A Heart For Jesus

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬ “We are the aroma of Christ to God”, I just want to reflect on this thought for a moment.  An aroma, per a dictionary definition is, “a distinctive, pervasive, and usually pleasant or savory smell”, or “a distinctive quality or atmosphere.” What is a pleasing aroma for you? For me, I love the smell of freshly mown grass (my allergies tell something different 🙂), the smell of coffee in the morning or bacon! When Danny and I were in Glacier National Park, I couldn’t get enough of the sweet smelling perfume in the air from all the wild flowers! And then there’s Gardenias, is there anything more wonderful than the smell of Gardenias? The dictionary definition also says, a “usually pleasant” smell, so what about those things that don’t smell so nice? For instance, the Corpse Flower, I’ve never smelled one, but I read where it smells like rotting flesh!

Have you ever stopped to consider, how awesome it is, that the Creator of the Universe wants us to know Him! That what He desires most is that we would have a relationship with Him! I just think that’s amazing!  Look at Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Do you see that? The Lord waits for us to come to Him. He wants a relationship with us! He wants to show us His love and compassion, how overwhelming that He should think of us! He wants us to trust Him, He wants to work in our lives, He wants the best for us! It makes me think of Psalm 8:4 which says, “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Yes, why Lord are you mindful of me? When I fail you a thousand times a day; when I choose my own way over yours; when I forget to pray or even acknowledge your presence, or the many ways you have pr

“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” Psalms‬ ‭40:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬‭ We are blessed when we trust in the Lord. But what does it mean to be “blessed”? I like this definition from Got Questions, “ Blessed  speaks of our inner state of well-being, the prosperity of our souls in Christ. Blessedness comes from unhindered fellowship with God the Father through our Lord Jesus. To be blessed is to experience the full impact of God’s presence in our lives now and for all eternity.”  For us to be blessed, our    trust must be in the Lord. So I ask myself, who or what am I placing my trust in? In the Old Testament, the Lord warned against worshiping idols. Putting our trust or hope in anything or anyone other than Him. We are to love Him with our whole heart. I’ve also noticed, especially in the Old Testament, Sometimes the word Lord is all caps, sometimes just the “L”, and sometimes not at all! So I did a little research. In t

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬‭ We have been rescued from satan’s domain and brought into the kingdom of Christ; We have been redeemed; we have been forgiven!  Don’t you love the sound of that! Rescued. Redeemed! It just fills me with such joy! With hope! But, what comes to mind when you think of darkness? What was your life like before Jesus? For me, I would say it was a time of darkness. Like Paul describes in Ephesians 2:1-3. Have you ever experienced a place, even if only for a short time, of darkness, where there was no light at all?  ‭‭ My husband and I have visited Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. As part of the tour, the guide turns off the lights. It is pitch black. Totally dark. You can’t make out any shapes of the formations that you know are there. You can’t even see your hand in front of your face! There’s just nothin

“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬ I like the thought of being a co-worker in God’s service. But it does makes me think, what kind of co-worker am I? Even though I am retired, I think I can still ask myself, do I faithfully serve Him every day? Am I doing the work He has called me to do, wholeheartedly or begrudgingly? Are there times when I find it easier to go along with the crowd in order to avoid conflict or do I stand for what is right no matter how hard it may be?  In Colossians 3:23, it says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Even when I’m just doing the dishes? Yes! Sometimes I think the attitude we have towards any particular task is what helps. Charles Stanley’s Life Principle #4 teaches us that the awareness of God’s presence, energizes us for our work. We can ask God to help us to do our best no matter what we are doing. We can practice thankfulness or gratitude with

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:” Ephesians‬ ‭1:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬ ‭ “I am a saint”, I’m not so sure about that, my halo is a bit crooked, but… Paul was writing to the people of Ephesus, people who were believers, who were faithfully following Jesus. But he didn’t call them Christians, he called them Saints.  So what does it mean to be a “saint”? One definition says, “In it’s most basic sense, a saint is a “holy one”, someone who is set apart for God’s special purposes””. So then, we, as followers of Jesus, are to be “set apart”. We are to be different from the world around us. In Romans 12:2, Paul instructs us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ‭‭Peter also reminds us,    in 1 Peter 1:15-16, “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your condu

  “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬ “Be still”, reminds me of when I was little, my mom setting me in a chair and saying, “sit still, don’t move, until we’re ready to go”!  But what does it mean to “Be still” before the Lord? Why is it so hard to be still? To be quiet? To wait! Seems like every time I sit down to be with the Lord, every possible conversation or scenario starts going through my mind! Or I start thinking about all the things I need to get done! How do I learn to quiet my mind; to “be still”?… Isaiah 64:4 says, ‭“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” ‭‭Waiting is hard. No one likes to wait, we have become an “l want it now” generation. And yet we wait. We wait in doctors offices; We wait in traffic and in lines at the grocery store. Life is filled with periods o