HELLO, My Name Is...

You know those sticky name tags that say, "HELLO my name is…" and you're supposed to write your name underneath? Yeah, we've all been the unfortunate bearers of those lovelies at some point. It seems as though - as adults, especially - when we see those things, we inwardly groan. I'm not really sure what it is, but something about those name tags is quite unappealing.

 

Now, I want you to imagine for a moment that you are attending an event with friends and family and you are handed one of those name tags. Only this time, instead of displaying your name in the empty space below, it proclaims a character flaw of yours, as in…"HELLO my name is Needy." Or "HELLO my name is Mischievous." Or "HELLO my name is Overly Sensitive." Umm, no thanks! I think I'll be nameless today. I think we'd all rather be unnamed or unnoticed than to be labeled by our weaknesses or perceived character flaws. 

 

The other day, as I was praying for my children, the Lord gave me this illustration. I say the Lord gave it to me because it truly came out of nowhere, and all of a sudden, there it was in my mind's eye. I saw myself with one of these ugly, sticky name tags, proclaiming a personal weakness - only the name tag wasn't on me, and it wasn't displaying my weakness. It was on my child, displaying his weakness; and what's worse, I had put it there for all the world to see. Oh! How my heart broke at this image in my mind's eye. And as I cried over what was obviously just an image in my mind, I was convicted of some actions that I'd taken that were essentially doing that very thing -- placing a label on my child, an ugly, embarrassing, public label proclaiming his weaknesses for all the world to see.

 

You see, that is what we do when we talk about our children's weaknesses with others. Oh, he's my shy one. Or She's my overly sensitive one. Or He's so mischievous. I know that when we say those things, we are not intending them harm. BELIEVE ME, I KNOW! I know because I ADORE my children, and I would never want to say anything that could hurt them or cause anyone else to think something ill of them. I'm not really sure why we do it. Maybe it's because we don't want people to think we think our children are perfect. Or maybe it's done as an excuse for some undesirable behavior our child has displayed. Or maybe it's because we want to be able to relate to someone else who is complaining about their child. Whatever the reason, I dare to say that it is NOT okay. 

 

Yes, my children have weaknesses. (Don't we all!) They are far from perfect. I have one who is very sensitive and will cry at the seemingly littlest thing. He requires more attention than my others, but guess what... That very sensitive heart makes him so much more aware of others' pain and suffering. He is so caring and compassionate that I could see God using him in a mighty way to share God's love with the broken and the hurting people in this world. I have another who might be considered mischievous. He pushes the limits and gets into all sorts of debacles and does so with the sneakiest little smirk on his face (well, sometimes it's more like a snarl, but mostly it's a smirk). However, he is so curious and adventurous that I could see God taking him to some remote village in the jungle to share the gospel or using that determination and inquisitive mind to find the cure for cancer. My girly girl is just a baby. I have no idea what kind of "weaknesses" she'll have, but there are two things I know for sure…1) She will have them. 2) They can be used by God!

 

My new commitment to my children is to never use labels with a negative connotation when speaking of them. After all, I wouldn't want someone to label me by my weaknesses. I don't care if people think I believe my kids are perfect (something I've worried about in the past). I will only use words that uplift my children and encourage them. I don't care if people think I'm bragging about my children (another thing I've worried about). So, here's what my children's name tags might say...

• Shugi - "HELLO my name is caring, compassionate, kind, imaginative, intellectual."

• Taree - "HELLO my name is adventurous, inquisitive, curious, playful, determined." 

• Princess - "HELLO my name is poops and sleeps a lot!" …She's only 3 months old, give me a break! ;)

 

God has given me these precious gifts to encourage and train and mold into the people HE created them to be. It's the toughest job on the planet, and I am absolutely certain it's the greatest blessing in the world! I cannot wait to get to heaven someday and see all the lives that were impacted by these little people God entrusted to me! 

 

Lord, let it be so!

 

URGENT!!!

Ahhh! There's so much to say and so little time to say it. God has been teaching me and convicting me of sooo many things lately. My heart is so full with all that I'm learning, and I'm so desperate to share it with all of you. But I've barely had time to process it all for myself, let alone sit down and blog about it.  There is one thing, however, that I feel I MUST SHARE without delay. It's so URGENT and crucial that I truly feel I can't wait any longer. 

 

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23)

 

Jesus spoke these words to people who were closely associated with Him. I've read that verse scores of times. I've heard numerous sermons preached on it. I've heard pastors and ministers say time and time again that it is one of the scariest verses in the Bible. But I never really "got it" until a few weeks ago. Prior to that time, I always interpreted those verses to mean that there were people out there going through the motions, pretending to be Christians, but who really knew that they were not. They were just doing it to fool everyone else, but they knew the truth in their hearts, which really didn't cause me too much concern. I mean, after all, they've made their choice. They know what they are "supposed" to do but instead of really doing it, they're choosing to fool other into believing that they've "done" it. Right? But, what if I'm wrong? WHAT IF THEY DON'T KNOW?!?

