PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:  "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you sow."  -  Robert Louis Stevenson

IS YOUR HARVEST PLANTED?

"....for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."     Galations 6:7-9

Most often when we think of  Galations 6:7 we think of the man or woman who lives in sin and disobedience to God and eventually ends up reaping heartache and sorrow.  The person who drinks can reap being enslaved to a substance and perhaps loosing his family and fortune.  The person who lives in immorality can reap disease and shame.  And certainly that is one side of the coin.  " ..For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.  Galations 6:8."  But sowing and reaping can also apply to the good and godly seeds that we sow in our lives.  "But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Galations 6;8."  I heard someone say recently, "many people are frustrated awaiting a harvest they did not plant." How true that is.  If we want to reap a harvest of a life that is used of God we must plant seeds of discipline, faithfulness, Bible study and prayer.  If we want to reap a harvest of a happy home  we must plant seeds of love. kindness, selflessness and  loyalty.   We will never reap a harvest that we did not plant.  God encourages us not to be weary in planting seeds of righteousness because in due season we WILL reap a harvest.

Dear Lord,  help me to be planting seeds of righteousness in my life so that I can reap a harvest that will bring honor and glory to you.  And please help me not to grow weary in well doing.  In Jesus name.   Amen

  

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:  A good character is the best tombstone.  Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered.  Carve your name on hearts, not on marble."  - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

KNOWING HIM

"....shew me thy ways,  that I may know you..."  Ezekiel 33:3 

"But let him that glorieth glory in this, he understandeth and knoweth me... Jeremiah 9:24

"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."  II Peter 3:18

The Bible is our "know" book.  It tells us how to know we are saved and it gives us promises that we can know and claim to help us live a victorious Christian life.   But more than that it helps us to get to know our God in an intimate way.  Often we read our Bible in a perfunctory way with little enthusiasm or expectation.  Recently I was challenged to ask when reading scripture, 'what does this scripture tell me about God?'  What does it tell me about His character, what does it tell me about His love, His providence, His holiness.  I want to know Him more intimately through His Word.

"The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts."   - A.W. Tozer

Dear Lord,  thank you for your Word.  It is your love letter to me.  Help me to read it with expectation.  Help me to know you more deeply and intimately through your Word.  In Jesus name.  Amen

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:  I held a moment in my hand.  Brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a shiny sliver out of one hour.  I dropped it carelessly.  Oh God!  I knew not I held opportunity.    - Hazel Lee

DO NOT DISTURB

"A man's heart deviseth his way:  but the Lord directeth his steps."    Proverbs 16:9

Have you ever wished you could have a 'do not disturb' sign around your neck?  When I get engrossed in a project I have to confess that sometimes I do wish I had that 'do not disturb' sign.  Please don't bother me!  I am busy!  God convicted me about this several years ago.  It was a busy Saturday afternoon and I was in a tremendous time crunch trying to get my junior Sunday school classroom decorated for the new fall quarter so I could get home for more preparations for Sunday.   A little head popped in the door.  "Do you need any help Mrs. Lancaster?"  It was one of my Sunday school students.  My first impulse was to say, "Thank you honey, but I don't believe I do."  But the look on that little face, along with the nudging of the Holy Spirit caused me to say, "Well sure, I could use some help.  Come on in."  There is no doubt in my mind that I could have finished quicker had I worked alone, but I would have missed the opportunity to get to know my student better, to talk with her about spiritual things and to make some sweet memories for both her and her teacher.  I was reminded that day of Proverbs 16:9.  "Man deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps."  We can carefully plan and organize our days, but ultimately it is God who directs our steps....even our interruptions.  God is teaching me to not treat  interruptions as a source of frustration and irritation, but to consider whether the interuption could be an opportunity from Him.

Dear Lord,  please help me to look at interruptions with discernment, knowing that some interruptions may be a golden opportunity from you.  In Jesus name.  Amen

Pleasant Words For the Soul:
If my attitude be one of fear, not faith, about one who had disappointed me; "Just what I expected", if a fall occurs, then I know nothing of Calvary's love.
- Amy Carmichael

What Is On Your Dream List?

