Claire's Prayer

Did you know that if you look directly at the sun, an incredible 93 million miles away, the penetrating light will cause damage to your eyes in as little as a few seconds?  Right at its core that same sun burns at 27 million degrees Fahrenheit.  Pretty extreme.  The sun is inaccessible, unreachable. 

Paul saw a light that was even brighter than the sun, a light that struck him blind for 3 days!  “𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏, 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”   (Acts 26:13) Timothy says this when describing the Great I Am.  “𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑹𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆. 𝑻𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒏.”   (1 Timothy 6:15b-16). Unapproachable light.  Inaccessible. A God way more dangerous than staring into the sun!

And yet our Unapproachable God tells us to ‘𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖!’   How is that even possible for me, a sinner, to approach such a pure and holy God? Surely, if I even dared to come close, I would be nothing but dust in a second.  A few wisps of smoke and ash blown away in a hot searing wind. 

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀.  𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.   “𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒊𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔, 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒉.”   (Heb 10:19-20).  The God who told Moses, “𝑵𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆!”  made a way for us to draw near.  Incredible. 

Often, I think we forget the mystery of God, how powerful, how dangerous.  We don’t take the time to consider His infinite glory and majesty.  To gaze upon His greatness.  How we, as His children, have this inconceivable access to our Father.  I believe when we take the time to meditate on these things, we will once again remember the astonishing power of God, how we serve a God who is greater, a God who can make impossible things possible!

Approaching an unapproachable God with you,

Uzziah was a great King, a King that had caused Israel to prosper greatly during his 52-year reign.  Scripture tells us that he “𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫,” and that “𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒈𝒚𝒑𝒕.”  The year King Uzziah died there must have been great mourning and sorrow, the much-loved King was dead and who knew what would come next.  Would Israel continue to prosper?  Uncertain times for sure.

I wonder how Isaiah felt, he certainly had reason to be downcast and disheartened – perhaps he wondered, “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?” Isaiah 6:1-4 tells us “𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑼𝒛𝒛𝒊𝒂𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅, 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒆; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆.  𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒊𝒙 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓: “𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑨𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚.”

Where was God in all of this?  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲! The Great I AM was seated in heavenly places, He was high and exalted.  So holy is the LORD that the angels could not even look at Him and they covered their faces!  Cries of “𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑨𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚,” echoed throughout the throne room.  Isn’t it interesting that the LORD did not come down to Isaiah and reassure Him that everything would be OK, instead He gave him a vision of heaven, of Almighty God still on His throne!

Isaiah needed a new perspective, one which I know that I so often need and perhaps you do too.  When things are not going as planned, when difficult times are on our doorstep, when the world seems to be in chaos – we need a new perspective.  We need to see the sight of our Mighty King on His throne, surrounded by elders worshiping, flashes of lightning and thunder coming from the throne.  His holiness.  His glory.  To catch a glimpse of His splendor! I really do think that Isaiah’s life must have radically changed after seeing his God on the throne.  Our LORD Almighty still rules, He still reigns, He is still powerful, and still King.  It doesn’t matter what you see out there in the world, God is still victorious and always will be.  𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲.

“𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝑱𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒎. 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎,  “𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝑱𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒘. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅. 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆!” – Matthew 20:18-19

The very beginning of a life-changing journey, a difficult journey, one that was no surprise to Jesus or even His disciples. The 14-mile journey from Jericho to Jerusalem was not long but it was the beginning of a walk that would change the world. As they hiked south to Jerusalem, I would imagine that Passover was on the minds of the disciples, feasts, and visits with old friends. I wonder what was on Jesus’ mind. Was it the betrayal of a friend, the savage beating of a whip laced with iron, or the cruelest death upon that cross?

Sometimes staring at a future painful event for too long can be more distressing than the event itself. When my little girl, Hannah, told me she wanted to move back to Canada, I was devastated. The time leading up to her leaving caused me huge anxiety. An ocean of tears was cried, this was something I never imagined happening. To live apart from my baby girl was not something I had ever considered. My eyes still well up at the reality today. A trivial example in the light of the journey set before my Saviour.

