God Nuggets Blog

I was reading Spurgeon this morning and it shed some light on Mary's extravagant act of anointing Jesus (Mark 14:1-9). It has always confused me a little, especially because Mary let her hair down, which was usually only done by prostitutes. This was not Mary Magdalene but Mary the brother of Lazarus. Why would she do that in a room full of people?

Spurgeon says about a leper who came to Jesus:

This unclean person had broken through the regulations of the ceremonial law and pressed into the house, but Jesus so far from chiding him broke through the law himself in order to meet him.

In the same way, Mary broke through the law of social norms by letting down her hair. The lesson is that we must overcome the constraints of legalism to find intimacy with Christ. Laws, rules, and checklists are unwelcome fortifications against our Lord. They must come down if we are to KNOW Him.

Blessings,

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This poem came to mind that I wrote many years ago ... on a typewriter! ... yep, I'm old. I thought it might be an encouragement. (Blogger wouldn't let me upload a high-quality image so it's a bit blurry ... sorry!)

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com

It is vain to try to hold on to the gifts of the Lord, for example, peace and joy, or maybe even His teachings sometimes. They are like like vapors that disperse in our grasp. We can only enjoy them with an open hand.

Perhaps in this way we know they come from God and not ourselves.

There is one place we can be as possessive as we want — as clingy and desperate and hungry and greedy as our hearts desire. That is with God Himself. The only thing we can possess* is the One Thing that can never be taken away from us — Who is Jesus Christ Himself! (Ezekiel 44:28, Deuteronomy 4:29; Hosea 6:3 Amplified; John 10:28)

With Him, we can indulge that needy part of ourselves with abandon. Anywhere else, it’s idolatry.

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com


*God can only be "possessed" by those He willingly gives Himself to. And Christ will gladly give Himself to anyone who will receive Him by faith!

PHOTO: H19 on Flickr

People often say to me, "You have a heart of gold, BUT ..." In fact, someone very dear to me said that recently and it just took the wind out of my sails.

You see, I'm not a success by the world's standards. I'm hopelessly absent-minded. I tend to under-function. Prone to depression, I procrastinate, let dust accumulate until you can see it across the room, live with clutter, and expectantly open the empty refrigerator only to be reminded that Mary Poppins doesn't live here.

However, I humbly confess that if I were to die today and stand before God, I would not be ashamed. Don't get me wrong; I have some salient shortcomings that I will be accountable for. But I love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and I love people, encourage the hurting, and accept others unconditionally, right where they are. It doesn't excuse my sins and flaws. But, only because of the blood of Christ, it is enough for God (Matthew 22:37-39; Hebrews 10:12).

Have you come short of other people's standards of success for you?
Have you succeeded in ways that even you may have discounted, but deep down, you are pleased? Really, stop for a minute and ponder because it's important.

... stop here and think ...

Now give yourself credit for something never appreciated before. Write it down.Focus on your strengths regardless of others' opinions, and press forward with what is important in the deepest part of yourself. Just between you and God, are you a success? And if you're not, Don't ask, "What do I want?" but rather "What do I ultimately want?" By that I mean, if you look down the road of your life, 5 years... 10... or 50... what do you desire for it to look like and what is it going to take today to get there?

Be long-sighted with your desires, honest to the core with just you and God, and you won't go far wrong.

With love,

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God doesn't want a religious checklist from you, He wants a love affair! He wants to commune with you throughout the day. It is not less holy to brush your teeth, change a dirty diaper, or give a presentation at work than it is to pray. The blood of Jesus makes every part of your life holy, and He wants to be a part of it all.

Now, don't get me wrong. Prayer is important. Intercession is important. Prayerlessness is sin! But if your quiet time has degenerated into an obligatory list of drudgery-filled tasks. Give it up for a while. Allow your soul to respond to the wooing of the Holy Spirit. Get greedy for God. Experience him in an afternoon cup of coffee, a walk in nature, or a nap. Hear his voice at every crossroad. Look for Him all around you for He is there! Feel His presence envelop you. Rest.

I just don't see Jesus in the Bible waking up every morning an hour before the disciples to go through scrolls of Scripture and His list of the probably thousands of people who had asked Him for prayer. From time to time, He would go to lonely, quiet places in nature and commune with His Papa-- sometimes in preference to sleep! That is passion. Jeremiah had it. He said to God, "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty" (Jeremiah 15:16 emphasis mine).

Passion is what God wants from us, and a legalistic, dogmatic quiet time can ruin it. Putting ourselves under a set of rules and obligatory "shoulds" actually arouses the sinful nature! (Romans 6:5 b NIV). "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, an do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ... For in Christ neither [a quiet time] nor [a missed quiet time] has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:1-6 NIV [my words in brackets]).

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com

"Discipline: to train, bring to a condition of order and obedience; bring under control." ~ World Book Dictionary

Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life's problems." ~ Scott Peck

"If we live by our feelings, our lives will always be mediocre." ~ Joyce Meyer

~ Cyndi Warren

www.warrenfamilylife.com