Aches and Praise Six Hundred & Sixty Six

Posted on 2024-06-14 in English |

June 14, 2024
 
 
Dear friends,  
 

Today is a great day to thank the Lord for who He is and for how much He loves us. Karen and I are very thankful for the family that He has given us. In recent weeks, we’ve had the joy of seeing our four adult children and our six grandchildren. On Tuesday, our youngest daughter, Bethany, celebrated her second anniversary of marriage to Jon. In a recent edition of his blog, Jon wrote:

“Ì recently worshiped at Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, and heard Pastor Ryan Fullerton expound on this passage from Matthew 9. It encouraged my soul, and I encourage you to take a listen too. In his words, “Your and my greatest need is to actually know God, to actually have the reality of God vital in our own lives. And this happens as he’s pursued! We far too often have not because we ask not. And here, these blind men…show us pursuing Jesus is…something you cry out for until you have.

Hundreds of years prior, this prayer was on the lips of another ancient Hebrew. In Psalm 123, we read:

To you I lift up my eyes,
    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as the eyes of servants
    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he has mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough
    of the scorn of those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of the proud.

God is merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Nevertheless, he is seeking ‘seekers’ – those who will pursue him in urgent, desperate, and persevering faith.”

Let’s determine to live in the light of God’s Word, trusting Him to guide us as we walk with Him.

Scripture for the weekend: “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.” Psalm 126:5 (NASB)

Thought for the weekend: “The basic conviction of a Christian is that God intends good for us and that he will get his way in us.” – Eugene Peterson

 

By His grace,
 

Steve

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