A NOSE FOR GOD

 A NOSE FOR GOD

In my neighborhood this weekend, many more houses than usual were putting up Christmas decorations and I did too. Along with my nativity scene, I like to put up Rudolph the red-nose reindeer because he reminds me of how God communicates His insight to us through our spiritual five senses, the sense of smell being one of them. And here’s an example of how they can work:

 

When I was 21, I was a nurse’s assistant in the hospital. I walked the antiseptic-green hallway of the orthopedic floor and smelled that awful odor once again.

 

I was enrolled in a Bible class and just beginning to pay attention to how the Holy Spirit works in me. I could smell cancer. At first, I thought it was just a smell that came with cancer, but when I asked, I found out that no one else could smell it. God was using my spiritual sense of smell to point out certain patients that needed special prayer and compassion.

 

What about our visual senses? Maybe because I’m an artist, but God often will show me a picture, a vision. This morning when we were talking and praying, I saw (in a visual vignette) a tall confident man standing up with a large group of weaker people huddled below him. There was something unusual about this man. He was more like a robot. He had no compassion. The people were like tools. He used them and gave them to others to use, but he personally had no love for them. I’m not going to mention names, but I knew who this man was, and with a little more insight from God, I became aware of the story behind this man and others like him.

 

Years ago, I wanted to buy some new furniture. I prayed about it and I remember getting a mental picture, in color, of three pieces of furniture: two nice dark cherry chairs and a leather recliner in the same dark color. I kept seeing that picture every time I prayed for my furniture. It was the Lord’s way of assuring me that I could have them. In a couple of months, I found all the pieces on sale and was able to buy all three without going into debt.

 

What about hearing? People hear the voice of the Lord in several different ways. He can talk in an audible voice, seeming so natural that the person might look around to see who’s there. When the Lord talks to us from within ourselves it can sound like our own voice or even the voice of someone we know. Often the Lord speaks to our spirit in a “still small voice” from deep within or we get a feeling of just knowing something that we hadn’t thought of ourselves.

 

A spiritual sense of taste? There are times when I've taken a taste of something and though it didn't annoy my regular taste buds, I knew I wasn't supposed to eat it. One time I got the message, but I took a couple extra bites anyway and felt bad all afternoon.

 

As for the spiritual sense of touch, there have been times when I've nearly jumped away from someone who wanted to touch me and pass on something bad, like in the movie “Fallen”. On the other hand, the spiritual sense of touch comes into play often. Sometimes, by the spirit, I know to touch someone’s arm, to pass the love of God to them.  Nothing weird, just compassion and God’s love. I really don’t even think about it too much; I just do it.

 

The Christ in us will guide us and let us know the will of God in every situation. How does this work? Through the guidance of the written word and through the spiritual five senses we receive when we get born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

Hebrews 5:14 tells us:

 

“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

 

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

 

In other words, if we want to grow up, we need to exercise our spiritual five senses; we need to use them. As we practice using our spiritual five senses, we begin to have insight into spiritual things about people and situations. It says in Luke 5:22 that “Jesus perceived their thoughts.” And in Luke 6:8 “He knew their thoughts.” Knowing a person’s motivation, or the source of what they say or do, helps us to get the Lord’s strategy for our part in handling the situation or person. Do we need this? I’d say a definite YES.

 

In a world where people twist words, and they don’t really say what they mean, the Lord Jesus knows already what’s in their hearts. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit in us, it’s easy for Him to let us know the truth of what’s really going on, so we can not only be protected, but help others as well.

 

If we are willing, the Lord will teach us more about what our spiritual senses can tell us and how to listen better. We will become more acutely aware of His presence, live on a higher spiritual level, and be of more real help to people and the world around us.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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NEW THANKSGIVING

 NEW THANKSGIVING

On this holiday, I like to go back and read the story of the first American Thanksgiving. God did some amazing things to bring it all together. His divine providence provided such a remarkable event, that we continue to celebrate it today. In reading this story, we give God the opportunity to open our eyes to several important life lessons, good ones take hold of and remember. How about reading this to your children, and the people you spend Thanksgiving with, and talking about the new things you learn?

The Pilgrims had the first official American Thanksgiving celebration with Squanto and his newly adopted Native American tribe. This was the Pilgrims’ second year in America. During their first year, half of the 102 Pilgrims died. Of the 50 who remained, only six or seven were strong enough to care for the others. But God had a plan for these people. A Native American man, Squanto, enter these Pilgrims’ lives to teach these new Americans how to survive.

