MORE PRECIOUS THAN SILVER

Marcella Ward    September 7, 2022 

 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.  Matthew 18:12-14 NIV

 Then Jesus told them this parable:⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  Luke 15:3-7 NIV

 

PSALM 139:1-18

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.  NIV

God loves each one of us as an only child.  I believe, as He died on the cross, He saw each one of us because He died for each and every one of us.  The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”  Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

Recently, during a time of prayer, including Praise and Worship, the Lord revealed to me to replace His name with my name.  This touched my heart profoundly, realizing how much He loves me personally.  The following lyrics are from the refrain of a song that I had been singing.  Look at the lyrics and insert your name in the blanks.

MORE PRECIOUS THAN SILVER  (Lynn Deshazo)

Lord, You are more precious than silver

Lord, You are more costly than gold

Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds

And nothing I desire compares with you.            

 

Insert your name in the blank.

__________, you are more precious than silver

__________, you are more costly than gold

__________, you are more beautiful than diamonds

And nothing I desire compares with you.

 

Marcella Ward    Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”     September 7, 2022

 

                                                              

                                                    THE BLESSINGS OF BROKENNESS

Marcella Ward    August 31, 2022

When you think of something broken, what comes to your mind?  Is it something that has been shattered like broken glass or a separation or something not functioning anymore?  We could go on and on.  What does the Bible say about brokenness? 

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.  Psalm 51:17 NIV

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  Psalm 34:18 NIV

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being” declares the Lord.  “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.  Isaiah 66:2 NIV

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  Psalm 147:3 NIV

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.   He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, Isaiah 61:1 NIV

“We’ve all seen restored furniture. Restoring furniture involves stripping away old varnish or paint with strong chemicals. This reveals all the old scratches, gouges, and spots on the piece. The sanding takes place next—the wood is rubbed with coarse sandpaper in order to smooth out its imperfections. Then the furniture is ready to receive a new stain or paint color. New glory can be given to old furniture, and God can do the same thing with us. He can put new glory inside an old life, but He must first strip away our old nature and sand away our sinful strongholds.

We shouldn’t run from being broken. Even though it’s not pleasant, it will produce a better life. Brokenness is a blessing because it puts us on the road to a breakthrough. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Those who are spiritually broken will be blessed because they will see God, and God’s power will flow through their lives.”  (“The Blessings of Brokenness”  Tony Evans)

Brokenness Removes Pride From Us

It can keep us from doing what God wants us to do.  Pride was what caused Adam and Eve to fall and the serpent, the devil.

  It Is In Brokenness That We Come Together With Christ And One Another

Jesus humbled Himself and ate with sinners and tax collectors.  He humbled Himself when He left His throne in heaven to become like us.

 Jesus Loved Us So Much That He Willingly Embraced Brokenness

“Who were those gathered around the Table on this night of nights? There were eleven broken men, and one perfect Man, the Man Christ Jesus.   Jesus Christ embraced brokenness so that we might be saved.”  (The Blessing Of Brokenness Posted on July 18, 2021 by bibleteacherorg)

“When a pot is broken the Japanese will join or mend the pieces together with gold. It actually makes the mended broken piece worth more money because they joined the broken pieces with gold. This art form is called kintsukuroi. This artwork repairs the pot and adds to keep the history of the pot. It also makes the pot no longer disgusting from the broken state.”  (Filled with Gold Author: Steve Patterson  Published Date: July 15, 2020)

It appears that the fissures in a pot exemplify our brokenness and the gold weaving in and out, are a part of the purification that we go through so that we are no ordinary vessel, but made anew in God’s perfect plan for our lives.  God makes all things new.  Isaiah 43:19
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”  NIV

Prayer for Brokenness

Dear Lord, it is my will to surrender to you everything that I am and everything that I'm striving to be. I open the deepest recesses of my heart and invite Your Holy Spirit to dwell inside of me. I offer you my life, heart, mind, body, soul and spirit. I surrender to you my past, present and future problems. I ask You to take hold over every aspect of my life. I surrender to You all my hurt, pain, worry, doubt, fear and anxiety, and I ask You to wash me clean. I release everything into Your compassionate care. Amen. (Prayerist)

Will you receive Him as Lord and Savior?

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to forgive me of all of my sins.  I know that Jesus died and rose again.  Please forgive me of all my sins as I forgive all who have offended me.  Jesus, I ask You to come into my heart and be Lord of my life.  I surrender all to You.  Amen

Marcella Ward    Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”    August 31, 2022