Zenith (John 7:37-38)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “zenith.” I remember as a young Christian wondering what it would look like to be at the very top of my relationship with Jesus. And even more than that, I was hoping that maybe one day I would be able to understand the Christian faith enough to feel confident in sharing my beliefs with others. It seemed like a pretty tall mountain at the beginning. When I expressed that to my leaders, they were very eager to help me reach that goal. They constantly pointed me to verses that would help me get closer to that goal.

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ~Jn. 7:37-38

My question is: how are you asking God to make you an effective witness for the Christian faith? Sometimes we feel like if we do not have all of the answers that we are not qualified to tell others about the gospel. However, as we see in today’s Scripture, all we really need to do is to approach Jesus and allow him to fill us with the words that need to be said to others. My prayer is that you take a moment and ask Jesus to fill you with rivers of living water. We may not reach the zenith of our Christian faith until the day we stand before Christ, but we can always do more to help move that process towards the day of completion.

Praying for you,

MO

Insouciant (Matthew 6:25-34)

Insouciant (Matthew 6:25-34)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “insouciant.” out of all the stuff I needed to hear as a new Christian, this was probably at the top of the list. I remember the first time I heard it. It was a sermon given on a Tuesday night youth group meeting by Kevin Cobb. Although I probably did not have the most stressful life, to me it felt like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. And that is what mattered. Kevin reminded me  and the rest of the group that it did not matter how big or small our concerns might be, either in our own eyes or in the minds of others. What was important was that we needed to focus our energy on trusting in God.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~Matt. 6:31-34

My question is: what are the top couple of concerns in your life at this moment? I know that sometimes it seems as though we are so bogged down that there is little to no way out of the mud. Whatever the case may be, it is important that we remember to always do a bit more to shift our focus from worry, to one that is fixed on JC. He will get us through the tough times in life, even when we do not believe that there is a way out at times.  Take a moment today to lift up a prayer to God, asking him to re-focus your efforts and give you a more insouciant view in your daily activities.

Praying for you,

MO

Pugnacious (Proverbs 29:22)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “pugnacious.”  I remember growing up trying to keep my nose clean.  i needed to be on my best behavior so I could have a social life, play sports, etc.  I think I did pretty good job. My brother, on the other hand, had quite the difficult trek through high school. Part of it, and actually most of it, was probably the fact that he never really did anything bad. But, even worse, he was the one who was there to laugh when one of his friends did something stupid.

Angry people stir up conflict; hotheads cause much offense.” ~Pr. 29:22

My question is: who are the people that you spend the most time with? Like many high school kids, the friends that my brother chose to hang around with had a ton of fun…  many times at the expense of others. They were a pretty pugnacious bunch, always looking for something and someone to hassle. This was a pretty tough few years for my parents.  I realized by watching some of the strife that my brother got into, that much of it could’ve been avoided. My prayer is that you check the company that you keep. If we are the sum of  those we hang around with, it would be wise to make sure that those people have good character traits, people we want to be like. And, also as important, is knowing that you influence others, and should do your best as a Christian to give those people a reason to be more like you.

Praying for you,

MO