Proclamation

The heart of the Father, the voice of the Spirit, the testimony of Scripture, the confession of Peter, and the witness of Wise Men all proclaim the person of Jesus Christ…

The heart of the Father proclaims His Sonship, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him.” Matthew 17:5  

The voice of the Spirit proclaims His Lordship, “No one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3  

The testimony of Scripture proclaims His Headship, “God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church.” Ephesians 1:22

The confession of Peter proclaims His Messiahship, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16  

The witness of Wise Men proclaims His Kingship, “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:2  

This Christmas may the proclamation of Jesus Christ be strong upon your heart!

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

The Invitation: Matthew 11:28-30

The Invitation
Come

The Destination
To Me

The Qualification
All you who labor and are heavy laden

The ConsolationAnd I will give you rest

The IdentificationTake My yoke upon you and learn from Me

The DispositionFor I am gentle and lowly in heart

The ImpartationAnd you will find rest for your souls

The LiberationFor My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

©2018 Roy Lessin, meetinginthemeadow.com

The Front Porch: God's Everlasting Love

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 (NKJV) . God wants us to continue to grow in Him because there are—

more moments to delight in than what we’ve enjoyed,

more blessings to have than what we’ve received,

more love to embrace than what we’ve experienced.

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“The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV) . God’s love for you never runs out or dries up. He doesn’t love you on your good days, and cease loving you on your bad days. He loved you even before you were born. Everlasting love not only refers to the length of time that God has loved you, but it also refers to the quality of His love. There is nothing shallow to be found in God’s everlasting love. It is out of the depths of His love that He drew your heart to His. . Perfect love is not a feeling you have, but a person that your heart comes to know. . “Always” is a word that fits God perfectly. God is eternal, and every attribute and aspect of His nature is eternal. He has always been who He is now, and who He is now, is who He will always be. All that He has been to you, He is, and will always be. God is love, was love, and always will be love. He is good, was good, and will always be good. He was faithful, is faithful, and will always be faithful.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

The Ultimate Christmas Card

If Jesus sent you a Christmas card this year, perhaps it would say this…

My gift giving is different than normal gift giving.

My gifts are not from Me, they are Me.

In My presence is fullness of joy. I do not give you joy, or any other gift, apart from My presence.

I Am your gift, and in Me you have all things.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

The Front Porch: God's Hands

God’s hand is extended to you like the hand of a close friend. He doesn’t reach out to you to keep at a distance, but to draw you close to His heart; not to forbid you access to His love, but to pour it upon you in abundance.

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Jesus is the sunrise of your morning, and the sunset of your day. His mercy will greet you every morning, and His goodness will tuck you in each night.

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“Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.” Lamentations 3:23 (NLT)

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Loved with everlasting love,

Led by grace that love to know;

Spirit, breathing from above,

Thou hast taught me it is so!

Oh, this full and perfect peace!

Oh, this transport all divine!

In a love which cannot cease,

I am His, and He is mine.

--G. Wade Robinson

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The Lord wants you to rest in His love. His love will never fail you. Everything that is good in your life has been started by Him, is sustained by Him, and will be completed by Him. He is involved in every detail of your life.

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“…I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)

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“I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

Truth from Ephesians 1

The following Scriptures are from Ephesians 1. Let us remember them during this season of Advent, as we approach Christmas and the New Year...

God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

God blesses you with blessings. You are blessed with the things that last forever. They come to you from heaven and are placed within your heart. They are yours because you are in Christ. No blessing is withheld—No measure of mercy is missing, no depth of delight is lacking, no portion of peace is withheld. Through these spiritual blessings Jesus is saying to you, “I am giving you my heart…its holiness, its righteousness, its goodness, its faithfulness, its loveliness…live in Me as I live in you.”

God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love).

Long before you were born, God made a choice and said “yes” to you. It was a decision based upon His grace. When you said “yes” to Him, His “yes” was already there. It was His will, His purpose, and His plan to place you into the life of His Son. God’s boundless love said “yes” to you standing before Him blameless, clean, and holy, washed in the blood of the Lamb.

God has predestined us to adoption as sons (and daughters) by Jesus Christ to Himself, (according to the good pleasure of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace).

God wanted you to be a part of His family—A child who would grow into spiritual maturity under the nurturing presence of His grace. As your Father, He promised that His watch-care over you would never cease. He has never taken His eyes off of you, or turned His face away. His will is that your life will be a daily celebration of His grace.

God has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Because of God’s grace you are in Christ, the Beloved…You are highly favored, not put to shame; you are accepted, not rejected; you are welcomed, not ignored; you are family, not a stranger; you are God’s child, not an orphan; you have been brought near, not kept at a distance; you have been given a place of special honor, not disgrace; you have a seat at His table, not a place of isolation; you are royalty, not a pauper.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Receiving Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13

For the remainder of the year, we will focus on prayer during our Friday devotions. May you be blessed by this short series, as we celebrate His birth through the Christmas season, and prepare our hearts to worship and walk with Him in the coming year…

-Marina
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Many prayers that are found in Scripture can be turned into a receiving prayer by us. Receiving prayer means that we are welcoming a specific prayer into our lives, personalizing it, and trusting God to fulfill it in us. Here is an example of a receiving prayer based upon what Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:9-13.

