Good morning, dear. It's the third day of our SE 5 :) Happy Monday, !
Hope your Sunday has filled you with God's grace hope for this week! :)
Are you ready to start new day with Emily's thoughtful word? :) Today, we are going to listen to her third podcast together. The title of the day is this: 'Make the Most Important List'. Let's get it started! For your inspiration, I suggest you to listen to the full episode(it's 18:28 long!), but if you feel like listening to today's text only, go straight to 13:39 and listen. Emily's podcast url is right below :)
Today's Text
So the question isn’t so much about what would be the right choice for us to make in a given situation, instead consider the life choice. Jesus says he is the way, the truth and the life. And when we walk with him, consider his presence with us, then we can trust that he will lead us toward life so that even in the things that feel draining, we can trust him as our life. Today, if you feel more like a robot with a to-do list in your hand, rather than an artist with wonder in your eyes, maybe stop, close your eyes, open one hand in your lap and put the other on your heart and ask yourself, what am I longing for in this moment?
What is life giving? If you do this, you might be surprised what you discover, but don’t be surprised by the tears. Those tiny messengers are your kind companions sent from the deepest part of who you are to remind you of what makes you come alive. Listen to them and wake up to your heartbeat. Ruth Haley Barton in her book, Sacred Rhythms, says this, Jesus himself routinely asked people questions that help them to get in with their desires and name it in his presence. He often brought focus and clarity to his interactions with those who were spiritually hungry by asking them, what do you want?
What do you want me to do for you? Such questions have the power to elicit deep, honest reflection in the person to whom they were addressed and open the way for Christ to lead them into deeper levels of spiritual truth and healing. No matter the choice you make today or in the future, Jesus is with you. He’s gone before you and he will remain with you no matter the result.
Emily P. Freeman, <The Next Right Thing>, Episode 03 |
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Word of the day: Elicit
Do I know what to answer if Jesus asks me the question, 'What do you want me to do?' If I were to meet Jesus face to face right now, and He asks me the question, would I be able to give Him a crystal clear answer? Or would I mumble through the whole time and say, "Jesus, I don't know... I don't know what I want really. All my day, I'm just busy, busy, busy. You know that I barely have time to breathe..."
When Jesus asked this question, there were people who answered what they want very clearly. One mother answered 'In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left(Matt 20:21). And the blind man answered 'Rabbi, I want to see'(Mark 10:51).
So was Jesus. Jesus also had clear answers to what they were asking. To the mom, Jesus answered, 'You don't know what you are asking'(Matt 20:22). And gave her sons an opportunity to clarify their want: "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"(Matt 20:22). To the blind man, Jesus answered, "Go, your faith has healed you."
It's as if Jesus is directing people's perspective to the next step by asking questions. If you want your sons to be next me, they need to be ready to drink the cup I am about to drink, but are thdy ready? If you want to see, you need to go and live like you can see. Are you ready? Are you ready to live a life like you asked?
The other day, I said I want to be led by love, not pushed by fear. And now, I realize that Jesus is asking me the question, eliciting honest reflection for the next step. "My dear, if you want to be led by love, what do you want me to do? Are you ready to live the life as you asked?"
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What is your word of the day? Please share your word and sentences to the link below. Giving Table is one of the safe places for you to have fun with English. Please choose to inspire us by sharing your thoughts :)
With love,
Ashley |
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