Living for Christ

I have been meditating on Scriptures today, that urge us to live our lives for Christ. Scriptures like 2 Corinthians 10:5 that commands us to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. I just really want to think through everything I do each day, and decide if I am doing it for Christ, or not for Christ. There is no gray area there. When I drive my car, do I do it for Christ, or just to get where I'm going (thus, not for Christ). Do I wash the dishes because it's part of the job of a SAHM, because I have to (thus, not for Christ but out of need), or do I wash the dishes for Christ? There are endless examples I could use, and you probably could come up with many more on your own. I have pondered on this from time to time, but it's really heavy on my heart today.

I have so many overwhelming thoughts in my head. Do I react to others for Christ, or out of selfishness? Do I love others out of my own self-centered heart, or do I love them for and through Christ? Do I LIVE for Christ, or is He just a book that I read, necklace I wear, and song that I sing? What does it truly mean to lay down my life, and live for Him, and Him alone? And how far away from that reality am I? I know it is possible, because if it were not so, He wouldn't have told us. We wouldn't be encouraged, commanded even, to do so, if it were not something Christ wanted and desired from us.

So in the midst of all of my deep thoughts, I thought of my sisters here. My dear sisters in Christ, I ask you, what does it mean to lay down our lives and live for Him, and Him alone? Any thoughts?

Sinfully proud?

At our Women Discipling Women meeting the other night, we watched a video of a sermon by Martha Peace. The topic was 'Hurt Feelings'. It was a really great sermon for oh so many reasons. It helped show us how thinking about our feelings isn't the biblical response. She had a chart that showed what we think vs the biblical response. I didn't write any of her examples down but it was something along the lines of (going to the extreme):

We think: They didn't take my advice, they must think I'm stupid.
Biblical response: They have the freedom to make their own choices. This is not a sin issue, I will pray that their choice works out well for them.

She had several examples (and I'm now wishing I had written them down) like this one. It was such an amazing eye opener. But she also said one thing that is really sticking with me. She said "Overly sensitive = sinfully proud". At first I disagreed with this. You see I am not a proud person. However, I am very shy and rather sensitive. But the more I think about it, the more I see her point. By being shy I am afraid of getting hurt, or putting myself out there. Being shy is all about me.The same thing applies to being sensitive. When I focus on myself and how I feel about the situation, it isn't glorifying God. By being shy and sensitive, I am being self absorbed. Wow! I totally didn't see that before!

So now, I have to step out of my self protective shell, and start living to please God, not myself. Part of declaring Him Lord of my life, is trusting Him. It doesn't matter what others think of me (so there is no reason to be shy), because I don't live to please men, for if I was striving to please men, I wouldn't be a slave of Christ. When I allow others to hurt my feelings it's usually because they are disappointed in me, or something else about me. And again, if I am living to please them, I can not be called a slave of Christ. Does this mean that I will never have my feelings hurt? No, of course not. But it does mean that I need to think biblically about each situation and determine why I am feeling the way I am. Then decide if I really should be hurt by what has happened.

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. ~ Galatians 1:10

Ch-ch-changes

As part of the My One Word challenge, they send out e-mails with reflection questions and links to a related post on their site. Today's post was entitled Wardrobe Changes (you can view it (here).The assignment is: Take a few moments and journal about the type of person you want to be at the end of 2011. How would you want this person to be described? What are some characteristics that would define this person? For those who have already chosen your One Word, what effect do you hope this word will have on your character? How will you have to posture yourself to make that change a reality?

My thoughts:
I would like to be described as a Christian. Not just a 'yeah, she goes to church and believes that Bible stuff.' But I want there to be no doubt in anyones mind that my top priority is serving Christ, reflecting His attitude, and sharing His love with others.

I hope that by reflecting on the word 'doulos' over the year that it will help me to remember that Christ is my number one priority. The EVERYTHING I do and even think should be done to please Him.

