Think Barbeque, or Steaks on the Grill

Today's devotion from Joseph Prince, speaks of the burnt offerings in the temple having a sweet fragrance before God.  I have to admit, that when I think of the Temple, it sometimes seems like a grusome slaughter house.  I understand that it provided the food for the temple staff, and I even can stretch my mind around the concept of how these sacrifices picture Christ's death meeting the many needs of sinners for a savoir.  But sometimes, I have to think, "why didn't God choose something less gorey to provide our salvation.  It sometimes seems no less ungodly as a tribal man sacrificing children to volcanoes. But, God wished to give us a more precious picture.  I never really saw past the sacrifice to the glory until this morning.  After the sacrifice was offered up, washed and totally unbloody on the altar, it was burned.  "Grilled!" We burn beef all the time, and love, love love the smell of it as we wait paitently to consume it.  The smell of the temple would be a good one. Like the fragrance of a good restaurant that makes us hungry.  God was wanting us to relate the sacrifice of Jesus to what comes after the shedding of blood.  Like the delightful fragrance of meat on the grill that calls us to gather at the table, the resurrection of Christ was the sweet fragrance of God's Hunger to comune with man on an intimate and family/friend level.  It is a symbol of God's desire to meet with us often through the day, as with when we would eat. It is a symbol of God's desire that we take a break from the work and weariness of living in this world and spend it satiating the hunger that has grown within us. But also to fill us with something of himself.  To be blessed by the goodness before us. To find sustenance to go on. It is the symbol of repetition as an element of coming to join with Him often. And in a manner that is not just necessary, but is a time of pleasure. It is a symbol of being drawn to the time by the sweet fragrance of it, just as our favorite foods would make us look fondly to sitting down to supper.  Isn't that a wonderful way to see the sacrifice of Jesus.
So often we concentrate on the horror of Christ's Death, that we just don't see how God wants us to remember it. The Lord's Supper itself was a repeat of this concept. He said, as oft as you do this, do it in rememberance of me.  What did he tell them to remember? That they had broken bread together...the blessing of being in his presence for all those many meals, and especially this His last. That they drank a refreshing drink, just as any group of friends might, when they are celebrating a holiday meal.  And He wanted them to remember, not that this was their last meal, but their first in a New Tradition. They would depart from the symbolism of the passover, when the death Angel passed over, and begin a new reason to gather in rememberance of His being the last sacrificial lamb, which would finally bring to them freedom from sin, and entry into new life.  A sweet time, full of fragrance, and a longing to remedy the hunger within.  That's what the burnt offering was about. And that perfect picture is how God wants us to see ourselves, because it is how He sees us ever since the death and resurrection of Christ....to all who will come to the feast. God laid out the table and he smells the sweet small of steaks on the grill. He says to all who smell the wafting of the smoke....
"Come 'n Eat."

Thank you Dear Father, for this image of how you saw the sacrifice of the savoir.  Each time the priests put up the burnt offerings, it was like smelling steaks on the grill to you. It was just you looking forward to the day that we would all gather round and spend time feeding at your table.  And you wanted it to be as easy and as fulfilling as sitting down to a good meal. You wanted us to come hungry. You wanted us to smell of the smoke, cause you wanted us to be so drawn by the fragrance that we just could hardly wait to be there.  Pure Joy! Oh my I'm getting hungry.  Thank you for this time together. AMEN

A Perspective on Love: Let me introduce you to Spence Gourley

I recently was able to make Spence a friend on Facebook, son of one of my husband's cousins - a long time friend and precious family. But we moved away before I got to know Spence very well.  At a family event I was introduced to his ability to sketch and asked him to consider being a member of a gallery of Artists that I was considering blogging about.  He said he would consider and when I had an opportunity to make him a friend I was glad to make the connection. But as a result, I have been able to be blessed by Spence's wonderful approach to being a young Christian man.  From his facebook comments and simple testimonies of faith, it quickly became appearant that he listens to the voice of God, and seeks his will. 
As a result, I wanted to share occasionally this young man's outlook, and how God speaks to his heart.

