WEEDS

If we confess our sins, He is

 faithful and just to forgive us our

sins and to cleanse us from all

unrighteousness.

I John 1:9

Well, I finally did it....I did some weed pulling around my rose bushes that are up against the front porch of the house. I've noticed them increasing around the bushes but have very little energy to get down on the ground and do the pulling necessary. By now, there are weeds I'm quite acquainted with. Some are just little green tufts that are easy to pull. Having had a good rain in the last couple of days, I knew they would come up with little resistance.

The next weeds are those that are a little more mature. They take some pulling. They almost look at you like a rebellious teenager daring to be pulled and yanked on. They are tough to pull out but not totally impossible.

Then there are the wide spreading ones that look like they should be on the lawn itself and not near any rose bushes. They require more attention. One can trim some of their leaves away but then the tugging and pulling must be applied. It's not a place to use a shovel. I could dig some of the dirt from around them but the dirt wasn't the problem... a well established root was the problem. The long root secured the bunch of grass but it did more. With some effort, I found two places where I pulled single roots that were close to two feet long. Those roots were also generating small shoots of grass on down by another rose bush.

I came in the house, hot and dripping from sweat. Took time to cool off and in thinking of the process I had just participated in, I found myself comparing all that pulling and tugging with sin than can so easily take root in our lives.

Sin has beginnings and that's the time to prayerfully get them out of our lives. That's easier than the next step when a particular sin can become a little more at home in us. Ridding ourselves of it can take a lot more effort. Gone unattended that sin can take very deep root, growing and even multiplying itself. It may even become comfortable for some depending on what it is.

The key is to allow the Holy Spirit to convict us and we respond in repentance no matter the sin, how old or how deep it runs. Taking care of it in it's early stages can be much easier. Any of the processes must be done through our love of Jesus who paid all that we might have victory over sin that can so easily beset us and take root in us.

Thank You Jesus for loving us and forgiving us when we allow sin to invade our lives. Thank you too through Your Spirit encouraging us to repent of all sin that loves taking root in us. We praise You for the victory and freedom we have in You...In Your precious name, .Amen

PRECIOUS SCENTS

Now thanks be to God who always

leads us in triumph in Christ, and

through us diffuses the fragrance

of His knowledge in every place.

For we are to God the fragrance

of Christ among those who are

being saved and among those

who are perishing.

II Corinthians 2:14,15

The last time my grand girls were here, something interesting happened and it was just a moment. We were standing in the front yard and I noticed Hannah kind of looking up and taking some deep breaths. She wasn't trying to bring any notice to herself, but I asked if she was okay. She told me that she liked breathing in the air here where I live that it smells so good. Living here, I don't pay much attention to it but know the air is definitely different from other places we have lived. Trees breathe. They take in the bad stuff and give off oxygen...the good stuff. It makes a great difference in the air compared to other locations.

Our sense of smell is something we take for granted. One of the problems with aging among others is that the elderly tend to loose some of their sense of smell. Smell may not rank up with the senses of hearing and sight but we would greatly miss it if some physical problem took it away from us.

Just think of the things we smell. Smell alerts us often to things that must be taken care of RIGHT NOW. For instance...burning food on the stove, a baby's dirty diaper, overly used kitty litter, smoke from somewhere in the house, garbage, and so many other things. However, we love the sweet smelling aromas we have come to know such as: fall leaves, bread baking in the oven, familiar perfume worn by a grandmother, flowers of various types, lotioned baby after it's bath, husbands after-shave lotion, etc.

There is a certain aroma all of we believers are expected to exude. It's not a smell that comes out of a bottle, oven or flower garden. However it is a sweet spiritual aroma that comes through us to others that is only possible through our close relationship to Jesus Christ. It is an aroma from us to both saved and unsaved people. It's a fragrance that can't be purchased or given to us as a gift from a friend. It comes through our spirit because of who we are in Christ. That fragrance can be affected by our closeness to Jesus or lack thereof. I've been around some who claim Christ in their lives who because of sinful lifestyles, don't smell so good spiritually speaking. Perhaps bad choices have been made and one's spiritual fragrance is affected.

The sweet aroma of Jesus that can come through us to others is not only a joy to us but can be of an encouragement to others who come in contact with us. It should be a part of our witness and testimony before others. May we so live for Jesus that His sweet aroma will be a blessing in the lives of others.

Father, thank You for Jesus and all the benefits He brings into our lives. Thank You for loving us so much that You want to use us to be an influence for You. Keep us close to Yourself that Your sweetness will continue to rub off on us but only for Your glory. In Jesus' name...Amen 

OVERWHELMED

When my heart is overwhelmed;

lead me to the rock that is

high than I.

Psalm 61;2

For some readers, some of what I'm about to say will sound familiar. I recently taught a Sunday school lesson speaking of God as our rock. In the book of Psalms, the word ROCK can be found 29 times. Sometimes the reference to the word may refer to an actual stone but most of the time, it speaks of God as our Rock.

In many of my Bibles, I have written a date or time beside a particular verse depending on the event at the time. The above verse says two things: 2/24/22---5:10 AM the time of my husbands Homegoing. I may have not looked all that overwhelmed at the time or even some days later but it's a good thing no one could take a peek inside of me. In that moment when Brian went to Heaven, I had never felt loss like that nor have I felt it since. We all have times in our lives when we are overwhelmed, but may not know the use of that word.

When overwhelmed, we are usually left with our lives turned upside down because of circumstances that have come our way . It may be just one major event that throws us or it can be a series of events that seem to come in bunches. We can be overwhelmed when a series of really good things come our way. We don't know what to say in the middle of all the really good things. No matter the causes, being overwhelmed can put us almost in a state of shock, incapable of the ability of sorting through all that seems so jumbled in our thinking.

Being overwhelmed at any time is very human no matter the circumstances. I'm grateful we have a Heavenly Father who is never overwhelmed. He always has things thought out and planned well. I don't have to know He does it. I'm just glad He can take the wheel in our lives when we can't seem to even walk a straight line.

I'm so grateful for all of God's open doors in my life. He's never late but on time when it comes to our needs and how we are to deal with them. There are no impossibilities with Him. When overwhelmed, He always knows what to do. I'm so grateful for His leadership, my Rock, who is so much higher than I am and who can take care of my overwhelming moments. Such moments seem so personal though and He helps us deal with them individually. Such was especially true for me on Thursday, 2/24/22 at 5:10 AM when bidding farewell to the dearest on earth to me. I have many friends who in this moments know exactly what I mean and we have seen God's sufficiency in great measure. We have come to know the strength and power of our Rock that provides for us all we need in our overwhelming moments.

Thank You Father for leading us through the overwhelming times in our lives when we don't know which way to turn. You are a wonderful Father and we are so grateful for your love and care in the overwhelming times that come into our lives.. We love you. In Jesus' precious name...Amen 

THE BEST OF DAYS

This is the day the Lord has

made; we will rejoice and

be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Through the years, holidays have been very important to us. For many years we had the usual holidays we celebrated in several ways. Then came the special months we were to be aware of for the sake of certain groups. I've never figured out how we're supposed to celebrate some of those. I also notice on my computer being told of special days we are to support such as: Donut days, Pet days, Cousin days and it goes on to be beyond sensible. Many folks I think just come up with these days in order to take space on their computers.

The holidays we've celebrated for many years will always be the favorites to those of us who have grown up with them from childhood. In my early years, Christmas was really special. In those days my sister and I would get boxes of gifts in the mail from relatives. But Christmas also had a deep and serious meaning. Same for Easter. Yes, there were Easter baskets and perhaps a new dress, but we knew why we were celebrating that holiday time.

Fourth of July is similar in our thinking as those mentioned. The difference is the participation of community for this special day that honors our country, it's heritage and history. For this holiday across our country, groups meet to celebrate with community picnics, parades and yes, fireworks. The sense of community and patriotism is catching, like it or not. I feel bad for folks today who would rather just ignore this holiday and all it means to we normal Americans.

Where we Christians are concerned, I guess I feel we should be ashamed of ourselves. Yes, we love our holidays. They give us a rest and change in the average hum-drum of life and they serve that purpose. We can see in Jewish history, celebration of special days but most are based on traditional and historic events many of which we can find in our Bibles.

