The detail that the LORD put into His Word is astounding. The way we are loved by our God is so overwhelming. Letโs take a look at Godโs glorious promise to us in the Jewish wedding ceremony.
The groom would go with his father to the bridegroomโs family, a contract would be drawn up and the father would give his son a glass of wine, he would drink and then pass the cup to the one he had chosen, with the words, โthis cup I offer to you.โ The essence of what he was saying was, โIโm offering you my life, will you marry me!โ If she accepted his offer, she would take the cup and drink, offering her love and life in return.
The groom would then leave to prepare a place for his beloved bride, often taking a year or more to do this. The groom would not drink of the fruit of the vine until the day of their glorious reunion, a great wedding feast, and much rejoicing.
Now letโs look at Passover, the LORDโs supper. During Passover, 4 cups of wine are offered. Jesus offered the 3rd cup, The Cup of Redemption or the Cup of Salvation. As He offered the cup to His disciples He said, “๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.”
โI am giving you my life, will you take it, will you marry me?โ
The promise that He has gone to prepare a place for us, the promise that He will return for us bringing us to that final banquet, that wedding feast in His Fatherโs kingdom! Every time we take communion, we drink of that cup, it is the one offered by Jesus, our bridegroom. Each time we drink we are saying Yes! Yes, LORD, I will marry you, I will wait for you, I give you my life in return!
I cannot imagine being swallowed by a great big fish! The smell alone must have been ghastly ๐คข. The very worst of places. Alone and in a dark place with no hope of escape, I’m pretty sure that I would have had an epic meltdown! Perhaps Jonah did too. But after 3 days and nights, ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐! Astonishing. As Jonah began to shout out his thanksgiving, God spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
What was Jonah saying as he shouted those grateful praises?๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐๐บ, ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ณ๐๐น. He was convinced that Almighty God would save him and rescue him from this horrible situation. And so he began to shout, he began to praise God and give Him thanks!
No matter how dark or hopeless your situation may be, God is still worthy of shouts of grateful praise! I encourage you, wherever you are and whatever you are going through to summon up those shouts, those praises, that thanksgiving. Perhaps take a moment to jump up and down and declare His goodness over your situation, knowing that your God will move. ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ! ๐๐๐ณ
Nehemiah. One of the real โgreatsโ in the Old Testament. So often pointed to as a great leader who did incredible things in the face of incredible opposition, but Nehemiah was also a man who prayed. Nehemiah was a man who relied on the strength of God and was humble enough to realise he could not do this alone. He was a man who continually acknowledged the Great and Mighty God and had a relationship with God based on prayer.
Nehemiah 2:4 says, โ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐, โ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?โ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.โ Nehemiah had just spent 4 months in prayer over the wretched state of Jerusalem and its people. He had beseeched the LORD, he had fasted and even begged the LORD to remember His promise to His chosen ones.
Now, here Nehemiah was, in front of the King, prepared by his 4 months in prayer before the LORD, when the God of Heaven moved on his behalf and opened a door of opportunity. โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต๐ฅ๐ฐ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต?โ At that moment, Nehemiah knew that he needed his Fatherโs help, so he shot out a quick and silent prayer. He knew that his prayer would reach the attentive ear of the Lord in the same second he breathed it.
Psalm 66:9 says this, โ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ; ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.โ God listens attentively when we pray, but not only that, he attends to our prayers. I love what the dictionary says about โ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆโ; all ears, enrapt, hanging on every word, heedful, interested, watchful. God is interested in what you have to say to Him, even enrapt. The thought that our Great and Mighty God might hang on to every word I say is a knowledge too wonderful for words. The LORD God of Heaven attentively listens to what you say, even to what you silently speak in your mind.
Nehemiah knew that God was listening at all times, never slumbering or sleeping, he knew He would not let his foot slip, that the God of Heaven was watching over him, ready to help him at this pivotal time of need. We donโt know exactly what Nehemiah prayed at this moment, just that he did. Perhaps it was simply, โ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฆ!โ After all, he had but a second to pray. But from this brief entry, we can see the heart of Nehemiah, we can see his humility โ โ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐๐๐๐.โ We can see his faith โ โ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.โ We can see that Nehemiah was a man who put prayer first.
Nehemiah knew God would listen attentively to his prayer and act on his behalf. And He did!
What an amazing prayer! You can feel Paul’s love and care for the Ephesians dripping off his pen as he writes to them. That you would know Him more, that you would know the hope of your calling, that you would understand the riches of your inheritance and the exceeding greatness of His power!
Paul wasn’t praying that the Ephesians would have new things, or more things, he was praying that the eyes of their understanding would be opened, ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ! That by wisdom and revelation they would come to know the Father of glory even more.
In the Guinness Book of Records, Hetty Green, holds the dubious honour of being the โWorld’s Greatest Miserโ! In the late 1800’s her stinginess was legendary, she would not turn on the heat or use hot water, seldom washed her clothes, did not wash her hands, and would eat cold oatmeal as it cost too much to heat it up! Her son had his leg amputated as she tried to have him admitted to a free clinic instead of getting him good medical attention. Hetty may have been extremely mean, but she wasnโt poor. When Hetty Green died she left behind an estate valued at more than $100 million dollars. She had incredible resources available to her but did not use them!
