Where The Shadow Falls

It’s Halloween…a day of funky costumes and spooky ghost stories about shadowy figures lurking behind hidden doorways.

Usually I scoff at Halloween superstitions.  But today my reading of Acts 5 brought to light a true supernatural story about shadows.

Supernatural happenings were popping up all over the place.  A man who had been crucified mysteriously disappeared from his tomb and then was found to be alive by at least 500 witnesses.  This same man was lifted up into the heavens, leaving behind disciples who had been touched by what are described as “tongues of flames” of the Holy Spirit.  These men then went out and spread the good news about Jesus being the Messiah to anyone who would hear it, defying the religious rulers and authorities who ordered them to stop preaching in Jesus’ name.  Everywhere they went, people were healed of diseases and came to know the Lord.

These disciples became so popular that crowds came to them.   Sick people were carried to sit or lie by the side of the roads where Peter and his disciples walked to and from the temple where they preached the truth about Jesus.

As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evils spirits, and they were all healed.

Most of the time the word “shadow” has a negative connotation.  When I take the dog outside on a cold day, I’d rather stand in the sunshine than in the shadow of the house.  Shadows make me shiver.  On a hot day, I don’t stand in the shadow of the tree — I stand in the shade.

Yet this account tells us that there was real power in Peter’s shadow.  Multiple people were healed of their diseases simply by sitting in the shadow of one who had walked with the Lord.

It’s important to realize that Peter was not perfect — he denied Christ three times after he was arrested.  He had been an ordinary everyman whose name had been Simon until Jesus gave him the name The Rock.  I wonder if he knew that one day the Lord would use his shadow for miraculous works…

One thing is certain: the man whose shadow fell on the sick and healed them was bold for Christ.  He stood up to the ACLU of his times and pronounced the hard truth no matter what the consequences.

“We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.1 Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

Does your shadow cast a power by the Holy Spirit?  I think today is a good day to think about those unseen powers in the spiritual realm…real power like Peter’s power, which comes from God above, to be used for Good, not Evil.  Now that’s a supernatural story to beat a haunted house, any day!

Benefit of the Doubt

I haven’t posted much about politics since the election, but today I felt a need to stand up say that as a Christian who has what many in the liberal media would term “neo-conservative” views, I support President-elect Obama’s choice of Saddleback Church’s Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration.

For one thing, it is HIS inauguration.  America did not elect

• the Atlantic website
• People for the American Way
• or the Human Rights campaign,

all of which have come out swinging and screaming about Obama’s choice in Warren.  I did not vote for him, but I respect this decision by him to include Warren even though many far leftists think his views are as “radical” as I think theirs are.  Obama’s spokeswoman Linda Douglass said,

“…it has always been his goal to find common ground with people with whom you may disagree on some issues.”

I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.  Perhaps we are seeing evidence that yes, indeed, the Lord of all creation IS in control.  He does direct the heart of the king.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

All a man’s ways seem right to him,
but the LORD weighs the heart.

To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Proverbs 21:1-3

The enemy is crying foul and throwing ugly words at Obama for daring to extend a hand to a man they believe railroaded their attempt to legitimize sexual sin.  I see this for what it is — spiritual warfare — and I see plainly that God used this presidential election to defeat the aims of the enemy with California’s Proposition 8.  Many of the droves of people who flocked to the polls for their chance to vote for the first African-American President have conservative views about marriage.  These same people  who voted FOR Obama also voted FOR Proposition 8 which abolished same sex marriage.  It was an outcome the far left — and the enemy — didn’t expect.

Just as they didn’t expect him to select an evangelical to deliver the invocation…

It just goes to show that no one…not those in the far left political persuasion or the far right or those in the middle…no human can know the mind of God or predict how he will accomplish his plans.

O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.
Psalm 7:9

Peace beyond the battle

A little over ten years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter and battling severe nausea, I found one of those “relaxation CDs” called Mountain Streams.  The sound of rushing water was overlaid with gentle instrumentals, and I played that CD into the ground because it helped me relax and remove my focus from that which caused severe anxiety (the nausea) to that which caused peace (God’s creation).  Even today I find the sound of rushing water soothing to my soul.  I think God must have created a waterfalls and streams, ocean waves, chirping birds and other beautiful sounds because they pleased him.  They please me, too, and listening to them gives me a measure of peace.

One of the most profound moments in my spiritual walk happened when I was in high school.  Our pastor gave a sermon about peace…about truly experiencing the peace that passes all understanding…and, for a time, I really GOT it.  I wrote those words on my heart and thought about them as I walked the halls of a very  loud, clamorous high school filled to the brim with teenage energy.  They sustained me as I prepared to perform in plays, as I struggled through pre-cal, as I tried to figure out where I fit in the great, big world before me.

Now I am in the great big world, and it seems that the older I get, the scarier it becomes.  Why is this peace so elusive?  Why do I insist on taking on the worries of the world when I already know my place in the story…I already know how it will end?

