The Music of Suffering

 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. I Peter 5:10


God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear Psalm 46:1-2a


Love you my Sisters who Jesus calls by name, 


Platitudes. Pain uninvited. Burdens that linger as unwelcome as a stray dog who claims your yard as his own. Physical pain readily exposes the emptiness of pat answers, clearing our vision and unstopping our ears.


History has borne out the truth that those who God uses greatly He has allowed to be hurt deeply. We would change this truth if we could! Eternal things, wrought by His Spirit through His servants, correspond to the wine press, the grapes crushed under foot in agony of spirit. Have you not found that anything worthwhile in your life, worth sharing to help others, has been birthed from suffering? Through which you have come to know the heart of the One who allowed it and who loves you beyond  your ability to fathom. You walk in a faith-trust today which is the direct result of suffering and have proved your Father absolutely faithful. Though unaware at the time, you were being transformed and your faith strengthened! 


"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus... Heb 12:2 


"However great our suffering, his was far greater." RA


Suffering is a dance partner i did not request or have opportunity to refuse. A simple arthroscopic surgery on my knee (torn meniscuses) has brought an unwelcome dance partner. We move in a slow jerky, out of step waltz. I am unable to kneel and i 'sit' a lot with an ice-wrap the size of a cantaloupe around my knee. No driving so far or  running or elliptical and dancing while i cook is off my 'to do' list. A week of intense pain before the surgery, preceded by 2 months of moderate pain, was wearing, yet only a precursor to this past month of daily pain. Questions raced through my mind... what do people do who have intense pain, deep loss or serious health issues? What if i were Japanese and had physical and crippling emotional pain... day after day? Unable to take any meds for pain, not even ibuprofen or arnica. Zip. I have the blessing of ice packs for which i am very grateful. My prayer is 'LORD, do not let me miss anything You have for me". Along with reminding myself whining and self-pity are not fruits of the Spirit nor acceptable 'sin'.


The essential consideration is that our Father be glorified in all His dealings with and for us. MJS


And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; II Cor 9:8


This is a power verse! Let it fill your heart and mind. Make it personal. Why not memorize it and tuck it into your arsenal? God makes no mistake and has put you into a specific crucible to burn up what He sees needs to go. All to accomplish his will creating the likeness of Christ Jesus in you. What an opportunity to trust Him. Many think victory is having their circumstances righted. No!  Such thinking is but a spirit of entitlement. Who are we to dictate to an all-wise, Creator God, what we see as the right thing! Does God need our help? This would be humorous if it were not so sad. Common arrogance from our sinful flesh. God is God and we are not.  Hold still under His hand. Choosing to 'trust God' is a choice of our 'will' and requires dying to self. We are welcome to 'ask' Him for what we would like from a heart tuned to welcome His answer whether or not it is what we desire. He will make you more than a conquerer and lift you up to deeper dependence on Him. Rejoice that you are in Christ. Stop dwelling on the 'why' and ask 'what do You want to teach me Lord?'


I bow, before You who turned toward the Cross. Toward suffering... for me. I am in awe of who You are sweet Jesus. You are Lord of all, my God, my Constant, my Purpose, my Sanity, my Life-Breath and Keeper of my heart, Provider and Truth Teller. You who love me without condition or for any reason i can understand have made a way for me to know You more and more intimately. Your Word says what ever suffering You allow has great  purpose. (Jer 32:19) Thank You for being a God who redeems my sorrows and sufferings to benefit me, giving me hope and Your name glory. Let me share you with someone who needs to know these Truths about You so they may be set free to live Truth in Christ. I love you so imperfectly tho my heart wants to love You well. I pray this in Jesus precious name, Him whose hands and heart were never in conflict, amen.


hugs and prayers to all my sisters, (following is one of my favorite poems)
az

Set to the Music of Spheres

Pain is a partner I did not request;

This is a dance I did not ask to join;

whirled in a waltz when I would stop and rest.

Jolted and jerked, I ache in bone and loin.

