SelahV Today by hariette petersen

When I Was Blind, I Could Not See, But

Now I Find My Rest In Thee.

"And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Isaiah 6:5

Sometimes when I read this passage, it takes me back to when I first uttered these words.  I didn't think I was in the midst of people with unclean lips.  I thought of myself as the only one with unclean lips as I sat on the back pew of the little Southern Baptist Church in New England.  A few months later, I remember falling on my knees in the dark of night and staring out my bedroom window into the starry night.  Again I acknowledged my unclean lips.  My sinful ways.  My rebellious life against a Holy God.

I could scarce believe this Holy God could sacrifice His only Son to pay the price for all my sin.  He loved me that much.  He is an awesome, merciful and longsuffering God. I had a hard time comprehending the love He had to have for me, to do such a thing.  Even today, I sit and marvel.  I think of the sin I let creep into my thoughts which leads me into temptation.  And I am sorry.  I truly want to say as Isaiah, "Here am I, send me".

Though I a sinner be,

the Lord has set me free 

that I would be the one

who shows, by word and deed, His Son.  selahV

Shards of Glass

Fresh pineapple chunks from last night's dinner seemed like the perfect breakfast treat.  Did I want a whole bowl of them?  Or would a couple of bites satisfy my hunger?  I lifted the glass lid and took one yellow piece from the bowl.  Before I popped the pineapple bite into my mouth, it slipped from my fingers and landed on the lower shelf of the refrigerator.  As I retrieved my errant morsel, it felt like someone jerked the glass lid from my grip.  Like a slow motion video, I watched it crash onto the concrete floor and explode in a thousand slivers.  Flying shards pierced my toe and leg.  Like tiny arrows they struck and drew blood.  Fear kept me cemented to the floor.  I dared not move an inch till I surveyed the space around my bare feet.  All around me were tiny bits of broken glass.  Some so tiny they seemed like grains of shiny salt.

An hour later I was still sweeping the floor.  Slowly.  Methodically.  Intentionally and carefully, I surveyed every inch of the brown stained cement.  I found pieces in the adjoining bathroom, bedroom and on the living room rug.  Each time I took a step I felt a piece of glass pierce the sole of my foot. When I looked I could not see a thing, but if I pressed upon the spot, pain registered in my brain. My daughter came over, inspected the offensive spot and saw nothing; but she could feel it when she rubbed her fingernail across it.  She gripped something with a pair of tweezers and pulled.  The piece of glass was so tiny, it was barely a speck.  Amazing how something so tiny could hurt so much.

Sin is like that.  We have no idea the collateral damage one sin can do.  We have no idea who will get hit by our initial act.  While some things can be confessed and forgiven, quite often residual splinters are sent flying into various rooms of our lives...to family, to friends, toward strangers.  We think what we do is not hurting anyone but ourselves, but all too often, our sin hurts others in ways we cannot see.  We only know they are hurt when we rub up against them in the casual steps of life.  We hear the irritation in their voices, we see the anger in clenched jaws.  We feel a chill when we walk in the room; it cuts us like the tiny glass splinter.

It's not always easy to find the source of the pain others have as a result of sin's actions and words.  As we journey on the course of life, we may need to stop and look a little harder to find the offending shard that pierced a heart and help remove it, so healing can begin.  As Christians we have exactly what we need to help others.  We can tell them about Jesus and He will give them His Spirit to help them with each shard.  selahV

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." Galatians 6:1

DO YOU HAVE WHAT I HAVE?

It's a blessing worth more than anything I've owned throughout nearly five and a half decades.  It's more comforting than a mother's love.  It's more validating than a father's approval, or an employer's commendation.  It's worth more than all the silver and gold a person or country could accumulate.  It's one of the benefits of faith.

I have peace with God.

Anyone can have this peace.  We who are Believers know, firsthand, this "peace that passes all understanding".  The calm amid the storms.  The stillness in a turmoil.  I've done nothing to earn peace.  It's a gift from God to all who turn to Him in faith and rest in Christ.

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2

Peace does not eliminate struggle, difficulty, obstacles, and turmoil on this old earth. The prince of this world brings nothing but destruction and despair and confusion.  But peace gives us the ability to rest in God's ability to provide and keep us in the midst of those things.  We are enabled to rejoice because we have overcome the world through Jesus.

3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."  Romans 5:3-5

I am quite content with my lot in life.  And my "lot" is not a very big lot, nor a very valuable lot, nor a very prestigious lot, nor a very coveted lot, nor the best manicured lot.  But with my lot, I am at peace.  I am okay with the place in which I find myself today, and look forward to what God has in store for me each day.  If I am here on this old earth to share anything, it is to share Jesus and encourage others in the peace, joy, and hope we have in His grace.  selahV