Claire's Prayer

How important is that shield of faith? Let’s look once again at Ephesians 6 where we are told to put on the whole armor of God; “𝔸𝕓𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝, 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕖.” This verse starts off with an ‘above all,’ indicating that this indeed is very important. We can see just how important this is if we take a moment to look at that shield in the natural.

This was not a little round shield, like the one carried by Captain America, this was a huge oblong shield as big as a man’s body, sometimes known as a door. Two layers of wood, covered in leather and then drenched in water. You guessed it; the water would extinguish the fiery darts of the wicked one!

Back in the days of Caesar, there was a centurion named Sceva who defended the castle-gate. Sceva bravely fought with his fellow soldiers for 15 hours against the enemy in a particularly ferocious attack. Afterwards, 30,000 arrows were picked up from the floor of the battlefield and Caesar was presented with Sceva’s shield which had been pierced by 230 arrows! Sceva lived to tell his grandchildren the story of this victory because he had taken up his shield.

The enemy’s tactics back then are the same ones he applies now, the strategy was to launch thousands of fiery darts right at the start to create fear, confusion, and panic. Designed to unnerve the soldier into making a mistake, lowering his shield in terror. He hasn’t changed.

Today the enemy launches fiery darts of fear, shame, anxiety, depression, confusion, lies, envy, and unbelief, to name but a few. 1 Peter 4:12 says; “𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕, 𝕕𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦.” There is a battle, we cannot avoid it, spiritual warfare is real, but God has given us a strategy, a way in which with Him at our side we can win!

We need to take up that shield of faith knowing that it will indeed quench those lethal darts. Faith in a God who can be taken at His Word, in a God who can be trusted, in a God who will take care of us no matter what. Faith in a God who sees the big picture, whose perspective is complete. Faith in the Great I Am, The Victorious One, the One who will never ever leave us, our wonderful and faithful Father. He is worth putting your faith in!

How often have we heard the story of putting on the whole armour of God? Sadly, in my case, enough times to skip over this oh-so-important passage of Scripture! And so, this morning I found myself looking once again, asking God to make these verses come alive. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱!!

Ephesians 6:13 tells us, “𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕦𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝔾𝕠𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕝 𝕕𝕒𝕪, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝, 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕.”

I am sure our Father would not tell us to put on this armour because it looks good; so that we can be called The Warrior Bride. Armour is hot and heavy, not glamorous at all. I remember my years living in Canada. In wintertime, we would put on heavy coats, scarves, gloves, hats, all to combat those icy cold temperatures. By the end of the winter, I would be so tired of that heavy coat, so ready to shed it, it weighed me down. But I needed it, if I hadn’t worn all these things, I would have developed frostbite in mere seconds, loosing first my extremities and possibly my life!

Our Father tells us to put on the armour of God because He knows that we need it. We need to be protected because the attack of the enemy will come. Absolutely no doubt about that, we are under attack, and sometimes that attack seems worse than at others.

Once that armour is on, we are told to ‘stand!’ In fact, in these eight short verses Paul tells us to ‘stand’ four times. Surely this is important? Stand, stand against the evil one! When we are correctly equipped, we need not be frightened when that attack comes, we won’t be confused but will take up our position, strong, and alert with no thought of retreat. Best of all when that attack comes, when we stand firm, the enemy MUST flee!

“𝕊𝕠 𝕤𝕦𝕓𝕞𝕚𝕥 𝕥𝕠 [𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗] 𝔾𝕠𝕕. ℝ𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕝 [𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕞 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕚𝕞] 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕝𝕖𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦.” 𝕁𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝟜:𝟟

Once upon a time worship songs were simple, we called them choruses and sang them around the campfire at all those wonderful summer camps. From 𝗔𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗿 to 𝗜𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸, these choruses have been sung from Seattle to Zimbabwe, from the Smokey Mountains to the banks of Lake Kariba and beyond! I have such vivid memories of my brother strumming his guitar, I would sing along with him as the smoke from the fire curled around us. Voices raised as a sweet-smelling fragrance to the LORD. A simpler time for sure.

This morning, I awoke with the song 𝗜 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻 𝗠𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 on my lips and as I sat down with the LORD the refrain rang through my head.

“𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅,

𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅,

𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅.

𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅,

𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅,

𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅.”

Do you remember it?! Did you sing it too? Surely “𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐿𝒪𝑅𝒟 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒, 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓇𝑒𝒿𝑜𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝑒 𝑔𝓁𝒶𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝒾𝓉!” For the LORD has made us glad.

Psalm 92:4 says it this way; “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔, 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫; 𝑰 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆.” The deeds of the LORD make us glad, they bring us joy, cause us to rejoice! As I sat and began to think about my past, my sin, the things I had done that hurt others, my sin sat upon me like a dead weight. Heavy, a burden.

