Do You Believe

I do believe Lord, help my unbelief.  Mark 9:24

Last Friday was the 6th graders last all school Adoration.  They wanted to lead Friday Adoration prayers and leave a powerful message with the 220 younger students at St. Mary School.  The event was a cross between the early scenes of the movie Do You Believe and a flash mob.  It was powerful to say the least.  After encouraging everyone to think about what they believe, they offered six challenges for living like you believe.  These six ideas were a combination of their thoughts and plans.  They are an amazing group of middle lovelies and I thought their work offered a strong challenge to us all.  So…compliments of a wonderful group of 6th graders, here’s your Monday message.

Number 1:  Pray more…not just at school, not just at church and not just before you eat. Make time each and every day to sit still and talk with Jesus.  Tell him how much you love him and need him and ask him to show you what he’d like you to do for him. Pray for people you are angry at and people who have hurt you.  Pray for forgiveness and kindness.

 Number two…Don’t be selfish. Give other people your time if they need help or if they are sad and need someone to cheer them up.  Be generous with your toys and stuff.  We have way more stuff than we need and there are so many people who don’t have enough so we should share.

 Number three, show Mercy.  That means be kind to everyone, even if they aren’t kind to you.  Jesus didn’t pick on people and he didn’t ignore people or embarrass them.  If you believe in what he did for you, show his mercy.

 Number four…Don’t be afraid to make sacrifices.  We can be pretty spoiled and take things for granted.  Believers are willing to put others first.  They let others line up in front of them, they are humble and not afraid to give others credit for things.  They think of other people before they think of themselves.

Number five…Be brave!  Have confidence that God can do anything he wants to with your gifts and talents.  Don’t be afraid to live like you believe.  Be brave enough to pray in a restaurant before you eat, be brave enough to wear a crucifix or scapular.  Don’t be afraid to tell people about Jesus and be brave enough to act like you believe.

 Number six…look for Jesus!  We are all created in the image and likeness of God so he is in each of us.  Every time you invite someone to join you, you are inviting Jesus.  Every time you say something nice instead of something rude or mean, you speak kindly to Jesus.  Believers find a way to love everyone…not just the people it’s easy to like.  Believers do the hard stuff and they remember to ask Jesus to help them when it’s hard to do the right thing.  He will always be there to help.

 If we try really hard to do those six things then Jesus will know we believe and we will share his love and the power of his cross with others so they can come to believe too.
I think there is power in their words for believers of any age so I hope you’ll put their words to use and be more conscientious of not just believing, but living those beliefs for Jesus and others to see.

A Seed To Plant:  Take a careful look at these six things and pick one to work on this week.

Blessings on your day!