The King's Reign

Easter is only a couple days away. We tend the hear the same stories around this time of year, don't we? The triumphal entry on Palm Sunday or the Last Supper with Jesus and His disciples, the agonizing crucifixion, and finally the triumphant resurrection.

But I love how deep the word of God is. Do you know what I mean? Like, how you can read it year after year, and new truths and concepts stick out to you at different seasons/times in your life. It's like digging for treasure. Sort of. Except without all the sweat and dirt and back-breaking shoveling. But, you get what I mean. Right?

I was reading the story of the triumphal entry this past Monday (confession time...yes, I was a day behind). Instead of stopping at the end of that story, I kept reading. And it led me right into another interesting passage.

Somehow, I forgot that Jesus went directly from being hailed as the Messiah and ushered into Jerusalem with celebration, to entering the temple courts and cleaning house.

He entered Jerusalem on a donkey's colt, which was a symbol of royalty and the fulfillment of a Messianic prophecy in Zechariah. The crowds were going wild. Finally, the Messiah had come to free them from the oppression of the Romans! Hosanna was their chant, which literally means "save now!" I can just imagine the excitement, anticipation, and ache for it to be true. The longing for the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies was centuries old and driven deep into the heart of every Jew. Could this Jesus really be the One?

Do you think the people of Jerusalem expected Jesus to establish His earthly rule on that day? To gather His disciples around Him and set up positions and military plans and smuggle weapons? Can you imagine the excitement of the disciples in that moment? After three years of following Jesus, it was finally going to pay off. Who would be Jesus' advisor? Who would be His military leader? If I expected this Jesus to be the Messiah, I would have expected Him to show some sort of military agenda. But what does He do?

"And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers.." (Matthew 21:12)

Wow. He pushes through all of their preconceived ideas and reminds them that His reign is spiritual, that His kingdom is heavenly, not physical. That He wasn't there to get rid of the Romans. He was there to sanctify His bride.

If I was in that crowd, I'd be really disappointed. Like, what was that? Did we just get distracted on the way to overthrowing the entire Roman empire? What's the big deal with a couple of salesman in the temple?!

But isn't that how I can often be? I can sing the worship songs and get excited about certain passages of Scripture. I can do ministry and _______. But when the Holy Spirit puts His finger on those certain areas of my heart - those dark, dusty corners that I've kept hidden for so long, I shirk away and try to protect myself. The attitude I've grown accustomed to, the lies I don't even realize I believe, the thoughts I would rather no one see.

When Jesus comes as King, He comes to reign. And a good king doesn't allow the enemy's fortresses, weapons, and laws to stay around in his kingdom. He comes to cleanse, to purge, to purify. He purchased every single nook and cranny of our lives with His blood. He has the authority to shine His light over every dusty, cobwebbed crack and corner. No matter how uncomfortable or painful it is in the process.

Because He's also coming to heal. 

Matthew 21:14, the verse directly after the temple cleansing, states: "And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them."

Really? The Messiah? The One, who just might be the Long-Awaited One? He might have been sidetracked on the temple cleansing, but now this? What is He thinking? A king doesn't associate with the outcasts of society! Doesn't He know the importance of His mission? We're talking about the Romans here. Not the sick!

Yes, this is Jesus. The Messiah. The Chosen One. And His reign is spiritual dominion and redemption and compassion. He reaches into the dirty and messy of our life. He moves into the dark to cleanse and heal and restore with the strength and authority of a king, but the care and tenderness of a friend.

Jesus could have just spoken a word and sent mass healing to all the sick, all the blind, all the lepers, etc. But what does He do? Throughout the Gospels, we see Him healing one-by-one, talking with the outcasts, touching the unclean, and liberating souls as well as bodies.

So don't fear His reign. Don't squirm away from His touch. He brings life. He brings holiness. He brings healing. 

A Trip on the Merry-Go-Round

Yep, you read that title right. And no, I'm not giving any secrets away. You'll just have to wait and see what that means. First, it's confession time.

Let's see. It's been, oh, nine days since I wrote the post about letting go. How has everybody else done with that one? Because this girl right here has some serious short-term memory issues.

Last week, it was really something. It was a normal Friday morning. I had my to-do list full of hopeful expectations for the day. Morning to early afternoon was devoted to homeschooling my cousin, Corinne, and getting through my to-dos. Afternoon to evening was given to my nanny job. There wasn't much wiggle room.

But what I didn't account for as I carefully scrawled in my plans was that within the hour, my mom, dad, and younger sister would all start feeling sick. Like, really sick. Awesome.

It felt like I put my planner in a blender and watched it get mushed into a million, tiny pieces. Yeah, it wasn't pretty. I was running around the house, juggling teaching with setting up activities for my two youngest siblings, while making lunch for everyone and caring for the sickies - all before I had to get ready and leave for work.

I'm fine, I told myself. This is no problem. I can serve my family. That's great.

My emotions weren't buying it. NO! This is not okay. This is an absolute disaster! Serving your family was definitely NOT on the to-do list!

And unfortunately, my emotions were winning out.

How dare they all get sick like this! I thought, as I rushed up the stairs and stormed into my parent's bedroom. "Can I get you anything?" I punctuated that question with a deep sigh, just to make sure they knew exactly how much this was inconveniencing me.

I know. I'm cringing over here, people. And umm, this is probably not a good time to mention that the sickness my family had was the same one I had had a couple days prior. So, I was mad at them for getting the sickness I gave them? *cough* Not a star moment, huh?

The joy I had felt during devotions was gone. I mean, like, packed-up-and-went-hauling-to-the-airport kind of gone. All my good expectations? My desire to abide in His presence and let go of my control? They must have all decided to take a family vacation that day.

