Sharing Your Faith and The Denomination Dilemma

Sept 24 – A Buddhist Monastery

It is such a blessing to be in a country where we have the freedom to learn about and dialogue with other religions.  Not everyone has such easy access to people with cultures and belief systems that are different from the majority. 

Between church activities and school clubs, I have always found it easy to spend most if not all of my time with Christians.  To some people, this may sound like a dream come true, but really, living in a “Christian bubble” can be a dangerous thing.  We can lose the ability to relate to people who believe differently than we do.  Cocooning ourselves inside Christian circles doesn’t do anything to spread the news about who Jesus is and the kingdom He brought to earth.  The struggle here is to find the balance between Christian influences and other influences – I believe that those closest to you should be Christian because they influence you most, but to shut out other people entirely is not the way we are to live either.  As you try to follow Christ with your life and as you live with and around people who don’t claim the name “Christian,” you will (most likely at some point) be asked about what you believe, how you live, and why.  1 Peter 3:15-16 gives us guidance in how to deal with these situations:  “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” 

Especially as you continue to discover who you are as a person and as a Christian, welcome and enjoy the Christian fellowship and friendship that you have, but also, don’t be afraid of the people who don’t look, act, or believe like you do.  Take the time to listen to their story, whatever that may be, to learn something about people in general and to show that person that you care.  Then when the opportunity arises, be willing and able to share what your faith means to you in a way that honors God and respects the other person.

Sept 25 – Not So Different

“Denomination.”  It’s a big word and I find that many people in the church, even adults, don’t know when to use it.  If you’re talking about church, the word is referring to the different divisions of Christian churches that are out there – Baptist, United Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Episcopal, Assembly of God, etc.  These “brands” of Christianity hold nearly identical core beliefs but differ on other major issues such as baptism, free will, and other things.  You may or may not notice significant differences in the services for each of these churches.  They may use hymnals or a big screen, play music with an organ or electric guitars, have the choir dancing up front or unmoving in the back – and one Baptist or United Methodist church may be very unlike another Baptist or United Methodist church.

So how do you figure out where you fit?  Is one right and the others wrong?  If you go to a Presbyterian church, are you automatically Presbyterian?  Those can be very hard questions.  If you have been in this situation or find yourself there now, here are my heartfelt words to you – Do NOT worry about it.  Spend some time checking out different churches.  Find the place where the teaching inspires you, where God and His son Jesus become more real to you, where you see ways that you can serve, and where you are challenged to grow in your life as a Christian.  Visit a denomination’s website for information about their specific beliefs if it is a concern to you, or make an appointment to talk with a pastor.  And while it is far from being the most important thing, find a place where the style of music excites you and the style of dress is what you are comfortable with.

In John 17, Jesus prays to His Father God for us – you and me, believers in Jesus in 2007 – and He prays this:

I pray also for those who will believe in me through [the disciples'] message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

According to one reliable source, there are approximately 38,000 Christian denominations in the world.  I long for the day when Jesus’ prayer will come to fulfillment.

*I have been involved with many wonderful denominations in my life.  If this is something you struggle with and would like to chat about or ask questions about, please feel free to use me as a sounding board.

On the Potter’s Wheel OR Your Life as Clay!

Sept 22-23 In The Potter’s Hands

I’m going to just start by saying that I LOVE the weekend article that we’re looking at today.  If you don’t have a copy of DevoZine, at least borrow one or something to check it out.  Going deeper into the metaphors God provides in the Bible is so incredibly cool!  I’ll hit some of the highlights in and around my own thoughts.

