Persuasion

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and HE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36 NKJV).

Look at the phrase “HE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE.”  It is from the Greek word “apeitheo”, which means “NOT TO ALLOW ONESELF TO BE PERSUADED.”

Have you ever had a disagreement with another person who simply REFUSED to accept the obvious?  One who, no matter how many facts or evidence you presented, continued to argue with you?  Frustrating, isn’t it?  The 26^th Chapter of the Book of Proverbs talks about arguing with those who simply won’t accept facts, no matter how plain they are.

So it is with one who does not believe in God.  It is not due to a lack of evidence FOR GOD – it is simply this:  Such a person REFUSES TO ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE PERSUADED, in spite of the intricacy of the human eye, the vastness of the universe, or the balance of cellular biology – in spite of these apparent fingerprints of God, this person REFUSES TO ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE PERSUADED!

How, then, do we PERSUADE anyone to BELIEVE IN GOD?  I think there are two things to remember.

First of all, we should realize that some people will not be persuaded (Acts 26:28), and it is not up to us who believes and who does not believe.

Second, we just need to love.  Love our brothers, love our neighbors, and love our enemies.  Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are MY disciples, if you have LOVE for one another” (John 13:35 NKJV).

Peace.

Davina

Steers, Hay, and Gardens

As the youngest of five, I knew well what it meant to fatten a steer, haul hay, and work in a garden.  These were not attempts to win trophies or ribbons at stock shows and such; they were necessities.

Still, I resented these things that seemed like intrusions upon my time.  While others were enjoying leisurely summer mornings, I was getting up before daylight, stumbling to the garden half-asleep, harvesting the crop of the day, and going back to the house to prepare and freeze it.

Thank you, Father and Mother, for these times.  I say this sincerely.

One of my greatest spiritual revelations came when, as an adult, I was visiting the farm on a “bean-picking” day.  As we approached the garden, I saw some gorgeous plants!  So big and full of leaves – I just knew they would have tons of beans as well!  When I actually got down to “picking” the beans, though, I was amazed.  The biggest and most beautiful of the plants had very few, if any, beans; but the scrawny plants were literally bent over under the weight of all the beans they had produced.

And it hit me.

He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’"

Luke 13:6,7 NKJV

It doesn’t matter how many leaves or blooms you can muster, or how tall or full you grow.  What matters is the fruit.

Peace.

Davina

Spiritual Warfare

Let me preface this blog by saying that I’m not one of those people who goes around looking for demons.  Sometimes we experience bad things because we live in a fallen world, and sometimes we bring things on ourselves because of our own neglect, or (to borrow a phrase from a preacher many years ago) because of our own “pieces of stupid”, which we all do.

But there are times that we find ourselves under spiritual attack.  As the Apostle Paul said, we are not “ignorant” of the schemes of the enemy (2 Cor. 2:11).

When you find yourself under spiritual attack, remember these things:

1.    Our weapons are not carnal.  “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (1 Cor. 10:3,4 NASB).  In other words, although we’re in this physical world, we battle through a higher power.

2.    The thing you focus on, you empower.  This gets really deep and sounds very “New-Age”, but molecular physicists have discovered that a molecule will STAND at attention when it is in the focus of the human eye.  Nature Physics 5, 253 - 254 (2009).  We are a culture that loves to raise awareness; how about raising some Holy Spirit awareness?

3.    Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world (1 Jn. 4:4).  I had a dream just a few nights ago that there was a ferocious beast in our house.  We could hear it roaring, and we were afraid for our lives.  There was also a beast who was with us – it was a gentle beast.  I remember telling the gentle beast “well, do your best,” but I had no expectation that we would come out of the situation alive.  What I realized after waking was 1) I had not seen the ferocious beast, but in my mind it was huge; and 2) the gentle beast was a familiar friend, but I had no faith in His power.  We must realize that who we have inside of us is greater than the one who wishes to destroy us.  As one friend of mine says, “The snake is dead, powerless; why are we afraid of a dead snake?!

Don’t give up.  Your breakthrough may be just around the corner!

Peace.

Davina

Does God Speak "Nerd"?

