Morning Musings

Have I REALLY Handed it all to Him?

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     On one of my morning trysts with my Lord in the living room before anyone else was stirring, we were reading together His promises about me in abiding in Him. I was sure I WAS abiding in Him….after all, here we were together enjoying fellowship together over His Word weren’t we?    Then He turned me to that verse in the Old Testament where the psalmist was asking God to search his heart, and know his thoughts, and try him to see if there was still some wicked way in him (Psalm 139:23-24).    I started to squirm as I thought how scary it would be if He turned those pure and holy eyes on my innermost being! I couldn’t trust myself to be totally one hundred percent honest. I knew what I ought to be, and I knew that I wanted to be that, but WAS I? I knew that my heart was deceitful above all things and desperately wicked  and that only God could know it (Jeremiah 17:9-10).  I didn’t even know it myself! ” I know that you want to follow Me with all your heart”, Jesus said, “Would you mind giving me your smart phone for a while?”

What would I do without it? I shrunk back, keeping it in my pocket. What if he went on to the log, and saw what I’d been looking at? And read those catty comments I’d put onto Facebook? And read some of those suggestive remarks my friends had sent to make me laugh?     Suddenly those things didn’t seem quite so clever or witty as I’d thought they were when I got them! Besides, what would I do without the phone there at my fingertips? Someone might try to get hold of me, or worse still, maybe the Lord would answer for me! What would my friends think if they got Him on the phone?

   It came on me in a flash, that He already knew all those things! There was nothing at all that I could hide from Him! He didn’t need to get the phone to know those things…the point was, was I ready to hand all those things over to Him too? Those little resentments and excuses that I always made, refusing to take the blame. Being offended if I thought I was being overlooked? “Oh Lord”, I cried in repentance, “You can see me through and through, you know every little rotten thought I’ve ever had. Help me to walk in Your way everlasting, beginning now so I won’t be ashamed before You as I go into eternity!” “My child”, He said with that beautiful smile of His, “That is what I’ve been wanting to hear from you all along!” He handed me my phone back again, “Now use this for My glory, speaking of the things of Myself to build others up, sending words of encouragement to them, and praising others”.

My desires were now what He desired, and He was giving it all back to me! What joy! What blessings He bestows!  “Oh Lord!” I cried, “Help me to be each day what You want me to be, and to do only what You want me to do!”

 

Morning Musings

Transferring the Title….

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    A thought came to me one day. I asked Him, “Lord, is there any chance that You would take over the management of the whole house and operate it for me as You did that hall cupboard? Would You take the responsibility to keep my life what it ought to be?”

    His face lit up as He replied, “I’d love to! That is what I want to do. You cannot be a victorious Christian in your own strength. Let me do it through you and for you. That is the way. But,” He added slowly, “I am just a guest. I have no authority to proceed, since the property is not mine.”

     Dropping to my knees, I said, ‘Lord, You have been a guest and I have been the host. From now on I am going to be the servant. You are going to be the owner and Master.”

    Running as fast as I could to the strongbox, I took out the title deed to the house describing its assets and liabilities, location and situation. I eagerly signed the house over to Him alone for time and eternity.

 “Here,” I said. “Here it is, all that I am and have, forever. Now You run the house. I’ll just remain with You as a servant and friend.”

    Things are different since Jesus Christ has settled down and has made His home in my heart!

Life Lessons

My Garden…..

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    Things settled down and everything seemed to be going smoothly. I was having my daily morning times with the Lord when He would open His word to me and I talked with Him. They were precious times and I wouldn’t have missed them for anything. I had banished all the doubtful things from the study of my mind, and I was feasting on the good and pure things that He delighted in.    He was teaching me how to make the best use of my time and to make useful contacts with others. My cupboards were all clean and I had nothing to be ashamed of, or so I thought.

