Am I Worthy?

I looked at the bread and juice and pondered...am I worthy? This is my weekly opportunity to check my relationship with God. Of course, I should keep my relationship in check much more frequently, but I sometimes (okay, often) skim over my examination of myself.

Back to my question. Am I worthy?

Well...no. But I'm not worthless either.

What do you consider to be your weaknesses?

Your strengths?

I often get the two mixed up. I'm weak in the way that I question my worth. And what I think is a strength, like rationalizing through my faith journey or trying to be self-sufficient, is weakness. Who am I to decide what is my strength or weaknesses?

Out of my weakness

And into Your strength

Humbly I come to the cross.

The lyrics sink into my marrow.

I am strongest in my humility. I am strongest when I rest completely in Jesus. When I acknowledge my weakness. For a recovering control freak, that's tough to accept.

As I ponder Am I worthy?, I realize I'm thinking of my worthiness as a wife, mom, daughter, employee, volunteer. Those relationships and roles, while important, don't define my worth. They reflect the worth I have in Jesus. When I humbly rely on him in my weakness, for his strength, I am worthy in all areas of my life, because I am reflecting him.

I find my worth in Jesus.

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. - 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NLT)

What Will You Give?

O lay aside each earthly thing
And with thy heart as offering,
Come worship now the infant King.
'Tis love that's born tonight!

These words conclude James Taylor's Some Children See Him.

Jesus was born for you, my friend. He died for you. His sacrifice...God becoming flesh and living the life of a human on earth with all the junk that goes along with it...facing accusations and accepting an unjust and excruciating punishment on your behalf...trusting in God's ultimate plan for your eternal life. His sacrifice for you is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

How will you accept the gift of Jesus' birth? Your acceptance (or not) is your gift, your offering to him. Consider your gift and his...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dqi0EhDVgs

O lay aside each earthly thing
And with thy heart as offering,
Come worship now the infant King.
'Tis love that's born tonight!

The Gift

I recently spoke at a women’s conference and was invited to dinner the evening before my presentation. I was unable to attend the first day’s sessions, but a couple of the women excitedly told me they’d been placing all kinds of goodies at my place at the table all day. I wasn’t particularly curious (simply because I was more consumed with my presentation), but they seemed so excited, I couldn’t help but wonder for a moment what was waiting for me.

When I arrived the next morning, I realized they weren’t kidding! Not only did I have piles of papers at my place, I had fresh flowers, candy, and many other goodies. And there was a wrapped gift. It was a small box with a beautiful bow. Now I was curious, but I didn’t want to seem too greedy, so I went about my business of setting up. But several women wanted me to open up my gift! I stood by my seat with several anticipatory faces around me. As I picked up the box, I heard something shake inside of it. Hhm. It was about the size of a specialty candy box. You know the kind? Filled with handmade, delicious, calorie-packed caramels and chocolates? My mouth watered as I thought about a handmade caramel!

Back to reality, I slowly slid off the ribbon and began to open the box, expecting scrumptious pieces of candy. I wanted that candy so badly, at first glance, I thought I saw what I expected…but then realized I was looking at birdseed. Birdseed? Who would play such a cruel joke on me? Are you kidding? (I wonder what my face looked like at that point.) Once I took the lid completely off the box, I noticed something shiny in the box. A watch. A beautiful watch. Much beyond my expectation. A generous gift. My heart melted.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. - 2 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NLT)

We might be surprised when we first hear God has a spiritual gift for us. We might anticipate it, or we might be too preoccupied to consider it. But it intrigues us. We wonder what it is and how we’ll use it. We dream up what we’d most like it to be, and we build our expectation. God peeks over our shoulder in anticipation. He might be more excitement than we are! And when we first open it up, we might be disappointed. It might not be exactly what we expected. And yet, it’s likely better than we could have imagined. Just when you think you have a box of birdseed, you might be surprised to find a watch. What if I had peeked inside and seen the birdseed and been so disappointed that I closed the box, perhaps even throwing it away?

Expect a gift. God is peeking over your shoulder in anticipation.

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. - 2 Corinthians 12: 7,11 (NLT)

Too Much Nativity?

