Morning by Morning, January 8 - Looking Over into the Promised Land
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of king and Lord of lords, come rule and reign in my heart and the moments of my day. ...
"I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, and what He will answer concerning my complaint" (Habakkuk 2:1).
Before I begin my day and go about my Father's business, I want to first take my stand and position myself at my station to "see what (You) will say to me." I'm looking and listening, waiting for Your visions and Your voice -- not my visions, not my voice, not what I would imagine, but what You would show me and share with me. ...
As I watch and wait, it seems I hear You saying in my heart, "Come up here with Me. Come and see what I want to show you." ...
Yes, Lord. With the eyes of my heart, I'm looking; with the ears of my spirit, I'm listening. ...
I believe I see a vast plain, as if I'm looking down on it from a mountaintop and You are standing beside me. What is this plain? What does it mean? What does it speak of, Lord? ...
This Scripture comes to mind: "On that very day the Lord addressed Moses as follows: 'Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites for a possession'" (Deuteronomy 32:49).
Lord, I know You took Moses up to the top of Mount Nebo and showed him the Promised Land that the people would possess. But Moses died there "because (he) broke faith with (You) among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by failing to maintain (Your) holiness among the Israelites" (Deuteronomy 32:49).
You're making me nervous now, Lord. ...
And yet, I sense Your smile. What comes to me is this: "This vision is not about you dying, but about My people living. It's about My people entering into their promised land. It's about My desire that My people would be prepared to enter in by allowing Me to first enter in to their hearts by My Spirit to make My holiness become their nature. Come out of the "wilderness of Zin" -- the wilderness of sin -- and come in to the vast plain of all My promises by the power of My grace to forgive you and free you, to release you from all that would hold you back from being all I created you to be." ...
Yes, Lord. As I seek to test this vision and this word by the plumb line of Your Word and the nature of Your Character, this Scripture comes to mind: "'My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by Him; for the Lord disciplines those whom He loves, and chastises every child whom He accepts.' Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not His children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected the. Should we no be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best tot hem, but He disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share His holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:5-14).
Lord, as You know, I like to hear more about Your grace than Your discipline and more about Your healing than Your correction. Words like "obedience," "correction," "discipline," "chastisement," "submission," are about as popular today -- even among Your people of Your Church -- as "holiness," "purity," "surrender," and "sanctification." Aren't words like "love" and "grace" and "kindness" and "forgiveness" a little more popular and just as powerful, since they are all words from Your Word? ...
It seems I hear You saying in my heart: "My son. They are all My words from My Word. All are true. And all are necessary. All are a part of My plan and purposes for My people. Moses died a physical death at the place where I showed Him My promises for My people. You and all My children must die a death to your flesh and all that is less than the holiness of My nature to enter in to the fullness of all My promises for You. But take heart, for I give you My grace. It is My holiness, not yours. It is through what I have done, not through what you can do. It's not by your power, nor by your might, but by My Spirit. It's all by the provision I have made through the Blood of My Son that sets you free from all that would hold you back from entering in to all I have for you and all My children, My son. Humble yourself in My sight, and I will lift you up. Confess and repent of your sin, I will forgive. Turn away from all the world, the flesh, and the devil have to offer, and I will empower you to walk through the doors, to go through the gates of all I have set before you and My people in this season of time in the unfolding of My eternal plans. In this way, healing and holiness are related. In this way, the fullness of life in My Spirit is directly related to the death of your flesh. It's all by My grace and all in My love, but it is also all very necessary according to My Word and My will. There are no shortcuts along the journey of My sanctification of your soul and My preparation of your heart to receive and embrace all My promises for you and all of My children through Christ. This is what it means to allow Me to prepare the way of the Lord in you. This is what it means to clear away the stones, to remove every barrier, so that you can 'go through the gates' into the glory of My greatness that I desire to manifest in you and all who are called by My name." ...
Yes, Lord. Give me grace to process all I believe You are speaking to me today. Help me test all things and hold fast to what is good and true (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Give me a heart to hear and eyes to see what Your Spirit is saying to me (Matthew 11:15; Revelation 2:29). As best as I can and all by Your grace, I do want to "Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (and) see to it that no one (including myself and all You've entrusted to me on my call and on my watch) fails to obtain the grace of God" (Hebrews 12:14-15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