The leader of the Pilgrims was William Bradford. He wrote about his experiences with Squanto. It’s in old English, but we can still understand it:

“They (as many as were able) began to plant ther corne, in which servise Squanto stood them in great stead, showing them both ye maner how to set it, and after how to dress & tend it. Also he tould them excepte they got fish & set with it (in these old grounds) it would come to nothing, and he showed them yt in ye midle of Aprill they should have store enough come up ye brooke, by which they begane to build, and taught them how to take it, and wher to get other provisions necessary for them; all which they found true by trial & experience.

“And thus they found ye Lord to be with them in all their ways, and to blesse their outgoings & incomings, for which let his holy name have ye praise for ever, to all posteritie.”

Bradford added: “Squanto… was a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation.”

Squanto was a willing teacher. He taught the Pilgrims how to find eels and trap deer. He showed them how to net birds, how to grind corn, and how to find berries. He taught them how to hunt raccoons, bears, otters, and beavers. He taught them how to fish in the bay and along the coast in the summer, and how to cut holes in the ice to catch pike, perch, and bream in the winter.

Squanto’s life itself was amazing; how God took bad circumstances and turned them into good for both Squanto and the Pilgrims. In 1605, a member of the Native American Patuxet tribe, Squanto was captured by an English explorer and taken to England where he learned to speak English. In 1614 Captain John Smith brought him back to America, but he was captured again and taken to Spain to be sold as a slave. Local Catholic friars rescued him and introduced him to Christianity.

He went back to England and got on a ship to his native America. But when he got home, he found that all of his tribe had been killed by a plague. The sudden death of the whole tribe scared the neighboring tribes, and so they never went onto the property, making it available for the Pilgrims. Also because of the odd circumstances of the tribe’s annihilation, the other tribes didn’t attack the Pilgrims, and Squanto facilitated a peace treaty that lasted over 50 years.

With Squanto’s help, the Pilgrims’ second winter in America was far better than the first. William Bradford remembered the habit of the Dutch, who celebrated their freedom from the Spanish with a holiday every October. Bradford decreed a day to set aside so that all the Pilgrims might “after a more special manner, rejoice together.”

The Pilgrims gathered their food to feed the fifty of them, but Bradford sent Squanto to invite the chief of his tribe, who gladly came with 90 of his men, tripling the size of hungry mouths. The chief must have realized they needed more food, and he sent five of his men out. They came back with five deer and started celebrating. They ate deer, turkey, fish, lobster, eels, vegetables, cornbread, berries, pies and popcorn that the Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to make. They competed in games of wrestling, shooting, and running. The chief had such a good time he and his men stayed and celebrated for three days.

The first harvest feast of the Pilgrims was more than just a time to eat together. It was a whole celebration of God’s blessing. They had survived in this new land, and in their second year, they were beginning to succeed and grow.

Love, Carolyn

If you’d like to read more about this time in America, I recommend America’s Providential History by Mark Beliles and Stephen McDowell and William Bradford: Plymouth’s Faithful Pilgrim by Gary Schmidt.

CLOTHES FROM GOD

 CLOTHES FROM GOD

God sent Moses to the Egyptian Pharaoh with a message: “Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, ‘Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, ‘Let my people go’” (Exod. 5:1). But the Pharaoh wouldn’t do it, so God sent plagues throughout the land, but the Pharaoh still wouldn’t give in. Finally, God told Pharaoh that if he didn’t let the Israelites go, all the firstborn would die. To protect the Israelites, God told them to put lamb’s blood on the top of their front door and on the sides.

 

“For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you”(Exod.12:23).

The blood was like a huge body wrap over the whole house, so that the destroyer would know it couldn’t touch that house.

“And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead” (Exod. 12:29-30).

The Egyptians were so scared, they rushed the Israelites out as fast as they could. “The Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, ‘We be all dead men’” (v. 33). The Egyptians saw that our God is a God of action, and if he could kill all the firstborn, he could kill them too!

Today, the blood over our houses is not that of lambs, but, the blood of Jesus, and it protects us same way the blood protected the Israelites in Egypt. Every day when Jane and I pray, we symbolically spiritually pour the blood of Jesus over our house, our property, our neighborhood, and our bodies.

The protection of Jesus is always close. It’s kind of like the inner garment Jesus wore himself, like a body wrap. It was a special undergarment that was worn next to the skin. It had no seams, so there was no breach in its protection. It was such a unique piece of clothing that even when he was crucified and the soldiers divided up his clothes, they were afraid to cut the inner garment, so instead, they gambled for it.

