I know that there is no possible way for me to fully know what Jesus went through in the week leading up to His death, burial, ad resurrection. Yet, this week, while I really have time to focus, I want to try to my best to understand His sacrifice. The basis of my faith is Jesus’ salvation of me through His death and resurrection. I know and believe that I will meet Him one day face to face because He cared enough for this sinful world to lay down His life as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Yet, I still cannot fathom what it must have been like to know everything that was going to happen and still go through with it.
In years past, we used to sing a song in our church devotions that said: This may be the last time This may be the last time This may be the last time It may be the last time I don’t know This may be the last time we all sing together It may be the last time I don’t know This may be the last time we all pray together It may be the last time I don’t know That is the difference between us and Jesus. When we gather together with friends, family and fellow worshippers, we have no idea if it is the last time we will see them, sing with them, pray with them, or eat with them. But, Jesus knew that when He entered Jerusalem and was celebrated, honored, and heralded as a king and savior, that it would be the same people who cried, “Hosanna,” that would later cry, “Crucify Him!” Jesus knew when He sat to eat with His disciples that it would be the Last Supper. Jesus didn’t waste time lamenting over what He could have done or should have been. He prepared His dear friends for the battle that they would face. He made sure that they knew how to remember Him. He confronted the issue of betrayal without callousness or cruelty. He gave the example of how to be a servant leader when He could have demanded that every one of them bow down to Him. He remained calm, even though He knew what would happen. As I read this account of what Jesus experienced in those last days, I had to examine my own heart. Would I be able to dine with a dear friend who I knew would stab me in the back for some money? Would I be able to let that person know that I knew without calling him out and confronting him in front of others? Would I be able to comfort and console others knowing what I was about to face? Would I be able to continue to be a leader and not totally fall apart? I can absolutely say that as much as I want to answer, “Yes,” I could not imagine facing death as Jesus did. I realized yesterday that I am still hurt by betrayals that happened in my adolescence and my early adulthood. I nearly came to tears recounting one particular episode that happened in high school. And, when I see the people who hurt me, love is not the first feeling that I feel. Yet, nothing that any person has ever done to me has lead to me being unjustly killed. I simply do not know how Jesus did it. Nevertheless, I am so glad that He did. I can never repay the debt I owe for the sacrifice that He gave; and, God is so loving that He does not request reimbursement. He only asks that we trust Him and obey Him; that is how we show our love to Him. What if you knew what would happen? Could you go through with trading your blameless life for people who did not deserve your sacrifice? Ms. EV
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For the foreseeable future, Ms. EV's Blog will feature music from Toni LaShaun Music. Today's song is Worth Dying For. This is the first one of mys songs that I ever professionally recorded. After hearing the finished product, I felt compelled to continue writing and recording. This song is in response to feeling unworthy of love. I went through a period in which I felt I was unlovable, but God reassured me that, not only does He love me, but He loves me so much that He thought I was worth dying for and fighting for. Enjoy! Ms. EV Worth Dying For Copyright © 2012 Toni L Wortherly I’ll never know why You felt that I Was worth dying for I can’t know the pain Can’t feel the hurt You endured But though You were never guilty You took my place before the Lord And You showed me I was worth dying for It’s hard to believe You look at me And think that I’m worth fighting for I’ve caused You such pain I feel so ashamed Oh Lord But You have never given up on me You bring peace in the midst of my storms And You showed me I am worth fighting for Before I ever took a breath of life You knew what my path would be You know I’d make mistakes, lose my way But You still loved me I am trying to do Your Will Live a life that will bring You glory That is my purpose to fulfill For the One who gave His all for me I’ll never know why You felt that I Was worth dying for It’s hard to believe You look at me And think that I’m worth fighting for So I won’t be ashamed To sing praises to Holy Name To show You You are worth living for Worth Dying for is available on Amazon, iTunes, and at the Toni LaShaun Music Store
I had to repost this today as a reminder to myself to not let people get to me.
