10 Days of More JESUS in Christmas- Day 9

Like fresh water to parched souls

Yesterday, we talked about preaching the Gospel to ourselves. Every day. Living right there, in the Gospel, so that it affects everything- permeates, oozes, and saturates. When I am living there, I see where I am shifting my hope from Jesus to any number of ridiculous things, and He gently turns my chin back to Him where all His goodness washes over me and fills me with joy in the overflow.

But what about the rest of dirty humanity that desperately needs to hear the life-giving, freeing words of grace and mercy that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are we so enamored with our cleanliness that we don't want to dirty ourselves with their filth? Have we bought the lie that we must keep our children so squeaky clean that they cannot possibly know how to reach beyond our sterile religiosity and get their hands dirty in the process of loving the lost?

There is no cleanliness apart from Christ, remember? There is no one that does good, Scripture says. When we see how Christ can make anyone- anyone- clean, with His righteousness, when we realize that we are not clean without His righteousness, it should make us run to reach our hands out to the ones we know who need Him the most.

Start with your family. Who there needs you to love them lavishly, as Christ would? Who needs your mercy and compassion and His Gospel instead of your scorn, condemnation, and unwillingness to sit awhile and hear their story because it might disgust you? Who needs you to love them (no strings attached)?

Our job is to love our neighbor as our self. Know what I want most in the world? To know Christ is near me and live in the overflow of the goodness of God. If I'm loving my neighbor as myself, I want that for them, too.

He came for the sick, the broken, the destitute, the godless. He came for me.

"But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." ~Matthew 9:12

As we spend 10 Days desiring more JESUS in Christmas, let's purpose to do this one thing today:

9. There are 38 days until Christmas. Let's pray that we begin to see others with the eyes of Christ, and ask Him to help us love those who need Him most. Our job is not to convict; the Spirit does that better than we could ever hope to. Our job is to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Be sure to visit these brilliant women during our 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th! I love these ladies and we know you will too. 10 days of Character Studies | Confessions of a Homeschooler 10 days of Christmas Countdown Ideas | Milk & Cookies 10 days of Creative Writing | Chocolate on My Cranium 10 days of Crockpot Meals | The Happy Housewife 10 Days to a Godly Marriage | Women Living Well 10 Days of Growing Leaders | Mom's Mustard Seeds 10 Days of Homeschooling High School | Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers 10 days of I Wish I Had Known | Fruit in Season 10 days of Keeping Your Marbles | The Tie That Binds Us 10 days of Kid-friendly Food | Planner Perfect 10 Days of Language Arts Lesson Planning | Jimmie's Collage 10 Days of Learning Apps | Daze of Adventure 10 Days of a Mason Jar Christmas | Cajun Joie de Vivre 10 Days of More JESUS in Christmas | Preschoolers and Peace 10 Days to a Peaceful Home | Raising Arrows 10 Days of Raising a Life-Long-Learner | Bright Ideas Press 10 days of Science with Math | Blog, She Wrote 10 days of Teaching Values | Our Journey Westward 10 days of Winning your Child's Heart | I Take Joy