This blog: a perspective on -  LOVE, by Spence Gourley
Hello all, once again. It is a lot sooner than I expected to have another thing up. But God spoke and I listened. He wants me to explain what He has taught me about love. Like always I have no set plan or expectations for this. If I did then there would be no room for the flawless mind and organization of God. He knows love better than any.

Love is explained to us in 1 Corinthians 13.  So, I will start there, it seems like the right thing to do.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-13

“⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

I have read this scripture many times and my guess is that you have too.  Wanting to know what true love is. How we know when we find that special someone, how we should feel towards our family and friends, how we should treat our enemies.  I always got caught up in what it should feel like; how I should act to truly love someone.  But I thought about it more and more and I prayed to know what true love is.  Then it hit me right between the eyes! You know that feeling when you figure something out and when you do you could kick yourself because the answer was so obvious? Maybe I’m just way behind the rest of the world but it doesn’t seem like God was describing an emotion here. He was describing Himself.  All of these facts are a perfect match to our Savior and Creator. With this new realization in my life I have come to many new conclusions.

Relationships are something that we try to preserve by our own power. That is why they come and go. We are finite beings so we could never create anything infinite no matter how hard we try. If something has a beginning then it is inevitable that it will have an end.  The only way we can have a hope that something will last forever is to trust the promise that God made when He said, “Love never fails.” He is Love. He will never fail.

I’m just going to get to the meat, or the bones. Whichever. Anyway, we all wonder how we will know when we meet that special someone we will spend the rest of our lives with.  When we meet that someone and we fall in love and the scriptures say it will never fail. That is so incredible and encouraging.  But the only way we as finite beings have any hope of something infinite is to trust God, the only infinite being in existence.  God is not seen. I am thankful for this. If I saw God my eyeballs would probably shoot out the back of my head. I digress. But God is Love. If two people want to fall in love then they have to share that bond that one thing in common. God is the only source of unfailing love because He is the only thing that is unfailing and flawless.  We get caught up in trying to make something work by our power. We could do it but it would fall and fail with time. Anything that operates on time will be destroyed by time.  If we want to be fall in true Love we must be connected by God.  My dad once said, “If you go looking for love you will find something and it will fail. But if you let it find you it will be real.” This is so true. When we were sinners had no hope of survival God found us in the darkness and called out to us.  It was our choice to respond back and to accept His eternal love or to leave it. It must be the same for any other love in our life because God is never changing.

We have outward appearance and beauty to attract us to one another.  We could base our relationship off of this alone if we wanted but that would be relying on things we see.  The true beauty that binds two people is deep within.  It is my belief that God makes people in pairs. He doesn’t make them at the same “time.” But “time” doesn’t matter to God. He sees the big picture. He made us in His image (Genesis 1:27).  He is infinite so He has plenty of things about Himself to make individual unique people. At the same time we all come from the same source so there is someone that is a perfect match for each and everyone of us! This is where unfailing love kicks in. We have to search deep down within someone to find that part of God that matches up with our own part of God.  When those two meet they are inseparable because they are one. They are Love with is God. Be encouraged.  Don’t get discouraged when you haven’t found that special someone. But instead look for God in everyone then you will find a part of him or her that will bind you forever.  God is Love and He will never fail.

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This is a post from is facebook page this month:"Dear Future Wife,
 You cannot bring me happiness. I will not wait on you to do something you can't. My joy rests in Jesus. I don't even know for sure if you exist. The only thing that is certain is that I'm a sinner who deserves hell, but I've been saved by grace. Jesus will always be my happiness and joy. When I do meet you though I will love you all the days of my life. You will be a cherished blessing and gift from The Most High."Spence's prayer desire for us "is to just stay patient with the lost and focused on the Savior."

