Paint Party Friday: Captivated by Jesus!

For Paint Party Friday, this is what I chose 

from my stack of backgrounds.

 "When fully trained, 

every disciple will be like his teacher." 

Luke 6:40

Disciple. 

Seems like such a serious, forbidding word. 

I think I shall focus on the word 

TEACHER. MENTOR. MODEL. LEADER.

It is natural for us to look up to 

someone we admire, who inspires us, moves us.

 How amazing that Mother Teresa 

and her way of life moved 

so many ordinary women to live 

in poverty and care for the dying.   

St. Francis of Assisi, 

by following Jesus' footsteps 

as an itinerant preacher, 

founded several religious orders. 

These men and women who 

imitated him were captivated 

to help restore Jesus' original teachings 

to a rich, decadent Church.

 How about us? 

Are we captivated by Jesus, by His life, 

His words, His character, His love? 

Do we want to be like Him? 

In Matthew 11:29, He says to the crowd, 

"LEARN from me..."

We will only want to learn from Him 

if we see Him as He is 

and cast away our fear that 

we have to give up everything to follow Him. 

 If someone like Scottish, 20-year-old Aqsa Mahmood 

can give up her comfortable life 

to follow someone like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 

the leader of ISIS, 

surely we can take steps every day 

to become more and more like Jesus! 

After all, He gave His life for us!!

 "Stop judging..." Luke 6:37 

God knows I find this very difficult to obey! 

I'm a person who has a tendency 

to look at other people's lives 

and thinks why in the world 

do they do the wrong thing repeatedly? 

They are just digging their own hole! 

At heart I am a busybody, 

though it pains me to admit it!!! 

When I see something that needs to be corrected, 

I will go and talk to the person, 

even if he is a priest or someone with standing. 

And then I go to confession and 

repent for being judgmental and self-righteous!

The best way I know to combat 

this deplorable propensity of mine is to be 

always conscious that the person I am judging 

is someone God loves very much--

To see that person through God's eyes, 

with His compassion, 

His mercy, His understanding. 

The same way Jesus looked at 

the adulterous woman in John Chapter 8. 

Jesus did not go preaching to her about sin. 

He loved her. 

He saw the person she COULD be, 

and eventually became! 

There is so much pain in everyone's life, 

and I pray I will always be the one 

to offer encouragement instead of criticism. 

I hope I will remember to be the one 

to offer words of life, of healing, 

instead of throwing the first stone 

to destroy someone's self esteem, or confidence. 

God HATES the sins of the tongue. 

There is much in the Bible about this! 

But we should always speak good 

for our own future. 

1 Peter 3:10 says, "Whoever wants to embrace life 

and see his days fill up with good,..

say nothing evil or hurtful, 

cultivate good, run after peace..." 

(The Message) 

Yes, we reap what we sow!

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Patsy