Nehemiah 10:28 Those who kept The Revelation of God, together with their wives, sons and daughters, all joined in a binding oath to follow The Revelation of God given through Moses... to keep and carry out all the commandments, all His decisions and standards. I LOVE THIS! I want to be a part of a community that joins in taking binding oaths together for holiness. And there is no action plan for holiness. HE is delivering me from my troubles. Psalm 54:7. The word "delivering" in the Hebrew means stripped of myself. That is what HE is doing to me---stripping me of Bev. Attaching me only to HIM. Their oath, their word is stripping them of what they most prize in this world. Do we really want to be a part of the community that takes oaths and swears to their own hurt? Psalm 15:4
I'm signing my name to that list today.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not doing it because I fear Him...although I do fear His Great Power.
I sign because I love Him.
Love.
Bottomless compassion.
Unveiled Love. He has come forth from the grave and His banner over me is Love.
The sacrifice He desires from me is to Love Him and to Love others.
Sacrificially.
Every time I Love others with His bottomless compassion, it is Holy.
The Veil is ripped revealing His new approach to His Altar through Grace and Love.
Together, set apart. I'm in, too. I'm signing this pledge. I'm not sure what all it takes but He is revealing what holiness looks like. We are on a phenomenal journey to holiness--more today than even last week, as Bev said. God's relentless love won't let go.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about you all, but this is a shake-your-head in awe time for me to see His grip and plan more clearly than I've ever seen it. Delivering us. Stripping us of us. Making us more like Christ Jesus.
Thanks to each of you for being part of my "together" joining together to follow , keep, carry out His commands for holiness.
I'm also convicted by shopping on Sundays and several other things I don't take seriously enough today.
I feel that uncompromising Love, Deborah. It's a sweet place.
I'm adding my name to the list too. Reading along with you all , plus reading Live a Praying Life and 66 LL is opening up my eyes and hearts to a whole new depth I've never known and I've walked with Him for a very long time. Makes me ashamed that I feel so shallow and that I should have known these things way before now. However, I am full of gratitude that He has been gracious and shown me at my age that I can still achieve new growth and depth in Him.....He is not finished with me yet. And oh, how I want to hear..."welcome, Mary Lou, you have finished well". We can all start well, but we don't always finish well....I want to be in that number....so I humbly sign my name to the list.
ReplyDeleteCount me in too! I would LOVE to be a part of a community that joins in taking a binding oath together for holiness.
ReplyDeleteYou are that community for me!
I agree, Annette. God is revealing His grip and plan to me more clearly than ever before. What I see Him doing is absolutely mind-boggling.
Oh Lord, help us to keep our covenant with You and remember us for good!
ReplyDeleteMary Lou, I agree--combining 66LL and A Praying Life with what we are reading in Scripture is filling in holes that I wasn't even aware of before in my 38 years of being a Christian. Thank you for telling me about A Praying Life! I'm just one week into it, but can tell already it's one that is turning my thinking around on prayer.
Bev, dear friend, you are in my prayers this morning. I know your evening was bittersweet, so proud for your son, yet grieving for the passage to this new phase of life. Surprisingly, it is a good place to be, too. You'll soon see, the freedom to pursue some things you haven't had time for in the last 26 years. God has some wonderful plans for you.
I'm going to go ahead and comment on Saturday's reading since I imagine Bev is pretty busy this weekend! Just one question in particular...Nehemiah asked to be remembered for good and he asked God to remember the son of Joiada for the defilement of the covenant. I ask of the Lord: Remember me for some good purpose, not my sin. And the sweet thing about it is I know He already has through Christ Jesus, provided this gift.
Remember our soldiers for good, Lord, too, on this weekend of remembrance.