Fuzzy Fur Coats and Putting On Christ



Mikayla



My grandaughter Mikayla loves to wear her pink fuzzy coat. 

She loves the pink. 

She loves the fur.

And she especially loves the way the white faux fur sheds.

When she waves her arms, the fur sheddings float around her like a dandelion puff.

And everytime she hugs someone with her coat on,

she leaves her love marks - the white fluffy shedding - all over them.

Whenever she spots someone new to bestow her fur hug on,

Mikayla's eyes sparkle and she dances with delight.

Her fuzzy fur coat hugs are a token of her affection.

An  expression of her love.

Mikayla doesn't realize that people may not want to be

covered in fuzzy white polyester hair.

So she keeps on hugging unsuspecting churchgoers and family members.

And she keeps on squealing with delight each

time she sees some white fur clinging to them.

A quiet reminder that they had been hugged by Mikayla.

The Holy Bible actually talks about Mikayla's kind of love expression in Romans 13:14

"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."

The apostle Paul told Christian believers to put on Christ.

To choose to wear Christ, in much the same way

that Mikayla chose to wear her fuzzy pink coat.

Mikayla wears her fuzzy pink coat because she likes it,

 and because she can sprinkle people with white fur.

Likewise, as Christians we are to wear Christ because we love Him, and

because we can affect those around us for the kingdom of God.

Consider what 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 says:

"For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing...To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. (King James Version)

The Message translation explains it this way:

"In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.

This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No— but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.

So in a sense,  as Chrisitans, we are to put on Christ with the intent of being so full of Christ's love that His spirit sticks to those around us just like the fur from Mikayla's fuzzy fur coat.

Because spreading the love of Christ is an important part of living every day with Jesus.

How do you spread God's love through the week?

What do you do to put on Christ each day?

Leave a comment.

I'd love to hear from you! 

 

MONDAY MUSINGS: Putting God First

Do you feel fully alive in Christ this Monday morning? Are you filled with antcipation, wondering how God will  use you today? Joy and excitement can be yours when you live every day with Jesus. He promised in His holy word that He came to give us life and that more abundantly. (John 10:10)

The abundant life is available to all who seek it. There are no tricks or gimmicks. It is yours for the asking. Jesus had only one requirement:

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matthew 6:32-34 from The Message)

The King James version of this same passage puts it succintly:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

So that's all there is to it. Put God first and the joy will come. Put God first and you'll be able to manage your work load better. Put God first and the people around you will notice.

People are often drawn to me. Most of the time they don't why,but I hope it is because they feel God's love flowing through me.

One person says she comes to my office to get her "daily dose of Debbie." She says she feels better after she spends time with me.

One day, I hope to share the gospel with her. But until that time comes, I will keep praying for her and being a friend to her.
Loving others for the cause of Christ  infuses us with joy.

Let's put God first today!

It's a very real part of living every day with Jesus and it will fill you with encouragment and unspeakable joy!

Affecting Others

"Walking with God down the avenues of prayer we acquire something of His likeness, and unconsciously we become witnesses to others of His beauty and His grace." -E.M. BOUNDS

Stop right now and write down the first ten people that come to mind.

Now, look at that list and write down which circles of your life  they come from. Family? Friends? Co-workers? Neighbors?

These ten people, and if you had time to write down the next ten people and so on, are the souls that God has entrusted you to influence for His kingdom. Think about it. In Christ's infinite wisdom, He planted you in the job you have, the home you live in, the community you raised your kids in etc. And this planting wasn't by happenstance. God had a specific purpose in it all.

God knew for example that your best friend would need your unique giftings and personality traits to cope with life a little better. And God also knew that if He had a pesky neighbor live nearby, you would grow in patience and learn to lovingly serve despite their small annoyances.

Do you see where I'm going with this? A very important part of living every day with Jesus is to recognize that He is involved in every part of our life and has ordered every detail.

So look around you today at the people God has chosen to be in your world. Thank God for them. Pray for them. And let your light shine brightly for the cause of Christ. It is your duty, if you want to live every day with Jesus.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

THAT'S NOT IN MY BIBLE!

(It's funny, but no matter how much time I have in the morning before work, I always seem to be pressing against my 'getting ready time.' I think it's because I like to sit and read my Bible and pray in the quiet of the early morning which is a good thing. But, I lose track of time, which is a bad thing. So I said all that to let you know my post will short today but hopefully still lift you up on this bright and sunny Monday morning.)

My grandaughter, Mikayla (the one in the red shirt) is 7 years old and has quite a strong-willed personality. She challenges her mother often, and even her dad occasionally which is no small thing since her dad is a former marine and a real tough cookie.

Her defiance can be over the smallest of things: where she sits in the car, who puts the straw in her juice pouch,or whether she should put on her socks first or comb her hair. And when she's mad it's at the whole world, not just the one who is standing the way of her wishes. It's quite comical really. Her face turns red and puffs up like some cartoon character and she puts her hands on her hips as if to increase the size of her small stature.

Mikayla's mother (my daughter, Stephanie) for the most part has let Mikayla work through her anger  ignore the red puffy face thing. But now, Mikayla is starting to get mouthy and disrespectful. And of course this must be addressed. So after many attempts at disciplining Mikayla, reasoning with her, spanking her, making her sit in the quiet chair with no improvement, Stephanie decided to employ the help of her former Sunday School teacher, Sister Debbie.

Stephanie's old teacher and her have remained friends all these years, and as a matter of fact 'Sister Debbie' was very good friends with Stephanie's real mom, Michelle. Well anyway, Stephanie and Mikayla were visiting Sister Debbie and Mikayla popped off at her mom. So Sister Debbie, did what all good Sunday School teachers would do and pulled out her Bible to show Mikayla that Jesus says we must respect our parents.

Well, true to form, Mikayla turned red faced, puffed out her cheeks, put her hands on her hips and arrogantly declared "THAT'S NOT IN MY BIBLE!"
Evidently, Stephanie and Sister Debbie tried to explain to Mikayla that these truths were in all Bibles, but Mikayla wouldn't concede. As far as I know, she is still convinced that her Bible has a different set of admonitions.

Funny? Yes. But I wonder how many times as adults we act just like Mikayla? When there is a Biblical truth that makes us uncomfortable, do we internally scream... That's not in my Bible?

When we are reminded to "love our enemies, do good to those who despitefully use us" do we intellectually dismiss it as not applying to our unique situation? If so, that is the same as saying... That's not in my Bible...
And of course the list goes on.

So my challenge to you today is to pay attention to the times when God's instructions grate against your will or desires, and honestly ask yourself if you are unknowingly trying to have your own version of the Holy Writ. Because obeying ALL of scripture is also a very real way of living every day with Jesus and it is the only way to the true hope that Jesus offers.

AN ASIDE: If you have any "that's not in my Bible experiences" I'd really like to hear about them! Won't you post for others to read? Or at least email me? Living every day with Jesus affords us the wonderful joy of gaining strength from the body of believers and this is one way we do this!!

God bless you my friend. Thanks for being part of my day!

What's In Your Mouth?

My challenge for you this morning (and for myself quite frankly) is to pay attention to what we say today. Think of your mouth as a bank teller - the giver and reciever of monies. And your heart is the bank vault.  Every positive word is money deposited and every negative word is a withdraw.

With this in mind, are you making money or losing it? Mmmm, I must admit, some days my heart is very much overdrawn.

Almost daily I ask God to set a guard over my mouth and pray some of the following scriptures:

"Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day." (Psalm 71:8)

"My mouth shall tell of Your righteous acts and of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is more than I know." (Psalm 71:15)

"Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. ...Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
(Psalm 19:13-14)

A dear friend of mine told me that sometimes she actually puts her hand over her mouth to remind herself NOT to say something inappropiate when she is listening to someone tell a lengthy or negative tale. Pretty good idea huh?

We serve a positive God so it only makes sense that part of living every day with Jesus is to focus on the uplifting, positive things in life.

It makes sense doesn't it? Jesus loves us so much and in His infinite wisdom He knows that happy, upbeat conversations will keep our spirits buoyant. That is why, when we live every day with Jesus there is always hope and always comfort.

