What kind of image do you cast?

James 3:1

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

I am friends with a number of teachers, both in public schools and private schools.  My son goes to a private school currently however we are not sure if he will continue to go there after this year.  Right now he is in Pre-K so we are trying to decide if we want to continue the drive (30 min one way) to take him there or allow him to go to public school in our district. 

My husband and I have been talking about this and finding that while we love what is taught in my son’s school, we feel very frustrated with the life style the teachers live and post all over social media.  While each has a right to their own private life, when posting these things all over social media, especially when friends with parents that have kids at the school, it gives a negative perspective of that person and ultimately, the school they work for.

This got me thinking that as Christians, we too are held to a higher standard than that of non-Christians.  It is my prayer that the things that I post will leave others with a positive perspective of me and what it means to be a Christian. 

Would others know that you are a Christian by what you post to Social Media?

Making Old Things New

The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.  Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?  If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!  In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way.  So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!  2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Change is never easy.  The other day, I was looking at my work routine, and realized there was something that I was not making enough time for.  Now I know how to incorporate changes in my routine.  That’s the easy part.  However, the challenge for me is to do something new.  How can a person with a successful regular routine start to do something new?  Anyone who tries a new diet or starts an exercise routine knows that the journey is easy to start but challenging to consistently continue or finish.  It was in that I focused on those things that God makes new; namely me!  The day I was born again meant that I was made new.  However as I look back, I am far different from the person I was then.  So perhaps trusting God to change me was the ‘new’ then, and knowing God intimately is the ‘new’ today, and in the future, I will find another ‘new.’

God continually makes old things new.  We spend a great deal of time focused on the words of God.  That may very well be the ‘new’ part of a follower’s journey.  Perhaps it is how the word changes one’s heart, or it could be acting on God’s prompting sooner.  Maybe you might be at a stage where you’ve done all that, and are trying to prayerfully figure out what is next.  All of this is change inspired by God, and it is important to take a moment to stop, pause, and reflect on what God is doing in your life.  Think about where you were when you gave your life to Him.  How about the last greatest challenge where hope seemed lost and you thought you’d lost faith.  Maybe you are thinking about the first time you trusted God and He showed His faithfulness.  We have all grown to know God better, and proof of that is looking back to know how He has shaped us step by step.  That is exciting stuff!

Surety of eternal life through Jesus Christ is truly the best change ever!  I love Paul’s excitement in today’s verses telling us of both our sad punishment and God’s grace.  As we focus on the law that sentenced us to death, through Christ, we are given a new life that with greater faith and growth changes us into new people willing to follow Him out of love.  Let us rejoice over an awesome God who continually changes us to resemble the one who saved us in the very beginning; Jesus Christ.  What changes in your life would you like to give thanks to God?  How can your encourage another’s change through sharing your transformation?  My prayer is that we celebrate God’s grace that continually makes old things new.  Amen.

Tues Devo: No motion

1 Peter 1:1-5 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (NASB)

Hello,

Do you ever wonder why things don’t seem to move forward? It seems to be a mental battle I face often. Things feel stuck in neutral – not terrible, but not actually feeling like they are moving forward in any positive direction. When this happens to me how long it lasts often is dependent on how long I wait to remember that I am not in charge of forward motion! The God who is in charge of the long term, is also in charge of the short term. I can’t push on my own to get to heaven – that was done through the work of Jesus. Apart from Him I can’t see the kind of forward motion that I desire (or should desire) in my life. When you get stuck in neutral, pause and look back to your relationship with God. He is in charge of the motion, and remember He has already taken care of the end game for us!

I pray this encourages someone today.

Will Hill

Dress Code

Ephesians 6:10-17

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

My son came home from school yesterday with a dress code violation.  It was my fault as I missed that they were not allowed to wear light up shoes.  I saw the line that tennis shoes are recommended and missed that key part. 

Did you realize that we have a dress code as Christians?  To make sure that none of us miss important information on what we are to wear, I thought I would bullet point for us our dress code.

Belt of Truth

Breastplate of Righteousness

Foot wear – Gospel of Peace

Shield of Faith

Helmet of Salvation

Sword of the Spirit

Today, I encourage you to make sure you have the proper clothing that you need to be dressed according to the dress code.

Thursday Devotional - Timely Peace

After the devastation of Jesus’ death and the confusion over the empty tomb, the disciples were timely visited and comforted by Jesus.  

John 20:19-22         ¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus came and provided peace and joy to His devastated disciples! He not only physically appeared, but did so miraculously! He also graciously showed them the proof of His death. Then, He commissioned and empowered them to continue the difficult work He had started.  

Jesus came and gave me peace after devastation and before facing additional difficulties, too. The evening I found out I was going to miscarry (after 13 weeks of pregnancy) I was devastated. When I woke up in the middle of the night with contractions 2 minutes apart, God had me eventually get out of bed and go to the bathroom. My water broke on the toilet and then everything happened. As devastated as I was, I felt like God was holding my hand during the whole thing, starting with the fact that He had my water break not only at home, but on the toilet! I had peace knowing He was there. His peace brought encouragement as I faced the physically and emotionally painful hours, weeks, months and years that followed.

How have you witnessed God bringing peace and joy after devastation? What encouragement and strength did it give you to persevere through the next difficult challenge?

Alice

More Than Enough

When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.  For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.  So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.  Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk.  But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.  Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.  So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:3-11

My wife and I were on vacation last week, and we had an opportunity to listen to Lakewood Church the week after the floods in Houston.  Although I am not a huge fan of the prosperity gospel, I did choose to listen this past Sunday.  It was great as I listened to a story of one of the pastors whose house had been flooded.  He said something that just shook me at my core.  He said although I have lost everything, I have everything.  I realized at that moment something powerful.  Although there are things that are tough and there are challenges ahead of me, I have nothing to complain about for I indeed have everything.  God has given me so much, who am I to complain?  In fact if someone who has ‘seemingly’ lost everything can rise and say with conviction and confidence, “I have everything,” I must learn to encourage others in all circumstances because I have more than enough.

