A Rose By Any Other Name...

Scripture: I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Like a lily among thorns is my darling among maidens.
Song of Songs 2:1-2

It is a tradition at our school that after every play, the actors and actresses receive a rose. I pressed the rose from our first play of the year in a large book of mine. I mentioned that book today in one of my classes and I remembered the rose which got me thinking.

It got me thinking about how a Christian is like a rose. There is almost an infinite range of colors that roses come in. This reminded me of how each Christian is different, we are all unique individuals created in the image of our Father. Roses are easily distinguished because they all have certain traits in common. They come in different colors but you can still tell that it is a rose. We all think and see in our own ways, but we share common beliefs, we share our goal to get to Heaven, and we share our love for one another, our Father, and His living Son.

A rose also has thorns for protection. You know that a rose has thorns and so you do not grab one by the stem and yank it out of the ground. As Christians we are protected by God, and Jesus walks with us always, to protect us from harm. As a Christian our thorns may also represent how we will defend our faith. We will never let anyone take our God given right to worship, to pray, or to praise.

The rose blossom is known for its many layers of petals. I believe this relates to the many layers of our relationship with God. We all have a complex relationship with God, each relationship is different and is very deep, and it has many layers. Everyone can see the petals on the outside of a rose, just as they can see the outside of us. But the inner layers of the rose remain hidden within. There are certain things that are between only us and God, our very most inner self. God has the ability to peel back our outer self and see our inner self, the very soul He created.

We are all God's children; we all share the ancestry of the Garden of Eden. We are all roses in the eyes of God and by any other name we would smell as sweet.

Marie Quill
Motlow Student

Prayer: O Great Gardener of my soul, give me fresh living water to drink, and prune my faith so that it flowers and displays your splendor. I want to bring glory to your name as I bloom in the name of Christ. Amen.

Prayer Tip: All of God’s creation speaks of his glory. Studying one small element of His creation can speak to you new truth about His great design for your life.

Mystery and Intrigue

Scripture: And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12

Our journey through the Advent Season can never be complete without examining the shepherds who heard about Jesus’ birth from a multitude of angles. First, try to imagine what that might be like… If we were out in a field maybe star gazing or perhaps trying to finish up a job and it had gotten dark, how we would feel if all of a sudden we see an angel with the glory of The Lord shining on them. Can you imagine how scary that would be?

Then I think, wow I sure am glad somebody else saw that, because if I was by myself I am certain I would think I had lost my mind. Either way I would have to go into town and search for a baby lying in a manger. Of course the burning question for me is, would I then believe it or would I write it off as some sort of coincidence?

The very sad fact is that most people do experience a “God-incidence” that they write off as a coincidence. It may not be angles singing in the sky, but it is perhaps a bad car wreck that they walk away from or a cancer they beat. They might at first acknowledge God is a real Savior, but then the shining glory wears off and they soon walk away from the manger looking beyond God in all other areas of their life.

We all tend to forget the mystery and wonder of God in our lives when life goes on normally and without calamity. It takes something miraculous to bring our focus back to the amazing qualities of God. I love that God is willing to do amazing signs and wonders to get our attention. But I fear we overlook him unless he is waving his arms and sending bright lights to speak to us.

You may not have seen an angel this week. You may not have experienced God in an amazing way. However, He is there with all the power and mystery of the virgin birth. God can only be overlooked if we are too busy looking at everything else. We must pause and rejoice in the quiet still moments as well as the miraculous dramatic moments of our lives acknowledging that God is God and worthy to be noticed.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnville, TN

Prayer: God of wonder, you have not changed. You are still as mysterious and amazing as you were the day Christ was born. Show us how to rejoice in the midst of our everyday lives. We want to experience the power and wonder of your son, Jesus, today and every day. Amen.

Prayer Tip: Looking for God is the only way we will learn how to recognize him. Ask God to show himself to you.

Valuable Things

Scripture: You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. Luke 16: 15

If you are a mother, whether you enjoy it or not, you probably spend loads of time in your kitchen. I was thinking this morning about the three most important pieces of equipment in my kitchen aside from the appliances of course and every-day dinnerware. I determined that they were the items I used the most: a pot that I boil water for tea, a mix and pour bowl, and the slim spatula. Stop for a moment and think about what you use the most in your kitchen.

If you were to walk around any kitchen and pick out what you deemed to be the most valuable, you might pick out the most expensive looking items, like a nice mixer or a frilly coffee maker. However in my kitchen you would certainly not pick out the grungy pot where the tea bags steep. It is stained and bent in places. I would not even cook anything else in it because it is dedicated totally to making tea. (Keep in mind I am from the South) My guess is that is the last thing you would pick out to be of value.

The slim spatula is white and is not always perfectly white depending on what I do with it. However, it fits perfectly down inside a can to clean out the contents. It insures the remaining ingredients of any recipe are not left stuck to the last important piece, the mix and pour bowl. I honestly use this bowl every day. I would freak out if I went to try and find it and it was gone.

I was just thinking about how God must have realized that the value of a person or an item is not based on the net value. He took His son, the most valuable thing he had, and disguised him in a barn in a manager. Jesus, the King, did not ever wear jeweled crowns or robes. He always had the appearance of any old Joe. His name in that day was ordinary. You could not have gone into Nazareth and picked out Jesus as a king. He was a very unlikely ruler of any kind.