Pain strives to hold me close in his embrace;

If I resist and try to pull away 

His grasp grows tighter; 

closer comes his face; 

hotter his breath. 

If he is here to stay 

Then must I learn to dance this painful dance,

Move to its rhythm, keeping my lagging feet

In time with his. Thus have I a chance

To work with pain, and so my pain defeat.

Pain is my partner. If I dance with pain

Then may this wedlock be not loss but gain. 


Madeleine L’Engle

Our Deliverer Brings Life

God is to us a God of deliverances  Psalm 68:20

Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD!

         For He has delivered the soul of the needy one

         From the hand of evildoers. Jer 20: 13

Greetings to those who Love our Savior,

Stress, sickness, pain, decisions, surgery, loss, dependence on others..... adjectives such as these describe a part of our life here on earth and cause me to raise my voice in thanksgiving that I am not home yet! I remember my daughter singing with a friend one summer, "this world is not my home I'm just a passin' through my treasures are laid up some where beyond the blue". But while here all of us will experience sorrow and trusting Him we will not miss the benefits. 

 "God has one Son without sin, but not without sorrow." AS

My precious LORD knows the struggle i face and loves me enough to allow circumstances to work life-lessons in me. My Father is ever watchful over me, whether or not i sense His care. He disciplines and prunes me to create the likeness of His Son Jesus in me. Suffering creates a 'need' which propels me to seek Jesus with all my heart, leaning hard into Him. My toughest sorrow is that of lost loved ones in my family.

We all know what it is to have loved ones who either do not know Christ or those who at one time received Him and are choosing to live in sin. This suffering may seem endless as we wait on God, He alone knows whether they have an personal relationship with Him. Do you ever feel like you have 'run out' of ways to pray for them? My third child has chosen to rebel and turn to embrace a sinful life style for over 25 yrs, producing frequent crises. As i prayed scripture for her, "Deliver her from evil men and women who do not have faith. Deliver her from all that is too strong for her." I saw the word deliver in a new way.  Right in the middle of the word deliver is the word evil (written backwards).

 The Son of God came to Deliver us from satan and evil and rescue us drawing us to Himself that we might live. I then looked and saw the word live right in the middle of the word 'deliver'. Christ shed His blood that we might triumph over evil and live! The Cross has forever sealed His victory over satan and evil. His arm is not shortened that it cannot save. All praise to Him who became sin for us, who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (II Cor 5:21)  That is a WOW and I am dancing!

If we had been there on the day He was crucified and saw Him beaten beyond recognition and all that He suffered for us, would we ever question His love for us? Believing He is Love would we think His love not enough? Or that His love made wrong choices when He allowed our suffering? I thought of how He experienced losses, rejection, gossip and slander, misunderstanding, great temptation and was murdered. He knows what it is to live on earth. He is all-wise and loves perfectly.  

We cannot do good to others without tasting affliction; it is the price we pay for being able to sympathize. A helper must first be a sufferer that we might comfort those with the comfort we have received from God. The school of suffering graduates rare scholars.

"Well, it is but a little while and He will appear to answer all inquiries and to wipe away all tears. I would not wish, then, to be of those who had none to wipe away, would you?" -J.H.T

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. II Cor 1:4

Almighty One, who is my Deliverer, Majestic One who whispers Your love to my heart, I bow in awe of Your power and mercy, for these do not clash but open the door to Truth of who You are. You know exactly what to allow in my life to work a teachable spirit in me. I fight You when I should surrender and run from You rather than turn towards You! You never weary of me... or force my will, but patiently wait for me to come. You are all the riches I will ever want or need. I pray for each woman who comes to draw near. Lift her up. Hold her. Carry her. Keep her. Deliver her that she might live in all You have provided for her. Give her courage this day to keep on doing what pleases You. Fill her with a hunger to be in Your word and feed on Your Truth. Blessed be Your Holy Name Awesome One. I love you

My sisters I pray for each one of you,

az

Draw Near to the King

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you  James 4:8
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good  Psalm 73:28


My Sister's who have been placed in Christ, I greet you in His precious Name.


