In His Word Wednesday- Sweet Smelling Aroma

2Corin. 2:15 "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing..."

Aroma is defined in a couple ways. Here is one I found, and thought appropriate. Aroma- a distinctive odor that is pleasant .

If we are to be an "aroma" for Christ, are we over the top? Are we in people's faces? Are we pointing fingers? Or do we keep secret what we know? DO we just hope that people will notice Christ in us? The "aroma" is distinctive. That means people will take notice, like there is "just something about them!". And it is "pleasant"- pleasing, agreeable, or enjoyable; giving pleasure.

Are we enjoyable? DO we give others pleasure by just being around them?

As a woman, we need to restrain those lips (Prov. 10:19), we need to be ready with a good word (Prov. 12:25) and a wise tongue (Prov. 12:18). We need to keep our answers soft (Prov. 15:1) and our words sweet (Prov. 16:21, 24). Remember~ idol chatter, leads to poverty (Prov. 14:23). SO keep busy doing the Lord's will!

All of these verses and more, I have highlighted in my Bible in pink. Everything in Pink in my Bible is for me, as a woman. So then, when I flip through, I can be reminded to look at each of those words and be reminded what kind of Aroma I am to be as a woman.

For other words of encouragement & prayer requests, join us IN His Word.

Word for Today

" For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans 8:6

Wow, to worry about the things of this world, to worry about my house not being completed, or to worry about my boys being hurt and I won't be there to help them, or whatever- is to be carnally minded. I can't control these things, so why am I worrying over them?

But, if I am spiritually minded, I will have life and peace. So true, isn't it? When I give something over to God because I know there is nothing I can do about it, He gives me such a peace, and therefore He gives me life! I have A life because it isn't filled with worry and doubt.

When the worry creeps in, say I trust you Lord, and then push it (pull it, drag it) out of your mind. If it creeps back in, say it again. I trust you Lord. And MEAN it! I TRUST YOU LORD!!! Take a deep breath and TRUST HIM.

Jesus~ Thank you so much that we can cast our burdens on You and You will take care of them. We are human, and cannot control all things. But You can control all things, help me to realize that and to trust You, at all times. I love you so much and I thank You for loving ME. ~Amen

Serve

Why is it that people measure the success in their life by having people serve them? Why do we have to go to hotels to be served, then leave it a mess? Why do we need a house keeper, and expect the mess WE make to be cleaned up?

Jesus came to the earth to be an example for us.

Matthew 20:28 "He didn't come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people."

Jesus came to serve. Why do WE expect to be served? Are we showing our family that example also? Or are we teaching them the habit too, of "I deserve this, they should be serving us!"?

We need to come down, off our pedestal that we set ourselves on, and start again. Serving. Serving God first, then our families, then others. Start with #1 (God).

God- Help us to stop expecting the Hollywood standard in our lives. Help us to stop acting like spoiled brats, and expecting others to serve US! We need to humble ourselves now, or be humbled later. Thank you that You send Jesus as a perfect example for us. Help us to take Him in and not only act it out, but absorb it. We love you ~Amen

Gossip

I'd like try to say that I hate gossip. Because I DO.

BUT....

Deep down, we listen. Taking it in. Wondering, Is it TRUE?


Proverbs 26:20-22 Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, quarreling stops. Charcoal keeps the embers glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive. Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it!


Proverbs 16:27-28 Evil people look for ways to harm others; even their words burn with evil. Gossip is spread by wicked people; they stir up trouble and break up friendships.

As tasty as Gossip can be, we have to remember not to spread the word! Because as verse 28 says above: Gossip is spread by wicked people. Are you a wicked person? DO you want our Lord and Savior to call you a wicked person? Are you trying to harm others with your words, because if you spread any evil words, TRUE or NOT, you are gossiping, and you are spreading evil.


Pro 4:20-24 My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. Never say anything that isn't true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words.