I started writing this blog about a month ago.  Sorry it’s taken so long - it’s been a challenge.

A few weeks back, after a long dry spell, it began to rain.  Not just any rain, but a good, steady rain.  As I was on my way to work, I heard, “The filth of Saruman is washing away” [The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Jackson, Peter].  I told myself, “I’m such a nerd!”  And I had a good laugh at me.

But it began to dawn on me that just before I heard that statement, I had prayed, “Lord, I don’t want to talk; I just want to listen and hear what You would say this morning.”

That couldn’t have been God, could it?  I mean, I know He isn’t limited to King James verbiage, but to say something from a movie?  Isn’t He on a totally higher level than we are?  Well, maybe, just maybe, God really would say something like this.  Maybe He does have the ability and knowledge to use things that have meaning to us.  And just maybe, again, He would speak “nerd”, ebonics, New-Yorker, or whatever He needs to in order to get His point across.

If that was God’s voice, then what is the “filth of Saruman”?

When the word “filth” is used in the Bible, it is used to describe the lowest, most detestable thing – many times it’s human refuse.  And in the Bible, the prophet Isaiah says that our righteousness is like “filthy rags” to God (Is. 64:6).  That’s pretty bad, isn’t it?

So, is the Holy Spirit literally washing away the filth of our righteousness … our human efforts?  Is He cleansing His bride from a mentality of works and preparing her for a new revealing of grace?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

 

Peace,

 

Davina

 

Thankful

A week-and-a-half ago, I fell in the shower, bracing myself with my left hand.  I got up, thought, “Wow, I’m glad I didn’t hurt myself,” and went on about my day and night.  The next day I started feeling the effects of the fall, and began tossing and turning at night in pain instead of sleeping.  By the weekend, I was in severe pain.  Two ER visits, two shots, and three prescriptions later, I began getting some relief.  Thankfully, nothing was broken - just a lot of internal swelling & pressure on nerves.

Fast forward to today.  I’m getting angry because this could’ve happened at a better time.  Our son is getting married in 5 weeks, it’s both year-end close and the start of a new semester at the community college where I work, Mark’s just gone into business for himself, a few other irons are in the fire, and I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!

Then it hit me.  Why am I angry, instead of being thankful for what I do have?  There are people who have completely lost arms and legs, yet have overcome, with shining enthusiasm and thankfulness.

Today, I repent of my negative attitude.  I am thankful for the trials that only serve to make me stronger, and thankful for the blessings that make life sweeter!

Peace,

Davina

Who's the Favorite?

Yesterday, we attended a family reunion in the small resort community of Hilltop Lakes, Texas.  We had such an amazingly great time with some awesome people to whom we’re privileged to be related – not only naturally but also spiritually.  Not every family has that claim.  We have much for which we are thankful.  But that isn’t even really my point today.

My sister, Diane, and me, discussing who's the favorite.

There was quite a bit of laughing and teasing about favorites.  The favorite daughter-in-law, the favorite niece, the favorite sister … each one of us wants to feel, to believe, that he or she IS the favorite.  (By the way, we all know that I’M the favorite!)  Seriously, though, we each DO have that claim in the family of God.  How?  God is big enough, He IS LOVE enough, to love each one of us in a very special and unique way, without detracting anything from any of the rest of us.

Read the Gospel According to St. John.  Many times in the book, the writer speaks of the “one whom Jesus loved.”  Who was this disciple?  John.  Who wrote the book?  John.  Either he was very stuck on himself, or he understood something that we need to grasp.  I believe the latter to be true.  It was this John who wrote, “For God SO LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in him, would not perish, but have eternal life (Jn. 3:16).  John knew.

Consider Adam.  He not only sinned, he caused the fall of the whole human race.  But God still liked him so much that He went looking for Adam when it was time for their evening walk!  (There's a whole separate message in this about the whole sin-separating-us-from-God thing, but we can talk about that another day.)

And finally, what about Paul?  Before his conversion, when he was a fire-breathing, Christian-killing, Jesus-hating machine, God loved him.

