“Mmmmm. You smell like you. I like this.” After parenting for almost twenty years, a contented sigh and these words in the midst of an embrace never get old. I’m a wearer of perfume, and I have several favorites. But for my girls, one particular fragrance stands out. It’s their favorite on me. When ...
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Easter
What Are You Looking For?
What are you looking for? What are you desperate to find?
Is it something tangible, like a set of keys? Maybe a valuable piece of jewelry?
Maybe it’s something intangible—and much more valuable. Maybe you feel like what you seek is—out of reach.
About a month ago, my husband and I went to ...
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Did You Remember The Cross Today?
Working at my desk, piled high with paperwork. Responding to about 20 texts, while simultaneously updating spreadsheets and to do lists. Making phone calls, sending out more emails and texts, and reheating my morning coffee! This is just one day among many in preparation for a huge Saturday! I ...
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The Fragrance of Suffering
Frankincense, spikenard, myrrh, hyssop. Not sure which one it is, but the fragrance has clung to me all day. And I remember.
Every year a church in our area provides a walk-through "Passion Week Experience," Wednesday through Friday of Holy Week. It has become a regular part of my personal ...
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![This week in our small group study, I felt the Lord’s gentle chastisement.
We looked at the promise in Luke 11:28, “He [Jesus] replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’”
At first glance, the promise of blessing comes from obedience. But it’s much more.
In the preceding verses, Jesus had cast out a demon that caused a man to be mute. The crowd accused Him of casting out a demon with Satan’s power.
Jesus explained how ridiculous it would be for Satan to drive out his own demons. Then a woman cries out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you,” (v 27).
This is the sticking point. Jesus was in the middle of an important discourse when this woman interrupts Him. He corrects her with this:
✨ Blessed are those who HEAR the word of God and obey it.
That word HEAR means to LISTEN with FULL ATTENTION.
✨ We cannot truly obey God if we don’t know what He’s saying to us.
Basically, Jesus told this woman, and the others in the crowd, “Pay attention!! Don’t get distracted from my voice. I have important things to tell you. You won’t know what they are and what I want you to do, if all you’re thinking about is what you want to say or how you can gain attention. Put your attention on ME.”
It’s never fun to be Jesus’s object lesson.
The questions I’m asking myself …
✨ What keeps me from spending time alone with Jesus?
✨ When I finally get alone with Him, what distracts me?
✨ What keeps me from focusing on God’s Word?
✨ What causes my kind to wander when I’m praying?
➡️ Eliminating distractions …
➡️ Exercising discipline …
… to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
… brings true blessing.
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