Thursday, August 14, 2008
My Mommy & Daddy Will Take Care Of Me
For the past two months Bethany was working for a day care as the leader of the infant room. The infant room was a new addition for the center so she was responsible to get the room ready for infants this fall. She had decorated the room and organized everything and the day she finished all the preparations, she found out that the child care center would be closing down. This presented numerous problems. The biggest being; we can’t afford to live unless she works (trials and tribulations of being in seminary). My wife called me with this news when she got off work. Since I was working late that evening she stopped by with Eli where I work to say hi and discuss what we were going to do. As soon she got in the building she put Eli down and he ran to say hi to me but was distracted by a stray ball. He immediately stop running for me and said “ball” and then picked up the ball and began to play with it. As my wife was telling me more details I glanced over at Eli playing with the ball and noticed that amid this crisis he was not worrying at all. “My mommy and daddy will take care of me” seemed to be the look on his face. It made me think; just like Eli’s father, me, would take care of him, our heavenly father, God, will take care of us. I was reminded of Matthew 6:26-27 “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” God is in control. All we have to do is be faithful to him and trust in his goodness.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Mike's Testimony
I grew up in a Christian home… I got saved at a young age… I made decisions at camp that lasted no more than two weeks…
My testimony outline is somewhat formulaic as is the case with most people who grew up in a Christian home. Even though I was born to parents who were missionaries and was home schooled half my life, I was not immune to the typical challenges that face every youth. I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was 6 and was baptized when I was 9, but made little effort to try to please God. I was good at going through the motions of Christianity and making people believe I was a “good kid” but was doing it just to avoid conflict with my parents. This lifestyle continued until I was 16. It was then when I read a passage of scripture that changed my life forever.
One morning, when I was a junior in High School, I read James 1 for my devotions. When I was done, I placed my Bible back on the desk in my bedroom and stared at it, trying hard to remember what I just read. I could not remember any of it. I figured I would look at the last couple verses and see if it would jog my memory. It was then that I read James 1:26-27. “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” At that moment I realized my religion was worthless. It was not enough to go through the motions of Christianity. From that day on I began to take my spiritual walk with God seriously.
My testimony outline is somewhat formulaic as is the case with most people who grew up in a Christian home. Even though I was born to parents who were missionaries and was home schooled half my life, I was not immune to the typical challenges that face every youth. I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was 6 and was baptized when I was 9, but made little effort to try to please God. I was good at going through the motions of Christianity and making people believe I was a “good kid” but was doing it just to avoid conflict with my parents. This lifestyle continued until I was 16. It was then when I read a passage of scripture that changed my life forever.
One morning, when I was a junior in High School, I read James 1 for my devotions. When I was done, I placed my Bible back on the desk in my bedroom and stared at it, trying hard to remember what I just read. I could not remember any of it. I figured I would look at the last couple verses and see if it would jog my memory. It was then that I read James 1:26-27. “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” At that moment I realized my religion was worthless. It was not enough to go through the motions of Christianity. From that day on I began to take my spiritual walk with God seriously.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