I am more than sure that this final journey to Jerusalem was at the forefront of our Saviour’s mind, and I’m sure caused him much anguish. He was fully human just as He was fully God.

But look at that last line; “𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑯𝒆 𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑳 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.” Like the thrust of a spear into the enemy’s heart. Jesus began His journey with God’s promise upon His lips! ‘𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯!’ This was not something Jesus had control of, He trusted His Father, He trusted the promise. As Jesus turned to Jerusalem, He declared the promise of God over His life!

God’s Word tells us, “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕! 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅!” (John 16:33) But take heart, I have overcome the world! We can all agree with ‘in this world, you will have trouble.’ That is a given. But Jesus has overcome the world!

I know that many of you are on a hard journey, your future may seem uncertain, and anxiety over coming events may threaten to overwhelm you. Life’s journeys are uncertain. Jesus knows. He understands. He’s been there. He sees you. Accepts you. Loves you.

When I look backwards at my own tough journeys, how much easier would they have been if I had stepped into them with God’s promises on my lips instead of my own tangled words? If I had drawn the sword of God’s Word and declared His truth, let His peace settle in my heart, would anxiety and anguish be held at bay?

Jesus’ declaration, His trust in His Heavenly Father carried our precious Saviour through His hardest days, to His appointed time and through the other side. God’s Word took Him to that place of rejoicing, of overcoming, to that glorious place where the angels announced, “𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒔 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.” (Matt 28:6) Exactly as Jesus declared, I will rise again. Just as our Father had promised.

Today if this is you. If your road is hard and the journey forbidding, if your future seems uncertain and anxiety overwhelms – 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?  Open God’s Word, His Holy Bible filled with holy promises and find the ones that you can cling to.  The ones that you can take as a sword and thrust into the very heart of the enemy. The ones that you can declare with eyes of faith – 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀!

We’ve all heard of a bucket list and many of us may have one or two big dreams in that bucket! 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁?  A bucket list with an eternal perspective? How would our lives change if we began to write down the dreams that could be in that bucket? When thinking about my spiritual bucket list I thought of several ideas that could go in that bucket.

Memorize an entire chapter of the bible.

Plan a visit to Israel.

Visit a mission field and do something there for the LORD.

Make space to pray and talk with the Father.

Practice forgiveness.

𝗗𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀.

It’s the last one I love the most, the last one that tugs at my heartstrings. It reminds me so much of Mary and her extravagance when pouring perfume over her Saviour’s feet. What is it I could do that shows Jesus my love for Him in an overstated way? One that He wouldn’t miss?

What do you have on your spiritual bucket list, or what dream would you put in that bucket as you begin to plan one? I’m definitely taking time this week to make mine!

In the days when Jesus walked the earth grape vines were grown all over Israel and so when Jesus said; “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈,”  (John 15:5.) this was something the disciples could relate to.  Today, not as many of us are familiar with the grape vine or the great level of care it takes to encourage them to bear fruit! 

In the second verse of John 15 Jesus describes our wonderful Father’s care for us by telling us that “𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝑯𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚.”  A good look at that Greek word for ‘take away’ tells us that it means, 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘂𝗽, 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝘂𝗽. Not remove altogether!

Sometimes we are battered, perhaps broken, or weighted down with the cares of the world, and we are not bearing fruit, and so our Loving Father comes along and lifts us up.  As any good farmer would raise up the vine that was trailing on the ground, so our God does this for us.  If the vine was left lying in the soil it would be eaten by bugs, mold and disease would form in its leaves, no delicate flowers or fruit would form.  Our Father doesn’t leave us untended; He is the lifter of our heads.  Psalm 3:3 tells us; “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑶 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝑴𝒚 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅.”

It’s interesting to note that Jesus repeated the phrase “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 ,” this time telling us that if we abide in Him, we will bear fruit.  If we take the time to read His Word, draw near to Him, abide in Him, we will be fruitful.  Jesus wants us to be as close to Him as the branches are on a vine!  His desire is intimacy with you, time spent with you.

It’s so very easy in our busy, hurried lives to slip into a state of ingratitude, one where we forget our countless blessings and comforts.  Almost a place of autopilot where we go through the motions every day and lose sight of the goodness and greatness of our God.  One where we miss the beauty, overlook the wonder of God’s creation, or take for granted the gifts of our children and family. 

