As I think about what it means to be free, this Memorial Day weekend, I think of all the soldiers who have given their lives for the sake of freedom. Jesus said, "there is no greater love, than to lay down your life for a friend."
One of my favorite scenes from the movie Braveheart, is the final scene, when Mel Gibson's character, William Wallace, lays down his life, and is obedient unto death, for his cause, to free Scotland, from the tyranny of England's unjust ruler. What a powerful moment in the film, when under excruciating agony, William cries out, "FREEEEDOM" This always brings a knot in my throat, a lump in my stomach, and tears to my eyes. It reminds me of what Jesus did for me on the cross. He gave up everything for me. He went through terrible pain, and ridicule, for me. It's amazing, isn't it? But what does it mean, to be free? Consider the following scripture: Galatians 5:13 "You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." What does freedom mean to you?
We have been given this amazing gift of freedom, so what do we do with it? Galatians 5:13 suggests, that we use this gift to be of service to one another. This is freedom. To be free to serve each other. Some of us are more comfortable in giving, than we are in receiving. Jesus calls us to do both. He says, that it is more of a blessing to give, than to receive. WE NEED to allow others the blessing of giving. When someone pays you a compliment, simply say, "Thank You" This allows their words, to bless them. When we disagree with someone, or disqualify their compliment-we take away the blessing of their kindness. When someone offers to pay you for your time, or service, humbly accept their gift. They are saying to you, with their words, or financial compensation, "we value you" When, we say, "Oh, it was nothing, you don't owe me anything..." We devalue ourselves, and rob them of the blessing of giving. Humbly receive whatever blessings God chooses to give you, so that you will have something of value to share with those who you seek to bless. And as you give to them, YOU will be blessed. This is how God's economy works, "It is more of a blessing to give, than to receive"
I value the gift of freedom, and for me, this gift is about the ability to exercise self-control, and to not give into every whim and desire, but rather to practice patience, and out of a generous spirit seek to serve the people God has placed in my life.
How will you exercise your gift of freedom?
Psalm 119:45
I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Miracle of the Butterfly
Life is full of random surprises, and moments of grace, if we will just open ourselves to the possibilities that await us with each new day. Jeremiah 29:11 says that "GOD KNOWS the plans he has for us." Have you ever thought about that?!? That the same God who created the heavens and the earth, thinks about us? That is amazing! Have you ever asked Him, " Hey God, Your word says that you have thoughts about me, plans for me, what plans do you have for my life?" Ask and you shall recieve! I can promise you one thing, He will BLOW YOUR MIND! If you think your hopes and dreams are big, wait until you see what my God has in store for you! He will do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond, anything, you can ever ask for, hope for, dream for, or imagine..
Or, maybe you have lost your way, forgotten, or abandoned your dreams.. Surrender your life to Jesus, and he will reawaken those dreams, and desires. His word says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come" Do you believe this? Have you ever contemplated the miracle of the butterfly? This is what God wants to do in your life! He wants to scoop you up off the ground, so you can stop crawling on your belly... wrap you up in the cocoon of his love, and give you time to metamorphis into a beautiful new creation, that can soar in the heavens! He wants to make you beautiful! He will make all things beautiful, in his time. Be patient with yourself. God is not in a hurry. He has all the time in the world..
Romans 15:5
"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus."
Or, maybe you have lost your way, forgotten, or abandoned your dreams.. Surrender your life to Jesus, and he will reawaken those dreams, and desires. His word says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come" Do you believe this? Have you ever contemplated the miracle of the butterfly? This is what God wants to do in your life! He wants to scoop you up off the ground, so you can stop crawling on your belly... wrap you up in the cocoon of his love, and give you time to metamorphis into a beautiful new creation, that can soar in the heavens! He wants to make you beautiful! He will make all things beautiful, in his time. Be patient with yourself. God is not in a hurry. He has all the time in the world..
Romans 15:5
"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus."
Friday, January 9, 2009
Friendship With God
Today's Blog is inspired from my favorite author- Oswald Chambers. Most of the statements are direct quotes from his book, "My Utmost for His Highest" I have added a few of my thoughts towards the end. I hope you enjoy! Please leave feel free to follow my blog, and I really appreciate your comments on this page.
Friendship is rare on earth. It means identity in thought and heart and spirit. When we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic.
The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way, because the last abyss of his nature is being satisfied by Jesus.
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things. God purified Abraham from this blunder, and the same discipline goes on in our lives. God nowhere tells us to give up things for the sake of giving them up. He tells us to give up things for the sake of the only thing worth having- life with Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice" See Genesis 22:9 This incident is a picture of the blunder we make in thinking that the final thing God wants of us is the sacrifice of death.
Jesus said, "The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I come, that you may have Life, and have life abundantly" Are you experiencing a full, abundant, satisfying life? Come to Jesus. Call on His Name. He is faithful, and he will rescue you from all your fears.