So valued reader, what do you do to stay in a postive talk mode? Tell us that we can all learn from each other.

WEDNESDAY WEIGH-IN: Facing the Scale

Good Morning My Faithful Readers! Thank-you for taking time out of your busy schedule to stop by today. It makes a huge difference to me. :-)

Well, it's Wednesday and the day I promised to post about my struggle to lose over 100 pounds.

Admittedly, it's been a harder commitment than I bargained for, but it is a neccessity if I truly want to live every day submitted to Jesus. Because you see, in Jesus there is always hope, no matter what our present circumstances. And in Jesus there is always comfort, joy and a light at the end of every tunnel. 

Think about that last statement for a minute. Let's say it outloud very slowly together so as to engrave it on our hearts and mind. Ready?

In Jesus there is ALWAYS comfort, joy and a light at the end of every tunnel

What is your present struggle today dear reader? What obstacles are you trying to overcome? Is there an area of self-improvement that you have been grappling with? Tell me. Let's bear this together. If you don't want to post openly, then email me at dsimlergoff@sbcglobal.net . There is power and strength in the community of believers.

Now, as to my own weight loss issues:

It's been really hard to face the number on the scale because I have not been excercising or following my food plan. But last Wednesday, I finally weighed myself after 2 weeks of avoiding the scale and discovered I'd gained a 1/2 pound. In and of itself that is not bad, but I've been gaining a little each week for the last few months which means I'm headed in the wrong direction.

Galatians 6:1-3 says:

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.



Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.


For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself."

My fault today is my overeating and lack of excercise. You who are strong in this area, please tell me what you do to get back on track.

Helping one another to overcome, is yet another facet of living every day with Jesus. We need each other!

Yes, there is always hope in Jesus, but often we need the expression of another human being reaching out in compassion to help us embrace that hope. I want to be there for you in the areas I've grown in. Would you like to be there for me with my weight struggles?

It really is part of living every day with Jesus.

GUEST POST: Lysa Terkeurst

(I stumbled across Lisa Terkeurst's BLOG about a month ago, and visit it  periodically. Lisa is the founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries which is an organization dedicated to  helping women become all they can be in Christ Jesus. Their site is user friendly and has alot of resources. It's definately worth checking out!)

Lysa is a prolific and very successful writer, and in a league way beyond where I am right now. I do not know her personally, but I wanted to share one of her recent posts (see below) because I think it will bless you. But also, because rejoicing in another's gifts is an important part of living every day with Jesus. 

Think about that last statement just a minute - rejoicing  in another's gifts.  How comfortable is it for you to that? It's certainly not always been easy for me.  Our human tendancy can be to think about our own gifts, and how we want to be used; be in the limelight; make lots of money, or win hundreds of souls to the kingdom. 

But how often do we help someone else be in the limelight? Especially someone who is operating in the same gift we are? If you are a singer, do you wholeheartedly support the other singers in your church? Or if a teacher; do you enthusiastically applaud another teacher's presentation? It's the same for writers, or any other profession.

Sharing Lysa Terkeurst's post is easy for me. Afterall, she's already famous, and if anything, my posting about her can only help me.

So the real test for me, will be for me to give 'blog space' to another struggling writer just like myself. Someone who is my peer. And help them because  I want to see them shine. Even if it means they will shine more than me. Why?  Because that is what Jesus would do, and that is what he would expect of me.

So I have included the link for Lysa's post from yesterday. May you be blessed and may God continue to anoint all her efforts for His kingdom.

MONDAY MUSING: Soul Awareness

It's another Monday Morning dear reader, and if you are like me, another work week awaits.

But before we jump full force into all the demands and expectations that our respective professions require, let us pause for a moment and think about the many souls that we interact with today.

Yes, these souls are wrapped in all kinds of uncomely packages.

 From the cubicle mate who constantly sucks on her teeth with a loud, grating sound, to the too cheery, and way too chatty woman who seems to always plant herself in your office seeking your undivided attention, and saying nothing of any real consequence or importance.

And yet, the Lord Jesus has seen fit to place them in your path, in your company or on your customer list. Why? Perhaps He trusted you enough to see past their outer wrappings.

