Loving Well, Part II

Matthew 25:34-40 (New International Version)
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Part of loving well is doing for "the least of these" (forgotten/overlooked people in society) what we would do for Jesus. What would happen in our world if every person who believed in Jesus treated others like they were Jesus?

How would you respond if someone (usually older) pulled out in front of you too slow? Now what would you do if Jesus pulled out in front of you too slow?

What if the person holding you up at the drive through was Jesus?

What if the homeless man on the street was Jesus?

What if the orphan bouncing around from foster home to foster home was Jesus?

Our world would be completely different if we loved others the way we say we love Jesus.

Brent had a great example of loving well this weekend. A guy from our neighborhood who is normally wandering around - asking Brent for money - was at Walmart. The guy asked Brent for money to buy something (some food item). So Brent offered to take him to get him food. So he drove him across the street to Arby's and got him a sandwich.

If that's not loving "the least of these," I don't know what is.

Loving Well, Part I

If you've read unChristian, you know the stats are not great when a survey was taken about Christians. In a survey of 440 people (age 16-29), only 16% said that "Christians consistently show love for other people." SIXTEEN percent. That's only 70 people out of 440 who think Christians are loving towards others.

That is SAD.

There are tons of verses in the Bible to challenge us in this weakness. I think I will just do a mini-series on the topic.

Genesis 12:2-3 (New International Version)

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

We are called to be a blessing to people, not a curse. Do the things we say and do to others bless their lives? Do we try to lift people up -- or bring them down? It's so easy to bring people down. It's almost natural, sadly. It has to be a constant thought in your mind - am I encouraging? Are people glad they talked to me about things? Do I lift them up?

Does that necessarily mean we don't tell people things that they might not like - no, I don't think so. The Bible says speak the truth -- IN LOVE. You can speak truth to people and still be a blessing to them.

It's a challenge to me, personally, to look at my words and actions and ask myself: Does my life bless others?

Ebb & Flow

I know it's normal to go through highs and lows spiritually, but I just feel a little distracted. I can't seem to get into reading (I know, shocking), blogging, crafting, and I just feel too tired at night to even spend time doing a devotion. I know it's just a self-discipline thing ... and I need to just do it. But it's just not happening.

Brent and I have had fun doing our thankfulness advent everyday, and I like that. I like verbalizing what I'm thankful for each day. But I need more -- and I know that.

So, just pray that I get back to it! It's Ebbing time!

Preparing for Motherhood

This is my desktop background at work ... just to prepare me for all aspects of motherhood. It's my beautiful niece, Sidney, being woken up from a nap.

Wednesday Wants ...

... for it to be Friday already so we can get home to visit family!

... to drink spiced apple cider in my Snuggie

... a good book to read

... Flamin' Hot Cheetos (weakness of the moment)

... Brent to have a great birthday

... a maternity clothes shopping spree!

An Extraordinary Woman?

We are starting a study in my Bible study on extraordinary women in the Bible. We are going to study Eve, Ruth, Anna, Mary and Martha, Mary Magdalene, Sarah, Hannah, the Samaritan woman, and Mary (Jesus's mama) - of course.

I think my desire for this study is to try and find out how I am important to God's plan and how He wants to use me - in the quietness of my own life - for His plans. Because sometimes I wish my life weren't so quiet ... but I hope to find out just how a quiet life can become really loud throughout the ages.

McDonalds

I don't know why, but I can't stop thinking about McDonalds. Isn't that weird how that happens? You see advertising everywhere and it literally creates cravings within you for those things! I wonder what would happen if they advertised the Bible and Jesus ... like they do McDonalds.

A perfect evening might include enjoying a nice big mac and fries during my devotion time. I can think of nothing better.

Ba da ba ba baa, I'm lovin' Him ...