Part way through last week, after a reference DJ made in the commentary and amidst my cynicism toward this study and my view of self and others, I got stuck in Jeremiah 2 for a couple of days:
"[You] went far from Me and walked after emptiness and became empty"
"[You] have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to make for yourselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water"
"I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds; but you said, 'I will not serve!' "
"On every high hill and under every green tree you have lain down as a harlot"
"[You are] a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, that sniffs the wind in her passion. In the time of her heat who can turn her away?"
"Can a virgin forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet [you] have forgotten Me days without number"
Bazinga.
"Where's Emily?"
Oh, there she is: Over there on that high hill - AGAIN. Over there under that green tree - AGAIN.
"Where's Emily?"
Off pursuing what she wants, off "sniffing the wind in her passion."
"But what about her veil? And her pearls? And the ring for her husband?"
Yeah, she forgot those too.
"But how? No girl forgets her veil or her jewelry or the ring for her husband on her wedding day!"
Oh, but Emily does.
(Enter the most disgustedly sincere Cable Guy "ehhhh" here.)
Sooo after wallowing in that for a bit, my takeaway was:
But LORD, I don't want my lampstand removed! I don't want to be found unfruitful for you! I don't want to be one who whores herself around at every corner! What I want, Jesus, is to be found in you! What I want is to be enveloped by your love and to love you passionately from my core. You are my first love! And you are my last love. You are the Alpha and Omega of the love of my life!
And here is where I ended up.
Same message as always: Emily, keep abiding in me.
Now, fast forward to this week. More cynicism, more doubt, more I'm not so sure about this Revelation study but I feel obligated to participate in it, more dragging my feet about blogging.
And then this morning:
"Jesus (Yahweh-to-the-rescue) calls the disciples in Thyatira to hold onto what they have - to hold on to him and the fullness of life in him (2:25). And he calls them to reject, decisively and vigorously, the spirit of compromise. For compromising our commitment to him is spiritual adultery, and spiritual adultery leads to spiritual sickness and, eventually, to spiritual death. The question, then, is how? How do we remain loyal in the marketplace? It is not easy. How do we maintain the courage and grace to follow Jesus without compromise? [How do I maintain the courage and grace to keep myself off "every high hill and under every green tree"?]" By keeping our eyes fixed on him; by keeping his face before us. Lose sight of who he is and we lose the desire and strength to remain loyal." (p. 92)
Emily, abide. How many times do I have to remind you? Abide, abide, abide! Keep your eyes fixed on me. It's the only way to overcome "hospitality service" and their "sweet and strong" temptation. It's the only way to avoid ending up on another high hill or under another green tree. Keep your eyes fixed on me, and together we'll navigate life. No compromise - only "first love" loyalty.
Jesus' call is clear: "To what you have, hold fast until I come."
"Lose sight of who He is and we lose the desire and strength to remain loyal." (p. 92)
ReplyDeleteThis is too true to even make a sarcastic pun about it. When I'm in His throneroom, not cell in my body lacks the desire and strength to remain loyal, but the second I leave that place my short term memory loss kicks in, and I find myself serving other masters, enslaving myself to fruitless pursuits.
Remain in my love, remain in my sight, remain in me. Abide, abide, abide.
Good word sister.
Thanks for sharing em...i encourage you to die to yourself...through abiding in Him. As you encourage me to do that when I am exhausted, i will do the same for you. abide in Christ. Seek Him, find Him at all costs.
ReplyDeleteI was laughing...as a way to cope while reading your post, the "Where is Emily" part, only because I too can relate with that. Where is Cassi...oh you know, stressing about things that do not matter, where is cassi, oh busying herself with grading and school projects, where is cassi, oh catching up on modern family and all the other shows that i enjoy...and I too need to remain, to die to my other masters and just seek.
As I type this I am reminded of a Psalm and a song, although technically they are synonymous...
As the deer panteth forth the water so my soul longeth after thee.
You alone are my hearts desire and I long to worship thee.
You alone are my strength my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my hearts desire and I long to worship thee.
Abide, abide, abide! Meve, meve, meve!
ReplyDeletemevw: wait, abide, rest, dwell.
That's a pretty deep and broad range of meanings. Man, I love words.
Just sit with Me. Let Me be the place you hang out, your default, your go-to, your resting place.
After reading about your post I'm reminded back to my anatomy classes and how intricate the heart beat is and how every single cell in the heart works together (well there are different nodes working in harmony due to their pumping action... neither here nor there). I was told in this class that if you were to cut piece off a beating heart that that piece would begin to beat to its own rhythm, it is still beating, the heart from which it was torn is still beating, but they are on separate rhythms. If you separate those two pieces over a great distance their beat would continue to be out of sync. Even if you put them on opposite sides of the globe they would beat differently.
ReplyDeleteUntil they are touched to each other, reunited in the drawing near (almost synaptic), they begin to beat together again. How true is it when we stray away from our Father, from being near his heart, do we begin to beat to what we think is important and what consumes us away from his heart. When those two pieces are reunited it is a celebration as they begin to beat again as one!
Thanks Lord for ALWAYS accepting me, and allowing me to draw near, my little piece of heart is broken, battered, tired, and out of sync, quivering away from you. But you allow me back to beat with you.
Thanks Lord!