JJ
Daniel, Washington
Hello,
and God bless you and your family, as you follow after Jesus, and serve His
kids!
I
would just like to share a little ‘food
for thought’ with you, just a little bite of bread to chew on. :o)
When
God created man, He said … “Let us
create man in our image” - And He did!
To
Adam and Eve, God said: “Reproduce
yourself!”
¨ IMAGE
means: “To copy; To follow as a pattern.
¨ IMITABLE
means: “worthy of being copied.
¨
IMITATION:“A
servile reproduction of the original; a copy; mimicry.
¨
“REPRODUCE”
means: “To make over again; To produce likeness, or copy of; to imitate.
Do
you look at your children, and see a reflection of yourself there?
Do
you look in the mirror and see a reflection of your parents?
Do
people look at your children and say …. “she’s
her mother’s daughter!” or…… “He’s the image of his dad!” .. “She’s got her mother’s smile” – “…her dad’s sense of
humor”? I am not a parent,
so I can only imagine that hearing such statements would make a parent feel
very proud. I also think that it would bring a great responsibility along with
it; Realizing that you are raising a child… into the image of YOU!
It
should be that way, you know… that’s the way God planned it. However, He also planned that the parents
be imitators of Him.
Ephesians 5:1 “be followers of God” one
translation says “be
imitators of God.”
Have
you ever had to stand in a long line at a grocery store, waiting to pay for
your three little items? Aint that the pits!?! hehehe! Tell me… how did you do? Did you pass that
little irritating test? Did your actions, your body language, and
your countenance reflect a godly attitude?
Have
you ever been in a hurry to get somewhere… and get stuck behind a lil’ grandpa
out to enjoy the sites? ha! And... how did you do with that test?
If we have trouble with those silly
little irritating “gnats” … how will we EVER deal with the “camel”?? (Just a thought! - Matt 23:24)
We
are the “Children of God” – God is our “Father” – right? Right! So… shouldn’t we reflect Him, just as our
children reflect us? Well, of course! Yes, that’s the plan! :o)
Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus.
Galatians
4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir
of God through Christ.
Ephesians
4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you
all.
Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together
for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Ø So, how ya doin’??
Ø
Then you react to standing in that line, or
the lil’ grandpa in front of you on a busy morning… does your attitude reflect
the love, the kindness, and patience of God?
Ø
When you deal with your growing teenager, is
God seen there?
Ø
When you have a disagreement with your husband
or wife… is God heard, and seen there?
There
is a commercial on TV…. That depicts a city called “Perfect”. In that city, everything goes wonderfully at all
times… the kids always mind and never get dirty; the car never stalls; the
dishwasher never breaks; the sun always shines; they are never in a hurry, or
late for anything; every one there is dressed beautifully, and they wear
shining smiles at all times… such a wonderful place to live!
Just
imagine with me for a moment, that you lived in “Perfect” – how would your day
go? Would it be filled with happy
faces and perfect children? Would it be a calm and joy-filled
day, with nothing to irritate you? Think about it…. What kind of day would you
order, if you could?
We
might all think that we would enjoy at least a moment in “Perfect” - but tell me…. Really, wouldn’t it be a bore
if it was a constant?!! And,
how would we learn, or grow?
How
do we know when we need to make a change, an adjustment in our attitude or
character, unless we first see the need? When
we are born into the family of God, it is our Spirit that is “brand new” – the
soul and body we have to work at.
Joyce
Meyer uses a great visual when she teaches her series “Bruised but not bitter” … she
brings with her to the pulpit, a big hunk of cookie dough, and a cookie
cutter. The dough represents you and
me… the cutter represents Jesus. Joyce
takes that ball of dough and begins to squash it…. Pound it, and work with it
until it is flat enough to accept the cookie cutter.
Then she PRESSES the cutter (being Jesus) into the dough (us, the
clay)…. Finding that there is WAAAAAAAY too much dough there to fit that
cookie cutter… so she begins to peal away the extra dough…. Until that hunk of
dough is transformed into the image of that cutter.
What
a GREAT picture of us… being transformed into the image of Christ. Amen? We are to be transformed into His image….
Correct? The Word “Christian” means “Christ-like” or “little Christ.”
“Christ” is Not God’s last name… it
simply means “the anointed one” or “the anointing.”
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our
father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy
hand.
Romans 9:21 Hath not the potter power
over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another
unto dishonour?
Isaiah 29:16 Surely your turning of
things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work
say of him that made it, He made me not?
Or, shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no
understanding?
Gal:3:27: For as many of you as have been baptized
into Christ have put on Christ.
“Be ye transformed, by the renewing of your mind.” Rom 12:2
note:
Joyce Meyer is a dynamic teacher who keeps you laughing as she peels the skin
off; She’s one of my favorites. You can watch her, or order the series “Bruised but not Bitter”, and many
others on audiocassette, from her site. www.joycemeyer.org
Ø
Do you look at your children, and see a
reflection of yourself there?
Ø
Do you look in the mirror and see a reflection
of your parents?
Ø
Does God look at you… and see Himself?
The
Word of God is our Mirror – we can hold that
up and look at our life…. look to see just how much, and how often we reflect
our Father.
There
is a beautiful song that is my prayer. The song is called “Father’s Eyes.” In this life, and when this life is over;
when I stand before my Father – oh, how I would love to hear Him say… “You have Your Father’s eyes.”
~ My Father’s Eyes ~
I
may not be every mothers dream for her little girl,
my face may not grace the minds of everyone in the world
but that's all right as long as I might have one wish I pray…
when people look inside my eyes I want to hear them say,
She's
got her fathers eyes her fathers eyes, her Father’s eyes……
Eyes
filled with compassion.. seeing every pain…..
eyes that
find the good in things when good can not be seen.
eyes
that find the source of help when help is not around…
She’s
got her Father’s eyes… Her Father’s Eyes…..
Let
me leave you today, with the same words that Paul spoke to the church:
I pray that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Colossians 1:10
God
bless you and yours, as you are transformed into the image of Your Heavenly
Father.
Shalom!