There is a lot of changing I want to do over the next year.I want to be transformed into a slave of Christ. To make that change a reality, I need to focus on Christ more. I need to spend more time in God's Word and in prayer. I need to surround myself with His commands and desires. Then ultimately I need to surrender to His will.

So far this year I have been doing okay at this. Not great, but not completely terrible. I have made time each morning to read a short devotion, and I am spending time each day in God's Word (but not as much as I would like). I continue to fail at being the example I want to be for my children though. I am also failing to take the time I want to each morning to pray. I need to start getting up a bit earlier so I have more one on one time with God each morning.

Encompassing 2010

This week for MamaKat's writing workshop I'm responding to prompt number 1: Choose a word that encompasses 2010 and describe why. What word will you choose as your theme for 2011?

A word that I think would describe 2010 well would be 'homeschooling'. I wanted to, then I was told I could. Then I spent tons of hours, days, weeks, okay months preparing for it. Then I actually started. It basically consumed me last year. Now I am getting use to it, and it is no longer consuming me, and I am getting back into being me.

In the beginning of 2010 I was consumed with the desire to homeschool, but my Mr. Amazing said no chance! By spring he was coming around and I almost cried each time I had to take my children to the public school that they were in. By the end of the school year he had granted me his blessing in pulling them out the following year (I know, he's Amazing!). So I spent my summer learning all I could about homeschooling. Different schedules people used, and the different types of homeschooling. I had to research all of the different curriculum choices and then make my choices. Then I had to prepare our school room, find the books we would need, and actually make a schedule. It seemed like a never ending process (that I absolutely loved!). The first day of school went really, really well! (you can read about it here) However from there it got more stressful. Trying to teach and control four young children (two of them still in diapers) was not the easiest thing I every attempted. We had our ups and downs and all arounds, but we made it! We are still alive and doing well! While we are still homeschooling, it is no longer encompassing my life as it did last year. It's just a part of who I am and what I do.

I already wrote a post (or four) about my one word for this year, the word that I want to focus on and have be my theme for 2011. My word is 'Doulos' (for more information you can click the tab at the top of the screen labeled my one word).

Who am I?

I was doing some browsing around online tonight and found this amazing blog post about being a slave to Christ. It was written in 2008, but it echoes so many of the thoughts that I have already written down on my own study of being a slave of Christ! I love it when God confirms things in this way! :)

I also read in a book that I'm reading something that sparked a thought process. The book is called Women Counseling Women and the general editor is Elyse Fitzpatrick. This book is very unique in the fact that each chapter is written by a different author. The particular chapter that I was reading was written by Joan Kulper. She was writing about our identities. She wrote that God has made each of us with an internal identity that is lasting beyond our circumstances. Her point was that we are not defined by our roles. While I am a mother, wife, daughter, ect. that is not WHO I am but what I am. I have often struggled with this, because let's face it, as a mom it's hard to think of yourself as anything else most of the time. Her point was that our identity, confidence, and all that we are as a person is tied to Jesus Christ. We aren't defined by what we do, but with whom we are connected eternally.

So the question remains: Who am I? The answer? I am a doulos of Christ! I have been adopted into His family and have laid down my life to serve Him, both now and in eternity. Here is yet one more amazing article entitled Hello, I am a slave.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ~ Romans 8:15

Slave vs. Servant

As I begin to focus on the word Doulos this year, someone shared with me this video by John MacArthur (author of Slave). I thought I would share it with you all, along with some of what I have been learning.



The word "doulos" has been translated servant, bondservant, and slave. However the literal translation is slave. Bondservant waters it down a little, and servant waters it down a lot.

A servant is one who expresses submission, recognizance or debt to another.

A bondservant is a person obligated to service without wages. (In other words somewhere between servant and slave.)

A slave is one bound in servitude as the property of another; one who works or toils extremely hard.

