Monday, April 16, 2012

Who do you want to look like?

After a somewhat grueling effort, I am back to writing my blogs. My blog account got hacked somehow and I'm bursting at the seams! I'm so excited to share with you some of the encouraging and amazing things the Lord has been speaking to me recently. Some girlfriends and I have decided to do a study on the book of James. So, I turned to James this morning to get the gist of the book again. I love this book!! The main thing that stood out to me in chapter 1 was the fact that if we Christians don't watch it, we can delude our heart into thinking that our relationship with God is just "hunky-dory" (just fine), when in actuality it isn't. James 1:22-26 says that we need to carefully look into the faultless law of liberty (the Bible), be faithful to it, persevere looking into it, and be an active doer of it. Otherwise we are like someone who looks into a mirror, walks away from it, and then forgets what he was like. When I'm going somewhere in my car, I catch myself checking my make-up and hair over and over before I arrive at my destination. (I sometimes need to tweak it!) When I arrive, I feel confident that I am presentable. This is how we should care for ourselves spiritually. We should examine our heart and life continually by comparing our thoughts and behaviors with what God's word says is acceptable and tweak as needed. THEN, we will see God's blessings in our life of obedience (vs 25 Amplified version). Every morning I lift up my day to the Lord. I ask Him to lead me in His path. Most mornings I spend some time reading the Bible and I pray about how the passage I read applies to me. I also try to spend the day thinking about it. I then consider and include Him in everything I do. I can truly say that this is why I'm so blessed! I know that as I emulate Him through His word and personal direction, I can enjoy my life. Who do I look like? I want to look like Jesus! I want to look like my Father in heaven! I want to be presentable to Him and I want Him to recognize me as His child when I come before Him in heaven someday. How about you? Who do you want to look like?