Inventory in our society puts dollar values on important things. We tend to overlook the valuable things in life until we are met with a reason to take stock of our lives. However when we examine how often we use certain items and realize that we do not want to have to do without them, they suddenly increase in value. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world and is contrary to what the world deems valuable. Much like I can’t fix anything in my kitchen without my mixing bowl, Jesus may not be valuable to you until you are aware of your sin and realize how you can’t do without Him. How much you are using Jesus will tell you how valuable He is to you.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnville, TN

Prayer: Amazing God, thank you for seeing the value in the small simple things. Teach me how to value Christ above all things. Amen.

Prayer Tip: Take time to journal your time alone with God, so that you can see how valuable it is to your spiritual growth.

The Queen of Denial

Scripture: 25 As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” 26b Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove? 27 Again peter denied it. At that moment a rooster began to crow. John 18

Holy Week always brings me to a place of self-examination. I like to reflect on the sacrifice Christ made for me personally. Also Easter kind of spot lights the characters for me. I try to put myself in the place of one of them and look at my own life in relation to theirs. How did they behave? How am I behaving?

Peter is an obvious choice. He is the beloved disciple. He is the one that Christ is said to have loved the greatest. He is a passionate dude. He got to walk on water. He cut off the guy’s ear in the garden when Jesus was arrested. He is also the one highlighted as the ultimate coward. He denied Christ not once, not twice, but three times in less than 12 hours!

I have looked at him closely on more than one occasion. I have wondered how someone could walk down the dusty roads of Jerusalem with Jesus and see with his own eyes the miracles, then be so afraid that he could be left powerless enough to deny ever knowing Christ.

This week as I asked these questions and looked closely at Peter’s life, I went to the bank to make a deposit. As I started to pull away from the window the kind clerk told me she had written my balance on the envelope. After the deposit, I still had a negative balance! O gosh! I had obviously miscalculated. I panicked! I did not have time to rush home and find the grave error, but I had kept out some cash to get me through the week. I gave her back the cash in hopes to get it all straightened out soon.

As I drove away from the bank I was so frustrated with the constant strain of everyday life that I began to cry. I started asking myself questions: How will I get this problem solved? When I do, will it just come up again? Do I need to change my plans and just go get a “real” job? I felt hopeless and afraid for my future. I called my husband and flew into him like he could solve the crisis with the wave of his hand.

Almost immediately I realized that I had reacted just like Peter. In the face of crisis I had gotten afraid. I had denied the power of God and lost hope for my future. Believe me, I have done that more than three times over my finances alone. I should be different standing on the other end 2000 years later. I know Jesus rose from the dead, Peter did not, yet I still responded the same way. I was afraid, frustrated, and hopeless. How many more times have I denied the power of God at work in my life? Way more than Peter, no doubt.

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for dying for my sin of unbelief even before I had the chance to let you down. Help me overcome my unbelief. Amen

Prayer Tip: Pick any bible character and repent for the sins you find them committing during your prayer time. We are all guilty of most every sin.

Seasonal Gardening

Scripture: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Once upon a time I had a teachable moment with my children in the bath tub. The topic was the difference between good and bad fruit as Jesus taught in Matthew. We then got the list of the fruit of God’s Spirit from Galatians 5:22 (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.) where we find a great discription of good fruit. Here is where I realized that the kids were teaching me something…

I thought about the good fruit and assumed that bad fruit must be the opposite of the good. Therefore if the good fruit is love, then the bad fruit is hate. The kids were great at figuring out opposites. If joy is a fruit of God’s spirit, then depression is a bad fruit.

With my mind and heart turned toward the Advent Season I was pondering this week’s focus: Peace. Peace is a fruit of God’s Spirit. It is a good fruit. What is the opposite of Peace? Ouch!!! I found some rotten fruit in my basket here. I realized that turmoil, strife, unrest, worry, fear, and anxiety would all fit the bad list! O what a time to remember that the punishment that Jesus experienced is what brought us peace!

The peace that Jesus brought us came at a very high price. Yet in many cases we do not walk in the peace of Christ. If the fruit we display is not good fruit, then we must not be walking in the Spirit of Christ. Can we just decide to be peaceful? I think if it were that easy then everyone would be doing it.

The peace of Advent is a renewing of our mind. We must first be aware that we are not experiencing the peace of Christ before we can ever hope to put on that peace. Much like peace was a gift Jesus brought to us, recognizing our bad fruit is a gift from God. We must seek truth in order to find truth. We must seek Christ in order to find fellowship with Him. We must seek peace… Get the picture?

I pray that this Christmas you will indeed find the peace of Christ which WAY surpasses the peace that gifts, charity, and time off from work can give you. May you have a renewed mind with much more that visions of sugar plumbs and may you find the fruit of God’s Spirit in the stocking of your heart. Let the Prince of Peace rule in your lives now and always.

Prayer: Great and awesome God, help us unwrap your gift of peace this Christmas, so that the reality of Jesus can be made evident to someone who has not experienced the peace of Christ. Amen

Prayer Tip: Examining the fruit in your life during quiet times of prayer and meditation can allow God to expose your sin and the roots that bear bad fruit.

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN