The Word I Heard

Monday.  The day after Sunday.  The day I either live what I believe or walk in a different direction. The question I'm asking myself this morning is, "Was the Word I heard yesterday and the worship I experienced with my brothers and sisters in Christ affecting the way I live today?"  I don't know yet.  I'm still thinking and writing through the experience this morning.  What did I hear?

My daughter was sick yesterday so she didn't attend church with us.  I left after the service to check on her and wasn't able to attend Sunday School, words I didn't hear.  The afternoon was filled with preparations for a concert I would be doing in the evening and I didn't have much time to ponder the sermon, words I did hear.  What I did think about, though, was the song that the women sang during the service.  It has been our Women's Ministry theme for about 5 years for our Summer Outreach event.  The song is "O Taste and See", based on Psalm 34:8.  "Taste and see that the Lord is good.."  This verse was playing over and over in my head yesterday.  So, the word I heard was, "taste". 

The author of The Psalms uses this verbage, I think, because he knows that if you do "taste" the goodness of God, you will be satisfied with His flavor, and therefore continue to crave God more.  The author knows, because of his own experience, that once you "taste" the Lord, you will have found what satisfies your spiritual hunger, that gnawing deep down in your soul, and, as a result, you will not want to go anywhere else to curb your appetite for truth, goodness, mercy, and love.   The author also knows from experience, that if you try to satisfy your soul with something else, it may taste good for the moment, but will leave a nasty "after taste" in your spirit; sort of like a strong cup of coffee does in your mouth. Yuck!

So, what have I been "tasting" lately?  Have I tasted the Lord's goodness or do I have a nasty after taste in my soul?  What word did you hear yesterday that you are applying to Monday?  The Monday difference is living out the Sunday experience.  My writing and thinking today has led me to dwell on God's goodness this week.  His goodness fills me with joy!  I can't think of a better way to reflect Christ but to be joyful.  How can I not be?  I've tasted His goodness in so many ways that I know from experience, too, that my soul only finds satisfaction in Jesus Christ. 

Have a "tasteful" week!

My Pleasure,
Melanie

Another Step Away

This morning, my daughter, Madison, began her junior year in high school.  Where have the years gone?   Earlier this week, she was cleaning out her closet and dresser drawers and found a photo album with some of her baby and toddler pictures.  It seems like yesterday that we brought this bundle of joy home from the hospital after a few days in the "nic-u", and placed her in a large Christmas stocking and took our picture under the Christmas tree.  What a gift she has been!  She is growing into such a beautiful young lady and makes my heart, and her daddy's heart, proud! 

Today I'm reminded of a song that I used to listen to in the car when Turner, my son, was small.  Sung by "Ariel", the Disney mermaid, it was a song about growing up and was sung from a mother's perspective.  The line that moved me to tears every time I heard it went something like this. "With every pair of new shoes, they take another step away from our care."  This is so true.  Every mark of growth on the wall or door frame,  means another step away.  Although it can be very emotional, it is also very exciting to watch your children grow.  Tomorrow, my son begins his senior year at the University of South Carolina.  He will be 22 years old in September.  He is now an adult and is even closer to stepping away and being on his own.  He is living at home this year after living away for two, and I couldn't be more thrilled to have him home for just a little while longer.  He is such a joy to have around.  He makes us smile and we're so proud of him!

Another step away, though, can also mean another step closer.  Closer to what?  Closer to the Father.  Closer to spiritual maturity.  Sure we all want our children to grow up to become independent, productive citizens of society, but more importantly, we want them to grow up and mature in Christ.  Another step away from the world and another step closer to Jesus.  This is what I'm excited about! Watching my children grow up in Christ. The most important job we have as parents is to parent towards that end- their spiritual maturity.


     My devotional this morning, from Mornings with Tozer, was about this very topic.  A.W. Tozer said, "The apostle Paul's greatest desire was to always move forward in the knowledge and blessing of God."  He went on to say, "Because he did not want to stand still, Paul testified: "I follow after; I press toward the mark.  I am striving to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold on me!" (See Phillipians 3:12)" Just because we reach one mark doesn't mean we stay there.  We press on toward the goal of Christ likeness.  That's what spiritual maturity is- looking like Jesus.

The small window of time that we have our children in our care is crucial.  We not only need to love them, teach and train them in the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord, but we have to live it in front of them each and every day.  We should all be in the process of stepping away from the world and stepping towards our Savior. 

                                                                                       

My prayer for both of you is....

"That you might be filled with all the fulness of God."  
                                                                     Ephesians 3:19

I love you both so very much!  It's my incredible pleasure to be your mom!

My Pleasure,
Melanie (Mom)
                                                                                                                   

"Please Sir; I want some more."

Remember the musical, "Oliver"?  Near the beginning of the story, Oliver, an orphan, is sitting at the table with the many other orphans, talking amongst themselves and eating their bowls of porridge.  It's very loud in the dirty, dungeon-like cafeteria. The boys around Oliver talk him into asking for some more.  All of a sudden, in the midst of the chaos, this very meek child gets up from his place and begins a long, slow walk toward the very large, gruff man in charge.  All eyes begin to follow Oliver, and the silence becomes so thick, you can hear a pin drop.  Then Oliver, as he reaches his destination, begins to speak in his trembling, pre-puberty voice and says, "More, please."  The large, gruff man is furious and says, "What did you say?".  Oliver politely responds, "Please Sir; I want some... more?"  Then in a very loud, disturbing voice, the man says, "MORE?"  Then all heck breaks loose and the orphans go wild!

I began thinking about this scene from this wonderful musical this morning as a result of last night's portion of an event that I've been attending this week.  The event is a VBS (Vacation Bible School) for women, designed and taught by the author, Denise Hildreth Jones. The Women's Ministry at Bethel Worship Center in Camden, SC are hosting the event for three evenings.  The scene from the musical, though, is totally opposite from how our Heavenly Father responds to our asking for more.  I love to learn more about God's Word and about His character.  It's so "filling" and satisfying to receive "more" from the One who feeds my spirit.  Denise is pouring out on us, this week, what she has been given so we can be filled with more.  Thanks Denise!

As we receive more, more is required. We are responsible for doing something with the "more" that God gives us.  In Luke 12:48, Jesus is teaching through a parable about the faithful servant and the evil servant.   He is cautioning them to stay focused and to be prepared for His coming, the second time. He has given them, His disciples, knowledge, spiritual ears to hear and the ability to understand what He is talking about.  Now it's their turn to respond.  They are to live according to the wisdom and knowledge that they have received.  What they learn, and now, Who they know, should change their lives.  Jesus says, "But to him who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required;...". NKJV (Jesus used the Master-slave analogies quite often because of the culture they lived in.)

Learning more is not only gaining head knowledge; it's applying the knowledge that you receive to your heart.  The heart is our soul.  It's what defines us.  It's our inner most being.  We are responsible for the knowledge that we receive.  As disciples of Christ, we are to put that knowledge into action.  The action is called "obedience".  The "more" we receive, the more we should look like Christ.  That's called "transformation".  His image reflected in and through our lives is the ultimate end of the "more" that He continues to reveal to us.  Wisdom, which is seeing life from God's perspective, leads to teaching others about the knowledge that we've received from God. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  NKJV  We obey because of our fear of the Lord.  Fear doesn't mean that we cower. It means that we love God so much that we would'nt dare... not to obey Him.  The fear of the Lord is a healthy understanding of who God is, what He requires, and then living out, in faith, what we believe and understand to be true. 

Do you want "some more"?  First, we have to finish what's on our plate; applying what He's already fed us and then ask for more. The more we live out what He's given us, the more glory He receives.  With ladle in hand, it would be His pleasure to serve you up "some more"!

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." Proverbs 9:9 NKJV

My Pleasure,
Melanie