Paul’s prayer is that โthe eyes of your understanding be enlightenedโ, that we wouldn’t stumble around in the dark but that we would know Him more, that we would understand what we already have!
Did you know that if you look directly at the sun, an incredible 93 million miles away, the penetrating light will cause damage to your eyes in as little as a few seconds? Right at its core that same sun burns at 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. Pretty extreme. The sun is inaccessible, unreachable.
Paul saw a light that was even brighter than the sun, a light that struck him blind for 3 days! โ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.โ (Acts 26:13) Timothy says this when describing the Great I Am. โ๐ฎ๐๐ , ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐น๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐จ๐๐๐.โ (1 Timothy 6:15b-16). Unapproachable light. Inaccessible. A God way more dangerous than staring into the sun!
And yet our Unapproachable God tells us to โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!โ How is that even possible for me, a sinner, to approach such a pure and holy God? Surely, if I even dared to come close, I would be nothing but dust in a second. A few wisps of smoke and ash blown away in a hot searing wind.
๐๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐. ๐ข๐๐ฟ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐, ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐ถ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ. โ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.โ (Heb 10:19-20). The God who told Moses, โ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐!โ made a way for us to draw near. Incredible.
Often, I think we forget the mystery of God, how powerful, how dangerous. We donโt take the time to consider His infinite glory and majesty. To gaze upon His greatness. How we, as His children, have this inconceivable access to our Father. I believe when we take the time to meditate on these things, we will once again remember the astonishing power of God, how we serve a God who is greater, a God who can make impossible things possible!
Uzziah was a great King, a King that had caused Israel to prosper greatly during his 52-year reign. Scripture tells us that he โ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ซ,โ and that โ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐๐.โ The year King Uzziah died there must have been great mourning and sorrow, the much-loved King was dead and who knew what would come next. Would Israel continue to prosper? Uncertain times for sure.
I wonder how Isaiah felt, he certainly had reason to be downcast and disheartened โ perhaps he wondered, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด?โ Isaiah 6:1-4 tells us โ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ , ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ณ๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐; ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: โ๐ฏ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐; ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.โ
Where was God in all of this? ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ! The Great I AM was seated in heavenly places, He was high and exalted. So holy is the LORD that the angels could not even look at Him and they covered their faces! Cries of โ๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ซ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐,โ echoed throughout the throne room. Isnโt it interesting that the LORD did not come down to Isaiah and reassure Him that everything would be OK, instead He gave him a vision of heaven, of Almighty God still on His throne!
Isaiah needed a new perspective, one which I know that I so often need and perhaps you do too. When things are not going as planned, when difficult times are on our doorstep, when the world seems to be in chaos โ we need a new perspective. We need to see the sight of our Mighty King on His throne, surrounded by elders worshiping, flashes of lightning and thunder coming from the throne. His holiness. His glory. To catch a glimpse of His splendor! I really do think that Isaiahโs life must have radically changed after seeing his God on the throne. Our LORD Almighty still rules, He still reigns, He is still powerful, and still King. It doesnโt matter what you see out there in the world, God is still victorious and always will be. ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ.
The very beginning of a life-changing journey, a difficult journey, one that was no surprise to Jesus or even His disciples. The 14-mile journey from Jericho to Jerusalem was not long but it was the beginning of a walk that would change the world. As they hiked south to Jerusalem, I would imagine that Passover was on the minds of the disciples, feasts, and visits with old friends. I wonder what was on Jesus’ mind. Was it the betrayal of a friend, the savage beating of a whip laced with iron, or the cruelest death upon that cross?
Sometimes staring at a future painful event for too long can be more distressing than the event itself. When my little girl, Hannah, told me she wanted to move back to Canada, I was devastated. The time leading up to her leaving caused me huge anxiety. An ocean of tears was cried, this was something I never imagined happening. To live apart from my baby girl was not something I had ever considered. My eyes still well up at the reality today. A trivial example in the light of the journey set before my Saviour.
I am more than sure that this final journey to Jerusalem was at the forefront of our Saviour’s mind, and I’m sure caused him much anguish. He was fully human just as He was fully God.
But look at that last line; “๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐, ๐ฏ๐ ๐พ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.” Like the thrust of a spear into the enemy’s heart. Jesus began His journey with God’s promise upon His lips! ‘๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ, ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ!โ This was not something Jesus had control of, He trusted His Father, He trusted the promise. As Jesus turned to Jerusalem, He declared the promise of God over His life!
God’s Word tells us, “๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ !” (John 16:33) But take heart, I have overcome the world! We can all agree with ‘in this world, you will have trouble.’ That is a given. But Jesus has overcome the world!