And I was left, stuck on my own merry-go-round of bitterness, self-pity, and straight up angst. For those of you who know what I mean, that is not a fun merry-go-round to be on. Or get off of. Because once you're on that thing, it only spins faster and faster and faster. Eventually, the world around you is just a splash of colors and you're feeling so sick that you'll give anything to make it stop. But the longer you stay on the merry-go-round, the faster it goes. And jumping off that flying circle is going to hurt. A lot. It's either that or puking your guts out. Neither of those options sound very appealing.

Why, oh why, do I ever get on the merry-go-round?

But even as I hesitate in that swirling chaos, I hear His voice. In the jumble of color, I catch a glimpse of His outline, standing there. His arms open wide. He's calling to me. Me? The one who disobeyed Him in the first place by getting on this wheel of death. He's standing there and I can just make out His voice, "Come to Me, you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

And I jump.

On the morning I acted like a decapitated chicken, I could sense His prodding, sense His voice calling me back to Him. I knew I was wrong. I knew that my attitude was downright rotten - and that it was only getting worse as I allowed it to continue. But I didn't want to stop and admit it. It felt better to be upset.

Remember the story of Martha in the Bible? What were Jesus' words to her? "Martha, Martha, you are worried and burdened about so many things..."

Yikes. Am I the only one who can relate to that? That word "worried" means "to be anxious, troubled with cares, to seek to promote one's interests, caring or providing for". Wow. How often I seek to do good, but allow the cares and concerns of the logistics or the busyness to overwhelm me? But that's not just all. I was frustrated with my sick family because I wasn't able to get to the things I wanted to do. Selfishness. It goes back to the heart posture.

I love the contrast of Mary. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, simply looking up at His face, enamored with all that He is and catching every word as if it were gold. It was as if she didn't even hear Martha's shrieks of injustice and demands for help. She was undistracted. Undisturbed. Focused on her Lord.

That's where we have to have to start, friends. At His feet.

Because eventually, that to-do list does have to be attended to. That housework won't vanish on its own. That college paper won't write itself. That volunteer work is wonderful and right. We're not called to do nothing. But where is your gaze? What is your focus? What is your heart posture?

"...one thing is necessary..." Those were Jesus' words to Martha. Is He saying the same to us today? In all your striving, all your busyness, all your good intentions, have you misplaced your One Thing? Your One Love? Your One Need?

Don't let the merry-go-round entice you. I'm telling you from experience, that circular contraption is not worth it. Ever.

Let Go

I'm just going to get this out of the way. I'm writing this post for me, okay? Because I desperately need to hear these truths right now. This is soul-preaching here, people. Let's go.

See the picture on the right? Go on. Turn your eyeballs over there and read it. What do you think?

You know the verse, right? "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) We use it all the time - on our mugs, our wall decor, our jewelry.

But if we know this verse so well, what's the big deal about "letting go" versus "being still"? Why does it matter?

The difference might very well be insignificant to you and that's alright. Remember, I'm writing this to myself. And self needs to be reminded of the difference. ;)

I like control. I like planning. I like feeling like I know where I'm going and understanding the steps needed to get there. But unfortunately (actually it's quite the opposite, but my controlling self likes to think it's unfortunate), being in control isn't exactly my job description. There's Someone else who owns that title. No matter how often I forgot - or simply ignore - the fact.

It amazes me. I've been through several major seasons in my life where He's had to teach me to trust His guidance - and He's always proved faithful. In spite of that, when I find myself looking at an unknown, an uncertain future or a big decision that needs to be made, I feel the pull to try to take control again. My fingers begin to itch and I slowly inch my way toward the steering wheel, hoping no one notices if I just use a couple fingers to help with the navigation.

Like, really? When I sit back and think about it, it's absurd. It's really the most illogical thing ever. I have a perfect Heavenly Father who's promised to work everything in life for my good and His glory. Out of anyone in the world, I should be the most fearless, uncontrolling, peaceful person.

So, why do I still feel my fingers itching for control?

Because for some crazy reason, I think that I know more about my life than the One who dreamed it up before the world was born. I think that I can figure out this next little unknown better than the Author of Redemption.

And it's in those moments when I need to be reminded to let go. Not just "be still". But let go and know that He's God. 

Let go of that doubting little voice. Let go of those past experiences that keep me shackled in fear. Let go of that desire for control. Let go of that worried grasping and clutching for answers NOW.

Let go and know that He is God -
trust,
   that He is my good Shepherd,
   that He means it when He said I shall not want;
believe,
   that He will lead me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake,
   that I need fear no evil, for He is with me;
have faith,
   that He supplies everything I need and will need in Christ,
   that He can direct my heart as simply as water running over His hands;
rely,
   on His promises of good,
   His proven faithfulness and my Father's heart for me;
be confident,
   in the revealed character of my God,
   that He will make me know His ways and lead me through every season.

Okay self. Don't let the reminder of these truths keep you from letting them impact you. Yeah soul, these questions are for you. One quick note. Letting go doesn't mean inactivity. Sometimes it does. But other times, it'll simply mean letting go of the fear of moving forward. Dropping the excuses you've been hanging on to for so long.

So...
What are you holding on to today?
Are there areas in your life you've been fighting for control?
Has the Lord been whispering to your heart to let go of something? To let go and give it
to Him, because you trust Him?
Have you been holding on to excuses for inactivity? Do you need to move forward in something you know the Lord is urging you in?

If you answered "yes" (like me) to any of those questions, the next question is: What are you going to do about it? No, don't move on to another website, another task, another distraction. Right now. Do you hear Him?

"Let go and know that I am God."

Will you?

To the Weary Heart

The word "wait" is a term scattered all throughout Scripture. In Psalm 37, the Hebrew word "chuwl" is translated as "wait patiently". Yet, when I studied this word deeper, the definition confused me.

Chuwl- to dance, writhe in pain or fear, tremble, travail, hope, be in anguish, rest, fall grievously, trust, be wounded

"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him." Psalm 37:7a

How could one word have such differing definitions? Dance and tremble? Writhe and hope? Trust and fall grievously? They seemed a contradiction. 

