Mid-Week Message - Chosen Words

 "Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."  Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)

It was a sunny day on the playground.  I was with a class of second grade students, watching them run and play during recess, amazed at the energy they had.  As I was talking with their teacher, one little girl came up to tell her that another little girl and said the "S" word.  Before getting alarmed, this wonderful woman said, "Whisper to me what she said."  As the reporter spoke, the teacher smiled.  Her response was, "You're right.  That is a word we are not supposed to say.  Please ask her to come and see me."  Apparently, the "S" word was the word "stupid."  

We teach our children to be kind to each other.  Certain words just aren't nice to say, and I'm not speaking about curse words necessarily.  Hearts are easily wounded and children who hear pronouncements upon their character often enough tend to start believing them.  That's why we are vigilant, as parents, at listening to what our young ones say and directing them if need be.  We are careful to instruct them to speak nicely to others, but do we address how they speak to themselves?

I am one of those people that talks to myself.  Sometimes I have full conversations.  Do you do that?  If I have something on my mind, I work it out orally.  It helps me to think things through.  Unfortunately, I also talk to myself when I am frustrated about something I have done or when I feel insufficient.  That is when I will say things to myself that I would never even dream of saying to someone else.  I call myself names.  Accuse myself of being less than.  Basically, I tell myself that God made a mistake when He created me.  

Today's scripture gives guidance on what language we are to use with others.  However, remember that when Jesus was asked which was the most important commandment, His response was that we were to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. To me, this indicates that if it isn't acceptable to treat others in a certain way, then it shouldn't be acceptable to treat ourselves that way either.  When I call another person a derisive name, I wound that person.  Equally, if I use that word to refer to myself, I inflict damage to my own heart.  This is a new way of understanding for me and one that has caused deep introspection and driven me to the Father.

It is easy to say things when we are alone and think no one will hear, either out loud or just think them in our minds.  The truth of the matter though, is that there is One who is always aware and is grieved.  The Lord loved us enough to send His son to die in our place.  He was there from the beginning, forming us in His image cell by cell.  His mark is on our souls and we insult His workmanship when we say things to ourselves that would not bring Him glory.

There will always be times when we are disappointed, whether it is by the actions of another or of ourselves.  No one is perfect.  We will make mistakes. But it is important to remember that condemning others, or ourselves, is not a remedy for those times.  Hearts are tender and need TLC.  One of the best ways to provide that is to guard our thoughts and words.  Jesus loves us totally and completely.  We can honor Him by speaking encouragement, even when we are the only ones around.  May God fill your week with reassurance.

Mid-Week Message - Speaking to Ourselves

 "Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."  Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)

It was a sunny day on the playground.  I was with a class of second grade students, watching them run and play during recess, amazed at the energy they had.  As I was talking with their teacher, one little girl came up to tell her that another little girl and said the "S" word.  Before getting alarmed, this wonderful woman said, "Whisper to me what she said."  As the reporter spoke, the teacher smiled.  Her response was, "You're right.  That is a word we are not supposed to say.  Please ask her to come and see me."  Apparently, the "S" word was the word "stupid."  

We teach our children to be kind to each other.  Certain words just aren't nice to say, and I'm not speaking about curse words necessarily.  Hearts are easily wounded and children who hear pronouncements upon their character often enough tend to start believing them.  That's why we are vigilant, as parents, at listening to what our young ones say and directing them if need be.  We are careful to instruct them to speak nicely to others, but do we address how they speak to themselves?

I am one of those people that talks to myself.  Sometimes I have full conversations.  Do you do that?  If I have something on my mind, I work it out orally.  It helps me to think things through.  Unfortunately, I also talk to myself when I am frustrated about something I have done or when I feel insufficient.  That is when I will say things to myself that I would never even dream of saying to someone else.  I call myself names.  Accuse myself of being less than.  Basically, I tell myself that God made a mistake when He created me.  

