Latest / Still, Here / Made Near – Love Taking Form

Transcript

Made Near – Love Taking Form · Still, Here

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here, a quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verse 13.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off are made near in the blood of Christ.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Being made near is stronger than simply being brought closer.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: If we are only brought closer,
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: the distance between us and God may shrink while our inner life remains unchanged.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Paul says we are made near in Christ.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Nearness becomes part of who we are.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: The blood of Christ does more than move us into a better position.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: It changes our belonging.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Many people learn to live at a distance,
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: distance from God,
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: distance from others,
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: distance from their own hearts, distance from hope and from belonging.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: After a while, distance can feel normal.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: It may even feel wise.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: We can repeat a guarded pattern long enough and begin to call it personality.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: We say, this is who I am.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: One of the deepest old soul forms is the belief that we are alone
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: and must manufacture power on our own.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: God may be respected as the source of good ideas,
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: helpful principles,
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: or comforting concepts, yet the deeper truth is far more intimate.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: God is in us and working through us.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Christ has made us near.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: That nearness prepares us for our next series, Love Beyond Measure.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: So many excuses for isolation are false shadows.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Shame says we are too far away.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Fear says love is unsafe.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Resentment says distance is protection.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: The old self may prefer the familiar ache of separation
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: because receiving grace can feel threatening to a guarded heart.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Christ does not leave distance with the final word.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus kept bringing near those who others kept far away.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: He ate with tax collectors.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: He called disciples with no status or impressive resume.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: He welcomed the weary in the burden to come to him.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: He touched people others avoided.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: He noticed people others overlooked.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Nearness does not require unsafe access or the loss of wisdom.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Boundaries may still be faithful.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Truth may still need to be spoken.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Some relationships require care, time, and protection.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yet even with wise boundaries, the soul no longer has to live under the illusion of exile.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Notice one place where distance has become familiar.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: It may become distance from God,
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: from another person, from your own heart, from hope or from belonging.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Without forcing reconciliation or rushing past wisdom, pray, Christ has made me near.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Ask God to show you one faithful movement toward grace, even if that movement is small.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Love heals the distance from the inside out.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: In Christ, we are not merely closer.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: We are made near.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Loving Father, I see the distances I have learned to call normal.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Some of them began as protection.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Some became habit.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Some became part of the way I understood myself.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: I release the old belief that I am alone and have to manufacture strength on my own.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: In Christ you have made me near.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Grace is closer than my fear.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Belonging is truer than exile.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I receive the nearness you have already given.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: As you leave this quiet moment, carry this prayer with you.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: The nearness of Christ has the final word in me.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: The nearness of Christ has the final word in me.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: The nearness of Christ has the final word
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.