Apron Strings Devotional for6/9/99

6/9/99

Good Morning....
Jesus loves You!!

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When you hurt, God hurts with you. When no one listens to you, God listens to you. When you wipe away a tears of loneliness or frustration or anguish, in heaven there's a pierced hand approaching a heavenly face wiping away a tear.
-Max Lucado-

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Hi Dear Friends!!

Hope this finds you doing wonderful in our Lord Jesus!! Sorry I'm late. I guess this one needed to be, because the essence of my commentary took place only within the last 24 hours. It really gave me the opportunity to take a real look at my "house" the way God sees it. Please read on for a greater revelation. See you at the end! ( smile )

John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked.

When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.

Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.

He blurted out the tragedy. "A boy, a big boy ... called me a freak."

He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. "But you might mingle with other young people," his mother reproved him, but felt a kindness in her heart.

The boy's father had a session with the family physician. Could nothing be done?

"I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be procured," the doctor decided.

Whereupon the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by.

Then, "You are going to the hospital, Son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret," said the father.

The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service.

"But I must know!" He urged his father, "Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him."

"I do not believe you could," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know ... not yet."

The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come ... one of the darkest days that a son must endure. He stood with his father over his mother's casket.

Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to reveal that the mother had no outer ears.

"Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut," he whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?"

Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart.
Real treasure lies not in what that can be seen, but what that cannot be seen.
Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what that is done but not known.

"The Gift of Love"
-Author Unknown-
Received by: SWRW1@aol.com
Thanks Sis!

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The rule that governs my life is this: Anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it.

-J. Wilbur Chapman-
Received from: Darla, dasth@laf.cioe.com
Thanks Darla!

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Me again!!

Man, this has been some week so far! I got this neat phone call yesterday from a dear Sis that lives in Colorado. "Iona" informed me that she was in the area scouting out a new home. Well, of course I was thrilled! Not long after the call, she and I connected and began looking around for a dwelling that would suit her.

She informed me that she was looking for a real cheap "fixer upper" and from the perspective of her price range, she really meant it! We called this Christian realtor that I recently met, ( Coincidence? I don't think so.. Godincidence? Yes!! ) and soon "Amy" joined us as we continued in hot pursuit of the houses that qualified.

Well, I gotta be honest with you here. Some were real "eyesores." But I was so amazed with my friend. Iona has this vision that blows my mind. She saw things that I overlooked, and drew potential from things that I saw no hope for. Every time we would hit one that struck her fancy, ( and I was ready to keep on cruisin by! ) she would tell me the things that she could do to fix it up, and what this needed, and what needed to go.

After awhile, we finally hit THE house, ( which turned out to be TWO fixer uppers side by side for the price of one! Is God awesome or what? Exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think! ) When we came to the first one, I didn't wanna go in...and neither did the realtor! When Amy unlocked the door I had to push her on in, and then we both kinda went in real cautious-like. Ole Iona was gung ho and robust about this one more than any of the others, and I was thinking.. "Naah." First thing I did when we looked in the bathroom, was scope out cockroaches that might be in there blowdryin their hair!

Then it hit me. Once again, God was showing me something that really opened a door in my heart, and He sent Iona all the way from Colorado to do it! As we were exiting the first house, and entering the second, I jokingly made the statement that the first house ( which was the one in greater need of TLC ) was "me" before I got saved. In other words, that's how I "looked." And to be honest, it's how I felt too. One big negative eyesore. And then God comes along and sees the potential in me far beyond what I could possibly imagine.

He sees all that junk in my heart, and instead of being discouraged about how much it is, or how much work I would take, I can picture Him, just like Iona, all excited and enthusiastic about forming me into His image. Once I allow Him in and give Him full access, He can't wait to get started. But, just like the natural situation with the house, He doesn't do it all at once. I mean, Iona needs some time to work on this house...and time is a good thing. God also uses time to do things in our lives as we can handle them. The most thrilling part to me, is the fact that He already visualizes what I am going to be like. He already knows what areas He needs to work on, and He is already making plans.

And then I thought about how close these parallels actually are. Aren't we as houses, or temples?

1 Cor 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

2 Cor 6:16
for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

These thoughts really had a great effect on me, so much that I just "had" to go back by those houses again this morning, and really "look" at them. Again, I saw eyesores. You see, in this particular situation, I lacked the vision that Iona had and because of this, I pre-judged because of what I saw in the natural. I have to admit, I wondered if she needed to spend her money on these houses. Were they going to be worth it? She thought so. Why? Because she has faith in the unseen. And so does God. Have you ever thought about that? We always concentrate on our own faith, but what about God's faith? Have you ever thought about the fact that He has faith in the vision that He has planned for your life?

When I finally allowed myself to see these houses through Iona's eyes, then I began to realize that she is seeing way past what is sitting in those yards at this very moment. She already sees what they are going to look like when they are finished. As far as she is concerned, they are already there. The only thing that's standing in the way right now is time. But that's ok, because it's the exact ingredient needed.

The next time you look in the mirror and see anything less than what God sees, then think about those houses. You remember that man looks on the outward appearances, ( that includes us looking at ourselves! ) but God looks on the heart. ( 1 Samuel 16:7 ) I am reminded of an excerpt from a poem that my friend Lori Campisano wrote. It goes:

He made you beautiful
long before you learned to compare.
When you hate your image,
you're implying God didn't care
enough to complete you.
Do you doubt Him or even dare?
The Lord's heart, it is pure.
His mirror of love has no glare.

When discouragement attempts to nest in your life, just remember that He is doing a work, and how long it takes is not our concern. We are to submit ourselves to Him and trust that He knows what He is doing. After all, look at the foundation He's laid for us. Nothing but the best for His children...and a good house is dependant upon it's foundation.

Isa 28:16
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

1 Cor 3:11
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Iona owns these houses now, just like God owns us. I have no doubt that she is going to give these shoddy lil dudes her best shot. Rest assured that God will do no less with us. Wow! The Potter's BEST SHOT with this lump of clay. What a humbling thought!

God Bless You All!!
And remember..
Jesus loves you and I do too!

In Christ!!
Carol
Justaservn@aol.com

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