SelahV Today

Before I Was Born

I was still on God's mind.  Even though my parents had never even given thought to my birth, my life. 

If we each could look at our lives and realize how much our Creator loved us to spend time with every molecule of our being, we would know that even though the world rejects us, people betray us, and life is not always kind, that God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believes in and relies upon Him for their salvation, turns from their wicked ways, and accepts the forgiveness that God liberally gives, then they will receive eternal life...and live with Him forever and ever and ever.

Before I ever loved God, He loved me.  and YOU.

Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly.  When we are born, we each have the gift of life.  But when we are told about Jesus and we accept that Jesus died for our sin, because He loved the Father and wanted to give us each the gift of grace and mercy and forgiveness and righteousness, then our lives are given new meaning... and we are filled with His Spirit.  We can never be separated from the love of God.  He walks with us, and guides us, and strengthens us, and provides for us, and teaches us, and we are never alone.

So much to be thankful for this season... this day... and every day the rest of our lives.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  Praise the everlasting King of kings.  Emmanuel-- God with us.  selahV

A SIMPLE GOSPEL: "The Light is where Jesus Is"

I was just about ready to get up and go next door to check on the girls because their mommy had just left to run some errands when Kinsey popped through my door and asked if she could call her mommy.  She'd found a brand new paint brush and wanted to use it.  "What are you going to paint?"  She hesitated. 

"I don't know."  I could tell the paint brush was one of the cheap craft-brushes so I was sure my daughter wouldn't mind if Kinsey used it.  However, the question racing around in my mind was what did she plan on painting. Visions of her doll house, and walls streaked through my mind.  I said, "But, Kinsey, I need to know what you are going to paint before I call your mommy."  Kinsey looked frustrated and shrugged her shoulders, her eyes went back and forth like she was searching her mind for an answer.  

"Haylee's painting," she reasoned.  Uh oh.  I thought they were in their rooms playing with Barbies.  Definitely time to go next door and check out the action.  I should have known they were too quiet. 

"What is Haylee painting?"

"I don't know." My heart skipped a beat.

"Where is Haylee painting?"

"In the office."  When we got to Mommy's office, my heart settled down.  Haylee was painting gold hearts on paper.  Whew...was I happy.  Haylee showed me where they'd found the paint brushes and sure enough they were craft-brushes.  They both asked if we'd call Mommy to see if it was okay to use the paint brush.  I knew it was okay, but to relieve their minds, we called.  Mommy said it was fine as long as they were in play clothes, "they know what not to wear".  Haylee (who'd already been painting and dripped a few drops on their school desk), immediately started taking off her top.  Kinsey stripped off her sweat pants.  Now we're getting somewhere.  I then suggested we go next door to my kitchen table.  They were all for that.  I got out some paper for painting acrylics.  I pulled their hair back in ponytails, pinned back their bangs and got Haylee a paint shirt to wear (yes, I keep paint-shirts for such occasions).  I poured various colored paints into an empty plastic egg carton and they began to paint.  I went back to my writing.

"Haylee, my cross is ugly."

"No, it's not.  It's the best cross I ever saw."

Thirty minutes later they brought their masterpieces to me to view.

I affirmed and extolled their work.  I told Haylee what a nice job she did.  I didn't mention it, but she'd obviously learned from the last lesson I gave her on filling in all the white space on the paper. She even made the grass two shades and made the blades growing up instead of across the page.  She put her son behind the cross.  I was impressed. Then Kinsey shared hers with me.  She hadn't filled in the sky, nor had she remembered about the way the grass grew...but I didn't say a word.  It seemed she had a bigger picture in mind as she interpreted the details of her painting:

"I put the light behind the cross.  'Cuz Jesus came alive after He was on it. And the Light is where Jesus is."

Simple truth.  Simple Gospel.  Don't you think?  selahV

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Shackles, Bars, and Snares

Sometimes I allow my circumstances to shackle me. I give too much control to the emotions of my heart and bypass the wisdom of my mind.  In the end I find myself ensnared by fear and insecurity.  I climb inside life's cage of difficulty, criticism, and threats and lock the door.  I hand the key to its door to faithlessness.  Sometimes I sit there paralyzed as if a giant lion sits outside the bars licking its chops.  I do not swing, nor sing.  I will not allow myself to breathe.  My heart beats wildly when shadows pass across my space.  Is there a storm brewing?  Will I survive?  Will those I love?  Who will feed me, give me water?

Shadows.  Unfamiliar sounds.

A health crisis.  An unexpected bill.  A death.

Help.  It's not in horses or chariots.  It's not in government and man.

Freedom.

It's not in another's advice.  It's not in a self-help book.

It's not in a bottle of pills.  Or more possessions.

It's in a name.  Jesus.  Trust.  Believe.  

Give Jesus my fear, anxiety, worry, and uncertainty.  Receive courage.  Accept grace. 

Rest.  Wait.  Stop holding my breath.  Breathe.  Yield.  Open my eyes and see the open door of hope.  Step out of the snares and broken shackles on footsteps of faith.

Escape.

Leap from the perch of doom and gloom.  Fly...on the wings as eagles, whispering His name as He lifts me up and closer to His face.  Jesus.  Jesus.  My refuge and my help.

“We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:7-8 (italics mine)

Sometimes I Want to Disappear

I want to run from the daily difficulty, the harsh reality of grief, heartache and aggravations.

It's on those days I feel as dry as these hydrangea petals...brittle, starving for moisture--thirsting for the refreshment of Morning Dew.

I am as empty as these jars...silently waiting for the Spirit's filling.

It never ceases to amaze me that when I most yearn for this kind of peace, I am clinging mostly to myself and my desires, and what makes me happy, pleased, and accomodated.

What duplicity!  What oxymoronic behavior.  What an allegiance split!  It isn't until I sit awhile by the still green waters of silence, that a deeper thirsting and hungering stirs within me.  I do at those times want to disappear...truly lose myself in Him...the Way, the Truth and the Life.

I want to be so deeply in Christ...so enveloped by His love, so encased in His Spirit of peace, love, joy, and comfort--that I see nothing of myself--nor want nothing for myself.    Bebo Norman best describes this desire for me in his song Disappear.  CLICK HERE /link to hear him and read the lyrics as he sings.  selahV

BE CAREFUL...somone is watching you /link. 

"...the word of the LORD came to me, saying..."

"...you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house." Ezekiel 12:2

No one wants to think of themselves living in the midst of a rebellious house.

Imagine if you will, waking one morning to find that there was no Bible...no laws...no rules...no morality at all.  Each person is their own authority and do as they please.  Sin is not sin--it is preference.  Everything is optional--no standards--nothing mandatory.  There is no God.  To each his own. Can you imagine a state where there is no respect for any authority? where boundaries are non-existence, indulgence is the norm?  Selfishness the new generosity?  Decadence is embraced?  Perversion tolerated?  Murder ignored?

I can't.  I simply cannot fathom a day where sin runs so rampant we cannot determine right from wrong, bad from good.  Though there are those who'd have me believe living in holy matrimony with Christ gives me liberty to dwell in the rebellious house, I can't see the adulterous hypocrisy of that action. 

I sit here now, thinking how blessed I am that Christ provides a way out of such quandry.  His death paid the price for all my heart's rebellion.  As a born again Christian, I walk in the newness of life He imparts.  I am guided by His Spirit.  His Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path.

   1) Blessed is the man
       Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, 
       Nor stands in the path of sinners, 
       Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
    2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
       And in His law he meditates day and night.
    3) He shall be like a tree
       Planted by the rivers of water, 
       That brings forth its fruit in its season, 
       Whose leaf also shall not wither; 
       And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3

Oh, that the lost had "eyes to see"...and "ears to hear"--before it is too late to get oil for their lamps.  The Bridegroom cometh.  We do not know the hour.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

"...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9-10

Jesus is truly the Answer for the world today.  "pack up your bags and leave the rebellious house"...."open the door"....He "will come in"...."and lo, He is with you, even to the end of the age."   selahV

Have you read URGENT yet?  It's urgent that you do.

It's Worth Repeating

"Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus first."

"God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us." [Oswald Chambers, My Umost For His Highest, October 30th]

The "object of our faith" is Jesus.

Faith in Christ rewards us with the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit.  We learn as we grow.  Grow in Christ, grow in relationship with Him.  Grow in knowledge of His Words, His example.  Grow in faith, endurance, patience, obedience, and love.  Love is paramount in the life of Believers.  They will "know" we are Christians by the "love" we show one another in Christ.  "Love your neighbor as yourself....Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength."

People do not come to Christ as we lift up our knowledge of Him--how much we know about Him, or how succinctly we can explain each passage of the doctrinal issues in the Bible.  They come to Christ when we lift Him up...when we show our love for the Savior by the love we have for one another.

"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."  1 Corinthians 13:8

We do not have the perfect knowledge as long as we live on this earth.  We only know "in part".  The mysteries of God will be revealed to us when we join our Savior in Heaven.  The knowledge we have here on earth is to be used to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

May we use what we know wisely, without condemnation, without arrogance, without frustration, without fear.  May what we know keep us surrendered to the Spirit of God, focused on Jesus, humble in all our ways and conversations.  selahV

[FOR MORE devotional thoughts you might like to go HERE]

I Don't Believe Obama

waited this long to insist upon his birth certificate be made available.  Not only has he been the focus of "birthers", he's been the butt of thousands of jokes, innuendo and suspicion for over two and a half years.

I was reading several comments on the news media announcements and low and behold you would never believe what I read.  Now the liberals are saying the "birthers" will never let this rest because they will say the newest released certificate is counterfeit.  You know...like other documents are counterfeited.  Like other signatures are forged....like, well....like other government documents...like passports, Social Security cards, and driver's licenses, and currency.  So, do you think this is over?

Before you answer....

Take a peek at the following documents which just came to my attention via email.

 

   to ENLARGE for greater viewing, just click on the photo.

This my friends, tells me that we can trust the speculations to continue.  ANND...as all of us know, that is what TRUE journalists report anyway.  Speculation, innuendo, opinion, angles, slants, political persuasions, and consipiracy theories, wiki leaks, with a few facts sprinkled in between, and interviews with someone who has similar views, to reinforce all of the above.  Such fun is life.

Now...who moved the stone?  Who took time to leave the grave clothes neatly folded as if the person within simply evaporated through them?  Who stole Jesus' body?  Why didn't they bring him out to dispute those wild accounts of lying disciples that they'd seen Him alive again after the crucifixtion?  If those 500 plus new believers didn't really see Jesus, and all those witnesses didn't see Him ascend into heaven, why didn't the ones who stole his body prove it and parade His body for all to see.

Hmmmn, can I get a witness to the living Jesus in your life today?  What exactly has He done to make you KNOW He is real?  That He is no counterfeit?  That He passes the "smell" test of decayed reasoning and logic?  Anyone?  I need facts.  I need interviews.  Someone help me...I wanna be a journalist.

Awh....never mind...I just wanna tell the old, old story and let you believe what you decide to believe.  O'Reilly or Jesus.  Heaven or hell--it's your choice.  selahV

Can We At Least...

Tell?

Tell what?

What God did.

What did God do?

He sent his only begotten Son, Jesus.

What did Jesus do?

He died to pay the price for my sin.

Why?

Because the wages of my sin is death.

Why?

Because God is holy and cannot tolerate sin.

Why would Jesus die to pay the price for my sin?

Because He first loved me.

Why?

Because I am precious in His sight.

Even though I sin?

Yes.

Who should I tell?

Anyone who'll listen.  selahV

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DISCIPLESHIP IS A SIMPLE THING

Years ago I thought a disciple of Christ was a person who shared Jesus everywhere one went.  I talked about Him at the laundry, in the grocery check-out line, and on a park bench.  I didn't wear a Jesus-lettered tee-shirt, mind you...just impulsively blathered on and on about Him.

I thought discipleship meant visiting the sick,

helping the poor,

giving tithes and offerings,

and attending all the Bible study groups one could schedule in between eating, sleeping and working.

