Different isn't always bad

I slowly and awkwardly maneuvered my way through the hallway, trying to get to my next class before the bell rang.  I kept my head down and tried not to make eye contact with anyone.  Even so, it was evident who the kids were laughing at and pointing to.  Finally, one sympathetic student came up to me and quickly reached behind my back and removed a piece of paper.  The paper said, “kick me.”  Tears started streaming down my face.

Twenty years later and I still remember it as clear as it was yesterday.  I had always been “different.”  I was visibly weak from the muscular dystrophy at an early age.  Walking was often painful.  And thanks to the cruelty of many of the kids, walking from one class to another was not only physically painful, it was often emotionally painful as well.  If only a single day could go by where they might forget about me…but no…it was my constant companion…the laughter…the ridicule…from the first day of kindergarten until the day I graduated from high school. 

Even today, in social situations, I still feel the sting of the pain from those 13 years.  Social situations are very difficult for me and I often feel anxiety when I am in them.  Last night I confided to a friend about how hard it is for me to be in social situations because I feel like I always stick out like a sore thumb.  She said that she too struggles with being different.

But today, as I reflect on the Lord and his promises for my life, I am reminded of another person in scripture who was also labeled “different.”  

In Numbers 14, the Lord had promised Israel that they would inherit the land of Canaan.  However, the Israelites were too scared to go in and possess the land.  But there was one who was “different’ from the rest.  “But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it (Numbers 14:24).  So in this situation, Caleb was given honor and praise from the Lord because he was different.  How hard it must have been for him to stand up for what was right even though he was different from all the rest.  Different does not always mean bad.  In this situation, different was really good!

The enemy spends many years getting to know us.  He devises a plan in order to make us believe lies about ourselves.  He wants us to believe that being different is bad.  He wants us to believe that when we are treated differently or when we are different because we are standing up for what is right that we are bad and not worthy of God’s love and acceptance.  He wants us to believe the lies that others say about us.  But God’s word says differently.

We were knit together in our mother’s womb.  We were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139)

We must learn to fight the enemy with truths from His word.  Even Jesus fought Satan with scripture during the time He was being tempted.  God wants us to experience victory while here on this earth.

So the next time that you start to believe a lie from the enemy, remember to refute it with scripture.  And keep in mind…that different does not have to be bad…as a matter of fact different can be very good.  After all, we are told not to “conform” to the world but instead be “transformed.”

By: Hannah Guajardo

The Smooth Talking Roaring Lion

Have you ever been to a “worship experience” that moved you emotionally?  Maybe the songs that were sung sounded perfectly in tune.  Maybe the people that you were surrounded with were beautiful, outgoing, friendly, and “fun” to be around.  Did they dim the lights down low when it was time to pray? Did the person that led the prayer say all the “cliché” or “go to” phrases that are popular with prayer these days?  Or maybe it was the speaker and his smooth delivery of the message?  Maybe he used just the right combination   of illustrations, analogies, scripture, and humor to touch your heartstrings.  After this said “worship experience” did you ever think to check to see if the scriptures in the bible lined up with the worship experience that you had just had?  Or did you let that feel good emotion take over and carry you through the rest of the day?

Sometimes, as Christians, we allow our emotions to guide us to the truth.  That is a very dangerous thing to do!  Even when we listen to a sermon that was presented to us in the most amazing way we must not just accept it as truth.  We must ensure that the scriptures indeed back up what we just heard.  When Paul and Silas ministered to the people in Berea, they did not just accept what they said as truth.  I am sure that the fame of Paul the apostle had spread throughout all of Berea.  However, it was not his status as a preacher that brought lost souls to Christ.  It was not his smooth delivery of the lesson that turned many hearts to be baptized on that day.  It was the fact that he was speaking the truth.  The Bereans received the word with all readiness.   They came “ready” and they came “prepared.”  And then what did they do?  Because they were ready and prepared they “searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so (Acts 17:11).  And it was not a half-hearted one time attempt at reading the bible.  It says they searched the scriptures daily!!!!

