He Said - She Said - July 25, 2008

How You Bean? -- He Said

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” - Psalm 84:11

- Listen to, How You Bean?

A few miles south of Granada, Nicaragua the Mombacho volcano rises above Lake Cocibolca offering an incredible view of the Zapatera and Ometepe islands. As clouds engulf the hills of the wildlife reserve, toucans, parrots and howler monkeys hoot from the tree tops while below, on the forest floor, volcanic soil, darker than a shot of espresso, spreads like chocolate. Here the richness of God’s beauty is breath-taking.

I stood on the platform, my back resting against the trunk of a tree so thick a compact car could have been parked on the other side. Looking down through the canopy of branches I counted the plants, each almost as tall as a full-grown man. In the spring these plants produce majestic blooms that undergo a natural self-pollination process. As the buds blossom their white flowers open, but for only a few days. It is then, during this time of pollination, that the hills of Mombacho appear as if covered in snow. The abundance of blooms predicts the bounty to come.

It is also during this time, when the plant is most vulnerable to disease, thieves and insects.

Our righteousness is like that. We desire to be holy, to be snow-white pure, but then we pray, asking God to transform us into the likeness of His Son and the enemy swoops in to rob us of our bloom, turning tomorrow’s produce into today’s sin.

The beauty of the petals is the promise of perfection, but it is not the final product. For the coffee plant—the bean, is the harvest. For us, it is service done in His name and the proclamation of the Good News.

In the fall the pickers pluck the beans from the hills of Mombacho, but we must wait longer. Our harvest lies years, perhaps an eternity, away. Still, our righteousness should be evident long before the picker fills His sack with our efforts.

Has sin robbed you of your beauty? Has shame, guilt and bitterness caused you to whither on the vine? If so risk righteousness, dare to be holy and walk blameless. Confess your sin and ask Him to forgive you.

Then get about the business of producing a bumper crop for your Lord.

Christian Devotions

The Flavor of Favor -- She Said

By: Cindy Sproles

- Listen to The Flavor of His Favor


"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Psalm 84:11

The simple pleasures are the best and Ben and Jerry's ice cream rates at the top. For some the hardest thing about B&J's is deciding which flavor to choose, but I don't have that problem. For me anything chocolate works just fine.

Or it did until a few days ago.

The store I shop at added a few new flavors. Normally this wouldn't be an issue for me because the newbies are usually some off-the-wall concoction like Turkey with Dressing, French Toast or Bacon Biscuit A-La-Load. But this time, they actually came up with something that sounded pretty good.

Chocolate Brownie.....the name says it all. Chocolate on chocolate. Nothing short of a dream. Phish Food, chocolate with chocolate chunks. Now, there was a catchy combo.

Okay, Phish Food was one of the new flavors at the store, but not the one that got my attention. What had my saliva glands glistening was Chocolate Therapy. Humm..... I decided I could use a little of couch counseling, so I bought a whole tub.

The road to righteousness can be like this, sometimes littered with choices tempting us to stray from our favorite - His will and love. Sometimes we take a bite of Rocky Road Rejection and end up with a lot of sticky goo on our shirt. Or Marshmallow Cream Compromise which is sort of like Half-N-Half gone bad, just rotten enough to make you want to spit it out after you've swallowed a mouthful.

God calls us to walk blameless before Him. Some think this leads to boring days of duty, void of any of life's sweet goodies. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just like chocolate mixed with anything, anything mixed with and approved by God is scrumptious. The key is to start with the right base.

Chocolate. God. For me both bring a smile to my face.

Do you have a hankering for something cool, sweet and refreshing? Try God. Add whatever topping you wish but a dish of Him is enough by itself.



Christian Devotions
Authors, Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are co-founders of www.ChristianDevotions.US and writers of the weekly series He Said, She Said. Visit ChrsitianDevotions.US and read the multitude of devotions that will touch your life.