Jesus – Page 4 – Amy Linnea

Focus

Published on December 15, 2018June 9, 2023 by amylinneaLeave a comment

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

What is your focus?

Yourself?

Your needs, wants, and desires?

I get it.

It’s totally natural.

When you focus on your own self, nothing else matters except for your happiness.

Satisfying your needs.

Children naturally look out for number one and our job as parents is to curb that selfishness.

Tantrums usually result when children have little consequence for displaying that me-monster.

You’ve seen the horror unfold in stores.

Good parents are those that take the child out, not giving in.

Hopefully, as we grow into adults, we focus less on ourselves, and more on other people.

Parenting thrusts us into this role whether we want to or not.

I can remember staying home for years with the children.

My needs were second to theirs; however, their daily “after lunch quiet times” away from me provided sanity, key to my mental state.

Focusing on others with physical work is relatively easy.

Physically hard, yes, but easy in a way.

Unless you are grumbling and complaining as you work, thinking of only your “put out” state of mind.

On the other hand, mentally focusing on others and not yourself is an entirely different ballgame.

For example, what if your spouse communicates differently from you?

Should you focus on your natural point of view or theirs instead?

Imagine the difference if you focused first on your spouse, turning to yourself last.

What if your students at school or your own children at home seem to come from another world entirely?

Enter that world and look around.

Mentally.

Little people need authority from parents and teachers, but the focus can still be them.

Authority which oozes love and acceptance.

Think of Jesus.

He would patiently listen to children, calming them down with his love and authority.

And if He was married to your spouse, He would think of them first.

Always.

As Christians, Jesus DOES live in us.

We can be His hands and feet.

With strangers.

With children.

With our spouse.

The next time an issue crops up, don’t immediately switch the focus to yourself.

Keep focusing on Jesus.

Give yourself a time out if needed.

Yes, moms need those as well. 🙂

Invite God to wash your mind with His.

To give you His focus.

To see what He wants you to see.

And to ignore what He wants you to ignore.

Photos by Elena Taranenko, Dmitry Ratushny, Joanna Nix, & Keegan Houser on Unsplash

How did He?

Published on July 7, 2018June 9, 2023 by amylinneaLeave a comment

Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually. 1 Chronicles 16:11

When did You know?

When did You know how You would ultimately die?

How were You not completely overcome with anxiety at almost every moment after?

When did You know You were the Son of God?

When did You grow to love all of humanity with all of our issues and sin?

Did You always want to save us?

Because of love?

When did You realize You were our only hope?

God’s plan of salvation was You.

Was that almost too much to bear?

On top of all that, You were human.

With human needs like thirst, hunger, and the need for rest.

How did You not snap at people when your last meal had been hours previously consumed?

How did You function so utterly flawless when You were completely exhausted and couldn’t even think straight?

You amaze me.

You were fully human, so Your power had nothing to do with it.

You simply did it.

Your life was not easy, yet you were the perfect example to us all.

You carried the burdens of the world and it did not sway your path for one moment.

Teach us.

Teach us to hold our tongues when things don’t go our way.

Teach us to love others when they don’t at all deserve it.

Teach us to spread Your love and salvation to others.

And teach us to simply trust You.

That’s what You did.

You trusted the Father, who had the perfect plan.

You.

And our Father is faithful.

He was completely faithful to You and He will be completely faithful to me.

To us.

Always and forever.

Oh may we be more and more like You every day.

Photos by Aaron Burden , Roman Averin , & Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE on Unsplash

Last Day

Published on March 31, 2018June 8, 2023 by amylinnea1 Comment

“Abba, Father,” He cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Mark 14:36

Oh, Jesus, I see you.

I am near.

A face in the crowd.

I see your aching eyes.

I see what’s left of your precious body clinging to that horrid cross.

I’ve been a witness all day.

Your death is so real.

I cannot bear to look.

To think You are doing all of this for us.

For me.

What was it like to walk around this earth, knowing how your death would ultimately end?

How did your heart keep from worrying?

How did you keep your mind on the last supper, not worried to death anticipating the agony you knew was soon to come?

And even last month, how were you not overcome with preoccupation?

What did you do when fear and the temptation of avoidance entered your thoughts?

I know you are human with all the thoughts that flood our minds.

Yet you did not sin.

Teach me.

How did it feel when your best friends fell asleep that night, not watching your back or comforting you?

How about when your friend betrayed you in the garden?

I know you expected that, but it must have still disappointed you.

How did you deal with feeling alone during this time?

Teach me.

What was it like when the soldiers mocked you?

Didn’t you long to put them in their place?

That must have been difficult.

Teach me.

You let them taunt you, wetting your face with their spit.

What was it like to have your body whipped to the point of near death?

I cannot even imagine.

Or when they thrust the crown into your precious head?

The thorns went so deep.

I could hear the soldiers laughing, mocking your royal self after they “decorated” you.

I’m so sorry.

When they paraded you around in front of the cruel crowds, half naked and badly bleeding, it was unspeakable.

What were you thinking?

Was it hard not to speak in front of Pilot?

Was it difficult not to call down the angels to deliver you?

How did you stumble along the winding path, bearing the weight of the cross upon your weary body?

When they nailed your hands and feet, how in the world did you deal with that agony?

How did the unspeakable weight of the world’s sins feel on your shoulders?

You had never felt sin before.

Was that feeling of separation from God even worse than the physical pain, hard as that is to imagine?

How were you still filled with compassion for the lost while bearing unspeakable pain on the cross?

Teach me.

Every time I think about what You have done for us, I am brought to silence.

There are no words.

Except thank you.

Thank you for leaving heaven to give Your life for us here on earth.