As I sought the Lord on this though, a beautiful picture came to mind. How many times is waiting an easy thing to do? How many times does that patient rest come as a result of surrender, even a tear-filled, heart-wrenching surrender? The Lord allows suffering in the life of His child to conform us into His image. As Charles Spurgeon once said, "Our Master's experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born child of God must not, would not, escape it if he might. The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia of the kings whom God hath anointed are their troubles, their sorrows, and their griefs. Let us not, therefore, shun being honoured."

O weary believer, would you glorify the Lord during this season of trouble, confusion, or pain? Then, wait patiently for Him. Hope, despite your trembling soul. Dance, in spite of your grievous fall. Trust, regardless of your anguished, wounded heart. For when our hearts are broken and we do not understand the Lord's ways, it is then He is able to teach us to cling to Him in a way we had never known before. 

This has been the path that the Lord has been leading me on these past four months: a season of waiting on Him, even when the road ahead is unclear or painful. The following quote has been a precious encouragement of late.

"Thou, Lord, bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied, since it is from Thy hand.” John Calvin

Oh, to be abundantly satisfied with His ways, even when they do not align with my own! I long for His will to be mine, that I would never doubt His goodness! And oh friends, how truly good He is! He has shown Himself so faithful over the past couple months, always near to still my restless soul. Troubled heart, your God will not forsake you! His ways are best; know that they are far greater than you could ever imagine! Even when the pain is overwhelming and your heart is left aching and bruised, trust Him. He is sovereign over all and will lead you through. 

"When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path." Psalm 142:3a

Dear reader, He knows your path. Whatever you're struggling through right now, He knows...and His almighty arms are upholding you through it all. Turn to Him, trust in Him, and find rest in His unchanging promises. Has He ever failed you before? He will not start now. 

The Fullness of Christ

Did any of you read yesterday's morning devotion from Charles Spurgeon? Oh, it was such a blessing to my soul! I hope it's an encouragement to you as well. It summarizes a lot of what I wrote about in my last post, so I guess this is somewhat of a Part 2. :)

"In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him." 

Colossians 2:9

"All the attributes of Christ, as God and man, are at our disposal. All the fullness of the Godhead, whatever that marvelous term may comprehend, is ours to make us complete. His omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, immutability and infallibility, are all combined for our defense. 

Arise, believer, and behold the Lord Jesus yoking the whole of His divine Godhead to the chariot of salvation. The fathomless love of the Savior's heart is every drop of it ours; every sinew in the arm of might, every jewel in the crown of majesty, the immensity of divine knowledge, and the sternness of divine justice, all are ours, and shall be employed for us. His wisdom is our direction, His knowledge our surety, His love our comfort, His mercy our solace, and His immutability our trust. 

He makes no reserve, but opens the recesses of the Mount of God and bids us dig in its mines for the hidden treasures. 'All, all, all are yours,' saith He, 'be ye satisfied with favour and full of the goodness of the Lord.' Oh! how sweet thus to behold Jesus, and to call upon Him with the certain confidence that in seeking the interposition of His love or power, we are but asking for that which He has already faithfully promised."

Isn't that absolutely beautiful?! And yet, how many times do I live as if these truths were simply nice poetry? No, it is a promise! Do you see it?

Again, Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete." Paul states this inconceivable truth as a simple reality, not even a promise to be wished for. Oh, how I struggle with unbelief in this area. I look at myself: my sin, feelings, emotions and get discouraged at the lack of His life being lived in me. 

But, how has the Lord called us to accept His Word? With the faith of a child. Mark 10:15 says, "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." 

Like a child. How does a child receive something? With simplicity, gratefulness, and eagerness. How do they believe that which has only been promised them? With expectant confidence and complete assurance that what has been promised will be accomplished. They don't measure the probability or weigh the promise against their past experience. They simply trust and receive the promise with joy, knowing that it will be done.

Furthermore, what's the relationship of a child to his/her parents? It is one of utter trust and dependence; without their parents, the child will have nothing. It is only the goodness of the parents that provide the needs of the child. And yet, the child is not plagued with worry or anxiety, continually wringing their hands in questioning the parent's provision. No, there is complete peace and rest, because the child knows the love of their parents. Their parents have always provided for them in the past; why doubt them to do otherwise now?

Oh friends, may we not do our Father such a disservice as doubting His Word. Has He ever proved Himself unfaithful? What ground do you have to doubt Him then? Like I stated in the last post, your God has promised and He will fulfill His Word. 

So, do you believe that the Lord has made the fullness of the Godhead available to you in Christ? If so, is it simply head knowledge or have you reckoned it for yourself, taking that promise and making it your own? Do you believe, as the little child, that the Lord has made you complete in Himself? Have you presented and yielded your life over to Him, so that He might reign as Lord and come fill you, the empty vessel? He is worthy of it, friend.

 May you trust Him as a little child, looking into your Father's face with joy at who He is and what He is doing in you. Remember...don't look inward at your sin, your inabilities, and past failures. We have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ; look unto Him, where there is all perfection and loveliness. Praise the Lord...we are being transformed into His precious likeness! Look unto Him and praise Him for the fullness that has been given us in Him! For when you walk in joyful trust and obedience, you will begin seeing His life being radiated through you more and more! How precious is His work of sanctification!

Singing through December~ Song #1

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Hallelujah! What a precious Savior we have to worship this Christmas! And what a special privilege we have to worship Him in song! Christmas songs are such a blessing, aren't they?! There are so many beautiful songs that glorify our Lord and turn our hearts to Him!

Immanuel: God with us.

As Christians, Christmas is about Christ. We have the privilege of using this special time of year to remember and celebrate God becoming man (a baby) for us. 

And this Christ-child deserves our worship. 

This December, I'm doing a blogpost series called Singing through December. Every 5 days, I'll post a new Christmas song. That means I'll be sharing my 5 favorites with you (not in any specific ranking order).

 I would love for you to join me! Comment under each post and share a link of your 5 favorite Christ-honoring Christmas songs. There are so many wonderful songs, it's hard to choose just 5...which is why I'm so excited for you to share your favorites as well.

My hope and prayer is that this will be a precious time of encouraging one another with songs that lift up and exalt our Savior this Christmas! 

So, here we go. Song #1 for Singing through December is....

Be Born In Me by Francesca Battistelli

This is a fairly new song, but the words are so beautiful. Be Born in Me is written from Mary's standpoint and gives a challenging example of the surrendered heart we must have as Christ's followers. Our Lord calls us to different trials in life, but we must each surrender our will to His and be able to say, "Not my will, but Yours be done!" 

I hope you're encouraged by this song!

So...what's one of your favorite Christmas songs?

Resting on His Promise

I know. I know. It's been a dreadfully long time since I last wrote, hasn't it?

Well, life has been full...and the Lord is SO good...and next week is Thanksgiving and...where is this year going?

Lately, the Lord has been leading me through a time of disciplinary refinement, for lack of a better term.

You know those times where you think to yourself, "Boy, I haven't struggled with many "big" sins lately...I guess the Lord is really working on my sanctification,"? And then, because you feel so high and spiritual, you pray (even though you know you don't really need to), "Lord, if there are any unknown areas of sin in my life, show them to me. Open my eyes to any area that I haven't given completely over to You." You finish your prayer, feeling content that you are both an obedient and surrendered servant of the Lord.

A week or two goes by and suddenly, things change. The Lord starts revealing sins in your life that you never saw or had simply grown calloused to. To make it "worse," it's not the "safe reputation" kind of discipline. It's the kind where the Lord uses your parents, siblings, and friends to bring those sins to light. It's painful and it's hard. You ask the Lord why all of this is being thrust upon you and He gently reminds you of that proud prayer you spoke, asking Him to refine you.

Mhhmm...can anyone else relate? This is where I've been the past couple days, working through ungodly habits, confessing previously unrealized sins, and re-discovering the boundless grace and mercy of my Savior.

No, it's not fun....but truly, this is where sanctification begins, isn't it?! In brokenness. In repentance. In learning to lay myself and all my failures at the nail-pierced feet of Jesus.

I can claim that I've surrendered myself by prayerfully "giving" all I am to Christ. It sounds good. It feels spiritual. But if I plead for Christ to take all of me and then refuse when He comes to claim His possession, how is that true surrender? If surrender is merely lip action, I've only deceived myself.

Yes, it's a struggle, a constant struggle. It's all too easy for me to look at myself, see a host of previously unrecognized sins bogging me down, and become overwhelmed by my failures.

"It's too hard."
"I can never be victorious."
"I'm only good at failing; I'll never succeed!"

And it's true. Being victorious over sin is too hard on my own. I won't ever be victorious in my own strength. When I look at my resume, it's only a list of repeated failures and losses. But that's not where my eyes should be. Because I am "in Christ", there is now no condemnation and He has set me free from the law of sin and death! Hallelujah, what a Savior!

My eyes must continually be focused on Christ!

There's a beautiful example of this in 2 Chronicles 20. It says in verses 2, "Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, 'A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).'"

Can't you just imagine this scenario?! It's a normal day in the palace of the king. Everyone is going about their business, when suddenly a messenger bursts into the throne room with terror written across his face. He stumbles before the king and announces that a great enemy has come against Judah and is already in the land, ready to attack. Panic fills the throne room, yet each voice is hushed to hear what the king's decision will be. The pale-faced king sits in silence for a moment, pondering the overwhelmingly grave news.

In verse 3, we find out his response. "Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah."

I love how that was Jehoshaphat's first reaction. He was afraid, so what did he do? Turned his attention to seek the Lord.

In verse 6, he begins a prayer to the Lord in the presence of all the people. Notice the way that he approaches Him. "'O Lord  the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You." Jehoshaphat reminds himself and all the people of the character and power of  the God they serve.

And then, if you continue to verse 12, you arrive at the last sentence of his prayer... and one of my favorite verses.

"For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You."

Isn't that just beautiful?! Oh, I have used this verse so many times, when I find myself overwhelmed by my sin. Just like Jehoshaphat, our spiritual enemy is seeking to devour us. And when we are fighting in our own strength, there is nothing we can do to stop him.

We have to come to the end of ourselves and cease striving in our own strength. Only Christ and His power through us will be victorious over sin. We must look to Christ and remind ourselves, like Jehoshaphat, who our God is and what He has promised to do on our behalf. And then, as we'll see from our story in 2 Chronicles, we must trust our God and praise Him that He will do what He has promised.

Let's pick up where we left off with Jehoshaphat. In verses 15-17, we read the Lord's response to His people's cry for help. "'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's...You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.'"

This is such an encouragement, isn't it?! To know and be able to stand on the promise that our God is with us and He will be our salvation!

One more quick point. After the Lord spoke to the people, observe their reaction (verses 18-19). "..All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord...[they] stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice." They praised and worshiped their God before He had done anything. Their enemy was still marching toward them. No victory had been wrought. They had every earthly reason to continue wallowing in fear. And yet, they didn't. Why? Because they stood on the promise of God, knowing that He would do all that He had said.

Oh, this is so convicting! How much more should we, who have been given the very Word of God and have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us, take the Lord at His Word and charge confidently into battle, relying on His Word and the strength of His might?

O Lord, bring us to the end of ourselves. Show us our utter helplessness apart from You. Grow our faith in You and teach us to praise You, despite the circumstances of our life. Thank you for all of the promises that You've given us in Your Word. How blessed we are to be Your children! We look to You now and trust that You will do more than we could ask or imagine. Praise Your glorious name!

"Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, 

and in His word do I hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

more than the watchmen for the morning;

indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;

for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, 

and with Him is abundant redemption.

And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities."

Psalm 130

When You Want to Die for Christ, But He Won't Let You

 My mom shared the following blogpost with me tonight, which was written by C Michael Patton at Credo House Ministries. I thought it was so beautiful that I had to share it with you all. Enjoy and may it drive you to Christ!

When You Want to Die for Christ, But He Won't Let You ~

You know what it feels like: you are on fire; you are ready, willing and able; you don’t need any more sermons on Rom 12:1. You are a living sacrifice. You have read Radical. You have read Crazy Love. You are ready to die. You are ready to die for Christ, the Gospel and whatever other mission God puts you on.

Wherever, whatever, however God, I am ready to sacrifice it all.

Problem: there is no altar. Well, not like you thought. If it exists, it does not exist in the glory of your perceptions. You pray continually for God to show you his direction. There has to be a place for me in His army.

Here’s what you do:

You decide to become a missionary. You talk to your wife and your family about quitting your job and becoming a full time missionary in Africa. Why Africa? Just because. You wife thinks you are nuts and your children don’t understand. All attempts to infect her with the desire to die have the opposite effect. But you are not about to question your calling. In your spiritual high, you place some distance between you and your family, believing that it is the Lord’s will. Discouragement has yet to set in.

Or maybe . . .

You decide to start a church. Your passions will be realized as you minister in your local community, transforming all those around you with the preaching—expository preaching—of the word of God. You are sick of the churches that would not know the Gospel if it hit them in the knee cap. You are going to be the lighthouse on a hill. You don’t really know what to do so you get on Microsoft Word and make a flier. You put a nice Bible graphic that you found from Google image search on the flier, along with the announcement of the new Bible study that is going to be held at your friend’s coffee shop.

The day comes. Hundreds of fliers have been handed out. Two people show. One is your wife. The other is a nice young girl who just broke up with her boyfriend and had nothing else to do that night. It’s past time for the Bible study to start and you look outside in hopes that someone else will show. Someone pulls up and leaves upon the realization that they might be the only ones there. You attempt to teach the Bible study, but the disappointment of teaching two people when you hoped for 30 to 40 takes the wind out of your sails. All you want to do is go home and cry.

Or maybe . . .

You decide to go to seminary, but don’t get accepted.

Or maybe . . .

You start with a small missions endeavor, but you don’t get the funds.

Or maybe . . .

You go to your pastor and tell him you will serve wherever, but, not only is he not as excited about your prospective involvement as you thought he would be, there is nothing for you to do. He says he will call you if something comes up. Nothing ever comes up.

Or maybe . . .

You start with a bang, but then it fizzles and no one is as anxious and excited as you are. You feel let down and discouraged.

What do you do when you try . . . I mean really try to die for Christ, but he won’t let you. What do you do when you are on the altar and you don’t die, but your are getting really sunburned?

This is to those of you who feel called to do something big for the Lord, but it never happens.

Don’t give up your zeal.  The first two illustrations given above are round about reenactments of my life. Someone has once said that the Christian life is a life of starting over—every morning! Don’t let let-downs discourage you. You may be let down, but God has not set you down. Remember, he is not setting you on a 100 meter dash, but on a long distance run—a long distance run. I love new Christians who are set on giving their lives up for the Lord. But I am so saddened when I see those who had such a zeal reenter their old life with great discouragement, wondering why the Lord did not use them. God will use you. God is using you. But he does not carve out flashes in the pan. He creates endurance. I know . . . He does not move as quickly as we like. Keep the zeal and passion, but let the Lord set the pace. This is the hardest thing to do.


Ministry is not the de facto solution to satisfy your intense craving to die for the Lord. Remember, you are a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice. Don’t be surprised if you live! Don’t be surprised if you live a life that is rather ordinary, not making a significant impact every direction you turn. Don’t impose such a goal upon the Lord. Remember Abraham? What the heck was so great about his life? I don’t know that he ever held a great evangelistic crusade. He never traveled all over the world with nothing but his Bible. He never wrote any books. He did not pastor a church. He did not even start a blog. From what I read about him, if it weren’t for the Bible and God’s testimony about him, he would have never made much of a footprint in the world. Or, better, we would not have recognized the footprint he did make. Why then is he so great? Because he was a friend of God. He trusted him. Everyday, he believed God. He endured quietly.
Sometimes being a living sacrifice is just quietly trusting the Lord.

Be quiet and tranquil. The Lord will show your path in your tranquility. Paul tells the Thessalonians to “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands” (1Th 4:11). Ouch. But impacts are never “quiet.” I want to make an impact. I want to stir things up. I want to drop a bomb on the world leaving behind the sign of the Trinity! The problem is that your bomb could be the very opposite of God’s plan. Your bomb could be you getting off the altar. God will direct you.
I have just watched a very dear friend who had so much zeal for the Lord, so much passion to follow him, so much desire to die that he now sits, divorced, estranged from his wife and family, with his head in his hands wondering why the Lord gave him a spiritual cement job. In his zeal, he outran the Lord and left his wife because he could not wait for her to catch up.

Your passions may open the doors you expect and they may not. But you are to sit on the altar, no matter where you are or how God leads, and be a living sacrifice. Chuck Swindoll once said that the problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar. Get back on the altar.

What do you do when you cannot die for Christ? Live for him.

The Blogger's Prayer~

I found this a couple weeks back and was so challenged by it! Oh, that this would be my continual prayer!

"I am no longer my own blogger, but Thine.

Refine me with each post how You will, rank me how You will.

Put me to service, or put me to suffering.

Let me be a follower, instead of seeking followers.

Let me post for thee or be put aside for thee,

Lifted high, only for thee, or brought low, all for thee.

