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Hear the devotional here: http://bit.ly/2nnDZRj
1 Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD! 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalm 130 NRSV)
Happy Tuesday, dear Friend! We continue to mark the day we call Aldersgate Day in the life of John Wesley, the founder of the movement called Methodism which in turn led to the establishment of The United Methodist Church and many Methodist and Wesleyan churches.
We can learn from his life and example. Just yesterday morning Nellie and I were discussing Mr. Wesley and we talked about his imperfections and of those around him, and we of course, know that there were no perfect people in our history other than Jesus. But the example I shared about Wesley skipping Sophie and her new love during Communion makes a woman wonder why a man might behave that way during church! (Smile). But, to his credit, John was embarrassed when he realized just how deeply he had failed God, his congregation, and himself. He left the colony by night. And as he sailed home he did so with the deepest feelings of depression he had ever felt. In the morning of that day, Wesley read the words from today's psalms and he identified with the psalmist who had also had a bad experience and felt he was at the lowest point of his life. You and I have been there, no doubt, dear friend. A cross word. A bad decision. An action that should not have happened. Soon, we were thinking we could go no lower in our lives.
Hear David as he writes, "Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications...." The Message version says, "The bottom of my life has fallen out!" And indeed, we have been there. Nowhere to go, but up. And the only way up is through God. And so we pray, and plead, and ask. David even knows the reality of his actions and says, "Lord, if you truly kept records of my sins, I wouldn't have a chance! Yet, forgiveness is Your brand, and so I wait on You. I wait on You just like those who keep watch for the morning; and I call on all who feel the same way to wait on the Lord; for God will answer our pleas.
The book and life of Jonah showed us 1). There is nowhere we can hide from God. 2). There is no longer any place we can go where God will not hear us (think the depths of the ocean in the belly of a whale!). 3). God answers and we are freed. We should take heart in reading that third reality again: God answers and we are freed. Wesley, when hearing the words of this psalm later that day realized that God had not given up on him, and God has not given up on me, nor on you!
PRAYER: Father, lift us if we are among those feeling low today. Help us again to realize that You seek the lost and lift up the downtrodden. And once lifted, let us shine hope to those who feel as we once did. In Jesus' strong name we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Reach out in love to the lost and perishing today!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
A short video on John Wesley by Ravi Zacharais can be seen here. Very powerful! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdCgjZ51dsI
