Kissed by the Spirit

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

Luke 11:1 (NIV)

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He gave them the Lord’s Prayer, which is also a template for all prayer. Jesus often told us all things are possible, to persist in prayer and never stop knocking, seeking and asking. 

So, we know He wants us to be diligent in prayer, but only once in scripture did Jesus tell us ‘how’ to pray, and that was through the Lord’s prayer. 

If we look at each line recited by Jesus, we can uncover the mysteries of how prayer will get us through the most emotionally exhausting trials in our lives. The more we examine His words, the more the Holy Spirit will give us insight into what Jesus was teaching. 

    Our Father who art in heaven;

It starts with ‘Our Father’, because through Jesus, we all share the same Heavenly Father, who sees us as part of His family. We approach God with the humility of a child, because ‘Our Father’ knows what’s best for us. A child doesn’t need to earn a father’s love because a father loves his children from the day they were born, long before they could do anything right or wrong. God also loved us first, before we knew Him. 

     Hallowed be Thy name;

Jesus told us that His Father’s name is hallowed, holy, sacred and worthy of the highest honor. It’s amazing to think that such an awesome mighty God desires a close and intimate relationship with each of us. I love the contrast of the first and second line in this prayer. It’s something to remember every time we pray, that God is holy, but also a loving Father, reaching toward us with open arms.

     Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven;

This line reminds us that there is more to come and our life in this world is not all there is. God has a coming kingdom, and until that kingdom comes, He desires that we permit His will to be done in our lives. He gave us free will, but when we align our will to His, we verbally seal it by telling Him, ‘Let your will be done.’ It’s called surrender. Then we trust Him to do the rest and that’s called peace of mind.

      Give us this day our daily bread;

The Lord’s prayer frames all other prayers around the truth of who God is and who we are. We ask our Father for daily bread, focusing on this day’s needs, not the future’s. It’s easier to trust Jesus one day at a time, than to get stressed out over tomorrow’s problems. Jesus called Himself the living bread of heaven, so we seek first, the One who satisfies soul and spirit.

      Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; 

We are reminded that forgiveness needs to be a two way street. He told us that to be forgiven by God, we must forgive others. It’s the biggest challenge in the entire Lord’s prayer. Jesus reminded us many times about forgiveness through his parables. There’s an old Irish proverb “We bury the hatchet but mark the spot.” Forgiveness is easier if we have a short term memory, and forget where all the hatchets are buried. 

       Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

The previous parts of the Lord’s Prayer pertain to things which we  can take control of, by aligning our will with God’s, seeking what we need for the present day, and forgiving who we need to forgive. This last part of the prayer is asking for what only God can do, which is to keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil. He is a good shepherd, protector and deliverer. One old testament title for God is “El Gibor,” which translates to, “God, our hero.”

After all is said and done, we realize prayer is basically an intention of the heart, and God reads all hearts. We may go through difficult times, when emotionally, we cannot utter a word in prayer, but God still reads our heart. Sometimes it’s better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.

Jesus saves the best line for last, the conclusion that God, being our true hero, deserves all “The kingdom, the power and the glory, now and forever.” 

Lord, thank you for loving us as your children, so that we can love and trust you as our Father. May your words always dwell in us and remind us how to pray. Amen

“For He will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

Psalm 91:11-12 (RSV)

If we receive a gift from someone, we show our gratitude by opening it and using what we were given. Scripture teaches us that God has given us angels to guard and protect us. Since angels are God’s gift to us, we should show our gratitude by using the gift He has given.

I believe we can ask angels to give our doctors, lawyers, plumbers,  electricians and anyone we hire, the guidance, skill and wisdom to solve problems and make good decisions. 

I have told this story before, but I’ll never forget the time I called a plumbing company that I never used before. They dispatched a plumber to check a leaking pipe in my basement. I specifically prayed for God to send an angel along with that plumber, to give him the skill and wisdom needed to solve the problem with honesty and of course, at a reasonable cost. 

The doorbell rang, and a young man was standing at my front door in a work uniform, wearing a name tag that read “Gabriel.” I thought, Really? Of all the plumbers that work for the company, they sent one that day who wore the name, Gabriel!?

 Not a coincidence.