I remember how, as a child my mother would sing a song to me, a timeless song, one written in 1897, I’m sure you know it!  “𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦!” Can you hear it echoing in your head?  I went on to sing it to my children and perhaps it will continue to resound through the ages.

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀!  In 1 Sam 7:12 we see Samuel doing exactly this, “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒛𝒑𝒂𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑬𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒛𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈, “𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔.” Samuel set up an Ebenezer stone, a place of remembrance, a place where God’s children could remember that He had parted the Red Sea, caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, stopped the sun in the sky, caused water to flow from a rock, provided for them night and day as they wandered through the wilderness, and the list goes on. 

So many blessings!  It was a stone to remind them that God had redeemed them, that they were victorious, that they served a God who is faithful, always responding to their cries for help, and a God who continuously provides.  But it was more than a stone that reminded them of their Creators goodness, it was a stone that pointed to the future, bearing witness that they served a God who would be their help forever.  An Ebenezer stone.

Samuel was right.  Time and time again the Great I Am, stepped in and saved His children, over and over He delivered them, even when they were disobedient and didn’t remember His greatness.  Through the years and the books of the Old Testament and through to the New, God helped them. 

And now, centuries after Samuel raised that Ebenezer Stone, here we stand and if we take the time to remember, to count our blessings we will realize that God still helps us, that He has delivered us, saved us, set us free, healed us, done miracles for us, and will continue to all the way into eternity.  Join me today and let’s remember, “𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆; 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅.”  (Isaiah 12:4)

Imagine for a moment, a fierce, raging battle and a soldier who, in the midst of the battle, sees a table set for him. Everything he needs is on that table, everything that will sustain him for the battle ahead. His Master stands waiting, anointing oil in hand, kindness in His smile. The soldier looks beyond the table and sees the enemy and the raging war. Instead of taking the time to be refueled, refreshed, renewed, equipped, and prepared all he can think about is the battle, how fierce it is, how much there is to do, how he needs to engage! And so, he bypasses the table and rushes into battle. His intentions are good -“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮!”

Before long he begins to tire, he hasn’t taken the time to eat, no time for the bread of life. His throat is raw and parched – no time for the overflowing cup, the living water, the eternal cup. The sun beats down mercilessly upon his head, no healing, restoring, anointing oil. His knees begin to buckle. No strength. He did not wait on the LORD who would have prepared him for the ferocity of this battle. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿.

Isn’t this true of us? We look at all we must accomplish in a day and just throw ourselves into the fray. I am so guilty of this myself! You might even be doing ministry work – for the King and His Kingdom! But if you don’t stop at the table, let your Abba Father anoint your head, and fill your cup, you won’t get very far in the battle before you begin to falter.

“𝐿𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐹𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 – 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅 𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒. 𝒯𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓈, 𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒸𝓊𝓅𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓊𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓊𝒸𝒸𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒹𝒶𝓎. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝒻𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓊𝓈, 𝓇𝑒𝒻𝓇𝑒𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓊𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓊𝓈. 𝒲𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝐿𝒪𝑅𝒟.”

I would say that I’m in foodie in every sense of the word! I love to eat, love different cuisines, and trying something new but I always go back to my favorites, Indian, Thai, or South African dishes. The very first forkful of that favorite dish is so very satisfying, the flavors, the aroma, the textures all mixing in perfect harmony. A perfect bite!

No wonder Psalm 34:8 says; “𝑶𝒉, 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅; 𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒎!” Taste is such an important sense, and I’m sure David knew when he wrote this that if you had a tiny taste of the LORD’s goodness you would certainly want a bite. And once you had a bite you would want a spoonful. Of course, if you had a spoonful, you would want the whole bowl and then you would want the feast, that banqueting table set before you!

The interesting thing about tasting God’s goodness is that the more you taste, the more you want, and the more you want the more there is, totally contrary to that Chicken Tikka Masala! The more I eat of natural food the fuller I feel, and the more I eat the less there is.

Anyone can tell you that honey is sweet, so deliciously sweet, and can describe the crunch of a good slice of toast but you will never fully understand what they are talking about until you try it yourself. How do we taste and see that the LORD is good? By taking a bite out of the Word of God, by digging into a meal of the Holy Bible. Hebrews 6:5 talks about those who have, “𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.”

Today I pray that you would begin to dig into the Word of God, that you would take a taste and see for yourself how very good God is, how you can absolutely trust Him and take Him at His Word. I pray that as you taste you would then want the bowl, and the feast, and would always have a longing to be found in God’s Word. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲!

ℝ𝕖𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟. What a beautiful word.  A word that brings life in a dark place, hope for even the most hopeless.  When I speak the word out loud it brings so much joy to my heart.  The knowledge that the Father will go to any lengths to redeem His children is too wonderful to comprehend.  One of my favorite tales in the Old Testament is the beautiful love story pictured in the book of Ruth.  A fabulous story of redemption that is set like a diamond, in the wicked and distressing times of the Judges.

Ruth, a Moabite, who had just lost her husband took a vow to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to her homeland.  In Israel there were laws that provided for the widow and the orphan, unlike any other country.  There, in Bethlehem, Ruth meets Boaz, a distant relation of Naomi and a wonderful story of match making, redemption, and love begins. 

In Hebrew law, if a foreigner married an Israelite, you instantly became part of the family of God!  But if your husband died and you had no son you were now out in the cold, no longer a member of God’s family.  This was why a widow would marry a brother or a close relative of her husband.  He was her kinsman redeemer bringing her back into the family of God.  If you were approached by that widow and she asked you to marry her, it was a huge disgrace to say ‘No.’  So disgraceful in fact that you would lose your standing in the community, perhaps even your business and livelihood. 

But the man who said yes, that wonderful kinsman redeemer, would agree to marry the widow and agree to pay off all off the debts of his bride to be before he even knew what they were!  Oh, how that brings tears to my eyes.  𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸.

𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿, 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂.  𝗛𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁𝘀, 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲.   𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲?  𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲!  Because of your redemption you are welcomed into the family with jubilation.  Home, safe, part of God’s family.  Boaz moved heaven and earth to marry Ruth, showering her with kindness, gifts, generosity, and love just as your Savior does for you.  Boaz was Ruth’s kinsman redeemer ensuring that she was part of the family of the Great I Am and as a result Ruth is recorded as being an ancestor of the greatest Redeemer of all.  𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.   𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿!

In 1956, Harry de Leyer, a riding instructor, attended an auction in Pennsylvania with the purpose of purchasing a horse for his more nervous riders. Driving in his old station wagon, Harry arrived too late, the sale was over. Not wanting to return empty-handed Harry looked at the horses heading to the slaughterhouse and made an offer on an old, manure and dirt covered, grey horse with kind eyes. On returning home when his daughter saw the horse on that snowy winter’s day, she named him Snowman.

After several years Harry sold the horse to his neighbor, but Snowman repeatedly jumped over the fence and came back to the family he knew and loved. Even when the neighbor built a higher fence and tied a tire to the horse, Snowman would still jump over the fence, tire, and all! And so, Harry, who had always wanted a show jumper began to train the Snowman. I’m sure you can imagine the faces and laughter of those at his first competition as Harry rode into the ring on this common grey horse, scarred by his early life! But this old grey horse had the last laugh and beat them all. During his five-year career Snowman won all the prominent jumping competitions in America, was named horse of the year and in 1992 inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.

Doesn’t this story fill your heart with joy, we all love a tale when the underdog wins the day! It reminded me of a verse in Psalms 40:2; “𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈.” Jesus took me, a sinner, covered in mud, dirt on my feet, the scars of a battered life evident on my skin and set me on the solid rock, He washed my dirty and weary feet and set a banqueting table before me!

God sees the potential in our tired and tear-stained eyes, rescues us from the slaughterhouse, knowing that He can take you from glory to glory! Our Abba Father sees us as someone who can be molded like potters’ clay into something useful, something beautiful, outstanding even. Truly He is the God of miracles.

Thankful for a Father who sees potential!