For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.  Proverbs 8:11

What is on your dream list?   I have dreamed for years of visiting the New England states in the fall when the leaves are resplendent.  Another dream has been to take our entire family on a cruise to "somewhere".  Those are just dreams--one is perhaps more feasible than the other, but it is fun to dream.  What do you dream of  -- a new house, a dream vacation, a beautiful new wardrobe?  Or maybe you dream of perfect health for you and your family, or a large bank account.  Do you ever dream of being a wise woman?  Proverbs 8:11 tells us that "... wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."   Whatever those things are on our dream list they cannot compare to the value and importance of wisdom in our lives.  We certainly need wisdom on a daily basis, don't we?  Each of us wear many different hats:  wife, mother, sister, colleague, friend.   And with those many hats we are called on to make many decisions every single day - many times a day.  We need wisdom!  How do we get wisdom?  First of all we must desire it.   In II Chronicles 1:7-10 God asks Solomon the fairy tale question, "what shall I give thee?"  Solomon's answer was --   wisdom and understanding.   He desired wisdom above all things and then he took the next step and asked for it.  James 1:5 says, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally.....and it shall be given to him."   There have been caotic, defeated, discouraging days in my life that would have gone so much better had I taken the time at the beginning of the day to ask for wisdom.  And of course all wisdom comes from God's Word.   We will never be women of wisdom if we are not women of the Word.  May wisdom be at the top of our dream list.

Dear Lord, help me to be a woman of the Word so that I can be a woman of wisdom.   Help me to desire wisdom above all things.  In Jesus name.  Amen

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:
Heaven above is softer blue,  Earth around is sweeter green;
Something lives in every hue that Christless eyes have never seen:
Birds with gladder songs o'erflow,  Flow'rs with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know,  I am His and He is mine.
- George W. Robinson

SEEING GOD IN EVERYTHING

Blessed are the pure in heart:  for they shall see God.  Matthew 5:8

Years ago in a special college chapel service my husband presented a beautiful monologue entitled, "Can Any Man See God?",  The story of the monologue was of a young boy who was fishing with his grandfather and as they sat on the bank with their poles in the water he asks this question, "Grandfather, can any man see God?".   After a long silence the grandfather replies to the boy, "Son, it is getting where I can't see anything but God.".  That is where I want to be.  I want to be able to see God in everything.  It is easy to see Him in the beautiful sunset, or the smile of a baby, or in the victories and triumphs when everything is going well.  It is easy to sing 'How great Thou art' in those times.  But do we see God when the clouds gather, our health fails or we face financial difficulties?  He is still there!  I recently experienced some clouds of heartache and uncertainty.  My heart was, and is, breaking for a loved one who has strayed.  I faced some health issues that were concerning.  Satan tried so hard to try to keep me focused on the clouds.  It is difficult to see God when you are focused on the clouds,isn't it?   As I began to thank and praise God for the situations that I did not understand and as I sang Him my song of thankfulness,  then the clouds dispersed and I could see His hand more clearly- - even through the clouds.

God wants to hear you sing when the waves are crashing round you,

When the fiery darts surround you, when despair is all you see.

God wants to hear your voice when the wisest man has spoken and says

your circumstance is as hopeless as can be.

That's when God wants to hear you sing.

Dear Father,  please help me to see you in everything - - the good,  the bad. the happy, the sad. You have told me that it all works together for my good.  Help me to be able to sing you my song of thankfulness ...even in the night.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:

"Humility is perfect quietness of heart, It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble."

- Andrew Murray

MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

"As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you."  I Samuel 12:23a

Has God ever convicted you, as He has me, of saying to someone, "I'll be praying for you," and then not following through with your promise?   We often use this phrase in the same way we would say, "See you later,"  How serious  is it to God that we follow through with our promise to pray for someone?  In I Samuel 12:23 the Bible says that we sin against the Lord when we fail to pray for each other.  Prayer was instilled in the prophet Samuel at a very early age.  His mother, Hannah,  was unable to conceive a child.  She cried out to God and made this vow to Him:

"O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life,..." I Samuel 1:11.

God heard her cry and answered her prayer.  She then carried through with her promise to God.  Through out the scriptures we find examples of Samuel praying for others.  I love in I Samuel 7:5  when Samuel said he would pray for the children of Israel he did so immediately.   Many times I have seen someone come up to my husband in a service, or some other place, and ask him to pray for a particular person or situation and he would stop right then and pray for them.   May the Lord help us to follow through when we make a promise to pray for someone.  And better still,  when we tell someone that we will pray for them to stop and pray right then...in the grocery store, on the phone, at work, in church.

"Confess your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed (my emphasis).  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."  James 5:16.

Dear Lord,  please help me to not be careless in promising to pray for someone and not following through.  Help me to see how serious this is to God.  In Jesus name.  Amen

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:  "If the praise of man elates me and his blame depresses me; If I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself if I love to be loved more than love...then I know nothing of Calvary's love."   ~ Amy Carmichael

THE LAW OF KINDNESS

Proverbs 31:26b - ....in her tongue is the law of kindness.

