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Those Whom I Love
Andrea Lende • April 17, 2020
Those Whom I Love
You can also listen to the meditation and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/Those-Whom-I-Love-ectaq4
Daily Word:
Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.”
Jesus knocks on our door.
How does He do that?
Whispers.
He whispers to our heart.
He whispers to our soul.
If we take the time to listen, we can hear Him.
He wants to be a part of our world.
Not in it, but a part of it.
The last time He ate with anyone here on earth was the Last Supper.
He gave the bread and wine to His disciples.
Matthew 26:26 says, “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and, praising God, gave thanks and asked Him to bless it to their use, and when He had broken it, He gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body.”
He was giving them new life.
Just as they were given access to a new life, so are we.
And Jesus stands at our door knocking.
He wants to eat the bread of life with us.
I am so grateful that He gave His life for me to have mine.
This earthly life will pass quickly.
Probably more quickly than most of us would like.
But without the Lord living inside of me it would not be a life worth living at all.
And so, I listen.
I listen to His gentle whispers.
I listen to His guidance.
I listen to His counsel.
I listen to His chastening.
I am convicted.
Then I ask for forgiveness, ask for understanding, and ask for new direction.
He changes me little by little.
He softens my heart.
He makes me willing to be His servant.
The circle continues.
Sometimes it is difficult to learn of my faults.
Sometimes it takes a while for me to listen.
I back away from the chastening.
Ignore the gentle knocking.
The knocking gets louder, and I submit to His calling.
Although it is not always easy to bring my faults into the Light, it is always worth it.
For the feast follows.
I have an opportunity to sit in His presence and eat at His table.
The feast is beautiful.
I look forward to more precious time spent with the Lord here on earth and up in heaven.
Today I choose to listen to the knocking on the door and let Jesus show me more of Him and more of me.
May you find that as you let Him in the door you will feast at His table.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for showing me that You continue to pursue me. You continue to knock on the door of my heart. Help me hear Your gentle knocking and let You in to my innermost being. Change my heart, Father. Change whatever needs changing so that I can be fully used by You. Forgive my hardness of heart and continually humble me in Your presence. Help me give You access to my soul so that I can become more like You. Don’t leave me alone, Lord. Strengthen me so that I can stand up to the wrong and be filled with Your Light. Love always wins the battle and You have already won. Help me walk into the victory that You have already laid in front of me. Lead and guide me to the path of righteousness. Forgive my sins and grant me peace this day, Father. Keep me seeking You all the days of my life. Keep me at Your feet. Bend my will to Yours and lead me into Your perfect plan. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM with you, always, My child, and will never leave you alone.
Response: Undeserving of Your grace, You give to me abundantly.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.