from the moment you wake up to the moment you lie down you are blessed. Now, why do we just sit around to think and wonder where the blessings are in our lives. Are we so caught up in what we can get and what we can do, that we forget about the simple blessings we have in our lives? The enemy works on us by letting us think that we need God to do something big in our life to really make a difference, when in reality we don't need that. We are already blessed and can rejoice in the blessings we receive from our Lord and Savior. Maybe it is the way we look at blessings being small ones, medium ones, large ones, and extra-large ones. Isn't every blessing from God an extra-large blessing? I think it is in our perception and maybe we need to view these blessings as something that God predestined for us. The moment we put God in a Box with blessings, is the moment God stops being God. Praise God for who He is and know that He provides the blessings which are all always extra large.
Have a great weekend.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:3-6
Blessings; they come into our lives every single day, from the moment you wake up to the moment you lie down you are blessed. Now, why do we just sit around to think and wonder where the blessings are in our lives. Are we so caught up in what we can get and what we can do, that we forget about the simple blessings we have in our lives? The enemy works on us by letting us think that we need God to do something big in our life to really make a difference, when in reality we don't need that. We are already blessed and can rejoice in the blessings we receive from our Lord and Savior. Maybe it is the way we look at blessings being small ones, medium ones, large ones, and extra-large ones. Isn't every blessing from God an extra-large blessing? I think it is in our perception and maybe we need to view these blessings as something that God predestined for us. The moment we put God in a Box with blessings, is the moment God stops being God. Praise God for who He is and know that He provides the blessings which are all always extra large.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Fantastic Friday #332- Learn
Learn
3 For the ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.
4 Let us discern for ourselves what is right;
let us learn together what is good. Job 34:3-4
There is so much to learn in our life. From the moment we entered this world, to the moment we began speaking, to the moment we began reading, to the moment we began cognitive thinking, to the moment we utilized problem solving skills, to our every day life, we are always learning. Some learning is easy and some learning can be very hard. The easy things we do are picked up fairly quickly and the more complex things take time to learn. One thing that God reminds us of is that we don't know everything and we need to learn what it means to follow Him. God knows that we hear things that test us, and see things that tempt us. But God also knows that He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us discern what is good. We learn the hard way some days, but also have that chance to learn the easy way. Spend some time with God and His Word and I promise you that you will learn something new. Keep learning, for learning only makes you stronger.
Have a great weekend.
3 For the ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.
4 Let us discern for ourselves what is right;
let us learn together what is good. Job 34:3-4
There is so much to learn in our life. From the moment we entered this world, to the moment we began speaking, to the moment we began reading, to the moment we began cognitive thinking, to the moment we utilized problem solving skills, to our every day life, we are always learning. Some learning is easy and some learning can be very hard. The easy things we do are picked up fairly quickly and the more complex things take time to learn. One thing that God reminds us of is that we don't know everything and we need to learn what it means to follow Him. God knows that we hear things that test us, and see things that tempt us. But God also knows that He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us discern what is good. We learn the hard way some days, but also have that chance to learn the easy way. Spend some time with God and His Word and I promise you that you will learn something new. Keep learning, for learning only makes you stronger.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Fantastic Friday #331- Rest
Rest
27 So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.
28 “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time.
29 “You warned them in order to turn them back to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, of which you said, ‘The person who obeys them will live by them.’ Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen.
30 For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. 31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. Nehemiah 9:27-31
This week I wanted to rest my body so bad, instead I had work and work and do more work; and it seemed like it was never going to end. Within all this work that swallowed me was my little human side falling into doubt about why all this work was so difficult and super challenging after many months of planning. Why did I doubt my God and the fact that He is big enough for me and my small little problems. Maybe because the rest I had fallen into was a rest without Him. We can so easily fall into a restful state that doesn't involve Him and what He is doing and has done. What we do is fall into a restful state where we think we are in control of this state. But what we don't realize at times is how loving our Lord and Savior is to our needs. Don't rest alone, rest in Him and let Him show His mercy and grace.
Have a great weekend.
27 So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.
28 “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time.
29 “You warned them in order to turn them back to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, of which you said, ‘The person who obeys them will live by them.’ Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen.
30 For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. 31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. Nehemiah 9:27-31
This week I wanted to rest my body so bad, instead I had work and work and do more work; and it seemed like it was never going to end. Within all this work that swallowed me was my little human side falling into doubt about why all this work was so difficult and super challenging after many months of planning. Why did I doubt my God and the fact that He is big enough for me and my small little problems. Maybe because the rest I had fallen into was a rest without Him. We can so easily fall into a restful state that doesn't involve Him and what He is doing and has done. What we do is fall into a restful state where we think we are in control of this state. But what we don't realize at times is how loving our Lord and Savior is to our needs. Don't rest alone, rest in Him and let Him show His mercy and grace.
Have a great weekend.
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