When I read about the twelve disciples Jesus picked to follow Him and take His message of resurrection to the world, I thought, "no way".  I'd never be able to leave my life behind and follow someone without any idea of where I'd spend the night.  However, I wonder, isn't discipleship just that simple?

Does it have to be complicated?  Do we have to take a survey?  Is that what the disciples did when the Lord sent them out two by two?

Must discipleship fit within a sliver of a pie-chart for analyzing?  Is it something so complex we need several books to figure it out?  Does it need to be more clearly defined?  I don't think so.  To me it's simple.

It may not seem simple to some.  It may be filled with schedules, and appointments, and studies, and planning, and meetings in conference rooms with pitchers of water to quench the thirst of those debating strategies and methods.

However, at the risk of annoying that type-A person who must have every single area of life organized just so, let me offer a pinch of what discipleship is according to Jesus:

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” Matthew 10:42

A cup of cold water.

It's also giving up one's right to be right,

and giving up all wrongs to the Savior who shed His blood upon a cross to attone for each and every sin.

It's choosing to pick up one's cross--the daily grind and difficulty--the weight of suffering with full knowledge that Calvary is but a temporary place to an eternal day of bliss.

Along the way, we give to those who give their lives for Jesus.  We encourage one another and even carry their crosses for them at times.  We teach the hungering thirsty souls that love is greater than hate, and forgiveness is better than bitterness.  We point others to Jesus in our every word and deed, and abstain from all things which might hinder their ability to see and hear God's still small voice.  We set ourselves apart and keep God's Word hidden in our hearts so we might be able to speak His Word to others in time of need.

It's not as complicated as some might think to be a disciple.  It's costly.  Though grace is free, discipleship takes everything we are in every way each day.  And when we give ourselves over to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and follow Jesus, we discover the investment in this world is but a pittance to the return we'll find in the mansion God is preparing for we who persevere in faith.  In the meantime, we are blessed with peace that passes all understanding, joy unspeakable, and love unending with mercies new every morning.  Are you thirsty?  do you know someone who is?  selahV

The Holiness of God, How Can We Be Holy?

"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5

I suppose some might say that "light" here means literal light and "darkness" means literal darkness--especially in light of the passage (no pun intended) that promises no more night when we go to our eternal home...no darkness, no pain, no sorrow.  No shadows.  No mysteries.  No questions.

However, many describe the "light" as holiness and purity, while the "darkness" as sin and evil--depravity.  I hold that our writer is both literal and symbolic in his choice of words, since the "Word" is Jesus in earlier parts of this chapter and Jesus is Life itself--I do not see Jesus as evil.  Yet, life involves nothing but sin.  We are sin until we have Jesus as Savior--until He regenerates our death-doom.  We are darkness and we live in darkness.  We are walking, talking, breathing dead people.  We live in sin and are consumed by sin.  In Him is light.  In Him is life.  In Him is purity and righteousness.  There is no darkness in Christ our Lord.  None. 

How can there be any evil in that?  How can evil ever taint such purity?  Such holiness?  It cannot.  It is destroyed.  Just as a speck is devoured as it reaches the sun, sin is devoured in the light of our Lord.  Light a match in a dark room and the darkness is dispelled and the easier it is to see.

The more we have of the Light of the World, the clearer we see.  The quicker we discern.  The more satisfied we become.  The less need we have of this world.  We want less for ourselves--we want more of Jesus.  The more we receive of Him, the less we want of ourselves.  There is nothing that can satisfy us other than Jesus Himself.  We become softer, kinder, more generous, more loving, more sacrificial, more patient, more controlled, more at peace.  And ultimately, more holy.

SO, HOW CAN WE BE MORE HOLY?  Is it up to us?

What specifically do we do to let His life pour forth from the temple in which His Holy Spirit dwells?  selahV

RELATED POST......A Holy Voice, by John Mann /link

Win A Copy of HEAVEN IS FOR REAL by Todd Burpo

In honor of my hubby's April Fool's Day Birthday, I'm having a contest.

Would you like to win a FREE copy of HEAVEN IS FOR REAL by Todd Burpo?

TO ENTER THE CONTEST SIMPLY: 

Write the most descriptive acrostic using the letters that spell heaven:

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Then write your acrostic in the COMMENT BOX below this post.  KEEP READING >>>

When Love Can't Win

Love does not win us all.  Love is poured out upon us with unmeasurable reward.  Yet, we all won't receive it or accept it.  We won't all respond with eagerness.  Some will reject it.

It won't matter how you wrap it up.  Or how often you leave it on the doorway.  Some people will not accept charity.  Why?  Pride. 

My husband tells a story of a man who was near death.  He asked the man if he knew where he would spend eternity if he died that night.  The man said, "in hell".  My husband asked if could share the way to escape that fate and the man allowed him to share Jesus and His attoning grace.  Yet, when my husband asked him if he wanted to accept this priceless free gift of God's saving love, the man said no.  Tears of remorse trickled down his aged face.  He told my husband, he just couldn't do that.  He carried a burden too deep--a sin he believed unforgiveable.  He couldn't accept the grace and mercy God offered him.

My husband was heartbroken.  It didn't matter that God loved that old man.  The man would not give his heart and soul into the nail-scarred hands of freedom and peace.  Love did not fail...it stayed at the door knocking.  The old man just wouldn't open the door.

Do you know someone who believes their sin is too black to be forgiven, their past too filled with blackness to ever be cleansed?  I pray you are able to share God's love in such a way they understand His goodness and mercy. May God so pierce their pride, that humility pours forth in tears of gratitude and praise.  May they let go and let God do the work in them they cannot do themselves.  selahV

There Is Coming A Time

...when we can no longer go and tell.

Our loved ones, the kind-hearted neighbor, the generous boss, the diligent co-worker--each will have a day when they face death.  We who are saved will find peace and abundance in the arms of God in heaven.  But there will be a chasm between we who trust in the Lord, and those who do not.  When that time comes, we will no longer tell others of the hope they could have in Jesus.  Their hope is gone.  Even if we want to go to the others and offer comfort, we will not be able to.  We know this because Jesus admonished the Pharisees:

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.

