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Holy
Holy
Holy
. . . Is the Lord of Hosts.
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The whole earth
. . . Is full of His Glory.
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I saw Jesus!
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Woe is me!
I am undone!
A person with unclean lips
Dwelling amidst unclean people!
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I saw Jesus!
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King
. . . Lord of Hosts!
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Is. 6:3 & 5
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NaPoWriMo Day 28
© 2013 by Jeanne E Webster. All rights reserved
© 2013 Jeanne E Webster. All rights reserved
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Our Father Who art in heaven. . .
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You are my strength, O God
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What a mighty God you are
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My Father and my God
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I knew you since I was a little girl
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You are the Giver of Hope
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Forgiveness begged; pardon given
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Your love sustains me
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I cling to your promises
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You will never forsake me
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Your mercy and grace overwhelm me
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Your joy and peace flood my soul
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Amen!
©Jeanne E Webster
The apostle John announced in his gospel to the early churches this startling declaration:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Did the ears prick when John first preached these words? Were the spirits convicted? Yes, many came to the Lord and received a greater hope of eternal salvation. Yet there remained many who did not hear, rather they stopped up their ears as they sought after the things of darkness.
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After witnessing a supernatural healing of a lame man, the Jews gathered in amazement around Peter and John, ready to declare them gods. Peter used this event to present the need for repentance and the presence of the one true God.
Acts 4:12-26 “You men of Israel, why marvel at this? Why look on us so earnestly, as though we made this man to walk by our own power or holiness? The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Son Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate even though he had decided to release Him.
You denied the Holy and Just One and desired a murderer to be granted to you instead. You killed the Prince of life whom God raised from the dead; we witnessed this.
This man who was healed through faith in His name made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, his faith in Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Now, brethren, I know you did this through ignorance, and your rulers did the same. God fulfilled those things He showed by the mouth of all His prophets in times past, that Christ should suffer.
Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. He shall send Jesus Christ who was preached to you, whom heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God spoke by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘A PROPHET SHALL THE LORD YOUR GOD RAISE UP TO YOU OF YOUR BRETHREN, LIKE ME. LISTEN TO WHATEVER HE HAS TO SAY TO YOU, FOR IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT EVERY SOUL WHICH WILL NOT HEAR THAT PROPHET SHALL BE DESTROYED FROM AMONG THE PEOPLE.’
Yes, all the prophets from Samuel and those that came after him have likewise foretold of these days. You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant, which God made with our fathers.
God thus spoke to Abraham, ‘In thy seed shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed.’ Unto you first, having raised up His Son Jesus, God sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”
DO YOU HEAR ME NOW?!
©Jeanne E Webster
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“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24
Decisions—decisions—decisions. Why are we burdened with “yes or no” answers? Why can’t we just put aside the undesirable questions? We can! But in putting aside the things we dislike, we make a decision just the same.
We cannot be fat and thin at the same time; we cannot go east and west at the same time. We must make decisions one way or the other. It is the same with God. Peace with Him is impossible unless we make a decision. Either we are for Him or we are against Him.
Henry Van Dyke’s story, The Mansion, has a very accurate commentary on this topic. “The rich man had his mansion on earth but when he reached heaven he only had a tiny hut. The poor man found to his surprise that he had a mansion in heaven. Why? He had forwarded all the necessary materials.”
Earthly Wealth or Heavenly Wealth—the issue cannot be straddled or evaded. Our lives must find its mastery, and you and I must make the decision. ~Bill Webster
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My father wrote the above story many years ago; I found it the other day while rummaging through papers. Rereading it brought back so many memories, some of them I’m ashamed to relate. Dad was my best friend and mentor and God used him to redirect my path in life. I was struggling with a difficult marriage and a past-embittered divorce, all the while seeking to keep my head and spirit above water. God used my dad to gather me into the fold, slowly but oh so gently.
Leaning toward repentance yet staying my sight on my practice of swearing and cussing, I so badly wanted to please Dad with the idea that he helped save me from hell. Whenever I was around him, I was most careful not to cuss and to keep my spirit clear of anger and bitterness. Looking back now, I see that I was rebelling at the losses I had incurred in my young adult life. My first marriage bit the dust after only 8 years; my second had a good 15 years under my belt but was certainly floundering at best.
Dad and I would read the Bible most every day over the phone and gradually I sensed the anger and rage within my heart receding slowly, my life was becoming nicer and more fulfilling. Yet the need to swear during certain situations continued, and I tried my best to keep it from Dad. I felt I was doing him a favor if he thought he had changed my heart attitude. But he saw through this charade and one day told me I surely had to change if I was truly repentant of my sins. “Jeanne, you may be able to fool me, but you will never fool God.”
To tell you the truth, I was ready! I was so tired of having to be so careful around Dad, I was getting aggravated at myself. I realized I had to make a decision here. I had a little talk with Jesus one day and told Him about my decision. I told him I wanted to change but it was so hard. Habits are always hard to break. I remember I told Him I loved Him and wanted to be used by Him in the lives of others. That was it.
