Extras

There are no extras in life.

In the background of our favorite movies, actors called "extras" fill in all the gaps to make scenes look realistic: a crowd at a baseball game, diners in a restaurant, people walking on a busy sidewalk.

Everyday, in our real lives we see people in the background too.  I was at a concert recently (shout out to Casting Crowns) and I looked around at the crowd.  There were about 3,000 people there and suddenly I realized that God knows every single one of them.  He knows each name, each life and every thought of each of those people. 

The entire Bible teaches us that God loves every single person.  He loves us all unconditionally and equally.

No one is "extra" to God.

No one has a "bit part".  Your waitress, your neighbor, the guy behind you in traffic, your coworkers, your classmates and the girl standing in your way at the grocery store are not "extras" in your life.  Each one of them is someone that God loves, someone that Jesus died to save.  Just like you.  Each one is made in the image of God and is just as important to God as you are.  And never forget that you are never "extra" either.

This is an amazing truth that should affect your life. God tells us to love our neighbors (Mark 12:31), our enemies (Matthew 5:44), other Christians (John 13:34-35) and-oh yeah-EVERYONE:

1 Thessalonians 3:12a "And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow,"     

"For God so loved"...who? Smart people? Attractive people? Friendly people? Interesting people? Important people? No.  

"For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 NLT (emphasis mine)

Stop condemning, comparing and coveting. Don't get down on yourself or up on yourself. These are all sins that I struggle with and they are not good for me.  They don't add anything to my life. They steal a lot of peace and joy, in fact. 

Remind yourself of who you are and who everyone else is and you won't regret it.  You are LOVED by God and so is everyone else. 

God has given you invincible love, grace and joy, so overflow!  Spread the love!!!

In God's Universe, There Are No Extras. 

White Coat Hypertension

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I thought I'd share a technique I've been using to try to make myself less nervous. I try to think of the doctor and nurses (and all of the other people whose titles include various combinations of the words assistant, tech, clerk, student and practitioner) as stylists, masseurs and general well-being pamperers.

  I imagine those montages that occur in chick flicks right before the leading lady goes to the big party.  You know what I'm talking about.  When she gets her hair done and her friends shower her with outfit options.

  If you're getting a colonoscopy (which thankfully I am not) maybe you can imagine your doctor is one of those masseurs who rubs you with hot stones or beats you with birch branches.  :)  
    My point is that, whatever the appointment is for, you pay medical professionals to contribute to your well-being. Even though they are experts, they work for you.  And no matter what unpleasant treatments and tests they convince you to undergo, ultimately they are caring for you and trying to help you.

I know this little mind trick is not a Biblical truth but here's a Biblical truth: When you're anxious or afraid, it should help to know...

1. How God feels about you - "Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?  ...for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us." Romans 8:32, 33b-34 
2. That you and your loving Savior are literally inseparable -  "No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:39
3. In spite of circumstances, Together You can say no to fear - "The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?"Psalm 27:1

Children of God

This is my FAVORITE music video.  I cried the first time I saw this.  It gives me shivers...






John 1:12 "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.¹⁴ So the Word [Jesus] became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness..."  NLT

Galatians 4:4 "But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. ⁶ And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, 'Abba, Father.'" NLT

"Slaves to the law" means we were trying to earn our way to Heaven- an IMPOSSIBLE task.  But God sent JESUS CHRIST to rescue us by dying in our place and earning Heaven for us.  Now when we believe and accept Jesus we are ADOPTED- we are Children of God and we call our Heavenly Father, "Daddy".

It's beautiful, isn't it? Anyone can be adopted into the family of God.  No matter who we are.  WE ALL CAN BE ADOPTED!!!  And then we're all family :D


 

MeTV

What if I was the star of my own reality show? Life With Emma. What would the SUPER EXCITING Grand Premiere episode be like?
 
Interior- Dimly Lit
Woman puts dinner plate into dishwasher.  Walks to couch. Watches eight hour Mentalist marathon...
 
Okay- that sounds like a really boring reality show!  What about my job?  Dealing with all those shoppers, my day has to be broadcast worthy.
 