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that if the person that is leading worship is knowledgeable in the scriptures and is able to present it in a way that sounds good that it must not be seen as false doctrine.  There is someone in the bible who knows scripture very well.  Someone that we may not even think about and that is Satan.  So just knowing the scriptures well is not a prerequisite to becoming a strong Christian.  Satan had to be knowledgeable in the scriptures so that he could tempt Jesus at his weakest moment.   Guess who one of the smoothest talkers in the entire bible was?  Satan.  Do you know why?  He had to be a smooth talker if he was going to tempt Jesus.  Of course Jesus did not fall for any of Satan’s tricks.  Jesus was able to fight the devil back with scripture.  But then did you know that in Luke 4, after the devil tempted Jesus, he decided to leave him alone for a more opportune time! 

He is waiting for us.  In the shadows.  He is waiting for us to be at our weakest moment.  He is waiting for the most opportune time so that we can believe the lie that he will tell us.  He knows what sounds good to us.  He knows our likes and our dislikes.  He knows our weaknesses.  We must come to him ready and prepared; so that when we receive a message we can receive it like the Bereans did.  Then we can search the scriptures daily to see if what we have heard is truth from God or a lie from Satan.     

               Start now.  Don’t delay another day.  The world is full of sin and false doctrine.  Each and every day is a new opportunity for the enemy to trip you up if you are not prepared.  Find a bible reading plan that you can follow.  Talk to a friend who knows the scriptures well.  Ask them for advice on how to study the bible.  Do a New Testament study on worship.  Make sure that you are indeed worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth.  Do something though!  You must be prepared, as Jesus and the Bereans were, or you will succumb to the temptations of this world.

Scattered Puzzle Pieces

Have you ever tried to put together a puzzle without looking at the picture on the front?  It makes the task much more difficult if we are unable to see the “big picture” and use it as our guide to connect the pieces.  Sometimes our life is just like that.  When we are in deep distress we often are able to see only a piece of the puzzle; and then we are walking around aimlessly trying to figure out how to make all the pieces of our life fit together.  But if we are Christians, we have hope.  Because there is One who does see the big picture.  And if we allow Him to guide us, then we will not end up with a bunch of missing pieces.

               In 1 Samuel 29-30, David was in distress.  He had spent months living in the wilderness, running for his life.  Finally, he had moved to the land of the Philistines, and had successfully allied himself with Achish, one of the royal leaders of the Philistines, so that he could stay a safe distance away from King Saul, who was seeking to take his life.  When the Philistines went to war to fight against Israel, David was not actively fighting against his own country, but he was definitely in their (Israel’s) “enemy formation.”  David and his army were in the rear formation, acting as body guards on the side of the Philistines!  The other Philistine princes did not like this one bit.  They did not completely trust David as Achish did.  So Achish sent him back to Philistia.  At first, David was upset.  He said, “But what have I done?  And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king (I Samuel 29:8)?”

               At this point of distress, David was only holding a piece of the puzzle.  But there was one, His Heavenly Father, who was looking at the big picture.  Nevertheless, David did listen to Achish and returned to Ziklag, a city in Philistia that had been given to him by Achish.  When David got home, all of the sudden he was made aware of the “big picture!”  His own city had been burned and his wives as well as all the inhabitants of the city had been taken captive!  David knew that time was limited, but that because of his timely arrival, that there was still time left if he acted wisely.  So what did David do?  And how can we learn from David when we have moments of distress in our lives?

               Well, first David cried.  Yes.  He cried.  Crying is okay.  Even if you are David!  “Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep (1 Samuel 30:4).  But did David wallow in his tears and stay in that spirit of distress and defeat and self-pity?  No.  As a matter of fact, the very next thing he did was strengthen himself in God.  “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God (1 Samuel 30:6).  Next, David went to God and asked him for advice.  “So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I pursue this troop?  Shall I overtake them (I Samuel 30:8)?”  Lastly, David listened to the Lord’s answer and then heeded the Lord’s advice.  The Lord told David, “Pursue for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all (I Samuel 30:8).”

               During times of darkness and deep distress, we must not lose sight of the Lord.  It is He that holds the big picture to the puzzle pieces of our lives.  If we follow His direction, through prayer and study of His inspired word, the Holy Book, the bible, then we too can rise from the pits of distress like David did.  Notice that in 1 Samuel 30:17-19, David follows the Lord’s advice.  Because David asked the Lord for advice and followed it, he was able to receive victory, just as the Lord promised in chapter 30 verse 8.  “And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters or spoil or anything which they had taken from them.  David recovered all).”

