Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
“Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what He has done for me.
I cried aloud to Him,
and He was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
He has given heed to the words of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
because He has not rejected my prayer
or removed His steadfast love from me” (Psalm 66:16-20).
I am in Cleveland, Ohio helping move my father from one assisted living home to another. Being in the assisted living homes I have had several conversations with the seniors who live in them. In my conversations with them I am always amazed at their honest responses. Sometimes they make me laugh, sometimes they make me think “Woe! TMI! However in their senior years they have removed the “socially accepted filters” and basically without any shame or pride, just tell it as it is.
Jesus, this reminds me that we can be honest with You -- with our iniquities and with our needs. We can open up to You and cry out to You -- without any fear that You won’t listen or stop loving. You don’t reject our prayers and You don’t remove Your love. You’re the God who sees and listens and cares.
But we also can try to deceive you and deceive ourselves. We’re tempted to cover up our shame and wounds, to hide behind our fears in isolation or secrecy from what’s going on inside and behind the walls we’ve built. In trying to protect ourselves in our own way, our own strength, we’re really pulling ourselves away from You in the very places where we need You the most. If we are not real with You, we cannot receive the real help You want to give us. The only thing required on our part is to humble ourselves to turn to You and open up to You.
So You reach out. You draw us near. And You remind us that You love us and never reject us. You encourage us that You’re for us. And if God be for us, who can stand against us.
But we have to respond. We have to cry out. We have to ask for Your help and be willing to receive it. A true relationship of love with You requires that we always have the freedom from You to love You or not, to open up to You or not, to turn to You and cry out to You, and make our prayers and needs known to You or not.
I remember the last time I traveled by aircraft and I was going through the checkpoint at the airport. I showed the officer my passport and my boarding pass, waiting on the green light and ready to go through the security gate. But he asked me first, “Please lower your mask, so I can see your face.”
What a picture that is for us. You invite us to lower our mask, to let down our walls, to open our hearts and let You see us as we are -- face to Face, heart to Heart. Then as You meet us where we are and remind us who You are and whose we are, we can go through the gates that are set before us. We’re secure in Your love as we travel through our world, knowing You even as we are known.
So I let down my mask to You. I open up my heart to You. I welcome You into my morning and every moment of my day. By the mercy of Your grace and unfailing love, I can be honest with everything going on inside of me because You’ve made me unafraid and unashamed to open up and go everywhere with You -- the One who sees me and knows all about me and yet keeps on loving me and travelling with me every day of my journey. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be secure in the steadfast love of our God, who sees you and loves you and knows all about you, freeing you to be honest and open with Him about all you need, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
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My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in our life and that of our family. support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below. Thank you!