Spiritual Portraits.

Take time to observe your face in a mirror. What things do you like about the way you look? What things would you like to change? 
Can you see traces of your parents in your appearance? 


Imagine what your spiritual portrait looks like to God. 
When he looks deep inside you, what does he find there? 
What are your best features? 
What parts of you would God like to remodel?
Can he find traces of himself inside you? 
Can he see his resemblance as you tell your friends that you belong to him?


The Holy Spirit living inside you is like the spiritual DNA that shows you are God's child. Others can see the resemblance at a glance. 


Philippians 1:6

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God will never just quit or give up on you.
The Holy Spirit is always at work making your insides more beautiful. You can be sure that, as you grow spiritually, you will look more and more like your Father. 
As you make daily decisions about what to do and say, think of the effect each motive and action has on your spiritual portrait. 

Courageous Conversation

Galatians 2:11-21
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How many ways are there to communicate to your friend? Well, there's Facebook, Twitter, SMS, e-mails, and the list goes on and on and on. But how many times do you actually see your friends and hang out with them? Very little, right? These days, most people depend on technology to get the message across, or just to talk. Yes, it's convenient when they live miles and miles away in another country, but when they're down the street? 


Paul, in love and humbly, confronted Peter when he saw he was being a hypocrite. He ostracized the Gentiles when he claimed to be one of them. Paul did not send him a text message, or rolled a message in a bottle, he confronted him face to face. When confronting a fellow brother or sister, it's best to tell them face to face, as they can see you're speaking in love and truth. Sometimes, over e-mail or texts, they can interpret it differently than you intended. 


A brother of mine, whom stopped talking to me two months ago after a little incident, is one of the closest brother to me. I try so hard to reach out, but sometimes it's seems futile. This devotion reminded me to maybe to be the better person and actually take that step and stop beating around the bush. I need to speak to him in love and truth, and I'll let God do the rest. 

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A well-chosen word can speak volumes.

there's a plank...

Who am I to judge?

Who are you to judge?

We are equal in sin.

One of the biggest qualities i look in a friend is that they aren't judging. That I can be my 100% self around them, ask the stupidest questions and not get a glare, or a "really? you didn't know that?" or a "do you live under a rock?". Sarcastic or serious, it hurts. And who are we to judge each other. We are equal in sin, equally at fault, and have all fallen short of God's glory.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:1-5

We tend to judge others a lot, whether its shown obviously or just judging another on the inside. I know that I most definitely do, especially with first impressions. I think the root of it is pride. Thinking you are higher above, or better than others, but the truth is we are all equal. The one that stole is no better or worse than the one who committed murder. We constantly are looking for faults in another person, trying to compare ourselves to make us feel better about ourselves.

I know many times, especially at church, judging others is an issue. I think its because many of us that attend church have been there for a while now, know all the "standards and expectations" as Christians, and once a flaw is noticed, its immediately beaten down. It develops a negative atmosphere, and people don't feel welcomed. God made people, friends and community so we can feel loved and build each other up and not tear each other down. When we judge, we look at others and not ourselves. Like it says in the passage above, why are we talking about the speck of dust in another's eye when we clearly have a plank in ours.

Don't judge, but love each other. We all have faults and we all stumble, but we should be there for other, to help each other up, not to cast stones to keep others on the ground.

⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

John 8:7 

No Hiding.

Look around you. Where is the best place to hide? Could you hide from someone where you are right now? Would someone walking by see you? 


As we get older, we don't play Hide-and-Seek anymore. But we still like to hide. Sometimes we hide from our true thoughts from others. Sometimes we hide from ourselves. Sometimes we try to hide from God. 


Psalm 139:7-10

Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

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If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

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If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

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even there your hand will guide me, 

    your right hand will hold me fast.

You can try to hide from God's Spirit. But God sees everything you do. 
God knows everything you think. God knows everything you feel. Scary thoughts? Maybe, but comforting ones too. 


You're never alone. You're never without someone who understands you. You're never abandoned. 


Never. 


God lives in you. His Spirit knows you. Guides you. Holds you. You may be trying to hide from God's Spirit. But where will you go? Why his from someone who cares for you so much?

Seeing Near and Far

Psalm 145
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Do you have glasses? I'm not talking about sunglasses, but actual glasses. Some people are nearsighted, and some people are farsighted. Some can see far but not close, but others close and not far. And just like our eyesight, some people see God better up close, while some people see him farther away. 


"Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom." [Psalm 145:3]


"The Lord is near to all who call on him, and to all who call on him in truth." [Psalm 145:18]


David, who wrote this psalm, shows both views to us. Some people see God as a mighty being, who is far away and beyond anything we can imagine. He rules the universe, time and space, and his majesty is something that is hard to wrap your head around. Other people view him as a personal, intimate present in our lives. Both views are correct, but when we put on our glasses or prescription lens, the Bible, we can see he is both.


God works intimately in our lives, weaving together the many moments of our days, while he rules over the universe. Sometimes, it's hard to fathom and believe, but this is our God. He is big and small; intimate and far; personal and powerful. 

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God is big enough to care for the smallest needs. 

illusions.

"personality is a dangerous illusion."

