- Recall a time in your life when you had a new insight while reading scripture or in the breaking of bread. What did it feel like? Luke 24:13-35
- What does it mean to call on the name of God and offer a thanksgiving sacrifice? Ps. 116:1-4, 12-19
- To repent means to change the direction of one's life. Is there a moment in your life when you had to do this? What did it feel like? Awkward? Necessary? Liberating?
1. After asking the Lord to show me how I appear in His eyes at lunch today I began to eat my apple for dessert. These thoughts ran through my mind...An apple, like us, has a fleshy inside, and it has skin to hold the flesh in, but it also has seeds in the core and a stem that shows us it's part of something bigger. (Translation....Skin-skin. Flesh-flesh.Core-heart, Seeds-Gods word. Stem, Holy Spirit). MMMM apples mmmm good.
ReplyDeleteLikely if not picked, it will fall from the tree to the earth....on the earth it sits, waiting to be harvested.
In the meantime many things may occur, the grass may grow up around it and hide it. It may pick up a worm, that can burrow in and devour it. It may just sit there and rot, get trampled underfoot by the beasts of the field, or both. It may be too late for this one!
All alone on the earth, what can it do? Did it grow just to become worm food?
Perhaps it will be harvested and given a new purpose. The flesh consumed The apple seeds sown and nurtured to ensure strong future generations. As apples in Gods eyes, having been saved from a perilous world, are the seeds He has given us being sown and nurtured to ensure a greater harvest in the times to come?
I do pray this day Lord, that each and all of us would continue to sow the word of the precious gift of Your Salvation, an unconditional gift of Your Love through the Grace that only You can give Lord Jesus.
All praise, honour and glory to the Lord. Thank-you Lord for making us the apples of Your eye. Amen
2. In the days of the Old Testament, having been convicted of sin(s), one would pray, repent and offer an animal sacrifice as an atonement, praising and thanking God for His endless mercy.
Since the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord, no blood sacrifice is required as He paid once for all. Rightly we give thanks to the Lord in prayer, praise and song, offering ourselves to the Lord to gratefully serve Him. Putting Him first, others next, dying to our own desires. Doing our best to keep this perspective through prayer and praise with thanksgiving towards Him is all we truly have to offer to the Lord in the way of a sacrifice. As all things are His to begin with, it is only fitting we stand in agreement with our Lord on this fact.
Dying to ourselves and living for Him, humbly and thankfully worshiping the Lord. Can we do more? This perspective is a real challenge to keep in a world full of distraction. Where lust seems to be always knocking! If we open the door envy and pride won't be far behind, many sorrows either.
Though emotions change and feelings come and go, knowing this gives me strength, confidence, responsibility, an awesome feeling, though I sometimes forget.
3. For me there have been many times I've gone to the Lord seeking forgivness, not always have I been repentant however. Not fully understanding the weight of even the slightest error on my part and the supreme sacrifice the Lord made to make forgivness available to me. I'd tend to check(what others were doing), balance(my little offense against "others" larger ones), judge(with extreme prejudice), compromise(Gods' view of sin) and rationalize away my offense as though "it wasn't 'that' bad". Rising above and standing on a false sense of pride surfboard I was able to ride the pride tide for quite a long time. But just like a wave crashing into the shoreline it's best to ditch before that happens. I went crashing into that Rock that was there, full steam ahead, the Rock didn't move, but I sure did. To my knees in repentance. Again and again and again as the waves kept rolling in. Satan is a proude spirit, he's subtle, don't let his false pride into your mind and heart. He fell and he'll take whoever he can. Don't let it be you!
ReplyDeleteHow did this feel?
I hope and pray nobody has to experience it as I did. If you are riding the pride tide jump off and into the water quick as you can. Repent, repent, repent, seek forgivness while you still can. The Lord Jesus is like a lighthouse He'll show us the way. He is also an anchor to keep us from drifting too far, to me He is also my Rock. Praise be to God. All honour and glory is yours Lord, may you reign with all power and authority, in mercy and peace forever, Amen.
The comment that turned into an essay!
Remember!!! If you see the Light(house), employ the Anchor and mind the Rock!
neuron_h out!