Kissed by the Spirit

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (RSV)

Paul wrote this in a letter to Timothy, who was like a son to him. It was his last letter written from prison, before he was martyred. He writes about fighting the good fight, keeping his faith to the end, about crowns and awards for all who love to see the appearance of Christ on that day. 

It’s all beautiful to meditate on, but we can get the impression that Jesus is far away from us, living in a far off kingdom of heaven. 

It’s easy to think that way, while we function in a very material world all around us, but the kingdom of heaven is also all around us. Jesus lives within His people and works through His people, who are among us. He is doing His will here on earth, according to His will in heaven, each time we pray, “Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

God sends us heroes of the faith, through the church or through those who lived before us, and left their inspiration by example. The heroes of the faith might be our own parent or a grandparent, a minister or the saints who lived and died for Christ, centuries ago. It might be those who wrote sacred scripture under the Spirit’s inspiration, which builds up our faith to this day. These heroes of the faith deserve to be honored, and Paul, the apostle, was just one of them. 

Historians tell us that Paul traveled 10,000 miles over his lifetime, and preached for a period of 30 years, while he wrote 14 out of the 27 books which compose the New Testament. That’s a lot of miles, a lot of writing and a lot of the kingdom of heaven brought to earth, through one man, for the glory of God.

A film was made in 2018 about the life of Apostle Paul. It was filmed on the island of Malta, and starred James Faulkner as Paul and Jim Caviezel as Luke, his companion. The movie is called “Paul, Apostle of Christ”.  Seeing this movie was like unwrapping a gift. It shed so much truth on how valuable Paul was to the early church at that particular time in history. 

The movie merged church history and scripture with some fiction, in order to tell the story of Paul’s life. One of the fictional aspects in the film, was of Paul having flashbacks to the days in his life when he was Saul, when he used to hate and persecute the church. 

He is reminded of an image of a little girl’s face, who he saw being martyred along with her family. This flashback continues through the film and builds up to a powerful ending later. 

The early church suffered under Nero, who hunted down and killed many Christians during Paul’s ministry, but character and virtue develop out of adversity, and the early church was a unified family, faithful to Christ even in the threat of imprisonment or death. The believers who survived Nero, worshipped in secret underground churches. 

Paul constantly preached love and forgiveness, leaving all vengeance to God only. Some believers left the church and formed a resistance group, becoming obsessed with fighting the oppressive Roman government. Paul tried to warn them that this was not the good fight that he wrote about. Hate breeds more hate, and Paul taught to “not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.”  (Romans 12:21)

He preached that to live is Christ, and to die is gain, so that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Paul lived all that he preached, and the fruit of his ministry was how he encouraged others throughout his life, even through his letters from a jail cell. Jesus still brings the kingdom of heaven to earth, by living in the hearts of all believers today. 

He asks us to pray for one another, encourage one another and stay unified in Spirit by loving one another.

Paul died by martyrdom, shown at the end of the movie, and was instantly transferred to heaven, and welcomed by a large throng of believers who died before him. 

Suddenly, a happy little girl ran out from the heavenly crowd to greet him with open arms, and Paul lifts her up and hugs her. It’s the little girl from his many flashbacks, who was once martyred along with her family. 

The movie ends with the look of overwhelming joy on Paul’s face, surrounded by believers in heaven, as he turns around and sees Jesus standing before him.

We owe it to honor those throughout history who suffered for their faith, who led us by example, and fought the good fight of faith. We also owe it to uphold in prayer, all who are suffering for their faith today in other nations around the world.

Thank God for the heroes of the faith in the early church, like Paul, Peter, Luke and all other apostles and leaders. May we carry on their legacy of choosing to overcome evil with good, and fight the good fight of faith to the end.

