My New Clothes - Sarah Young

Wear My Robe of Righteousness with ease.

I custom-made it for you, to cover you from head to toe.

The price I paid for this covering was astronomical --
My own blood.

You could never purchase such a royal garment, no matter how hard you worked.

Sometimes you forget that My Righteousness is a gift, and you feel ill at ease in your regal robe.

I weep when I see you squirming under the velvety fabric, as if it were made of scratchy sackcloth.

I want you to trust Me enough to realize your privileged position in My Kingdom.

Relax in the luxuriant folds of your magnificent robe.

Keep your eyes on Me as you practice walking in this garment of salvation.

When your behavior is unfitting for one in My Kingdom, do not try to throw off your royal robe.

Instead, throw off the unrighteous behavior.

Then you will be able to feel at ease in this glorious garment, enjoying the gift I fashioned for you before the foundation of the world.

I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God,

 for He has clothed me in a robe of righteousness,

and arrayed me in a robe of salvation.  

 Isaiah 61:10

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us,

so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Put off your old self...and put on the new self,

created like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 2: 22-24

Sarah Young on Suffering

Be prepared to suffer for Me, in My Name. All suffering has meaning in My kingdom. Pain and problems are opportunities to demonstrate your trust in Me.

Bearing your circumstances bravely--even thanking Me for them -- is one of the highest forms of praise. This sacrifice of thanksgiving rings golden-toned bells of joy throughout heavenly realms. On earth also, your patient suffering sends out ripples of good tidings in ever-widening circles.

When suffering strikes, remember that I am sovereign and that I can bring good out of everything. Do not try to run from pain or hide from problems.

Instead, accept adversity in My Name, offering it up to Me for My purposes. Thus your suffering gains meaning and draws you closer to Me.

Joy emerges from the ashes of adversity through your trust and faithfulness.

                     -- From Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young




Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.

Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
                                    -- Psalm 107:19-22

Before Answering the Phone - Sarah Young

Watch your words diligently.

Words have such great power to bless or to wound.

When you speak carelessly or negatively, you damage others as well as yourself.

This ability to verbalize is an awesome privilege, granted to only those I have created in My Image.

You need help in wielding this mighty power responsibly.

Though the world applauds quick-witted retorts, My instructions about communication are quite different: Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

Ask My Spirit to help you when ever you speak.

I have trained you to pray -- "Help me, Holy Spirit" -- before answering the phone, and you have seen the benefits of this discipline.


Simply apply the same discipline to communicating with people around us.

If they are silent, pray before speaking to them.

If they are talking, pray before responding.

These are split-second prayers, but they put you in touch with My Presence.

In this way, your speaking comes under the control of My Spirit.

As positive patterns replace your negative ones, the increase in your Joy will amaze you.

   --- From Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young

Reckless words pierce like a sword,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 12:18

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,

that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 4:29

My dear brothers, take note of this:

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak

and slow to become angry.

James 1:19

Not Like My Rose - The Little Prince

The little prince went away, to look again at the roses in the rose garden.

"You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. You are empty. No one has tamed you..."

And the roses were very much embarrassed.

"You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "To be sure, an ordinary passer-by would think that my rose, the rose that belongs to me,  looked just like you...

"But in herself she is no more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing.

 "Because she is my rose."

    -- From The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exuprey

  

God's Word is full of love notes and valentines to us:

• You are my treasured possession (Exodus 19:5)
• It is My desire to lavish My love on you ((I John 3:1)
• I love you with everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3)
• When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you (Psalm 34:18)
• I will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17)
• I am your Father, and I love you even as I love My Son, Jesus (John 17:23)   
• I am not counting your sins (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
• I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love (Romans 8:31-32)

 To list just a few.....

The Name above all Names - Sarah Young

Whenever you feel distant from me, whisper My Name in loving trust. This simple prayer can restore your awareness of My Presence.

My Name is constantly being abused in the world, where people use it is as curse word. This verbal assault reaches all the way to heaven; every word is heard and recorded.

When you trustingly whisper My Name, My aching ears are soothed. The grating rancor of the world's blasphemies cannot compete with a trusting child's utterance, "Jesus."

The power of My Name to bless both you and Me is beyond your comprehension.

  From Sarah Young's, Jesus Calling



A song we sing today...written by Lela Long about 1925...

Jesus is the sweetest name I know

And He's just the same

As His lovely name

And that's the reason why I love Him so

Oh, Jesus is the sweetest name I know.

A hymn from the 12th century AD....

Jesus, the very thought of Thee

With sweetness fills my breast

But sweeter far Thy face to see

And in Thy presence rest.

No voice can sing, no voice can frame

Nor can the memory find

A sweeter sound than Jesus' name

O Savior of mankind!

A hymn by John Newton, written about 1776

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds
And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the troubled breast
'Tis manna to the hungry soul
And to the weary, rest.

Dear name -- the rock on which I build
My shield and hiding place
My never-failing treasure
Filled with boundless store of grace!

Jesus, my shepherd, brother, friend
My prophet, priest and King
My Lord, my life, my way, my end
Accept the praise I bring!