Joanna Eccles founded Words from the Honeycomb to provide resources that encourage people to grow in Christ. As a blogger, podcaster, and writer, she desires to shape culture through her writing by addressing truths in relatable ways. Joanna has led Bible studies for over 10 years and completed the year-long C.S. Lewis Fellows Program. She loves coffee and traveling, and lives in Virginia.
When I was a little girl, I colored in long strokes with a permanent red marker on my blue bedspread. Eager to show my mom my artistic abilities, I wasn’t prepared for her distress. She apparently saw my masterpiece as a stain to eliminate. The washing machine worked overtime. My mom went through half the bottle of stain remover as she scrubbed it many times until the bedspread was pristine. I never played with red Sharpies again.
Jesus' sacrifice serves as the permanent stain remover for our sins. In the Old Testament, everyone, even the priests, had to continually offer sacrifices of bulls and goats to cover their sins before God. Now we have a different standing with God. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) says,
“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (NKJV)
Jesus only had to offer Himself once to make us spotless for eternity.
When He died on the cross, His blood flowed backward to cover the sins of humanity. b-26a says,
"Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness ..." (NKJV)
God knew His Son Jesus would obey the Father and drink the cup of wrath that we deserved, so He passed over those sins for a time. The coming Messiah made it possible for everyone who ever lived to go to heaven. All salvation pivots on the work of the cross where every sin was washed white.
Jesus not only paid for the sins of people in the past, but for our sins on this side of the cross. We can come to the Lord with confidence when we request forgiveness. First says,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (NKJV)
We will be restored by the blood of the Lamb when we acknowledge our sins before God. We agree with God that our actions violate His commands. Then we thank God that He has already forgiven us through the finished work of the cross. We hide our lives in Christ so the Father sees His righteousness when He looks on us.
While you’d never wash your clothes in blood, His blood is the only detergent that can cleanse our consciences. says,
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (NKJV)
Guilt and shame, once inevitable, are now banished by the blood. We are free to have peace with God.
The cleansing power of the blood encompasses all people, past and present, permanently. Jesus’ gift of laying down His life provides the means to restore our evil minds to an inconceivable purity. I thank Jesus for the stain-removing power of His blood to wash me clean from the inside out so I may walk in new life.
Copyright © 11/2020 Joanna Eccles, used with permission.
I love the smell of candles wafting through my home. When I use one of my White Barn candles, the entire downstairs soon fills with pleasant aromas. During COVID-19, my dream for when quarantine restrictions lifted was to smell every candle in Bath and Body Works. The morning after the stores opened, I sniffed candles through a mask to my little nose’s content.
When I took the candles home, I immediately lit one. Fruity scents of pineapple, whipped cream, and fresh orange filled my house with a tropical feeling. Just by lighting three tiny wicks I was transported from the confines of my home to a beautiful beach. When you can’t go to the beach, bring the beach to you.
Then I stared deep into the candle. I realized that for the candle to provide the lovely scents, it had to burn. Three orbs of fire flickered in a pool of wax. To release the smell, not only was the wax set on fire, it also gave away part of itself to float to me. The wax sacrificed itself to comfort me.
I thought about the Messianic prophecy in OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ,
“I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me” (NKJV).
Jesus’s heart melted as He hung on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. He emptied Himself of all of His rights and bore the fullness of God’s wrath so we could be reconciled to the Father.
Jesus’ love for us honored God and became a pleasant scent to the Lord. says,
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (NKJV).
We are called to share the same love that Jesus showed us on the cross and become living sacrifices to God. We must give of ourselves to worship God.
says,
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (NKJV).
I can be selfish at times and don’t always want to surrender my dreams and demands to God. Yet, when I decrease and God increases, my life becomes a lovely fragrance to the Lord.
Sometimes, my life comes under fire as I am pressed by the cares of this world. When that happens, I have a choice. I can allow the flames to release a sweet-smelling aroma as an offering to the Lord or choose to make a stink about my hardships. As I sit on my couch in the middle of an island breeze, I realize I want to be a sweet-smelling aroma too. I decided that even if I melt away in the process, I want to be a fragrant incense offering before the throne of grace to fill all of heaven with the smell.
Copyright © 2020 Joanna Eccles, used with permission.
Several years ago, my friend got engaged, and I was unprepared to hear it. I was not in the same place and wanted to be, so it was hard. I felt guilty being envious and couldn’t get out of my funk.
During my next prayer group, I had people share what they were thankful for, knowing I needed a dose of gratefulness myself. When my turn came, I stared at my feet. My gold sparkle shoes glinted in the sunlight. I chose to be thankful for them. My $15 shoes from Payless were all I could see even though my health was good and my job fine. But my shoes were a starting point. God pulled me through that time and showed me beauty in my situation.
I love how God meets us where we are. Maybe you are experiencing a rough time now, thinking you have few causes to rejoice. Perhaps you are staring at your feet, wondering how to feel good again. Ask God to show you what He has already done for you. Find ways to practice thankfulness. When we remember the great things God has done, it brings hope in dark times.
When times are good, hoard up happy thoughts for difficult days. The same way you are advised to have a rainy day fund of money in case bad things happen, stockpile good memories. Write them down so when you can’t think of anything positive, you can revisit the list and remember all God has done. Pick at least five things that remind you of God’s abiding love for you.
Once when the children of Israel returned to the Lord after a time of disobedience, they implored Samuel to pray for them to defeat the Philistines.
After a triumphant battle, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” ( OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) NKJV)
The children of Israel set up memorials after encountering the Lord’s provision. These stones were designed to help them remember God the next time an issue arose.
David also excelled at remembering God in rough times. He often started a psalm in dismay, only to change his song after recalling all of the Lord’s blessings.
David said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.” ( NKJV)
We are not only to think about God’s goodness, but also talk about how great God is with others. This encourages them and provides them ways to remind us of God’s work when we are down.
Remembering what God has done breeds gratefulness. Thankfulness is a spiritual weapon that brings peace.
(NKJV) says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
God’s peace comes from thankfully acknowledging all God has done in our lives so far.
God hasn’t brought us this far to drop us on our heads. I pray you find your happy thoughts nestled deep in God’s provision for you. May they sustain you through the ups and downs of life. If you are in the storm, ask God to shower gold sparkles of joy on you. Let His hope carry you through to the light.
Copyright © November 2018 Joanna Eccles, used with permission.
