Salty Salt

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.

Will he not first sit down and estimate

the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

For if he lays the foundation

and is not able to finish it,

everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

saying,'This fellow began to build

and was not able to finish.'"

Luke 14:28-30

I have had the privilege of watching my daughters grow into young women of God.  Each one is masterfully crafted, gifted uniquely and tested distinctively.  Even though three of them were born at one time and came from one egg, they are shaped differently by the Master Craftsman.  All four are beautiful in their own way.

None of them decided their own fate.  Not one of them came up with their own gifts and talents. Each is at the mercy of a loving God who is making them into the young woman He wants them to be.  

They are not peculiar.  Each of us is fashioned in such an exclusive way.  None of us decides how, where or when God will use us.  Not one of us are in control of how God prepares us.  No one on earth determines his own fate.  God decides what I will give up; only He knows what the cost will be of following Him.

Following Jesus comes at a cost.  It is not a payment I am required to make in order to be able to receive salvation.  Rather, it is a price I will pay in terms of idols destroyed, loves lost, and rough edges chiseled away.  I will be asked to give up things that I think I can't live without, to release parts of me that are too big, and to hold on a little while longer when it seems like my fingers are slipping off the edge.   In order for Jesus to be my all, I will need to be less, certain thought patterns will need to be abandoned, and secret sins will need to be nailed to the cross.  

As a follower of Christ, Jesus told me that, "You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."  Matthew 5:13  Unsalty salt is incapable of enhancing flavor or preserving foods.  It is completely useless.

In the same way, I am in danger of losing those qualities God has placed within me that are uniquely mine but entirely from Him.  But God is constantly honing and refining me so that I won't become impotent.  When I put myself in God's hands, giving Him the opportunity to transform me through His word, circumstances and encounters with other people,  He will keep my salt salty.  

Grace

Children love to cook and especially take great joy in seasoning food.  It is especially fun to add a pinch of this and a dab of that as the delicious aromas of their masterpiece simmers on the stove.  Food would simply not taste as good without seasonings.  

In the Old Testament, God instructed his people to season all of the offerings made to Him with salt.  This was not for seasoning, but as a symbol of God's activity and sovereignty in providing for, requiring and receiving the sacrifice.  We can do nothing of value, nothing that He would find acceptable, apart from Him. 

 Similarly, the Apostle Paul said to, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:6) Everything I say must be generated from the inspiration of God.  When I go out on my own and speak from my own knowledge, common sense, or good judgment I will only serve to draw attention to myself or hurt others in the process.  But when I let God speak through me, the words that result are brimming with His grace, drawing all those who hear to the God of grace.


So when an acquaintance deserves a sharp reprimand she will instead receive a kind word of support.  Or if a server at my favorite restaurant gets my order wrong, spills soup in my lap and seems to not care, he will find an encouraging word of inspiration along with a tip on the table after I leave.   For the day when one bad thing happens after another and then the driver of the car next to me in a parking lot opens his door into my vehicle, leaving a nice little dent, I will be able to smile and tell him everything will be okay; it's just a car, after all!


Grace is when we get from God what we don't deserve.  Grace is also giving others what they don't deserve.  


My salt is salty when my words are liberally seasoned with the grace that comes from God.

Love

She sings on the praise team, leads the women's ministry, teaches children's Sunday School and still finds time to raise four children plus the two she and her husband adopted from the streets of India.  I often ask myself, Is there anything she can't do? We've all seen her; the "perfect" woman who makes the rest of us look bad.

Besides the fact that I set myself up for failure by comparing myself to this other woman, there may be something else wrong here.   I am not called to be a busy woman of God.  I am called to be a loving woman of God.  While some people are capable of doing many activities out of love for God and His people.  There are many others who are doing it out of a sense of obligation, or in an effort to look good to God or others, or to prove their worthiness.  Without love, all the hard work in the world means nothing.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."  (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

I can look like the most gifted Christian in the world, but if I can't love my family, I've failed. My resume could be enough to astound the CEO of a major corporation, but if I don't show compassion to those who depend on me for a job, I have failed.  It could be that women from all around come to me for godly advice and receive plenty of it, but if I exhibit a short fuse and little patience for my husband, I have failed.

My salt is salty when love is the hallmark of every part of my life.  

