His Good Pleasure...

I know that it has been a while since I have made a post. But tonight I come with a testimony of how truly amazing God's grace is. We have a Father who cares for us so deeply and one of his greatest desires and pleasures is to give us, as his children, the kingdom of heaven. However, we often forget this promise as we go about our busy daily lives. Well, my sister and I have been visiting one of the elderly mothers of the church body that has been hospitalized. A sobering feeling comes over you when you see a once lively, joyful, and feisty loved one lie in a bed with so much pain. At times it is a struggle and we are often at a lost for words because we are not accustomed to her inability to talk and respond. But we continue to go. My 8 year old daughter (a true prayer warrior and soldier for Christ) accompanied me on one of these trips and I asked her to pray over our beloved mother before we left. One of the requests that she begged God for is still freshly embedded in my heart today just as much as it was the day she prayed it a week ago. Her petition, "Lord let her know that people love her." That penetrated to the core of my heart and struck the cords of my soul. It gave meaning and understanding as to why we are to obey God's command to "visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction," James 1:27. It extended value and purpose as to why we continue to go. We do it all because of LOVE! It is love that compels us and it is that same love that has helped us to overcome every bit of anxiety, awkwardness, and uneasiness that we often felt as we approached her room. 


TODAY, as we walked in, we saw the answer to one of our prayers. Even though she still cannot talk; she was alert, aware, and communicated to us with uhhh huhs and hmm hmms. It was amazing. For the first time since we have been visiting her, my sister and I were able to see the sparkle in her eyes as she recognized who we were and she assured us that she is still keeping the faith in the midst of her trial. I am eternally grateful for that and I thank God for allowing us to be a part of this journey with our mother. A journey that will be taken in love and walked out in faith.

But he shall receive and hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 

                                                                                                                                            Mark 10:30

This love that I have for a spiritual mother that was given to me as a gift by God and the love that I have for a heavenly Father whose grace is truly amazing is a part of the promises that he gives to us freely. It is His "good pleasure" to allow us to experience this kind of love because only this kind of love can come from the kingdom of God. 

Thank you Daddy!!  

LOVE MUCH!!

A woman from a cold, dark city stands scorned by her sin. She is heavy-laden with guilt and engulfed by defeat. There is pain in her heart, tears of shame in her eyes, and desperation in her cry. She is empty and alone, yet seeking. Seeking to be free. She longs to be liberated. Yearning to be set free from her sin, only to know the joy that she once knew in her innocence. In despair, she comes to a gathering at a home, desperately looking for Hope. In her arms she carries the only gift that she can offer. An alabaster box filled with precious ointment. She enters the room and surveys the guests. Her heart is pounding, her knees are shaking and then... she sees Him. Her eyes behold the One who can restore her sin-sick soul. The One who can heal her wounded heart. The One who can forgive all her transgressions. Her ONLY hope for salvation sits at a table in the home of a curious Pharisee. The woman silently weaves her way  through the crowded room as a veil of tears begin to cover her face. As she approaches Him from behind, her tears began to fall uncontrollably. Realizing that she is now pouring years of anguish on this stranger's feet, she bends down to wipe her tears from His feet with her hair. She ceases not to kiss the feet of Him who has been given power to heal the broken-hearted. Her only offering is the ointment from her little box of alabaster.


As He discusses matters of the heart with her accusers, she wonders in AWE at the One sitting at the table. He talks with so much compassion in His voice; with so much love in His heart. She believes that He can deliver her. She knows that He is the ONE who can give her soul peace.  


THEN...


Jesus turns to her and says, "Thy sins are forgiven...Thy faith have saved thee; go in peace."


Only sinners can ever truly know this kind of grace. Only Jesus can ever truly show this kind of mercy. When we consider this kind of Love that our Savior has for us, there is only one way to respond; TO LOVE MUCH! 

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loved little. 

