The questions of the day are....

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This morning I was feeding myself. I woke up with such a hunger for the Lord, it was like I was just ravenous. I felt such a craving for His message, His word. So, I ran down my list of pastors that feed my soul with the truth of His grace and truth. Of these pastors, one just kept coming up more than the others. This is how I determine who to listen to today, lol. I ask and wait and He tells. Well, Pastor Aaron Escamilla was my meal for the day. I listened first to "A Character Worth Following" in which the questions I am going to address today came from. As I type, I am in the final moments of "R U Worth Following". I truly recommend listening to these, wow is all I can say. Anyway, Aaron posed two questions that have been rolling around my mind since I listened this morning. In no more than 140 letters per question, answer the following:
"What is it in a Christian's life that makes our character different from that of others?"
"What is the truth that I find hard living up to?"
Ok, wow. Those are some loaded questions, but truth be told, they are questions I have really been personally dealing with lately. What is it about the me of now versus the me of my past that is different? I mean to tell you this has come up on so many different levels in my life. He said that this was a personal answer and didn't have to be shared, and that is great because then one tends to be more honest. However, I am quite the opposite. If I share something with another, it then holds me accountable.....so, I am going to attempt this right here with you. And I challenge you to get honest with yourself and your God, and yes you can do it in private, but really dig in and try to honestly answer these questions for yourself.
Character differences: As a Christian, I think the most important characteristic I can have is to be loving. That sums up every difference that I can think of, because if I act in love I am being a Christian. It is when I love with a love that only He can provide that I see the clear difference in my life now versus my life before I became a Christian. Today, I know that I am not any better or worse than any other. God loves us all the same...no one sin is greater or less than another, sin is sin and we all sin daily. I am here to love and serve. If someone is in need, as a Christian, I should help. If someone doesn't know Jesus, I should be shining for Him in my life already to the point that they have already met Him. I am here to plant, water and nourish His garden, feed His children, promote His great love. To do these things, He has to be first in my life...the center of all that I do. My eyes should be on Him and my heart, ears, eyes and every other sense that I have to use should be trained on Him. I need to feed myself on His truths daily and this is how I then feed others. I have a simple (HA) way that I look at my life and what I am doing in it.....knowing that my children are watching my every move, are the moves I am making what I want for their lives and are they pleasing to God. If I even hesitate, then I need to stop and fix my eyes on Him and find another way.
The truth I find hardest to live up to is being patient, both with myself and others. I try, I really do, but man, I am lacking in this department. There are days that I allow outside sources in and BANG my sight is blocked! I have to dodge obstacles to get my eyes back on Him, and sometimes it takes a bit longer than other times. However, He is always there waiting on me to get it together and helps me back on track. That is our God...loving, kind, patient, generous, faithful, and I could fill up a notebook with other descriptives. Ya know, He is helping us all to be these things. We have only to trust Him and know that in His hands, we will be molded to perfectly fit the plan He has laid for us.