"We're swimming in nativities." I had told the woman at the post office it didn't matter what type of stamps she gave me...just use whatever she had in excess. Should I be sad, assuming few people were requesting nativity stamps? Or grateful to be able to "swim" in nativities? I began to wonder...

How often do I get caught up in what many Christians would say is the secularization of Christmas? I don't mean "caught up" in terms of participating; I'll quickly declare "guilty" on that charge. I enjoy shopping on Black Friday, stuffing stockings on Christmas Eve, and eating all those calorie-packed, once-a-year sweets...none of which has anything to do with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. Okay, perhaps I could rationalize gift-giving as a biblical concept, but seriously? My enjoyment of gift giving has little to do with my relationship with Jesus. My enjoyment of secular aspects of Christmas are more about tradition than faith, and I enjoy tradition.

Here's my struggle: How much Christians, including myself, focus on the secularization of Christmas when we could be expending the same energy fully embracing the opportunities this season gives us to share our faith and, most important, the truth about Jesus.

When someone wishes you "Happy Holidays," do you (a) complain that someone has secularized Christmas or (b) reply with a hearty "Merry Christmas"? Can we be certain what a person's motives are for replacing Merry Christmas with the phrase Happy Holidays? Perhaps it's because they want to bundle their Christmas and New Years greetings into one. Or even if they're intentionally taking Christ out of their language, so what! You're not responsible for their choices...but you ARE responsible for yours. Do we think we're going to deepen our relationships with people and build trust more by lecturing them about the secularization of Christmas or by delivering a hearty "Merry Christmas" in return? There's more power in Christ's spoken name than all the words we can possibly string together as a justification for the use of his name.

Think about struggles you have with the secularization of Christmas. Company parties. Elaborate gift exchanges. Overwhelming obligations. School productions. I'm not saying we shouldn't fight battles for God. But which battles are we fighting because he's instructed us to fight them on his behalf, and which are we fighting on our own behalf? If we personally are offended and choose to fight a battle that isn't in God's timing, we can adversely impact someone's faith journey. We might think God led us into a situation to teach someone about Jesus with words of condemnation. But we're to teach them by our behavior, full of grace and mercy, instead. If we're to confront someone, God will instruct us to do so in love, not in judgment. God judges. We obey.

Think of all the opportunities we have to obey God during this season. Doors fly open for us to share our stories of faith. Christmas isn't just about the birth of Jesus. Christmas is about Christ, from heaven to earth to the cross to the grave and to heaven, an agonizing and sacrificial journey to offer eternal life...for you and for me and for every single person in your life today. People you know and people you don't know. God has designed your day to reflect him. Will you do it? And will you fully reflect him in his grace and mercy and love and provision?

As for me, I bought the nativity stamps. Each time I use one, I pray for not only the person who will receive that envelope but also for every person who touches or sees itAnd that's what I want my life to be. I want anyone who touches or sees my life to experience Christ.

For God loved the world so much that 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. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. - John 3:16-18 (NLT)

Weight-Training

Weight rooms stink. There’s something about that stale, sweaty man smell I just don’t like. And yet, in order to develop our muscles, we have to actually work out. Sometimes, most of the time, our workout conditions are less than pleasant. Here are several benefits of weight training:

As you build muscles, your metabolism increases, which regulates your food intake.
Weight training increases your energy level.
Weight training helps you stay healthy, including your blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol level and more.
Weight training helps strengthen your muscles and bones, which also improves your posture.
Weight training can improve balance and coordination.

How can you apply some of these same principles to potential benefits of spiritual weight training?

Do you know that Bible verse that says, “God will never give you more than you can bear?”

It doesn’t exist.

Surprised? 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (NLT)

The weight we feel (in this case, temptation) isn’t about what God gives us! It’s about what God provides for us as we deal with the burden! It’s about our response to the weight, not the weight itself. We get so focused on the weight itself. We weaken under it and wonder why God would give us such a heavy burden. We rationalize we must be able to handle it, since God gave it to us. And yet Scripture doesn’t say God gave it to us. Even God gets misquoted!

