The Desires of your Heart

I was recently asked to speak to the United Methodist Womens group of Sardinia (Ohio) United Methodist Church for their spring dinner. I was honored to speak to them but warned them that I'm a writer, not a speaker. I asked the Lord for direction on what to speak about and this is the message that He gave me...

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

This scripture has played an important part in my life without me even realizing it until recently.

I think it's more of a hindsight scripture - and maybe after I share my story,  you'll be able to look back over your life and have your own story to share.

For a lot of years, my husband and I were what I would call nominal Christians. We were in church every Sunday morning, we participated in Sunday school and helped with some of the duties of the church, but we weren't totally committed to Christ.

When we planned a move from our hometown of Springfield, Ohio to New Richmond, Ohio back in 1992, our hearts were changing. We prayed before we started looking for homes and asked God for His direction. We found the perfect house between Amelia and New Richmond. The house was located next door to Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church which became a growing place for our faith. We were challenged by our pastor to spend five more minutes each day in devotional time and I took him up on the challenge.

As I spent more time each day in Bible study and devotions, the Lord really began to speak to my heart. I wanted to serve Him, but wasn't exactly sure what He wanted me to do. I was searching for His will and my heart was dedicated to Him (I was delighting myself in the Lord)

A spell of bad weather, coupled with someone's sickness, gave me an opportunity to become the message board keeper at the church. The road where we lived is a well-travelled road and I viewed the church message board as a way to reach all those folks who drove up and down our road each day. I suppose you could say that it was the "desire of my heart" to place the Word of God along that stretch of road.

Scripture tells us that God's word will not return void, but will accomplish whatever God wants it to accomplish. "As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11) I truly believed that Word and I wanted to get God's Word out to the general public.

It was about the same time that I began keeping a journal and recording my prayer concerns and God gave me basic images to go along with my prayers and Bible studies. I was learning daily about the power of God and was like a sponge, just soaking up His Word.

I wanted to reach people with the good news, but the only tool that I had was the little message board and the church newsletter that I had started. When our time was over at Mt. Pisgah, we began going to Bethel United Methodist Church and I worked on the church newsletter, helped with the message board, taught a couple classes and continued journaling.

In 1998 my husband was transferred to Chicago and my faith continued to grow, my journal continued to be filled with primitive images and my heart still longed to share the good news.

When we moved back to the Cincinnati area in 2000, God began to open doors of opportunity for me. He knew that I had a strong desire to pray and helped me to study everything I could about prayer. I helped an old friend work on a newsletter for her church and started putting my journal writing and images together into a devotional format. 

I was working for Health UC as part-time office help.

I remember asking God one day to find a way for me to use my experience with page layout because it was something that I really enjoyed.

Another door opened when I was asked to layout two publications for Health UC. I had to work closely with The News Democrat publisher, Steve Triplett because the paper was going to print the publications. Shortly after I finished that task, I applied for a page layout job at the newspaper and was hired. It was an answer to my prayer - God knew the desires of my heart and what seemed impossible to me, was possible for God.

As I worked for the paper, other doors opened. They discovered that I could write articles and sent me on assignments. My creative juices began to flow as I found an outlet for my "hidden desires." 

One of the assignments I'm most proud of was the series that I wrote about cancer survivors to promote the Relay for Life in Brown County, Ohio. When I received an award for that series, it was incredible. It was confirmation for me that I could really write for the Lord.

The more I wrote, the more I wanted to write and then I began to write a column for the Sunday paper. My publisher was very supportive when I asked if I could share my faith in my column. I didn't want to become known as a religious fanatic, but with the paper being delivered to every house in the county, I had a huge platform to share the good news. 

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart...

When I posted those little messages on the church board, I had no idea that one day I would be writing a column for the newspaper. When I asked God to use me, I didn't really know that I had a talent for writing. Journal entries are one thing, but writing on a daily basis for others to read is something quite different. 

I did finish my devotional book, but so far - no publisher. But God has even helped me with that desire. In May 2009, I had been let go at The News Democrat because of budget cuts and I began posting my devotionals on this blog under the title "Getting to Know God." 

I prayed about that decision also and asked God to make those God-inspired devotions reach those who needed to know about His great love for them. 

I'm happy to report that as of this week, 13,219 people have viewed my blog. Everyday between 40 - 50 people from around the world access my blog and get to read about God's love. In the three years since I started it, people from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Philippines, Australia, India, Russia, South America, the middle east, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Singapore and South Africa have visited my blog. Today I am happy to say that I am sending God's Word around the world and it all started with a little message board at a little country church.

