Finally – A Week with No Flats
Let’s pick up where we left off. If you are just joining me, I have been talking about flat tires. For three weeks in a row, my van had a flat tire, one each week, and what’s even more interesting is that it was a different tire each time. So as you can imagine, I was fully anticipating the fourth tire to go flat somehow, someway, someday very soon.
The streak has ended
I am happy to report that after my little shout out in the parking lot that night, the following week came and went with no tire incidents of any kind. Peace was mine again. And for the next several months, I happily served in the van ministry at my new church.
Stay the course
While serving in the van ministry, I made new friends, and learned lots of things about the Bible and Jesus Christ. I found a new appetite for God’s Word, something I had never experienced before in my life. Suddenly, I couldn’t get enough, and my new focus became more about becoming more like Christ.
If I was to be more like Jesus, I needed to strive for perfection. After all, everything I learned in Sunday School led me to believe this man was perfect – and He was and still is. The Bible didn’t mislead me, but my misunderstanding of perfection did.
Being perfect = stress
Have you ever tried to be perfect? It is so stressful.
I hate to break the news to you, but there is no such thing for us human beings. Striving for perfection led me to such stress. I was finding I wasn’t as happy anymore. My excitement was waning quickly.
What’s wrong?
I wasn’t the only one who noticed something amiss. My Sunday school teacher did too, and one night outside someone’s house for dinner, she asked me what was the matter.. I’m very thankful she did, because she cleared up my misunderstanding of the scriptures on Jesus and His perfection.
“Oh, what a relief it is!” That reminds me of a song, but for the life of me, I cant think of where I’ve heard that before. Oh wait, I remember. “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is.” Yes, that’s a snippet from the famous Alka Seltzer commercial from 20 plus years ago. I date myself.
Anyway, I was relieved to learn that I would never reach perfection. Now that I say that out loud, it doesn’t sound so joyful? Go figure. But it’s true for me and for you as Jesus is the only perfect one.
The Bible says in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.”
Transformation
I want to be transformed. I want to know more about God. But in order to do that I need to be in His Word. I need to study His Word, the Bible.
Can I be honest with you? I really didn’t know where to start back then when I first started attending Sunday school. The Bible is a big book. And like any good book, you start in Chapter one, verse one. Genesis is the first book in the Bible, so it made sense to start there. But after reading several chapters and moving onto the next several books, I got scared, and stopped reading. The things I was reading weren’t very promising and they weren’t very pleasant.
You too?
I discussed this with my Sunday School teacher and she suggested I start reading in the New Testament, specifically the book of John. She suggested I read all about Jesus Christ and the promises He had for me and others. And so that’s what I did. What a wonderful testimony of a perfect man – Jesus Christ, whom I had asked into my heart many years prior. Since that moment, my life has never been the same.
Let’s pray
God, thank you for putting people in my life for spiritual guidance. Thank you for their faithfulness to you and for their courage to stand for you and the scriptures. Their dedication to serving you Lord pointed me to you in a big way, a life transforming way. I’m so glad they were obedient. My life has been forever changed. I never knew a joy quite like this before. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
In His Service,
Jeanette Duby, The Teaching Lady
#transformation #noperfectionhere #Bible #theteachinglady
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