Reborn!

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

John 1:12-13 

 

 A couple of fun facts about family: You do NOT get to choose your family.  Also, you don't get to choose who is in your family.  But for those who believe in and accept God's Son, become part of God's family.  THAT should get a shout of joy from you!  

 

There is a "however" like any other family, while we are on this side of Heaven, there will be times that we disagree.  There may even be times when we fight and argue.  There may be times that we treat each other badly.  BUT no matter what, we are still family, and family always loves each other!!!  

 

And while we're thinking, consider this: When we get to Heaven...you're stuck with me. :)

It's In Your DNA

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

John 1:12-13 

 

As a Christmas gift to myself, I decided to get one of those kits where you can have your DNA analyzed and find out about your history.  I sent the kit off today with excitement and more than a little apprehension.  What happens if my DNA comes back to inform me that my family tree doesn't fork?  What happens if I find out that my ancestry was filled with "folks of ill repute"?  What would people think if they discovered that they were related to me?  What if my ethnicities all point to "Other"?  

 

I find it amazing that scientists can find something that God created us with and use it to find out all sorts of information about us.  And we have just, in the last few years, figured out how helpful DNA can be, and God has filled us with this information since the dawn of time.

 

While I await the results, I am confident of one fact...my true family DNA is God's.  You see, as believers we have been given the right to claim our place as children of God!  God has so constructed our spiritual DNA so that it will always come back to Him. 

 

David was not kidding that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and that before anyone saw us, God saw us as He was knitting our bits and pieces together to form us into the child He would include in His plans.  Take just a moment and thank God for the families He has included us in and celebrate His plans for us.

Consider

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

As we share the Christmas Season with our loved ones, I would ask that you take a moment to consider those for whom the Christmas Season is a painful time.  How could it possibly be a painful time?  Perhaps due to the death of a family member; perhaps because of being new to the area and no friends have been made as yet; perhaps because there are no funds to provide even the basic essentials for their family.

You see, God has blessed each of us and we are to be good stewards of what God has provided.  Consider sharing a bit of your Christmas with someone who isn't so fortunate.  Consider inviting someone who has no family to share with your family.  Consider encouraging and sharing love with those who have family who have died. Consider remind others that the arrival of Christ brings hope, and then share your hope with someone who may be hopeless.  Befriend the person who may not have any friends as yet.

Every person's story is different and every person is in need of something, and it is God's instruction to us to share with others, and in so doing, needs are met.

We are instructed to share each other's burdens.  Therefore, SHARE YOUR CARE!!!
 

What Do You Mean "CHANGE"?

If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new!

2 Corinthians 5:17

One of the programs my bride and I like to watch is called "Fixer Upper" where a couple (and their "behind the scenes magic elves") take an often old, run-down, sometimes junker of a house, and they restore it to life in a new way.  The transformation is really amazing for most of the homes.  And....as per usual....my mind began to wander....

Think about this, we go through our lives just doing what we do.  We are happy when things go our way and we are not happy when they don't.  Some of us reach the point where we aren't sure why we were even put here.  Some of us just go through the routine of existence because we don't know anything else to do.

Have you even seen a caterpillar turn into a butterfly?  There are lots of stages that have to be endured, but the end result is an amazing transformation.  The same thing happens when we become Christians, a transformation begins and continues for the rest of our lives.  Does becoming a Christian mean we no longer have struggles? Nope, we still do.  Does it mean that all our problems will be immediately resolved? Nope, not always.  Does it mean everyone will love us and be nice to us?  Not by a long shot!  In fact, many will hate you.

So what's the purpose?  Because as a truly transformed Child of God, you begin to see the world from your true perspective.  God began a project for your life before time was time, and that restoration (yep, you're a "Fixer Upper" just like me) takes place you will truly BE a new creation. You will begin to see life in a new way. You will begin to realize that the grudges you've held onto for so long, don't really matter.  You will realize that you truly ARE worth it! You will begin to understand how everything in all the Universe and time was orchestrated just for this moment in YOUR life.

Welcome to the family!

The Lion Roars Tonight

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

I like to learn about animals, and the big cats have always held a fascination for me.  Take lions, for example, the male lion is referred to as "The King of the Jungle" but it is the female who does the hunting, cares for the young, and seems to have the final say in most matters.  The male lion will announce his presence with a tremendous roar but if the lioness is not in a good mood she will get in his face and roar back.  

But lions are usually pack hunters.  They will locate a herd of some tasty beast, and once everyone is in position, they will roar which startles the herd.  The startled herd will start running to escape which will reveal to the lions which are morsels are too young and slow, too old and slow, or too sick and slow.  You see, when the herd runs they are concerned only with their own safety.  There are exceptions, of course.  I saw an episode on Animal Planet where lions decided their meal was to be baby elephant, not counting on the rest of the herd standing their ground.  Let's just say, the lions didn't dine on elephant that night but had to go nurse some rather nasty bruises.

What's my point in all this babbling?  We, as humans, are prone to knee jerk responses.  We will not hesitate to throw someone under the bus to save our own hides (reputation, job, fill-in-the-blank).  We are quick to REact instead of being PROactive in planning.  True we cannot plan for every eventuality, but we can have a plan of action framework.

• Want to save your marriage? Remove the ticks and decide to love each other!
• Want to save your job? Do your best and remember that God is your true boss.
• Want a better work environment? Treat people like you want to be treated by them.
• Want a better society? Hold each person accountable for their actions and treat everyone like you want to be treated by them.
• Want respect? Be respectful AND respectable!
• Want a good reputation? Work hard, keep your word, make only the promises you will keep.

Combine all this with keeping the conversation with God ongoing and we have a PROactive plan.

In doing such things, when our enemy roars his presence, and he will, we will be like the elephants and God will cause the enemy to go home empty handed to deal with his wounds!