How Jesus Has Affected My Life

J…Joy

E…Ecstasy

S…Security

U…Unique and Universal

S…Supporter

We got an assignment in Church one Sunday recently. We were asked to write down how Jesus has touched our lives. I have heard this discussed many times, and I have heard testimonies of other people. Whenever I would try to think of what my testimony should be I would come up short…actually with no ideas at all. Oh, I have faith, and so I had no doubt that my life has always been positively affected by Jesus in it. However, I never seemed to be ably to formulate the reasons.

I have found that I often am not fully aware of my thoughts or feelings about something until I write about it. I hope that as I write this I will become aware of what the Lord has done for me. He has always been a part of my life. From as early as I can remember I knew about Him and believed in Him. All my learning years happened against the backdrop of an awareness of God. It was a part of every day.

I grew up Catholic, and I was very serious about following the rules that were part of that denomination. I now see that as being legalistic. I attended Mass every Sunday. I was a lector reading gospel passages during Mass, and I was a lay minister serving Communion. I tried to do good and avoid evil. I believed the claim of the Catholic Church that it was the one true religion. I felt privileged to be a part of this.

It is a long story how I became a born again Christian, and an explanation of that wondrous happening is not even necessary to this writing. However, I can see the hand of God in my arrival to that moment. Jesus took the hand of a woman who believed that there was no reason to look for anything new, and life has never been the same. All my theological knowledge is used in a different way which is now applied to a relationship with Jesus that blesses me on a daily basis. The amazing thing that I am hoping you can see here is that I was lost and did not know that I was lost until I was found.

J…Joy

“You give me Joy unspeakable,” the song says. Only now am I able to recognize it. I know that from the moment I was born Jesus had held me in His loving arms. On an intellectual level I recognized that throughout my entire life from my early years into adulthood. I knew that He had come to offer me salvation, and that I would not be able go to heaven if He had not died on the cross. I was grateful for that, but I never truly experienced who He really was. Then, one lovely day in January of 1996, I said the Prayer of Salvation, and it was as if the flood gates of Heaven had opened up for me.

I was “born again.” I became a baby in Jesus’ arms just as I had been at the time of my birth many years before. The difference was that I could feel Him closer than I had ever felt Him in the past. I was brand new, and filled with a Joy that I had never known until then. That day was the first day of the rest of my life.

E…Ecstasy

The happiness I have experienced since then that has gone beyond that rather wishy washy word to be better described as Ecstasy. Oh, don’t get me wrong! I am not saying here that my life has been without challenges and sorrows. I have had my share of them to be sure in the years since 1996. I have made mistakes. I have sinned. Coming from where I came I experienced the guilt that was my habit in spite of the fact that I knew better. But now when I went go the dark rooms of my mind where habits still hide I saw that there was a little crack between the bricks where the Sonshine was breaking through. In the old days, I had tormented myself about things that I did. I hated myself for being like Paul doing what I did not want to do and not doing what I wanted to do. I often felt a despair and helplessness as I tried to earn forgiveness and to escape my shortcomings by my own works.

Having Ecstasy means that I no longer have to save myself from myself. It means that my heavenly Father forgives me when I repent. I do not have a “Dalmatian soul” that must be cleansed to worry about dragging alone as I start my eternal journey. Because of Jesus Christ I am washed clean. Because of Him, when I repent I know that God forgets my sin. There is no further thing that I have to do to help myself along. I am expected to try to “sin no more,” as Jesus once had told an adulteress. But the Lord God has placed my sin in the “sea of forgetfulness.” And the great news is that this is an ongoing process between me and my Father because of Jesus.

S…Security

As we grow we depend heavily upon our parents, older siblings, grandparents, and others who provide care for us. Whether we are strong and confident depends on the kind of caregivers they are. Some of us have more effective care than others, but, even in the most functional of families, some wounds are inflicted that affect the degree of security we feel.

