Violence

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.  (Matthew 11:12)

"He that will take, get possession of the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and spiritual joy, must be in earnest: all hell will oppose him in every step he takes; and if a man be not absolutely determined to give up his sins and evil companions, and have his soul saved at all hazards, and at every expense, he will surely perish everlastingly. This requires a violent earnestness..."  (Study Light: Adam Clarke Commentary)

God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34)

So many words to define..."proud"..."humble"..."violent"...and how do these passages above connect anyway???

Let's just choose one of those words: "violent"; in fact, that is the word upon which this whole devotional is based.  Sometimes things just need to get violent in the Kingdom of God.  Why not?  It was back then.  There are certainly handfuls of examples that illustrate this.  The ones that came to my mind were of course the type of death (and pre-death violence) that Jesus willingly endured, but also the miracle that occurred that announced one of the most monumental events (the other being Jesus' resurrection) in history: the moment Jesus gave up His life...for all mankind...and the veil (sin; our sinful nature) that separated us from God was "...torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life..."  (Matthew 27:50-52)

The ability now to be reconciled to God through Jesus was proclaimed in violence.   

Adam Clarke, in his commentary, also emphasizes that violence is necessary in the Kingdom of God.  Sadly these days, many are led to believe that "becoming a Christian" is a sweet, "good" thing to do, and that one can just utter the words "Jesus is my savior" and then go off feeling good about him or herself.  (In fact, in my own crisis of faith, this was the deception that needed to be busted before I was willing to even consider the Reality of Jesus: life was harder and more real than all that!!!).  It seems according to Mr. Clarke (above), if that is one's experience, then one may NOT actually have received the new life of Jesus within;  because apparently (and it's true!), this new life is so critical (and it is) to one's earthly and eternal relationship with God, that he or she will have to fight to receive it...and then to live in it...he or she will most definitely have to experience violence. 

Whoa, and I am not a Bible word scholar, but then there is the connection I think I found between "violence" (in the Kingdom of God) and...life.  When I looked up the original definition of the word "violent" in Matthew 11:12 (Greek word Biazo), what I found is that the origin of the word is intrinsically connected with the Greek word Bios, which means life or that by which life is sustained (StudyLight.org).  At least somehow the idea of "violence" and "life" are connected: and they certainly are once one enters God's Kingdom. 

And then sometimes God needs to get violent...or to allow something that seems rather radical to happen...in order to be able to fulfill what He so much wants to do: give grace to the humble.  I'm not saying this is the strategy He uses with everyone or every time...but in order so that one's pride does not become a severe stumbling block (He opposes the proud...)...and so that one can in fact live the life - to its fullest - the Eternal Life given by Jesus...sometimes He must allow something "violent" to occur.    

Picture this: a person...rushing around...acting as if everything is up to him/her...knowing God and His promises to take care, but still out to prove that he/she has to run the show...

...control...insisting on taking control and "having it his/her way" and becoming very angry when it's not.  Fuming, storming, almost maniacal at times, but refusing to let it go...

...not listening...not listening to the Voice of the Holy Spirit of Jesus crying out: "Live in Me!"... "Believe Me!"..."Follow ME!"... "Don't go on that path of control, that anger, that resentment...!" (God opposes the proud...)...

...(Literally) continues to walk in that direction...wrong direction...wrong stepppp....

...ankle turns...

...ankle swells...

...must...now.....slow.......down....... 

Now the person walks with a limp...has to hobble for now...(kinda humbling...), and now this person has to make a critical choice: feel sorry for one's self, even angrier at God, and argue that here is another piece of evidence that he/she needs to be in control and get his/her own way...

