Thanks for checking back in after the last 10 days of  blog silence. I have been absorbed in power reading two books. Actually one I reread, The Harbinger, because it leads into The Mystery Of The Shemitah. Google them for a synopsis and see if it looks like something you would want to read…the sooner the better!

Alrighty, enough excuses! Now, a question. If Jesus were to return tomorrow or at this moment, would you be able to say last week, last month, last year I gave Him my very best… I didn’t squeeze him in at the end of the day after all my “to do” list was checked off or call on Him only when I needed help.

An example of what that looks like here on earth in our interactions with others, was so clearly demonstrated when my husband, a physical therapist, was completing a home health visit. As he was leaving, his patient’s wife offered Eddy several tomatoes to take home.  We just do that in the South!  Tomatoes are passed around all summer as gardens reach their peak.

As she reached into the bowl of tomatoes, she inspected each one searching for the very best to give him. As Eddy looked on, he protested trying to convince her to keep those for themselves.  She sweetly declined his request, saying she could just cut the bad spots out of the remaining ones.  It was a way of saying thanks to my husband.  She made a sweet sacrifice as she put others before herself.

Now, can we take this and apply it to our relationship to Jesus on a day-to-day basis.  Are we giving Him the choice fruits of our day, our very best tomatoes so to speak? Or does the One who was brutally sacrificed on a cross for our sins get the leftovers of our day, the tomatoes with the spots on them or perhaps no tomatoes at all!

The deeper my relationship grows in the Lord, the more I learn of His love and sovereignty. What an awesome gift that the Creator of the universe would send his Son to die in my place.  As much pain as Jesus experienced, can you imagine the extent of pain His father felt watching from Heaven, hearing Jesus cry out to Him as he suffered. If you are a parent, try to imagine that.

Why wouldn’t I want to carve out time in my day to say “thank you” for saving me from Hell and forgiving my sins so that I now have the hope of heaven. Yet, we find so little time in here on earth to seek Jesus and offer Him the most excellent parts of our lives.  That translates into time spent with Him seeking His will for our lives, building a relationship, giving Him the very best fruits of our day.

Start today.  As you pass that “bowl of tomatoes” in your life, choose the very best ones and offer them to Jesus. The title of Oswald Chambers book, My Utmost for His Highest, says it all. Priorities may have to be addressed and some of those tomatoes with the bad spots …why, it may be time to throw  of them out! They are simply taking up too much space in “the bowl” of your life, keeping you off balance, robbing you of your peace, keeping you from a your relationship with your Lord and Savior.

Celebrate God all day, every day.  I mean revel in Him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that The Master is about to arrive.  He could show up any moment!  (Phil. 4:4-5)

I will be praying for you in this endeavor…making Him your first thought of your day, not the last. It will take discipline, but, OH, the benefits.  To God Be the Glory!

(The flower in the picture above is a magnolia, the state flower of Misissippi! Be sure and sign up for email notification of posts on my Home page if you are on your computer or at the bottom of the posts that appear on your cell phone. Thanks!)