People Problems?

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. -1 John 4:19-21

Our love for God should translate into a love for people. The solution for loving difficult people is love Christ more deeply. Relying on his strength and not our own. We all know people who can push our buttons, annoy us, frustrate us, and even cause discontentment to rise up in our hearts. It's at those times that we turn to Christ and pray that our minds are renewed and that we begin to see the good qualities in them versus our negative viewpoint. Happy Tuesday! I'm back from my mini hiatus, renewed and eager to share what God's placed on my heart!

Matthew 1-3

I’m so pumped about this Matthew Study! I had every intention of posting on February 1 and 2 but life happened haha I’ll share that at the end of this post :)

Matthew 1: The Birth of Jesus

Matthew 1:18-25 which talks about the Immaculate Conception and the birth of Jesus. When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, an angel spoke to him in a dream (verse 20-23). 

Joseph had great intentions by trying to take care of things quietly, but it wasn’t God’s plan for him. Has God ever given you a task or something to do and you felt as though you couldn’t complete it?

I absolutely love this part, “Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream…” Matthew 1:24 (MSG)

When God speaks to you, do you listen? And when you hear him, do you gripe, complain, and take your sweet time?

Matthew 2: Herod’s plot

“Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth announcement start had appeared…” Matthew 2:7-8

Herod, is a perfect example of James 1:26 (If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless…). He put on a front, quoted scriptures, sang all the right songs in praise and worship, prayed super long prayers… or whatever else to convince the scholars that he was a believer. As Christians, The Lord gives us a discerning spirit. Spend time with Him, so you can be aware of the “Herods” of the world.

Matthew 2:16-17 says that Herod was angry when the scholars did not report back to tell him the location of baby Jesus. He then commanded that all the baby boys should be slaughtered so that nobody would be able to follow a messiah.

We shouldn't share our dreams and visions with everybody. Some people (like Herod) will hear about your calling and become jealous. They’ll lead you to believe that they are supporting you, but all the while, they are plotting against you. Who are you sharing your dreams and aspirations with? Are your relationships God –lead? Or are you hanging on to relationships that God told you to cut off, because they drain you, pull you AWAY from Christ, and steal your joy?

Matthew 3: Jesus gets baptized  

^“But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he denounced them. ‘You sons of snakes!’ he warned. ‘Who said that you could escape the coming wrath of God? Before being baptized, prove that you have turned from sin by doing worthy deeds. Don’t try to get by as you are, thinking, ‘We are safe for we are Jews—descendants of Abraham.’ That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into Jews!’” Matthew 3:7-10 (The Living Bible)

John the Baptist had become widely known, much like the celebrities of today. Everyone wanted a piece of John, so baptism was the cool thing to do. But I love how John called out the hypocrisy. Similarly, we should not merely accept that everyone who professes Christianity does in fact have a growing relationship in Christ. Our walk with Christ is not determined by how many things we do well at church, but it’s about our heart. If the heart is right with God, we should be bearing the fruits of the spirit. It’s not determined by how often we attend church, or that our grandparents thrice removed pray for us daily. It’s a PERSONAL decision to take up our cross and follow Him.

“Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized there by John. John didn’t want to do it. ‘This isn’t proper,’ he said. ‘I am the one who needs to be baptized by you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Please do it, for I must do all that is right.’ So then John baptized him.” Matthew 3:15

Fun fact: Jesus was baptized for all that follow him! Baptism is not necessary to be saved, but it is a outward act for an inward change. Really, Jesus made being a Christian so much easier. We don’t have to slaughter things, wait for prophets to speak words from God, or any of that. Thank you, Jesus :)

I celebrated my birthday this weekend! So much fun. It's crazy to think that a few months ago, I knew a total of ZERO people. 

*I also served as a chaperone at my church lock in, but I don't have those pictures yet :(

I also met my absolute favorite person in the world, Heather Lindsey. She's so sweet! Ladies, visit her website: www.heatherlindsey.com. Guys, visit her husband's website: www.corneliuslindsey.com 

Thousands of 'Friends'

"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18 

In a time of social media, we are quick to call somebody a "friend." But of those thousands of friends and followers, how many would we inconvenience ourselves for? That could be taking them to the airport or listening to them vent after a long day at work. We show how much we care for people not only by what we say, but what we do. The Bible says that we are to recognize a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:16-17). What is your fruit saying about you? Are your actions matching your declarations? 

(Original post: November 26)