The following is part of what I heard Jesus say to me this morning during my sitting with him:
Be steadfast in the trials you endure.
Stay fastened to hope.
Cherish the truth.
Locate where love is needed and offer it.
Put on gentleness as armor.
Make no room for selfishness.
Give what you have and you will gain what is set aside for you.
Prior, he opened Isaiah 58:6-14 to me. From it, I realized that a central expression of loving God is to take action on behalf of the "least of these" his brethren, my brethren.Other sincere acts of devotion have their place, but the meat of righteousness Paul refers to substantially involves sacrificial service to everyone, but especially to the unloved and unlovely, the lost and broken, the sick, forgotten feeble and the defiantly stiff-necked.
It is through these acts of common life with God that we lift up and carry our crosses and live a full life dying to self. so we can be poured out for his glory.
So . . .
May he help us learn to feast on the meat of righteousness by shouldering our crosses and serving others without hesitating.
My he give you and me the grace to follow and serve him as our deepest daily sustenance.
May he silence our well-groomed selfishness.
May he wither our protective cowardice.
May he deflate our pride.
May he disturb our complacency.
May he harness our cherished distractions.
May he release our hearts into flat-out following.
4 comments:
I was listening to an audio book this morning, and the chapter I am on was about Isaiah 58.
Huh.
kpas
Thank you for your insights and thoughts. I appreciate this. One thought as we Listen to Him each day,John 10:3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4"When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
Remember Christ is leading us and we are to hear His voice and follow. Are we listening?
I love verses 11-14. Enjoy your audio book listening, Karen!
Hey Brett, the verses in John 10 about hearing God's voice have been the cornerstone of our entire ministry, especially retreats. We see being able to hear God's voice is the normal Christian life. It deepens intimacy with God. It opens us to his heart and mind. It makes him real in a unique way.
Keep after him, brother.
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