Kissed by the Spirit

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20 (RSV)

I told this story a year ago, so I am sorry if it’s a repeat for anyone. When I was eight years old, my older brother, who was about twelve, got in trouble at school one day. He was misbehaving and the teacher called him out saying, “Young man, who do you think you are?” My brother, being the class smart alec, answered the teacher saying his full name, and the whole class burst into laughter. 

My parents didn’t find it amusing and neither did his teacher, but as a child, I thought my brother was hilarious. I never forgot that story and it makes me think about our identity as God sees us. 

Today’s scripture reminds us who we really are in Christ, as we walk by faith. Our identity in Christ can be under attack by the doubts that flood our minds or the guilt we feel after failing in some way. Even our previously confessed sins return to make us feel unforgiven and threaten our sense of well being, but we live by faith not feelings. 

The “accuser of the brethren” who targets every believer during their lives, will do so until Jesus returns, but the apostle John says that a day is coming when, “The accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” 

(Revelation 12:10)

Revelation tells us how the story ends, and it’s a great ending. Whenever we question our own unique identity in Christ, by comparing ourselves to others, or dwelling only on our weaknesses, we are asking ourselves, “Who do you think you are?”

We know from the last page of Revelation, that we are on the winning side, and so we put our confidence and faith in the one who made us an original child of God, destined to win. Doubt, guilt and fear, can be crippling to our confidence of faith, so we must often remind ourselves of who we “are not.”

We are not the sum of our failures or weaknesses, and we are not defined by the tragedies of our past. We are not defined by our medical diagnosis, and we are never forsaken or forgotten by God, since He loved us long before we ever loved Him, and that love defines who we are.

The water of our baptism represents a death to our old nature, and a resurrection to our identity in Christ. The strategy of the enemy is to cripple our confidence and our identity, but remember what Jesus said to those who were crippled, 

“Rise up and walk!”

So when the question resurfaces from time to time, “Who do you think you are?” It’s not a question for mischievous children, it’s a question for all God’s children to rise up and walk, by answering; 

I am loved, chosen, forgiven, and living by faith in the One who first loved me and gave Himself for me.

Lord, help us to rise up and walk as beloved children, not defined by our failures, but by your amazing unending love, grace and mercy. Amen

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus talked about not hiding or burying our lamp, but to keep it shining. Paul’s advice to the Galatians, is to not let weariness prevent us from doing good. Jesus and Paul both gave us valuable advice. When we grow weary and give up doing good, our lamp gets buried, burnt out and stops shining. 

No one deliberately covers their lamp from shining, but we can get overwhelmed, especially when we are focused on getting things done. Sometimes we grow weary during the whole “doing good” process. A person or a situation becomes so fatiguing, that we lose patience, and before we know it, we lose our smile as well.

One day, I was in a hurry to run into a store and make a single, small but necessary purchase. While in the check out line, the whole computer system went down, and I had a longer than normal wait to complete my transaction. The cashier finally handed me my receipt, smiling warmly and thanking me for my patience. I said “thank you” to her out of habit, but I never smiled back and quickly left. 

After that, I felt horrible for the entire day. I kept seeing that clerk’s kind face in my mind and felt there was no excuse for my cold demeanor, and not smiling back at her. All day, I was aware that I had buried my lamp under a jar of impatience, weariness and frustration. 

I think most of us would define doing good or shining our light, by various acts of kindness, like helping a stranger, giving to charities, serving in a church ministry, or visiting the sick or needy. Those are all good deeds, that we can choose and plan to do, but it’s those unplanned, unexpected challenges that catch us off guard in the moment. 

How we respond and shine our light in unexpected situations, when tired, in a hurry, and already frustrated, are tests that teach us self control, something much needed in the moment. It’s part of what Paul referred to, by telling us not to grow weary in doing good.

He also warned believers, to be conscious of how we treat a stranger, saying, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for some have entertained angels unaware.”(Hebrews 13:2)

Wow, so besides the challenge of being caught off guard, a stranger could really be an angel, in order to see our reaction? I wondered what if that clerk in the store was an angel in disguise. Whether she was an angel or not, I failed to let my light shine, by showing a cold demeanor. Moments do matter, and although I looked for that particular store clerk after that, I never did see her again. 