All right.  Let’s see what we have here…Here’s something I didn’t know.  We do know that potters shape the clay while it is spinning on a wheel, right?  In order to work with the clay, it has to be in the center of the wheel.  (Hmm…Funny that we should mention “centering” so recently.  Believe it or not, that was not planned beforehand.  See?  Further proof that God is cool!  )  But how does the potter know when it’s centered?  The potter knows the clay is centered on the wheel when it stops moving around.  A few weeks ago, we looked at Psalm 46 and I called special attention to Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God.”  Find God as your center.  Place Him right in the middle of everything else in your life and you will find that He gives you the ability to be still.  Yes, to be still even when the world around you is spinning out of control.  To be still when you aren’t even sure which way is up.  And when you cannot center yourself, be still enough to allow the Potter to center you.

Next, think about the shaping of clay.  Once it has been centered on the wheel, the potter begins to hollow it out and form the lump of wet gray mess into something beautiful.  But what if the clay fought back?  “What?!” you might say.  No, really.  What if the clay fought back?  I know it takes some imagination, but what if the clay began to harden itself so the potter could do nothing with it?  Or what if the clay kept trying to shape itself into something other than what the potter wanted to make?  It sounds ridiculous when we think of a lump of clay like this but we are supposed to be that clay.  So often, I feel myself fighting back against what God is trying to do with me.  “No, God.  I don’t want to change that part of me.  I’m comfortable with the way it is!”  So may we all learn to relax in the hand of the Potter and allow Him to form us just as He wants us to be.

The next part is the hardest part – the firing.  To harden the clay into something useful, it has to be fired.  This involves placing the finished pot in a very hot oven for quite a long time.  And then once it’s taken out of the oven, it cools, is glazed, and then goes back in the oven.  It is one thing to find ourselves in the center of God.  It is one thing to learn to relax enough that the Potter can shape us according to His will.  But what about this intense heat we have to go through?  Is it really necessary?  Yes.  Because we can be shaped just right but the fire is what gives us strength.  A bowl beautifully crafted won’t do much good if it is too soft to hold anything.  So what does this fire look like?  It will be different for every person.  There will be difficult circumstances that hurt, that you have to fight through, and that push you almost to your breaking point, but God will walk with you the entire way and you will be stronger for it in the end, ready to be used for the purposes for which He created you.

And finally, we have the finished product.  We, as humans, are never completely finished.  We are always a work in progress.  This process will happen over and over agin in our lives.  Sometimes, we will find ourselves just trying to be still and find the center once again.  Other times, we will sense that God is preparing us for something wonderful ahead.  We generally recognize when the fires of life come but sometimes we forget that God uses them for His glory.  And then there are times when we will see the ways that God is using us with the form and strength He has crafted.  Sometimes, He may even allow us to peek back through the entire process and see how far we have come.

But we have this treasure [the spirit of Jesus Christ] in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

The spirit of Christ is not inside gold vases, silver trinkets, or temple walls.  The spirit of Christ is inside of us, fragile jars of clay, though we are, and because of that, to God be the glory. 

Staying Empty and Drifting with God

Sept 20 – Unique to the Core

Hmm…After doing some additional research, apparently the difference between “pottery” and “ceramics” is not so distinct as the author today may make it seem.  However, her points are well taken – indeed, like handmade pots, no two people created by God are alike, even as much as they may look alike from the outside.

What is the purpose of a pot?  There’s pretty much only one practical use as far as I can tell – to hold something.  What if a potter made something that looked like a pot but was actually solid through and through, more like a vase-shaped sculpture?  Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?  We are those empty pots.  God created us with space inside our hearts to be filled by him.  Jesus speaks to a woman at a well about His ability to provide her with living water, water that won’t run out (John 4:10-14).  Unfortunately, what happens so often is that we try to fill our empty lives with things other than God.  Anything we put in other than Him leaves a residue, thickening the walls of our hearts and eventually shrinking the capacity that we can hold or blocking the opening completely for God to fill us up with the Life that He brings.

So start now!  Much like the “center” conversation we had a few days ago, let God fill up your life and your heart.  Spend time with Him.  Do your best to follow Him and build your relationship with Him.  In time, you will be like David in Psalm 23 who says that his cup overflows!

