Esse Quam Vederi
The other day while helping my daughter on a school project I learned the Motto for the State of North Carolina. It provoked and inspired me in regards to the importance of my testimony and the impact that each real Christian should have on the world around them. I know the Lord Jesus as my personal Saviour today-- because God sent real Christians into my life many years ago; Christians who lived what they professed.
I wrote a poem in memory of the woman instrumental in leading me to the Lord called,

(If my mom or sisters read this: This is the poem I wrote about Mrs. Stiles )
The Reflection of His Face

When I first met you
Immediately I knew
There was something different about you
Something that radiated from deep within
You didn't waste your words
As you gratefully confided,
"Because my Lord has saved me from my sins --
I have great joy and peace inside"
Astonished at your boldness
I knew not what to say
But Oh, why did my heart tug so--
When I heard you pray
As I grew to know you
I could plainly see
You lived your life to please
Him who'd made you free
Your relationship with Him so real
His Awesome presence I'd always feel
when time with you I spent
Your shining example
A reflection of Our Saviour's Face
Was the ray of light that was shone
To bring me to His grace


Many times I have wondered, "Lord, do I reflect you to others as she did to me?"
The North Carolina State motto is Esse Quam Vederi.
(To be rather than to seem)1

• I'd rather BE a dedicated christian--than to SEEM like one


• I'd rather BE a godly wife and help-meet to my husband than to SEEM like one


• I'd rather BE a godly mother than to seem like one


• I'd rather BE concerned for the lost, the hurting, the dying--than to seem to care

The list could go on! It all stems from the two commands that Jesus said, ". . . on these two hang all the law and the prophets... To Love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart(not in word only but in deed and truth). . . and thy neighbor as thyself."

The missionary Hudson Taylor in concern for souls said,
"The inconsistencies of Christian people who while professing to believe their Bibles were yet content to live just as they would if there were no such Book, had been one of the strongest arguments of my skeptical companions."

A good question to ask myself is, "Do I live what I profess?"

There is a difference between profession and possession! "Oh, Lord let my life be totally possessed by You!"

Our lives affect (good or bad) many more people than we realize. . .

Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 23:1 -3
Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Saying,
The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
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1 Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia