Day 231 Remember...You are!

 

8/19/2026

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God."

John 1:1

 

When the Lord first spoke to me about writing, He led me back to His beginning to help me understand, if one can truly do that, the Kingdom of God. He directed me to the Gospel of Matthew, the introduction as: "Matthew is the gospel written by a Jew to Jews about a Jew." In today's society, even in the church, I think that many have forgotten these important facts, especially that Jesus is a Jew. In fact He is the King of the Jews.

The Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus beginning with Abraham, the man God chose to be the father of all nations. I have always loved reading and studying through the "begats," because it is here I can see so clearly not only the love of God, but His amazing mercy and forgiveness to imperfect man. 

When John the Baptist was sent by God as a forerunner to announce the coming of the Messiah, his message was simple, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). After John was imprisoned, and Jesus began His ministry His first words were the same: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). Jesus hand picked His disciples and simply said "Follow Me." And they did without hesitation. I often wonder why it is not that simple today, and yet, perhaps within the hearts of those who truly hunger and thirst for righteousness, it can be so. I know for myself, I have never doubted who He is, and following Him is all I want to do. 

This world has much darkness, and many are confused, especially young people. Summer is almost over, and colleges are starting up, and where there is excitement in the air about being part of a college community, meeting new friends, living in the dorms, with all the freshness of a new beginning, no longer under the watch care of parents, I imagine there is also much fear because of the ugliness and uncertainty  in the world today. Life is not just about moving out of the family home, meeting new friends, acquiring new knowledge, it means growing up, becoming of age and accountability as an adult. And who really knows what they want to do with their life at 18 years of age?! We all have dreams, and for some of us, our dreams never die, they never age, but we have to be realistic and sometimes things don't happen overnight or way past that stage. Many times young people become caught up in society's view of what becoming successful means. It's easy to fall into discouragement, especially once classes begin, and the curriculum is not as easy to grasp as it was in high school. If one hopes to succeed there's a new level of achievement necessary, and this can often cause some to feel "less than." And so, we tend to judge ourselves by how others are doing, rather than just being accepting of who we are and adjusting our pace accordingly. And it's never a sign of failure to need help to get through a tough course load. 

I recently read this quotation from Max Lucado from his book No Wonder They Call Him The Savior:

"You are valuable just because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are. Remember that. Remember that the next time you are left bobbing in the wake of someone's steamboat ambition. Remember that the next time some trickster tries to hang a bargain basement price tag on your self-worth.... Just think about the way Jesus honors you...and smile."

I think Max spoke some pretty good advice for any age, because we all fall into the rabbit hole of defeat at times. Life is hard, and people can be cruel sometimes...or maybe not cruel, but callous for the wear and tear on their lives. I also love the wise sayings of Winnie the Pooh who once told Piglet some advice that Christopher Robin may first have said to him: "Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you ever know."

 O, how we need more Winnie the Poohs in this world today!