Whatever your story, know this.  There is NOTHING that can separate you from the love of God.  He loves you.  He gave His son for your COMPLETE salvation.  You are favored.  You are irreplaceable.  You are indispensable.  You are unique.  You are loved.

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38,39 NASB).

Peace,

Davina

Ruts

There we were, the four of us, seated around a small contemporary table, in a bustling room filled with professionals, housewives, college kids, and our sales rep, Yazmin.

She really was quite the sales person.  In our two hours at the store, she pulled out all the stops to sell us the most, the latest, and the greatest equipment.  One such device was an iPad, which I had been “needing” because of its cool music apps & recording capabilities.

After much debate with myself, I heard these words come out of my mouth, “If I go ahead and get it, I won’t have any excuse to not spend time in the music room working on my music.”  Ah, the truth.  Sometimes it just flies right out before we realize, doesn’t it?

And isn’t that just the way it is?  Often we are more afraid of success than of failure.  We may be in a rut, but at least we KNOW the rut, and it’s more comfortable than the unknown.  The rut doesn’t require any hard work, any education, or any risk.  But the rut also holds no glory, no promise.

In whatever rut you find yourself, be encouraged.  Get up and get out!

Peace,


Davina

Band Aids

When I had completed a course of study in secular psychology, a friend asked me, “What did you learn?”  Summed up, this was my answer.

1.  Find the root.  Our troubles, most of the time, really are rooted in an event or series of events.  These events become the foundation for a belief system that carries through the individual’s life.  Most of the time a good psychologist can find the root.

2.  Apply a band aid.  Now, after you find the root problem, secular psychology is well-equipped with a variety of band aids.  There’s behavior modification, medications (which, actually, a psychiatrist must prescribe), self-help, and so on.  But these are all coping mechanisms.

Before I go on, let me say that I don’t presume to have all the answers.  But I do know The One who does!  This is where the world of secular psychology misses the mark.

There is an attempt to diagnose and fix problems, without consulting the Maker.

Think about that statement for just a moment.  Pretty ridiculous, huh?

There is a better way.  What I have experienced myself, and the way I have even been able to help others find release, is this:

1.  Find the root.  With the Holy Spirit as our Guide, we can identify the root, or lie, that has become a way of thinking or looking at the world.  It has been built upon by the enemy to create a strong hold in the mind.

2.  Allow the Holy Spirit to speak truth.  No band aids.

3.  Live free!

In the future I will share some of my own freedom experiences on this blog.

Peace,


Davina  

Pieces of Glass

“Mostly I'm tired of people being ugly to each other. I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday.  There's too much of it.  It's like pieces of glass in my head all the time. Can you understand?” (John Coffey, The Green Mile, Directed by Frank Darabont, 1999).  In this movie, John Coffey had a special gift that allowed him to heal others, but it also gave him extraordinarily long life.  This quote comes at the end of the movie, when John has lived too long and seen too much.  His knowledge has caused him, as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, much grief, “Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain” (Ecc. 1:18 NASB).

I think that maybe this is why God told Adam to not eat from the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good & evil.  He wasn’t trying to keep anything from his children; rather, He was trying to protect them from pain.  It was because of His love that He said, “Don’t eat it.”  When our children begin to grow up and learn about the world, they learn that it is a painful place.  It hurts them, and it hurts us to see them in pain.

The Apostle Paul clearly understood this when he wrote, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor. 15:19).  But this Apostle also knew that there was – no, IS – a hope for the believer!  Keep reading this chapter:

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so IN CHRIST shall ALL be made ALIVE.  But every man in his own order:  Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming.  Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.  For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death!  (1 Cor. 15:20-26 KJV)

Friend, there is pain in this world.  But the hope in Christ is greater than any pain.  Remember:  You are righteous through faith in Christ (Phl. 3:9); you are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8); you are His workmanship (Eph. 2:10); you can handle whatever comes your way (Phl. 4:13); you overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by your words (Rev. 12:11); you are an ambassador of the King of Kings (Eph. 6:20); you are a King-Priest (Rev. 1:6); you have His peace (Jn. 14:27), His joy (Rom. 15:13), His name (Jn. 17:6), and His love (Jn. 17:26)!

