Matthew 12:36-37 ” But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words, you will be condemned.”

Proverbs 25:11 11″ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

Proverbs 12:18 ” Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Matthew 15:18 ” But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man and clean.”

These are very strong scriptures pertaining to the words we speak. We have the power to either speak life into someone, or to completely crush their spirit with what we say. Do we use our words in a way that builds up, encourages, that brings life to someone; or do we use our words tear down and wound?

So often people use their words as sword’s, they rip into people’s heart and do so much damage; sometimes a lifetime’s worth. I myself have had things said to me that crushed my spirit, wounded my heart, and has taken me a long time to move past. There have been times when I have permitted words to dictate my actions or make me believe lies. We especially need to be careful with children their hearts are so very tender and the words we use carry so much weight.

As parents use their words in negative ways towards their children they may feel really big and powerful, but in actuality, it just shows how immature and childish they are. It does not take a lot for a parent to out talk a child; after all, we’ve had much longer to learn many more words then
they. In our society with so much negativity, so many things to steal our child hearts and minds we should be ever vigilant to use our words to build up, bring trust, give hope, show love and be an example of how our children should treat others.

I truly ask the Lord to help me not to say things that are negative and hurtful to anyone. I never want to be responsible for crushing a spirit, or causing someone pain. As we mature in the Lord spiritually, we should also mature in the way we speak and act towards others. These should
be our prayer:

Matthew 7:12 says: “So in everything, due to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Psalm 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

I want my heart right before the Lord so that my words are kind and loving. I want those around me to not only see Jesus in me but to hear him when I speak.

Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

If I said nothing else this one Scripture says it all. But I want to tell you about how careless words bruised my heart, my mind, and my soul for many years.

I was sick a lot as a child, I was highly allergic to just about everything particularly things outside, I had Asthma which put me in the hospital many times, I was pigeon-toed, knock and kneed had slightly bucked teeth; and usually had dark circles under my eyes, and my eyes were swollen from where I was always crying or scratching at them. I always had banged up legs from getting hurt while roughhousing outside; I was a tomboy and I did not want to be inside doing girly things. I was being abused and no one knew about it and I cried a lot! My nickname was water-faucet! You get the picture I was a typical child, but with some extra things going on.

I was standing in our kitchen talking to my mother, and for no apparent reason other than she had been lost in thought she looked at me and said with a slight laugh, ” you’re not ever going to look like anything.” It wasn’t said in a cruel way, she was just musing over my current look I guess, but it pierced my heart and soul and

I would carry those words with me for the next thirty years. Those words would be the first thing that greeted my mind when I looked in the mirror in the morning. I formed my opinion of myself based on those words and my opinion of what I thought others and God thought of me. Every morning it was like having a fresh wound; I would stand and stare at my reflection wondering
why I do not measure up!

It was at a Woman’s retreat with my church and we had been talking about the labels we carry on us, not visible ones, but those put on us by others, society, self. And this “you will never look like anything” kept pounding through my mind and God said now is the time to drop this label once and for all, I took it to the Lord and really talked to him about it. It was not that he was unaware of how I had felt for all these years, or that I wanted to have approval so badly. He just wanted me to come to my Father and lay it down, let him heal me.

I went to the prayer room, fell down on my knees and poured my heart out to God telling him how much these words had hurt me and how I wanted them to lose their power over me. So, I asked him to let me know what he thought about me and to remove the hurt of these words. These scriptures were healing. Did he see me this way? Do I measure up in his world?

Psalm 139:14, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God tells me in Psalm 17, “I am the apple of His eye.” In Deuteronomy 7:6, God tells me that I am “His treasured possession.”

I realized that God loves me and created me exactly how he wanted me. And I made the decision that day with his strength and assurance that he had formed me and loved me just as I was; I was going to meditate on his love for me first thing every morning. As a result of this, I have a half bath that the walls are covered with the names of God, bible verses and entire songs written down. I have reminders taped to my mirror. (Yes I write on my walls ) and I found out when I watch “War Room” for the first time I already had one, it just did not have a name.I am surrounded by his word and His word brings life and healing! He showed me that my words have power to hurt or to heal. I choose healing! Will you?