I am re-reading a favorite book by Francine Rivers.  It’s book one of a three-book series called Mark of the Lion.  As the story opens, we find Hadassah, a young teenaged girl living in Jerusalem around 70 AD, caring for a dying mother. Her father is the man who Jesus raised from the dead as told in Luke 7:

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

In Rivers’ story, this man went on to become a devout follower of Christ after his life-after-death experience.  He was ridiculed and in danger in volatile Jerusalem, but he knew that was where God wanted him to share the news of Christ.  One day he did not return, and Hadassah and her family are near death with starvation.  Hadassah hates Jerusalem because it seems nobody there wants to hear about Christ.  She’d rather be serving where the news of Christ is welcomed…and one day she asked her father about her lack of faith.  Here is their exchange:

Why can I believe at home, Father, but not here?”

“Because the enemy knows where you are most vulnerable.”

Then the character goes on to recount the story of King Jehoshaphat.  He was scared to death to hear news that the armies of three nations had declared war on him.  It goes without saying that PEACE was not in his vocabulary at that moment.  He did turn to the Lord, though, to seek guidance, and he ordered his people to begin fasting.  His prayer is recorded in 2 Chronicles 20, but some of his words could be yours and mine in the battles we are facing:

We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.  O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”

Help — and peace — came in a very unlikely way.  The Bible says that God’s spirit came upon a man named Jahaziel who cried out:

“Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.  Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”

How could they possibly win a battle against three armies without a fight?  If we look closer at the story, we’ll see that their victory happened for very specific reasons.  Let’s first see the end of the story:

Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa.

The first thing they had to do was to MOVE.  They went out.  Now, if it had been me about to face three armies, I’d have been kicking and screaming.  Not Jehoshaphat!

On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

They had to BELIEVE.  The Hebrew word he used for “believe” is ‘aman.  It means much more than just believing in something…more than a child believing in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.  It means to stand firm.  To trust.  To be certain.  To be confirmed, established, and secure.  The connotation is of a child being securely carried in the arms of a nurse.  God, Jehoshaphat was saying, is securely holding Judah in the crook of his arm just as a nurse holds a baby.

After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:

“Give thanks to the Lord;
his faithful love endures forever!”

Then they began singing and praising God — for his holy splendor.  For what he was about to do.  For who He is, and for the love he has that endures forever.  Before they were in victory, they acted AS IF they had already won the battle.  Can you picture how confident they must have been?  There is story after story in the Bible of the Lord honoring the praises and songs of his people — as we’ll see next, there is REAL power in praise.

At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.  When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the Lord himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them. So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

What lessons in peace can we take from the story of Jehoshaphat?  How can we find peace in the middle of a battle?  I sure would like for the Lord to give me rest “on every side,” don’t you?  Maybe it’s a financial battle.  Maybe it’s a battle with depression…or with a person who has deeply hurt us.  Maybe our battle is within ourselves.  Or maybe we’re running on empty today, all tired out from shopping, wrapping, cooking, and decorating.  Whatever it is, can we learn anything about achieving rest and peace?

Taking a page from Jehoshaphat, there ARE some things in our control that we can do to achieve rest:

1. Bring the battle and the trouble to God in prayer and with fasting.
2. Look for and expect an answer.
3. March on.  Keep going forward.
4. Believe with an ‘aman belief in God’s loving care of you.  Picture yourself as a child being cradled in his most capable hands.
5. Praise him with everything you’ve got!
6. Show up for the battle and watch the enemy fall away.
7. Relish the rest…and the peace.

Like Hadassah, the enemy knows exactly when I’m most vulnerable.  He knows just when to attack and prowls around like a lion, waiting for a chance to get at me.  But it’s encouraging to realize that I DO have tools at my disposal to deal with his attacks even — especially — when I’m most vulnerable.  Jehoshaphat was extremely vulnerable to attack and actually had three declarations of war against him — but God is showing me that the battle is HIS.  It’s not mine to fight.

I’m not always going to have a relaxation CD at my fingertips or on my ipod, but I will always have the ability to follow Jehoshaphat’s example.  On a closer inspection, the verse that brought my first real sampling of peace, Philippians 4:6-8, is all about what Jehoshaphat did.  He went to God.  He had the singers sing praises with thanksgiving.  God’s peace filled their hearts as they believed God, and their hearts and minds were protected from thoughts of defeat.  They set their minds on the Lord, on all that is lovely and wonderful about him.  Then…God fought their battle for them and brought them peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Peeling off the Veil

Freedom. The Miriam-Webster online dictionary defines this word as

the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another

Last week’s battles with chains has led me today to a study of several verses in 2 Corinthians 3. During the fiercest battles last week, I felt removed from reality. It was like I read scripture but had something heavy covering me that prevented the words from sinking in. I was reading the words, but they were not penetrating the veil that had settled on my brow.

