Brothers and sisters in Christ…
God our Father, Who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has made the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Christ’s Presence shine in our hearts, giving us the light of the knowledge of the Majesty and Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we possess this treasure in vessels of clay, to show that this exceedingly great power is from God and is not our own. We are often surrounded and battered by troubles, but we never give up and quit; perplexed, but never driven to despair; persecuted, but never abandoned by our God; badly hurt at times, but never broken. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus, so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within Who keeps us safe. For we who are alive are daily being given over to death for the sake of Christ, so that the living power of the resurrection life of Jesus may be manifested in this mortal nature of ours! [2 Cor 4:6-11]
Abba Father…I understand; help me to embrace this truth in my everyday life: when I wait upon God, entreating You to reveal Your plans, Your purposes, Your will for me, it is absolutely necessary that I have prepared my heart beforehand to respond. All is for naught if I fail to respond, with an unquestioning child-like obedience, no matter what the cost. My heart attitude must be, “All that I am, Lord, belongs to You; all that I have belongs to You; all that I ever hope to be is entirely in Your hands.” Only then will I be able to truly say, and know that I mean it, “Lord, it no longer matters to me where You place me, or how. That is rather for You to consider than for me. It is enough for me, knowing that You know why You place me where I am. All that matters is that You keep my heart lovingly and joyfully joined with Your will.”
I know I am to be wholly surrendered unto God, wholly given for the blessing and salvation of souls. Father…none of my possessions belong to me; they all belong to You. You are free to do what You will with them, for all that I have has come from You; You are free to give and free to take away. I have no plans of my own; whatever plans I may have are all subject to Your plans, purposes, and will for me. I am here to do Your will, O Lord. I no longer have any privileges here in this world, because I am no longer a citizen here; You have transferred me out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. All of my privileges are at my home in Heaven, where I am a citizen. There I am privileged to walk the streets of gold, and eat those immortal fruits that grow along the river flowing from the Throne. I have no expectations from the people of this world…nothing I expect of them to be or to do for me, for they continually fail to meet my expectations. All of my expectations are from You, Lord…You have never failed me, and You never will. I have no rights here on Earth, because I am not a citizen here; I am a resident alien. Since I have no rights here, there is nothing that anyone can violate. All of my rights are as a citizen of Heaven, and those rights will never be violated. I have no honor here among the people of this world, for anything I have done that is worthy of honor was not done by me, but rather by You working through me, with me, and in me. Therefore, all the glory belongs to You alone. All of the time I have been allotted here on Earth belongs to You; I have no time of my own. You are free to use my time here as You will. I have no desires of my heart for anything this world has to offer; I have only one desire, “I desire to do Your will, O Lord, and to finish the work You have given me to do.” I have no purposes of my own for my life, no goals that I cling to. My only purpose for life is to do the good works that You Yourself have planned in advance for me to do. I have no affections for the people of this world, or for anything this world has to offer, that competes with my affection for You. My sweetest, most tender affections are reserved for You alone. I have no attractions to the people of this world, or to anything this world has to offer, that competes with my attraction to You. You alone are the choicest, most precious treasure of my heart. All of my motives for doing things, my attitude in doing them, and my disposition while doing them, is intended to bring glory to You. Enable me, Father, to have godly motives, a good attitude, and a sweet disposition in all that I do.
Abba Father, enable me by the Power of Your enabling grace to embrace this blessed life of deep and intimate personal relationship with You: my waiting upon God…watching and waiting, looking off unto You and listening for Your voice…with an unwavering child-like trust and an unreserved child-like dependence, with a joyful expectation and an excited anticipation, for You to reveal Yourself to me ever more deeply and intimately, and Your plans, Your purposes, Your will for me…SO I MAY THEN RESPOND, with an unquestioning child-like obedience, to every leading and prompting of Your Holy Spirit, cooperating with the Power of His enabling grace Who works in me both to will and to do.
In that glorious coming Day of the Lord I will proclaim, Surely You are my God; I trusted in You, and You saved me! You are my Lord; I trust You with an unwavering child-like trust! I rejoice and am filled with gladness in Your salvation! Come, children of God… let us sing joyously to our Lord; let us shout aloud to the mighty Rock of our salvation! [Isa 25:9; Ps 95:1]
Friends, brothers and sisters…
There is one absolutely necessary preparation for every living soul on the face of this Earth, for the soon coming and imminent return of Jesus Christ…the one preparation that will irrevocably determine in which neighborhood you will spend all eternity, whether in Heaven or in Hell. You must be a born-again child of God. I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s Kingdom. I tell you the
truth, no one can ever enter the Kingdom of God unless you are born of water and the
Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying you must be born again. [Jesus…John 3:3-7]
If you have never been born again,
or you are not sure whether you have been born again,
or you have been living your life as a lukewarm Christian and would now like to recommit your life and enter into a deep and intimate relationship with Christ Jesus in preparation for the soon coming marriage supper of the Lamb…
then I counsel you to get alone with God, read the solemn marriage vows you must make to become the bride of Christ and thereby be born-again, [https://preservechristianfamily.org/2019/01/21/bride-of-christ/], and with sincerity of heart from within the depths of your being, acknowledge before God, “I DO.”
Liturgy of the Hours:
Preserve Christian Family 