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat[undergarment]: now the coat[undergarment] was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, ‘Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be’” (John 19:23-24).  

 

In Isaiah 61:1-3, we read this about some clothing Jesus would give us:  “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. . . to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

 

The “garment of praise” is a protection from the spirit of heaviness. We put it on with righteous pride like the banner of victory Moses held up for Joshua when he was fighting the Amalekites. We praise God and continue to carry the banner of victory, claiming it high in our minds and in our mouths.

 

“And Moses said unto Joshua, ‘Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.’ So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

 

“And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

 

“And Joshua discomfited [overthrew] Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

 

“And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’ And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: 

 

The name Jehovah-nissi means “the Lord my banner, the Lord my victory.” (Exod.17: 9-15).

 

As God promised, He would wipe out all the Amalekites, and though they were not all destroyed in this battle with Joshua, the very last ones were destroyed by Solomon’s sons later in history.

 

Another important part of our attire is the shield of truth.

 

“His truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (Ps. 91:4).

 

The Hebrew word for shield indicates that it is a large shield that covers the whole body. It has fierce, sharp protrusions that are pointed like hooks. It guards by prickliness and is piercingly cold. It’s the “cold truth’ and people don’t like it, but we’ve found out that God’s truth isn’t always the cuddly kind, right? Look closely at the shield in the painting by Steve Gould, that I’ve included here. I think it’s pretty awesome!

 

So what do we look like today in our God clothes? We have the covering protection of the blood, the body wrap of Jesus, the garment of praise in our mouths to keep us from getting depressed, the powerful and prickly shield of truth, and we’re carrying the banner of God’s victory into every battle we enter.

 

Go get ‘em!

 

Love, Carolyn

BRINGING OUT THE OLD SPIRITUAL TOOLS AND WEAPONS

 BRINGING OUT THE OLD SPIRITUAL TOOLS AND WEAPONS

The other day at work we got to talking about sculpting, and I remembered the falcon sculpture I started years ago. I still have the soapstone shape and the rebar sculpting tools a friend made for me. I always loved the feel of those tools. Tonight I picked one up, got my mallet down off the peg board and cut away a few chips of soapstone. I remembered the feeling of apprehension, then satisfaction as I chipped away at the stone. Then the Lord gave me a new revelation I didn’t think of before: use a marker and draw the general shape of where the wings will cup around the body and how far the tail feathers go out, and draw this right on the stone. I decided to start using those wonderful tools again. Our spiritual tools are like that.

 

We sometimes forget how useful and satisfying it is to rebuke demons and make them flee, or to pray perfectly for a situation by praying in tongues. Or what about getting down on our knees to pray like we did when we were children? (When was the last time you did that?) Or what about the golden rule of treating others as we would want to be treated? Or how about when you decided to read the Bible cover to cover and God opened your eyes to so many new amazing things?

 

There are some of those good Bible principles and/or weapons in our arsenal that we may have forgotten about. Maybe it’s time to take inventory. Just like God just gave me a new key to jumping back into my sculpture, He will give us new revelations as we go back to revving up some of the old Bible habits we had years ago.

 

In the Bible we see that God often urges His people to remember the things of old, bringing them to mind again.

 

David has a great way of saying it in Psalm 77. The whole chapter is beautiful, but here I want to show you verses 5 to 11:

 

“I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.

 

“Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah [consider this carefully].

 

“And I said, ‘This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.’”

 

David was having a hard time so he started to have a good heart-to-heart talk with himself and he searched for an answer. He wondered if it was God’s fault, or if it was God that had forsaken him. He deeply considered the possibility. But then he woke up! “This is MY infirmity!” So David was his own enemy. It wasn’t God at all. And when he realized it, he made himself remember the good things God had taught him in the past. That was his answer and sometimes it’s ours too.

 

Let’s take inventory and list some of the good things God showed us or did for us in the past.

 

Let’s do some refreshing of our lives by sharpening our old weapons and Bible tools that worked well and still do.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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ARE WE THINKING AND ACTING LIKE OUR BEST SELF?

 

ARE WE THINKING AND ACTING LIKE OUR BEST SELF?

My friend DeNece took this picture of me at work. She said the way my hair was sticking out of my face mask at the sides made it look like I had puppy-dog ears! It made me think about disguises. Sometimes we use masks and disguises to hide who we really are. But God sees it all, and He loves us right where we’re at. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us: “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God.” He knows exactly why we act the way we do. He sees when we’re acting like the true spiritual men and women that we are, and when something has pulled us away from being our best self.