Or perhaps He felt that whatever irritations these individuals might cause you today will force you to become aware of your own judgemental attitudes or shortcomings.

Whatever Christ's reasons are for having you in your present situation, one thing is for sure He's specifically chosen it and He's watching to see how you will handle it.

May we all learn to see past the facade of those around us and seek to love their souls as Jesus Christ would expect us to do.

" Man looketh on the outside, but God looks on the heart"

MORE LOVE - Less Condemnation

Last week,  I saw a man walking around the mall in a skirt. It turned out he worked at a place at the mall called Massage Envy. I figured this out because he was wearing a t-shirt with the Massage Envy logo. His features were very masculine looking: he had short dark hair, bushy eyebrows, a 5 o-clock shadow and was very muscular looking. But he also had breasts - and of course the seemingly out of place skirt.

Then today, I saw another man standing at a bus stop wearing black short-shorts and a lace camisole.

My first thought was that maybe they were going to some kind of party or something. But after observing them for a minutes it became obvious they were dressed in what was comfortable for them, just as you or I would.

'They are just so confused and they need God' was the thought that kept going over in my mind. Oh God, I prayed, keep reaching for them, keep showing them your way and your love. Give them the power to overcome what has bound them.

Now some who read what I just wrote will be outraged at my suggestion of homosexuality being a bondage. And I don't want to  argue with anyone. But  the Bible does take a very clear stance on homosexuality . (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, I Corinthians 6:9, I Timothy 1:10)

And yet,  I have  friends who have life partners of the same sex. They know how I feel about it, but then my friends who drink know how I feel about that too.

Surprised? You shouldn't be.

My job is to love whoever the Lord Jesus puts in my path. To be a friend,  and to share Christ as it seems appropiate to do so. Is that not what Jesus meant when he said "And they will know you are my disciples by the love you have one for another."

Loving someone undconditionally does not mean that you agree with all their choices. If we only love when we agree all of someone's lifestyle choices we are loving with conditions - and this is not the kind of love that Christ spoke of at all.

So I challenge you. Look at the people around you and listen to your heart for prejudices and condemnations that need to be surrendered to God. Then put on Christ (Galatians 3:27) and go out into the world and show the true agape love that Jesus intended us to offer.

Loving Others

Good Morning and happy Friday! And what's more, Happy Memorial Weekend!! I hope you will find much rest and relaxation this weekend whatever you do. :-)

Just wanted to hop on here for a few minutes and share what's on my heart today:

I've been meditating on I Corinthians 13 - you know the "LOVE CHAPTER". I have to tell you that the more I contemplate it's concepts the more convicted I am becoming. I honestly felt like I was showing the love of Christ on a regular basis but now I realize even on my best day I am offering only a shadow of what God intends. Below is a portion of 1 Corinthians 13 from The Message. I've put a few of my own reactions/short comings in parenthesis next to each line.

Love never gives up. (I give up dozens of times in dozens of ways. On myself and on other people)



Love cares more for others than for self. (I do this to a point, but when push comes to shove, I still press for my own way alot of times)


Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. (All I can say is OUCH!)


Love doesn't strut,


Doesn't have a swelled head,


Doesn't force itself on others,


Isn't always "me first," (I struggle with this sometimes as I have a competitive nature. I'm an overachiever and like to "win".)


Doesn't fly off the handle, (I've mellowed with age, but still need work on this)


Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, (I'm pretty good with this. Experience has taught me to let things go)


Doesn't revel when others grovel, (Think, I'm pretty good with this one too)


Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, (I do!)


Puts up with anything, (I don't and need to work on this. Things irritate me and then I get mad and then... well you know how it is)


Trusts God always, (I'm fairly good with this)


Always looks for the best, (Sometimes I do...)


Never looks back, (I need work on this)


But keeps going to the end. (Yep, I do)
 
Okay, now it's your turn. It'd be cool if you posted some of your comparisons to I Corinthians 13. But even if you don't, take stab at doing it offline and see how you measure up. Trust me, it's a real humbling experience.
 
Know I pray for you. I don't know your name or even if you're reading my blog unless you leave a post but I pray for God to bless all who happen by. Have a glorious day!
 
Debbie