Sue O'Donnell 17.01.21
“We are His household, as long as we fearlessly maintain the hope in which we glory. That is why, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘If only you would listen to Him today! Do not harden our hearts...’” (Hebrews 3 v 6, 7 TNJB)
Praying, praising,
Upholding, uplifting,
Sustaining, strengthening,
Creating, re-creating,
Come, cleansing Spirit,
Whining wind,
Sweeping away dross,
Cleaning out corners,
Erasing faults.
Come, refreshing Spirit,
Rushing water,
Covering failings,
Surging energy,
Sterilising stains.
“As the chosen of God, then, the holy people whom He loves, You are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3 v 12 TNJB)
Come, flaming Spirit,
Leaping higher,
Warming hearts,
Stirring up faith.
Redeeming, renewing,
Reforming, enlightening,
Urging, merging,
Underlining, emboldening.
Be the call of the Trinity,
Making us holy.
Embracing with love
Introducing us to Jesus.
Ever working to birth our friendship.
Love stripping away our stupidity,
Carelessness, inadequacy,
Love suffering our inability, inferiority,
Wanting to make life happy.
“A man suffering from a virulent skin disease came to Him and pleaded on his knees saying, ‘If You are willing, You can cleanse me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out His hand, touched him and said to him, ‘I am willing. Be cleansed.’ And at once the skin disease left him and he was
cleansed.” (Mark 1 v 40, 41, 42 TNJB)
Distinctive in Your identity,
You invite us to be
The very best we can be
A holy personality.
‘This is an impossibility’.
We say, excuses at the ready.
But reflect upon this business of holiness,
To see we have advocacy at hand
And counsel given wisely.
We learn truth which is universal,
Incontrovertible in Christ Jesus.
Become absorbent in His way.
Pray and ask to change finally
Anything offensive to holiness.
Goodness is the victory
When possessed by Jesus.
“Bear with one another; forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, put on love, the perfect bond.”
(Colossians 3 v 13, 14 TNJB)
A holy goodness that blesses many
As well as our identity.
Holiness bonds the human family
Taking the strain of life together.
Turning to Jesus as our Healer,
Our Brother entirely holy,
Filled by this very Spirit,
The Fixer, the Mender, the Enabler.
Together with our Father of mercy,
The holy Three in One, a unity
Perfection of love’s harmony,
Reach out for us.
This is holiness.
Us safely encompassed as we enter
The centre of all love.
“We are well aware that all of us have knowledge, but while knowledge puffs up, love is what builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8 v 1)
“Let the Word of Christ in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other and advise each other, in all wisdom.” (Colossians 3 v 16 TNJB)
Come, Holy Spirit of love, that “The peace of Christ reigns in our hearts, because it is for this we were called together in one body.” (Colossians 3 v 15 TNJB) And please help us to be appreciatively grateful.
May we express our gratitude in thought, word and action. Let us make every effort to show our love for the Trinity as best we can, never losing heart.
“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” (Psalm 31 v 24) Be the source of all the hope we place in the Lord Jesus as Saviour, as Divine Healer.
We do need rescuing from our fallen state. We do need Your hand upon us, Holy Spirit Lord, for You are holy love’s power in all its godly impact and influence. You are our instruction to believe in, trust and hope in all
the Lord Jesus accomplishes.
Our Saviour Brother is not only true love manifest, He personifies Your power, the power we need to become holy, the power we need to live by, honour and delight in. For Jesus, the Christ, is our Redeemer Saviour, all
praise ever be.
“And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD,” (Isaiah 11 v 2 NLT) the correct fear
of offending our Father. We need to share the virtues so prevalent in Christ Jesus. Please help us to work for this.
What a difference to life when we do live virtuously. “Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return...singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be
filled with joy and gladness.” (Isaiah 35 v 10 NLT)
This is the result of Your work, Holy Spirit, Purifier and Sanctifier. All believers in the salvation won for us by the Lord Jesus, esteem and praise You. Ever let us thank You for Your influence.
You bring the love of the Lord Jesus, alive in us. “You word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119 v 105 NLT), helping us to tell right from wrong, the good from the bad. We see all the good in the Lord Jesus.
“Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they walk in the light of Your presence, LORD. They rejoice all day long in Your wonderful reputation. They exult in Your righteousness,”
(Psalm 89 v 15, 16 NLT) that which the Lord Jesus wins for us.
Please help us to keep our eyes fixed firmly on His example, teaching and preaching. He is our life of holiness as formed, shaped, sustained and maintained by You. “You are their glorious strength. It pleases You to
make us strong.” (v 17)
Oh how great is our need of You, Spirit of love, our Advocate, the One to draw us ever closer to the One we must recognise and adhere to as the Word of life, “Look at My Servant, whom I strengthen. He is My chosen One who pleases Me. I have put My Spirit upon Him. He will bring justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42 v 1 NLT)
It is You, Holy Spirit, the One who animates all of the Lord Jesus’ life of love worked out in service, so as to delight and honour our Father, it is You who empowers holiness.
We need You too! You teach us by the example of the Lord Jesus. We see how even though He was God’s Son “...learned obedience from the things He suffered.” (Hebrews 5 v 8 NLT) What a lesson for us!
Our Lord, the Master, is “...a perfect Leader, fit to bring us into our salvation.” (based on Hebrews 2 v 10 NLT) We are richly blessed by His presence and it is You who makes this happen. Thank, You.
Thank You for ensuring we realise the full implication of salvation. “For only as a human being could He die and only by dying could He break the power of the devil who had the power of death.” (v 14)
What a blessing to no longer have to fear death. You teach us to see death as a new beginning, the entry to an eternal existence of peace, gifting beyond anything we have yet experienced or could ever imagine.
The Lord Jesus is our living hope, Through You, He speaks with us, He seeks us, He befriends us, He leads us home to heaven. He completes the work of salvation; taking death from an ending to a beginning.
Thank You for showing us how the Lord Jesus manifests our Father’s love and mercy throughout His life and death, in words and deeds, signs and wonders, marvels and miracles, all seen and heard because You descend
upon us.
How blessed we are in the glorious riches of salvation, our freedom from sin and death as won for us by the Lord Jesus, raising us up to life eternal. You are the Spirit of hope and we praise You.
“Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence ... they never stop producing fruit,” (Jeremiah 17 v 7, 8 NLT) that which is the fruit of love.
“What joy for those who strength comes from the LORD, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage...” (Psalm 84 v 5 NLT) This is our experience in You, through You, Holy Spirit, Lord. How profoundly blessed
we are by Your involvement in our life.
“For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory,” (Psalm 84 v 11 NLT) through the Lord Jesus. But we would have none of this experience without You, Holy Spirit, Life Giver,
Faith Builder, Joy Enhancer.
“The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” (Cont) Therefore we need You daily. “No one who trusts in You will ever be disgraced,” (Psalm 25 v 3 NLT) because You ensure we belong to our Saviour.
For all that You are, for all that You do, for all that You teach, for all that You accomplish with us, devoting us to the life of love the Lord Jesus offers us. Lord and Sanctifier, truly I praise and thank You from the heart of love which I hope will always seek Your perfection. Thank You for any progress so far.
Please keep me striving “ ‘I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify
them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say ‘These are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God’.” (Zechariah 13 v 19 NLT)
I say You are my Lord, together with my Father the Deliverer, the Lord Jesus, my Saviour and Brother.
Together as a Trinity, I come before You to worship. Thank You for being the power which enables this. I am blessed. Please continue to be a light on my journey homewards. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
HOPE
TRINITY