Our lives are shaped by our thoughts... Do you want your life based on the temporary or the ETERNAL?


Proverbs 16:20-21 Whoever gives attention to the LORD'S word prospers, and blessed is the person who trusts the LORD. The person who is truly wise is called understanding, and speaking sweetly helps others learn.

Listen only to God's Word, drinking IT in like honey. It will not make you sick, it will prosper your life and bring blessing to you. Wise words will promote health (Prov. 12:18), and make the people around you glad (Prov. 12:25)!

Remember the words that are coming from your mouth today...

Do you have FAITH?

Heb 11:1 Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. 2 It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God. 3 Because of our faith, we know that the world was made at God's command. We also know that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen. 4 Because Abel had faith, he offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. God was pleased with him and his gift, and even though Abel is now dead, his faith still speaks for him. 5 Enoch had faith and did not die. He pleased God, and God took him up to heaven. That's why his body was never found. 6 But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him. 7 Because Noah had faith, he was warned about something that had not yet happened. He obeyed and built a boat that saved him and his family. In this way the people of the world were judged, and Noah was given the blessings that come to everyone who pleases God. 8 Abraham had faith and obeyed God. He was told to go to the land that God had said would be his, and he left for a country he had never seen. 9 Because Abraham had faith, he lived as a stranger in the promised land. He lived there in a tent, and so did Isaac and Jacob, who were later given the same promise. 10 Abraham did this, because he was waiting for the eternal city that God had planned and built. 11 Even when Sarah was too old to have children, she had faith that God would do what he had promised, and she had a son. 12 Her husband Abraham was almost dead, but he became the ancestor of many people. In fact, there are as many of them as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the beach. 13 Every one of those people died. But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised. They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth. 14 When people talk this way, it is clear that they are looking for a place to call their own. 15 If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time. 16 But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven. That's why God wasn't ashamed for them to call him their God. He even built a city for them. 17 Abraham had been promised that Isaac, his only son, would continue his family. But when Abraham was tested, he had faith and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, 18 (SEE 11:17) 19 because he was sure that God could raise people to life. This was just like getting Isaac back from death. 20 Isaac had faith, and he promised blessings to Jacob and Esau. 21 Later, when Jacob was about to die, he leaned on his walking stick and worshiped. Then because of his faith he blessed each of Joseph's sons. 22 And right before Joseph died, he had faith that God would lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. So he told them to take his bones with them. 23 Because Moses' parents had faith, they kept him hidden until he was three months old. They saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king's orders. 24 Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called Pharaoh's grandson. 25 He chose to be mistreated with God's people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while. 26 Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the Messiah, and he looked forward to his reward. 27 Because of his faith, Moses left Egypt. Moses had seen the invisible God and wasn't afraid of the king's anger. 28 His faith also made him celebrate Passover. He sprinkled the blood of animals on the doorposts, so that the first-born sons of the people of Israel would not be killed by the destroying angel. 29 Because of their faith, the people walked through the Red Sea on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do it, they were drowned. 30 God's people had faith, and when they had walked around the city of Jericho for seven days, its walls fell down. 31 Rahab had been a prostitute, but she had faith and welcomed the spies. So she wasn't killed with the people who disobeyed. 32 What else can I say? There isn't enough time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33 Their faith helped them conquer kingdoms, and because they did right, God made promises to them. They closed the jaws of lions 34 and put out raging fires and escaped from the swords of their enemies. Although they were weak, they were given the strength and power to chase foreign armies away. 35 Some women received their loved ones back from death. Many of these people were tortured, but they refused to be released. They were sure that they would get a better reward when the dead are raised to life. 36 Others were made fun of and beaten with whips, and some were chained in jail. 37 Still others were stoned to death or sawed in two or killed with swords. Some had nothing but sheep skins or goat skins to wear. They were poor, mistreated, and tortured. 38 The world did not deserve these good people, who had to wander in deserts and on mountains and had to live in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. 40 This was because God had something better in store for us. And he did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us.

