Jesus, thank you for being that servant, the very one Isaiah
sadi would come. I am amazed at the accuracy of the prophecies! How you
fulfilled them Lord! Oh, thank you that you came with the Spirit of god upon
you. Thank you that you walked in wisdom and knowledge of things too great for
us to understand. Thank you, that you were willing to be humbled, humiliated,
ridiculed and beaten to the point of being unrecognizable. It’s cruel. I am
sorry for you and yet, so thankful to you. I believe you have brought me
freedom from prison! You have opened my eyes! Beloved! I love you. Thank you
for being all that Isaiah said you would and more. What would you like to say
to me in light of all of these promises? How should I respond to you today?
Look upon my cross.
In so many ways, Lord, it reminds me of my unworthiness;
that my sin did this to you.
This is the sorrow of
the cross. The penalty of sin. That the righteous died for the unrighteous. It
is true sorrow, child. But it does not show your unworthiness - it shows my
worthiness. It shows my victory over sin. All of your shame is conquered by my
powerful display. To know the fellowship of my suffering, child, begins when
you see yourself as the one for which I died. This raises many responses in the
human heart. Sorrow, distress, depression, discouragement. This is the weight
of sin that you feel. It depresses mankind, pushes them low into the dirt…the
nature of self and sin. The Father of sin, crawling on his belly in the dirt.
Yet, I am the one who made man out of the dust. I redeem even the dust! I
redeem all of the earth! All of the earth in you is redeemed! It is purchased
back with my most precious blood! You are no longer unworthy dirt. You are
worthy! You are holy dirt! Set a part for divine purposes.
Tell me more about the fellowship of sufferings, Lord.
To know me is to know
my pain, child. It is to see the grief in my eyes. The onslaught of venom that
was attacking me that day was unbearable in my own strength. The blows cut deep
in a way you will never understand. The pain of heartache was too great too
bear. I looked for my closest friends, and found none. Only a few hung by in my
darkest hour. I was so low. So lonely. So broken. Yet, in my heart I knew my
hope. You. And all mankind. In my Father’s strength, I saw my reward. I saw the
great day when I will gather all of my people back to my Father’s heart, back
into his family, back to the day as it was in the beginning where you once
walked and talked with my father and me. Where my Spirit ran playfully among
you and there was no fear. I saw this day ahead of me. I saw you. I knew your
name and I knew it was worth it all. My suffering led to this. Suffering is not
always bad, you see, child. Even what you suffer here on earth at times is
direct from my hand. This is hard for man to fully grasp. Suffering is to know
me. It is to find me in a special way. When you come to the cross, and take it
as your own, you will find suffering. The first kind you find is that unworthy
feeling. The pang of the heart towards me and my price. But if you press on
through this, you will find joy unspeakable and full of glory! You will find
peace for your journey. The cross offends many. The price of it, the stench of
it, how it reveals the wickedness of the human heart, drives many to recoil
from its personage. They look at it and say, ‘I do not want to think of myself
as lowly and wicked! I am good on my own!’ and they turn away from Me. But for
those who will humble themselves, bearing the weight of mild suffering within
themselves, wrestling with the fact that they are separated from God’s holy
nature, those who will do this AND press
on through the cross will find resurrection power. That which was death gives
way to life. Many preach this yet do not walk in it. I first call you to the
cross. It is true. But I will always lead you to life. If you know the
fellowship of my sufferings, I will call you to the fellowship of my life and
resurrection. I will call you higher if you go lower. When trials come your
way, child, do not look quickly for the escape. Look to me! (I sense a
smile and warmth on this statement)You
see, I will allow certain trials to come through my hands, always filtered, to
test you, not in a hard way, or a mean way. I show you what you are really made
of. I see in you the purest gold. I will cause it to rise to the top in the
fire of trial. I work out impurities in you in this way.
Lord, this may be stupid. But, you suffered trial and yet
you did not need to be tested. Sooo….?
Ah, but I did need to
be tested, child, for every child of God is tested in this life so that in the
next they can reign with out exception.
Explain.
I was tested in every
way that you are tested to show you the better way, to show you what the human
heart can do when it is crucified to its own ways and alive to Gods ways. I
showed you how to live from day one. From the moment my feet hit the ground,
till they were crucified on the tree, till they were taken up in glory, I
showed you that life is meant to be lived victorious even in the trials of life
and time. God allowed me to be broken. He allowed it for your good and for
mine.
How could it be for Your good? You had never sinned. You had
nothing to be worked out in you.
No, I was the
righteous servant who had never done any wrong. But I was crushed for my own
good, too, not because of disobedience, but to bring me great reward.
Sometimes, trials have nothing to do with sin. That is called reaping and
sowing, child. If you sow sin you reap sin. However, when life brings you
trials, rejoice! It is a chance for your reward to be multiplied, to show the
world that you are steadfast in the hour obedience (At this, I see Jesus
resolute before his accusers and all the way to the cross). When I said yes to the Father’s will for me, I laid my life down on
the cross in order that I could take it up again in victory.
Ah, I see.
Yes, the only way I
could know resurrection victory was to lay my life down on the cross. I had to
die in order to know everlasting Life. I am King, eternal, forever victorious
because – yes, I am God – but as man? Because I laid my life down in the
crucible of fire, in that great moment of trial for my soul in order that I
might take it up again. I gained a kingdom because I went through the fire. Do
you see? It was for my own good, too, that I laid it down. The suffering of my
soul produced many sons in glory! It was worth it.
I see it, Jesus. The cross was for my good…it brought me to
you. The cross was for your good – it gave way to resurrection where you are
seated at the right hand of God!
And where you are
seated, too!
Lol! Yes, Lord. Thank you. J
You are welcome,
child. Welcome to come and feast on my resurrection Life, here before the
throne, day and night, night and day. You are invited to the great banqueting
table, where my banner over you is always love, every day, every night, forever
and ever. The way of it, though, begins at the cross. In your day to day life,
you pick up your cross by embracing little areas of obedience. Pay attention to
the little details of the heart.
Like?
Simply responding in
love and kindness when you don’t feel like it. Picking up the house in an
attitude of surrender. All of these little areas of obedience give birth to
power in your life. It’s not just the prayer and the devotion time we spend
together that give way to resurrection life. It’s the obedience of your heart
towards me in your day to day routine. This is a new concept for you, I know.
You think of walking in greater power as only coming through prayer and
fasting, sitting at my feet. But I’m telling you Mary and Martha will be joined
into one body. You are called to sit at my feet. This is the important part.
But, Martha’s job is needed after the sitting has taken place. Martha should never outweigh Mary. Workers
should never outweigh the lovers. However, your love will produce work. In your
life, you are growing in power when you set your heart on me in the little
things of life. The serving. The seeking. The obeying. It’s all hidden in the
heart throughout your day.
Okay. I can see that. I wasted my day yesterday and I know
it.
But you have brought
it to me. I can redeem the time, child. One day does not discredit your glory
and your power from impacting the world with my kingdom. Make it your habit to
sit before me all day. Bring your heart before me as you do the dishes, as you
sing your songs, as you wait on tables. This is the heart of a deaconess!
Lol! Yes, Lord. This is following your example.
Yes. This is staying
connected to the vine. Abiding.
Yes. J Abiding.
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