Heart Keepers Ministries

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The G”love” Solution

by Debbie on March 9, 2018

A sign? No I didn't ask for one. I just simply prayed a simple prayer. And the answer "came"!

With the weekend here I knew my flower garden needed some attention but boy my back was not looking forward to the task.

It would have been so easy to just put it off. But a sign showed up on my den floor and I knew it was time to go to work.

Let me explain.

Friday evening after work, my husband Mike was showing me all the things he hoped to accomplish on Saturday in our yard.

His mind was on trimming overgrown bushes.

As I stood in front of our flower garden in the front of our home, all I saw was massive pine straw with dry, dead leaves and weeds mixed in. I knew the gardner needed to get to work. I just happen to be the gardner, but my back was saying, "No, don't do that"!

And my husband was saying, just leave it like it is.
He didn't see the need to remove the dead dried leaves and weeds and old pine straw.

We agreed to disagree on that one.

Saturday morning came and I was in my most favorite place..having my "quiet time" with the Lord. Mike was in the kitchen making his wonderful smoked tuna dip. I heard him say from the kitchen, "Where did this glove come from?"

Of course I had no idea what he was talking about, so he brought the glove to me and told me it was laying on the floor next to the cats food. I just laughed and knew it was an answer to my prayer that I had prayed a few minutes earlier.

My prayer was, "Lord, do I need to work in the flower garden today"?

I had my answer! And I even had a glove to protect my hand.

Let me explain where this glove came from though.

A few weeks ago, Mike and our wonderful neighbor Tom took on a project to lift the cover on our boat so that water would drain off of it and not collect on the boat cover. It included PVC pipe and putting their brains to work.

They were having a problem keeping one of the PVC structures in place and Tom suggested they needed something to keep it from slipping. Mike took a look in his work shop and found one of my garden gloves that had rubber on one side of the glove.

He brought it out to Tom so proudly and they put their plan in place. It seemed to be the ticket and they both were satisfied with the solution.

Did I mention that a couple of our cats, Layla and Jack love to visit the boat and go "undercover"? Well they do and sometimes we see Layla sound a sleep while "undercover". We even joked about naming the boat, "Layla's Yacht".

Back to the glove.

Not many days after the men folk came up with the glove solution, I went to do some work in the yard and needed my gloves. Of course when I went to get them, I only found one. I thought that to be very strange and asked my husband if he knew anything about it and to my surprise, I got to hear the "glove solution" story.

Well, somehow I knew that I might need extra gloves this year for yard work, so I had purchased a three pack deal when I last bought gloves.

All the gloves looked the same, so I just went and brought out a brand new pair. I might mention that I didn't store them in his work shop anymore but in the car garage in a plastic container. No more disappearing gloves, right?

So on with the story...

I knew God was saying, yep, you need to work in the front flower garden today. So when I finally got started, I went to Mike's shop to retrieve the lonely glove whose partner had been taken from it for a great reason. Right?

Well apparently one of the cats...I am thinking Jack, because he loves
to carry things around and he loves when we work in the yard, brought it off the boat and into the house.

Yep, there was my "sign", that I hadn't even asked for. But by now Mike knew it was a sign as well, that I needed to get rid of those weeds, old straw and dried up leaves.

Okay, so why tell this long glove story?

Gloves have to be put on in order to protect or help us with whatever we need them for...gardening, golf, baseball, and even beauty pageants.

Earlier in my "favorite chair time", a Face Book friend (Pam Nevins) had posted a picture of a beautiful lapel pin that had the word love on it.

She related the following scripture to her new lapel pin. She said she made the lapel pin as a reminder (sign) to put on love.

Colossians 3:14

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

I commented to Pam that I would love to have one of her love pins to put on to remind me to put on love.

Okay, so how does the glove thing and this lapel pin relate?

I had to get up from my comfy "favorite chair time" and put the glove on that my kitty so obediently brought off the boat.

And we as Christians have to get out of our comfortable place of just loving when it is easy.

We have to put on love everyday. God is love and when we put love on everyday, we are putting God on and wearing love (God) in a way that others see Him and not us.

Let me share the few verses in Colossians 3 that came before verse 14:

Colossians 3:12-13

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

What a loving God to move the mind of a kitty to bring a g"love" for me to put on, and to use it as a sign to say, Yes to my prayer, of "should I"?

What a loving God to provide a friend to post a beautiful lapel pin (a sign) to inspire us all to put on love.

But should we love the hard to love and the unlovable too?

Oh Yes, God is saying, put on love! Not just for those who are easy to love but for the hard to love as well. Put on compassion and patience. Bear with each other.

Ugh! That sounds like hard work!

What about my flower garden?

Well...I put on my gloves and went to work. I accomplished a lot but still have more to do. I am thankful that the weeds, old dried leaves and pine straw are on the road in garbage bags to be hauled away soon.

What about my heart? Well I had to do some work there too. I found some roots of bitterness that had to be pulled up and put on the road too. I finished it off with putting on compassion, patience and love to bind them all together.

What about you? Does your heart need some work? Are there some roots of bitterness towards someone that you are still letting live in your heart?

