Let all the earth be silent before him (Habakkuk 2:20; NLT).
Silent worship
Is the way
To meet with Jesus
Every day
In soundless, wordless
Unity –
For that’s when Jesus
Sets us free!
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36; NIV).
Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Luke 12:7; NIV).
For the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about what we human beings are really worth. Today’s blog shares where I’ve got to so far in my understanding.
Contrary to popular belief, our value is not based on our:
Rather, we have value because God loves us, and our souls are one with him.
Furthermore, I believe that we are all of equal value, and that God loves us all equally. Until we recognise this, we can easily be tempted to desire, or to claim, superior worth in comparison with others.
However, once we fully grasp that there is no pecking order for God’s love, we can start to accept both our own worth, and that of all human beings.
Finally, there can be no difference in value at all between ourselves and others, because we are all one in Christ:
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28; NIV).
References
What is he really worth? (Isaiah 2:22; CSB).
The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).
The life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being (Job 12:10; NLT).
The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).
God is love (1 John 4:16; NIOV).
There is …one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me (John 17:21; NLT).
All of you are equal as brothers and sisters (Matthew 23:8; NLT).
Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).
Unless you … become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3; NLT).
Don’t make your prayers a burden:
Share every thought with God.
Be honest and spontaneous –
As candid as a child.
Don’t make your prayers a burden:
Share every joy with God.
Be free and uninhibited –
Exult and dance; go wild!
Don’t make your prayers a burden:
Share every pain with God.
Be raw, direct, and unconstrained –
Expressing how you feel.
Don’t make your prayers a burden:
Share every fear with God.
Be straight; cry out with no holds barred –
Above all, just be real.
You desire honesty from the womb (Psalm 51:6; NLT).
References
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36; NIV).
“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Mark 14:36; NLT).
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Matthew 27:46; NLT).
We will speak the truth in love growing in every way more and more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).
You know my thoughts (Psalm 139:2; NLT).
Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely (Psalm 139:4; NIV).
Lord,
You know my tangled thoughts!
Instead of using words to pray,
I open up my mind to you,
For you grasp all I want to say.
Lord,
You know my troubled heart!
Instead of saying how I feel,
I open all my cares to you,
For you will comfort, help, and heal.
Lord,
You know my lonely soul!
Instead of hiding all my fears,
I open my whole self to you,
For you will share my pain and tears.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight (Hebrews 4:13; NIV).
In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).
They spout empty words and make covenants they don’t intend to keep (Hosea 10:4; NLT).
You desire honesty from the womb (Psalm 51:6; NLT).
Don’t pray
The way
You think you ought
To pray.
Don’t say
The things
You think you ought
To say.
Just share
Your truth
With God, our Lord,
Each day,
Then you’ll
Grow more
Like Jesus,
Come what may.
Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).
Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).
Pray about everything (Philippians 4:6; NLT).
No time to pray?
Just share each thought
With God.
No time to praise?
Just share your joy
With God.
No time to grieve?
Just share your pain
With God.
No time to serve?
Just share your life
With God.
All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God (1 John 4:15; NLT).
References
We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).
As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world (1 John 4:17; NLT).
Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).
Christ in my body,
And Christ in my thinking;
Christ in my speaking,
And Christ in my soul;
Christ in my actions,
And Christ in my gladness;
Christ in my sorrows:
My pattern, my goal;
Christ in my living,
And Christ in my dying:
This is my pathway
To being made whole.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6; NLT).
He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole (Job 5:18; NKJV).
When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen (Matthew 6:6; NIV).
We are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).
A sense of warmth;
Time standing still;
A gentle light;
An inner space –
A place where
I alone can go
To be with you,
The God of Grace.
Here, Lord,
I speak the truth in love;
I ask for help,
And hear your voice.
Then, as we rest
In silence, Lord,
We share our oneness,
And rejoice.
Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God (Romans 5:11; NLT).
The Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT).
We can’t grow more like Christ
Through force,
Through duty, rituals,
Or shame.
We can’t grow more like Christ
Through guilt,
Through nagging, brainwashing,
Or pain.
We can’t grow more like Christ
Through fear,
Or threats of punishment
In hell –
We only grow like Christ
Through loving God,
And others,
And ourselves.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (Mark 12:30; NLT).
Love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others] (Matthew 22:39; AMP).
References
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him (Colossians 3:10; NLT).
Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:31-2; NIV).
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13; NIV).
None greater,
Or finer;
More loving,
Or kinder;
None humbler,
Or higher;
More selfless,
Or wiser;
None brighter,
Or nearer;
More truthful,
Or dearer;
None gentler,
Or braver –
Than Jesus,
Our Saviour.
You must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen (2 Peter 3:18; NLT).