Keep shining!

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:13 NASB).

Peace,

Davina

Depression

What is depression?  According to Merriam-Webster'sonline dictionary, it is “a pressing down,” a “state of feeling sad or dejected,” or simply “low.”  We’ve all been there at some point in our lives.  Believers and unbelievers, men and women, the old and often the very young, experience depression at some point in our lives.

I listened to a teaching this week by Dr.Ray Vinson entitled Six Steps to Defeating Depression, an audio CD produced by The Institute for Biblical Leadership.  What a timely and excellent teaching!

Elijah was one of the greatest prophets who ever lived, but he also experienced depression.  We find his story in 1 Kings 19, right after his great victory on Mt. Carmel, where he challenges the 450 prophets of Baal in a splendid display of God’s power, and not only wins the challenge, but “smokes” the competition (pardon the pun)!  So after this awesome time of showing Baal & his prophets for the fakes they are, he receives a threat from Jezebel.  She’s going to kill him.  So he sits down and says, “That’s it.  Why even try anymore?  I’m all alone.  I’m done.”  I think we could say that Elijah was depressed.

So how did Elijah get “un-depressed?”  Here are a few things that I noticed in this chapter … I’m not saying this is the all-out iron-clad formula for beating the big “D” … No, these are just some things that I noticed.

1)   Verse 5.  He woke up.  He decided to live.  When we’re depressed the first step to getting out is to make a decision to get out.  Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  Not so simple when you’re in the pit, but I believe this is the first step.

2)   Verse 6.  He ate.  We must feed ourselves (spirit, soul, and body) with things that are beneficial.  This can include eating right, taking supplements, reading books, listening to excellent teachings, reading the Bible – things that provide nourishment.

Mark with Rosie

3)   Verse 6.  He rested.  We, too, need adequate sleep, as well as restful activities.  For some, painting provides rest; for others, it may be playing a musical instrument or horseback riding, taking a nature walk or fishing, or playing volleyball.

4)   Verse 8.  He went when God said to go.  This is where the first three become vitally important.  Elijah had a very long journey, and he needed all the determination, rest, and nourishment that he had been taking in.  We need to be ready to carry out whatever task that God gives us to do.

5)   Verses 9-18.  He communed with God.  This involves both listening and answering when God asks a question.  Prayer is not a one-way street; it is a two-way conversation with our heavenly Father.

6)   Verses 19-21.  He turned his attention to Elisha.  Now, maybe I’m reading too much into this, but it seems to me that the final step in defeating depression is to focus on someone else.  It’s funny, isn’t it, that Elijah thought he was the only one left who was serving God, but the last thing recorded in this chapter is his calling Elisha to follow him.  Maybe the lesson is this:  When you think you’re the only one left, go find someone and make a disciple!

Beloved child of the Most High, I pray this helps you.  Be blessed!

Peace,

Davina

Throw it on Him!

“…Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7).  This verse has been my rock this week, and I want to share it with you.

People of God, look at the first part of the verse – “cast” means “to throw upon.”  That’s a little different from the picture of someone taking their troubles and laying them at Jesus’ feet (where we can pick them up again at will).  No, Peter says to throw our cares on Him.  Well, we know Jesus isn’t here in the flesh today, so here’s a visual/literal thing that you can do.  Get a print of Jesus, and write your troubles on little sticky notes, and prayerfully put them on the print.  Put it in a place where you will see it every day, several times a day.  Then when you think about it, instead of asking God to take care of it, just worship Him.  The combination of the action of putting the sticky note on the print, the daily visual reinforcement of seeing the print with the problem on Jesus, and the worship going into the atmosphere (and back into your ears) changes the way you think about the problem.  When you change the way you think about it, you will change the way you pray, and the problem will begin to shrink.

