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Sunday, September 2, 2007
"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11 A couple of nights ago I went into my daughter's room to tuck her into bed. She looked over the open Bible she was holding and asked, "Mom, what's does 'aptly' mean?" We discussed the meaning of "aptly" (suitable, appropriate, timely, rightly) and how it applies in the above verse. We talked about why "apt" words are such a gift, and how to speak them to others. I had no idea that later in the week I would receive some "apt" words in my email inbox. I've had a variety of ideas brewing about what to write on this, the eve of my fortieth birthday. I thought maybe I would be reflective, perhaps offering some wise perspective or some timely witticism about growing older. Maybe share a touching memory from my childhood. But as the week wore on nothing really came to me. Today I received an email from a godly gentleman in my church, and I knew I wanted to share it with you. We attend a multi-age "Bible fellowship" (our church's name for our Sunday School classes) where we attend as a family. What I love about that class is that there are children and parents, as well as those old enough to be my parents. It's called a "family bible fellowship" or "FBF". We have a Yahoo group which sends out birthday reminders each year, and he had received the reminder of my upcoming birthday. I received this today, and it blessed me so much that I wanted to share it with you. I pray these "apt" words would wash over you and bless you as well: "An FBF email birthday reminder caused me to think what I would say to you on your day. You have a wonderful, God-fearing husband, two remarkable children, and a very fruitful life. What could I possibly add? If I said, 'You are an extraordinary young woman,' you would probably look away and shyly reply, 'Thank you for the compliment, but....' If I blessed you with all manner of blessing, you would probably look on your children, think of your husband and say, 'I have all that and more.' Then I thought, if I look upon her through the eyes of a father, reassuring her, 'this is my daughter, in whom I am well pleased,' this would add to her peace. Happy Birthday." Those words touched a part of my heart that I had forgotten. The part of me that needs a fatherly "someone" to reassure me that he is pleased with me, to speak that on behalf of my Heavenly Father. And that's okay! Jesus needed that, too. Those words were spoken to Him as a blessing straight from His Heavenly Father. We all need to hear them at some time, perhaps multiple times during our lives, both from God Himself and by someone speaking words of blessing on His behalf. In fact, when Jesus heard them from the Father, His earthly father was no longer around to say them to Him. Perhaps that's partly why God Himself said it. No doubt, those were apt words for Jesus that day. So, I say them to you today. If you are in Christ, Your Heavenly Father is looking at you today through the blood of His Son. He is well pleased with you. He sees you as righteous and beautiful. He loves you. In fact, He abounds in lovingkindness toward His children! Sure, you blow it daily, and must come to Him in repentance for forgiveness. But you able to boldy come before the throne of grace for mercy, forgiveness, cleansing and strength because He has invited you through His Son and His great love for you. Know that today. Let it bless you! I hope these are apt words for you today. If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the most apt words I could say to you are that it all starts with acknowledging that you need a Savior. Forgiveness of sins and a right standing with God can come only through a relationship with Jesus. (I recommend reading this.) I invite you to contact Christian Women Online if you would like to know more. You are not here on this earth- in this generation- by chance or accident. You have a purpose in God's plan! I hope these are apt words for you today. Oh, how I hope this post and the words of my friend "add to your peace." Have a blessed Lord's Day!  Cyndi blogs at One Day More and Mater Magistra. Labels: Cyndi's Articles, Encouragement, heart matters, salvation Leave a comment... 9 Comments Links to this post "Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrach, and Saul." Acts 13:1  The women in this photo and I seemingly have nothing in common. We are from different races, different economic situations, different lifestyles. The same was true for the church at Antioch. In the words of Toby Mac, this first Gentile church was a Diverse City. There were Jews and Greeks. Rich and poor. Culturally elite and social outcasts. There was only one common denominator: Jesus Christ. Before Friday, I believed I had very little in common with these women and yet through the extravagant, lavish grace of our Lord, a woman and teenage girl became my spiritual sisters this week during a missions effort by our church into their housing community in Montgomery, Alabama. Enticed by a new clothing giveaway, these ladies agreed to join me for some "Girl Talk" during a Backyard Bible Club. I had no idea what to expect going in so I was prepared with a Gospel presentation, my trusty Sword, and lots of praying girlfriends. Often when I have shared the Gospel in this type of setting, I can literally see the womens' eyes glaze over. In the same spirit in which one would attend a 90-minute condominium presentation for a free vacation, you can almost hear the women say, "Get on with it. I'm not buying. I am only here for the free stuff!" And yet on this day, it was as if the sky opened up and God shot a beam of Holy Spirit fire right into our tent because here are some of the questions which came pouring out of their mouths:
To say my jaw was on the ground does not even begin to do the matter justice. Here I was expecting dead silence when I began to talk about salvation and instead we went through scripture after scripture for an hour and a half. Shame on me for thinking so little of my God or the powerful prayers of our church and my blog friends! How dare I cease expecting His Wonders! To hear these women sobbing and asking God to forgive their sin and restore their broken lives was about more than I could take in. The sincere prayer of faith is a sound I will never get tired of hearing as long as I live. What is better? Having one of them come to me today and tell me she had already read the entire books of John and Romans I had suggested and asking where to go next. You can't see, but I am still having a Jesus fit over it. The blessing of getting to know these women showed me we have much more in common than first meets the eye. We want to mother well. We want the best for our children. We want to live a life of significance. We desire stability. However, God impressed a huge truth upon me this week: Anyone can have common dreams but only through Jesus Christ can we have common hope. Lord Jesus, with uplifted hands I join the angel chorus who is even now singing praise to Your Holy Name for the redemption of these souls. I am full of joyful expectation of the good things you have in store for those who love Your appearing. Father, You know the dire needs and I ask you to build the faith of these women in Mighty Wonders only You can orchestrate. Amen!  p.s. These women were among twenty plus who were born again during our time in Montgomery this week. I'll be adding more redemption stories at my blog, The Preacher's Wife, over the next few days. Please come visit! Labels: Lisa's Articles, salvation, Sisterhood Leave a comment... 10 Comments Links to this post The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 What do you usually do after you have picked out the perfect gift for someone? Do you simply thrust it at them right out of the shopping bag, with the price tags flying and the receipt still stuck to it? As tempting as that is (because it’s just so hard to wait!) we usually take care to choose just how we’re going to present it. We may choose just the right gift bag or wrapping paper because part of the gift is in the presentation. John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him would have eternal life." God chose a very special wrapping in which to give us the gift of His Son. According to Psalm 104:2 "He wraps himself in light, as with a garment," but this is certainly not how Jesus showed up! No, in fact God chose a different "wrapping," one much more costly. He, for a time, gave up His garment of light. He went from "wrapped in light" to "wrapped in skin." Have you ever held a present and once you moved or shook it you could figure out what was in it? While wrapped in flesh, Jesus certainly gave evidence of what was God is like. The Bible says that He was "moved with compassion" for the hurting people around Him. He healed, He comforted, He performed miracles. The Bible also records that he was moved by the misuse of the His temple, giving us a glimpse of His righteous, holy anger. Ultimately, His outer wrapping was torn. He was beaten, whipped, pierced and cut. His physical wrapping was finally "opened," for gifts are not meant to stay wrapped forever. He didn’t stay inside His mother, Mary, he didn’t stay in His swaddling clothes, neither did He stay in His human skin. But there was still one final wrapping. Just as He was wrapped in cloth when He was born, He was wrapped in linen after His death. And just as all the former wrappings had been shed, this one would be as well. Mark 15:46 records that Joseph "bought some linen cloth, took down the body, and wrapped it in the linen." What I found extremely interesting was that the Greek word for "wrapped" in this verse comes from a root word which means "bound to the law." For so long, men were bound to continue falling short of keeping the Ten Commandments and to making sacrifices to atone for sins. All of this pointed to man's need for a Savior. The empty grave tells us we are free from death's power. The empty grave clothes remind us that we are no longer bound to the law, making sacrifices with bulls and rams. In Christ we are free! Free from death for eternity, and free from the power of sin in our daily lives even now. How do you suppose it would feel to give someone a gift, and for them to acknowledge receipt of it but never open it? Wouldn't you feel they had not truly accepted your gift? God wrapped and sent us the gift of Christ. (Though, unlike our hypothetical unopened gift, this Gift has been unwrapped and is in His rightful place. The grave was not powerful enough to hold Him inside and despite his unbelief, man is not able to keep Him in His grave clothes.) However, each of us must acknowledge for ourselves that the gift was for us personally and not just for someone else or the world at large. It is in this way that we truly accept His gift. We must admit our own need for His sacrificial atonement. To truly open and accept this gift is to repent of our sins and make Jesus Lord of our hearts and lives. We can then enjoy the daily gift of freedom from sin's rule, and the unspeakable gift of the assurance of spending eternity with Him. We are invited to unwrap God’s gift of salvation and freedom found only in Christ, and to share that gift with others. The grave is open, the grave clothes have been cast aside, Christ is alive! May this Easter find each of us unwrapping and accepting His incredible gift. Labels: Cyndi's Articles, relationship with God, salvation, Spring Leave a comment... 12 Comments Links to this post Today marks a significant day in our history, Palm Sunday. Today we remember the week leading up to the most inconceivable event in human history. The Son of God! Recorded in all four Gospels: Sunday: The Triumphal Entry; On the first day of the week Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling an ancient prophecy. Monday: Clearing of the Temple, turning the tables of the money changers. Tuesday: Controversy and parables; Jesus evaded the Pharisees traps and taught the people. Wednesday: Unmentioned. (Interesting) Thursday: The Last Supper with his disciples. A loaf and a cup of wine. The new covenant. Friday: The crucifixion and death of our Savior. Saturday: Defeats the enemy of The Ancient of Days! Sunday: Resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God. Victory over death for all mankind. As I am typing this recap of Christ's life, I feel a lump in my throat and warm tears brimming. My soul is overwhelmed with the hope I have because of this week and what Jesus did for me. He split time in two. He is the first. He is the last. He is everything in between. He is conqueror. He is redeemer of the broken hearted. His is the restorer of relationships. He is healer of all wounds. He knows the innermost parts of my heart. My Provider. My Champion. Powerful Advocate. He is trustworthy and true. He holds the stars in His hand! Wars are waged against Him......He is victorious! Lies are broadcast about Him......He is truth! Governments try to crush Him......He is sovereign! Legislators work to erase Him......He is ever-present. Schools no longer pray to Him......He is our intercessor. The media scorns His name......His name gives life. Evil tried to kill him......HE LIVES! Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,  We are healed. We have hope. We have victory. Jesus faced the week ahead for us. We are the passion of Jesus Christ.  Labels: Lynn's Articles, sacrifice, salvation, worship Leave a comment... 15 Comments Links to this post "Oh, I just can’t decide! What are you having?" "I just don’t know! It all looks so good!" "It’s just can’t make up my mind…" That's typical over-the-menu conversation at any lunch date with women. We agonize over what to choose, from the right salad to the right shoes. We ask one another's opinions on just about everything. We want input on our choices, and affirmation once they are made, whether it’s a haircut or home decor. We are creatures of choice. It's been that way since the first woman was fashioned by the Divine hands that chose to create us in His image. Part of that indelible image is "choice-maker." I'm sure some variation of the above "lunch discussion" happened in the Garden of Eden. It must have "all looked so good!" How could they decide? They had the ultimate salad ingredients, that’s for sure! One day, though, the simple decision of "what’s for lunch?" became a destiny-defining choice. I wonder if the forbidden tree had ever been an issue before then. Aside from knowing it was off limits, they had such a bountiful buffet before them daily that it's quite possible they hardly even considered it. But the enemy was able to persuade Eve that its fruit was a valid, even desirable, choice. And what she chose has affected us all. "Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before... either into a creature that is in harmony with God, ...or into one that is in a state of war with God. Each of us at each moment is progresing to the one state or the other." ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Mere Christianity "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 By nature, we are now creatures born into a “state of war” with God. But, by God’s grace, through Jesus Christ we can choose a path of harmony with God the Father, in tune with His perfect will. (John 14:6) So, the first choice is to decide whom you will serve: yourself, the world, God, or another person. Subsequent choices move you either closer or farther away from that chosen master. I can’t say "I will serve the Lord" and then make daily choices that move me closer to another master (and still be truly serving Him). The word "choose" in the above verse is the most common Old Testament word used to mean "to choose," "elect," or "decide for." My Hebrew lexicon says that this word, bahar, "always involves a careful, well thought-out choice." Further down in the explanation it says, "serviceability rather than simple arbitrariness is at the heart of the choosing." Serviceability. "...choose for yourselves... whom you will serve." Our choices not only indicate who we serve, but our choices themselves serve the master by advancing his or her purposes. If I have chosen to serve God, when faced with subsequent choices I must ask myself: Will this choice serve to bring me closer to God or further from Him? Will it advance His kingdom? make me more like Christ? help me model Christ for another person? Not that we should all live with deer-in-the-headlights expressions on our faces, while in a perpetual state of "analysis paralysis" over our choices of flip flops or pizza toppings. But just as Eve's choice had ramifications far beyond that moment in time, our daily choices do as well. How I choose to dress reflects my reverence for God. How I choose to spend resources reflects (and directs) my priorities. What I choose to eat reflects how I view my body, God’s temple. We don't need to be full of angst over each and every decision, for our loving God has not called us to a life filled with anxiety, nor has He saved us because of our works. But He has called us to a life of holiness, of being set apart for Him. He does desire us to live "in harmony" with Him rather than "at war" with Him. By God's grace, we have the profound privilege of looking at the Garden of Eden from this side of the cross. We have the opportunity to respond to Christ's invitation and to receive the gift of salvation and the accompanying indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us in our choice-making each day. It is only by doing this that we literally "have it in us" to make the right choices. If you have not yet responded and "chosen this day" to serve Jesus Christ, I encourage you to go here. This world offers many choices of "masters," but only one choice, Jesus Christ, leads to life. "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 If I delight in God, my desires will naturally (no, supernaturally) begin to line up with His. His desires will become my desires. God will change my "wanter." My "wanter" directs my "decider." The result will be choices that glorify God and bring me, with ever-increasing glory, more into conformity with the image of Jesus, who sits at the right hand of the Father in perfect harmony with Him.  Christine at Fruit in Season is our host for this week's In Other Words. If you would like to read other perspectives on this week's quote, or perhaps add your own, head on over. Thanks, Christine, for hosting us this week, and for this thought-provoking quote. I'm praying for all of us and the choices we will make this day. Labels: choices, Cyndi's Articles, salvation, serving God Leave a comment... 21 Comments Links to this post
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