As part of my effort to buy less and create meaningful home-made gifts this year, I had to make a trip to my favorite craft store, Hobby Lobby. I love the scent that immediately surrounds me when I walk into that store; yesterday, it smelled like cinnamon. The flip side to those lovely aromas is a heady battle with allergies. By the time I left the store, my eyes burned and felt gritty. My vision was obscured by a film that built up over my eyes so that the world looked cloudy. I kept having to blink and squeeze my eyes shut to get everything back in focus. The dust and allergens in the air at Hobby Lobby essentially placed a veil over my eyes so that I could not see clearly.

It occurred to me this morning during my quiet time that this is what I experienced last week on a spiritual level. In looking up the word “free” in my Bible, I came across one of those passages in my Bible that isn’t really marked up with highlighter and pencil marks. The verse pertaining to freedom is 2 Corinthians 3, verse 17, but it doesn’t make complete sense unless it is read in context.

Paul is writing to the Corinthians about the new covenant that we have received through Christ. He tells them that he can see that he has done a good job teaching them just by looking at their lives.

The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

Think about this for a moment: the Spirit of the living God is written on our hearts. I lost sight of that truth last week. Perhaps you have lost sight of what that means for your life, as well. When we became believers, our hearts became living tablets on which the Holy Spirit writes. No circumstances in our lives will ever change that truth. Now we may fall away for a time, but there’s still that connection with our living God. That connection is the lifeline that got me through last week, and it is what will get you through your strongholds as well.

Then Paul spends some time detailing the new covenant we have received from God by comparing it with the old covenant given to the people of Israel.

The old way, with laws etched in stone

Notice the old way was not written on hearts, but on stone…

led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face….So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.

Moses’ encounter with the Lord made his face shine so brightly that the people could not bear to see him. When we watched the shuttle launch last month, I understood at once how hard it is to look upon something so bright. I had to squint my eyes even though it was night. Paul is telling us that the new covenant gives us boldness so that we CAN bear to look upon the glory…so that we CAN understand the truth.

We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth.

Last week there is no doubt that my mind was hardened. A veil covered my mind as my thoughts went around and around in panic mode. I was single-minded not towards God, but towards the problem — towards my fear. I may as well have donned a heavy veil as I got dressed each morning…my attitude was preventing me from understanding the truth.

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

I asked a question of Christ in my last blog — why was he allowing me be suffer such oppression? I believe the answer is right in front of me. I just couldn’t see it because my fears obscured my vision…I was under oppression because I was not turning to the Lord. Like a kidnapper drops a hood over his quarry’s head, my focus on that which caused extreme fear lowered the veil.

There is another aspect to the word freedom here. The veil separates us from God’s glory just as it separated the Israelites from seeing the glory on Moses’ face. Because the Spirit of the Lord is writing on our hearts, we have freedom — we have liberty — to come into his glorious presence. The Greek word is eleutheria.

The connotation of the word freedom is more than the kind of freedom we talk about when we discuss what it means to be an American. It was specifically used here to denote our freedom to access the presence of God. We don’t have to hide behind a veil.

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

When I’m going through a valley, it helps to remember that God isn’t finished with me yet. He is writing on my heart even when I’m wallowing in my bed, afraid to get up. When I am at my worst, that’s when God is at his best. My fragility does not hinder God’s light. Neither does yours. Whether it’s depression and other health issues, financial troubles, struggles with sins and various strongholds…whatever it is that has you by the scruff of the neck…those things are really little insignificant bumps in the road when we step back and see ourselves from God’s eyes.

Fast forward through 2 Corinthians to chapter 4 and you’ll find this:

We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

Do you feel that? The One who spoke light into being makes a light shine in our hearts. Why? Why would God want to waste light on a weakling like me? So that I could know His glory. The KJV puts it this way:

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God has put a shining light of knowledge in my heart so that I can see, love, and understand just how great is His glory in the person of Jesus Christ. This knowledge is separate from whatever it is I might be feeling. In fact, this knowledge is power — but it doesn’t come from me at all.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.^[b] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

Could it be that God, in his infinite wisdom, has allowed my body to be weak (a fragile jar) in order to clarify that any power in me comes from Him alone, and not from myself?

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Paul has given us clues to removing the chains, hasn’t he? He reminds us that whatever we are facing at the moment is small and won’t last long. The ordeal I went through last week is over. And you know what? It has served a purpose I never thought it would while I was pressed down under it…it has ultimately brought me closer to God. It has spurred me on towards a deeper study of what it means to have freedom in Christ. Paul and his helpers didn’t dwell on their troubles, did they? No…rather they fixed their sights on things that cannot be seen. What things are those? The things of God!

God is helping me rip away the veil of darkness that closed in over my head. It is very comforting to know that God knows how fragile we really are. It is calming to know that there are those who have gone before us — even Paul — who felt tempted to despair at circumstances surrounding him.

Like Paul, we are modern day warriors. Some of us, like Paul, are even in chains. Sometimes our battles are within our own minds or bodies. But each day our spirits are being renewed. The troubles we are going through will ultimately produce for us a glory that far outweighs them and will last forever.

Climbing out of the pit

Mama used to tell me

if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Well, I haven’t blogged for awhile because frankly, I haven’t had anything nice or uplifting or inspiring to write. I’ve been up close and personal with darkness. Beth Moore would tell me to Get Out of That Pit. (I so love Beth’s way of bringing real life stuff to Christian platitudes!)

