And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Path of Your Commands
I run in the path of your commands,
for you have broadened my understanding.
Psalm 119:32
David was a man who loved God with all his heart and mind and strength. His motivations honoured God, his innermost thoughts delighted God, and the fruit of his life and the quality of his actions mirrored the bounty of his very being. It all came from a heart that overflowed with loving loyalty towards God; and honestly, when one truly gets to know God, how can one not love Him?
David proclaimed to God that he ran in the path of His commands. It implies a singular pathway through the complexity of who God is and the diversity of His principles; many commands yet one pathway. That pathway I like to think of as love; Love that is strong, unswervingly obedient, forever loyal, ever seeking to find that special pocket in God’s heart where you know that He is absolutely delighted.
Love is the basic element that colours all others. It is the principle that moves us to obey God and to care for others. Love is not soppy and wishy-washy. It is principled, it is wise, it is strong, it is kind, it is compassionate, it is merciful, it is intolerant of sin and wickedness, it thinks of ways to bring God’s joy into the lives of others.
Love is about action. It is not simply a sentiment. It is about thoughtfulness. You actually have to think through how you are going to bless someone else. That might mean calling them up to say, “Hey, I was thinking about you. How are you going?” It might mean taking someone out to lunch. It could mean turning someone away from wrongdoing by confronting them about it. It could mean baking someone some cookies or any endless number of things.
It is God’s boundless love which makes him the perfect God that He is. Everything that God does is motivated by love – love for people, love for creation and love of righteousness. His ways may sometimes seem strange to us, yet He Himself promises and assures us that all His thoughts towards us are for our good, to give us a hope and a future. His love is expressed in a spectrum ranging from kindly-gentle affection to tough-on-you training. Sometimes God showers us with favourable circumstances. Sometimes he puts the squeeze and press on us to extract the best of who we are. Love is the prism through which all the colours of God’s character shine through – a rainbow painted with innumerable hues of boundless goodness and perfection
The Kimono Collection
The Kimono Collection
Kimonos are traditional Japanese wear, typically worn to celebrate special events or festivals. The richest kimonos are made of pure silk and are finely-crafted garments. Such elegance reminds me of scriptures encouraging us to adorn ourselves with robes of righteousness.
Principles:
• Robes of righteousness are of great beauty
• Kimonos can take an hour to put on – patience beautifies
• Righteousness is the fashion of queens
• The gorgeous sash (obi) ‘seals’ the kimono – love completes all other virtues
Scriptures
• Take away the filthy garments from him …See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes - Zech 3:4
• I put on righteousness, and it clothed me - Job 29:14
• Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments - Isa 52:1
• Put on the Lord Jesus Christ - Rom 13:14
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another … But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
Col 3:12-15
The Swan
The Swan
Life was ugly
Love flew away
But look, look!
I am a swan today
Life was lonely
I was sad, lost
Now see, behold!
My snowy wings soft
Kindness found me
She gave me wings
Granted me beauty
And a song to sing
Though seasons came
Frosty and cold
I flowered in spring
O look, behold!
I am lovely
O, I am me
This still pond mirrors
Beauty destined to be
Life was ugly
Love flew away
O look! Behold!
I am a swan today
©NnekaEdwards
Floating
Floating
Love is light
Like wings that flutter
Like hearts that float
To one another
There is joy
And there is colour
See blue and green
Know spring and summer
The breath of God
Has blown you to me
We’ll touch the sky
Alight where love leads
Love is light
Like hearts that flutter
You are his gift
There is no other
Wings that sail
That chase tomorrow
Now I’ve found you
The best will follow
©Nneka Edwards 2010
Joie Journal: Our Crowning Moment
Dear Journal:
Sometimes you have to muse and wonder. What is the point of it all? – the personal crises, the pain, the wounds, the trouble, the distress. I know that in the Psalms it says that God will purify us like gold refined in a furnace seven times over. God is looking for absolute purity, God-glowing character and gem-studded personality. He wants nothing less than absolute excellence in those of us who have invited Him into our heart. So, into the furnace He places us, until our karat qualities shine through like gold finery adorning a gorgeous bride.
Yes, we are the Bride of Christ – all who believe in Jesus and in the hope of his Return. The Book of Revelation says that Jesus is returning for a Bride without spot or wrinkle – with no moral blemishes or ethical defects. So I need to do my part, and I count on my brothers and sisters to do theirs. Every step we take towards becoming Christ-like is a step closer to our crowning moment, when we step into Eternity and share the governance of the universe with the Son of God; and that’s what personal trial is all about. It is God urging the Bride to make herself ready.
So while circumstances seem to scar my soul, in the invisible realm the Holy Spirit is actually beautifying, refining, perfecting … for the great Day is drawing near.
Calling the End Closer
O God,
I worship You and adore You. I look back over the years and see the pattern of your working in my life. I see you crafting into me wisdom, patience, kindness, strength, faith and all the perfection of who You are. I thank you for the trials. I thank you in the trials. I look to Jesus, the author and finisher of my Faith, so that I will not grow weary. I eagerly anticipate Your Return, O God. By Your grace and by Your grace alone, I will become who you have designed me to be. I throw open the windows of my heart to you. I give you all that I am – my hopes, my strengths, my weaknesses, my everything.
Perfect me God. I give you only one hundred percent effort. I love you, so I set my heart to do what pleases You. I choose to obey you because of your great kindness towards me, and because of your great love. You loved me first, so I love you. Let your righteousness spill over from my heart. Let there be a bounty of goodness and beauty overflowing from within. It is easy to love you God because you are perfect, but help me God to love my brother and sisters as I should. Help me to love my neighbour as I love myself. Teach me to even appreciate myself the way You appreciate me. Cause all of your sons and daughters to live a life of excellence. We eagerly anticipate Your Return. Yes, the Bride says “Come!” Hasten your steps towards the End of Time. Do not delay! The Spirit says, “Come!” And the Bride says, “Come!”
Joie de Lens - The Epilogue
Well, December 2010 brings to a close this chapter called Joie de Lens. My prayer is that this blog has helped pour faith, hope, joy and strength into the hearts of all those who have come to drink of the fountains and springs penned here. Each month presents and explains principles and personal tools which I have found effective in dealing with personal crises. These times and seasons are growing darker, but God’s grace abounds all the more. It is in God Himself and in spending time in His presence that we find the true well of life, and the answer to all the perplexity which seeks to defy us in this climactic period of human history. It is the very breath of God within our hearts and souls, the rich speaking of God into our lives, which promises that we will come through stronger, tougher, wiser. So, let God pen your tale, let God design your pathway, let God inscribe His perfect Word into your heart. For in this there is hope that will never fade. May God richly and kindly bless you.
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