imitations.

"Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God' whoever does evil has not seen God." ~ 3 John, verse 11

Some translations use the word "follow" instead of "imitate". I like the word "imitate" better. I gives us a clearer picture of what John is talking about here.

We are all imitators of something.

We are who we are because God created us to be exactly who we are, but also because we are influenced by the culture we are raised up in.

In this case, we imitate what we have been taught by our parents.

For example, when you hang out with someone a lot, you begin to use a lot of the same language as they do. This is the "imitation" that I'm talking about here.

So the hypothesis is this: if we are going to end up imitating something or someone, then who are we gonna choose to imitate?

God or the evil one? you have a choice.

You know, your friends will begin to imitate you, if you let them.

So, choose.

I hope it's not a hard choice. For me it is as simple as 1 Corinthians 1:11:

"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."

holy.

"even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy & blameless before him." [Ephesians 1:4]

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." [Ephesians 4:1]

"..put on your new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness & holiness." [Ephesians 4:24]

"whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." [1 John 2:6]

"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, & he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, & who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." [1 John 3:9-10]

"Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are evil devices, & whose right hands are full of bribes." [Psalm 26:9-10]

This is the will of God, that you should be holy: you must abstain from fornication; each one of you must learn to gain mastery over your body, to honor it as holy, not giving way to lust like the pagans who are ignorant of God; & no man must do his brother wrong in this matter, or invade his rights, because, as we told you before with all emphasis, the Lord punishes all such offenses. for God called us to HOLINESS, not to impurity. anyone therefore who openly disregards these rules is disobeying, not man, but God who bestows upon you his Holy Spirit. - Elisabeth Elliot, Passion & Purity.

children.

I know that not everyone in this world shares my opinions or my views on life, God, politics, football [go Steelers!], theology, or ministry, just to name a few. I don't expect everyone I meet to respond to situations in the same manner as I would & understand my reasoning behind them either. We live in a fallen world, a good friend recently reminded me. & boy, do we!

I meet with a small group of girls once a week at my church as part of my job, & I absolutely love it. These girls not only challenge me in my faith, they not only seek advice from me & ask me questions, but they also teach me as well.

My heart has been breaking for these girls recently. Although I don't know what it is like for them to continually seek after the Lord & stand up for Him in a public high school, I do know what it's like to stand up for Him in a fallen world.

A world where nobody around you understands His grace & love.. the free gift that He offers to eternity.. the hope & peace that we can find in Him.. & most importantly, the relationship that we have with Him- where He not only listens, but speaks in return.

God cares for us so much. & not just for "us" as Christians, but for us as His creation. The world. All of us. Christian & athiest, muslim & buddhist. He cares for all of us.

Even the orphan children in India of whose faces I remember daily, God loves. These pictures bring back those feelings of joy & compassion as I had the opportunity to minister to them in India last year. Their smiling faces amidst their physical poverty help with inspiring me to find joy amidst our spiritual poverty here in America.

But as a follower of God, as a believer in Jesus Christ, we can be encouraged by this statement:

Little children, you are from God & have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. [1 John 4:4]

We may not be understood because of the way we live our life, or worship God, or because of our political values. We may be misapprehended because of what football team we are faithful to, what our theological views are, or because of how we do ministry. Whatever the case, we can be encouraged to know that our opponents have been overcome by God.

We live in a fallen world, but Christ has overcome it when he overcame the grave.

If Christ lives in us, then we know that this same power lives in us.

Therefore with this power, we can overcome the world!

the house.

Psalm 23. The most well-known Psalm in the Bible, in my opinion. Most often used at funerals & grave sites. We know it, see it often, have it memorized. I have to admit that I even let these words become commonplace in my life at times. Reading it again today encouraged me, especially the last verse:

Surely goodness & mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, & I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I want goodness & mercy to be with me all the days of my life! How was David [the author of this Psalm] so sure? How do I assure myself that this is true for me too? Through researching this question, I discovered that my answer can be found by simply inverting this verse.

If I dwell in the house of the Lord forever, goodness & mercy will follow me.

Goodness & mercy will follow me as I dwell with God.

Jesus tells us in John 14:2-3 that he prepares a place for us in his Father's house because it has many rooms.

2 Corinthians 5:1 tells us that God has made a house for us with his own hands.

1 Timothy 3:15 refers to the house as "the household of God, which is the church of the living God"

The house of the Lord can be found both eternally, as well as earthly.

God has prepared a place for us in eternity with Him upon our salvation. Meanwhile, his kingdom is here with his people on earth. We, the church, believers, are the household of God. As we dwell with each other & dwell in His Word & deed, we will find His goodness & mercy.

steps.

Sometimes in the christian life I can get caught up wondering if I'm on the right path; if the Lord is pleased with me; or what in the world God is doing through a certain circumstance. I often forget that God has it all under control. If I knew what was going on in God's world I probably wouldn't even begin to comprehend it all anyway.

A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way? - Psalm 20:24

I shouldn't mull over trying to understand what God is doing in my life. If I am following God, then I will not usually understand the path He is taking me on. This is part of trusting God & having confidence in Him.

new.

hey guys, just an update: so, i know i haven't written in a few months now! so much has been going on & my mind has been so jumbled that i haven't been able to focus on one thing long enough to even know where to begin! i've given my blog a new look; a new theme; a new title; for a new beginning. i'm going to focus on the little things that God is doing in my life, as opposed to trying to write lengthy insightful entries every time. i'm going to strive to write daily, & hope that you will follow me as i embark on this journey.. again. please comment on my posts.. i want to be encouraged in my writing & hear from my friends & family as much as possible. it makes writing worthwhile when i know it is being read. i also love feedback; it helps me grow, both as a writer & also as a person. so here goes nothing.. hope you enjoy!