A little over a week ago, my sweet husband woke up with some kind of stomach bug. My daughter gave him a bell to ring, and I brought him Unisom (works well for nausea), gatorade and ice chips but other than that stayed far, far away and attacked the house with multiple cans of disinfectant and bleach. Most normal people would just take it in stride. Me? I’m not normal. I went into total freak out, panic attack mode. At the end of the day, my legs were so fatigued from all the shaking that they ached enough to require a dose of Tylenol. Eating when I’m very stressed is always difficult, but I forced myself to eat because I didn’t want to lose weight….and ended up losing five pounds anyway.

Yippe, right? Not when you weighed 90 pounds to start with!

Throughout this ordeal I was completely aware that the only sickness inside me was the one of my own making. I felt a distinct separation from Christ. Darkness oppressed my thoughts, and I felt alone and unlovely. The depths of my despair were so deep that I didn’t even want to be among the living anymore. I fought against these thoughts with scripture, but I have to say this time that the words I read felt hollow and unreal. And that was scary in and of itself! That is when I realized I was under serious attack. Satan was gunning for me, for control of my mind.

The anxiety continued a full week. During this time I am ashamed to say that I hurt my husband in a hundred different ways. I refused to hug him or sit near him. The consequences of my self-imposed isolation were ugly. He knows firsthand all about my fears and tried to be patient with me, but I know it got too much for him. In my fear, I sinned against him — which means I sinned against the Lord. I knew I was wallowing in it but continued to do so — like Paul, I didn’t do what I knew I needed to do, and I did what I knew I should not do.

In 2 Peter I read Paul’s warnings about false teachers and felt a prick at my heart — the first one I’d felt in a week.

They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.

Last week, fear held my puppet strings. Like the prodigal son, I allowed this darkness to overtake and imprison me, yet it was as if I was not the one doing the leaving. Fear was my master last week, and try as I did to bravely stand in the face of it, I still fell flat on my face.

The darkness over my soul is just now beginning to lift, but I come away from this experience bewildered and hurting. What are these chains holding me? Why has Christ not set me free from these chains? Why has he allowed me to be this oppressed? These questions fly in the face of everything I know about Christ, who announced himself as recorded in Luke 4 in a very bold way. Here Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah:

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Poor. Broken-hearted. Captive. Blind. Oppressed. Each of those words accurately describes me as I was last week. I believe Jesus. I believe he fulfilled the scripture. Why then, do I still find myself in chains?

Imagine with me a prisoner in a dark dungeon. She is shackled to the wall by her hands and her feet. The chains are cold and cruel in that dark, dank place. Then a light shines through the window. Gradually it becomes brighter and suddenly a man steps out of the light. He’s holding a sharp sword and with one swoop, he cuts the chains away from her and then unlocks the door.

The woman hides her face behind her dirty hair, despairing that anyone should see her in this filthy condition. The man who cut her chains then stands in the corner of the room, watching and waiting with an outstretched hand. But the woman does not stand and stretch. She has been in the dungeon for many years, almost her entire life. Her chains have become a constant in her life. As much as they chafe against her skin, they are familiar. There is a sense of safety in the known. As much as she longs to be free of the dank, cold prison, she cannot bring herself to take a step toward the door.

Her intense fear obscures her sight, and the only thing she can see are the chains lying on the stone floor. Slowly she reaches out for the broken chains. With tears running down her face, she winds the broken chains around her arms and legs, twisting and turning the links in such a way that they once again hold her fast to the wall. She ties the broken ends together around her waist and then strains to walk over to the unlocked door. Not surprisingly, the chains won’t reach across the room. She sinks to her knees, resigned to her fate.

This prisoner I describe could be me or anyone else who struggles with a stronghold. My chains are this phobia that runs my life. Yet if we truly believe Jesus, he has already set us free from this oppression. My next spiritual growth task will be to explore freedom and to apply it to my life. I don’t want to wrap those chains around my legs. I want to shake them off and stomp on the head of the one who is trying to worm his way between me and the Lord.

This song by Casting Crowns speaks to the struggle I’ve been facing. Appropriately, it’s titled Set Me Free. As you watch the video below, be sure to see the verses woven throughout.

It hasn’t always been this way
I remember brighter days
Before the dark ones came
Stole my mind
Wrapped my soul in chains

Now I live among the dead
Fighting voices in my head
Hoping someone hears me crying in the night
And carries me away

Set me free of the chains holding me
Is anybody out there hearing me?
Set me free

Morning breaks another day
Finds me crying in the rain
All alone with my demons I am
Who is this man that comes my way?
The dark ones shriek
They scream His name
Is this the One they say will set the captives free?
Jesus, rescue me

As the God man passes by
He looks straight through my eyes
And darkness cannot hide

Do you want to be free?
Lift your chains
I hold the key
All power on Heav’n and Earth belong to me

You are free
You are free
You are free

I thank you, Lord, for setting me free — and I ask you to give those of us who struggle with chains the courage and the strength to lift them once and for all.

