Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have not part with me."
John 13:7-8
Do we fight Jesus when He tries to clean us? Do we say, "no way," that doesn't need to be done? Or perhaps we cannot accept what he has already don in our life and ask him to start all over again. As if to say one cleansing from Him was not enough!
The best path is to just accept Jesus's words in verse 7 - "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.: We have to learn trust-trust God will not begin working in an area of our life until we are ready. Trust that he knows what needs to be cleaned and exactly how much cleaning needs to be done. Then we have to trust that He can do the cleaning.
When we do, we can rest knowing later we will understand the events of the now.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Broken or Crushed?
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.
Luke 20:18
...he restores my soul.
Psalm 23:3a
Brokenness. Crushing. Repentance. Restoration.
Hard words to hear. Tough times to live. An ending with joy unimaginable.
To cast ourselves on Christ leaves us at His mercy. He will break us. HE will, not something or someone else. He will be aware of what comes and goes in our lives and what areas need to be chipped away. he will stand close and surpervise the whole process.
But what if we do not chose Christ? He will crush us. Our lack of choice will bring us pain beyond repair. Total destruction and desolation. Life without Christ is not life.
So we choose, hopefully we choose to be broken instead of crushed. Why? Because broken can be repaired. Crushed is a little harder. Through repentance and the relearning of our ways, we actually walk with Christ not to a repaired state but a restored state. The state we were intended to be when we were fearfully and wonderfully made.
Broken. Crushed.
Repaired. Restored.
You choose.
Luke 20:18
...he restores my soul.
Psalm 23:3a
Brokenness. Crushing. Repentance. Restoration.
Hard words to hear. Tough times to live. An ending with joy unimaginable.
To cast ourselves on Christ leaves us at His mercy. He will break us. HE will, not something or someone else. He will be aware of what comes and goes in our lives and what areas need to be chipped away. he will stand close and surpervise the whole process.
But what if we do not chose Christ? He will crush us. Our lack of choice will bring us pain beyond repair. Total destruction and desolation. Life without Christ is not life.
So we choose, hopefully we choose to be broken instead of crushed. Why? Because broken can be repaired. Crushed is a little harder. Through repentance and the relearning of our ways, we actually walk with Christ not to a repaired state but a restored state. The state we were intended to be when we were fearfully and wonderfully made.
Broken. Crushed.
Repaired. Restored.
You choose.
How Close is "Close"?
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18
Just what does "close" mean? Does it mean an unattached observer standing nearby quietly watching? Does it mean a casual friend passing by to see if you are doing okay? No.
To God, "Close" is more like riding in your back pocket. His definition of close is similar to an angel sitting on your shoulder. Can you feel Him? Can you sense the presence of Jesus looking at your situation with you? By your side?
A crushed spirit is a devastating thing. The crushing presses out all our illusions, our delusions, our fantasies about what should be and leaves us empty and bruised. Then it just lies there-lifeless and not able to renew itself. Life goes on around us, but we just are dazed and confused and hurt.
The gentle touch of the Savior who takes broken hearts into his hands and breathes new life into them is all a crushed spirit needs. He breathes softly-giving us strength and fills us until full and floating above our troubles.
Allow God to be close to you. Allow Jesus to walk by your side and allow His spirit to resuscitate your broken spirit.
Psalm 34:18
Just what does "close" mean? Does it mean an unattached observer standing nearby quietly watching? Does it mean a casual friend passing by to see if you are doing okay? No.
To God, "Close" is more like riding in your back pocket. His definition of close is similar to an angel sitting on your shoulder. Can you feel Him? Can you sense the presence of Jesus looking at your situation with you? By your side?
A crushed spirit is a devastating thing. The crushing presses out all our illusions, our delusions, our fantasies about what should be and leaves us empty and bruised. Then it just lies there-lifeless and not able to renew itself. Life goes on around us, but we just are dazed and confused and hurt.
The gentle touch of the Savior who takes broken hearts into his hands and breathes new life into them is all a crushed spirit needs. He breathes softly-giving us strength and fills us until full and floating above our troubles.
Allow God to be close to you. Allow Jesus to walk by your side and allow His spirit to resuscitate your broken spirit.
Taste and See, so you can remember
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Psalm 34:8
It is important to have a deep heart knowledge of the Lord. Head knowledge of God is useless when the wind starts blowing and the waves start crashing. Like a hat blown into the surf, head knowledge is the first thing to abandon ship when we get into rough patches.
So what do you do? How do you prepare for the storms? Simple. Feed on the Lord. Devour the things of the Lord and make them part of your very soul. See that the Lord is good. Make it a habit to look around you and see God provides all your needs. He takes care of you when things are going smooth, so don't you think He will do the same when you are struggling and really need some assistance? God is not a fair-weather friend!
Taste, the love of God is sweet, not bitter. Taste of His love enough that you recognize its flavor and carry its memory in your heart. Watch with your eyes and your heart. Do not let a moment pass where you do not see and taste what He is doing all around you.
God is Love and Love is a verb. Experience teaches us what a verb means, so experience God and take Him into your heart before the winds begin to blow.
Psalm 34:8
It is important to have a deep heart knowledge of the Lord. Head knowledge of God is useless when the wind starts blowing and the waves start crashing. Like a hat blown into the surf, head knowledge is the first thing to abandon ship when we get into rough patches.
So what do you do? How do you prepare for the storms? Simple. Feed on the Lord. Devour the things of the Lord and make them part of your very soul. See that the Lord is good. Make it a habit to look around you and see God provides all your needs. He takes care of you when things are going smooth, so don't you think He will do the same when you are struggling and really need some assistance? God is not a fair-weather friend!
Taste, the love of God is sweet, not bitter. Taste of His love enough that you recognize its flavor and carry its memory in your heart. Watch with your eyes and your heart. Do not let a moment pass where you do not see and taste what He is doing all around you.
God is Love and Love is a verb. Experience teaches us what a verb means, so experience God and take Him into your heart before the winds begin to blow.
Radiance
He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
Psalm 34:4-5
Fear is a terrible thing. It makes us hide; it makes us run. We become immobile and do not reach out. It is truly the absence of faith. The Lord promises to deliver us from our fears, but we must do our part first. We must seek Him. Once we look to the Lord, He reaches out to us and delivers us.
Amazingly, when He answers, He looks at us as if we were radiant. By coming to him, he erases the shame and fear we have carried in our souls. He can erase the damage of a lifetime of shame in one moment. He then sees us as beautiful and perfect in His eyes. He can do that - He is God.
God wants us to come to Him. It is the desire of His heart for us to seek Him and ask for His help. Help requested is different from help offered. When we ask for help, we open our lives and invite him in to the parts needing repair. He waits, yearning to lift us up, listening for our cries. He waits with longing and hope we will invite him in to our spaces. He waits with perfect love - just for you.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
Psalm 34:4-5
Fear is a terrible thing. It makes us hide; it makes us run. We become immobile and do not reach out. It is truly the absence of faith. The Lord promises to deliver us from our fears, but we must do our part first. We must seek Him. Once we look to the Lord, He reaches out to us and delivers us.
Amazingly, when He answers, He looks at us as if we were radiant. By coming to him, he erases the shame and fear we have carried in our souls. He can erase the damage of a lifetime of shame in one moment. He then sees us as beautiful and perfect in His eyes. He can do that - He is God.
God wants us to come to Him. It is the desire of His heart for us to seek Him and ask for His help. Help requested is different from help offered. When we ask for help, we open our lives and invite him in to the parts needing repair. He waits, yearning to lift us up, listening for our cries. He waits with longing and hope we will invite him in to our spaces. He waits with perfect love - just for you.
Start of Something Old
I was cleaning out some things a few months ago and ran across a stack of devotionals I wrote years ago. They were written during a time when God was so amazingly close to me, somedays I thought I felt his breath on the back of my neck.
These days, life is busy and my mind is so fragmented, that I wonder if He is watching shaking his head.
It is time to go back and breathe life to these words that poured so much life into me.
Enjoy.
These days, life is busy and my mind is so fragmented, that I wonder if He is watching shaking his head.
It is time to go back and breathe life to these words that poured so much life into me.
Enjoy.
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