Like Little Children

by Alaina | Apr 16, 2023 | Sunday Scripture

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:3 NIV

Have you ever been afraid of asking a stupid question? Worse have you failed to ask a question for fear of appearing dull only to find yourself totally lost, kicking yourself for not having just asked the question you needed to gain clarity? Mark Twain’s quote, “I would rather keep my mouth closed and appear dull than open my mouth and remove all doubt.” may not be the best advice to follow in these circumstances.

My mother is in a small group. One of the ladies in her small group has a sweet little granddaughter- about 7 years old who we will call…Arri. At the end of one of these small groups, the leader led a closing prayer after which everyone was invited to add their prayer. The group had just concluded an in-depth discussion on a section of Revelation. At the end of the prayer time the daughter decided to pipe up, “And dear Lord please help me to understand all this!” They all laughed and my mother told me how cute it was but it made me think; cute? Or was Arri just acting as Jesus tells us to act?

Young children are known for their many questions; they continually ask why, why, why- sometimes to the mental distress of their parents!! But these questions are also so full of innocence- they don’t posture or act like they know the nuance of everything in the world around them, instead they ask questions, not being afraid of what anyone else might think of their questions. They want to gain clarity in their little world.

Arri didn’t feel the need to act like she understood everything that was being said; instead, she was willing to admit that she really didn’t get much of any of it- but she wanted to understand more!

Perhaps this is why in Matthew 18 Jesus called a child to him and placed the child among them and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of his child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (NIV version)

It is easy, especially for those of us who have grown up in the church to not want to admit when we don’t understand something. There are familiar passages which we feel that we should understand but when we think about it, we realize we have lots of questions; but to ask them questions would appear elementary. However, we will never come to the end of discovering new things about God. There will always be more to learn, but if we never stop to ask questions, and truly dig deep into God’s word, then we will inhibit our growth, and thereby not fully open ourselves up to invite God to do the work He so wants to do in our lives.

Proverbs 12:15 Tells us, “The way of fools seems straight to them, but the wise listen to advice.” (NIV) If we are never vulnerable to seek advice how can we listen to wise counsel?

The next time you are in a small group or bible study, (or anywhere else for that matter) remember these verses, and go ahead and ask the stupid question! Allow yourself to like the little children, even if it makes you uncomfortable, and see what God does in your life as a result!

Glorious Day

by Alaina | Apr 9, 2023 | Sunday Scripture

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Matthew 28:6a

My Daffodils have finally broken through the soil. It seems late this year—is it? Is it just because life has seemed so gray for a while now?

I love to use gray in my home. I love that it’s one of those chameleon colors: gray says, “You want fancy, here is this” or, “Oh you want casual, “What do you think about this?” It can dress up, dress down, recede into the background and pull things together. But, do you know what is hard for gray to do? Make a big punch of an impact.

We can be blinded by bright white, we can be knocked down by sharp black, but gray is just there—lingering…. Where I live this time of year is gray. The snow has come and for the most part gone; the brightness of spring is just beginning, but gray, gray has been here the whole time, in the background, shading everything. After the Christmas festivities life calms down, the white of winter recedes, leaving gray where the light of white of snow had been. And we wait—until it is finally time for spring in all her glory to start bursting forth.

I wonder how the women would have described their mood as they went to the tomb that day, ready to prepare the dead body of Jesus properly. I can’t imagine walking into a tomb where the one that they had placed such faith in, lies. In Him there was supposed to be joy. He was supposed to change everything! Blinding white—that’s what Jesus was. Pure, kind, humble, wise. Everything good was who Jesus was and more!

He was supposed to be the Savior—they had hopes of him freeing them from Roman oppression. Now he was gone, they had watched with their own eyes, as he had hung until dead, suspended by nails in his flesh, on that cross.

Did they feel black; lost in a grief so dark that they felt as though they could barely put one foot in front of each other? Did they feel red with rage at the one who had done this to Him—red as their red rimmed eyes which hadn’t been dry since before Friday morning.

Did they feel gray— lost, hopeless, unable to make sense of all the promises He had made? Unable to make sense of all the hope they had placed in Him; what did it mean now that he was gone?

