Ambassadors

From time to time I have the opportunity to represent WBFJ at seminars, conferences and other professional events. On such occasions, I understand that I am a reflection of the radio station, and my words and actions have the potential to affect the way others view WBFJ. I take this seriously...I would never want to act in a way that would cause someone to see the station in a negative light.

Just as I try hard to be a good representative for WBFJ, I must also try to be a good representative for Christ. Everyone who is a Christian has this responsibility. People are watching us and basing what they think about Jesus on how we act. Unfortunately, we're not doing a very good job of consistently representing Him in a positive way. The Barna Group reports that a large majority of people aged 16-29 years old who are outside of the church view Christians as judgmental, hypocritical, insensitive, too-political and bigoted, among several other less than flattering adjectives¹.

While I know many Christians who are not any of these things, I also know quite a few who fit this description quite well. Unfortunately, it is these folks who give us all and the Christ we represent a bad reputation.

So what adjectives should accurately describe followers of Christ? Galatians 5:22-23 gives us a pretty good working list, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

No, we're not perfect and we won't get it right all of the time. But, we can start by asking God each day to help us remember that we are a reflection of Him, a representation of who He is to the rest of the world.

1. Kinnaman, David, and Lyons, Gabe. unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters. Baker Books, 2007.

Worship Wherever You Are

I was looking at my friend’s pictures taken on her most recent mission trip to Guatemala when one photo in particular caught my eye. The photo was taken from behind a group of young kids who were sitting in folding chairs with their hands raised in worship. It was an interesting perspective: dozens of little brown colored arms lifted high in what was clearly an enthusiastic time of praise. The beauty of that moment was contrasted by the poor condition of the chairs the kids were seated in. They were all really beat up, with chipped paint and an assortment of dents and dings. I imagined that the chairs were probably pretty wobbly and made all sorts of squeaks and creaks any time their occupants shifted position. However, it was quite evident by the picture, that the poor condition of the children’s chairs took nothing away from the richness of their worship.

I found out that the picture was taken at a Compassion International Child Development Center. So, these kids are living deep in poverty. Their old and worn chairs a symbol of the underprivileged lives they experience. Yet, unhindered, here they were, worshiping the Lord with all their hearts, minds, souls and strength.

No wonder Jesus tells us that unless we change and become like little children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). Kids just get it! So often the love we offer God is conditional. Sure, we’re excited to worship God when everything in life is hunky-dory. It’s easy to shout His praises when things are going our way. But, how about when they are not? Are we just as sincere in our worship when life stinks, we don’t see an end in sight to our pain and, to be honest, we’re a little bit angry with God for letting it get that way?

When times are tough, we need to remember that God hasn’t changed, our circumstances have. He’s still the same all-powerful, loving father we had when life was going well. He still deserves our worship.

So, let’s pray for hearts like those of the children in my friend’s picture, that He will foster in us love for Him that remains deep and strong, no matter if we are sitting in a plush easy chair or a squeaky old folding chair.

Falling with Grace

Apparently, American schools may want to include basic walking skills as part of their physical education curriculum. For two years in a row, Miss USA has slipped and fallen during the evening gown portion of the Miss Universe Pageant. Crystle Stewart from Texas is this year’s falling star. And, while her stride may need a little work, she could teach a class on graceful recoveries.

After the pageant, Miss Stewart had this to say about the incident, “"I"m perfectly fine. I'm going to move back to New York and get on with my life." Crystle is a motivational speaker and teaches a character education class. She plans to use the falling incident as a life lesson for her students, saying, "Sometimes you fall in life, not just in the pageant but financially or emotionally. It's not about the fall but how you pick yourself up."

I love her attitude! She could have sat on the floor crying when she fell…but she didn’t, she got right back up, smiled and marched on. She could have blamed her fall on the person who designed her dress or accused her competitors of a conspiracy. But, she didn’t. She simply explained that she slipped on the beads on her dress, jokingly saying that she needed to take walking classes. Nope, no victim mentality for this Miss USA!

Crystle is absolutely right...an occasional fall in life is inevitable. However, the way we choose to handle these trip-ups is left completely up to us. We can choose to wallow in self pity, blame the world and live life as a victim. Or, we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get on with life…learning a lesson or two along the way. And, don’t forget to that God’s hand is extended, offering to help you up off the ground. Think about the paralytic man Jesus healed in John 5. Jesus told him “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." And, after 38 years of being floor-bound, he got up and walked.

Are you sitting on the floor today? Pray that God will give you the courage to grab on to His hand, allowing Him to pull you back up and for the strength to smile and move on.

Spiritual Synapses

In the last decade or so, scientists have uncovered lots of new information about how a baby’s brain develops. We now know that when a when a baby is born, her brain is wired for only the basic functions of life, like breathing and circulation. However, by the time a baby is a year old, her brain will much more closely resemble the brain of an adult than that of a newborn. The formation of synapses, little pathways that connect groups of brain cells to each other, is crucial in brain development. Synapse formation is driven by sensory stimulation. Every time a baby has a new experience, new connections are formed. This growth is so rapid, that in the first few months of life babies develop hundreds of TRILLIONS of these synapses. Sadly, babies who are victims of neglect, who are not nurtured and stimulated, develop fewer synapses, leading to potential learning disabilities or delays later in life.

Just as a baby’s brain development depends on new experiences, I am convinced that our faith develops in much the same way. Every time we experience God in a new or different way, our faith grows. And, we must actively pursue these new experiences. While there is great value in regularly attending church and being a member of a small group or Sunday school class, we cannot limit our spiritual experiences to only these activities. Personally, some of my greatest spiritual growth has happened outside of the four walls of church. Going on mission trips, spending time talking about God with non-believers, attending Christian concerts, trusting God to meet a need…these are all experiences that have formed my faith.

In Psalm 34:8, David invites us to seek God in tangible, sensory ways…to “Taste and see that the Lord is good”. Let’s ask God to reveal Himself to us in a new and different way today. Pray that He will provide us with experiences each day that build our faith.

I'm God's Favorite

I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I am God’s favorite. Really… it’s true…God’s favorite, that’s me. “Wait a minute!”, you say, “how on earth can you just sit there and make such a bold statement? And what gives you the right to claim that you’re His favorite, anyway?”

I know it seems like a preposterous thing to say, but let me explain…The band “Pocket Full of Rocks” has a song called “Now I Sing” and in the chorus it says, “But I tell ya, I'm God's favorite, he's got eyes only for me.”

I had a chance to ask Pocket’s lead singer, Michael, about the meaning of those lyrics. He said that, in the Bible, there are many different names for God and one of those names means “many-eyed”. In Jeremiah 23, God asks the question, “Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, “And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So, I shall not see him?”
God has an eye for each one of us, which enables him to not only see everything all at once but also see each of us individually at the same time. That’s how the creator who holds the universe in his hands can also have an intimate relationship with each one of us. God’s love is not divided among His children, it is multiplied.

David was so enamored by the idea of God thinking about him when he wrote Psalm 139. Listen to his words: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. "
God knows me, he sees me and he has the capacity to love me just like I was his only child. So, there you have it…I am God’s favorite! And, guess what, so are you!

Mustang Tami

Not long ago my hubby and I were leaving a restaurant when a beautifully restored 1965 Mustang pulled into the parking lot. It had a shiny red body and black convertible top. I have always quietly wished I could own a classic Mustang just like the one in front of my eyes that night. As soon as Alton saw it he said, “Oh, look honey…there’s your car!”.

Now, I’m not really a “car person”. I drive a minivan because it’s the most efficient way to haul my family of five around. Having a cool car just isn’t on my radar right now. But, sometime, in the past, I must have shared some Mustang Musings with my husband….and, he remembered that about me. I’m not sure why, but at that moment, I felt incredibly, deeply loved and abundantly blessed to be married to someone who knows me well enough to know even the little, trivial things about me.

I think we all have a desire to be intimately, deeply known. When another person takes the time and makes the effort to learn the intricacies of our personality, they in many ways give us value. They are validating who we are by showing us that we are worth being known. Our Creator knows that we have this yearning to be known and He repeatedly expresses to us in the Bible that he does, in fact, know us thoroughly….right down to the number of hairs on our head.

Are you feeling the need to be known by someone who loves you today? Open your Bible to Psalm 139. In it, David celebrates the intimate love God has for us. He says, “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” A few verses later, David says that God’s thoughts about us outnumber the grains of sand!

It’s hard to understand how or why our Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen, would also focus his attention so specifically on each one of us. But, I am so glad that He does. I am so thankful that he loves me enough to know me!

Ugly Shoes

It’s always pretty obvious when young children start to express their independence by choosing their own outfits, isn’t it? My girls are both at that point and sometimes the outfits they put together are pretty…ahem...interesting. For example, on a recent Sunday morning, both girls had chosen nice dresses to wear to church. So, from the ankles up, they looked pretty good. However, they couldn’t find any matching dress shoes, so Carley had on a pair of beat up flip-flops and Laura was wearing bright red crocs with her black velour dress. Of course, I didn’t notice until we were getting out of our van in the church parking lot and it was too late to make them change.

Yup…they looked pretty silly in their dressy-dresses and ratty shoes. I explained to them, for what seemed like the 50th time, the importance of wearing dressy shoes with dressy clothes. I have to admit that I was a little embarrassed, too. What would people think about me…the mother of these shabby-shoed sisters?

But leave it to God, He turned this situation into another teachable moment for me. God reminded me that when I became a Christian, I became clothed in Christ. Galatians 3:26-27 says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” I cannot imagine a finer garment than Christ! What does it look like when someone is clothed in Christ? Here’s a verse from Colossians 3:12 that gives a good description, “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”

Uh-oh! Even though I am clothed with Christ, the human side of me often behaves in some very un-Christian ways. Kind of like my girls the other day, I’ve got on a beautiful dress, but my shoes ruin the outfit.

Have you been there before? If so, let’s pray today that God will point out to us the ugly shoes in our closets and that he will guide our attitudes, thoughts and behaviors so that they will every day come closer to matching up with the sparkling, beautiful clothing of Christ that we wear.