Author Archives: Rebekah Keazer

Think About These Things – Part 5

Acts 10:9-16, focus on vv. 11-16: “He (Peter) saw the heavens opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures, reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.’ The voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken to heaven.”

The background of this passage is that Peter went up on a roof to pray, but then he got hungry. God used the opportunity to show him an image of a banquet feast of animals, many of which were not kosher/clean. Peter thinks God is telling him to eat the unclean animals, and he’s confused, because he knows that God would never contradict anything in God’s word, so why is God telling him that He has made these animals clean, and that Peter should not call them unclean or profane?

We know from past readings/study that this refers to the gentile Cornelius, whom God used to pour out the Holy Spirit on gentiles. But in this moment, Peter did not know that. It was only revealed to him later.

Though it is an interesting image, especially when read next to 1 Corinthians 7:17-20, which states:

“…let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but obeying the commandments of God is everything. Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called.”

Circumcision and uncircumcision are usually used as metaphors for Jew and Gentile. Normally, because of the law, Jews are circumcised. Gentiles are not, because they don’t have that law. So what Paul is saying here is that if you are an observant Jew who believes in Jesus, you don’t need to change anything you’ve been doing except to obey God’s commandments, especially as revealed in Christ. (Remember Jesus’s debates with the Pharisees, who were adding to and interpreting God’s laws in ways that God never said). The same goes for Gentiles. They don’t need to become circumcised. Just obey God.

This reminds me of the different Christian groups who believe they have to live exactly like the early Jewish believers in order to be righteous/in order to obey God. That is so not the point. We have the freedom to follow these laws, sure. It’s not going to affect our righteousness, though. God’s commandments in Christ are simple. Love God and love your neighbor. What you eat and drink, whether you are circumcised, ultimately means nothing.

I was born into an observant Jewish family, but since following Jesus (and being old enough to make my own decisions–because I believed in Jesus when I was still really little–it’s a long story), I know that I can continue to follow those extra laws if I wish or I can choose not to. As long as I am following the simple commandment to love God and others, which I also believe is reflected in the distribution of the Ten Commandments, I’m fine.

We are not justified by our works, but by our faith. The extent to which our works justify us is if we are obedient to what God tells us to do. God doesn’t need extra fancy sacrifices, but a pure and obedient heart.

Featured image: “Biblical illustration of Acts of the Apostles Chapter 10.” 1984. Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing, Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA. Copyright 1984. Released under new license, CC-BY-SA 3.0. Jim Padgett.

Think About These Things – Pt. 4

You know what? I think I’ll keep this series going until Pentecost Sunday.

We are finally all caught up, and here is this morning’s post:

“Acts 9:4-5: ‘He (Saul) fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, why do you persecute me?” He (Saul) asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply was, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” ‘

Saul is a devout Jew who is persecuting the Jews who believe in Jesus, because they have departed from the true faith. However, on his way to Damascus, a Syrian city with many believers, he has an encounter that Jesus that knocks him off of his bestial mode of transportation and blinds him with a bright light. Jesus asks, ‘Why are you persecuting ME?’

Clearly, Saul isn’t actually persecuting Jesus, but by persecuting those who believe in Him, he is. I believe this is the first allusion to the body of Christ in the Bible–that is, of believers being the body of Christ. This is why by persecuting the believers, Saul can be persecuting Jesus.

On another level, this can also be a continuation of Matthew 23:37 (Luke 13:34), where Jesus says, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.’

What if those early believers were God’s prophetic messengers? They had to be, especially if the Great Commission were to be fulfilled–to go throughout the world and make disciples of all nations. By persecuting the believers, Saul is continuing the tradition of killing those sent to speak God’s truth into the world.”

Think About These Things – Pt. 3

I don’t know how long this series will last, but this is what I wrote yesterday. I didn’t post this to the Facebook page, so hopefully this isn’t redundant:

“Psalm 116:13 – ‘I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord…’

This verse comes from a larger passage, in which King David is thanking God for delivering him from an illness that had him close to death. The first thing I saw once I had read today’s sermon passage a few times–especially this verse–was a COVID-19 patient in bed. They had no one to visit them, and they really wanted communion. So they used what they had: a little piece of bread and a cup of juice from the meal that they were having. Holding the bread in one hand, they recited: ‘On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He took bread, and, breaking it, said, “This is my body, broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”‘ I didn’t see anything past that, because that’s when I exited the daydream–or vision, if that’s what it was.