               We can learn a lot from David in this story.  Remember, initially it did not quite work out as David had planned.  He wanted to be in the Philistine formation against Israel.  But God, the master puzzle maker, the one who saw the big picture, knew that David needed to get back quickly!  So sometimes we do not always get what we want or even what we think we need because we do not see the big picture.  Without the One who can see the big picture, we are just a bunch of scattered puzzle pieces without any direction or guidance.  So the next time you are feeling down, discouraged, distressed, upset, burdened, turn to the master puzzle maker, and allow Him to put the scattered pieces of your life back together!!!!!

More than just the leftovers

When you woke up today what was the first thought that came to your mind?  Did you look at everything that you have and take a moment to thank God for all the blessings in your life?  The bible tells us in James 1:17 that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…”  A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with a friend about finances.  I confided in her that I was struggling with how to “fit in” everything that I needed to fit in, including the money that I was supposed to be giving to the Lord on Sundays.  She encouraged me to take a second look at my budget and do more than just “fit in” what I was going to be giving to the Lord on Sundays.  Giving is an act of worship that I truly had not given much thought too.  See the thing is…

I am blessed.  I have a wonderful life.  I have a great job.  I have amazing family and friends.  I have a good comfortable home with nice things.  But what have I done lately to show Him just how thankful I am?  Have I thanked him?  Yes.  I pray a prayer of thanksgiving to him every day.  Do I worship him?  Yes. I go to worship every Sunday and I go to bible study every Wednesday night.  Do I read my bible?  Yes. I read and study my bible every single day.  Is that enough?  Well, according to the bible, No, that isn’t enough.  As a matter of fact, it appears that I have left out the most important part.  So if you, like me, are at a point in your life where you have done all of these things but have left out the most important aspect of thanksgiving to God then I urge you to read on!!!!  

According to 1 Corinthians 16:2, we are commanded by God, on the first day of every week, to “lay something aside, storing it up as he may prosper...”  Have you ever been cleaning out a closet and in the process you find something that is so precious and valuable?  What do you do?  You immediately “lay it aside” or put it in a special place so that you can be sure that you will have it for later.  The conscious act of laying something aside means that you have determined its value and importance.  It does not go into the “trash” pile or “leftover” pile.  As Christians, we must do the same thing when
we are giving to the Lord on the first day of every week.  How would you feel if you walked into
your favorite restaurant one evening to find that the only thing on the menu was the leftovers?  Yet many of us give God our “leftovers” at the end of the month so that we can say we “participated in the act of giving” as God commanded us to do.  Well, he commands us to do more.  2 Corinthians 9:6 says,” But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”  We are not to give out of necessity.  We are not to give because we have to.  We are to give cheerfully.  The Greek word cheerful in this passage is translated “hilarity” or “hilaros.”  It means that when you give it brings you great joy and satisfaction.  When you are a cheerful giver, you give without reluctance and with complete and total love.  This is the same kind of love that is talked about in 1 Corinthians 13 (Don Hatch). 

Some people live by the ten percent rule when they give.  I am not going to judge them for that.  God
knows the amount of debt they are in and how many bills they are required to pay each month.  Most
importantly, God knows their heart.  But I will say that if you can give more, then do so!  Ten percent is such a small amount of money in comparison to all that we were given.  What if God decided to
only give us ten percent tomorrow of the blessings that he gave us today?  Would that be a sufficient amount to live on?  We would be hurting.  We would be in need. Look at the Israelites in Numbers 7 and see how they gave.  Nahshon, the son of Amminadab gave “one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; one kid of the goats as a sin offering; and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year (Numbers 7:13-16).”  And all of that was just from one man.  There are also plenty of other examples of men in this chapter who gave like Nahshon.  The giving of the Israelites in this chapter is significant.  This was not just 10% giving for sure!!!!  This was not giving of “just the leftovers” either.  So when we give, we need to feel it.  It should be enough of a sacrifice that it hurts a little and that we have to do without.  It should never just be the leftovers (Marsha York). 

This is as much of a lesson for me as it is for you.  I know that after writing this article, my heart has been changed.  I realize and recognize how important all five acts of worship are.  Each act of 
worship should be well thought out, planned, and intentional.  So next Sunday, when you are 
worshiping God, don’t rush to get your checkbook during the Lord’s Supper and quickly write out a check for any amount that sounds good.  Let your act of giving be well thought out, planned, and intentional.  Search out your heart carefully throughout the week.  Decide what sacrifice you are willing to make and do it.  Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for us.  We should be willing to make a sacrifice for him.  