"But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us." Luke 16:22-26

Now is the time.  Today is the day of salvation.  Today may be the only day we have to share our faith and the promise of eternal life.  It's so hard to comprehend the idea that people we know who aren't willing to listen today will someday be eternally separated from us and God and will live in eternal torment.  But that is truth as written in God's Word.  I think of myself with the pain I go through with various things in life.  Nothing compares to the pain and heartache a person will experience who does not know God.  For again it is written as Jesus spoke:

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.  And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’  Everyone will be salted with fire." Mark 9:42-48

Some folks scoff and say that they are living in hell on earth.  However that is not Biblical.  Hell is a real place.  Just like Heaven is for real.  And there is coming a day when we will no longer be able to proclaim the Everlasting Life people can have in Jesus.  They will have made their choice as surely as they choose to brush or not to brush their teeth. 

Lord, give us hearts on fire to share Jesus, the anecdote for sin and escape from everlasting torment.  You stand at the door and knock and whoever opens the door, You will go in and dwell with them and give them eternal life in Your presence.  Help all those who proclaim Your salvation be heard, Oh Lord.  Let people hear now, while there is still time. selahV

RELATED POSTS:  Heaven Is For Real , How To Come To Jesus , When Heaven Is Home

I DON'T DO THIS VERY OFTEN

I rarely link to another's blog.  You who read me know that. I use to have a review blog wherein I wrote reviews on particular blogs and my favorite post of the week.  I got too busy doing whatever I was doing to keep up with that.  HOWEVER....

today I happened across a post that just cannot be left to chance for my readers to find.

I think you'll like what you read when you go visit this site.  In fact you may want to peruse more of his devotionals.  They are deep...powerful...and moving.  So...breaking with my tradition, I want to recommend to you Brad Whitt and his stirring devotional thought on the cross' crucifixion. selahV

OLD, SETTLED, AND REBORN

Once upon a time I was young and restless.  My father, who'd hung the moon and kept the stars in place in the Spring and Summer of my life, seemed to become a stodgy old man by Fall, and lose all his charm by the Winter of my adolescence.  The father I obeyed without question became an adversary. Church lost its attraction to me because I saw a deacon sneaking a smoke outside the church one Sunday.  That confused me.  I'd been taught that the body of a Christian was the temple of God and what we put into our bodies honored or dishonored the Father in heaven.  The word hypocrite took on new meaning for me as a vulnerable sixteen-year-old.  I wondered how many other things Christians who taught me did in secret.  The Sunday School teachers I'd listened to, and trusted, for 16 years no longer seemed "cool".   

I went my own way for several years after that.  I can't say that my faith in God went up in smoke from witnessing a puffing Christian.  I can only say it gave me excuse to disregard what I'd been taught by those I thought knew everything.  I thought my father was invincible--that even though he did not attend church, it was because he was busy being a fireman and community servant.  It couldn't mean he was not a Christian.  After all, he made sure we kids went to church every single Sunday morning.  He gave me a white Bible on my tenth birthday.  Yet, somewhere between 10 and 16, I realized the grapes that were fermenting in our garage were not a tangy form of Welch's juice.  My restlessness took on a life of its own.

Today I am old.  Settled.  Reborn.

Today I know how foolish one can be in life when they judge God based on the merits of others.  I see how God's Word stands in the face of witless thinking.  I see how faith withstands the tests of time and circumstance and failure.  I know that God's grace works continually in the life of a child-like trust in "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him will have everlasting life." John 3:16. [emphasis mine]

While I watch the demise of some institutions of faith, I cannot help but wonder what the Lord sees and wonder if He looks down from heaven and smells the fragrance of His people's prayers or the stench of their disobedience.  I wonder why so few realize The Most High God inhabits the praises of His people.  I wonder if others who stand in solidarity with settled rest beneath the blanket of Christ's redeeming blood alone feel as disheartened as I do when they look at the horizons of the setting sun.  When they see the young and restless attempt to undo that which their fathers before them stood in the gap to build?  do others see the strongholds crumbling in the tension of unsettled hearts?  do others understand how jumping up and down on bridges built to share the love of Christ can weaken its support and cause catastrophic consequence to those children walking toward safety on the other side?  I wonder.  I really wonder.  (to be continued...) selahV

TO KNOW JESUS, IS TO SHOW HIM

"For every detail of common sense in life, there is a truth God has revealed by which we can prove in our practical experience what we believe God to be."

"Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus first."

"God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us."

"Until we know Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can't have faith in Him." [Oswald Chambers, My Umost For His Highest, October 30th] 

Faith in Christ rewards us with the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit.  We learn as we grow.  Grow in Christ.  Grow in knowledge.  Grow in faith, endurance, patience, and love.  Love is paramount in the life of Believers.  They will "know" we are Christians by the "love" we show one another in Christ.  I think that is a gem to remember.  People do not come to Christ as we lift up our knowledge of Him--how much we know about Him, or how succinctly we can explain each passage of the doctrinal issues in the Bible.  They come to Christ when we lift Him up...when we show our love for the Savior by the love we have for one another.

"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."  1 Corinthians 13:8

We do not have the perfect knowledge as long as we live on this earth.  We only know "in part".  The mysteries of God will be revealed to us when we join our Savior in Heaven.  The knowledge we have here is to be used to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.  "Whatsoever we say and do, do all to the glory of God."  Can we glorify God without the fruit of the Spirit flowing through our every word and action to shed light on a darkened world?  Jesus, living within us, is the Light within the "temple" of the Holy Spirit.  Love, patience, forgiveness, goodness, kindness, steadfastness.  These things are the light which pours forth from the windows of our souls to light the pathway for others living in darkness.  The fruit of the Spirit is not knowledge...it is love...it is active...it is visible.  It is not locked up inside the mind of learned men and women.  Faith is not locked up inside the mind, heart and spirit of man.  It is visible in what we do, how we do it, and in Whose name we proclaim it.

"For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away."  1 Corinthians 13:9,10

Notice that when our Savior comes to claim His own, He does not use what they "know" as the measuring stick by which to judge.  He uses what they did.  Did they give Him a drink?  Feed Him?  Clothe Him?  Visit Him?  Love does those things.  Love reaches beyond itself.  Love loves the unlovely--those who do not have all the knowledge, do not have hope, do not have faith, do not walk in the way of Christ.  God is merely a concept till they know Jesus and experience His life within their own.  We as Christians are given such a wonderful opportunity to love others in order that God can use us to draw others unto Himself.

May we each study to show ourselves approved.  May we each grow in knowledge and then use it to show the love of Christ available to others.  May we be broken as He was broken, and pierced as He was pierced--so that we share in His sufferings and be poured out as a love offering and fragrance for His glory.  selahV

I WANT MORE

Today, people are wishing everyone everywhere Happy New Year.  They're wishing them good health, prosperity, success, happiness for 2011.  We all want those things for those we love...for friends and strangers alike.  However, for whoever reads this today, I am praying for far more for you:

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11

Please pray this for me, too.  Thanks.  selahV

WHEN THE VESSEL CRACKS

The world seems abuzz with the excitement of Christmas.  Lots of festivities scheduled on the calendar.  Cookies to bake, shopping to do, trees to trim, packages to wrap.  Then snap!!  Life gets in the way.  The furnace breaks down, the car needs brakes, new tires, an alignment--didn't anyone tell my house and car it is Christmas? my body is forced to move in short, guarded steps to avoid muscle strain and greater back pain.  So much to do...so little resources to do it with.   Then....a scripture thought is delivered to my inbox from Adrian Rogers.  And I say, "Ah...that's me."

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."  2 Corinthians 4:7

Ever have that happen to you?  The words are exactly what you need to hear.  The frustrations of the world melt a bit.  The energy you're holding onto to face another day, another hour, an unexpected crisis, seems to seep right out of your frazzled mind.  My ideas, my plans take a back seat and I let God prioritize my life.  Again.

All too often the fuel I use to propel me through a day is self-infused.  Thinking a positive thought.  Resisting the negative.  Seeking an answer, then acting on what I deem appropriate for the situation...thinking, thinking, thinking.  God wants me to relax...let go...stop doing, going, thinking, just let go of the tension and rest in His arms.  Let His power carry me where I think I have been taking myself.  Christ in me is the "treasure" in my "earthen vessel".  Christ's power flows through me and so often I let life get in the way of His grace and glory.  I stand in front of His windows of opportunity.  Instead of letting Him shine, I pull the curtains of discontent, irritation, and sheer exhaustion over windows of hope, strength, and power.

Today I rest.  I rest in Him.  I need His filling, His refreshment.  Today the cracks within my soul and mind need His mending.  How about you? 

IS THE BLOOD SUFFICIENT TO SAVE? Part Three

Nothing has had a greater impact upon my life than the transforming power of Jesus Christ in my soul.  It is a total mystery to me how Christ did what He did inside my heart, my mind, my body and soul that would take a self-centered, self-motivated, vile and disgusting person who lived her life contrary to all things godly, and created desires that were the direct opposite of what she was one minute to what those desires were in the next minute.  I will never be able to adequately explain what happened in my life as a result of Jesus...but the impact of His presence in my life was as creative and life-producing as the moment God entered Mary through His Holy Spirit and gave life to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with Us.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it as C.B. answers his critics and continues to explain the Sufficiency of Christ's Blood in the act of salvation for humanity:

III. The Impact Of Christ's Blood

The shed blood of Christ in his death on the cross has tremendous power (impact) and brings to the repentance, believing sinner numerous benefits-blessings, including redemption. Three words in the Greek N.T. expresses this truth: (1) agorazo - to purchase in the marketplace, Gal. 3:13, where the figure is that of a Roman slave market. The subjects of redemption are sold under sin (Rom. 7:14) and under sentence of death (Rom. 5:12). The purchase price of the sinful "slave" is the blood of Christ who dies in the sinner's stead (Rev. 5:9). (2) The second word is exagorazo - to purchase out of the market place(Gal. 3:13). Purchased by His blood, believers are never again exposed to sale, being eternally secure (Jn. 10:28-29). (3) The third word is lutroo - to loose - to set free by the payment of a price (I Pet. 1:18-19). Through Christ's ransom payment, we are forever loosed - set free from sin's power. Thus, the blood "shall never lose its power."

The second impact of the blood of Christ is righteousness ((Rom. 3:25) "..... through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness..." Through the merit of Christ's blood, the repentance sinner is declared righteous - justified - in Christ (I Cor. 1:30). The same passage (Rom 3:25) also indicates that there is complete remission (forgiveness) of sin (Eph. 1:7), with the slate wiped clear with regard to the believer's eternal position in Christ. This total remission is again based solely upon Christ's blood (Heb. 9:22)

The blood also brings reconciliation - the reuniting of God and man (Col. 1:20-22, Eph. 2:16), a relationship that had been severed by man's sin (Eph. 2:14), plus reception ("accepted in the beloved" - Eph.1:6) - accession to God's presence by the "blood of Jesus" (Heb. 10:19).

The final impact of the blood of Christ is the bringing of rejoicing to the believer's heart ("..we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the atonement" - Rom. 5:11). The believer can now joyfully sing "Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb."

I am sure you can spend the rest of your life finding additional evidence to the fact that the Blood of Christ is sufficient of itself to wash away our sins.

I will place Phil. 2:8 before you also. If you take this one verse and exegete it, you will find ample evidence to be able to joyfully sing:

"WHAT CAN WASH AWAY MY SINS? NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS.
WHAT CAN MAKE ME WHOLE AGAIN? NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS...."