I took that as the first answer to my prayer. He then efficiently solved my leak problem, which is still good six years later, and he did it at a very low cost, which was the second answer to my prayer. I assume that Gabriel the plumber, was a human man, not an angel, but I am confident he was certainly guided by one. When I called to request Gabriel for a different plumbing issue after that, I was told that he moved out of state. 

There was a story on the news a few years ago which is another example of angelic intervention. An Ohio man  was approached by police with an arrest warrant, and with his nine month old son sitting in his car seat, the man decided to bolt, and took off at a speed of 100 mph down the highway, causing a police chase. 

The back door of the van was never securely shut, so the door swung open and the baby was thrown from the van while strapped to his car seat. The baby bounced several times on the grassy side of the highway, but since it was dark, no one saw where he landed after being thrown from the van. 

The man was apprehended, and about an hour later, the baby was found on the side of the road, still strapped to his car seat. He was very cold but without any injury. No doubt that baby was protected by angels, who kept him unharmed. Even the news reporters called it miraculous.

Another memory comes to mind regarding angels. As a young child, my mother told me that I used to talk  about my friend, Maren. I vaguely remember it, since I was four years old, and my mother said there was no one named Maren that she knew of. So she inquired of my preschool teacher and Sunday school teacher, but found no one named Maren in any of my classes.

Years later, as an adult, I wondered about it and prayed one day, asking God to let me know if ‘Maren’ could possibly be the name of my guardian angel. The next day, I got in my car and was pulling out of the apartment complex, when a car cut sharply in front of me. As I braked, my eyes went straight to the license plate which read, ‘MAREN’. I took that as an answer to my question. 

There is no limit to how angels can interact with human beings, even occasionally appearing as a human person. Scripture says we may meet a stranger who is an actual angel, in disguise, without knowing it. 

(Hebrews 13:2)

Their job is to protect and lead us all closer to God. If we stop to think about ways that God’s goodness and mercy was with us in times past, an angel was probably involved. Angels must get tired of hearing people refer to their work as “luck” since they work nonstop to guard us in all our ways. 

We thank God for the gift of the invisible realm of angels who constantly surround us, and if we take a moment to meditate on them, it will strengthen our faith for the problems or struggles that we are currently facing. 

Lord, we praise you for the many times your heavenly angels act as  our protectors, to guide and care for us, even when we were unaware of it. Amen

“This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

Nehemiah was a governor of the province of Judah around 500 B.C. He obtained permission from the king of Persia, to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, after the Jewish people were exiled from their nation, for seventy years. Though they didn’t get their whole nation back, they were given limited access to the city of Jerusalem, where they could once again go to pray and worship. It was a great start after living in exile for so long. 

Nehemiah’s advice was to celebrate what they have been given and rejoice in the present moment, instead of dwelling on what was still lacking. They had Jerusalem, and it was reason enough to rejoice. Nehemiah told the people to eat, drink and celebrate, encouraging them to have gratitude and embrace the present moment.

God gave us the book of Nehemiah for a reason. He might want us to take Nehemiah’s perspective in our times of hardship. When we grieve over something that was taken from us, as the Israelites grieved while in exile, we are encouraged to rejoice in having Jerusalem back.

Nehemiah knew it was important to dwell on what they presently had access to, instead of what they didn’t. The good news of having  Jerusalem again meant access to pray and worship in their holy temple area. There may be a message in this story for every believer, by asking ourselves, what is my Jerusalem, or what can I show gratitude for, here and now? 

When we are going through a loss, or our loved one is in a trial, facing an illness or injury, whether physical, mental or emotional, Nehemiah would tell us to embrace the present moment and find our Jerusalem and be grateful for it.

When we become anxious over what is lost, instead of what is present, all of our energy is focused on what must be regained, while we may be missing out on human connections here and now. It’s easy to label any setback as a step back, but I learned as a caregiver for my husband and in visiting my son in a Nursing facility, to stop judging their progress. Once I put aside my expectations and focused on the human connection, I learned that the bond of love is to be shared here and now. 

Lately, the staff and residents at the Nursing home are asking me if Jon’s new behavior of obsessively cleaning off tables and throwing out trash, is how he always was. I answer ‘No, but it’s how he is now.’