James 4:7 has been bumping around in my heart and mind. Reading a scripture, especially a familiar one, often i do not hear what i am reading. Until i carry it next to my heart in meditation it remains quiet, unlike those verses which invariably jump out and speak instantly. The riches are embedded in the meditation of His living word and come forth as we seek for them as for treasure. Time spent pursuing God in His word brings great reward. He will disclose Himself to me as I pursue Him. Hear this from John 14:21 and ask yourself: "Do I love Him?" Time in His word is an integral part of loving Jesus.

He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. John 14:21

 “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.”
  Submit yourselves, then, to God.  James 4:6b-7a



To draw near i must first humble myself and submit to Jesus and repent of sin to clear my ears. As i pray bringing requests to Him, I draw near in faith, believing God is good, all-wise, perfect and holy. I am believing He answers from His infinite store of wisdom and perfection. God pours out His grace on me as i humble myself admitting i am guilty of sin and need forgiveness. Grace is not without great cost. Jesus death at Calvary fulfilled God's standard paying my debt in full that I may draw near to Him so He will draw near to me. God who spoke galaxies into being and sustains the universe by His word, desires to draw near to me? How can this be?


Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior. CS


...give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11b


Establish Your word to Your servant,
         As that which produces reverence for You. Psalm 119:38


There was a young woman who was praying about and struggling with some things in her life. I ask her what God had said to her about it. She stared blankly. Finally she said,' I haven't heard Him say anything.' I ask her if she was in God's word. She replied 'occasionally'. It is impossible to hear Him speak to our hearts if we spend more time talking to Christians about our problems than time with 
God in His word and prayer. Am i willing to pay the cost to pursue Christ? Am i willing to stand strong in His word? Satan's desires to wean you from God's word allowing him to wedge his foot in the door weakening your faith. Good intentions will never taxi you into God's Presence. Taste and see the Lord is Good. We do not have to work to spend time with one we love... cry out to Him for a hunger and pray for an undivided heart. ( Let Him expose any idols that have misplaced Him and repent. He will renew your heart as you surrender yourself into His hands. You are not your own you are bought with a price.

My  son (daughter), if you will receive my words

         And treasure my commandments within you, 

   Make your ear attentive to wisdom,

         Incline your heart to understanding;  

    If you seek her as silver

         And search for her as for hidden treasures; 

    Then you...  discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-2, 4-5

Read the opening verse again. On the surface familiar words... down deep unfamiliar. Questions? Yes! It says, when i draw near, He draws near to me, is this not an invitation to me, His beloved, to spend time with Him? Am i finding His nearness my good? Am i hearing the love in His voice as He opens His arms to me? (These are not just words, but living, probing, searing, exposing, inviting words of Omnipotent God inviting me to come) What is 'near'? Is it praying? reading His Word? Or is it possible to draw near in mundane practical ways?  in serving others?  How do i draw near? What are the results of drawing near? Can I draw near and not worship? (Never!) When i sense His nearness do i act on it and let your love enfold me? Is there a condition to drawing near? Can i know God's attributes unless I am in His word? What do i lose by not drawing near?


 God is for me. He desires always to lift me up, draw me near. Bless and encourage me. I bow.


Abba, Daddy, Keeper of the stars, breath Giver, Lover of my soul, Holy is your name. You who draw near as I draw near to You! I draw near to worship, to drink in Your beauty and just be near You. When i sense Your nearness Lord i am chagrined and find You terrify me. I long for You to hide me near your heart for i am silenced by Your greatness. Reverence for you consumes me. I am inadequate to respond to You who are Almighty and cannot be measured. Your glory would consume this clay vessel!
Teach me to open myself to Your Spirit's filling, as i count myself dead to sin and alive in Christ. I long to know you intimately. You are my strength and Refuge. I pray You will establish my sisters in Your word  producing reverence for You. You love them immeasurably and long for them to draw near. Quicken their spirits to respond to You with courage and faith. I give You praise in the Name of Jesus, amen




Drawn to Him who is Majestic in Holiness and loves perfectly,


az

Sovereign Lessons that God is Good.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. James 1:2-3

know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. Gal 2:16

My Precious Sisters in the LORD,

I am confronted with God's Sovereignty in powerful ways this past few weeks. The power of the Tsunami crushing life, buildings... stuff people claim is their property. Bombs falling to earth consuming lives and leaving scars deep in the earth. A friend struggles with cancer consuming her body. Brokenness in the body of Christ is everywhere.Those who faithfully reflect our Lord are often those who have suffered most. God takes the worst that slams into our lives and redeems it for our best. I have never walked away from a trial in which i did not benefit. 

God is in control even when we suffer. It is not a matter of 'if' but when as the opening scripture clearly states. He is in control when we do not understand why things are so painful. Have you ever cried out, "God where are you?" We want fellowship with the Lord partaking of His peace and joy and naturally avoid suffering. 

When I wonder where God’s blessing is I must remember my Father uses suffering to bring me into the fellowship of His sufferings. I do not get to choose what my blessings are, for I would choose wrongly. I think the enemy has me focus on other Christians and see they appear prosperous and together, I then conclude they do not suffer, not enough to count. When it may be they suffer most deeply. God's desire is that I keep my eyes on Him; learning to share in the sufferings of Christ, for there are broken hearts all around me. How am I to be a channel of God's love and comfort unless I have tasted suffering? 

Some see suffering as a sign of God's disfavor. The sufferer must be doing something amiss in their life; neglecting spiritual disciplines thereby forfeiting their right to His blessing. They feel God is upset with them so they determine to please God by 'good' works and read their Bible more, control their temper and pray more. This diminishes who God is by making life about ‘us’ and our religious activity. We reason from man to God, while God reasons from God to man. If our faith is weak we fear God's silence to our prayers. It is a heavy weight to carry the responsibility of living so as to be acceptable to God. ( see Gal 2:16 above) We will never measure up to be accepted, so God in love and mercy, placed us in Christ and gave us His righteousness. God can accept nothing less than perfection. 

 God is Sovereign even when faith is fragile. Peter slept between two guards with other guards on duty when he was delivered from certain death. Many believers were praying for Peter's release but expected him to die, their faith was weak! They didn't believe the little maid when she said Peter was at the door. God worked in spite of weak faith.

Such philosophy can also be cruel wounding the body of Christ.  I remember a family who lost their daughter to cancer and a Christian couple called on them to condole and shared that they needed to believe harder and their lack of faith is why their daughter died.. What a crushing blow. Is God so weak that He can be controlled by the finite human? Could He not have healed her if it was His will? God says He numbers our days before we take our first breath. God in His Sovereignty numbered her days. He is in control. Always. He could have kept cancer from ever invading her body but He allowed it, why? 

Lets get beyond a philosophy which gives us the responsibility of an impossible task. We are called to walk by faith not works. We are called to trust God. We need to pray in faith... faith that  God is good and will do what is perfect and right and good; rather than a heart desiring to manipulate God so He will implement our desire. 

Our problem lies in not knowing Him for who He is. CI

God loves us immeasurably and works continually for our good. We need to lift up our eyes and see the bigger picture. God heals but He does not heal everyone. God doesn't have to explain Himself to us and He is not obligated to answer our prayers.  He is God. This truth makes me prostrate myself at His feet in awe and cry “God, you are good, you are good.” You are so precious to Him. Be comforted, trusting that He knows what you struggele with today. As you trust Him to work you will experience the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings that will change your life. Therein is blessing eternal.

Intimacy with Christ is not freedom from difficulty and trials and sorrow, rather our soul is strengthened inwardly to be trusted more and more with the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed to His death. We are asked to present our bodies as living sacrifices. (Conformed to Christ-likeness! )

"Our Father can advance His children into conformity to the image of His Son, more by suffering in one day, than in many years of ease from trial." mjs

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord... that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death  Phil 3:8-10 (Do I?)