And what did they feel when greeted by angels at the tomb! What was it like to be told that the one they mourned had been raised again to life! We know at first they were confused, disbelieving; desperately wanting it to be true but unable to believe it- it sounded too good to be true! Then hallelujah! It was true! I imagine lightness exploding in their souls like the sun bursting through the clouds at the dawn of a new day! As glorious as the sun streaming through the clouds after a heavy rain, as colorful as the daffodils bursting forth from the gray earth, more joyous than anything they had ever known: Jesus had risen! Jesus IS risen! His words came true, His promises fulfilled, and their worlds filled with color once more! What a glorious day!

We are told by scripture to remember His death and resurrection. We make a big deal of his birth, but this holiday, Easter, is the day that is supposed to be a big deal! It is a big deal! Our gray lives, the darkness that invades our world when trouble strikes; it is all redeemed by Him!

I don’t know about you but this year I am so ready to revel in the joy of this season! I am ready to be rejuvenated by the new life popping up all around me, and I am ready to live vibrantly, in the fullness of the new life that Jesus gave us when He died upon that tree for you and for me! Happy Easter!

This too Shall Pass

by Alaina | Apr 2, 2023 | Sunday Scripture

For our light and momentary troubles are

achieving for us an eternal glory that far

outweighs them all.

2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV

“Hosanna!” “Hosanna!” people are shouting, waving palm fronds, then a man steps forward, unwraps his coat and lays it on the ground. Then another, and another- soon the path in between all the people waving palm branches is covered so that the man, the man that they are honoring with all this, can ride in on a donkey (a colt really) and not even touch the ground! But He is crying- why is he crying? Is it because he is touched by the people’s obvious love and adoration of him; or because He knew that this too would pass, and quickly?

Have you ever been in the middle of a really hard season? Perhaps you were experiencing the loss of a loved one, or maybe you were experiencing health issues, or maybe financial hardship after financial hardship keeps hitting your family. I have been in seasons of hardship that have felt like they would never end, but one thing we can cling to is that this world will give way to an eternal one, where everyone who believes in Him, will get to live eternally without the trials that we endure in this world!

We like being told that hard seasons won’t last forever, but we don’t like it when we are told that the good times won’t last forever, yet there are many biblical instances that warn of this! Starting in Genesis chapter 37 we read the story of Joseph: Pharaoh has a dream which Joseph interprets as a foretelling that there will be 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine in Egypt. Proverbs 6:6-8 tell us to consider the ant and how she stores away food for winter. Then there is the parable of the rich fool who, after a bumper crop, built bigger barns to store his food and then settled in, not worrying over eternity, but enjoying an easy life without a thought to the future (Luke 12:16-21). We don’t want to think about the good times ending but they always do.

Jesus knew both the hard times and the good time would pass; as will this world. He knew when Martha got caught up in the worries of this world, that it wouldn’t matter in the end. He reminded the lady at the well, that she would thirst again, nothing on this earth is eternal. Except for Him.

Jesus also knew that while He would have to subject Himself to a tortuous death, He would also rise again to bring life eternal to everyone who believes in Him. The things of this earth shall pass away, the hard seasons shall pass, the good times shall pass, but all the fixtures of this life eventually give way and we find ourselves in one of two worlds that will not pass away, be it heaven or hell.

This Easter season let us reflect on what cares to occupy our minds most; do we get all wrapped up in the decorations that we put out, the candy we love to snack on, the egg hunts that delight the children- or do we focus on Him and His sacrifice? Do we reflect most on His sacrifice for us so that we can spend eternity with Him, or are we busy spending so much of our lives focusing on things that, too shall pass?

Are You Living Like a Fool?

by Alaina | Mar 26, 2023 | Sunday Scripture

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
Ephesians 5:16 NLT

I graduated high school ready to shake off the shackles of high school and get going with life. I was ready to get started doing what I wanted to do with my life. We spend the first 18 years of our lives doing our time; as babies, we have to learn the fundamental skills to live, then we spend 12 years in school learning life skills and the basics for life, as well as getting an understanding of what further education we might desire—if any! I had made the decision to pursue beauty school. It was a short program that would leave me with skills I could use to build my future. Success would be up to me. If I worked hard I could build my book of clients; I could find a niche and start to specialize in what I might specifically like to do—hair on a cruise ship, wedding hair … there were so many options! It was going to happen to this world—it was not going to happen to me!

