Ponder This!

I found this while researching for the previous post and thought I would share it with you all. Trisha Wilkerson wrote this:

Are You Imitating or Idolizing?


As a young woman and a fragile new believer, I longed for examples of godly women to learn from.

There was one wonderful woman that I admired too much. Instead of being encouraged by her maturity in Christ, I made being like her the goal for my growth. For me, imitation became idolatry.

Imitation keeps Jesus as the goal. Idolatry makes being like that person the goal. Being like this woman became more motivating than being like Jesus. Now, as an adult, I’m not immune from this temptation. From Martha Stewart to the Proverbs 31 woman, my heart is easily persuaded to idolize. Idolatry of a particular woman brings condemnation; instead of feeling inspired, it feels like I can never measure up. For some, it's an imaginary woman we long to be and this fictitious perfection is the unattainable goal.

When it comes to being a Christian woman, there's often a desire to become or look like what we think a Christian woman is. We read women’s role books, attend women’s groups, watch shows aimed at women, and compare ourselves all along the way. If there were a Christian Barbie, we would own her.

What Is Idolatry?
Our words, affections, thoughts, and deeds reflect what we worship. When we survey our lives, we often find replacements for God. We idolize people when when we put their opinion, love, and acceptance in place of God’s or when we move past respect and strive to look like, be like, or act like them.

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Imitation keeps Jesus as the goal. Idolatry makes being like that person the goal.
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We see this sometimes with women’s events and groups that often communicate the "formulas" on how to be a Christian woman while the subtle pressure sets in to be the five things she embodies. On the stage of our hearts is the Christian Barbie with her perfect worship, home, family, and heart. Before we realize it, we’ve built an altar to her. Is it wrong to give Godly examples of how women worship Jesus? No. But we must hear God reminding us not to idealize and idolize, and instead imitate godly women as they imitate Jesus. We must not buy the Christian Barbie.

What Is Imitation?
More than just copying, the purpose of imitation is to draw us closer to Jesus. Imitating someone is seeing their life lived in humble worship, and we respond with similar obedience enabled by the Holy Spirit. We can learn from, be sharpened by, and enjoy their Christ-exalting example.

Scripture gives us good examples of people who feared God and walked in faith. We are told to be encouraged by their lives and to fight for a faith in Jesus like their own. "We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised" (Hebrews 6:11-12).

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We must hear God reminding us not to idealize and idolize, and instead imitate godly women as they imitate Jesus.
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Imitation feels like a fresh breeze of grace as we are encouraged to live lives that glorify God. "Join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us" (Philippians 3:17).

We Are Called To Be Imitators of God
"Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children" (Ephesians 5:1). Our lives lived in response to God’s love is worship. We adore, praise, and imitate Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith. As we grow closer to Jesus, we become more like him.

To close, I want to leave you with this quote from Charles Spurgeon,

To love is to adore! To obey is to praise! To act is to worship! If you are imitators of God as dear children, your adoration will be proved to be sincere. Worship unattended by imitation is fake—true adoration dwells not in words only—as it comes from the heart, so it affects the entire nature and shows itself in the daily behavior.




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Making Idols Out of Men

Ex 20:3-4 (NIV) "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below."

Tim Tebow has become a household name over the past few weeks. If you do not know who he is, I will tell you, he is a football player for the Denver Broncos. He is leading his team in the playoffs, but he is most known for his expression of faith during the games. Twitter and the Internet are blowing up with his picture pose(him kneeling down and praying in the end zone). The fans can not get enough of Tim Tebow. I think his showing of faith is great. I think he is being a witness to all by showing his love and faith for the Lord, but I think some of the fans are taking it too far. So, this leads me to the question, how far is to far? I am all for role models, Rather it be a football player or a teacher. I think it is great to have someone to look up to. When you start idolizing someone or something, that is when God gets upset. God wants your undivided attention, he does not want anyone or anything to over shadow Him. When you consume something or someone to where you put them on a "pedestal", that is idolizing. You are so infatuated by it or them that you can't go with out it and you see them as someone that can do anything. That is when the role model becomes an idol. Tim Tebow is doing what he is passionate about, his faith and football. He is not out there to be admired or idolized, but in the darkness of the world he is becoming an idol. God does not want us to idolize anyone or anything. He is the one that is almighty and powerful and allows us to have talents and skills. God is the one that we need to look up to and run to in a time of need. It is one thing to have a role model but it's another to turn that role model into an idol! Like I said before, I think role models are a great thing and in this case, I think Tim Tebow is a great Christian to look up to.

Love In Christ,

Alicia




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Some Facts About Mary

MARY was one of the most greatest women of the bible.  She was the mother of Jesus!  She was chosen by God out of all the women on earth to carry His one and only son.  I am sure Mary at some point questioned why her?  Why would God choose her to be the mother of Jesus.  I just can not fathom how she felt when the angel appeared to tell her what her next few years would be like.  I thought that during this Christmas season, I should share about one great woman!  She was the one chosen by God to be Jesus's mother.  It is a pleasure to be a mom, but to be the mother to Jesus!  WOW!  God knew that she would be the right woman to help in His plan for the world! 

I found these facts at www.biblestudyplanet.com and found them to be interesting, so I thought I would post them on the blog.

SCRIPTURE

- Matthew 1; Luke 1-3.

BIOGRAPHY

Of the seven women named Mary in the New Testament, none has a more central role than Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. The genealogy of Mary is given in Luke 3. She is shown as the daughter of Heli (Luke 3:23), descended from Nathan the son of David (Luke 3:23-31). At the time of the conception of Jesus, she was engaged to Joseph who was also descended from David, through Solomon (Matthew 1:7-16). Through his parents Jesus was legally entitled to the throne of David. Living in Nazareth (Luke 1:26). Mary visited a close relative, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:39-56), before traveling to Bethlehem to be taxed under the orders of Augustus.

