A Silent Intruder

A Silent Intruder
27 Jan 2009
Susanne Scheppmann

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

The box was out of place. I held my breath in frightened suspense. I sensed someone or something had been in my home while I was away for the weekend. My eyes darted around the family room looking for signs of intrusion. Everything appeared to be in order. However, I spied a small box of dog biscuits in the middle of the kitchen floor. The biscuits were scattered and broken into small pieces. Only the box confirmed my suspicion — everything else seemed to be in order.

My husband and I decided it must have been a mouse which found its way into the house through the garage and munched on the doggie treats. There was no trace of it now and our dogs were calm and indifferent. So, we cleaned up the crumbly mess and went about the evening.

Much later that night we snuggled on the couch watching the “Deadliest Catch.” (It’s a full-of-testosterone reality show …#8220; a man’s version of a soap opera.) We concentrated on the drama in the high seas when suddenly we were jolted by a screeching “Meoooooow!” We jerked our heads to see a giant black cat with an arched back perching on our kitchen counter. Its yellow-green eyes stared like illuminated orbs. With another cry, the intruder darted down the hallway and out the doggy door. So . . . that was the mysterious intruder. Evidently the feline had been lurking silently about in the house all afternoon with neither the dogs’ nor our awareness.

Like the black cat slipped into our home unannounced, sin can slink into our hearts. Sinful thoughts slip into our mind and we ignore them, believing them to be harmless. But sin is an intruder intent on damage. Sin-f illed thoughts can burgeon into sinful behaviors. Our key verse today states, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” It is our responsibility to keep watch for the silent intruders in our thought life. We must analyze, for instance, what we watch and listen to each day.

Let’s block our hearts’ doors from sin, because once allowed in, it can do harm. It can also be hard to get rid of …#8220; just like that sneaky cat. Our feline friend continued to return night after night through our doggy door. Finally, we found the stray cat a home.

We need not, however, find sin a home. There is no room for sin in our life as Christians. Let’s block the entry and be vigilant against the silent intrusion of sin by guarding our eyes, ears and hearts in Christ Jesus.
Dear Lord , Help me guard my heart against evil. Make me aware of holes in my life where sin can sneak in and make itself comfortable. Holy Spirit, teach me to live a holy life devoted to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?

Confessions of an Adulterous Christian Woman: Lies that Got Me There, Truths that Brought Me Back by Lyndell Hetrick Holtz

Pierced By the Word: 31 Meditations for Your Soul by John Piper

Visit Susanne’s blog

Application Steps:
Mentally walk through your day’s activities. Ask yourself if there is an activity that could easily turn into sin. Example: Could chatting with a girlfriend spin out of control into gossip? Walk through your home. Is there anything in your home you would not invite the Lord Jesus to participate in with you? Example: Are there DVDs that promote ungodly behavior?

Reflections:
Do I care if my life is holy and honoring to the Lord Jesus?

How can I be more vigilant in guarding my heart this year?

When am I most vulnerable to sin sneaking into my life?

Power Verses:
2 Timothy 1:14, “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (NIV)

John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (NIV)

© 2009 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.

Finally! Here they are…

well some of them anyway, I took one from each session I had prior to Christmas.  I think I got them all, if not, please forgive me! Knowing me, I forgot someone. Anyway, I did do a wedding a few weeks ago, but I’m not sure if I’ll be blogging that or not. NOW, my mind is clear and I promise to try and become a better blogger!!!

some of my dearest friends!

Jana, beautiful bride!!

baby Kaiden, this picture is priceless. The tatoo is in remembrance of his grandmother who passed on several years ago.

baby Hayden @6 weeks!

This was a very foggy day! They were such a sweet family!!

Since…

I’ve been needing to post sessions and I haven’t. I’ll leave you with a teaser from the workshop I attended on Wednesday with Kelly Moore. I can’t wait to work on these pictures!! I am going to make one blog post and post one picture from each session that I still have left to blog. How about that?? THEN, maybe my committment to become a better blogger will take into affect and I can start FRESH and NEW because those sessions are waying on my mind because I feel guilty for never blogging them!! Ahhhhh…. So here’s a sneak…

“Spring Special”

For the entire month of April!!

$50.00

*Includes up to 12 online proofs

*1/2 off regular priced sitting fee

*Private online gallery for viewing & ordering

*30 – 45 minute session

and because I couldn’t resist posting this without a picture…..

 

An AMAZING Sunday!

Wow, today was just an awesome day. I just love going to church!! I love being around other believers who are there to grow, learn, build relationships with each other, pray, worship, and the list goes on. I just wanted to take a minute and share some of my life with you…..