Do with me and each post whatever you will, because You alone know best.

Let me not strive but submit.

Let me not compete but care.

Let me not desire hits but holiness.

Let my blog be full of You, and let it be empty of me.

Let me crave all things of You, let me care nothing of this world.

Let my words be worthy of the greatest of audiences: You.

And You are enough.

May I write not for subscribers… but only for Your smile.

May my daily affirmation be in the surety of my atonement, not the size of my audience.

May my identity be in the innumerable graces of Christ, never, God forbid,

the number of my comments.

And may the only words that matter in my life not be the ones I write on a screen- but the ones I live with my skin.

I freely and heartily yield every sentence, every title, every post, every comment… or no comments… all to Your pleasure and perfect will.

My only fame is that I bear your name.

My only glory is the gift of Your Grace.

My only readership, Your eyes that seek to and fro to find a heart hard after you.

Make this so. Lord…

Yahweh, You alone are my God, not Google.

Jesus, You alone are my Savior, not site meters.

And Holy Spirit, you alone are my Comforter, not comments.

So be it, today, yesterday, and every post to come.

This is my prayer I have made on earth, over this keyboard…
may it be ratified in heaven.

Amen."

~ Ann Voskamp

Life Lessons: Sickness, Surrender, and My Precious Jesus

Hello dear readers...

I'm terribly sorry that I haven't yet posted the pictures that I promised to. My mom and sister have been sick for the past couple days, so I've been much busier than usual, taking on the "motherly" duties. :) It's been a wonderful time of once again recognizing (I feel like this is a continual lesson) my need to lean solely on Christ, especially when I'm tired and worn out, my emotions are spent, and there's still a million things to be done.

Over the past two days, there have been many times of falling into impatience, anger, self-pity, and bitterness. But isn't our God so good?!  He continues to pick me back up and graciously lead me to surrender...again and again.

Surrender. Giving thanks in every circumstance. Serving with a joyful heart. These are the things He is teaching me right now, the lessons that are so hard to learn. But He is teaching me, slowly but surely. Even when I don't feel "spiritual", even when I don't think that I'm growing in Him, even when I see the ugliness that I thought was gone boil up inside my heart again, I must trust my God. He has promised to continue refining me into His image; shouldn't His Word be enough? I must look to Christ, not myself.

"I am Yours; save me!" These words often pass my lips throughout the day, yet I wish that I reminded myself of this truth more. It needs to be His work in me; there is nothing I can do to change my selfishness, my bitterness, or my pride. He alone can change my heart and bring forth the dawning of His light in the dark night of my soul. I must trust Him. Oh Lord, help my unbelief!

I came across these verses tonight from Micah.

"But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, o my enemy. Though I fall, I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me."
~Micah 7:7-8

Oh, this is so beautiful! How great is our God; He is our ever faithful Rock! And though we may fail, though we may fall, He will pick us up and bring us to victory in Him! Oh, my friends, let us wait for our God. Let us surrender ourselves completely to Him and watch expectantly to see what He will do.

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Well, I wasn't planning on writing all that I did above. I came on my blog planning to write a quick note saying, "Sorry that I haven't posted pictures...don't have time, so here's a quote from Charles Spurgeon,"(by the way, the quote from Spurgeon is below) but I just started typing and that's what flowed out of my heart.  Now that I think about it, I probably could have posted the pictures in the time it took me to write what I did. :) But, it's okay. The pictures will get posted eventually, but I needed to reflect on His faithfulness tonight...and He knew that. Again, I'm overwhelmed...He is so good.

So, here's that quote (that I mentioned above) from Charles Spurgeon. I read this tonight and it blessed me greatly. May it turn your gaze towards your Savior with a heart overwhelming with gratefulness and love. He is certainly worthy of it!

"My Master has riches beyond the count of arithmetic, the measurement of reason, the dream of imagination, or the eloquence of words. They are unsearchable! You may look, and study, and weigh, but Jesus is a greater Savior than you think Him to be when your thoughts are at the greatest. My Lord is more ready to pardon than you to sin, more able to forgive than you to transgress. My Master is more willing to supply your wants than you are to confess them. There is no music like the music of His pipe, when He is the Shepherd and you are the sheep and you lie down at His feet. There is no love like His, neither earth nor heaven can match it. Lord, teach us more and more of Jesus, and we will tell out the good news to others."
~Charles Spurgeon

True Encouragement

Friendship. It is one of the Lord's greatest gifts, isn't it?

But let me ask you...

• What type of a friend are you? 

• What do you enjoy doing most with your friend? 

• What is the highlight and foundation of your friendship? 

• What draws the two of you together?

These are usually pretty eye-opening, and sometimes gut-wrenching, questions to ask yourself. What are your answers to them?

Alright, now hold onto those thoughts, and let's transfer over to another point I want to make.

A couple days ago, I was reading through 1 Samuel 23 and was impacted by something I found in verse 16. (For context purposes, both verses 15 and 16 are posted below.)

"Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. ¹⁶ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God." (1 Samuel 23:15-16 NASB)

"Encouraged him in God." I had never heard that phrase before in the Bible and it begged for me to stop and ponder its full meaning. 

Well, what do other translations say? I wondered.

So, I started by looking up the same verse in a couple other translations, to see if I could unbury some treasure there. Here's what I found:

New International Version (NIV) - "...And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God."

English Standard Version (ESV) - "And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God."

Looking at all three translations together paints a beautiful picture, doesn't it?

Saul, the king of Israel, pursuing David for his life, even though (and I think especially since) he had been anointed by Samuel as the future king. Jonathan, the king's son, betraying his own father and risking his neck to visit his best friend in need. 

But why did he visit David? Was Jonathan lonely? Did he just need some "man time" with his friend? What was his reason for going on such a dangerous mission?

"And Jonathan...encouraged him in God...strengthened his hand in God....helped him find strength in God."