The coolest thing about God, He wants to be your friend. He want to have an intimate, passionate, and real relationship with you.
Friendship is rare on earth. It means identity in thought and heart and spirit. When we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic.
The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way, because the last abyss of his nature is being satisfied by Jesus.
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things. God purified Abraham from this blunder, and the same discipline goes on in our lives. God nowhere tells us to give up things for the sake of giving them up. He tells us to give up things for the sake of the only thing worth having- life with Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice" See Genesis 22:9 This incident is a picture of the blunder we make in thinking that the final thing God wants of us is the sacrifice of death.
Jesus said, "The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I come, that you may have Life, and have life abundantly" Are you experiencing a full, abundant, satisfying life? Come to Jesus. Call on His Name. He is faithful, and he will rescue you from all your fears.
The coolest thing about God, He wants to be your friend. He want to have an intimate, passionate, and real relationship with you.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Golden Rule
I'm sure you have heard of the "Golden Rule" to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" And I am sure that many of you reading this, if not all of you have tried, or try to live your life this way. My question is, Is this the best way to live your life? Is this the best use of your time? To treat other people the way you want to be treated?
My answer is, no. I tried for many years to live by this principle, "to treat other people the way I wanted to be treated," and it simply doesn't work. For starters, this is a very selfish way to live. To only treat other people kindly because you are hoping for them to, in turn, treat you kindly. It is a very self-centered way to live.
Now, before you dismiss me completely, let me explain. I know a woman, who is a dear friend. This lady would do ANYTHING for a friend. She would set aside her own agenda, to help anyone who crosses her path who needs help. The problem is, this woman is divorced, and part of the reason she sought a divorce, is because she treated her husband this way, "she treated him the way she wanted to be treated" And when he didn't return the "favor" anger, bitterness, and resentment crept into her heart, and she started looking for ways to get out of this "one sided relationship" She started looking for someone who would meet her needs. She even told me once, "wouldn't the world be a better place, if instead of each of us looking out for ourselves, we looked out for each other" It sounded good at first, but the closer I looked at this philosophy, I began to see it's flaws.
We cannot expect other people to meet our needs. We cannot have selfish motives in helping other people, and expect good to come from it. Our motivation to help, to serve, to be kind to one another must come from a pure heart. How can we have a pure heart in our service to others? Ask yourself the question, "what does this person need?" And listen to the answer. Or better yet, ask the person yourself, "how can I help you" or "what can I do for you" and here's the key, the million dollar secret...listen. For now, you do not need to act. You do not need to speak. Simply Listen. Easier said than done. We all want to TAKE ACTION, to do something. But right now, we are only talking about motivation, and our desire to serve out of a pure heart, and in my opinion, the best way to do this, the only way to do this is to listen to those you desire to serve.
Listening is the key to understanding. Listen, not only to the words, but listen to the heart, to the unspoken desires that show up with action, body language, and even in anger, and hostility...listen. Now, if you are ready to hear the words I am share with you, I warn you, these words are powerful, and they have the ability to change your life forever...if you let them. Remember when I said that I no longer "do unto others as I would have them do unto me" Well, that was part true and part false. Each person that you meet is unique. We are all unique. Some people prefer to meet for lunch, others coffee, some by phone, others by email...treating everyone as you would like to be treated means that you get to know, personally, each of the people in your life, and you figure out how THEY want to be treated.
I made some of my best tips, as a waitress, when my rowdy customers would be rude, I would dish out more rudeness, and they loved it, and in return I received a bigger tip, than if I would have treated them the same way I treated my friendly customers. The key is to figure out how each of the people in your life want to be treated, and treat them that way. Not the way YOU want to be treated, but the way THEY want to be treated. I started living this way a couple of years ago, and let me tell you, it is not easy. My natural bent is to treat everyone with kindness, I am naturally optimistic, outgoing, and friendly, but some people, particularly those who are grieving need someone who will grieve with them. When you are hurting, the last thing you need is for someone to say, "cheer up!" or "get over it" I am sure you've heard of the saying, "misery loves company" It's true. When we hurt, we want someone who is willing to hurt with us, to "share our pain" to empathize. It is not easy, but the benefits are...well, you'll just have to experience it for yourself. You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but it is true, sometimes, it it better to weep tears of sorrow, than to laugh tears of joy.
So, if you are up for the challenge, try it this week, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" After all, you don't want other people to treat you the way they want to be treated do you? OF course not, you want them to treat you the way you want to be treated. So for this week, won't you consider, for one week, in your interaction with other people, STOP THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF!! Get over yourself, and focus on how you can serve and help others, ask someone this week, "how can I help you" and listen. listen to their words, listen to their body language, listen to their heart (the words behind their words) Then do unto them accordingly. Their is no formula or pattern to follow here. This is guerrilla warfare. One-on-One relationship building at it's finest. After all, consider the One who originally spoke these words, The Lord Jesus Christ, himself. He does not treat us all the same. He deals with each of us in our own unique way. He tailor makes His response to each of us based on our particular needs. He serves us in all our needs, that we might follow His example and serve others in their needs.
