2023 Gratitude Series, Part 11: Epilogue (for now)

For now, I will wrap up this series of gratitude-giving. When I think of thanks-giving, I think of people first. I may not have as high a number of friends as many people I’ve known over the years have been blessed to have had, but I am grateful for the people God has put in my life over the years, some of whom have come and gone, others who have stayed faithfully and put up with me.

As I built out my list, it became glaringly obvious that Jesus needed to be the centerpiece (if you’ve been reading along my posts especially in the last month, you’ll see why). Without Him, I don’t have anyone. Without Him, I have nothing. As such, once it became clear that this series could potentially stretch until Christmas, I decided to honor Him on His birthday.

But I’m also grateful for things. I often have complained about things (or more accurately, the lack of things), and so I will dedicate this final, epilogue of a post to the things I’m grateful for.

• I’m grateful for my 9-to-5 job, a fully-remote management consulting job that specializes in procurement. Over 2 years ago my bosses took a chance on me, and I’m glad to say I’ve been able to learn, develop skills, and now have experience that I can parlay into a higher-paying gig and ultimately a reasonably stable career, at the right time.
• I’m also grateful for my second job, for supplemental-income reasons as well as for the opportunity to be part of a worship experience that combines traditional church music with the contemporary praise-and-worship music (the world refers to this as “Praise Band”).
• Continuing within the music-related scope, I’m grateful for Finale, MIDI, and GarageBand. I’m also grateful for my computers, that my love’s parents allow me to use their printer, and the flash drive that my future mother-in-law has graciously lent to me.
• I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to save a decent amount of money for the first time in my life. Until this job, I’ve almost always lived paycheck to paycheck, and am blessed to have a little bit of a cushion for the first time in my life. I still lag far behind almost all of my peers in terms of career building and long-term financial stability, but I’m now a lot farther than I used to be.
• I’m grateful for my love’s family dog, the first big dog (relatively speaking) that I’ve been able to feel safe enough to come to love. For those of you who don’t know me, I grew up very much a “cat” person. Small dogs were ok, but big dogs freak me out. My love’s family dog isn’t “big” compared to what most people would consider a big dog. But she’s big to me. And in some of her quirks she reminds me a little of both Cotton and Teya.
• I’m grateful for my church, and all the people who have welcomed me there. I’m grateful for the second church at which I hold my second (part-time) job as a band keyboardist. I’m grateful for the positive experiences I still will experience upon the occasional visit to my former church (I do still have a few friends there). I do also have one friend with whom I have weekly phone calls that I don’t believe I’ve mentioned in any of the posts in this series, so I will mention now that I am grateful for and for our friendship.
• I’m grateful for Covenant Eyes and for Leechblock, both of which helps keep me grounded and not giving into temptation nearly as much as I otherwise might. And I’m grateful for my accountability friendships/relationships with the two men I call weekly, one of whom I mentioned in just the last paragraph.
• There’s a very good chance I’m still forgetting a few things in my life, but I’ve exhausted all I can think of at this time. If I’ve missed anything, I’m grateful for those things as well.

My life is not without its frustrations, no, not without its deep frustrations and pains. But, I am richly blessed, even considering both my current station in life, as well as my historical station in life up until this point. And for that, along with Jesus who remains faithful to me even when I haven’t been faithfully keeping His commandments, I am grateful. I am blessed and I am grateful. Praise God.

Ongoing lessons from 2023: Jesus and Paul’s statements about branches

 Recently, I came across the daily Bible reading provided by Biblegateway.com. I used it for my daily Bible reading in 2022 (at least, until I faltered somewhere during the middle of the year), and even though I’ve been favoring the YouVersion Bible app for my daily Bible meditation this year, I still receive daily emails from the former. On this day Romans 11-13 showed up in my reading schedule, but it was Romans 11 and Paul talking about the believers in the church in Rome as branches, and specifically that branches that don’t abide in Christ and are unfruitful will be broken off, and in the Israelites’ case, they were. This is on the heels of other convictions that God has been doing in my life.

On January 1^st of this year, I attended a small gathering with some friends to ring in the New Year with praise/worship, Scripture meditation, and prayer. One of the key passages for reflection was what Jesus shared with His disciples on the Vine and the Branches in John 15 (one that I’ve been familiar with for years), one that came to mind again upon reflecting on Romans 11:

John 15:1-8, NKJV

15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “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. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

I shared much of my reflections on the above in this post, and these thoughts came again when I read Paul’s statement to the church in Rome on the same topic:

Romans 11:11-12:2, NKJV

11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,

And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

27 For this is My covenant with them,

When I take away their sins.”

28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has become His counselor?”

35 “Or who has first given to Him

And it shall be repaid to him?”