I immediately thought of Isa. 53:5 – ‘But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises (wounds or stripes) we are healed.’

I know a lot of people have been talking about pleading the blood of Jesus over this virus, but what about His body? His broken body, His beaten body, which the prophet Isaiah has said holds the key to our healing?

I’m not going to focus on the act of communion as a panacea of healing, but rather the faith behind it. And I know I’m treading on dangerous ground here, because many people have had faith, yet were not healed. However, I believe that in our ‘remembrance’ of Jesus, this is part of what we should remember. We not only remember His death, but we also remember the significance of His broken body.

‘This is my body, broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ In our consumption of the carb of our choice, we remember that it represents–or actually becomes (depending on your tradition)–the body of Christ, of Jesus.

When King David refers to “the cup of salvation” and says that he will “call on the name of the Lord,” while we can’t be 100% sure that the cup of salvation refers to the blood of Jesus, I do believe it is a model of what we can do in our times of suffering and sickness, knowing that these elements are more than just a memorial. What if it also portrays the reality of the nearness of the Kingdom of God? That it is as close as the very bread we eat and wine we drink, and that in those elements are the powers of healing and salvation for all who believe?”

Think About These Things – Pt. 2

This is the second post in my Facebook transfer series. This one is from Saturday, April 24, 2020.

“Psalm 46:10 – ‘Be still, and know that I am God. I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.’

Stillness. Letting Go and letting You do what You do. Don’t rush, don’t work, don’t panic. Be still. Trust in You. 

To exalt means to lift up. You don’t say You will be exalted. You say You already are exalted.

‘Be still, for I am exalted. Physically, I am at a great height. I can look down and see everything. You’re not alone or ignored. No one is. Nothing that happens on the earth escapes my notice. Spiritually, My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than yours. You will never understand the whys and the hows in this life. But trust that I know what I am doing. You see through a glass dimly, but soon you will see clearly and you will see as I do (1 Corinthians 13:12). But much must happen before that time comes. Just be still and know that I am God. Ineffable (too great to be described in words), unfathomable (incapable of being fully explored or understood), immeasurable. Do not worry; just be still. Be still and I will work. Be still and you will see me work things out for you. Because I AM and I can.'”

Think About These Things – Pt. 1

Hey…so long no see!

(That looks weird, even though I’ve been hearing it as a greeting all my life…)

I want to share a couple of meditations that I posted on Facebook that should really be recorded here–at least for my own records. So if you’ve read these already, they’re pretty much redundant.

The first (this post) is from Friday, April 24:

“Acts 2:21 – ‘Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (NRSV)

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever would believe in (that Son) (that He–Jesus the Christ–died for our sins and was resurrected) would not perish, but will have everlasting life.” — paraphrase

Isn’t that a Reckless Love? To sacrifice your own child? To kill them for the sake of humanity? It’s like saying, ‘I created you, and I love you, and I want to be your Father/Parent, but I can’t tolerate such sin. How can you be made in my image, yet still be so sinful? I’m not like that. 

You know what? Normally, your priests would have to make a sacrifice on behalf of your collective sin, whether a lamb or another creature. I am going to send my Son into the world, clad in human flesh. He’s going to be just like you. He’ll experience hunger, thirst, pain, trauma, betrayal, passion. He will be like you in every way, except with the inability to sin, because He is also divine. He is a part of Me. A part of Myself I am sacrificing for you. 

Therefore, He will be the final sacrifice. Your sacrifices of lambs and turtledoves have to be renewed year after year–in some cases, every time you sin, you have to make atonement. However, this is the final sacrifice. The sacrifice to end all sacrifices. I will send my Son. He will take on all of your sin. He will suffer. He will be alone. I will have to leave Him–to remove Myself from Him–because, like I said, sin is just not in My nature. It’s not a part of who I am. I love My Son, and it grieves Me deeply to do this, yet He must die so that you may live–an abundant, grace-filled, guilt-free life. 

And all you have to do is believe. His death put your sin to death, and His resurrection means that it will never have power over you ever again, So come, receive that grace. That gift. You are no longer estranged or separated from Me. You are My child. Your sin has been replaced by My righteousness. Celebrate that this Easter. And rejoice, for I have sent you My Spirit, so you shall not fear or worry about your salvation. For I am also within you, ever renewing and transforming you to reflect My nature. So do not fear. I am with you. I have called you by name. You are Mine.”

