I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to be Christ’s Hands: Servanthood Part 2

As I was making my husband’s breakfast and packing his lunch this morning, the Holy Spirit reminded me that along with being a servant, I needed to have the attitude of a servant. This attitude meant I served without having the expectation of anything (even a thank you) in return. I was packing his lunch, not out of obligation or an expectation of gratitude or returned actions, but out of love for my husband. Jesus said it best when He was teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, saying ”I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.“ Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭35‬-‭36‬ ‭MSG‬‬ “Help and give without expecting a return…;” this is a difficult statement, isn’t it. Our human (selfish) nature is to do the opposite. When we do something nice or serve someone, at the very least, we expect a “thank you,” right? How many times have you and I have said, “well the least they can do is say thank you…” But that is

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I Choose Today to Worship with Authenticity

In the last few posts, we have learned some Hebrew words, and their meaning, for worship: Towdah (תוֹדָה) – giving thanks to God for His provisions and blessings, and Avodah (עֲבוֹדָה) – we are also called to worship Him through our work and service, and  “Shabach” (שָׁבַח) – which signifies joyful and loud praise of God’s attributes and deeds, urging believers to openly express adoration and gratitude towards Him. Today, we are going to conclude our series with a Greek word for worship: προσκυνέω (proskyneō). This word conveys the act of showing reverence, homage, or worship towards God. This word for worship comes to us from the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. She was expressing her frustration about the place of worship for Samaritans being different than the Jews, basically asking who was right. Jesus, on the other hand, was explaining to her it is not a “where,” but the “who” is being worshipped (God) and the heart of the worshipper that matters. He explains in John 4:23-24, ”But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship

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I Choose Today to Invite Jesus into My Day

“I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. I stay awake through the night, thinking about your promise.” This morning, I felt the Lord prompting me to get up and spend some time with Him. It has been a beautiful thing. I feel like I get my coffee and have coffee with Him. It reminds me of the verse in Rev 3 where it says “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal (coffee) together as friends.” (Verse 20). So, this morning I sat down with my coffee and recited that verse and invited Him into my time so I can spend time with Him “as friends.” Isn’t that amazing that the God of the universe wants to have coffee with me, spend time with me, be friends with me? In my minds eye, I sit relaxed and listen to Him, laugh with Him, cry with Him, sometimes just sit with Him. In my minds eye, when I meditate on this verse, is when I have guests over for

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I Choose Today to Wait

There is purpose in the waiting; there is purpose in the pain. There is an expression “it will be worth the wait.” Well, God ALWAYS shows us that His timing is worth the wait. The account of what happened when Lazarus dies (falls asleep) (John 11:1-44) shows us so much about Jesus and the power He has over death. He wanted to illustrate a point; He wanted to show the people (of the time and all those since) that He alone has the power and was sent to conquer death. It showed His divinity. But He also showed His humanity and love by having compassion for His friends’ pain. Which by weeping with them, showing compassion for them, comforting them, He illustrated how He would do the same for us. He was showing us how He responds to our pain. It seems to me that it is easy for us to understand that Jesus conquered death and that He is compassionate and understands our pain. But the waiting? We don’t get it. Am I on target or am I the only one who has a hard time understanding it? Just as Jesus was illustrating a point of His power over

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I Choose Today to be an Influencer

I have been reading a book by John Maxwell called Developing the Leader Within You. John spoke about influence and how it makes an impression on our everyday lives. He quotes, “No one can understand that mysterious thing we call influence… yet… everyone of us continually exerts influence, either to heal, to bless, to leave marks of beauty; or to wound, to hurt, to poison, to stain other lives.” Maxwell’s concept of influence extends beyond our awareness, shaping our choices and interactions every day. Recently, a simple trip to the grocery store underscored this truth for me The other day my husband and I went to a specialty grocery store to get a particular bread for an event. We bought 10 packages of this bread. The gentleman that was having his stuff checked stepped away for the register to add six packages of the same bread to his purchase. He told us that when he saw how many packages we were buying, he knew that bread must be really good! So, even though he didn’t know us at all, he was influenced by us enough to blindly buy the bread. At that moment, we were influencers and he imitated us

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