How will they know you?

How do people recognize you? More so, what will they think/say about you? Listening to a popular Christian radio show, a recent topic has been showing your Christianity. Do your facebook status', twitter post, and daily living reflect that of being a Christian? These questions remind me about The Fruit of the Spirit.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other." Galatians 5:22-26

The scripture list the different characteristics of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is that of the Trinity. The last part of the scripture is what stands out to me the most. If we live by the Holy Spirit (that which we as Christians are called to do), then we should have these characteristics as well. So do our lives demonstrate this? Do our status'/post reflect Fruit of the Spirit?

I know, we are human right? We all have our shortcomings. However, we are not to far from God's forgiving grace. We simply need to fall to our knees and come closer to God.

Dear Lord and Savior, we come bow our heads and surrendering our hearts. We ask that You daily remind us of the Fruit of the Spirit. Thank you for the grace You show us daily. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Becoming a Role Model

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." Mark Twain

To be a great role model means you must make a lot of sacrifices and hold true to commitments. To be a role model means that you take on a strong responsibility. The greatest role model I know was a man. He was flawless, courageous, and stood for what he believed in. He was Jesus.

There have been plenty of other individuals who have been inspiring to me and model the lifestyle I wish to lead (Christianity of course!). Majority of those individuals who have been/are role models to me include: My parents, Grandparents, Pastors, my former youth minister and her husband, and my friends.

But what does it take be come a role model? To be a role model means to live your life like Christ on a daily basis. That alone is probably one of the great attributes of a role model.

1st - It takes commitment. Throughout the Bible we can find those who have committed themselves to Christ. This is the form of commitment I mean. Paul suffered imprisonment, flogging, hatred, and death.

2nd- It takes daily devotion in God's word. Seek out God's will through scripture for your life.

3rd- Seek out your own role models and learn from them. Hebrew 13:7 "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith."

4th- Be in constant prayer. Jesus role modeled prayer for us in Luke 6:12, "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spend the night praying to God."

Dear Heavenly Father, as I go out and walk in this world full of sin, I pray for your guidance. There are many individuals Lord who seek out the wrong role models. Lord, guide my step and protect my heart so that I may be the role model to other that You have asked me to be. Amen

Nurturing our Relationships

I believe that one of our greatest duty while on this earth is to nurture relationships. (When I write this blog, please know that this one is strongly directed towards myself!) As humans, we seek affirmation from others and search for companionship. For most individuals, there is never a day that goes by where we are not interacting with someone. Here are my thoughts on our top relationships as Christians:

1. Jesus Christ

2. Spouse

3. Family

4. Friends

5. Unbelievers / Unsaved / Unchurched

What's the best way to nurture relationships? Here's a start:

1. Spend time with that person. Our most important relationship is with Christ. While He knows everything about us, we should spend time getting to know HIM!

2. Listen. There are times when God may whisper words of encouragement and direction. However, if you are like me, (and it's something I'm working on) God may have to SHOUT OUT His instructions. Listening to instructions, the yearning for help from others, or being there matters.

3. Be compassionate. This is something that God wants us to be. He has shown compassion to us in the ultimate way, dying on the cross. We need to show Him compassion through giving up our time to Him and being compassionate to others.

4. Love them. God calls us to not only love Him, but to love others as well. He did show the ultimate love for us anyways. "For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 Loving others may not always be easy, but it is warranted in nurturing the relationship.

5. Honor and Respect the Relationship. God laid out very specific rules/guidelines in the Bible. Though we are human and not expected to be perfect (hence God's amazing and unfailing forgiveness), we are to honor His will. When we can honor and respect our most important relationship, there seems to be a trickle down effect onto others.

6. Cherish the time. Sounds funny right? Not really. When you stop and think about it, you cherish the memories that you have or make. This is the same concept. Cherishing the forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love that we have makes us want to nurture the relationship further.

7. Give of Yourself. This aspect probably encompasses many other aspects. But when you give of yourself, truly give of yourself, you lay everything out. Giving God your time, energy, dedication, and heart is what He wants. He yearns for a relationship with you! Matt Hammitt has a song called All of Me. The lyrics are: Your gonna have all of me, Your gonna have all of me, Cause you're worth every fallen tear, You're worth facing every fear, You're gonna know all my love, even if it's not enough, Enough to mend our broken hearts, Giving all of Me is where I start. This pretty well sums it up. Giving of yourself, time and energy, is what it takes to nurture many relationships.

There are definitely other components to nurturing a relationship. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and additions to any of my blogs.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for wanting a relationship with me. Thank you Lord for your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I pray Lord, that as I continue to nurture my relationship with you, that I am able to nurture a relationship with other around me. In your Precious Son's name, Amen.