Ephesians 4:31-32

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

So just as I put on my gloves and got rid of some old ugly stuff and some weeds and roots out of my flower garden, so I had to do in my heart.

The way that we "get rid" of anger and bitterness in our hearts is through confession to God (agreeing with God that we are angry) and then asking him to take
it away and put love in our hearts instead.

Let's pray!

Father in Heaven,
Thank you for the help you give to us to get us headed in the direction that we need to go. We all need beautiful loving hearts, not mean angry hearts that hurt others and destroy relationships. Help us all to put on love each day through prayer. Father we ask that you remove the bitterness and anger that we have let grow and cause trouble in our relationships. We want our hearts to be beautiful and to bloom with all the virtues you have told us to wear. Cleanse our hearts of the anger, resentment, bitterness, and malice that may have been in our hearts for years or just since a very few minutes ago. We ask you to fill our hearts with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control instead. Thank you that love covers a multitude of sins.
Thank you that the work of love that Jesus Christ did on the cross covers our sins. We will walk in love today and not dwell in the anger and resentment of the past. Thank you Father for Jesus and Jesus thank you for the cross. By faith we put on love Let everything we say and do look like you (love).
In your name we pray, Amen

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Be Set Free From Such A Thing!

by Debbie on July 4, 2016

Such A Thing! These are three words that are used mostly when referring to bad, wicked, or sometimes unbelievable things.

I know I have had times in my life when I have used these words. Some of these times are times I would rather not remember or share about. They were times that brought pain and shame to my life. Times when I never thought "such a thing" could or would happen in my life.

What about you? Have there been some times that "such a thing" has happened to you?

King David knows about "such a thing". In 2 Samuel 11-12:25 we read about the story of David and Bathsheba. King David had decided to stay home in the spring when kings go off to war.

He just happened to see Bathsheba bathing on her roof top and then "such a thing" happened. David brought her to his palace, became intimate with her, she became pregnant while married to a soldier named Uriah in David's army. Then David proceeded to cover up "such a thing" by bringing Uriah home to be with his wife Bathsheba but to David's demise, Uriah would not do "such a thing" while others in David's army were in open fields fighting.

Unfortunately David decided to have Uriah put on the front lines of battle so that he would meet an early death. How could David do " such a thing" to such a loyal servant?

David resorted to doing "such a thing" to cover up his previous "such a thing"! Seems David's "such a things" were beginning to multiply. Seems one bad thing done in secret leads to another. But sometimes what we think we did in secret was really not done in secret after all. Everyone seems to forget that God sees everything.

David thought he had succeeded in his plan until God stepped in and sent Nathan the prophet to rebuke David for doing "such a thing". Nathan did not point out David's sin to him immediately but instead used a story to get a rise out of David.

2 Samuel 12:1-14

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did SUCH A THING and had no pity."

Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord the God of Israel says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword, will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'

This is what the Lord says: 'Out of your household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "

Then David said to Nathan, " I have sinned against the Lord."

Nathan replied, " The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

Wow, what a sad terrible story! One bad decision by David to stay home from war and his whole life would be changed. Not for the good either. For the worst. His household never saw peace again.

David's son Absalom is the one that slept with David's wives on the rooftop of David's palace in sight of all Israel.

Although Absalom would eventually meet his demise for doing "such a thing" to his father, King David, it was through Absalom that King David reaped what he sowed. You can read about it in 2 Samuel 16:21-22.

What is the point of this devotional called "Be Set Free From Such A Thing"?

I believe God wants us to know that when we choose to do "such a thing", we might think that no one knows about it, but God does. He saw it happen. We might think that we have covered it up but be assured that God will bring it to light one day. He will handle it in his own way. In a way that will certainly convict us that it was sin. Fortunately for us if we confess our sin as King David did, God is willing to forgive us and set us free. Unfortunately, as King David did, we will reap what we sow. David sowed death and he reaped death.

What have you been sowing? How many "such a things" have you committed, thinking that no one saw it. Thinking that you have covered your sin for good. Nothing can cover your sin but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can set you free like having your sin brought out into the light. Either we can confess our sin or God will gently but lovingly bring our sin into the light.

Take some time to search your heart and think about these "such a things". Do you want God to uncover your sin or do you want to confess it before he has to go to such an extreme measure? God loves us and only wants the best for us. He knows that when we try to cover our sins we carry burdens that keep us from being free to live the abundant life that he intended us to live.

Psalm 51 is the prayer that David prayed after he had done "such a thing". Let's join him and pray this prayer to our Lord with sincere hearts today about any such things we may have in our hearts that we need to confess.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, The God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Thank you God for forgiving me. Thank you for your mercy over my life and the choices that caused me to do such things that you despised. May my eyes and heart stay ever focused on your Word and your way. In Jesus name, Amen.

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“What Cha Doing?”

February 13, 2010

With two cats and a pet cockatiel in my house, things can get messy sometimes.  I find myself always cleaning up after one of them.  One of my favorite things to say to my cats is "What Cha Doing?".  They have never answered that question with words but boy have they ever answered it with [...]

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