Lord, thank you for the saintly examples you send to us, and for great leaders you have raised up in the church to spread the faith, and for sacred scripture, which inspires us to fight the good fight of faith, so that we may meet you, our victorious Savior in heaven one day. Amen 

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”

Matthew 8:23-26

Sometimes I would prefer to be the one sleeping in the boat and let Jesus handle all the storms in my life, but He wants us to exercise our faith, which might be the whole reason that Jesus slept during that storm. He fully equipped his disciples with all that they needed to handle the storm. 

Right before the incident of the boat in the storm happened, Jesus met and praised a Roman centurion for his great faith. He was so pleased with the Centurion, who trusted Him to heal his paralyzed servant without coming to his house, just by saying the word. The Centurion was in the midst of his own personal storm, but he had faith in the presence of Jesus and spoke words of faith to Him, and his miracle happened. It was this example and message of faith, that led to what happened next.

Right after meeting that Centurion, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat together, where He fell sound asleep, just in time for a violent storm to shake up the boat. The whole scene sounds like a set up to me. 

I don’t think Jesus just happened to fall asleep while the storm just happened to rise up. Jesus wanted His disciples to use what he had been teaching them about great faith, and He equipped them to face the storm. He hoped they had learned from the Centurion to stand and speak in faith, knowing that Jesus was right there, with them on the boat.

He wanted them to have faith in His presence, even if He was asleep. Instead, they cried out that they were going to drown, and failed a test of faith. 

When something happens in our life that frightens us or stops us in our tracks, we probably need to remind ourselves that we are not alone. Jesus is in the boat with us, and He equipped us to face every storm in our lives. He knows we can handle the storm and He is with us even when He appears to be asleep. 

He wants us to stand on our faith and ask in His name. Trusting in His presence and speaking to the storm in His name brings us through our test of faith.

The Centurion believed in the presence and the word of Jesus, before He even went to the cross. 

We have His presence, His word, and the power of His blood. How much more can we do by faith in His shed blood, which has won the victory over any evil that comes against us?

Scripture says that we (all believers)

have conquered the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. 

(Revelation 12:11)

Different scripture versions state this verse using the words “triumphed, overcame, or conquered,” but every version uses the past tense of the word, because the victory has already been won at the cross.

Maybe Jesus wanted the disciples to withstand the test of faith, by praying against the storm, knowing that just having Him in their boat was enough. He wanted them to believe in the power of His presence, just as that Centurion did. He was so proud of the Centurion’s words of faith, and He wants His church to live with that same kind of faith and trust. 

We can trust His presence is with us through all of our storms, whether it feels like He is asleep or not. Jesus has equipped us with all we need to speak to our storms in His name, since He made us more than conquerors through His blood and the word of our testimony. 

I can just imagine Jesus in that boat, hoping to wake up and see that the disciples stood their test of faith, trusting in His presence and united in prayer together, speaking against the storm. He would rather praise people for their great faith than call them men of little faith. 

In all of our tests and trials, Jesus wants to reward our faith and say to His church, 

“Well done, your faith in Me is great!”

Lord, help us to please you by growing in the faith you have equipped us with, as we trust in your presence and your word, strengthen us to speak to and overcome every storm we face. Amen

“For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter.”

Ecclesiastes 8:6 (NIV)

C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, which is a fantasy and an allegory with an underlying Christian message, but I never read the book or saw any of the movies that were made. I do remember my two boys reading and enjoying all the stories of the Chronicles of Narnia, when they were young.

Out of curiosity, I recently rented the movie, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, which is the first series in C.S. Lewis’s book, just to learn what the story entails. 

The repeated mantra throughout the story is that “Aslan is on the move.” The belief is that Aslan is always present even when he is not seen, and that he will one day appear and make all the wrongs right, bringing peace and justice to Narnia.

Aslan is a lion, who is the true King of Narnia, and he also represents Jesus, the lion of Judah and the King of kings. 

He is the only hope against the evil white witch, who had taken oppressive control over Narnia. 

