Good Morning, Lord~

I sat down to pen a prayer to You, so moved by all You experienced--well, that is, all that is recorded that You experienced.

These are the thoughts that flowed out in ink. . .

Calvary. . . does that name haunt You, Lord?

Is there a pang inside You, as palpable as if You were brought there again, suffering and about to be put through even greater pain?

I wonder.

I wonder if You shudder when You remember it. . . does a cold shiver run down Your back?

What made You do it, Lord?

One thing, Child--- love. . . sweet love.

It was the only way for you to spend eternity with Me, and I would do it all over again just for you. . . even if you were the only one.

But, Lord, how can I ever repay such a debt to You?

The answer is simple, though some see it as costly. . .

just accept what I did on that cross, and what I endured in the days leading up to it. . .

Open the gift of my grace to you.

It is so wonderfully simple that a child can open it, yet adults fail to see or get a hold of it.

There is the wonder that comes when you seek to grow in grace~

a transformation as you obey My word, and come to experience joy unspeakable, and full of glory. . .

I think of it as the divine exchange.

What can you do to repay Me, you ask? Simply, be faithful

and be simply devoted.

My servant Jeremiah penned the question burning in My heart,

"Who is he who will devote himself to be close to Me?" 30.21

But, Lord, come on--is it even possible to be wholly devoted to You, while we make our home on this earth?

Do you desire to be wholly devoted to Me? I'm not saying that you should be perfect, but consider my servant, David,

a man after my own heart~ he prayed, "Give me an undivided heart,

that I may fear Your name." Psalm 86.11

What is your desire, Child?

I do want to grow in knowledge of You, and even more, in intimacy with You--though I must admit the last one is

the hardest for me. I do not want to be a half-way Christian; we just don't need any more of those around, do we?

I want to do the last verse of the hokey-pokey--I want to 'put my whole self' in. . . can you help me, Lord?

Once again, Jeremiah captured My heart toward you~

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. Hear my prayer, O Lord!

You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you. Jeremiah 29.11-14a

After taking a close look at Jesus' trials and crucifixion, what would your heart say to Him? Write your prayer~

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for loving me ~ I pray all of this in Your majestic name,

Amen

Christine