You have every right to say "He died on the cross but it isn't the cross itself that is our focus." You do not have to focus on the cross if you have no desire to do so. Yet, I think I shall "focus" on the cross. I shall even "glory" in the cross. I shall even "boast" of the cross. And...I think I shall be in good company in doing so. Paul did:

 "But may it never be that I would boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal. 6:14)

"For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2)

Here are a couple more passages for you to ponder in answer to the question you asked me about the Blood of Christ as it relates to our salvation:

"Remember that you were at one time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and stranger to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without Christ in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST." (Eph. 2:12-13 emphasis mine)

"For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having MADE PEACE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF HIS CROSS; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. (Col. 1:19-20 Emphasis mine)

It is the Blood of the Cross that rids us of our sin. I hope you never forget that, for that shall sustain you in the darkest of days."  CB Scott

Is the Blood Sufficient to Save? Part One

Is the Blood Sufficient to Save? Part Two

IS THE BLOOD SUFFICIENT TO SAVE? Part Two

I tend to identify with folks who think like me, don't you?  I also tend to identify with stories in the Bible that speak to specific situations I have, or I am going through.  When I spend a great deal of time writing an article, or painting a landscape, or developing a ministry, I tend to see it as putting my blood, sweat and tears into that particular project.  When I sacrifice my time, my finances, my priorities to build a relationship with someone, I tend to consider giving my all to such a relationship.  Such is the following portion of how the "blood" of Christ helps us to identify with the sacrifice Christ gave for our salvation in CB Scott's second portion of the sufficiency of Christ's blood shed for the sin of humanity:

"II. The Identity Of The Blood Of Christ

Blood has frequently been shed in human history, often in religious causes. The trail of human history is a trail of blood. The dust of the centuries is soaked with blood spilled upon its surface, in religious crusades. The troughs of the ancient Aztec Indians were filled with blood spilled in the name of religion. One of the bloodiest crimes in human history was the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day (August 24, 1572), when 100,000 people were mercilessly slaughtered in human blood through religious fanaticism.

In a positive way, the blood of Christian martyr's soaked the godless dust of ancient empires and simmered in the fires set by despotic rulers. But none of the above blood could ever cleanse and obliterate sin because it was defective, impure blood, the wrong blood. Divine redemption required that the blood which could forgive - cleanse sin - meet the Biblical standard, that it be of a certain nature - essence.

The blood of Christ was (1) sacred blood. It was the blood of perfect man - the God Man. (Jn. 1:1,14), the lamb of God (Jn. 1:29). Since Christ alone was perfect God and perfect Man (Phil. 2:5-8), He alone was qualified to give His blood as the atonement for sin.

Christ's blood was also (2) sinless blood. His blood was like a lamb without spot or blemish (I Pet. 1:18-19). All other human blood has been tainted by the corruption of sin resulting from Adam's fall (Rom. 5:12, I Cor. 15:22), but the blood of Christ contained none of the sinful corruption which permeated all other humanity. When Judas Iscariot betrayed the Lord Jesus he knew that he was betraying "innocent blood" (Matt. 27:4).

The consequence of man's sin is both spiritual and physical death (Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:27). It was through the blood of Adam (man) that original sin was and is transmitted, not the woman (I Tim. 2:14). All human beings, with one exception, are the ultimate product of Adam's sinful seed. Christ is the only individual in Scripture who is designated as the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). The bloodline thus runs through the male, not the female, in divine revelation.

All the blood in the human embryo is formed by itself and solely through the contribution of the male parent (No blood ever passes in the embryo from the mother to child). Our Saviour, however, did not have a human father as progenitor; he was born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14). The blood that flowed in Christ's veins was thus contributed by a Holy God (Matt. 1:22-23), resulting in a "Virgin Birth " and a Saviour with a sinless human nature. Dr. A.W. Pink rightly stated in his commentary that "in becoming man, Christ did not partake of the foul poison which sin has introduced into the human constitution. His humanity was not contaminated by the virus of the fall."

Christ's blood was also (3) substitutionary blood (II Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 2:24; Isa. 53-5,6), that is, it was offered in our place, in our stead. A substitute is an individual who takes someone's place when they are either unable to appear or unqualified to act. The blood of Christ was (4) sacrificial blood (Jn 3:16) for it cost the Father something - it cost Him everything, the sacrifice of His only Begotten Son. At Calvary, God separated Himself from His Son, in order that we might never be separated from Him.

The blood of Jesus was (5) sufficient blood (Rom. 3:24-25). The Father set forth His Son to be a "propitiation" (satisfaction) for our sins. This blood was shed once for all (Heb. 1:3; 10:12). In the blood sacrifice of Christ, poured out from a sinless nature, the righteous nature and demands of a holy God were perfectly satisfied. At Calvary, righteousness and peace truly kissed each other (Ps. 85:10). The songwriter was never more correct than when he wrote "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin hath left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow." In view of Christ's sufficient, completed atoning sacrifice through His blood, the repeated sacrifice of the Roman Mass is the depth of religious blasphemy. Christ truly "has redeemed us once for all."

What a blessing to know that Christ's blood is also (6) shielding blood. In Eph. 6:18, the believer is exhorted to take the shield of faith. This shield of faith is the shield in Christ's atoning blood. When Satan brings the skeletons out of our past and accuses the believer concerning his former life, the saint can always successfully plead the blood of his great high priest intercessor (Heb. 7:25). Our Lord thus saves us "completely," even from the insinuations and accusations of our arch-enemy the devil.

On a tragic note, however, Christ's blood is (7) slighted blood (Heb. 10:28,29). In those verses, the writer clearly indicates that those who reject the blood of the new covenant (testament-agreement) do despite to the "Spirit of Grace." The Holy Spirit is God's divine agent for (a) convicting of sin, (b) convincing of Saviour and (c) converting to salvation (Jn. 16:8-11). When the sinner resists the wooing work of the Holy Spirit, he is thus closing the door of hope on the only means whereby Christ's blood can cleanse and set him free."

HERE'S WHERE CB gets an answer from one of the commenters:

"I believe that Christ had to die in the manner he did because he had to be lifted up. He had to die, shedding blood in a sacrificial way to fulfill the prophetic significance of the OT.  Again, it's not the literal blood that washes away our sin, it's Christ himself. It's his death, burial and resurrection. He died on the cross but it isn't the cross itself that is our focus."

Part three to follow with CB's answer.  To read Part One click HERE.

IS THE BLOOD SUFFICIENT TO SAVE? Part One

What importance does the "blood" of Jesus have in our salvation?  What is the significance?  Are we not saved by grace through faith? 