Sept 21 – A Feather on the Breath of God

Floating on the wind of God – wow.  What an image.  Have you ever been unsure about something significant in your life?  Maybe it was a major test grade or wondering how your life would change after your parents divorced.  Maybe it was a fight with a close friend or moving to a new city.  Depending on where you are in life, you may have had to choose which school you were going to or what path to follow after you graduated.  Those times of uncertainty can leave you upset and wondering where God is.  But I can honestly say from my own experience, especially in the last year and a half, there are few times in life when God has the chance to show Himself as much as He does in those times.  When you’re “a feather on the breath of God,” you could end up anywhere!  God could open any door for you – you might make some new and wonderful friendships or move to a city you didn’t know you could love.  You could discover a new hobby that gets you through a tough time or find a passion you never knew you had. 

As hard as it is to wait and trust God sometimes, enjoy the ride!  You’re not the first to deal with this in-between time.  Psalm 27:14 says “Wait for ther Lord; be strong and take heart and wait on the Lord.”  It is, by far, the most exhilarating way to live and drifting on the wind of God is sure to lead you exactly where He sends you.

Flawed Pots and the Dreams of God

Sept 18 – A Little Lump of Clay 

All right.  It’s time for English class.  Does anyone remember what a metaphor is?  Come on…Think hard…Ok.  Enough thinking for now.    If you didn’t remember, I’ll remind you.  A metaphor is sort of like a symbol; something is used to represent something else.  In case you didn’t know, God is a big fan of these.  He uses people’s lives as His metaphors in the Old Testament and Jesus uses parables as metaphors in the New Testament (or perhaps parables are more like similes, but I digress).  One of the easier-to-understand metaphors is found in Jeremiah 18.  God tells Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house where Jeremiah begins watching the man at his work.  In verse 6, God says, “…[C]an I not do with you as this potter does?…Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand…”

We will look deeper into this metaphor in a few days but right now, take a look at verse 4.  This is my favorite. 

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Some days, all I can see are my flaws.  I wonder what God could ever do with me, knowing that He sees how messed up I am too.  There are even times when I wonder if He has put me down to come back to at a later time.  But did you catch that phrase “marred in his hands“?  Scarred in his hands.  Imperfect in his hands.  We are not finished until the Potter says so and even when we’re looking our worst, He is holding us.

And the Potter doesn’t stop there.  Look at the last part of the verse.  God sees the flaws we have and shapes us as seems best to him.  He takes the imperfect and makes it into something beautiful because He sees in us, not what we are, but what we can be.  Enjoy being molded by your Potter!

(For some crazy metaphors in the lives of the prophets, check out Isaiah 20:2-4, Ezekiel 4:1-13, and the book of Hosea or just Hosea 1:1-3.)

Sept 19 – Shaped

Have you ever stood in front of a great work of art?  It doesn’t matter if it’s a painting or a sculpture or an abstraction that I don’t begin to understand – I am amazed by what I see.  My mom is the real art connoisseur in our family and she has to remind me now and then while I’m looking at a painting, “That started with a blank canvas!”  or “That used to be just a huge chunk of marble!”  I agree with today’s author in that I do not understand how artists see greatness in something completely blank, bare, and plain.

And yet that is what God sees in us.  God made humans from dirt!  (Genesis 2:7)  Can you believe that?  All of our individuality and intricacy come from dirt?  That blows my mind!  Talk about something from nothing!  But each life that God places on Earth is a valuable part of His creation.  No matter who we are or where we come from, we can be assured that God has created us individually and intimately.  Look at Psalm 139.  God knit us together in our mother’s womb! (verse 13)  (Imagine those incredible hands of God knitting.  Those would be some huge knitting needles!  Not that He made us like a grandmother makes a blanket but still, it’s a great image  ) 

Our physical form is not the only aspect of our lives that God is involved with.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”  Our powerful-yet-personal God has incredible dreams for us!  How awesome is that?  His dreams for us are so much greater than the dreams we have for ourselves.  Don’t sell yourself short!

