Thursday, September 26, 2013

Psalm 105: 1-5  Hear His desire for us:
Give thanks to The Lord.
Call upon His Name.
Make known His deeds among all people.
Sing  to Him praises.
Speak of His wonders.
Glory in His holy Name.
Seek Him and His strength.
Seek His face continually.
Remember His wonders which He has done.
Remember His marvels.
Remember His judgements.
The psalmist then gives an accounting of all that The Lord did for Israel.  Verse 45 tells us that all The Lord did, delivering them, providing for them, redeeming them, He did  SO THAT "they might keep His statutes, and observe His laws,"  To the praise and glory of His Holy Name.
Father in Heaven, may Your will be done here on earth as it is fully done in Heaven.  I give thanks to You, Lord of all, for You are the giver of all things.  You have provided daily bread, physically and spiritually. Thank You.  Lord, Creator and Redeemer, I call upon Your Name, my strong tower, my Hope and my Salvation.  Lord, You have done great things.  You sent Your Son to earth and You made Him Who knew no sin, to become sin, so that we might become righteous through His shed blood.  I sing praises to You.  Let me not lift my voice to praise any other, just You alone. Your Name is holy. Your Name is Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Lord of lords, King of kings.  Your Name stands alone in its holiness.  Set apart from any other. There is no one like You.  I seek You Lord.  I need Your strength day by day, minute by minute. I look towards Your face.  I remember what You have done.  The wonders and marvels of Your glorious grace towards me.  I remember that Your judgements are perfect and just.  I stand before You in holy fear. Thankful that You have covered me with the righteousness of Jesus, for otherwise I could not live.  Help me to be obedient to Your commandments, to Your perfect will , that all glory and praise and honor would be Yours. Amen.

Revelation 3: 14-22 The letter to Laodicea
Jesus identifies Himself as "The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God".  He knows the Truth about each of us.  He sees us like we really are.  This group of people called themselves rich, but Jesus calls them wretched, poor, miserable, blind, and naked.  They didn't see themselves as He saw them.  They thought they needed nothing, so they weren't hot or cold.  They weren't pleasant and thirst quenching like cold water, not were they soothing and comforting like hot water in a warm bath or a hot cup of tea.  They were useless.  Jesus called them to repent.  He loved them and would discipline them so that they would turn back to Him.  He asks them to "buy" 3 things from Him: "gold refined by fire";  "white garments" to clothe themselves; and "eye salve to anoint your eyes".  Refined gold, purified and of great value, is, Peter tells us, not as precious as our faith, which is also tested and refined by fire.  Jesus is the source of all that is truly valuable.  He is the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Light of the world.  We need what He has to give.  Only He can give us "white garments".  We are told that our garments are washed in the blood of the Lamb and made whiter than snow!  Only Jesus has the eye salve that can open our eyes to the unseen.  The eternal things.  The real things like heaven and grace and faith.. and God.
The Laodiceans were full of pride and didn't think they needed anything from God, but in reality they needed everything from Him! We do too.  Like this church we need to humble ourselves and repent.  He is knocking on the door of our hearts.  It is up to us to hear His voice and open the door so that He can come in. When we do that, He says He "will" come in and not only that but He will stay for supper!

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