None-the-less, no matter our beliefs or reasons for our celebration, we read in Psalm 118 that for we believers, each day we wake up breathing, is to be regarded as a very special day unto itself. That means there will be days with no birthdays, Christmas presents or new dresses...every day is God's day that He has cut out just for Himself and us. Each day is worthy of celebration even beyond Thanksgiving where we can enjoy the goodness of God in our lives. We often refer to Sunday as the Lord's Day. That's okay but Scripture tells us that every day is His day...so no matter our earthly holidays, may we appreciate and celebrate our Lord's day...every day.

Father, you are so worthy of our daily love and appreciation for all the goodness You our into our lives every single day. Thank You for Jesus who on a particular day when He gave His life for us, we now can celebrate every day. Thank You for our days with You and may we live them to the fullest. In Jesus' precious name...Amen 

HIS PEACE

Peace I leave with you, My

peace I give to you; not as

the world gives do I give to

you. Let not your heart be

troubled, neither let it be

afraid.

John 14:27

There are so many wonderful promises in God's Word. I guess there are those scholars who have attempted to count them, but if we knew every one of them, we would find there are those that speak the loudest to us in certain situations of life.

For a long time, I have dearly loved John 14-17. Jesus was trying to prepare some very nervous and concerned disciples of upcoming events in His life. These bits of news were more than concerning to these men (11 at this time) who had been such a part of Jesus' ministry. Having Him gone from their lives just couldn't be imagined.

Jesus promised to leave with them a gift, the gift of peace. Peace isn't the absence of problems and conflict. Peace is much more than that. We expect peace to come to us from outward sources, such as there being no more war, riots, family battles, and all the other negatives life can throw at us. Some of those things may be resolved, but will never bring with them a true, genuine peace. Because of our heritage handed down from Adam and those genes that reside in us, true peace cannot be conjured up or paid for in any way.

I have found it interesting in reading the epistles of Paul that almost to a book, Paul greets his readers with “Grace and peace be unto you.” He doesn't say “peace and grace” and there's a reason for that. You see, without grace there can be no peace. I often say regarding deep thinking theologians who argue who authored Hebrews, that Paul's opening phraseology is not found in Hebrews so mark him off your list.

The only peace we can know is the peace God gives us at our initial moment of accepting His grace into our lives through His Son's sacrifice on our behalf. Peace, that calm in any storm, comes through the Holy Spirit indwelling us with the assurance that all is well with our Father in control of our lives. Peace is a constant when we are in Christ. Peace is ours in the good days as well as the really bad ones.

However, notice Jesus inserts words that throw some responsibility into our laps...”Let not....” Those two words hold us accountable in choosing peace over trouble and fear. God's peace is more than a gift. We must do our part to accept that gift, not allowing all the negatives in our lives to rule and reign. A gift isn't totally a gift until the receiver accepts it from the giver. God's gift of salvation won't be forced on us, but without that gift there will be no grace or peace to get us through life in our crazy, evil world. May we LET God be all He wants us to be for His glory.

Thank You Father for so many precious promises in Your Word. May we not let our hearts be troubled or fearful but rest in Your promises of peace we can have from You in abundance. Thank You, Jesus for Your gift of salvation and thus, Your peace....Amen

BE PREPARED

Eye has not seen, nor ear

heard, nor have entered

into the heart of man the

things which God has prepared

for those who love Him.

I Corinthians 2:9

Happy are the memories of my days as a Brownie Scout. I loved my tacky brown uniform that I wore on those school days when our troop met after school. I loved all the learning that prepared us for the day when we would “fly up” to the Girl Scout level. That day I remember as well as any of my three graduations.

In Girl Scouts, one of our main motto's was that we should always BE PREPARED. I wasn't quite sure for what at the time, but came to know it was an overall goal, for among others was to be a person who stayed well prepared no matter the task.

We all have lived lives of being prepared. From those earlier education days, I remember preparing for tests, as well as other educational endeavors that required some work ahead of time. For instance, most of us prepared for a career, wedding, coming baby, church responsibilities, retirement and for most, even the developing a will for after our demise.

I live where I can look out a window and see mountains...God's creation like no place I've ever seen or driven through. God in all His power, needed no time to prepare for all creation that came to be. There were no tools or materials to be gathered. He wonderfully made everything out of nothing. All of that everything was in preparation for mankind and a resulting family with whom He could fellowship. I like to think of God having fun in this whole process. In it all, He stood back and declared how good it all was.

There is one secret God withholds from us as seen in the above verse. We see that there is no way for us to know all God is and has prepared for our futures. Our eyes can't see it nor our ears comprehend it all by hearing. Even our heart can't grasp all God has in store for you and me. God has and continues to prepare a life for us we won't fully know until we are with Him. Such anticipation should be ours.

Father, we know You can't show is all You have prepared for our future days here and soon in Your presence. We are grateful that You love us so much to make such preparations for our Homecoming. In Jesus name...Amen 

 

ALWAYS WINNERS

For whatever is born of God

overcomes the world. And this

is the victory that has

overcome the world...our faith.

I John 5:4

Over the last few hours, I've been interested in watching some interviews of several young college-age students. It was interesting to watch and listen to them as these weren't the usual interviews we have seen over the last longest. Individually, they made no claim to have been a part of a sit in on a highway, nor had they run into a store and then run out with stolen goods in their hands. If they had done any of these things and more, there would have been more interviews by the press than they or we could have handled.

These young ladies are a part of a team that had just won the NCAA college championship softball game. Perhaps it didn't come as a surprise to most as this was this team's third championship in a row. For hundreds and thousands who might have seen any of these interviews, something was drastically different from most of what we see under similar circumstances.

What made them so different from the norm? Well, there were somethings that really weren't different. They were very talented young women in the sport they had chosen to be a part of. To be a successful team, there had to be an adherence to authority. Someone had to be the boss to lead that team whether winning or losing. They spoke of their love of their teammates in the whole thing. They had the support of their university, family, friends and fans. However, any team can have those things going for them.

Having watched some of the games played in various cities, I would say that most teams had what this Oklahoma team had in the way of training, authority and support. They may have had the same individual qualities, but in this moment, one team came out on top. The young women interviewed often made a comment to the effect that when it came to their faith, it wouldn't have mattered if they had won or lost. They had won and gave all credit to Jesus Christ and their faith in Him. With Him, they would always be winners no matter the circumstances life may come their way. There were no apologies for this stand, nothing bragging...only in their Savior.

We too are members of the greatest team ever formed. Sometimes we focus too much on others and things while not giving full credit to our great Coach...God Himself who has provided for us our salvation through His Son as well as His Holy Spirit Who is constantly in each believer to consistently train and coach us through God's rule book...His Holy Word. Although a part of His great team, our Father loves us on a very individual basis. Maintaining that relationship is more vital than can be described. We won't always win, but He will. He will always win in the end.

Thank You Father that win or lose, You are my everything. Help me to stay in training through Your Holy Spirit..praying, in Your Word, being a witness to those around me. Thank You for Your love and forgiveness when I don't deserve either. I love you....In Jesus' name...Amen

UNDER THE HOOD

….that He would grant you, according

to the riches of His glory, to be

strengthened with might through

His spirit in the inner man.

Ephesians 3:16

When I got out of college, I wanted in the worst way to get a car, a nice used car that I could call my own. It didn't look like a big problem in the selection of such because my Dad was about the best in our area when it came to automobile mechanics. He could sit on our front porch, a car pass by and he could tell you what was wrong with that car. The driver just didn't know it yet.

We looked at some cars. I usually liked the color and interior but my Dad went under the hood. He could tell in a moment that not one car we looked at was minus a problem, especially with the engine. Each car looked really good as far as I was concerned but my Dad with his expertise knew no matter how attractive the car, it probably wouldn't go very far for very long.

No matter how good some cars looked, any one of which I would like to have had, my Dad could lift up the hood of the car and point out to me already existing problems I would have to deal with. One car had a total break of the frame probably due to an accident. My Dad saw it immediately and pointed it out to me. The car sales place had spray painted the the entire frame of the car after welding and smoothing out the problem.

There are a lot of things that can be going on inside the hood of a used car. I was happy just looking at the shiny outside, radio and smooth car seats. The outside doesn't always tell the whole story. It's really more important to know what's going on under the hood.

It can be the same with we Christians. The outside can look pretty good. We look all polished spiritually while we know things aren't right under the hood of our lives. Under that hood can be real damage we refuse to deal with. Perhaps our spiritual engines are running low on fuel that comes only through the Holy Spirit filling us with His Word. We need the oil of God's anointing in our lives. Our inner needs may be great while we look polished and in tact on the outside.