A funny thing happened—swearing was no more. Jesus took it from my heart. It was gone. The desire had flown the coop and my heart was set free. I was trying so hard to quit but using only my strength, not His. His strength worked overnight. Thank you, Lord. You are my Master now, not anger or bitterness. Love and peace and joy fill my spirit and there’s no room for the wild and woolly rantings anymore. My burden was lifted and Jesus filled my soul. Amen!
Matt. 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.” (KJV)
Christians, Jesus taught us to forgive others as we hope to be forgiven by God. Do we pray earnestly for God to forgive our sins? Does He forgive us because we prayed earnestly and were sorry?
We have a double clutch here to deal with, a twin assessment. Christ says: 1. You forgive others AND you will be forgiven. 2. You do not forgive others AND you will not be forgiven. Our choice can be a double-edged sword: “If not…then you will not…”
The choice we make also brings out the worst or best in others and ourselves. A forgiven soul is a renewed spirit, no longer shackled to the agony of despair. An unforgiven spirit and/or an unforgiving spirit cannot be transformed; the presence of sin hinders any restoration. We see here that God has the perfect solution to sin’s hold over us.
We acknowledge our sin, repent, and we walk free. Wait a minute…oh, yeah, AND forgive the person who did me wrong. Hmmm, that’s not so easy, is it? However, we know we must do it; we forgive, sometimes begrudgingly, so God will own up to His part of the deal. Most times we do not realize that our forgiveness has enabled another to breathe freer, hope longer, and see clearer the right way to live. This interaction trickles out to others and furthers a godly perspective. In other words, the world gets nicer, the natives drum slower, and life is good.
Let’s take this one step further: you’ve blundered, repented then asked God to forgive your sin, which He does. Will you be an unforgiving spirit to yourself? If so, you are an unforgiven spirit wandering through life unable to accept the best God has in store for you. Forgive yourself. Fragmented into two words, forgive means “on behalf of, share.” (For meaning “on behalf of”, and give meaning “share”) Share on behalf of whom? Yourself.
We all have stubbornly dragged around old carcasses of mistakes too long. We bury them then later dig them up to chew on again. We won’t let them alone, whether out of embarrassment, shame or anger at ourselves. We find it troublesome to forgive ourselves when we’ve really messed up big time, to say nothing about the many small incidents. We kick ourselves in the pants, we bite at everybody, we appear down in the mouth, and fret over the memories and won’t let them go. Well… why not? God has forgiven us!
We need to forgive ourselves; then we’ll be all better. Let’s start today. Get out those old chewed carcasses and bury them one last time. They are held against us no more. What a brighter, cheerier outlook we’ll have. Release His power and accept His best. Amen. (jew)
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Broken, humbled to the dust by Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice and in gladness hear Thy voice.
From my sins O hide Thy face, blot them out in boundless grace.
~from the Psalter, 1912, God, Be Merciful to Me
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©Jeanne E Webster
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Joel 2:12-13 “Therefore now, says the Lord:
Turn to me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning.
In addition, rend your heart, not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, full of loving-kindness and hating punishment.”
How do I “rip apart, break open, or tear up” my heart, Lord? My heart is already torn and broken–from the things of the world. You ask me to do this to myself? Oh, the pain of it all! It will cause the bleeding to begin anew, and the pain will be overwhelming.
Nevertheless, Father, you ask this of me and I cannot refuse. It will be done. I know my broken heart will be in good hands, for you are gracious, merciful and slow to anger…and so very kind and gentle. And you will not harm me.
Yet, I need Your help to do this, Lord. Please teach me to rend my heart and mourn my awful deeds. I am blinded to their severity and too weak to endure the pain. The world has had its way with me, numbing me to the very core of my discernment.
Awake within me the stirring of the once gracious and innocent spirit lost somewhere in this scarred, aging body. Help me to get home…before it’s too late.
Amen
©Jeanne E Webster
Jeremiah wrote Lamentations (Tears/Wailings in Greek) after personally witnessing the downfall of Judah and the capture of Jerusalem. As his pen so vividly illustrates, His people suffered tragically. God’s fierce judgment crushed them because of their total disregard for His law. No wonder Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet. Broken in heart and spirit, he grieved over this horrific devastation and urged the people to repent of their sins.
As I read this scripture, I imagine witnessing the breakdown of the present day Church! Picture every vestige and denomination– disgraced beyond imagination and completely broken down because of our sins and idolatry. Reflection should thoroughly rupture every true Christian spirit. Revival time would be soon upon us; the old-time tent meetings would spread from shore to shore. I hope and pray we will realize the need to turn our hearts back to God before His wrath is nigh at our door. Lord, have compassion on our souls as we strive to let Christ back into our churches before condemation comes knocking.
The Jewish people read Lamentations every year on the commemoration date of the temple’s destruction. Maybe we ought to integrate this scripture reading into our Lenten services and contrite reflection during that somber season. Why wait until then? Our walk with Christ is in dire need of realignment now. How about repentance today?
“This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope:
Because of the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed; his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; great is his faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in him.
The Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man that he bears the yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it upon him.
Let him put his mouth in the dust, so there may be hope.
Let him give his cheek to him that smites him; he is filled full with reproach.
For the Lord will not cast off forever.”
