Archive for the ‘today’ Category
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0. I own 27 bibles
1. I like to read (but I’ve been really lazy lately)
2. I wish I were ambidextrous
3. I don’t like wearing my glasses, but certain people have changed my mind about that, so I’ll wear them around a select few
4. I want to serve as a college pastor one day
5. I could wear my rainbows year round if I wanted
6. I’ve never successfully been able to grow my hair out when I’ve wanted to…. I am trying to grow it out right now…. any bets?
7. this is my favorite number
8. I’ve been to the hospital 3 times…. my knee (bad sprain), my hand (first and only time I’ve had stitches) and my eye (severely scratched cornea)
9. I drive a Jeep and love it
10. my favorite bible translations are NLT and ESV
11. I don’t really like my smile
12. I want to learn to play guitar, I own 2 of them
13. I don’t really have a favorite color, but it used to be blue, then red, then it was blue again…most recently it’s been green
14. War of the Worlds, Cars and Superman Returns are the only movies I’ve seen in the theater more than once
15. I’ve had 4 jobs so far (restaurant, UNC Charlotte, Christian bookstore, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
16. I’ve had 9 different cell phones and used 3 different services, Verizon has been the best so far
17. and yes, I am addicted to my blackberry
18. but I really want an iPhone
19. or the new blackberry storm
20. I really really really want to move out and get my own place, but I don’t have the monies right now…dumb
21. I went to UNCC for 2 years, I was a Business Management/Accounting major…
22. …then I switched my major to Psychology…right before dropping all my classes and to date have NOT gone back to finish
23. I think I would like to live in Nashville or somewhere in Florida one day
24. I played lacrosse in high school
25. I’ve never had a messy room, but my room has been getting progressively messier the past few weeks
26. I am 26
27. there are 27 days left in the year
28. Oh…and 26 is NOT old
29. looking back, I wish I had played soccer growing up
30. I like snowboarding even though I really suck at it…. I WILL get better
31. the last time I did one of these random fact things was a whole lot easier, not sure why
32. wow…. I’m only ½ way done with this list….
33. I have some kind of A.D.D. I just know it…. and I’m a tad bit O.C.D. with certain things
34. I think Transformers may be one of my favorite movies…
35. oh, and Iron man…Anchorman…21…Blood Diamond…
36. I would like to visit Europe or Australia someday…
37. I wish I had a suite (or sweet) accent
38. I have lived in 2 states, have only been to 6, driven through 10, have friends from at least 12 and would like to visit all 50
39. I like both Macs and PCs…weird!
40. NEWS FLASH!!! I’m far from perfect
41. I can’t swim, never really tried since I’ve never been a water person, but…
42. I like the beach and I’d like to own a pool in my backyard one day
43. I always get complimented on my eyes and my phone voice
44. I am a very open and honest person and like it
45. I own a lot of shoes
46. my brother is my best friend
47. he got married this year…I always knew he’d beat me to the altar haha…and yes that makes me sad
48. I sing in my car, in my room and a few other places, but NOT the shower
49. I love dogs…just not my family’s dog…he’s mean
50. I was voted best all around business student in my class in high school
51. speaking of voting…this was the first presidential election that I have ever voted in…my guy lost haha
52. I am ticklish
53. I do not like my middle name
54. I’m really bad (or good?) at bumping into people and not remembering where I know them from….
55. …I usually remember about 15-30 minutes after running into them
56. I don’t have any “famous” friends, but most of my friends do, so I have connections, sweet!
57. I’m a pretty quick study and like learning new things
58. I do occasionally watch the national geographic channel which happens to be channel # 58
59. I’m a noble steed? What?
60. okay so I know I cheated on a few of these but oh well…enjoy! I was bored!
Strangers Among Us
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is known for its man-made beauty. But the manmoth structure is also infamous for something ugly–lonely and depressed people jumping to their deaths into the churning water and jagged rocks below. One young man who committed suicide left a note on the dresser in his apartment that read, “I’m going to walk to the bridge. If one person smiles at me on the way, I won’t jump.” Tragically he didn’t find what he was looking for.
Have you ever felt as though no one cares? Like a stranger in a strange land? If so, you’re not alone. God’s people have a history of alienation. Abraham left his home to become a nomad. Jacob and his sons left a familiar land to live in Egypt. The children of Israel left their oppressors in Egypt to become strangers in the promised land. The disciples left their homes in Galilee to take the Good News into the world. The apostle Peter addressed his first letter to the church, “To God’s elect, strangers in the world” [1 Peter 1.1].
Every child of God has been a stranger, a foreigner, an alien. And the truth of the matter is that God designed it that way. The teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes states that God “has also set eternity in the hearts” of people [Ecclesiastes 3.11], so that our souls would always look beyond what we see here and toward a better future. We have this innate sense that what we see is not what we’re going to get–that there’s a spiritual aspect to this life that somehow affects what happens after this life. Those who believe in God recognize this internal dissonance and use it toward God-glorifying ends as they try to make this world a better place so that others will experience hope as well.
Which leads to the next point: You may be a stranger, but you’re not alone, not by a long shot. Take a look around you, and you’ll see strangers everywhere. Some are aware of their status as God’s wayfarers on this earth; others aren’t, and they may be as frustrated and hopeless as the young man described above. God gave us as job to do when it comes to the strangers among us. As He reminded His people not to mistreat them or take advantage of them, so we’re reminded of the same today. But does He leave it at that? No. Because you’ve been a stranger, you are called to love strangers just as you love yourself.
What does it take to feel loved when you’re a stranger? Maybe just a smile will do, or a kind word of encouragement, or a helping hand. Be on the lookout today for strangers in need of love.
When have you felt like a stranger?
What individuals around you today might feel estranged?
What simple thing can you do today to help a lonely individual sense God’s love?
Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”
He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”
“Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.”
Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?”
Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.
“A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’
“What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”
“The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded.
Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”
[luke 10.25-37, the message]
remember the root command…
But remember the root command: Love one another.
[john 15.17, the message]
God longs for us to trust Him every hour and every minute of today.
“Our past is nothing more than the story of how we got to where we are, and dwelling on it causes us to become stagnant and unsatisfied. We can’t find God by worrying or dreaming about the future, either, because that just makes us want to control whatever lies ahead.
Yes, we have concerns and hopes and dreams for the future. But we can live out our relationship with God only in the here and now. God longs for us to trust Him every hour and every minute of today.”
Do you have worries about tomorrow that you need to surrender and place in God’s hands?
What distracts you from developing your relationship with God today?
Think about the fact that today, while fleeting, is the testing grounds for your faith in God and the plans He has for you…pray for the needed wisdom to make the right decisions today and hand over your plans and concerns for tomorrow to God’s more than capable hands.
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
[matthew 6.31-34, nlt]
