Fashion Statement
What fun we girls have shopping for clothes and jewelry. What’s your style? Each of us has one. Imagine getting ready for the Oscars tonight. You’d be fortunate enough to have your own stylist to pull together just the right dress and just the right accessories for the red carpet. The choices you made would be critiqued and would fall under the Best or Worst Dressed lists on all the media outlets.
Peter gives us advice about clothing in 1 Peter 5:5b, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Clothe yourself in humility. Peter chose an interesting analogy for humility. He made it as important as the clothes we wear. So important that Peter adds an incentive. God will show grace toward the humble. What would our lives be like without grace?
If we drill down to your situation, where do you need more humility? With that parent who did wrong? With that step-parent whom you don’t like? With a step-sibling whose annoying? With that boy who cheated on you? Jesus opposes those who look down on others. Peter warns us about this weakness in our lives. It’s far more important to dress in humility than dress in any couture gown you’ll see on the red carpet tonight.
Practice humility this week and see how God blesses you.
Encouragement:
Entitlement. It’s how we feel when someone has wronged us. Entitled to look down on them. Entitled to make them miserable for what they’ve done. Jesus doesn’t give grace to the entitled only to the humble. We must extend grace to receive grace. From the bottom of my heart please know this is not easy but with your Heavenly Father beside you, you can do anything.
Know I’m praying for you,
Sherry
The Dream Giver
“Like the genetic code that describes your unique passions and abilities, your Big Dream has been woven into your being from birth. You’re the only person with a Dream quite like yours. And you have it for a reason: to draw you toward the kind of life you were born to love!” Bruce Wilkinson.
I cherish spending time with young ladies and this morning I had the pleasure of spending time with one of my favorites at Starbucks before church. She’s at a crossroads with her future. While pursuing her dream which requires post graduate work, several circumstances have made her question if she is hearing God clearly. She’s a little confused and not clear on her direction right now.
Satan knows just the right confusion button to push for each of us. Doesn’t he? His main ammo is to remind us of past mistakes and make us feel less than. The more confused we are the happier Satan is because he knows it’s easier for us to make bad decisions when we’re confused. Jesus gave each of us a dream and a purpose before we were born. Bruce Wilkinson wrote an excellent book called “The Dream Giver” which walks you through the process of finding your dream. Figure out your dream while you’re young but also understand you can’t get there without God’s help. There’s a version for teens now and it’s available on Amazon.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
Encouragement:
Don’t wait until you turn 30 or 40 before you figure out what your dream is. There are plenty of resources available to help you discover your purpose and rest assured you have one. While many things in your home life might be uncertain right now, you can still map out your future. If it seems impossible, perfect, this is to remind you how much you need God to accomplish your goals.
Please email me if you don’t have the means to buy this book. I will make sure you get a copy. (sherryleebridges@gmail.com)
Know I’m Praying for You,
Sherry
Empty?
Emptiness comes from self-reliance. Are the holidays exhausting because you’re trying so hard to get along with stepparents or dad’s girlfriend or mom’s boyfriend and the extra kids that go along with this deal? You smile at the right people at the right time and pretend everything’s okay when deep inside you’re counting down the minutes when this dreaded situation will be over.
God didn’t design you to fend for yourself. Your blueprint was created with a need for Jesus. No one else can fill this need but Him. When you choose to move through each day without His help you opt for exhaustion rather than exuberance.
Imagine what the disciples must’ve felt after they’d spent the whole night fishing and caught nothing only to have Jesus tell them to cast their net on the other side of the boat and suddenly their net was overflowing with fish. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” John 21:6
Wouldn’t you love to have a photo of Peter’s surprised look? Would the disciples have eventually caught fish without Jesus? Probably, but not 153 fish. Fishing was the disciples’ livelihood so they needed fish to pay their bills. Jesus is the exclamation point to everything we do. Let God show you where to cast your net. The disciples did exactly as Jesus instructed and wow look what happened.
Encouragement:
Holidays can be a tough time for you. Jesus doesn’t want you to feel alone or empty during this special time of the year. Let Jesus be the exclamation point to everything you do. He can even help you find humor in calamity. He knows you’re a byproduct of a decision your parents made and He was born on Christmas day to mend the brokenhearted. Even more reason to be exuberant!
Know I’m praying for you, Sherry
Take His Breath Away
What takes your breath away? Perhaps you’ve received that perfect gift you’d been dying to have. Maybe it was the first time your parents let you have a spend-the-night party. Maybe it was the first time a boy told you he loved you or even your first kiss. Maybe it was the first time your parents let you drive the car by yourself.
When’s the last time God took your breath away? Did He rescue you from a difficult situation? Has He surrounded you with incredible friends? Did He show favor on you in a totally unbelievable way? Why does God do things for us that take our breath away? He’s trying to teach us to do the same for others. Stretch yourself. Do something so radical and completely out of your comfort zone to help someone. You may be broken over your family situation but God still wants you to reach out to someone who’s broken, too. Take His breath away.
“The King will reply, I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. “ Matthew 25:40
Encouragement:
Don’t discount your abilities to help others because of your age. Do you know of someone who is being ostracized? Cheer up someone with flowers or a special card. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Ask God to press someone on your heart to help. I assure you God always blesses those who help others. Remember you can never out-give God.
Know I’m Praying for you,
Sherry
Where are you, Jesus?
Life events can easily go from bad to worse. Hopelessness can settle in. You may just be learning how to manage a different family life when another setback occurs. Your resources are somewhat limited to change things because you’re still under your parents’ authority, so you’ve prayed for God’s help but nothing seems to be changing.
Mary and Martha felt the same way. Jesus was their close friend. Their brother Lazarus was sick and near death. Jesus sat in their home frequently and ate with them, laughed with them, and shared stories with them. Mary even rubbed very expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. There was no doubt in their mind Jesus would come and heal Lazarus.
But Jesus didn’t come and Lazarus died. Mary’s reaction to Jesus after her brother’s death is relative for all of us. She tearfully asked Jesus in John 11:32 “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She was broken by her brother’s death but also the one hope for her brother’s recovery never showed up.
Mary didn’t know what Jesus knew. Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He wept because of the pain Mary and Martha were going through, but Jesus knew through this miracle many would believe in Him. If Jesus had healed Lazarus naysayers could claim Lazarus would’ve gotten better even without Jesus, but by raising Lazarus from the dead there is absolutely no other explanation than God.
Whatever your turmoil today, Jesus hears you and He’s working on your behalf. Keep believing and keep praying. His timing is not our timing. His timing is perfect.
Encouragement:
Jesus never said there would be no pain in our lives, but He did promise to go through it with us. Even when it feels like He’s not doing anything, He is. He may answer in a way you could never have imagined but it will be for the best possible outcome for you.
You are His priority. Let this consume you because there’s no better feeling in the world.
Know I’m praying for you,
Sherry
Music for your Playlist: Held by Natalie Grant