3. Jesus appreciates those people who simply try. Mark 9:40-41

     I was reading in Mark this week and came across a couple of verses that I find insightful for anyone who might be struggling with their faith or struggling with their sense of self-worth. In Mark chapter 9 verse 40, Jesus says, "For he that is not against us is on our part." 

    To me, this is Jesus validating anyone who is simply trying. He is saying, "I know you're trying to do good, and I see that. You are not against me when you are trying. In fact, you are with me, and I will be with you because you're trying your best."  

    We are either with God or against Him. In this context, one of the things we can do to be with God, is to not be against Him. If we are just trying to do good, God will recognize that. Of course, I believe there are other things we can do to further see and come closer to God, but the first step is almost a default step; don't fight against God. 

    I know it's sometimes hard to recognize God and trust in Him, but I know He will turn our faith into great actions and growth. There are blessings to be realized as we turn to God. We don't have to be perfect. We just need to try. 

Relationships

     Do you find relationships with other people important? I do! I love my family, I have wonderful friends I love, I enjoy watching humans interact with each other. In today's world we see so much of the bad side of human beings through news, social media, gossip, and a plethora of other ways. Why do we focus so much on the bad? We are brothers and sisters with so much potential to love. 

    I believe one of the reasons humans are on the earth is to form loving and eternally lasting relationships. This week I was studying in the New Testament and read Matthew 12:11-12. These verses say, 

"And he said unto them, what man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days."

This passage reminded me that our humanity is greater than anything material. Jesus implies that if man is better than a sheep and we would sacrifice so much for a sheep, than why wouldn't we do that for man? I also asked myself, do I put ideologies, thoughts, and barriers between me and my fellow man? Some people thought it was unlawful to help someone on the sabbath day. Do I think it is unlawful to help someone because they don't share the same political views as me? Do I think it unlawful to love others because they made what I think are bad decisions? 

I hope we can all see the good in each other. I hope we don't love our own ideologies more than we love the humans around us, especially in our own families. 

What We Can Learn From Jesus Christ

    No matter whether we're a participating Christian or not, almost everyone in the modern world has heard the name of Jesus Christ. But who is He? Why is He so important to so many people? Jesus was a great leader, teacher, and - one of the most influential titles to me - friend. I want to share a quick story about Jesus when He was about 30 years old and why it's important to me and, hopefully, you. (This story is told mostly through my own words, but it still gets the important messages across).

    Jesus had gone to the wilderness and fasted for 40 days. While there the devil came to Him and tried tempting Jesus three times. The first time the devil told Jesus "You must be really hungry. If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread so you can eat." Jesus replied to the devil, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." He did not fall to the first temptation of the devil.

    The devil came to Jesus a second time and told Him, "Let's go to the top of the tower. If you are the Son of God, throw yourself off. Angels will catch you and you will be protected." Again, Jesus denied the temptation and told the devil, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."

    Once more for the third time, the devil told Jesus, "If you worship me, I will give you everything." Jesus exclaimed, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve." The devil left Jesus for a while after that. Jesus was successful in resisting all three temptations. 

There can be many lessons learned from this story, but one I want to talk about is the understanding Jesus had of who He was. In the first two temptations, the devil had said "IF you be the Son of God..." because I think he was trying to get Jesus to doubt who He truly was. I believe that humans have amazing potential to do great things, just like Jesus did. If we ever feel like we aren't good enough, or have low self-worth, we can know that those thoughts do not define reality. While those thoughts can be hard to ignore, they do not define who we are. We are so much greater than we realize.