Category: Christian Life

Christian Life

The Comfort of His Presence

RefreshHerLeave a comment

 

Image result for sitting at a red light

Imagine going to town this morning. You pull up to the red light and turn to see that the car in the lane next to you is someone that’s close to you – your husband, parent, pastor, or friend. You nod and wave, acknowledging their presence. The light turns green and you go on. When you arrive at the library to return your books, you open the car door and there’s that same person that was at the green light. They smile and watch as you go into the building. “I didn’t know we were going the same direction today,” you might think. You jump back in your car and head to the salon for your hair appointment. When you walk in, there sits that person again, reading a magazine. You laugh, perhaps, shake your head and walk into the room where your stylist is waiting for your arrival. Imagine that everywhere you went today that same person showed up. They didn’t threaten or frighten you, but you are very aware of their presence.

 What kind of difference would there be in your day today if you saw Jesus’ face in each of those scenarios? Think of it – at every turn, you see Christ. In the line in the grocery store, His gaze is on you. As you speak to your family, His ear is leaning your direction, listening. He is in the family room as you surf the Internet. He hears your conversations with your fellow employees. Would there be a difference in how you’d spend your day, in the things you would talk about, in how bold you would be to witness? I know it would for me, that’s why I often pray that the Lord would make me more aware of His presence in my life today, because He is there every single moment. Consider these verses:

Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.
Psalm 125:2 – As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
Proverbs 5:21 – For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.
Proverbs 5:21 – For the Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

Should this be a frightening thought for us? No, the more we come to know God, the more we understand Who He is and that He is there to be our Comforter, Guide and Friend.
Look beside you, and be comforted that He is with you there today and every day.
Denise Signature 150 px
Christian Life · Prayer

It Smells of the Lamp

RefreshHer2 Comments

I have parents that haven been a quilting duo! My dad, the engineer mind in the family, cuts the fabric squares. My mom, the crafter, sews them together, then Dad cuts them again to get them perfectly square. Each square gets a heavy ironing before it’s sewn again. The picture you see here is that of the pieces being laid out to see where each one should go. After placing and replacing, they will take this up very carefully, row after row and stack it the way it needs to be sewn together. Of course after the batting and backing are put behind it there’s all the hand quilting to be done. Whoa! Many, many hours go into the making of a quilt! However, when it’s all finished it’s not only warm and cozy, it is a piece of art!

This week as I was studying Proverbs 31 I read verse 18 –

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good; her candle goeth not out by night.

As I studied the last part of this verse, I learned that it was often said of an elaborate piece (of art, needlework, a literary work, etc), “It smells of the lamp.” That means that there were many long hours put into making that piece – so much that it even went into the night hours. You could tell by looking at it that it wasn’t done quickly; it took much labor and effort.

When you understand the hours of labor that a quilt takes you appreciate it all the more! When I look at the quilts that my parents have made for each of their children and grandchildren I am reminded of the sacrifice of time and labor that it took to make them. They “smell of the lamp.”

While I’ve pondered that phrase for the last several days, the cry of my heart to the Lord is that my prayer life would be what “smells of the lamp.” More and more I understand how weak I am and unable to do anything without God’s enablement and power in my life. Oh, that I would wake up in the morning with the burden to pray, go into the noon hour with prayer on my lips, enter the evening with a continued heart-cry to my God, and go to bed at night and be awakened to “turn on the lamp.”

Nothing else will go lacking if prayer is the center of my life. For when I am praying my needs are met, my steps directed, my thoughts established, my heart made right, and my burdens lifted. What a beautiful thing a prayer life like that would be.

Oh, God, may my prayer life smell of the lamp!
Christian Life · tongue

When You’re Slandered

RefreshHer3 Comments

Image result for gossip

Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one preacher said,

“Our people come to us and pour out their hears, confess certain sins and needs. Let’s do the same. Confession is good for the soul.” In due time all agreed. One confessed he liked to go to movies and would sneak off when away from his church. The second confessed to liking to smoke cigars and the third one confessed to liking to play cards. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn’t confess. The others pressed him saying, “Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?” Finally he answered, “It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here.”

We laugh at that story, but the truth is, there are people who love to share things about someone with anyone willing to listen. If you’ve ever been the one being talked about, you know how hurtful those words can be. No one likes to think that someone is talking about them, because usually what is shared isn’t completely the truth. What can we do about it? Aside from approaching the person who is the gossip, we really can’t stop people from saying what they will. The answer to handling words from others comes from the Scriptures.

In Psalm 119:23 the psalmist says, Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. I read that in my prayer time a couple days ago and it hit me like a ton of bricks – this is the way to respond when others speak ill about you! What did the psalmist do when princes spoke against him? He thought on God’s Word. What might he have thought?

  • Psalm 56:9 Lord, I thank you that you are for me!
  • Psalm 73:25 Lord, you’re all I the approval I want.
  • Psalm 18:20 I thank you, Lord that you know my innocence and You will handle this for me.

There could be many other truths to meditate on when someone is speaking evil against you. What a blessing it is that the Lord knows and He cares. If we meditate on His Word instead of the gossip we will be encouraged instead of enraged, humbled instead of hurt.

If you’re going through a time of slander, be like the psalmist and run to the Word and think on its truths instead!

Denise Signature 150 px

Christian Life · obedience · Uncategorized

Frogs In the Bed

RefreshHerLeave a comment

Image result for frogs

When my girls were at home, I usually knew when one of them had found a spider somewhere – it came through the high pitch in her scream. She and her sister both have a huge hatred for the eight-legged critters. I would follow the scream to the room where the creature has her cornered and take off my shoe and – WHAP! No more spider. They don’t frighten me. However, put a cricket, grasshopper or frog in my path and my skin crawls! I can’t stand for anything to jump at me!

