Someone is always watching you.

Not to be creepy, but this is a lesson that God continues to teach me every day. As we go about our daily lives, we are often unaware of the many people that take notice of us. Especially strangers. We don’t realize that we can influence the person in the far corner of the classroom or at the next table just as much as we can influence our best friend.

One of the most unique gifts from God is the opportunity to impact people we don’t even know just by simply living our lives. Unfortunately, we’re able to affect others negatively just as much as positively.

Here is an example. Today a flood of future students poured on campus to prepare themselves and get them excited for the upcoming school year.

I pushed through the sea of families and overwhelmed students to our school’s prayer chapel. Once there, I found my seat on one of the kneeling benches and began writing in my journal.

Amidst the traffic of families touring the chapel, I noticed a guy looking around at all of the little slips of prayer requests. He seemed comfortable as if this were one of the regular places he would go on campus.

While I scribbled away in my journal, I kept noticing him out of the corner of my eye make his way around the chapel. Looking up at him, I watched as he knelt in the corner, his palms facing up in prayer. Then he would stand, look over some prayer requests and return to his corner to kneel and pray. I even saw him go around the chapel gently touching each prayer request as he went.

Who was this guy?

Over on the ledge of the cascading fountain, I noticed a familiar university folder. When he picked it up, I realized that he was one of the visiting future students. Today may have been his first day in the prayer chapel, and he spent more than 30 minutes experiencing God within its walls.

This guy, not even a student yet, was already making an impact on me and on this campus without having to say a word. He left the chapel, and all I could think about was how God would use him in his college career. What’s more is that he has no clue that I observed all he did nor will he ever know how he brought a smile to my face and a blessing to my heart today.

Friends, let’s be reminded of the many people that are subconsciously taking note of how we act, and let’s strive to be people that positively impact everyone we encounter, including those we never interact with.

God bless!

-LJM

Matthew 5:16

This week I’ve had the task of getting “off-book” for the show that I am currently apart of. The term “off-book” means to have your lines memorized.  This period of the performing process is where it starts to get messy as actors not only try to remember every word they’re supposed to say, but also know where they’re supposed to move, gesture, enter, and exit.

What’s nice about memorizing lines is the actor can start to get more of a feel for their character and the show as a whole. As someone who has a passion for acting,  I love being able to experiment with acting choices, facial expressions, and movements while trying to get as much out of my character as possible.

The point is, in order for a show to come together, (among many other jobs) actors are required to know the show backwards and forwards. The better you know the show, if a problem were to arise, you could be on top of it and make it work.

I’d like to propose the idea that what if we treated our Bible like a script?

After all, the Bible, like a script, guides our actions, our words, and overall life as a Christian.

If you think about it, the script is handled at almost every rehearsal. How would the actors or any of the production team be able to function without it?  If only our Bibles were so often used.

What if we had a time limit to memorize our Bible? Or what if we put as much dedication into learning the Bible as well as we do a script?

As an actor, the show depends on it. As a Christian, our life depends on it.

The more we know the Word of God the more freely we can live it and know what to do when we are faced with problems.

Lately I’ve been reminded that shows start and a few months later they end, but the job of a Christian is forever.

God Bless!

-LJM

Psalm 119:11

Over the weekend I was privileged to sing with my school’s traveling group at a church for a Sunday evening service. During the invitation, people were encouraged to come down to the front  “do business” with God in whatever way they needed to.

As we sang, two little girls probably close to ages 5 and 3 walked hand in hand, eager to pray. I watched as they knelt at the alter, covering their eyes with their hands and praying. For all I know, the girls had no idea what they were doing.

What must have been going on in their minds at that moment?

They demonstrated the child-like faith and love that Jesus talks about. How simple it was for them to jump out of their seat and get on their knees in a prayer they probably had no clue they were praying.

We need to be able to come to Jesus as boldly as those two girls did even if we don’t know what we are doing.  It is the job of a disciple to come to Jesus simply as a child.

God bless!

-LJM

 

“Be dressed in readiness.” Luke 12:35.

In going through the Gospel of Luke not too long ago, this phrase stood out to me the most. The first thing I thought of was the Armor of God. We put on the armor of God to be ready to stand against the devil, right?

The fact that Jesus used the word “dressed” makes me think of our everyday life. I should hope that we all find it necessary to wear clothes. Forgetting to get dressed in the morning would be like forgetting to breathe, it can’t be done.

Similarly, dressing in readiness needs to become a natural, daily routine. We can’t expect to wake up in the morning and say, “God, I’m ready.” That’s not enough.

Readiness refers to being aware and prepared. Aware that as soon as your feet touch the floor, Satan is out to steal, kill, and destroy you. Prepared for Satan, who will tempt and attack you. Aware that we cannot get through the day well by our own strength. Prepared to hear the urging of the Holy Spirit and obey God’s Word.

So how are we to dress in readiness?