Does God know the desires of your heart? Look into your heart very closely and then be prepared when God starts fulfilling those desires. 

Jesus is the Easter lamb

Happy Easter! The focus this week for Christians around the world has been on the events in the life of Christ leading up to His death on the cross and His resurrection which we celebrate today.

I’ve spent some time this week reflecting on Passover and the Passover Lamb. The Word of God is filled with references to lambs and and the shedding of their blood. It sounds gruesome, but as the word says, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” It’s necessary and a blessing if we want a relationship with the God of the universe.

At His last supper with His disciples, Jesus blessed the cup of wine and told His disciples that it represented His blood, which was the new covenant. He also blessed the bread and asked His disciples to eat it in remembrance of Him. The communion bread represents the body of Christ and the wine represents His sinless blood.

If we compare the Jewish Passover with what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we can find so many similarities. The Passover lamb was to be slaughtered at twilight, the Jewish people had to apply the blood of the lamb to the doorposts of their homes and then eat all of the lamb. When the angel of death went throughout Egypt, it passed over the homes where the blood was applied and the first born in the homes where there was no blood all died. Jesus died on the cross in the late afternoon, His blood covered the beams of the cross which represent, to believers, a doorway to eternal life.

As believers, we symbolically eat His body and drink of His blood every time we take communion - it is an act of remembering what He did for us.

I find it interesting that people are referred to as sheep throughout the Bible and Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God. If we think of Him as a lamb, we think of a meek, helpless, docile creature. But the Bible reminds us in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

Jesus could have become the King of the World when He walked on the earth, but that wasn’t the reason He was here. He came to offer salvation to the rest of us weak sheep. The only way He could do that was to become a “sheep” himself.

If that was the end of the story, it would be kind of sad, but His resurrection was a demonstration of God’s power and Jesus’ willingness to die for our sins was the ultimate in obedience to God.

The good news is that Jesus will come back again, but not as a meek lamb. The next time that Jesus sets His feet on the earth, it will be as a conquering king and all of those who believe in Him and have accepted His gift of forgiveness will join with Him when He returns.

That is the message of Easter - we serve a king who willingly died for us. We serve a king who has overcome sin and death. Our King Jesus is alive and well and just waiting for the right moment to return and set up His government on earth.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Surrender to Christ

I can't remember a time when I didn't believe in Jesus Christ. As a child, my parents taught me about Christ, I went to Sunday school each week and truly loved Jesus, but there was still something missing. I had the love of Jesus in my heart, but it wasn't until later in life that I finally gave up control of my life and let God's Holy Spirit take over.

We can have head knowledge about what Jesus did on Calvary, but that knowledge has to become personal because we were created by a relational God. He wants to play a part in our everyday, walking around through the world life.

I was 42 years old when I finally got it! 

I had more time on my hands than ever before and was challenged by my pastor to spend an extra five minutes each day reading God's Word. I devoted the first part of each morning to reading the Bible and the Upper Room Devotional book. I started writing down the scriptures that spoke to my heart. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was filling my heart with God's Word and that enabled His Spirit to begin a good work in me.

I can't tell you the exact date, but one day all of the sins I'd ever committed flashed before me and just like Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-5) I felt completely ruined. It seemed that there was no hope for someone as sinful as me. Repentance was the necessary first step toward a new relationship with God.

Suddenly, the selfless act of Christ dying on the cross took on new, personal meaning for me. He died for my sins - my sins! He didn't have to do it, but His love for me was so great that He chose to cover my sins. 

I went to my knees that day in my living room and surrendered my life to Him. My prayers of gratitude seemed to flow for hours. I just kept repeating to God that if I stayed on my knees before Him for the rest of my life, it wouldn't be long enough to thank Him for what He had done for me. 

My life was changed, my heart was changed - I was still the same old me, but there was now a lightness within me that is almost impossible to explain. In that short span of time - probably about an hour - I knew that I would never be the same.

God's Holy Spirit had been waiting for me to surrender and now He could guide and direct my paths.

I had an assurance that I would spend eternity with God and it was the most freeing experience of my life.

I don't want to mislead you into thinking that my life has been a bed of roses since that encounter, but from the moment that I surrendered my life to Christ completely, I have felt the presence of God with me through all of life's ups and downs. I'm not in this alone.

There is an old hymn written by Charles Wesley that best expresses this new personal relationship. I want to share the words with you.

And Can It Be?

And can it be that I should gain an intrest in the Saviors blood? 

Died He for me, who caused His pain? 

For me, who Him to death pursued? 

Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay. 

Fast bound in sin and nature's night: Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light. 

My chains fell off; My heart was free. 

I rose, went forth and followed Thee. 

Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

If you don't have Christ in your heart, if you haven't really surrendered your life to Him but you'd like to, I suggest you start by reading these verses in Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8 and 10:8-10.

After you've asked for forgiveness and have truly repented of your sins, invite God's Spirit to take control of your life. You will never regret it.

Keep reading God's Word because it is your best defense!

Returning home

There is just  something about this time of year that makes home extra-special. The time change has many of us returning home from our work day in darkness, but if you're lucky enough to have someone waiting for you, the lights may be shining in the darkness, welcoming you back from a long, hard day.

I can remember walking up the street toward my home when I was a kid and to see the kitchen light shining in the darkness was always so comforting. I knew that my mom would be in the kitchen cooking up dinner and the house would be filled with the smells of something tasty. The house would also be warm and toasty, a nice change from the chilly autumn air. My family was there, the people who loved me the most and soon we would all be crowded around the kitchen table sharing the events of our day with one another.

As I drove up our driveway the other evening, the memories of my childhood popped into my mind and created a warm, cozy feeling. The lights were welcoming me home and although my mom wasn't in the kitchen cooking, my husband was busy preparing dinner and it smelled wonderful when I walked through the door. We spent the evening sharing the highlights and low points of our day. The feeling of being loved and cared for was the same as that of my childhood.

As a Christian, I've often imagined what it will be like when I leave this old world behind and enter the gates of Heaven. I expect it to be a homecoming of "epic proportions." The warm, cozy feelings I've had on this earth are just a preview of what awaits me there.

Jesus said that he was going to prepare a place for His disciples and that we would one day spend eternity with Him. 

I'm not sure what my heavenly dwelling will look like, but I know that when I arrive there, I'll just know that I've arrived home. I don't think we'll need lights to illuminate the darkness, the Bible says that we won't even need the sun because God himself will illuminate the Holy City. There will be plenty of loving people waiting to greet me and I'll be enveloped in a loving environment.

Thanksgiving was observed in homes across our nation in November. I'm sure that many of the gatherings were filled with happy reunions and loving conversation, but there were also many stress-filled family gatherings. Many folks who had no family to celebrate the day with or those who were estranged from their families. 

Not everyone has memories of homes filled with love and acceptance. There are many folks who have missed out on a welcome hug as they return home. If you know someone like that, include them in your own celebrations. If they turn down the invitation, fix them a plate and deliver it to them. Find a way to create a beautiful memory for them. Sometimes memories are all we need to make it through the day. 

Joyful, joyful we adore Thee

Joy is such a small little word, but it is an amazing word - the dictionary describes it this way: It is an emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires; a state of happiness or felicity. Other words to describe joy include delight, gaiety, bliss - the word joy is derived from the Latin word gaudia which is akin to the Greek word to rejoice.

As I ponder the word joy this third week of Advent, it seems that all those definitions fit with the plans that God had when He sent Jesus to earth. The life, death and resurrection of Christ has evoked in believers a sense of well-being; God himself must have experienced great joy when Christ agreed to come and live among mankind and willingly die for the sins of the world because reconciliation was what He had desired for mankind and we have great joy and can rejoice because of the great love that God has shown us in making a way for us to inherit eternal life. 

The birth of Christ is cause for rejoicing - it should give us a sense of complete joy.

The Bible is full of joy from the beginning to the end. In the Old Testament the Israelites would often shout for joy, sing with joy and hold joyful celebrations - the angels have been known to shout for joy and bring news of great joy, even the unborn can leap for joy and the trees of the field can sing for joy.

God can fill us with joy, clothe us with joy, anoint us with the oil of joy and crown us with everlasting joy. Joy can be found within a city and entire nations can be joyful.

However, just because we have been joyful doesn't mean that we will always stay joyful - the Bible also warns us that joy can come to an end, it can be replaced with panic, it can wither away. 

Is there any hope for us when we lose our joy? Yes, because the Bible also says that joy can be restored - we can bring joy to others and other Christians can be our joy. Joy can also overtake us when we least expect it!

Even trials can produce joy within us: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

My mom used to say that happiness was a state of mind, we could choose to be happy no matter what the circumstances in our lives and I believe that we can choose to be joyful no matter what! The Bible tells us to be joyful always - not just when things are going our way, but 24/7. We have a lot to be joyful about, sometimes we just need a reminder.

