Day 3: Elementary Faith

 Once Upon a Time

you had your very first day of school.

Remember

buying the school supplies~

the pencils,

crayons,

 rulers,

and

notebooks,

all fresh and NEW?

This was my favorite time of the school year.

The best part was when you got home from the store

and looked at all of your purchases.

Starting NEW,

BUT then school starts.

What brought you great pleasure

now takes on a whole NEW role,

for

the notebooks become homework,

the pencil tips become dull,

and the crayons crack.

The once NEW becomes old,

losing the excitement experienced on the purchasing day.

Fix the broken crayon with a piece of tape.

 Sharpen the pencils down to a stub.

The notebooks, forever marked.

Isn't this so true of

LIFE?

A NEW day comes upon us with

great aspirations,

great intentions

and then our notebook of

"LIFE"

gets "marked" up

with the unexpected not so good circumstances,

with our not so good choices,

and the not so good choices of others.

We may not have the power to bring the school supplies

back to their original condition

after the first day of school,

but

 we do have a POWER available to us to give us a

FRESH NEW START in LIFE,

no matter how marked up it may become.

Because of

JESUS who turns the

old

into

NEW,

beginning with you~

"Therefore, if anyone is in CHRIST, he is a new creation;

the old has gone, the new has come!"

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

HE is able to turn our wailing into dancing, and turn our tears into joy.

(Psalm 30:11)

JESUS gives a FRESH START

no matter what.

HE can turn that broken crayon into a fresh new Crayola.

HE can take the ripped pages of the notebook and mend them.

HE can sharpen any dull point that we bring to Him.

For JESUS is always available,

but are you?

WHO IS WRITING YOUR STORY

or better yet,

WHO IS REWRITING YOUR STORY?

Do you need FORGIVENESS?

JESUS ERASES your BITTERNESS.

Do you need LOVE?

JESUS ERASES REJECTION. 

Do you need PEACE?

JESUS ERASES ANXIETY. 

Oh it sounds so elementary,

for we all KNOW this,

but do we really make

JESUS the ERASER of our lives,

and hand HIM the chalk.

WHAT IF you could ERASE 

the one thing that you said that you wish you didn't say

or

or that one thing that you keep thinking about again and again

or

that one person who you wish didn't reject

or

that one thing that you did or didn't do

and that you wish you did or didn't do?

WHAT IF becomes NOW.

"So come on,

 let’s leave the preschool finger painting exercises on CHRIST

and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in CHRIST"

(Hebrew 6:1 msg).

Growing up IN CHRIST

actually is a time to

have

FAITH like a CHILD!

And why?

Because you are HIS CHILD. 

Hmm.

In order to GROW UP we GROW DOWN.

"Whoever becomes simple and elemental again,

like this child, will rank high in GOD'S kingdom"

(Matthew 18:4).

Therefore,

if you are HIS CHILD

then you have permission to

have FAITH like as HIS CHILD.

Today is the day.

WHO IS REWRITING YOUR STORY?

CHALK TALK 101:

"YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD"

(listen to the song below)