Today's scripture gives guidance on what language we are to use with others.  However, remember that when Jesus was asked which was the most important commandment, His response was that we were to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. To me, this indicates that if it isn't acceptable to treat others in a certain way, then it shouldn't be acceptable to treat ourselves that way either.  When I call another person a derisive name, I wound that person.  Equally, if I use that word to refer to myself, I inflict damage to my own heart.  This is a new way of understanding for me and one that has caused deep introspection and driven me to the Father.

It is easy to say things when we are alone and think no one will hear, either out loud or just think them in our minds.  The truth of the matter though, is that there is One who is always aware and is grieved.  The Lord loved us enough to send His son to die in our place.  He was there from the beginning, forming us in His image cell by cell.  His mark is on our souls and we insult His workmanship when we say things to ourselves that would not bring Him glory.

There will always be times when we are disappointed, whether it is by the actions of another or of ourselves.  No one is perfect.  We will make mistakes. But it is important to remember that condemning others, or ourselves, is not a remedy for those times.  Hearts are tender and need TLC.  One of the best ways to provide that is to guard our thoughts and words.  Jesus loves us totally and completely.  We can honor Him by speaking encouragement, even when we are the only ones around.  May God fill your week with reassurance.  

Mid-Week Message - The Prince Who Came For Us

"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance!"  Romans 8:15-17a (MSG)

According to a recent study, 85% of Americans suffer from poor self-esteem.  That is a shocking figure!  As one person that has experienced that feeling, it makes me extremely sad.  So many people feeling less than good enough.  So many hearts in pain.  

I have always loved princess stories.  They all seem to have one thing in common. Someone makes them believe that they are not worthy of their place in life.  They get mistreated, shunned, locked away.  Cinderella lived on the ash heap by the fire and wore rags while made to serve her evil step-mother and step-sisters.  Each of them had their own dreams though.  Dreams of being loved, of being chosen and a life they could live happily ever after.  What happens at the end of every princess story?  Prince Charming swoops in, rescues them, falls in love with them and gives them the life they had always dreamed of.  

Do you wish that happened in real life?  What would you say if I told you that it does?  You would probably laugh and call me a romantic, or a loon.  Fairy tales are just make believe.  There is no Prince or Princess Charming that is going to come into any of our lives and change them overnight.  Life just doesn't work that way.  No, we live day to day, eking out existences that in some cases are nothing that anyone would wish for.  We work, we toil, we struggle.  If we are lucky, we find someone that will love us and make the journey with us but in the end comes old age, sickness and death. 

Well, my friend, you would be wrong.  We do have a Prince and His name is Jesus.  He left the glory of Heaven and took on a human body for you.  He worked, He toiled, He struggled.  He felt pain, sickness and rejection just as you do.  He was called a liar, a heretic, a phony.  And at His end, He was beaten, scourged, spat upon and nailed to a cross to die as a common criminal.  That isn't a very pretty picture is it?  But He came to earth fully knowing all that would occur.  He could have chosen to stay in His comfy throne seated beside His Father.  He could have opted out at any time during His years of life on this planet.  He could have called a legion of angels to rescue Him from all He endured.  But He didn't.  He didn't because that was what it took to show you how much you are loved.  How much He wants you to be with Him for eternity and to make sure you know that because of His sacrifice, you are worthy.  

All of our lives count.  If God didn't have a plan for you or me, we wouldn't be here. Whether you know it or not, you touch countless lives for good.  Many love you, even if they don't tell you so.  You do matter!  Your life is precious!  If we can keep our focus on all that was freely given for our sake and where we will be for eternity then we can nip our low self-esteem issues in the bud.  The Prince of all princes has come to our rescue and chosen to take us for His own.  What greater story could there be?  

This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through
One day I'll wear a crown, a robe and royal shoes.  
And walk beside my Savior through gardens fresh with dew
As He holds me close and whispers, I did it all for you.  
Karla Johns - July 17, 2018

Mid-Week Message - Feeling Insignificant

 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."  Matthew 10:29-31  (NIV)

Stop what you are doing and come close.  I want you to completely tune in to today's topic.  Answer this question - how do you feel about yourself?  Think before you answer because I want you to truly examine your heart before you respond.  I ask this question because an alarmingly large proportion of those living today struggle with feeling insignificant.  This idea of ourselves can begin in countless ways but the end result is the same.  We wonder why we are even here.  

Notice that I include myself in this.  It is a battle I have fought for most of my life.  Sadly, we spend far too much time feeling as if we don't fit in and far too little time seeking, examining and acknowledging what our Father in Heaven has to say.  This must greatly please the enemy because when we are feeling sorry for ourselves our focus is not on the wonder and majesty of the Lord. 

One of the things you will see me write often is how intimately the Lord desires to be involved in our lives.  Psalm 139 tells us that He was with us in our mothers' wombs and saw us being formed.  It also says that all of our days were written in His book before we even came to be.  So important are we to Him that, as Isaiah 49:16 tells us, our names are engraved on His hand.  

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was born for you and me.  He left the beauty and perfection of Heaven to begin His life in a feeding trough.  He spent His life teaching about who He is, and declaring His love for us.  Ultimately, He was brutally beaten, belittled, spat upon and horrifyingly nailed to a cross and that also was for you and me.  He gave His life to buy our pardon.  So great is His love for us that He took upon Himself every sin that had ever, and would ever, be committed.  Nails had no power over the Savior.  The only thing strong enough to keep Him on that cross was love.  Then He fulfilled His greatest promise and rose again.  Even now He intercedes for us before the Father.  Does this sound as though He feels we are insignificant?

I am all too aware that each of us faces hardships of one kind or another and that it is easy to feel that nothing ever seems to change for the better.  We can feel isolated and that life is passing us by.  When we sit and focus on ourselves we open the door for the enemy to whisper in our ears that our lives count for little, that few people care about us and that we have very little to contribute.  

But, think about this....Almighty God, perfect in every way, chose to create this world and He didn't think it was complete without you.  He made only one of each of us, so it stands to reason that we each have a purpose.  You may never know how many lives you touch, how many hearts you impact.  Like in the movie "It's A Wonderful Life", if you or I had not been born then this world would be totally different.  Just consider -  our children or grandchildren would never have been born.  Do you think the world is a better place with them in it?  

We have to change our focus.  Spending more time in God's Word will fill our minds and hearts with His thoughts.  Reaching out will lift up others who are struggling too.  There is always a way to make a positive contribution.  Ask the Lord to reveal to you a talent you may be unaware of or how to better use one you are aware of.  Strive to bring joy to someone.  Even if you just impact one life, to that one person you may be the most significant soul on earth.  

I pray that we all might align ourselves with how Jesus sees us then find a way to share His love with as many other people as possible.  May your day, and life, be blessed.  

 

Mid-Week Message - The Struggle of Self-Esteem

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!  But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him."  1 John 3:1  (NLT)

A couple of weeks ago I told the story of how my daughter was bullied in school and how much anguish she went through because of it.  Another of the experiences she had to endure was being yelled at and belittled in her Physical Education class.  After employing teachers who believed the class should be a fun time, the school hired a young man whose primary focus was on running.  His theory was that "all children can be successful by running."  Now, my child inherited her mother's lack of athletic talent.  Just as running was not an activity that I excelled at, neither was it for her.  This teacher not only allowed the other girls in the class to yell at her but also repeatedly told her his theory that she could be successful because every other child was.  This deepened the hurt that she felt by making her believe that she was in competition with every other child in the world and coming in dead last.

