Just A Note

I wanted to let everyone know that I am going on a “computer fast” starting today, so I will not be posting or responding to e-mails or comments until Thursday or Friday (the 31st or 1st).

I feel the need in my spirit for a time of cleansing and repentance in my heart to see where I have “lifted my soul to an idol” (Ps. 24) and seek God purely and entirely. I would greatly appreciate your prayers during this time!

For now you can read past posts or check out my other blog Alabaster Box for more info on this and new posts.

Thank you all for your precious friendship and support, and for understanding.

I will leave you with this thought:

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him… Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame, He is mindful that we are but dust… But the lovignkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him…” Psalms 103:11, 13-14, 17

Eyewitnesses of His Majesty

Have you ever had one of those moments when God completely blows your mind with a verse(s) of Scripture?

I had one of those moments today (and I wish they would happen more often), as I read in the book of Psalms of David’s realization of God’s greatness and majesty, but also His intimacy.

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! … When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? … O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” 

How great is it that the God who paints the sunsets, breathed the stars, and commands the ocean’s limits is the very same God that thinks and cares for you and me. It is almost more than I can take in…

This knowledge of God’s ultimate majesty and intimate delicacy should inspire our hearts to worship and adore Him more – but yet oftentimes I fail to gain a real appreciation of His majesty. My knowledge of His greatness tends to be superficial, because I do not take the time to reflect on His majesty and bow before Him in humble adoration and worship. How I wish every morning my heart awoke in awe and reverence of His greatness and majesty.

“For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth, and the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” (Ps. 95:3-7)

It is not easy to quickly grasp the full meaning and splendor of these verses, so just let them soak in and stir your heart until you feel compelled to bow your heart in humble adoration before the throne of Grace. I have found that when my heart is quiet, and I fully take in the surpassing greatness of who God really is, can I truly bow in genuine worship.

In the moments when I am not beholding a breathtaking sunset or relishing in His wonders around me, my focus can slip from His great majesty and forget the tender care and thoughts He has for me. And I wonder how can I keep His majesty in sight? The words of Andrew Murray were a great comfort to me this morning:

“The Word declares,”Oh the depths of the riches…the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements, and His paths beyond tracing out” (Rom. 11:33) Our hearts should respond, “Indeed, how wonderful, Lord, are all Your thoughts! How deep are your purposes!” Our meditations upon what God is ought always to fill us with holy reverence and deep longing to know and honor Him. When you worship God, therefore, cry out, “How great is the glory of the Lord who is my God and Father!” Confess with shame how little you have tried to get to know Him, or how reluctant you have been to wait upon Him to make Himself known to you. Then start believing that the incomprehensible and wonderful God will begin to work in your heart and life, enabling you to know, to love, and to serve Him better.”

So I cry out to God, “Lord God, You are great and Your majesty is breathtaking… I am sorry I have lost sight of Your splendor by focusing on my minor problems – forgetting that by Your greatness You are able to help and supply the very needs I worry about. Thank You, kind Father, that You care for and think of me, even while You hold the entire world in Your hands. Continue to complete the good work You began in me; work in my heart to know, love, and serve You better. I want to see Your majesty. I love You. In Jesus, Your Son’s name, Amen.

Refining Purity

The doors in the back of the church open. The music begins to resound throughout the room. The guests stand and hold their breath. The groom’s knees go weak. The bride enters…

Can’t you just picture this cherished scene with me? Do you have this moment rehearsed in your mind as you dream of the future?

As the beautiful bride gracefully strolls down the aisle, all who gaze upon her are captivated by her beauty, grace, radiance and … purity. Isn’t that what a bride represents – an absolute purity in it’s most delightful sense? I think, apart from worldly and tainted exceptions, a bride still does represent to us this symbol of purity we so admire in the face and presence of a bride. 

In Scripture, we often read of God’s demands for purity in our lives, especially as women. (Titus 2:5, 1 Tim. 2:9, 5:6, 1 Peter 3:2) Purity should be an extensive part of our lives, especially as young women pursuing godliness; it should be something we pray for, study about, and strive to display. Our lives and hearts should be the aroma of the purity in Christ for all to inhale.

But, sadly, purity is a depressing subject for most (I think to everyone), because we all too clearly remember the bitter failings and mistakes we have made in regard to our purity. We have been tricked by our enemy to believe that we only get one chance – one try – at purity. (2 Cor. 11:3) And for all of us, we think we have lost our only chance of ever becoming that delicate and pure bride walking down the aisle to join hands with our prince. This deception leaves us incapacitate, dejected, and heartbroken, and always battling the suffocating guilt.

Dear sisters, God did not give us just one shot at purity; just like He goes not give us only one try at patience, tolerance, or unconditional love, etc. His grace covers all areas of our lives. And purity is not the exception. God has a great and vital lesson tucked away in His Word for us to discover – one that will give us amazing hope and assurance with this issue of our purity.

 Pure As…

You might be surprised to know that the first mention of the word “pure” in the Bible was not in reference to a person’s morality; physical or emotional. It was in reference to gold. (Ex. 25:11) And not just any gold… gold for the Ark of the Covenant. God commands the children of Israel to take pure gold and build the Ark of the Covenant with this material.

Now, think with me for a moment about gold. Does gold start out pure on it’s own? Did it begin it’s existence in purity? … No. Gold must be refined. 

When gold is discovered, it is usually sent to a mint to be purified. There are naturally impurities in it, like traces of silver or other minerals, that make the gold impure. So the gold goes through a refining stage, usually involving a heat source or furnace to rid the gold of it’s impurities.

Now think about our purity in relation to gold. When God reaches down in love and pulls us out of the mud, dusts us off and claims us as His own, we begin the purity process. God begins to use methods, heated trials and experiences, to purify us. The more we grow and mature in the Lord, the impurities of our lives come to the surface and are removed by our Heavenly Goldsmith.

Purity is not a one time opportunity that is either lost or gained – it is a venture and process that slowly manifests and cleanses. Purity is refining; God purges us from our impurities and disinfects us from harmful substances. 

“Many will be purged, purified and refined…” Daniel 12:10

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

Your faith in God is more precious than gold refined – and if you are losing your faith in Him because of the shame in your purity, this is deadly to your faith. And it won’t result in praise, glory and honor either. Rejoice in your refinement.

Purity Refined

If you leave with only one thought from my heart from this post, it is that God is still refining your purity. It is a process just like everything else in your life. Will you still make mistakes? Yes. Will you get back up and cling to God more than ever for His purifying presence in you? That’s up to you. Purity, like every other virtue, takes practice – and it takes patience.

But be confident (have faith) in your God. He is purifying you; He’s refining you through your circumstances, your hardships, your “fiery furnaces”, your devotion to Him, and your journey with Him hand-in-hand…

He is purifying you to be His bride; to walk down the aisle glowing in white garments to symbolize your purity, refining you for His purpose.

He is making you pure as gold.

A Heart Hidden in Christ

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ, that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.” Maya Angelou

As most of you know, I have this quote posted on the sidebar of this blog. It has a beautiful meaning and vision to me personally – and I think to every woman who reads it, for two reasons:

1) Our hearts long to be hidden (safe, adored, secure) in something or someone.

2) And the thought of a man seeking God to know our heart is so tender and precious, and would leave any woman feeling extremely loved and cherished.

I would like to discuss each reason in a little more depth.

Yes, our hearts long to be hidden in someone who will protect, love and cherish us immensely for who we are and who we are becoming. But to many women, this quest to be hidden in someone ends in broken hearts, consuming emptiness, and wasted lives.

Take a look at the culture around you. What are most young women “hiding” themselves in? Boyfriends? Appearance? Clothes? Diets? Drugs? Sadly, the answer is yes. Sinful human nature will lead you right to these for satisfaction and happiness. A woman’s identity in this world is based on her man, body, and status. If you don’t have these, you will stand out – in a negative way.

As a result of this unbiblical mindset, young girls are cast into the world scrambling to be hidden in something just to fit in, and to find their own happiness. How cruelly they are deceived when a boyfriend doesn’t make you feel safe, your image changes, and at the end of the day you are still fighting that awful, gnawing hunger for something more in the core of your soul.

Is there a better way? Can women be hidden is something that really satisfies? YES! Sinful woman needs a Savior – and that is Jesus Christ. 

“Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Col. 3:2-3 

Dying to the world and it’s ways, we can set our hearts on Someone else. Self has died – and life is hidden in Christ! This word “hidden” can also be translated “planted”, like a seed that is buried in the earth. How astounding that we who have died to sin are like a seed, dead in itself; yet in Christ hidden and buried we become alive and fruitful! We are safe and secure in the refuge of Christ, and our hearts are finally at peace and satisfied in His transforming and fulfilling presence. Our hearts are hidden in Christ alone and this is where we belong.

But we must be prepared to realize that we will not “fit in” by the world’s standards. This quest for a hidden heart in Christ results in a set apart lifestyle that is lived differently than those who are in the world. We don’t (shouldn’t) act, dress, talk, or behave like the world, because we don’t seek the things the world seeks. We seek that which is above – that is Jesus our Lord and the virtues He bestows.

And what blessings this hidden life brings! We have Christ and His Word to comfort and encourage, urging us to press on, stay hidden in Him, and live for Him; conforming to His image and persevering in our sufferings. It is in this set apart life lived for Jesus alone that we embrace the hidden heart and it’s pleasures forevermore.

Our hearts seek no one else for the happiness we find in Jesus. And if it be His will, He blesses us with an earthly man who can represent to us Christ Himself in many ways. For the woman whose heart is truly hidden in Christ is favored to receive a man seeking after God’s heart in all his ways – including finding her.

May your heart stay hidden in Jesus. 

I want to know You more…

Is this the desire of your heart today? Above all else, do you long for more of Jesus in your life?

As I was praying and reading this morning, God used the words of a devotional I am reading through this year to rekindle the desire to know Jesus even more in my life.

I know I have already recently written a post on Knowing Jesus, but I think this subject can never be over-discussed or written about! And I would like to encourage you again to recognize the crucial need in our hearts to truly know Jesus, especially as His adoring bride. We should know Him better than anyone else.

 ~~~~~

 Taken from the devotional Daily In His Presence by Andrew Murray.

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3

“The knowledge of God is essential for the spiritual life. It is life eternal. The knowledge spoken of here is no intellectual knowledge received from others, nor the product of your own thinking, but a living knowledge wherein God makes Himself know to us. 

How is it that we so seldom experience the life-giving power of truly knowing God? Because we do not give God time to reveal Himself to us. When we pray, we think that we know well enough how to speak to God. We forget that one of the most important principles of prayer is to be silent before Him that He may reveal Himself.

God desires to manifest His presence by causing it to rest upon us and work within us. To know God as a personal and loving God is to know real life.

Brother Lawrence, who had a desire to know God, can be quoted as an example. Various prayer books were given to the monk, but he replied that it would not help to pray if he did not know the God to whom he was speaking. And he believed that God would reveal Himself. He spent long hours in quiet adoration in order to become conscious of God’s presence, nearness, and sustaining power.

That is the secret. As the rising sun holds the promise of light for the rest of the day, so your quiet time spent waiting on God will be the promise of His presence and power throughout your day.”

 ~~~~~

 I pray your heart was blessed by these words and encouraged to spent some quiet and restful time with Jesus, seeking to truly know Him even more.

To Love and Obey

I have lately been meditating upon the great call in a Christian’s life for obedience – and it’s relation to our position as Christ’s bride.

It is true we find our joy, security, and satisfaction in Christ’s abundant love for us, but I think we often times neglect the serious reality of the great commitment and cost there is to follow Jesus. While we adore Christ’s love, and how He proved His love, we need to be reminded that our love for Christ has, or should have, a proof too. True love always has evidence.

Have you ever met someone who claims to follow Christ, and even boasts, “Oh I love Jesus!”, but as you observe their life, it is void of the fruit of the Spirit’s presence and genuine faith? What is lacking? And how can we avoid shallow devotion to Christ?

 Love and Obedience

Love coupled with obedience is the secret to a fulfilled, powerful, and fruitful walk with Christ. Our minds have been so polluted by the world’s sinful standard that we have lost the earnest truth of loving Christ and what it looks like in our daily walk. The world would have us believe that love is based on mere feelings. God would have us to believe that love is based on truth, commitment, and obedience.

This is not to say that feelings are always irrelevant and wrong; only that when our feelings are not based on the truth and obedience of the love, we can err. This fault can be traced back to the bountiful amount of divorced couples. The apparent and sad motivation for many divorces is, “I just don’t feel in love with them anymore.” The simple truth is – love is not all about the feelings. Marriage is about commitment, faithfulness, and endurance. What happened to obedience to our vows, our lovers, and our God?

 Christ’s Love and Obedience

When we look at Christ’s life – His perfect life lived – we see that His definition of love is quite the opposite of our warped perception of love. He was a perfect lover; meaning He loved perfectly. When I read about His communion with the Father, how perfectly and purely He loved God, my heart is renewed to a flawless outlook. His love wasn’t grounded in what He happened to be feeling at the moment. Think back to the garden of Gethsemane. The cross was hard, dreadfully hard, but He was obedient to the point of death to His Father.

“So that the world may know that I [Jesus] love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.” John 14:31

Jesus proved His love for God by obeying His Father’s voice, doing exactly as God commended Him, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil. 2:8)

Jesus lived as our example showing us that obedience, especially when it is hard and difficult for us, is how we prove to ourselves if we really love God. Our daily lives should reveal that we love Jesus. People should see in us a life lived in obedience that testifies of the love we speak of for Christ.

Loving Jesus is so much more than shallow Sunday prayers and fish-shaped decals on the bumper of our vehicles. It’s about obedience to the God who loves passionately, forgives abundantly, and requires enormously a life lived holy and blameless – obedient to Him.

“He who has my commandments and keeps [obeys] them is the one who loves Me; and He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep [obey] My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Romans 6:17-18 

 The Bride’s Call to Obedience

In our passionate love relationship with Jesus, we must accept the call and command to live obedient lives to and for Christ. A bride of Jesus is not her own – she belongs to Another. She is committed, surrendered, and obedient to her Groom in all things. Those who look to her see plainly the evidence of her love for Him by her obedient lifestyle and nature. 

The calling to be a bride of Christ demands abundantly more than fleeting emotions and shallow loyalty; it is arduous and demanding, yet fulfilling and rewarding. Because as we kneel before the altar, we vow to adore and commit. We promise to love and obey.