Today, remember how much God cares for you.  Consider the time and attention He gave when He made you.  Allow yourself to dream about the great things God has planned for you – but remember to follow His dreams first for your life. 

Strength in Weakness and Learning to Center

Sept 15-16  Singer/Songwriter Jason Gray: The Loser Finds a Voice 

I just love stories like this.  How awesome is it when God uses someone’s exact weakness to become their strength?!?  I mean, seriously!  Guy has a major stuttering problem – God gives him a career as a singer.  That doesn’t just happen.  That is God and that is cool.

One of the reasons I like these stories so much is that, secretly (or not so secretly), I want it to be my story.  Could God really take one of the things I am most insecure about and use it in my life in a big way?  It seems so impossible to me.  But could He really do that?  Yeah.  I guess He could. 

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul spends some time talking about his weaknesses.  Here is my favorite section, verses 9-10:

[The Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

I can just see God asking, “Where is My child the most insecure?  What is he most afraid of?  What does she want to do that she thinks she never could?  Where have I kept him the weakest?”  If God uses those parts of us, we will know without a doubt that it is God at work in us and not our skill or hard work causing us to succeed.  God receives all the glory.

Whenever you worry about the things you’re not so good at, think about that first verse.  God’s power is made perfect in your weakness – He is able to show everyone just how great He is in you! 

Sept 17 – Molded by Movies

Last night at youth group, we talked about what kinds of things people have at the center of their lives.  Some of our youth said things like family and friends, school, or themselves.  Others wrote down chorus, softball, or band.  Other people might have money, success, church, or music at the center of their lives.  It’s probably not too hard for you to imagine one of these things (or something like them) being at the center of your life, but what would happen if you put God in the center?

Whatever your “center” is is probably where you spend the majority of your time and what you spend the most time thinking about.  Whether you want to face it or not, these things will influence the ways you act and think.  Many different things in our lives mold us, but perhaps nothing more than the people we spend time with.  Proverbs 13:20 says “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”  Basically, you are who you hang out with! 

Today, think about the things and the people you have at the center of your life.  Consider ways that you might start to move God more to the center of your life, and ask Him to mold you into the person He wants you to become.

To the Heights and A Loving Response to Your Tormenters

Sept 13 – Shed the Dread

You know, I’m going to be honest with you.  (That’s something I will always do my best to be here.)  I tried really hard to write this blog yesterday.  I sat and wrote and thought and erased and wrote and erased some more.  I was frustrated.  Why can’t I come up with anything to say that feels like the direction God might be headed?  So I wrote the one entry, put the rest aside, and left.

This morning was rough again.  I was really down on myself, struggling to find the confidence that my efforts matter.  And then it came time to write this blog.  This time, the verse from the devotion today spoke to me so much more deeply: 

The Sovereign Lord is my strength…

I haven’t had much strength today.  We don’t always have a lot left of ourselves to give.  So He will sustain me.  He will provide for me.  And He has.

…he will make my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.

Do you ever feel like you’re in a valley that you can’t get out of?  You feel stuck.  You’re surrounded by mountains without an escape.  You’re tired…

But what if you could leap up the sides of the mountains?  What if you could bound up and across the steep crags and easily reach the top, easily see the bigger picture of where you had been?  Wouldn’t that be perfect?  I would feel like I was flying!

That’s what God frees us to do.  On our own, we cannot reach the heights of His joy, the deep-hearted places He wants us to live in.  Our feet are gnarled, our baggage is heavy, and our legs are weak.  But He says He will make our feet like the feet of a deer (Habakkuk 3:19).  He says to take His burden because it is light (Matthew 11:30).  He says that His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Trust God to take you to the heights.  Know that He has given you both the ability and the courage to do so.

