“But if the slave declares: ‘I love my master… I do not want to leave as a free man’, his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the door or doorpost.  His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.”  Exodus 21:5&6

Happy New year to all of my friends!  I am sorry it has been so long since I have written.  I was in the hospital with pneumonia and it has been a busy few months, but I am so thankful to be feeling better and able to share my thoughts about the fresh start of 2020.  This year i have a few resolutions that I am praying the Lord will give me victory in.  One of them is to take captive every thought that the devil tries to throw at me.  Too often I have let Satan parade his army around in my mind.  His soldiers of doubt, anxiety, fear, discouragement, pride, self hatred, etc have marched around my head.  I am praying the Lord helps me to take those enemies as prisoners of war.  I want to recruit an army led by the Holy Spirit; an army of soldiers that are “true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent and worthy of praise.” I want to be able to put my foot down and say, “Not today Satan!  You will not control my thoughts because I have my thoughts on Jesus, so get behind me with your army and hold up your white flag because you are a defeated foe.”

My other resolution is to get my ears pierced.  Yes, you heard me right.  I want to make a statement and I want it to be obvious to everyone.  Now, let me explain;  I am not talking literally here, but the spiritual analogy was too great for me to pass up.  You see, back in the days of the Old Testament a person could buy a Hebrew slave.  That slave was then obligated to serve his master for six years.  On the seventh year, however, he was able to leave as a free man without having to pay anything. What a relief it must have been to many slaves to be able to put on their clothes and walk out of the house free to do as they pleased after many years of forced labor.  There were those, though, who grew to love their Master for they had been kind and generous towards them all of the years of their service.  They had treated them with compassion and respect.  Those slaves then could make  a choice.  They could say “You know what, I do not want to leave as a free man.  I could not think of a better life than here with my Master.  I love Him.  In fact I think of Him more as family than I do as a boss.”  That slave’s Master was then to bring Him before the judges and then bring him to the door.  His master then pierced his ear with an awl through the doorpost.  This indicated that the servant was choosing to serve his master for life.

I told the Lord that I want Him to pierce my ear at the doorpost of His house.  I want to serve Him for the rest of my life, not out of a sense of obligation, or a sense of fear, but purely out of love.  For how can I not but love my Master, who has been so good to me over the years.  He only does what is best for me. He feeds me with the abundance of His storehouse.  He lets me dine at His table.  He provides me with clothes of righteousness.  He even adopted me as His own child.  He withholds no good gift and has gone so far as to offer me a mansion on His property when my time on earth is done.  There is no better life than one with my Master.  He is the reason I live.  He is the reason I have hope.  He has shown me so much love, that I do not deserve nor could ever repay.  His grace has overflowed into every aspect of my life.  He pours out His blessings and walks with me through every step of my journey.  I pray that my love for Him grows even deeper and that I live a life that makes Him proud.  He deserves every ounce of gratitude and love, praise and adoration.  I want the world to know that I am not at all being forced to serve.  It is an honor and a privilege.  I do it out of love.

“I will serve Thee because I love Thee

You have given life to me

I was nothing before you found me

You have given life to me.”

-lyrics by Bill and Gloria Gaither

“Dear Lord Jesus, I pray today that you pierce my ear at the doorpost of Your house. I choose to be your bond slave for the rest of my life.  Why?  Because I love You and I could think of no better place to be than in the presence of my Master.   You are precious and worthy of all my praise.”