Beauty + a Bible Verse ...

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Beauty:

Home-grown roses a patient brought in to the office last week, out of the sweetness of her heart. (One of my favorite patients y'all. ;o) The pictures really DON'T do them justice - they're the most incredible roses I've ever seen! You don't have to put your nose up to these to get the fragrance - you can catch it from feet away!! It's at times like these I feel especially blessed to work at the front ... I may or may not have teased my co-workers in the back about the advantages of this. ;)

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Bible Verse:

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;

I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.

But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame,

And they became as detestable as that which they loved.

Hosea 9:10

I'm reading through the minor prophets currently and this verse in Hosea 9 stood out for me particularly last week ... it's a simple lesson, but one that I think deserves attention early and often. The depraved hearts of the Israelite people in Hosea's day were a result of, bottom line, loving the things that they loved. Their hearts weren't always this way! See the beginning of the verse! But slowly, little-by-little, their single-mindedness was eroded and they began to love many things ... and those things were not their God. As Christians we are reminded on a regular basis that we need to guard against worldliness, to be in the world but not of the world, etc., etc ... but do we ever just bring it down to the simplest equation possible, that we are what we love? Because I think it is one of the most important steps we will ever take towards maintaining our place in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ -- taking the time to simply, intentionally think on and be aware of what we love. Our music lyrics, movie/TV show/book themes, clothes, the content of our daydreams and thoughts, you name it! Get to know what you love. Truly come to an understanding of the "themes," if you will, that control your heart and your mind. And make sure that, whatever they are, they are pleasing to your Creator and your Savior ... because you are what you love. 2 Corinthians 13:5!

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