Author: Claire's Prayer

In Psalm 90:12 we read this verse; “𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔.” A seemingly impossible request, how many of us know the number of our days? Only our Abba Father who has appointed every single one of them for us.

Hidden in this verse is a sparkling treasure, a truth that will change us if we let it. In Hebrew, this verse says, “𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 ‘𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐡’ 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬,” to not just number our days but to prepare and appoint them. Our instructions are to look upon every day as important and to plan for it ahead of time. To prepare for the things we need to do, even to appoint moments in our day.

Perhaps make an appointment with a friend for coffee and set aside a particular day. Elect a time when you will meet with your Savior and keep the date. Set aside time for your children, your spouse, your parents. Appoint a day to write a blog or journal, study a book or meditate on God’s Word. Plan and prepare your days instead of watching them fly by in what seems like a flash and a blur.

If we ‘manah’ our days then, “𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔.” The wisdom that we all want, desire, and need. We will be like the five wise virgins who had oil in their lamps, they knew there was an appointed time for the bridegroom to come and get them. In this same way, we are asked to appoint, prepare, and number all the days of our lives.

I often have great intentions, but the busyness of life, procrastination on my part, and the squirrels in my head (oh, those squirrels!) often distract me from my destination. But I am learning, and one of those things that I have learned is that nothing about being in relationship with our Eternal God is passive. There’s always a part we must play, a choice we have to make.

Let’s take a look at a few examples from the Word of God:

“𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉…” Isaiah 40:31

“𝑻𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅; 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” Psalm 34:8

“𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” James 4:8

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓; 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆.” Proverbs 18:10

“𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑶 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒖𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉, 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑭𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉, 𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔.” 1 Timothy 6:11-12

Action words and verbs simply abound in these passages. 𝑾𝒂𝒊𝒕! 𝑻𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒆𝒆. 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝑵𝒆𝒂𝒓. 𝑹𝒖𝒏! 𝑷𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒖𝒆. 𝑭𝒍𝒆𝒆! 𝑭𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕!

So much of the Word of God requires action on our part. We cannot just sit, doing nothing, and expect to grow in the knowledge of our God. Good intentions and good ideas don’t get us anywhere! Therefore, I love the consistency of our Abba Father, and this is why I so want to be like Him. If we consistently wait, consistently taste, consistently draw near, we will get to know the LORD and we will see change in our families, our nation, and across the world.

Let’s make this our prayer – “𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 – 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!”

Sometimes when I set aside time to pray, I don’t want to do it wrong, I want to do it right. I don’t want to be the one Solomon spoke about in Ecclesiastes 5:2; “𝑫𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅. 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉, 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒘.”

When I was in my teens, we were taught to pray the ‘ACTS’ way. Adoration – Confession – Thanksgiving – Supplication. Should I stick to this methodology? Is this the ‘right’ way? Before I know it 30 minutes has passed as I worry about getting it right!

I know that we are told to come ‘boldly’ into the presence of God. “𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅.” Hebrews 4:16. But what does ‘boldy’ look like? It’s certainly not brash or with a sense of entitlement!

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 is what my Strong’s Concordance tells me. With confidence and free from any kind of fear, the ability to pour out your heart before the King. Before a throne of grace, unmerited favor, and merciful kindness!

Spurgeon puts it way better than I ever could; “𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺?”

At the end of the day, I think I make things too complicated. Our Bridegroom is approachable. There is no perfect way or ‘right way’ to talk to our Father. He longs for us to come to Him in confidence, with honesty, and openness in our hearts.

Today I pray that you wouldn’t delay, that you would know the freedom you have to approach your Savior, He welcomes you into His presence with open arms! Pour out your heart to Him knowing that He listens with avid attention and responds to the cry of your heart.

Peace. We all long for it and yet at times it seems that as soon as we have it, it slips away once more.

God’s Word tells us that we can indeed have the peace that we fervently desire. “𝑩𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔.” (Phil 4:6-7)

We all know this scripture, in fact, Amazon released data stating this is the most highlighted passage of scripture in the Kindle Bible!

I don’t need to point out the obvious, that we need to pray about everything, raising our voices in thanksgiving to the God of the Universe, to the One who deserves all our thanks, I know you know that. But there is something in this scripture that speaks loudly to me. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.” As we pray and seek the LORD with thanksgiving, w̲e̲ ̲m̲u̲s̲t̲ ̲r̲e̲l̲i̲n̲q̲u̲i̲s̲h̲ ̲o̲u̲r̲ ̲r̲i̲g̲h̲t̲ ̲t̲o̲ ̲u̲n̲d̲e̲r̲s̲t̲a̲n̲d̲, release our questions to Him and give up our need to understand it all, acknowledging that we don’t need to understand, just trust.

