May 3, 2024

Lift Your Head, Weary Sinner

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Lift your head weary sinner the river’s just ahead
Down the path of forgiveness salvation’s waiting there
You built a mighty fortress 10,000 burdens high
Love is here to lift you up, here to lift you high

If you’re lost and wandering
Come stumbling in like a prodigal child
See the walls start crumbling
Let the gates of glory open wide

All who’ve strayed and walked away, unspeakable things you’ve done
Fix your eyes on the mountain, let the past be dead and gone
Come all saints and sinners, you can’t outrun God
Whatever you’ve done can’t overcome the power of the blood

David Crowder Band
Writer(s): Ed Cash, David Crowder and Seth Philpott

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I remember getting lost in the woods of our hunting camp and, though it’s been a while ago, I still remember that feeling.  It was hot and, at first, it was like an adventure. We looked at the trees and different birds and soaked in the beauty.  Fast forward an hour or so and we were still going in circles…and now we were thirsty and ready to get back home.

That’s how it is when we go off course on our own…away from God and the life He has for us.  We walk in circles and hunger and thirst for something that only He can satisfy.  The awesome thing is that He is always waiting with open arms.  We are His prodigal sons and daughters.   His gates are always open.  When we are tired of wandering on our own and doing things our way, we have a place to go.

Is this you today?  Are you ready to come home?  
God is waiting!  Lay it all down at His feet.

Here are some Scriptures to cling to:

‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me,
and everything I have is yours.
But we had to celebrate and be glad,
because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found.’
Luke 15:31-32

‘I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD;
and they will be My people, and I will be their God,
for they will return to Me with their whole heart.
But in their distress they turned to the LORD God of Israel,
and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.
Jeremiah 24:7 

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Pray with me: Dear God, You are so good and so loving. You are the only constant, You are never changing.  Lord, we are tired of wandering and we are ready to come home.  Your ways are so much better than the path we have been on. We love You and praise You.  Thank You for always welcoming us back in love.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Captivating: What Does Eve Speak To Us – God’s Heart For Relationship

This book has helped me to see things in such a different way. I’ve heard many  of these concepts and teachings since I was a child but I have never looked at them from the perspective that I now am.

I had to read these few sections more than once to fully grasp what they were saying, and I’m sure I will need to revisit them again in order to understand the deeper truth. I was reading the words but they were not sinking in as much as I would have hoped they would. Like I said it took a few times; but after reading and rereading it began to sink in.  Let me explain why these concepts were difficult to grasp. In my eyes God is powerful, he is masculine, honestly the image I have of my God is far from feminine. I always understood that man bore the image of God, that man was created in his image. In my eyes “man” stood for the literal meaning of man, a male. I suppose that I never dug deeper to use the term “man” as a general meaning, man and woman. I never stopped to see my womanly traits and attributes as coming from God.

  God is relational. So are we.

God has a heart for romance. So do we.

God has a desire for intimate relationships. So do we.

God longs to love us. We long to love.

God longs to be loved. We long to be loved.

 It’s time that we embrace the heart God placed in each and every woman. A heart that is created in the image of Gods heart.

As John and Stasi say several times, we are relational beings. I know that I define myself by my relationships. Good or bad. Whether it is my husband being happy or upset with me. My children thinking that I am a wonderful mom or them thinking that I am mean because I had them go to bed early one night. It can also be the lack of a relationship by which we define ourselves.

Who is the most in-tune person that we know? God. We were designed in his image, this is why we are so in-tune with the relationships we keep. It’s not a weakness as I once thought. It is another part of our heart that is created after Gods.

Gods heart. Eves heart. Our heart.

 There is one relationship that should be held higher than any other.

 How easily do we get wrapped up in life and forget that God’s desire is to have a relationship with us. How easily do we become so caught up in pursuing other relationships that we place our relationship with God on the back-burner.  I know it’s time for me to place my relationship with God in the place He deserves. First.

 


Let’s Pray:

Father, thank You for creating our heart in your image.  Thank You for creating us to be incredibly in tune with the relations we develop.  Help us to see the strength in our hearts. Please help us to remember that our relationship with You is our first priority. You want to love us and You want to be loved by us. You want the number one place in our lives. Lord, You gave us a heart to know You and that is our true desire. Continue to teach us and to grow us Lord.  In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Your Assignment:

These sections reminded me that God created our hearts to seek Him. What is one thing you can do this week to place your relationship with God in the number one place?



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