A Litany for COVID-19

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share a prayer for everyone affected by Coronavirus COVID-19, which is pretty much everyone. Whether we or someone we know has contracted the virus, or our schools and workplaces are closed, this situation probably touches us in some way.

A Litany for the Coronavirus COVID-19

For hope in the midst of despair, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For calm within the storm, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the healing of those who are ill, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the wisdom to balance compassion with social distancing, and to understand that social distancing is also a form of compassion, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the safety of health care workers, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the protection and preservation of the vulnerable and immunocompromised, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those in need of company and fellowship, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the poor, homeless, abused, and all with nowhere to go, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For leaders of governments, workplaces, schools, churches, and other organisations, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For international students who can’t return home and children for whom school lunch is their only guaranteed meal, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the Church to be our Churchiest best to all in need, in as many creative ways as we may need, Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Blogmas Day 25: The MIXTAPE

Here are all the songs I wrote about (or mentioned) in one place. Some of these are on a Spotify playlist.

  1. “The People Who Walked in Darkness” – Mary Louise Bringle
  2. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” – Traditional
  3. “My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout/Canticle of the Turning/Star of County Down” – Arr. John Ferguson
  4. “Holy Is His Name” – John Michael Talbot
  5. “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” – Aurelius Clemens Prudentius
  6. “Wait for the Lord” – Taize
  7. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” – Traditional (Charles Wesley/Felix Mendelssohn)
  8. “Jesus, Jesus, O What A Wonderful Child” – Mariah Carey (to the best of my knowledge)
  9. “O Come, All Ye Faithful” – Traditional (Wade/Oakeley)
  10. “While We Are Waiting, Come” – Don Cason
  11. “Soon and Very Soon” – Andrae Crouch
  12. “O Holy Night” – Traditional (Dwight/Adam)
  13. “Agnus Dei” – Michael W. Smith (again, to the best of my knowledge; also very shaky on the whole “Christmas” thing)
  14. “Alpha and Omega” – Israel and New Breed
  15. “Joy to the World!” – Traditional (Isaac Watts/Handel)
  16. “Hallelujah, Salvation, and Glory”– Stephen Hurd
  17. “Hallelujah Chorus” – Handel, Messiah
  18. “O Come, Let Us Adore Him”– Traditional
  19. “Emmanuel” – Norman Hutchins
  20. “Let Us Adore” – Elevation Worship
  21. “Holy” – Kim Walker-Smith
  22. “Keep Your Lamps!” – African-American Spiritual
  23. “The Night that Christ Was Born” – Kirk Franklin
  24. “Like You Promised” – Amber Brooks
  25. “Como Dijiste” – Christine D’Clario
  26. “Days of Elijah” – Robin Mark
  27. “Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates” – William Mathias
black cassette tape on top of red and yellow surface

Photo by Stas Knop on Pexels.com

Blogmas Day 24: “Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates”

“Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates” is one of the last songs I learned in seminary. This song was composed by William Mathias. The version I linked to was performed by the St. Albans Abbey Girls Choir and released in 2016.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates!
Lift up your heads, O ye gates 
And be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors.
And the King of Glory shall come in,

Who is this King of glory? x3

The Lord, strong and mighty! x2
The Lord, mighty in battle!

The Lord of Hosts. x3

He is the King of Glory! (Glory x3)

This choral anthem is a rendition of Psalm 24.7-8, 10: “Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle…Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory” (NRSV).

This psalm is divided into three parts. The first part discusses God’s vast dominion: “The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it” (24:1).

The second part describes righteousness. Who earns the right to encounter God’s holiness in God’s temple? “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully. They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation” (24:4-5).

The final part (verses 7-10) is the focus of the anthem. In my bible version (the New Revised Standard Version), sections and chapters are usually titled. The title of Psalm 24 is “Entrance into the Temple,” so I would guess that this psalm is a sort of anthropomorphism of the temple gates.

For some reason, I see a clearer path from the discussion of God’s dominion to that of God’s glory and then to our response. It’s like saying:

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The Lord God has dominion over the whole world. The Lord is the King of Glory, the God of angel armies. All who are righteous, all with pure hearts, shall be able to enter into God’s holy temple and stand before the presence of God’s holiness.

Even Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).