Why is it so important to distinguish whether God actually gives us the weight or he gives us a way to deal with the weight? Think about weight training. When you begin weight training, you don’t begin with the heaviest weight you can lift. It’s more important to lift a weight you’re comfortable with, a weight that is working your muscles but that you can lift repeatedly. Ten repetitions of a ten pound weight are better for your muscles than one lift of a 100-pound weight. Even Olympic weight lifters don’t train under their maximum weights. They train for their maximum weights. In order to get strong, you have to condition your muscles to gradually develop strength.

As we assume God doesn’t give us more than we can bear, we can become complacent and not train. After all, if God won’t give us more than we can bear, he knows whether or not we’ve been training, so he wouldn't push our limits, right? But remember...God doesn’t give us the weight. He gives us the capability of the dealing with the weight, and he gives us instructions to be disciplined in our spiritual training. The reality of what we can bear with training and what we bear without training can be drastically different. I might have the potential to lift 200 pounds, but if I’m not lifting smaller weights on a regular basis, 200 pounds is going to seem overwhelming to me very quickly. It might never be easy for me to bear the weight, but I can make it a little easier…or a little harder by whether or not I regularly work out.

How are you training your spiritual muscles?

Compassion

Only seven of the eight remaining dancers performed on So You Think You Can Dance. (Yes, I watch it...regularly, and yes, I love it! I could give the excuse that it's a bonding experience for me and my daughter, but I'm owning my enjoyment!) Ashleigh hurt her arm the morning of the performance, and the doctors wouldn't clear her to perform. Her partner had to dance with stand-ins. But people can still vote for Ashleigh, and if she gets enough votes, she advances to the finals. What do you think of someone getting to advance without actually performing?

How do you respond when someone gets a promotion when you think you've worked harder? Or someone keeps her job when you get laid off?

What about when someone gets a scholarship over you, and you're certain she has more money than you?

How do you respond anytime a person gets something you perceive to be undeserved?

I have to admit my initial response is sometimes an internal, perhaps even audible, cry of injustice. I want someone to perform for reward. I don't want to take up the slack of someone's unwillingness to fulfill their work responsibilities and not receive compensation for it. I don't want to sacrifically give of my time and energy and continue to be asked to do more. I don't want to see someone ask for support when she's unable to perform.

It hit me when I read similar comments on a blog this afternoon, all commenting on whether or not Ashleigh should be able to continue. I'm a hypocrite. My internal, and sometimes audible, cry of injustice is in direct opposition to the basis of my faith.

Compassion is the "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it." (merriamwebster.com) No judgment on whether or not the distress is justifiable. No comparison to our own distress. And a willingness to act.

Take a look around. At work. In your home. At school. In restaurants. In Church. While shopping. God brings people into your life and asks you to have a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Act on it despite your internal or audible cry of injustice. God did it for you.

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. - 1 John 3: 16-18 (NLT)

Revisions

I'm revising a document. I'm familiar with the content. I didn't create most of it; I'm familiar because I've read, used, and modified the content over a couple years. And yet, I repeatedly find awkward combinations of words, unclear phrases, and nonessential sections.

It reminds me of my life - where I repeatedly encounter details that are awkward, unclear, nonessential.

What about you? Ever have one of those wish-I-could-do-it-over moments? When have you thought "WHAT was I thinking?!"

There really are no do-overs. When I offend someone, I can apologize, but I can't take away the sting of my words. I can only move forward with efforts to be more sensitive. When I miss a deadline, I can't rewind time. I can only complete the task a little late and get myself organized better for the next deadline. When I say no when I should say yes or say yes when I should say no, I can't erase my disobedience. I can only commit to stepping forward in determined obedience.

I (hopefully) learn with each experience. What I overlook at one point of my life becomes highlighted for correction for another time. I'm not always patient with myself, and yet, I'm growing toward a thankfulness that God doesn't take me through one grand editing process. I would be overwhelmed. I wouldn't grasp all the changes. I need the process of continual editing.

God, I trust you with my life. You designed me, and you know exactly what I need and when I need it. Your timing is perfect - even though it's not always comfortable. Growth is rarely comfortable, but I thank you for guiding my spiritual growth. Use my flaws and strengths today. May I reflect and glorify you. Amen.

How is God editing your life right now?

If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself;but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding. - Proverbs 15: 32 (NLT)