In Bethlehem, Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-20). After the visit of the Magi , when Jesus was about 18 months old, Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled into Egypt until the death of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:20,21). Joseph led his family to Nazareth because Archaleus, a very cruel king, was reigning in Judah (Matthew 2:22,23). Joseph is no longer mentioned, but Mary appears at the marriage of Cana (John 2:1-12); then later when Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees (Matthew 12:46-50); and at the cross (John 19:25-27). On the cross Jesus committed His mother to the care of the disciple John. Mary was with the disciples in the upper room after the ascension (Acts 1:13,14).

EVALUATION

a) Mary was one of the few people prophesied in the Old Testament, as the woman from whose seed the Savior would come (Genesis 3:15).

b) Her state was amplified in Isaiah 7:14 that she would be a virgin

c) Since the sin nature is passed down through the father, Mary received a sin nature from Heli

d) Because Jesus was born of a virgin however, conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ was born without a sin nature (Matthew 1:20).

e) Mary was highly favored in grace by God (Luke 1:28,30), being called "blessed among women".

f) Mary accepted the miracle of this birth as outlined by Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38).

g) Mary praised God for His goodness (Luke 1:46-55; cf. 1 Samuel 2:1-10).

h) Mary recognized that the child she was to have would be the long awaited Savior (Luke 1:46-48).

i) Joseph was noble by protecting Mary from public stoning as an adulteress (Deuteronomy 22:23,24).

j) Mary and Joseph arranged for Jesus' circumcision on the eighth day (Luke 2:21) and His presentation to the Lord after the purification of Mary (Luke 2:22-24). They offered turtle doves and pigeons, showing they were not wealthy (Luke 2:24).

k) Jesus never called Mary mother, but always woman (John 2:4; 19:26), to ensure that Mary was never to be thought of as the mother of God. 

Love in Christ,

Alicia

The Light

"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:4-5 (NIV)

Jesus is life, and He will be your guiding light. Just as a flashlight or lighthouse shines bright and helps guide your way in the dark, so will Jesus. Fortunately, the light of Jesus shines brighter than any flashlight or lighthouse and the darkness(sin) of the world will never over take Him!

Love in Christ,

Alicia




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Sacrificial Love

I have an acquaintance from high school that has spent her whole life dealing with a bad kidney. I will be honest and say that I didn't know about her struggle until a couple of months ago (gotta love Facebook). Her twin sister set up a page on Facebook telling of her sister's story. I was shocked! I went all 4 yrs of high school with this girl and never knew anything was the matter. Apparently, over the past couple of years her kidney became worse, to the point were she needed a new one. Everyone in her family immediately stepped up to the plate to see if they were a match. One by one they were told they were not a suitable donor; that is until it was her mom's turn to be tested! Her mom was a perfect match!! Ok, seriously, how awesome is that to be able to give your child a second chance. Anyway, through the magic of Facebook I have been able to keep up with her journey. Yesterday was the day(12-2-11)! She received her "new" kidney! Her mom never thought twice about it when they said she was a match. The first thing that her mom said when she was coming out of anaesthesia was, "did it work?" Talk about sacrificial love! Everyone sacrifices something in there lifetime, maybe a friendship, because you know it isn't the best "fit" for you or a job offer, or maybe even something as small as the last piece of pie, but there is something about a parent's love that makes you not think twice about do something for your child no matter the cost!

God gave the ultimate sacrifice, His son, Jesus! He brought Jesus into this world to demonstrate the ultimate sacrifice of love. Jesus died for our sins so that we may have enternal life. When everyone turned their back on Jesus and God; God could have stopped His ONE and ONLY son from being hung on the cross and dying for our sins. But, thankfully He didn't, because by showing the ultimate sacrificial love, we are forgiven of our sins.

One of my favorite verses comes from John 3:16 (17,18)
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave His son, His one and only son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go through all the trouble of sending His son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trust in Him is aquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to Him." (MSG)

If you have a Facebook account and would like to follow the journey, you can search for Kristi's Kidney and continue to see how she does. If you don't have a Facebook account, I can tell you that both mother and daughter are doing well and the kidney is functioning as a healthy kidney should. The doctors seem very hopeful.

Love in Christ,

Alicia





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Don't Take Christ out of CHRISTmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I just wanted to send a reminder not to forget the true reason for the season. It is easy to get caught up in all the shopping and parties. Sometimes the true meaning of Christmas takes a back seat to all the other activities that we have going on. Just remember that without Christ it's just "mas". It's not about the presents or the parties or trimming the tree, its about sharing Christ with the ones you love and know!! So don't put Jesus in back, he is far to great for second place!!!

Jesus Is The Reason for the Season

Love in Christ,

Alicia



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Refreshing The Soul

Proverbs 27:9
The Message (MSG)

9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

Friendship, Friend, Amigo and BFF are all words with meaning. A friendship is not to be taken lightly. Friends are good for the soul. They allow you to have a different view of the world around you. Friends provide you with support and a social network. You can never have too many friends! True friends will give you their shoulder to cry or lean on and they also push you to do your very best! A friendship is like a blanket that you wrap around you to keep you warm. True friends will stick with you until the end.

I have a lot of acquaintances but only a few true friends. These friends I know I can count on no matter what. God places certain people in your life on purpose and He knew who you needed in your life even before you were born. I am so thankful for the friends God has placed in my life. He knew exactly who needed to be placed in my life. I know with out a doubt that these friends will always be there for me no matter what.

"A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be." --Douglas Pagels

Love in Christ,

Alicia





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