You ever have one of those moments when you're pondering on the magnificence of our God and then a truth just plays out before you as something so perfect and so simple... so simple it boggles your mind? It's one of those perfectly and simply designed truths that the devil has worked thousands of years to distort. It's a perfect truth that offers total life, but now in our day is completely confused and deflated unto death. I want to share this little simple truth bomb I experienced this morning, just in case it may also bless you or even be something you can share with someone else who may not yet have heard (or fully absorbed) the beauty of such a simple and profound truth. It's so basic and beautiful and most of you know it fully well, but it is yet so often ignored or rejected. Because the price of rejection is so great and so permanent, I felt to share this just in case it can help in some way. There is a Being so much greater than us... a Father so far above us in knowledge, wisdom, and love. He shows Himself every single day in His creation and mighty works. He is so lovely in holiness and so perfect in righteousness... so full of love and joy and peace that glorious, unbearable light is His countenance. In His magnificence, He created all things with infinite time, attention, and affection and love. And His greatest creation was us, each of us perfectly knitted together with the utmost detail and careful consideration. He made us in His righteous and perfect image, which means in our original state, we were also holy and righteous as He was. He made us to be with Him in a kingdom fit for holy beings and holy things... perfect in beauty and joy and all things good. It seems His whole intention was to have a holy kingdom and a holy family where peace, joy, and love rules and reigns forever in absolute righteousness. And because He wanted us to have the same love for Him as He does for us, through our own hearts and being, He gave us a choice to obey Him... or not. In order to stay in His perfect kingdom with Him, we had to remain holy and perfect as He originally designed us. And in His love and mercy, He was there walking in the midst of us to teach us and lead us and guide us through His ways. But we all know the story... our first parents chose the other way, their own way, which was offered by the enemy and adversary of all that is good. At the point of that choice, we were completely changed to be outside of the Creator's perfect image, now exposed to the world of good and evil ... but still with a choice!! I thank the Father that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil still offered the option of GOOD! Despite our choice against Him and resulting fallen state, our Maker was so full of love and compassion and mercy towards us, desiring for us to be reunited to Him, that He had already made a way back where we could remain with Him for all of eternity, just as He originally designed. The way was made before we were even created! And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8 This way initially required HIS sacrifice, not ours. In order to redeem us, He had to take a part of His perfect image and deity and birth it into our fallen image to live and move as we do, being faced with every worldly choice and temptation brought about through the imperfect state. And as we know, He did this by sending a part of Himself, His only begotten Son, to accomplish this incredible feat. As Yahusha (Jesus) came into our realm and remained perfect and sinless according to His Father's ways, He then had to become the very thing that could destroy His creation. He became sin and He became death -- a torturous death, the just penalty of gross sin and rebellion, so that He may overcome it in the fallen state and realm. His sinless blood was poured out upon the holy altar of His Father to make the one and only eternal atonement. He fully defeated the final judgment of sin... He defeated eternal death!. He did this because of our choice and because of our disobedience, but in the power of His great love for that which He had created in His image. We were His enemies, but yet He did this for us!! But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet , Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 If we, the creation, could humble ourselves and stop and take the time to think about this, we could see this very simple and beautiful truth no matter who we are or what our culture or walk of life. In order for us to be a family with our righteous and perfect Creator, we have to be like Him again... in His image! We cannot be a part of His family or His kingdom or His realm or anything of Him in our current fallen state. We are given the opportunity through our lives here on earth to hear this truth (the gospel), receive it, and live it. Our lives are nothing short of a gift whereby we are given precious time to be redeemed and reunited back to our Creator! This requires our