Majestic and Holy God I run to You in praise of who You are.... Sovereign. I am comforted, secure trusting You are on the Throne now and forever. You are good whether You answer my prayers or it seems You are ignoring my impassioned pleading. For my prayers are meant not to move Your hand as much as to move in my heart to change me, move me nearer to You, move me to surrender as I exchange my will for Yours. I release this desire I have carried near my heart into Your hands. I release the need to beg you to do what I want, what I think is best according to my understanding for it is finite presumption. Are You not good and to be fully trusted? You alone understand my fears, loneliness and selfishness and how fragile my faith is many times. You bring peace as I focus on You and trust You to work. You can only act in goodness. Blessed be Your holy name, Jesus. I love you.

In fellowship with the King,

az

Facts and Truth

 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 

   How unsearchable his judgments, 

   and his paths beyond tracing out! 

 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? 

   Or who has been his counselor?” 

 “Who has ever given to God, 

   that God should repay them?”

 For from him and through him and for him are all things. 

   To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36

My precious Sisters in Christ Jesus,


Have you ever driven in circles in a parking ramp and find your choice returns you to the now familiar, but confusing signs? (Facts) Daily i make choices that result in arriving at a place where I walk by faith, in a manner worthy of the God who calls me to Himself and to His glory or i do not. I sometimes feel like a dog chasing its tail. I exert much energy living by FACTS and energized by the flesh and arrive at zero.


 How blessed we are to have a God whose wisdom and knowledge run deep and rich; His judgments are unsearchable and His choices beyond our understanding. He never makes a mistake. Never. He is never too late, for His timing is perfect. The 'facts' declare what appears to be truth... until Truth shines its Light and we can see. I think of the words of Jesus to Thomas who, in the upper room,  after missing Jesus visit refused to believe He was alive. Even after walking with Jesus for three years toe to toe and seeing Him raise the dead, replace missing limbs and open blind eyes! He was with the disciples when Jesus returned and Thomas witnessed for himself Truth, in spite of what the facts declared. Hear this:


  Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:28-29


Thomas believed FACTS until confronted with TRUTH. No one who saw baby Jesus said, 'Wow he sure looks like God'. Those who were told this baby was God (even His own parents) when they looked at that precious drooling little mouth, the baby nose and limbs, the diapers which needed changing ( and wrinkled their noses) and His complete dependency on humans as parents; in a faith-awe asked, How can this be? How can I nurse the Son of God? How can I comfort the Holy One of Israel? How can this be the Namer of the stars? Yet they knew TRUTH and believed in great awe! Most Bible characters have such a story. Abraham believed God... though the FACTS shouted something else: Sarah's womb was a s good as dead; as was Abraham's ability to produce off-spring. The FACTS said 'impossible'. Then Truth breaks in with eye covering brightness and a baby is born from a promise: TRUTH. 


 I dare say every impossibility in Scripture resembled todays newspaper with 'FACTS' and yet each story finished with the TRUTH. What is your story? What impossibility are you wrestling as David did Goliath? Where is the TRUTH in your story? Do not be caught up in focusing on the FACTS but in faith look for TRUTH. I heard such a thought this past week and it challenged my faith-walk. My paraphrase: Sometimes the TRUTH God holds in His hands doesn't quench the pain or suffering in this life. So we mortals, who do not understand it all, need courage to go on, to believe the TRUTH even when the FACTS seem to contradict our faith or are sad, even when TRUTH hides and takes it's time and things do not change, even when there is little comfort. That's what faith is... believing TRUTH instead of following our feelings and the world's system of thinking. God calls me to faith. God calls me to TRUTH and Truth is a person. We are called to trust Him in the grief and sorrow and heart ache and even when He seems to have misunderstood my prayer and the only thing coming out of my trial is that of Romans 8:29, I am more like His Son. Really what greater result is there? God is good and God is Sovereign over every syllable of my life. Every breath i take. God never said this would be easy, in TRUTH He said it would be hard. I must Face the FACTS but keep my eyes on the TRUTH!


God... called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me. Gal 1:15-16 


I was wonderfully surprised by a connection of two of my favorite scripture passages and these verses actually connect! Even though I have read Romans numerous times I have never seen the connection between Romans 11:33-36 with Romans 12:1-2, though they follow each other. First  God declares His unfathomable character with questions unanswerable! Then moves directly into calling us to 'present', to 'come', to 'sacrifice' who we are to this unsearchable Being, who alone, is worthy to be loved and obeyed. If you have never done that, consider doing this today. (let me  know if you do that i may pray for you) Now read starting with the opening scripture and then verses below and 'hear' what He is saying to You about Himself, about Truth and Facts, saying about you or to you my precious sisters.


Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2




Father God, You who are unsearchable. You who hold Truth in your hands i ask you to give me courage to believe TRUTH in the face of facts that would derail my faith. You know how fragile my faith is and how easily i doubt You as Thomas did and run from You like Jonah. Yet, You love me in ways unfathomable, undeserved and unearned. Your Sovereign goodness reigns Your grace down over me at the worst of times and the best of times. Thank You for who You are and for loving me perfectly and without condition. Who is like You? There is no God like You and i bow in awe. Keep my eyes on You for You are Truth Jesus and in Your precious name i pray.

Thank You LORD for Your goodness for it is unfathomable,

az

Beautiful Cross

For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. II Cor 4:11 nas

Precious Sisters who are hidden with Christ in God,
I heard a new song titled, 'Beautiful Cross' and it moved my heart; then my Bible Study this past week was on the Cross; so my thoughts naturally turned to Calvary and how it touches me personally.

Our identification with Christ in His death was a death unto Sin- the principle of Sin as a master and a tyrant- Sin, not sins. The Cross deals with the cause, not symptoms. MJS

 The Holy Spirit faithfully applies the Cross to our self-life until Sin as master loses its power over us at every point. Daily we are to appropriate this Truth, counting ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ.

It is futile to try and bridal our sins and overlook their source: our sin nature. Pruning branches we strengthen the root. We must count on the finished work of Calvary and the Holy Spirit will apply the Cross to our fleshly nature and as death works in us, His life will be revealed in us. (the branches will fall away)

Our Precious LORD waits for us to come to the end of our effort to live the Christian life. "Nothing can set us apart for God, nothing can make us holy except as the Cross is working in us, because the Cross alone can keep the hindrances to holiness in the place of death" G. Watt  Our flesh cannot and will not follow Him, but taking up one's cross results in death to self and we experience the newness of life in Christ Jesus. Either Christ is in control in our lives or the old 'I' is ruling our thoughts and actions and Christ is not. We can never overcome the sin nature apart from the death of Christ.

It is a misnomer that bearing our cross is some burden or trial with which we have been saddled. Regretfully we groan, 'This is my cross to bear'. This is not the Christians cross for our cross is 'the daily giving up of life, of dying to self, which must mark us much as it did the Lord Jesus..... without which the fulness of the blessing of the Cross cannot be disclosed to us.' A. Murray 

Man's intellect is stumbled by the Cross but the major aversion to the Cross is moral, in the sinner and the believer. N.Douty says: "The Divine way (via the Cross) for spiritual emancipation is just as offensive to the child of God as the Divine way for salvation is to the lost." 

When we begin to see just what the Cross entails- a place of death for us- we are inclined to hesitate or turn away settling for mediocrity. "LORD deliver me from settling for the flesh, for being satisfied to be a 'nice person' and doing good things to gain approval by those who cannot see into my heart, instead of surrender to Your way and Your glory." 