There is an appointed time for the day that Aslan will appear and render His righteousness in Narnia. The living hope of his presence is believed in without seeing him, until he physically appears in the 12th chapter of the novel. Until then, the words that were whispered and circulated among believers in Narnia, were “Aslan is on the move.”

One day Jesus will come and make everything right, in the 12th chapter of God’s novel story of creation. He will correct all that is wrong in our world, but for now, He has a proper time and procedure for every matter. It may not seem like it, but He is subtly on the move throughout this world, effecting the times, matters and procedures of all the nations. 

There is still a hidden message that I found through the Chronicles of Narnia, and it is that a proper time does not just refer to major world events, but to each of our individual lives as well. 

Just like Aslan, Jesus is on the move in our lives, as an invisible Presence, who is whispering to our spirits, responding to all prayers, and giving us hope and consolation. We can experience Narnia in a metaphoric sense, every day. The Lion of Judah makes Himself present to any person who asks or seeks Him. He effects every procedure and every matter in its proper time. 

My son, Jon, hasn’t eaten a thing by mouth in 11 months, ever since his accident. He is still being fed through a tube in his stomach. Knowing he is capable of drinking water, since I tried it for the past week, I decided to give him his first popsicle yesterday, the kind that is in plastic casing. He ate that popsicle with enjoyment, and never once choked. He had the craving to receive it by mouth and Jesus gave him the ability to eat it. Eating a popsicle may seem trivial, but it was a huge step of progress, to watch him eat without choking.

It was the first thing he has tasted in his mouth since the accident. It’s a small example that Aslan, the Lion, or Jesus- is “on the move” in Jon’s life.

The scripture today assures us that there is a time and procedure for every matter and without a doubt, the Lord is surely on the move in all matters in our lives as well. If He gives us the craving, He will help us to take the next step of progress in His timing, to fulfill His will in our lives, and discover His victory in our Narnia.

Lord, you are the Lion of Judah and King of kings, who is sovereign over all of our lives. We believe you are on the move and we ask you to keep working with your proper time and procedure for every matter in our lives. Amen

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

As I read about how we are all God’s handiwork, and created to do good things during our lifetime, I am reminded of how Jesus blessed little children. Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospel all tell us that the kingdom of God belongs to the youngest among us, as they describe Jesus laying His hands on children, praying for them, and blessing them.  (Matthew 19:14)

While we are all God’s handiwork, Jesus spoke with authority in declaring the kingdom of heaven belongs to infants and children. Through His words, we are confident that infants and children who haven’t lived a full life, have immediate entrance into heaven. Jesus gave them a special blessing, but history would later reveal the stark facts of the mortality of infants and children.

Statistics show that 50% of all the children ever conceived throughout human history, did not live past the age of five, due to war, poverty, starvation and disease. If we include into that percentage, all of the spontaneous miscarriages and abortions, it would mean that the vast “majority” of human beings never lived to adulthood. I never thought of myself as a minority, but this makes all of us part of a minority of human beings who lived into our adulthood. 

Since the kingdom of heaven belongs to children, as Jesus said,  there must be a great multitude of infants and children populating heaven, many of whom may even be the children, siblings, or cousins of all of us, who are reading this today. 

Every human life is created by God and loved by God. Scripture says that the Lord takes no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies. (Ezekiel 18.32)

The Spirit inspired David to write that our inward parts were being formed in the womb, while the days of our life were written in God’s book. 

(Psalm 139:16)

God has a purpose for every human life, and a work for us to do, which He has prepared for us in advance. This is the case for every life He creates, regardless of the length of their days. 

There is a plan, a blueprint, and a purpose assigned to all of us. Every life is called to serve some purpose, whether we live for a minute or for a century. This means that those of us who are the minority who made it to adulthood, have a purpose to fulfill.  It’s up to us to pray and seek what our purpose is.

The scripture today reminds us that  we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance.  We are all living miracle human beings, a part of the minority who made it to adulthood, and we each have a unique purpose, according to our different personalities, family upbringing, abilities, disabilities, gifts and talents. 

