“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”  Romans 8:11

I was talking with my church family awhile ago about how the disciples got to walk with Jesus.   It must have been cool to have been able to learn directly from His lips.  They were able to see the way He daily lived and experience His love first hand.

I went on to say that the disciples may be thinking the same thing about us.  Think about it, not only do we get to learn from His lips (the Word) and experience His love first hand (how we display Him to others) but we also get to see the way He daily lives in a unique way – inside our hearts, prompting us on understanding His teaching, which paths to take and serving each other with all our heart.

The Disciples could have been impressed with us!

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year because of the fall colors, food, family and traditions.  A close second is Christmas.  Presents do not really mean all the much to our family.  Ever since my oldest girls were real little, my husband and I came up with the tradition that they each get three gifts (a need, a want and an educational).  Surprisingly, they did not feel the least bit gypped or upset that they did not get more.  (Side note: those three gifts are not expensive either.)

This Christmas season, after reading this verse, it made me think about all the people who are more than willing to display Christ’s love towards others during the holidays, why?  Doesn’t the homeless need shelter on other days?  Shouldn’t the hungry be fed three meals a day?  Can’t we be kind and polite to the people we come in contact with every other day?

Although Christmas is the time of year that most honor Christ, why not honor him on the 8th of April or the 17th of October.

Romans 8:11 tells us that He gives us life why not use it well and not just at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I want to put His love into practice better, hear/soak up His Words with a more open heart and live more fully devoted to Him.  However, if you are anything like me (wife, mother of five, Master’ degree graduate, volunteering and running a business part-time) then you know little reminders such as post-it notes help a lot.  So how do I “post-it” a reminder to do all of those things?  I am not talking about making a to-do list with God at the top of it because I do my daily devotions, pray, tithe and serve.

What I am saying is be a disciple of Christ.

I know the disciples had their flaws at times because they were not Christ.  They probably did not have to be reminded to be polite nearly as often or to do without so others can eat.  Unfortunately, my life gets so busy I very often have to be put in my place.  Thankfully my friends or my husband remind me of Who I am supposed to be following.

My husband and I were just having a conversation tonight about the very same thing of how a person may come across someone who really gets under their skin.  You may even want to avoid them at all costs.  Doesn’t Christ call us to befriend everyone for the Kingdom of God?  There are lots of times that my friends cannot stand me and I them.  Friends are willing to deal with the junk, that’s what friends are for.  Friends see you at your absolute worst and love you anyways.

As a person wanting to live up to my friendship with God, I need to learn how to be a disciple of Christ.

The definition of disciple is “a student of Christ.”  In an effort to be a good student does anyone have any suggestions on how to make conscious choices for Him and not let my selfishness get in the way?  Trying to walk behind some very large shoes!

We have the ability to do as the disciples did because the Holy Spirit is in us and Christ’s Word is our guide.