Morning by Morning, April 7 - Heart-Cry Lament Over Jerusalem
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Light of the world, light up my heart and my path before me today. ...
"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 house 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).
Your heart sees our hearts. And Your heart breaks for every way we refuse to fully entrust our hearts to You.
You're a good Father, longing to bless us with Your favor and provision, Your guidance and grace, and a confident sense of our true identity as children of God (v. 23:9). You're like the mother hen that longs to gather her babies under her wings in the unity and community of faith and love, in the intimacy and security of Your embrace (v. 23:27). You're our Savior, our Messiah, our Teacher and Guide, who longs for us to see You are You are and follow You will all our hearts, trusting You to be all we need and all we desire (v. 23:10).
But just like Jerusalem, we don't always fully trust You with all our hearts, despite Your heart for us. One day, we welcome You into our hearts and lives with open arms and high praises (v. 21:9). But the next, we find ourselves turning away from You to go back to depending upon ourselves and insisting on our own ways, instead of fully trusting in You and Your ways (v. 27:22).
So You lament over us, but You never stop loving us. Your heart breaks for us when we turn away, but You never stop reaching out to us to draw us back into Your embrace. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).
So as best as I can, all by Your grace, from the depth of my heart, I cry out "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!" Let me see You as You truly are! Then I can see myself as I truly am. Come again, this day and every day, into my heart as Savior and Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Living God.
And at the same time, I pray for the day when all of Jerusalem, and all she represents, will do the same. "Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain" (Zechariah 8:3). "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your King comes to you; triumphant and victorious is He, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.... He shall command peace to the nations; His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.... On that day the Lord their God will save them for they are the flock of His people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on His land" (Zechariah 9:9-16). "And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the One whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a firstborn (Zechariah 12:10). "On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.... They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are My people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is our God'" (Zechariah 13:1-9). "And the Lord will become King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and His name one.... Jerusalem shall abide in security" (Zechariah 14:9-11). "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Psalm 118:26; Matthew 21:9). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
I pray you receive our Savior's embrace and all His grace into your heart this day and every day, crying out to Him, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord," in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. And please join with me in the agreement of prayer for Jerusalem and all the people of God (Psalm 122:6; Romans 11:26). God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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