We never know how a word spoken carelessly can damage a person. So, let’s all try to be a little kinder and use words to encourage and build up.

We all have those things that happen in our lives that cause us to stop and ask why? Why me? We do not like the road the Lord is leading us down, we do not like the illness, the divorce, the lost job and so on. It does not seem fair, after all, we are pretty good people, right?

God does not promise us roses and sunshine all the time. He does not say our way will be easy and unrestricted by pain, suffering or disappointment. Sometimes the path we are on is scary, we are not sure where it is going to lead us. None of us like pain or discomfort, if you do sorry, you are weird!

God’s word does tell us that we will experience trial and tribulation. How those things come to us we do not know. To some it is through a bad illness, others an end to a marriage, and to others, a career over without warning or someone hurts us by their actions.

We see several instances in the Bible where people were visited by an Angel and the first thing out of the Angel’s mouth is “do not be afraid.” We see in the story of Jesus’s birth, the Angel Gabriel coming to Mary and saying to her to “not be afraid”. Luke 1:29-30 “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.” Now I think if I was somewhere around the age of Mary 14-16 years and unmarried, finding out I would become pregnant would be a very upsetting thing to handle. Her whole life was about to change, she was going to be talked about and shamed, have people after she and her family. Life would forever be different for her.

What about Joseph, he too was visited by an Angel and the same thing was said, “do not be afraid.”Matthew 1: 20 “But after he had considered this, and Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

Sounds easy enough, but seriously, their entire lives are about to be turned upside down. This was no easy request that was being asked of them. Sometimes the Lord allows circumstances to come into our lives that give us “cause for
pause.” We need to get quiet and ask the Lord what he is wanting from us. Is this thing we are facing a place to grow our faith? Is this something that will change our lives, set us on a course that will take us to the place God knows we need to be?

Nothing touches us that is not under the Sovereign hand of the Almighty. Sometimes the things that come into our lives we want to think are accidents. God must have been distracted and this particular thing escaped his notice. Not possible. If he leads you to a place of deep waters, it is always for our good even if it does not feel very good at the time. Sometimes we never know the “why” of it this side of Heaven. The circumstances of my life have helped mold me, they have played a role in my thinking and my walk with the Lord. Did I like being abused, NO! Did I like feeling in my early walk with the Lord that he was not paying attention to my circumstances, NO! However, those very circumstances he used to draw me ever closer to his side. Those very circumstances he used to save my dad, one of my abusers. God is faithful, if he calls you out into the deep, he is faithful to stay by your side and guide you. When we surrender to his Lordship.

I love Psalm 91, here is just a little of it. Psalm 911-6 “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most- High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him will I trust.” 3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler; And from the perilous pestilence. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings, you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walked in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

What comfort to know that our Heavenly father shields us, no matter how bad it is, it would be worse if he did not keep us, protect us, hide us. Everything we face in life is filtered through loving hands. God only gives us enough. His desire is to see us move ever closer to him, rest in his faithfulness and goodness. Trust him to do in us and through us all that he needs and wants to.

Remember weeping lasts for a night, but Joy comes in the morning! Your “night” might seem like a long time, but it will only last as long as it needs to and then your joy will come!

Rest in him, trust in him, and do not be afraid!

Where are you going? What’s your story? I don’t mean in the literal sense of “where are you going”, like driving down a road, but where are you headed in your life? Are you going in the right direction, the direction that leads to a closer walk to the Lord, or are you headed 100mph down a road that had “Wrong Way” written at the start of it?

We can all get side-tracked by life and end up taking detours that can have both good and bad outcomes. Sometimes we are so busy looking out the window that we miss what is right in front of us. I want to slow down and really take in the view on my journey, but also, I want to be sure I am going the right direction. I want my heart and head so in-tuned to the Holy Spirit that I cannot miss the “turn here” signs. Does that mean that only good things will come my way? No, it does not. Our lives are a mixture of just enough moments. Just enough heartache to grow us, just enough laughter to keep us going, just enough hardships to draw us ever nearer the Lord. We need everything in balance. And our Father in Heaven gives us just enough of everything. All good gifts come from him.

James 1:17 tells us this: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father in heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows.”

We may think we have completely and totally ruined our lives at times, but that simply is not possible, if we take that mistake and surrender it to Jesus. Will we have consequences for it? Yes, and sometimes those last for the rest of our lives, but if we surrender them to the Lord, turn from our mistake and make a fresh start, He will help us. He will use what we have for our good and his glory.

Our mistakes do not change the Father’s will for our lives. He allows us those times to help refine us on our journey. If you are born again then you have already started living out your eternity with Jesus. Every day brings us closer to our last day and as we journey through the roads of life, we are going to occasionally do the wrong thing, hopefully not often, but we all make mistakes. God knows that we will, he formed us and set us on our course. He even designed our mistakes for us. Yes, we have free will, but it does not trump God’s will, if it did, he would not be God! Now the line between free will and God’s will is something you and I just have to accept. It is too deep for my brain.

I personally am so thankful that God uses even my mistakes, my “what have I done” moments to draw me ever closer to him and somehow in the mess of things make me more into his image. If you find yourself barreling down the wrong road. STOP! Look up and ask for help, when you do, He will! He will redirect you and help you as you make your way back. Trust him, lean on him, surrender to him and enjoy the new direction you are going. Watch the road signs carefully and listen for that still small voice that guides us as we go.

If you are like me you have been disappointed by people on more than one occasion. Sometimes it is a small disappointment and other times it is a really big hurt or a disappointment that cuts deeply. Sometimes our first response to disappointment and hurt is to lash out and hurt back. We want that person to know exactly how badly we feel and we feel justified in doing so. We all know the golden rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, but we want to change it to this ” do unto others as they do to you, but do it first”. After all, it is all about me, or is it?

Maybe you are the ones that have caused hurt or disappointment in someone’s life and you have ” done to others first”, now you live with the consequences of it, we can’t backtrack, we cannot make it disappear, so what do we do? No matter if you are on the side of being the one who has disappointed and hurt, or the one that’s on the receiving end there is only one way to heal from it, and that is going to God’s word, seeing others who have experienced hurt and getting on your knees and asking the Lord to help you, forgiveness, in either situation for self and possibly from others. We need the wisdom to know how to restore the hurt relationship.

If you’re on the receiving end of hurt and disappointment it can be very hard to forgive, especially if it is a deep wound, you may not want to forgive, but forgive we must, not for the sake of others, it is for the sake of ourselves. Un-forgiveness doesn’t hurt the other person, but it is like cancer eating away at you all the time. Let’s look at an example in Scripture.

We read in John 18:15–27 when Peter denied Christ three times, we see his great sorrow, and we see the Lord’s response in John 21:15-17, “Jesus asked Peter three times “do you love me”, and Peter responded that yes he did, and Jesus said feed my sheep. Jesus had already forgiven Peter. Can you imagine having walked with the Lord and experienced seeing the miracles for three years, then when push comes to shove Peter can’t take the pressure, and denies knowing the Lord three times, the anguish in his soul and the disappointment in himself must have been terrible. God knew that Peter would deny him, and even before Peter sorrow, Jesus had already forgiven him. When I have caused hurt, I desperately want forgiveness and restoration. The thought that I have disappointed a Holy God and then someone I care about is a weight that is too heavy to carry.

We read these powerful words from Matthew 6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
I want to be a forgiver simply because I need forgiveness, how about you? None of us is so perfect that we never need forgiveness. And if you think you are you need to examine your heart!

Un-forgiveness is like choosing to fill ourselves with cancer or some other horrible disease and letting it fester inside us until we are dying or possibly already deceased.

Unforgiveness affects both your emotional and physical health. First, repent to the Lord, ask for wisdom to know how to proceed if you are seeking forgiveness and ask for wisdom and courage to forgive if you are giving it.

Remember the great forgiveness that you have received from the Father. In light of that, is it really that hard?

Who are you when you are alone? It is who a person is when they are alone that truly tells the measure of a person and his/her relationship with God. When we are alone we are free to indulge ourselves in the things that please us most without the worlds prying eyes seeing us. So, does your behavior change when you are alone? Are you super religious when around friends or strangers, yet when alone you indulge yourself with filthy talk, sneaking a look at things that you know are wrong? Do you talk with God? Study his word? It does not matter the face we put on before the world, yes, maybe you can fool people, but you cannot fool God. Why— because he is always present, listening and watching. He sees the real you. 

God looks on our hearts, he knows all our thoughts things spoken and unspoken. If we choose to look at filth, he is there. If we decide to go to that place that we know is not good for us, he is there. If we are having ugly thoughts, he knows it. It is very sobering to think that God knows it all, sees it all, hears it all! 

If we kept in mind that he is always with us, longing for our time and attention would it change us? The older I get the more I am aware of God’s presence in my life, the more I want to please him with my thoughts and behaviors whether alone or in a crowd. I find myself wondering if he is pleased with me? Oh, how I want to please the Lord to be a good representative to others of his transforming work in my life! No, I am not perfect, far from it, but I do try to do those things that are pleasing to God. I do try to take my thoughts captive when they start to go in the wrong direction.

2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Psalm 139:1-7 says: Lord, you have examined me and know all about me. I2  You know when I sit down and when I get up. 3 You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down.You know everything I do. 4 Lord, even before I say a word, you already know it. 5 You are all around me—in front and in back— and have put your hand on me. 6 Your knowledge is amazing to me; it is more than I can understand. 7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?

I want to be and do my very best when the only one watching is Jesus. I want to hear each day well done my child! Laying down at night with a clean conscious is such a good feeling. Knowing I did not drag my Lord anywhere inappropriate, or I did not let my thoughts linger in the wrong direction, or I did not repeat that gossip I heard. It could be anything.

If you are a child of God you know when you are wrong, or at least should. The Holy Spirit inside of you tells you that you are wrong. If we but listen to him. I want to be a good listener, I want to know him more and more. I want to read his word and let it strengthen my faith and feed my soul. In a world that is literally falling apart in so many ways, morality seems gone, respect seems like it is fading away. Just common decencies seem to be slipping by the wayside, we need to be Christ to those around us, we need to be a good living Bible for others to read and listen to. So I ask myself and you, who are you “when no one is looking?”

It seems that our world has gone crazy, even the weather seems off. We hear a lot about global warming, and just the bad behavior of people, riots, lawsuits about everything, and a general lack of respect for all things decent and right, wars and rumors of wars, men claiming to be Christ etc… we shouldn’t be surprised because we have been told by scripture “not to be surprised ” when these things happen, so ” what time is it? ” If we look at scripture we will be
confident of the time.

Matthew 24:6 says this: 6 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

In Matthew 24:23-24 we read: 23 “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christ’s, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

2 Peter 3:3-4 says: 3 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last day’s scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” Do you know someone who says these things, mocking Christian’s for believing that Christ will return? I do!

Matthew 24:7-8, “There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” If we just listen to the news we will hear of these very things happening all over the world. “Birth pains.” I think so.

2 Timothy 3:1-3 3 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good.”

Oh, my word does this describe the state of man’s thoughts and actions or what? Men are lovers of self, and all these other things listed, and so many children being raised have absolutely no respect for their parents and even less for anyone else, especially those in authority.

As I read the Scriptures it becomes very clear to me that the answer to the question” what time is it?” I believe we are living in the last days, our Lord’s return could come at any moment! For Christian’s this is not the time to panic and worry, this is the time to look up because our redemption is drawing nigh! Can you imagine looking up and seeing Christ coming, to feel the quickening of our bodies to meet him? I get goosebumps thinking about it!

