Beauty

What is precious to God? Have you ever wondered that? I have. I think about who He is and how everything belongs to Him. He owns it all. Created it all. Of all God's possessions what does He consider precious?

My husband and I had a situation where we had to look at our stuff and were challenged to think about how important it really was. Our home didn’t burn down, if it had we would have lost it all without having the opportunity to go through each item and decide: KEEP or Throw Away?

It was a long hard job. Some things we couldn’t keep even if we wanted to. Tears did come as I watched the garbage bags collecting my personal belongings fill up and multiply. Things that were very precious to me, I spent extra time working on to see if there was a way to salvage them. Some I could...some I could not. When I couldn’t I would tell myself “they were only things, they have no eternal value”. While that was true, the memory that accompanied that thing did have great value for me.

So what does God consider precious? I did a Bible search on it and found that in the book of Daniel God often referred to Daniel as precious. I wondered what kind of a man Daniel had been to receive such high praise.

Then I was reading in 1 Peter about women not needing to find their beauty in how they look. Because while a woman can be beautiful on the outside and have a natural beauty; many women (with the use of makeup, clothing, and hair styling) can also appear beautiful. But exterior beauty is not precious to God.

No, it is the beauty within that God sees as precious. And everyone can achieve that beauty. It is not dependent on looks or wealth. It is only dependent on a heart that seeks after God and strives to honor Him in thought, word, and deed.

So...
May you be found beautiful by God.

May your beauty pour out of you and bless everyone who knows you.

And may you be surrounded by others who have also found beauty that precious to God.

1 Peter 3:4 <NCV>

No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God.

Love

I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing if I do not have love.

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud.

Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others.

Love does not count up wrongs that have been done.

1 Corinthians 13:3-5 (NCV)

Love is NOT a feeling. Love IS a choice.

Expect

Psalm 5:3  <NIV>
In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
Preparing for church this morning I choose to seek the Lord expectantly. I don't know what the worship holds, or what the message will bring. I do know that I go with a heart prepared to hear from God. My requests this morning are simple:

1. That the Lord will be honored and glorified in the church service this morning.
2. That hearts will be convicted where needed, comforted where there is hurt, challenged where God may be calling, and encouraged.

AMEN

Encounter

Recently I was at a Christian retreat. Well, actually they said it was not a retreat but rather it was an “encounter”. Their reasoning was that an encounter is something that you remember the rest of your life; a retreat merely refreshes you for a time. It was only two days but it really did turn out to be an encounter. It was about “being” and not “doing”. Something I find impossible in the busyness of running a ministry. We prayed, rested, comforted, fasted, worshipped, and sought the Lord with all our hearts.

I also fasted from TV and any contact with others (except for my husband). I did not fill my free time with computer games or other things that distract me from seeking after the Lord. I did a LOT of journaling, Bible study, and spent long hours just “being” quiet. It was wonderful!

I remember one particular time when I was deep in prayer that I felt the Lord impress on my heart that “He is jealous for me”. The thought convicted that, in daily life, I devote so much time to tasks and ministry that it leaves little time for Him. I worry and pray for family and others yet spend little to no time asking: “Lord, what do You want to teach Your servant today?”

Suddenly my mind is flooded with Bible verses. One in particular that goes something like “seek FIRST the Kingdom of God”. And a popular praise song (“How He Loves” by John Mark McMillan) is playing in my head.

♪    He is jealous for me,

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,    ♫

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.  ♪

♬ When all of sudden,

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,

And I realize just how beautiful You are,

And how great Your affections are for me.    ♪♪

This morning during my quiet time I was reading 1 Corinthians 7:35 -

“I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.”

The words really hit my heart hard. Since getting back from my trip, all my time has been filled with distractions. I question if I experienced a retreat and not the encounter I had hoped for. So as I complete this short devotion I plan to take three minutes and just BE.

God bless and AMEN!