What goes in…comes out! – By Pastor Eric Johns
The Bible says that what goes into a person is the thing that comes out of them. Solomon said it this way… “Above all else…guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” – Proverbs 4:23
Makes a lot of sense. It’s this way for my puppy too. Little guy pooped out a stick and an eyeball from a stuffed animal the other day! Funny…until you realize the poop is staring back at you!
However, what got me thinking about this today was the fact that this morning I was derailed from my normal routine. Wake, coffee (obviously), me and Jesus time, check the weather and any important emails? Find out what’s going on in the news…then on with my day.
While it’s not the agenda of champions, it’s what I’ve grown accustomed to and somehow works for me to wake up and get organized in my head. Yet, this morning was different. By the time I turned my alarm off on my phone, I had an accurate count of how many people in my county had the COVID-19 virus AND how many people were being watched and tested. My feet hadn’t even hit the floor yet.
But what was noticeably different about the rest of the morning was the level of anxiety and fear I felt. It was the first time I actually thought I might need to purchase 168 rolls of toilet paper (hey, there’s six of us and we each need a roll a day for a month…do the math!). “What’s wrong with you?” is what raced through my head. That voice of shame isn’t very far behind me most days. I don’t’ think it a coincident that what I “filled my heart” with first thing that morning was the thing that was leaking out of me.
So, I had to stop and confess this to Christ, and receive his non-shaming love and grace! By the way…Christ’s love is always non-shaming and abundant…always!
Next morning when my alarm went off I got my coffee (this really is important!) and got back to the business of spending time with Jesus first. As I did, COVID-19 became really small and Jesus’ love and protection over my family and me began to grow. I didn’t think about stockpiling toilet paper all day! Although I did begin to wonder about our ice cream and chocolate supplies. After all, I’m not a caveman!
I wonder what might happen in our souls as we make sure to start our days off by putting really good stuff in it like Jesus first and see what comes out of us throughout our days!
#christinuschristthroughus #jesusfilterslife