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Have You Been Away from the Lord Jesus by Default?
by Marijo Phelps We might not be like the prodigal eating the food (slop) intended for pigs but are we as close to Jesus as we could be? Maybe you have been distracted by the tyranny of the urgent. Little fires to put out that just can't wait any longer. We run and work on them to extinguish them. We make our lists and go to shop. We cook and bake and invite friends over, it is the "holiday season" after all. I got an e-mail invitation to a birthday party yesterday. It was an invitation to Jesus' birthday party asking me if I was coming. Would I be there? Yes, we run and hurry in the crowds of others who are doing the same thing, preparing. What exactly are we preparing for? Have we sometimes gotten so caught up in the process of Christmas that we forget to focus on whose birthday it is that we are celebrating? Besides focusing on our Lord and really listening to what He is speaking in this season maybe we can give. Yes, give of our time, food, cash, focus to those who have little or nothing. Those bells ringing at the grocery store aren't just tradition. There are many families right in our communities who do not have. They do not have work, money, food or homes. Sort of like our Lord when He came into this world, "no crib for a bed" was not a song for Him, it was a reality. The irony of the creator of the universe being birthed and laid in a wooden structure intended to hold hay to feed sheep. He consented to this and came just for you and just for me. That should be in the main frame of our holiday focus. The saying goes "Jesus is the reason for the season". Maybe it is time to allow Him to realign our focus and place it squarely upon Him. Oh, my Daughter, you're coming back. I'm there, arms spread to embrace. From here we go, my arms about you like a long awaiting reunion of two friends separated for a time but rejoicing in reunion together. Let me be the lifter of your head; your memories, your "muddle" the wandering flights of thought, the "what ifs". Allow my Spirit to give you perfect order along with which flows my peace. I cherish to bless you. Come, walk with Me. There will be those along the way that we will see and minister to together. My love for you is not static/stagnant but flowing/creative. SELAH. Luke 15:17 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."' 20 "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.21 And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' (NKJV) Mark 9:35-37 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me. (NKJV) Psalm 3:3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. (NKJV) Prayer: Ah, my Jesus, please forgive me for being so busy that the clock ticked right by our meeting times. Thank you for opening Your arms to me like a little child that I sometimes feel I am. Thank you for rejoicing instead of punishing. Thank You for your unconditional love. Help me not to miss our meeting each day. It is I who lose. AMEN My blog is: http://myincrediblelord.blogspot.com/ (C) Marijo Phelps all rights reserved. Use with proper credits. About Self Saved by His grace in 1974, from 9 years of professing atheism into His loving arms. RN for 23 years, missionary with YWAM then statistical analyst for Every Home for Christ over 9 years. Living with my husband in the middle of a mountain meadow. GRIN! Wanting to spread the good news Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |