W O M E N
F I N D I N G
During this time of holy remembrance I have set aside a time of fasting.. not from food but from 'things.' I printed a 40 day card set from Ann Voskamp's blog which has daily scripture reading and the fast for that day. This same set can be found here. The cards are on the free printable page. This has been a very special time of closeness to the Lord and also a time of heart-searching and repentance. This deliberate focus on God and His word has brought such a rewarding time of refreshing by His Spirit. I am so thankful for Ann's website: www.aholyexperience.com. We will be having our Passover meal this Friday. This is a practice we have only done for three years but have found very edifying. What significance is found in the Passover and how it relates to Christ and the plan of salvation. We use the book, I Am, by Roy Lessin found on www.Dayspring.com. I pray we take the time this season, and every season, to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on that cross and how much He gave for us. I am sharing a short message from Charles Spurgeon on Isaiah 53:5, I pray it is an encouragement. "With his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 Pilate delivered our Lord to the lictors to be scourged. The Roman scourge was a most dreadful instrument of torture. It was made of the sinews of oxen, and sharp bones were inter-twisted every here and there among the sinews; so that every time the lash came down these pieces of bone inflicted fearful laceration, and tore off the flesh from the bone. The Saviour was, no doubt, bound to the column, and thus beaten. He had been beaten before; but this of the Roman lictors was probably the most severe of his flagellations. My soul, stand here and weep over his poor stricken body. Believer in Jesus, can you gaze upon him without tears, as he stands before you the mirror of agonizing love? He is at once fair as the lily for innocence, and red as the rose with the crimson of his own blood. As we feel the sure and blessed healing which his stripes have wrought in us, does not our heart melt at once with love and grief? If ever we have loved our Lord Jesus, surely we must feel that affection glowing now within our bosoms. "See how the patient Jesus stands, Insulted in his lowest case! Sinners have bound the Almighty's hands, And spit in their Creator's face. With thorns his temples gor'd and gash'd Send streams of blood from every part; His back's with knotted scourges lash'd. But sharper scourges tear his heart." As Women Finding Grace ~ Let us 'remember' and never forget the sacrifice made for us.
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"Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." "Let thy work be seen toward thy servants, and thy glory upon their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and direct thou the work of our hands upon us, even direct the work of our hands." Psalm 90:12, 16-17 "Teach us to number our days..." My prayer Lord, is that I will live my life according to your ways and your original plans of creation so that when I stand before you, God, you will be pleased. "Apply our hearts unto wisdom..." as you teach me I will (with your strength) apply it to my life. Dear God, "let thy work be seen upon thy servant," and my heart's cry...upon my children and grandchildren. "Direct thou the work of our hands," so that "the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." This is my prayer today for my home and my posterity. As Women Finding Grace ~ Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Meditation "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of mine heart be acceptable in thy sight , O Lord my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14 Meditation- to think about something deeply; reflection; contemplation. Proverbs 22:17-19 v. 17 "Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge." There are three different instructions in this verse: 1) Incline thine ear- bend away; including moral deflection 2) Hear the words of the wise 3) Apply thine heart unto my knowledge- place your mind, will and emotions under His knowledge Proverbs 23:19 "...guide thine heart in the way." v.18 "For it shall be pleasant, if thou keep them in thy belly, and if they be directed together in thy lips." v.19 "That thy confidence may be in the Lord, I have showed thee this day: thou therefore take heed." Confidence- refuge, security, hope, trust As we apply these instructions, intentionally, to our lives we will see that the Lord becomes our refuge, security and hope. Our trust in Him will grow and we will become more like the woman of God that He has created us to be. In a world of "easy" choices to be whatever we would want to become it is increasingly difficult to "see" what it is that the Lord wanted when he created us. It has to be "on purpose" that we find Him and when we do His beauty is overwhelming. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of mine heart..." If we will turn our ear, hear the words of wisdom and apply them to our heart, then it will be pleasant (sweet) to our belly, which is the place of healing and life in every aspect; in our body, our soul and our emotions. This will lead also to our lips being directed in His knowledge and wisdom. What do we meditate on? I have been working through a devotion on Psalms and in studying Psalm 73 discovered that as long as David's focus was either on, everyone else or himself, that he was struggling and almost completely let his faith slip away. It wasn't until he turned his focus to God that he was helped and his faith and vision were restored. We have to be very prudent in what exactly is filling our time and energies. If the Lord calls us to a cleansing, to step aside and examine our lives and hearts, it is because of His great love for us and eternal preparations. "Love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." Matthew 22:37-38 As Women Finding Grace ~ Let the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord.
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