 

I was getting sloppy in thoughts, words, and actions. I was letting myself stay grumpy longer, not caring so much about what I said, and generally not acting very godly. I was actually enjoying being somewhat rude as if I had a right to be rude, and I didn’t even know why I felt that way.

 

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you’re not acting like yourself, and you wonder why? I’m sure there are several reasons why this happens, but one is that we let ourselves act badly because it acts kind of like a defense. We don’t want to face something and so we go into a defensive mode so that people leave us alone. This is not a healthy way to respond, and it doesn’t reflect who we really are on the inside. On the inside we are children of a loving God, with all the ability to follow in His ways.

 

So what do we do when the mask we’re wearing is ugly, mean, angry, and snippy? We take it off and get right again.

 

Fortunately, it’s not that hard to get back to what’s real. The Bible says that we can repent and change our mind. Anybody can change their mind, but when we’ve taken Jesus as our Lord, we’ve been given the supernatural ability to switch back to the super great person that we really are, in an instant. It’s only a thought away.

 

Romans 12:2 tells us: “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” It all starts with the mind. I needed to get my thoughts back in line with God’s thoughts.

  

With God, it’s all about Jesus and the Body of Christ – what we can do together with Jesus as the head—the brains—strategizing the best for all members of the body to be blessed, functioning in our perfect places, to the glory of our Father, God.

 

There’s no place for big egos in the Body of Christ. Galatians 6:3 tells us: “For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another’s load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.”

 

Even Jesus said: “I am able to do nothing from myself [independently, of my own accord—but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to me, so I give a decision], and my judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult my own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to myself, my own aim, my own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent me” (John 5:30).

 

That’s pretty humbling and what a great goal. If I am only to do the will of God, then I should be glorifying Him at every turn. I have to do that one thought and one action at a time.

 

I’m going to write myself a note and put it in several places, so I’ll look at it: “Are you giving glory to God?” I think it will help me and maybe you’ll want to do something similar.

 

“So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). It’s got to be one thought and one action at a time, and even though we’ll put on different ugly masks at times, God knows we have His Holy Spirit on the inside, and He always loves us.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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SEIZING THE DAY

 

SEIZING THE DAY

A couple weeks ago I noticed my vision was a little fuzzy through my glasses. I was straining a bit more to see what I could see clearly just a month ago. I told myself that I would wait until this political stuff was over and then I’d make an appointment to get my eyes checked. This morning, though, I realized, that was stinkin’ thinkin’. 

Matthew 6:34 tells us: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” In other words, seize the day and get done what we can do now, because we don’t know what challenges could come up tomorrow. I’m not to be ruled by circumstances, but by the word of God. And in this case, I need to see better NOW. So I went right over to my eye doctor and made the earliest appointment I could get.

 

Every day can be a good day in some way, because Psalm 118: 24 tells us: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

 

God has so many blessings for us, He says in Psalm 68:19 that He daily loads us with benefits: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.”

 

I was hesitant, because of circumstances, to go after what I wanted and needed, but I woke up and went for it today.

 

The Lord has blessings and benefits for us every day without a miss. So let’s not let circumstances talk us out of taking what’s ours.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

More true stories of how the Bible is pertinent to our lives today.

 

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STAND AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD

 STAND AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD

Patricia Love, one of my Facebook friends, told a story about a neighbor’s tree that was leaning over the fence into her backyard. Several times it caught on fire and Patricia and her daughter prayed for the fire to go out and it did. Had the fire not been stopped by God, it would have destroyed their house. The weird thing about this tree being on fire is that there was never any evidence, no scorching, no evidence at all of a burn. The final fire was the most ferocious, and once again Patricia and her daughter took a spiritual stand against it. The neighbors called the fire department each time, but after this last fire, the neighbors cut down the tree.  That ended Satan’s plot to destroy the house. Patricia has moved, but the old house remains.  

 

When I read Patricia’s story yesterday, I was reminded of how important it is for us to take a stand on what is right. Patricia and her daughter would not allow that demon fire to take them down. They stood against it every time and the devil had to back down.

 

That’s how we need to be. The Lord tells us in Ephesians 6:4: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” When we know the truth, we stand boldly for what is right, without wavering.