You see, I became a Christian at a young age and later on in life strayed away for a few years, but the verse “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is older, he shall not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6 , is so true. God doesn’t put verses like that in the bible just for fun. What He says is TRUTH, even though it can be hard to wrap our little brains around it at times because we want to be in control.  BUT on with my point (I have a tendancy to stray away from the subject quite often so excuse me if I do).  Over the past year, I’ve struggled with an issue, battled back and forth until I finally decided that it wasn’t about me and what I wanted anymore. God is in control. I have decided to let Him take control and let me tell you what a relief that is! He is teaching me to put Him first, ABOVE all things whether its what little Ms. Ashley wants or NOT. Even though in the flesh it makes me uncomfortable, scared, and second guess decisions at times, I know that I have one God who is in control of ALL things in ALL circumstances and He will deliver and provide according to His will and in His time. As I’m typing this I’m realizing that some of you reading this, are just like me. It’s a daily struggle to let Him control ALL situations in life. Trust me, it is not easy for me in all circumstances and yes, I do fail. Daily we are to put on the armour of God and that sounds so easy. We have to choose each day to die in the flesh and walk with Jesus. No one is perfect so don’t beat yourself up, oh yes, I struggle with this one too. I have a tendancy to dwell on things I said or did during the day to my children. The devil creeps in and tells me I am so unworthy, but as Dr. Yeats said this morning, someone thinks YOU are worthy and that would be Jesus!!

Once you’ve made a real life change, things will take on a new perspective. You see (I think I say that A LOT now), I am responsible for me and my children. So movies I used to watch with filthy language, scenes, or messages really, really, really offend me now. I can’t watch them. Music that I used to listen to, I don’t listen to it anymore. Now some people think, Whoa!! why did you quit listening to that kind of music? what’s the big deal? Well, what’s the message behind it? if its just a good ole song with a great beat then who cares!?!? I’m talking about music that talks about cheating, drinking, hating, gossiping, cursing, you name it. It doesn’t have to have bad language to have a bad message. As a Christian I am to fill my mind with good and holy things, not worldy things. Plus, let’s face it, if you pulled up beside me in my car and I was jamming 50 cent or something like that, how would you judge me?? People do judge and they especially judge you when you call yourself a Christian, like it or not. Going out to the bar with friends to hang out/dance, not drinking at all or just having one or two, NOPE! What’s the difference between you and your unsaved friends who desperately need Jesus? You’ve ruined your witness. The way we talk, hmmmm… this isn’t just filthy language, but how we talk about people when we are angry with them, gossip, etc. We as Christians need to choose our words very wisely and especially in front of our children. I am by no means going to sit here and act like I am perfect but daily we make a choice. Luckily, God forgives! Now more than ever, we Christians need to take a stand for Jesus. This is what our Sunday school lesson has been on and what Dr. Yeats preached about this morning. Let’s don’t conform to the world because it will make them happy or because we don’t want to offend anyone or because that’s what WE feel like doing, let’s stand up for the one who is standing up for us, Jesus!!! It’s time to make a stand, now more than ever.

As Dr. Yeats said this morning, Tuesday is going to make history. President elect Obama will be sworn in and he is going to have a lot of challenges ahead of him and a lot of commitments to make. Planned Parenthood has a list a mile long of things they want accomplished immediately once Obama is officially in office. Dr. Yeats didn’t elaborate, but stated that it will break the hearts of all Christians. It doesn’t matter if you voted for Obama or didn’t. It doesn’t matter if you agree with Obama or not. We Christians are to pray for him DAILY. Yes, we are to pray for him. He has a very tough road ahead of him and we need to pray that he will allow God to guide his decisions and not the world. Please join me in making a committment to pray for our president, our country, and for God to form our ways unto His and not of this world. I pray that we can be set apart from the world and focus on what truly matters, our eternal salvation. There are people all around us who need Jesus co-workers, family, friends and they are looking to us. Let’s don’t sit back and think someone else will be a witness, someone else will invite them to church, someone else will daily pray for them and carry their burdens. WE were called by God to share the gospel, YOU were! It’s not someone else’s job, it’s our’s!!

In Christ,

Ashley

P.S. The grammar and spelling may be horrible in the above paragraphs, and please forgive me if so. That isn’t/wasn’t my focus!

For the moment…

I am trying to update my website so if you go there, yes, I know there are things missing and out of place. I will let you know once it is completly finished. I am also having internet issues so please bare with me. I will have a new post soon, I promise. I just have to work through this frustrating circumstances at the moment BUT for now I’ll leave you with a picture of some MAJOR cuteness!! She’s 4 months old today.