When we have salvation through Jesus Christ, we do have everything indeed.  In reading the final chapter of Thessalonians, it is a reminder of how we are to live our lives in expectation of Christ’s return.  We do not live in darkness, but instead, we know that there could be calm one day and rain flooding us the next.  No matter what may be happening, we have surety that when we committed our lives to Jesus, we have victory.  That is only half of the story.

The other is to be encouragement to others.  I have heard so many negative stories about floods, politics, and viewpoints that it could drown out everything else two and threefold.  The biggest concern of all of this is that these are Christians who are being negative.  We must not stand for this anymore.  We are the light, and as representatives of Christ, any tendency to jump to conclusions, attack before hearing the full story (ex. Lakewood Church), or lack of showing love and empathy for His children is unacceptable.  He expects better of us.

The greatest encouragement of all comes from understanding the gift of God’s grace.  Jesus died to ensure we will live with Him forever.  How could we not be filled with His love and strength to carry not only ourselves but others?  Let us vow to end the air of negativity and ill will.  Let us show the light to all who may see us being encouragers and wearers of the armor of faith and love.  Where are you failing to assume the best with others?  How can you be more encouraging and less judgmental?  My prayer is that we move forward filled with love and encouragement knowing that even when it seems we have nothing, through Jesus Christ we have more than enough.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Predicted frustration

Hello,

Do you ever get frustrated by those around you? Do you see God working in your life, and yet others don’t acknowledge it? You make choices based on what God says in His word – but feel alone in that stance? This frustration was predicted for us. You see, God’s ways are not the ways of man or this world. They are opposing. As the world searches for answers it looks to go deeper and more complex – when the answer has been here for over 2,000 years in the cross of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (NASB)

I hope this encourages you today. Don’t feel frustrated, and you are not alone!

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

Become like a child

Matthew 18:3

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

It’s back to school time!  My son will be starting Pre-K at the school at our church.  He is very excited and we love the Christian environment that he is surrounded by.  I was a little caught off in the car yesterday though as we came home from his classroom visit.  We are driving down the road when all of a sudden he decides to tell us that he wants to die.  I told him that if he died I would be very sad.  Of course he comes back with a smart remark and tells me I can just get a new kid. 

I start to question him more on why he wants to die.  His response was very simple, “Because I want to be with Jesus.”  How do you respond to that?  I did the best that I could to tell this sweet 4 year old that he is with Jesus all the time and he doesn’t have to die to be with him. 

Thankfully the conversation didn’t drag on as inside I was breaking.  At the same time, when the Bible talks about we need to become like Children to enter the Kingdom of God, I think the innocence that my son had is exactly it. 

I want to encourage you today to become like a child in your faith.

Thursday Devotional - Firsthand Experience

John 20:2-8  ² So she [Mary Magdalene] came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” ³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

Peter and John could have taken Mary at her word, but why not see the evidence firsthand? Seeing and experiencing the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection not only helped their immediate belief, but I’m sure it strengthened their confidence for the rest of their lives.

How do you and I seek firsthand experience with God’s evidence? One way is by reading and studying God’s Word personally, looking to know and understand the truth. For starters, you could re-read each day’s devotional passage (or read the verses in the context of the whole chapter) and journal about what you read. Answer questions like: What does it say about God? What does it say about people? What lesson can I apply? What do I find encouraging?    

We can learn from pastors and priests and speakers and podcasts and devotional writers, but nothing takes the place of firsthand experience!

Alice

The Quiet Storm

But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.  Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”  Mark 4:37-41

I was reminded of my brother’s wife while dealing with a situation.  She had a nickname of ‘Quiet Storm.’  She had that because of her soft spoken ways but strength that was unrelenting and unmistakable.  Although she passed away over 35 years ago, she left a great impression on all those she touched.  One of them was me.  She was strong in her faith, and I remember when she spoke, she spoke with a subtle seriousness that let me know she was no one to mess with.  Today, I miss her greatly, but am heartened by her spirit that lives in her children and in my memory.  I am reminded that in silence, there indeed can be strength.

God’s strength is within us to do what is necessary.  I read in Mark this story about Jesus, and could never really understand the depth of His strength here.  There was a storm threatening to take down the boat.  The disciples woke Him up in a panic.  The interesting part is the question they ask.  It wasn’t, “Jesus, help us,” or, “Jesus, can you save us, please?”  It was this disdainful almost self-righteous response saying, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”  Reading it now, it made perfect sense!  When you truly do not believe God is who He says He is, you ask questions as if He is not.  All of this commotion, and yet, Jesus is comfortably relaxing.  Then He shows in just a moment His authority saying, “Silence!  Be still!”  All is calm again.  In that moment, we understand the whole point.  In life, we have to endure storms, and we deal with the calamity and chaos that goes with it.  However if we know who Jesus is and we call on Him, we have His quiet strength.  When all around us is falling apart, we can find rest and peace to deal with all that is around us.

In the storms of life, we have the surety that Jesus Christ is our strength and refuge.  We have certainly seen mighty storms recently, but Jesus says in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Whether your storms are as visible as they are in Texas or unknown but just as challenging in your heart and soul, find strength in Him.  What is your storm today?  Where are you questioning Jesus when you should be asking Him?  My prayer is that we trust in Jesus Christ; the always dependable ‘Quiet Storm.’  Amen.