Christianity isn't comfortable

I don't recall anyone ever telling me that Christianity was comfortable.  However, when I was approached by a homeless person, last summer, on the SMU campus, they asked me to pray with them and I got scared and I ran.  It was probably one of the worst decisions that I have ever made in my life.  Looking back, I wish that I had taken the time to pray with them.  Sometimes I remember back to that day and ask God to be with them.  It is the only justice I can do now.  I can only ask for God to provide them with an additional opportunity of having someone pray for them. 

When I think about all of the human interactions that Jesus had with people, I am amazed at how He measured each situation, not based on the complexity, but based on love.  When John the Baptist was murdered, Jesus went away to grieve alone.  The multitudes followed him, and he had compassion on them, healing their diseases and providing nourishment for their body (Matthew 14). 

Paul, of all people, knew that Christianity was uncomfortable.  " ²⁴ From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷ in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness" (2 Corinthians 11)

So when I received a call the other day to travel to another church and meet a new Christian sister who needed help in getting acquainted at her local congregation, I turned it down.  You would have thought that I had learned my lesson by now!  Fortunately, I was able to recall the last mistake I made and so I made a quick decision to do the "uncomfortable thing" and meet her and become her friend and help her get to know others at the church.  Now, we are really good friends! 

I think that when our heart is in the right place, even when it may be uncomfortable for us, the Lord finds ways in which to show us his blessings!  What have YOU experienced in the area of "uncomfortable Christianity?"

Random Acts of Prayerfulness

I believe in the power of prayer.  As a matter of fact, I believe in the power of prayer so strongly that in 1999 I started what I called “random acts of prayerfulness” where I find random people throughout my day to pray for: people that I know, people that I do not know, people who I get a glimpse of as I am driving down the highway, people that I see as I am checking out in the grocery store, people in the schools, people on buses, planes, working on construction sites, people coming out of the funeral homes, banks, post offices, churches, high rise offices, people on the scene of an accident, people living their lives in this world who in general just need a random act of PRAYER! 

It all started when my friend Emily and I were sitting on the school bus heading to a football game and heard a siren go off.  Emily said, “someone got hurt we need to pray!” I said, “what do you mean?”  She said, “well, everytime I hear an ambulance siren I pray for whoever the person is  that is in trouble.”  I took those very words to heart on that day and from that idea combined with the idea of random acts of kindness came the idea of random acts of prayerfulness!  Try it sometime!  You will find that not only will you be blessing someone that you do not know but you will also feel blessed by being able to lift that person up!!!!!!  For example, I will tell you about a day not too long ago, where I was able to perform three random acts of prayerfulness in the span of a very short amount of time:

1.    I prayed for a man who was on the opposite end of a phone conversation today.  His boss was talking with him about his professional driving and reporting to him that two people had complained about his driving and had called the number.  I prayed for him to be careful and I also prayed for the boss to realize that anyone on the road at any given time can call that number line.  I prayed that when the two met that they would be able to work out a good plan.

2.    I prayed for a man in our apartment complex who walks with a cane.  It is hard to walk around our apartment complex and it seems like there is always an obstacle so I prayed for his safety as I saw him leaving the apartment to get into his car this afternoon.

3.    I prayed for a man and his wife as I saw him writing an incident report for his car.  It looked like he had been in a really bad accident. 

Now that you have a few examples try it.  It will seem awkward at first but don’t let that stop you.  God is willing to listen if you are willing to talk!!!!!!

Thanks, God!!!

Today I just want to thank you God for providing me with the wisdom and talent to reach and teach our middle school students.  I have a love and passion for these students that knows no bounds.  I am so very thankful for my own life experiences that have helped me to better understand my students, where they are coming from, and to be able to meet them where they are at.  I want to say a special prayer for one of the most difficult students in my class.  He needs YOUR grace Lord and I need more patience when having conversations with him.  I need reminders that he is your child and that you love him dearly.  Help me to be the best teacher that I can be and open my heart to their needs so that I can be there for them when they need someone to listen.   Thank-You God for giving me the gift of encouragement.  I love to see the kids eyes light up when I enter the room.  I love it when a middle school student gives me a hug.  It is rare but it happens!  I especially enjoy when the kids take time out of their day to write “notes” to each other and instead they decide to write notes to their own teacher-me!  Thanks Lord for showing me that I can make a difference!!!!