Yet, the concept of lifting one’s head alludes to a joyful anticipation. “Lift up Your Heads!” Rejoice! Chin up! The Lord is coming! Although the psalmist describes God as having high standards, they are only proportional to God’s glory. Yet, we have nothing to fear. Sure, we will fear God and stand in awe of God’s glory, but we have no need to be afraid of Him. After all, as believers, the Holy Spirit is constantly renewing us and transforming us from the inside, so that we will have clean hands and pure hearts. And when God brings heaven to earth, we will be able to dwell in God’s presence forever.

gold and black metal fence

Photo by Samuel Wölfl on Pexels.com

 

Blogmas Day 23: “Days of Elijah”

I was halfway through writing a post about “Holy Is His Name”by John Michael Talbot when I realized I had already written about another arrangement of the Magnificat.

So, I shall reluctantly change gears. Today’s song is actually going to be “Days of Elijah” by Robin Mark.

These are the days of Elijah,
Declaring the word of the Lord
And these are the days of Your servant Moses,
Righteousness being restored.
And though these are days of great trial,
Of famine and darkness and sword,
Still, we are the voice in the desert crying
“Prepare ye the way of the Lord!”

Behold He comes riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call,
Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee,
And out of Zion’s hill salvation comes.

These are the days of Ezekiel,
The dry bones becoming as flesh,
And these are the days of Your servant David,
Rebuilding a temple of praise.
These are the days of the harvest,
The fields are as white in Your world,
And we are the labourers in Your vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord!

Behold He comes riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call,
Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee,
And out of Zion’s hill salvation comes.

There’s no God like Jehovah x15

This song is more “future Advent” than “past Advent.” It’s all about looking ahead to what will happen when Jesus returns.

Elijah was a prophet in the Old Testament. His “job,” so to speak, was to declare to the people of Israel the messages that the Lord was giving him (1 and 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles).

Through Moses, God gave the people of Israel His divine Law, a Law that was meant to help the people live in a righteous way that pleased God (Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy).

The “days of great trial”: We live during a time of violence, hunger, and various sins. Revelation 3:10 specifically speaks about trials relating to the end times: “…the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (NRSV). Jesus also says that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Matt. 24:7, Mk. 13:8, Lk. 21:11 — not all verbatim, but the same phenomena).

Ezekiel had a vision from God that God would infuse Israel with hope and strength again. The image of Israel was a valley of dry bones, but God promised to rebuild the bones with muscles and nerves and skin and breathe life back into them. God would infuse the people with His Spirit and make them live again (Ezekiel 37:1-14).

King David had a desire to build a temple for God, a house where God’s presence could dwell. However, it was not God’s plan for David to build the temple, but his son, the future King Solomon (2 Samuel 7:4-17).

Finally, Jesus talks about a harvest that is soon to take place, but there aren’t enough workers to reap the harvest: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38, NRSV). The harvest refers to people–all the people who need to know the Gospel.

If we are allegedly currently living during the “Days of Elijah,” this means that:

  1. Our role is to mimic the prophet Elijah by preaching and prophesying and proclaiming the word of the Lord, and encouraging people to prepare for Jesus’s second coming.
  2. Our role is to, specifically, encourage and exhort people to live righteously, to love God and one another, and to pursue justice and mercy.
  3. We should be aware of what is going on the world.
  4. We can look forward to God reviving His people.
  5. If we think about ourselves as dwelling places for God’s Spirit, in a way, we ourselves are “the temple of praise.” Living lives of worship and consecration are ways to give praise to God. Also, note Romans 12.1: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
  6. Our responsibility is always to be evangelistic with the gifts that we have been given. There are so many people who don’t know Jesus, and we should always be thinking of how to show them God’s love.

So, in this Advent season, I think we can look ahead to Jesus’s second coming and prepare others through a) proclamation and prophecy, b) discernment, c) hope, d) worship and consecration, and e) evangelism.

clouds dark dramatic heaven

Photo by Adam Kontor on Pexels.com

Blogmas Day 22: Fourth Sunday in Advent: LOVE

Today’s song for the fourth and final Sunday in Advent is “Like You Promised” by Amber Brooks. I think this is a great song for an Advent that looks ahead to Christ’s coming and the promise of the Holy Spirit. It’s one of those songs that remind us that not only is there an Advent that commemorates Jesus’s first coming, but we also have something which we can anticipate. (Christine D’Clario also sang a Spanish version, which I also love).