Peace, peace, wonderful peace

As we celebrate the second week of Advent the focus is on Peace. 

Peace is also a fruit of the Spirit which is available to all followers of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah prophesied the birth of the Messiah with these words.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:6-7

Although Jesus is prophesied to be the Prince of Peace, He himself said that He did not come to bring peace.

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:32-39

He basically said that His teachings would turn unbelievers against those who believe - causing division. He also said that His followers would have to love Him more than anyone else. As believers in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He is our master and the one we will have to answer to for our actions. He should take first place in our hearts and receive all of our devotion.

The angels announced His birth with these words, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:14

Since we have accepted God's gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, His favor is now resting on us and the peace we have within us is different from the peace that the world understands. The world sees peace as an absence of war, but the peace that we have through our belief in Christ Jesus is much more than just a truce or an agreement between people to bury the hatchet.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the believers in Philippi when two women in the church had some sort of disagreement, "And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

The peace that Jesus brought to earth defies understanding and can be accomplished only through Him. God sent Jesus to earth to reconcile mankind to Himself and that peace was accomplished through the blood of Jesus.

The peace of Christ is available to us but it is something that we must seek, we must pursue peace and then we are to let it rule in our hearts remembering that we (Christians) are all one body. When we let the Spirit of God prompt us to be obedient, the peace we receive from God flows through us like a river.

Growing in love...

I have recently spent some time reading God's word and what it has to say about the fruit of the Spirit. 

If you are a born-again believer of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God is dwelling inside you. That is a fact, believers are filled with the Spirit, but not all believers walk in step with the Spirit. God has given us freewill and we can choose to stray from His plans for our lives, but when we listen to the still, small voice within and are obedient, God's Spirit will lead us along pathways that we never dreamed of traveling. 

I have written before about the fact that, as believers, we are to stay connected to the vine (Jesus), but did you know that as long as you stay connected, God will produce fruit in your life?

Love is one of the fruit that is produced and God's word has so much to say about love that I'm not sure I can cover it all in one blog. 

The dictionary definition of love refers to "a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties." There are many types of love, but the love that I'm looking at today is "agape" love. It's an unselfish love, a love that is concerned for the good of others. It's the kind of love that God has for the world and all the people of the world. It is a perfect love that doesn't depend on what someone does or doesn't do, because God took care of our redemption for us on the cross. 

In scripture I read that God's love is faithful and unfailing; His love endures forever. He keeps His covenant of of love with those who love Him. His love is abounding, it's far-reaching, He fills the earth with it and loves His creation. He also disciplines those He loves and remembers our love for Him. He loves us, as believers, in the same manner that He loved Christ Jesus. His love has great depth. 

So what should our fruit of love look like? Jesus told His disciples to love God and love others. These were the two greatest commandments. 

We should love wisdom, discipline, our friends, our enemies, God's law, His salvation and His righteousness. 

Love should compel us to build others up and worship God. When we walk in God's ways, we will find ourselves loving like God loves. That should give us a reason to rejoice, the far-reaching, eternal love of God gives us a desire to love heaven, our eternal home. 

I also discovered that nothing can quench love and it can keep us from the pit of destruction. The love that God has for us is capable of quieting us, making us patient and kind and urging us to do everything in love.

This is one of the fruit that I often struggle with. Let's face it, some people are just harder to love than others, and yet, if we can remember that God's Spirit is living in us, then we can become instruments of His love. He will love others using us as a means to reflect that deep, abounding, eternal love to all those we meet. It's not about us and what we think or "feel," but our lives are about our Creator and His faithful love to all those He created. 

Jesus said that people would know that we are Christians by the love that we show. It may not come easy for us to show that love, but we are commanded to do it. 

I often use my time while waiting in line at a department or grocery store, just looking around at people. I'm trying to look at them through the eyes of God's love. Each person, young or old, tall or short, rich or poor, is created by God and has the potential to become a brother or sister in Christ. Maybe no one has ever prayed for them or maybe they are resisting God's gift of salvation. I can't know what is in the hearts of people, but God knows and God's word tells me that He doesn't want anyone to perish. The blood of Christ was shed for all people to receive eternal life. Maybe God just wants me to look at folks through His eyes of love and pray for those who haven't accepted His gift. 

I heard someone put Christianity this way - we are like the moon. The moon itself isn't a source of light, it can only reflect the sun. We are to be a reflection of God's Son in a dark world. Keeping in step with God's Spirit within us, can make us shine and illuminate the dark places where we walk. Walk in love this week and shine!