Have you thanked Him?
Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.
I had the pleasure of not just doing a “drive by” A House of Prayer in Xenia’s Freedom gathering last night but was able to settle into the worship and the topic.
And the WORSHIP team shared this song from Cory Asbury, “The Father’s House”. The Father's House - Cory Asbury (Lyrics)
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It is a great song for our FREEDOM friends, many of whom are on a new journey, a new “progression” in life. And there is a little lyric in that song that especially sticks out for me as one of those “progressing” people.
Arrival's not the end game
The journey's where you are
You never wanted perfect
You just wanted my heart
Ruminate for just a tic on that lyric, especially the part that YOU (GOD) never wanted perfect, YOU (GOD) just wanted my heart.
Often, we think we must up our game in order to have access to the Father, for the Father to notice us or accept us. Yet Cory is right, GOD doesn’t ask for perfection. He knows that is unattainable. But He does find pleasure in our progress.
God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus…
So, let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. Philippians 3:14, 15-16 (MSG)
If you have every been in the rooms of an AA meeting, you will hear this read. “We are not saints. The point is, that we are WILLING TO GROW along spiritual lines…We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.”
In Romans 12 Paul encourages PROGRESS in this way, “be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]. -Romans 12:2 (AMP)
Friends, I have heard it said that if we aren’t progressing toward what GOD desires for us, we are not then stationary, we are regressing, going backwards.
So, the encouragement today should be clear. COMMIT yourself to PROGRESSING. God is beckoning us to do so committing to helping us see WHERE that is leading.
He is looking for progress TOWARD perfection, that perfection being His Son.
But the love of God will be perfected within the one who obeys God’s Word. We can be sure that we’ve truly come to live in intimacy with God, not just by saying, “I am intimate with God,” but by walking in the footsteps of Jesus. 1 John 2:5 (TPT)
Have a BLESSED DAY!
Opportunities for Hope
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