Commercial Christmas

I’ve been getting pounds and pounds of catalogs in the mail these days advertising everything from Christmas trees to fuzzy socks and fake rocks. My email is flooded with ads urging me to “beat the rush” and snatch up various merchandise currently offered at unbeatable deals. Of course, all these deals are “the lowest price of the season.”

I also receive daily emails from the American Family Association. Many of these emails are a sincere effort to mobilize Christians to stand up for Christ in today’s culture. They organize boycotts against companies that advertise in “alternative lifestyle” magazines and websites. I salute the organization for its stand on many issues.

One of AFA’s drives is an effort to make sure that businesses and organizations in America do not take the word “Christmas” out of holiday celebrations. They rallied their supporters to contact Home Depot after it was discovered that their company website mentioned “holidays” and “Hanukkah” but not “Christmas.” After receiving many phone calls and emails from AFA supporters, Home Depot released this statement:

…The Home Depot has not censored Christmas. The Home Depot has and will continue to include the word “Christmas” in a variety of communication efforts, including advertising, store banners, our Web site and point of purchase displays near such items as Christmas trees.

We also use the word “holiday” in our outreach to customers, as many of our store displays and other marketing efforts cover more than one holiday from Thanksgiving to New Year’s and stay in place throughout the entire holiday season from November through January.

With that said, we are adjusting our Web site to make “Christmas” more prominent and to make our site more aligned with our advertising and point-of-sale in-store signage. Customers will start seeing the adjustments later this week.

AFA was pleased with this change in policy and encouraged its supporters to contact Home Depot to thank them for their willingness to keep “Christmas” on their website and in their stores.

As I read the statement from Home Depot, I began to squirm. A thought popped into my head:

Why should Christians care whether or not the word ‘Christmas’ is used in advertising and other promotional materials?

I’ve been pondering this thought for several weeks now, turning it over in my mind. The answer I’ve concluded goes against the mainstream Christian culture, but I believe that is because the mainstream Christian culture has bought into a fake Christmas hook, line and sinker.

Think about it. Why is it that we Christians who actually “own” the meaning of Christmas allow the mainstream American “Buy More” culture to permeate our celebrations? Many well-meaning Christians go into debt in order to buy bigger and better stuff for their children, for their families, and for their friends. In fact, Americans spend $450,000,000,000 (that’s $450 Billion!) on Christmas every single year.

Say what?

450 Billion Big Ones is spent in America every single year on Christmas. Don’t get me wrong…we celebrate Christmas with our credit cards just as much — or more — as the Jones’ next door. And last year during the holiday season I ended up with a three-month-long headache that was the result of stress and anxiety. It struck me the other day that Jesus does not want us to be so preoccupied with the “stuff” of the season. The real “stuff” that he is interested in has to do with putting our treasure in heaven.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Romans 12

If I take those verses from Romans 12 and apply them to my life during the Christmas season, I see that I have completely and totally copied the behavior and customs of this world. I have bought the lie…the lie that says that the more money you spend on your kids, the more they will know how much you love them. I have swallowed the lie that tells me that my family won’t know I love them unless I spend oodles of cash on them buying stuff that they don’t really need. Somehow I have allowed myself to link LOVE with STUFF…and that is ridiculous.

Think about it.

What does a carpet display at Home Depot have to do with Jesus? He walked on unpaved, dusty roads and undoubtedly had dirty feet! He wasn’t exactly born in the Ritz but in a stable filled with musty, earthy animal scents. Mary didn’t dress him in purple robes from BabyGap but in swaddling cloths (although I’m sure she probably would have if she’d been able!).

How on earth have we Christians come to equate presents under the tree with the person of Jesus Christ? Take a look at these advertising slogans and see how many of them you know by heart. How many of them do you know better than you know God’s word?

• Don’t leave home without it. (American Express)
• Reach out and touch someone. (AT&T)
• The ultimate driving machine. (BMW)
• The King of beers. (Bud)
• Have it your way. (Burger King)
• M’m M’m good. (Campbell’s soup)
• Cooks who know trust….(Crisco)
• It keeps going, and going, and going… (Energizer)
• Quality is Job 1 (Ford)
• Because you’re worth it (L’oreal)
• Just do it (Nike)
• The un-cola (Seven-up)
• Who wears short shorts? (Nair)

My favorite ornament is a “gift” that my daughter made for us several years ago. It is hand-made out of typing paper to resemble a child’s version of a present. On the inside of the present is one word: Jesus. We place this present under the tree every year. That is what I’m focusing on this Christmas: getting back to the heart of the season, which is gratitude to God for giving me the ultimate gift in Christ.

I’m not trying to be Scrooge here. I am honestly seeking to understand why I’ve bought into the lies — and I am horrified to think of what my actions are teaching my daughter about what it is that I really treasure.

That’s why I’m joining the Advent Conspiracy.

I will do my best to give Presence, not just presents that are here today and tomorrow are forgotten.

In the coming days, I will post some non-gift ideas for ways to celebrate the special Christmas season or ways to celebrate by spending money on those who have nothing. The first idea is this:

Coupon Book

This gift has been a favorite of my daughter’s each year that I have done it…and on the few years I haven’t made the time to make it, she’s asked where it was! The coupon books contains coupons for my time or for special events. Some items have included:

• Eat dessert first (this was a favorite one!)
• Skip a shower
• Picnic with mom in the park
• Mommy manicure
• Ice cream scoop at Baskin Robbins
• Skip a school assignment in our homeschool

The coupons are redeemed at any time during the year. I have several of each item, and she can use them whenever she wants. I’ve found that she likes to keep them saved up for special occasions.

This year I plan to make a coupon book for her…but I also will make one for my husband (with different coupons, of course!)

As He often does, God is conspiring all sorts of things to lead my mind in this direction. I first heard of The Advent Conspiracy on a friend’s Facebook page, and somehow it stuck in my brain. Several weeks later I checked into it and WOW! I felt as if that sword of the spirit was smiting me all the way to my marrow. Then this weekend my husband downloaded an album from a group I’d never heard of before called Monk and Neagle – and I heard this song:

Whereas last year I would have cared very much that Home Depot or Target or JC Penny or Macy’s omitted the word “Christmas” from their holiday circulars…God is working on me, people. I can honestly say today that I.don’t.care. In fact, I would rather see Christ REMOVED from the holiday spending orgy because the xBox 360 and the latest and greatest computer do not reflect the person of Jesus Christ. Those things are of THIS world and are slowly but surely stripping away all that is holy about the miracle of Christmas. I don’t want to pass by the truly needy for the twenty-first time in my rush to buy the Next Big Thing.

I am definitely still a work in progress, and so is this topic. Stay tuned for more…

Make The Crooked Paths Straight

Those of you who have not yet decided who to support in this presidential election — one out of seven, according to a recent poll — you hold the keys to the castle, and my prayers are with you.

Consider this disturbing report revealing details about Senator Obama’s support for Kenya’s Raila Odinga in 2006 (Odinga claims that he is Senator Obama’s cousin).  Watch this clip from YouTube, and then read the words of Isaiah, in Isaiah 59, below the clip:

Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.

Lord, we cry out you!  Save us, Father, from ourselves.

All their activity is filled with sin,
and violence is their trademark.

Father, please protect us from violence, and place your shield of protection around us and around our brothers and sisters in Kenya and around the world.

They don’t know where to find peace
or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

Please make the crooked roads straight.  Wipe away the distortions of the evil one so that those in our nation can see.  Awaken a desire within us to seek out your word…write your word on our hearts.

So there is no justice among us,
and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.

Open the eyes of those who will vote this Tuesday, Father.  We call on you directly to intervene.

We look for justice, but it never comes.
We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
For our sins are piled up before God
and testify against us.
Yes, we know what sinners we are.

We know we are not perfect.  We know that we have allowed the government to ban your word and our prayers from our public schools.  We know that we have left on the television at times that we should have turned it off.  We know we have caved in to the American “Keeping up with the Jones’” attitude at times.  We have neglected to pay attention to those we elect to lead us.  We have neglected to hold each other and ourselves accountable for our actions.  We have bailed out our kids when they would have been better off if we had just let them suffer natural consequences.  We have turned our backs on the needy without even realizing we are doing so.  Father, forgive us!  Help us turn back to you.

Truth stumbles in the streets,
and honesty has been outlawed.
Yes, truth is gone,
and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

Those of us who take a stand for morality are attacked in the media.  “Evangelical” is a bad word in today’s society.  We are ridiculed.  We are berated for “clinging” to our religion.  The press that is charged with reporting the truth distorts it for their own aims, and they neglect to report information that proves the wolf really is in sheep’s clothing.

The Lord looked and was displeased
to find there was no justice.
He was amazed to see that no one intervened
to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
and his justice sustained him.

As you did before, Lord, I pray that you will intervene.  I pray that you will step in and save us with your strong arm.

In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord;
in the east, they will glorify him.

We will glorify you and  your name, Lord, no matter what the outcome this Tuesday.  Still we plead for mercy and judgment…and that your will be done.

“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem
to buy back those in Israel
who have turned from their sins,”^[b]
says the Lord.

We have turned from our sins, Lord!  We believe in the name of Jesus, and we eagerly await his return!

“And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!

Yes, Father, you are with us always.  Thank you for sheltering us beneath your wings.

Reminder to Pray

Would  you humbly seek his face with me?  Let us rise up in faith, dust off our swords (the Word of God), and pray!

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Hebrews 4:12

Heart Trouble

Corruption? That’s a heart problem.

Pork-barrel politics? Another heart problem.

Inability to vote yes or no, only present? Yup, a heart problem.

Name-calling? Heart problem.

Stagnation and indecision? Heart problem.

Greed? Heart problem.