But then I remembered that the LORD has cleansed me from all my sin and delivered me from all unrighteousness! And my heart began to sing, I am washed by the blood of the Lamb, walking in freedom, the chains of my past are broken and no longer hold me back. Incredible – the deeds of the LORD make us glad! That alone should make our hearts sing but there is so much more. So much more that the LORD gives and does. 𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗛𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗛𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀, 𝗛𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻! 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗱!

Today I am determined to sing my thankfulness to the LORD, to remind myself with the chorus that He has made me glad, to remember all that God has done for me. Will you join me? Let’s start in the chorus, “𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅….”

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that God can, He is most certainly and surely the God of miracles. I am totally and utterly convinced of His incredible power and ability to speak the whole world into existence. 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧. Absolutely, He can. Sadly, sometimes I tune into the enemies lies and a flicker of doubt begins to creep into my mind. The thought that perhaps He is unwilling, perhaps because of my past sin, this is what I deserve!

If these thoughts cross your mind too, you are certainly not alone. In 2 Samuel 15-18, we find King David, the man after God’s heart, in some serious trouble. His own son was leading what appeared to be a successful rebellion against him. His friends deserted him, many telling him that this is what he deserved! King David was downcast, it seemed as though his troubles may overtake him. In his pain, he cried out to God, “𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” Psalm 3:2

Spurgeon said; “𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥.”

But David goes on in the very next verse; “𝑩𝑼𝑻 𝒀𝒐𝒖, 𝑶 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅.” Deep inside David, and deep inside you, was the knowledge that God would indeed come to his rescue and raise him up. The Great I Am would be his protector and shield him from the attack of his enemy. The Mighty God would be faithful and lift up his head.

‘Lifter’ in Hebrew is “𝐫𝐮𝐰𝐧” meaning: 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩, 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱, 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨! Even in his despair, David knew His God and he began to cry out and declare that the Lord would lift his head and he would see the mighty hand of God move on his behalf.

We all know what happened to David’s son, Absalom. He was found hanging in a terebinth tree with 3 spears thrust through his heart! The enemy of the God of Israel and King David was defeated. Sometimes we need to take this lesson from David’s life and begin to declare victory over our circumstances, to grow up a little and allow the Lord to lift our downcast heads, to open our eyes and see that yes, our God is not only able but He is willing. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲!

The French say ‘𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕣,’ the German’s ‘𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕓𝕖,’and the Burmese ‘𝕙𝕜𝕪𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕜𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕞𝕒𝕪𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕣!’ We say ‘𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖.’ Dr. Seuss says, “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴.” Most importantly, what does the bible say about ‘love?’

In Mark 12:30 and 31, Jesus answered the scribes, quoting from the book of Deuteronomy; “𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩, 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨: 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙗𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚.” That certainly is quite a tall order!

The love talked about in the Old Testament is a love that is not just a feeling but an action. The Great I Am showed the children of Israel His love for them; “𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔, 𝑯𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒈𝒚𝒑𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓,” and our Abba Father showed His eternal love for you; “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.”

Love is about giving, love is about serving, giving a helping hand to your neighbor, love is being more concerned with giving than receiving. If we were to talk grammar, love would be a noun and a verb! Love is about time, faithfulness and commitment. Love is deeply rooted in relationship; you love someone when you know them fully. The way we know our God is through reading the Word, meditating on His scriptures and listening to His voice. It must be the main motivating factor in how we live our lives.

Do you love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Are you really loving your neighbor, your spouse and your co-worker? Do you look for opportunities to give? 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸, 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲!

One thing is certain – 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘆! I am thankful that His mercies are new every single day.

In Psalm 90:12 we read the 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 one of them for us.

Hidden in this verse is a sparkling treasure, a truth that will change us if we let it! In the 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, to plan for that day ahead of time. To prepare for the things we need to do, even to appoint moments in your day.

Make an appointment with a friend for coffee and name the 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 The 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.” That 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. In this same way, we are asked to appoint, prepare and number all the days of our lives.

Numbering my days with you!

I’m always surprised at what one small scripture can teach you. I love digging into the details and seeing what treasures I can unearth. Nehemiah 1:5 says, “𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝑶 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.” If you read this scripture in the New King James version, you will see that Nehemiah prayed to the “𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” To make it more relevant to this era, the wording has since been changed to “great and awesome God.” Sometimes I feel we use the word awesome far too much and, so, it has lost much of its meaning. We say, “That’s awesome, dude,” or “What an awesome movie!” Awesome has lost its power.

Nehemiah, on the other hand, prayed to a “𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” The Hebrew word for awesome is ‘yaré,’ meaning terrible, to fear, revere, stand in awe of, and respect. Jesus is not our ‘dude,’ or our ‘buddy.’ No, He is a great and terrible God, an awe-inspiring God, a God with immense power and might! He created everything out of nothing with just one word! If God is simply our buddy, we reduce Him to our level and minimize His incredible and miraculous power.

