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Daily Dose of Encouragement

Mirror Image

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“As waters reflect the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”
Proverbs 27:19, NIV

Over a year ago, I enrolled in an online iPhone photography course. Besides receiving instruction from experienced iPhone photographers on how to capture and edit remarkable photos, students are invited to join a Facebook community of their peers and participate in constructive critiques.

While on vacation last summer, I was struck by the crystal-clear reflection of a yellow house along the canal and captured the image with my iPhone. When I edited my photo, I cropped out the majority of the land portion of the house to emphasize its outstanding reflection. After posting my photo in the online community, I received favorable comments, but I also received some stating that I should’ve included in my picture the source of the reflection—the house itself. One comment especially resonated with me: “The reflection is the hero, but without the source, it’s not as powerful.”

Many houses reflected in the canal that evening, but the element that made this reflection outstanding was the angle of the sun. I snapped the photo during the golden hour—the last hour before sunset—the hour when the sun’s rays bring ordinary objects to life with a golden glow. The water mirrored the house above it, but without its remarkable light source, the reflection would’ve lost its impact.

God created us in his image, but we were born into a fallen world and possessed a sinful nature. If we confess our sin and invite Christ to be our Savior, he forgives our sin. From that moment forward, as we devote time to Bible study and prayer, our lives begin to take on the characteristics of Christ. The more time we invest, the more we grow spiritually, and the more accurate the reflection of Christ in us becomes.

The mirrored image of the yellow house was what caught my attention that evening, but when my eyes moved upward, I saw the actual house. How do others respond when they see the image we reflect? Do their eyes travel upward to the origin of the reflection—the light of Jesus Christ?

We either mirror the characteristics of our Heavenly Father or those of a fallen world. Indeed, the image we reflect may be the hero, but without Christ as the light source, it loses its power.

As Easter approaches, may the reflection of Christ in us inspire others to look heavenward and see our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Happy Easter!

Starr Ayers

Let It Go!

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“Cast your burden on the LORD [release it] and He will sustain and uphold you.” 
Psalm 55:22 AMP

Many of you have probably heard of Disney’s movie Frozen and its popular song Let It Go! I’m not necessarily a big fan of the lyrics, but I do like the title. Let me explain.

As Christians, I think we’d all agree that none of us are exempt from the daily troubles and temptations of life. Just because we love God and seek to follow Him doesn’t mean we have it all together. However, learning to apply these three little words – LET IT GO – could prove to be very beneficial in certain situations.

STRESS! Does anyone besides me have issues with that? Stress comes in all kinds of packages. Some are simply beyond our realm of control. Others we create by our busyness and excessive commitments. Other situations just simply require us to let it go. The results of the latter application have proven very beneficial on a personal level.

WORRIES AND CARES. Like stress, anxiety and concerns may or may not be of our own doing. We find instruction in the Scriptures to not worry and to cast our cares on God. Not as easy as it sounds, but if we’ll hold all things with an open hand, it’s much easier to let it go.

UNFORGIVENESS. If you struggle in this area, let me remind you that you are hurting yourself more than the person you choose not to forgive. Holding on to those wrongs will eat at you like cancer and create a bitter heart. Let it go. Give the offense and the person to God. You may have to do it more than once, but the outcome will always be for your good.

FLAWED THINKING. That would be the same as bad, wrong, unhealthy, evil, impure…I think you get my drift. Whether from temptation or random thoughts, we need to get a grip on our thought life. As soon as you recognize that ‘stinking thinking’, let it go! However, be quick to replace the bad with the good.

Father, help us to be quick to grasp those areas of our lives that need to be turned over to         you. May we be quick to let it go, casting it all away, knowing You will take those burdens         and troubles from us. Amen and amen!

[Digging deeper – Prov. 23:7a; Matt. 6:25-34; Phil. 4:6-8; Col. 3:13; 1 Peter 5:8]

Releasing the grip,

Beverly <><

VIP Access

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“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Ephesians 3:12 NIV

When I was younger, one of my best friends had connections to the music group Hansen (one of the heart throb boy bands of the 90’s).

One summer when I was visiting my friend for a week, her aunt surprised us with tickets to one of Hansen’s concerts. We were ecstatic! With squeals of girlish excitement we went to the concert, bought T-shirts and sang along to the music. About half-way through the concert my friend looked over at me and exclaimed, “Noree, I am such a fool! If had let them (Hansen) know we were coming beforehand, we could have gotten back stage passes.” (Believe it or not, this was before most people owned cell phones to let them know we were at the concert.) Needless to say, that put a bit of a damper on the rest of the concert: thinking of what might have been… but my friend and I still enjoyed it.

How many of us know in our heads we have full access to the throne of God, but forget to live it out? We have access to the King of kings and Lord of lords! The Israelites lived with a veil over their hearts, but through the blood of Jesus we who believe have had that veil torn away and now live reflecting the glory of God with His Spirit living inside us (2 Corinthians 3:13-18).

In Hebrews 10:19-22 Paul encourages believers to draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith. We need to live each day taking full advantage of our access to the King of kings! His power knows no equal; His might no limit. And we have His incomparably great power living in us to live each day victoriously and for the glory of our God (Ephesians 1:18-20).

Noree Wegmeyer

 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Free Images: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/vip-1549961