36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

A few things:

1. Verses 19 through 22 from the 11^th chapter really stood out to me: You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. What stood out very strongly is I should never get so high on myself if I benefit because of someone else’s disobedience. It’s not because of how “good” I am (or think myself to be) that I received someone else’s blessings. “Do not be haughty, but fear.” The point is, if I fall like those disobedient ones did, I will suffer the same fate as well – being broken off like an unproductive branch. In the end, it’s about God choosing whom He will bless. Who will be faithful to Him? Who will obey? Who will surrender and make a lifestyle and lifelong habit of God being in total charge of their lives and not them themselves?
2. In Paul’s letters, like the rest of the Bible, every section and every point builds on the previous. I am quite familiar with the exhortation in Romans 12:1-2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The point is, in light of the reality that Paul shared that God will break off unproductive branches, all the more he exhorts that we not only obey God but present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. For this same reason – disobedience means being cast out and thrown into the fire – we are to not let ourselves be conformed to this world. In this, part of what obedience looks like is letting God transform us by renewing our minds, through His word.
3. What also stood out, in light of all this, is indeed His great mercy. In Romans 11:28-32 it is written: Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. In this case, the “they” referred here by Paul are the Israelites. Nonetheless, God is merciful. Those who were disobedient but have since repented, receive His mercy. Even that last sentence, the idea that God would commit a people to disobedience, sounds shocking, but even more so is His purpose – mercy. I can’t really unpack much more as this passage (aside from Romans 12:1-2) is new to me, so I will now stop and let the text speak for itself.

If I’m honest with you all, this year has been a difficult one spiritually. On January 1^st I believe God gave me a theme for the year, and it could be summed up in one phrase: “to Your Spirit I yield.” Well, I haven’t really done that. Maybe here and there in spurts, but largely I’ve rebelled.

One positive is that the Lord interrupted me on Sunday, March 12^th and sternly reminded me that I had forgotten Him for well over a year at that time and asked me directly what was keeping me from repenting. Our conversation continued, and I did begin to repent. That week was the week I signed up on YouVersion to have daily devotional times with Him. Gradually things got better, and He even revealed to me some deep questions I was carrying at the time. But then things slipped as circumstances around me once again became challenging. The rest of 2023 has since been an increasingly bumpier road, and I exit this year on as bumpy ground as I ever have had.

I don’t really have an ending to this post. 2024 awaits with new adventures. At this point, I just hope that by the end of next year I’m right with God again, and preferably well before that point.

Devotionals from my Bible app: This is what God delights in... (Psalm 147:10-11)

Note before sharing the devotional: I'll add one thing to the below of what pleases God: obedience. We know that without faith it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV) I also recall two things I learned in my early years at the Vineyard: 

1.) Faith is spelled R-I-S-K. 

2.) Faith In Action is spelled O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E.

This is what God delights in…

What do you think about when you think about God?

Do you feel love and acceptance? Shame and embarrassment? The temptation to run away, to show off your accomplishments, to question your Creator, or to prove yourself worthy?

To understand the context of today’s verse, we need to read two verses:

“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
Psalm 147:10-11, NIV

God is not after earthly strength. It’s not about who’s the strongest, bravest, richest, smartest, or who has the most social media followers. It’s not even about who has the most consistent church attendance or YouVersion [the name of the Bible app I use] streak. If you want to please God, it’s pretty simple:

“… the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

God loves you unconditionally, but He also delights in you. Not because you’re perfect, or because you never mess up, or because you’re constantly faithful—no one is. This verse tells us that God delights in you as you fear Him—you acknowledge He’s God with a holy respect for His power, and you put your ultimate hope in His unfailing love.

During this season of Advent, a time of reflection, contemplate who God is. Reflect on His power and His love. Then, devote some time in this season to worship God for who He is and align your heart with His.

https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.147.11.ESV

Sermons from Good News: This Christmas let's worship Jesus

Note before sharing the sermon message: I really liked the below image, so I'm sharing it in this post. But I also checked the website from which this photo appeared, and it has a really good explanation on why frankincense and myrrh were also great gifts for two of the wise men to give to Jesus (I'm presuming that gold is a no-brainer).

Gifts of the Three Wise Men | TC Times

Church 12/16/2023

Offertory scripture:

God gave us a savior: Jesus.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Sermon message:

Thesis: This Christmas let’s worship Jesus.

God inhabits the praises of His people.

Consider this: Joshua was fighting in the valley, and Moses was up on the mountain. As Moses worshipped God, the Israelites were gaining victory over their enemies.

Whenever Peter and John were ministering to people using Jesus’s name, they decided to honor God over their human leaders. And they spent time with other believers. Acts 4.

Jesus cleansed the temple of buyers and sellers to restore the temple to worshiping God.

Paul and Silas praised and worshipped God in prison, and God showed up.

Christmas is about Jesus.

How important worshipping Jesus really is:

Point #1: It is wise to come and worship Jesus.

Matthew 2:1-2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

Point #2: It is unwise to refuse to come and worship Jesus.

Consider Herod. He was evil. He killed his wife and some of his sons. He imprisoned multiple Jewish leaders with orders to kill them on the day of his death.

Matthew 2:3-6

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

The scribes knew where Jesus was going to be born, and they refused to worship Jesus. They weren’t wise.

We need to worship Jesus. We need it.

Point #3: God knows and rewards true worshipers.

God calls David a man after His own heart. David wrote most of the Psalms, of worship unto God.

Mark 2:9-10

9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic,

Matthew 2:7-8

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

Point #4: it is wise to be a giver.

When you give time to worship God and give unto Him, you’ll be blessed.

Matthew 2:11

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Giving is part of worshipping God.

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Today, make a decision to bless someone in the name of Jesus.

Point #5: God guides worshippers.

Matthew 2:12

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Sermons from Good News: believe in your heart

Church 12/13/2023

Sermon message:

Thesis: Believe in your heart

The Bible makes it clear that this is important.

Mark 11:23

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Believe, “…and shall not doubt in his heart”

Romans 10:9

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

It doesn’t say: “believe in your head” or “believe with your thoughts”

A saying by a wise man of the faith: “You can doubt in your head and faith in your heart and still receive. But it is better to believe in both your head and your heart.”

Romans 10:10

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Question of what is our heart:

Regarding the thing in your chest that pumps blood… that’s not what we are talking about.

The Bible doesn’t say to believe with a particular flesh and blood part of yourself.

But you can believe with your spirit.

Point #1: You are a three part being.

Your spirit is your core. You also have a soul (mind and emotions). And you have a body.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Your spirit is the main thing. Your soul will go with your spirit when you die and exit the body.

You are a spirit that has a soul that lives in a body.

God made man in His image.

John 4:24 God is Spirit. Those who worship must do so in spirit and in truth.

Your spirit is the heart of man.

Believing in your heart means believing and agreeing in your spirit. This is why you need to guard your spirit and not let evil spirits

Point #2: Paul explains importance of spirit.

Romans 2:28-29

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

Being a believer not outwardly but inwardly. Similarly circumcision not of the flesh but of the heart. (As a Jewish follower of God.)

It’s your heart and your spirit that believes unto God.

Jesus is explaining what it means to be born again to Nicodemus one of the Pharisees.

John 3:1-2

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

How do you get born again? Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 3:3-6

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Except a man a born of water and is the spirit…

When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your spirit is born again.

Mark 11:23 and Romans 10:9

Our minds might doubt. We can and must renew our minds Romans 12:2 (see further down) to rid ourselves of the doubt.

John 4:24

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

1 Corinthians 14:14

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

When praying in tongues our spirits pray but our souls won’t understand.

Therefore 1 Corinthians 14:15

What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

My spirit can bypass the soul realm and pray directly to the Lord.

2 Corinthians 4:16

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

1 Corinthians 9:27

But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Sometimes we have to use our spirits to bring our bodies under subjection. Our spirits should be in charge, over our minds (souls) and bodies.

Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The real you is a spirit. Your soul is your mind and emotions which needs to be renewed daily, and your body which must be brought under subjection.

Luke 16:19-26 - The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

The point of the above is that you will still exist after you die. The real you, your spirit, will go to another place.

☑We need to feed our spirits, in order to truly believe on Jesus in our hearts.

(My translation: to "tattoo myself on the inside with the Word of God" so that I can't help but think of it all the time, no matter what. And of course, you need to be doing this, too.)

This is why guarding your heart is critical. This is why you need to have the armor of God on all the time. This is why you need to renew your mind daily. This is why you must bring your body into subjection to your spirit. This is why you need to sow to the spirit and not to the flesh.

Devotionals from my Bible app: What does it mean to be blessed? (Psalm 119:2)

I've been writing a lot lately. The below devotional really hit me in a powerful way the day it hit my Bible app. It hit an ache in my heart, a deep ache, in fact. This was already a topic I had in mind initially to devote a separate blog post. But I'm exhausted from writing. So I'll just say this:

Being blessed means knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, having Him in your heart, and abiding in Him daily, constantly. Nothing else matters, despite what the world, tradition, family, or any other source of expectations, etc. has to say about it. Maybe sometime in the future, if allowed, I'll write more about it.

Merry Christmas.

What does it mean to be blessed?

We all want a good life. We all want a life that is blessed and successful.

Almost everyone on earth is searching for that, and we all have our own way of attaining the life we want. Some people look for happiness and fulfillment in material possessions. Others try to find happiness through gaining success and fame. And others search for fulfillment through relationships.

But rather than following the paths of the world around us, Psalm 119:2 says that true happiness and fulfillment come from obeying God. Since God is the creator and ruler of the universe, He certainly knows what is best for us. Following God’s guidance and direction for our life is the only way we will find true fulfillment. And the writer of Psalm 119 says that those who seek God with all their heart will be blessed.

A blessed life is a happy and fulfilled life, but it’s also a life that doesn’t find ultimate happiness and fulfillment through anything on this earth.