Jesus is my Security. He has no shortcomings. Jesus takes me by the hand and helps me to walk. He will never let go or let me down. He never changes. He always loves, and He never fails. I never have to feel timid or apprehensive about who I will find when I go to Him. He is the perfect and loving parent or brother. He is the Supreme Caregiver of my life, my well being, and my roadmap for my journey. He is loving and forgiving. That is available to me when I chose Him and whenever I choose to call upon Him. This is more than security. It is the ultimate SECURITY!

U…Unique and Universal

There is nowhere that we can find the kind of love that Jesus gives us. He is Unique. No one but Jesus and the Father love unconditionally and never take into account how base the object of their affection (in this case me) might be. They see beyond my flaws and love me anyway. In the world people want other people to jump through hoops to receive their blessings. The love they give is conditional. I know that Jesus’ love for me is unconditional and therefore different from all human love I have experienced. It is a Unique love that will never be equaled by anyone on earth. In addition, I know that even if I had been the only person that ever was born Jesus would have died so that I might spend Eternity with Him and his Father.

In addition this love and offer of salvation is there for anyone to accept. This makes the love and sacrifice of Jesus Universal. There are no cliques with Jesus. We are all called to His table. It is such a relief that there is no hazing and no compromises to join Him. Our only test is the one that we take when we choose and when we show ourselves to be people who want what He is offering.

S…Supporter

As we mature to adults starting with adolescence and not ending until our elderly years are over we never loose our need for support. This need is not visible like when we are babies and children or like when we are old, but it is always there. Throughout our lives we are supported in some degree by our family. People come into our lives and provide the support that friendship brings. Sometimes they stay for a lifetime. Sometimes the season of that friendship is over and they go from our lives. This is the way of the world. Along the journey these people are our supports and leaning posts. Our lives are enriched by them. In many cases the Lord has put them into our lives to carry His love and message to us.

However, nothing is forever except Jesus. He is my Supporter and my Mentor. I can rely on Him to be there for me in the good times and bad. This gives me comfort and confidence in the fact that I am never alone. I can give Him my load, and He will help me carry it. All I have to do is to call on Him.

Joy…Ecstasy…Security…Unique…Supporter

Jesus is all these thing in my life. There is a beautiful sense of well being knowing that He is always there taking care of me. I no longer have to worry or fear dying. I KNOW that He will be there at the door to say, “Welcome, home my good and faithful servant.” This confidence is how Jesus has affected my life. And that “amazing grace…that saved a wretch like me” has made all the difference. 

'What does love mean?'

Love Is the Greatest

From 1 Corinthians 13

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1Corinthians 13 (NLT)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Touching words from the mouth of babes.. A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds , 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

See what you think:


'When my grandmother got arthritis , she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.. So my grandfather does it for her all the time , even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8


'When someone loves you , the way they say your name is different
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5
'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6


'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4


'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him , to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7


'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing , you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8


'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
'If you want to learn to love better , you should start with a friend who you hate , '
Nikka - age 6 .....(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)


'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt , then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7
'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6


'During my piano recital , I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8


'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5


'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford .
Chris - age 7


'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4


'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4


'When you love somebody , your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7


'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross..'
Mark - age 6


'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it , you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one...The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry , the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard , climbed onto his lap , and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor , the little boy said ,'Nothing , I just helped him cry'

These children have shown an understanding of love in many of the human ways of showing it!

Shared by Corinne Mustafa

George Washington Carver

Born a slave around JULY 12, 1864, George Washington Carver became a scientist of international renown.

On January 21, 1921, Carver addressed the United States House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the United Peanut Growers Association on the use of peanuts to improve Southern economy. Initially given ten minutes to speak, the committee was so captivated, his time was extended.

Explaining the many products derived from the peanut, including milk, mock beef and mock chicken, George Washington Carver stated: "If you go to the first chapter of Genesis, we can interpret very clearly, I think, what God intended when he said 'Behold, I have given you every herb that bears seed. To you it shall be meat.' This is what He means about it. It shall be meat. There is everything there to strengthen and nourish and keep the body alive and healthy."