Now, blessed ones, look at the second part – He cares for you.  There’s much more in this verse than just saying that God gets a Holy tear in His Holy eye when you have trouble.  He takes care of you, because He is your father.  Understand that your problems are not yours alone; they are His problems.  It is an orphan spirit that comes to tell you you’re all alone, and that you have to work out your problems all by yourself.  Jesus told the disciples in John 14:18, “I will not leave you comfortless (bereft of a father or parents, orphaned).”  Now, I don’t know about you, but when our kids were in trouble, even if it was something that they caused, we didn’t throw them out of the house and tell them, “You’re on your own now … good luck!”  No, even today, as they’re on their own, if they come to us with a problem, we do our best to help them however we can.  God is so much bigger and better than we – why would we think He would desert us and leave us to handle our own problems?  I believe He’s sitting there at times, watching us struggle, saying to Jesus, “Oh, if ______ would only throw that on me!”

So, friend, what are your struggles today?  Just throw them on God, and leave them there.  Worship Him.  Trust Him like a little child trusts Daddy.

Peace,

Davina

 

Failure

Earlier this week I commented that, “It’s much easier to slip into a life of mediocrity than to fight for excellence.”  Those who read this probably thought that I was talking about someone else, but I was actually looking inside.  I was deeply considering giving up on my pursuit of a better life, and letting the easier path of mediocrity take me.

It’s been a rough week, but I’m back!

Even though I may have a setback, I am not a failure.  I have, in the words of Thomas Edison when developing the light bulb, simply found another way that doesn’t work.  Take a minute to check out a few Thomas Edison Quotes.  These should encourage you.
Thanks so much to Dr. Ray and Mary Vinson for their encouragement and continued support, and for never giving up on Mark and me.  And of course, I’m so grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ … He is my rock.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary (Gal. 6:9 NASB).

Peace,

Davina

Retakes are Allowed

I am called, in part, to offer encouragement through my writing.  So I began blogging regularly, one post each weekend, a few weeks ago.  My last writing was two weeks ago, and it was called “Consistency.”

Last weekend I sat down and wrote, and rewrote, and tried, and retried, but the words just wouldn’t flow.  So I gave up.  After writing about consistency, I was inconsistent.  I failed the test.

Sweet friends, whether your calling is to write, to clean motel rooms, to produce movies, or to manage an office, there will be days when you just aren’t “feeling it.”  These are the days of testing.  You may question, “Am I really called to do this?”  I would say that if you’re being tested in it, that’s a good sign.  And here’s why.

Testing follows training.  You will not be tested in an area in which you aren’t trained.  Kindergarten students are not tested on Old English literature, are they?  If you are being tested, you are ready for the test.

Promotion follows testing.  When I was in a New Testament class, the tests included material from the writings of Paul, and questions about the world itself during the period of time surrounding the life of our Savior.  Finally, after passing the tests, I graduated from that class.

Blessed child of God, life is no different.  When we declare, “I am __________,” we can expect … no, we can KNOW that there will be a test to follow.  And if we fail the test, we get to take it again!  Isn’t that great?  We have another chance to prove that we can do it!

What I’ve learned about tests:

1) The test relates to the material studied.

2) The promotion relates to the test.

3) Retakes are allowed.

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” (1 Pet. 4:12,13 NASB)

Peace,

Davina

 

Consistency

Variety may be the spice of life, but I think it’s safe to say that one can’t survive on a diet of only spice.

We could say that consistency is the “meat” of life.  Doing what needs to be done even though it isn’t exciting … doing the “do’s”.  Highly effective people have learned this.  Motivational speakers teach this.  But how many of us actually put this into practice?  How many times have you or I said, “I just don’t feel like doing that today.”  Friends, we don’t walk by feelings.  We walk by faith.

Look at Daniel – yes the Daniel of “Daniel in the Lion’s Den.”  He did the “do’s”.  He prayed to God three times a day, even when it wasn’t convenient.  He maintained his diet (ouch!).  He led a disciplined lifestyle in a time of lawlessness.  And when the time was right, Daniel was promoted to a place of honor.

People of God, if even there were a time of lawlessness, we are in it.  “Do what feels good” is the mantra of the undisciplined.  I challenge you instead to do what is good and appropriate for a child of God.

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.  So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15-18 NASB).

