My family and I have the privilege of attending a congregation with two excellent preachers. We have heard some very inspiring sermons since we have been going there. Last night, the sermon given was very much needed...for myself that is:o)
The title of the sermon was, "Live a life worthy of your calling." The speaker used Ephesians 4:1-3 as the core of his message.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.(NIV)
Here are the points he laid out using these short verses:
1. Live a Life of Humility
This is a tough one for me. I really like to have my ego stroked. I have contemplated shutting down this blog on several different occasions b/c of my desire to be told how fantastic my projects are. That's usually when I have to take a break from blogging. I have to focus more on the needs of others than my own. Regroup, so to speak.
2.Gentleness
Another struggle of mine:o) I strive to be more gentle with my children and my husband. I have the tendency to be wound tight...it ain't pretty. Breathing deeply and staying calm is usually not something I do. If I were a cartoon, I would probably have steam blowing out of my ears at times:o) My great grandmother was the epitome of gentleness. I really want to be her when I grow up:o)
Here are a few of the verses that he named off that speak of gentleness:
Gal. 5:22-23=But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
2 Cor. 10:1=By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away!
Col. 3:12= Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
1 Tim. 6:11= But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Here's a quote to ponder:
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."
~George Washington Carver
3. Patience
Now how many of you struggle with this one as much as I do?
I think most of us look at patience in the same manner as this little cartoon below:
The preacher stated, "We value it in other people...We know people who need more patience. However, we don't include ourselves on the list".
I usually don't pray for patience because I know that I will get it....I have children:o)
4. Peaceful
committed to unity.
I usually experience this during nap time:o)
Something that we should take into consideration is that 'Jesus is our peace.'
Eph. 2:14=For He Himself is our peace...
Keeping Christ as my focus, and striving to be more like Him, will help me to achieve these wonderful character traits. I truly believe that these are learned traits...they are easier to come by for some...harder for others..
Thank you for sitting here and reading this post. I was truly inspired to be better after hearing this sermon. Today has been a particularly trying day, so it was good for me to have these thoughts fresh on my mind...
I wish that you all could have been there to hear it. He did a much better job at presenting it than I did.
Hopefully you have been inspired as well:o)
I hope you all have a great rest of the day. I will be sharing some Easter projects with you starting next week. Can you believe that Easter is at the end of April??