   One day, the Lord came to me and said with a whimsical smile, “Um, have you looked at the garden lately?” I glanced out the window, and said hastily, “But Lord, You know how busy I’ve been doing Your work, and taking time to be with You each day!”

“Ah,” He said, “But you cannot afford to get slack in anything that belongs to Me. I know I could do this work for you with a single word, but that is not  how I have ordained things. It is up to you to weed and tend this garden, or you will not be able to totally enjoy the beauty I have provided. The plants will be covered in weeds, and the dead heads on the flowers will prevent new growth and continual flowering!”

He went on….  “And look at how those crawling roses are growing so rampantly! They will lose their shape and their beauty if they are not attended to straight away!” “Oh”, I said somewhat shamefacedly, “I’m sorry Lord, I’ll get onto it straight away and promise I won’t let it get away from me again!”

   I was beginning to realise that serving the Lord is a lifelong daily task! Not only that, but it was to be a continual thing, and not just something to be played at now and then. After all, my garden was to be a thing of beauty that all who saw it would realise that the gardener (me) took the work of the Lord seriously and tried to reflect what He was teaching in His Word!

Morning Musings, Uncategorized

My Rumpus Room

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             As we left the upstairs area of the house, He asked me if I had a rumpus room, where I went for fun and fellowship. I was hoping He wouldn’t ask about that! There were certain things that went on in my rumpus room  that I wanted to keep to myself!

   Very reluctantly I took Him downstairs to the basement, and gave Him a quick look around there. “H’mmmm.” He said, “Do you spend much time here?” “Let’s go upstairs again”, I said hastily before I had to own up about the things that DID go on in this room, and the friends that I entertained there. I didn’t want Him to see the pictures of the different ball games and teams, or the racing car pictures  that were all over the walls, or the well stocked bar in the corner!

   I heaved a sigh of relief as we reached the living room once more, and hoped He wouldn’t say anything more about the rumpus room. As we settled down, He said thoughtfully, “What would you like Me to read to you tonight? Something you would LIKE to hear or something that you SHOULD hear?” I squirmed as I  lamely said, “Perhaps we could have a bit of both!” knowing full well what was likely to come. He quickly reached for the Bible which I had made sure was in full view on the occasional table and turned to the chapter of Psalm 81. “I am the Lord Your God that brought you out of the land of Egypt…..Egypt is a picture of the world and its temptations,” He added as an aside. Carrying on, He continued to read…“open your mouth wide and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to Me and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them up to their own heart’s lusts, and they went their own way! If only My people had listened to Me and walked in My ways, I would have subdued their enemies, and turned My hand against them…..I would have fed My people with the finest of wheat, and satisfied them with honey out of the Rock”.  I felt thoroughly rebuked as I knew very well that I was feeding too much on the wrong sort of things.

     Another evening when I was on my way out with some of my buddies, He stopped me with a glance and asked, “Are you going out?” I replied, “Yes.’ “Good” He said, “I would like to go with you.” “Oh,” I answered rather awkwardly. “I don’t think, Lord Jesus, that You would really enjoy where we are going. Let’s go out together tomorrow night. Tomorrow night we will go to a Bible class at church, but tonight I have another appointment.” “I’m sorry,” He said. “I thought that when I came into your home, we were going to do everything together, to be close companions. I just want you to know that I am willing to go with you.” “Well,” I mumbled, slipping out the door, “we will go someplace together tomorrow night.”

  That evening I spent some miserable hours. I felt rotten. What kind of friend was I to Jesus, deliberately leaving Him out of my life, doing things and going places that I knew very well He would not enjoy?     When I returned that evening, there was a light in His room, and I went up to talk it over with Him. I said, “Lord, I have learned my lesson. I know now that I can’t have a good time without You. From now on, we will do everything together.”

   The next day,  we went down into the basement of the house to the rumpus room. What a transformation He made there!  All those suggestive things came down off the walls, and He brought new friends, new excitement, and new joys along. All the old music was thrown out, and we spent many hours around the piano singing the old favourite songs and hymns. Laughter and music have been ringing through the house ever since. He makes sure that we are never the loser when we put Him first in our home!!!