Wouldn't hurt us anytime to do a spiritual maintenance check, not to impress anyone but for God's glory that we will operate to our fullest for Him.

Thank You Father for Your close presence in our lives...for Your Holy Spirit's prompting when we might need a little spiritual over-hauling. Thank You Jesus for all You mean to each of us individually. In Your precious name....Amen 

KINDNESS NEEDED

And be ye kind, one to another, tender hearted,

forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's

sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32

It doesn't take much intelligence to see that in our day, kindness doesn't seem to be a goal in the lives of many folks. Kind folks are usually very tender-hearted. The emotion of tenderness just seems to go hand in hand with acts of kindness. One who is given to kindness usually has a very tender feeling toward other people.   Kindness isn't reserved for folks we know personally. There are many times in a store, restaurant, gas station where we come in contact with folks we don't know who may need a kind word, smile or even help.

One of the things I had to learn shortly after Brian's passing was how to put gas in the car. In time past, years ago, I put gas in a car but not recently. Those gas pumps can be very complicated. I usually get my gas in a local place out side our IGA store. There are always lots of visitors and thus folks putting gas in their cars. In these beginning days, I know I looked like a fish out of water trying to figure out what buttons to push and getting the heavy hose nozzle near the opening of the gas tank. There have been several times when gentlemen have come up to me offering to put the gas in my car, even showing me the right buttons to push. All was done with a smile and a good bit of sympathy.

Sometimes we miss the times when someone shows us kindness that are perhaps not as noticeable. There are times we too, show or express kindness when we wouldn't put a name to it...when we compliment someone, express concern about someone's health (and willing to hear the story), expressing gratitude for someone else's kindness.

Notice that along with kindness and tenderness in the above verse is the word forgiveness. I don't think we would consider that to be an act of kindness but it really is in the strongest of terms. This is something that comes hard for us, especially when we have been deeply hurt or offended. This is a really big area where we can be like Jesus. Where would we be without His loving kindness in our lives. With Jesus' sacrifice, we see and experience kindness, tender-heartedness and forgiveness all wrapped up in one beautiful package...ours for the opening at any time, any place, under any circumstances. We are truly a blessed people.

Thank You Father for the example of Jesus who extended kindness in some of the worst of events in His own life. Help us to want more and more to be like Your Son. Strengthen us with Your Holy Spirit so as to know and serve You better. In Jesus' name....Amen 

KING WHO?

Therefore God also has highly

exalted Him and given Him the name

which is above every name.

That at the name of Jesus, every

knee should bow, of those in heaven,

and of those on earth, and of those under

the earth.

Philippians 2:10,11

My grandparents on my mother's side of the family immigrated from Scotland soon after they were married. My grandmother (Mam) always kept up with things back in the “auld country.” I loved her Scottish brogue or accent as we would call it.

I didn't hear much about the British Isles until things really began happening with the royal family. Princess Elizabeth wasn't even immediately in line for the throne...her uncle was. When her father passed away, her uncle renounced the throne in order to marry a divorced lady he had fallen in love with. In those days, he couldn't be king under those circumstances. That left Princess Elizabeth to be queen.

We barely, and I mean barely had a TV in those early days. We watched more snow than we did programs but late at night, we could get good reception if the antenna was in just the right position. I recall getting up in the wee hours of the morning to watch Princess Elizabeth's wedding. After her father died and she came to the throne, again in pj's and half asleep, we got up very early to watch the coronation of the queen. After that we have watched weddings and funerals, every one. My grandmother is long gone but I would not feel right if I didn't keep with the tradition.

Money by the boatloads are spent on all of those occasions. In every instance, “God Save the Queen(King) is sung and you had better not be seen NOT singing it. I realize it's more of a government thing but there are bows and curtsies all around. England isn't the only country with royalty and their celebrations...we just don't hear about the others.

When watching recent goings on though with folks doing their bowing and curtsies, I was reminded of the above verse The day will come when there is only one KING and no matter the person good or bad, position or life experience, knees will bow to only one person...our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

King Jesus, we worship You this day. May we never bow the knee to another entity...only You. We exalt Your name above all others and love You more than we can say for all You have done for each of us. In Your precious, royal name..Amen