 ...or recognize that perhaps (some might disagree with me on this) if he/she had been focusing more on Jesus...been receiving the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7)...and had been relying on the yoke in which Jesus offers rest (Matthew 11:28-30)...perhaps the "violent" turning of the ankle would not have happened, simply because he/she would not have been responding so angrily (and thus so thoughtlessly), and with the pride that led to walking in the direction he/she did:

O continue Your loving-kindness to those who know You, Your righteousness (salvation) to the upright in heart.  Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.  (Psalm 36:10-11)

Sometimes that foot of pride becomes our own, assisted by satan and his demons in being used against us and even against God; but then sometimes...God has to allow something "violent" to happen to that foot so that we are re-awakened to our dangerous missteps, are humbled, can turn back to Him, and once again receive His Overwhelming Grace and Loving-Kindness. 

Not always...not for everyone...but sometimes... 

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force... 

In His Magnificent and Incomprehensible Name, 

Love,  
Terri 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Aroma - March 29, 2014

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.  To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?   (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

A sweet aroma...

Have you ever walked by a particular tree or flower bush and suddenly been enveloped by the most lavish and nearly breath-taking scent that it caused you to halt in your tracks for a moment?  This is the old saying "stop and smell the roses" in real time!

Well when one truly knows Jesus Christ in all of His "Real Timeness" and Beauty, one could double, triple...quadruple this amazing smell and come only within miles of how sweet the spiritual aroma of Him Who Died and Rose Again for us really is.  This is because of the Unimaginable Love coursing through His Blood that He smells so sweet...

But as Believers, we too are now supposed to be carrying that heaven-sent scent to others...but how often is this the case?  How many can say that they truly feel that as they go through the week what is pouring out is the aroma of extravagant flowers...versus the "stench" of worry, self-concern, stress...and then the resulting guilt that this is actually what those in the world might be seeing and "smelling"...truly a type of death-smell (but not one that will even have a chance of eventually leading them to life!).

I can certainly relate with all of that...but then the Lord reminded me of something some weeks ago about what it means to give off a sweet aroma.

We can't.

And who is sufficient for these things?

We aren't.

He reminded me actually about a flower.  He said, "Does a flower have to try to give off its fragrance?  Or does it just flow from it naturally?"  Of course the answer is that a flower does not have to put forth any effort whatsoever because of what it is. 

If Christ is living in us, then we do not need to force a fragrance.  We don't have to try to smell good.  All we need to do is to let Him live in and through us.  That's it.  Then His Amazing Aroma will pour through.  And like the scripture states above, either people will be repelled by it (because they do not want or are not ready for Him) or they will be drawn to it (because He has prepared for them to receive Him).  May there be many more of the latter than the former before He actually returns.

Is there stuff we ourselves can do to block that beautiful scent from reaching the surface and flowing out?  Absolutely.  But that is perhaps for another devotional...

It came to mind a poem the Lord gave me a long time ago which I think sort of fits the theme of this devotional: that ultimately, we really do not have to try to give off the sweet, extravagant aroma of Jesus Christ...I'd like to share it with you here.  God bless you all.

Love in Jesus,  
Terri 

 I Tried

   I tried and tried with all my might to change my wicked ways

by being kinder, helping out and filling up my days

    I found that sometimes this would work gained temporary peace

but something still seemed oh so wrong oh where is the release?

And then I thought, “I must be bad since evil I pursue

why can’t I change?, I’m trying hard to please God through and through”

Why do I slip so easily and find it hard to be

that pleasing soul who is so good who loves consistently?      
                           
   I must be bad,” I told myself and started sinking low

“What can I do?”  I looked around and did not know where to go

   I sought relief from others found encouragement in church

but still I sensed this need inside to carry on a search

   I thought the answer was in reading Bible verses, sermons preached

as notes I scribbled daily an answer to be reached

but how easily distracted from these tasks I seem to be

so can they really be “the answer” to the Conflict inside of me?

