False Peeps

Friends are there to encourage and support you as you go through life. Occasionally, you will experience the tragedy of a person of whom you thought was your friend, turn their back on you. It is full of heartbreak. One might argue you were a bit delusional in your trust, depending on how deep or solid the friendship was at the time.

Maybe you've been the friend who has "pulled the wool over their eyes" and caused someone else to be delusional in your friendship.

Either way, it hits home about what Jesus is saying in Matthew 7:21-23 about saying "Lord, Lord" to Jesus. As we reflect on that, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Peep Show ~ Is your life in Christ just something for "show?" Are you doing the various actions for others (spouse, family member, parent, public) to see what you do? If it is for show consider the end result possibility "I never knew you...away from me you evildoer." Kind of frightening!
• A Name is Just a Name ~ As I am a parent there are times when I ask my son to reply "Yes, sir" when it comes to responding to something I've instructed him to do. Partly because he has said "Yes" in a snotty way. He will respond with the words "Yes, sir!" in an emphatic and snotty way. You could easily read that as simply emphatic, but that isn't the way he is responding. There are different ways to emphasize a word or words. And by that emphasis would convey various things.May we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, but do it in a way that brings honor to Him, not belittling.
• Reflect Your View ~ Is Jesus "Lord" of your life? It should be reflected in that way, so much you don't even need to say anything - people should see Him in you. I have my moments when I try to tell a joke or funny story, but it doesn't come out well, so I have to explain it. May our life properly reflect Christ in a way we don't have to tell people - they will just see Him.

Our following of Christ must stem from the heart. The heart is vital to the rest of the body. When God has our heart, he will have the rest of us too.

Does God have your heart?

Givin' a Shout Out

Watch any football or baseball game and you may see some individual player holding up a hand signal, probably a #1, while saying "hi" to someone. They are proud of what they have just been involved in, be it a touchdown run/catch or hitting a homerun, for example. They are giving a "shout out" to their friends/family.

Shout outs are a classic case of being so proud you want to tell others and to take advantage of the opportunities to be in the spotlight to say something to someone. Pride causes us to project with confidence. As a Christian, are you proud of your salvation and your Savior? If so, you will project that, if not you won't. You won't show pride when you're sleeping, it is a conscious action. Hence, if you are spiritually sleeping, you're not going to show your pride to others. You will simply show no emotion.

To be alive in Christ, we envision, we have confidence, and we focus. With all of those things you will naturally not be able to keep it in, you feel you must give a "shout out". Who all will you be giving a "shout out" to this week? Here are some applications to choose from to use...

1. Give a shout out, passively - Post something like "God is good, all the time...and all the time, God is good" or "Givin' a shout out because GIGATTAATTGIG" (which the letters are the first letters of that phrase) on your Facebook or MySpace page, send a text to a few friends, post it on your blog, write it on a piece of paper and put at your workplace, put it in a card, etc. and see what responses you get to start the ball rolling on a spiritual conversation. Or you can come up with your own phrase.
2. Give a shout out, actively - Tell someone a phrase like the one above or come up with your own. See what happens.
3. Memorial Day - Ask someone who they think about the most on Memorial Day, then share with them that the most important person in your life that has gone on before you, who fought the toughest war, was Jesus. See how God handles it.
4. Pray for Camera Spots - By this I mean to be praying for God to open doors for you to have the camera put on you so that you can put your figurative #1 finger up to show how important your faith is to you.
5. Live Out Your Shout Out - Your actions may be the loudest voice you have, regarding your faith. You may not always have to say anything. How you handle yourself throughout life is going to speak volumes. Where you put God on your priority list, over family, job, sports, recreation, etc. may show others how valuable your faith is to your life.

I will be excited to hear, if you care to share, how God surprises you by using you in unexpected, surprising ways as you sow seed this week. For those of you who live where I do, I may give you the opportunity to tell others how surprising your shout outs went this week!

It is such a wonderful experience to go about each day looking for ways for God to be using you to influence others' lives. These experiences come all the time, you just have to be "awake" to see them. Don't expect them to be something so vivid...look for them around each corner!

Givin' Shout Outs to My Peeps...