The Seventh Day of Conflict~7 Days with Jesus

Have you ever noticed two junior high girls strolling through the mall together? Their hair is identical; they may even have matching clothes ; shirt, jeans, tennis shoes. If you take a moment to follow them (not in a stalking weird sort of way, but a people watching sort of way) you might notice that their mannerisms are similar. If you are lucky enough to over hear their conversation you may also discover that they talk the same way! When you watch this phenomenon you are witnessing best friends.  Today’s generation uses the term ‘besties.’  Perhaps if you dig far enough back in the recesses of your memory you will recall times when you and your bestie did the same thing. Buying jeans that are the same brand and getting your hair cut in the latest trend are exterior things people notice. What you probably didn’t notice as a youngster, but your mother will confirm, is that your behavior was also very similar to your besties. You may have even heard your momma say, ‘you are who you hang out with.’ She was right, you know.
Do you have a best friend now that you spend oodles of time with? Think about the things you do that are similar to each other. Every so often my girls will say to me, ‘that was a very Mrs. C thing to do,’ meaning, I’m acting like a girl friend I spend time with. As a mother, I notice when my teenage daughters are spending too much time with certain friends. When that happens, my husband and I step in and limit the amount of time our daughters can spend with that person, because, ‘you are who you hang out with.’
As a Christ follower, my desire is to be more like Jesus than anyone else in this world. If you are who you hang out with than I had better be spending time with Jesus or I’m not going to be anything like him at all. How do we do that? How about 7 days with Jesus.  Over the next 7 days, join me as I -

• Spend time reading the Bible to learn about the heart of God and how He desires me to life my lives. If I don’t know what the Bible says about Jesus, I can’t live like Jesus did—Plain and simple. Ephesians 5:11
• Read books about people who lived lives of great faith and were followers of Jesus. Reading about their lives, struggles, and victories encourages me that I am not the only one who desires to walk worthy of the calling to follow Jesus.  Ephesians 4:1 and Colossians 1:10
• Spend time with people who have been spending time with Jesus longer than I have. If they have been spending time with God, they’ll emulate His character and because I am who I hang out with, I’ll become more like Christ because of their lifestyle. Someone who lives out Romans 12 is a great place to start!

It’s 7 days until Christmas—I realize it’s a crazy hectic busy time. But, can you afford to show up to a family gathering Christmas day and not be more like Jesus.  For me, I would show up all cranky? Grab a cup of tea or coffee-grab your Bible—leave your phone tucked away where you won’t hear it and decide today that you want to hang out with Jesus because your momma was right when she said, you are who you hang out with.
Tomorrow, 6 Spades a Digging