Psalm 65:8

They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.

Dear Sisters, beloved by the Lord of all,

This very morning was one of those ‘stand in awe’ times as God was shouting His majesty. The sun, a huge firery orange ball, hung low on the horizon, looking surrealistic. Alone in the car (thankfully constrained by a seatbelt) I shouted “LORD, you are so awesome, so amazing”.  It was followed by a holy hush and my car became a sanctuary. I worshiped. A longing filled my heart to be with the Lord, to climb on His lap and have Him hide me in  His robe crowding me to His heart. But at the same moment I was aware of sinful ‘self’.

“Who am I Lord

to take words of praise

 upon my lips as an offering?

For You are the King.”  az

Self will only yield to the Cross. When I try and suppress self in one area, it will express itself in another.My feeble attempt to ‘prune’ the branches of the self-life ends up strengthening the roots. God’s answer is daily death;  crucifixion of the Cross. Romans 6 is one of the most powerful portions of scripture and teaches our old sin nature is crucified with Christ and we are no longer under bondage to our sin nature. As we “remember it is only as the Holy Spirit makes Christ’s death a reality within us, that we shall know, not by force of argument or conviction, but the reality of the power of an endless life, that we are in very deed dead to sin.” A.M.  A simple reckoning, a counting on His death as ours shall we experience the life of Christ in and through us. God can only accept what comes from His Son.  Paul said, “I die daily”. I Cor 15:31 The more fully the Lord Jesus controls within, the less we will be influenced by the world.  

 Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you.... How blessed are all those who long for Him. Isaiah 30:18 

How gracious of the LORD to provide for me to enjoy Him now, today. To draw near to Him and have Him draw near to me.  Though He knows my sin, He sees me in His Son, for that is where He has placed me. I wonder why the God who spoke the universe into being wants to be near such a frail, infaithful creature as me? Pure grace for He sees me in His Son. It certainly says a lot more about who He is than who I am.  His Cross shouts His love for us! His empty tomb shouts His power over death and satan.  His indwelling shouts Truth I cannot get my mind around. I am in awe. Doesn’t it make you want to fall on your face and cry out from the depths of your soul... “Holy, Holy, Holy”?  

LORD, You are unique and who can turn You? You do what Your heart desires and You desire our nearness! You desire to spend time with us and create the likeness of Your Son in each of us. How gracious You are. I pray we will reflect the likeness of Jesus and our lives will shout joyfully that You are God. Let our hearts stand in awe of You and shout for joy over Your word as one who finds great spoil.  Fill our hearts with faith to trust in Your loving kindness now, today and forever. Let a grateful spirit spill all over those we love and work with today. We are in awe of You! In the Name above every name I pray, longing for the day every knee shall bow. amen

Blessed and longing,

az