Humility

Oswald Chambers may have said it best:  "Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God.  Jesus takes us over for His enterprises, His building schemes entirely, and no soul has any right to claim where he shall be put."  (My Utmost for His Highest)    

For God to truly be able to work through me, I have to be okay with wherever He places me, whoever He places around me and whatever He calls me to do.  When I am caught up in my plans, my desires and my wants, I am living by my ways, not God's.  

In order for God to get the glory for the work done in my life, I must move out of the way!  I belong to Him; am created by Him, redeemed by Him, and made righteous by Him.  As such, I am nothing without Him.  Until I realize this, I will be useless to Him.

The Apostle Paul instructs me in Philippians 2:3 to, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."  Or in the words of The Message version, "Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top.  Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead."

Humbling myself means to simply put myself in my rightful position; not in the place I think I deserve, or in the position I want to be, but in the place God has actually placed me: as one out of a million others just as important as me.  I am no more important than my neighbor.  I am a small fish in a big pond.  Or as C.K. Chesterton said, "All men are ordinary men; the extraordinary men are those who know it."

Knowing my place helps me to think of others more than I think of myself.  It makes it natural for me to think of ways I can help others or how I can encourage someone or when I can give to others what I want for myself.  

My salt is salty when I put others' needs above my own.  

The cost of following Christ is high: He is constantly at work molding me into His image.  When I put myself into His hands, He keeps my salt salty so my conversations are filled with grace, my actions are overshadowed by love and I think of others first.  God will be glorified when His seasoning liberally flows from my life.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will not hold anything back from the hands of my Master Potter.

When am I busy doing things for God but have forsaken His love?

How do I focus on my own needs and forget about the needs of those around me?

Healing Water

"Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river.

Their leaves will not wither,

nor will their fruit fail.

Every month they will bear,

because the water from the sanctuary flows to them.

Their fruit will serve for food

and their leaves for healing."

Ezekiel 47:12

Sparkling clear water flowed into the barren region, turning wasteland into fertile plains and deserts into farms.  What once was dry and unproductive became lush and fruitful.  The ground that used to be hard as stone and incapable of accepting any moisture or nutrients now welcomed the life-giving water into it's rich and loamy goodness.  What at one time had been forgotten and abandoned had now become a delightful safe haven for all living things.  The water brought life to a once dead land.

This same revitalizing irrigation has healing properties for my hurting heart, as well.  It can turn my wasted life into a fruitful one.  The healing water is able to take what was a dead and meaningless existence and turn it into a vital and significant life.  A heart hardened by the harshness of life and the cruelty of man is softened into a tender, sensitive being capable of nurturing all those around.  The neglected soul, cast off as too much of a bother, at the touch of the liquid is made whole and experiences a sense of self-worth never before felt.     

What is the source of this healing water?  God.  When I enter into a relationship with my Creator by accepting Jesus as the One who took my punishment for all the ways I fall short of God's standard, I am the recipient of many good things.

Withstand Heat

I am growing this huge hydrangea bush in my flower bed in South Carolina.  Summers are hot here and the blue-flowered beauty prefers the shade and cooler temperatures.  In order for it to survive, I must diligently soak it's roots each and every day.  If I don't give it enough water one day, by the afternoon the leaves will wilt down under the stress of the heat.  Hydrangeas are not equipped to withstand hot temperatures.

There were three men, on the other hand, who were able to withstand heat.  Nebuchadnezzar had ordered all those who lived in the land of Babylon to bow to his 90-foot tall statue. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, however, refused to bow to anything other than the LORD their God.  As a result, the king had them thrown into a furnace blazing so hot that the men who carried them to their punishment where themselves killed from the intensity of the flames.    

Surprisingly, Nebuchadnezzar saw these rebels walking around inside the impossibly-hot oven.  Curious, he called them out of the flames, "So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them.  They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them." (Daniel 3:26-27)

These three men were devoted to God and out of love and respect for Him would rather die a horrible death than live with the memory of dishonoring God by doing as the king commanded. God honored their faithfulness by sparing their life in a way that drew powerful men of influence to Him.  

 In the same way, my dedication to living a life to please God will result in the ability to withstand the heat of trials found in my life.  I will be like a, "tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."  (Jeremiah 17:8)

Depending upon the water that flows from God's Spirit found within me will give me strength to endure.

Produce Fruit

There are several risks, such as freezing temperatures and poor pruning, that can kill fruit blossoms early in the season that results in a fruit tree turning unproductive.  Great care must be taken to nurture these trees in order to enjoy the best fruit. My purpose for planting a peach tree, for instance, is to produce peaches.  If it doesn't yield a crop year after year, I'm going to be disappointed and tempted to replace it.