recognition and repentance of our fallen state, our acceptance of the only way back to Him through Yahusha (Jesus), and then proof of this acceptance through our faith in Him and obedience to His ways for the rest of our time here. He doesn't leave us alone to do this... He sends His Spirit to live in us and lead us and teach us and equip us with the strength to obey and endure in all things. He does not leave us as orphans! He has provided every single thing we need in order to come back to Him; therefore, we are without excuse. It's amazing to think how many of us for so many years chose the trappings of this world -- the fleeting temporary and shallow joy and happiness -- over the gift of redemption. When we do this, it's as if we live our heaven here on the earth but with no hope of the eternal Heaven in the presence of our holy Creator. Why do we make this choice? Why would anyone choose this? We are truly our first parents' children! Just as they ultimately chose the fruit that appeared good to them, we want to make our own decisions, and we want to experience the "goodness" of the things we see and feel in this life with no boundaries or reservations. We become trapped in the "pleasures" of this world that the enemy has so craftily set up, and we stay trapped by our own choice! When we truly humble ourselves and think about this... we can finally realize that we are the creation and HE is the Creator; and then we can submit!! We can lift our faces up to Him and deeply repent over our wrongdoings. We can make the choice to use the gift of life to accept His ultimate Gift for redemption, so that we can be one with our Creator in His realm and kingdom forever and ever and ever. Our soul was created eternal, and it will spend its infinite being in one place or the other... the righteous kingdom of light for which it was created or the unholy, evil, and dark kingdom for those who reject the Gift. Anyone who rejects the Gift. -- the Gift of the sacrifice the Holy Creator made of Himself -- has earned the right to be separated from Him forever. Do we truly understand this? Do we not agree that this is fair and just? How gracious is a God and Creator who would do this for His creation -- a creation that continually says, "No, I want my way and not yours -- even if your way offers me the very thing I was created for and that my soul desires!"? How longsuffering is this loving Creator to wait upon us while having to watch us commit abominations before Him, walking our own paths unto destruction? There is only ONE GOD who will do this and ONE GOD who made the way back to Him through His own sacrifice. He shows His nature in, through, and by His sacrifice for us. He is the Author and Creator of love, and He is the ONLY ONE who offers redemption, restoration, and complete renewal through it. His very being and character is reflected in His gift to us... it is based on 100% unconditional, unearned love that is so powerful, that upon our full submission to it, it can change us instantly and eternally into a new creation, completely defeating all that we deserve to eternally destroy us. There is no other God like Him!! Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Exodus 15:11 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Isaiah 64:4 There are many lost souls among us who have never taken the time to really think about this; they just don't think!! This truth is so simple -- we must be holy to be with our Creator, because He is holy. We will never accomplish this by good works or anything outside of the perfect Way He has provided. May we ponder this in overwhelming gratitude and praise and make it our aim in these last days to shout this simple good news from the rooftops! Many die every day without reconciliation, and this should cause us great heartache and pain, just as it does our Heavenly Father. We are His ambassadors, and this should be our number one priority in this life, other than seeking His face to know Him better.
I want to praise our Heavenly Maker, Father and God, Yahuah, through His perfect sacrifice and only Son, Yahusha the Messiah (Jesus Christ), for making the way back to Him so easily and readily available to us1 I want to thank Him that He has given me understanding and the faith to believe this, receive this, and live this in the gift of life given to me. And I thank Him that His Spirit has equipped me to express this in a way that may bless and help others, and I pray He will continue to equip me with boldness and focus to shout it in any way possible! I pray it is His will that this be done, right here and right now!! The same blessings to you!!
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Have you ever been lured into a conversation with someone - maybe someone from your past -- who wanted to talk about old times... those old times that involved your old life of sin? These are likely what the world would call "the good ole days" or fun and exciting times (not!!).
I am sure this has happened to many of us who have turned from the old life, and we find ourselves somewhat stuck thinking... I don't want to talk about this, because the old life repulses me! But then, you may find yourself tempted to join in, and then before you know it, people are laughing and carrying on about these "good ole days" of sin. This type of situation should prick us in our hearts immediately! Just as is true with all of us who are truly born again and surrendering our entire lives to the Father, I feel profound repulsiveness and deep remorse over my past life of sin, but even more, I feel incredible gratitude that the long-suffering and unsearchable mercy of my Heavenly Father did not allow me to perish in the midst of it. Having said this, why would I ever want to speak one word of that life in jest?! No!! I would like to share something someone once said some time ago, and I have never forgotten it. I would call this the "punchline" for this little snippet, and I will close with it, hopefully also leaving you with something you can carry for years just as I have... (I have written the quote as I remember it as well as added a bit of my own twist.) As you can see, this is what I am calling a "short snippet"... just a quick little thought or revelation that is like a nugget to feed our spirits. I am hopeful to start posting more of these, because these tend to come quite often. In this short snippet, I just want to remind us of the power of words and how just a few words of encouragement, or a short (or long) conversation, with another believer can lift us up. It is amazing to me the power that our Father has given to words. When we use words of love, and we speak His written words in faith and gratitude, then the whole atmosphere is changed. Light is introduced and can brighten up our whole day, strengthen our minds and bodies, and give us what we need to keep going. I want to thank my new friend who spent three hours on the phone with me a few nights ago. Our conversation was centered on Christ and His power and His wonderful works in our lives, and both of us were energized and uplifted. The strength He provided through that conversation has lingered even unto today. When you know someone is down, call them! When you are down, reach out! And if you have no one, read the Word out loud! It's ALIVE and POWERFUL and will penetrate your soul every time, leaving you with exactly what you need at that moment. Remember... ... Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 In closing, we are called to sacrifice for each other, caring and loving and being there in any way required. This is the second great commandment. Always reach out and give what you have, even if you don't feel like it, to your brother or sister in need. And always reach out when you are in need, allowing humility to do its work. In either case, there is great blessing waiting when our words are centered around Him, especially when two or more are gathered together! And in addition, when you spend time with your brethren speaking of the greatness and faithfulness of our sovereign God through His Son Yahusha (Jesus Christ), then look what happens... He takes such notice that He writes it in His own Book of Remembrance. Wow!! Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
Malachi 3:16 We will suffer in this life – the perfect Word of the Most High God repeatedly states this. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. 1 Peter 4:1 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Philippians 1:29 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5 If we have truly surrendered our lives to the Heavenly Father and His Son for the purposes of His kingdom, it is for certain that suffering will happen and very likely more than once or twice. And in this and in all things, not only do we assuredly receive His comfort and strength to endure, we still praise Him and thank Him continually for all His marvelous works, which includes suffering! This post is a short follow up to the last one, The Sweetness of Suffering., and includes a writing that will in a sense justify our suffering -- it's like it is a mirror of our suffering, reflecting both purpose and necessity through the suffering Savior. If you have not yet read the first post, maybe consider doing so before reading this one. As I sat in the quiet, beginning a wonderful Sabbath day of rest and indulgence in kingdom things, I began to read in my Day by Day devotional by Delores Coupland (**) and was compelled to share this, again, as a solid follow up to my last post. What she has shared in the message for this particular day, August 8, is the perfect summation that beautifully states what I did not in my first post. We all know that this type of suffering can be extremely bitter and even seem harsh from the outside, but the end result is priceless. This bitterness -- the pain, anguish, and in-depth washing that so many times accomplishes suffering – which, when endured, is the very thing that propels us to the victory of the sweetness of communion with the Savior and being more conformed into His likeness. This is why we should find it so easy to praise the Father during these times... because we know with all surety it is for His purposes and for our good, no matter how much it hurts; and we will always experience His presence and comfort in the midst. His faithfulness to His own blood-bought children reaches into the heavens!! I pray that you enjoy this devotional content below and that it sows within you both understanding and strength to support you and