  I even started asking God how my ways I could change

to become a “godly person” -  I thought the answer given strange

   He said, “Go into your Bible-  something found in Matthew 3

it’s where I say I love my Son it’s He who pleases Me

   He is the One I sent for you to save you from your sin

there’s no way you can change yourself or alter the state you’re in

and do not try to please Me using efforts of your own

it’s only pride that thinks you can it’s futile, you’ve been shown

It’s only when you see this fact that all of YOU must die

to you this may sound rather strange 

 

    I understand,  that’s why

You cannot do this by yourself my Spirit must have full reign

    He will take care of this procedure only then a peace you’ll gain

And then I can be very pleased with things I see you do

    I’ll see the glory of the Spirit’s work of Christ inside of you

And it isn’t just for here and now that this work will be done

it’s also so that in the end you too will be my “son”

So that when all are raised to life I’ll see the brand new you

the one changed by the Spirit’s hand glowing radiant through and through

So now, just remember a child lying in My hand

you are the one I’ve come for let Me help you understand

To save you from your wicked way It’s for this cause I died

and when I rose to change you

you no longer needed the words:  “I tried”

 

 

 

Suddenly I'm Lost within Your Beauty - March 9, 2014

Please take a moment to really read and absorb this description -

“My beloved is dazzling and ruddy,
Outstanding among ten thousand.
“His head is like gold, pure gold;
His locks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.
“His eyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Bathed in milk,
And reposed in their setting.
“His cheeks are like a bed of balsam,
Banks of sweet-scented herbs;
His lips are lilies
Dripping with liquid myrrh.
“His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl;
His abdomen is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
“His legs are pillars of alabaster
Set on pedestals of pure gold;
His appearance is like Lebanon
Choice as the cedars.
“His mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.”  (Song of Solomon 5:10-16)

And I can feel your presence here with me
Suddenly I'm lost within your beauty...   (MercyMe: "Here with me")
 
I am actually writing this out of N - E - C - E - S - S - I - T - Y...Inside of me is whirring the ten or more things I need to do (or think I need to do) today, but this devotional has also been moving around inside of me since I began reading Song of Solomon several weeks ago before work each morning. 
 
Read the portion from chapter 5 (above) again.  Think upon...even picture...each individual definition of who the beloved is and what he looks like.  I can only hope that it has the same effect on you now as it did on me (and still does, thank God...literally).  This beholding and experiencing of this type of beauty seems so fleeting (if existent at all) these days.  Not that it isn't present.  We catch the whiff of it perhaps when we witness a beautiful morning or evening sky...a nature scene that hits our hearts just the right way...or even, like here, in the essence of a person we stop to take the time to truly observe and appreciate. 
 
This beauty, which is meant to captivate our hearts, is just a tiny portion or representative of the ultimate Source of Beauty, Jesus Himself.  Really.  It has been suggested that "the beloved" mentioned in the verses above IS Jesus - our True Love (Revelation 2:4-5) -  and even this description does not fully capture how amazingly and wonderingly beautiful He really is, both inside and out...   
 
And I can feel your presence here with me
Suddenly I'm lost within your beauty...  
 
How tragic it is that instead of getting "lost within (His) beauty" we (I should just speak for myself - I ) become so easily entangled and then frantically "lost" in the cares of this world (Matthew 13:7, 22; Hebrews 12:1), the list of things I do (or don't really) need to do, and the phantom "what if's" satan knows he can use to get me off track during the day (Matthew 6:31-34; James 4:13-17).  THANK GOD FOR HIS WORD and for the reminders He is always willing to put out there to woo us back to Himself.  I don't know about you, but I need those signposts constantly; so that I can remember that it is only in Him that I can do anything that equates to any substance anyway...anything that ends up having any beauty at all. 
 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser... 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 15:1-5)
 
One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.   (Psalm 27:4)
 
It is ONLY by beholding the beauty of the Beloved - Jesus our Necessary Savior - that we can truly function in this world as we were meant to: in love ....in kindness...in peace...in faithfulness (Galatians 5:22-23)...in Beauty...in Truth.  And it is ONLY by experiencing the beauty of His Presence within and around us that we can TRULY live.
 
