I'm a girl with muscles.....

Okay, so my muscles might be buried under some flab but I still have muscles! lol!! Where on earth am I going with this blog....muscles, flab??? Here we go...I spent January devouring the book of Romans in The Message translation. It felt like I was reading it for the first time. wow!! I marked up practically the entire book but by the time I got to chapter 15, the Lord dropped my mouth with what Paul was saying in verse 1-2, "Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, 'How can I help?'"

Think about this: every single one of us has a strength(s). That strength is to be used to build up each other, to serve one another, to support each other. Think about how different your world would look if we made that our daily life motto - "How can I help you today?"

When I look back at the life of Jesus - He used His strength and put it to death on a cross so that we could rise up through the power of His strength and live. His strength, through dying, gave us life. Our strengths, through giving, can save a person's life for eternity. What massive impact we can make in our world by the power of one word: Serve. Our strengths are not to be placed on a plaque on a wall and gloat and boast about it, it's to be used to help those who falter, not to be used at our convenience, but to be used at any given moment, whether we are comfortable about it or not. That's where Phil. 4:13 comes in, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!"

My challenge is for us to stop looking so inwardly at our lives, how we can better ourselves, tend to our complaints and pity parties, but to start shutting up the flesh side of our lives and start living by the spirit and let our strengths, given to us by God, radically impact the world we live in. As Paul said, "So, reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. Jesus did it, now you do it!" (v.7)

What can I do for you today?

Tracee