Lover's Holiday

Yesterday was the lover's holiday...even though my love was away, I didn't feel the void as I normally do. Life with people, although messy, is at times such a blessing!

"The heart of all those seeking after truth..."

Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts,
Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men,
From the best bliss that earth imparts,
We turn unfilled to Thee again.
Thy truth unchanged hath ever stood;
Thou savest those that on Thee call;
To them that seek Thee Thou art good,
To them that find Thee all in all.
We taste Thee, O Thou living Bread,
And long to feast upon Thee still;
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead,
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.
Our restless spirits yearn for Thee,
Where'er our changeful lot is cast;
Glad when They gracious smile we see,
Blessed when our faith can hold Thee fast.
O Jesus ever with us stay,
Make all our moments calm and bright;
Chase the dark night of sin away,
Shed over the world Thy holy light.

Bernard of Clairvaux

Ephesians 2:1-7

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of His great love for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

We are the Fallen

There are so many situations in this world that are tearing me up on the inside; why do we humans ONLY have selfish ambitions? Why is our life solely centered around us and what we want/need? We disregard others' feelings and in the end, we are alone. Our pride and our selfishness hinder our relationships and tear them to pieces. Most of the time we think, "I" am the victim, "I" have been wronged, "My" ideas, and "My" desires are all that matter. As the victim, we think all we do/feel is the ONLY sentiment that counts. We pay no attention at all to the people around us or to their broken lives because we are so wrapped up in our own self pity.


Oh wretched man that I am!

I am drowning in a sea of pride. Self pity and arrogance capture me in the dark cold depths of the ocean. All that I truly care for drifts away. Slowly. Because of my sin. Because of my arrogance. I watch as I'm being taken over, giving in to the crashes of the mighty ocean.


"...God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age..."

Made Alive

The sunlight wraps me in its warmth. Wind tousles my hair as it moves here and there; ripples are made in the clear blue water and leaves are blown about.


I'm thinking about life, TRUE life in Jesus.


The Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," plays from an old boom box across the way.

A bird soars effortlessly through the air. Slowly gliding with the wind. I wonder if he's found a way to be alive, to exist for the glory of God.

So quietly it came to me. his existence, soaring, eating, his beauty IS to God's glory. Being who he was created to be brings glory to God. He is fully alive because the Lord gives him breath. He is the reason behind all he does. Its not complicated. Its a gift.


So am I called to exist for the glory of God by being me. By doing the things He has created me to do. In Jesus. Alive. Bringing Glory to His great and mighty name.


"It is not I who live but its Christ in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave Himself up for me." Galatians 2:20

You Alone Can Rescue- Matt Redman

You Alone Can Rescue

Righteousness

^{Ezekiel 4:
4}"As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. ⁵"No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born. ⁶"When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' ⁷"I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare. ⁸"Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine," declares the Lord GOD. ⁹"Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. ¹⁰"I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹"I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. ¹²"I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³"Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. ¹⁴"Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you," declares the Lord GOD. ¹⁵"But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your fame, and you poured out your harlotries on every passer-by who might be willing.

³⁸"Thus I will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealous.

⁶⁰"Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. ⁶²"Thus I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, ⁶³so that you may remember and be ashamed and never open your mouth anymore because of your humiliation, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done," the Lord GOD declares.

This scripture was pressed upon my heart today as I was reading. Its talking about Israel and how after all that the Lord had done for her, she forgot who brought her out of the dust and out of her nakedness. She thought that giving herself away to worldly things would somehow give her value, would somehow make her special. What she failed to realize is that it is the Lord who gave her meaning and life! He is the one who gave her beauty. He is the one who clothed her and restored her.

We are like Israel. We squander our gifts, our beauty, in hopes for value, prestige, and approval. We, like Israel, were sentenced to judgment, because of our sin and because we make shrines to ourselves in hopes that we are glorified. We try to take the recognition of for ourselves. Our pride becomes greater and greater. And we become greater and greater in our own eyes.

But there is HOPE.

Thanks be to God, who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself!

²²"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.

²⁵"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. ²⁸"You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹"Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. ³⁰"I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.

Look to the righteousness that He has given us, instead to the shame and guilt we try to carry as a result of our sin. He has freed us! HE WILL rescue us, HAS ALREADY rescued us. We are His, in His hands for eternity.

Do we know that when we understand and see ourselves more as the Lord sees us, through Jesus, that we will become as bold as a lion? Confidence will be ours through HIM alone! Shame and guilt are NO MORE. He's asking us to look and see that He DEFEATED death.

WE ARE FREE!

Run. Come to Jesus.