The real difference? A slave owns nothing, and has no choices. However they can be treated well and even loved by their masters. Servants on the other hand, were hired and paid. They can quit at any time, slaves can not quit. This makes me think of our Salvation. If we are mere servants for Christ, then we can just simply quit being Christians. We could lose our salvation. If we are slaves of Christ then we can't quit. If we try Christ will fight for us to keep us His own. We cannot lose our salvation. Which would you rather be?

Ways to serve

There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:5

As I start my time focusing on the word Doulos, I think the above verse is highly important. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. I could be serving my family by washing clothes, serving the church by teaching the 2's and 3's, or serving God by sharing Christ's love with someone at the store, those are all ways to serve God. I don't have to go to Africa or China to serve our God, but that is one way that people serve Him. It's not important to long for the things that I can't do to serve Him, but to be content in the ways that I can (I personally don't long to go to Asia or anywhere, but I know others who do). I may never travel the world, but I can serve God where I am. I can serve Him in a different way, and currently the main way I can serve Him is by serving my family.

While Jesus was ministering on earth, He spent the majority of His time with 12 disciples. Yes, He talked to others as well, but these 12 were His focus. From 11 of them the Gospel was shared with the world. If I dedicated all of my time to sharing about Christ with my children, and just a few others that are close to me, what kind of an impact could that leave for Christ? Just serving Him by keeping Him the focus of my time with my family, then when we part ways in a few years (hopefully longer than that with my kids... but you get the point), they can take what they have learned and share it with others. I can impact the world, just by starting a small ripple. If I can serve God by discipling a few, how many much more glory can be brought to Him by the people they disciple, and the ones that those disciple, and so on and so forth.

This makes me wonder how many people God has used in my own faith that I will personally never meet. The people who taught my youth pastor, the grandparents of my best friend who use to share Bible verses with me, what about whoever first shared the Gospel with the people who write the books that I read? I will never know these people, or even who they are, but God does. I personally am very glad they served the Lord. I hope God can use me in some small way to impact others for Him.

One word?

I have been seeing a lot of people this year that instead of making new years resolutions they are choosing one word that focuses on their personality or future in some way through out the year. So here are the steps to picking one word:

STEP 1: DETERMINE THE KIND OF PERSON YOU WANT TO BECOME
This is easy for me! I want to become like Christ!

STEP 2: IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT PERSON
There are so many!!!
Gentle, kind, servant, humble, forgiving, joyful, loving, faithful, persistent, compassionate, good, patient, truthful, protective, trustworthy... and the list goes on!

STEP 3: SIMPLY PICK A WORD
I find the 'simply' above is a tad misleading... I want to be all of those things! However, I did narrow it down to one word. However, I was able to narrow it down to one word (well, kind of). I choose "doulos" :)

Doulos is usually translated "slave", "bondservant", or "servant". I want to be all of those things. I want to be a servant, bond-servant, or slave for Christ. I want to do so by serving Him, my family, and others. I desire to have a servant's heart.

I have always desired this, but I would say that after reading Slave by John MacAurthur, the desire to learn more and develop this characteristic in myself has become more prominent. I really look forward to this year, and becoming a "doulos" for Christ!

It is also suggested to pick a verse to go along with this. There are SOOOO many I could have chosen, and I think I will spend the next year studying all of them (or as many as I can...)! The verse I went with was Psalm 119:125 it reads:
I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.

Slave by John MacArthur

I just finished reading Slave by John MacArthur. This book outlines what it has meant to be a slave throughout history; from ancient Egypt, to first century Roman slaves, and on to the more recent British/American slave trade. Mr. MacArthur gave lots of background so that we could properly understand what it means to be a slave of Christ.

I immediately fell in love with the presentation of this book. There was something about the pages that made them seem almost delicate. While this book was slow starting, it gave much needed information to better understand what it was trying to convey. It was extremely well researched and very enlightening.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”



Breakdown:
Worldview: Biblical
Target Audience: Those who profess a belief in Christ
Positive Elements: All of it…
Inappropriate Language: None 
Unbiblical Content: None
Other Negative Elements: None