 

I can tell when I’m standing in faith for the right thing to happen; there’s a sense of deeply-rooted peace in my insides. It’s unnatural, considering the circumstances, but it’s become one of those Biblically normal feelings for me. Philippians 4:7 calls it peace that passes understanding. The context of this verse is prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving for things that are true, just, and right.  

 

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

 

We feel a very strong sense of peace, but it seems like it doesn’t make sense because in the natural we feel like we should be very worried. But when we recognize this supernatural peace, we know that we really can’t worry because we’re kept in the flow of that peace.

 

What does it mean that we’re “kept” in peace? The word “keep” in this verse comes from the Greek word that means “to guard, protect by a military guard, to prevent hostile invasion.” In other words, this peace is impenetrable.

 

After God rescued the Israelites from Egypt, they had second thoughts about this crossing the wilderness thing, and they didn’t like it one bit. They wanted to go back to their old lives; yes, they had been in undeniable slavery, but they were used to it. This wandering business with all the new challenges and hard decisions, was not going to be comfortable at all. All of a sudden, they decided Moses was the enemy, and they hadn’t really wanted to leave Egypt in the first place. They complained like crazy, saying:

 

“Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.’

 

“And Moses said unto the people, ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.

 

“The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace’” (Exod. 14:12-14).

 

God knows what the right things are, that need to take place. When we trust Him, we can stand strong for what is Biblically right and be guarded by peace, through the storm. God is already fighting for us, individu(ally and in the nations, and He will perform all His will.

 

Ezekiel 36 gives us a hint of what is on the other side of this journey. (This was a prophesy to Israel, but Jesus brought the Gentiles also into the flock of God).

 

“Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 

 

“And they shall say, ‘This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

 

“Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it’” (Ezek. 36:33-36).

 

Let’s stand against those demon fires like Patricia and her daughter did. We will stand for truth. We will stand to see the salvation of the Lord, and the peace of God will guard our hearts.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

P.S. I just read the whole chapter of Ezekiel 36. WOW!  I think you’ll love reading it as soon as you can. I believe it speaks loudly to our world today.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE LOVE OF GOD

 

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE LOVE OF GOD

I didn’t want to really hear it, but now I’ve seen that to serve God properly, I can’t avoid it. Paul says: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). I ask myself, “Why couldn’t he have said: “Love, pastor, be nice, be gentle.” Those are good things, but here it says “reprove, rebuke and exhort.” According to God’s Word, they are good things too. No one really likes reproof or rebuking, and exhortation to do better isn’t that popular either. But, admittedly, we all need it.

 

To “reprove” in this verse is translated from a Greek word meaning “to convict, to expose, to call to account, show one his fault” and “to demand an explanation.”  “Rebuke” is “to award, in the sense of merited penalty, to charge sharply, to restrain or forbid.” And to “exhort” is translated from the Greek word “parakaleo,” which means to call to the side, to console, to beseech, beg, entreat, to invoke, encourage, strengthen, instruct and teach.”

 

So what Paul is telling Timothy is that, as a leader, he needs to call people out on their sins, make them own up to them, and then beg them and encourage them to change, letting them know that he totally believes they CAN do it!

 

Paul was a great example of this, and we see many examples in the epistles of him reproving, rebuking and correcting. And good parents are well practiced in this task, as well.

 

But as we get older, we not only get tired of correcting others and figure someone else will do it, but we also get lazy in our own lives and start letting things slip without correcting ourselves. We have to stop doing that.

 

Second Corinthians 5:20 says: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ.” As representatives for Christ, we can’t afford to get lazy. We should be the examples of holiness, virtue, honesty, integrity, kindness and all the good things the Bible says about how we should and can be living.

 

John 8:44 tells us the devil is the father of lies, so he loves it when he can get Christians to compromise on truth, even in the smallest ways. Satan is quick to offer us convincing excuses and justifications for doing things that are against the good practices of the Bible. And we buy into them.

 

I had a male friend, Jacob, who had the saddest, most honest-sounding story of his and his wife’s relationship. He bemoaned that she never wanted to have sex and only conceded because she wanted children. But after their three children, she was finished having any physical relationship with him. He said he still loved her, but he was a man with physical needs as well. He was very up front with his situation and I almost felt sorry for him. But when I heard that he used this same story with every single woman he met, I realized this was his “come hither” story—well rehearsed and it actually worked on at least two women that I knew of. Jacob had a convincingly compelling story, but his “reasons” weren’t from God.

