focus on Christ

Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.”

The Bible speaks much about putting others before ourselves. This is one way that we can demonstrate our love to God and our desire to be like Him. Whenever we have the opportunity we should show respect for others and especially to those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Last week was the perfect opportunity for practicing this all-important godly trait. Every May many communities look forward to the high school prom. This year Nathan took a good friend as his prom date. It is always so much fun preparing for the big day by vacuuming the car, buying the flowers, getting dressed up, taking pictures, and attending the dinner and after-prom event.

But in the midst of all the fun, it is important to do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Philippians 2:3-4 continues by saying, “With humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own interests but also for the interests of others.”

What does this look like in the prom setting? Here are a few examples.

Guys, it is important to show respect and consideration for your date by practicing basic etiquette. If you are stopping by her house to pick her up, go to the door to get her. Spend some time speaking with her parents and family. Show your date and her parents respect and honor by making sure everyone is aware of the plans for the evening and what time you will drop her off.

Open the car door for your date and let her take your arm. Spend time with her during the evening and initiate appropriate conversation, asking more questions about her than talking about yourself.

Girls, an important way for you to respect your prom date is to dress modestly. It is so fun to wear beautiful dresses and to look your best, but make sure that your appearance is proper and done in good taste. Your true beauty should not come from an outward show of your body but from what God counts as beautiful – a gentle and quiet spirit. In dressing modestly you will be respecting your date who was made by God to be naturally drawn to a woman’s body, but who before marriage wants to keep his thoughts pure and clean.

While attending a prom is fun for all involved, it is also an opportunity to be devoted to each other in brotherly love – the kind of love that God wants us to have for each other all the time. Use this experience and others like it to give preference and honor to one another, and in doing so you will be looking out for not only your own personal interests but also the interests of others. And this pleases God!

Love,
Mama

Good Morning,

The verse of the day is Hebrews 12:2. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of faith…

The bright sun danced in my eyes as I zipped my
jacket and headed out of the barn into the crisp morning air. I threaded my way
through the crowds of Carhart-clad men and women who had gathered for the farm
machinery auction. I followed the sound of the auctioneer’s chant to the place
where our clerking cart was located and exchanged places with the clerk on
duty. Without speaking I immediately gave all my attention to what was
happening before me. As the auctioneer called bids, my fingers flew over the
computer keys recording the description, the price, and the bidder number for
each item sold. Moving through the line of green and yellow riding mowers, I
inched through the pressing crowd to keep the auctioneer and the items in view.

As I moved my cart forward I realized that my
antenna was having trouble transmitting to our main computer in the metal barn.
I wheeled the cart back until I had better reception, all the while continuing
to type, and positioned myself in a place where I could clearly hear the
auctioneer’s chant through our speaker. The crowd moved forward and I focused
my hearing on the voice coming through the PA system, completely putting my
trust in what the auctioneer was saying. I now needed to rely on him fully to
give me the correct information because I could no longer see what was going
on.

This is much like our lives. We follow God
along the path of life until something gets in our way. An interruption breaks
into our comfortable situation and we feel left behind as the world moves on.
There may be an illness, a death, or a financial situation that causes despair
and suddenly we feel as if we have lost contact with Him. We lose sight of God
through our frustration and pain and the voices of life swirl around us causing
us to feel confused. These are the times when we need to tune out the crowd’s
noise and with every ounce of our concentration fix our eyes on Christ. Hang
onto God’s words for they will never fail. Even when we cannot see what is
going on, God is still in control.

It takes training and practice to block the
distractions around me when clerking an auction. Similarly, it takes a lot of
determination to fix our eyes on Jesus in a world of distractions. But when we
do we will experience God’s perfect peace and we’ll never miss a bid!

Love,

Mama

Practicing Respect During Prom Season

Lessons From an Auction Clerk