Who's your hero???

Ephesians 5:1

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Here's a question for you. Who do you imitate, or strive to be like? Britney Spears? Brad Pitt? Madonna? Tom Brady? Who do you want to be more like? In whose image are you patterning yourself? This is a serious question, that we all must answer. If not outwardly, we should at least be honest with ourselves. Here we are taught to be imitators of God as dear children. Have you ever seen a little boy stretching to reach his daddy's footsteps so he can walk in them? Or have you seen a dad mowing the yard, and his little boy with a plastic mower right behind him? Daughters with moms may imitate their cooking or cleaning, or work they may do on the computer. This is what it is talking about. To see what the Lord does, and to imitate Him. What did Jesus do while He was on earth? What example did He leave us with? Mainly, to walk in love......to put others first, even when it's not convenient. Have you shared Jesus' love with anyone recently? Have you prayed for anyone, not worrying about who was watching, or what they would think? We aren't supposed to crave an audience, or to pray just to be noticed (as the Pharisees did), but we aren't to be ashamed of doing what's right, or praying for folks in a crowd. I wasn't ashamed to smoke and drink in front of people some years ago. I cursed in front of them, drove drunk on the highways, and pushed people around who annoyed me. Why should I now be ashamed to speak of Jesus, to pray for folks in the middle of a restaurant, a post office, Wal-Mart....where ever. When the Lord moves on my heart to do something, I do it. Do I always do what I should? Sadly, I must admit, I don't. Do I sometimes argue with the Lord about doing some of these things? Yep. But for the most part, I obey. What are we showing those around us? Can they tell we are imitating God? I'm just saying, let's apply what we've read today, to our lives. Let's be more obedient, and more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Amen?

I want to thank you all for your prayers as we went to see my cousin in prison. It went quite well as far as a visit goes. He's still got questions. There is much confusion within him, and we know who the author of confusion is. Please keep Bobby in your prayers. Have a wonderful day, and remember, Jesus loves you, and He's praying for you right now. :-) Pastor James

Originally posted 11/17/04. Please do continue to pray for Bobby.......he's out now and looking for work.