Sept 14 – Stinky

Have you ever been like the girl in this story?  Have you been the person who people pushed, taunted, made fun of, harassed, whispered about, yelled at, or mocked?  How did you respond?  Or if you haven’t experienced it, how do you think you would respond?

Just before Jesus was killed on the cross, He was mocked too.  Matthew 26:67-68 says that people “spit in his face and struck him with their fists.  Others slapped him and said, ‘Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?’”  Later, a different group of people ”stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him [symbolizing royalty], and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head.  They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said.  They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.” (Matthew 27:28-30)

What would you have done in that situation?  If it had been me, I don’t know.  I might have been sobbing and begging them to stop.  I might have been angry and tried to lash out.  But Jesus, as He is dying on the cross prays, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)  Wow.  After being spit on, beaten, mocked, having thorns driven into His forehead, and hung on a cross with spikes driven through His wrists and feet, He asks for their forgiveness…?  If that’s what Jesus means by “love your enemies” (Luke 6:27), then I’m not sure I am up to the task.  It certainly gives us something to work toward.

If you have been the victim of bullying, teasing, or mocking at school or anywhere else, I am so sorry.  Know that you are not alone and that here, we know that your pain is real and justified.  Since we cannot control other people but only the way we respond, I pray that God will give you the strength to love as Jesus did here, to respond with kindness, even when it is not returned to you. 

A Reminder of Kindness

Sept 12 – The New Kid

I want to go to Europe.  If you’ve known me for very long, you probably know that.  But here’s the thing about Europe that blows my mind – how the heck do you find your way around???  Ok, so you can go to England or Scotland and maybe make it all right but what if you went to France or Italy or Spain?  Or smaller countries with lesser known languages like Poland or The Czech Republic?  Then what?  I don’t know!  But I know I would be dependent upon the kindness of the people there to get me where I needed to go, whether to a train station, an airport, or a bathroom.

You know, in the good ol’ U-S-of-A, we forget pretty easily how difficult it is to be a foreigner in a strange country.  But we see ”foreigners” everyday.  They come from a different country or a different state or a different part of town.  And if you’ve ever gone to a camp where you knew no one or switched to a new school, then you have been a foreigner as well.  Do you remember how it felt?

In the verse for today, God tells us that we are to treat the foreigners among us as though they are citizens – after all, we’ve been foreigners before too, haven’t we?  (*Sidenote:  Certain versions of the Bible use the word “aliens” for this verse – anytime you see that in the Bible, it’s talking about someone living in a country that’s not their own.)  Wherever you are a “regular”, whether that’s at school, some activity like dance or theater, or a coffee shop, make sure to reach out in kindness to the people you know are from somewhere else.  You never know when the kindness might need to be returned – and when you might find a new friend!

*Today shall be a one-entry day.  It’s back to 2 tomorrow!

Hallway Horrors – A Change in Conversation and Loving Like Jesus

Sept 10 – The Power of Jest

The verse for today is one of my favorites.  I think it came in most handy in high school when I had to work on keeping my conversations positive, and I wish I had had it in middle school when joking quickly turned inappropriate or vulgar.  The magazine gives you part of it but here’s the whole thing:

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.  – Ephesians 5:3-4

Um, how hard is this to do???  “Not…even a hint”?  In today’s world, that’s practically impossible!  That being said though, we are chosen by God to be His holy people.  The word “holy” means “set apart.”  Sure, everyone else at school or on TV might be diving into sexual immorality or making fun of people or bad language but that doesn’t mean that you need to – set yourselves apart for God by living as an example in the way that you talk with your friends.  Take on that challenge to remove all of that kind of language and conversation from your daily life. 

One day this week when you’re hanging out with your friends, I encourage you to stop and listen.  Is the majority of conversation negative?  Vulgar?  Filled with sexual jokes or swearing?  If this is something you feel convicted about (feeling guilty with the desire to change), consider what it would take for you to stop participating in that with your friends.  I’m not asking you to stop talking to them or even to say anything to them about the things they talk about, but take responsibility for you and clean up your act.  Don’t be surprised if people notice and be prepared to share with them that you’re trying to make your language pleasing to God and uplifting to other people.