In the parable of the foolish virgins, Jesus made it clear that it was up to each virgin to manage their own lamps. That means that we decide whether we will choose to shine our light or let it be buried under the frustrations of the day. That day I learned that I am here to manage my lamp, by choosing kindness and patience in order to keep my light shining. 

Managing our lamp in unexpected moments, means being alert to the people who are around us. 

When we fail, God forgives and by His grace, gives us of many more chances, until we get it right, before leaving this world. As we exercise the fruit of the Spirit, which is self control, we will get better at shining a light for Jesus, knowing a great cloud of witnesses is watching us both here and from Heaven. 

Lord, help us to never grow too weary to do good and to keep shining, since our smile could be the most important thing we wear in a special moment of the day. Amen

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.”

Psalm 127:3 (NIV)

Whether we have children or not, we are all someone’s children, and the bible says that children are a heritage from the Lord, and a reward to their parents. Even after our parents are long gone, we carry on their heritage, just as our children and grandchildren will carry on ours. Everyone could share in some way, how they are carrying on the heritage of their own parents. It could be a faith tradition, recipes, a passion for a cause, a hobby, or heirlooms and artifacts that remain in the family. Recently, an antique doll in my home, was used to strengthen a bond in my own family.

I have been in possession of an antique porcelain doll for twenty years. Mary Margaret was my mother’s cherished childhood doll, who I first met when I was a little girl. Years later, when my mother was retired and living in California, her first granddaughter, Lisa, was introduced to Mary Margaret as well. Then Lisa grew up, got married and had Maria, my mother’s great granddaughter, who also became familiar with Mary Margaret. 

It occurred to me last week that my mother, niece, great niece and I, all shared a common bond, beyond our blood line. We know a 112 year old doll named Mary Margaret, who has been a part of our family heritage for four generations. It’s not the doll itself that is so special, but our common impression of love that my mom left on all three of us. 

The day arrived when my mother, at 91, could no longer live on her own, so we moved her from her California home to Glenview, Illinois, to live with my husband and I. Of course, Mary Margaret came with, and in the later stages of my mother’s dementia, that doll brought her even more joy. My friend’s grandmother who restores old dolls, offered to restore Mary Margaret’s eyes, hair and also made her many new outfits. 

Mary Margaret’s makeover made my mom so happy that it was all she talked about in those final days. A year later, in 2006, my mother passed away at the age of 92. Mary Margaret sat alone on a shelf in my spare bedroom, for twenty years, with no girls to play with, or talk to her, comb her hair, or change her outfit.

One part of this story that hasn’t been told, is that ever since my mother’s death, our family grew apart, since she was the glue that kept everyone together. Living in different states and busy with our own immediate families, we rarely communicated with each other, except for events like holidays, funerals or weddings. 

Since my son doesn’t value family heirlooms or antique dolls, I started wondering what would become of Mary Margaret when I’m gone. I wondered what my mother would want and after praying about it, I contacted my niece, Lisa, in California. 

She was the first grandchild and grew up close to my mom, but I  wasn’t sure if she would even remember or care about the doll after all those years, since Lisa is 47, with children of her own. I took a chance and asked if she would want her grandmother’s Mary Margaret doll.

Lisa told me that she definitely wanted the doll. She said she always wondered what happened to Mary Margaret and was so glad to learn that I still had her. I told her I would send the doll to her, along with the clothes made by my friend’s grandmother, and she was absolutely thrilled. 

Lisa then told her daughter, Maria, who is now a young adult, that Mary Margaret is coming back to California, and she was thrilled. My great niece told her mom, “Mary Margaret will be staying in my room.” I was amazed at how much joy the news of that doll, brought to my niece and great niece.

Lisa and I also shared our sentimental memories of my mother, especially in connection to Mary Margaret. We are a part of four generations of females who shared a family heritage of a doll, along with the blessing of having my mother in our lives. After our conversation, it seemed like Heaven had a plan to reunite all of us through a doll, who was destined to stay in the family for years to come. 

I looked at Mary Margaret for the last time at the UPS office, before shipping her, knowing she would be well cared for. It was a new chapter in a doll’s life, in mine and in my nieces’ lives, as I imagined my mother smiling down from Heaven, on all three of us girls. 