Please pray for me (and I truly mean that, based on what I shared above) that I will more and more become "lost" within His Beauty instead of in anything else...and I will do the same for you.
 
In His Precious and Beautiful Love,  
Terri   

Lamb AND Lion - February 23, 2014

Then the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That tarry for no man
Nor wait for the sons of men.

The Lamb...

And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.

The Lion...

(Micah 5:7-8)

This "theme" has been discussed recently amongst some Believers, and it came up again while reading God's Wonderful Word this morning. 

Although according to one commentary on these verses, which suggests that the "remnant of Jacob" mentioned here could be the Jews of the time who were sharing God's True Presence, a tribe known as the Maccabees, or those Jewish individuals who would end up sharing the Good News of Jesus with the nations, the first thought that came to mind when I read this was how Jesus Himself is both our sweet, forgiving, beautiful, gentle Lamb but also our face-set-like-flint (Isaiah 50:6-7; Luke 9:50-51), non-budgeable, beautiful, and "ferocious" (always for the good) Lion.  These words also triggered a sort of sadness (and simultaneous hopefulness) about the lack of recognition and acknowledgement of the AMAZING POWER of our God Who set this world in motion, created us, and Who is still in control of His creation.  Hallelujah to Him!

Unless we know and understand that Jesus, Who emanates the Exact Nature of God (John 14:8-10), is both Lamb AND Lion, we will miss out on Who He Truly Is in our own lives and in this world.  

It was and is God's AWESOME POWER - the same that resides in His Son (John 5:19) - that supervises the Universe and which is Alive and Active up to this very moment: that did part the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13-21), that did and does break down and rebuild at the same time  (Psalm 46), and that does give Life...Real Life...to our dead spirits and souls (Genesis 2:7; John 5:21, 24-25)...

And it is Jesus's Lamb-like loving-kindness - which replicates that of God - that woos (Jeremiah 31:3-4) and shelters us (Psalm 91:3-6), and it is His Lion-like love - given straight from the Father - that only can drive away the demons (Mark 1:32-34, 5:11-13), that only can renew our minds (Romans 12:1-2), and that transforms our dead natures into the likeness of his Fully Alive One (Ezekiel 36:26-27; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 1 John 3:2)... when we call on Him, obey Him (Deuteronomy 4:29-31, 11:13-23), and believe on Him to exercise this Power (John 11:25-27, 40-44).  
 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
 
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear
 
will live..."

Let us fearfully recognize, acknowledge...and UTILIZE...His Amazing Power:

Glory to the Lamb AND the Lion...

and live...

In His Power-filled Love,  
Terri 
 

Come Down from the Cross! - February 2, 2014

In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, made sport of Him, saying, "He rescued others from death; Himself He cannot rescue from death. He is the King of Israel? Let Him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in and acknowledge and cleave to Him. He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now if He cares for Him and will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God'".   (Matthew 27:41-43)

Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him...

Another amazing irony emanating from God's Living Word...

Here was Jesus, hanging from a gnarled execution stake made of wood...the Son of God Himself...multiplying food miraculously (Mark 6:40-44)...healing others (Matthew 4:24)...driving out demonic entities (Mark 5:1-20)...seeing and doing what God, the Ultimate Creator of all, was showing Him (John 5:19, 14:9-11).  They - His executioners - were both absolutely right and absolutely wrong.  Jesus did save others from death (and here they were, murdering a rescuer!) BUT...He certainly could have also extricated Himself from the clutches of this crucifixion.  He could have come down from the cross; but due to his UN-dying love (Hosea 11:4; Jeremiah 31:3), He chose not to: For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross... (Hebrews 12:2)

If Jesus had come down from the cross, would the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders have truly believed?  Maybe...maybe not...we'll never know...

...because He stayed up there so we would...

