daily IMPACT by selahV today

I HAVE NO DELIGHT OR DESIRE

I bet I went to the refrigerator thirty times today and came away with nothing in my hand to eat. It’s not that it wasn’t full of goodies. There were strawberries, bananas, oranges, apples. There were cheeses of all kinds, lunchmeats, juices and bottled water. There was everything anyone could want to make a wonderful salad. But nothing, absolutely nothing, appealed to me. Sometimes life is like that. We consider all that is here, dear beloved family, friends, provision, shelter and the blessings of earth’s bounty. But nothing satisfies.

For me, it is these times when I hunger and thirst after a righteousness not of this world. I yearn for more of my Lord. I want to drink and drink and drink of the Living Water so deeply that is fills me beyond satisfaction. I know that day will come when I will dwell in all the completeness of Christ. This world cannot provide for me as my Savior.

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever. For behold, those who are far from You will perish; You will destroy all who are false to You and like [spiritual] harlots depart from You. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of Your works.” Psalm 73:25-28.

It is good to draw near to God and realize that in comparison to Him, nothing will suffice. When the world offers its best, it is nothing. When love is exhibited in the kindest of ways, it is nothing. When generosity is beyond anything conceivable, it is nothing. There is no greater love, no sweeter peace, no brighter future than that found in the refuge of the Lord God.

Tonight as I write this post, I pray His greatest for you. For all who read this. Each and every last one of you. I am so very, very blessed to be in His presence. It is beyond contentment…there are no words sufficient that I might share that could possibly describe to you the magnificent goodness I find in Him at this moment. Blessed be His Holy and perfect Name. selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

WHEN A LIFE LIVES ON

She was my Acteens leader when I was just 15 years old.  I'll never forget some of the goodness I witnessed in her life--her love for her husband, the time she took to listen to me and other girls my age.  Most outstanding was her handwritten note on a photograph of herself that she gave me when her Marine husband transferred from Quantico, Virginia.

"Always keep Jesus Christ first in your life and you will never go wrong.  Sandy Watson."

I kept that photograph for years.  It wasn't till much later in my adult life that Sandy's words spoke to my heart again.  I really didn't know the depth of what those words meant as a teenager.  Today I do.  Oh how I wish I'd heeded those words.  It's odd how an incident like this comes to my memory.  As it happens, a little booklet written by Adrian Rogers, entitled How To Have A Life That Lasts, is the stimulus for jogging my memory.  In the booklet he shared how the incident with Mary annointing Jesus with her scented oil is a case where a life poured out for Him was an action in a life that lasts.  Something that lives on after she is gone.  After He is gone.

"What did Mary do?  She did what she could.  Mary gave to Jesus what His Father had given to her.

Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and received a penetrating insight into the way and the will of God, so much so that she knew that Jesus was going to be crucified and that His body needed to be annointed.  No one else there knew that. They had not been sitting at the feet of Jesus....Mary communed with her Lord.  She understood God's Word and therefore knew God's will."  Adrian Rogers

When the Judas complained about the waste of expensive perfume, Jesus rebuked him saying, "Let her alone. It was [intended] that she should keep it for the time of My preparation for my burial." John 12:7.

What we have is what we've been given to pour out as an act of worship to our Lord.  I do not have what you have.  You do not have what I have.  God has distributed to each of us what He intends for us to give back to Him.  As we do our life will last on into eternity.

Just as Adrian Rogers' words live on through his ministry Love Worth Finding, and Sandy Watson's influence lived on in my life---our actions, words and life can live on for Christ, through Christ, as others pass it on.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]     

LET THE EMBERS DIE

Nothing causes more problems in a relationship than grievances unresolved.  When we hold on to an offense, we risk reliving the hurt and pain the next time we are faced with opposition to our views, beliefs, or positions.  We may think we have let go of a wrong we feel we've been dealt, but if we truly haven't rid ourselves of the bitterness within, then the fire easily bursts into flame at the first spark.

"As coals are to hot embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man to inflame strife." Proverbs 26:21.

The quarrelsome man can throw all the wood they want onto cold embers, black and gone out.  Nothing will happen.  It's only when there is an ember of heat left alive that a twig can set ablaze another argument.  Oh how important it is to let go of the offenses we receive each day.  To whom could the fire within us burn if by some slight they ignite a previous ember left smoldering?

May we all find in our hearts the will to let go of our bitterness, anger and grudges.  May we give them all to Jesus and let His Living Water so fill each space within our hearts that every portion of animosity toward another be doused and washed away.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008] 

EVEN FRIENDS

There are folks we consider our friends who do not always live up to the call of true friendship. They lack loyalty. They deceive and betray. They speak kindly to our face and not so kindly behind our back. David had a friend like that.

“Even my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted (relied on and was confident), who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” Psalm 41:9. Judas was a friend like that to Jesus. What do we do when even our so-called professed friends and associates treat us with disdain, and condescending tones? In many cases they don’t have a clue that we are aware of their ire toward us. And perhaps that is the best way of dealing with them. We need just take our situation to our Father who knows all and sees all.

“But You, O Lord, be merciful and gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. By this I know that You favor and delight in me, because my enemy does not triumph over me. And as for me, You have upheld me in my integrity and set me in Your presence forever.” Psalm 41:10-12.

Should enemies treat you unfairly, should friends forsake you, remember the Lord is above all and exalts the humble and humbles the proud and arrogant. In Him we wait and rest. selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

WHEN IT'S A FRIEND

You are reproached and taunted. You are hated and your enemy puts himself above you. Treats you like trash. It’s to be expected. You might hide from him at all costs, avoid contact. But what if it is a friend? A fellow brother or sister in Christ? Someone in whom you have placed trust?

“For it is not an enemy who reproaches and taunts me–then I might bear it; nor is it one who has hated me who insolently vaunts himself against me—then I might hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend. We had a sweet fellowship together and used to walk to the house of God in company.” Psalm 55:12-14.

It hurts worse when one is betrayed by a friend. It takes much longer to get over it and move on from the pain. The psalmist knows only too well the pain of a friend’s betrayal. I do too. I know of friends and of fellow workers in the Lord who have worked behind the scenes and did all they could to destroy me and mine. It is not fun. I, like the psalmist, sought the Lord to exact His vengeance. While I may not have prayed for them to die and go to hell (vs.15), I definitely have wished desolations upon them in my moments of weakness and turmoil. It wasn’t until I’d cried my heart out and brought my case before my Lord that He reminded me of my rebellion against Him Who has done everything for me—even unto death.

And when I’m reminded of His grace, forebearance and steadfast love, I have nothing to do but to forgive and let go of the bitterness and hurt. I must let Him have it. I cannot do surgery on myself. I need His hand to reach in and sear the festering cancer within my soul. Otherwise, everything I touch will be tainted with the poison and spew.

If someone has wronged you, or is bringing destruction and pain into your life, take heart. God loves His own. Don’t stay too long at the well of bitterness. It can destroy you as your enemy goes merrily on his way. “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me.” Psalm 55:16 selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]