Lord, I am in agreement with Spence on this kind of love to have with our unsaved friends and family. You are willing to be patient and lead a lost soul along slowly until they see You Love them.  And we must learn to stay focused on you our Savoir.  If our eyes are on the things of life they overwhelm us.  Thank you for being the very definition of Love, and for helping Spence share it with us so well. Amen

A True Picture

My personal prayer garden has to include flowers. But I am not entirely sure that the actual Garden Of Gethsemane had flowers except when the Olive Trees bloomed.  I have often searched for information that gave a more realistic look at what the garden where Jesus prayed may have looked like.  This week I finally found information that gave me a more truthful look.  I have come to realize that Jesus may have gone there more for the symbolism than for the beauty of the garden, but I am sure whether a grove of olive trees looks less than "beautiful" to me, it was a place that Jesus loved to go. Today, gnarly semi-dwarfed, olive trees that are possibly hundreds of years old are sparcely scattered, and gravel like paths segregate them into loneliness on a bland beige hillside.  Not what it is believed to have been like when Jesus walked and prayed there.  In the day of King Herod, beautiful architecture and gardens and modern living were key to his staying in favor with Rome.  He hob-knobbed with the important emmisaries of his day. He wanted them to have a beautiful city to visit.
The Garden of Gethsemane was believed to be a gorgeous plush hillside, covered in productive olive trees and was "the view" from the Lion's Gate of the Temple. David, the former King of Israel made the road up to the summit of the Mt of Olives famous, because it is the direction in which he fled when he was pursued by his son Absolom, who wanted David's throne and sought to take it by force. So it was historical, and important to the people for hundreds of years. As you cross the brook Kidron, one of the first things you pass , as you begin to climb the Mt. of Olives, is the Garden of Gethsemane. Prime "Real Estate," in its time.  And it was a place where at the foot of the mount, on a busy thorough fare, a producer of Olive Oil, (the business to have in Jesus' day) had a successful grove of olive trees where the wine press could be found. More than likely, the owner pressed oil, and carried it to the market in Jerusalem on a daily basis for sale, as long as the olives were ripe for pressing.  The remainder of the year, this place was where the trees were tended to produce the most fruit.  It was probably leafless in the winter?  I am not sure, I should check to see if olive trees lose their leaves.  But were the winter birds seeking seed that fell to the ground during the harvest?  I can imagine that in the spring the flowering trees drew bees and sent a wafting sweetness across the countryside. It was a changing, growing, seasonal garden, and I will begin to look at it differenly, as I imagine my Lord praying there.  I am already excited. Because I already have seen what a great place it was, and I am delighted to grow in the Lord as he shares with me why He loved it so.

A place that was important to you Lord, is important to me.  I am realizing that Places were significant to you. Whether places in time, or places on earth, or a place in the universe....Places have significance to you.  Lord, teach me more about the places that have meaning to you, but also give me a truthful mental picture of each one. Help me share your love of each and every place. AMEN