Do we have as much faith as those mentioned in these verses?

God- Please give us faith, true faith like Your people in these passages. Please help us to shine, and show our faith to all we come in contact with. Please let us be a reflection of your goodness. And to show how limitless and good You are. Your tender mercies are truly immeasurable. Thank you for all that You have done, and will do in the lives of those who simply have the faith of a mustard seed! We love you , Father. ~Amen

New Covenant

Jer 31:31 " The LORD says, "The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. "

The Old Covenant was the Commandments that God gave to Moses.

Jer 31:33 The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

I will put my law within them? This would be the Holy Spirit, would it not? God does not change, but He does make (obviously) new covenants. He didn't abolish the old, because the Old serves as a reminder (Heb. 1:3). He made a New Covenant, He gave us His law written on our hearts and in our minds. So with the Holy Spirit living in each one of us, we know right from wrong. We don't need a list to follow any longer.

34 None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken."

We can know the Lord, WITHOUT a person having to point things out or teach us. We can believe and be saved. Then we can read His words, and understand them. Why? Because of the Spirit, because God is living in us! How awesome! How exciting! We need only Him to gain understanding (Gal. 3:20). He lives in our hearts!!!

Even more exciting, now because of Christ dying on the cross, and now the Holy Spirit in us, God no longer remembers our wrongs.

And now because we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, He shows us the way, He directs our paths. We can choose to listen or not to listen. To truly be saved, means that we follow in God's Ways, we desire to serve Him. We listen to the Lord in us.

Thank you God for making the New Covenant with your people! Because You know how sinful and how inadequate we are. Thank You for confirming to me time and time again of Your goodness and Your grace. Thank You for living in my heart and allowing this me to be a temple for You and Your words. Thank You for Your Comfort and love. Please continue to give me a desire for You and serving You in any ways that You see fit, Lord. I love You so much!!!

House or Home?

Home. What does the word "Home" mean to you?

I looked up the word home in my E-Sword concordance. I went through each verse, reading each one that included the word "home". There was kind of a common theme in all of them. Some were about someone being released to go home, so were going to go home, some fled from their home.

Then I stopped on this one: "Psa 68:6 God settles the solitary in a home..." Home in this verse means "family". Very interesting.

How about this:

Psa 84:2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Psa 84:3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
Psa 84:4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah

Or this:

Psa 113:9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

This is saying He has given this woman, who was barren, a family! Or as this puts it, a HOME!

So a home is not a roof, and some walls. It is not our paint choices or our expensive living room furniture. It is our family. It is the place we run to in times of trouble. It is our safe haven, where we go to get comforted.

Are we making our homes a place that our family can come home to get comforted? Or is it a hectic mess? Is it a place of stress?

Let's make our homes a place of refuge; a place to weather the storms of life, together with our family, the ones who love us unconditionally.

Lord- May my home always be a place where my family can come to and find rest and peace. May it always be a place where You reside and rule. Please protect our home, cover us with Your blood. Keep us safe. We love you. ~ Amen

Our Words

I know- it is hard for women to be mindful of their words. I could go in many directions here, but if we are being honest with ourselves, we already know which category we fall into- from bad to worse.

I have always disliked gossip, dislike the groups of people that seem to gossip the most... but as much as I hate it- I find myself still falling prey to that sin every once in a while.

And gossip isn't the only thing we need to watch as far as our words go. We need to watch out HOW we speak, and WHEN we speak, HOW MUCH, etc.

Here are some verses to think about as we go on about our day. . .

Pro 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

We need to be soft with our speech. Don't yell, don't get angry. Anger will only make the situation worse. Keeping a soft answer, not letting our emotions get out of hand, will keep the situation calmer and probably help resolve issues quicker!

Pro 16:21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent, and the sweetness of the lips increases learning.

