We started VBS, or KidzJam as we call it, at NewLife Church this week. I love the excitement in the air during this time, and I so wish we could be this excited everyday about God! The staff at the church ordered matching t-shirts for all of the volunteers to wear so that we would be easily identified by the kids. Nothing fancy----plain black tees with the words "I am New Life" on the front and the church website in small letters on the back. I've been really thinking about those words and what they mean to me. It reminded me that the church is not a building or a place but a body of believers. The church is made up of people who aren't perfect but have been made perfect in God's eyes because of the blood of Jesus Christ. So, to every person that I come into contact with everyday, I am the church. NewLife is not just our church name. New life is what we are given when we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord and saviour. As I contemplated these things, the Lord seemed to whisper to me, "You have been given new life, but you don't always live like someone who has been given such an amazing gift." Ouch! He was, as usual, right! I take my t-shirts seriously. I know that people make decisions about my lifestyle based on the advertising that I wear on my clothes. I want what I wear on the outside to represent who I am on the inside. As I wore that shirt last night, I became more aware of my new life. It isn't something to hide on the inside; it is something that people should see in me and not just on me.
I interviewed for a teaching job at the end of June, and I knew that they would make a decision by this week. In the meantime, I have been applying for other types of jobs, but I haven't even gotten a call for an interview. I have been trying to remain hopeful and even thought that maybe I wasn't getting any calls because God wanted me in the teaching position that I had applied for last month. Well, today I got an email letting me know that they had made a decision and that I didn't get the teaching job. I was much more disappointed than I had thought that I would be. It hurt, and I hadn't expected that at all. As I have gone about my day, the Lord kept reminding me of my new life and the joy that it represents. It isn't dependent upon my getting that job or any other one. It is an amazing gift given to me by an amazing God just because He loves me. He loves me in ways that I can't even begin to imagine, and I am convinced that the lesson he gave me last night and this morning on my new life was perfectly timed to help me deal with the hurt that He knew I was going to feel today. As always, He is right on time.
I don't know what you may be dealing with today, but I know that God wants to comfort you and strengthen you just as He has me today. If you have new life in Him, then celebrate it. If you don't have it, then I pray that you will reach out to Him today to receive it.
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