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

My sister had invited me to come meet her new love. I can't remember if they were married yet, but I think they were.  Mom had done the unthinkable, and had sent my sister packing from home.  Mama couldn't accept her free spirit, and because of that we hadn't seen her for several months. My husband had become concerned about her and had begun searching for her earlier, and discovered someone driving her little red doodle bug without her in it. His imagination went to the worst of our fears and he followed the person driving all over Charlotte until he simply couldn't any more. This began a series of events that led to us finding her, and inviting her over for spagetti dinner to our house with a friend.  She looked surprisingly good, had found a good job, and was well on her way to getting settled into an apartment.  She never told us of how scared she was at night of the noises in and around that new apartment, or how dramatic the elements of her new life were playing out to a scenario of exploitation by the people around her.  She just kept believing that there was good in the world, and hiding her hurt, and pretending things were great.  Well they weren't, but there was a good guy on the horizon.  Her knight in shining armor, handsome as any fairy tale prince could possibly be, and ready to defend her against the evils of this world. And he did.
I will never forget the first time I saw his face. The two of them had escaped to Florida to live for a while, and like many young men, this dashing X Navy shipman, drank too much.  A lonely Florida apartment in Cocoa Beach proved to be way too lonely for my sister, and the dynamics of their new relationship, with the love of her life spending too much time with his drink, almost ruined everything. He had saved her, but now he was not saving himself.
My sister never spoke much of the details of that time, but I am sure she wondered how she ended up getting out of the fire but into the frying pan, and decided she had enough to come back home.  But our brave knight who had rescued her, realized his prize was worthy of love, and he returned with her to Charlotte to become her forever love. Parting their youthful mistakes, they found a nice little place to live and she invited me over to meet him.  I had no idea what he looked like, and my expectations were of someone similiar to the boys she had gone biking with in earlier years.
She was taking a bath when I arrived early, her familiar Tigress Cologne wafting through the air.  I was first amused that her kitten was also taking a bath. Whose cat likes a bath? In fact I was so amazed I almost forgot about meeting her special man. As I turned from the room to go out to the living room to wait while she dressed, I faced a huge poster on the hall wall, that I had completely missed coming down the hall.  On it were three amazingly handsome men, and I jested, "you better take take this poster down before he gets here. He is liable to be jealous of you having giant pictures of handsome men hanging all out in the open. Ha ha."  "He's one of them," she called back. " "Well I am sure he is handsome, but don't you think he might like a picture of him hanging instead."  "It is him. Well one of them is. He and a couple of buddies had that made." I suddenly became scared to meet him. These men needed to be in a magazine somewhere. That poster would have sold a million copies too. Wow. Wow was all I could think.
Then I realized I couldn't imagine which one he was. "Which one?"  Of course he was the best of the three. I suddenly was afraid I would act like a blooming idiot in front of my sister's new man. I was star struck. "He won't look so good when he gets home from work, he will be covered in concrete." She was so kind to not be smug and take advantage of the obvious amazement in my voice.  Not that she didn't merit such a man, but we both knew he looked like a movie star. Instead she was excited for me to meet him, because she truly loved him.
"Where does work?" "He is on the construction crew that is building the nuclear plant." "Nuclear plant?" "Yeah, you know, to make electricity."  Yeah, I knew what a nuclear plant was, but I had been in such a small world being pregnant with three babies one right after the other, that I didn't even know they were building a nuclear power plant. Until this day, every time a see a macho poster of construction workers, I think of how my new brother in law was on the best one I ever saw.

Now he is gone to be with Jesus, and all I can think of is how that wasn't so long ago...
Even though he half adopted my kids and treated them as his own, and years of his big heartedness have past, I can only see it as yesterday. He always spoiled my children so badly, that I had to discipline them for a week after they got home when they went to visit in the summer. I sometimes couldn't get them back once he took them off to wonderland. Their summers were full of delights that no one else in the world would have allowed.  My sister's hilarity allowed her husband to get in the middle of the wildest of kid friendly plans. Food fights, with a hundred dollar's worth of food.  Fireworks over the fishing pond, enough to make the pros jealous. Fishing, swimming, and gaming into the deep of the night and early morning.  Costumes, and decorations, and jobs.  He gave them jobs and paid them money to work! And then he let them spend it! How could parents compete with all that?
Unique in this world, beyond description, it leaves a huge hole in time and space to have him slip into the realm beyond.  But all I can say is look out Heaven, here he comes!  I wonder if they are having so much fun!!!! Oh God, we will miss him down here!!!!!!!!!!
Love always, Good Bye, until we meet again beloved friend.

"God my sister needs you today. Please be near her......I have no words.  All I can think of is the first time I saw his face. It was only yesterday.......OH LORD, help us to live with out him."

To my readers. please forgive my typos etc. I can't read this through my tears....