faith

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Love First

…”for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” –Jesus, Luke 19:10 For God so loved the world, He gave. Gave Himself, gave love. There is no condemnation in Christ. He who knew no sin, became sin. Became my sin. The sin I can’t undo. The sin I can’t make right. The sin I can’t erase. The sin that wages war with my soul. Kill, steal, destroy. When I confess, He is faithful.…

Mirage

“Mirages are things that aren’t really there that you can see very clearly….’How do you see something that isn’t there?’ ‘Sometimes it’s much simpler than seeing things that are’” --Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth Distant paradise. I see it so clearly…a hope, relationship, relocation…the thing that’s going to fulfill my inner longing. Hope and a future defined by me. I stretch and reach, attempting to grasp air. I want this not that. Reality smudges. Satan sends the snake. “Did God…

Manna Moments

He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritualists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing His anger. 2 Kings 21:6 King Hezekiah is very sick. Isaiah, the prophet approaches, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before You faithfully and with…

Gather Me Close

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” –Jesus, Matthew 23:37 Gather me close, under Your wings. I’ve stoned those sent to me with messages I refused to receive. Claimed my own understanding. Went my own way. Gather me close. You give weary souls rest. Take away my heavy. Carry me…

The Fence is a Lie

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that…” Martin Luther King Jr. It seemed innocent enough – people I knew, church people had the thing, the item I wanted. I justified. Even Jesus’ garment was of such good quality, solders drew lots to acquire it not knowing in doing so, they fulfilled prophesy. For me, it was a left or right moment cloaked in worldly desire. To purchase an expensive, unnecessary fashion item or align myself with the…

Surprised by Joy

“It is only when our lives are emptied that we’re surprised by how truly full our lives were.” --Ann Voscamp Darkness surrounds, embraces, enfolds. Silently we slip through sea grape and sand. Moving without words, hunched over, an opening appears. Light and beauty make me gasp. Moon’s full orb lights water’s inky blackness, creates a mirror from wet sand. Waves softly lap shore. Without speaking, we sit absorbing the moment. Without thought, I give thanks and praise. In this moment,…

Love Much

Jesus said to the woman, “Because you believed, you are saved from your sins. Go in peace.” --Luke 7:50 It was an invitation of public statement. A Pharisee, respected religious leader, asked Jesus to eat with him so He went. It wasn’t really to honor Jesus. There was an agenda – the Bible doesn’t say but when I read the story, it becomes apparent the Pharisee wasn’t about knowing Jesus. He didn’t want to sit at the Master’s feet. He…

High Places

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Matthew 23:37 The Lord’s hand is not shortened. He is not blind or deaf. He can reach me, see me, hear me. He is all things – provider, redeemer, healer. I separate myself. “I want, I think, I feel”. God excluded. I think…

No Soup for Sale

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6 Sun sinks low as sky turns purple then gold, slips into dusk. Field day ends and hunters weary head home, silhouetted by fading light. He stands taller than the rest - more than a fieldsman, he is the landowner’s son, an heir. Scent of stew fills the air. Esau’s stomach grumbles hunger – in that moment, it’s everything he wants. His brother, Jacob stirs…

Love Life

And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22:44 And just like that, life splits open, splits me open and nothing is ever the same. In a moment of decision, right or left, everything changes. The certain uncertain. Today, Good Friday, I think about the word good. Really, there’s nothing good about it. It’s a day that commemorates my Lord’s persecution, betrayal, humiliation, torture, rejection and murder.…