 

In the USA, schools used to have a poster of the 10 Commandments on the wall. The kids knew what they were. They learned that it was good to obey your parents and bad to steal. How many of the Ten Commandments can you name? I tried to recite them and I only got 6 of them right, so I figured I better  review them every once in awhile!

 

They’re found in Exodus 20:1-16 and Deuteronomy 5:7-21.

1.You shall have no other gods before Me.

2.You shall not make idols.

3.You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

4.Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5.Honor your father and your mother.

6.You shall not murder.

7.You shall not commit adultery.

8.You shall not steal.

9.You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10.You shall not covet.

 

People say that all the Old Testament law was fulfilled in Christ and that love is a greater law than what they had in the Old Testament times. They quote Galatians 5:14: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” But if we don’t know what the old laws are, then we don’t really understand the scope of  what the New Testament love covers.

 

That’s why the New Testament apostles, prophets, teachers, etc. had to write things like, “lie not one to another,” etc., to remind us of the details God wants us to get right in showing His true meaning of love. Love includes admitting that we’ve believed wrong things, and acted in bad ways. We accept God’s forgiveness, but then we need to change our minds and actions to go along with what the Bible says, no matter what.

 

But when are we most willing and even happy to make perhaps radical changes? We should be willing all the time, but it usually doesn’t happen that way.

 

But when we are convinced that we are loved unconditionally and uncondemned, we’re much more willing to take reproof. When we know that God will always love us and never give up on us, we’re more willing to change our thinking, knowing that it’s better to be right with God, than right with men.

 

Matthew 5:8 says: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” A genuine metal is purified by fire and water. The fire burns away the impurities and the water washes away all that’s left. Let’s ask God to purify us with His fire, wash us clean with the water of His perfect Word.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

SIN, REPENTANCE, AND A CLEAN HEART

 SIN, REPENTANCE, AND A CLEAN HEART

I let myself get emotionally distraught by the way someone was acting, and what did I do about it? The wrong thing! I started bad-mouthing the person in my mind and then it came out of my mouth. By the end of the day, I realized I’d really messed up. But then the Lord reminded me of the times people had said about me that I had a pure heart. Being emotionally mean and having a pure heart just don’t go together. So I repented. I was totally carnal in how I reacted. You know how certain things people do really set you off, and sometimes you just don’t even know exactly why? Well that was me. I was mad and didn’t even bother to ask myself why I was so riled up.

 

Maybe it was because I was reacting to something in myself I didn’t like? That’s often the case. We see something we dislike about ourselves in someone else and we react to them because it’s easier than taking the time to examine the same thing in ourselves! But the Lord constantly gives us opportunities to change lingering sins from the past and become the new creation in Christ that He’s called us to be.  And by the way, we have at least one angel or two, from the time of our birth, to help us to get to our final destinies. In Matthew 18:10 Jesus tells us: “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.’” Angels to minister to us as children, and the Bible never says they’re taken away. Think about that for a minute.

 

Anyway, back to my story. I felt bad about being so weak as to let my emotions get to me, and God urged me to go back in my mind to a time when I was around 15 years old, reading the beatitudes in the Bible. I read Jesus teaching his disciples, saying:

 

“³Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

 

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

 

¹¹ “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” ((Matt 5:3-12).

 

I remember thinking, “I want to be blessed;” Then asking, “Which of these do I want the most?” Verse 8 rushed into my heart. I wanted to see God more than anything, so I wanted to have a pure heart.

 

So when I was awful last week, and God reminded me of my desire from so many years ago, I went to Psalm 51, which is where the Lord has taken me so many times when I’m not such a nice person. It’s a psalm that David wrote after he sinned with Bathsheba, and killed her husband.

 

¹ “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

 

⁴ “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. ⁵ Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

⁶ “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. ⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. ⁹ Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.”

 

Psalm 51 is so great, but verse 10 is the one that for me speaks louder than even all the rest:

 

¹⁰ “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

¹¹ “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. ¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. ¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

 

¹⁴ “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. ¹⁵ O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. ¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

 

¹⁸ “Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. [i.e. make us strong] ¹⁹ Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.”

 

The shepherd David, who became a king, could ask God to forgive him, create in him a clean heart, renew a right spirit within him, and make him strong once again. We have the same privilege from the same God who cares for us.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

I HAVE A VARIETY OF BOOKS AND BOOKLETS ON CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN LIVING. I KNOW YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING THAT WILL RESONATE WITH YOUR LIFE AND HEART DURING THESE CHALLENGING TIMES.

 

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