I do my best to try to be aware of where my weaknesses are. I know that I am not perfect and that I have shortcomings. Some are obvious and others are less blunt, so I often ask God to show me the areas of my life in which I am failing Him. One of those areas is in dealing with adverse people. Mary Southerland of Girlfriends in God calls them sandpaper people. Don't get me wrong, I am a nice person. I have been told that I am compassionate, genuine, and loving. But, when it comes to the people who seem to exist only to unnerve me, sometimes I fall short in the area of Christian love. I know this is an issue because yesterday I mentioned to my mother that I may need to work on my people skills. I was in a situation where I found myself getting very frustrated with someone who asked me for help, and then, did not want to listen to me when I tried to give help. I have a feeling that my frustration was very obvious because, just like I do not have the ability to hide pain, I also have very little ability to hide the exact emotion I am feeling. Even though I was talking to my mother about the issue, I have a sneaking suspiscion that God overheard our convo (just in case you are wondering, I do realize that God hears everything). This morning, when I got to work I saw a person who not only annoys me, but goes out of his way to annoy me. I would prefer to have this person pretend that I am invisible because everything that comes out of his mouth is obnoxious. I have tried to ignore him. I have even tried, as recently as a few days ago, to be nice to him. But, there he was this morning as I arrived at work, pre-Coke Zero, to make another snide remark. I don't even know what I retorted, but I do know that it was accompanied by the yuck face and a possible eye roll. A couple of hours later I was reading a devotional and it spoke about making peace with people. OUCH!!! "But, I tried, Lord! I was nice to that dude the other day. I even smiled a genuine, not forced, smile. Surely, You can't mean him; he doesn't even recognize when I am trying to be peaceful." Even in the midst of my heart plea, I was wrong. And, I am still not really sure how to fix it. I don't want to brush off the obnoxious comments because I don't want this person to think that it's okay. Ignoring him is not going to fix it. Reacting adversly doesn't fix it either because even though I have had words with this guy and my friends have told him he is a jerk to me, he continues to act foolishly. Though I don't know what to do about this particular person, I am confident that God has the answer and He will guide me to it. Nonetheless, the issue is bigger than this one person. I don't want anyone to view God in a bad light because of how I treat other people, so I have to watch my actions and attitude towards others, especially obnoxious others. I figure if God can put up with the way I act and the things I say, I can learn to love in spite of. It is a process and I am sure I am not the only one who has to deal with those people. One thing is for sure, if you ever start thinking you have it all together and you ask God to point out your flaws, He will make them clear to you. The question then becomes what are you going to do about it. I have a few days to figure that out before I have to deal with this particular person again. But, in general, we have to keep love and peace in the forefront of our hearts and minds because some people are just too willing to let the devil use them to try to trip us up. Don't let the devil win! Ms. EV My cat, Joy Bella is potty-trained. About a year and three months ago, I decided I was tired of buying litter and I had heard that cats could be trained to use the toilet. It is not exactly their natural instinct, but through a series of behavior modifications, it could be accomplished.
Well, of course, I have the cutest, smartest cat ever, so, though it took some time, Joy was able to become fully potty-trained. Along the way though, she would have an occasional accident. At first, I would punish her, but then I learned to use positive reinforcement, and soon, she was not having as many accidents. Today, I came home and out of nowhere (I mean it has been at least six months), she had obviously had an accident. I know this is kind of gross, but go with me for a minute. I was not happy, but I did not punish her; I cleaned her mess and I did not give her a treat because she did not do what she knows to do. Right now, she is laying on my lap. She is not mad at me; actually, she is closer to me than she usually is when I get home from work. Why am I telling you about a potty-trained cat? Because, we, human beings, have a sinful nature. That is what we are hard-wired to do. However, once we let God into our lives, we are prepared and pruned until we learn to live a new kind of life. We develop a cleaner way of living. Yet, those old, natural habits are still there. And, if we are not careful, we may slip back into our old way of living; not permanently per se, but just for a moment. In those times, it has been my experience that God does not necessarily punish me, but He does not reward my bad behavior either. He lovingly corrects me, which draws me closer to Him. When we mess up, that is not the time to run from God; when old habits are beating down your door, that is the perfect time to run closer to Him. That is the time to hide in the safety of His arms, admit what you have done, and accept His mercy and forgiveness. Then, you can lay with your head in His lap of love and move forward in His plan for your life. You can learn a lot from a cat. Ms. EV So, it’s not a secret that I love music. And, Stephanie Mills’ song, “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” is currently stuck in my head. No, you did not miss the newsflash; the kid is still single. Nevertheless, I am celebrating the love that I sometimes take for granted; the love of Jesus Christ.
You see, sometimes, I get caught up in the world and what it has to offer. Sometimes, I look around and feel sorry for myself because I don’t have the kind of relationship that I desire. Sometimes, I feel sad because I think I have never truly experienced what it means to be in love. But then, I am reminded that, although I am single, and my earthly relationships have not been successful, I do know what it feels like to fall in love. There is something so awesome about falling in love with Jesus. When I think about what my life would be like without Him, I cannot help but love Him more. When I think of all the times He has forgiven me, I cannot help but fall deeper in love with Him. When I think about how He has never given up on me, even though others did, I cannot help but feel a sense of joy and peace from the inside; the likes of which no man can give. This kind of love, peace and joy can only come from Jesus. One more piece of amazing news is that you can fall in love with Him over and over and over again because, everyday, He gives us more and more reasons to love Him. He gave His life, so that we could live despite our faults, flaws and failures. He still believes in us. Even the best love this world has to offer is no match for that kind of love. You can search your whole life for the perfect wife or perfect husband or You can open up your heart to Jesus and let Him supply all you will ever need. I choose Jesus…’cause I never knew love like this before!!! Ms. EV A couple of weeks ago, I was preparing to do the Ms. EV's Relationship Advice broadcast, when I realized that I was just spent. I was tired physically, emotionally, spiritually just tired. So, I decided to take a little break. And, it was not an easy decision. However, I realized that it was better to take a break, get a chance to rest and rejuvenate after a huge event for which I am responsible, and then, come back stronger and better.