Lord, use whatever it takes in our lives to revive unity among our families, so that we may always appreciate one another as being a heritage from you. Amen

“And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”

John 12:32 (NAB)

Jesus’ words often contain more than one single meaning. When He referred to Himself as being lifted up, He was hinting about the type of impending death He was about to suffer, being lifted up on a cross. We also lift Him up in our lives, whenever we share His love with others. Jesus was also lifted up in another way, long after His crucifixion, many centuries ago.

I never thought much about how the cross was seen as a symbol of execution in the days of the first century Roman Empire, when Jesus lived. In those days, criminals were crucified on such a regular basis, that the Christian community would have never thought of wearing a cross around their neck as a symbol to honor Jesus. 

That all changed three centuries later when Emperor Constantine and his mother, Helen, became Christian converts. In her devotion to Christ, Helen traveled to the holy land, determined to search for the original wooden cross that Jesus died on. 

In 326 A.D., a Jewish disciple and Jerusalem resident, named Jude, told Helen that the original cross was buried beneath a pagan temple. Helen immediately ordered an excavation and the cross, nails and plaque were all found there. Helen brought the relics back to Constantinople, which is current day Istanbul, Turkey.  She had the cross splintered into multiple pieces and portions of it were shared with all Christian churches throughout the region. 

The cross of Christ was no longer seen as a symbol of execution, but a tangible reminder of His sacred offering for mankind. From that time on, crosses were made as symbols to hang on walls, on altars in churches and worn as jewelry to symbolize our salvation which took place on it. 

I would have expected to learn these historical facts from a Catholic or Greek Orthodox speaker, but I actually learned it from T.D. Jakes, a Baptist preacher, who shared it in a recent TV sermon. He explained that the Greek Orthodox and Catholic cathedrals and basilicas, in that area, still keep these wooden splinters as relics of the original cross to this day. 

The point of his sermon, other than historical facts, was to point out that how we see things can affect everything. What was once seen as a symbol of execution is now viewed by Christians as a symbol of salvation, all because of a 4th century recovery of the cross, through Helen’s pilgrimage.

TD Jakes’ main point was that everything that happens in our lives, depends on how we view it. Just as the cross was once seen in early centuries as a negative symbol, it is now seen as a symbol of salvation. If we keep our eyes on Jesus and lift Him up, we will find that God is working all things together for our good, since Jesus is the victor of our faith. 

Lifting Jesus up, took on new meaning in the fourth century as the world saw Him in a new way. There was a major change in attitude towards Christianity after Emperor Constantine and his mother, Helen, became Christians. 

Constantine had his flaws, but God used him to legitimize the Christian faith, and put an end to state sponsored persecution of Christians which went on for years under the Roman Empire. 

Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. which granted religious tolerance of Christianity and the Christian community no longer needed to gather in secret. Jesus was lifted up in a new way, like never before, so that His people could openly practice their faith without fear or intimidation. 

It opened the door to Christian education and theologians clarifying the doctrines of the faith. It was a time that pointed to Jesus on the cross again, and opened the eyes of the public to the gospel. Having the actual relics of the cross, showed the world that the crucifixion was a true event in history, not a legend. 

Jesus has been lifted up in different ways throughout history, but in the fourth century, He was lifted up by officially legalizing the Christian faith. There are places in the world today where Christianity is still repressed and suffering, but in God’s timing, He will lift His son up again, drawing all people to Himself. Jesus promised that the gates of Hell will never prevail against His holy church. 

Lord, we lift you up in our hearts and pray that you will be lifted up throughout the world, and draw all people to yourself. Amen

“And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.”

Exodus 3:9 (NASB)

The story of Exodus teaches us that God sees all suffering and hears the cries of all people, whatever their race or national origin is. He heard the cries of Israelite slaves 1400 years BC,  just as He heard the cries of African slaves in the early days of America. He hears the cries of all people in every country today, who suffer injustice and cry out to Him. This is a brief story of the Kurdish people, and their years of crying out to God, especially one man in particular. 

The Kurds are a people who originally lived in Kurdistan, an area spread across Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. They have migrated from place to place, seeking independence and self rule. Their faith tradition is Sunni Moslem, who are a peace loving people, although they have  suffered under many oppressive, militant regimes in predominantly Muslim regions. 

Nihad is a Kurdish man from Syria who was once imprisoned and charged with political crimes, for protesting the Syrian regime of Assad, who ruled that country for over half a century. The Kurds also suffered under Sadam Hussein in Iraq as well as other regions and dictatorships.  

While Nihad was lying in pain from a beating, in a tiny prison cell in Syria, he wished to die, but then he remembered a book once given to him by someone from a Billy Graham ministry.

In his pain and desperation, Nihad prayed. “Jesus, if you are real, please help me.” That day, he had a clear vision in that cramped, dirty prison cell. In the vision, he saw a man dressed in pure white, walking into his cell, and carrying a bowl of olive oil. The man in white poured olive oil over Nihad’s wounds and his pain immediately left. The man in his vision said something he never forgot. He said, “You are my beloved and I love you”, and then disappeared. Nihad knew in his heart that the man was Jesus. 

Six months later, Nihad was freed from prison, but those words have energized him ever since. He is now a Christian pastor, discipling other Kurds who have also found faith in Jesus, and migrated to South Korea for refuge. 

Thousands of Kurds have been turning to Christianity through a dream or a vision of Jesus, and traveled to South Korea, where a growing community of Kurdish Christians, like Nihad, are living in safety and freedom. 

Jesus is calling disciples from all races, religions and nations, but in the Mideast, He seems to be doing it through dreams and visions. The Lord said that those who seek for Him with all their heart, will find Him, and many are.

(Jeremiah 29:13) 

God seems to be extending a special grace to people in these oppressive, war torn countries, where citizens suffer torture, imprisonment and murder, just for seeking freedom. God hears their cries and He is responding, by revealing His beloved Son to them. God is making disciples in the faith, giving them comfort, hope and peace. 

I heard an interesting explanation of the difference between a religious person and a disciple:

Religious people like to tell others what they’ve done for God, but a disciple loves to tell others what God has done for him. May God keep making disciples throughout the world.

Jesus said that the pure in heart shall see God, and many are seeing Him for the first time. No matter how bad a situation appears to be, with large scale violence or injustice, God is still on His throne and He responds to all who cry out to Him. 

Lord, we praise you for hearing the cries of all people. We pray for those who suffer, and ask you to give them a place of refuge and hope in you. Amen

“Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Luke 9:23 (NAB)

We are all called to be disciples of Jesus, who told us to follow Him, but then He added that in order to follow Him, we must deny ourselves and carry our cross. If we are being honest, it doesn’t sound like a fun way to live life. I don’t think I’m the only one who’s felt some discomfort in reading those words telling us to “deny ourselves and carry our cross.” 

I used to interpret it to mean that some big sacrifice is about to be required of me, which is going to make my life uncomfortable. 

I realize now that there is a deeper way to understand Jesus’ words telling us to “deny ourselves,” since Jesus also said, in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” 

Denying ourselves simply means asking for God’s will to be done first, according to His plan, before asking for our own requests. After all, there is no better place to be, than in the center of God’s will, just as there is no worse place to be than in the center of our own will. 

We all know the Sinatra hit song, “I did it my way.” I heard of a priest whose parishioner requested that this Sinatra song be played at a loved one’s funeral. The priest politely declined their request. Not intending to offend any Sinatra fans, but the phrase, “I did it my way” is really not the mantra of Christian living, but opposite of what Jesus taught. Even if we fail many times over, God honors our intent to do things His way, not our way. 

Everyone didn’t always adore and follow Jesus. Although crowds followed Him, He also watched multitudes walk away from Him, when He taught something they didn’t accept. People of every generation still want to do things their way. One day Jesus turned to His closest twelve friends and asked, “ Are you all going to leave Me too?  “Peter answered, “How can we leave ? You have the words of eternal life.”

The disciples didn’t always fully understand what Jesus was talking about, but they were following Him because of who He is, with the intent to do His will. We also follow the person of Jesus, not just a set of rules or values. Like the disciples, we may fail, but following Jesus is a kind of commitment, that keeps us coming back. We trust Him even when we don’t understand what He is teaching us. It’s in those times that we realize, this is what carrying our cross is all about. 

There’s a true story of a Japanese Buddhist soldier, during WWII, who became a traitor to Japan, was captured and thrown into the same prison camp along with other American soldiers. The prison camp guards routinely tortured that Japanese prisoner of war more than others. 

One American soldier who was imprisoned with him, felt compassion for the man and would care for his wounds and share his food with him, each time he was thrown back into the prison cell, after being beaten and tortured. 

One day, he was beaten so bad, the American soldier thought, “I’ve shared everything with this poor man except my faith, so he knelt over the man and said to him,” You might not make it through the night, but I want you to know that if you give your life to Jesus, He will take you to Heaven to live with Him forever.” 

The Japanese soldier looked at him and said, “If Jesus is anything like you, then I can’t wait to meet Him.” That story really touched my heart. It shows that we are not here to teach or preach morals and values, we are here to be Christ to this world. It’s the essence of what discipleship was meant to be, Christ shining His light through each of us. 

I’m sure that the American soldier was praying every day to survive that horrific prison camp, and to get back home to his family. He did survive and made it home, but God’s will for him was to show the love of Christ to someone else while he was there. God has a purpose in our pain, and desires to shine His light through us, even in the most horrific circumstances.

We follow Jesus in spite of our heartbreaks, tragedies, illness, pain and loss, by asking for God’s will to be done, because we believe that He is a good and loving God, in the bad times as well as the good. 

Lord, make us better disciples as we follow you, seeking that your will be done, so that your light can shine through in all that we say and do. Amen

“The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was.

The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.”

1 Samuel 3:3-4 (NAB)

Samuel was the little boy who was dedicated to the temple by his mother, Hannah. It’s a bible story often seen in children’s books, about a boy who hears the call of God in the silence of night, while he is sleeping, but the story of Samuel has a lot more to say about how God’s heart can be grieved, just like the heart of any human parent. 

The high priest Eli had a grieved heart over his two adult sons, who behaved irreverently as priests. Bible stories reveal that God has the heart of a parent, who also becomes deeply grieved over the sin He observes on the earth.

There are details in this Bible story that are never mentioned in any children’s books. Eli’s two adult sons were abusing the sacred office of their priesthood with bribery, sexual promiscuity and greed. Eli, being a very passive father, knew about his sons’ immoral behavior and begged them to reform, but he never had the courage to take action and remove them from the priesthood.  

God’s heart was grieved over Eli’s sons and planned to raise up Samuel to be a priest in their place, but Samuel was still a young boy, being educated, learning the roles and rituals of Hebrew priesthood from Eli. 

One night God spoke directly to Samuel, audibly calling his name waking him up out of his sleep. After the third time Samuel heard his name called, he answered “Hineni”, meaning “Here I am”, in Hebrew. It seems to be the first step to hearing God speak to us in the silence, saying, “Here I am, Lord.” God revealed to Samuel that the sons of Eli had grieved His heart and He was going to remove them from the priesthood. 

Samuel went to Eli to report what the Lord told him. This was the start of Samuel’s personal relationship with God. He grew to become a great prophet, who understood God’s heart, as to what grieved Him as well as what pleased Him. Samuel went on to guide the future kings of Israel, and was the first to coin the phrase, 

“Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.”

God intends for all people to have a friendship with Him as Samuel did. We can see it in Genesis, when God would walk in the silence of the garden with Adam and Eve each day. They had a relationship of walking and talking with God, until they later hid from Him. Then God called Abraham and Moses His friends, as they listened to His voice in the silence. None of these people were perfect, yet God had a relationship with them. Even David, who stumbled in worse ways than anyone, was called by God “a man after His own heart.”

Jesus now calls us His friends, and no longer servants. 

(John 15:15)

Friends share their joys and sorrows with one another. This would mean that Jesus wants to share his joys with us, as well as what grieves Him. On the other side of that, He wants us to be honest and open, sharing all that grieves us as well. When we hold in our grievances and frustrations, we miss out on the great benefit of intimate friendship with Jesus. 

Repentance precedes friendship with Jesus, which is the beauty of Christianity. His death and resurrection changed the whole dynamic between God and people forever. Even those who have stumbled morally, like Eli’s sons, are no longer cut off, but invited to repent, return to God and receive forgiveness, cleansed by the blood of Jesus. 

God sees our hearts especially when we are grieving, and He is calling us to see His. He wants to walk and talk with us in the silence of whatever garden we happen to be in. We are all at different stages of listening, but in the silence of the night or the garden, God is always calling us. He patiently waits until our response is like Samuel’s, “Here I am, speak Lord, I am listening.” 

(1 Samuel 3:10)

I once heard a true story that reminds us of how God reaches out to every soul in silence. A prostitute was flipping through radio stations in her car one day, when she heard a Christian message of love and redemption that sparked something deep within her. In the silence of her car, God’s voice called her out of her lifestyle. Her heart was ripe and ready and her soul was awakened to the call of repentance. The Holy Spirit changed her life ever since. 

Lord, help us to shut off all the outside noises, so we may hear you in the silence, so that we speak less and listen more attentively to your voice. Amen

“With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;
And I will praise Him in the midst of many.” 

Psalm 109:30 (NASB)

The Psalms and the Proverbs always emphasize using our mouth to give thanks to the Lord. There’s something about our spoken words, instead of just thinking it. Scripture tells us that life and death are in the power of our tongue. 

The words we speak can lift our spirit and give life to those who listen to us. Too often, I catch myself saying negative things when something doesn’t go the way I expected. With sarcasm, I tend to mutter to myself, “story of my life,“ but then I stop myself because it certainly is not the story of my life.

The story of my life is God’s love and mercy that was shown to me before I ever gave Him a thought. By the time I was a young adult, He sought for me like a Shepherd searches for a lost sheep, and He found me. He transformed my heart by His love and grace, and Jesus became a real person to me. Since then, I discovered the amazing love of God, who waits so patiently for us to come home, no matter how long it takes. 

I am more inclined now, to keep my words in check, so that I speak words that God agrees with, since He is my heavenly Father. The words we say to ourselves and to others are more impactful than we realize, and can influence a person’s destiny. By taking charge of our tongue and the words that come out of our mouths, we can change our entire outlook and someone else’s life as well. 

The epistle of James has a lot to say about the human tongue. He said that though the tongue is a small part of the body, it only takes a small spark to set a great forest on fire. (James 3: 5)

Words can be like a refreshing rain of blessing or a spark that starts a destructive fire. That’s the power of the tongue.

Faith is an attitude of the heart which eventually flows out of our mouths. Since our words reflect our faith, no wonder Jesus asked, 

“When the Son of Man comes,will He find faith on the earth?” 

(Luke 18:8)

We never know how some small, simple thing we say, can inspire faith in someone else. It may be a good idea to start each new week dedicating our tongue and our words to God. 

A few years ago, I wrote a meditation explaining how God answered my prayer to reduce my cable bill, while keeping all my favorite Christian channels. One of my friends who read it, texted me to ask which christian cable stations I received, because she was in the process of changing her cable package.

I was driving and running errands when she texted me so I couldn’t respond right away. Hours later, I quickly looked up those stations on my TV and texted her the names of the four christian stations in my cable package.

What I didn’t know, is that she was already on the phone with her cable company at the time that I sent the text. While she was telling the customer service lady on the phone that she wanted Christian channels in her cable package, the customer service person began sharing her own faith story. She shared how she had just rededicated her life to God after becoming a new mom, with hopes of raising her child in the faith. She asked my friend what stations she recommended so that she could order the same ones in her own cable package. 

At this exact moment in her phone conversation, my text message came through, listing the four stations. She received my text at that moment, and shared those Christian cable networks with the customer service representative. 

The timing of everything was so providential in how the customer service lady connected with my friend, along with the timing of my text message arrival, that it couldn’t be better planned by anyone other than God. 

The Lord knows who is seeking Him and He also knows who is willing to speak about Him, and He loves connecting people at the right place and time. The power of the tongue is a beautiful thing when words are used to bless the Lord, and draw someone else closer to God at the same time.

Lord, let our mouths always give thanks and praise to you, making our words a blessing to others we meet today. Amen

GENTLE GIANTS FROM HEAVEN

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”

Ezekiel 11:19 (NIV)

John Bosco was a priest who had an undivided heart, dedicating his life to the education of street children, juvenile delinquents and disadvantaged youth in 19th century Italy. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventative System. 

John Bosco led so many misfit street boys to faith in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit changed their hearts, later transforming them into men of God. John Bosco educated his youth and his heart was driven by the love of God and the gospel of Christ. In spite of his success and the devotion of the children he taught, he was widely criticized and seen as a lunatic. He would roam the streets and back alleys of Turin, Italy, appearing undignified as a priest, while surrounding himself with an entourage of misfit street kids. 

The Catholic Church was not totally accepting him at the time, and the government became very suspicious that he was secretly training an army of boys to one day overthrow the Italian government. Bosco was indeed training an army, but a spiritual one, that overcomes evil and leads young souls toward the kingdom of heaven.

With very few people to support him, he faithfully continued his ministry to youth, as he felt God leading him to do. One day, something amazing happened during his ministry. As two men followed him on a dark street at night, attempting to beat him up, a large grey wolfhound dog appeared out of nowhere and charged at the men driving them away. A wolfhound is a huge dog, known as a gentle giant, and this gentle giant was given a mission to protect John Bosco. 

There were other incidents where the same gray wolfhound would show up and protect John Bosco from attackers. The wolfhound would just appear out of nowhere and scare off his assailants. The boys named him Grigio, meaning the Gray One. The dog would emerge out of the fog and shadows whenever needed. 

Bosco didn’t own or even know the dog, but it would show up whenever he was in danger, and then disappear as suddenly as it appeared. It’s a mystery but many think it was a guardian angel taking the form of a wolfhound dog. If angels can appear as people, then it’s possible that they could also appear as an animal.

The hearts of the authorities of the church were changed and Bosco’s ministry was finally accepted and supported by the church. He founded a movement of lay people, the Association of Salesian Cooperators, in 1876 before he died in 1888. They still manage hostels today, primarily in third world countries and educate young boys and girls across 58 different countries. He was able to establish a network of centers to carry on his ministry, divinely inspired and originally protected by Grigio, the angel wolfhound sent from Heaven, who has not been seen since. 

Lord, thank you for the mysterious ways you find to protect people so they may finish the good work you called them to. Please protect us and help to do your work on earth. Amen

And God said, I will send them without wings so no one suspects they are angels. (Anonymous)

And God said, I will send them without wings so no one suspects they are angels. 

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

I love this scripture verse, since there are many places in the New Testament, where believers are compared to runners in a race. Life is like a marathon and we who believe, are the runners. All the runners in a marathon look good at the starting point. Then challenges come along the way, and by the time each runner reaches the finish line, they are exhausted and dripping with sweat. It was worth it all as they break through the finish line and win the prize. 

Paul gave us this metaphorical image, which is how he lived his entire Christian life of faith. In his letter to Timothy before he was sentenced to a martyr’s death, he wrote, 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”(2 Timothy 4:7)

Bible characters like Abraham, Moses, and Joseph all had the mindset of a marathon runner, who ran by faith, through their exhaustion, pain, and doubt, yet always keeping their eyes on the finish line, and nothing else. 

Moses kept his people focused on  the promised land, despite the many hardships encountered in the wilderness. The theme of the New Testament is to stay focused on Jesus as we run the race of life, all the way to the finish line. We don’t have a geographical promised land as the Israelites did, but we possess a land of God’s promises, which is the kingdom of God dwelling within us. Trusting in His promises gives us endurance as we run the race. 

Like any marathon runner, we face challenges and persevere through unexpected obstacles. A good runner doesn’t let themself get distracted, but keeps their eyes on the finish line. Jesus put His focus on His Heavenly Father during His life on earth, and it helped Him to overcame and find fortitude through so much betrayal and rejection. We overcome everything by keeping our focus on Jesus who lives within us. 

We all experience blessings and disappointments in the walk of faith, but disappointments are not the final evaluation of our faith. God is able to bring great blessings and purpose through disappointing circumstances. Rewards come to those who keep the faith, as the marathon runner diligently runs toward the finish line.

When we feel worn down with doubt, we remember the promises of God, and He renews our strength, lifting our spirit while we wait for the answers. Christian living is mostly about waiting. 

Answer to prayer usually takes time, and waiting can be very frustrating. Everywhere I go lately, seems to involve waiting. I wait at the doctor’s office, at train stops, at red lights, and in grocery store lines. It seems that God allows waiting in our lives to teach us something. We learn to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, putting our hope in His promises, more than in what we see, and we also learn patience as we wait for God’s timing.

It reminds me of the promise;

“They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

God is love and everything He permits in our lives is out of His love for us. In all of the waiting and trusting, we keep running the race, with our eyes fixed on Jesus at the finish line. He is cheering us on and we hope to one day hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Lord, give us strength and fortitude to run, while fixing our eyes on you, and to wait patiently as we trust in your promises. Amen