The cover of Newsweek Magazine said it best: In a world gone to hell - thank God, a wedding.

How wonderful for one day to have something to think about besides tornadoes and tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns and government take-downs, gas price hikes and NATO air strikes. I'm grateful today for the reminder to believers that in the end all the turmoil will boil down to the ultimate "royal" wedding of a Bride to her Groom.

Jesus will wear the crown, and we, the wedding gown.

Lord, hasten the day!

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24 NIV)

Guard Your Heart

We guard certain aspects of our lives so carefully. We lock our cars, put security systems in our houses, and deposit our money in banks. Yet we leave our hearts, the very wellspring of our lives, open and vulnerable to the devil, who sneaks in like a criminal to take what belongs to us! How wonderful it would be if alarms would sound when our spiritual motion detectors sensed the enemy moving our way. Too often he slips in silently while we’re as yet unawares, stealing our peace, our joy, our time, our marriages and our finances before we even realize that the damage has been done.

Many would be the conditions that might trigger those alarm bells in our spirits. Our monitoring system would capture bad thoughts the moment they come into our consciousness so they could be eliminated before our mind has a chance to dwell on them. Likewise we’d know to turn away from wrong companions before we’re tempted to be yoked to them. The dangers of idleness would be apparent before we allowed our spirits to likewise slip into spiritual laziness and sleep.

God gave us such a security system in the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to warn and lead and guide us, thus protecting us against such threats. Perhaps our problem is that we’ve turned the volume down so low that we no longer hear His voice in time to protect the treasure we hold in our souls.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

(Proverbs 4:23 NKJV)

Gold Mine

While hiking one spring day in the desert near Apache Junction, Arizona, my sister-in-law shared with me the local legend of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. While many versions of the story exist, they revolve around a German prospector named Jacob Waltz who struck gold in a rich mine in the nearby Superstition Mountains. Waltz eventually fell ill and died, disclosing the location of the mine only to a neighbor who helped him in his last days. Unable to find the mine herself, she supposedly sold copies of a map to others who wanted to give the hunt a try. To date the mine’s location remains a mystery, if it exists at all.

That morning as I looked up at the mountain peaks looming before me I laughed because “gold” was clearly visible, everywhere I looked, The green sloping hillsides were covered in brilliantly blooming bands of Mexican golden poppies , interlacing the patches of beautiful purple lupine.

So many people today are likewise looking for earthly riches of one type or another, following directions from others who are as confused and empty-handed as they are themselves. Yet I was reminded of the scriptures in God’s map, the Bible, which point the way to true wealth. Like the wildflowers on the mountain slopes, all of God’s treasures are likewise in plain view if we have eyes to see them, a heart to seek Him, and ears to hear His voice.

“My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe and delight in my ways,”
(Proverbs 23:26 AMP)