When I read the story of the plagues of Egypt and see that the first plague that came upon the Egyptians was frogs, my mind pictures the terror I would have experienced if I had been there. Exodus 8:3 says that the river brought forth the frogs abundantly. There weren’t just a few; they were everywhere! The Scriptures goes on to tell us exactly where they were.

  1. They were in the bedroom – That would mean on the floor, on the dresser, in their clothes, overhead in the light fixtures, on the ceiling fan. There was no comfort.
  2. They were IN the bed – on top of the bedspread, between the sheets, on their once soft blankets. There was no sleeping!
  3. They were in the houses of the servants – Every room, every floor space, every cupboard was covered. There were no Egyptians spared.
  4. They were ON the people – sitting on their heads when they stood, jumping on them when they sat, “boinging” in front of their path when they tried to run away. There was no escaping.
  5. They were in the oven – They couldn’t even bake their frozen pizza without encountering these slippery amphibians! There was no eating!
  6. They were in the kneading troughs – The dough that was left rising in the trough turned from raisin bread to froggy bread. There was no baking.

The sad part of the whole story of the plagues is that it all occurred because of the Pharaoh’s unwillingness to obey the Lord. If the man had only done what was right and let the people go, recognizing that he was no contest for the God of the universe, he could have saved himself and all the Egyptians lots of discomfort! Oh, at times he said he would let the people go, but then he would reason to himself why that wouldn’t be good for what he wanted, and he would change his mind. You’d think he’d catch on after a while, wouldn’t you?

But wait a minute…how about you and me? How often do we know what the right thing is that we should do, but we turn a deaf ear and do what we want instead?

For example:

  • It might be in the area of tithing. We know we should give to the Lord first and trust Him to care for our needs, but we begin to reason our way out of the right.
  • It might be in the area of being committed to our local church in attending regularly and serving the Lord faithfully, but we think of all that would change in our agenda, and we have a change of heart.
  • Perhaps someone is in a difficult marriage and the inclination in their heart is to leave, but yet they know the truth of the Word of God says they need to stay married. They know the truth, but they’re weary from it all, and instead of waiting to see God do a miracle, they just want out!

The truth is that God will allow us to choose, just as he allowed Pharaoh to make his choices. However, we need to remember that it will not be without consequences. Let’s call the consequences “frogs in the bed!” When we decide to go our own way, we are in essence saying, “Okay Lord, go ahead and send the frogs!” We want our own way so badly that we’re willing to reap what we have sown.

What a loving God we have that warns us before we make our choices! The Lord sent Moses to tell the Pharaoh what would happen if he didn’t obey, but he stubbornly hardened his heart. The Scriptures warn us of the consequences of our sin, too. It’s our choice to obey, or choose the frogs. Doesn’t seem like too hard a choice, does it? Let’s ask the Lord today to help us to obey Him and enjoy the delight of pleasing Him and bringing glory to His name so there will be no more frogs in the bed!

Denise Signature 150 px

Christian Life

Forgiven Much; Love Much

RefreshHerLeave a comment

On our wedding day, the clear June skies of the daytime turned to the typical evening summer pop-up storm.  After our seven O’clock ceremony was over and vows had been exchanged, we were to proceed to the fellowship hall, which was in another building connected to the church sanctuary by a sidewalk with a slight covering. The South Carolina winds had blown the rain steadily and forcefully, and the sidewalk had become a bit of a river.  My brand new husband saw the situation and realized that my wedding gown was in danger of disaster.  Without skipping a beat, he swooped me up in his arms and carried me safely to the dry floor of the fellowship hall!  A romanticist at heart would look at that scenario and say, “Now that’s sacrifice!”  They wouldn’t be far from the truth, but I believe sacrifice has a little more at risk.

Image result for image of woman pouring ointment on Jesus feet

Take a look at the woman in Luke 7:36-50, she came to pour out ointment on Jesus’ feet, spite the risk of the fears we mentioned earlier.  As she began to pour out the ointment, she began to weep, realizing the huge debt of her sin, and that this Man had forgiven her – of. it. all.
She had a dark past, full of stories and men, and ruined lives, I’m sure, but it was GONE.  Her tears thundered at His feet in gratitude, and her hair became the towel in which they were dried.

This story reminds us of a couple huge truths:

  1. Any sin is debt and we’re all sinners.  We are all guilty before a holy God.  We owe a debt we cannot pay, so Jesus stepped in and paid for it ALL with His blood.
  2. There is no sin too great for God to forgive.  None.  Every sin is covered, even those committed over and over.
  3. We now owe a debt of gratitude to our Savior.  With our sins covered, that debt is cleared, but how will we show our gratefulness?  With sacrifice.

“One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving”
― Amy Carmichael

Jesus tells the Pharisee that she, who had been forgiven much, loves much.  We see that by her demonstration at Jesus’ feet.
How much do you and I really love Jesus?  Are we willing to give even when it will cost us?  Oh, we may be happy to serve when it’s convenient, or easy or something we love to do, but what if it gets us out of our comfort zone?  What if it’s dirty?  What if it’s risky? Are we willing to pour it all out?  That is the true demonstration of how much we love.

As we consider all that Christ has covered for each of us, may we be willing to give and serve Him in a way that is sacrificial because we love Him SO MUCH.

How are you regularly demonstrating sacrificial love for Christ?  How do others know that you love Him so much?

Denise Signature 150 px