Like You Promised:

Stir these stagnant waters of my soul
Merge me with Your river which springs life
I don’t have all the right words to say
That will provoke You to want me
Anymore than you already do

So won’t You come
Come like You promised
Pour out Your Spirit
Pour out Your Spirit

Come into my darkness where I hide
Pull me into Your arms Your arms of peace
Reaching past my hiding
Oh, reach out to my running
Oh, Lord, come fill my soul with Your love

You love like a Father
You love like a brother
You love like a Lion
Fierce Like no other
You violently chase me
Down, to embrace me
Engulf me
In who You are

———————

In my tradition, one of the most important concepts is REVIVAL, and that’s where my head would first go when listening to this song: Holy Spirit come! But, although this is very much an invocation of the Spirit, it is within the context of LOVE. The writer of the song is pleading for the Holy Spirit to come with love. And that is the theme of the fourth Sunday in Advent.

This song reminds us:

  1. We find true life and acceptance in Jesus.

When our souls are “stagnant,” Jesus is a river flowing with life. When I am apathetic and just not feeling much excitement or passion or joie de vivre (joy of living), even when I’m completely burned out, I need the reminder that I can drink from this river and be refilled. Jesus told a Samaritan woman–around the water cooler, because clearly that’s where all the deep convos take place–that He was the source of living water, and anyone who drinks from His water would never thirst (John 4:10-14, NRSV).

Water is one of the main sources of life. The majority of the surface of the earth (60%-80%) is covered with water. Similarly, about 70% of our bodies are filled with water. If we become dehydrated because we have not consumed water for a long period of time, we could die. Yet, Jesus says that the water that He has to offer is greater than the water that we drink here.

Revelation 22 gives us an image of the River of Life, which flows through the New Jerusalem:

“Then the angel[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:1-2)

The water that flows through the city (New Jerusalem) flows, as water does, through the ground and down into the roots of the trees. However, when this water seeps into the roots, it results in healing. The fruits that grow from those trees, having absorbed the nutrients (well, more than just nutrients–divine healing) from the water, result in healing and restoration for all people who eat them.

In addition to the healing and revival–of our souls, that is–that comes from Jesus, we also find unconditional love and acceptance. God loves us and wants us more than we can imagine. We don’t have to convince God to love us. We don’t have to strive to make ourselves worthy of God’s desire. God loves us because He is our parent and we are God’s children.

Intellectually, I know that you love me. I know that it is not dependent on me or anything I do. But sometimes I just need reassurance. Send Your Spirit to me. Fill me with life again, because sometimes I don’t feel like I can make it, and I can’t tell that You’re there.

2. God is capable of finding us wherever we are, even if we try to hide.

I’m one of those people that will–quite unproductively, I may add–intentionally hide when I’m feeling at my worst because I don’t want to talk to anybody. It’s extremely unhealthy and unwise, but I will smile and make small talk and get all my work done, all while hiding whatever is bothering me. And unless someone is particularly inquisitive–incessantly so–no one will ever know.

But it’s different with God. And deep down, we know this. That God is just waiting for us to let Him into our hiding places so He can heal what’s broken. Brooks pleads with God to break into her hiding place, to shine His light in her dark places; to embrace her with His arms of peace.

Isolating ourselves doesn’t change anything. It isn’t helpful. It doesn’t bring healing. We find health and wholeness in God’s presence, whether that’s at the altar or among trusted friends who bear God’s image.

God, help me to break down my walls and to let You in. You know that when I’m hiding, or not praying, or choosing to check out and withdraw from my chosen community that that is when I need You the most. Let the light of Your Spirit break into my darkness.

3. God’s love is furious and insistent.

Weird words to use to describe a good God–especially the One we’ve been calling the Prince of Peace this month. But our multifaceted, complex God is insistent on loving us, even when we don’t want it. God loves us like a father is supposed to love us. Tenderly, providing for our needs, protecting us. God loves us like a brother–playfully, with levity and lightheartedness, yet also defending us fiercely. (I’m just guessing here; I’ve never had a biological brother, but I do have a best friend who is very much like a brother to me).

God also loves us like a lion–which reminds me I really need to either watch or read The Chronicles of Narnia to do a better characterization of Aslan. But, lions, especially lionesses, are known for the ferocity with which they love and defend their cubs.

God, thank You for loving me. Thank you that Your love is not only familiar and comforting, but also insistent and even violent. You’re the Shepherd who will leave the 99 sheep in the pasture just to go back and find the one that is lost. You break down my walls and shine into my dark places with Your all-consuming love. Come. Pour out Your Spirit and fill me again with Your love.

acorn advent blur bright

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com