It’s football, basketball and end of baseball season. And along with all those teams, comes all those mascots! 

If you had to pick a mascot for yourself, what would it be?

There are literally thousands of teams in the USA alone, with just as many mascots!

Lions, Tigers, Bears (Oh My! LOL)

Celtics, Bulls, Raptors

Phillies, Pirates, Sox, Cubs and Braves

Side note: I grew up a Gator and my girls are Bears!

So what about you? If you had to print a shirt that represented YOU, what would be on it?

If you are a Follower of Jesus, here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

You are God’s handiwork… Ephesians 2:10

You are a light… Matthew 5:14

You are a temple… 1 Corinthians 3:16

You are a saint… Ephesians 1:1

You are a living stone… 1 Peter 2:5

You are an alien… 1 Peter 2:11 (Love that one!)

You are complete! Colossians 2:10

You are HIS! 1 Corinthians 6:17

 

Have you ever read a book and said that exact line?

I’m in the middle of one right now! Every day I read a little more, and as I put it down (life still goes on around me), I say those exact words! This book is a “Life-Changer!” I can’t wait to tell someone about this! On every page I’ve found something that speaks right to me, like the writer knows my life. At first, I thought it was kind of eerie that so much of it was personal, but the more I read the more I look forward to what’s in the next chapter.

Would you like to know the title so you can get reading? I’m sure you can find it at your local library, matter of fact you may have it in your house already. It’s God’s Word, THE BIBLE. Now you’re saying, “Seriously? The Bible? Wasn’t that written some 2000 years ago? What does my life have to do with anything in The Bible? I think you will be COMPLETELY SURPRISED to know that there is something for YOU on every page of God’s Word (even those hard to read sections like the laws in Leviticus, or the messages from the prophets like Amos and Haggai.)

New to reading a Bible? Let me suggest a starting place for you. Look in the Table of Contents for the Book of John. It will be towards the back of the Bible. This is a great beginning, easy to read, very personal, and you’ll get a good look at Jesus, God’s Son, the central figure of the whole book.

Had a Bible in your hand since you were very young?
Then here’s a challenge for you. Every time you open your Bible there WILL be something personal for you (yes, even in the laws in Leviticus), if you just ask the right question…
Ask yourself:
Is there:
A promise to claim?
A principle to apply?
A habit to start (or stop)?
An attitude to correct?
An example to follow?
A sin to confess?
A person to forgive?
A truth to believe?
A danger to avoid?
A change to make in my character, conduct, or conversation?

When we take time to make it personal, God’s Word will become alive and active in our lives!
Then you too will happily confess to your Facebook world… THIS BOOK IS A LIFE-CHANGER!!!

Get Reading: John 1, Psalm 1, Proverbs 1
(Each week read the next set…
Next week read through John 2, Psalm 2 and Proverbs 2.)

I can’t think of anything more comforting than to KNOW I have someone in whom I have refuge. God is my refuge-my hiding place and because He is this to me, I can trust Him at all times.

In these days, there is no one that we can completely trust because we do not know what truth is.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the TRUTH, and we can only get to the Father through Jesus. Since God is all TRUTH, we can feel free to pour out our hearts to Him all the times.

 

Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Today, right now, this day, this moment, GOD HAS MADE IT!

What are you doing with it?

It’s a loaded question, I know.

Most of us are doing what we HAVE to do:

Working, going to school, doing laundry, paying bills, making dinner, etc. I don’t think the focus of this verse is so much on the DOING of our day as it is the thinking, the attitude we have during our day: God made today, can we be happy about that? Can we face whatever the day brings and find a reason to rejoice?

And I’m not talking about a fake, happy, sing-songy, Tinkerbelle kind of gladness. I know that troubling times come.

I know that many of you are in the middle of very difficult trials and circumstances. I’m not saying that we plaster a smile on our face and pretend that hardships don’t exist.

What I AM suggesting is that throughout the worst day, can we find a glimpse of God?

Can we be glad that we are breathing?

Can we be thankful for the child that’s causing us stress?

Can we rejoice in the fact that we are loved?

Can we be glad for the house, even if it needs more repairs than our budget would ever allow?

Is it possible to rejoice that we found the right doctor who can help?

Do we rejoice when the car starts? When the bills get paid? When an unexpected something makes us laugh?

At the end of the day, can we lay our head down and rejoice and be glad in the day that God has allowed us to live?

That’s what it’s about, seeing God in our day and rejoicing that He was with us; being glad that we did not face it alone!

Do you have any idea how much you mean to God?

How much He loves you?

What He would do to keep you His forever?

Isaiah 43 (From The Message)

But now, God’s Message:

The God Who made you in the first place,

The One Who got you started,

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—

Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: All of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.