Place

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Neither give place to the devil.  Ephesians 4:26,27

My husband and I were not saved when we first got married.  In fact, we were married for fourteen years before we got saved, and months apart from one another.  During that time, there were a lot of sunsets.

We spent many nights in anger, cold shoulders and silence.  Neither one of us wanting to yield our prideful way.  Before we knew it, this ignorance of practice, grew into a hard habit to break after salvation.  When disagreements, opinions, and misunderstandings get swept under a rug for years and years, one day you come to find out that these unresolved issues like to rear their ugly heads in the here and now.

The result:

Satan found his niche.

I looked up the word 'place' and realized that there are many definitions.  Here are a few:

    A physical environment, space

    A way for admission or transit

    Physical surrounding, 'atmosphere'

    A locality for a special purpose

    A particular spot for occupancy

    A relative position

    A distinct condition, position or state of mind

    An available seat, and empty or vacated position

And the list goes on!

When offences remain in our hearts as the sun goes down, Satan has now taken up residence.

When I allow Satan a foothold in my life, I have taken Christ off the throne and put the devil there instead.  I have given him a place and a space to occupy in my life, to affect my life in a negative way, instead of the way the Lord has planned for me.  Self takes over and it can begin with a simple thought to resist reconciliation.

We need to be vigil!  Always ready, always armed with the armor of God! 

(Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 Peter 5:8) The devil works in subtle ways that aren't always recognized if we are not diligently watching!

The devil has destroyed many homes and relationships because he was allowed access to positions he was never meant to be.  The longer we allow him to stay there, the more power he has in our lives, and we become desensitized.

So how do we NOT give place to the devil?

Sometimes it will take talking until the sun rises-

    It will be worth it!

        But that's just me!

"A clear conscience is a soft pillow."  Amish Proverb

Lies

"And then she understood the devilish, cunning of the enemies' plan.  By mixing a little truth with it they had made their lie far stronger."  C.S. Lewis

It all began in the garden.

Lies.

"Think about how much falsehood and deceit there is in the world!  How much exaggeration!  How many untruths are added to a simple story!  How many things are left out, if it does not serve the speaker's interest to tell them!  How few there are around us or whom we can say that we trust their word without question?"  JC Ryle

Ephesians 4:25 says, Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

"A lie consists on speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving."  Augustine

Sometimes a lie is just that:  a falsehood spoken to make another person look bad just make oneself look good.  Other times a lie can be an exaggeration to make a story funny in it's telling.

Sometimes a lie can be by omitting 'part' of the whole story.

Lies are told to ruin another person's character.  They are told in anger, envy, jealousy and bitterness.  Some are told in hatred.

And sometimes, lies are told to make ourselves look good in the eyes of others.

You would think that lies are only told by the lost.

Unfortunately that is also a lie. 

Ephesians 4 was written to Christians. 

Lies destroy.  Lies lead people astray.  

Lies don't just affect the one person the lie is told too.  It affects the whole body of Christ.  (1 Cor. 12:12-27) Why?  Because we are all members, joined one to another.

Lies cause discord and our unity is broken.

Lying also affects the liar.

Lies hurt all those involved, the teller and the hearer.

It separates best friends.  (Proverbs 16:28)

I not only want to be able to trust those around me, but I want those around me to know that they can trust me-

    But that's just me!

"There is no such thing as white lies; a lie is as black as a coal pit and twice as foul."  

Henry Ward Beecher

Invisible

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.  Ephesians 4:32

Henry Drummond once said, "Have you ever noticed how much of Christ's life was spent in doing kind things?"

And if so, shouldn't we be more like Christ and extend kindness to those around us?  Regardless of who they are and regardless of if they will return the kindness extended to them?

I was in a store this morning doing errands and went to stand in line to wait at the Self-Check-Out, when I realized I stood behind a 'friend' from a former church.  I greeted her by name, and she turned her head with a smile on her face, but once she recognized who I was, she turned away from me and said nothing. 

I became invisible.

My heart broke.  I just stood there, shunned.

But then God reminded me that His friends turned away from Him too.

I left the store asking God to help me get over this hurt, while I prayed for the person who just ignored me.

Mark Twain said, 'Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.'

I want my forgiveness to smell sweet for my Saviour.  He forgave me too, and the next time I see this person, I will still greet her with a smile.

    But that's just me!

"People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centered-

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives-

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies-

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you-

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy over-night-

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous-

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten.

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough-

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway."

        Mother Teresa

Book Club

The other night, a friend graciously opened her home for our Book Club meeting.  Women of all shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds gathered to share their thoughts about our most recent Read.

With bowls of popcorn and chips in our laps, and soda or coffee in our hands, we began to discuss our book.  While quoting C.S. Lewis, an amazing thing began to happen; we began to share more and more about ourselves.  The guarded hearts were opened, masks removed from faces, and we all realized that, in this group, we were all accepted.

And isn't that what we as humans crave?  Acceptance?

All because of the book we read.

We are also accepted into the beloved as God's children.  Jesus makes that all possible:

Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

One of my favorite accounts in the Bible is when Jesus ministered to the rejected woman at the well in Samaria.  Verse 39b says, 'He told me all that ever I did.'

And the result?  He loved her anyway.

Jesus accepted her.

Jesus will accept you too.

Webster defines Acceptance as this: received.

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Words of Jesus, John 6:37

Turn to Christ, He is waiting with open arms.

    It's true!

        But that's just me!

"Believing that you are loved will set you free to be who God created you to be.  Rest in His love and just be yourself."  Lisa Whelchel

 

Wellness Check

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalm 139:23-24

I have an appointment this morning for a Wellness Check.  I had blood work done a couple of weeks ago, and today I will go in and let the doctor go over the results with me.

I'm always a little hesitant because I'm prone to sickness, seems like they always find something to improve on.

When I was a little girl, I usually waited until I was sick before I went to see a doctor, but now, as we grow older preventive medicine is being more and more recommended.  

What a novel idea!  See the doctor BEFORE you get sick so you can prevent sickness!

The key to physical health.

So, what's the key to Spiritual health?

King David knew.

He prayed and asked God to search his heart to see if there was wickedness present, and if there was, to cleanse him from that wickedness.

Christians still fight a sin battle every day.  If we aren't careful, sin will creep in without us even being aware that it is there.  We are prone to sin.

Psalm 19:12 says, 'Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.'

Like preventive medicine can prevent sickness, preventive prayer and bible reading can prevent sin.

Only Jesus can cure us of the disease of sin.  1 John 1:9

So, before I go to my physical wellness check this morning, I'm going to meet with the Great Physician and get my Spiritual wellness check taken care of.  I want my heart to have a clean bill of health before my Saviour...

    But that's just me!

"We must not trust our heart at any time; even when it speaks most fair, we must call it a liar; and when it pretends to the most good, still we must remember it's nature, for it is evil and that continually."

Charles Spurgeon

Search me, O God

hymn

J. Edwin Orr

𝅘𝅥𝅮 Search me, O God, and know my heart today;

Try me, O Saviour, know my thoughts I pray.

See if there be some wicked way in me,

cleanse me from ev'ry sin and set me free.

I praise thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;

fulfill thy Word, and make me pure within,

fill me with fire where once I burned with shame,

Grant my desire to magnify thy name.

Lord, take my life and make it wholly thine;

fill my poor heart with thy great love divine,

Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride;

I now surrender; Lord, in me abide. 

True Love

 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Words spoken by Jesus, John 15:13

When I was a little girl in Elementary School, a week before Valentine's Day each student would receive a list of names for everyone in our class.   Our teacher told us that "if you are planning on giving out Valentine's, then you must give a Valentine to each one of your classmates.  No one is to be left out."

In other words, there would be no 'Charlie Brown's' allowed in our class!  Each student would be included regardless of if we liked them or not.

Salvation is ALL inclusive.

Jesus died for each and every one of us, even while we were sinners.  We weren't His friends when He died for us, but He was our friend.

But God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  

Romans 5:8

So, on this Valentine's Day, I want to give you your own personal Valentine:

         For God so lo V ed the world,

that he g A ve

   his on L y

  begott E n

     So N

                                  T hat whosoever

    believeth I n him

             should N ot perish

                  but have E verlasting life.

John 3:16

This Valentine's Day, I want to hold close the greatest Valentine given of all, Jesus.

        But that's just me!

        

Love is...Part 5

"Love sees perfect that which is imperfect."  Anonymous

As we come to the end of 1 Corinthians 13 and have pondered what love is and what love is not, I want to ask you a few questions:

Is it easier to love the lovable or the unlovable?  Is it easier to love those you have things in common and think the same way about things as you, or those who do not?  Is it easier to love those you get along with rather than those who rub you the wrong way?

Hard questions, but easy ones to answer.

"God did not love us because we were lovable, but because He is love."  CS Lewis.

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

Words of Jesus, Matthew 5:44

"But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you."

Words of Jesus, Luke 6:27-28

If we are to love like Jesus, we are to freely love all.

Even those who don't love us.

And we are not only called to love them, but to pray for them; after all, Jesus prayed for the very ones who put Him on the cross.

    Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34a

"Love stronger than the deepest hatred."  Anonymous

So that brings us to our last verse:

1Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

    When one day we see Christ, faith and hope will fade away.

    But love will always remain.

"It is love alone that gives worth to all things."  Santa Teresa de Jesus

    And I agree...but that's just me!