**Feel free to print for personal use only**
I encourage you to read the daily passage in context. You can find it here.
**Feel free to print for personal use only**
I encourage you to read the daily passage in context. You can find it here.
Hello all! This week’s story is from a long ways away! Miss Lacey Higgins writes a blog called Kosmios, which is the Greek word for modest. God has given her a beautiful plan for promoting what she calls “daddy-approved” clothing that will reach far beyond her future customers. In the long run, she hopes to impact young women around the world! Go check out her blog for more information. I began reading her blog in January and I’ve loved learning more and more about what God is doing in her life!
Stories from Mississippi
Be Brave in Jesus Christ
There is no other Way
I was six. Who has to be brave when they’re six? I mean maybe when you are trying to get the toy from the other kid in the nursery, but I mean… that is a BIG deal now isn’t it? Now my story of bravery did not happen when I was six. I know you are thinking now…THEN WHY THE MESS DID YOU START WITH THAT? Well…I don’t really know. Good question. Just kidding. Something that happened when I was six… a mistake… caused me to have to be brave years later. Next time you are about to make a mistake, and you think, “Oh, well. It’s just a tiny thing that won’t hurt anyone.” WRONG. Your mistakes affect you for the rest of your life. I was six, but what happened at six did NOT stay at six. You see…I grew up in a very well respected, Christian family. My parents were one of the best examples of a Christian I had while growing up. They had me and my brother and sister in church every time the door was open. They taught us how to pray. They taught us what love was AND showed us what love was. When my brother (Stephen) was around 8, he became a Christian. I saw how happy that made my parents. When he was baptized the following Sunday, he got a book. My sister (Lauren), who was also six at the time, (Six, too? Why Yes. We are twins. Thanks for asking.) was very tom boyish, so she and my brother were a lot closer than me and my brother were. She asked if she could read the book, and of course, my brother let her. Through reading the book, she became a Christian. Just like any good parents, my mom and dad were so excited that two of their children were now their family in two different ways. I felt left out, so this is when I made the mistake that I almost let ruin my whole life… and then some. I just wanted my parents to be proud of me just like they were for my siblings. I went and told my mom I wanted to be a Christian, too. She asked me some questions and then led me in a prayer. I did not mean a thing I said, I just wanted appreciation.
The next Sunday, I got baptized. For eight years, I had everyone fooled. I lived like a church girl would. I stayed out of trouble. I knew all about the Bible. I had earned the respect from others that my parents had. Then, I was old enough to be in our youth at our church. From the second I attended my first worship service at youth, I felt sick. I knew something was wrong, and deep down inside, I knew what it was…But I did not want to admit it. Even to myself. I would disappoint so many people if they knew I was not a Christian. I lived with the sickness for two years. The sickness had a name. It was called PRIDE. I had earned a respect, and I thought I deserved it. I did not want to ruin it. I was scared of what everyone would think. I played out how awful the scenario would be when I told everyone that I had absolutely no relationship with Jesus. I had just been playing a celebrity crush the whole time. I knew everything about Jesus, but I had never met the man. I even wanted to meet Him, but I let PRIDE get in the way. Two years. I put it off for two years.
I bet I know what you are thinking now…I got saved after those two years. Well dang…has anyone ever told you that you are one smart cookie? When I was a freshman in high school, I read John 14:6 and a short devotion before going bed one Tuesday night. “Jesus is THE way, THE truth, THE life. No one comes to the father, but through Him.” It was revival week at our church. The next day, on Wednesday, a girl named Kelly with the Life Action Ministry’s Thirst Conference gave her testimony. It sounded identical to mine up until the point of salvation. I got a little dizzy, and my heart started tingling like your foot does when it is asleep. I knew this was the Holy Spirit. I had read about Him since I was first able to read, but now, I was actually feeling Him. I wanted to ignore Him like I had been doing for the past two years, but then He pointed me back to the verse I had read the night before. I knew it the whole time, but at that moment, my eyes were open to see that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven. There is no other way. All my acting for the past eight years would not get me there. Even if I did know more about the Bible than most real Christians did, it didn’t matter. Without Jesus, I am nothing, so from the second row of West Heights Baptist Church’s youth room, I prayed the same words my mom told me to when I was six. The only difference…. this time I truly did mean every word I said, and I met Jesus for the first time.
BUT THAT IS NOT EVEN WHEN I HAD TO BE BRAVE.
I wanted so bad to keep it to myself. I thought God knew. There is no need to tell anyone. They already think I am a Christian anyways, but then I heard a whisper say, “He who is ashamed of me in front of men, I will be ashamed of in front of the Father.” But it did not stop there… He also said, “I was sent as your comforter when you asked for me. You do not have to worry anymore. I will protect you.” That is the moment that I knew it was for real this time. No more playing games. I knew then, that I could be brave, because I had the bravest man to every walk the face of the earth with me. He died a death on the cross that He did not deserve while we were still sinners. So with His presence walking with me every step, WE were brave. I made my decision public.
Now, I know that I don’t have to be brave, because He is brave for me. I don’t have to be strong, because He is strong for me. I don’t have to be worthy, because He is worthy for me. There is no other Way. We (Jesus and me) love y’all. Mwaa
With much love,
Lacey Higgins
Mom's Going to Madagascar 