Tag: be like Jesus

Be Faithful and Honest

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

Our current world is one where generally people step over others to get to the top. Telling lies is accepted as the norm. Breaking promises is expected. But what if we decide to be faithful and totally honest, one day at a time? If we say we will do something, as Christians, we should do it, no matter what gets in our way on the day of the event. If we always tell the truth, we will be known as one to be trusted.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t trust any politician, not even the ones who say that they are Christians. Why not? Because they make promises they don’t keep. I’m not sure about their intentions or the roadblocks in their way, but I do know the end result is they don’t seem trustworthy to me. Not only do they break promises, many politicians lie…small lies, big lies. The size of the lie doesn’t matter. The fact that I heard them tell a lie matters to me a lot. Thus it is hard for me during the election season, with ads on every radio and TV station that tout all that the candidate will do for me once in office. Hmm. If they have already been in office and haven’t taken care of the business they said they would, why would I believe their new lies for a new office? The answer is that I don’t. The dilemma is that there is a hard choice to make when voting because I don’t think anyone running for office is totally honest or trustworthy. However, I do have to choose, so I will vote for the candidates who have done the best job of keeping their word and being honest, even if their score is not 100%. I try not to judge them on their relationship to Christ because that is between them and God, but I do my due diligence and investigate to the best of my ability how their stance measures up to God’s Word. Like I said, hard choices.

In a perfect world, people would be honest with each other all the time. No lies or subterfuge, but honesty and keeping promises. That is what builds our character for ourselves and in the opinion of others. It is also what makes us more like Jesus. And isn’t that the ultimate goal?

The Path to Success

There are many definitions for success in today’s culture. For some, success is defined by the number of accomplishments we’ve made, or the number of possessions we’ve attained.

Jesus’ definition of success is counter-cultural. It has nothing to do with our accomplishments or our possessions—it has everything to do with our character.

Jesus’ teaching in Luke 16:10 is primarily about the content of our character. He says that those who are trusted with small things will be entrusted to larger things. Those who are faithful with what they’ve been given will be given the opportunity to be faithful over more. And those who are dishonest, unfaithful, and untrustworthy, will do the same with what they’re given.

It’s not ultimately important to Jesus whether we are financially successful in life. What’s more important is what we do with what we’ve already been given.

Little acts of faithfulness every day is how our character is shaped over time. The small decisions and the hard decisions are what create us into people of trust and honesty.

If you’re asking God for more in life, make sure that you’re being faithful with the things He has already given you. Use the resources and opportunities you have to build trust and honesty with other people.

God is looking to use people of character. Pray for God to increase your character and to give you the opportunities to become a person who is faithful and honest in every area of life.

Our Instruction Manual

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

Many times as our children were growing up, I would throw up my hands in despair, look towards Heaven and tell God that since He made them, He needed to help me raise them correctly. His response was always the same, “I already gave you the instruction manual.” Of course, He did! But when I was frustrated, I would forget to turn to it.

God’s instruction manual for our lives is in His Word. I recall my husband putting together baby cribs, small furniture and toys. So many toys! Bikes, Barbie houses, race car tracks, etc. He would start out okay but soon I would hear Harry call my name and tell me that he was stuck because there seemed to be a part missing or a step he left out. So, I would head to where he was and he would start again. This time, I unfolded the instructions that he had usually left in the box and read them aloud to him, one step at a time, until the work was finished. You see, he always thought he could complete the task without looking at the instructions. After all, it should be easy and it was just “common sense.” I think we do the same with our lives. We are going along happily and come across something unexpected that disrupts our plans and our happiness. Instead of reaching for our instruction manual in God’s Word, we often try all kinds of other solutions first. We call a friend for help, we decide to deal with the problem another day (I call this the “Scarlett solution” from GONE WITH THE WIND. If you have read the book, you know the reference). Or we simply walk away and try to live life without a solution to the problem If only we could all learn to first look in our instructions and follow them step by step. God does not leave us without teaching, correction and rebuking us. He does all of this for our good and expects us to take the instructions out of the box and use them. They are for our good and end up helping us to be more like Jesus.

After a time of fruitless grumbling and whining to God about the children and their actions, I would inevitably turn to my Bible, finding comfort and resources there to continue to parent in spite of my children’s opposition to my parenting skills. I learned by doing things incorrectly and then I learned how to do them the right way. God always has a right way to do things, including putting together the puzzle that is our lives. I also learned that when I disciplined the children, reading Scripture with them and praying with them afterwards soothed them as well as me. We were reconciled to each other and to God, and that is exactly where we needed to be.

Do For Others

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

In today’s busy world, with both parents having jobs, kids having numerous activities and all kinds of other things going on, it’s easy to lose sight of what is most important. Following Jesus’s example is the most important thing that we can do and He left instructions on how to do that.

We are to take care of the needs of others, as much as it is possible to do. Look around you. There are needy people everywhere. A lonely neighbor, a widow or a child who seems to be friendless. Reach out helping hands and be the one who makes a difference in their lives. You may say that you are not comfortable entering someone else’s world and interfering. Then, do what you are comfortable with. Smile at people you meet. Say kind words to servers and to helpers in your world. Be the person that God means for you to be. You may have to step out of your comfort zone and do something that challenges you. Golgotha was definitely a challenge for Jesus, but He did not back away from the cross, but He faced it boldly and with the conviction that He was doing what the Father had established for Him to do since the beginning of the world. We cannot sit around complaining about the state of the world and not be willing to make a difference in it ourselves. Pray about what God wants you to do, and then go get started. If you want to be like Jesus, start by serving just as He did.

Have a blessed and safe day, serving others before you think of yourself and your own needs.

People Need to See Jesus in Us

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized5 Comments

I keep hearing people say that if we want change, we have to be the change that we want. I interpret that to mean that we need to be more like Jesus so that people can see Him in us. There is no greater need in the world today than the character of Jesus demonstrated in each of us. How do we react when the Supreme Court makes a ruling that makes abortions more likely? How do we react when someone tells us that they are gay or transgender? The topic of Dr. Denison’s main article today is just this, the idea that our reaction shows people Jesus, or it doesn’t.

What Our Cullture Needs Most by Dr. Denison

It is impossible for us to make disciples if we don’t show love. That was the central part of Jesus’s message and of His character.

I hope that each of you has a blessed day and remember that wherever you go, you are an ambassador for Christ.