A law is something that governs or controls our actions.  If we are driving in a fifty miles per hour speed zone we are expected to obey that speed limit.  It is the law.  It doesn't matter if we are late for an appointment or if the traffic is slow and driving a little faster would not endanger anyone, we are expected to drive fifty miles an hour.   It is the law!  It would be a chaotic and dangerous world if we had no laws.  The Proverbs 31 woman had a law that governed her tongue and it was the law of kindness.  What a difference it would make if each of us would let the law of kindness govern our words.  No matter what the circumstances,  we speak words of kindness,  It is the law!   No matter what our mood is,  our words are words of grace.  It is the law!  No matter what time of the month it is,  the law of kindness governs our tongues.  Does that verse convict you like it does me?   May we let our tongues be subject to the law of kindness.

Dear Lord,  Help me today to let my tongue be under your control and subject to the law of kindness in all circumstances.  In Jesus name.   Amen

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:
If you look at the world, you will be distressed.  If you look inside, you will be depressed.  If you look at God, you will be at rest.  Corrie Ten Boom

THE POWER OF WORDS

Death and life are in the power of the tongue  Proverbs 18:21

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.  Ephesians 4:29

The tongue is powerful!  Isn't that the truth?  James 3:10 tells us that blessings and cursings can come out of the same mouth.  How true that is.  I want to be a blessing with my words, but sometimes the most hateful things can come from my mouth and I realize once again how powerful and untamed my tongue is.  Our words can indeed be a blessing or a curse.  They can hurt or heal.  They can encourage of discourage.  They can lift up or tear down.  They can build or destroy.  As Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue.  Words can be the death of a friendship.  Misunderstandings can escalate into unkind, hurtful, hot words and soon a friendship is dead.  Words can be the death of a marriage.  Many marriages are dying a slow death because tongues are  not guarded and one day words are said that cannot be taken back and a marriage is dead.  Words can be the death of a reputation.  Many people's reputations have been hurt or destroyed by mean words, critical words, slanderous words and sometimes lying words.   Like feathers to the wind words cannot be taken back.  But our words can also bring healing and life.  Have you ever been discouraged, at the end of your rope and ready to give up?  And then someone spoke words of life to you, healing words, encouraging words anid those words gave you new energy, a new attitude and a new determination.  I can remember so many times when I was discouraged and a note would come with healing words, or a telephone call would come with encouraging words.  Our words are very powerful.  How can we use our words to minister grace to the hearer as Ephesians 4:29 says?  Here are some things I've asked God to help me with:  1.  To remember that God will hold me accountable for every word I speak.  Matthew 12:33-37.  2.  To make a commitment that I will try to use only kind and gracious words that will build up and encourage.  3.  To focus on the positive and not the negative.  4.  To not waste time talking about things that can't be changed, or things that I am not a part of the solution.  5.  To ask questions.  To try and find out more about the other person and their feelings.  6.  To remember that sometimes the most gracious thing to say is nothing.  7.  To constantly check my heart because my words reflect my attitude and motivation.

Dear Father,  please help me to yield my tongue to You.  Help every word that proceeds out of my mouth to minister grace and encouragement to the hearer.  In Jesus name.  Amen

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:  "This is what the past is for!  Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."   ~  Corrie ten Boom

A LIFE THAT COUNTED

Mark 14:8a -   She hath done what she could....

Here is a profound truth:  we are all getting older.  Time flies, doesn't it?  And the older you get the faster it flies.  Someday each of us will come to the end of this journey called life.  When that time comes what will be said about you and me?  If you have received Christ as your Savior you will stand before the Bema seat.  What will God say about your life?  When your pastor stands before your grave will he be able to say one thing you have done for the cause of Christ?  Mothers, will your children say you made an impact on their lives?  T here is a woman in the Bible who had a life that counted?  How do we know?  The Lord said of her, "wherever this gospel is preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of her for a memorial of her."  Mark 14:9.  She wasn't a valiant Deborah, or courageous Esther.  She was just a plain, village woman named Mary.   She didn't compare herself to anyone else,  she just did what SHE could. The woman who had the greatest impact on my life was my first pastor's wife.  She was a short, plump woman who was plain by every standard and yet she impacted my life more than any other person.    As the child of an abusive, alcoholic father my home life was very chaotic and dysfunctional. She offered to me what I needed:  love, support, spiritual guidance, peace,  encouragement, direction - TIME.  The many times she invited me to her home were an oasis for me.  She taught me not only with her words of wisdom, but her life of love and compassion.  What can you do?  Whose life can you invest in and affect?  Be a Mary and do what YOU can.

Dear Lord, help me to have a life that counts.  Help me to not compare my gifts and talents to others but to love you with all my heart, as Mary did, and then to just do what I can to impact someone's life.  Amen

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:
If I take offense easily; if I am content to continue in cold unfriendliness, though friendship is possible, then I know nothing of Calvary's love. - Amy Carmichael

CHANGE ME!

 2 Corinthians 3:18 - But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Some time ago I was driving my car to a local mall to do some shopping.  There was someone else riding along with me that day with the smell of hell all over him.  Yes, it was the devil himself and he was rehearsing with me some hurtful words that someone had said to me earlier.  He was careful to remind me of every word,  every expression, her countenance, inflection of voice and body language.  The devil, if anything, is very thorough.  I, in turn, was complaining to the Lord about the situation.  "Lord, please help her to see how wrong she was.   Please change her!"  Immediately the Lord spoke to my heart.  "Are you sure it is she who needs to change?"  He reminded me of how my response had been.  He reminded me of how my attitude had been.  Had I displayed a more Christ-like spirit the situation no doubt would have been different.  As I asked the Lord to forgive me He gave me the words to this little chorus that I sing often when I need an attitude check:

Change me.  I long to be like Thee.

Change me.  Help me Thy will to see.

Change me.  In Thy image I would be.

Change me, Lord, change me now.

Change me.

Dear Lord, help me to see that it is not my brother, nor my sister, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.  May each day I become more like Thee.  In Jesus precious name I pray.  Amen

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:

"Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands."

- Elisabeth Elliot

CONTENTMENT:

Philippians 4:11–13 –Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I admire Paul in so many ways, but none more than in his commitment to be content no matter what his circumstances.   This is my desire, but I know I often fail.  My discontentment leaks through in so many subtle ways:  complaints, irritations, frustrations, impatience – - all are evidences of my lack of contentment.   One definition of contentment that I read said “a state of calm, peaceful satisfaction.”I have asked God to help me to be a satisfied, contented Christian, especially in four areas.  1.  With who I am.  I am who God made me to be.  God can use me just as I am.  2.  With how I am.  Even if I am not feeling well I can be pleasant and not complain.  3.  With where I am.  Wherever God leads me – no matter if it is the most remote place on earth, I can be satisfied.  4. With what I have.   Paul knew how to be abased and how to abound and to be full and to be hungry.   I can be satisfied no matter if I have much or little.

 Are you a contented Christian?    Are you in a state of calm, peaceful satisfaction today?  Are you contented with who you are, how you are, where you are and what you have?  Determine in your heart that with God’s help and strength you will be content, no matter what state you are in.

 Dear Lord, please help me today to find all my satisfaction in you and to be a contented, happy Christian.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

PLEASANT WORDS FOR THE SOUL:  "Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred.  It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness."  ~ Corrie ten Boom.

WAITING ON THE LORD:

Isaiah 30:18 – And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you:  for the Lord Is a God of judgment:  blessed are all they that wait for him.

Patience is a virtue that most of us struggle with.   Sometimes I think it has to do with control.  Often our flesh wants what we want, and we want it now!  Patience involves acknowledging that God is in control and that he knows what is best for us.   Patience also involves waiting , and oh how hard that is for those of us who are so impatient.   But looking back over situations in my life in the forty plus years that I have known the Lord I can see that waiting was the best thing.   My husband, Tom, was saved immediately after he joined the Marines in 1962.  Very shortly after he was saved God called him to preach.  He wanted to begin Bible College right away so he put in a request for an early out from the Marine Corp.  The request was approved all the way to the Commandant of the Marine Corp and then the Vietnam war escalated and all requests for early outs were denied.   We were so disappointed, but as we look back over the four years “we” spent in the Marine Corp we know that they were invaluable years in terms of our Christian growth.  Even though we went on to Bible College later we learned lessons in those four years that could never be learned in Bible College.   And God put a love in our hearts for the military that finally led us to serving our U.S. military full time in Germany for over twenty years.  We can see how gracious the Lord was in making us wait and how He was exalted through it all. 

Are you waiting for an answer or direction from the Lord today?  Wait patiently for Him and be assured that He is in control and when the answer comes you will see His grace and mercy was at work.

Dear Lord, give me patience today to wait on you.  Help me to rest in the knowledge that you are in control and all is well.   In Jesus’ name.  Amen.