Now the LORD says , “Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, while those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed!” (1Samuel 2:30)

Morning Musings

My Bedrooms

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       We left the utility part of the house and went back upstairs. All had been cleaned up and purified down at the back of the house, and as we went past the cupboard upstairs which had been so smelly before, a bit of fresh air wafted past us. I was so pleased that I had got my Visitor to deal with those putrid things I had shoved in there!

    We went down the passage, and I showed Him the bedrooms next. “You may choose whichever one suits You the best”, I said as we went past the open doors of each of them. “Thank you very much,” He said, “I will be glad to have whichever one you tell me.” “This one has a new bed,” I said proudly, “ I’m sure You will be most comfortable here.” “Thank you,” He replied, “It will be nice to have somewhere to lay My head. When I was on earth, even though the foxes had their holes to sleep in and the birds had their nests, I had nowhere to lay my head many times. It was then that I went up into the mountain to pray to My Heavenly Father, and to gather strength to do His will. It is always My delight to do His will you know!” (Psalm 40:8)

I felt an unspoken rebuke there, just as though He knew how little time I spent doing the Father’s will myself. There were always other things I wanted to do, things which I always found time to do. “My room is just along the passage here”, I said lamely. “Oh yes,” He said, “It is good to have rest….I always like to see My children taking their rest. Especially the rest that I can give them, I tell them all to come to Me and I will give them rest, when they have worked hard and had heavy loads to bear. Especially the rest I can give with an easy conscience knowing that they have put all wrongs right and given thanks to the Father for all His goodness and mercy to them!”  (Matthew 11:28)

    I squirmed a bit at that….I knew there were many nights when my sleep was disturbed by angry thoughts and ideas of revenge! Yes, I knew they were wrong, but they were only natural weren’t they? My Visitor said quietly, as though talking to Himself, “Don’t avenge yourself, but give place to wrath, for it is written ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay’ says the Lord”. (Romans 12:19)

   It was amazing how He always seemed to put His finger on some little secret that I had thought was hidden. As we turned to go downstairs again, once more He murmured as if to Himself, “I will not allow your foot to be moved, He who keeps you will not slumber or sleep!”  (Psalm 121:3-4) This thought gave me great comfort, knowing that I was in His hands!

Morning Musings

My Laundry Room.

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               There was still another room in my house that had to do with cleaning things up. This was the laundry room.  I was a bit reluctant to take my Guest into the laundry room. Sometimes there was a nasty stale smell in there as though there were clothes that had been damp and not dried properly.  But He insisted.  “I need to see ALL your house, if I’m to stay with you”, He said as we went down the passage. “You know I will never leave you nor forsake you, and I want you to willingly show Me each room in your house!”

   He must have sensed my reluctance. As we opened the door it was as bad as I had thought it might be! The damp clothes that I had been meaning to wash last week made a horrid stink as we went in. “ I meant to do the washing but somehow there were other things to do”, I muttered shamefacedly, “Things like going to Bible Study and church services”, hoping to make it sound a bit better. “Those are good things, but we are not to leave the other things undone”, He said, “I have given you twenty-four hours each day to make use of. See that you use them wisely. You don’t really need ten hours of sleep you know! Just get up earlier in the morning….I’m always waiting for you to come and see Me, no matter how early it is!”     He knew me only too well. “Oh Lord!”, I cried, “You know all my weaknesses and failings, there is nothing I can hide from You! Search my heart and show me where I’m at, and lead me to do better!” (Psalm 139: 23-24)    I realised then that He knows me through and through, and there is no point in trying to hide things from Him . What a relief to have admitted all this to Him, and to know His strength as I tried to do better!!

Morning Musings

My Bathroom.