That was his mission. Those were his reasons.  

What a beautiful example of a Christ-centered friendship! And oh, what a convicting message!

How do I react when I know my friend is in need? When she is hurting? Or doubting? Or fearful? Or discouraged? Am I an encouragement or a further discouragement? 

And if I am seeking to encourage, what type of encouragement am I giving? Just typing in "Christian encouragement quotes" into Google proved to be quite an eye-opener. The below quotes are supposed to encourage the struggling Christian. Here they are:

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

"We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival." ~Winston Churchill

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do any of you distinguish a problem here? The first thing to be noticed: Why is there no mention of Jesus Christ at all?

Yes, those statements might be true to a certain degree, but where is the strengthening encouragement in looking at what "lies within us"? According to the Bible, my heart is "more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick." (Jeremiah 17:9) And how do we find inspiration from suffering itself? Suffering alone does not bring inspiration.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I know that strength lies in Him and not me. I know that my friend doesn't have the strength to overcome fear, doubt, or depression on her own, so why would I point her to anything or anyone other than the only One who promises to be her strength, shield, and help in trouble? 

I must point my friend to Christ.*

And that is exactly what Jonathan did. He pointed David to the Lord. He encouraged and helped him find strength...not in himself, not in the strength of his men, or in reminding David of his incredible victories. Those two little words at the end of verse 16 make the difference between true Christian encouragement and its worldly counterpart: "encouraged him in God."

So, my dear reader, may we seek the Lord and ask Him to make us into people who are striving towards Christ-centered friendships. And may He give us His heart to love our friends with His love and His wisdom to point our friends to Him and the glories of His precious promises.  



*One word of warning though. When I say here that you're supposed to point your friend to Christ, I'm not referring to your unbelieving friends. Yes, we should point them to Christ with the Gospel, but not encouraging them with His promises. The promises of God do not pertain to unbelievers. 

The Lord Reigns

 

Today, while reading through different Psalms in prayer, I came across a favorite of mine: Psalm 93. It starts out like this:

"The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved."

That's verse 1. There's quite a bit of truth packed into that one verse, isn't there? This afternoon, as I started reading it, the first three words jumped out to me.

The Lord reigns.

Yes. I understand that most of you reading this already know that God Almighty reigns. So then, why is this important?

As I re-read that little phrase this afternoon, a question flashed across my mind.

What significance does this phrase have on my life?

I picked up a pen and my notebook and began jotting down some notes. (I find that my thoughts come much better when I'm writing them down.) I found that this simple phrase holds much more weight than I first imagined. The following are my notes from this afternoon's study.

According to Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary, the word "reign" means:

• to possess or excercise sovereign power or authority
• to rule
• to hold the supreme power

The Lord reigns. He holds supreme power and authority over everyone and everything.

But how does this affect us? There are two categories....

Because the Lord reigns, we don't need to and shouldn't:

• fear or worry about anything. If He is in control, what do we have to be fearful of?
• complain or grumble in any situation. What does complaining do? It shows dislike of our circumstances. But who caused or allowed those circumstances? Yes, the Lord...the One who reigns over all.
• doubt the Lord. When we doubt His power or love for us, we are undermining who He is.
• be angry with anyone or anything. Yes, I understand there is such thing as holy anger, but that's not what I'm referring to. Again, our anger shows our dislike of a person or situation. But doesn't the Lord rule over your life? Doesn't He work all things to the good of those who love Him?
• follow anyone else. As King of Kings, the Lord deserves our complete allegiance. Would the president be pleased if he found out you were a traitor to your country? No, of course not. That's an incredibly serious crime. And yet, we continue to show disloyalty to our Lord and King by disobeying Him and following our fleshly desires. We need to see our King for who He is and our sin for what it is.

Because the Lord reigns, we need to and should:

• serve Him with complete devotion. As was already addressed above, this should be our natural and immediate reaction to Him.
• love and adore Him as the just and merciful King that He is. What other King is like our Lord? Has any other king died for you, purchased you from the enemy with his life's blood, and has now adopted you (a former traitor to his kingdom) into the royal family as his son/daughter? What God is like our God? Love and adoration should pour from our lives, when we realize how much He has given and what we deserve. 
• obey His commands with joy. If you loved your gracious King because He had saved you from death, wouldn't your natural response be to obey His commands...and not only to obey them, but to do them wholeheartedly?
• rejoice in all circumstances. Again, if all situations come from His hand and are a part of His great plan, why would we do anything but rejoice? 
• stand victoriously against the powers of hell. Our King not only reigns over everything, but has proved Himself victorious over the powers of hell. If we are "in Him" as Scripture says, then we can stand against any temptation or attack in His strength, knowing that our Lord already defeated the enemy 2,000 years ago.
• place all of our trust in Him. There is no one like our great King. Why would we want to trust in anyone else?
• worship and praise Him for who He is. He deserves our every word, every thought, and every action. Let us praise Him and give Him the glory that He alone is worthy of.
• rely on Him for our every need. Our King will supply our every need, but we must ask Him according to His will. And when we do, He will be faithful to provide.

The Lord reigns.

3 words with a weighty calling. Doesn't it leave you a bit speechless?

The following quote is an eloquent reminder of what the response of our hearts should be. May it be yours today, dear reader.
 
 “Come, Lord, and abide with me. Come, and occupy alone the throne of my heart; reign there without a rival, and consecrate me entirely to thy service.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

Joyful Obedience

 

Ah, yes...joyful obedience. That is the title of this post, but it is this very attitude that I've been struggling to give the Lord recently.

Can anyone out there relate?

Oh, it's a struggle, such a struggle! So many times, I know the Lord is calling me to do something. But, what do I do? I sit there, grumbling and arguing with my conscience, trying to think of some excuse that would be reasonable enough to disobey my Lord. (Is disobedience ever reasonable or excusable?)

