Reverence

Milo was in a fight the other day with something outside Noah’s window. We were able to chase whatever it was away and brought the little guy in from the chaos. He was bleeding and Ella cared for his wounds. We took him to the vet the next day and he got some antibiotics. We were told to keep him in until the scratches disappeared. Haha.

He’s been in for four days, most of the time he is okay with his imprisonment, but then there are the times when he yowls at us and stares at the door. He is not an indoor cat, no matter how much I try to strong arm him. We all wish for Milo to change his mind and become an indoor cat. We know it’s safer here, warm, and protected. As I type this, he stands staring out the window.

The rest of us in the house, well, Luna and Felix also wish to be outdoors…but us humans want to remain warm.

I was in Malachi 3 today and these verses caught my attention.

“Then those who feared the Lord [with awe-filled reverence] spoke to one another; and the Lord paid attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who fear the Lord [with an attitude of reverence and respect] and who esteem His name. “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on that day when I publicly recognize them and openly declare them to be My own possession [that is, My very special treasure]. And I will have compassion on them and spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” Then you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭AMP

We who know the truth are to encourage one another and spur to good works. We are to remind one another of the protection and care of the Lord. Reminding and following the words of Scripture. These verses challenge me to be one who turns God’s head.

I come back to this post a week later (haven’t been writing as much) and other truths from these verses in Malachi jump out to me. Those who feared the Lord, esteem His name, they are gathered to the Lord as His possession, His treasure. Compassion. God’s compassion over us.

A friend of mine, Janice, gave me something to think about recently. As God has had compassion for us and forgiven, so we are called to the same. We know this, don’t we? But when the person cuts you off on your way home from work or a patient is condescending or angry…no wait, that’s me.

I’m really worried about my rights. I’m worried about how I look in front of others. And I hate that. My sense of justice for myself is quite high. I’m sure I’m alone in that…haha.

I have verses from Matthew 6 floating around in my head as I type. The Lord’s Prayer asks the Father to forgive my sins. We like to forget the other part, as we also forgive our debtors. This goes hand in hand. Notice there isn’t any little caveats about our specific circumstances like I listed before. We are meant to love and forgive.

One last Luna story for today. Luna gets dust and junk stuck near her eyes and it gets crusty and well, I’m sure you get the picture. So we get the lovely task of holding warm compresses to her eyes and cleaning her up. She sees this as we are trying to murder her in cold blood. But we know that it’s necessary for her, so we don’t stop cleaning her up. Our reasons cannot be explained to her.

We are meant to trust our lives and hearts to the living God. We need his cleansing grace and mercy. Just like Luna, we won’t know the reasons, but we know our Father. And he knows us. So we lean and let God. It’s a moment by moment breath and prayer. He is always in the process of cleaning us up.