"And walk in love, 

as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, 

an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."

Ephesians 5:2

Savior

Wonderful

Everlasting

Emmanuel

Teacher

Alpha

Real

Omega

Master

Adored

"Lord Jesus,

I want my life to be a sweet aroma 

to the Father just as Yours was. 

Help me to walk in love each day,

giving my life as an 

offering and sacrifice to You alone.

In Your Precious Name.

AMEN!" 

 

 The Garden of Your Heart

I Come To The Garden Alone

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

 And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

Words & Music: C. Austin Miles

 "I want you to walk with Me in the garden of your heart

where I have taken up permanent residence."

Jesus Calling

by

Sarah Young

When I read the above quote during my devotion time this morning,

this hymn came to my mind.

"I Come to the Garden Alone" 

was my Dad's favorite.

Even though I know it by heart, 

I printed out the words so I could meditate on them.

I wondered:

How much time do I really spend with Him?

How much time to I spend listening instead of talking 
when I am with Him?

How many times do I monopolize the conversation?

How many times do I rush through my quiet time 

to move on to the "important" duties of my day?

How much joy do I actually experience in His presence?

Do I want to "stay in the garden with Him"?

As I get older, the answer becomes more and more a resounding

YES!

One thing I have and am still learning is how to stay in that garden;

The garden in my heart where Jesus dwells.

Beginning my day in His presence through 

His Word and Prayer is a great start.

Keeping scripture posted in prominent places 

at home and work reminds me to listen for His voice during my day.

When I have spent time with Him in the morning 

and requested reminders of His presence during my day, 

He never fails me.

A word, phone call, e-mail, thought, or feeling

brings Him to my mind.

When I end my day by spending time with Him,

journaling about my day and 

thanking Him for my blessings,

it makes my joy complete.

 Decide today to spend time with Jesus.

Your joy will be complete.

"Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, 

fill you up with peace, 

so that your believing lives, 

filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, 

will brim over with hope!"

Romans 15:13 MSG

Hope.

So many people seem to have lost hope these days.

That's easy to do if your hope is in men, machines, or money.

It's what happens if you trust in fickle fame.

All of these make promises they cannot keep.

If you trust in them, you will end up in despair and hopeless.

Only God gives hope that never fails.

Only God gives hope that is eternal.

Only God gives hope that changes lives.

Only God gives hope that is true.

My HOPE in the LORD!

Where us your hope?

Dear God,

YOU ARE GOD!

Nothing can change that fact.

People may try to dismiss You.

They may try to explain You away.

The world tries to ignore You.

Then, when bad things happen,

they call out to You in fear

or they blame You in anger.

Others try to say You don't exist.

They make up all kinds of theories to 

explain the works of Your hands.

They ridicule Your children.

They try to erase the very mention of Your Name.

Even Your Church sometimes tries 

to change Who You are.

They want to ignore Your righteousness.

Your judgment.

Your wrath.

Just have enough faith and 

your life will be wonderful

You won't  have problems or troubles or trials.

Everything will be coming up roses.

Life will be sweet.

I have read Your Word.

I do not see those promises anywhere.

I do see Your promise to always be with me.

I do see Your promise to 

walk the dark paths at my side.

 I do see Your promise of the hope for a future.

A future with You.

Living in Your blessed Presence.

That's where the perfect life exists.

So no matter what "they" say.

No matter what "they" do.

One thing never has and never will change.

YOU ARE GOD!

and I am not.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."

Exodus 20:8 

This is one of the Ten Commandments.

 

Very few people actually keep the Sabbath today.

 The world certainly does not.

Most Christians do not.

We work.

We shop.

We eat at Cracker Barrel.

Even the church keeps us busy.

Ministers and staff certainly do not have 

a day of rest on the Sabbath.

How can we as children of God 

who want to honor Him

observe a Sabbath?

It's wonderful when we can have a full day to rest.

However, those are few and far between for most of us.

Recently, I received new insight into this while reading 

a devotion by Beth Moore

She wrote about Sabbath Moments.

Times during our busy schedules 

when we stop and smell the roses.

I like that idea.

I've decided to look for moments in my day 

when I can become aware of my surroundings 

and praise God for the little blessings.

What about you?

Aren't there moments in your day 

when you can take a deep breath 

and whisper the Name of Jesus?

That's really all it takes.

"Are you tired? 

Worn out? 

Burned out on religion? 

Come to me. 

Get away with me and you'll recover your life. 

I'll show you how to take a real rest. 

Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. 

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. 

I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 

Keep company with me and 

you'll learn to live freely and lightly." 

Matthew 11:28

Enjoy a Sabbath Moment.

What does your face show?

Anger
Surprise
Joy
Uncertainty
Sadness


These are just some of the emotions our faces display.
There are times when these emotions are justified.

Scripture tells us:

There's an opportune time to do things, 

a right time for everything on the earth:
 A right time for birth and another for death,
   A right time to plant and another to reap,
   A right time to kill and another to heal,
   A right time to destroy and another to construct,
   A right time to cry and another to laugh,
   A right time to lament and another to cheer,
   A right time to make love and another to abstain,
   A right time to embrace and another to part,
   A right time to search and another to count your losses,
   A right time to hold on and another to let go,
   A right time to rip out and another to mend,
   A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
   A right time to love and another to hate,
   A right time to wage war and another to make peace. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

 

 That being said, 

what our face shows can be our best witness.

A Christian who is loved by God 

should not go around with a frown.

A Believer's face should 

convey the joy found only in Jesus.

If you are loved by the 

LORD of lords

and the

KING of kings,

 

SMILE!

 

What do you write about when you don't know what to write about?

I'll just write about the joy I have in Jesus.

 The older I get, the less important "things" become to me

and

The more precious my relationship with Jesus becomes.

  My desire is to spend more time with Him,

to please Him more,

to know Him more,

to love Him more.

As I spend time deepening my relationship with Jesus,

 

joy

 

peace

contentment

and

love

are increased immeasurably.

Just know Jesus

and you will have joy!

A Breath of Fresh Air

"Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
      the whole countryside in bloom and blossom."

Psalm 104:30

One of the things I love most about spring is the first day 

I open my windows and 
let the wind drift through my house 
and fill it with a sweet aroma.

The stale winter odor is wafted away by the fresh spring breeze.
The scent of flowers and newly mown grass always lifts my spirits.
The sound of birds singing gladdens my heart.
My world is renewed and revived. 


 Spring has arrived!

Sometimes my spirit needs to be cleansed by a fresh breeze.
The troubles and trials of life have made me feel stale inside.
That's when I need to open the windows of my life 
and let God's Spirit drift through my soul.
My spirit is renewed.
My soul is revived.
God's breath of fresh air rejuvenates me so that 
I can live a life of joy, peace, hope, and gladness.
His Spirit fills me to overflowing so that through me 
He can fill
"the whole countryside in bloom and blossom."

 

 Spring has arrived!

 

Is Grace Fair?

The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. 

 A missionary spends her life giving to others 

in order to share the gospel with them.

She suffers many hardships because of 

her dedication to the work of her Lord and Savior. 

At the end of her life, she is welcomed into the loving arms of Jesus.

A young girl walks the aisle of her church to accept Jesus as Savior.

During her teen years she falls into the wrong crowd 

and leads a life of rebellion against God. 

As she nears the end of her life,

the Holy Spirit Who has been drawing her back for years,

finally breaks through her toughness and she returns to the Lord.

At the end of her life, she is welcomed into the loving arms of Jesus.

 A young woman rejects the good news.

She lives a life devoted to self and whatever makes her feel good.

She doesn't do anything terrible in the world's eyes, 

she just doesn't have a relationship with God.

One day a friend witnesses to her and,

under the conviction of the Holy Spirit,

she accepts Jesus as her Savior.

At the end of her life, she is welcomed into the loving arms of Jesus.

A teenage girl begins shoplifting for the thrill of it.

Soon that thrill isn't enough so she decides to try drugs.

A small habit turns into a life of dependence.

To support that habit, she begin a life of crime;

petty stealing, convenience store hold-ups, and bank robbery.

One day, a robbery goes wrong and a teller dies.

She is shot trying to escape.

As she lays in the hospital near death,

a chaplain witnesses to her, 

and she accepts the offer of salvation.

At the end of her life, she is welcomed into the loving arms of Jesus.

Grace.

Fair?

No.

Deserved?

No.

Available?

Absolutely.

Jesus!

For by grace you have been saved through faith, 

and that not of yourselves; 

it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:8

Astonishment!

What astonishes you?

"And they were all astonished at the greatness of God"

Luke 9:43a

I am often astonished at the ways God works in my life.

Then I wonder, why I am astonished?

Does God care that I'm astonished? 

Does He think I should expect Him to do these things because, 

after all, He is God?

I know God is an awesome God.

I know He still works miracles.

He has done many in my life and the lives of people I love.

Yet I'm so often still amazed at God's greatness.

 As I considered this, a thought came to me.

I believe God loves astonishing His child.

I believe it's like when I give my child a gift 

that is unexpected and brings them great joy.

It makes my heart smile.

Well, I am God's child.

He loves me so much more than the 

deepest love I have for my children.

It only stands to reason that the joy He experiences 

when He gives me the gift of a miracle 

would be so much more than any joy I experience.

When God astonishes you with a miracle,

let the praise and thankfulness you feel pour out of you.

Be astonished!