Titus 2:13 tells us that we need to be excited, 13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ!”

And lastly: Revelation 19:11-13 11 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.”

Knowing the time should encourage us and make us ever watchful, we are to live each day as though this is the day of his return. We need to guard our minds, our thoughts, our actions, our words. We need to be living in such a way that we are aware of what is going on in our world, yet with an expectancy of his return for us. Can you imagine what it will be like to see him face to face? To never have to hurt, cry, mourn, feel ill, have a need ever again? And better yet to finally be rid of this sinful decaying body that we cannot trust and betrays us all the time. What a glorious day!!

I pray that you live in the joy of your salvation, with an expectant heart, ready at any moment to be called home or see his return. Let us lift one another up, encourage one another daily in our walk and our waiting.

Blessings to you…What time is it?

Most people do not want anyone looking in on their private life, their marriage, their family is not up for discussion. They put on a good front while out in public, but if you look closely at their lives inside their homes you might see something different. Most everyone wants a good marriage a
spouse that they can love and respect, someone to grow old with. And anyone who is married or has ever been married knows that it takes work. A good marriage is cultivated, nurtured, important, as is a good loving family.

You simply cannot treat someone in a way that you wouldn’t want to be treated, say things to them that you would never want to be said to you. Words hurt. And too many are too free with their unkind words inside the walls of their homes. Lives and hearts are broken every day by careless hurtful words.

It seems that people are always treating others outside of their home better than the ones inside their home. The people in your home, namely
your husband or wife usually gets the worst of you, that side you don’t want others to see, and sometimes even the children in the home suffer. My grandmother told me that if we treated our family the way we treated other’s marriages and homes would look much different; but also, if we treated our family as though they were Jesus in our home, we would act differently and speak differently to them. Would you do and say things differently if Jesus lived with you or came for a visit?

Would you get angry less often? Would you be careful with your words and your attitude? Would you give a gentle answer? Would you go out of your way to make sure his or her needs were met? Would you make time for him or her? Would you cook for him or her? Would you do your daily chores with a good attitude? But maybe more than any of these, would you extend love, speak softly and sweetly? Would you do your very best in all circumstances for those under your roof? Just a few things to think about. Instead of giving our families or our spouses the worst of us, why not give them the best of us!

My grandmother a wealth of good Godly advice told me that we need to love and serve in our homes mindful that we are ultimately serving the Lord! I have never forgotten this. It is good advice to live by.

Ephesians 5:25: “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.” Christ loved the church sacrificially, unconditionally, with great joy and
passion. Husbands do you love this way?

Wives here is what scripture tells us that we need to do, 1 Peter 3:1 says, “Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.” What does your behavior say about you?

What does scripture say about marriage?
Ephesians 4+2-3: “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

1 Corinthians 13+4-5: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” I know I want to be Jesus to my family and friends do you?

I grew up in a home where words were many, they were usually yelled and many of them were very hurtful. My dad loved himself more than anything. He inflicted harm on each of his children in different ways. My mother maybe simply by trying to survive was quick with a temper and very free with unkind hateful words. Fighting was normal, kind words were very few and far between.

Here is an example of a remark that stayed with me for years, I am talking about thirty years. I was a sickly child. I had asthma really bad. Also, unknown to anyone I was being sexually abused. I cried a lot, matter of fact my nickname was”water-faucet”, each time it was said I cried more. I was skinny, had dark circles under my eyes, buck teeth, pigeon-toed, even had to wear special shoes. In addition to all that I was a huge tomboy, always wanting to do what my brothers were doing, they had more fun than being inside playing girl stuff. A little sweat and dirt are good for the soul. Anyway, you get the idea, I was no beautiful fair princess. One day my mother was looking at me and offhandedly looked at me said,”you will never look like anything.” It felt as if I had been stabbed in the heart. My thoughts toward myself which were already pretty bad were made instantly worse. Another label attached to me.