So out of the abundance of the heart.... comes sweetness! Would you rather eat a lot of a sweet watermelon or apple, or would you rather eat a lot of a sour lemon? If our heart is wise, full of knowledge in God's Word, and we open our mouth and the sweet word's of God come pouring out, people are going to listen in awe. If we open our mouths and sour words come pouring out, people are either going to try to argue with us, or they are just going to walk away!

Pro 16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. (also look at Psalms 19:10)

Again, our words, if they are sour, they will turn people away. But if they are sweet (with God's words and wisdom), then people will stop and listen. And the Word of the Lord is always good for the body!

Pro 10:19 Sin is unavoidable when there is much talk, but whoever seals his lips is wise. or
Pro 10:19 In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking; but he who holds back his lips is wise.

I liked the first version. When a person just keeps talking and talking, they usually say too much. They give too many details. But if we seal our lips, those words will not have opportunity to hurt or do damage!

James 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Have you ever found yourself in a situation, where the more you talked, the angrier you got? The more you replayed some event or altercation in your head, the worse the situation became? This verse shows that if we keep our mouths closed for a while and thoughtfully consider what happened, then we may be able to figure out a peaceful resolution. And LISTEN! Maybe we didn't catch all the facts, because we were running our mouths! So, be thoughtful and slow to speak.

I know this has given me a lot to think about. I know we all struggle with this at one level or another.

Lord- Thank you for loving me and being so forgiving, even when I really don't deserve it! Help me to watch my words, and the words I do speak, God, please let them reflect You only, not me. Help me to consider all of Your words that I have learned here today, and hide them in my heart. Thank you for those words. In Your name- Amen.

Hospitality

Hospitality- It’s something I definitely need to work on. I mean, I think I am a good hostess (I hope), but as far as having people over, WE ARE HORRIBLE! My Hubby always says that it’s supposed to be my job, and although I know he is joking, he is right! I need to be the one to make dates with others to have them over.

I actually really like to have people over, but as far as planning in advance, I stink at it. I always think on the same day, that maybe would have been a good day to have people over. Well, for most people, that is too late!

So I decided to look around and see what I could find in the Bible about hospitality.

1Pe 4:9-10 Be hospitable to one another without murmurings, each one as he received a gift, ministering it to yourselves as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

I looked at different versions on what they say in place of “be hospitable”. Some versions said “Welcome people“ , “welcome each other“, “use hospitality“, and one said “open your homes. “ I also looked up some commentary on this, one person said “use hospitality or be lovers of strangers…” That is a good lead into this verse….

Heb 13:1-2 Let brotherly love continue. Do not be forgetful of hospitality, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

If you have time, some reference verse to this would be Genesis 18:3, and Genesis 19:2. So, we could actually be entertaining angels. It’s hard though, in these current days, to think of bringing in strangers… But it is not irrelevant if it is in the Bible!

1Tim 3:2 A church leader must be without fault; he must have only one wife, be sober, self-controlled, and orderly; he must welcome strangers in his home; he must be able to teach;… (similar Titus 1:8)

There again, although speaking of a man being a church leader… what are WE again? We are the helper of our husbands! If we manage the household, don’t we also help organize happenings in the home?

Gen 2:18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."

Hospitality is something I am going to work on! If I am going to be a good helper for my husband, I need to work on this also. And if my husband is going to be “known in the gates” (Proverbs 31:23), then the Bible says I am to help him!

Besides, it isn’t that we should think we HAVE TO have people over, it really is fun to have people over! You really can be a minister to the body, when you know who you are ministering to.

Are you as hospitable as YOU would like to be?

Lord- You know my excuses. You know also that I want to be who YOU want me to be. Please help me not to hesitate to entertain. Help OUR hospitality to minister to people, because we also want to help win people for YOUR army. Help us to be a reflection of You, in our home, with our speech, with our love, God. Thank you for giving us a home in which we can entertain people with. Thank you for our church body, that we can help minister to. Use us, God, for Your work. - Amen