Heavenly Father, what do You want to say to me about the way Jesus loves Himself and the way You want me to love myself?
Our topic yesterday was, what happened in between Adam and Christ that relates to how Jesus wants me to love myself? And the take-away is:
Jesus is the safest, best place to be able to love yourself and feel good about yourself again.
Jesus is the ONLY way to love yourself and feel good about yourself again.
Jesus makes the Presence of God a place where you are so loved you can never make things dirty, instead of a place where you are so dirty you can never keep things clean.
Jesus makes both you and I feel safe around each other.
Jesus makes your presence safe for My holiness, and My holiness safe for you. You can be close and not die, and I will never have to pull away. Isn’t that worth 800 pages of life under the Old Covenant, of feeling ‘paranoid and disgusting’ as you put it, to show you what He did? That is what the atoning blood does.
I never want you to feel that way again. You do not disgust Me. You never have and you never will. I would be tortured to death to make you feel clean. That’s how much I care about this. That’s what I want you to tell everyone you know and everyone you meet who feels dirty and ashamed and afraid.
O God: Give me strength to live another day; Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties; Let me not lose faith in other people; Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness; Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them; Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity; Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things; Grant me this day some new vision of thy truth; Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness; and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls; in the name of the strong Deliverer, our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I will try this day to live a simple, sincere and serene life, repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God. In particular I will try to be faithful in those habits of prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating, and sleep which I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right. And as I cannot in my own strength do this, nor even with a hope of success attempt it, I look to thee, O Lord God my Father, in Jesus my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit.