A Gracefull Place

I read this this evening and it really spoke to me, and to one of my daughters as well.  This is from Dialogues with God by Frances J. Roberts.

O My child,

          There is a place of quiet rest,

              Near to the heart of God.

          A place where sin cannot molest,

            Near to the heart of God.

                                      ~McAfee

Come, Come often.

       Come seeking.  Come needing.

Wait not until ye may bring Me a gift.

       Come because ye love Me.

Come knowing that I have loved thee first,

       even while ye were yet in trespasses and sins.

       Come asking no questions.

       Come speaking no words.

Come because I love you.

Come because I desire thy fellowship

          more than thou canst know.

       Ye seek to serve Me

      and fret because of thy limited service.

No…no…no.

Can ye never learn the lesson I sought to teach Martha?

Can ye never be content to sit as Mary?

       Better thy feet were cut off

       than that they carry thee outside the circle of communion.

Ye consider the usefulness of thy life.

       Thou shouldst have but one ambition—

       to love Me and to be near Me.

       Let Me take care of all the rest.

Let Me arrange the pattern of thy life.

Let Me direct thy service,

       and it shall be not a service of dead works and self-effort,

       but an overflow of divine love.

This is My Father’s work.

       I do not require and have not requested thy work.

       Nay, but ye become a hindrance

             when ye set about to work for Me thus.

Set thy heart to be near Me.  Live close to My heart.

Look upon My face.

       I will satisfy thee completely.

       I will keep thee from anxiety.

       I will hearl all they diseases.

       I will cause My face to shine upon thee,

and thou shalt be glad.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

May our one ambition today and every day be to love Him and be near Him!

A few notes first–don’t forget the great bargain going on at Hands and Hearts!  This is only good until Friday (through Friday, I believe) and it benefits a family to be able to support themselves and  retain the flexibility the dad needs with Noah’s health challenges.

And if you’re playing the "Seven Sisters Trivia game", that link is HERE!

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I have just recently found Frances Roberts.  According to what I’ve read, she has written since the late 60s.   I’ve been a Christian for 30 years and am still learning new things and new-to-me authors whose writings are incredibly rich and deep.

I had bought a devotional for a friend’s daughter for Christmas.   I had another one in mind, and then this one caught my eye–Come Away My Beloved.    This is a devotional that has selections from several of her books.  They truly are "one minute devotionals"–to read!    You will chew on their truths for the rest of the day, though!

I liked what I saw so well, that I bought myself one as well!  Only I bought the journal version (since I like to respond to what I read).    It has been so convicting–a gentle conviction that doesn’t make you feel like a total wretch, but a "How could I miss this because I love Him so?  because He loves ME so?" feeling.

 She has other books listed at Christianbook and they ALL look good!  I recently also bought Dialogues with God and the book Come Away My Beloved.  (There are other versions available.)

Today was my second day reading Dialogues with God.   It is written as if God is talking directly to you.  Sometimes it is a prayer from you to God.    I want to quote a little to give you a taste of this rich treasure!

Psalm of Praise

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.  How unsearchable are His mercies and His ways past finding out.

     For He found me in a waste-howling wilderness;

     He led me by His hand; He brought me out; yea,

     He hath brought me into a large place.

     He set His love upon me and

     caused His face to shine upon me.

     Yea, He hath come as a flood.

     With torrents of blessing He caused my heart to overflow.

Surely, in the daytime

     He hath been as an encompassing cloud,

and in the nighttime

     His Spirit hath illuminated the darkness as a fiery pillar.

Yea, in Thy presence darkness fleeth away,

     faith is swallowed up in sight,

     and doubt is dispelled as hoarfrost before sunlight.

     Heaven is Thy throne, and earth is Thy footstool,

yet hast Thou deigned to make Thine abode within

       tabernacles of clay!

This thought is too great for me, and how can my heart receive it?

That Thou are preparing heavenly mansions for my habitation,

     this my mind can understand.

But that Thou, the Almighty God

     who filleth and ordereth the vast universe of earth,

          and of heaven,

should stoop to fill my frail cup with Thy divine effulgence–

     this delights my soul,

     but my thoughts cannot grasp it.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Oh!  Yes, how incomprehensible that the Creator of the universe, the Sovereign Almighty God, should "stoop to fill my frail cup" with His divine splendor, brilliance, radiance……that He desires to make His habitation in the hearts of the vessels of clay He has made…..oh, it makes me realize the depth of His love!  The greatness of His sacrifice to restore fellowship with me, with you, with all of mankind who will heed His call!

