Rhema

This fall I participated in a women's Bible study in our church.
One of the speakers on the DVD series was Priscilla Shirer.
During one of the lessons she mentioned the word rhema.
She went on to explain that a rhema word is a direct word from the Lord to us individually.
...it may be in the form of a flash of insight...

A few days back I opened our microwave and a flash of insight hit me right in the face.

As is clear, on the outside our microwave looks great.
No streaks.
No oil splotches splashed up from the stove.
And as it is opened, it also looks quite good.
Of course the splash-guard is ever-present and always utilized.
Look how sparkling clean it is.

So, back to the flash of insight.
I reached inside to put down a plate of something I wanted to reheat
and was appalled to notice that my spotless microwave was not spotless at all.
As I peered inside, it was apparent that there were traces of foods I had
thawed and reheated over the past two weeks or so.
There was butter residue.
There were a few tiny crunchy strands of spaghetti noodles.

How did this happen?
I ALWAYS use the splash-guard.
I ALWAYS clean up any spills or messes immediately upon finding them.
How did this happen?

And that is when the flash of insight hit me so hard I nearly fell over.

Kristina, as I look into your heart this is what I have found too.
On the outside you look great.
No streaks.
No oil splotches splashed up from your other activities.
And the splash-guard is even there on the inside.
Yet, there is sin residue as I peer inside.
There are traces of sin that have been left behind.
They have gone unnoticed.
By you.
But not by Me.

It was quite strange.
I mean, the Lord is going to choose to speak to me through our microwave?
But, I heard His message L-O-U-D A-N-D C-L-E-A-R.

I am doing a study right now called Fingerprints of God.
In this study I have discovered through the Bible that God speaks to us in our everyday life.
He spoke to Moses through a burning bush in a field where he was already tending sheep.
Balaam was spoken to by a donkey as he was already riding with the leaders of Moab.
Is it really that strange that a microwave could teach me something?
Especially since it is a pretty big part of my ordinary life?

So, I have taken this rhema word and I have begun to scour "the microwave" of my life.
I have been absolutely goose-bumped (yes, I am using that as a verb)
as I look at how God orchestrates things in our lives at the perfect time.
At this very time that I am learning about scrouring my life for residual sin and traces of sin
we are studying the 10 Commandments on Sunday mornings at church.
The 10 Commandments were given to us as a way to show us the sin in our lives.
Just like the microwave showed me earlier this week.
As we see the residue, even though it may not be evident without some necessary peering,
we see how badly we fall short and it should send us to our knees.
Asking for forgiveness and turning in repentance.

Thank You, Jesus, for giving me yet another rhema word.
Thank You for using things in my everyday life to show me my need for You.
It is my heart's desire to please and glorify You
and now whenever I open the microwave I am reminded
to peer into my heart and to scour it from the residue that sin leaves behind.
I love You.