The Handmaiden Vol 2 Issue 2

Mary Puplava, Editor HANDMAIDEN.ORG

BROKENNESS -- THE PRINCIPLE
Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts...
Jeremiah 4:4a

You may be facing a season of brokenness, when everything you touch seems broken or empty. Remember the principle: once a seed is planted, life begins anew. The goal of brokenness is not a shattered life, but one that is given over to God fully and completely.

[Editor's Note: The following excerpt is from a teaching by Charles Stanley in 1994.]

Warren Wiersbe writes, "Jesus used the image of a seed to illustrate the great spiritual truth that there can be no glory without suffering, no fruitful life without death, no victory without surrender. Of itself, a seed is weak and useless; but when it is planted, it 'dies' and becomes fruitful. There is both beauty and bounty when a seed 'dies' and fulfills its purpose. If a seed could talk, it would not doubt or complain about being put into the cold, dark earth. But the only way it can achieve its goal is by being planted.

God's children are like seeds. They are small and insignificant, but they have life in them. God's life. However, that life can never be fulfilled unless we yield ourselves to God and permit Him to 'plant us'. We must die to self so that we may live unto God. (Rom 6; Gal 2:20) [The Bible Expos. Commentary]

The Hot Seat
by Mary Puplava

Quite some time ago, I had a wonderful "lesson" from the Holy Spirit. I'd felt the need for some quiet time with the Lord and decided on taking a walk. After some time, I sat on a cable tv box to enjoy the view and really "do some praying". After only a few minutes, I started squirming. The metal box was hot from the sun. I found myself so uncomfortable, that I got up and started walking again.

I had to laugh at myself. Here I was "communing" with the Lord and I couldn't take it... being on the "hot seat". I felt that little nudge on my shoulder and realized the Holy Spirit was showing me a bit of my nature. Every time I'm in an uncomfortable situation, either with Him or others, I manage to get up and get away as fast as I can.

I've heard it said that if you're moving on with God, you will be "un"comfortable. Interesting. If I'm uncomfortable with correction, or turn away and don't receive it, then the benefits of such a correction might be lost. Sooner or later, I'll be going around that mountain again, facing the same hot seat. I guess it's better to take the heat and stay in the kitchen with the Chief Cook.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT ~ BEARING FRUIT

In Paul's letters, we read that he continually prays for the new believer:

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth...

... For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:6b, 9-12)

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

THE SMELL OF ROSES
by Fred Booth
Encouraging Words Ministries
P. O. Box 1878 Bonita, CA 91908

[Editor's Note: Many years ago, a friend gave me the following bookmark. To me, there is nothing as wonderful as the fragrance of the rose.]

I am the Rose of Sharon...
Song of Solomon 2:1

Down through the centuries man has been intrigued with the smell of flowers so much so that he has sought ways to capture their fragrance. While many methods were used over the years one seems to stand out as the best. Perfume makers extract the oil from flower petals by crushing them. The oil is then blended with various solvents and spices which preserve the fragrance.

One way the petals are crushed is by hand. The people who use the hand method spend many hours in order to obtain a single ounce of oil. One ounce of oil can cost as much as several hundred dollars. At the end of their day, the perfume makers go home smelling like the flowers they've been crushing. Even bathing won't remove it.

A poet once wrote that a flower gives its greatest fragrance when it has been crushed.

There is a Rose that was crushed more than 2000 years ago
whose priceless fragrance is ours free of charge. That Rose is Jesus Christ.

Just as the perfume makers spend time in the presence of flowers, and come to smell like them, so we also can spend in the presence of Jesus, relaxing in His everlasting arms and come away smelling like that Rose.

One of the symbols for sin in the Bible is leprosy. A man who contracted leprosy was rejected by friends and family, shame was on his head and he found himself alone. Leprosy causes the human flesh to rot away. It has a terrible odor about it. The world about us is dying of leprosy. The stench of sin is destroying everything about man; his family, his lands, and his environment. He knows no other fragrance but that of sin's decay.

If we spend time in the arms of Jesus then we can go into the highways and byways with the smell of the Rose of Sharon, taking to the world a new fragrance. We can lead them to the Rose, the Healer, the Restorer, the Savior.

God's Word tells us that we are "children of God and if children, heirs, joint heirs with Jesus Christ." We are children of the King, royalty, destined to be the eternal bride of the King's Son. We have the run of the kingdom, access to the throne room anytime we wish.

What is the greatest way we can bring joy to the heart of God? By loving His Son. We can bring a smile to the face of our heavenly Father by spending time in the presence of Jesus. And, we can come away smelling like that Rose.

THORNS AND THRONES

I'd rather gather roses without thorns, Lord,
A bright and fragrant, beautiful bouquet.
To decorate my world with pretty pleasures -
The brambles and the briers, I'll throw away.

But You say I must pluck the thorns as well, Lord,
Though they'll pierce my heart and sting my soul;
You say that pain's a part of peace,
You tell me, that breaking is a part of being whole.

You say that if I truly want to know You,
I must count everything but Christ a loss;
You ask me to exchange my will for Yours, Lord,
To trade contentment's kingdom for a cross.

And so I come before You, weak but willing;
I seek to walk Your path, and not my own;
I choose to share the crown of thorns You wore, Lord,
Until I kneel before Your royal throne.

~ by B. J. Hoff

Photo: J L Johnson
Crown of Thorns

GOING HOME
by Shonna Jones, 10-16-1999

God is most precious and God is always good, we'd be with Him now if only we could. We all long for the day Jesus comes back for us all, to hear the trumpet sound, angels sing, and Jesus' call. What a magnificent moment that day will be, from that moment on we'll be in paradise living sin-free.
With our Heavenly Father and Jesus at His right side, overflowing with joy and love we'll have nothing to hide. So when life seems endless with brutality all around, trust in the Lord and be thankful we're Heaven bound.

MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOWER
Submitted by Jackie Smart of Poway, California

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down
And said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn - not enough rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose
And declared with overacted surprise,
"It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too.

That's why I picked it; here, it's for you."
The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colors: orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.

So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need."
But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
"You're welcome," he smiled, and then ran off to play,
Unaware of the impact he'd had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see
The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.
And for all of those times I myself had been blind,

I vowed to see the beauty in life,
And appreciate every second that's mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy,
Another weed in his hand,
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man

(Author Unknown)

Inspiration Break Up the Fallow Ground