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Inside Out


Bored

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I found this interesting
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Junior high school can be one long intensive seminar on drama in relationships. I am convinced that any psychological malfunction in my life today is directly traceable to those two years of school. Okay, maybe its not quite that dramatic, but junior high did teach me a little about fickle friendships.


I was minding my own business when one of Nancys friends came up to me and announced, Hey, did you know that Nancy likes you? To be honest, I had never given Nancy a second thought until that moment, but suddenly I was intrigued. My male ego was suddenly stirred and I liked the idea of being liked! So I passed my message back through the string of friends that had conveyed the message to me. That is, of course, how junior high romance works. I told my friend, who told another friend, who told Nancys friend, who then passed the message back to her.


Joe says that he likes you too!


But by the time my message got back to Nancy, she no longer liked me! For the first time I was singed by the fickle flames of romance.

A lot of our friendships are like that, arent they? We look back across the landscape of life and see different friends popping up here and thereour buddies from junior high, the girl we took to the prom in high school, the college roommates, the co-worker from the cubicle next to us. We realize quickly that many of those friendships, often consumingly important at the time, fade into dim memories leaving us thinking, I wonder what happened to


Even more disconcerting is realizing how fickle we are in friendships. In honest moments, we could list the people we no longer get in touch with, or the phone calls we dont return. In life, solid, faithful-to-the-core friendships are few and far between.


I wonder if you and I bring that same dynamic into our relationship with Jesus? When we first meet Jesus, He is everything to us! But as time wears on, we tend to drift away. When was the last time He heard from you? When was the last time you sat down to hear His voice and fellowship with Him?  As the old saying goes: If God seems far away, guess who moved! You may have gone on to other interests, but thankfully He hasnt lost interest in you. He, more than anyone else, remains there waiting for you as your faithful friend!


The psalmist often sings of Gods undying love for us. And I need to tell you that its not the kind of love that rides on emotions or favors. It is an expression of Gods enduring, rock-solid commitment to you as His beloved, and it is often linked, as it is here in Psalm 57:10, with His unfailing faithfulness. In fact, the psalmist literally cannot get his mind around the extensiveness of Gods love and faithfulness, conceding finally that Gods love reaches to the heavens and His faithfulness reaches to the skies. In other words, it is without limit and without end.


So when you receive word that God loves you, please know that it is not a junior high school fickle, fleeting kind of love. It is a life-changing, eternally satisfying offer of a fulfilling friendship with your Creator. Today He stands knocking at your door wanting to come in and spend some quality time with you (Revelation 3:20). Go ahead, open the door of your heartits your faithful friend! 



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I am and will always be ... Just Me

https://www.goherbalife.com/jhead1/en-US/Page/1
Moldy


NINJA MOM

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Thanks, I.O.

What a nice reminder!

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"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." -  Ralph Waldo Emerson
Inside Out


Bored

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This is Soooo True .....

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

One problem with Bible-polished rule keepers is that from a distance we all tend to look pretty good. Especially compared to those who dont keep Gods rules. And believing that we are looking good keeps us thinking pretty well about ourselves, which destroys any thought about how stunningly wonderful Gods grace is to us.

When I teach on Sundays at the church where I serve as a teaching pastor, my face is broadcast on three big screens at the front of the churchsort of an evangelical jumbo-tron! I have to admit, Im not crazy about people being able to see my face from that close range, magnified hundreds of times! No matter how hard I have worked to look my best, my increasingly flawed facewrinkles, spots, and blemishesis projected larger than life for all to see. And, as unsettling as it is, I have to say to myself, Thats you, babylike it or not!

Seeing ourselves for who we really are and admitting it is the first step in understanding the richness of Gods grace. Grace becomes an amazing gift when we finally see ourselves the way God sees usup close and personal, magnified hundreds of time, warts and flaws front and center. The apostle Paul wrote, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

No use kidding ourselves. God is well aware of everything in your life and mineactions, attitudes, thoughts, and responses. Games up! Im a sinner, and so are you. We dont need a Sunday jumbo-tron to discover that. What is so surprising is that it is our terribly broken condition that prompts Gods grace and love to flow to us. Its our blemishes, our sin, and our stupid self-centeredness that makes us desperately in need of Gods grace. And thankfully He is willing to give it abundantly!

When I first got married, I tried so hard to make Martie believe I was a great husband. I didnt want her to know how selfish I could be, and I tried to veil my insecurities so shed think I was strong and confident. Inevitably, though, the real me showed up. My selfish agenda was out there in plain view for her and everyone else to see. Guess what? She loves me still. Through the years her love has not been dependent on me being husband of the year or father of the decade. I thank God for that. Her love for me is like Gods love for all of us. It was demonstrated in spite of our failures, not withheld because of them. Thats the grace that God chooses to love us with. And thats the grace that drives me to want to love Him in return.

Feeling broken today? or unlovely, out of place, behind the times, too little too late? Are you stuck in a stubborn pattern of sin you cant break? Gods got you on His screen, nothing is hidden from His view, and still in this moment you are the object of His love and grace.

If you find it hard to develop a heart of love for God, it may be that you have spent too much time thinking about how cool you are. We all need a huge reality check! Seeing yourself as you really are and knowing that He loves you still is a great way to stimulate your heart to express your love and gratitude to Him in return.

YOUR JOURNEY

What makes it hard for you to see yourself as the sinner you really areComparison, rationalization, excuses, pride?
Write down the sins that constantly pop up in your life. Ask yourself, Where would I be today if it werent for Gods grace in my life?
Who needs the touch of Gods grace from you in spite of their sin?
Does the realization of the unbelievable grace of God in your life make you feel more free to keep sinning or motivate you to clean up your act? Why?
What difference would it make if you lived as a debtor to His grace rather than in a self-deceived sense of how good you are?
Take a few moments today to thank God for the love He showed you in Jesus.




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I am and will always be ... Just Me

https://www.goherbalife.com/jhead1/en-US/Page/1
Moldy


NINJA MOM

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Thanks I.O.
 
Great addition to Moldy's clubhouse

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"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." -  Ralph Waldo Emerson
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