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           “This is the bathroom”, I said proudly as I took My Guest in. Surely there wouldn’t be anything wrong in here! This was the room where there was fresh running water at all times. I never spent much time in this room, as I just did the necessary things like a quick shower. He would need to know where everything was kept though  as He would be using this room each day, I thought!

“Ah, yes,” He said, “The place where all the dirt is washed away!”       I began to squirm a little. His eyes seemed to pierce through to the very innermost parts of my being. It was almost as though He knew how little time I really spent there! He walked in to where the shower cubicle was. I glanced down at the base of the shower, and hoped He wouldn’t notice the beginnings of the algae settling in the corners. I hadn’t had time to give it a good scrub for some time.

   But alas, His glance followed mine and His piercing eyes took it all in…the grime and the scum that was accumulating through neglect. “My blood cleanses from ALL sin”, He said thoughtfully, “You just have to confess it to Me you know. That is why I died”,  He continued, “To pay the penalty of your sins”.

“Oh Lord”, I cried, “I DO believe it! Help me to keep this room in my heart cleaner by daily confession. I promise to get into all the corners with the brush and get rid of everything that grows into sin!”      He smiled at me, and said, “My child, this is why I came to earth and died for you. My Father was in the work with Me you know, I and My Father are One”. (John 10:30)

     What comfort that gave me! I vowed that I would clean it out after every shower that I had. Never again, would I be caught out like this!!

Morning Musings

My Upstairs Cupboard.

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My Upstairs Cupboard

    As we walked through the house downstairs, I began to notice a faint smell. Going up the stairs, it became stronger, and Jesus said, “Do you notice that horrid smell? What’s in this cupboard, it seems to be stronger here!” I hadn’t intended saying anything to Him about that cupboard. I knew there were things in there that weren’t too good, and I didn’t want Him to know that I was hiding them there. But He had noticed this cupboard, and said, “Something must be dead somewhere. I think it’s in here”. As soon as He said this, I knew what He was talking about. This cupboard, was only a small one, and it was where I put things I hadn’t dealt with. I always kept telling myself that I would clean it out one day, but somehow that day never came. I always made sure the door was kept locked because of these things that I didn’t want anyone else to know about. Certainly, I didn’t want Christ to see them! I knew they were dead and rotting things left over from the old life, but  I wanted to keep them just in case I wanted to look at them again. Things like those pornographic pictures I had downloaded off the computer, and the suggestive jokes that I thought I might need one day. Then there were all the letters about those shady deals I had done some years ago too….I wouldn’t want Jesus to know about them!

He stopped outside the door and the smell got stronger and stronger. He pointed to the door. I was angry. That’s the only way I can put it. I had given Him access to the library, the dining room, and the living room,  and now He was asking me about a cupboard of all things!

 I thought  to myself, “This is too much. I’m not going to give Him the key. He doesn’t need to know what’s in here!” “Well,” He said, reading my thoughts, “if you think I’m going to stay up here on the second floor with this smell, you are mistaken. I will go down to the porch.” When I saw Him start down the stairs, I remembered the verse that says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”, and I though how awful to be separated from God and not have Him hear my cries for help! (Psalm 66:18)

When one comes to know and love Christ, the worst thing that can happen is to sense Him withdrawing His fellowship. I had to give in. “Alright, I’ll give You the key,” I said sadly, ‘but You will have to open it up and clean it out. I haven’t the strength to do it.”

“Just give it to Me,” He said. “and tell  me to take care of that cupboard  and I will.”     With shaking fingers I passed the key to Him. He took it, and opened the door. The smell that came out was awful! But you know, He took out all the things that were rotting there, and threw them away. After He had cleaned it all out, He painted it. It was  done in  a  moment’s  time. I  remembered  again, how that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Oh, what a victory and release to have all that dead stuff out of my life! He is the only One Who can do that for us! I was now able to truly say, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” ( 1 Corinthians 15:57)

See what God has to say to YOU.