WATCHWORD:
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.1 Peter 5:7
We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3: 20
Meditation:
Take Time
- Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek. - Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see. - Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word. - Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.
Don’t you love that hymn? Take Time to be Holy. How do we do that? Does that simply mean take time to be with the Lord, to follow the Lord, during those times when you think about it? The word Holy does not mean to be a sweet, approachable, generous, loving, easy to get along with soul. Although it could mean so many of those things. Holy means set apart for God’s use.
How do we do that? How do we, you and me, find ourselves ‘set apart for God’s use’? I don’t know how to answer that question but I think the answer must rest with the first two words of that hymn, Take time. Take time with God. Spend time in His word. Focus your mind and heart on Him. Informal, casual conversations with Him are priceless.
Taking time can be hard. It requires discipline. Friends call, dogs bark, deadlines scream at you, commitments you have made come due. It comes back to priorities. What’s important to you? Do you guard the time with God, protect it from every assault, then insulate yourself? Taking time to be holy, requires whole blocks of time set aside for communication with God, maybe even in the course of simply living your life.
The benefits of this practice are limitless. You experience a nearness to the Lord that gives you strength in your faith and you find yourself calm and at peace. Not only that but you open yourself to receive many blessings. You become clean, and more receptive to the murmurings of your Holy Spirit. And you have a deeper understanding of how the Holy Spirit can do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine.
Living by faith and not by sight takes on a whole new meaning. So be it.
Passover:
Today is Passover. The story of Passover is told in the book of Exodus, Chapter 12. According to the Hebrew Bible, God instructed Moses to take his people out of enslavement in Egypt. When Pharaoh refused Moses, God unleashed 10 plagues on the Egyptian’s. With each plague God told Pharaoh “Let my people go” until he finally released the last and the worst of all the plagues, the death of the first born. During the 10th plague, God commanded the Israelites to smear the blood of a lamb or goat on the doorpost of Israelites homes, so they would be passed over, and not touched by the plague.
A Prayer For Holiness Of Heart:
Dear Heavenly Father, You are a holy God and I desire to be holy too. Set apart unto You, and living my life in a manner that is worthy of You and pleasing to You. Search my heart I pray, and if there is any cherished sin lurking within, I ask that You would search it out and destroy it, for I know that only the one that has clean hands and a pure heart may stand in Your presence. Purify my heart, cleanse my inner thoughts and examine the very motives behind my acts and attitudes, for I desire to live in holiness of heart. If there is anything that is displeasing to You in my life, I ask that in Your grace You would root it out, so that I may live in Godly holiness all the days of my life, clothed in Christ’s righteousness, separated unto You and walking in Godly love. This I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.
