This can have far reaching consequences

This can have far reaching consequences, that was the phrases that grabbed me and cast me back into the words I had just read earlier.

“The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."  Jeremiah‬ ‭31:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We are frequently, and sometimes almost entirely, sinister, eerily dark on just about every possible level, demonstratively and unnecessarily wicked, and yet live with the audacity to believe in that our momentary goodness, though it blighted with underlying motives and selfish intentions, gives us privileges.

Absurd! Yes, I know.

And yet, for His sake and for His glory, because of His unending faithfulness and unrelenting compassion, because He is pure and lovely, true and noble, kind and tenderhearted and forgiving, the Everlasting, goes through unthinkable extremes to have compassion on us, to reach our hearts and transform us through relationship, invite us to return and Shepherd our wayward selves back to lush pools, flourishing streams, and flowing rivers of living water.

Let that sink in. Let your heart be arrested by the truth that God's love for you, for us, is completely, utterly and undeniably unjustifiable. It is all gift! All grace! All unmerited and all initiated by Him.  We have not earned or deserved it, and have no right to deny it from or fail to turn this Love and Grace back to our fellow brother or sister, regardless!

May the truth that He is love and His love is entirely unearned have far reaching consequences in how we live, how we move and how we encourage and love others. And may we be ever mindful of the reality that it is because of His love that we have not all been consumed.

"But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation: It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. [Mal. 3:6.] They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. [Isa. 33:2.]"

‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:21-23‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

From Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

May the Spirit of the Lord God bind up our broken hearts, and set us free from any captive mindsets that keep us chained and bounded to anything less than His good and His perfect plans.

May the Spirit of the Lord God break every chain, and open every prison door (of hurt, unforgiveness, and anger) and proclaim liberty and freedom, and even moreover the Lord's favor upon us.

May the Spirit of the Lord God bring comfort to all who mourn, and grant to those who mourn "beauty instead of ashes, gladness instead of mourning, and praise instead of a faint spirit."

May the Spirit of the Lord God bring us good and favor, make us strong like oaks, full of righteousness, and make us prosperous and flourishing like blossoming olive trees planted and tended in the garden of the Lord.

May the Spirit of the Lord God bring good things to us today and always so "that He may be glorified."


‭”The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Unconditional Lovingkindness

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things 

(1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬).”

May we be ever reminded that His love is not swayed by time or circumstance, not altered in sickness or health or even death; not lessened in our poverty or increased by our wealth; unaffected by our better selves and not diminished or extinguished by our worst.  In spite of our imaginations to the contrary, His Hesed and agape is forever unmerited, undeserved, unrelenting, unending, unwavering, unconditional, unselfish, and unstoppable.  Period!  Amen!  

May your life, your waking and sleeping, your coming and going, your labor and your rest, be powered and empowered and inspired by Christ’s love for us and in us!

Love ya—Cassius

Four things you are likely taking for granted right now

Four things you are likely taking for granted right now:

1. Your last breath
2. You current breath
3. Your next breath, and 
4. The infinite God who gave and gives every breath to you. 

May we never take lightly that our God is Maker of heaven and earth, and every moments and every breath is His gift to us!

Proclaim His greatness

“For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! "The Rock, His work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He (Deuteronomy‬ ‭32:3-4‬ ‭ESV‬‬).”

We are loved by the One who is full of compassionate, loyal, faithful, and unconditional love. We are blessed by the One whose favor lasts for a lifetime, and blessings extend from generation to generation, even to our children’s children. We are known, fully known, by the One who is perfect, great, holy, righteous, without iniquity and in all His ways just.  He is a rock for us!

  Proclaim His greatness. Praise His Name. Worship Him!

 Have a wonderful day!  

Love you—Cassius

Pondering aloud

I Read:
https://www.bible.com/59/mat.20.2,15.esv

I Pondered:
(1) Do I begrudge His generosity?
(2) Do I underestimate the magnitude of His grace, and the reward of His calling?
(3) Do I ask too little of God?

I Prayed:
May our prayers to God be radical and bold, asking for enlarged territory for His glory like Jabez; pleading for His face to shine upon us and be gracious to us; claiming His blessings upon us and on our children to a thousand generations; and declaring, with faith unwavering and hope unending, that His compassion, generosity and grace, unmerited as they are, will be more lavish upon us than we can imagine and more spectacular than our souls can fathom!  May we be thankful for His grace to us and to others and rejoice always!

Love you—Cassius

To Him alone be all honor, glory, dominion, and power!

May the Ancient of days, the God of ages past and years to come, help us “remember that [He is] bigger and mightier than any infirmity or pandemic.”  

May the Shepherd and Savior, our “merciful Redeemer, Guardian, and Lord” of all “deliver us from the perils of stress, anxiety, fear, burnout, and fatigue” by His “supernatural strength, power, and grace.”  

May the “immutable God” our LORD “ignite hope in the midst of dark hopelessness,” and bring us an irrepressible joy and an unshakable hope for this time and all times to come.

To Him alone be all honor, glory, dominion, and power.