Similarly, I am called to let God's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control show as I go about my day.  Most of the time, however, it is the fruit of my flesh that is abundant:  Putting my wants and desires before God's, hostility, irritability, jealousy, quarreling, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, wild parties and the like. (Galatians 5:19-23)   

There are many risks to God's fruit crop yielding abundance in my life: My comfort, my busyness, my determination, my independence.  These all kill the blossoms, preventing His bounty from coming to fruition.  I am at constant risk of losing my usefulness as a fruit-bearer.  I spend too much time doing things I think I ought to do and not enough time sitting in the presence of the One who gives me life.  I fritter away time in worthless pursuits while my Bible sits idle on the table.  I work hard at staying busy in the church so my life will have meaning only to be left with an empty basket, void of fruit.

I recently pruned some trees in our yard.  I placed the cut branches in a pile at our curb for garbage pick-up the following day and the next morning I noticed that all of the leaves on the branches hung limply.  They did not even survive one day apart from the tree in which it drew it's life.   

Jesus' words as recorded in John 15:4 tell me that I am like those branches.  I can't do anything of value apart from His leading.  He said, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."   Just as those branches have no chance to survive let alone produce fruit once they were cut from the tree, I must stay connected to my life-source to have a chance at exhibiting the fruit of His Spirit.  After all, it is His fruit, not mine!

Staying connected to the water that flows from God's Spirit found within me will result in an abundance of His fruit.

Extend Nourishment and Healing

When we moved into the house there was very little landscaping done.  We had to plant grass in the back yard, dig flowerbeds around the house and cultivate flowers to make it seem really at home.  One of my amazing neighbors shared a new plant that added a tropical look to my yard.  It is called an elephant ear, and it must have earned that name due to the size of the leaves that mimic their namesake!

From the one plant that my neighbor shared, I now have a yard full of these mammoth leaves, adding much interest and flavor to the terrain.  In the same way, I am called to be salt in the world.  As one who bears the Spirit of God, my presence makes the world a better place. The Spirit of God that is within me adds flavor and interest, bringing a sense of morals and joy to an otherwise depraved world.  

Each believer carries God's Spirit with them wherever they go, enhancing the goodness that can be found if one would only look.  His presence shines a light on the evil and convicts the lost to turn to Him.  The Spirit within me gives hope to those with whom I come into contact.

I am not the only one who is benefiting from my relationship with God. As I stay connected to Him, the regeneration I experience spreads to many others.  The water that makes me well spills over to spread it's healing touch to all those in need.

Carrying God's Spirit around with me works to spread His nourishing and healing touch to a world in need.       

God gives me many good things as a member of His family through faith in Jesus Christ.  He gives me the ability to stand up under the pressures of life, to exhibit His fruits in my day to day life, and to extend to others the nourishment and healing He gives.   Come drink from the healing water!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will not horde this water for myself, but share it with all who are in need.

How do I look to my own strength when troubles come instead of relying on God's?

Which fruit is more evident in my life; God's or mine?

   

If My People . . .

"If my people,

who are called by my name,

will humble themselves and pray

and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,

then I will hear from heaven

and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

He does it all.  He created all things, set the wheels of life in motion, watches over all things, reconciled a sinful people to Himself.  What is there left for me to do?  

When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the penalty meant for my sins.  As I accept Him as my Savior, my sins are wiped away and I appear before the Lord as clean; white as snow.  There is nothing I can do to make myself worthy.  It is the grace of God that gives me this glorious gift of salvation while I'm still in my sin.  I can't make myself good enough for God; that's what I need Jesus for.

So if Jesus reconciled myself to God, what is expected from me?  Do I keep living my life as I always have?  

As I go through the transformation process of being cast into the image of Jesus Christ, there are four things that I must always strive to do.

Humble Myself

I think I'm pretty important.  Well, it's not that I think that highly of myself because I do possess quite a few insecurities and suffer from low self-esteem in many areas.  Rather, my problems seem more important to me than others' difficulties.  My pain hurts more than my neighbors' pain.  My bad day is worse than your bad day.  I tend to be the center of my own world, whether I like it or not.

For this reason, it is vital that I constantly put myself in my proper position.  One of the best ways to do this is to walk outside on a clear night.  As I observe the vastness of space, I feel small and insignificant.  My life is tiny compared to the universe!  

It is also good for me to intentionally look for suffering around me, seeking ways to encourage another or help one who needs a hand.  Focusing only on my own life and it's struggles, difficulties and even joys has a way of narrowing my perception.  As I turn my attention to others, it helps me to keep my life in perspective, realizing that I'm not the only fish in the pond.

Martin Luther wisely said, "Until man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him."  If I want God to mold me into the masterpiece He created me to be, I must become as lowly as a lump of clay.

If I want the Master Potter to have His way with me, I must become mold-able. 

Pray

It is said that the average adult makes 35,000 decisions per day.  Although most of those are simple, like considering where to sit or what to eat, others are more complicated.  Out of the more challenging choices, I usually make most using my own common sense,  advice from others, or choosing whatever appeals to me at that moment.  Every once in awhile, I will remember to pray, asking God for guidance as I make a choice.

Life can weigh me down, there's no doubt about it.  Instead of carrying the load myself, I can instead say to God, "When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 61:2 NKJV)

There is a peace that comes when I give God the responsibility of being the head decision-maker in my life.   Tranquility exists in the midst of strife when I place the burden of judgment on God's shoulders.  Allowing God to take the lead leaves me in the serene position of following.

As I unload my worries upon God, a peace that no one can understand guards my heart and mind from further anxiety.  Or, as Harry Emerson Fosdick said, "Peace is a consciousness of springs too deep from earthly droughts to dry up."  

If I want to become more like Jesus I must pray continually.  

Seek God

In the movie, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Milo's life was driven by a passion for discovering the lost city of Atlantis.  This single purpose colored every part of his life even down to his choice of career fields.  His enthusiasm for the quest for Atlantis was dismissed by everyone around him, earning him the scorn and ridicule of co-workers and peers.  Popularity, however, was not important to Milo.  What mattered most to him was that he solve the mystery of the lost city.

In the same way, my single focus in life is to be the mission of seeking God.  The difference between Milo's quest and mine is that God wants to be found.  He said in Jeremiah 29:13 that, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  

As I work in the garden, I can look for God's hand in the wonders of a sprouting seed or a singing bird.  When I am driving in rush hour traffic, I can strive for a godly attitude and ability to see the good instead of focusing on the drivers cutting me off or tailgating so close I can see their eye color.  If I am performing a menial task I have done and detested a thousand times, I can meditate on His Word and what He is trying to teach me.

Seeking Him is about including Him in every part of my life, not just those parts where I need Him or where I feel I'm most presentable.  I want to make running after God and desiring to please Him above all other things the engine that drives my car.  He wants to be an integral part of my life, but I have to invite Him in.

It's easy for me to move out of God's presence, but if I want to become more like Jesus, I must "continually seek Him." (1 Chronicles 16:11)

Repent

If you ever watch a herd of cows, you'll notice that they always turn their backs to the wind, especially on a stormy day.  They know enough to protect themselves from the harsh cold.

I need to learn a lesson from the bovine family.  Instead, my flesh is usually drawn toward sinful behavior.  Anything I do that is in response to my own fleshly desires instead of out of obedience to God is considered to be wicked in the eyes of God.  If I am to please God, I would be wise to forsake my natural ways and thoughts.  (Isaiah 55:7)

Turning my back on a certain thought pattern or destructive behavior is effective because it places the temptation out of my vision.  It also serves to turn the tables, putting the evil behind me and pointing me in the direction that leads toward God.

As anxious thoughts enter my mind, I can turn away from them and focus on what God is doing in my life or toward meditation of a verse of scripture.  If I am being lured into gossip, I can end the conversation or change the subject.  When I am tempted to enter into sexual sin through pornography, watching an explicit movie or something even more blatant, I can get up from the computer, television or flee the scene and turn toward my Bible.  It may also be necessary for me to get rid of my computer or other source of temptation in order to truly turn from those evil ways.  

Turning away from those things that tempt me to go against God and His ways is vital to my spiritual walk.  I can't simply ignore those thoughts or replace them with something better.  Instead, purposefully setting my course in the opposite direction will take me further away from evil and closer to God.  

I can't live my life my way and please God.  If I want to grow more Christ-like, I must turn away from those things that displease God.

Jesus did it all.  That, however, doesn't take me off the hook for the way I live my life.  In order to please God, I still need to constantly strive to humble myself, pray, seek God and turn from my wicked ways.  In this way, my character resembles Christ's more and more with each passing day.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will keep my course set on Jesus.

