The world looked at the outside while God looked at the inside
Posted August 13th, 2009 by Pastor Todd - 0 comments
This week’s young Bible hero is a particular favorite of mine. Her name is Mary and she is the mother of my best friend. That’s right! This week I’m talking about Jesus’ mommy, the sweet girl, Mary. Scholars say that Mary was likely only around 16 at the time of her pregnancy with Jesus and, while that’s a bit older than our Take T.W.O. kids, if God had chosen her to serve as the mother of His only Son she must have also been a remarkable child.
She was for sure a very brave young lady. Imagine a young teenage girl trying to explain to her devout parents why she was having a baby before she was married. Imagine her trying to convince her fiancé that she was pregnant through no fault of her own. Imagine the looks of her neighbors, how her friends must have wanted nothing to do with her.
But Mary had much more than shame and rejection to worry about; her pregnancy put her in very real danger. By the Law of Ancient Israel it would have been considered a favor to God to stone her for adultery. She knew all of this, and yet when God came to her with the task of carrying His precious Son she accepted it with total humility. Now that’s what I call heroic!
Another post by Crystal B. my summer intern.
This month in first service REEL Kids we’re going through a service that addresses some things that I’ve rarely seen covered in children’s church but that are obviously of Biblical importance. We’re talking about the little character flaws that make such a big difference; things like being rude, eating badly, and being greedy. At the same time, I myself have been going through some interesting life lessons in the importance of good housekeeping.
I’ve realized how easy it can become for us to shrug off the little disciplines. We get so focused on all of the big stones that we end up with houses full of little holes. We want to focus on the flashy things that show others how totally amazing we are instead of tending to the minor details that help to make us a whole person. But when you really get down to it, everybody knows that, oftentimes, it’s the “littlest” things that make the biggest impact. So make sure that you don’t forget the pebbles.
Another blog post by our Guest Blogger Crystal B. (I feel behind on these so I am posting a couple of them today).
As Americans we are constantly bombarded with messages that we need to be healthier, usually accompanied with some kind of image. But the problem with that is this: the image often does not match the message. The message says, “Eat well, take care of your body, live longer and get more out of life.” The image right next to it says, “Be thin.” But thin does not equal healthy. In fact, being slightly underweight is harder on your heart and other organs than being slightly overweight.
My Freshmen year of college I began a search into the world of eating disorders when I chose the topic for a research paper. As I worked on the paper, I began to notice many people around me who looked just fine complaining that they needed to lose weight. Every third commercial, at least, was something about weight loss. And I suddenly saw all the bones that stuck out on the models and actresses portrayed all around me. The power of these attitudes and images are not lost on our children. Clinics for the treatment of eating disorders have seen a rise in the last couple of years of girls ages 10 and under.
While it is true that many people, including children, need to lose weight, we must ensure that the message we are sending is correct. Are your words, actions, and attitudes teaching your children to be healthy, to eat too much, or to eat too little? If you never make a single negative comment about your child’s weight but they constantly see you dieting, that alone can be enough to start an eating disorder. This is not a matter to be taken lightly, it is just as important to talk to your kids about eating disorders as it is to talk to them about drugs. You may even think they are fine when they are not, certain disorders have little to know visible symptoms. Even if your children are fine now, by being open about the difficult subject of body image present you may help prevent serious issues in the future. Please, don’t let your kids shrink away from you.
Post by Guest Blogger and Summer intern named Crystal.
This week’s young Bible hero is the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. Judges 11 tells us that Jephthah was a mighty warrior with a difficult life. Kicked out of town by his half brothers because of his illegitimate parentage, Jephthah was the one they went to when things got really messy. Even though they hated him they knew he was the only one who could save them. Before he went to battle for his city with his band of mercenaries he promised God that if he was victorious he would sacrifice the first thing that walked out of his front door upon his return.
Fortunately, he won. Unfortunately, his daughter, his only child, was the first thing to walk out of the door of his house. He must have raised her to be just as brave as he was because when he told her his vow she didn’t cry and without hesitation she told her father not to break his vow. Even though his promise had not been her fault she was willing to die so that her father could keep his honor.
She herself was also a young woman who honored her word. When she requested of her father to have a month to go mourning in the mountains with her friends because she would never marry, he agreed. He trusted that his daughter would return. And even though she could easily have ran away and saved her own life, she returned to be sacrificed just as she had said she would. Jephthah’s daughter was brave, trustworthy, and loved her father more than her own life. Now that’s an example worth following!
As I was enjoying a little episode five yesterday, I was struck again with some of the parallels that Star Wars has to Christianity. I especially felt a connection to the scene in Luke’s training where Yoda was trying to get him to pull his ship up from the pond. Luke kept complaining that it was impossible until Yoda did it. As he looked at the ship, now on solid ground, he exclaimed, “I don’t believe it!” then Yoda looked at him soberly and replied, “That is why you fail.”
It is somewhat similar to the statement often used by Jesus, “Oh ye of little faith!” The disciples had so many instances where they failed to truly believe that God was powerful enough to do through them what He said He could. You can’t really raise the dead, you can’t really heal the blind, you can’t really watch the lame walk and the mute talk and the mortal men walk on water. As Luke Skywalker said, “You ask the impossible!”
We need to remember that sometimes all we need to see the power of God in our lives is to truly believe that He will do what He said He’d do. Not what we want Him to, not what some preacher said He’d do, but what His word promises. We need to trust that our God is big enough to move the large obstacles as well as the small ones. Now, one greater than Yoda is here and woe to he who does not believe.