We need a God that is all powerful, all knowing, and always present—a God whose very existence commands our respect, a God whom we esteem and honor. God is indeed our friend; He is good, His love and grace towards us is bountiful. But He is also commanding, forceful, formidable and mighty. Like Nehemiah, we should always approach our God with a good dose of awe and respect. An element of worship should be the first thing on our lips. We should be in awe that a mighty and terrible God like ours would listen when we pray, would love us where we’re at, and act upon the prayers that we pray.

Revelations 1:14-16 gives us a picture of our Great and Terrible God: “𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒍, 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆; 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔; 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝒕𝒘𝒐-𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉.”

Eyes like a flame of fire, a voice like crashing waves, and a face that shone with the strength of the sun. That doesn’t sound like a dude or buddy to me! In fact, when John saw Jesus face to face, he fell at His feet as though dead. 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁! 💕🦋

In Matthew 11:29 Jesus commands us to; “𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.” I must confess; I have read this so many times over the years, and always had questions as to why I would want to take one heavy yoke off and put another on. Don’t you think it would make so much more sense for the Lord to say; “Take off your yoke and you will find rest, take off that burden and run and be free?”

To understand Jesus’ intentions, we must look back at that yoke placed on the neck of the working oxen. A collar linked two working oxen together which was then hitched to a plow. When a young ox was broken in, he would be tethered to a bigger, experienced ox. During this time of training the new ox would learn how to walk in step with the older ox, how to work as a team, and here’s the kicker, this brand new, young ox carried no burden at all! His ‘𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝗸𝗲’ was fashioned in such a way that the big, experienced ox would carry the whole load, the young ox was there to simply learn!

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗛𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻! We are there to simply learn from the Master, to go in the direction He takes, to walk in step with the Savior. “𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆.” It is a place where we ‘cast our burdens upon Him,’ take His training yoke and learn from Him. What a beautiful picture of Jesus’ desire for intimacy with us, our wonderful Savior wants to walk so closely with us until we are at the point where we can sense if He will turn left or right, walk up into the mountain or down into the valley! A time of learning the mysteries and secrets of His ways!

Today if your yoke is heavy, feels hard or is a burden, cast your cares upon Him, take His easy yoke and surrender to the leading of your precious Redeemer. 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝗺! 💕🦋

In John 7:37-38 Jesus said;“𝑰𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓.” Jesus promised not only to fill those who are thirsty, but promised that rivers of life would flow out from their innermost being. 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻, 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

In Israel, there are two seas that are fed from the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee, teaming with life, home to a myriad of fish, the soil is so fertile that almost any plant will flourish. The rabbis wrote, “𝙰𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜, 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.”

The other sea fed by the Jordan is the Dead Sea. During the Crusades, this sea was sometimes referred to as the “𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹’𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗮!” Sitting at 1,300 feet below sea level, this lake is the lowest place on earth. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. Nothing.

These two seas are in the same area of Israel, fed by the same river but one of them is full of life and the other quite dead! The difference is that the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out again, but the Jordan only flows into the Dead Sea, there is no outlet. The Dead Sea takes the river in and keeps it to itself. The result–no life at all!

If we become like the Dead Sea, wanting only to be poured into, the results will be catastrophic. We need to be like the Sea of Galilee, thirsty, drinking of the Living Water but letting that river flow from us. 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺. It’s only when we do this that we will begin to see abundant, rich fruit in our lives.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. Taken into slavery as a young boy, by the Irish, Patrick spent 6 hard years tending sheep on Stemish Mountain. It was here, upon this heather laden mountain, that Patrick found God.

At the age of 22, St Patrick escaped and returned to England, but his heart was drawn back to the Irish people. Legend tells us that Patrick started over 300 churches and baptized over 100,000 Irish, turning a pagan nation into a Christian one. Central to Patrick’s incredible ministry was a prayer, a prayer for God’s presence and protection every, single, day. Today we call this St Patrick’s Breastplate.

“𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝓁𝒾𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝓈𝒾𝓉, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓉𝒽 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓀𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝑒𝓎𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝓂𝑒. 𝒮𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝓇𝒹. 𝒮𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓎 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝐿𝑜𝓇𝒹, 𝒷𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓊𝓈.”

This beautiful prayer is so reminiscent of David’s cry in Psalm 139; “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒈𝒐 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕? 𝑶𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆? 𝑰𝒇 𝑰 𝒂𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆; 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.”

The Father’s presence is always with you, His hand is upon your shoulder, leading and guiding you, He is right there with you, wherever you may go. My prayer is that you will see the Living God at work in every corner of your life. I pray that St Patrick’s Breastplate echoes down the corridors of your days – Christ with you, Christ before you…