Good Morning,
On Saturday we went to a powwow about 1 1/2 hours away, It was cloudy and sometimes spitting out. We arrived late so we missed what is called "The Grand Entry." This is the first dance that begins the powwow as the dancers enter the circle. There is a lot of ceremony as some of the elder males bring in the US flag and the flags of whatever nations the people of the powwow come from. Then the Native American Veterans (who are extremely patriotic and also honored by all) come into the circle. The men who wear regalia that is specific for the kind of dances that they do follow, Women in regalia that signifies the kind of dance that they so come next with children as well. Then the other participants follow. This powwow was at a wild Maine animal farm so we also got to go around and see some of the animals...fun to see. There were a couple of downpours during the afternoon. I had my handy dandy umbrella so it was not too bad. Most of the people of Maine do not use umbrellas and end up getting quite wet. I cannot even understand why that is.
I am praying that this Sunday is a special one for you!
God bless
Corinne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Devotional component in the Sunday Writings of Women's Focus Ministries is titled, "MASKS" and was written by Jan Andersen. The theme of this devotional is how we sometimes hide behind various masks, but God puts the mask of Jesus over us. The theme verse is from Philippians 2:13 "For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes in life we walk around wearing a mask. At times it is just a pleasantry, such as when someone asks us, "How are you?" and our answer is the pat, "Fine" even when we are not. Other times it is part of a role we have in life, such as putting forth a professional image at a job we have. We smile and are pleasant to customers or clients to make them feel at ease, even when inside we may not feel like smiling. Wearing makeup is a mask, a way to cover what we may see as imperfections or to enhance our looks. Some of us wouldn't even dream of leaving the house with no makeup, for fear someone might see how we really look! Then there is the perfectionism mask, trying to look good in how we behave to hide those flaws which we do not like within ourselves. We may think that people would not like us if they really know us inside and out. There are times when our "masks" even obscure our vision, or give us a distorted view of our world around us or of ourselves. We may begin to think that those masks are absolutely necessary or even to believe that the mask is who we truly are. Or we may think that we are hiding behind a mask when actually the people around us may understand what is behind the mask more than we realize. What masks do you wear?
I used to think that I had to always wear a mask, no matter where I was. I thought I had good reasons for it. There were times that it was socially acceptable and appropriate to "put on a good face" so to speak. But I found that my mask was actually like those two-way mirrors, completely see-through on the outside, and a reflective mirror on the inside. My mask was much more transparent from the outside than I realized. Those who knew me best could see right through my mask. And the inside of my mask, the part that I could see, was like a magnifying mirror that exaggerated any flaws that I saw to unbelievable proportions. Because the inside of the mask was also curved and contoured, it was like those carnival mirrors, producing a very distorted image to me, nothing like the true face it reflected.
But God sees us for who we truly are. He sees inside our hearts even when we try to hide from him behind our masks. God has a better costume for us. He knows we are not perfect - none of us. And He loves us just the way we are. He not only forgives us for our imperfections, but makes us new again in Jesus. When He looks at us, He sees the mask of his perfect Son who gave his life for us as payment for our sins. We are clothed in his righteousness. By our faith we are saved, and we desire to act according to God's will as a gift of thankfulness to him and as a witness to others. Although we try to do our best to do God's will, when we are honest about our imperfections, we can be of better service to others who then can see us as real and truthful, and as equals.
Philippians 2:13 (NIV) For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Dear Father in heaven, thank you for forgiving us for all our imperfections, loving us in spite of the way we are on the inside, and seeing us through the mask of your Son, Jesus, on the outside. Help us to remove our false or perfectionist masks in order to be honest witnesses to those around us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
On Saturday we went to a powwow about 1 1/2 hours away, It was cloudy and sometimes spitting out. We arrived late so we missed what is called "The Grand Entry." This is the first dance that begins the powwow as the dancers enter the circle. There is a lot of ceremony as some of the elder males bring in the US flag and the flags of whatever nations the people of the powwow come from. Then the Native American Veterans (who are extremely patriotic and also honored by all) come into the circle. The men who wear regalia that is specific for the kind of dances that they do follow, Women in regalia that signifies the kind of dance that they so come next with children as well. Then the other participants follow. This powwow was at a wild Maine animal farm so we also got to go around and see some of the animals...fun to see. There were a couple of downpours during the afternoon. I had my handy dandy umbrella so it was not too bad. Most of the people of Maine do not use umbrellas and end up getting quite wet. I cannot even understand why that is.I am praying that this Sunday is a special one for you!
God bless
Corinne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Devotional component in the Sunday Writings of Women's Focus Ministries is titled, "MASKS" and was written by Jan Andersen. The theme of this devotional is how we sometimes hide behind various masks, but God puts the mask of Jesus over us. The theme verse is from Philippians 2:13 "For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Devotional
"MASKS"
written by
Jan Andersen
Sometimes in life we walk around wearing a mask. At times it is just a pleasantry, such as when someone asks us, "How are you?" and our answer is the pat, "Fine" even when we are not. Other times it is part of a role we have in life, such as putting forth a professional image at a job we have. We smile and are pleasant to customers or clients to make them feel at ease, even when inside we may not feel like smiling. Wearing makeup is a mask, a way to cover what we may see as imperfections or to enhance our looks. Some of us wouldn't even dream of leaving the house with no makeup, for fear someone might see how we really look! Then there is the perfectionism mask, trying to look good in how we behave to hide those flaws which we do not like within ourselves. We may think that people would not like us if they really know us inside and out. There are times when our "masks" even obscure our vision, or give us a distorted view of our world around us or of ourselves. We may begin to think that those masks are absolutely necessary or even to believe that the mask is who we truly are. Or we may think that we are hiding behind a mask when actually the people around us may understand what is behind the mask more than we realize. What masks do you wear?
I used to think that I had to always wear a mask, no matter where I was. I thought I had good reasons for it. There were times that it was socially acceptable and appropriate to "put on a good face" so to speak. But I found that my mask was actually like those two-way mirrors, completely see-through on the outside, and a reflective mirror on the inside. My mask was much more transparent from the outside than I realized. Those who knew me best could see right through my mask. And the inside of my mask, the part that I could see, was like a magnifying mirror that exaggerated any flaws that I saw to unbelievable proportions. Because the inside of the mask was also curved and contoured, it was like those carnival mirrors, producing a very distorted image to me, nothing like the true face it reflected.
But God sees us for who we truly are. He sees inside our hearts even when we try to hide from him behind our masks. God has a better costume for us. He knows we are not perfect - none of us. And He loves us just the way we are. He not only forgives us for our imperfections, but makes us new again in Jesus. When He looks at us, He sees the mask of his perfect Son who gave his life for us as payment for our sins. We are clothed in his righteousness. By our faith we are saved, and we desire to act according to God's will as a gift of thankfulness to him and as a witness to others. Although we try to do our best to do God's will, when we are honest about our imperfections, we can be of better service to others who then can see us as real and truthful, and as equals.
Philippians 2:13 (NIV) For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Dear Father in heaven, thank you for forgiving us for all our imperfections, loving us in spite of the way we are on the inside, and seeing us through the mask of your Son, Jesus, on the outside. Help us to remove our false or perfectionist masks in order to be honest witnesses to those around us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
Prayers are lifted up daily for
you by the Devotional Writers
and the Monthly Writing Staff
of Women's Focus Ministries.
No comments:
Post a Comment