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Beloved, Not a Burden

About Benjamin he said: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12 I don’t want to be a burden, she said. You are not a burden; you are beloved. There is much the Lord bears for His beloved. Instead of a burden, we are His beloved. He has borne our pain and suffering. Surely… Read More

Heritage

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also… Read More

More

Jesus answered her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said to him, “you have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water?” …Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. But… Read More

He Has Risen

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Matthew 28:6-7 Today I visited the place where my loss once lay, Yet the tomb of my trauma was empty. Where death should have been Where I know it once… Read More

There Was a Garden There

Having said these things, Jesus left with His disciples and went across the ravine of the Kidron. There was a garden there, which He and His disciples entered.  John 18:1 God gives us gardens on our darkest night. Over a millennium before this black night of betrayal, another king left Jerusalem and crossed the ravine of the Kidron. Yet there is no reference to a garden there. Instead, he continued, climbing barefoot with his head… Read More

But if Not

For Pastor S, who showed me the Fourth Man’s scars. …our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.  Daniel 3:17   Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this… Read More

Time for a Holy Pause

For K, who selahs with me. When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. SELAH Psalm 75:3 On a high mountain deep in the Asian jungle, there is a refuge. At the end of a long red road, it sits like a grandmother, beckoning the bruised to climb onto her lap and be mended, comforted. Sung over with songs of love and healing. The threshold of this… Read More

Gone, Just Gone

They went out and got into the boat. John 21:3b Her house is gone, just gone. In its place is a garden. But when I stand there, listening to the creek that has not altered with time, I feel her front porch beckoning me. The swing sings on the wind, inviting me to sit awhile. I can smell the pungent odor of her marigolds, which she swore kept the mosquitoes away. I can see the… Read More

How to Talk to the Wounded

Caution: This post contains graphic descriptions of physical wounds and may be uncomfortable for some readers. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Matthew 4:23 We needed to turn him several times a day to avoid bedsores. Before the fire, bedsores were something unfamiliar to us, something that sounded repulsive and painful, like a blister, something that happened… Read More

The Power of Praying Honest Prayers

My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1   My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Mark 15:34 Honest praying is no insult to God who knows all. He knows our hearts anyway. Every speck. Every little corner we think we’ve shrouded with sheets of shame, concealed with camouflaged control, partitioned off behind panels of performance,… Read More