You needed nothing, yet You gave it all up for us.

You came.

Willingly.

And now You are dying in place of us for our sins.

All of our sins.

All for us.

For me.

All because of love.

Your love for us.

For me.

I look once again at You, my precious Lord, dying on the cross.

Your breathing is slow.

Wait.

You are speaking.

Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

You’re right.

They don’t know.

They couldn’t possibly do what they have done to you, knowing who you are.

Whose you are.

But I do.

Your body is still.

The sky is dark, almost like night.

My eyes are lowered in humility.

My tears fall onto the ground wetting the earth.

You were selfless until your last breath, which prayed for the lost.

How did You manage this cruel death, emotionally and physically?

Because of love.

Because of life.

Eternal life.

Because of the promise of life eternally with You.

Us with You.

Forever.

You gave your life for us.

May we in return live each day for You, reminded of Your selfless love, which died upon the cross securing our spots in heaven forever with You.

Photos by Jacob Meyer, Matthew Henry, phil thep & Austin Thesing on Unsplash

Be the Light

Published on March 10, 2018June 8, 2023 by amylinneaLeave a comment

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Be the Light.

How?

How are we to be the Light of the world?

By reflecting Jesus.

By reflecting His love, His goodness, His mercy, and grace.

By telling people the good news.

When we reflect Jesus, we become lights in our world.

For Him.

When we enter a room filled with His peace,

That room is never the same.

Not because of us,

But because of Him.

Jesus.

When we soak a thirsty soul with truth, His truth,

That soul is never the same.

When we provide a hungry soul, desperate for solid food, absolute truth from God,

The meat from God fills that soul’s deepest aching need.

When we are God’s light to others,

The world is not the same.

Every interaction, becomes Jesus to them.

Every thought becomes a prayer immediately shared before the Lord.

Every time.

Try.

And when you do, you will be a vessel through which God’s light will shine upon every deepest darkest corner of this great big world.

Try to never leave a room as it was when you entered.

With God’s help, leave it even better.

Unsplash photos by Kari Shea & Matheus Kohler

Rejecting Ourselves

Published on February 17, 2018June 8, 2023 by amylinneaLeave a comment

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. Psalm 34:17

Satan wants us to reject ourselves.

He will desperately try to confirm the lies he places in our head.

Allow me to say that again: Satan will desperately try to confirm the lies he places in our heads.

He won’t usually tempt us by announcing himself amid large startling bangs.

The temptation to sin will sneak upon us until we do not even notice it’s existence.

There are many ways to tempt us, robbing us of our peace.

More than one way to skin a cat, my father always says.

Gross, I know, but the metaphor excellently describes life’s choices.

There are many ways to study for a test.

Many paths to success in your job.

Multiple menus to cook for dinner.

Way too many delicious coffee concoctions at Starbucks, but that is another blog entirely.

However, let’s be clear: there is only one path to God.

Through Jesus.

Satan tempted Jesus, wanting Him to sin, not perfectly dying for our sins.

And like Jesus, Satan wants us for himself.

If we can be tempted one way, but suddenly wisen up, Satan can entice us another way with the same exact carrot.

And when that temptation dries up because we mature, there will be a hundred and one new and different ways Satan will continue persuading us.

And be assured, he will.

So be on your guard.

Every single day.

Be full of God’s power, rejecting the lies of the enemy, listening instead to the truth of God.

We are almost predictable in our human responses, so getting us to reject ourselves is actually easy.

But with God’s power in you, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, you can resist ANYTHING.

Rise up, and claim your victory in Him.

Stand firm, resting in the truth of God, rejecting the lies from the pit.

Photos by Giulio Magnifico & wu yi on Unsplash

It’s OK to be Sad

Published on February 10, 2018June 8, 2023 by amylinneaLeave a comment

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:13

Really?

Yep, it’s ok.

Sadness is an emotion.

Just like happiness or anger or irritation.

Jesus was sad.

He was grieved for his people.

Do you think He was filled with joy in the Garden of Gethsemane before He was betrayed?

Not at all.

His spirit was greatly troubled (Matthew 26:37).

Sadness, deep sorrow is a real emotion.

God made us and created all of our emotions.

They are for a purpose.

A reason.

When your life crumbles, you need to grieve.

Your heart needs to heal, and that takes time.

How much time depends upon you and your needs.

Major life upheavals require a season of grief.

A winter of sorts where you rest.

If you choose to rest in the arms of Jesus, your recovery may be shorter.

A person can also become a bit sad for little reasons.

You might have an expected bill.

Your child doesn’t give you a hug before bed.

Gasp, your children ate the last of your favorite ice cream.

These are moments.

They pass almost as quickly as they come.

Dwelling on these little moments of sadness never really enters your mind.

The bigger moments, however, dig into your core and sadness can easily overtake you.

It can become your focus when a loved one dies, during a divorce, a job that evaporates, or an intense godly desire that never seems to materialize.

It’s in those moments that you have a choice to make…

Dwell on sorrow or experience the real emotion for a time, and purpose to move on.

You must grieve.

It’s an honest emotion.

It’s healthy.

But only for a season.

Don’t allow your mind to become stuck.

Resist the temptation to keep hitting the replay button for months and years.

You will take away years and the grief will become an idol.

Your identity will be wrapped up in grief.

Allow yourself a season of rest.

Of sadness.

Grieve.

Please.

But during that time, place your burdens and sorrow into the arms of Jesus.

He will fill your void, dry your tears, and give you little bursts of hope.

And when your season is over, a new day will dawn and your joy will return.

Just ask Him to help.

And I promise He will.

Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash

Give Me Jesus

Published on May 20, 2017June 7, 2023 by amylinnea1 Comment

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33