Are You Believing Your Own PR?

“Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.”

Galatians 6:4-5 (MSG)

 

"You are amazing!"

"You are the best student in the 10th grade!"

"You are the prettiest girl on the planet!"

"You are so stupid!"

"Why can't you be more like him?"

 

Have you ever heard any of these statements directed toward you?

Phrases that build you up...or bring you down?

 

In the world - even in the Christian world - we tend to idealize individuals - raise them up so high we almost cannot see them anymore. And on the flip side, we like to tear people down to the point that they never seem like they will be able to recover.

 

Why?

PR, baby.

 

Whether someone is described as too good or too awful has to do with the "spin" or the public relations given to him or her. Often the words people use to describe us - good or bad - are simply that...words.

 

Words are one of the most powerful weapons in the world.

They can be wielded for good and for evil.

But only you can choose to believe what the words say.

 

In Paul's letter to the Galatians he was reminding the new believers - and us - to be humble; to recognize that we are all parts of the Body of Christ - no one greater than the other - and no one worse than the other. We each must find our own purpose in God's plan and follow that plan to fruition - not allowing ourselves to be distracted by the lure of the world.

 

Each of us has an important role to play.

 

You are important!

 

Maybe today you are struggling with who you are supposed to be.

Maybe you are questioning what your mission in life is.

Maybe you are feeling a little like a fraud because people keep telling you that you are wonderful.

Maybe you feel a little lost starting a new school year.

Maybe you can't understand why God loves you as much as He does.

Or maybe you are struggling with something you can only share with God.

 

However you are feeling at this moment - know - above all else - you are LOVED.

 

You are loved because you are you.

 

For no other reason.

 

You are loved...just as you are.

 

God's love isn't conditional upon whether you are pretty, can dunk a basketball, make straight A's or are the most popular kid in school.

 

His love has no limits and no conditions.

 

His love just is.

 

The world will always try and label you with its own special brand of PR.

Your actions and reactions will be spun and re-spun until you almost forget who you really are.

But always know Whose you are.

 

You are a chosen child of the One True King.

You are beloved.

 

And that's no PR.

That's just truth.

 

Scripture

Galatians 6

 

Quote

 “If you have enough people sitting around telling you you're wonderful, then you start believing you're fabulous, then someone tells you, you stink and you believe that too!”

 Angelina Jolie

 

GUMY Challenge

 

Answers #9 & 10 -

MLK: Wants his children to be remembered for their Character

MT: "As long as you have done your best"

 

CLUE #11

 Here is a little letter to you...from a pretty GREAT ONE...

Question:

Who is this Love Letter From?

 

XOXO Courtney

John 2:13-22 ~ Loving the person / Hating the sin

So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

John 2:15-17

People tend to characterize Jesus as super tolerant, but in reality Jesus was love wrapped in a justice package. Jesus loves freely. He loved everyone he met and still today sends his love through the Holy Spirit in the world.

But Jesus was and is just.

Where there is wrong he demands that it be righted. When people are not living according to God and His will demands that they right their ways. Just because the world says it is "okay" doesn't mean that God thinks it is okay. He does not tolerate sinful behavior or wrong doing - regardless of what the world thinks.

Loving someone does not mean accepting their wrong behavior.

When Jesus entered the Temple, he was disgusted by what he saw. People were making a mockery of the holy place set aside purely for the worship of God. He showed righteous anger. This is anger we feel towards injustice in the world. This is the anger we feel towards habitual sinful behavior.

It may be hard to grasp, but Jesus driving the "money-changers" out of the Temple with a whip was Jesus showing love to them. If he had gone up to those who had been making their livings by profiting off of the needs of others and simply said, "Dude, this isn't right. You need to take this some place else." They would have laughed in his face. Even with his great show of force many still didn't want to listen to him:

The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

John 2:18

Sometimes to truly show love we must rise up with great force against injustice and tyranny. Love comes in many different forms but at its core is acceptance of the other person - not necessarily acceptance of their actions.

Jesus did not condemn the people, rather he condemned their actions. When we show love, this is what we are called to do: to love all regardless of the sin - but we are not called to accept the sin simply because we love.

This can be a hard line to walk, but the first place to look is yourself and how Jesus loves you.

Jesus showers you with love - but he hates the sin you commit in your life. He hates it when you are disrespectful or ungrateful. He hates it when you gossip or treat another poorly. He hates when you lie - even just a little white one. He hates it when you hate. But despite his hatred for your sin, and for my sin, Jesus loves us - all of us, even the money changers - UNCONDITIONALLY.

By driving out the money changers with a whip - he was doing justice. And he was also showing them love by bringing to light the sinful nature of their actions which were socially acceptable. Sometimes we all need the sin in our lives revealed to us so that we can cleanse ourselves of what seems to be "okay" in the eyes of the world.

Because, even if the world thinks what we are doing is okay - the Lord may seeing things differently.

Scripture

John 2:13-22

Quote of the Day

"No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life."

Albert Einstein

Question of the Day

Where has God shown you sin in your life which seems okay in the eyes of the world?

I am My Beloved's and He is Mine

Beloved.

It is an old fashioned word of endearment. To be one's beloved is to be cherished beyond measure, to be loved unconditionally, and to be sought after with persistence. To be beloved is to receive unconditional love from another; you don't earn the title of beloved it is given freely, with no strings attached.

When you are beloved you are pure beauty in the eyes of the one who loves you. If you are beloved, the message you hear will always be grounded in the words of positive joy, even if they are words of accountability. Being truly cherished means being loved for who you are; from the inside out.

This is how God sees you.

You are God's beloved.

My beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me...Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”

(Song of Solomon 2:10, 13)

Each day, God reaches out His hand and speaks these words to you. "Arise, by beautiful one...come with me..." He sees you as the beautiful creation you are. He knows you have faults, but they do not diminish or tarnish the love He has for you. You are beautiful and cherished; Loved and adored by the Beloved who created you.

Do you hear Him calling to you?

"Arise, my darling...my beautiful one...come with me..."

How will you respond?

My beloved is mine and I am his...

(Song of Solomon 2:16)

Everything else in life will fall into place when we answer the call of our Beloved.

Scripture

Song of Solomon 2

Quote of the Day

Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.

David Grayson

Question of the Day

What does it mean to know that God is calling you to be His beloved?

No Strings Attached...

Winter, spring, summer or fall...

all you've got to do is call...

and I'll be there...you've got a friend

James Taylor

Friends are one of God's greatest blessings in life. They share our joys, sorrows, cares and success. Friends are the family we choose.

Our friends give us a glimpse of the kind of unconditional love we have from Jesus. A true friend puts no boundaries on the love offered, but they do have a voice of accountability in our lives. A friend does not pressure or push you to do something you do not want to do, so that you can call that person friend. Friendship - true love friendship - does not have conditions placed upon it.

Throughout life, your friends may change. As you flow through new phases of your life you will have friends which share common interests or activities - but the true measure of a friend is how he or she loves; and in return the true measure of your ability to be a friend is your willingness to offer your friendship with no strings attached. Friendship is the love offered with grace, mercy and the unconditional love of Jesus.

We learn how to be a friend by studying how Jesus was a friend - his compassion, his generosity and his accountability. He was honest and forthright with his friends. He was kind and giving. But he also stood up for what was right and righteous, going against the common belief - and even at times disagreeing with his closest friends. Regardless of the situation, Jesus was always motivated by love.

In our friendships our first motivation should be to show love. We should not blindly follow our friends, but if our friendships are balanced in a sharing of love then we will have the gift of no strings attached friends; We will have friends like Jesus.

Scripture

Proverbs 17:17

Fun Fact

Here is a link to the Top Ten Ways to Maintain Friendship

Maintaining Good Friends

Question of the Day

What is the best quality you find in a friend?