Here are a few selections from the devotional "Come Away My Beloved":

Praise Transforms

In everything give thanks.  1 Thes. 5:18

Rejoice in Me always, for as you rejoice and give thanks, you release heaven’s treasures and shower upon your head the blessings of a delighted Father.  Nothing so thoroughly delights the Father’s heart as the praises of His children.

For praise inclines the heart toward gratitude, and gratitude nurtures contentment, and you may know for a certainty that no fruit ever appears on the tree of discontent.

So never cease in your praising, for in the midst of it I will manifest Myself.  Praise will transform the humblest dwelling to a hallowed haven.

(From On the Highroad of Surrender)

The Comfort of My Presence

For thou wilt light my candle:  the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness

….By my God have I leaped over a wall.  Psalm 18:28-29

More than all the comforts of the world, I want you to know the comfort of My presence.

Many dangers beset your path, but I shall keep you if you trust in Me.  Darkness presses you, and doubts arise, but the light of My Holy Spirit ever burns within your heart to cheer you and encourage you to go on, yes, to go on knowing surely I will bring you out.

(From On the Highroad of Surrender)

I am finding these books ministering deeply to my soul.

And if I may recommend one more…..    I found A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie through Ann Voskamp’s blog a few weeks ago and ordered it immediately—it has been well worth the money!   (You won’t find tons of shoes or purses or jewelry in my closet, but you WILL find MANY books, sometimes doubled up on my shelves!  Ah, those are my true treasures! )

From this morning’s selection:

"O thou to whom I owe the gift of this day’s life, give to me also, I beseech Thee, the spirit to use it as I ought.  Forbid that I should stain the brightness of the morning with any evil thought or darken the noontide with any shameful deed.  Let Thy Holy Spirit breathe into my heart today all pure and heavenly desires.  Let Thy truth inform my mind.  Let Thy justice and righteousness make a throne within me and rule my errant will.  Let Christ be formed in me, and let me learn of Him all lowliness of heart, all gentleness of bearing, all modesty of speech, all helpfulness of action, and promptness in the doing of my Father’s will."

I used to shy away from "prewritten prayers".    As if my spontaneous (read: sporadic!) prayers were more spiritual!

Truly we need to talk to our Father using our own words, yes, but there is nothing wrong with making the prayers of others our own.   When we find words to express what our heart can’t put into words, we can pray them back to Him.   This is what we do when we pray Scripture.  (Which I am also learning to do more and more of.)

A Christian of 30 years should be a seasoned pray-er, one would think.   But alas!   Our hectic and busy culture leaves little room for quietness of soul and stillness before God.  We are taught doctrine, theology, Bible study, memorization…….but true prayer, birthed in humility of soul seems to be less and less emphasized in our Western churches–we act as if we could make it on our own!   We pray at God, giving Him our "laundry list" of needs and wants, but rarely do we truly get His mind and heart about what we pray for, nor do we spend time just worshiping Him, basking in His presence He paid so dearly to give us. 

As I’ve said before, we wouldn’t have much of a relationship with our husbands (or anyone!) if it were reduced to a list of our needs and no time to just connect hearts.   Or just be together without words. 

I pray that as I share my journey to learn true prayer, you might be blessed and enriched.  

These books are a glorious start!

Won’t you spend some time just soaking in His presence today?

A season of quietness here…..my Father has been speaking to my heart in quiet ways.  

I have been asking a question……many times over my 30+ years of walking with Him, but really, truly, wanting to know…..

How do I pray?  I mean, really, truly, touch-the-heart-of-God pray?

He’s been answering.  Not a 1-2-3 and you’re done formula.  For God doesn’t work in formulas.

He works with hearts.  Humble, broken, yielded, trusting-in-Him-alone hearts.

Probably one of the biggest things we pray for and about is the salvation of the lost and getting along with hard-to-love people (both saved and not!)

I just want to share a few thoughts from Michael Catt’s book, The Power of Persistence.  

"William Law said, ‘There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him.’ "

"Again, there is nothing that will make us love the lost like praying for them.  We can’t reach out until we reach up.  When Isaiah saw the Lord, he was broken and burdened.  The only way we will keep a passionate heart for evangelism is if our eyes are fixed on the Lord, high and lifted up."

"I repeat again because it is so true:  there is nothing that will make us love people like praying for them.  Prayer is not conquering God’s reluctance; it’s laying hold of God’s willingness."

"We will impact the world with the gospel when we quit depending on programs, methods, and promotion.  The salvation of the lost is not even dependent on a well-organized missions organization.  The world is looking for people with integrity in their lives and love in their hearts.  They will know we are Christians (and will want to know why we are different) when we love one another."

Are you struggling with loving someone?  Are you discouraged about someone who seems closed to the Gospel?

Pray for them!  Pray from your heart and pray the Scriptures. 

I’ll be sharing more in the coming days of my journey…….

What path am I walking?  

"Lowliness is a love of nothingness.  When we willfully give everything to Jesus, we are left with nothing.  God keeps taking away and taking away until the only thing we have left is God!"

~From "The Heart of the King" by Ron Auch

Some thoughts from "The Satisfied Heart" by Ruth Myers, from Day 9, "He Draws Me Near":

"Because you are a special treasure to God, He is working to draw you into a deeper love for Him–away from any idols in your life, away from rival interests, away from giving first place to His good gifts instead of to Him….

"Every hour since you first met Him, He has been pursuing you, seeking to draw you closer….as a bridegroom His bride.  He wants you near.

"And how does He draw us?

"I believe He grants all of us certain love-gifts that help us move closer to Him and know Him better.  Five of these stand out to me as foundational to our love relationships with Him.

"The first love-gift is His Word, where we find out most beautiful and comprehensive portrait of Him.  As we take time to read and listen, He keeps telling us there–from cover to cover and in a multitude of ways–not only that He loves us, but also how and why and how much."

"Another of God’s love-gifts–His basic provisions to help us know Him better–is His indwelling presence through the Holy Spirit.  As we feed on God’s Word, the Spirit empowers us to see and understand the Lord and His love.  He takes the truths about Jesus and makes them real to us in the core of our being, in the holy sanctuary deep within us.  As a result, our knowledge of the Lord is more intimate than our knowledge of anyone else…..The Spirit Himself fills our hearts with God’s love (Romans 5:5) so that it satisfies us and flows out to others."

"The third love-gift that helps usknow God and His love better is the body of Christ—other believers He places in our lives……no one is a perfect channel of God’s love.  But we can also see the Lord in one another if we want to.  We can choose to concentrate on Christ in them, making their strengths our major focus, rather than their flaws and failures.  As we behold Christ in one another, He draws us closer to Himself."

"The fourth basic provision, or love-gift, is simply the circumstances of daily life.  God wants to enrich us through knowing Him better and becoming more like Him.  To this end He arranges our days with the proper mixture of joys and trials, gains and losses, pleasure and pain.  He holds our lives in the hollow of His hand, and into that place of security He brings the blessings and troubles we need……"

"These love-gifts–God’s Word, His Spirit, other believers, and the circumstances He allows or sends—draw us closer to Him.  They help us stay on the path of obedience, which I think of as the fifth love-gift that helps us know God better. We can run through life with the Lord only when we choose His paths–the paths where He manifests His presence.  He won’t run with us on paths of disobedience.  It’s not that He’ll forsake us, even as the sun does not forsake the earth when night falls or when thick clouds roll in.  But if we aren’t walking in His ways, God’s presence won’t be real to us.  We won’t enjoy the privilege of prayer (another love-gift) the way He desires; we won’t know His warm, glad companionship."

"Running with God also includes running with perseverance the course marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1).  We’re running with One whose earthly race ended in a cross, and our own path includes the fellowship of His sufferings.  This includes doing the difficult tasks He sends our way.  I may fantasize that just around the corner life will become easy–just as soon as this or that particular commitment is over, this deadline met, this job done, and on and on.  But according to Luke 9:23, will the day come when I won’t have to deny myself to follow Him?

"Do I even want such a day to come?  My heart has been stirred by Phillips Brooks’ poem:

Be strong.

We are not here to play, to dream, to drift.

We have hard work to do, and loads to lift.

Shun not the struggle; face it.  ‘Tis God’s gift."

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

I have not always been on this path, where God makes His presence known.   He is always there.  I am not. 

It is my choice.

But only one choice leads to refreshment and enjoyment of Him.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

O God, I have felt far from You–yet You are there.

It is me that has chosen not to walk the path where Your presence is manifested. 

Because that path hurts, Lord.  It hurts down deep.

Yet–it is the path of healing, because You are there.  You are the Great Physician of my soul.

I choose….I choose Your path, Your ways.

I choose….to dwell on You, Your loveliness, Your beauty, Your Truth….so that I can know You intimately–more intimately than anyone or anything else.  

(For what I meditate upon will determine how much and with what–or whom– I will become intimate.)

Draw me….near to Your side…into a deeper, more intimate love.

I love You, my Lord, my Heavenly Bridegroom~

And Lover of my soul.