My Father in heaven- I receive You as My heavenly Father and I receive the blessing and privilege of what it means to be Your child. I receive my place in Your family, and my identity with all my brothers and sisters that You have given me in Christ. Thank You for all the blessings that have come into my life from Your Father’s heart.

Hallowed be Your name. I receive Your holiness, purity, and righteousness. I receive the beauty that Your holiness brings and the cleansing that is mine through the blood of Christ and the washing of Your Word. I receive every redemptive name that You have declared Yourself to be—The God who heals, saves, sanctifies, provides, and shepherds my life.

Your kingdom come. I receive Your kingdom. Your rule. Your reign. Your control. I receive the righteousness, peace, and joy of Your kingdom within me through the person and power of the Holy Spirit.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I receive Your will as my will. I receive Your plans, Your purposes, Your guidance, Your timing, and Your wisdom. I receive all that it means for my heart to be in harmony with heaven.

Give me this day my daily bread.

I receive Your provision for today’s needs. I receive from Your generous hand that gives in abundance. Thank You for physical bread and spiritual bread, bread for the body and bread for the soul, bread that comes from the earth and bread that comes from Your daily presence in my life.  

And forgive my debts.

I receive Your forgiveness for my sin against You. Thank You for Your great, great mercy that has brought me reconciliation. Thank You for the blood of Jesus, Your Son, who died for me and paid the debt of my sin in full—it was a debt I could never pay.

As I forgive my debtors. I receive into my heart, the mercy and forgiveness that comes from Your heart. It is because of Your grace that I can extend mercy and forgiveness to others. I receive the freedom and healing that comes into my heart when I forgive others.

And do not lead me into temptation. I receive Your leading and the wisdom of Your ways. I know that as I follow You I will always be walking in the right direction and will not regret the steps I take.

But deliver me from the evil one.

I receive Your victory over the evil one—Your light that has overcome darkness, Your life that has conquered death, Your peace that stills the storm, Your joy that strengthens me in my journey.

For Yours is the kingdom.

I receive the righteousness, peace, and joy that defines Your kingdom. I receive the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, as my reason for living. I receive all that comes from Your hand that brings eternal life and meaning to all of life.

And the power.
I receive the power, anointing, filling, and enabling work of the Holy Spirit…the power to serve, to witness, and to live for Your glory.

And the glory forever.
I receive Your hope. Your glorious hope. Your blessed hope. I receive the hope of the return of Your Son, the hope of heaven, and the hope of enjoying You forever. Amen. 

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. All rights reserved.

Have a Good Day!

 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! Psalm 107:1 (NKJV)

The other day, as I walked toward the exit of our local bank, I heard a woman’s voice coming from one of the desks located near the front door. “Have a good day!” she called out. 

I turned and gave her a smile of appreciation. 

Even though it was a comment I had heard hundreds of times from numerous people, a new thought came to mind, “I need to receive what was just spoken to me.” Before I took another step I prayed this brief prayer, “Lord, I receive this day as a good day because You are good and I have You.” 

The prayer was a heart reminder of what it means to have a good day. A good day is not tied to good circumstances, but to a good person. It is tied to the character and nature of God. What does a good day look like for each of us? A good day is the presence of the Lord in our lives. To put it simply, “Jesus is our good day!”

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

The Spirit of Jesus

For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:19 (NKJV)

The person of the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the The Spirit of Jesus. The ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit are knit together. They are so close that they cannot be separated. They work together in our lives in perfect harmony and agreement.

Before Jesus left this earth and ascended to His Father, He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit. This was a promise that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit were overjoyed to fulfill in our lives.

When Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on His disciples on the day of Pentecost, The Holy Spirit didn’t linger or slowly descend, but rushed to them like a mighty wind. He will rush to fill your seeking heart today.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

How It Happens...

Righteousness is how peace happens (Psalm 85:10)

Truth is how freedom happens (John 8:32)

Grace is how strength happens (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Abiding is how fruit happens (John 15:4)

Trust is how guidance happens (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Prayer is how receiving happens (Matthew 7:7)

Love is how obedience happens (John 14:15)

Holiness is how beauty happens (1 Chronicles 16:29)

Faith is how pleasing God happens (Hebrews 11:6)

Jesus is how it all happens! (Colossians 1:16-17)

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow, meetinginthemeadow.com

Going Deeper

Going Deeper- Roy Lessin

I sensed the Spirit’s presence in the water by the shore;

Now I’ll walk out even further, for He tells me there is more.

And as I go out deeper, there is no fear or fret;

His promises assure me that I’m not finished yet!

Afterward he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over or through. Ezekiel 47:5 (AMP)


©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Under His Wings

Under His Wings

- Roy Lessin

Under His wings, Under His wings,

Comes the joy of heavenly things;

Under His wings, Under His wings,

To His mercies my heart now clings;

Under His wings, Under His wings,

Oh the wonders His presence brings!

He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
Psalm 91:4 (AMP)

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow