What if Mary had never had a baby boy named Jesus?
What if Joseph had walked away, because raising Jesus might have been too hard?
What if Jesus just wanted to be like all the other boys in His neighborhood?
What if Jesus had fought back when they arrested Him?
What if He had commanded the angels to take Him off of the cross?
What if He had never died?
Would we be good enough to make it to Heaven on our own? Would God send another way for us? How would our lives be if we knew we might not have a chance at Heaven?
This weekend I am celebrating the facts: Jesus was born, He lived a life of excellence and perfection, He chose to be arrested and allowed Himself to die… all so that I (and anyone else who accepts his simple gift) would be able to be a part of His amazing family.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body,” (I Cor 6:19-20).
Have you looked outside lately?
It is getting warmer, the days are getting longer and it is time to go outside and play!
Why would playing be the topic of a devotional? Well, the bible is very clear that our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are very important to God, He uses them to do His work.
It is important that we keep our bodies healthy and in good shape. This shows God our appreciation for what He gave us, and also keeps us ready to do His work.
A great way to keep our bodies healthy is to go outside and play. Getting fresh air and running around may not seem like exercise, but it keeps us fit!
Dodge ball, hide and seek, tag or even just taking a walk around the neighborhood are all great ways to keep out temples in tip top shape!
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the Earth: Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”
We are called to praise God. It doesn’t have to be a good sound. It doesn’t have to be in church. It just has to be joyful and loud!
What better time than now to practice?!?!?
Jeremiah 1:5
“I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born.”
Ever wonder why you are here…or there…or anywhere? Why were you born? What is your job in life? Why do you act the way that you act, do the things that you do?
Simple- God has a purpose for you. Before your mom even knew that you existed, God had chosen you for a very special job! He knew the good things you would do and the mistakes that you would make.
Sometimes it takes us a little bit of time to figure out what our special job is while we are here… but what an adventure!
Hebrews 12:1 “We have many people around us whose lives tell us what faith means.”
Have you ever seen a mime? The people who paint their face white, wear the funny french hats and the black and white striped shirts? The people who act out everything and never say a word?
They are kind of weird to watch huh? But that is what God is calling us to do… in a way.
Our lives should be such examples to what we believe that people will know almost everything they need to know about our God just by watching our actions. We should be miming our faith to those around us. Most people are so used to noise and talking that they tune out most of what they hear. Our actions are one of the most powerful ways to get the message across… like the mimes. When you see them on television or in real life, you can’t help but to stop and watch and try to figure out what they are saying or doing.
Remember to let our actions be such a reflection of our beliefs and faith that people can’t help but to stop and watch!
Back in bible times, people did some funny things. Such as:
1. Wearing outfits that looked like robes.
2. Drinking out of animal skin containers.
3. Putting lamb blood on their doors.
Wait, putting lamb blood on their doors?!?! That seems like an awfully strange thing to do…
Before Jesus was born, God had led the Israelites out of Egypt. He finally proved to Pharaoh that He was God by killing all the first born boys in the Egyptian families. The only way to keep the Israelite families safe from this Angel of Death was to have them take a perfect lamb, kill it and put it’s blood on their door. This would signal to the Angel that this was a home of an Israelite family.
Believing in Jesus is a lot like that. When we believe and accept him into our hearts, it is almost like he marks our heart. He makes sure that God knows that we are part of His family. Bad stuff may still happen, but we can rest assured that God knows that we belong to Him.
