Love Expressed

Last night I read the story of the woman who entered the Pharisee's house to anoint Jesus' feet.  As well as the following paragraph regarding the women who provided for the needs of Jesus and His disciples as they traveled.  (Luke 7:36 - 8:3)  I was so touched by Jesus' treatment of women, especially in that time and that society.

The Pharisee invited Jesus into his home for a meal, yet he did not even offer Jesus the rudimentary courtesies one would normally offer to any guest in their home.  This spoke volumes, I am sure, to Jesus as to the Pharisee's attitude toward Him as well as his motives for the invitation.

As they reclined at the table, a woman entered the room.  She was a sinner, evidently well-known as such, but she had the audacity to enter into this 'religious' man's house.  Can you imagine the courage it took?  The side-ways sneers and whispers her presence must have elicited.  But she stood behind Jesus, as though not wanting to draw attention to herself, and stooped to minister to Him.  Weeping, her tears wet his feet, which she dried with her hair, continually kissing his feet.  Then, opening an alabaster vessel, she poured out a perfumed ointment to anoint them.  The fragrance must have filled that room.

I can well imagine the Pharisee silently smirking as he said to himself that if Jesus were a prophet He would surely know the type of woman she was and would 'of course' have draw back in horror that she should dare to touch him.  But Jesus knew his heart and plainly read his thoughts.

And so, after gaining the Pharisee's permission to speak to him, Jesus said:

'When I entered your house, you gave Me no water for my feet (to wash them from the dirt of the roads), yet she has washed My feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.  You gave Me no (welcoming) kiss, yet this woman has not ceased kissing My feet since I came in.  You did not anoint My head with olive oil (mark of respect for a visitor), yet this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil."

Then Jesus goes on to say that it has to do with love.  "I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven for she loved much.  How powerful is that!

Then, as I read on, in Luke 8, there were certain women who provided for Him from their substance.  These women had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities.

All this made me think about how I express my love for Him.  And I am very sad to say that for the past several years, I have not been doing well in that department.

So, last night I prayed about it.  I asked Jesus to show me how I could express my love for Him.

Years ago, I was involved in many things because of my love for Him.  I wrote these type of postings, just motivated by the awe and love I felt for Him, wanting to share that with others.  I sang in the choir and for different church programs, and I also taught women's Bible study for a time.  But as I contemplated these things, I hesitated.  All of them, for me, now seem to get tangled up with both pride and/or fear of rejection.  So I was hoping that He could show me another way I could express my love that would be, for me, free of those constraints.

This morning it hit me -- like a ton of bricks.  Some people don't know me well enough to know that I am naturally a slob.  I guess for me, cleanliness, tidiness, and order just have never been that important.  I don't think it was for my mom and dad, so maybe that is where I learned it (well, that is sort of an excuse any way).  But following in my mom's footsteps, I am not big on entertaining or having folks drop by -- mainly because I know they would be shocked.  But for whatever reason, it has never bothered me, except when I worry what someone would think if they knew.

Anyway, as I said, this morning it hit me that one way I could express my love for Christ would be to make my home, my body (another area where I am sorry lax), and my life more inviting for Him.  I could think of the Pharisee that was so lax in making Jesus welcome in his home, and do what I can to make my home a place that I would imagine He would find comfortable and peace-filled.

YIKES!!!  God, really, did You have to pick the area of secret sin that I have given over to especially in the past few years?  Couldn't You suggest something more 'spiritual?'  Something more fitting my 'druthers?'

Well, it is going to take a lot of praying to take this through more than the first gung-ho effort.  With working from home, my life has been so sedentary (sitting in front of the computer most of the day), that I have been having trouble with my back, shoulders, knees, and ankles.  So, this will be a push for me, not just to get started but to keep going.  But it will be totally and completely a work of love to accomplish it.

What do you think God might suggest to you as a way for you to express your love for Him?  I would love to hear about it.

Teachers are Tested!

OK, so beware! If you are a teacher or if you open your life up to share with others, you need to be prepared to live what you teach. I don't mean that in the sense that you must have everything you teach down pat, that you need to be an expert at it. What I mean is that as soon as you share something, you should be prepared to be tested in that area.

My last message to you was on forgiveness. Well, today my son and I had a knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred fight. Oh, it wasn't a nice little argument, it was a fight!!! If you know me and my sons at all, you know that is a VERY rare event. We love one another so much, and we all love peace and quiet enough to avoid conflict at all cost.

But this morning, we absolutely blew up at one another, each saying things we should NEVER have said, each saying things that we don't even mean just because our anger got the best of us. And it hurt so much. It hurt me, it hurt him, it hurt the rest of the family. The pain is overwhelming.

And now, I am facing the issue of forgiving (which I am sure he is also facing). Remember, I said it is not easy. Right now, I don't even want to talk. The feelings are still too raw, the hurt is still too painful, and I am not sure that we can talk without the whole thing blowing up again.

Like I said, it seems to be a given that as soon as you teach or share something, you are going to be tested in that area.

I ask for your prayers.

(Just being honest here.)

Love,
Ev


One thing have I desired and that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in His tablernacle. Psalm 27:4

Forgive!

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them]. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. Mark 11:24-26

I love Mark 11:24, don't you? It sounds as though whatever you want, if you pray, believing, you will get it. WooHoo!! So we spend lots and lots of time trying to whip up our faith to get those things we want! I've done it, have you? But that isn't what is on my heart today.

It's the following two verses that I'm thinking about today. And I wonder, are those as dear to your heart as the first? I would have to admit, I probably don't quote them as often. I don't hold on to them in faith, and I sometimes wish I didn't know them. (Like last night, when I was mad at my son.)

Interestingly, it doesn't say that if someone has something against you, go and apologize to them and make it right. That can be relatively easy compared to this. And Jesus does deal with that in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:21-24) But here it says, "If you have something against someone," you are to forgive them.

Boy, I know, it can be so hard to apologize to someone you have mistreated in some way. It can be hard to humble yourself and ask for forgiveness. But sometimes it seems even harder to forgive someone who has hurt or offended you. It is like everything in you rises up to protest! (That is your flesh, by the way.) We want our apology, we want them to humble themselves before us and ask for our forgiveness. We want them to explain what could have possibly led them to hurt us so.

And, it is even worse if they won't apologize, or if they are seemingly unaware that they have hurt us? (How could they not know?) All that is within us wants our feelings to be justified by their apology and an explanation as to why they hurt us.

And God tells us to forgive, even as we are praying, we are to stop and forgive. If we are holding something against someone, we are to forgive them, without an apology, without an explanation, without a confrontation. We are to forgive.

Actually, the last verse is really rather frightening if you think about it. "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." What? If I don't forgive, God won't forgive me? I'm not making this stuff up, it is in the Bible. We can probably try to argue it off theologically or something, but it appears to be a clear statement.

Funny how I expect God to forgive me because Christ died for me and paid the penalty of my sin. But then I feel totally justified in not forgiving the one who has hurt me. Boy, I want them to fix it!

Is it worth it? Is what they have done really worth not forgiving them? Is it worth inhibiting my relationship with God? Is it worth inhibiting my prayers? Last night I could feel my prayer inhibited by my self-righteous anger over such a little thing! (Thank You, God, for allowing me to feel it.)

I'm going to add one more thing, if someone has hurt or offended you, don't carry it around. You need to forgive them. In some cases, you may need to talk to them about it. One of the things I have found is that I am sometimes offended by my PERCEPTION of something said or done. Offenses are often the result a misunderstanding. So, sometimes it is a good idea to ask for clarification! (I know how scary that can be, but it is worth it to restore a friendship that has been damaged by the lies of the enemy whispered into our hearts and minds.) In love and a spirit of reconciliation, go to the person and try to clear up any possible misunderstanding. Of course, as I said, this MUST be done in love. You cannot approach such a situation in a spirit of blame and accusation.

As I said, unforgiveness inhibits your relationship with God (no matter how you try to convince yourself that it doesn't), and it inhibits your prayers. NOTHING in this world is worth that! By the way, I did forgive my son, and looking back on it, it was such a silly thing to be upset about in the first place.

Love,
Ev


One thing have I desired and that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in His tablernacle. Psalm 27:4

God of the Second Chance

Some time ago, I did a study on the arrival of the nation of Israel in the Promised Land and their initial stop at Gilgal (which derives from a root word meaning: to roll, roll away, roll down, or roll together). This was just after they had crossed the Jordan River, entering the Promised Land after 40 years in the desert.

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years until all the men who were old enough to bear arms when they left Egypt had died. For they had disobeyed the LORD, and the LORD vowed he would not let them enter the land he had sworn to give us--a land flowing with milk and honey. Jos. 5:6

The adults who had walked out of Egypt all had died (except for Joshua and Caleb). Those that entered the Promised Land were a new generation, a generation who had not been circumcised.

And their children, [whom] he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. Jos. 5:7

Now, notice the next two verses:

And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. Jos. 5:8-9

The Lord said to Joshua, "This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." As I read this in the study I was doing, I just wanted to shout AMEN. I think at one time we may all experience a time when we have felt as though we were wondering in a desert, even going through a time of doubting the Word, fearing and refusing to obey God in something.

The amazing thing is that God doesn't just drop us where we are and walk away. I thank and praise Him that He hasn't in my life. He still leads us, He still brings us, coaxes, and draws us along. And as we follow, as we begin to obey and to go where He leads, and as we seek Him, He does bring us into the place He promised. Then, when we put off the sin of our fleshly natures (our natural pursuit of our own desires) in repentance (our spiritual circumcision), in recognition of His great love and mercy, and in thankfulness for His grace, He rolls off the reproach of our Egypt, our past. He renews and restores us.

[It is of] the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness. Lam. 3:22-23

He is the God of the second chance, and when you have returned to Him in repentance, receive His forgiveness. Let go of the reproach. It is His will and His way to roll it off of you. Don't pick it back up and carry on with it. He has freed you to lay claim to the promises He has given you. Let it go, let the past go, in faith, thanking and praising Him for His forgiveness and compassion. Then, go on with Him into the land of victory, peace, and provision that He has given you.

 

One thing have I desired and that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in His tablernacle. Psalm 27:4