 

Sept 11 – All Alone

The girl who wrote this story has walked a difficult road.  Not only did she have a baby in high school, something which requires swallowing a lot of pride and great emotional strength, but she also faced the cruel abandonment of her friends.

There are so many issues and struggles people go through that seem to drive away friends who don’t know how to react or who are too fast to judge.  Some people might struggle with depression, other mental illness, pornography, self-injury, or same-sex attraction.  Others may have gone through a pregnancy at a very early age, had an abortion, or experienced abuse.  Some may have gone through the death or illness of a parent or close friend.  Any or all of these things have been known in the past (and present) to shame or isolate the very person who is already hurting.  When we surround the people in these situations with love, we recognize the hurt they have been through and demonstrate our willingness to walk through their struggles with them, giving them the hope and assurance that they are not alone and have someone to lean on when times get tough.  Even though it may be hard for us (and for them) and even though they may mess up along the way, our hope-giving love and understanding in the midst of these situations can literally save someone’s life. 

In John 8:1-11, Jesus’ wise words save a woman from being stoned (killed by having rocks thrown at her) after she had an affair with someone’s husband.  There are many lessons to take away from this story but what I wonder tonight is if anyone walked with her after Jesus rescued her.  Did some woman from her village take her hand and tell her she would help her as she fought to change her life?  Did anyone love her enough to say “Yeah, I know what you did, but you’re after a different life now.  How can I support?”  Would I have done that?  I wonder.

Ask God to expand your heart to include the people who struggle with things you don’t understand.  Pray for the wisdom to know when to reach out and the courage to follow through.  It’s one of the best ways I know to “be Jesus” to someone.

*Sidenote:  The verse from today is what the Hebrews verse from last week quotes.  Deuteronomy 31:8b says “[The Lord] will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed.” 

God’s Masterpiece

Sept 8-9  Getting Along

What a great story!  I guess siblings don’t have to fight forever…

Here’s what I love about this article:  Do you hear how much Aubrey loves her brother?  Do you hear in her words how highly she thinks of him and how much she respects him?  Do you see how she was willing to let go of the things that focused attention on her to serve him instead?

Ephesians 2:10 says that “We are God’s masterpiece…”  My problem is that I don’t always treat people as though they are God’s masterpieces.  Sometimes, I treat them like they’re rough drafts – messed up and not worth a whole lot.

It’s harder to see God inside the members of your own family.  You are with them most of the time, you see every day the ways they mess up, and you feel very deeply the times they have hurt you.  But they are made in the image of God, just like you are.  They have value, just like you do.

Try something this week.  Write “God’s masterpiece” somewhere where you will see it often.  It could be on a school binder, in your locker, on a bathroom mirror at home, or even on your hand (if your parents are okay with that).  Each time you look at it, let it be a reminder that every person you see and interact with is God’s masterpiece.  Let that truth change the ways you talk to people.

The tips Aubrey mentions are incredibly helpful for strengthening all kinds of relationships, and the thing they all have in common is a willingness to actively love and serve the other person.  If you have a specific friendship that you would like to work on, try putting some of her suggestions into practice and place the other person ahead of yourself.  Give them the benefit of the doubt, even when they might not deserve it.  Listen when you would rather talk.  Fight for them and their honor when you would rather let them stumble.  At least on occasion, compromise your own ”wants” for theirs.  Learning to love well takes time, but these will help you along the way.

Failed Expectations, Role Model Challenge, and Family Love

Hmmm…I’m still figuring out how posts on the weekend are going to work out.  Give me some time to figure out the kinks    Thanks for your patience!