Well, if Satan is ready to hit us as soon as we wake up, then when we get out of bed, God must be the priority of our mind. Right about then would be a good time to follow Paul’s advice and “Pray without ceasing.”

Some of us may not be breakfast people, but none of us want to go without food all day long. God’s Word is our food, our sustenance that maintains our spirit throughout the day. If we wait until the end of the day to spend time with Jesus in the Bible, then we just went the whole day spiritually starving. Once you are starving, you are weak, and Satan has the perfect opportunity to have victory in your life.

Is that what we want?

If Satan is ready and waiting, then we should be too. So get up, put on your Armor of God. It is not simply a suit we wear for war, it is our daily clothing.

May you be led by the spirit (sword), controlled by truth (belt), protected by faith (shield), strengthened in righteousness (breastplate), walking in peace (boots), and focused on salvation (helmet).

Dress yourself in these, and you will be ready.

God bless!

-LJM

Ephesians 6:10-18, Psalm 5:3, Mark 1:35, 1 Thessalonians 5:17

 

The other day I was sitting in our university’s quaint little prayer chapel. I sat on the kneeling bench and faced the wall like I normally do and just listened to the waters splashing down from the fountains behind me.

I studied the stones and the maze of cracks picturing the people who may have been involved in spreading the mortar and laying each stone exactly where it needed to be. Even though I have stared at these same stone walls a million times before, I feel like God brought a simple truth to mind.

The stones were all in the same family because they had to be in order to make the wall look right. But each stone was different in size and though the stones were composed of the same variety of colors, no stone looked the same. Together the stones make a beautiful wall that has so much more character than a uniformed brick wall.

It reminded me of the kingdom of God. According to God, we’re all in the same family, and we are building the kingdom  with everything that we say and do for the glory of God. Not one of us is the same. Some have been given much, others have been given  little, but both are used for God’s purpose.

God has created us all to be different from one another, but we share the common goal of walking with Christ and serving His purposes on earth so that one day we can all be together in the kingdom.

God bless!

-LJM

We all know that feeling we get on a Friday night. Half of us want to go out and party while the other half wants to spend the entire weekend in sweatpants, drinking coffee, and binge watching our favorite shows on Netflix.

What doesn’t sound perfect about that? I know how it feels after a long week of classes to want to crash and enjoy doing nothing for a couple of days.

But we also know the feeling that follows: the Monday blues. The anxiety that comes Sunday night when you realize you haven’t started your homework due the next day or the fact that you have to wake up before 10AM.

So why does our heart sink with dread and our shoulders slump with weariness come Monday morning? Even after our weekend of bumming around or having fun?

I’ve come to share with you a better way to spend your weekend, one that will leave you rejuvenated and confident to face the coming week. God knows how hard we work, how much we study, and how taxing every day life can be. In advance, He gave us a special day. A day where He commanded us to stop what we are doing and rest just as He did.

That day is the 7th day called the Sabbath.

Our loving God ordained this holy day for many reasons one of which is because He knew we needed it. It is a wonderful day to be still, to rest, and to fill ourselves with His spirit, His word, and His love.

In my spiritual journey, I’ve continually noticed that when I’m chilling out watching movies, playing video games, or staying on the computer, I’m doing things I think will relax me. Society has taught me that I can spend my time doing useless pastimes and that will make for the perfect, unwinding weekend.

Unfortunately I’ve learned that those activities leave me feeling empty and lazy as I distance myself from God for the two hours that I could be drawing close into His beautiful presence.

So when next Saturday rolls around, take that cup of coffee and open your Bible, your journal, and/or your devotions and let the Father pour His spirit into your weak and tired body. Enter into His peace that surpasses all understanding and rest in Him. “Be still and know that He is God.” I guarantee that when Monday rolls around, you will feel renewed and filled, ready to take on another week that God has planned for you.

God bless!

-LJM

Psalm 46:10, Proverbs 21:25, Isaiah 58:13,14

 

Yesterday was cold and rainy and honestly, it felt like pneumonia was in the air. I drove home in the rain, tensing my grip on the steering wheel with each puddle I hit. I was relieved to arrive at the comfort of my home, awaiting a hot dinner and two playful kittens to cuddle.

Before dinner Mom kept leaving the stove to look for one of our kittens. Ringing cat toys and clanking food dishes failed to fetch the attention of the curious feline and Mom and I started to get nervous that he may have gotten stuck somewhere.

Out of desperation, Mom decided to look out the front door, and to her amazement, a double rainbow shone in the sky. We could see the rainbows from end to end and the first one was the brightest and most vibrant rainbow I’ve ever seen.

As we took pictures, I was reminded of the glory and the beauty of God. The sight also made me think of the first rainbow in the Bible after Noah’s flood and how it was a manifestation of God’s promise. If we had gone out there a few minutes later or not at all, we would have missed the simple blessing.

I believe God wanted to remind us of his promises and his faithfulness through those rainbows because as soon as we turned to go back inside, our kitten was waiting for us at the door.

God Bless!

-LJM