"If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me... John 12:26

 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23

We are not followers of Jesus if we ignore or refuse to take up our Cross. It is His way. There is a cost we should be longing to pay....  a Cross we should long to carry... a death we must choose in order for Him to manifest Himself in and through us! Do we believe this? The living God desires to manifest Himself in our mortal body! Do not let these words become 'old' or familiar; turning a deaf ear to them. Memorize them. Personalize them. Meditate on them. Paraphrase them. Hear them, dear sisters. Hear His love for you in them.

God of the Cross, You who have set Your divine plan around the Cross and the death of Your Son Yeshua. Thank you for the Cross... Teach me  the fellowship of the Cross. Teach me the beauty and freedom of the Cross. His Cross and mine. No one can carry my cross for me or instead of me, it is mine. Reveal when i am side-stepping my Cross and turn me back to the Cross, for this is where I can see and behold who You are LORD. I love you. In the Name of my Cross-Bearer I pray. amen 


Unashamed,
az

Reverence for the Mundane

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:8-10

My Sisters who love Jesus, 

Upon waking, as I drifted in and out of sleep, my thoughts turned to His Name. How easy to fall into repetitively speaking His name without much thought or consideration relegating it to the mundane... necessary but boring, losing its shine. 

mundane-   adjective

1 lacking interest or excitement; dull 

2 of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one

Hebrews 12:3

Consider Him...  (If you skipped the familiar scripture above, I ask you to back track and read it as though it were the first time and glean Truth.)  There is nothing mundane regarding the Name of Jesus. Dare i utter His Holy Name lightly? 

Sovereign God, You portray  Jesus in all Holiness and Majesty... and still You allow me to draw near to You. Let the name of Jesus work mightily in my life drawing me to my knees before You.  Do not allow His name to simply be the name i read in the Gospel! The name so easily tacked on at the end of my prayer as a religious obligation, like a magic seal guaranteeing acceptance of said prayer and bordering on the vain? Open my eyes to who You are Jesus and who i am in You! Stir my heart to love You like it matters- for who am i without You? Not a pretty picture! 

Day after day i can live removed from the truth of how needy i am, until a trial sends me running in panic to You.  Am i not treating You as though You were a divine vending machine where i slip my quarter prayer in and wait impatiently for You to 'do something' to rescue or repair or heal me? LORD, forgive me. i repent of pride and presumption, for often I have not drawn near to you with the purpose of knowing You intimately, but to have my needs met.  How painful are the lessons of Your Sovereignty for my independent heart. Forgive me as i drink deeply of Your forgiveness and grace in the Truth of who You are Jesus. Such Light empales me and I fall on my face before You. In Your holy, righteous, majestic, uncommon Name, Jesus, I pray. amen

The second part of the definition is wonderfully applicable to our daily walk in Christ Jesus. He was 100% God and 100% man. As the earthly He was the Son of Man and as the heavenly He was Son of God. I am dancing with this Truth: He is daily our Savior, we are to receive what He gives to us daily and bring Him praise and worship daily. His strength and wisdom for us is daily. We are to feed on Him daily through His word. He is gracious daily. Whew... is your cup full? Are you dancing, arms lifted high? We are to praise Him now and forever. The word ‘Now’ is today, right now!  Daily.

 Like Jacob we often cry “Bless me.” And God asks us just as God asked Jacob: ‘What is your name?’ God did not ask Jacob his name because He did not know. He needed Jacob to admit who he was before He would bless him. We only commune with God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) He answered "Jacob." Gen 32:27 (Deceiver)  This was truth. It was who he was. What will we answer? It is only as we admit who we are that God is able to help us. RZ

If I regard sin in my heart the Lord will not hear me. Psalm 66:18 (daily)

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now (daily) and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23  (Prov 8:34, Luke 9:23, I Cor 15:31, Matt 6:11, Numbers 28:1-3) 

Find great joy in reverencing the mundane. Praise God He chose to leave the heavenly and become a man and walk this earth. What an amazing High Priest forever. 

Teach my precious sisters to find You in the mundane, the daily, and worship.
Establish Your word to us, as that which produces reverence for You! Psalm 119:38 nas




az