Building realtionships through listening,
One person at a time
Jennifer
In short, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" This isn't about treating other people the way you want to be treated- that is a very self-centered way to read this verse.
It's about taking yourself out of the equation, and treating others the way they want to be treated. How do you do this? Listen to the people you seek to serve. Get to know the people you seek to serve. I used to treat everyone the same, now I am learning to treat each person uniquly.
My answer is, no. I tried for many years to live by this principle, "to treat other people the way I wanted to be treated," and it simply doesn't work. For starters, this is a very selfish way to live. To only treat other people kindly because you are hoping for them to, in turn, treat you kindly. It is a very self-centered way to live.
Now, before you dismiss me completely, let me explain. I know a woman, who is a dear friend. This lady would do ANYTHING for a friend. She would set aside her own agenda, to help anyone who crosses her path who needs help. The problem is, this woman is divorced, and part of the reason she sought a divorce, is because she treated her husband this way, "she treated him the way she wanted to be treated" And when he didn't return the "favor" anger, bitterness, and resentment crept into her heart, and she started looking for ways to get out of this "one sided relationship" She started looking for someone who would meet her needs. She even told me once, "wouldn't the world be a better place, if instead of each of us looking out for ourselves, we looked out for each other" It sounded good at first, but the closer I looked at this philosophy, I began to see it's flaws.
We cannot expect other people to meet our needs. We cannot have selfish motives in helping other people, and expect good to come from it. Our motivation to help, to serve, to be kind to one another must come from a pure heart. How can we have a pure heart in our service to others? Ask yourself the question, "what does this person need?" And listen to the answer. Or better yet, ask the person yourself, "how can I help you" or "what can I do for you" and here's the key, the million dollar secret...listen. For now, you do not need to act. You do not need to speak. Simply Listen. Easier said than done. We all want to TAKE ACTION, to do something. But right now, we are only talking about motivation, and our desire to serve out of a pure heart, and in my opinion, the best way to do this, the only way to do this is to listen to those you desire to serve.
Listening is the key to understanding. Listen, not only to the words, but listen to the heart, to the unspoken desires that show up with action, body language, and even in anger, and hostility...listen. Now, if you are ready to hear the words I am share with you, I warn you, these words are powerful, and they have the ability to change your life forever...if you let them. Remember when I said that I no longer "do unto others as I would have them do unto me" Well, that was part true and part false. Each person that you meet is unique. We are all unique. Some people prefer to meet for lunch, others coffee, some by phone, others by email...treating everyone as you would like to be treated means that you get to know, personally, each of the people in your life, and you figure out how THEY want to be treated.
I made some of my best tips, as a waitress, when my rowdy customers would be rude, I would dish out more rudeness, and they loved it, and in return I received a bigger tip, than if I would have treated them the same way I treated my friendly customers. The key is to figure out how each of the people in your life want to be treated, and treat them that way. Not the way YOU want to be treated, but the way THEY want to be treated. I started living this way a couple of years ago, and let me tell you, it is not easy. My natural bent is to treat everyone with kindness, I am naturally optimistic, outgoing, and friendly, but some people, particularly those who are grieving need someone who will grieve with them. When you are hurting, the last thing you need is for someone to say, "cheer up!" or "get over it" I am sure you've heard of the saying, "misery loves company" It's true. When we hurt, we want someone who is willing to hurt with us, to "share our pain" to empathize. It is not easy, but the benefits are...well, you'll just have to experience it for yourself. You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but it is true, sometimes, it it better to weep tears of sorrow, than to laugh tears of joy.
So, if you are up for the challenge, try it this week, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" After all, you don't want other people to treat you the way they want to be treated do you? OF course not, you want them to treat you the way you want to be treated. So for this week, won't you consider, for one week, in your interaction with other people, STOP THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF!! Get over yourself, and focus on how you can serve and help others, ask someone this week, "how can I help you" and listen. listen to their words, listen to their body language, listen to their heart (the words behind their words) Then do unto them accordingly. Their is no formula or pattern to follow here. This is guerrilla warfare. One-on-One relationship building at it's finest. After all, consider the One who originally spoke these words, The Lord Jesus Christ, himself. He does not treat us all the same. He deals with each of us in our own unique way. He tailor makes His response to each of us based on our particular needs. He serves us in all our needs, that we might follow His example and serve others in their needs.
Building realtionships through listening,
One person at a time
Jennifer
In short, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" This isn't about treating other people the way you want to be treated- that is a very self-centered way to read this verse.
It's about taking yourself out of the equation, and treating others the way they want to be treated. How do you do this? Listen to the people you seek to serve. Get to know the people you seek to serve. I used to treat everyone the same, now I am learning to treat each person uniquly.
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