New in Christ

Since Easter is right around the corner, I thought I would make a post about God making us new.

When God sent Jesus to us, it was so that through Him we could have eternal life. When He died on the cross, He took away are sin and made us new. We are now alive in Christ!

Here are some verses, from The Message, on being remade:

Romans 8:1-2 (The Message)

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

Hosea 6:1-3 (The Message)

"Come on, let's go back to God. He hurt us, but he'll heal us. He hit us hard, but he'll put us right again. In a couple of days we'll feel better. By the third day he'll have made us brand-new, Alive and on our feet, fit to face him. We're ready to study God, eager for God-knowledge. As sure as dawn breaks, so sure is his daily arrival. He comes as rain comes, as spring rain refreshing the ground."

Romans 7:4-6 (The Message)

So, my friends, this is something like what has taken place with you. When Christ died he took that entire rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb, leaving you free to "marry" a resurrection life and bear "offspring" of faith for God. For as long as we lived that old way of life, doing whatever we felt we could get away with, sin was calling most of the shots as the old law code hemmed us in. And this made us all the more rebellious. In the end, all we had to show for it was miscarriages and stillbirths. But now that we're no longer shackled to that domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, we're free to live a new life in the freedom of God.

One of my favorite songs is by an artist named Jason Gray. In his song, I Am New, he sins about being new in Christ. Here is his song:

I Am New by Jason Gray

Now I won’t deny
The worst you could say about me
But I’m not defined by mistakes that I’ve made
Because God says of me

I am not who I was
I’m being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy and I’m dearly loved
I am new

Who I thought I was
And who I thought I had to be
I had to give them both up
Cause neither were willing
To ever believe

I am not who I was
I’m being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy and I’m dearly loved
I am new
I am new

Too long have I lived in the shadow of shame
Believing that there was no way I could change
But the one who is making everything new
Doesn’t see me the way that I do
He doesn’t see me the way that I do

I am not who I was
I’m being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy and I’m dearly loved
I am new
I am new

Forgiven, beloved
Hidden in Christ
Made in the image of the Giver of Life
Righteous and holy, reborn and remade
Accepted and worthy
This is our new name

This is who we are now

Reflection Questions:

1. What defines your worth? (ex: friends, culture, parents, grades, accomplishments etc.)

2. Have you been made new in Christ?

3. What can you take from this that you can apply in your life?

Be Blessed and Remade through God's Grace!

How to Deal With a Kid Who Doesn't Want to be Respectful

Have you ever been caught in a situation were you're baby sitting some kids and they don't want to respect you? These sorts of situations can be difficult, especially when it constantly happens. Here are some quick tips that can help you as a baby sitter:

1. Don't ever yell at a kid. This scares them and will make them rebel more.
2. Speak gently, but firm. When you speak gently, it lets the kid know that they are not in trouble yet, but that you are in authority.
3. Don't give kids a reason to disrespect you. The way you treat a child, to them, gives them permission to act the same way. If they see that you are disrespectful, then the will be disrespectful also.
4. Before baby sitting a family, lay some ground rules, that way if discipline is needed they will know what their punishment will be.
5. If the child still acts disrespectful after you have talked to them, give them a small timeout or get their mother or father. If it is necessary to give a timeout, give them a timeout that amounts to their age. (ex: 5 yrs. = 5 min.)
6. If children are fighting over a toy, take the toy away.

If you need a set of ground rules, here are some you can use:

1. Respect each other.
2. Listen to your babysitter.
3. Accept punishment.
4. If you don't obey, you get one warning, a timeout, and when the parent gets home, you have to tell them what happened.

Hope these rules help you with baby sitting or even with your siblings! If you have any questions or ideas, leave a comment.

Jealousy: The Green Eyed Monster

When you hear that someone else you know is doing something without you, and with someone else, do you ever want to scream, "It's not fair!"? When you feel like that, it is a warning to yourself that you are sinning in jealousy.

I am writing this post because I am being attacked by the Green Eyed Monster. I am feeling jealous because there are two girls doing something that makes me wish I had someone to do the same thing with.

I decided to look at some verses to see what God tells us about jealousy.

Psalm 78:58
They angered him with their high places; they aroused His jealousy with their idols.

Psalm 79:5
How long, LORD? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

Psalm 78:58 and Psalm 79:5 talk about how God is angered by our idolatry of others and things. His jealousy is aroused when we make other things or people more important to us than Him. Since He is a jealous God, He burns with anger for our total attention. He is jealous for us. We can understand this better, when we struggle with our own jealousy. But this does not give us permission to be jealous.

Romans 13:13
Let us behave decently........and not in jealousy.

Romans 13:13 talks about how we should behave decently. It goes one to describe jealousy as an indecent act. While the Lord has the right to be jealous for us, we are not to behave with jealousy in our hearts.

After reading these verses, I prayed and asked God to help me to get rid of my jealously! If you ever are feeling jealous, think of these verses.