Oh, I have days I lose the fight
Try my best but just don't get it right
Where I talk a talk that I don't walk
And miss the moments right before my eyes
Somebody with a hurt that I could have helped
Somebody with a hand that I could have held
When I just can't see past myself
Lord, help me be
A little more like mercy, a little more like grace
A little more like kindness, goodness, love, and faith
A little more like patience, a little more like peace
A little more like Jesus, a little less like me
Every day I pray for God to cleanse me so He can fill me with more of Him. I desire to live a life in His image. I want people to see/hear Him instead of me. Life is not about me but about Him. It is not about me but about others. Yesterday's sermon brought out about how we need to have healthy relationships. Before we can have healthy relationships with others we first must have a healthy relationship with God. If we desire to be like Him, we must spend time with Him, allow Him to love on us, and walk in obedience to His will. This life may sound 'hard' but it really isn't. If we truly desire to have the fruit of the Spirit, we must strive to live Christ-like. We are our worst critics. The enemy will try to put lies into our mind that we will never be good enough but that is just lies. As I said yesterday, I am a Daughter of the King. He created me to be who He has called me to be. He created me to love with His love. I am not the only one He created to live in this manner. He created all of us to share His love. The beginning of chapter five in Paul's writings to the Galatians speak about having freedom in Christ. Verses thirteen through fifteen in The Passion Translation read:
Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an excuse to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Constantly love each other and be committed to serve one another. For all the law can be summarized in one grand statement: “Demonstrate love to your neighbor, even as you care for and love yourself.”But if you continue to criticize and come against each other over minor issues, you’re acting like wild beasts trying to destroy one another!
Love. God's love is the key to having freedom in life. When we get beyond ourselves and realize we are all human and will make mistakes, we will be able to live the life He has called us to live. When we get to the point where He is first in our life, we will be empowered to see people and circumstances through His eyes. When we allow Him to heal the hurts of our heart, we will no longer be focused on ourselves but be able to focus on others. There is such freedom in living for Him. There is a part of this passage that stopped me dead in my tracks this morning. As I read it, I thought of so many people who cannot comprehend it. “Demonstrate love to your neighbor, even as you care for and love yourself.” There are many people who do not love themselves. Therefore, they cannot love others. It saddens my heart to see how baggage from the past causes hurt today. Freedom can and will happen in our life when we allow Him to help us to work through the baggage so it no longer has a hold on us. Paul wrote in verses sixteen and seventeen about the victory we receive from the Holy Spirit in such a life. It reads:
Let me emphasize this: As you yield to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life. When your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit you hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your self-life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.
Woo hoo! I so desire the new creation life of the Spirit over self-life. I am so blessed God not only gave me the desire to hear His voice but also to walk in obedience to it. I know I am human and do not always do as He desires or see the opportunities He puts before me. Praise God for His love, mercy, and grace that are always there for me in such times! Sandy's words from last week are ones that keep going through my mind. "Be kind to yourself today." Yes! We all need to remember to: love God, love ourselves so we can love others, and accept His love, mercy, and grace when He showers us with it. When we live in this manner, fruit will be seen by our lives.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace that are always available! Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead in this day! Thank You for Mike who made breakfast yesterday at church, the family You put on my heart to bless, Cait and the kids who blessed me with lunch, the beautiful day You created to celebrate mothers yesterday, texts and calls from Paul and Ben, our first breakfast in the church building, and for ending my day talking with Rickey. You are such a loving Father. I am so grateful for this life I live. Thank You for cleansing me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You! May You ooze out of my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts today in a mighty way. May people see/hear You instead of me. I pray for Your presence over: Kim as she goes back to the office for the first time in over a year; Little Ivy and her family; Pastor Karen's family as they find their new normal without her; Little Bradley who has lost his Mommy; Mary with her appointment today; Chrissy's unspoken for a family member; Tricia as today is her daughter's first birthday in heaven; John and Carol with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Lisa's death; my friend Daniel; Gay's daughter as she awaits biopsy results; my Momma in rehab; Jack and my sister Linda as they continue recuperating from surgery; Rachel and Bill Watts; and so many others on my heart. May we all get better at loving You so You can love through us. May we all get better at accepting Your love, mercy, and grace. Lord, this is a new week. I pray for Your peace as I strive to do what You desire of me. The church building is overwhelming. Our first Sunday in the building You laid on my heart that this was not the end but just the beginning. I did not know just how true that statement is. I feel like I am drowning with getting things taken care of. I do not like this feeling and pray for Your peace. I pray for clarity in my thinking and organizational skills so I can accomplish what You so desire. Lord, bring workers to help in the process. Empower me so I can stand up against the lies of the enemy when he comes knocking in the days ahead. Thank You for being My Freedom! Amen.
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