A truly blessed life comes through God.

You were created to enjoy a relationship with God. The more we seek God and desire Him, the more we will find a truly blessed life, because true blessing comes from spending time with God.

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! Psalm 119:2, NKJV

https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.119.2.ESV

2023 Gratitude Series, Part 10: Jesus Christ

Where do I begin?

First, I think I’d be dead and in hell by now without Jesus. Looking at some of the medical events I’ve had over the last five years, even though I am still reasonably young by human measures, my relative youth doesn’t guarantee that I would have stayed alive until even now. As far as I’m concerned, I think it’s foolish for any of us to assume that we all will live to be 70, 80, even 90 years of age. I personally know of people who have died in their 20s. I even was friends with someone who died of cancer at age 16. And don’t get me started on that bevy of famous Classical composers who died in their 30s, or of famous rock-and-roll artists who died in their 20s. By God’s grace – and only His grace – I’ve already outlived many of them.

Second, by the same token, it is no guarantee that I’ll be alive tomorrow, or a month from now, or a year from now, let alone 10 years from now, let alone 30 years, let alone 50. I’m just glad I still have time to repent and get right with God, which I need to do every day. Every day I find a way to mess something up, to sin, to rebel. In my human eyes I consider some of my errors small (like I could feel a prompting to pray for someone as I go about my day but instead I turn on YouTube and watch a car crash video). But sin is no laughing matter, and there is no such thing as a “small sin.” God and sin cannot coexist, and heaven and sin cannot coexist. Sin has to go somewhere else. And if a person will not stop their sin and let Jesus come into their hearts and change them, the person will end up wherever sin has been banished. Hence hell’s existence.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23, NKJV

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves him who follows righteousness. Proverbs 15:9, NKJV

The point is, Jesus paid that price and tore that veil that separated man from God. Today we remember His birth, the day He came into this world as a tiny baby (just like every other person who has ever lived). I too am grateful for this tiny baby that grew to a man who healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, walking ability to the lame, and even restored the dead back to life… even with just a word in one case… and even 4 days after the person had died, in another. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Today we celebrate the birth of the One who not only did these things but also laid His life down when He died. Roman floggings and crucifixions were normally so brutal that just about any other person sentenced to what Jesus was sentenced to would’ve died far sooner. The Romans tried to kill Him. They failed. They failed because it was Jesus who laid His life down, died, and then went to conquer death, because He’s God. And then He rose again from the dead. Specifically, God raised Him from the dead. Now He’s in heaven, seated next to God the Father. Soon He’ll come again to make everything right on earth that once was wrong. We don’t know when. But He’s coming.

The point is, Jesus has made a way for me in spite of all the perfectly justifiable reasons that I shouldn’t be allowed to enter heaven. Not that what we do or don’t do doesn’t matter – it does – but it pales in comparison with knowing Him. Everything on earth pales in comparison with really knowing Him, with knowing His heart, knowing His desires, knowing His will, with knowing His love. So how do you get to know Him? Receive Him in your heart. Repent of all sins in your life. Believe on Him to be the Savior of your soul – to be your Savior. And receive Him as your Lord, your King, your Master, your Emperor.

[Side note: in western cultures we’ve come to frown on monarchies and dictatorships, in favor of democratically-elected republics or parliaments. Sure, some western countries (namely in Europe) have monarchies. My understanding is that those monarchs are largely ceremonial with some responsibilities, but it’s the Prime Minister that runs the country with the help of a governing body. However, God is not a President or a Prime Minister, nor a church (or The Church) as His law-making governing body who has the power to overrule Him if they disagree with any kind of executive decision on legislation. No, God is the King, the Church is His bride, and all believers are those who are with the King at every command of His.]

Above all, how you get to know Him once you’ve received Him is by surrendering to Him and spending time with Him. Which I’m still learning to do.

So I’m grateful that Jesus has made a way for me to be able to get into heaven, by repenting, and trying to get myself to spend quality time with Him and let Him be the King in my life (and no one else).

I’m also grateful that, according to His word, even though Jesus was fully man in addition to being fully God, because He was fully God He cannot lie. I still need help receiving this by faith because I still have experiences of being let down, betrayed, or outright rejected by authority figures in my life. (Side note: I don’t mean the police or any other similar type of authority figure, by the way. I’ve always had good experiences with them, and I am also grateful to God for that! No, I’m instead referring to authority figures in my family/various families as well as different individuals in my various communities over the years who have had direct influence over my life.)

But because Jesus cannot lie, therefore He is an authority figure I can trust, no matter the command. I often don’t understand what I hear from Him, but that’s fine. So long as I’m willing to trust Him and obey Him, I don’t have to understand. Therefore, I’m grateful for that.

I’m grateful He spoke to me at a particularly down point in my life in the fall of 2009 when I was unable to find work in Minnesota so I could continue to live there.

I’m grateful He immediately provided me with a church community and as importantly, a church family to plug in to in order to restart my faith, such as it was at the time.

I’m grateful He led me to my first men’s Bible study to experience the beginnings of intentional community with a reasonably tight-knit group of young men in their 20s and early 30s.

I’m grateful that, from there, He led me to the counseling center where I was able to get even more help and receive deeper healing for the next almost-decade.

I’m grateful that, through His prompting me to agree to step into leadership for a couple ministries at my church (I was already on leadership for one of them for a couple years, so I was kind of “grandfathered” in), I officially became a member of the church and ultimately got baptized, publicly declaring my allegiance and relationship to Him in front of several hundreds of people as witnesses.

Simply put, I’m grateful to Jesus for saving me.

That said, I also understand that just because I got baptized and proclaimed with my lips: “Jesus is Lord!” in front of those several hundred witnesses does not guarantee salvation (I have to believe it in my heart as well). Full, daily obedience to Him is required of me, and over a decade later I still find myself disobeying at least one command each day. (My baptism occurred on December 1, 2013, and my ten-year anniversary occurred just a few weeks ago.) It is why, according to His Word, I must continue to work out my salvation with fear and trembling. His grace does not come cheap.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; Philippians 2:12, NKJV

Still, I’m grateful for His grace, because repentance and surrender is the price. Because Jesus paid the ultimate price, the required blood sacrifice on the cross to atone for my sins (and “sin” singular, referring not just to the multitudinous sins I’ve committed over my lifetime but also to my evil human nature), our price in return is much simpler and much lighter. As Jesus Himself said:

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30, NKJV

If you’ve made it this far, it’s possible that you might be shocked at what appears to be heavy self-flagellating. You might also be thinking, “wow, this blogger thinks of himself as a terrible, horrible person!” The truth is, without Jesus, I am by nature a terrible, horrible person. And without Jesus, by nature, so are you. And so is everyone else. As a matter of fact:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23, NKJV

But I’m turning this on me because 1.) no one is going to stay long in reading or listening to anything where the writer or speaker is beating up their audience; and 2.) I also want to break down the walls between you and me regarding the seriousness of not receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior and especially as your Lord. In past posts, I made harsh comments about this (I still firmly believe these were made out of necessity), but sometimes the gong-like nature of these comments will lose their resonance with the intended audience. In this regard, you and I are no different. Without Jesus, you and I are both evil sinners in danger of the fires of hell. And hell is bad. This is just reality. But the good news is – and I am very grateful for this – is that Jesus did (and still does) make a way for both you and me to be saved.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:8-11, NKJV

I’m grateful that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3, NKJV

And I’m grateful that He rose again from the dead, that God raised Him from the dead.

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9, NKJV

He is risen!

Reflections off a radio sermon: We are the Isaac, not the Abraham

Below is a lightly-edited version of a dump draft note I wrote in my phone a few weeks ago, shortly after hearing a message on the radio while commuting. I say “lightly edited” because two things happened: 1.) I felt a sense of urgency, prompted by the Lord, to capture the major talking points from this sermon when I heard it, 2.) the Lord interrupted my note-taking to speak something directly to me. It was a message directly to me, but I also felt it was a message directly to all who have turned astray. I will say more once I get to that point.

First, the Bible passage to offer background:

1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

So he said, “Here I am.”

12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Genesis 22:1-14, NKJV

We are the Isaac, not the Abraham

I heard a sermon on the radio the other day, concerning the story of how Abraham, in his great faith, was obedience to God to the point that he was willing to kill his one and only son Isaac, only for God to stop him at the last minute and reveal to him a substitute to sacrifice instead. The clear parallel is God sacrificing His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross as a blood sacrifice for our sins, in our place. Much is and has been made ado of Abraham’s great faith (he is called the father of faith) and how we as modern-day Christians in the 21st century need to develop and have faith like that. After all, “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV) The preacher however also argued that we are not so much the Abraham in this case; rather, we are the Isaac.

But to back up a bit: this preacher asked his congregation (and by extension all who tuned in to the radio program) if we as believers were truly “all in” in terms of not withholding any areas of our hearts and any areas of our lives from God, to do with us as He wishes, no matter what. Even my pastor at my church regularly preaches about the importance of having faith and not doubting. However, what I’ve noticed is that oftentimes people associate this kind of message with thinking that they have to muster up faith to the level that Abraham had. (To be honest, this kind of thinking turns me off.) The pastor whose message was broadcast on the radio, however, directly addressed this, including the comparison between Abraham being willing to sacrifice his one and only son, and God Himself actually sacrificing His one and only Son, to indicate how this applies to us as true believers: in fact, we are not Abraham, but rather we are Isaac.

How does this work, you might ask? First, in a sense, God is in the same role that Abraham was. Second, Jesus is not in the role that Issac was but rather the ram that was ultimately sacrificed. Third, we are in fact in the Isaac role. How this is works is that, because of our sinful nature, no matter what it is that we do, we are abominable to God and therefore deserve the ultimate punishment of an eternity away from God and instead in hell to experience constant torment day in and day out forever and ever. And with Abraham, God wasn’t kidding around when He asked him to sacrifice not just his one and only son Isaac, but the same son that he and his wife Sarah conceived in their old age, the one that they waited decades for God to fulfill a long-ago promise. This wasn’t a small-stakes ask, a small-stakes sacrifice that God was asking of him to make.

This would kind of explain the line of thinking that says we need to have the kind of faith Abraham did. Because in truth, we do need to have that kind of faith. How many of you reading this blog post would immediately and without question give up to God the most important thing to you? If I’m honest, I’ve already failed this test many times, and I still am failing it today. I can think of a few precious things and/or people in my life that I would seriously struggle to be willing to give up for any reason, and that’s my own personal growth edge. Nonetheless, God’s command still stands. The first and great commandment is to love Him with all of ourselves, withholding absolutely nothing. Abraham obeyed. Isaac obeyed (he trusted both God and his earthly father all the way to being strapped down on the altar of sacrifice and seeing the knife about to be driven into his body). That’s the kind of faith and trust that God calls me to, that He calls You to, and that He has called every person who has ever lived and who will ever live. There is no compromise.

But the other reason we are in the Isaac role and not the Abraham role (and most certainly not in the role of the sacrificial ram (not to be confused with the sacrificial lamb)!) is because Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love and mercy for us. He doesn’t want us to end up in hell when we die. He doesn’t! But if we don’t surrender literally everything to Him, every aspect of our hearts and every aspect of our lives by the time we reach out dying breath and exit our human bodies… He’s a holy God; He has no choice. God and sin cannot and will not coexist. When we pass away, any remaining unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, malice, lust, or any other manner of sin — that sticks to us, post-death. Similarly, if when we die we still lack faith, love, and hope, among other things — that too sticks with us. What will be our legacy is not how good we looked or how great our minds worked, nor how much monetary wealth (or other physical wealth for that matter) we acquired, nor (for me) how many pieces I composed or how many compositions got published or performed… nor whether you got married and had children or not… no, the only thing that will matter is whether you had Jesus in your heart, and what you did with that while you were alive during your earthly lifetime.

I'm going to interrupt myself here. As I continue reading this next session - in my spirit I'm realizing why God interrupted this. This next paragraph does not please Him. So I will go ahead and issue my statement of repentance, all the while still releasing the original statement. The sin of my heart is ever before me. I ask for the Lord's forgiveness, because in truth I do want (and choose) to trust Him completely and live a totally surrendered life, for Him and Him alone. I preach all this boldly knowing that surrendering my life to Him and living for Him is not only good and right, but also deep down I realize that this is what I want to do. However, in my note-taking I stated the opposite, which reveals another part of me that I have yet to crucify and am commanded to do (and am choosing to do):

I’m preaching this boldly knowing full well that I don’t want to surrender absolutely everything to God. I don’t trust what will happen if I were to do so, and I have justified that with all the unresolved pains that I still carry, arguing that because He allowed those things to happen I cannot trust Him. (facepalm - I disagree with and stand against this statement in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Forgive me, Father God!)

But guess what? My flesh will not win, and if I keep sowing to the flesh, I will most certainly lose. And if I don’t surrender the above arguments, I will be found in rebellion and cast out.

The truth is, everything is loss compared to really knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior and especially as my Lord, King, Master, and Emperor. That means, every piece I’ve ever written, every note I’ve ever played, every dollar I’ve ever earned (and borrowed, and saved, and spent), every friendship I’ve ever had, every relationship I’ve ever had, every wrong thing that I’ve ever done and every wrong thing I’ve ever incurred, as well as every right thing I’ve ever done or incurred… even my relationships with my parents and even with my fiancée, my sweetie pie, and everything that has ever happened… these things are losses compared with knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior, Redeemer, Healer, Restorer, and especially my King, Lord, Emperor, and Master.

Below is where the Lord finally interrupted and spoke directly to me:

WHO ARE YOU TO DETERMINE WHAT IS RIGHT?

IF JESUS ISN’T YOUR KING, YOU CANNOT BE IN THE KINGDOM. The kingdom is only for those who truly recognize Jesus Christ as their King.

As I shift back to proper lower and upper-case spelling and grammar, more words flowed out of me as I reflected on what I had just heard God say:

Heaven is a kingdom.

It’s not a republic.

It’s most certainly not a democracy.

And it is absolutely not an anarchy.

It’s a kingdom, a sort of dictatorship—a benevolent dictatorship.

Either you’re with the King (that is, Jesus Christ), or you’re not. That’s what determines whether you’re in or out.

Earth was meant to be like heaven, and it was, once. 

8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of , it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:8-17, NKJV

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5, NKJV

But there was no death. And in heaven there will be no death.

There was no separation between God and humanity, spiritual or otherwise, and one day it will be like that again.

But because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, they brought immediate death into this world—spiritual death. The body does not die immediately, but it does gradually over time. Adam and Eve’s sin also brought separation between them (and all of humanity) and God.

Sin, death, and separation from God was not His desire. It was not His design. It was not His plan, ever. But it happened. And because it happened, earth is not heaven. One day it will be, once again. But sin and rebellion will still not be allowed in. For this reason it is imperative to let it all go, to surrender it all, to lay it all down.

Because of the intentional lag with my posting, the timeline has been thrown off a bit. Tomorrow's post will speak more to my response and posture of repentance from the above. I'm feeling prompted to share one more thing, to illustrate a component of the gap between where I am vs. what is acceptable to God (especially in terms of obedience). Specifically, I felt God challenge me regarding my obedience to interruptibility. I was running errands involving multiple stores, and as I was pulling out from one store to go to another, I faintly heard in my spirit: “STOP AND PRAY.” I did, briefly, but I was confused as to what felt like randomness, and I pulled out of the parking lot shortly after, still while praying. Toward the end of my time at the next store, it finally dawned on me what it was. There was a young woman at that store who appeared to be shopping at the same pace I was, and we even ended up checking out in adjacent lanes. The moral: if I had stopped even just five minutes longer to pray while still in the parking lot of the previous store, I would have missed her entirely and avoided any risk of temptation. With God's help (and perhaps because I did spend time praying even though I didn't wait before driving off), I was able to withstand temptation. I really don't want to give in to it. But the point of me sharing this story is that I have a lot of work to do regarding obedience, particularly in interruptibility.

I know it's Christmas. This is a joyous time of year - we are celebrating Jesus's birth! But how many people are celebrating Christmas (even those who don't get involved in the "Santa Claus" version, let alone other cultural facsimiles) who don't do the most important thing of all -- receive the Birthday Boy's free gift of salvation and make Him their Savior and the Lord, King, and Master of their lives? Shouldn't that be THE thing we should be doing at Christmas?

2023 Gratitude Series, Part 9: April Mae York

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4, NKJV

After writing “A Faraway State of Mind 4,” posted at the end of 2011, I took a very long hiatus from writing, which also eventually included blogging. These hiatuses were so long that I truly didn’t expect to ever write again, whether it were stories or blog posts. Way in the back of my mind, I did have a feeling that I might potentially write a storyline that ultimately became “A Faraway State of Mind 5.” Even though the other shoe didn’t drop until much more recently, I did have an understanding for quite a few years that this would be a plot line to use for this series. However, it wasn’t until the storylines for both installments #5 and #6 began to materialize (mostly) in my life that I finally pulled the trigger on writing these novellas, both in 2022.

Installments #1 through #4 were means of processing (creatively, of course) an ache in my heart that April Mae York eventually does for Thomas. Like Maggie and Kristen had done before for him, their real-life inspirations helped to awaken in me not only a God-given desire but also mountains of other pain I had buried that I needed to finally face and address in order to receive healing, in the time that I knew them. But in order to effectively write these stories, both in the earlier installments as well as the more recent ones, I needed to not only fictionalize their characters but also combine some of the muses that contributed to these characters. For example, the real-life inspiration for Kristen was not the same person who first introduced my love and myself to each other. But in the heat of the moment, I decided it worked well enough, and as I continued writing I found I could build on the fictional friendship between her and April Mae.

I share the above to also indicate that, as part of my desire to protect all aspects of my love’s identity, I also had to fictionalize aspects of her personality, her interests, and the like, just like I had done with just about every other character.

With all that out of the way, today’s post is me sharing how grateful I am for my fiancée, my love, the woman that I believe God put in my life. Because I am. I love her. She’s cute, Godly, caring, sweet, creative, hardworking, patient, grace-giving, and we have many, many things in common.

She gave me a second and a third chance early in our dating relationship, first when I stepped away from the relationship to tend to some crises occurring in my life at the time, and second about a month later when I made a decision for myself that led her to briefly seriously question continuing to date me before changing her mind. We had a minor argument, her challenging my decision, and me challenging the assumptions she had made about me. I’m not sure I would call it an argument, as the conversation wasn’t at all heated like I may be making it out to be. The bottom line is, this back-and-forth resulted in us developing a greater understanding of each other’s position once we each clarified our thoughts and thought processes. It was a really sweet moment, one that helped us each grow in compassion for one another.

A year later, when it was clear that I needed to go to the ER after having been battling a fever for a week straight, it was my love and her mom who came over to get me and drive me to the hospital.

We’ve shared a lot of fun moments, watching silly kitty videos (even though she’s allergic to cats), visiting various flower gardens in the area, teaching piano lessons together, occasional movies, and even collaborating on a song composition or two.

There is one Bible passage that really captures what I see in her (and what I believe God sees in her) that I will share in a moment. I even wrote a song around this text as a birthday gift to her and even played it for her. In her humble, self-deprecating way, she has quipped: “I hope I can someday be like that woman.”

10 Who can find a virtuous wife?

For her worth is far above rubies.

11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;

So he will have no lack of gain.

12 She does him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

13 She seeks wool and flax,

And willingly works with her hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships,

She brings her food from afar.

15 She also rises while it is yet night,

And provides food for her household,

And a portion for her maidservants.

16 She considers a field and buys it;

From her profits she plants a vineyard.

17 She girds herself with strength,

And strengthens her arms.

18 She perceives that her merchandise is good,

And her lamp does not go out by night.

19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her hand holds the spindle.

20 She extends her hand to the poor,

Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.

21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,

For all her household is clothed with scarlet.

22 She makes tapestry for herself;

Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sits among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,

And supplies sashes for the merchants.

25 Strength and honor are her clothing;

She shall rejoice in time to come.

26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,

And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

27 She watches over the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many daughters have done well,

But you excel them all.”

30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,

And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:10-31, NKJV

I believe that she already is, but if there are any ways where she is not, I believe God can and will help her, just like He’s helping me to further become the man I need to be for her.

Devotionals from my Bible app: The Second Exodus (Isaiah 49-58)

Note before sharing the devotional: the prayer at the end of the devotional stood out to me, and I wanted to share especially this prayer for anyone who also might be in this same boat as I am. I am indeed blessed, but at the same time I am ready for change, for good change, for a new mountain to climb. I do want to be clear, though, so as not to confuse the reader: I am not asking out of marrying my love, or to move on to anyone else. No, I want her with me in this change.

As such, even though I said that the prayer was at the end of the devotional (and it still is), I will also copy it here, ahead of the devotional, as I believe this is a powerful prayer. I want to pray this in faith for myself and for my love as well, and for any of you who are perhaps in a similar boat:

Lord, reading about this second exodus, I realize I need one too. Would you provide it for me? Would you lead me near cool waters—my soul is parched. Would you restore my strength? Would you change my pain to joy? I trust you to do all this. Amen.

As I've been typing this post up and going back and revising a few sentences, I think I'm also praying for scales to fall from the eyes of certain individuals in my life that have been a source of pain. This too may resonate with you at this time. Not to be remiss at the possibility that I too might have scales in my eyes, this could also be something God might be highlighting to you. As such, I will pray thus:

Father God, I ask for myself and for anyone reading this page on this day that I write, that I post, and any day that the reader may be coming across this page, for Your wisdom and Your truth to be made known, both to myself as well as to the people that have and continue to cause pain to me and those I love, and for the scales to fall off all our eyes, that we may see each other and the situation before us with Your eyes and not our own fleshly eyes. I pray also for anyone reading this who resonates with this that You make known Your truth and and Your wisdom to them and all their key relationships right now, in the name of Jesus. In Your Word it says that You desire truth in the innermost parts of our beings, and we pray in agreement with Your Word that You will uproot the lies that keep our hearts hardened, and that You soften our hearts to be ready to receive from You what You have for us. Thank You for Your faithfulness and goodness towards us. I ask You to remind us all of that truth continually. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Day Four: The Second Exodus

Read: Isaiah 49–58

When you hear the word exodus, you most likely conjure up images of the Red Sea parting dramatically. You might think of the plagues in Egypt, the plucky yet reluctant prophet Moses, and the ability of God to deliver a people from an enslaving nation. And you’d be right.

But have you considered God loves exodus, and he enacts it a second time here?

Many call the return from exile, from Babylon, back to a ruined Jerusalem, the second exodus. The past exodus is one of the themes of the book of Isaiah, so as you continue reading it, do so with that in mind. You may uncover new treasures.

When Israel is commanded to return, their exodus must involve repentance—leaving behind what brought on their captivity in the first place. “Get out! Get out and leave your captivity, where everything you touch is unclean. Get out of there and purify yourselves, you who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord” (Isaiah 52:11).

If you return to Isaiah 43, you’ll see that God says this new exodus will be different. In verses 15–17, God reminds the nation of the past exodus, helping them remember that he was the initiator of the deliverance through the Red Sea and performed the miraculous on their behalf.

Then the narrative takes a turn with the word but in verses 18–19. “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” On their exodus from Babylon to Jerusalem, God will guide them through the wilderness (rather than the Red Sea). And instead of damming up rivers and seas, he will create water from dust.

In this new deliverance, God will feed them. “They will neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun will not reach them anymore. For the Lord in his mercy will lead them; he will lead them beside cool waters” (Isaiah 49:10).

He will guide and protect them on this second exodus. “The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring” (Isaiah 58:11).

He will utterly transform their circumstances from desolation to joy. “The Lord will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air” (Isaiah 51:3).

Lord, reading about this second exodus, I realize I need one too. Would you provide it for me? Would you lead me near cool waters—my soul is parched. Would you restore my strength? Would you change my pain to joy? I trust you to do all this. Amen.