Praising You for the Cross…..for the tremendous sacrifice made by Jesus for us, miserable, selfish, ego-centered creatures…..loved by the God of the UNIVERSE……
This morning in the midst of tears of repentance and seeing how quickly I become about me……feeling the having been chosen……feeling the incredible discomfort of knowing that this life is not about me……oh still wanting it and being forgiven yet again for THAT…..I can’t explain this morning….I can only THANK YOU for it. Exposure over and over to authenticity (a ruthless authenticity that I don’t always understand)…combined with a seeking heart….combined with the Word……there are no limits to what YOU can do in us…….I can only thank you for fellow travelers, fellow competitors in this RACE YOU laid out before us…. for GRACE……..for mulligans…. the inevitable do over….You are amazing God!!
Praising YOU over and over and over…..Praising YOU in the storm…….Praising YOU…….
Isaiah 16: 4-5"When this is all over," Judah answers,
"the tyrant toppled,The killing at an end,
all signs of these cruelties long gone,
A new government of love will be established
in the venerable David tradition.
A Ruler you can depend upon
will head this government,
A Ruler passionate for justice,
a Ruler quick to set things right."
Until then…….we are to love….like little children we are to depend on Him without seeing Him….we are to focus completely on this amazing God of LOVE…in the midst of suffering and loneliness somehow come to Him and allow Him to be all that we need…
HEY didn’t say it was easy but if we don’t what happens to the lost lambs of HIS?? I think I need love but I have it….I just don’t let it ever be enough and for that I am sorry Father……
Isaiah 17: 7-8 Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They'll lose interest in all the stuff they've made—altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion—however impressive it is.
All of Isaiah hard to read…..I am not a doomsayer…not an endtimes fanatic ……..and yet how can I ignore ……??...so instead of going down that rabbit hole and ‘worrying’ I am going to praise YOU today for fellow travelers…..fellow runners in the race …….instead of worrying about the lost I am going to focus on what YOU already did….focus on what YOU call me to do….pray to like NIKE says somehow DO IT and if I don’t ....and instead of jealously envying them their speed, their place in the race….see my race and RUN….press on and RUN….like a child eyeing the finish line...eager to jump into their Father's arms....THE FATHER who has been cheering them on.....
Hebrews 11-18 Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. The Holy Spirit confirms this:
This new plan I'm making with Israel
isn't going to be written on paper,
isn't going to be chiseled in stone;
This time "I'm writing out the plan in them,
carving it on the lining of their hearts."
He concludes, I'll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins.
Once sins are taken care of for good, there's no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them.
Don't Throw It All Away
19-21 So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into "the Holy Place." Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The "curtain" into God's presence is his body.
22-25 So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
26-31 If we give up and turn our backs on all we've learned, all we've been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ's sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God's Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he'll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: "Vengeance is mine, and I won't overlook a thing" and "God will judge his people." Nobody's getting by with anything, believe me.
32-39 Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn't touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don't throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It's still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion.
It won't be long now, he's on the way;
he'll show up most any minute.
But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;
if he cuts and runs, I won't be very happy.
But we're not quitters who lose out. Oh, no!
We'll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.
Come on kids.......let's RUN!! And if you see someone ahead of you or beside you or behind you who has fallen....help him or her up.....because tomorrow I may need your help......
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