Now is the time for Christians to band together in one body to pray like we’ve never prayed before. It is way past time for us to pray for our President, our Presidential candidates, our congressmen, our senators, their aides and assistants, the President’s cabinet, leaders on Wall Street, leaders on Main Street, and each other. This fiasco has gone way beyond who will get elected this November and is directly tied to the state of our leaders’ hearts. If we could see them the way God sees them, what would their hearts look like?

God sees our motives, our intentions, our inner thoughts. He sees when we are putting ourselves above those we should be serving. What do the hearts of our leaders look like to him? Are they made of stone? Are they pumping darkness with every beat, planning out ways to get rich off each other and their country? Are they so intoxicated with power that they lose the perspective of who they serve?

But let us not be depressed or downhearted. God has seen everything the devil can do to human hearts, and he has used extraordinary means to accomplish his purposes. Throughout history, he has used unlikely people in highly unusual ways and has performed miracles and wonders when his people turn to him humbly and seek his face.

Here are just a few examples:

From Joshua 5:

When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.

Lord, please dry up the river of greed that flows not just from our leaders’ hearts, but from our hearts as well. Give us dry ground and safety so we can cross this difficult time.

From 1 Samuel 13:

“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Samuel then left Gilgal and went on his way, but the rest of the troops went with Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. When Saul counted the men who were still with him, he found only 600 were left!

Lord, you have already appointed the coming leaders of this nation, and I pray that your will be done and that the leaders you have chosen will seek your heart just as David did. I pray that you will rally the hearts of our nation so we will once again be ONE nation under God and that there will not be 600 left on this side or 600 left on that side. I pray we will all turn and seek your heart.

From 2 Samuel 15:

When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.

Father, I pray that like Absalom, the leaders you have chosen for our nation will have servant hearts and will lead by serving. I pray that they will “steal the hearts” of all Americans — that the leaders you have appointed will refuse to let the common man bow to them but will instead wash the feet of the ones they have been elected to serve. I pray they will not be filled with greed and power and the love of money, but that instead you will turn their hearts towards the satisfaction that comes from service and a job done to the best of their abilities.

From 1 Kings 14

Give your husband, Jeroboam, this message from the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over my people Israel…But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. And since you have turned your back on me, I will bring disaster on your dynasty will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This will happen today, even now!

Lord, I don’t ask that you destroy anyone’s family, but I do ask that you destroy the spirit of evil that lurks. Indeed, you have already won! I pray that today, even now, you will restore your favor to us by finding those who do seek your face. Elevate them to places of leadership, and guard their hearts from the corruption that winds its way through our nation’s capital.

From 2 Kings 23:

The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord’s presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant…. Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.

You’ve told us that there will never be another king like Josiah. Father, I ask you to bring our nation a leader who would be at least somewhat like Josiah! I plead with you, Lord, to bring us leaders who turn to you with all their hearts and souls and strengths.

2 Chronicles 30:

At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the Lord.

Lord, I ask you for a mighty revival to sweep through our nation. Stir us up, Lord…stir us up to obedience and servant hearts. Curb the crime that riddles our dark alleys and schools. Place your hand in the United States, Lord, and give us all one heart to obey the leaders you have appointed who we, in faith, believe will be following your word.

2 Chronicles 36:

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:

“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are the Lord’s people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you!”

Oh, Lord, that you would stir the hearts of all our leaders and also of us who fall under their realms. Stir our hearts to do your will, just as you stirred the heart of King Cyrus, who rebuilt the Temple. Please be with us, God, so that we can work our faith out together.

Proverbs 21:1

The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases.

Lord, I ask that you will guide President Bush’s heart like a stream of water. I specifically pray for Senator McCain and Senator Obama and for their campaign staffs. I pray you will guide their hearts “wherever” you please.

Jesus tells us we don’t have enough faith. It’s time to rise up and put on our faith shoes and our faith shields and our faith shirts, faith pants, faith purses, and faith belts. Let’s put some faith on, so we can accomplish much!

From Matthew 17:
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. ”

Nothing. Would. Be. Impossible. Notice the word nothing? It means nothing! Do you know how tiny a mustard seed is? I do, because we tried to grow a plant this spring (didn’t work). It was so small that even my little size-3-ring-fingers could barely grasp them to plant. It must have been incredibly difficult to plant a crop of mustard plants back in Jesus’ day. The people he was speaking to knew exactly how much faith they needed to have — a smidgen. Just a little bit.

I will leave you with this encouraging word from James 5:

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.

Since we are praying AND we have faith, this mountain of trouble in our country is getting ready to move. The hearts of our leaders are softening, opening up to the call of the Lord. Can you feel those mountains trembling under God’s mighty hand? Pray with me, people! Rise up, get your faith clothes on, and PRAY.

Of Pigs, Wolves and Pearls

For the first time in my short life, someone has pointedly made fun of my faith. That’s a pretty sad state of affairs, considering that I have been a Christian for the past twenty five years.

