Category: Love & Grief

As we come to the close of our Gentle & Humble series, let’s give thanks for the new work God has begun and is continuing in renewing our hearts and minds to know and be known by our Lord Jesus as he truly is. Reflecting back upon each week, let’s recall and proclaim all the truths we have received and experienced of Jesus:

– “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29)
– “He had compassion on them” (Matthew 14:14)
– “For the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2)
– “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15)
– “He is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people” (Hebrews 5:2)
– “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37)
– “He always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:23)
– “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1)
– “Whoever loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37)
– “When Jesus saw her weeping…he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (John 11:33)
– “I have called you friends” (John 15:15)
– “He does not afflict from his heart” (Lamentations 3:33)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the truth of who you are – our Gentle and Humble Savior! May your overwhelming and overflowing heart of compassion, gentleness, and joy give us much confidence to keep approaching God’s throne of grace every moment, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. In Jesus’ name, amen.

-JL

 

Ephesians 4:15 NRSVUE
But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ….

“When love and truth characterize the church, it will ‘grow into him in every respect’ (my translation). Here Paul again stresses the spiritual growth of the body as a whole…the Ephesian believers are to grow ‘in every way’—in every part of the Christian life, especially in the areas on which he focuses in this letter: wisdom, knowledge, unity, mission to the world, good works, faith, and love.” (Grant Osborne, Ephesians: Verse by Verse)

Today, let’s open ourselves fully to God’s truth-in-love surgery, for any sickness and falsehood to be cut out so that we will be healed and made well. We are to “grow up in every way” because there is so much more the Lord has in store for us, so many more good and wonderful works he has prepared for us to participate in as his church. So let’s humbly say yes to his truth as we offer our lives to God. Let’s also pray to be fully available for the Lord’s plans and desires as we go to Kenya and Paris as his church in the coming weeks.

Prayer: Father, thank you that by your truth and love, we will grow up in every way in our life in Christ. As we say yes, we eagerly look forward to growing in wisdom, knowledge, unity, mission to the world, good works, faith, and love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s keep saying yes, as we sing “Follow” by Passion. (click here)

-JL

 

Today, let’s be found in the Lord’s embrace, hearing & feeling his very heartbeat for us, as we proclaim the following verses aloud:

Psalm 30:5 NIV
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Isaiah 54:7-8 NLT
“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will take you back.
In a burst of anger I turned my face away for a little while.
But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the LORD, your Redeemer.

John 3:16-17 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Let’s pray for those in our campuses and missional groups according to these verses, that we would be undone by the extent of God’s everlasting favor, compassion, and love that most naturally pour forth from him.

With the same heart, let’s also pray for the SET free conference this weekend. May God pour his great love into each heart through the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Father, thank you that your most natural instinct is to embrace us in your arms of compassion. Thank you for your love that compels you to discipline and correct us for our restoration and rejoicing. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing “God, You’re So Good” by Passion. (click here)

-JL

Jeremiah 32:41 NLT
I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.

Isaiah 28:21 NIV
The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,
    he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—
to do his work, his strange work,
 and perform his task, his alien task.

“When [God] exercises acts of justice, it is for a higher end, it is not simply for the thing itself. There is always something in his heart against it…But when he comes to speak of showing mercy, he says he does it ‘with his whole heart, and with his whole soul,’ as the expression is in Jeremiah 32:41. And therefore acts of justice are called his ‘strange work’ and his ‘strange act’ in Isaiah 28:21. But when he comes to show mercy, he rejoices over them, to do them good, with his whole heart and with his whole soul.” (Thomas Goodwin, The Works of Thomas Goodwin)

Today, let’s welcome God’s Word to heal and correct any misperceptions we’ve had about God and what he most delights in. God’s “strange work” of discipline must therefore be because it is deeply necessary – to rescue us from the things that destroy us and rob us of joy and peace. May we trust his work in us and bow in worship of our good Father.

Prayer: Father, thank you that you find joy doing good for us with your whole heart. I worship you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing “Strength of My Life” by Vertical Worship. (click here)

-JL

Lamentations 3:31-33 ESV
For the Lord will not
     cast off forever,
for, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
     according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not afflict from his heart
     or grieve the children of men.

“At the theological bull’s-eye of the whole book, we are told that God does not bring such pain ‘from his heart.’ Here in Lamentations, the Bible is taking us deep into God himself. The one who rules and ordains all things brings affliction into our lives with a certain divine reluctance. He is not reluctant about the ultimate good that is going to be brought about through that pain; that indeed is why he is doing it. But something recoils within him in sending that affliction…God is indeed punishing Israel for their waywardness as the Babylonians sweep through the city. He is sending what they deserve. But his deepest heart is their merciful restoration.” (Ortlund, Gentle & Lowly)

The words of Lamentations 3:31-33 are streams of hope that flow in the desert of deep grief and discipline. God’s affliction is never the end of the story for it always has the purpose of merciful restoration. Today, let’s confess the truth of Lamentations 3:31-33 as we yield more fully to the Lord’s work in our lives.

Prayer: Father, I turn to you today in repentance and surrender. Thank you that your work of correction always leads to restoration and a greater experience of your compassion and steadfast love for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In confession, let’s sing “I Turn to Christ” by Matt Redman. (click here)

-JL