Well over a year ago, a blogging-friend of mine, CB Scott, was debating the importance of the "blood" after he'd entered a stream of comments discussing how little the blood of Jesus is preached or talked about in today's churches.  I copied the entire conversation at the time, because I wanted to keep his answers.  He summarizes and gives scripture passages to read to help clarify his points--that indeed, the blood has not lost its power.  (The internet post where this was originally discussed has since been removed).  I offer it here because I think it's invaluable for someone who needs to explain the importance of the blood of Christ--and the power it holds for Christians.  Therefore, here is Part One of what Scott said:

"What is the evidence of the sufficiency of the Blood of Christ to save us from our sins?

Begin reading here. You will be able to find much more on your own.

I. The Importance Of The Blood Of Christ

There is a blood line that stretches throughout the entire breadth of inspired scripture. From outside the gates of Eden in Genesis 4 to inside the gates of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:22, the Bible is filled with the importance of the blood with regard to salvation.

When God clothed Adam and Eve after they had sinned in Genesis 3, it was in the skin of an animal whose blood had been shed. When Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice to God in Genesis 4, it was the sacrifice of a lamb whose blood had been shed. When Isaac was about to die on Mt. Moriah in Genesis 22, it was the blood of a substitute ram that saved his life. When the death angel passed over Egypt in Exodus 11, it was the sprinkled blood over the doorposts that saved the Israelites. Regardless of whether it was the consecration of a priest, the birth of a son, the deepest penitence due to sin, or the highest religious festival, the way to fellowship with God in the O.T, was through the shedding of blood.

In the N.T., the same principle applies. What the O.T. portrays through picture and figures, the N.T. presents in person and fact. Paul, in his inspired epistle (Rom. 3:24-25), Peter, in his infallible writing (I Peter 1:2), and John, in his inerrant script (I John 1:7), all present the importance of the Blood of Christ. The final book of the Bible emphasizes the same theme: Rev. 1:5, "washed us from our sins in his own blood,' 5:9, "redeemed us to God by thy blood,"and 12:11, "overcame him by the blood of the Lamb."

Everywhere one travels through the Scripture, he will find one dominant theme: salvation by the blood and the blood alone. All hope of heaven and forgiveness of sin is based upon the shed blood of Christ in his death on the cross. Heb. 9:22, "..and without shedding of blood is no remission."  CB Scott, August 20, 2009

Part Two and Part Three will follow in separate posts. 

1,300 YOUTH CELEBRATE JESUS IN BUDAPEST HUNGARY

CHECK OUT THIS RESURRECTION SUNDAY DANCE by 1,300-hundred youth in Hungary.  May America's Youth catch the spirit surging through the souls of these young people. 

IN CHRIST ALONE

Oh to stand in before the throne of grace and sing this song to the Lord in heaven.  Even then, any glory I would offer is nothing.

Please take time to listen to this song and pray for others to hear the Voice of God, and know the conviction of the Holy Spirit to the darkest depths of their souls.

May your morning in worship to the Redeemer of man fill you with His eternal love.  May thousands upon thousands be added to His church in the assembly of the saints today.

Such a Sweet Wish

In place of a birthday cake, my daughter and her little girls made me cupcakes yesterday.  We had them today after our Father's Day dinner.  Haylee and Kinsey like to blow out candles so I had my daughter put a candle in three cupcakes so we'd all blow out my candles at the same time.

"Did you make a wish?" I asked Haylee.

"Yes. I wished you'd live forever and ever."

Is that not the sweetest wish a grandma could have from her grandchild?  The glorious part about that wish is that it will definitely come true.  Jesus is my Lord.  And He has promised me that I will live forever and ever.  I pray I live long enough to see my granddaughter come to know Jesus and understand the full truth of her wish for me...and that we will all live forever and ever in His grace.  Amen?

IT MAY NOT BE BETTER TOMORROW...

...SO WE BETTER TAKE CARE OF IT TODAY

Ever heard the old saying: "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today"?  Ever wonder what your days would bring about if you truly lived that out as a reality in your life?

Yesterday my little granddaughter was watching some cartoon show, and some weirdly dressed people were going to push a button and be transported into the "future".  My granddaughter asked, "What's the future, Grama?"  I explained yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Then I explained past, present, and future.  Then I told her the future was every bit of time beyond the very moment we were living until the moment passed.  Then it would be the past.

I only think about this now, because I often wonder about the future.  What will my life be like in ten years down the road?  Especially given the state of my health right now.  Will I be a burden on my daughter?  Will I still have a spouse?  Will my grandchildren be married with children?  Will the internet still be the venue of communication it is today?  Will the Social Security system be obsolete?  Will I?  I doubt seriously I will be around in twenty years.  So what significance do I have in the scheme of things, anyway?

Our Sunday School director announced that our ladies were having a book study which focused on what we would do if we we knew we only had thrity days to live.  She said that one child was asked this and he said, he'd eat all the candy he could get hold of.  I'm sure many folks would try to cram as much living as possible into that last thirty days.  But as I think seriously about that question, I think about what I would do with my thirty days.  I know I'd probably want to spend a great deal of time with my family. I know I'd spend a lot of time praying for those I love and the saints throughout the world.  But knowing myself as well as I do, I also know I would probably spend a great deal of time writing.  I wonder.  If all we had was another thirty days to live, what would we write about?

The Word of God says: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.

"All" means every last one of us who have breathed in the breath of life from our Creator.  We've all sinned.  And we cannot measure up to His holiness, His perfection.  No matter how hard we try, how much we give to help others, or how often we read our Bibles and go to church.  And because we are born into sin, and cannot help but be sinners--our just reward is death. 

Indeed, it is written: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

Sin rewards us with death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus.  Jesus was born of a virgin to fulfill prophecy and came to save sinners. He was crucified for us.  He shed His blood to cleanse us from all unrighteousness--to pay the penalty for our sins, the price for our redemption.  We must be born again.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

And "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

"...today is the day of salvation..." 2 Corinthians 6:2  It's better to repent and be saved today, to surrender our will to God's will and receive His grace by faith in His Son, than to put it off till tomorrow.

What keeps us from sharing this message of hope?  Tomorrow may not come.  You may not have thirty more days.  You may only have the next moment.  What keeps you from accepting the grace of God and His salvation today?

