Where am I in my walk with God? This Holy God. Am I His Friend? Am I His Servant? Am I His Lover? John Eldredge in "Ransomed" writes about the ascending metaphors God wrote about in His Word. We read about one of those metaphors today: John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. I command you, so that you will love one another.
The 6 metaphors Eldredge refers to:
* The Potter and the Clay - Awareness of His Sovereignty
* Sheep and A Shepherd - Knows My Name
* Master and Servant - Inside His House
* Father and Child - Part of God's Family
* Friend to Friend - Walking Together
* Bridegroom & the Bride - Lovers Delighting in each other
I remember a friend telling me that we so get stuck in the Master/Servant relationship. Trying to figure out all the activities we can do to please God. Checklists. Formulas. Milestones.
"Bless the LORD, O My Soul,
Who Forgives All My Iniquities." Psa 103:1
"He Knows Our Frame." Psa 103:14
And wherever our frame is frozen, the Carpenter is thawing us out!
He is so thawing this frozen still sea of my soul.
May we all wear new frames this year.
Oh, blessed thought that He knows my frame. That is love and mercies are everlasting. We truly are here for such a brief period in time and I have wasted so much of my life for other things than Him. How I wish I had been more aware of Him in the past.
ReplyDeleteReading the Bible along with the Pearls and reading others comments has stirred stuff up in me and helped me to grow in ways that would not have been possible had He not led me to this site. His mercies truly are new every morning and I am so unworthy of them except for the shed blood of Jesus.
Sitting here listening to thunder and rain....we've had so little rain all winter and all spring, it is much needed. Thinking of the several thousand children along with workers at VBS at my church and praying that God's blessings will rain down on them. My third grandchild accepted the Lord last year during VBS. What a blessing he is. He is an example of God's mercy....a good kid all around in spite of his home life. God truly is gracious and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, help me not to forget His benefits: - forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, compassion, satisfaction and renewal. (Ps. 103:1-5) I will be singing the praise song Be Exalted all day after reading Psalm 108.
ReplyDeletePrune me that I might bear much fruit as I abide in You. Thank you for choosing me, for being my friend. (John 15)
Bev, what your friend said is so true. That thinking snares me all too often.
Amen, Mary Lou!
Naturally, being an artist the first frame I think about is for a painting. What a variety is out there, and the right frame makes all the difference to a work of art.
ReplyDeleteAs God's work of art, he has reworked my life so many times, the original is now gone. I have gone from a traditional representational piece to an abstract. No longer do I fit in the box of what the world sees. I am free through Christ to be what He directs me to be.
Praise be to God, He has set me free! I am free indeed!
Mary Lou - And You, my dear, have been used by God to touch deep places in us!
ReplyDeleteNise' - Your humility strikes me so.
Jan - The Beauty God is producing through your hands and heart is moving---you are growing so much!
Oh, I miss Annette who should be back manana. And when she comes back, I am going to tell you something I learned about her this weekend---she is an author---no WONDER she writes like THAT! She has mentioned writing a book, a time or two, but the girl can write! I will share with you about it tomorrow when she's back reading.
And Twinkle!!!! Another Author! Whose Author is her lifeline---we all miss you so!
And how we miss Sylvia and Angie and Holly and Michele!!!!!!!!!!
Say a word from time to time. I prayed for all of you today the June 2nd entry from My Utmost for His Highest: May you be haunted by the Presence of the God you so adore. Just like mother-presence haunts their little ones and they want their mommies. Haunted by God!
Love you all so much! Bev
Mary Lou - And You, my dear, have been used by God to touch deep places in us!
ReplyDeleteNise' - Your humility strikes me so.
Jan - The Beauty God is producing through your hands and heart is moving---you are growing so much!
Oh, I miss Annette who should be back manana. And when she comes back, I am going to tell you something I learned about her this weekend---she is an author---no WONDER she writes like THAT! She has mentioned writing a book, a time or two, but the girl can write! I will share with you about it tomorrow when she's back reading.
And Twinkle!!!! Another Author! Whose Author is her lifeline---we all miss you so!
And how we miss Sylvia and Angie and Holly and Michele!!!!!!!!!!
Say a word from time to time. I prayed for all of you today the June 2nd entry from My Utmost for His Highest: May you be haunted by the Presence of the God you so adore. Just like mother-presence haunts their little ones and they want their mommies. Haunted by God!
Love you all so much! Bev
John 15:5-8 I am the Vine and you are the branches..."
ReplyDeleteI've missed you Pearls! We just got back from the green valleys of vineyards in Portland. It felt as though we were a world away. We sought adventures to restore us and reinvigorate our tired souls.
I love that concept-ascending metaphors! He calls us His friends.
Metaphors paint our minds like Jan's beautiful acrylics and oils so we get to experience more of Who He isI wish I could show you a photo of one of the vines in the vineyard we saw. They grow so strong at the root and each vine comes off of the main lifeline stalk that grabs the ground. And they collectively intertwine together in an expalier fashion--woven together horizontally, with one root. Such a sweet reading today in light of my new metaphored picture memory in a verdant valley.
Bev, your words are always so dear. It's been a long time since I wrote something to publish but thank you for always encouraging, always uplifting.
And Psalm 103 is my heart's song. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
God brought me back here today. I'm so far off, but ready to get back on track. I've missed each of you and the accountability this beautiful String of Pearls provides.
ReplyDelete"So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." ~Luke 11:20
xoxo