“Blessed is the One Who Comes” 3-29-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let me be centered in Your will; let Your will be centered in me. … “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your home is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord’ ” (Matthew 23:37-39). Lord Jesus, do You lament over my city as You did over Jerusalem? Do You lament over my heart as You did over theirs? Your heart’s desire is that we would turn to You, trusting in the wisdom of Your ways and trusting in the nature of Your heart. You long to gather us close, keep us safe, and nurture us to grow up into maturity as the sons and daughters of God You’ve created us and called us to be. But so often our eyes are blind to the fullness of Your truth and our hearts are hardened to the depths of Your love. We tend to turn away from You and toward ourselves, rebelling against Your ways and embracing the ways of the world around us. And Your heart breaks, because You already see the destruction and desolation to come. We cannot truly see You until we see our need of You. If we think we have no sin, we have no need of a Savior. If we think we have all the wisdom we need to live well in our world, we have no need of the only wise King whose wisdom is from above. If we think we have no wounds or bondage that hurt us and hold us back from knowing our identity and fulfilling our destiny, we have no need of a Healer who comes to bind up the wounds of the broken-hearted and set the captives free. When we think our good deeds or our good intentions are enough to get by, we have no need of the One who says even our most righteous acts are as filthy rags apart from Your Spirit in our hearts and Your transformation of our lives. But when we humble ourselves in Your sight, You can lift us up and establish us in Your truth (James 4:10). When we humble ourselves to see ourselves as we truly are apart from You, then we can look up and see the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Then we can see the One who comes in the nature of the Lord—the One who loves us, who’s for us, who longs to forgive us and free us to live a life that empowers us to be all You created us to be. So for me and my city, let us not fail “to recognize the time of (our) visitation from God” (Luke 19:44). Let us not be found resisting the conviction of Your words or rejecting the mercy of Your love. Let us welcome You and embrace You in the fullness of Your glory among us, trusting in the goodness of Your intentions toward us. Let us not praise You one day with our mouths and crucify You the next in our actions. Let us humble ourselves in our hearts to look up and see You for who You are and welcome You just as You are into every area of our lives. Then we will know and then we can declare, “Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord” and blessed is the one who embraces You as Lord in our hearts and our city. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, God bless you this Holy Week of preparing our hearts to experience the resurrection power of God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Subscribe by email to Tommy Hays at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute on-line: www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502