I heard Jesus say, “Follow Me into the sacrifice of Love!”

I began my Worship Intercession this day with a heavy heart.

Once again, some dear people’s negative choices had formed a “barrier to love” — an emotional divide created from their agreement with fear that blocked “my reach” to help them.

I had to be careful that my own disappointment in their repeated cycle of fear and negativity didn’t create a heaviness of heart in me that would shut down hope for goodness to prevail, preventing The LORD’s Love from flowing freely through me!

I just needed to be present with Jesus. This is where I could bring my heart and soul up to my Master and enter into His Heart of Love — staying there for as long as it took to exchange my emotional burden for His true and certain Hope.

From there I knew that He would lift the weight from off of me, releasing the necessary peace and perspective to overcome in love.

The Invitation: “Step into Me!”

Stepping into Worship, I lifted my heart to Him, asking The Holy Spirit that I might feel His very Breath in my lungs.

I took in deep, long breaths and then slowly and intentionally ‘exhaled,’ releasing the disappointment of my heart up and over to Him to carry away!

Then I let the worship within me flow, lifting my soul and spirit up to Him where the deep awareness of His presence began to take over.

Before me emerged a quick vision image of my Beloved Savior — along with two other figures.

They appeared as silhouettes of black against a deep blue, darkening sky. I saw three crosses… and my heart gripped.

The scene changed and there in another quick vision, I was suddenly on a dusty ancient roadside lined with people.

Before me, the noise, the clamour — the shouts and jeers — filled my vision screen. I turned to look, and saw in a flash, once again my Savior, my King and my LORD, stumbling under the cruel weight of the rough, crudely cut beam, His precious body bruised and bleeding.

Then I heard a shout, and a man came out of the crowd and took the Cross, Simon, the Cyrene.

In my minds eyes I saw an interplay of myself and Simon, the Cyrene, and I heard, “Follow Me!”

As fast as the Vision came — it went! But not before leaving an imprint on my heart.

Tears began to softly flow. I wanted to hold this moment in my heart. What had He had just given me?

A Gift — a glimmer of precious insight!

For a moment my eyes were off of me, and instead my focus and gaze upon my Beloved King, and the excruciating path of pain that He had walked — for me!

There He was, this One.

“O sacred head now wounded.” His Grace and Love pouring out with each step that He took.

Time just seemed to momentarily stop as I reflected and engaged. I felt suspended between two realms — I didn’t want to let this deep awareness go without it changing me.

O my LORD… Holy, Holy, Holy

Perfect, sinless, spotless Lamb

It was all for love You came…

Doing what I could not do

You bore Calvary’s shame …

Humiliation, pain and scorn

… the road to Gethsemane

You freely chose this sacrifice

In love to set me free …

As “quiet” held my heart I heard, “My child, learn My Love!”

Dear Believer!

As we consider, and take deeply into our heart the example of love laid down for us by our Beloved Christ, there is an invitation from the Master:

“Will you follow Me into the sacrifice of love that is willing to bear a cross of disappointment, humiliation and pain?

Follow Me into the depth of My love and you will be forever changed…”

Beloved saint, this is how we follow: completing the sufferings of Christ by allowing the adversity that comes against us to grow within us, the fullness of His love.

We all have circumstances, certain limitations and/or people in our world that challenge and seem to relentlessly oppose us.

At times they threaten our peace, our resources, our strength, and sometimes even our sanity…

What does the Master extend to us for these situations?

His very self, and an opportunity to overcome in love- to allow the very thing that would seek to break us, to instead “make us” — bringing forth the pearl of eternal life!

In a posture of humility, and sacrificial love, with joyful, hopeful anticipation for His great good… we are changed.

As we “learn His love” we can invite others into the Divine embrace.

The One for Whom the world was made

You were rejected despised, and shunned

Oh LORD, my LORD

Love held you there

until … the victory was won.

Audio Prayer and Verse: Jesus, Perfect Sacrifice based on Romans 5:

Audio Player

 

Working out interpersonal difficulties within a posture of Faith, Hope and Love:

Short “conversational frame” samples to help make it practical and personal.

His perfect love casts out all fear. Let that awareness of His love work in and through you, extending to others.

Allow love to “preempt” fear. To “preempt” is to “take precedence over”…

Take fear “out of the equation” ahead of any conflict.

Have conversations ahead of time that serve to lesson and remove the influence of shame and fear of failure when communications become difficult.

Recognize that because we are human, there will still be bumpy patches to work through in any significant relationship.

Begin with a perspective that emphasizes Safety, Love and Hope:

♥ “I want to make it safe for you — and for both of us when there is a ‘conversational wobble’ or relational glitch. I want His love to hold us both!”

♥ “We all stumble; there is no shame in this — please don’t be afraid to take a breath, or a pause and let’s come back and try again after we’ve found our peace in The LORD!”

♥ “”I’m with you — He’s with us, and He’s for us!” This Truth in the forefront of our thoughts will give us the anchor of hope that we need to hold onto hope in the chaos or the storm.”

♥ “Together, in Him, lets take down the lies that separate us from love. Together let’s agree that we will pursue peace and true harmony — even if we have to run after it to catch it!”

♥ “I have a confident hope in what The LORD is doing in us and through us. I know we’re going to ‘get there’ — because Faith, Hope and Love are “substance from Heaven” that actually bring light to our thoughts, and illumination to our way.”

Scriptures:

He carried the iniquity and guilt of us all upon that Cross:

“WHO HAS believed (trusted in, relied upon, and clung to) our message [of that which was revealed to us]? And to whom has the arm of The LORD been disclosed?
For [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He has no form or comeliness [royal, kingly pomp], that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.
All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and The LORD has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:1-6 AMPC.

My heart’s goal: to Know Him and the Wonders of His Person:

“But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ’s sake.
Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),
And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law’s demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.
[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].” Philippians 3:7-11 AMPC.

Matthew 27 Simon the Cyrene:

“As they were marching forth, they came upon a man of Cyrene named Simon; this man they forced to carry the cross of Jesus.” Matthew 27:32 AMPC.

 

~ Shelley M Ed

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Shelley M Ed/ LifeSetMinistries: Ordained Minister CMA/ working with Leaders and Ministry Houses: US/CAN/INT. Leadership development, counselling, and oversight.
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom…. Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning” Luke 12:32;35.

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