A Sweet Smelling Savor

 The Lord has really been drawing me to him this week. I knew that this week I wouldn't simply be observing Shabbat and that he was literally calling me to "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy". I normally read the Bible and pray...I worship too, (although I could definitely do it more )but God was asking for something specific of me this week. On Saturday's I may read my bible, pray etc. but it has sort of become "my day". I watch what I want to watch, a movie or shows. I may drive by the water or whatever else I choose to do for the day. Today was different. I knew I needed to study to see what God was telling me and I knew that if I watched t.v. it should be a Christian movie. I started watching more wholesome tv a while ago, older shows like "Highway to Heaven", "Touched by an Angel" or the "Flying Nun" but I watch secular tv as well. The addition of wholesome shows alone has made a difference on days when my senses have been overloaded by worldly stimuli. On those days watching one of those shows is just what I need. They are entertaining with decent content; "good clean fun" as the older people use to say. Considering how hard my week was, surrendering control of my day and not #treating myself was a sacrifice but that is exactly what God wanted...a sacrifice. When we worship in the midst of challenge it produces a sweet smelling fragrance that ascends to the throne room of heaven. God sent confirmation today by way of an air freshener sent by a ministry I am connected with. The fragrance was so strong I smelled it through the envelope. I smelled it as soon as I opened the door to my P.O. Box. I was watching a recording of Chuck Pierce today and he said he heard God say "river bed" and that he was reading Joshua 3. In Joshua Chapter 3 the children of Israel cross over the Jordan as if it were dry land. The text says that the Jordan normally was overflowing during that time; the time of harvest. I looked up river beds on Youtube and I found a video where a river bed was bone dry and then suddenly it was overtaken by a rushing river. That reminded me of me at times; of times that I have felt dry and barren and then God called me into his presence and filled me again with his spirit causing the rivers of my spirit to live and move..."in him I live move and have my being". No matter what is going on around us or in our lives if we lift up our eyes, focus on the Lord, and worship he will come in and overtake us with the living, restoring, reviving waters of his spirit. Enjoy the REST of your day.

Jeremiah 17:

19 Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

21 Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

Psalm 24:

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Joshua 3

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lordof all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan

John 7

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Green Pastures

 Up until a few months ago I thought that what was growing in my yard was weeds. I like to mow and do the up keep of my yard myself, but I often got annoyed because what I once thought were weeds would spring up and make the yard look like it needed to be cut before it really did. One day my brother came over and I was complaining about the "weeds" in my yard and he said "that's grass seed". That blew my mind... immediately I thought of how my not recognizing what I had in my own front yard could be likened to so many other things, like: how people don't recognize the value of something or someone; how the thing (or person) you need or want is right in front of you and you don't recognize it (I had been contemplating buying grass seed);or how the grass may look greener on the other side but if you just cultivated what you had there would be no comparison. Welp, I will be taking the bagger off my mower and I look forward to greener days.

Psalm 23:2

He taketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leaders me beside the still waters.

Oh, the Glory of Your Presence