Mirror Mirror

Our kids learn songs like ABC and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star because we sing it over and over and over and over and … (you get it.)

Our kids pick-up on the things we say and do, by watching us do things repetitively. Want to know what your favorite phrases are? Hang around my kids right now and by the end of the day they are mocking you word for word.

There are certain things we do and say out of habit and influence.

How do we as Christians expect to behave Christ like, if we aren’t constantly reading the Bible, having conversations through prayer and hanging (Old folks call it Fellowship) with other believers?  We won’t…

When I want to be fit and exercise, I look at other like-minded, fit oriented people for guidance and support. When I want to write a song or be inspired, I go to songs and writers that take me there. So, if my purpose in life is to worship and have relationship with our creator, shouldn’t I look to Him and His people for instruction?

Who do you emulate?   Your Parents..?  Your friends..? Do you live how the movies, music and media say we should? Or do you try to emulate the life of Christ? Its not easy, but it is our mission.

John challenges us in 1 John 2:6  “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

Do you accept?

_adam

Got Junk?

This week, my wife and I cleaned out our basement.  The basement has been the catch-all for anything we didn’t have a place for.  Although it was convenient to have an entire floor as your “Junk Drawer.”  Most of the “stuff” really could have been thrown away, however at some specific time the item was necessary or had some emotional memory attached to it.

As we went through it all, we threw a great amount away, and re-arrange storage for putting things in its proper place. The End result was an empty basement. We didn’t know we had so much room.  Now we can improve this space and make it useful.

This got me thinking. What kind of Junk do we carry around in our minds and hearts that may hinder our growth and attitudes?  Guilt? Anger? Regret? What “emotional attachments” in our past keep us from moving forward?

Philippians 3:13,14 is a great verse that reminds us that we can move forward with God.

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Search for what is stopping you from being useful, having a joyful attitude and moving forward. Pray and draw closer to God and ask him to help clear the Junk.

Make room in your heart for Jesus.

Happy Cleaning!

~adam

Winter Clothes

Brrrr! What a winter we’ve had so far.  Snow, freezing rain and temperatures in the negatives.  With weather like this, it is extremely important that we dress appropriately and  intelligently.  Exposure to these elements could cause  issues to our health, hands and feet. 

This being the case, we have a list of  items that we regularly wear to PROTECT us from the cold.

~Scarf

~Hat or toboggan

~gloves

~ Coat

~Boots or water proof shoes

But what about the WINTER’s in Life.? The times where we need protection spiritually? Paul gives a list of what we can do to protect us from life’s winter.

Ephesians 6:13-18

 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…  Stand firm then, with the:

~ belt of truth buckled around your waist

~breastplate of righteousness

~your feet fitted with the (shoes) readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

~shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

 ~helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

. Being Ready with your Faith in knowing the Truth brings Righteousness through Salvation. There are people and things that will try to derail us in our relationship with Jesus. Keep Truth, Righteousness, Readiness Faith, and Salvation with us at all time as.

Obtaining this armor comes through reading the Bible, Praying and building relationships with Jesus and others who believers (hopefully those in church)

Put on your Winter gear… its Cold out there.

`adam

New

A new year brings New Goals, New Dreams and New Beginnings.  It’s a time where we decide to give our Physical and Financial well being a serious evaluation and try to set up a plan to make our lives better.

What about being better on the inside?  We all have an opportunity to become brand new… to take our old habits, vices, and ways of thinking and toss them out.  Maybe you survived a year of bad decisions and by the Grace of God you are here to tell about it. 

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians a Reminder to the Church of Corinth that we as Believers in Christ are Brand New People.

“ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! “ 1 Corinthians 5:17

Sometimes we feel like we have done things we can’t be forgiven for or we can’t change. Guess what? Alone we can’t. But if we believe and start a personal relationship with Christ, we can become a new person.

We can change our physical appearance all we want, lets be New on the inside.

Happy NEW Year!

Adam