 

After nearly two hours, the chairman asked: "Dr. Carver, how did you learn all of these things?" Carver answered: "From an old book" "What book?" asked the Chairman. Carver replied, "The Bible."

The Chairman inquired, "Does the Bible tell about peanuts?" "No, Sir" Dr. Carver replied, "It tells about the God who made the peanut. I asked Him to show me what to do with the peanut and He did."

I received this in an email from Connie Cox, a Realtor in Livermore, CA

NO FAVORITES!

 I  AM ESPECIALLY FOND OF THAT ONE

We all, to one degree or another, know who God is. After all, who among us has not met Him in our quiet times spent in His Word? Many have witnessed His glorious painting in the myriad colors of fall foliage a summer sunset. We hear His music when waves crash on rocks or in the lilting song of a bird greeting the arrival of a brand new day. We observe love that reflects His love as we watch a mother caring for her child or when we hear about a person who has risked his life pulling someone to safety who has fallen down onto the subway tracks. We get His guidance from the lyrics of songs and His counsel from conversations we have with others. He is always present with us, and if we open our hearts to Him we will learn much.

I know all this to be true, but there are still the dry times when I find myself wondering who He really is and what He is really about. Like Paul I don’t always do the things I want to or should do…and sometimes, if you can believe it, I do things that not only I don’t want to do but that He does not want me to do either. I am not talking major bad behavior here, although sin is sin regardless of my ranking it as or small. Still, I want you to know that what I am meaning here is behavior…sometimes open and sometimes not visible…that leaves me falling short of who I should be in spite my position of royalty as a child of the King.

You know, I am thinking that if we actually knew who our heavenly Father really is, it might be easier for us to follow the path He has set out for us without detours. But then again, maybe not. I do know who He is, but this knowledge becomes clouded by how complicated I always make Him. This is understandable considering the fact that He always was; He is, and He always will be. How do I wrap my mind around this Creator God who does not owe His existence to any other person or happening. How do I even begin to understand God, when the Bible and my learning about God, tells me that He is three persons in one God? Huh? Now that is complicated, don’t you think? So, I proceed on faith that these and many other things are true, even though I am always looking at them through a glass darkly.

Still, I think that the clue to understanding it all is to be aware of the fact that I should not make it so complicated. This is a good plan, but we even do that with the people that we look up to in life. We put someone on a pedestal and then spin a web around that person. Our web holds our admiration for who we think that person to be, and, because we revere this individual, we add attributes and feelings that may or may not be easy to understand or substantiate. Our web eventually becomes so thick that we cannot see who our “idol” truly is. While it is true that God is our Idol and Ideal, one who is in fact worthy of all our admiration, the reality is that we create a bona fide situation where we “cannot see the forest for the trees.” We make Him so complicated that much of what we can know and learn is hidden by the lush leaves of our imagining.

I have been reading THE SHACK by Wm. Paul Young. In the book God is called Papa, which in itself simplifies our vision of who He is. A Papa is a gentle kind of father…one who will love his child, one who will cherish his child, and one who, when discipline is required, corrects in a way that does not destroy a piece of the child’s vision of himself or herself. Several times in the book, as God is thinking or talking about someone, He says, “I am especially fond of that one.” A very beautiful part of that statement is that God’s professed fondness is not based on the constant rightness or compliancy of the individual.

Are you wondering where I am going with this? I do have a point to make. This book has really impacted my life. Oh I know, it is just a story and at times a preposterous one, but, in the end, it brings God to life in His beauty and simplicity. I have had many “aha moments” while reading this story. These moments have stuck with me in my day to day life popping into my mind when least expected and most needed….times when I am about to be like the disciple Paul choosing the low road instead of the scenic route of right behavior.