comfort you during your times of suffering. He trusts in God (Yahuah); let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ Matthew 27:43 Consider the test, which is the essence of the taunt: “Let God deliver Him now, if He desires Him.” Consider, too, that such a test will come to all believers. God does not deliver according to the translation put on the word “deliverance” by the heartless crowd, nor does He deliver according to the interpretation put on “deliverance” by our shrinking flesh. He delivers, but it is in His own way. If God delivers us in the same way that He delivered His Son, we will have no reason to complain. Well, what kind of deliverance was that? Did the Father tear up the cross from the earth? Did He proceed to draw out the nails from the sacred hands and feet of His dear Son? Did He place in Christ’s hand a sword of fire with which to smite His adversaries? No, nothing of the kind! Yahuah did not interpose the spare His Son a single pang; instead He let Him die. Jesus went through with His suffering to the bitter end. This may be God’s way of delivering us. We have trusted in God to deliver us, and the true rendering of His promise is that He will enable us to go through with it. We will suffer to the last and triumph in doing so. Yes, God’s way of delivering those who trust in Him is always the best way. If the Father had taken His Son down from the cross, what would have been the result? Jesus would have returned to Heaven with His life-work unfinished. That would not have been deliverance but defeat! It was much better for our Lord Jesus to die. He paid the ransom price, and having accomplished the great purpose of atonement, He slept a short while in the heart of the earth. And after that He rose and ascended to His throne in the endless glories of Heaven. That was deliverance of the fullest kind! From the pangs of Christ’s death has come the joy of life to His redeemed. It is not God’s will for every mountain to be leveled, but for us to be stronger by climbing the hill of difficulty. God will deliver; He must deliver; but He will always do it in the best possible manner. ** Day by Day with the Best of Spurgeon, by Delores Coupland (Spurgeon additions in italics)
I read a powerful quote in a book a few weeks ago and then found out earlier this week that it’s actually a song written and sung by some of the saints of old. When I first read it, it quickened me, because at that very time, I was going through some intense suffering of my own. The quote said: “He (the man being discussed in the book) forgot his own sufferings in the sufferings of the Savior, and as he gazed on the cross, the Master Himself said to him, ‘And must I bear the cross alone, and all the world go free?’ From a broken heart, he answered, ‘No. There’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me.’” (Note: There’s a link to the song below – please indulge and enjoy!) Are we to believe that if we truly love the Savior and want to be near Him in His kingdom that we will not suffer for His name’s sake? I’m sure there’s none of us who really believe this, although some of us may naively hope for this (I have been here before). Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 16:24-25 How many times have we read or even quoted this scripture? As a Christian, I’ve always believed this and known that there would be suffering, but I can also say that I never understood the depth of it or the full purpose. I’ve never really experienced it in a more full measure until the last few years, and in a more full purpose until now – and even with that, my understanding is still limited. But now that I have begun to relate at a higher level than before, I can also see clearly why we are to count it all joy – pure joy as some translations say! This type of suffering is excruciatingly painful, but oh it is sweet like the honeycomb!! It truly just hurts so good! My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. James 1:2-3 As I began to write out some notes on this subject as the Holy Spirit brought it to mind over and over, I was quite focused on the purpose of our suffering and how it connects to the suffering of the Savior. There will never be a fair comparison between the two. The Savior’s suffering is not something we can fully experience, because he suffered as a man although He was God, and He was temporarily separated from His deity and the love of His Father. But us as created man who have been offered the salvation of the Most High God, I believe our suffering is a divine appointment of intimate connection to the Savior where His best work is done in us. He can come close in suffering. I believe this is exactly why the scripture says… The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18 We know that the Word tells us that even Yahusha (Jesus) learned obedience through suffering. Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered… Hebrews 5:8 Obviously, if Yahusha is our example and we are to walk as He walked, then it stands to reason that we will learn obedience through the things we suffer. Sometimes we must suffer consequences of our own sinful and self-serving behavior (and I have had my share of this!). This suffering is warranted and is also extremely useful in teaching us that the wages of sin is death. It helps us to correct our behavior and to see the Father’s law in action… we reap what we sow. But there’s so much more obviously… there’s the purifying and perfecting and stripping away of flesh that we may learn how to walk in the Spirit and learn to fully and completely trust the Father to meet every single need; and to have a relationship with Him at the level of true intimacy. I believe this requires a different level of suffering. This is usually suffering that we may not deserve and that is manifested in our lives due to no wrongdoing on our part. This is the kind we must be willing to receive and submit to so Yahusha’s perfect work may be done. It’s literally as if we submit to the point that we place ourselves on the altar, just as Abraham placed Isaac on the altar… we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for the glory of the Father through His Son. I actually experienced this recently. Something very terrible and unexpected happened, and I was shattered and broken, and I was left completely alone for days to deal with it. I was left in an environment where I was extremely uncomfortable and anxious, to the point that it began to physically manifest in my body. I wanted to run away to safety, and I could have run away to my sons to help me deal with it; however, there was risk involved. Deep inside I knew that the Father was calling me to Him and Him alone to face it, and I knew I had to stay right where I was and do it His way. My innermost being did not want this – I wanted comfort and I needed it quick. I believe this was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. At that moment, I was deeply grieving the sudden loss of my dad, after having lost my mom just one year ago (this same month), as well as my brother five years ago. They all left me one by one, suddenly and quite tragically, with my dad being last -- and I was alone in his home to face it… quarantined like a prisoner. I had no human contact for four days, other than phone calls and seeing the neighbors at a far distance. This was the divine call of suffering on my life at that moment in time, and I had to face it. (I did not intend to share this story initially, but as I was writing it just flowed out. I do not share this story for pity or for any reflection on me; I share it only to compliment the purpose of this writing so that anyone who reads it will only see the love, compassion, faithfulness, might, and power of the Heavenly Father through His Son. Although I am the “main character” in this story, this is all about HIM!) For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake… Philippians 1:29 Now that a few weeks have passed since this event took place, I am obviously stronger and able to function, only thanks to the Heavenly Father. My sons did come to stay with me for a week (but only through social distancing and no touching), but since then, I have spent another week-and-a-half alone. I can tell you that it has now become so much more sweet than bitter! The Father has tangibly strengthened me two times where I felt the burden lift and the peace and strength pour in. All times when I pray, His presence is thick and He imparts so much to me. I have never felt Him as I have during this time of suffering… He is ever so near to the brokenhearted. He is a very present help in time of need. His right hand has truly saved me and strengthened me and upheld me. He has been faithful to every single one of His promises, and I believe it is because I answered the call to suffer alone with Him. As I placed myself on the altar of suffering, He provided the sacrifice through His Son who then imparted all I needed to endure… His own love, His own mind, and His own strength. And now I am eternally changed because of it. This is why we must submit to suffering. As this subject was so heavy on my mind, and as I thought more about Yahusha and His suffering, I could see parallels to what happens to us. The connection was so clear… to the point that I began to know that real suffering is mandatory in our walk. We learn obedience to the Father alone, and we learn true love for Him through His Son and for our brethren through suffering. And in the end, we may be called to the ultimate suffering that results in martyrdom. As the word says, the end of all of this suffering is our HOPE of salvation, which is the very anchor for our souls. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5 It is so heartbreaking and also interesting to look at the ways that Yahusha suffered for us and the ways that we might suffer as well. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 He was wounded for our transgressions… The word “wounded” is the Hebrew word “chalal” that means to bore, to wound, to dissolve, to profane, to break… We know He was pierced or bore through as thorns were thrusted through His scalp and nails pounded into His wrists and feet. Although none of His bones were broken, He was broken. His body was broken, and His heart was broken, because of our transgressions. Although He has paid the full penalty for our sins and transgressions, we will suffer consequences of our transgressions in this life in similar ways – through brokenness and the wounding of our hearts -- and it will all be for our good and His glory! He was bruised for our iniquities… This word means crushed or to crumble, beat or break into pieces, bruise, humble… Now this makes me think of the suffering that we endure that is not necessarily consequential. This is the suffering that crushes our spirit and crucifies our flesh. This is the suffering that turns a servant into a saint! Have you ever felt crushed this way? I can tell you that I have had more spiritual victories and change during times of crushing and humbling, and I know that it took this very level of suffering to attain it. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him… (I like how the ESV states it as well… “upon Him was the chastisement that brough us peace”.) This word means just what it says… reproof, correction, discipline, rebuke… The perfect, sinless Savior also took our chastisement so that we could have peace… peace that comes from the hope in knowing that we can have salvation! When I think of the Father chastising Yahusha, I think of how He turned away from Him when the sin and full shame of the world was placed upon Him; in chastisement, the Father left the Son alone to bear the penalty of sin. So can we expect to experience the suffering of chastisement? Of course, because it is through this that we learn holiness and righteousness. And with His stripes we are healed. The word stripes is “khabooraw” in Hebrew and means bound with stripes, a weal (black and blue mark), bruise, hurt, stripe… We know that Yahusha was flogged and scourged, resulting in stripes of black and blue, and of course red blood. To me, stripes are clearly indicative of severe punishment – similarly to the spankings we used to get as children, although nothing in comparison. To show the depth of this, I feel the need to share what I found about Roman scourging: The usual instrument was a short whip with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals. For scourging, the man was stripped of his clothing, and his hands were tied to an upright post. The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged either by two soldiers (lictors) or by one who alternated positions. The severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of the lictors and was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death. As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim’s back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally set the stage for circulatory shock. The extent of blood loss may well have determined how long the victim would survive on the cross. After the scourging, the soldiers often taunted their victim. There are so many other words used to describe the suffering of our Savior, and just in Isaiah 53 alone, we also see the words… despised, rejected, acquainted with grief, sorrowful, smitten of God, afflicted, oppressed, stricken, and cut off from the land of the living. As you look and think about these words, including the others expounded upon above, can you see the power? These words of suffering brought the salvation of the Most High God of the universe to us all – this suffering was required of our Savior, the Son of the Living God, in order to save us. These same words of suffering in our lives, although at a different level, allow us to partake and attain the fullness of the eternal victory. Think about what happens when we suffer… only suffering can break us to the point of humility and pliability. We are made low and are in a place where self is not a priority; in fact, in some cases self feels dead. It’s as if we are quiet, still, and submissive, like a patient lying calmly on an operating table, fully trusting the surgeon who is going to fix us. Except in this case, we are in full submission to our Maker who can work on us and conform us more into the image of His Son. He can open up our hearts and expose things that He couldn’t otherwise. He can sharpen our spiritual senses and impart more of His life and breath into us. This is especially true when we offer ourselves to suffering… when we choose this route instead of the easy way out. He honors this, and He equips us, and He finishes the work planned for that point in time. All in all, we are in more full communion with the Savior at this point, because we are truly partaking in His life. We are speaking the same language, and through this, He can impart and we can receive. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10 A little over a week ago as I was thinking deeply about this, I just felt compelled to write about the suffering of the One who was killed to save me, and this is what came out: Oh Yahusha, your suffering is a ministry. It is immaculate and perfect in its completion. Your suffering translates to me and must manifest in my being… That I may partake of your fellowship and eternal kingdom. Your suffering is the depths of you reaching into the depths of me, that we may be one in all things. Strengthen me as I partake, that all of your perfect works within me may be finished… That I may be your ambassador, your servant, your friend, and your bride. Take me to be yours. I go willingly, knowing that I must suffer as you did. As I read and type this now, I think to myself… only a suffering soul can write something like that. I am much stronger today than the day that I wrote this, and I don’t think I could pour that out of me now at the same level as I did at that time. That’s exactly how suffering works… there is so much less of us at work and so much more of Him. In closing, all we can do is praise the Father for the suffering He brings to us and thank Him for His faithfulness in the outcome. The purpose and result is always holy and perfect, and in this, we simply submit. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:16 As mentioned above, please take a moment to listen to this song and let it bless your heart and spirit. |
Special NoteThese writings are written in love and a spirit of servitude. They are not designed to judge but make us think. We are all sinners in need of saving, and we all need encouragement and absolute truth to endure on the narrow road to sanctification and ultimately eternal life. Categories
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