Do you see the Jesus in you?

Do you see "Jesus" in you?

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 2Cor. 3:18 ESV

When you look in the mirror do you see the Jesus in you? I feel like that kitten looking in the mirror, not sure I agree with what I see. Really, if you think about it, we are all so uniquely made by our Heavenly Father, put here on this earth with the intent of being transformed to the image of His son. I never thought about it before, me- being transformed to the image of Christ.

One reason I never entertained the thought was because I compared myself to other Christian's. I could never be that good! You know those kinds of people. They are so good at teaching, memorizing and serving. I kept comparing myself to the way "she" did things not realizing that God never intended for me to be like "her".

If God put us all here, on this earth, for this particular generation, to live in our small town with specific and certain people.. With my unique personality because He placed me in the care of two particular people... Then the Jesus in me is not going to look like the Jesus in you. Am I right??

"The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple."Isaiah 50:4

We are being transformed to the image of Christ through our trials and sufferings... to be able to speak a "word" to the weary.
My trials are much different than "hers". So, what a freeing moment for me!!! My Jesus may look and sound "a bit" different than yours, but we are all speaking the same "word".

Ok, so what I am trying to say is... We all speak the same language, but are able to speak to certain people God has granted us opportunity to speak to...
Wow!! How exciting to know that My God has placed me here and put me in a certain environment to learn how to speak a certain "word" that will help the one that is weary!!! Praise God! There is a purpose and a reason why we are all here!

What one word do you have for the "one who is weary" on your particular path of life????

Love you all!!

Julie Peck

Is that all it takes?

I have been studying the story of Lazarus, Martha and Mary with hopes to end with a written bible study that will help others through the 2ND stages of grief. My focus has been on Martha and how she reacted to the death of her brother. I have found in this story a beautiful pearl (or mustard seed) of wisdom. I saw how Martha’s small, mustard seed-sized faith transitioned to full trust that would allow Jesus to heal her broken heart. The transition happened when she finally dropped her expectations of how her life should have been! When she finally let go and let God, the prayers from her grief-stricken, broken heart were answered abundantly beyond what she could have ever thought to ask for! Beyond her wildest dreams!
I began to put myself in her shoes (or sandals) and a new thought dawned on me.
A huge part of me died the night Jack went to Heaven. For the past 4 years, I have been trying to understand and figure out why I could not find a whole lot of joy in my life. Coping and struggling through the motions of “every day” was how I was getting by. I missed the old me, the one who could laugh and have fun. Where did that part of me go? That “happy” part of me seemed to have died after going through such heavy grief. What really began to bother me was the statement Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”John 10:10 Where was this abundant life? I began to dig through my bible. I found that right before He makes this promise, He reminds us that: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”John 10:10
It hit me like a ton of bricks… Jack, my son, was not going to be raised from the dead like Lazarus. He was not going to walk out of a tomb to live again with me here on this earth. However, if I truly believed what the bible said, I would understand that Jack wasn’t the one who needed to be raised from the dead… He is alive in Heaven. I’m the one that needs to be raised from the dead! The power of Jesus will be seen in the miracle of resurrecting “Julie Peck” from the” joyless living dead” to a new life of joyfully living!
The thief did his part, just like God promised us! He killed, He Stole and He Destroyed! And I was allowing him to do it over and over again on a daily basis! What I was failing to realize was, if I focused my eyes on Jesus, trusted Him, and dropped my expectations of how I thought my life should be…. He would give me a new life to live more abundantly!
I know, it’s a hard one to grasp on a daily, moment by moment basis. But, reality is, this is my new life, and Jackson Smith Peck has a new home. So, what and who am I going to believe? The one who keeps lying to me... Or the one who promise’s me a new joyful life? Understanding that from death comes new life brings a new joy to life. It puts everything into a new perspective. Jackson got to go home at the age of 4 because finished what he came here to do. I’m still here, so I must not be finished! No sense is wasting the rest of my life with why’s and what if’s! Instead, I’m going to choose God’s plan by letting go and letting God! I want just what Martha got; answers to my prayers that are abundantly beyond what I could ever think to ask for! Beyond my wildest dreams!