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8 

I guess this would be of greatest importance to me to write about for one thing.  selahV

Fasting for the Sabbath

I yearn for the freshness of the Spirit of the Most High God. I thirst for Him.  I cease my seeking after things of man--fame, fortune--popularity, position.  I fast from earth's pleasures and hunger no more for them.  A taste of heaven is on my tongue.  The presence of the Lord and His holiness is my desire.  I fast for the sabbath of my soul.  Examine me.  Cleanse me.  Restore me, my Redeemer.    I am thirsty for You.

 

Blogger's Blight

Have you had it?  I have.  When I first started blogging, my heart brimmed with great expectations.  I envisioned designing a colorful blog, and writing inspirational stuff to encourage the masses.  Somewhere along the course of things, my hopes and ambitions withered (that's what happens to something infected with blight).  I lost heart.  Not in the Lord, mind you--but definitely in the blogging community. 

I branched out with my main blog, which I started in 2006 to keep myself from going absolutely insane over the loss of my son, Chad.  I only knew one person on the internet, so my blog grew from that core.  I started a few blogs which I have eliminated from my blogroll.  I built Feminine Matters hoping to develop some dialog with other women.  Hardly a peep.  I created Daily Impact and found most folks don't really have much to say to a devotional thought.

My stats indicate that my readership has grown, 65% of my readership is new every day.  I was greatly encouraged at that discovery.  I sure wish some of you folks would leave a comment and say hello...tell me what brought you here, how can I keep you coming by.  What interests you?  Am I accomplishing my goal to encourage, inspire, edify?

I was "stumbled upon" by someone who recommended my site to folks.  The message said,

"A member of the StumbleUpon user community previously added your page to StumbleUpon's index of hi-quality, human-powered content.

Now, each time StumbleUpon refers a user to your page (based on StumbleUpon's analysis of what that user's friends and other like-minded users have recommended) --voila! --an entry in your referral log will be generated."

I was pretty impressed with that message, but wondered if it was just one of those generic messages the cyber-search engine sites use to get you to sign up with them.  I don't know.  I'm so SEO limited.  SEO is "Search Engine Optimization, the process of improving ranking in search engine results."  Who knows for sure?  Sincerity is a rare commodity these days.  I digress (someone shoot that rabbit!). 

The online dictionary says blight is "an extremely adverse environmental condition, such as air pollution."  I thought about that and realized the air in which my blog floated for the most part was polluted--with debate, confrontations, and religious politics.  I didn't fit in.  Not at all.  I don't like that kind of stuff.  Don't like the back and forth, the analyzing of every single word one writes--the contending, the arguments that aren't arguments.  Don't like motives being presumed, attacks being lodged.  It's just not very loving.  One can get infected with that kind of writing style and opinionated dialog, and before one knows it, they are eaten up with it.  Also, it is dominated by men.  Most of the women that venture into those sites weren't like me.  They enjoyed battling it out with the guys.  Not my idea of fun.  Ask my husband.

Thus, I've decided I have Blogger's Blight.  This blight upon my heart and mind leaves me wondering.  Why in the world do I do this? Sometimes I find myself surrounded in an "air" of suffocating bitterness, anger, finger-pointing, talebearing and slander.  I cannot breathe.  The scent is overwhelming. 

I've been thinking about a remedy for this blight.  It's not like I can go down to Lowe's and purchase some kind of spray, some kind of repellant.  I've thought about how one gets rid of blighted stems on a rose bush.  They cut it off.  The healthy stems are nurtured and fed, tilled and fertilized.  Could that be it?  Chop off the blighted part of my blogging experiences?  Feed on the Word of God and develop a better root system?  Then bloom, grow fruit, and wait upon the Lord for the harvest?  I think so.

We who blog for Jesus, are the fragrance of Christ.  At least that is how I see myself in the kingdom's garden.  Lilacs, roses, hyacinths and more.  May my scent bring pleasure to my Father, and all those He brings my way.  God bless you today.  selahV

Hell Trembles, The KING has Risen!

When One Thing Is FINISHED...

We often wonder what's next when one thing is finished...from my newspaper column: COMMON MATTERS.

WRONG THINKING, What Happened to 7 thru 11 of 11?

I know.  I know.  I was writing a series on Wrong Thinking and got snatched away with other matters.  Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.  Spirit or flesh that took me away, I do not know.  Just know, my friends, that where my attention and emotions went, thoughts about "problematic thinking" followed along.  While I was there, my spirit groaned, my heart ached, and my mind was delivered into a freshness of Life.

Sometimes we are so consumed with how we think, that a fog comes in on cat's feet and settles down around our minds.  It won't move on.  Within that fog, we lose the Way.  A bone-chilling awareness reminds us of a Presence far greater than our minds--for in His Presence we know we think amiss.  We find our mind and actions swiftly following a path we had not planned to journey upon.  In the mist, we discover God's mind, God's thoughts, God's purpose for our life.  In His midst, we recognize a sweeter, kinder, more gracious conscientiousness we had left somewhere in a "list" another had written.

This happens to us all.  We get emotionally bound to another's words.  We get mentally twisted by another's attacks.  We get physically worn by another's demands.  We get spiritually drained by another's needs.  And we find ourselves in a thick fog of indecision, quandary, hurt, and emptiness.

Basically, my friends, the 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this series (which I planned to address in separate posts), dealt with allowing outside influences to rob us of truth, joy, and perspective.  These problematic issues were simply self-centeredness, selfishness and inferiority.  When we give all these issues to Christ, our Lord, He takes them and compacts them into a tiny grain.  He then stomps the death out of that kind of thinking, and crushes it beneath His feet.  He then lifts His feet and places them on the footstool of peace, contentment and victory and reminds us that He is the Life of our thoughts, He has overcome the world and its strongholds upon us.

Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know.  I just know that when Jesus reaches down and lifts the mist, then discernment flows in like the warmth of a noonday sun.

I hope you aren't too disappointed in me for not taking 7 through 11 and dissecting them into tiny slivers and pinning them down like a laboratory frog.  I left the biology and psychology classroom and closed the door.  In Jesus I dwell and abide.  In Him I am complete.  And as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.  What is in a man's heart comes out of his mouth.  May we all see the grace in knowing this truth.  selahV