May 21, 2022
Thank you for a new day. For being there/here for me. For loving me unconditionally. You know something I’ve recognised? That I look at things differently. There is this song, “I’ll Forever be Chasing After You.” Now it’s a song that I like. The song is sung in the first person and as I look at (thought about) what it means to “chase”, I’m like, but we don’t have to chase you. We’ve never had to chase you. Now you’ve chased after us. So maybe we can switch the perspective of the song to, “You’ll Forever be Chasing After Us.” (Though we really should stop running). Time and time again, I’ve seen the lengths that you would go to to save us and it is mind boggling. But when you read Hosea and I see the lengths we go to run from you and the lengths you go to to save us, I just have to say thank you. Thank you for your amazing love. Your grace and that you chase after us. I’m not running anymore though because:
- You can outrun me any day.
- Walking with you has proven to be significantly better.
I pray that others would come to know you for themselves and would also stop running away. I pray for “the men,” Yahweh. The world seems to be spinning out of control. I say it seems to because I know that no matter what it may look like, you are still in control. But I pray for a reinforced covering over “the men,” that they would be protected, kept safe from anything that is outside of your will. That they would look to you as their father, their priest, their protection so that they can be living replicas of you. They would press towards the mark of the high calling. Because no matter how simple it looks, how small it appears, anything that you have called us to do is a high calling. I pray that minutely they will seek your face. That they would use you.
Thank you for your everlasting love for us. For your death and resurrection. Your death alone would have done nothing. It’s the fact that you are alive. You rose so that we can also celebrate. Sigh. I look forward to that day when I can see you face to face. When I get an in the physical one of your hugs. Thank you so much for your promises to us. Your love, your grace, your everything. And to quote another song by that same artist, “I Have no Other Choice by to Trust You.” And in truth, you give us a choice constantly. To choose you, to choose life. But when I consider what you’ve done for me, I need to choose you every time. Knowing how much you sacrificed to save me, makes me want to live for you. You are personal and then in this whole wide world, you come into my personal space to be with me.
Thank you. Thank you for healing. Thank you for restoration in you. Thank you for the many ways that you have shown how much you love me. Today I choose you. I choose to live for you. To honour you. To recognise you as my Lord and King. My friend and confidante. The Living Word that saves us all. Thank you. I love you.
Hebrews 4:14-16 – We need to hold on to our declaration of faith: We have a superior chief priest who has gone through the heavens. That person is Jesus, the Son of God. We have a chief priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he didn’t sin. So we can go confidently to the throne of God’s kindness to receive mercy and find kindness, which will help us at the right time.
You did what only you could have done. You made a bridge between heaven and earth: connected us again through Jesus Christ. The verse says “gone through the heavens.” I must admit that I was puzzled by the word choice. Some translations say “gone to heaven,” but since I am of the belief that each word that comes from you isn’t a throwaway, then you must mean pass through the heavens. Not just go to heaven.
Mark 1:10 – As Jesus came out of the water, he saw heaven split open and the Spirit coming down to him as a dove
Acts 1:9 – After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him.
Acts 7:56 – So Stephen said, “Look, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the throne!”
SIDEBAR: Though Stephen isn’t mentioned much in the bible, he’s definitely one of my heroes. Don’t know if I would be that brave.
But the heavens opened. The Spirit came down. Jesus also went up. Through the heavens. Being that access that we need to heaven. Not that there wasn’t access before, but his sacrifice truly supersedes that of a lamb and opened the heavens to us. He became that bridge. The ladder that Jacob saw, that goes between the two. Thank you for that sacrifice that made you both Son of God and the Son of Man. Thank you for saving us and giving us unprecedented access to you and to our father. Thank you for being everything. I love you through you. Thank you.
How great the chasm that lay between us.
How high the mountain I could not climb.
Thank you for sending this song.
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Yahweh, I pray for Stacy and family. That even in the grief they will seek you. Unexpected death is not easy. Be their strength. Keep them in your will. We don’t always understand why and I pray that they would surrender the why to you. Thank you for still being in control. Amen.
