W O M E N
F I N D I N G
I am sharing this prayer from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. This little book is full of such sincere prayers and I enjoy it very much. It has been a source of encouragement when I have needed it most. This prayer is "Morning Dedication," may it be our daily offering to the Lord. MORNING DEDICATION Almighty God, As I cross the threshold of this day I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to thy care; Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me. Incline my heart to thy ways; Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay; May my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound thy praise; Let those around me see me living be thy Spirit, trampling the world underfoot, unconformed to lying vanities, transformed by a renewed mind, clad in the entire armour of God, shining as a never-dimmed light, showing holiness in all my doings. Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands. May I travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain. In needful transactions let my affection be in heaven, and my love soar upwards in flames of fire, my gaze fixed on unseen things, my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility, mockery of earth and its vanities. May I view all things in the mirror of eternity, waiting for the coming of the Lord, listening for the last trumpet call, hastening unto the new heaven and earth. Order this day all my communications according to thy wisdom, and to the gain of mutual good. Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable. May I speak each word as if my last word, and walk each step as my final one. If my life should end today, let this be my best day. Amen As Women Finding Grace ~ Let us ~ Commit wholly ~ Dedicate our lives wholly ~ Focus wholly on the call of the Lord no matter what season of life we are in.
0 Comments
"And as they did eat, Jesus took the bread, and when he had blessed , he brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat: this is my body." Matthew 26:26 In this passage of scripture, we get a glimpse into the last Passover meal that was shared between Jesus and His disciples before His crucifixion and resurrection. During the Passover meal they were only allowed unleavened bread to eat, and have no leaven in their homes at all, signifying that there was no sin, either in their homes or in what they were eating. They were to cleanse their homes from all leaven and make their bread with no leaven for seven days... ~A time of cleansing both in their homes and in what they were eating.~ I am in no way writing to tell everyone how to "fix" their diets. This post has to do with what we are eating in our spiritual diets, although I do think we should "take care" of our bodies, which is the "temple of the Holy Spirit." (II Cor. 6:16) This post is focused on the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 26. Going back to scripture concerning eating, we find this verse, " And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." (I Corinthians 11:24) Jesus is comparing the unleavened bread of the Passover meal with His body that was broken and torn on the cross for our sins and that we were to, "Take, Eat." ~His body, broken, for us.~ The pure unleavened bread, the sinless body of Christ, offered to us. What does our spiritual diet look like? What are we "feeding" our inner man? Do we take these verses as seriously as we should? Genesis 2:15-17 says, "Then the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, that he might dress it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Thou shalt eat freely of every tree of the garden, But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die the death." Well, we all know what happened there... They chose to disobey God and eat from the wrong tree with the mysterious name... the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and they died. Their bodies did not immediately die, but began the process of dying, but they died spiritually, right then. I somehow hear the words of Jesus echoing from Matthew 26, "Take, eat: this is my body." You see, He is that tree of life from which we are to eat. "Knowing Him" and doing His will is eating from that tree. To truly live in Christ is to obey Him, follow His commandments, and be led by His Spirit in all that we do. We can find ourselves eating from that wrong tree with the mysterious name if we are not careful to stay in intimate relationship with Him and His word. To eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil means that we are deciding for ourselves what is good and what is evil. We are walking in our own ideas of what is right instead of feeding our spirit with the truth of God's word and submitting our lives to His direction and guidance. To eat from the tree of life, which is Christ, takes trust and faith. Faith in His ways, which are far above our own. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own wisdom. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direst thy ways." (Hosea 10:12-13) We don't want to be found "leaning" on our own wisdom, but found walking "uprightly" in His wisdom and strength and "eating from the tree of life". (Psalm 84:11) This verse has been burning on my heart lately, "If my people among whom my Name is called upon, do humble themselves, and pray and seek my presence, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear in heaven and be merciful to their sin, and will heal their land. Then mine eyes shall be open and mine ears attent unto the prayer made in this place." II Chronicles 7:14-15 We have many choices before us on how we will be fed in our inner man, but only one leads to life. Let's take this key verse in II Chronicles and apply its' principles to make sure we are eating only from the tree of life. I praise God that he offers us this life~giving sustenance and Jesus that lived and died and rose again to give us this life. Let's give back to Him in thanks by eating only from His life~giving tree. ~ Take, eat: this is my body given for you. ~ As Women Finding Grace ~ Let's take the time to know we are only eating from our tree of life, which is Christ.
|