I will give you an example. I was driving the other day downtown not far from the high school. A young teenager was at the corner crossing and proceeded to start across the street. He had nice clothes on, but they must have belonged to a sumo wrestler. They certainly did not fit his skinny body. He had to walk with his legs spread out to keep his shorts, which were so long they came to mid calf, from falling down to his ankles. His sweatshirt stood out at least five inches from his hips. I started in on my self talk. “Oh, my gosh, would you look at him!” “Wonder if I will end up seeing his jockey shorts before he makes it across the street.” “Doesn’t he know how stupid he looks? Well there you have it. He probably is dumb as a box of rocks.” “Where the heck was his mother when came down to leave for school.” These are just a few of the thoughts that went through my mind as I watched him proceeding to the opposite corner. However, before he even made it to the curb, my own convictions kicked me figuratively to the curb myself. What do you think popped into my head? You got it. “I am especially fond of that one.”

Isn’t it a beautiful thing that God loves His children in this way? No matter how stupid I look or act, no matter how dense my thinking is, no matter how brainless, how dimwitted, or how obtuse I am, God still loves me. This includes loving me when I am not actual pleasing to him. I want to quote a couple of lines from the book. The main character is asking why God would love him. He says…

“But why me? I mean, why Mackenzie Allen Phillips? Why do you love someone who is such a screw-up? …... why would you even bother to keep trying to get through to me?” “Because that is what love does,” answered Papa. Remember, Mackenzie, I don’t wonder what you will do or what choices you will make. I already know.” (He goes on to say that, for instance, He might know that Mack will get something on the forty seventh time.) “So when you don’t hear me the first time, I’m not frustrated or disappointed. I’m thrilled. Only forty-six more times to go.”

That whole idea thrilled me. He is the one that I have to answer to, the most important one. He is patient and willing to wait for me to get it. He welcomes the idea that learning and understanding comes in layers. He is ready to provide the necessary layers that I need to get something. It is amazing.

There have been many times when I am starting to be judgmental about someone. It can happen when the individual is someone I don’t know or even someone I do know. Suddenly it will pop into my mind that God is “especially fond of that one.” It is very good to remember, and it results in a paradigm shift in my negative thinking. But more exciting to me is the awareness that, when I have messed up in grand style, that God is not far away from me. This is a simple and beautiful part of who He is and who I know Him to be. And, in the midst of my feelings of threatening guilt for a bad choice, I remind myself that in my case as well God is saying…

 Written by Corinne H. Mustafa  

Taste and see that...

The Lord is Good to Me

Sometimes I am blown away at how good the Lord is to us, how ready to forgive, how willing to speak into our lives, how glad to lift us up when we are good and even when we are not so good. The Bible is filled with verses about how the Lord is good to us. Here one that I really like…

Praise the LORD!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD?

Who can ever praise Him enough?

There is joy for those who deal justly with others

and always do what is right.

Psalm 106:1-3

New Living Translation

I am sometimes in a fog and do not think of all the amazing things that happen in my life. The fog leads me to be unaware that what has happened is a real miracle of God. I can list some of the miracles of the Lord, but I know that some pass over my head.

What I do know in a general sort of way if not totally cognizant is that I am blessed. Even if I could not think of a single personal good thing that God has done for me specifically I know that even the words, “good things God has done for me specifically” are actually incorrect in the true sense of the expression. Whatever God has done corporately for His people are individual gifts of good for me. I have heard it said that even if there had only been one person on earth Jesus would have did all he did for that one person. So, He came to reach the lost, to teach a new way to love and be loved, and finally to put Himself as a living sacrifice on the cross…jointly for all and singularly for me. Amazing!

And, lest we should forgot that this sacrifice…which is the sacrifice of the New Covenant reminiscent of the temple sacrifices of the Old Testament…is the perfect sacrifice that assures His people of eternal salvation. In the OT an unblemished lamb was offered for atonement of sin and then slaughtered by the Levites as part of assigned job as the priests of the temple. On the NT we also have that perfect “Lamb” whose blood washes our sins away in the tradition that was foretold in the Old Testament. We recall this when we have communion. Every time I hold the elements in my hand I remember His sacrifice and celebrate that the Lord is good to me individually!

Written by Corinne Mustafa