Spiritual dryness. Are you familiar with it? Have you ever been through a season of it in your walk with Jesus?  A time in your life with Christ when you felt so far from Him? Perhaps, even now? If so, don’t worry… you’re not the only one. Every one of His has been there some time or another.

This post is not meant to be comprehensive in any way, I just had some thoughts today and sensed God wanted me to share some quotations from His Word for the encouragement of the body here.

Just know that whatever you might be going through, we have an advocate, a High Priest, even Jesus Christ the righteous! Don’t look to yourself and your weaknesses, but look to Christ! He alone is strong!  Take heart beloved, and put your trust in Him! Cry out to Him and He will have mercy. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” – 1 Cor. 10:13

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” – Deut. 31:6

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” – Psalm 34:17

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? HOPE IN GOD; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” – Psalm 43:5

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  - Psalm 46:1

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  - Isaiah 41:10

“…who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” – 1 Cor. 1:8,9

“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” – Psalm 3:3

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”  - Psalm 55:22

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(This picture was taken while underwater at Churches Beach in San Clemente, Calif.)

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Ephesians 6:24

     Dear Jesus, I need this benediction this morning more than I need oxygen and water, for what is life apart from your love? That I love you at all, is a work of your grace in my heart, and to love you with an undying love will require an endless supply of your grace. Only your everlasting love can generate and sustain a never-ending love in our hearts… in my heart. 

     Jesus, we love because you first loved us and gave yourself to be a propitiation and atonement for our sins on the cross.  You didn’t lay down your life for deserving friends but for dastardly rebels, like me. And you’re actively loving us right now… without raised eyebrows, furrowed brow or crossed fingers. You really do love us unconditionally because, you’ve met every condition necessary for doing so. Your love for us is the one and only constant in our lives. Everything else changes. Everything else is subject to whim and fancy. Our brothers and sisters in heaven are more happy than we are, but they are not more loved than we are.

     Unfortunately, Jesus, our love for you does ebb and flow. But may the cooling of our affections for you bother us more than the fragile economy… our broken relationships… concerns about our health… unexpected disappointments and betrayals, or anything else.

     Jesus, don’t let us get used to status quo… middle class… business-as-usual love for you. If by the Holy Spirit we hear you saying to us this morning, “I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love” (Rev. 2:4)… may it be received as a huge kiss from heaven. For it means you are pursing us… you love us… your desire is for us… your banner over us is love.

     Jesus, that you are jealous for our love… for my love, is the greatest compliment you could possibly pay us. Restore to us the joy of being loved by you. Renew in us a love for you as our great and gracious Bridegroom. Release through us your incomparable loving-kindness, that the world may recognize us as your much loved disciples. So very Amen, we pray, in your glorious and loving name.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Fill me with thy Spirit
    that I may be occupied with his presence.
I am blind – send him to make me see;
    dark – let him say, ‘Let there be light’!
May he give me faith to behold
    my name engraven in thy hand,
    my soul and body redeemed by thy blood,
    my sinfulness covered by the life of
        pure obedience.

Replenish me by his revealing grace,
    that I may realise my indissoluble union with thee;
    that I may know thou hast espoused me
        to thyself for ever,
            in righteousness, love, mercy, faithfulness;
    that I am one with thee,
        as a branch with its stock, as a building
            with its foundation.

May his comforts cheer me in my sorrows,
    his strength sustain me in my trials,
    his blessings revive me in my weariness,
    his presence render me a fruitful tree of holiness,
    his might establish me in peace and joy,
    his incitements make me ceaseless in prayer,
    his animation kindle in me undying devotion.
Send him as the searcher of my heart,
    to show me more of my corruptions
        and helplessness
    that I may flee to thee,
        cling to thee,
        rest on thee,
            as the beginning and end of my salvation.

May I never vex him by my indifference
    and waywardness,
        grieve him by my cold welcome,
            resist him by my hard rebellion.

Answer my prayers, O Lord,
    for thy great name’s sake.

I read her dad’s twitter updates last night and received a couple of emails from our friends at Reality Carpinteria this morning, asking us to pray for Daisy. Her cancer is back.

Her father, Pastor Britt Merrick of SoCal church Reality Carpinteria, posted this morning on Daisy’s blog:

Thank you for all your prayers, comments and tweets. We found out last night that my daughter’s (Daisy-6) cancer is back. The tumor is huge. It is in her abdomen, the size of a grapefruit and inoperable at this point.

About 15 pastor/elders from Reality just laid hands on Daisy and prayed for healing. The tumor will be biopsied this afternoon.

We are devastated, but trusting Jesus.

…

Daisy’s biopsy will be tomorrow at 8:30am PST. Please pray the tumor is gone or benign. God is able!

Would you pray with us?

Heavenly Father,

If I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty,
make my heart prize thy love,
know it, be constrained by it,
though I be denied all blessings.
It is thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants,
for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them.
Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations,
if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil,
and be delivered from it with gratitude to thee,
acknowledging this as the highest testimony of thy love.

When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin
he became more dear to me than sin had formerly been;
his kindly rule replaced sin’s tyranny.
Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued
I must not only labour to overcome it,
but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it,
and he must become to me more than vile lust had been;
that his sweetness, power, life may be there.
Thus I must seek a grace from him contrary to sin,
but must not claim it apart from himself.

When I am afraid of evils to come,
comfort me by showing me that in myself
I am a dying, condemned wretch,
but in Christ I am reconciled and live;
that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest,
but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace;
that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good,
but in Christ I have ability to do all things.
Though now I have his graces in part,
I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state
where thou wilt show thyself fully reconciled,
and alone sufficient, efficient,
loving me completely, with sin abolished.
O Lord, hasten that day.