For the Word that God speaks is alive and active: it cuts more keenly than any two-edged sword:
It strikes through the place where soul and spirit meet,
To the innermost intimacies of a person’s being,
It exposes the very thoughts and motives of our heart
No creature has any cover from the sight of God;
Everything lies naked and exposed
Before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
—from Hebrews 3, JBP
I am seen and known, naked and exposed. I know it is true.
My heartfelt response is to cry: “Lord, have mercy . . . Christ have mercy. I am undone.”
Kintsugi “Golden Repair” by Luann Budd
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold. The broken is not hidden but displayed with pride. Although there is so much that is broken, we can be repaired.
Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has entered the inmost heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our faith. For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible—he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned.
Let us
Therefore
Approach the throne of grace
With fullest confidence
That we may receive mercy for our failures
And grace to help in the hour
Of need
—Hebrews 4, JBP
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15)!
Devotional Activity
Use text from Hebrews 3 and make it your prayer.
First reading (you could copy it into your Book): seek to get a sense of the text.
Pause for 30 seconds of silence, opening your heart to the Lord.
Second reading: seek to discern if there is a word or phrase that makes itself more prominent (sticks its neck up) and may be God’s word for you.
Hold that phrase in prayerful thought for 30 seconds or longer, asking the Lord what is the meaning for you.
Third reading: Acknowledge the truth God has brought to mind. Draw close to him to receive his grace and mercy. Prayerfully receive his words of love.
The content of this post is from All Creation Sings by Luann Budd.