How do I let sin into my life by refusing to turn away from it?

When am I most vulnerable to sin?

The Difference

"They are to teach my people

the difference between 

holy and the common

and show them how to distinguish between 

the unclean and the clean."

Ezekiel 44:23

Holy.  Even the word seems set apart and special.  It is a word that the winged creatures covered in eyes and seen in John's vision of the throne in heaven sang over and over again, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." (Revelation 4:8)  I have a sense that holy means sacred and hallowed; but what do I really know of holy?  

Listen to and meditate on the lyrics of the Addison Road song of the same name.

As Jenny Simmons sings, "I think I've made You too small, I never feared you at all."  What do I really know of "holy" and how does it affect the way I live my life as a follower of Christ?

Sabbath

I rush from one activity to the next, always aware of the time and how quickly it is slipping from my grasp.  How will I finish all these tasks?  Maybe I'll have to do a little on Sunday, just so I don't fall behind. We've all been there.  Life moves at warp speed and many times I feel as if I can't keep up.

When Moses carried the tablets engraved by the finger of God with His Ten Commandments, the fourth law on the list proclaimed to, "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work. . . ." (Deuteronomy 5:12-14)

As one who desires to please God in all I do and who has the benefit of God's Spirit dwelling within, I want to follow this command.  His day is special, different from all other days, free from toil and labor, set apart for Him.  

It seems observing the Sabbath is similar to tithing: Both take a certain amount of faith that God will make what time or money I have left after giving the required amount enough to finish my work and pay my bills.  Six days should be enough to finish all that my life has for me to do.  Ninety percent of my income should be enough to provide for my household.  But what if it's not enough?

Faith is being certain of what I do not see, or cannot comprehend.  (Hebrews 11:1)  If I want to please God I must trust Him that six days are enough, and that 90% is sufficient.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God.  If I can't bring myself to rest on Sunday, my faith is lacking, and I am displeasing God.

Part of the difference Jesus makes in my life is that my Sabbath is holy.

Name

"What's in a name?  That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."  (Romeo and Juliet, Scene II, lines 45-46)

Juliet loved her dear Romeo, but tragically, he belonged to the family of her relatives' enemy.  She, however, loved him despite his unfortunate ancestral lineage.  His name meant nothing to her; it was he that she wanted.

In contrast, God's name does mean something. It is more than just a title or label, rather it is a part of who He is.  Herman Hoeksema attempts to shed some light on the significance of God's name in his book, Reformed Dogmatics.  "The Name of God is His Being, not as He is in Himself, but as He is revealed to us."  There is no way my tiny mind can fully comprehend God, but His name, in part, gives some enlightenment to His essence. 


By knowing God's name, we have some idea of Who He is, but L. Berkhof goes further by explaining in Systemic Theology that, "The names of God are not of human invention, but of divine origin though they are all borrowed from human language, and derived from human and earthly relations."  God gives Himself a name that we can understand and relate to, but it falls far short from doing His character and being justice.  He transcends a mere word.  Still, in order for someone to be known, I must have something by which to call him. 


I can look to scripture for examples of how to treat God's name.  The LORD is described in Isaiah 57:15 as, "he who lives forever, whose name is holy."  David encouraged us to, "Praise his holy name." (Psalm 30:4) He also encouraged his people in 1 Chronicles 16:10 and 35 to, "Glory in his holy name," and to, "give thanks to (his) holy name."  Each time, His Name is described as being "holy."


The name of the LORD is one of the ways God reveals Himself to us, is a word we can use to try to understand Him, at least in part, and can be used to give praise, thanks and glory to Him. Clearly, God's name is special.


Consequently, using His name in a common way is offensive to God, to say the least.  


When I exclaim, "Oh my God!" when I see something funny or surprising, I am denigrating His Name, and thus God Himself.  When I use God's Name to give validity to an oath I'm taking, I am lowering His Name, in turn disrespecting Him.  When I flippantly talk about God as if He were a mere human, I am showing a lack of respect for Him.  


Part of the difference that Jesus makes in my life is that I make an effort to treat God's Name as holy.