Updating MY life…

So I’ve decided that I need to take a little time and update my website, blog, etc. BUT for some reason, can’t find the time to sleep much less do anything else. It’s all about balance, and I can’t find it! I am making a commitment to myself to update ALL things in my life this year. My wardrobe needs updating, I need to finish decorating my bedroom that was added on to our house A YEAR AGO!!! I need to clean out the old and start with new, fresh ideas. Once I became pregnant last year, I let everything go. Now in 2009, I am going to try and reclaim things that were once mine. Even if it means letting the baby cry for a few minutes while I take a deserving bath in my whirlpool bath tub that I never get to use!! That’s my fault though! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my kids but some where in the mix of being pooped on, puked on, and so on I need some time for ME so that I can be a better mother, wife, friend. Yes, it’s going to be hard and there will be times that I have to absolutely make myself have quality alone time, but I am going to do it. If I don’t take care of me, who is going to do it? I don’t think that is a selfish thing to say or feel. I think all mom’s get caught up in the everyday stress of being a mom (teacher, friend, chef, taxi driver, maid, and so many more) that we put ourselves on the back burner. I challenge all of you mothers out there and myself to take some time each week just for you. I know you are busy, believe me, as a mother of three but MAKE time. You will be glad you did and your family will be glad you did too! You will be a much happier YOU!

Just a Little Heart Cleansing

By: T. Suzanne Eller “If you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come offer your sacrifice to God.” Matthew 5:23-24 (NLT) Yesterday I swept the mahogany dark wood floors in my house. I worked with so much energy it might have looked like I was a clean freak or, at the very least, industrious. I am neither of those things. In fact, I really didn’t even notice the dust bunnies flying through the air. I was hurt, trying to sweep away harsh words spoken the day before by a friend. I had spent most of the morning mulling over the words from the day before, wondering why I didn’t say somet hing. Wondering why she did. I finally put on some music, took out the broom, and asked God for His grace because mine didn’t seem to be big enough at the moment. I’ve heard people throw out advice on forgiveness as if dispensing aspirin. They casually say things like, “Jesus forgave, why don’t you?” The reality is that you and I aren’t Jesus. It’s an uneven journey at best as we accept His grace and strive to learn from His example. The practice of living a forgiving lifestyle can be an ominous task. There is incredible freedom in living a life of mercy, but it’s not something that we just find along the way. It’s a purposeful intent to move beyond the burden and restrictions of bitterness, anger, rage, or unresolved emotions tied to a person or event. Forgiveness is a bridge I thought I had crossed and yet here I was again. I had forgiven an abusive, dysfunctional childhood. I understand the joy and freedom that comes through forgiving oth ers. So why was the small stuff tripping me up? Perhaps it is because I am still growing, a process that will never stop. Jesus met a man who was paralyzed. His friends brought him to Jesus on a mat. The need was obvious, but instead of healing his legs Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9: 2 NLT) Isn’t it interesting that He addressed the issue of the man’s heart before attending to his physical body? He hasn’t changed. He still sees my heart. I have forgiven – but I will continue to become a forgiver as I meet life’s challenges. To do that, I have to give myself a little grace, but also invite Him into the process. Maybe you’re like I once was; dealing with the hurts of the past and forgiveness seems impossible. Forgiving doesn’t mean that abuse can continue or that what happened is okay. What it does mean is that you are ready to live life free of entanglements to the past. Maybe you have grappled w ith the big issues and they no longer hold power over you, but the little stuff is the big stuff and you are tired of it. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us”. As I talked with my Savior, He settled in and made Himself at home in the situation. Yesterday my house got cleaned, but so did my heart. What happens when we are willing to forgive? It moves us one step closer to deep-seated faith marked by grace. Dear Lord, Help me to forgive one person today. I lift up my heart. I won’t pretend that it doesn’t hurt, but I am willing to forgive. I’m not always big enough, but You are and I am grateful. I won’t forgive based on a person’s response, or even what is fair, but instead I will trust that You desire my heart to be free so that You can love in and through me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. Application Steps: No matter whether it is a big or small issue, invite God into the situation today. Reflections: Think about unforgiveness as a wall. We build it around our heart to keep people from hurting us. What keeps you inside that wall? What can we miss when we live in a fortress? You don’t offer forgiveness to hear someone say they are sorry. It’s nice if it happens, but even if it doesn’t it’s foundational to wholeness – in you! Power Verses 1 Corinthians 13:5, “Love does not demand its own way. [Love] is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.”

LOVE it!