Come to the Father
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
"Come to Me, all you who labor
and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. I will ease
and relieve and refresh your soul.” (Matthew 11:28 AMP).
TODAY’S WORD
Does your soul need refreshing
today? Then come to the Father. Are you overburdened by the cares of this
world? Are you facing challenges in your relationships? Finances? Career? The
Father wants to refresh you. He wants to cause you to rest. Think about that
for a moment. What would cause you to rest? If you knew everything was going to
work out for your good, you would stop worrying. You would rest! Even if things
don’t work out the way you planned, or on your timetable, you can trust that
God will turn things around in your favor. When you submit your life to Him, by
the blood of Jesus, and truly make Him Lord and Ruler of every area of your
life, you will find rest for your soul!
Come to the Father today in prayer
and with thanksgiving. Thank Him right now for taking your burdens and giving
you peace. Thank Him for loving you today and giving you new life. Thank Him
for His faithfulness. Go out today with an attitude of faith and expectancy
because God is working behind the scenes on your behalf—and you can come to
Him!
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father in Heaven, I come to You now.
I give You my cares and burdens. I thank You for working behind the scenes on
my behalf. Thank You for loving me and setting me free. Thank You for giving me
rest for my soul and peace in my heart today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
***
"Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:2 NIV)
When Mary used her hair to rub perfumed oil down between her Savior’s toes, the disciples only whiffed the aroma of waste: “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor” (Matthew 26:9 NIV).
But Jesus suggested such a great sacrifice leads to great influence: “I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (Matthew 26:13 NIV).
Perhaps Jesus could smell the sweet fragrance of Mary’s sacrifice because he knew that love finds meaning in sacrifice: “We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers” (1 John 3:16 GW).
Perhaps, in Mary, Jesus could smell “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” a life “poured out like a drink offering” (Ephesians 5:2; 2 Timothy 4:6 NIV). We become living sacrifices when we no longer see the waste of giving to others; instead, we see the gift we give to others.
The Holy Spirit presses us toward radical transformation, where, instead of seeing sacrifice, we see opportunities to love; instead of seeing perfume wasted on the floor, we see ourselves like Jesus, prepared for burial, ready to be “crucified with Christ,” so that “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Matthew 26:12; Galatians 2:20 NIV).
You may be hitting one of those “I can't, but God can” moments, but our brother, Paul, reminds us that God gives us the grace required to become living sacrifices, and he places the Holy Spirit in us to create us holy and pleasing to God.
“Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2 NIV).
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