Despite all of our differences, we all have one purpose in common, and that is to find the way we were meant to glorify God through our lives. (1 Corinthians 6:20)

Since God, in His patience and mercy, gives us multiple chances throughout adulthood, and the grace to discover and fulfill the purpose He has for us, we have the opportunity to do what we were meant to do, that will bring glory to God. Since so much has been given to us, much will also be required of us. (Luke 12:48)

Every lost infant or child can bring glory to God, as well. My mother’s sister was a mother of six, but she once miscarried identical twin boys. When I gave birth to identical twin boys, my Aunt Elizabeth seemed to be the happiest person among my entire family. It puzzled me at first, but in some mysterious way, she felt the infant twins she lost, who were in heaven, were being honored by the birth of her twin great nephews. 

I hope to be reunited with many loved ones in heaven one day, and maybe I’ll even meet those twin cousins who went from the womb straight to heaven.

All life is a gift, and since we are a part of that blessed minority who are adults, we can show our gratitude to God, by being open to fulfill whatever plan He has made in advance for us. 

Lord, thank you for allowing us to be among those who make it to the age we are, since we are all your handiwork and created to bring glory to you throughout our lives. As we value the purpose of all life, teach us how we can do those good things you have planned for us to do. 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)

Jesus was moved with a heart full of pity when He looked at the crowd and saw all those who were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. What a grace filled image of God’s compassion is in these words. 

I don’t know why, but I cannot move past the theme of the Good Shepherd this week. One meditation this week was about how the Shepherd prods His sheep to keep them on the right path, and the next one was about His lost sheep who are drawn into the arms of the Shepherd, by the aroma of gratitude.  

Today, the scripture reveals the heart of Jesus, who looks at the whole crowd, yet feels pity and compassion for individuals with troubled hearts.

I wish I had the capacity to see a crowd the way Jesus did. Lately, when I look at a crowd, I see trouble makers instead of troubled hearts. 

I was watching live news coverage this week of the violent crowd of protesters in Chicago, who defied the boundaries and broke the fenced barriers, causing a lot of chaos.

Watching it live, my first reaction was anger, not pity. I need to remind myself of this scripture, how Jesus saw the crowd as individuals who are troubled and abandoned, lost, like sheep without a shepherd. Instead, my first human reaction is to mentally label the whole bunch as a group of trouble makers. It’s a good lesson to carry into other areas of our lives. 

God sees people as individuals, not as a group. He sees the individual heart, and doesn’t label people, based on political ideologies, or theologic and religious positions. Every soul with a troubled heart stands out in the crowd to Him. To Jesus, they are lost sheep, but His lost sheep. They all need a shepherd, but only the Good Shepherd, they need Him.

God’s love is free to all people, He doesn’t offer Himself only to people who represent His causes. He sees people, not in light of their opinions, but in light of their need for Him. Jesus was moved with pity for the troubled hearts and lost sheep within the crowd that day. His compassion is unconditional and He even reaches out to those whose ideology conflicts with His teaching.

How can I be so sure of this? Because I was once one of those lost sheep, whose way of thinking was far from what God would approve of,  but He saw me in the crowd and pitied me. I wasn’t a protester but I was rebellious and needed His grace when I was completely clueless of who or what God is all about. In His pity, He drew my troubled heart closer and I believed. He gave me a peace that passes all understanding. The same pity that He had toward me, He now expects me to have toward others. 

If we want to follow Jesus, we will look at the crowd differently, and have pity and compassion on the troubled hearts who are within it, just as He does. 

I learned through this scripture that if I can replace my anger with pity, it’s one tiny step in following Jesus. If I can see the troubled hearts in the crowd, instead of labeling a whole group, it’s another step closer to doing what Jesus expects of me. 

The heart of God is a heart of a Shepherd, always looking for His lost sheep. Jesus can share His heart of pity with us, and move us with His compassion, diffuse our anger, and help us to see the crowd as He does. He still sees every single troubled heart in a crowd and desires to love, gather and heal.

Lord, whatever crowds we look at, help us to see them as you did, as troubled hearts and abandoned sheep without a shepherd, and give us your heart of pity and compassion for those would usually provoke us to anger. Amen

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

2 Corinthians 2:14 (RSV)

This scripture says a lot in a few words. God is leading us in triumph as we spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus everywhere we go. 

Spreading the aroma or fragrance of Christ, at first, seems like an overwhelming mission, as if we are responsible in persuading everyone to believe. The Holy Spirit is teaching me that a simple way of spreading the aroma of Christ to others is by showing them gratitude. 

We only need to think of how good it feels to be thanked for something, because in some mysterious way, gratitude is very uplifting and healing. 

A few words of gratitude touches the heart, especially in those who may be suffering. It’s a God given trait that every human being is deeply touched by gratitude, because we were made in the image of God, and He is deeply touched by our gratitude.

Remember Jesus made a comment about the ten lepers who He healed, but only one returned to show his gratitude, and Jesus asked where are the other nine?  (Luke 17:17-18)

There are other ways of spreading the fragrance of Christ, like good preaching and acts of kindness, but words of gratitude are so simple, that it’s often overlooked. 

Every person in our life is there for a purpose. Gratitude spreads the aroma of Christ to everyone He brings into our lives; to our next door neighbors, the coworkers we work beside, our family and the friends we make in this relatively brief period called our lifetime. Gratitude can often lift a person’s spirit more than profound words of wisdom.

Gratitude sends a fragrance and an aroma which reveals their worth and value to God. It leads the lost lambs back to their Shepherd. A few words of gratitude opens the heart, by healing and lifting someone’s spirit, and subtly pointing them toward God. 

An expression of gratitude can make a difference in a person’s day, especially those who are broken in some way. Gratitude opens the heart to knowing Christ and His love.

The first step in spreading the aroma of Christ is in making people feel appreciated.

Words of gratitude can send an aroma of Christ to people with mental health problems, or to those with contentious and argumentative personalities. When the smartest answers fail and there are no other words to say, words of gratitude can change everything.

I am learning how to be thankful for something in every person. Being thankful is like love, it’s not driven by emotion, it’s a choice we make.

I’ve even found gratitude helpful as I try to reason with Jon. He still gets out of bed each night, and out of his chair each day and wanders around. I tell him he has to stay in his chair, unless a nurse or therapy tech assists him, and when he sits back down, I thank him for listening, and he seems to relax. His brain still needs a lot of healing, but even he responds to the words

 “Thank you.”

The residents and staff keep telling me how they saw Jon walking all over the place. Someone told me he once managed to get to the second floor, when a staff person noticed and took him back to his floor. I am thankful for those caring residents who always watch out for Jon, and for the staff who are so busy keeping him safe. Yesterday I decided not only to verbally thank them, but I brought treats for all the staff and the residents.

Every person is a lost lamb who needs to find their place in the arms of the Good Shepherd. Some people  know this and some have no idea, but everyone needs to hear words of gratitude. God created our hearts to be touched when someone shows gratitude and thanks us. There is something about being intentional in  gratitude, that opens many hardened or broken hearts.

Lord, we thank you for showing us the ways we can triumph in our walk of faith, by spreading your fragrance to others around us. Use our words of gratitude to help you gather all your lost back lambs to you. Amen

How precious is thy steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings.

Psalm 36:7 (RSV)

I received a lot of positive responses from yesterday’s meditation about Jon’s recent progress, and I want to say thank you for all the kind words, loving support and especially your prayers. I attribute his progress and recovery to the many prayers of friends and family. 

Although we are adults, we are still children of God, deepening our friendship with Jesus, and seeking His refuge during times of trials. Occasionally, when someone says something to me about my strength or my faith, it is perplexing to me, because I don’t have the greatest faith, but I do have the greatest friend. He has nail scarred feet and hands and He brings me His peace as He walks beside me through every fire, flood or storm that I have ever faced.

I don’t want to bore people with repeated stories, but it always leads me back to the dream I had when I was five. I dreamed my school was on fire and as everyone was running in all directions, someone took hold of my right hand and walked me through the halls and safely out of the burning school. I looked up and vividly saw Jesus holding my hand.

I like to cling to that childlike image of Jesus, and hope to inspire others that He is the “calm in our chaos” during our fiery trials. The scripture says that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of His wings. God sees all of us as children, and is reaching out to hold our hand and walk beside us. It has become my personal sign language of trust and worship, to briefly raise my right hand toward heaven, as a reminder that Jesus is still leading me safely through the fire exits today.

Jesus taught us that faith has to be intimate and personal, and we will discover our own sign or reminder to trust in Him.

Jesus repeatedly said, “Follow Me”, and  “Abide in Me.” Following and abiding in Him, is more personal than following and abiding in rules, doctrines or commandments. 

Jesus once asked Peter, 

“But what about you? Who do you say I am?” Jesus always wants to get more intimate with us by asking personal questions.  (Matthew 16:15)

To have a friend in Jesus is not a cliche, it’s a way of life. He said He prefers to call us His friends, rather than His servants. (John 15:15) 

He stands beside us waiting for a deeper friendship, especially during the hardest times in our lives. 

Until we get personal with Jesus, we will always be susceptible to feelings of insecurity, because no one and nothing in this world can give us what He gives us. He is constantly standing  beside us asking, 

“But what about you?”

“Who do you say I am?”

He wants us to embrace Him instead of embracing rules, rituals and self help sources. He wants to be the first one we run to when we are crushed in spirit or depressed. He wants us to run into His arms as children run into their father’s arms. He wants to be our everything, because He is everything. Jesus called Himself the fulfillment of the entire law of Moses. (Matthew 5:17) 

The first of the ten commandments asks for our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, which proves that it has always been about love and a personal relationship. The blood of His cross finally made redemption accessible to us.

It’s better to receive His offer of friendship today, since no one wants to hear Him say “I never knew you” someday in the future. 

(Matthew 7:23)

He offers us the constant refuge of His love and friendship. It’s how God meant it to be with His children, since creation. 

Our relationship with Him is not a contract, it’s a personal relationship. We are His children, who are meant to take refuge in His steadfast love. Children don’t earn or merit their parents’ love, they just grow up into it. The situations we face in our lives were meant to help us “grow up” into a deeper intimacy with Jesus. He asks us “What about you? Who do you say I am?” And then we can answer Him, “You are my Father, my Savior, my Lord and my friend.”

Lord, help us to know how much you love us and desire a more intimate friendship. We will remember to run into your arms and be led by your nail pierced hands, and receive the full embrace of your love and peace. Amen

With age old love I have loved you;

so I have kept my mercy toward you.

Again I will build you, and you shall stay built, virgin Israel;

Carrying your festive tambourines,

you shall go forth dancing with merrymakers.

Jeremiah 31:3-4 (NAB)

This phrase “age old love” is unique to the New American Bible version of this scripture, compared to most other versions which say “everlasting love”.  Both are beautiful phrases expressed by God to His people, but the phrase “age old love” reminds us of the love that lasts through all of life’s sorrows and challenges. It sounds like the love of partners who grew old together and remained united over the years. 

God also tells His people “I will build you up and you will stay built.” He loves us enough to find out what builds us up. He builds us up by turning our mourning into joy, and helps us to rejoice again, after a time of great sorrow. (Jeremiah 31:13) 

He sees us as individuals according to our personal likes or dislikes. God seeks the heart and interests of His beloved. It says in the love chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, that 

“love seeks not its own.”