Self-esteem is something many of us struggle with.  When we compare ourselves to those around us, it is easy to find ourselves lacking.  There will always be those that are in better physical condition, wear nicer clothing, drive nicer vehicles or live in nicer homes.  Since I am female I know that girls compare hair, makeup, figures and relationships and allow their perceived deficits to change how they feel about themselves.  But our comparisons often don't stop there.  We carry them into our Christian lives and see ourselves as less spiritual than others.  When that happens we can sometimes find it more difficult to go before the Lord because we think He will know we don't measure up.

I want to assure you that no where in the Bible does it say that Jesus came to die only for those who were worth it.  There were not two lists at the cross.  Genesis tells us that we were all created in God's image and Psalm 139 teaches that He was with us while we were being formed in our mothers' wombs.  When Jesus left Heaven to come to this earth, He came for all of us, not just the elite or the attractive or the most spiritual.  When He was enduring a violent, tragic death, we were all on His mind.  He loves each us exactly as we are.  John 3:16 says "everyone who believes will not perish but have eternal life."  That is all inclusive.  No competitions.  No one is chosen over another.

As long as we keep our eyes on the things of this world we will continue to feel that we don't measure up in one area or another.  When we begin to look to our Father and search His Word to see how He views us, then the way we see ourselves will be transformed.  No longer will it matter that someone else can run faster than us.  What will be most important will be the Savior who gave up everything out of His great love for us and we will be reminded that we are His.  God bless.

Mid-Week Message - So Much More

"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him."  John 3:16-17 (NLT)

A dear friend and I try to get together about once a week for coffee.  During that time we share our hearts and news about whatever is going on in our lives.  It has become a very important couple of hours in an otherwise hectic or humdrum week.  If for some reason we are unable to get together, the week just doesn't seem complete.  That may be the one time we speak with each other until we meet up again but we both look forward to it and are disappointed if it doesn't happen.

Last Friday, while speaking with her, I heard a common theme as she related her day to day life.  She is overwhelmed by household responsibilities to the point of not being able to motivate herself to get anything done.  Laundry and dishes seem to multiply and because of that she feels inadequate.  Her focus becomes locked on what she hasn't been able to do to the point that she misses what she does accomplish.  She is a registered nurse who works in a nursing home.  She is in charge during the overnight hours and takes care of some very precious souls.  She is a wonderful mother and very involved in her children's lives.  She encourages them to reach for their dreams and does whatever she can to make it possible for them to do so.  She is an adored wife whose husband is proud to walk through life beside her.  Yet, she feels she is letting them all down.

As I listened, I felt the Spirit moving inside my heart.  When she finished, I took her hands and told her to listen closely.  "Your husband and children will not remember you for how well you washed the dishes or did the laundry.  They love YOU.  The impact that you are making on them goes so far beyond housekeeping.  And you are loved totally and completely by Almighty God.  He was with you in your mother's womb and knows each cell in your body intimately.  The Holy Spirit carries your thoughts and feelings to Him so He knows exactly what you go through and He desires for you to walk in freedom and joy, not inadequacy."  As she listened, tears fell from her eyes.  My prayer as I saw each tear was for her to accept the truth and reality of Jesus so that she can be released from the turmoil she faces daily over her self-worth.

Each of us has expectations of what life is supposed to be like.  We all have our own ideas of how to perfectly fulfill our responsibilities and relationships.  The problem is that life's twists and turns rarely fit in with our perceptions.  We have a choice.  We can either blame ourselves for not living up to our own views of what we should be, or, we can allow the Lord to guide us through whatever our lives bring us.  Life isn't scripted.  It doesn't come with a perfect beginning, middle and end the way a good novel does.  So we have to learn how to stay close to the One who knows what's coming next and allow Him to show us how to make it through.

We are so much more than our daily activities.  Yes, there are duties to perform, jobs to go to, obligations to be fulfilled.  All these things are temporary.  We are created to live eternity in Heaven with our Father where we will have no tears, no sadness, no sickness.  There we shall be as we were created to be and we will know how much we are loved and feel no inadequacy.  For now, we need to keep our focus on the eternal rather than the mundane and listen for His encouragement along the way.  God bless.