Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good Shepherd, I'm listening. ...
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps" (Matthew 25:1-4).
My Father God, I thank You for Your Word. "Your Word is a Lamp to my feet and a Light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). And I thank You for the oil of Your Spirit, the Anointing of the Presence of God. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1-2). With Your Word and Your Spirit in our hearts, we are the body of Christ here in our world.
And at the same time, I want to be wise with all You've entrusted to me. I don't want to settle for the level oil of Your Holy Spirit I began with in my lamp of Your Word in my heart. I want more -- more of You, more of Your Spirit, more of Your Presence, more of Your heart, more of Your nature, more of Your anointing of Your power and Your love flowing more freely through my life. I want to be being filled with Your Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). I want "a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over!" (Luke 6:38)
So keep making me hungry and thirsty for more. More time in my Bible, more time in prayer, more time in serving others. More time sharing my testimony and Your Gospel with others. Thank You for the promise of Your Word: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). To be filled I have to be hungry. I want to be one who is filled -- filled up and ready for Your coming, ready to embrace You with my lamp full and my flame burning (Matthew 25:10). May You "fan into flame" the Gift of God within me (2 Timothy 1:6).
One day You'll come again in Your glory in the clouds (1Thessalonians 4:16; Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11-16). And at the same time, I hunger and thirst for You to come in Your glory here in my heart right now and every moment between this day and that day to comeIn Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, as we journey through Lent on the way to the cross, I pray you take time this morning to fill your lamp so it burns full with a burning flame of God's Word and God's Spirit. I pray you hunger and thirst for more of the anointing presence of God in your life, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Chapter 25 is an amazing chapter of parables. As we read through these chapters together, I can only share on a verse or two that spoke to me. I pray you will participate and add to what God wants to reveal from these chapters by sharing your reflections and prayers on my blog in the comment box below.
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