Cradled by Grace.

Months ago the Lord spoke His grace over me, and He 

reminded me of His encouragement this morning..

In the midst of my fall, the Lord whispered in my ear..

            “You have to realize that when you fall down I am there

             and I pick you up and carry you. But, when I carry you,

             we together are still moving forward. When you are strong

             enough to stand, not only did I never leave you, but you

             are not in the same place you were when you fell, and I

             designed it that way. So when you mess up, you don’t have

             to start over. When you’re ready to stand you don’t even

             have to start where you left off because I carried you and

             we kept going. Know that when you do stand, not only are

             you not in the same place that you fell, but you got further

             when I carried you than if you would have walked on

             your own..”

The Lord is so good. I love knowing that no matter what I face, His grace is sufficient for me. Even in my weakness, the God of the universe is FOR ME, and cradles me in His arms..

-kf.

The Determination To Serve

“The Son of Man did not come to be served,

but to serve..” –Matthew 20:28

Jesus also said, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s – “… ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We somehow have the idea that a person called to ministry is called to be different and above other people. But according to Christ, he is called to be a “doormat” for others—called to be their spiritual leader, but never their superior. Paul said, “I know how to be abased…” (Philippians 4:12). Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will quickly be defeated and brokenhearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of infratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingraditude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.

Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his determination to serve others. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man…” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, no matter how badly others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same degree of spite and hatred with which he had treated Jesus Christ. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust out determination to serve others for His sake.

- My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers

Hands.

Psalm 143

"Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy;
in Your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
Do not bring Your servant into judgment,
fo no one living is righteous before You.
The enemy pursues me, he crushed me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead.
So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.
I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all Your works and
consider what Your hands have done.
I spread out my hands to You;
I thirst for You like a parched land.
Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those
who go down to the pit.
Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in You.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in You.
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God;
may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
For Your Name's sake, Lord, preserve my life;
in Your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
In Your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes, for I am Your servant."


Man this is good. This is something that I have been meditating on and finding rest in; it truly is beautiful. It describes life. Period. The enemies of life, the trials. The long days, and His unfailing love. But I love that through the hardship and in the midst of plain ole hell on Earth, David ends by saying, "Lord I'm Your servant." I trust you God.. Your love never fails.. preserve my life.. I am Your servant.

I want to serve. That is one of my main goals this year-- to become an image of Christ through servanthood. I want to lay my life out for those around me, but I want it to just be an instinct. I don't want to have to think about it; I want to come to the point where I serve without even meaning to. I want to be a servant of the Lord.

"I meditate on all Your works and consider what Your hands have done.

I spread out my hands to You; I thirst for You like a parched land."

Take these hands of mine and make them clean. God, no matter where I am, what I'm going through, or who I'm with. Use my hands to bring Your glory.

-kf