The Christian Who Was in a Hurry

Last week I had the privilege of going to a ministry workshop.  It is the highlight of my year. So many great things are packed into that great weekend (Wednesday-Saturday).  I practically look forward to the next year's workshop the moment I leave!

Most of you have probably heard the story about the policeman who stops a lady who was cussing, honking, and doing other rude things when drivers around her weren't "cooperating".  When asked why she was being stopped, the officer responded something like this, "I thought the car was stolen and you were not the owner because of the fact that you had a Jesus-fish decal and a "Honk if you love Jesus" bumper sticker on the back of your car."  In his opinion, she was not reflecting her faith very well.

The other day, when I was checking out, another gentleman came up to be checked out.  He was pretty demanding of a receipt, which due to the circumstances, they couldn't provide one at that time.  They were willing to e-mail it to him.  However, he claimed he had no way of printing it off.  They offered to fax the receipt, the gentlemen began getting a little more testy.  "Do you have a piece of paper that you can just put my total on and sign it?"  "Yes", the clerk replied. "Then just do it and let me get out of here!" was his response.  She obliged.  After he said, "Are you ___?", the name on the card, she nodded.  After he left, she muttered to her coworker, "He was rude".

As it worked out, I saw him at my ministry workshop.  I wonder if he felt justified in his reaction?  Did he realize that the faith that she was seeing was rudeness, not Christ.  I Corinthians 13 describes love as not being rude.  This guy didn't have a passionate love for the clerk that was coming across as unloving.  Rather, he had a Christ-like love that was absent in this situation, so it reflected rude.

I debated about saying something to this guy when I saw him.  However, I never had/took the chance.

My challenge and purpose in writing this is to say that you may be the only Jesus anyone will see that day.  How will you respond to these interactions?  Also, will you be Jesus to everyone so that they will see a Jesus-reflection rather than a "rude" reflection (or worse).

May I take on the responsibility of wanting to reflect Jesus to everyone I meet!

Working With Servants

Over the years God has done some pretty amazing things with His people. Moses - rescuing the Israelites and parting the Red Sea, Gideon - winning battles by being outnumbered, and Mary - giving birth to deity - God's only Son.

I like to look with anticipation at how God is going to use me each day. Even today, I wonder and am eager to see who will be in my path that I can plant a seed in their life. Who's been in your path today/lately? This anticipation makes things exciting. In fact, on a spiritual level, it is the same excitement that I have for Christmas Morning! That is what I hope to rub off on others as time goes on. I didn't have that excitement a long time ago...but I am glad I have it now!

Yesterday, we looked at how God works with servants. We took a look at how God worked with Mary, but she was wondering exactly how this news of her being pregnant was going to happen. However, nothing will be impossible with God. Thus, Mary was blessed to bring in the Savior into the world - for you and me. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Pray that God will keep your eyes open to look at each person that comes across your path as someone you can plant seed in.
2. See how many areas that you can apply the "nothing will be impossible with God" mindset.
3. Submit the difficult situations to Him and allow Him to work them out - remember to give Him time.
4. Share with someone the amazing things that God did with you today, and each day.
5. Look for ways to expand your territory (I Chronicles 4:10) to increase your influence - joining a civic group, volunteering, inviting a family of a friend of your children for dinner/activity, or you think of one.

I've already had the "surprise" moments since we've moved. It has made things fun and exciting...I wish I could put it into words!

Hope you're ready for Christmas! Have a Merry Holiday Season!

Looking forward to those in my path...

Influencing Youth

About every 10 years it seems that the styles of dress change dramatically, to one degree or another. I just received an e-mail from "All Pro Dad" which examined how a father's influence can affect how his daughter dresses. This impacted me even if I don't have a daughter.

The other day when I was subbing a teenage girl was displaying a complacent attitude about being called an inappropriate name which depicts her morality. Within the same period she told me she was going to play football next year. She is not even close to any type of size that would be able to hold her own on the football field. She is excited, at this time, about playing. In reality, and having played a little organized football in my younger years, I doubt she will make it to the first game, but that isn't the point here.

Discussing football led to discussing what locker room she would use. She communicated a lack of care regarding dressing in front of the rest of the (male) team. I couldn't let this moment go by without suggesting that she need to "have more respect for herself" than to "not care" about where she changes. I don't know if this teenage girl has a good father-figure in her life or not. But statistics show that fathers have a very high influence on their daughters' self-esteem and other areas. I hope that teens like her will be able to develop more "care" regarding their lifestyles, whether it is through their parents' influence or others' whom they trust. May we be praying for areas like this, that God might use you to help make a difference, whether you have children or they are your children.

Boys and girls, sons and daughters, each need good modeling and influences from their parents. If you have children in your home, do all you can to continually stay involved in their life. If your children are separated from your home, due to a divorce or other removal, still use every chance you can to be involved in their life. If you are in the latter category, it will be more challenging, but stay involved! If you are in the first category, don't take it for granted that your children will always be in your home, take every night as a special night to be a family.

Making the most of every moment...
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To read the short e-mail that I received, you can view it online at http://www.allprodad.com/pod/podlist.php?y=2008&m=4 .Then click on April 29.