                                                  Luke 7:47

Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." And the second one, "love thy neighbor as thyself." Matthew 22:37-39. Love is powerful and TRUE love that is given by God has the capacity to  change the most hardened heart. I know, because I was one of them. One of the greatest joys that I have known is when God gives me the opportunity to love. A scripture that I have been meditating on is James 1:27

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The biggest challenge in obeying this scripture is that we often place our own desires of gaining the whole world before the desire and will of our Savior. It truly amazes me that the earthly riches that we seek never bring us the joy that our soul yearns for. However, when we give up all we have to feed the poor and the orphans, visit the widows and those in prison, and when we lose our own lives so that we may follow Christ, it is then that we find the greatest antidote for depression and despair. When we seek to live the scriptures out in our daily lives, Jesus gives us so much more than what we give up. My prayer is that God gives me the kind of heart that is willing to step out of my comfort zone and love those whom He places before me. I desire to step away from James 1:27 seeking to live it out in my EVERYDAY life; seeking to be a DOER of His Word and not just a hearer. As I look at those who have gone before me, I see that they have often traveled this same road alone, yet, JOYFUL and in love with Jesus. I too, want to take this journey. Because my sins were many and because I have been forgiven; I also respond to such grace with love. My greatest desire is to love Christ and others just as much as He has loved me.  

Help me Lord Jesus!!

"Take Us the Little Foxes"

Friday morning my husband and I woke up and began talking about a scripture that I randomly chose to read the night before. That scripture was Matthew 19. Even though I randomly turned to that scripture I do not believe that it was coincidental that this scripture came up. The beginning of this chapter speaks of Jesus' teachings on divorce. My husband and I began to discuss the truth that because the flesh is weak, the world is wicked, and Satan is busy; honor and commitment within marriages is becoming devalued more and more each day. Infidelity, disrespect, and divorce has become a cultural norm. This not only holds true for those who are unbelievers but it also exists among Christian married couples. Marriage is beautiful when two people set out to glorify God in the greatest institution that He has set up since the beginning of creation. Yet, no marriage exists without struggle and each has its issues and obstacles that it must overcome. 

As my husband and I continued our discussion, a seldom read scripture came to mind. A scripture that I had also read to him only the night before. The scripture that came to mind was Song of Solomon 2:15.

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: 

for our vines have tender grapes." 

To overcome the many obstacles that become prevalent in a marriage, both partners must be willing to take hold of the little foxes that creep through the walls and begin to eat away at the vine; whose purpose is to bear fruit. Those little foxes can be sinful thoughts, neglect of a spouse, unappreciative attitudes, lies, fleshy indulgences, secret sins or anything that, if left unattended, will destroy the relationship between a believer and their Savior; between a husband and his wife. My knowledge of animal behavior is very limited, but one thing I know is that foxes work like thieves seeking to do their most damage in secret. Once exposed, they usually flee like a true thief. Likewise, the little foxes in our relationships seek to eat away and spoil the vines when the blossoms first appear; at a time when "our vines have tender grapes." They harm the vines causing them to yield less fruit or undesirable fruit. But if these little foxes are uncovered and exposed by the Word of Truth they WILL flee. To me, that means that we have to "speak the truth in love" in our relationships, involve ourselves in daily confessional living, and most of all, allow the Holy Spirit to lead us as we glorify God in our marriages. After all, marriage should be a crystal clear reflection of Christ's relationship with His bride; the Church.

Even though I have abandoned New Year's resolutions years ago, one thing that I will commit to the Lord this year is to take the little foxes that creep into my marriage and expose them for what they truly are; LIES, DECEIT, AND SIN. My desire is that love becomes the driving force of my marriage and that it produces fruit that is desirable. I admit, that in the past I have been guilty of letting the little foxes set up bunks in our marriage and eat away at the vines of our sacred union. There have been a few times that my husband and I have both looked up only to find that portions of our vineyard had become fruitless and lifeless. On several occasions we have found our marriage almost at its breaking point only because we permitted the littles foxes to wreak havoc in our field of love. But through God's AMAZING grace we have repaired those breaches each time and we are still here; still in love. With constant communication with our Heavenly Daddy and guidance from His Holy Spirit, we have set out on a journey to ravish each other with our love, build one another up with pure affection, and to glorify our Savior Jesus Christ.

And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
                                                                                            Matthew 19:4-6