Then peace will rise above and surpass our need to understand and guard our hearts and minds! Herein lies the secret to peace, praying, seeking God, thanksgiving, and giving up the right to understand.

My prayer for you today is that you would be able to trust and find God’s peace, and with that peace would come joy, overwhelming thanksgiving, that you would indeed be like the trees of the field clapping their hand in praise to our beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ!

Let’s take a minute to walk in Peter’s shoes for a moment. It won’t be hard; I know you have felt so much of what Peter felt. On the night that Jesus was seized by soldiers and dragged away, Peter was sitting by the fire, when people began to look at him stating, “I saw you with Jesus!” But Peter was quick to deny his friendship with the Savior; “𝙈𝙖𝙣, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩.” 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, “𝘽𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨.” 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮.” Luke 22:60-62.

Can you picture Peter’s bitter weeping, how the cloak of shame must have enveloped him. Time and time again he would have asked himself, “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴!” Shame latching on, gripping his soul, reminding him of how unworthy he was.

Have you ever felt like that? When the shame of what you have done sticks to you like gum on the bottom of your shoe. Shame. Deceptive. Treacherous even. For years I carried shame with me, it kept me imprisoned in my past.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻! 𝗔 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲. This wasn’t the end of Peter’s story. A week after Jesus arose from the dead, Peter decided to go fishing again. History repeats itself and they caught nothing, as they came into shore, Jesus was standing on the beach. He shouted out, “𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚.” 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝.” (John 21)

You won’t believe what happens next, 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁! I find this astounding, the risen King, glorious Savior, Jesus himself, made Peter breakfast. He didn’t confront Peter, compounding his guilt, asking him why he would betray him that way. No, He made him breakfast. He served him, he served the friend that had spoken badly of him and denied him. Honestly, not something I would think of doing.

After breakfast, Jesus asked Peter a question, and No – it wasn’t; “Peter, how could you do that?” or “Peter, do you know how disappointed I am in you?” Jesus said to him, “𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲?” Do you love me? Tears spring to my eyes, do you love me? Yes LORD, I do, oh how I love you!

Jesus responded by saying, “𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗽.” Join my mission. Expand my Kingdom. Become a leader of leaders. Take care of the children. Walk in your calling. Jesus knew Peter would be consumed by shame but didn’t beat him over the head instead He asked. “Do you love me?”

Peter walked away from shame that day and became one of the greatest leaders of all time, the one upon whom the church was founded. His decision that day was saying NO to shame.

Today I sense Jesus saying the same thing to you. “𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲?” If your response is “Yes,” then walk away. Choose to walk away from shame and leave it behind and expand the Kingdom of God. Step into your calling. Allow the LORD to redeem your story and begin a new chapter, one that is free from shame. You can do it; I believe in you!

Bible scholars have identified over 100 prophecies that were fulfilled that dark Friday when Jesus hung on Calvary. Imagine that. One hundred prophecies fulfilled at the cross! Our Abba Father wove a thousand thoughts into every little detail of His Masterpiece. Signpost after signpost pointing the way to Jesus, the corridors of history echoing the Messiah. One of those precious prophecies is one that is so easy to miss, why would we think about the clothes Jesus wore? But this one blows me away, it’s the story of a seamless garment, the one our beautiful Saviour wore!

John 19:23-24 says this about the seamless garment: “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒎, 𝒘𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, ‘𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆,’ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔: ‘𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔.’” What was so incredibly important about this seamless garment? About this robe that was woven in one piece?

Going back in time to Exodus 28, we first discover an ornate, seamless robe made especially for the High Priest. A robe woven with great care, not something that anyone else would wear because of the great cost. This robe was worn by the one who would enter the Holy of Holies, on behalf of the children of Israel, and bring offerings to the Great I Am for the sins of His chosen ones. The priest was taught that he must never tear his clothes, for if he did, he would invalidate his ministry as High Priest. Jesus wore that garment—that precious, seamless robe of the High Priest!

Have you ever noticed that when Jesus stood on trial before Caiaphas, the High Priest, Caiaphas ripped his garments once he had finished questioning Jesus?! “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒎, “𝑫𝒐 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖?” 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒎, “𝑰 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒐𝒅: 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅!”𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎, “𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.”𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈, “𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒚! 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔? 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒚!” (Matthew 26:62-65) In rage and self-righteousness, he tore his robe and disqualified himself from the priesthood! Why? Caiaphas had been replaced! Replaced by a High Priest who would go to the cross as an offering for the sins of the world!

I love how the Father does all things well, right down to the tiniest detail. Christ’s seamless robe was never torn; the soldiers cast lots for this precious garment, and it remained intact for all time! It is the seamless robe of Jesus, our High Priest, who sits at the right hand of God, forever making intercession for us!