And for those of us who do believe, isn't this the same taunt that the world, our flesh, and satan scream out to us almost every single minute of every single day while we're here:

"...COME DOWN FROM THE CROSS AND SAVE YOURSELF!..." 
(Mark 15:30)

"Don't stay up there, it hurts too much..."
"It's not worth it...He doesn't really care..."
"It's all a lie and besides, you're not getting what YOU want..."

It's those cries that are actually the lies; and we must, like Jesus, believe and hold onto the joy that is set before us if we endure the crucifixion of our old nature and allow God to do HIs transformative work within us (Ephesians 4:20-24; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Galatians 5:22-23).  The promise that we will also know what it is like to have an UN-dying love for Him and others...the promise that we will be like Him (1 John 3:2)...

For the joy set before Him (that we might be able to experience a similar joy), He endured the cross...

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.  This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."   (John 15:10-12)
 
For the joy set before...
 
...endured the cross...

In His Amazing and Transformative Love,  
Terri 

One Man, One Way - January 25, 2014

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John 1:14)

"Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover..."   (John 18:28)

Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am...   ( "Take Me In,"  Kutless )

Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor...and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover...

The absolute irony spiritually and supernaturally manifested in this one statement from God's Holy Word!!!

After Jesus was arrested (John 18:1-3), his captors, which included some of the chief priests and Pharisees who spent their whole lives striving to perfectly obey God's Law, brought Him to the praetorium - or "palace" - of the Roman governor, Pilate (John 18:28-29)...a gentile.  It is significant here to point out that Pilate was a gentile ("unclean" in the sight of the Jews), since this was probably part of the reason they were unwilling to go directly into the governor's chambers (Acts 10:27-28).  Evidently not only did they believe that by entering the abode where a man from a nation other than their own ("gentile") lived they would somehow become dirty in God's sight; but they also were afraid that by doing so, they would be counted unworthy to partake in the Passover, one of the beautiful and central High Holy Days signifying God's "passing over" the Israelites during the Exodus when He brought death to their Egyptian captors (see Exodus, chapter 12 for the entire amazing occurrence of the first Passover)...but freed the Jews. 

The thick, almost impenetrable irony is that the One who was in these Jewish leaders' possession...Jesus, the Man Whom they were determined to see put to death, but Who was and is the true Passover Lamb for the entire world...was the Very One who could enable them to enter anywhere at any time and still be holy (1 Corinthians 5:7-8; John 1:29-36).    

...but they walked the other way...

Jesus cries, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life..."  (John 14:6)

As I was reading these Scriptures, I almost cried, picturing the Pharisees and chief priests being afraid of a structure - a room in a building - because of the belief that it would cause them to be unholy before God.  But here was the Glory of God Himself (John 17:1-6), in the form of a man (Philippians 2:5-8), right before them and they wanted to kill Him (Isaiah 53:7-9).  Here was the One. that if they just touched the hem of His garment in faith (Mark 524-34)...reached out to Him and grasped His Hand instead of eventually nailing both his hands and feet to a wooden execution stake (Matthew 27:39-41)...they would be made clean...forever.  And not just on the outside, but through and through (Matthew 23:25-26). 

Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb...

Ironically, the "Holy of Holies" was right there: Jesus Himself (see Hebrews 9 for an amazing account of how this happened!); but instead of realizing that they could have entered the praetorium  with Him...or anywhere for that matter...and still been washed as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18-20), they continued to walk in their own way; and even though they continued to try to obey all of God's Law, they still remained unclean.

Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am...

May the ultimate Passover Lamb, Jesus the Messiah of the whole entire world, touch your lips and your hearts today - either to refresh or revive in order to keep following Him, or to draw you to Himself for the very first time.  Either way is an eternal blessing.  He is the eternal blessing. 

In Jesus' Love,     
Terri   

 

THE Desire of our Hearts - January 20, 2014

I have so much wanted to send this out but haven't been able to finish it; finally, here it is below.  Please pray for me to be able to, as this devotional indicates, give the Lord EVERYTHING, which includes "my" time (which is really His time) -- which includes learning how to NOT let work consume me, which it very easily can if/when I let it (pride, perfectionism...pride...).

 I hope this blesses you all.

*************************************************************

About a week ago, while in prayer, God gave me an entirely different way of looking at my circumstances for which I am thoroughly grateful.  I hope I can now share this perspective with you...

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart...  (Psalm 37:4)

Much has been said and written about this well-known, oft-stated verse.  One of the "final conclusions" about this scripture to which many have come is that once you begin finding joy solely in being in the Presence of God (Psalm 16:11; Acts 2:28), then the desires of your heart will begin to conform to those He holds for you (Romans 12:2), which will then be a pleasure and blessing to Him to satisfy (Isaiah 55:1-2):  Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  By beholding His Beautiful Face, our hearts are transformed, and we begin to no longer hunger after the things of this world but after what God desires: which is always...ALWAYS...Good (with a capital "G") (1 John 2:15-17); always...ALWAYS...with the amazing reality of being able to explosively express His Kingdom here on earth; and because of this, always...ALWAYS...with Love for us and others at the center.

The only addition to that which came while I was praying was that each circumstance we encounter in our lives can either facilitate or block delighting ourselves in Him and serving in His Kingdom as Sons and Daughters, and only God knows perfectly which is which (Proverbs 3:6).  This perspective came about because as I was laying there with face-to- ground before Him; all I cared about at that moment (and did not want to be taken away from) was being in His Presence and having all things that I did or experienced once rising from that position to reflect Him.  Suddenly, my desires for this or that to (supposedly) help make only my life more meaningful (which is usually a lie anyway...and if looking at it primarily as getting our own perceived needs satisfied; those things - or circumstances - once received, typically end up leaving one empty or frustrated yet again) seemed to be taken to a higher place, where the measuring rod for whether each circumstance in my life was "good" or "bad" was if it was being used to reveal God's glory, or not.  (This is not easy to put into words!).  That's all that mattered.  So (getting a little personal here)...was being single being used to reveal His Glory?  If yes, then good!  Was a physical pain being used to reveal Him in some way?  Then thank God for that discomfort!  Would having my own family somehow be an obstacle to how He wants me to serve Him right now?  Then my desire is not for my own nuclear family.  What pleased God pleased me.  What helped to shine His Light was what I wanted.  What a piece of heaven and remarkable sense of freedom and joy...

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart... 

This perspective also sort of reminded me of the scripture which talks about being a member of Messiah's Body:

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.  (1 Corinthians 12:18-20)

Perhaps if we were all spending more time being wooed by our Heavenly Husband (Isaiah 54:5) and feeding on His Living Word (John 6:53-57), our priorities (along with our desires) would be more where they are supposed to be: right in line with His Will for each and every one of us...and we would be joyful about just where we are at each and every moment: both as it glorified Him (1 Corinthians 10:31) and as it carried out what each one of us is supposed to be doing as a member of His Body.  Wow.  

But many (including myself) would ask, "So is it wrong to want this or that here on earth?"  It is wrong if we don't constantly offer up each and every desire to God and exclaim, "Not my will, but YOUR will be done" (Luke 22:42), and realize that by doing so we are once again placing ourselves on the same path Jesus walked where, "for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).  We too can sit there with Him each time we lay down our own lives, which includes the desires of our hearts. 

Several days ago, a dear sister shared a short but meaningful saying with me (not coincidentally), which I felt fit this devotional beautifully:

One should only GLANCE at one's circumstances...but fix one's GAZE upon Jesus.  

When you gaze upon Jesus - which I believe was what was happening during that time of prayer which inspired this long overdue devotional (smile) - the desires of your heart (and subsequently how you perceive your circumstances) become as His were and are:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel..." 

(John 5:19-20)

May we ourselves, as followers of Jesus, come to the point where we too can see more and more clearly what the Father is doing, and desire only that which facilitates His Presence in and manifests His Glory through our lives.  

In His Wonderful and Beautiful Name,

Love,   

Terri