Writing this blog has been the first public foray I have delved into as far as sharing my faith. I’ve talked to my students about my faith (in a private school) and to my family, but I’ve never been one to strike up a conversation with the sweet man who bags my groceries. I tend to shy away from confrontations because they make me uncomfortable to the point of anxiety attacks.

I even remember the first one. I was sitting at my grandmother’s table debating God with my uncle. He disagreed with the Bible, and as a young, faith-filled child, I was sure that if he would just read, he would believe! I don’t even remember what the topic was, but I do remember having to get up and leave the table because my legs started shaking in anxiety.

Fast forward a few years to today. I’ve been writing this blog for almost a year now, off and on, as time and inspiration allows. I set out to write this blog in hopes of encouraging friends in the blogosphere in their Christian walks. Often my wanderings turn political, and of course, when you mix religion and politics, sometimes you get sparks! Lately a commenter’s comments have been blazing.  It started when I wrote a blog about how Senator Obama voted against the Born Alive act four times in the Illinios legislature and then really ramped up when I posted a YouTube video from a soldier who had been wounded in Iraq.  The commenter was angry and attacked the Christianity of me and anyone who would support a war, any war.

After deleting some of his comments, I thought perhaps God would rather I try to reason with him.  So I continued to respond to his comments in hopes that he would listen.  This person has recently written,

If Jesus were here, do you think he would have an opinion about the war? I do. And I think he would speak out against it. He WOULD be involved. And I think you would dismiss him.

And in another comment, he wrote

I’m not going to judge your faith.  You have lots of it.  But faith is like a fairy tale island in the setting sun.  Proof is something altogether different.”

And around and round we go…an unbeliever who can’t understand why I would post a video from a soldier who lost a leg in Iraq.  I seriously considered his question about Jesus and wrote a lengthy response in Birth Pains.  But my response only seemed to make him angrier and more frustrated, which eventually led to his telling me that my faith is like a fairy tale island in the setting sun.  He did not understand that I only need to look to God’s Word to find all the proof that I need!  That is the nature of faith.

In Matthew 7, Jesus is teaching a crowd of people on a mountainside. He shares many teachings with them and with us, but I’ll focus today on the first part of this section of the Sermon on the Mount:

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others.^[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.^[b]

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye^[c] when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend,^[d] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

“Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy.^[e] Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

The specks I’ve been examining lately have been those found in Senator Obama’s record.  The record is factual and is what it is.  I can clearly see those specks (as well as those in the record of Senator McCain), and I believe it is our duty as voters to carefully weigh the records of those who will serve us in public office.  It’s part of what we do as Americans.

This commenter took the comments I made about Obama’s record and turned it into an attack on my Christianity and on the Christianity of those of us conservatives who believe the government should not be in the business of hand-outs.  He claims that anyone who supports any war (even the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WWI, WWII) can’t claim with believability that they are Christians because Jesus told us to love one another.  It appears to me that he is criticizing me without examining the specks in his own eye.

I have prayed and considered over this…my family might even say I have agonized over this.  Was I the one with the speck in the eye?  As I was researching this question, the last statement from Jesus jumped off the page.

I’ve written before about being careful not to be judgmental. Aren’t we supposed to spread the gospel and tell others about Jesus? Aren’t we supposed to enthusiastically embrace those who oppose us?   I think what Jesus is saying here is that there are some out there, who he refers to as pigs, who will trample the pearls (in this case the Word of God) and then turn and attack.

That is exactly the reaction I have received. I was perplexed at the condition of my own heart during this process — why did it make me so anxious? Why did those comments get under my skin and offend me to the extent that I actually considered deleting this entire blog?

And that’s when it hit me.  I was so offended not so much that I was being attacked, but that the pearls were being trampled.  The wisdom I found in the scriptures were not even acknowledged by this person.

Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in Matthew 5:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Granted, I am not being persecuted.  No one is telling me that I will go to jail for publishing this blog (as some in other countries are being told).  But shutting down this blog would be like lighting my lamp and then putting it under a bowl.  And that would be exactly what the enemy would very much like me to do.

So I won’t.

Writing is a talent the Lord gave me, and to shutter it up would be like the man who buried his talent in the ground because he was afraid he would lose it.  When Jesus sent out the twelve, he gave them this instruction:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

The Greek word for “shake off” is ektinassō, and it brings to mind the image of someone shaking off dust that sticks to a carpet.  It was used to describe a symbolic gesture someone made that expressed extreme contempt for another and refused to have any further dealings with him.

Jesus knew that we would encounter wolves, and he has given us to tools to both embrace them and reject them as necessary.  Later in the same passage he encourages us to take heart if we are arrested (or, we might say, attacked):

But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Jesus finishes his instructions to the  twelve by telling them not to be afraid of those who will oppose them.  Isn’t that what I was feeling?  Anxiety is a form of fear.  Fear of what?  Of what that person will think of me, an unknown blogger out in cyberspace?  I read these words from Christ and took heart:

So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny^[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
” ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her motherinlaw—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[e]

“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.
-from Matthew 10

This blog is my rooftop, and I will continue to shout out in the spirit of truth, shaking off the dust that rises whenever necessary.