Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

Somewhere in between debates on the presence of God and Creation and the thoughts of a God who has always been at work I’ve found myself taking a hard look at who I am, who I should be, and what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

It’s easy, while you’re caught up in the day to day activities of life to miss God’s plan, to lose site of Him and to start focusing on yourself.  Each and every day I get up to do basically the same thing, with little variety, attempting to take comfort in the knowledge that God works even in the mundane, and yet the Holy Spirit has been at work in my heart to want more.

How do I know it’s Him?  Because God always comes first.  This is one of the first truths that I came face to face with in my devotional study.  We want more of God because He is at work in our hearts.

I say this because I believe that God is currently working a plan out that I have yet to see the end of– but I know it’s Him.

To understand my walk with God, you have to look back over my life, and so– as boring as it will probably be, I want to take some time of reflection, time to show you God at work, and point the way to where I see God at work right now.

When I first read this I knew that I must share it.  This list of questions from the ladies of Beauty of the Heart hits right to the core and exposes us for who we truly are…

• Do you act out of obedience to Christ and a passion for His glory–or your own?
• How do you spend your time?
• How much of your time per day is spent chatting with friends (online, on the phone or in person)?
• How much of your time per day is spent daily in conversation with family members?
• How much of your time is spent daily speaking to God?
• How often do you meditate on the Cross? (Once a day? Once a week? Once a year?)
• Do you set time aside every day for prayer and Bible study?
• Do you try to faithfully obey God in public and at home?
• Do you ask God for the grace to help you obey consistently?
• What people, books, movies, etc. influence you the most?
• Do you read books, watch movies, or listen to music that does not encourage your walk with Christ? Do you think this is wise?
• Are your friends fellow Christians who are seeking after godliness? Or do they encourage you in gossip and ungodly thoughts?
• If so, do you also join in that gossip and allow those thoughts to dominate your mind?
• What are your main spheres of influence?
• What steps could you take to become a stronger influence of a Christ-like attitude to friends, siblings, neighbors, relatives, etc.?
• Do you actively serve in your community?
• When making decisions, do you consider how they affect others?

Wow, talk about a lot of questions, but they’re terribly accurate.  I would add one of A.W. Tozer’s questions where he asks “Where does your mind go when you have nothing else pertinent to think about?”

The greatest relationship that we can ever have is that which was offered to us by God through His Son– the living Word– as revealed in the written Word.  And yet it’s hard to keep up this relationship, not because of the availability of God, but because of the things that we let get in the way of this relationship.

I was reminded, reading Anna’s post on Daily Devotions, just how important it is to get into a routine, not just because I want to do it in a wrote way, but because I need my relationship with Him to be more important than any other relationship in my life:

(more…)

Sometimes we learn the most when times are bad, not when they’re good.  Each of us is impacted in different ways by different events.

• When I was a kid, I didn’t like the way some of the older children in church treated me, so when I grew up I made sure to treat them well.
• When I chose to go to summer camp instead of my family trip and I look back on that decision, I remember that family is more important than a girlfriend.

That latter touches on the subject at hand– the impact of love on our lives. You see love impacts how we think, what we choose and how we act. It impacts how merciful we are, and what we overlook. It can make us value certain things more than others.

(more…)

One of the most difficult things to do in this present, sex-driven culture is to remain pure in our thoughts and those things that we see.  This is even harder when you’re on the Internet– though it’s much different than it was just a few years ago.

The problem is a mixture of curiosity and the differing views society has on the matter.

Curiosity

Curiosity killed the cat, so they say. Curiosity is one of the reasons that we’re now in a sinful state. Satan said to Eve, “You won’t surely die,” but catch the next phrase: “and when she saw that it was good for food…” Sure, Satan talked Eve into doubting God, but Eve also had to become curious once she saw that she could eat it.

(more…)