Do you have a fear of bees? I do!

They are the uninvited quests on a picnic or a patio lunch. Many people have a fear of bees and how at anytime they can land on you and sting you. I would be ok with never seeing one again, but then again honey in my tea is so yummy!

I was told and others I have talked to have said that since they were young they have always remembered adults saying avoid them bees at all costs - “when you see one flail your arms and run around like you have gone mad!” It is inevitable that when a bee is near someone they will be caught flailing around possibly screaming or even taking off in a fast sprint to get far far away from this little tiny pest.

Sometimes the fear creeps up when you see the shadow of the bee hovering around you or even that terrifying sound buzzing by your ear. You try to remain calm and very still, but then it gets closer the sound gets louder and your arms start to move around a little more trying to intimidate the little guy. Sometimes the bee does not take a hint and it continues to fly around you maybe even lands on you in a spot you can’t see which makes you even more nervous, and then you feel a tiny bead of perspiration on your forehead. You start to panic as the bee persists, the bee settles down on your arm and then fear fills your body of the thought of getting stung!!

Do you get where I am going with this thought? That lurking shadow that hides in places you can’t see with your eyes, the terrifying feeling you get knowing something is ‘buzzing’ around you. That panic happens when you have your eyes fixed on something else, you let that shadow settle in and fill you with terror, anxiety, frustration, and it also clouds your judgment.

Satan is always lurking he is always in the shadows waiting and prowling wanting to settle in and try to get you to fix your eyes on something else other than Christ.

That is why we always need to be suited up we cannot let Satan in not even for just one moment – Don’t give Satan the power to sting you!!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” – Ephesians 6:10-18

Love. Kayla

This week I have been reading Max Lucado’s The Great House of God.  He unpacks a passage from Isaiah 55:8-9 in a way that really spoke to me.  Here is the passage and Lucado’s thoughts on it:

“My thoughts are not like your thoughts.  Your ways are not like my ways.  Just as the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  Isa. 55:8-9

Make special note of the word like.  God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are they even like ours.  We aren’t even in the same neighbourhood.  We’re thinking, ‘Preserve the body; he’s thinking, Save the soul.  We dream of a pay raise.  He dreams of raising the dead.  We avoid pain and seek peace.  God uses pain to bring peace.  “I’m going to live before I die,” we resolve.  “Die, so you can live,” he instructs.  We love what rusts.  He loves what endures.  We rejoice at our successes.  He rejoices at our confessions.  We show our children the Nike star with the million-dollar smile and say, “Be like Mike.” God points to the crucified carpenter with bloody lips and a torn side and says, “Be like Christ.”

What a great reminder this is for all of us today.  Let’s live like we believe it!

Michelle

Jay and I started watching the show Prison Break a while ago, and finished all four seasons within a few months.  As I was watching one of the early episodes, I was alerted to something that I did not realize was in my heart.  As we got to know some of the characters, I began to hate one with a passion: T-Bag. He was in prison for raping and murdering children, an he was truly a disgusting character the whole way through.  At one point in the show, I remember filling with anger and thinking “even Jesus cannot save this man.”  I didn’t want people like him to ever experience the grace and forgiveness of Christ.

When we were driving to the movie store later that night, I burst into tears and told Jay what I had thought.  I had doubted the power of the Cross and completely denied the power that Jesus holds to redeem the lives of the ugliest sinners.  Even child molesters.

As I have mentioned on this blog before, I am passionate about the fight to end sex trafficking.  I realized that men who traffic women and sell them into a life of rape are just like T-Bag: the ugliest of sinners.  Yet I can’t let hatred for traffickers overtake my life, because Jesus died for them as well.  That is such a hard pill for me to swallow.  Yes, traffickers and child molesters deserve punishment for their actions. Sin always has consequences. But we must believe that Jesus Christ has the power to redeem even them.  The same eternal life that is available to us is available to them…if they choose Jesus as their Saviour and Lord.

Who have you written off as unforgivable?  Let us repent of our unbelief and remember the earth shattering power of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Michelle

Four years ago I spent seven weeks doing missions work in Turkey. During my time there, I took a tour of Ephesus - a New Testament Historical site- where I saw the statue pictured above. Her name is ‘Diana’ (also known as Artemis,) the great goddess of fertility. Temples were built in her honor. Riots were formed in her defence. Somehow she captivated the hearts of the people and caused a lot of drama amongst the early Christians in Ephesus. (Acts 19)

Walking down the streets amongst the ruins and rubble of what was once a thriving city, I could easily pick out what these people once lived for: Diana. She was their idol.

Throughout the Bible, we are warned and commanded to stay away from idols. Sure as Christians in North America we are not faced with this sort of idolatry. We don’t wake up every morning and bow to a statue. Unfortunately, our idols are much more discrete… and often masquerade themselves so that we don`t realize they are there.

An idol- defined simply- is anything that takes top priority in our lives. They are the things we give most of our time to, spend most of our money on, and think about most often . It usually starts out as something good, but then we take it to the extreme,- devoting ourselves to it and somehow allowing it to define who we are. It could be a relationship, job, hobby, education, etc.

I think it’s safe to say we all have something we idolize in our lives. It’s time to find out what they are, get rid of them, and give Christ the  top priority He deserves.

Jess

I received an email from Rebekah Hoefnagels last week.  This is what it said…

Hey Jay, I was on your website today and I found it very interesting. I am passionate about the way women treat others and get treated negatively in our culture. I am not a feminist but I think that girls too often get sucked into false things (reality tv shows, clothing, popularity etc).

This is something I wrote a bit ago, that you haven’t touched on (from what I could see) on the website that I think should be addressed. it’s just an idea, pull ideas from it if you like and write something more relevant to the website. and Beware: It’s just a bunch of random thoughts thrown together.

Which is great, because this entire website is just a bunch of random thoughts thrown together!  As you can see, Rebekah is passionate that women learn to live right.  Which makes me very happy.  Check out her thoughts below…

This is Rebekah.

Don’t you love getting told that you are beautiful?

That you made a difference in someone’s life?

That you are funny?

We all know that sometimes a comment can either brighten our day or ruin it. So why is it that we continue to judge people and comment about their lives that we really don’t know anything about?

Yes a girl may have done something mean to you but that doesn’t mean you should go and tell others that she is a terrible person. A girl may not be up on the latest fashion trends but that doesn’t mean that she is out of touch with reality and won’t be hurt when you make fun of her clothes. And even if we don’t cut people down we still don’t go out of our way to encourage them.

For some reason subconsciously we think that if we tell someone they did a good job or look nice or are funny then that means they are better then us. We want to be at the top, the best in hopes of increasing our self-esteem. But all this competition just hurts us. Instead of having a group of close friends you will have a group of girls you are competing against so you don’t tell them your fears, struggles, and weaknesses.

When you truly believe that “you are fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and that your identity lies in Christ (not in the clothes you own, the friends you have, the sports you play), encouraging others will come easily.

As females we need to come together and lift each other up. Too often in the media we get told to look a certain way, have certain interests, and date a lot to be confident. But our confidence comes from Christ. If we expect guys to treat us with respect we need to start treating each other with respect.

And if we don’t get treated with respect, don’t turn around and talk about it to someone else, forgive. “May we understand that forgiveness doesn’t justify the other person’s actions; instead, it makes us free.” I challenge you go against the flow and encourage those around you.

Rebekah