I have stopped expecting Jon to be exactly who he used to be, and I am learning to embrace who he is today.

If we asked ourselves, what if we knew that today was our last day with a loved one, how would it change our expectations of them. We probably wouldn’t care about what they lost, what they no longer do or what they need to regain. We would simply appreciate them for who they are today and let them know we are here for them. The joy of the Lord is all about embracing the present and Nehemiah knew that  joy is what strengthens our spirit. 

Jon reacts different each day to a display of affection. One day he smiles and on another day, he will resist any touch or a potential hug. It taught me not to compare a step forward yesterday to a step back today, but to accept who he is in the present. He may never express or receive affection as in the past, but he expresses it in his own way today.

If we metaphorically compare our situation to Nehemiah and the Israelites, we acknowledge that we may not have the entire nation, but we can find joy in having Jerusalem. Instead of grieving over what has been lost due to illness, injury or any life situation, we find joy in accepting a person as they are, and that becomes our Jerusalem. Then we will discover the joy that brings them comfort and gives us strength. 

Lord, help us to cherish the present despite the many backward and forward steps, and give us the wisdom to see that it’s all about embracing the present and finding the joy of the Lord, which is our strength. Amen

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)

The church I attend recently hired a young assistant Pastor who is straight out of seminary. He wins the hearts of parishioners, just in being so friendly and engaging. If a person mentions a need for prayer or healing, he will pause right there in the lobby of the church, and say a prayer for them. 

Last weekend he preached a beautiful sermon on mercy. His message stayed in my mind, and led me to meditate further on why God shows us so much mercy. Mercy is born out of love, and God’s love is the most extravagant of any kind of love.

Scripture tells us what love is. It says that love is the fulfillment of the law,  which means if we pursue love, our motives and actions will also fall into place. It also says that love covers a multitude of sins, so we all need love to make up for our shortcomings. 

Paul told the church in Corinth, that three things remain after everything else is gone: Faith, Hope and Love-but the greatest of all three, is Love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Faith leads us to God, the source of the greatest love, and love leads to mercy.  Love, therefore, is the greatest of all gifts. It’s greater than wisdom, educational degrees and talents. Love raises us above our past failures, and exposes the triviality of our worldly successes. Love is the most generous donation we can invest in. To pursue love, first and foremost, will be our greatest investment for eternity. 

We love only because God first loved us. His love is ‘extravagant’ because He spends it all on us, even on people who don’t love Him in return. He spent His love on us at the cross, in the dying breath of Jesus and His last drop of blood. 

He spends His love on us throughout our lifetime, bearing with us in all things, believing all things for us, and taking no offense, even when we forget to acknowledge Him. God is patient, never giving up and He keeps chasing after us.

He knows the perfect time when His love can capture a human heart, that surrenders to Him and causes all of heaven to rejoice. After everything else fades away, His love will find a way into our lives and remain there.

About twenty years ago, my son, Michael, shared a contemporary Christian song with me, that really touched his life at the time, and led him to a turning point of faith. It’s a song by Darrell Evans, called, ‘Your love is extravagant.’

I recently played the song and the lyrics are beautiful to meditate on. God is patient and bears with us, as He is doing in the current phase of turmoil that Michael is in today, so I pray that the words of that song will renew every mind and heart who hears it.

We all need an occasional reminder that God is still reaching out for us. He wants to heal anger and remove pain, to replace it with His love, so that we can show the same mercy to others, that He has shown to us. 

There is a need in the world to add more mercy to the desire for justice, because justice seeks for what is due or owed, but we may owe more than we can pay. Mercy, on the other hand, wipes the slate clean and erases what is owed, forgiving debt and sin. We should never want a world ruled by justice alone, without mercy.

God’s love leads us to a fountain of endless mercy, through Jesus. Through His love, we can withstand the storms of life, and only He can enable us to go out and show that same love and mercy to others.

Lord, help us to find the best way to invest our lives in love and mercy, just as you have generously given us. Amen 

Your Love Is Extravagant – Darrell Evans – YouTube

Your Love Is Extravagant – Darrell Evans – YouTube

“And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as an ordinance for ever.”

Exodus 12:17 (RSV)

I thoroughly depend on the ‘Notes’ section of my phone, to write down what I need to do each day. It’s not only the place of my to-do list, but where I write my meditations each morning. In my phone, the ‘Notes’ section is like an extra memory section of my brain where I store ideas and information.

When Jesus said, “Do this in memory of Me” He didn’t mean “Hey, don’t forget Me”, as we might forget where we laid our keys or an appointment with someone. Jesus meant it as an ordinance like the Passover, to do in memory of the New Covenant in His blood. We can better appreciate His words by understanding what a 1st century Jewish rabbi means by ‘memory.’

The Hebrew word for memory, ‘Zikaron’, has a more multifaceted meaning than it has in English. We use our memory when shopping for certain groceries, clothes or making note of an upcoming appointment, but Zikaron memories are related to a major event, that is celebrated with an entire community, like a birthday, anniversary or a landmark event for a nation. 

When Jesus offered His body and blood as bread and wine, He said, “Do this in memory of Me,” implying that it was something to be celebrated with a group, for all generations to come. Like the Passover feast in the Old Testament, Communion is also meant to be shared in a community, until the day we celebrate the future wedding banquet of the Lamb, in Heaven. 

The ordinance of Passover required the unblemished lamb’s blood to be applied on the doorposts of every home, and it saved all the people who remained inside that home. God told them to celebrate the Passover every year, to re-live and remember it. We are doing the same thing in Communion, the ordinance that Jesus gave us to do in (Zikaron) memory of Him. With the community of believers, we celebrate the Lamb of God by applying the sacrifice of His blood to our lives, to be saved.

Jesus had an ‘earnest desire’ to celebrate the Passover with His disciples. At that last Passover evening, He initiated communion, as He broke the bread and shared the wine with His disciples, who were His community. It was one of the last things Jesus did before going to the cross, and concluded it by saying, “Do this in memory of Me.”

It was also one of the first things He did after His resurrection, when He walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He broke the bread with them again and spoke the same words as He did at the last supper, and scripture tells us that, in the breaking of the bread, their eyes were opened to recognize Him. 

If it meant so much to Jesus, to break bread with His community of believers, then it should mean as much to us, every time we partake of communion. We hear the same words that Jesus spoke at the last supper and after His resurrection, as we partake in memory (Zikaron) of Him. In the breaking of bread at communion, He opens our hearts to know Him in a deeper way each time.

Lord, thank you for establishing the ordinance of holy communion, the final Passover feast and the new covenant in your blood, that we celebrate in memory of you. Amen 

“The days are coming, declares the Sovereign Lord,

“when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water,but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.”

Amos 8:11 (NIV)

The scripture above refers to a spiritual hunger that leads to faith in God. It is this scripture that inspired a minority of devout Christians in Sweden to pray for their nation a few years ago. The Lord is now turning their country back to Him. 

It all began with a spiritual famine  among the youngest generation, who are looking for meaning through social media. They are finally looking upward to God, seeking the spiritual food that lasts eternally. 

Generation Z, are young people who were born between 1997 and 2012. Sweden has been a secular society for decades, but now due to social media, the gospel is drawing an entire generation to Jesus. In the past four years, church attendance has doubled to 34% among Gen Z.

The interesting thing is that this spiritual renewal has been reported on both Catholic and Protestant Christian news networks. Christianity is growing among young people in England, Ireland, the US, Algeria, Iran, China, Africa and now in Sweden. Jesus is working in the world by sending a spiritual famine, which awakens people to Him.

In Sweden’s past decades, the grandparents and parents have been secularists who were not interested in religion. They were not baptized nor did they baptize or teach their children about the Christian faith, but a few years ago, something changed and millennials and Gen Z are now leading in church attendance. They are now the ones believing, being baptized, and sales of bibles have doubled since 2021. The secular trend of Sweden is reversing, and Jesus has been given the title of ‘influencer of the year.’

I would have asked ‘What’s an influencer?’ That’s because it’s a millennial and Gen Z social media term. An ‘influencer’ is a creator of websites who has established a trusted audience and can shape opinions within a specific niche. Influencers are usually national celebrities, athletes, actors or singers but in Sweden it’s Jesus!

God is all knowing and all powerful, and He is using modern technology to build His church.

In Muslim dominated nations, where other religions are forbidden, and missionaries are banned, God is using the internet to spread the gospel message of His son. Maybe this is why the devil is trying to destroy internet access, as the news has been recently warning of. They are predicting an ‘AI takeover’ of the internet within 6-12 months unless something is done to stop it.

I believe that the gates of hell will not prevail against the saving message of Jesus, offered via the internet. God is still in control, and we need to pray for people of all nations, who have a spiritual hunger, that only Jesus can satisfy. He is the Bread of Life, who feeds all people with eternal food.

Lord, in every nation, whoever hungers for you, open their hearts to the great love and truth of who Jesus is. Amen 

“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Matthew 9:36 (NAB)

This scripture reveals the passionate heart of God the Father, through the words of Jesus, His son. Jesus was moved with a heart full of pity as He looked at the crowd in front of Him. He saw individuals, looked at their faces, and into their eyes, and knew who is troubled, misguided, or abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. 

I wish I had the capacity to see crowds the way Jesus did. I tend to see a crowd at first as either being an obstacle in my way, or ready to cause trouble, but Jesus looked at a crowd and saw every individual in it, because God always looks at hearts. Samuel the prophet said, ‘Man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart’. (1 Samuel 16:7)

 It’s so easy to forget to see people as individuals, and not view them as part of a group with a label. Jesus was moved with pity for individual troubled hearts and every lost sheep in the crowd that day. It’s a potent reminder that God is filled with  unconditional love and pity towards all people, not just those who align with His ways. 

I will never forget the words of my friend, Helene, who passed away. She always stressed not putting labels on people or groups. It’s hard to do sometimes, but her words still remain in my mind, because they are true.

Since Jesus didn’t do it, we shouldn’t categorize people either. There’s a tendency to label people in groups, based on their political or religious ideologies. There’s many troubled hearts in every crowd, and that’s what Jesus sees. He doesn’t care if they are at the far left or the far right of politics or religion. They are His sheep, and whoever is lost, He is determined to seek them out. He sees the crowd through the eyes of a very Good Shepherd.

I was once one of those lost sheep, whose way of thinking was far from God, but He saw me in the crowd and pitied me. I was rebellious but also clueless of who or what God is all about. In His pity, He reached out to me and by His grace, I am still following Him today.

The same pity that He showed me, He expects me to show toward others in the crowd. If we want to follow Jesus, we must look at the crowd differently, to see individuals through His eyes, because there are troubled hearts in each crowd. 

He replaces our anger or indifference with pity and compassion. He takes us forward one step at a time. Once we are able to see a person without labeling them, then we know we’re doing what Jesus expects of His church.

Lord, help us to see individuals in the crowd with the grace as you see them, and give us your heart of pity and compassion for those who are not easy for us to understand. Amen

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, or human beings that you care for them? 

You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.”

Psalm 8:4-5 (NIV)

David may have had some faults but he sure knew one thing solidly. He knew that God loved him and wants an intimate relationship with all people. It says that we were made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor. To be crowned with glory and honor is another way of saying we are crowned or sealed with the dignity of being created in God’s image. 

We are His adopted sons and daughters, sealed with dignity, but we may not always live in that awareness. I think it’s a daily struggle to maintain a self image of being sealed in dignity, over the many inferior or self critical feelings we often deal with. We are all broken in some way, due to sin, trauma or sorrow, but Jesus lifted us up when He was nailed to the cross, and that’s where our dignity was restored once and for all, by His atoning blood. We need to daily reclaim our dignity in being our Father’s redeemed children. 

When we think about what living with dignity means, it’s taking all our cares, our questions and all anxiety to the Father. God welcomes our questions, but never promised to answer every one, but He did send Jesus who promised to give us His peace. His peace is a peace beyond having all answers or understanding. 

He also gave us the community of faith which is the church. If we live like an island, separated from any community, it takes a toll on our dignity. I know this personally from the year I was a full time caregiver for my late husband. I never went to church at all and I felt everything but dignity. 

Jesus built His church to be His spiritual body and presence here on earth. He meant for us to pray for one another to maintain His presence and unity in the church. I experienced the power of this unity yesterday, when I had a doctor appointment to have an injection in my hip joint for pain. I mentioned it in prayer to my morning coffee group of friends who meet every day after church to pray and talk. Then I went on to the Nursing Home to visit Jon and the friends who sit with us at our table. Martha, Andy’s mom, asked when I was having the injection. 

It was scheduled at 2:45 so I said I would be leaving by 1pm that day. 

Martha asked the whole table of residents to pause and pray for my injection. I didn’t expect it, but it was so kind of her, and then the young resident with cerebral palsy, offered to lead in prayer. The body of Christ is one of the benefits of being a child of God, living in the dignity that Jesus sealed for us, at the cross.

On the way to my appointment, my niece called, thinking I had the injection last week. I told her I was on the way to it, as we speak. She said she would be praying for me. I knew it was no coincidence that she called at that moment. The Holy Spirit is the person guiding and inspiring His church, as He speaks through many believers from different backgrounds and traditions, who pray for each other. 

By the time I was called in to the procedure room, prepped and feeling at peace, while waiting for the doctor, I later realized the injection was placed at 3:00 pm, the exact time that Jesus died on the cross. 

My injection was made at the time He bore our griefs, our pain and our sorrows on the cross that day. I didn’t suffer pain from the injection, and was thankful for all He did.

I have no pain today in walking and I thank all the people who prayed. God has given His Church many gifts, and the gift of crowning us with dignity is a tangible gift and state of mind that is possible to maintain, once we remind ourselves we are a child of God. Whoever comes to the cross of Christ in faith, is crowned with dignity. His church is His spiritual, living body ministering on earth, every day, through people like us who believe. 

Lord, thank you for your peace, your church, the power of prayer and the unity of faith. Give each reader a renewed sense of their dignity which you sealed us with at the cross. Amen 

“Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”

Ruth 1:14 (ESV)

The last words of a young father who put his four year old son on a school bus on the morning of 9/11/01, were, “Say goodbye again.” The father felt a mysterious urge to call him back for a second goodbye hug and kiss. That moment was planted in his son’s heart, as a cherished memory after his father went to work that day, at the Pentagon, but never returned home. 

When a hijacked plane was forced to fly into the Pentagon building that morning, 184 lives were lost. I saw a brief interview with his son, who is now 29 years old, who still cherishes the memory of his father asking him for that second goodbye.

The whole story got me thinking about all the routine goodbyes that we say each day, whether to friends, loved ones or acquaintances. We never know when the simplest goodbye moment might remain as a sacred memory to someone as a gift that lasts forever.

The story of Naomi in the Old Testament is probably the best bible story about saying goodbyes. She lost her husband and her two adult sons, though scripture never explains how they all died. Naomi most likely said a routine goodbye to them one day, and they never came home. This story from the book of Ruth begins with a dismal reality of an elderly widow, who has no family left, except two widowed daughters in law, and no grandchildren. 

Since her two daughters in law were young enough to remarry and have a family, Naomi encouraged them to return to their home towns and live their lives. Naomi said goodbye to her two gentile daughters in law, and planned to move on to Bethlehem, where relatives of her husband’s tribe dwelled and shared her same faith in the God of Israel.

After saying goodbye, Orpah, her one daughter in law, kissed and hugged Naomi, and left, but Ruth, her other daughter in law, clung to Naomi, refusing to leave her. Naomi said ‘goodbye again’ to Ruth, trying to let her go, but she kept clinging to her, speaking words of loyalty that are still recited as part of the Jewish wedding ceremony to this day:

“Wherever you go I will go, 🎵

wherever you lodge I will lodge.

Your people shall be my people

and your God, my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

Naomi’s attempt to say a second and final goodbye to her daughter in law, changed both of their lives forever. Ruth insisted in staying with her mother in law and accompanied her to Bethlehem. Naomi and Ruth arrived in a new town to begin a new life, and God gave them hope for a new future. Ruth ended up marrying Naomi’s relative, Boaz, and they had a baby boy named Obed. 

Naomi and Ruth had a family again, and Obed, Naomi’s  grandson, was the joy of her life. Whatever life brings, it’s never too late to find the good purpose God has for those who trust in Him, who turns our mourning into joy.

Ruth’s son, Obed, grew to become the grandfather of David, the writer of Psalms, who ruled Israel for forty years. David was an ancestor to Jesus, according to Matthew’s gospel. Because of Ruth’s love and loyalty to Naomi, she is forever a part of the geneology of Jesus. Second goodbyes can go a long way.

Just as that young man kept a 25 year cherished memory of his father’s second goodbye on that September morning, we may have cherished memories of our loved ones. Each generation becomes a new and living hope of the previous one, and in some mystical way, love lives on through them forever. 

The best advice I ever heard for those who suffer a premature loss of a loved one, is,

“There is still somebody out there who needs your love.” 

Naomi didn’t know at the time that a future grandson would be blessed by her love as his grandmother. Ruth learned that life didn’t end with her widowhood, and both women found that saying goodbye is not the end, but an introduction to new beginnings.

Lord, give us the heart of Ruth and Naomi, to see your purpose in trials, to be ready to offer our presence, friendship and love to those you bring into our lives. Amen

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 1:5 (NIV)

Speaking of light that shines in the darkness, it’s difficult to look back on September 11, 2001, but there are still many untold stories of heroes, who shined their light on a very dark day in history. A man named Darin was a Secret Service agent, in the building across from the World Trade Center on that fateful morning. He was at a meeting with other agents in their headquarters, when the building began to rumble and shake. They heard a loud noise and ran to look outside, witnessing the first tower that was just hit.

Darin and two other agents ran outside, tending to the wounds of people on the street, who were injured from falling debris or burned from flaming jet fuel. The agents then ran inside the tower to see if they could rescue anyone.

While inside the tower, Darin was surrounded by smoke, rubble and pitch black darkness. He could not see a thing, and without a flashlight, he listened for the voice of any survivor, in order run toward them in the pitch black darkness. He found an injured woman, but couldn’t see to find his way back out. He started praying, and suddenly he saw a ray of light that shined enough to lead him toward an exit. After bringing her out to paramedics, Darin saw that his agent friends also made it out safely. 

Once outside, a fire chief was telling his crew, “Grab your gear, we’re going back in !” Minutes after those firemen rushed back into the tower, there was a loud noise that sounded like thunder and metal screeching at once. Darin and his friends watched in horror as the entire tower came crashing down, floor upon floor, like pancakes stacked upon one another. 

He and the two agents grabbed a fire hose from the firetruck, and tried to put out the fires, since they were standing by the truck, while every fireman was inside the tower that had just collapsed. 

Still in their business suits, without protective equipment, the three secret service agents put out fires, managing the fire hose until other firetrucks arrived. They never  imagined, as they got dressed that morning, and headed to work, that they would finish the day with torn, singed clothes, the soles of their shoes partially melted from the heat, concrete dust on their face and in their mouth, while putting out fires with a fireman’s hose. Their training was to protect high ranking officials from threats of violence, but nothing like the violence that occurred that day to innocent citizens.

Over 400 first responders died that day, doing what they were trained to do, and those three secret service men survived, by doing what they were not trained to do. Heroes arise from all different backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common. They are lights shining in darkness, running toward a hellish situation, to save whoever they can, at any cost. 

God shines His light in the darkness in different ways. He shined His light in the darkness, to lead Darin and the injured woman out of the tower safely. He shined His light on those first responders who saved lives, then bravely rushed back in to save more. Heroes don’t think about rewards, only what action they can do next. They are living definitions of self sacrifice, saving lives at the cost of their own life, or as Jesus called it, 

“There is no greater love than to lay one’s life down for a friend,” 

(John 15:13) and they did it for total strangers. 

The lesson for us is that whatever dark situation we face, God will shine His light in some way, to show that He is with us, and to lead us on the right path. He does it sometimes by shining His light through heroes who save lives. He might use us to shine a light figuratively, into someone else’s darkness. Whatever type of darkness it is, God’s promise is that darkness will ‘never’ overcome His light. 

Lord, today we honor all the heroes of 911, who laid down their lives for others, for the 3,000 total lives lost that day, and we pray for your light to shine upon this nation and in our lives forever. Amen