Temple

 The redness started in His cheeks and spread until it covered His entire face.  An ever-so-slight pulsating movement could be detected near his brows.  His eyes swept back and forth, taking in the scene.  Cattle and sheep munched on hay as they waited patiently, tied to the temple pillars.  The sound of the cooing of dozens of doves perched in cages lining the wall filled the air.  Worshipers filed past the tables set up for the convenience of transacting the sales of all these animals.  How dare they treat my Father's house in such a lowly, common way, as if it were a mere marketplace!  (John 2:13-16)  

Jesus demonstrated the level of respect that He held for the dwelling place of His Father's Spirit.  The temple was not simply a building.  Instead, it was the place where one could go to find God.  It was a representation of His presence among His people, both when they wandered in the desert and when the more permanent temple was built and dedicated by Solomon.  

Under the new covenant of grace offered out of God's great love for me, there is another temple where God's Spirit constantly stays with His people. The Apostle Paul teaches by asking, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body."  (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Treating my body, therefore, as common, like everyone else in the world who does not know Jesus treats their body, goes against this teaching.  This lesson spills over into my beliefs about sexual purity and what I do and do not allow as acceptable for me.  As Paul said, "Flee from sexual immorality.  All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."  (1 Corinthians 6:18) I can easily justify my actions with the claim that everyone else does it, so it can't be that bad.  Or I could say it's not that big a deal.  Even watching the blatant sexuality permeating our modern entertainment is just a part of the world we live in, right?  I can't really be expected to stay away from it, or am I?

My standard is to please God, and everything I do must be driven by that desire.   The way I dress, both the amount and kinds of food that I consume, the care I give my body, the kinds of entertainment of which I partake, all reflect on the One Who inhabits it's structure.  I treat my body as special not because I am special, but because God is special.  

Part of the difference that Jesus makes in my life is that my body, as the temple of the Spirit of the living God, is to be treated as holy.  

God is a holy God.   As His child, I am also called to be holy.  Some of the ways I abide by His holiness is in the way I treat the Sabbath, His Name and His Temple.  

What do I really know of holy?

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I may consider God's holiness, seeking to revere Him in all that I do.

How do I treat Sunday as any other day, using it as a time to play catch up?

What are some ways I could begin to show honor to God in the way I use His name?

The LORD Reigns

"But the LORD is in his holy temple;

let all the earth be silent before him."

Habakkuk 2:20

The child sticks his lower lip out and crosses his arms in front of him, stamping his foot for good measure.  

"I want candy!"

His face turns red with frustration.

As I watch the scene unfold before me in the check out line at our local supermarket, I pray that the mother will stand firm in this battle of the wills.  

"Okay, son, I'll give it to you this time.  But you need to stop acting up!"  she says, adding a slap to the back of the head for good measure.

There is nothing worse than a little child who is in control.  In reality, there is nothing scarier for the child than to be in control.  Children need boundaries to be enforced and guidance to be lovingly dispensed in order to thrive and grow.  

I am no different than a child.  Even though I think I like to be in control, if God were to really put all sovereignty into my hands, I would crumble.  I need His boundaries, guidance and grace.  I need Him to be on the throne!

Despite the fact that I constantly put things before Him, denying Him His proper place in my heart, He is still in His holy temple.  He is reigns.  He is still God.  

Approachable

I recently watched Anna and the King, a movie based upon the diaries of Anna Leonowens who was hired by the King of Siam during the 1860s to tutor his oldest son.  She soon found that Siamese protocol dictated that all would bow before the king, no one would look him in the eye and directly approaching the monarch was definitely forbidden. 


One sweeping scene showed hundreds of subjects kneeling with their forehead to the floor before their king when suddenly, the sound of little footsteps running through the palace grounds could be heard.  Then the small form of a little boy became visible as he ran toward the king.  Without hesitation or the slightest bit of fear, the lad climbs the steps surrounding the throne and clambers onto his father's lap.  The king is not at all offended, gladly bending low to hear the whispers of his son.


As heir to the throne, this king's son was immune to the usual code of behavior.  He had rights and privileges that no one else possessed, such as direct access to the king.  In the same way, I am an heir as a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ and can, ". . .approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  (Hebrews 4:16)


That's the amazing thing about God.  He is powerful, mighty and just, but because of his great love for me, He is approachable.  I don't have to wait until He's in a good mood, or give Him some time to get caught up on His work, or make sure I've been properly cleaned up.  God accepts me as I am, when I need Him and without preconditions.  As His daughter, He is always accessible; I can clamber up onto His lap anytime I need His full attention.   When I come to Him, He will give me plenty of mercy and grace to get through the difficulties I am facing.


God is in His holy temple, but thanks to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, I am allowed in there, too.

Available

One of the great things about serving as a full-time mother and homemaker is that I am available.  Most of the time things are quiet as I go about my business, taking care of necessary duties.  Suddenly, a crisis occurs and I am needed on the spot.  A knee is skinned, a heart is crushed or a fight breaks out.  As a 24-7 on-call mother, I step in and take care of the problem; bandaging the owie, encouraging the broken heart and breaking up the skirmish.  

Thankfully, God is always available to hear my prayers.  He is never too busy to listen to my problems, calm my fears or encourage me with His loving care. Even more, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."  1 John 5:14-15

Even though God is the supreme ruler of the universe, He will always hear the things I say to Him that please Him.  Since He hears these requests, and it falls within His will, He will give me what I ask for.  Now, it may not look like what I had in mind, kind of like the time I was talking to God about how nice it would be to have a nice bench in our backyard.  The next day, my daughter drug this ugly old coffee table home that she had salvaged out of a neighbor's garbage. She then told me of her plans to convert it into a bench for the garden.  God had given me what I asked for in a way I had not imagined. 

When God puts something on my heart, like to pray for a daughter to develop a hunger for God's Word, I can count on the fact that He will honor that request.  It may not happen in my timing or in the way I expected, but God will answer that prayer.

God is in His holy temple, but I have open lines of communication with Him, making the prayers that please Him powerful and effective.  (James 5:16) 

In Attendance 

Children performing in school plays or musical performances often look out in the crowd to search for their parent or other loved one.  Knowing someone is there for them gives them confidence to do their best.  

Likewise, when I am living my life, going through difficult times and hard things, it is good to know that God is always with me.  As David said, "You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. . . Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?"  (Psalm 139:5,7)

There is no place that God's continuous presence is more evident than in nature. As Ralph Waldo Emerson penned, "Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere."

 Witnessing the unfolding of a small, insignificant rose bud into an elegant, glorious bloom points to the hand of God.  Observing the miraculous metamorphosis of a single seed into a large fruit bearing plant gives testimony to His presence.  Watching the tender, loving care of a mother bird for her babies illustrates the love God has for us.  

Knowing that God is with me when I face the angry loved one, cope with stresses that threaten to break me, or deal with the consequences of someone else's actions gives me strength.  I am not in this fight alone; "If God is for (me), who can be against (me)?"  (Romans 8:31)

God is in His holy temple, but nothing can separate me from His love

I am thankful that the LORD reigns on His throne.  Even though I want to be in control, I need Him to be Lord of my life.  As His child, I have found that He is approachable, available and in constant attendance.  Yes, my God reigns!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will remember that God's holiness and sovereignty does not rely on my worthiness. 

How do I forget that I can come boldly to Him any time I want?

When do I tend to panic, forgetting that God has my back?

Heart at Peace

"A heart at peace gives life to the body."

Proverbs 14:30

World leaders pursue it.  The Swiss and Norwegians give prizes to promote it.  Entertainers sing about it.  Philosophers wax poetic on the origins of it.  Religions claim to have it.  Talk of peace is everywhere, but is peace even possible apart from the One who created me?


The Dalai Lama said, "We can never obtain peace with the outer world until we make peace with ourselves."  
Mahatma Gandhi said, "Each one has to find his peace from within.  And peace to be real must be unaffected by the outside circumstances."
Buddha said, "Peace comes from within.  Do not seek it without."


Each of these men knew the importance of a heart at peace, but were confused about how to find it.  It comes not from within and cannot be found through sheer effort and determination.  Instead, peace comes from a mind that is focused on God and His ability to take care of me.  Rest is found in loving Him and His law, for then I am not fighting against His ways.    A sense of harmony permeates my life because I am reunited with God, now able to foster a personal relationship with Him because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. 


Peace is found in being right with God.  How do I know whether my heart is at peace?

Content

Here is my picture of contentment:  Sitting in a comfortable chair on a cold winter's day next to a blazing fire with a dog at my feet and a good book in my lap.  Aaahhh.  I'm more relaxed just thinking about that scene.  

Feeling satisfied and completely at ease with my circumstances is not a usual state for my heart.  Most of the time I am thinking of ways to improve the way I do things or how I can upgrade my possessions or about additions I can make to my home or yard to increase my quality of life.  I am usually not content.