It was much to my chagrin then that two years later I found myself absolutely miserable in what was supposed to be the career of my dreams. I sought the opinions of people in my life who I respected and asked whether I should throw in the towel or keep going in the beauty industry. I was largely encouraged to keep going so for another year I kept going. And I was miserable for another year. By this point, I was even more defeated. I felt like I had just wasted another year of my life.

After much deliberation, my husband and I decided that it was time for me to leave the beauty industry. The next few years were rough as I tried to figure out exactly what I wanted to do—go back to school, start a business, work a job in which I could work my way up…. To spoil the ending, everything worked out. I started a business and when that still wasn’t quite right, I started a second one. All the while I felt like I was wasting time. I have always been hyper-aware that life is so very short and I have never wanted to waste a moment of it, so this season was agony for me.

There are seasons of life when we will simply be doing our time, working towards an end we cannot yet see. This was one of those seasons for me. During these times we may feel like we are not good stewards of our time as Ephesians 5:16 urges. However, sometimes seasons like these are faith-building seasons where we have to trust God to show us the next right step to take—not necessarily the whole path! We need to remember that just as Jesus told the lame man to get up and walk, we need to just look at the next right thing in front of us and take the first step. It doesn’t have to be the first step of the mapped-out plan for the rest of our lives that we might like it to be; it might just be the first step that we can see, but I believe that if we are seeking God with all our hearts, He will illuminate the way before us as we need to see it.

Romans 12:6 says that we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us, and we are to use our gifts accordingly (paraphrased). Each of us was created with certain gifts. And we are to use that gift. As a side note, just because you are unsure of what your gift is doesn’t mean that you don’t have one!

My personal conclusion this far through life is that it may not necessarily matter what we do, but it does matter that we are using the gifts that God gave us! There are many different ways to use our gifts and skill sets. In the work I do now I use the same gifts I’ve been given as I did as a cosmetologist. But applying these gifts in a different way allows me to feel more fulfilled than I did in my first field.

If you are feeling unfulfilled and restless in what you are doing in your life, I urge you not to spend your life doing something in which you feel unfulfilled. There is so much opportunity and so many different ways to use the gifts we’ve been given. For a season we may just have to do our time, but let us not get stuck in this rut! As the Bible says, our days are short on this earth—let’s do our best to use our time well.

Let Your Yes be Yes

by Alaina | Mar 19, 2023 | Sunday Scripture

“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and let your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Matthew 5:37 KNJV

I remember being devastated as a young child when one of my teachers at the daycare I attended didn’t keep her word to me—at least at first. I don’t know why she picked me, but one of the teachers saw my love of Barbie dolls and told me she had a special Barbie doll, a collector’s edition, that she would bring in for me. I was so excited! There were few things I loved more than Barbie dolls!

I was actually excited to go to school the next day—my new Barbie doll would be there! But it wasn’t. My teacher had forgotten it. She was sorry and said that she would bring it the next day. I eagerly went to school the next day and found—no Barbie. It went on like this for what seemed like an eternity (but I’m sure was only a week or 2) when I finally began to give up hope. I realized that I might never get that Barbie doll. Then, one day my teacher arrived with the bag in hand! She had finally remembered the Barbie doll and my hope was restored! My teacher finally came through on her word!

There have been bigger things in the years since that people have said, done, or promised me that haven’t come to fruition. I’m chagrined to admit I have probably inadvertently done this to others as well. But I really remember the disappointment of not getting my Barbie right away and then the joy when she was finally given to me!

This reminds me (on a much lesser scale) of the story of Joseph in the Bible. Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers. Offense Number 1. Joseph was sold to Potiphar, one of the most powerful men in Egypt. He worked his way up to being the head of Potiphar’s household only to be falsely accused of attacking Potiphar’s wife. Joseph was thrown in jail. Offense Number 2. While there, Joseph worked his way up yet again, as an overseer of the other prisoners. One day Joseph interprets the dreams of two of the prisoners, one was the chief cupbearer to Pharaoh. Joseph says the dream means that the cupbearer will be restored to his post. Joseph asks the cupbearer to remember him to Pharaoh which the cupbearer promises to do. What really happens? The cupbearer forgets. Offense Number 3.