 

My heart just skipped a beat. That's a game changer! I had never considered before that these "evildoers" Jesus mentions in Matthew might actually NOT KNOW that they are wrong. God opened my eyes to the reality of this verse a few weeks ago. God put this passage in front of me 3 different times, from 3 different sources in less than 24 hours. He was trying to tell me something, for sure. Our adult Sunday school teacher read the verses above on Sunday morning and quoted words from a song that talked about someone having a dream about heaven and seeing their family there but not being allowed in themselves. Then, that evening, during our discipleship class, which I just happened to stumble into without a second thought, the video we were watching referenced these verses as well, bringing it back to the forefront of my mind. The next morning, I started reading Follow Me by David Platt. Right there in chapter 1, there it was again. Only this time, his commentary caught me off guard.

We are all prone to spiritual deception -- every single one of us. When Jesus says these words in Matthew 7, He's not talking about irreligious atheists, agnostics, pagans, and heretics. He's talking about good, religious people -- men and women associated with Jesus who ASSUME that their eternity is safe and will one day be SHOCKED to find that it is not. (Follow Me, David Platt, pg. 8, emphasis mine)

Wow! You mean there will be people that stand before Jesus who will be shocked that they aren't allowed into heaven? What about my fellow church members? My friends? My family??? How very scary! Upon reading these words, I wanted to throw down my book, run out my front door, and SHOUT at everyone, "You could be going to hell!!!" I'm not sure that would have been completely effective; so thankfully, God reigned in my impulsiveness. But the urgency I felt in my heart that morning has not diminished. Rather, it has increased. I am committed to making sure that the people I know and love (and those I barely know and those I meet in the future) KNOW what it means to be a Christian and how to be certain of their destination after death.

 

So, how can you know with certainty? What does it really mean to be a Christian? After all, thousands upon thousands of Americans claim to be Christians, yet most of them look and act just like everyone else. I'll get into this more in depth in some future posts, but for now, let me just give you a simple answer...

 

Simply put, being a Christian means being a follower of Jesus. It's about making a decision to follow Jesus and doing it. It's not saying some magic prayer and then breathing a sigh of relief that you're saved from hell then going on about your business as usual. Jesus didn't call his disciples by saying, "Pray this prayer!" He said, "Follow me!" When Nicodemus asked how he could enter heaven, Jesus said he must be "Born again," meaning he starts a new life. The Bible tells us the road is narrow that leads to life. So why is it that there are so many who claim Christianity? It must be that there is some misconception, some deception. Let me be clear about this - there is NOTHING you can do to earn God's grace. Grace by definition is something we do not deserve. Salvation and forgiveness from sins is only through God's grace and all we have to do is accept it. It is a free gift, there for the taking. However, being a Christian is about so much more than just saying,  "Yeah, I want that! Sign me up! Whoo Hoo! I'm going to heaven!" It's about GIVING YOUR LIFE TO JESUS.

 

Being a Christian means being a disciple, a follower. Being a disciple is HARD! It involves total surrender. It means laying down your plans for your life in lieu of Jesus plans. It means rearranging your priorities to line up with His. It may even mean losing your life. But hear this: It. Is. So. Worth. It. When you know Jesus, you don't care what it costs. You want to follow Him.

 

So, how can you know if your eternity is secure? How can you be sure that when you face Jesus (and you WILL face Him one day), that He will not say to you, "I never knew you"?

• Have you made a decision to truly follow Jesus? If not, do it now! Don't delay! Comment below with your name and email or phone number, and I personally will call you!
• When you made that decision, was there a change in your life? A change in direction? A change of attitude? A change of heart? You may not have been a lying, cheating, fornicating drug dealer. Maybe you were. But regardless, was there a change? When you give your life to Jesus, there will be a change.
• Do you want to do the things that please God? I don't care if you read your Bible, pray, go to church, tell others about Jesus. The real question is…DO YOU WANT TO? Churches are full of people who are just going through the motions. They do all the right things, and they'll do them until the day they die. Then, they'll hear Jesus say, "Depart from me. I never knew you." Doing those things doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car. It's why you do those things that is a better indicator of whether or not you are a Christian. I read my Bible because I want to know Jesus more. I pray because I love Him and want to talk to Him and hear from Him. I go to church because I want to worship Him with other believers. I tell others about Him because I know He loves them and I want them to know that. I don't do these things because I'm supposed to. I do them because I want to.
• Does sin break your heart? Christians still sin. I lose my temper. I say things I shouldn't. I am judgmental. I am prideful. Christians sin just like the rest of the world. The difference is that when we do, we are truly broken over it. We love Jesus so much (because He loves us so much) that we never want to do anything that would hurt Him. We don't want to sin. We struggle over sins that we used to delight in. We are daily being made more like Jesus as we recognize our sin and allow Him to forgive us and change us.

So, that's it. That's what has been so urgently on my heart for weeks, and now, I've shared it with you. What will you do with it? I'll be praying for those of you reading this.