Rejoice and Be Glad

Psalm 118:24

This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

We have a choice every day in how we see our day. Regardless of what the weather is like outside or what you have to do on your calendar, choose to rejoice and be glad. Start your day giving the Lord praise, for He has made this day for us. What we choose to do with it and our attitude as we go throughout the day is up to us.

I choose to start this day rejoicing and being glad that the Lord has made it. It is cold and dreary here in the Houston area with temperatures not getting out of the 40s. I have several meetings to attend and lots of things on my “to do” list. None of that in and of itself is a reason to rejoice, but rejoicing is a choice.

I choose to praise the Lord for this day and to keep my eyes open to what He might have for me today. You never know when you will see God show up in your day or when He will rearrange your day to help you meet your divine appointment. Choose to rejoice in the Lord today and the day He has prepared for you. Keep you eyes and ears open for how He might use you today to bless someone else. Who knows, your attitude my just influence someone around you and they might just see the light of Christ in you through you attitude!

• Photo by stay2gether from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
• Scripture from http://www.biblegateway.com

Leaving your Mark

“Every day in every way we are leaving our mark.” 
 by Rachel Bermingham

I love this quote because it is so true; every day in everything we do, we are leaving our mark. The two questions to ask ourselves today is what kind of mark are we leaving and will it be lasting?

As children of God, the mark we should be leaving is Christ and it should have a lasting impact. So how do we do this?

John 13:34-35

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus said the world would know we are His followers if we love others. Love is one of the most lasting marks we can leave. When we look back on our lives, the people who have loved us are the first ones to come to mind; that is a lasting imprint. 

Are you showing His love to others? We show His love in little ways and big ways. The love of Christ is kind, compassionate, patient, humble, forgiving and gentle. Do those words describe the way you treat those around you? 

So much of our life is not under our control. However, how we treat others is completely under our control. We have complete control over our attitudes, words and actions. We choose whether or not we are going to have a positive or negative attitude. We choose whether or not we are going to use words that build up rather than tear down. We choose to act in ways that are helpful to others or not.

As you go throughout your day today, really pay attention to your attitude, words and actions. What kind of mark are you leaving on those around you? Is it a temporary mark or a lasting one?

• Scripture from http://www.biblegateway.com
• Photo by Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

How Do you Serve?

Everything we do should be done as if we were doing it for the Lord. Would that change the way you serve?

Ephesians 6:5-9

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

⁹ And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Regardless of who we are serving or what we are doing, we should serve wholeheartedly. There are authority structures in place where we have to submit and serve others. Paul is not condoning the system of slavery in this passage, but rather speaking to the need for believers to submit to authority structures. We all have to submit to someone, whether it be a parent, a spouse, a boss, etc. and when we do we are to serve with the right attitude.

It is hard for us to serve with a positive attitude when we don’t like the person we are serving or if we don’t like what we being asked to do. However, how we serve makes a difference to the Lord. As believers we are called to a high standard of attitude and action. We are to do everything as if we were doing it for the Lord. We don’t have to do it in our own strength, we can do it through the empowerment and guidance of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Think back over your week, what did your service look like? Did you serve with the right attitude? Were your actions and efforts in line with someone who is serving wholeheartedly? Would you have made adjustments to your attitude, words, actions or effort if, instead of serving people, you realized you were serving Christ?

• Scripture from http://www.biblegateway.com

Prisoner for Christ

Today we are going to start looking at Ephesians 3. We will see how even as a prisoner, Paul had hope and wanted to continue to share the gospel with others.

Ephesians 3:1

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

Paul describes himself as a prisoner, which he was. He was under house arrest in Rome. However, he did not say he was a prisoner of the Roman soldiers, but a prisoner of Christ. Paul so closely associated himself with Christ he considered his imprisonment to be associated with the work he was doing for Christ. Paul recognized the sovereignty of Christ and was willing to suffer on His behalf.

“When we are undergoing hardship, unpopularity, material loss for the sake of Christian principles we may either regard ourselves as the victims of men or the champions of Christ. Paul is our example; he regarded himself, not as the prisoner of Nero, but as the prisoner of Christ.”1 We always have a choice on how we view our circumstances and our perspective can completely change our attitude.

When was the last time you experienced a hardship, struggle, unpopularity or loss because of your faith? When was the last time you were challenged to choose between the way of the world and the way of Christ? When we suffer for our faith, we need to keep in mind who we are suffering for and the suffering and sacrifice Christ made on our behalf. Are you willing to suffer for Christ?

• Scripture reference from http://www.biblegateway.com
• Quote from “The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians”, The Daily Study Bible Series, William Barclay
• photo by artur84 @ http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Imitating the Attitude of Christ

Philippians 2:5

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

How many times have you heard that Scripture or heard that as Christians, we should be Christlike? Probably a lot, but did the lesson end there? We talk about being Christlike or having the same attitude as Christ, but we don’t always read the Scriptures that come before and after that verse that describe what that attitude is like.

Since we are called to have the attitude of Christ, let’s examine what that attitude is like.

Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Selfish, vain, conceit – do any of those words describe your attitude at times? They are the opposite of the attitude we are supposed to have. Before telling us to have the attitude of Christ, Paul tells us we are to consider others better than ourselves. Have you ever looked at someone else and thought you were better off than they were, had a better spouse, better job or more well behaved children? I am sure we all have at some point. Those thoughts are far from what Paul is telling us to have.

What about putting others interests above your own? When you are on a committee or working in a group do you promote someone else’s ideas or your own? When you are arguing with someone do you let their opinion be the one that counts or do you fight to have your opinion win?

Philippians 2:6-8

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
    taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    and became obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

I think sometimes we forget that Jesus was and is the very nature of God. He was part of creating everything, full of power and majesty; the King of Kings and Lord of lords. Yet, He lowered Himself to be born a man. He suffered a horrific death on the cross for us, so we could be saved. Can you imagine doing anything that humble?

Honestly, I don’t think we can completely comprehend doing something like that because we are not Jesus. What we can comprehend is that He was the perfect example of humility. That is the attitude we are to imitate. We are to be humble. We are to serve others rather than being served, we are to be last rather than first, we are to put others’ needs above our own, and we are to willingly submit to His will and desires for our lives.

Challenge yourself to pay close attention to your attitude throughout the day and compare it to that of Christ. How closely are you imitating your Lord and Savior?