Can you imagine how Joseph must have waited with bated breath, thinking that the cupbearer would remember his word and Joseph would find himself freed from the cell in which he was being wrongfully kept—only to have those hopes slip lower, and lower, day after day. I wonder if he felt bitter. He had done the cupbearer a huge favor interpreting his dream—how could the little weasel forget him?

Joseph was probably about out of hope when suddenly the jail door opens, and Joseph is taken out, cleaned up, and presented before Pharaoh as possibly the only man in all the kingdom who could help Pharaoh out by interpreting his bothersome dream. The cupbearer had finally come through!

Joseph was finally freed—that’s the part we all remember about the story, but what about his days of agony waiting, desperately hoping that the cupbearer would keep his word? I imagine that the cupbearer felt more than a little guilty when he finally remembered Joseph! I don’t want to play the part of the cupbearer in people’s lives. I want to be the one who keeps their word. The Bible tells us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. How often do we say something only to forget about it, and when we remember we justify our inaction by telling ourselves that the other person probably forgot everything we said to them? But would they? Would you?

Think about your own life—have you been devastated by someone breaking their word to you? Do you want to inflict that same pain on someone else? Let us endeavor to be the people who can be counted on to do what we say when we say we will.

Are You in the Right Spot?

by Alaina | Mar 12, 2023 | Sunday Scripture

By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Exodus 13:20&21 NIV

I have always had a hard time relating to people in ancient times because life just seems like it had to be so much harder back then. Can you imagine? Can you imagine if you didn’t work, you literally would not eat. A simple scratch could result in infection and turn lethal. Invading people could come into your cities at night and kill you in your sleep. These are things we just don’t have to worry about now! But this week I was reading in my bible and for the first time I thought; maybe they had it easier back then! Let me explain…

I was reading about the Israelites, oh the Israelites, and their years spent wandering around in the desert. On the one hand I can relate to some of the things they complained about; for instance, I’d get sick of eating the same thing day and night for almost 40 years too! I would also get sick of the nomadic lifestyle as I’m sure many of us who are used to settling—buying or renting a home—would be. God would show up as a pillar of fire at night and cloud by day and while he dwelt over them, they were in the right place, they didn’t have to move. Then without notice, the cloud would move and they would have to break camp (sometimes in the middle of the night) and follow! They had to move as God moved and follow Him.

I know I wouldn’t like the moving in the middle of the night lifestyle either! Still, there would be the peace of knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you were always in God’s will. You could see it—wouldn’t that be nice? How many times in your life have you questioned if you’re truly in God’s will? Have you thought that you had it pretty right but been unsure? We don’t have a pillar to guide us and tell us that we are in His perfect will, but we do have the Bible.

I think oftentimes we might use our fear of uncertainty as a crutch—are we really unsure that we are supposed to leave that job and embark on a new career or are we just scared? Are we procrastinating about doing what he has called us to and pretending like we don’t know what He has told us to do? Or are we being lazy? The Israelites might have had a cloud to guide them but we have God’s word… but do we use it? How many times in your life when you are doing the things that God commands—spending time reading His word, going to church, and spending time in prayer, have you questioned what His will is for you? My guess is that the answer is pretty clear. I’d be willing to bet (from personal experience, I admit) that the times when you question His will isn’t when you are doing all the things, but when we are neglecting one of the areas of our spiritual life that we know we should be investing in more than we currently are. Yes, there are exceptions, but God’s will isn’t a Rubik’s cube that no one can figure out. (I personally believe that the stickers on the Rubik’s cube rearrange themselves at night so that it continually remains unsolvable.) Rather, God’s will is something He is happy to reveal to us as part of a relationship with Him.

Just like we get to know anyone by investing in getting to know them, so we get to know God and His will by investing in getting to know Him. Have you been spending time getting to know Him as a friend? Have you been using all the tools He has given us in an effort to figure out His will? If not, there may be a pillar of fire right in front of you that you are missing!

P.S

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Like Little Children

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Glorious Day

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This too Shall Pass

For our light and momentary troubles are

achieving for us an eternal glory that far

outweighs them all.

2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV

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Are You Living Like a Fool?

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Let Your Yes be Yes

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