The Apostle Paul knew how to be happy with what God had given him, whether in plenty or in need, well-fed or hungry.  He said the secret was to know that, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."  (Philippians 4:13)

True contentment has nothing to do with my circumstances, my possessions or my position.  Instead, it has everything to do with the One who provides all things.  God will get me through any situation if I would only trust Him.  This means I must give Him the control, allowing Him to choose how much I will have, or not have, and I will choose to be thankful for what He has given me, not pining away for what I lack.  

Turn of the 18th Century writer and preacher William Law said, "One who makes it a rule to be content in every part and accident of life because it comes from God praises God in a much higher manner than one who has some set time for the singing of psalms."  The bottom line is that when I choose to be thankful for the place God has put me, I am paying tribute to Him with my attitude.

A heart at peace keeps my focus on what I do have, not on what I don't have.  It is then that I am truly praising God.

Trusting

Playing on a teeter-totter is an exercise in trust.  If the person on the other end of the lever suddenly jumps off, I will crash to the ground and my faith in that person will fall as well.  But if that playmate instead keeps steady on their end, being mindful of my well-being when exiting, I know I am in good hands.  I would trust the second person more than the first.

In this same way God has proven himself to be completely trustworthy.  Over 300 of the prophecies told about the coming Messiah were fulfilled in the the birth, life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Moreover, there are over 2,000 total prophecies given in the Bible, all of which came true.  


Beyond the prophecies, there are hundreds of accounts of times that God came through for those who followed Him; He delivered Noah, his family and ark load of animals from the flood of judgment.  God asked Moses to do the impossible but made it possible by His mighty Hand.  He sent Gideon to war when He was outnumbered 300 to 1, yet secured him victory.  


In the same way, God will never let me fall and I can trust that He has my best interest at heart.  The psalmist reminds me that, "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD. . .he will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.  His heart is secure, he will have no fear."  Psalm 112:1, 7-8)


Trusting in God, though,  takes more than reading about all the ways God is dependable.  Building a trust relationship also means I will need to experience His times of deliverance for myself.  When I take a step of faith, getting in over my head out of obedience to Him instead of saying, "Oh, no, I can't do that.  I'm not ready for that yet,"  I am telling God that I have confidence that He will give me what I need to accomplish what He's put before me.  I am saying that I know that He's up for the job even if I'm not.  I am giving God the message that my life is in His hands.


 A heart at peace grows deep roots to feed on the living water offered only by God.. . and flourishes.  

Devoted

The blackberry vines threatened to overtake our yard.  At first it was kind of fun to have some blackberries right in our own backyard.  Then, the insidious vines began to encroach on our yard, reducing the size of our grassy area.  One day I'd had enough.  I declared war on the intruder.  

As part my anti-blackberry campaign, I needed to devote my full attention to the annihilation of this unrelenting menace.  Each day I dedicated some time to pulling vines out of the ground.  Once I reached the end of the yard, it was time to start over again at the other end, continuing by pulling out the vines that had recently sprouted.  I could never let my guard down.  Even today, 2 years later, I must do a weekly sweep of the area to remove any determined plants.  

My attention to God and His ways could be similarly attentive.  Just as it was unwise to leave any roots or stragglers when clearing the berry bushes, I must be equally as diligent when clearing things out of my life that dishonor and distract from God.  There are many activities, relationships and philosophies that seem harmless and even kind of interesting at first.  Soon, though, I will find that they will encroach on my heart, taking the attention that once was devoted to God.

Like the Israelites, I need to be careful when dealing with idols and false gods.  It was said that the heart of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah was at first, "devoted to the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah."  (2 Chronicles 17:6)  He was not just focused on God and His ways, but he was also diligent about removing from the presence of his people the temptation that would take his people away from God.

How many times I hang on to music, movies or magazines that dishonor God because it seems wasteful to throw them away.  Other times I feel justified in keeping objects or hobbies that tend to be obsessive for me because I've already invested so much time and money into them.  Or there are certain belief systems that seem right to me and I continue to support out of tradition but are actually in conflict with the message of the gospel.    

A heart at peace is intolerant of anyone or anything that takes away from my full devotion to God.  

Peace is possible.  As I give God more and more of my life to do with as He pleases, I am left with a peace that is inexplicable.  The evidence of this heart at peace is a sense of contentment, an ability to trust God, and a devotion to God and God alone.  This is truly a picture of good health!

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will seek peace with God by pursuing Him and Him alone.

What am I unwilling to let go of out of respect and reverence for God?

When is my heart discontent with the circumstance in which God has placed me?