"I have told you this, so that when the time comes for them to do these things, you will remember what I told you." John 16:4
So many of the things that happens to us in today's times were predicted two thousand years ago by Jesus himself. He tells us that we will be persecuted for following him and for living for the spirit and not for the things of this world. How many of you feel persecuted from time to time for following God's will? If you have more than three children, you are considered crazy in the world's eyes. If you feel the call to homeschool, you are considered plain nuts in the world's eyes. If you have bountiful joy for living your life as you pray without ceasing through spiritual music filling your home, a prayer candle lit in your window, reading spiritual literature to gain wisdom while your children play, you are considered "a bit too much" and need to simmer down with your faith journey. I have received persecution as well as have witnessed my sister and others receiving persecution and let me tell you...it ain't fun! We immediately start doubting ourselves, our lives and the person God has shaped and molded us to be. So if we arene't living for God, why are we living anyway? Yesterday for mother's day, all I wanted to do was lay in bed for two hours, read a book and watch a movie. The Holiday was on (if you haven't seen it it is great!) and I turned on the TV just in time to see the very beginning and I actually finished a movie for the first time in almost five years! Anyway, watching movies can be dangerous on the heart. As I was so intrigued by this love story, the home in LA and then the cottage in England, I started yearning for more and thinking my life wasn't as great. This is the danger of living for the world and not for the spirit. We start looking around us and seeing what others have and what we don't have. As I have three toddlers climbing all over me for 14 hours each day (I believe it is a form of being scourged at the pillar!), I look at the lives in the fairy tale movies and think how exhausting and somewhat mundane my life is! But, if we keep our minds focused on Christ and the life of He and his amazing mother who is now Queen of Heaven, our lives will look rich and glorious. Instead of feeling scouraged at the pillar with toddlers screaming in your ear, we feel blessed on mother's day that we hear those screams, for many mothers yesterday and every day long to hear those screams of their toddlers who went to Heaven earlier than they hoped.
So there you have it, my heart this morning. If you feel persecuted, know your not alone. And if you find yourself watching a movie, remember before you even start that it can be dangerous on the heart....even if it is rated PG! This is the world's way of sucking you into the lie that life is perfect. Just remind yourself how rich and beautiful your life is....God's plan for you is perfect and someday soon we will have the ultimate fairy tale for Eternity!
Blessings to you this Monday!
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