Peace,

Davina

Crack Rolls

Back in 2008, our youngest son, Dustin, went to intern at Teen Mania’s Honor Academy campus just outside of Lindale, Texas.  This was a good hour’s drive for us – too far to just stop by and visit, but close enough for weekend visits.  And visit we did!

A normal Sunday would consist of getting up super early, setting out yeast rolls (AKA “crack rolls” because they’re as addictive as crack) for lunch, getting dressed, driving to Garden Valley, picking up Dustin and as many of his friends as we could legally fit in our Buick “land yacht,” driving directly to our church, rehearsing for praise and worship, having church, going to the house for lunch and chilling … then loading them all back in the land yacht, and re-delivering them to the campus.

We did this routine for most of the 2008-2009 school year.  It was fun, it was challenging, it was rewarding, and it was a time of God’s teaching me a very important truth.

These beautiful, hungry (in every way!), diverse, young people knew that when they visited us, they could have a retreat from the busy campus life – they could jam in the music room, fish from the stock tank, wrestle in the yard, sit around and watch a movie – no good thing was withheld from them while they were guests at our house.  They were such a blessing to us … we developed some very close relationships with these young men and women, and still keep in touch with many of them.

All because Dustin, our son, issued an invitation.

All that the Father has is yours.  He withholds no good thing from you.  Joy and peace, fellowship with other believers, times of refreshing, His Living Word, power, blessings, and best of all a relationship with the Father himself.

All because Jesus, His son, issues an invitation.

 “No one comes to the father but through me” (Jn. 14:6 NASB).

 

Peace.

 

Davina

 

My Journey

Some of you know that I’m studying to be a counselor.  I’ve even had a few off-hand comments thrown my way about this.  Some say that I’ve changed – I hope I have!  Those who always stay the same are not growing.  My studies, I’m sure, have some to do with the changes in me, but so do some other things.  I’d like to share those with you.

The past two years of my life have been an amazing journey.  They have been both joyful and painful.  At the beginning of 2011, I hated my marriage, my life – I hated myself.  I knew Jesus, or at least knew OF Him.  I believed, but like the father in Mark 9:24, my cry was, “Yes, I believe, but help my unbelief!”

That April, I attended Gateway Church’s Pink Impact women’s conference.  At the conference, I received healing from some very deep scars that I had carried since childhood.  I remember walking away from my simple 15-minute session literally feeling lighter than ever before – a weight was gone; I was free!

The summer of that same year, Mark and I entered into covenant with Dr. Ray Vinson of Dominion International, so we could get moving in our “ministry” plans.  But God had more in mind that WHAT WE WERE TO DO; He had in mind WHO WE WERE TO BE.  Dr. Ray and his wife Mary have provided Godly counsel, support, training, teaching, mentoring, and at times just plain hard-hitting rebuke.  God has used them to not only help me remain free, but to walk in progressively new levels of freedom.

I’m not fixed.  I’m still a broken person in desperate need of a Savior.  But I am a good listener, and I know the One who heals completely.  So if we meet in a hallway or on the phone, and you begin to wonder if I’m practicing on you … no, I’m not.  I simply want to share my light with you.

 

Peace,

Davina

Taking Care of the Temple

^“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price:  therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19,20 NASB).

How do we “glorify God” in our bodies?  If God is a spirit, and we worship Him in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24), what does this verse mean?  How can we glorify God in a body?

The answer must be in scripture.  So what does God tell us about our bodies?  He encourages rest (Ex. 20:8-11; Mark 6:31) and warns against excesses (Prov. 23:20-21; Phil. 3:19; Tit. 2:6).  The scriptures are even full of commands and tips about proper body care.  Prov. 3:7-8 tells us that to fear the Lord and depart from evil brings abdominal and bone health, while Prov. 14:30 admonishes us against envy, because it rots the bones.  We must realize that the scriptures are alive, active, and very practical.

To neglect our bodies, to be worn out and used up does not bring much glory to God.  If you, like I, have spent much of your life neglecting or even abusing your own body, please don’t “beat yourself up” over it (pun intended)!  Instead, start fresh today.  Take care of the body that He’s given you.  Love it.  Cherish it.  Make it fit for His service.

Peace.

Davina