Sept 5 – Role Model

This piece from today is a powerful one.  I suspect it is very real to many of us.  How many times have we placed someone – a sibling, another family member, a close friend, political or religious leader – on a pedestal as a role model and then had them fail us?  Sometimes, people let us down in a major and very personal way, and sometimes they just fall short of the expectations we have set for them.  Either way, it can be a difficult thing to understand and recover from. 

I watched an interview with Cindy Crawford years ago (a world-famous supermodel from a few years back) and one thing she said has really stuck with me.  She mentioned that a defining moment for her was the moment she realized her parents were human.  I was probably 17 when I saw this interview, and I reazlied that I had never really acknowledged that.  I still expected them to do everything just right.  We have to remember, though, that our parents and anyone else older than us are capable of having the same emotions, the same insecurities, the same fears, and the same ability to mess up that we have.  They’ve just had more time to figure life out.  We’re not perfect, so why do we expect them to be?  But it still hurts to lose that kind of role model, to be reminded that people, no matter how admirable, are human and will fail us.

That’s where God comes in – In Hebrews 13:5, God says, “I will never fail you.  I will never abandon you.”  God is the only one who can keep that promise.  People can do their best to be faithful, but they will always fall short.  God, in His perfection, is true to His word.  Look to Jesus and His life as your ultimate role model more than the people around you.  Lean on God as your source of strength and joy, knowing that He is always with you and is waiting for you to turn to Him for comfort and support. 

Sept 6 – Big Sister, Big Hero

The chances are that someone somewhere looks up to you.  Maybe it’s a younger sibling who you know wants to be like you or maybe it’s someone from school who you don’t even know exists who wonders how they could become your friend.  Have you ever thought of yourself as a role model for someone?  If you knew someone was trying to be like you, maybe even act just like you, how would it change the way you act?  Would you use the same kind of language?  Say the same things about people?  Do the same things on the weekend?

Part of being a role model is acknowledging and accepting your responsibilities to other people.  You can’t always just do whatever you want to do because other people are counting on you to set an example.  There are always things we can improve about the way we behave because, like we mentioned yesterday, none of us is perfect.  Several verses in Bible really challenge us to live well – Matthew 5:28 says “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” (whoa!) and Ephesians 4:1 encourages us to “live a life worthy of the calling [we] have received” – and the calling we have received is to be followers of Jesus.

God asks a lot of us, however, another important part of being a role model is owning up to our weaknesses and our mistakes.  This honesty can be difficult, especially when we are overly concerned with what people think of us, but it reminds the people who look up to us that we are not perfect.  It may help them to feel better about their weakness as well, when they realize that the person they want to be like messes up too.

As a role model to someone, even if you don’t know it, reflect today on how you can set an example for them.  Think if there are any struggles you try to hide from people because you don’t know how they will respond, and then consider letting those weaknesses show to be an encouragement to others.

Sept 7 – Love Begins at Home

Here’s the verse for today, once again, another difficult one to hear:  “People who don’t take care of their relatives and especially their own families, have given up their faith.  They are worse than someone who doesn’t have faith in the Lord.” (1 Timothy 5:8)  

I have not always been the most faithful daughter to my family.  I went through a period of time in my late elementary and early middle school years where I pushed them away and gave them attitude because that’s what I saw the ”cool” kids my age doing.  There are not many decisions I have regretted more.  Only recently did I realize how much I had hurt my parents by acting like this.  Since realizing my mistake, I have tried, slowly but surely, to show love to my parents however I could.  Some days, that meant making sure to give them a hug and tell them I love them, and some days, it was cleaning up the kitchen without being asked so they didn’t have to. 

One of the first commandments God gave us tells us to “Honor our father and mother” (Exodus 20:12), but today’s verse talks to us about the rest of our immediate family as well.  What are some ways you can serve your family this week?  Can you do something for them that would be helpful?  What about some ways to make them feel special or let them know that you love them?  Even if you don’t always get along, show the members of your family a special measure of love today.  They’re worth it.