God does not despise the broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51). He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer (Psalm 102).Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:“I dwell in the high and holy place,and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,to revive the spirit of the lowly,and to revive the heart of the contrite..."You signed your reflection, "Servant in Christ," and yes, that's true, you are a servant of Christ (as am I), but don't forget Jesus' words in John 15 and Paul's words in Galatians 4:John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you FRIENDS, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a SON, and if a son, then AN HEIR THROUGH GOD.At one time, we had not been shown mercy, and we were not His people, BUT NOW IN CHRIST, we have been shown mercy, and we are His people. We are no longer fatherless, and no longer orphans. We are children of God, accepted in the Beloved to the praise of God's glorious grace.Our heavenly Father longs for the return of ALL of His children (as in the parable of the prodigal son). Also, the Good Shepherd continues to seek us out:Ezekiel 34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.Christ's seeking out and bringing home each and every sheep is the Divine imperative:John 10:16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I MUST bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.Psalm 23 ~ God's mercies FOLLOW us / PURSUE us all the days of our lives, so we might turn from the earthly and enjoy the table He sets before us and be anointed with His oil –– even while we walk in this fallen world in the valley of the shadow of death and in the presence of our enemies.As you wrote near the end of your reflection: "HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US." No matter where we go, no matter what we do, we can't escape that persevering love He has for us in Christ!Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, O Ephraim?How can I hand you over, O Israel?How can I make you like Admah?How can I treat you like Zeboiim?My heart recoils within me;my compassion grows warm and tender.
@naphtali_deer - Thanks Karen. Thanks for the admonishment. Glad to hear you again, after a while.I am still learning to fix my eyes upon Jesus, as I have been sensing myself farther away whenever a besetting sin gets me by. But now I am starting to come back to my cell as often as I could. Pray for recovery and the path towards leaving the old man behind and continually putting on the new clothes in Christ.By the way hope my writing is not too unreadable for you. Thought that hand written made up for more authenticity. :)
@renjinko - Ren, we're all learning and constantly striving to fix our eyes on Jesus. That's our lifelong battle. Going to our cells as often as possible is key! Praying for you, as I hope you'll be praying for me.It was a little difficult to read (primarily because of the orientation on the page), but I agree that your posting it that way did make it more authentic. My own writing is horrendous, so I don't think I could ever do that. :P
3 comments:
God does not despise the broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51). He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer (Psalm 102).Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:“I dwell in the high and holy place,and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,to revive the spirit of the lowly,and to revive the heart of the contrite..."You signed your reflection, "Servant in Christ," and yes, that's true, you are a servant of Christ (as am I), but don't forget Jesus' words in John 15 and Paul's words in Galatians 4:John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you FRIENDS, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a SON, and if a son, then AN HEIR THROUGH GOD.At one time, we had not been shown mercy, and we were not His people, BUT NOW IN CHRIST, we have been shown mercy, and we are His people. We are no longer fatherless, and no longer orphans. We are children of God, accepted in the Beloved to the praise of God's glorious grace.Our heavenly Father longs for the return of ALL of His children (as in the parable of the prodigal son). Also, the Good Shepherd continues to seek us out:Ezekiel 34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.Christ's seeking out and bringing home each and every sheep is the Divine imperative:John 10:16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I MUST bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.Psalm 23 ~ God's mercies FOLLOW us / PURSUE us all the days of our lives, so we might turn from the earthly and enjoy the table He sets before us and be anointed with His oil –– even while we walk in this fallen world in the valley of the shadow of death and in the presence of our enemies.As you wrote near the end of your reflection: "HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US." No matter where we go, no matter what we do, we can't escape that persevering love He has for us in Christ!Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, O Ephraim?How can I hand you over, O Israel?How can I make you like Admah?How can I treat you like Zeboiim?My heart recoils within me;my compassion grows warm and tender.
@naphtali_deer - Thanks Karen. Thanks for the admonishment. Glad to hear you again, after a while.I am still learning to fix my eyes upon Jesus, as I have been sensing myself farther away whenever a besetting sin gets me by. But now I am starting to come back to my cell as often as I could. Pray for recovery and the path towards leaving the old man behind and continually putting on the new clothes in Christ.By the way hope my writing is not too unreadable for you. Thought that hand written made up for more authenticity. :)
@renjinko - Ren, we're all learning and constantly striving to fix our eyes on Jesus. That's our lifelong battle. Going to our cells as often as possible is key! Praying for you, as I hope you'll be praying for me.It was a little difficult to read (primarily because of the orientation on the page), but I agree that your posting it that way did make it more authentic. My own writing is horrendous, so I don't think I could ever do that. :P
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