She says that she did not mean it to be hurtful, just a jesting remark. However, for the next thirty some years that is the first thing I thought of every morning when I looked in the mirror. Those words defined me, hurt me, cut me for years. I believed them to be the absolute truth of my appearance and that no matter how I dressed me up, I was just a messed up somebody.

There are many things I have had to work through at the foot of the cross or sitting in my Heavenly Father’s lap crying, questioning, asking, begging for help. This was one of those. I never accepted any compliment at face value, I figured people were just trying to make me feel better. Even though they did not know how I felt, even though I was the only one who knew what had been said.

I was finally able to lay this down on the altar one year when our ladies from church went to The Cove, in the NC mountains for a weekend retreat. It was there with sobs I went to the prayer room in the chapel, got on my knees and told Jesus I was tired of the label, tired of feeling bad about myself, tired of these words haunting me every day. I stayed until the tears were spent and my heart was at peace. I can tell you that those words do not haunt me any longer, I can tell you this story with no tears and no pain attached to it. God healed me that day and began to show me that to him I was beautiful, created in his image, his likeness, a daughter of the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

So, I will tell you, let your words be kind, serve those in your family with love. Let them be the first to see Jesus in what you say and what you do. It matters! I have made it a point since I have been married and had a family to be very careful with my words, to use them to build up and not tear down. I never wanted to bruise my children’s heart with even one offhand remark, that would attach a label that could hurt them. This is just an example how something bad, something hurtful God has used for good in my life.

Be Jesus to those closest to you and then to those you meet along the way. Treat each person with the kind of love and respect that you would give Jesus if he came for coffee at your house. My grandmother modeled this better than anyone I have ever known.

I want everyone to see Jesus in me, and I want those nearest and dearest to be the first!!! Will you join me?

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NIV

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

So, I ask again,”What do you smell like?” When others are around you do you have the sweet aroma of your Lord and Savior coming from within you? Can others clearly see in your words or your actions that you are a born-again believer? Not religious, there is a difference, a huge one! Or maybe you smell too much like the world we live in, you are too busy soaking up as much “living” as you can. You never stop and really look at your behavior or your words.

People are watching us, they especially watch Christian’s or those claiming to be Christian and they are looking to see a difference. When we look and smell so much like the world that there is nothing that sets us apart, then there is a problem. We need to reevaluate our lives and if we do truly belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s or is it just “lip service” so to speak.

We may be able to fool some people some of the time, but we can NEVER fool God. He sees all of us as though we were open down the middle and laid bare before him. No hiding, no fudging in our walk. Does this mean we cannot have fun? Of course not, Christian’s should be the happiest people you know, but there should be a noticeable difference in the things you do and say compared to those of the world.

Lord knows I am far from perfect, as a matter of fact, the more I get to know my Savior the more imperfect I feel, but that is because I am not there yet, he is still molding and making this lump of clay. However, he sees me as perfect because I have been washed in His blood, so it is through the flow of blood that He sees me.

And while I walk this earth I will find myself not quite smelling like I want from time to time, guilty I am, however, as I grow in my relationship with Jesus there should be noticeable changes happening that others see and hear. The world loves religion is costs nothing, you just say you have a religious belief and the world says, great! Being born-again is something totally different. There is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ!

In closing I will say this, if you are smelling too much like the world around you, it is time for a heart check. A deep long look inside to see if you are truly born-again and in a relationship with Jesus. He will never lead you faster than you can follow, but as we grow in him there should be some evidence of it. Our behavior should change daily as we walk closer and closer in relationship with the Lord.

I want to smell like my Savior and I want to talk like my Savior. I want my life to be a reflection of the one who is inside of me. Some days I almost nailed it, others not so much! One day though, I will be in a perfect place with a perfect mind and perfect body, but until then I have a new chance each and every day to get it right, so do you!

So again I ask? What do you smell like? Is it a worldly stench or is it a Heavenly aroma, pleasing to a Holy God?