I know that many of you are on a hard journey, your future may seem uncertain, and anxiety over coming events may threaten to overwhelm you. Life’s journeys are uncertain. Jesus knows. He understands. He’s been there. He sees you. Accepts you. Loves you.
When I look backwards at my own tough journeys, how much easier would they have been if I had stepped into them with God’s promises on my lips instead of my own tangled words? If I had drawn the sword of God’s Word and declared His truth, let His peace settle in my heart, would anxiety and anguish be held at bay?
Jesus’ declaration, His trust in His Heavenly Father carried our precious Saviour through His hardest days, to His appointed time and through the other side. God’s Word took Him to that place of rejoicing, of overcoming, to that glorious place where the angels announced, “๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐; ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ .” (Matt 28:6) Exactly as Jesus declared, I will rise again. Just as our Father had promised.
Today if this is you. If your road is hard and the journey forbidding, if your future seems uncertain and anxiety overwhelms – ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ? ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ? Open God’s Word, His Holy Bible filled with holy promises and find the ones that you can cling to. The ones that you can take as a sword and thrust into the very heart of the enemy. The ones that you can declare with eyes of faith – ๐๐ผ๐ฑ’๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐!
Weโve all heard of a bucket list and many of us may have one or two big dreams in that bucket! ๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐๐? A bucket list with an eternal perspective? How would our lives change if we began to write down the dreams that could be in that bucket? When thinking about my spiritual bucket list I thought of several ideas that could go in that bucket.
Memorize an entire chapter of the bible.
Plan a visit to Israel.
Visit a mission field and do something there for the LORD.
Itโs the last one I love the most, the last one that tugs at my heartstrings. It reminds me so much of Mary and her extravagance when pouring perfume over her Saviourโs feet. What is it I could do that shows Jesus my love for Him in an overstated way? One that He wouldnโt miss?
What do you have on your spiritual bucket list, or what dream would you put in that bucket as you begin to plan one? Iโm definitely taking time this week to make mine!
In the days when Jesus walked the earth grape vines were grown all over Israel and so when Jesus said; โ๐ฐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐; ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐,โ (John 15:5.) this was something the disciples could relate to. Today, not as many of us are familiar with the grape vine or the great level of care it takes to encourage them to bear fruit!
In the second verse of John 15 Jesus describes our wonderful Fatherโs care for us by telling us that โ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.โ A good look at that Greek word for โtake awayโ tells us that it means, ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ, ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ฝ. Not remove altogether!
Sometimes we are battered, perhaps broken, or weighted down with the cares of the world, and we are not bearing fruit, and so our Loving Father comes along and lifts us up. As any good farmer would raise up the vine that was trailing on the ground, so our God does this for us. If the vine was left lying in the soil it would be eaten by bugs, mold and disease would form in its leaves, no delicate flowers or fruit would form. Our Father doesnโt leave us untended; He is the lifter of our heads. Psalm 3:3 tells us; โ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐ถ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ซ, ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐, ๐ด๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ .โ
Itโs interesting to note that Jesus repeated the phrase โ๐ฐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ,โ this time telling us that if we abide in Him, we will bear fruit. If we take the time to read His Word, draw near to Him, abide in Him, we will be fruitful. Jesus wants us to be as close to Him as the branches are on a vine! His desire is intimacy with you, time spent with you.
Itโs so very easy in our busy, hurried lives to slip into a state of ingratitude, one where we forget our countless blessings and comforts. Almost a place of autopilot where we go through the motions every day and lose sight of the goodness and greatness of our God. One where we miss the beauty, overlook the wonder of Godโs creation, or take for granted the gifts of our children and family.
I remember how, as a child my mother would sing a song to me, a timeless song, one written in 1897, Iโm sure you know it! โ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด, ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐บ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด, ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ!โ Can you hear it echoing in your head? I went on to sing it to my children and perhaps it will continue to resound through the ages.
๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐! In 1 Sam 7:12 we see Samuel doing exactly this, โ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐, “๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ซ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐.” Samuel set up an Ebenezer stone, a place of remembrance, a place where Godโs children could remember that He had parted the Red Sea, caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, stopped the sun in the sky, caused water to flow from a rock, provided for them night and day as they wandered through the wilderness, and the list goes on.
So many blessings! It was a stone to remind them that God had redeemed them, that they were victorious, that they served a God who is faithful, always responding to their cries for help, and a God who continuously provides. But it was more than a stone that reminded them of their Creators goodness, it was a stone that pointed to the future, bearing witness that they served a God who would be their help forever. An Ebenezer stone.
Samuel was right. Time and time again the Great I Am, stepped in and saved His children, over and over He delivered them, even when they were disobedient and didnโt remember His greatness. Through the years and the books of the Old Testament and through to the New, God helped them.
And now, centuries after Samuel raised that Ebenezer Stone, here we stand and if we take the time to remember, to count our blessings we will realize that God still helps us, that He has delivered us, saved us, set us free, healed us, done miracles for us, and will continue to all the way into eternity. Join me today and letโs remember, โ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐; ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ .โ (Isaiah 12:4)
Claire's Prayer 