The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Take With You Words"
I am sure you have had the experience of reading a passage of Scripture that did not seem to be there the last time you passed by that beautiful way. This happened to me yesterday.
"O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto Him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously" (Hosea 14:1-2).
"Take with you words." Wow, when did the Holy Spirit throw that in there?! :):). Of course, the command so winsomely expressed has been there for nearly three millennia. But it seemed new to me today.
"Take with you words." Something about this strikes my heart as sublimely poignant. We do that when we come to the Lord, don't we? In the new birth, we "confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus," affirming to God that we agree with Him that Christ is His Son, and that He died and rose from the dead for us (Romans 10:9-10). We walk with our Lord by words, His living and written Word formed within our hearts, and uttered by our lips in responses of praise, thanksgiving, request, intercession, confession of sin, and testimony of His grace in the Lord Jesus. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16). We walk with fellow believers by taking with us words, and we also seek to communicate God's Word to those who do not know Him, hoping they will join us in taking words to God in trusting the Lord Jesus as their Savior. "Holding forth the Word of life" (Philippians 2:16).
Certainly, this does not surprise us since One referred to as "the Word" created and sustains our existence. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made… Upholding all things by the word of His power" (John 1:3; Hebrews 1:3). Words are clearly central in the being and activity of God. They are central in our being and activity also, especially regarding our relationship with Him. So, we take with us words when we approach our Heavenly Father, again, coming to Him through the text and context of His Word, and then seeking to respond with words of love, devotion, adoration, faith, and intelligent affirmation of His truth. Indeed, we use words for their first purpose, namely, to communicate with the living and true God who Himself identifies Himself as the Word.
"Quicken (enliven) Thou me according to Thy Word" (Psalm 119:25).
We will think with our minds and speak with our mouths many words today. May our Heavenly Father grant much grace that many of them with be directed toward Him. Yes, let us determine to "come boldly unto the throne of grace" in this, the only day we have to "obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). May we take with us words as we go, words that will please and bless our Heavenly Father, and words that will fulfill the very reason for our existence as created and sustained by Christ, the Word of God.
"How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
(Psalm 119:103)
"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice."
(Psalm 55:17)
Weekly Memory Verse
"He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
(John 7:38)
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