Am I an Example of My Faith?

 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds & I will show you my faith by my deeds."  James 2:18 NIV Bible

So, this lets me think deeper into this passage, reflecting on what the Lord has for me to learn through this post. Do I truly show my faith in the Lord God, through my deeds?

My first instinct is to say, "No way! I am a sinful human being, and I can never come closing to being the example I should be of the positive impact the Lord has had on my life!" Actually, quite the opposite is true! I think that the Lord, instead of using me as a stunning example of how I should be as a Christian, He utilizes some of my many, many flaws, to show how He loves me despite all of them. 

He loves me whether I'm thin, or I'm heavy. He loves me whether I share my faith, or I withdraw into a corner and hide from others. The Lord God loves me unconditionally. The thing is, His love for me, despite my many flaws, moves me to attempt to be a better example for others! Of course, I can't totally be that example, but hopefully from sharing how the Lord God opens His arms wide to me, welcoming me back, no matter whether I've gone on an overeating binge, or I've been impatient or intolerant of others, demonstrates how amazingly wonderful and forgiving the Lord God is!!!

What Am I Up To?

 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you & I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church. Colossians 1:24 NIV Bible

The Apostle Paul suffered through so much, in order to be able to share faith in Jesus Christ, the Risen Savior, with others. What am I up to? Actually, that's a good question, because I'm not sure which was the Lord God is leading me on this one!

I think it may be that I get complacent and go through my normal routine, without giving specific focus on what the Lord God wants me to be doing. I do what's comfortable and don't push myself beyond my comfort zone. Fortunately for me, Jesus Christ didn't do the same thing!

He didn't say, They are going to mock Me, whip Me, and even spit on Me, I'm not so sure that Debbie, going through her routine activities, as if they are on My behalf, is really worth all that pain and effort! He loves me as I am, heavy, thin, complacent & devoted, but I think that through this post, He's guiding me to be much more devoted and focused on what He wants me to do on His behalf!

What Am I Hiding From?

Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in You. Psalm 143:9

What am I hiding from? Is it people who look down on me, because I'm not stick skinny, I'm not wealthy and drive an expensive car? Is it those who don't like the way I share my faith, because they feel differently? Is it really that I'm hiding from my sinful human nature?

You know me how I am Lord! You know my faults and my many insecurities! I can hide those faults from others, but I can't hide those faults from You, O Lord. What's remarkable, is that You still love me anyway, despite my many faults and insecurities. 

Do I have to look a certain way or have a certain number in my bank account? Do I have to be on every church committee that exists? No. You love me as I am!  Sometimes, I'm my own worst enemy, so I pray, Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in You. 

I Am With You

 I am the Lord, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so you will no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. Leviticus 26:13 NIV Bible

I just walked by the TV on the way to put this belated post on the blog. I heard the sports hero who was being interviewed state that he felt so alone. We have all felt that way one time or another, whether for different skin colors, weight, income levels, ethnicity, politics, etc. Fortunately, the Lord God said, I Am with You.

So, that means that whatever situation we come across where we feel less than the wonderful person the Lord God created us to be, we know within us that the Lord God said, I Am with You. With you through thick and thin, no pun intended. 

It's amazing with all the Lord God has done for us, it's so easy to overlook this, when others put us down, or look down their noses at us. But the Lord God wants all of us to walk with our heads held high through faith in Him.

Who Am I Trying to Impress?

 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Galatians 6:12 NIV Bible

Well, this Bible verse doesn't have much to do with this post, but the underlined portion does. When I was younger, I knew of someone young, who gave all of a family member's jewelry away. As I got older, I realized that person did this, because she didn't feel good about herself and wanted to buy friends. In fact, I might not have been very understanding that she would do this.

Now, many years later, I found that when I had a disagreement with someone, I, too, was trying to think of ways to butter up that person, so the discord would disappear, and we'd be friendly again. It was after lots of prayerful contemplation, I was doing the exact same thing as that young girl, I didn't understand.

On thinking about this, I've tried to compliment people, or do favors for them, trying to get in their good graces. When I think about it, I'm not so different from that girl! I remember that I prayed for God to 'help me' loose the weigh, thinking that I would have lots of friends, if I were thinner. It didn't happen until many years later, when I put my food, eating, stress, etc. into the Lord God's capable  hands, that He allowed my weight loss of 80+ pounds and to keep the vast majority of it off for over 30 years. I think it was probably the first time that I turned the total control over to the Lord God, instead of asking Him to 'help me' loose the weight.