Grocery Store- Harsh Fluorescent Lighting
Woman waves cereal box over scanner. Beep. Coffee. Beep. Cheese. Beep. Small talk... 
 
Nope, my life would not make an entertaining reality show.  Big Surprise! :) But sometimes I'm so self-conscious I act like I'm live on national television.  How should I act?  How do I look?  What should I say? What will people think?
 
As ALWAYS, God has the perfect answers: 
 
Philippians 2:3 NLT "Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves."   - Should I be self-conscious? NO.

Why Not?:
Psalm 118:6 NLT "The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?" - Because compared to God's opinion, what other people think of me is SO not important!

And...
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."
Philippians 4:13 NKJV "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 
- No matter what, God has my back.

When I mess up:
Romans 8:1 NLT  "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." - I have forgiveness through Jesus!!! :)
 
DON'T: Compare myself to other people -
2 Corinthians 10:12b NLT "But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!"
 
DO: Use God's Word to guide my actions -
2 Timothy 3:15-17 NLT "You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."
 
So it looks like Life With Emma has a target audience of One.  And that One loves me unconditionally and forgives me completely.  Praise God!!! 

How Boring Would You're Reality Show Be?  Leave me a comment and make me laugh! :)

It's Not Over 'Til It's Over

A man on death row. 72 hours to live. The Innocence Project. The race for evidence, witness statements, lab tests...Anything to get a stay of execution. It's a classic crime show plot based on a very serious, real life situation. Ultimately, someone wants to fight the death sentence to the bitter end and someone wants to accept the "inevitable".
 
The "inevitable"? If the "inevitable" is only three days away, why wouldn't you do anything and everything in your power to save the accused?!!! How could the stress or potential disappointments of the emergency investigation possibly be worse than the aftermath of the execution? In my opinion, IT'S NOT OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER!
 
This is how God feels about people. It's not over 'til it's over. Listen to this:

 

"One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, 'So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!'

But the other criminal protested, 'Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?  We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.'  Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.'

 And Jesus replied, 'I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.'" 

Luke 23:39-43 NLT

 

This criminal was being crucified next to Jesus.  This man was dying with only hours left to live.  AND HE WAS GUILTY!!! But when this dying criminal asked, Jesus instantly guaranteed him heaven. 

 



This is how God feels about everyone. We are all guilty of disobeying God (Romans 3:23). But God's forgiveness is free to anyone who asks for it, any time.  You can ask on your fourth birthday or the second before you die. No matter who you are or how bad you are. 

“he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5

“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Death is inevitable. But it's not over 'til it's over.
(So stop making jokes about Hell because it's real, it's coming and you don't have to go there. It's a terrifying reality and it's NOT inevitable!!!)

Love Note

Here's a clip that reminded me of my Savior's love.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8 NLT

“And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:8 NIV

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,” 1 Peter 3:18 NKJV

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13 NLT

The One Who Lives And Sees Me.

Hey, guys!  I just wanted to drop you a little line to share my favorite event from the Old Testament.  This is so encouraging and I hope you love it too.

This is the background:

 God promised to give Abraham and Sarah a son.  A son who would become important and turn their family into a huge and important nation.  The nation that the Messiah (the Savior of Humanity, The Way to Heaven) would be someday born into.  But Sarah got impatient and decided God needed her help with this whole son thing.  So she and Abraham decided that Abraham should have a son with the maid, Hagar.  Hagar got pregnant and uppity and started being mean to her boss Sarah.  So Sarah whined to Abraham and Abraham basically said "do what you want, she's your maid".  So Sarah was harsh to Hagar.  So Hagar, the maid, ran away...

Genesis 16: 7-14

"The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.  The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.

The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.” And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.   This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”  

Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”  So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered."

 

God sees you.  He lives and He sees you. You are important to Him.  No matter what anyone else says, sees, hears or thinks.  God SEES you.  He HEARS you and He CARES about you. 

Hagar was unimportant.  A maid.  A mistake.  The other woman.  She wasn't part of God's plan to bring the Messiah.  But Hagar was important to God.  He heard her, He saw her and He cared.

 

1 Peter 5:6-11

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.  In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.  All power to him forever! Amen."