Now, it's not that I never want to obey the Lord. The cry and passion of my heart is to obey Him. And yet, I still see so many little areas in my life where I exemplify grumbling or foot-dragging obedience. I remind myself of a toddler so often; arguing and fighting when my Father asks something of me, instead of immediately obeying with a joyful attitude.

But then, I am reminded of verses like Philippians 2:5-11...

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Christ, our Ultimate Example. The Lord Himself was obedient to His Father and joyfully submitted Himself to His will. Did Christ complain when the soldiers mercilessly flogged Him to a pulp? Was He seeking a way of escape when they threw His open body upon a cross, nailed His wrists to the planks of wood, and He bore the wrath of Almighty God? How many times did Jesus argue with His Heavenly Father before He gave into submission? Not once.

What was our Lord's prayer in the garden? "Not my will, but Yours be done."

Open hands. A willing heart. Surrender to the will of God.

I need these attitudes, long for them, am praying for them. But oh, it is so hard. That struggle with the flesh is so continual, so tiring at times. It is during these times of struggling that I need to remember to rest, in Him and in His Word.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Praise the Lord that He has gone ahead of us and has paid our way, won the ultimate victory, and given us an example to follow. "Consider Him....so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Let us consider Him, my friends, as we run this race together. We do not run it alone, for the Lord is the One who gives us the strength to press on. May we rest in Him, knowing that He is faithful and is continually sanctifying us ever more into His precious image. Oh, I pray that we would have open hands and a joyful heart, ready to serve and obey our great God in whatever He might be calling us to.

And may He give us the grace to say, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)

Life Lessons

"Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds you abased and empty, His glory and power flow in."
~Andrew Murray

Surrender....this is the lesson my Lord is teaching me right now. Graciously, He is directing me, holding my hand, yet shining His light on areas within my heart that still need to be completely given over to Him. I am slowly learning that living in a state of surrender can only be done when abiding in Him. Oh, to continually abide in Him, without allowing self to rear its ugly head in defiance. I have so much to learn in this area, but He is merciful and continues to faithfully guide me in His way. He is so good!

"Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
~John 15:4-5

Learning to abide in the Savior, this day, this hour, this minute....only through His grace!



May His grace find each of you resting in your Savior today, nestled in the comfort of His love.

Enjoy this blessed day...the first day of Spring!

A Sweet Aroma

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."
~Ephesians 5:1-2

I love this passage of Scripture.

The great calling. The challenge. The imagery. It's all so beautiful.

Many of you who have read these verses probably think I am going to be writing on the first part of verse 1: "be imitators of God." Yes, I love that part of the verse (so much so that I wrote a blogpost about it here), but that's not what struck me several days ago.

The part that struck me was the end of verse 2: "an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." In this verse, it is describing Christ and His sacrifice, giving the word picture of a fragrant aroma or pleasing smell wafting up to the Father's throne.

I knew I had read something like that somewhere else in the Bible, but where?

After looking in the concordance, I found it: 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;"

In the verse from Ephesians, Paul was describing Christ as a fragrant aroma, but in 2 Corinthians, he uses the same analogy for us.

Like I stated earlier, I think that that description is beautiful. But what truly is that fragrance? If we are supposed to be the sweet aroma of Christ, where does it come from? Look at verse 14 again: "...and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place..."

The knowledge of Him in every place. That's it. That is the fragrance we are supposed to be. Wherever we go and whatever we're doing, we should be as a lit candle emanating the refreshing scent of our Lord. What an incredibly challenging thought. And there's more....

Continue reading in verse 15: "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God..."

To God? Why would we be a fragrance to God? I searched the Word again and found what I was looking for.

Think back, far back into His story (yes, history) and recall what the Israelites did that caused a fragrance to reach the throne room of heaven.

Sacrifices. The importance of sacrifices are seen all throughout the Old Testament.

Look at Genesis 8:21 for example, "The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done." This verse is referring to the promise God made to Noah after he came off the ark and offered a sacrifice to God.

Here's another verse from 2 Chronicles 2:4, "Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening..."

Sacrifices were an important thing to the Lord. When Christ came, He died as the Ultimate Sacrificial Lamb, so that there would no longer be any need for sacrifices. Even though we are not held in bondage to making daily sacrifices in a physical sense, what does Paul exhort us to be in Romans 12:1?
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

There's the word again: sacrifice. And here is where we tie everything together. We are called to present ourselves unto God as a sacrifice, so that the fragrance of Christ may be evident to those around us, as well as to the Lord Himself.

Oh, that we might understand the importance of surrender, that we would lay everything upon the altar of Calvary. The "Church" of America seems to have all but forgotten this important truth. We are such a distracted people; it is absolutely pitiful. We find the little trinkets of this world so alluring and captivating, yet compared to the glory and beauty of our great King, it is rubble.

This brings me to yet another passage of Scripture. Read it all and read it slowly, allowing it to sink into your soul.

"'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?' says the Lord of Hosts to you, O priests who despise My name.
But you say, 'How have we despised Your name?' You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, 'How have we defiled You?' In that you say, 'The table of the Lord is to be despised.' But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil?
Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly? says the Lord of hosts.
But now will you not entreat God's favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly? says the Lord of hosts.
Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you, says the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from you.
For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.
But you are profaning it, in that you say...'My, how tiresome it is!' And you disdainfully sniff at it, says the Lord of hosts, and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand? says the Lord.
But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and My name is feared among the nations."
~Malachi 1:6-14

Have you been honoring the Lord as He deserves?
Do you find the Lord's work tiresome?
Have you been promising complete devotion, yet giving utter complacency?
Would you give the same devotedness to the president that you give to your King?

Oh, that we might see Him as He is and give Him the sacrifice He deserves! Let us give Him our everything!

"Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every power as You choose.

Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee."

~Take My Life, Frances R. Havergal