The two weeks away was anything, but relaxing. I knew that if I did not step back for a moment from a few things, then everything I had going on would be at stake. I love writing; it is an emotional and spiritual outlet and I love sharing the wisdom that God has given me over the years. I did not want to risk writing mediocre content or missing out on a message that was supposed to be written because of my busyness. It wasn't what I wanted to do, but it was what i had to do. Sometimes, we get so busy that we do not give our best. Even after I decided to take a little hiatus, I realized that I still was not giving my best to God. I was so busy doing "good" things that I was not spending quality time with God. Even if it meant giving up things that I liked, I could not abandon my first love. I had to purposefully make time to pray and not rush through my alone time with God regardless of other demands on my time. I had to get creative, and sometimes I faltered, but God is faithful and He picked me back up and what is even better, He did not beat me up about it (I was doing a perfectly good job of that myself); instead, God encouraged me to take the rest I needed and to find that rest in Him. So, now I am back. I have some VERY exciting adventures on the horizon and I an expectantly waiting to continue to see God's wonders working in and through my life. If you need a break, take it. God wants us at our best; that is why He encourages rest. Ms. EV Ms. EV's Blog and its BlogTalkRadio Show will be on hiatus for two weeks: March 2-15, 2013. In the meantime, you can read past blogs and catch up on the podcasts of Relationship Advice on the Ms. EV's Blog page or at BlogTalkRadio.
Love always, Ms. EV For the foreseeable future, Ms. EV's Blog will feature music from Toni LaShaun Music. Today's song is He Never Fails. I cannot wait to record this song because I feel that it has the reminder that many of us need all the time that God can NEVER fail! If we can't think of anything in our own lives that proves this to be true, we can open the Bible and see so many testimonies of how God is ABLE!!! He Never Fails
© Copyright 2012 Toni L. Wortherly He never fails There’s no end to what my God can do Just trust in Him There’s no end to what my God can do Fill the barren Split the Sea Raise up a king From obscurity Know the future Forgive the past Create a Kingdom That will forever last He never fails There’s no end to what my God can do Just trust in Him There’s no end to what my God can do Turn water into wine Heal the lame Help the blind To see again Take on my sins Humbly bleed Rise from the dead For a wretch like me He never fails There’s no end to what my God can do Just trust in Him There’s no end to what my God can do My sincerest apologies, but, due to circumstances beyond my control, I am unable to post Ms. EV's blog today. All is well and there will be Friday Fusion blog tomorrow. In the meantime, you can check out any blogs you've missed at http://elevatedvalues.weebly.com/. God bless! Ms. EV
I wanted to repost this blog because I needed to remind myself that there will come a time when I am not so busy and I will be bored and I want to be sure that I remember to be thankful for those times. It seems that every time I cross one thing off of my to-do list about five more things get added. While I am thankful for most of it, it can become overwhelming, but I do know that there is an end in sight and I think I will appreciate that end even more than I have in the past.
In my younger years, boredom was something that rarely existed. This was, of course, back in the day, when children actually played outside with friends. Then, as an adolescent, I found sports and other activities that kept me busy after school. I would get home just in time for dinner, homework and family time. As a college student and law student, I prided myself on being a part of several extracurricular activities and working while maintaining my grades. But, once the school years were over, and the “real world” experience began, I found myself getting bored and I hated it. Boredom, for me, during those times meant that I was alone with my thoughts. Being an introverted, analytical person, boredom created an opportunity for me to examine every detail of my life, which generally left me disappointed because I was not where I thought I would be. As I have grown closer to Christ, I have learned how to reflect on my present and my past with thankfulness. I have also learned to appreciate boredom. For me, being bored is the opposite of busy. I love busy. Busy means I don’t have time to think about being single or not having the level of success that I desire. Busy is not threatening. It usually brings accolades and attention. It’s my Martha place. But, literally, as I sit here, having finished a huge event, caught up on my work, and feeling pretty satisfied, I have to say that I am thankful for the boredom. I am thankful for the break and the rest. I’m finally getting comfortable in my Mary place; a place of reflection where I can sit at the feet of Jesus. I can listen for the still, small voice because it doesn’t have to compete with all of the other voices (real voices not just the one in my head). I can get strength for the journey and reenergize for my next assignment. In the past, I would spend this time agonizing over exactly what that assignment would be. I would fill the time with searching out clues for how I could get busy again. Now, I have learned that there is a season for busy and season for boredom. Both are a blessing from God. Ms. EV |
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