Whatever He Says

The candle flickers, the second of the advent season. I think of John the Baptist who went about in the wilderness of Judea urging people, " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:3 NASV People in Jerusalem, all Judea, and the district around the Jordon went to John, confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordon River. John was to tell of the Messiah. John's call for repentance helps us prepare, too. What sin lurks in the wilderness of our hearts? How are we stunted in our growth in Him by sin within us? What unconfessed sins linger? Careless words, unforgiving heart, a gift we will not give, offense harboured, critical spirit, a judgmental attitude? Will you repent with me? Will you prepare your heart with me for the presence of God-with-us? According to Webster's, to repent means to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life. Right now I am in this place of sorrow and regret. I know a contrite heart He will...

We light the candle, the first candle of advent. It's flame flickers representing 'Expectation and Hope'. It's light fills us with the anticipation of the coming Messiah.  As followers of Christ we hope for Christ's return. "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming...For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." Matthew 24:42,44 NASV All through time people have held hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance. God hears His people everywhere. His son will come again. Hope. The candle flickers. Its message powerful. I can't get her face out of my mind.  A young Indonesian face, perhaps beautiful at one time. Now violated. Scars etched with brutality. She paid a cost for her faith in a country where no freedom of religion exists.  As she travelled the dusty road, she saw the military police come with other ...

Rose light spreads across the horizon...shadowed hues softening the dark...scudding clouds drift...filtered pinks wash the sky. One day ends. Another begins. Each day a gift. Finite. The sun rises. It sets. Earth orbits the sun. Tides ebb and flow. The Lord gives, and takes away. I can't help think of Marisa. Marisa of 33 years. Marisa who fought to beat breast cancer. Marisa...wife...mother...daughter...sister...friend. For her, no more sunrises. No more sunsets. In her short time here, she found courage to suffer. Courage to die with grace...she truly lived. Christ dwelled in her...overflowed from her even as her earthly life ebbed away. Marisa whose last blog spoke of the antics of her oldest child. Zion wore his underwear backwards to celebrate "backwards day" at his school. She found joy in routine, holy in the ordinary, beauty in the everyday, joy in the simple. Our days are numbered. We know not..how many...or how few. Mendelt and Marisa. She took her last earthly ...

One of the books I’m currently reading is Donald Miller’s, Searching for God Knows What. Donald Miller gives the reader much to reflect upon, going straight to the heart with honesty and intelligence while writing in a deceptively simple but beautiful style. I, like much of the human race, tend to be self referential in conversation and relationship but Donald Miller put this into words when he wrote of how rare a thing it is for someone to lose themselves in the presence of other human beings. Further on in the same chapter, talking again about relationship, he mentioned how we will close ourselves off at the least sign of danger. Again, I put up my hand. I don’t like it, but I admit; too often “It’s all about me.” Recently something I had offered was not received as I expected. It would cost me something, but I thought that the person had need of what I offered; me; a gift of time. The person’s apparently diffident response, elicited an emotional response. The need seemed to b...