That line struck me today when I was sitting in the auditorium, watching the AY Drama 12 students take the stage with absurd, intriguing and brilliant theatre. The context of the line came from one of the absurd pieces where it was said by the priest (i think) where he is a representative of the church in the eyes of society, but within the play, he had hidden secrets, doing drugs and only putting out that proper image when in the light.

This bugs me a lot, when we as Christians, representatives are Christ are two-faced. Yes, i understand that we are not perfect, but its the worst when we know of it yet we choose to continue to still do it. By doing so, we smear the name of Christ. Christ was known as love, accepting, non-judgemental, and wise. He was known for much more than that, and we have to continue to live that out. We are called to be light of the world, and the way of Christ is not the ways of this world. By following him and living out a life glorifying Him, we will stand out, and if the people around you can't see that in you, there's a problem.

What bothers me the most is that when we misrepresent Christ, it can easily hinder those around you from coming to hear this great news. Seeing and thinking, "oh there's nothing special about them, they do exactly what we do", there's no reason for them to be interested why you live how you live. When representing Christ, we don't have to be all verbal, and voice everything out, i've learnt that actions speak equally if not louder.

We're not perfect, and I'm not saying I'm the perfect example and representative either, but as long as try, we understand, we learn and we execute, then God will be pleased. Let him use you as his instrument to fulfill his will and your purpose.

²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20

Branded.

As we walk into a mall we often see brand named clothing with a logo or tag that's stitched onto it. 
When you are a piece of clothing with a logo on it what does this logo say about you? About the company, band, or sports team that it represents? What image does the logo communicate? What feeling is the logo supposed to prompt in you? 


Does it work? Do you think that way? What do others assume about you when they see you wearing the logo?


Now pretend that you want to pull on a logo that communicates to others that you are a Christ-follower - that you know Jesus.
What logo would you pick? 


Lots of logos have been tried. Carrying a Bible. Message T-shirts. Praying before lunch in the cafeteria. A cross necklace. 


But in the end they're just logos- they're external. 


God has provided another way for others to see that you're one of his. 


And it's not about how you look - it's about how you live. 


Ephesians 1:13

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

You've been branded. How will that look today? 

Flame.

Imagine this.


Gather some dry sticks, pile them together in your fireplace and light it up to make a small fire. 
Watch the flame dance and flicker, clinging to the sticks. 
A fire needs fuel, oxygen, and heat to burn. Have you ever helped to build a big bonfire?
Picture logs of wood being thrown onto the fire. Hear the crackling as the flames take hold. Watch the sparks fly into the night sky. What would you need to do to put this fire out?
Feel the warmth from your own small flame in front of you. 


1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all;hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

At Pentecost, the disciples saw the Spirit as tongues of fire that rested on each of them. The Spirit burns in you, warming your heart with God's presence. Think about what keeps this flame bright. 

What is the spark that sets your heart alight? 

What is the fuel that feels the fire of the Spirit?

What fans the flames into life?

Be joyful always; pray continually.

Give thanks at all times and the Spirit will burn in you.

Watch your flame flicker and dance, a reflection of the Spirit within you. 

Tumble of Death

Grade 12? You're probably feeling the exact same way. Its mid-May, there's prom coming up, almost all the results from universities are in, we pretty much know where we are going, and it feels like we're trapped birds that have almost broken loose. So easy to just give up now, and just start to enjoy whats to come.

Im sure we were all reminded of that last semester, i remember being told to stick it out until the end, and i totally thought to myself, "no, i won't get that, I'm a hard working student right? this won't affect me." But nope, it is getting to me, big time. There are certain courses where technically i don't need anymore, could just give up and let it slide, but i still have a few strings holding me back from that, but it feels like each day that passes, another string snaps, and its only a matter of time before I'm free.

We can't. We can't give up. As easy as it feels. I think we can all feel like this sometimes in our walk with Christ, that we feel like we can just give up. We've worked so hard, and we're near the end, that we can just let it slip and start to enjoy it earlier. But we have to stick it through. There's literally a month left until exams come around, and if we're still in this slacking mode, how are we going to pick it up for exams? Its easy to fall, and harder to climb back up.

Im praying that God gives me the strength to continue, to not fully give up, to continue to work hard, and stick it out until June 19th. Can you pull through? Will you fall into temptation or will you trudge through? God calls us not to be lazy, to set a good example and work hard. Lets keep it up for the next month!

A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,     but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Proverbs 13:4 

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Sight.

Psalm 51:10-12 

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

    and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 

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Do not cast me from your presence 

    or take your Holy Spirit from me.

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Restore to me the joy of your salvation 

    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Why was the Holy Spirit so important to David? How do you think David felt about the pestering thought that he might have to get along without the Holy Spirit?


What about you? What's it like when you feel you're without God? 
When God feels far away and it's been awhile since you've connected? 


It's a desperate feeling. We need God's Spirit to guide us, to comfort us, to restore us, to cleanse us. Just the idea- even a fleeting though- that God's Spirit might not be with us leaves us lost and vulnerable. Even frightened. 


Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would always be with us. God doesn't take the Holy Spirit from us. God restores us. Purifies us. God's Spirit is always with us.