God showed us that He seeks our interests by example of the entire life of Jesus, and He teaches us to love others the way He loves us.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with a lady in my Zumba class a few weeks ago. Zumba is an exercise of dance steps, done to various types of Latin music. 

She shared her personal story with me one day before class started. She has always loved all types of dance, and attended Zumba classes very regularly throughout the years. Then her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 

As he became progressively worse, she was so busy bringing him to and from medical appointments and caring for him in his illness, that she stopped dancing, having no time to attend classes anymore. Eventually, the cancer progressed to the point of placing him in hospice. 

She was so sad and emotionally drained at that point, that she said to him, “I’ll never dance again.” Before he died, he looked at her and made her promise him that she would never stop dancing, and she hasn’t stopped since. 

She is now eighty plus years old and she never misses a Zumba class. She dances with more energy and enthusiasm than all those who are younger than her in the class. 

Her loving husband’s last words to her came out of an “age old love”between them. Love led him to seek her best interests, even on his death bed, hoping that she would later have her mourning turned to joy. He knew what dancing meant to his wife, which is why he made her promise that she would never stop dancing. 

We are the church, the bride of Christ, and He has also loved us through the years, with an age old love. Each of us has had a long partnership with Jesus through many sorrows and challenges, over the years.

His selfless love and faithfulness to us inspires our praise either by singing, playing an instrument, or through dance. He wants us to find our niche for the best way to express our worship and praise. Singing and playing instruments are beautiful forms of worship, but dancing is equally a form of worship, though not usually seen in churches. 

Praise enables us to leave our anxieties and inhibitions behind, and enjoy the pure freedom of praising God through music, song or dance. The prophet Jeremiah told the people to go forth and dance for the Lord. David worshipped in all three forms. He wrote and sang songs, played a harp and worshipped the Lord by dancing. 

Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to keep finding their joy given by the Holy Spirit, even in the midst of severe affliction and suffering. 

(1 Thessalonians 1:6)

Whatever we are going through, we have to find our joy and the Holy Spirit will show us what fits best for each of us. Our joy is restored when we worship and praise the Lord. 

The Holy Spirit knows how we can best respond to the age old love and mercy that the Lord has shown us throughout the years. 

Lord, thank you for loving us with an age old love. Teach us to love others as you have loved us, and to find our joy through our own unique form of worship and praise. Amen

“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony….”

Revelation 12:11 (RSV)

I read the following true post on a FB site:

“A rattlesnake bit one of my sheep in the face about a week ago. It’s the deadliest snake that lives around here. The sheep’s face swelled up and hurt her terribly. But the old rattlesnake didn’t know the kind of blood that flows through the sheep. Anti-venom is most often made from sheep’s blood. The sheep swelled for about two days, but the blood of the lamb destroyed the venom of the serpent. The sheep kept on eating, drinking, and climbing because she knew she was alright.”

When I read this, I fact checked it, and learned that it is a fact that sheep’s blood is used to produce an antivenin that treats snake bites in humans. This is because the immune system of sheep produces the antibodies that neutralize snake venom directly.

Since I never heard this before, I searched further and found a US Healthcare professionals website that confirmed it. I learned that a product called CroFab® or Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine) is a sheep-derived antivenin, indicated for the management of  venomous snake bites in adult and pediatric patients in North America. This product is derived from sheep’s blood and is used for snakebites of rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and water moccasins.

I cannot believe that I lived almost 71 years on this earth, and never heard this before. It’s no coincidence that in biblical history, Jesus is known as the  “Lamb” of God (John 1:29) while the devil has always been known as the “serpent” from beginning to end in scripture.

(Genesis 3:14) (Revelation 12:9)

God knew what He was doing when He created everything, especially  sheep and snakes. He created sheep’s blood with a natural immunity to the venom of snakes. This medical truth is not coincidence, it’s a spiritual message. 

In other words, the blood of the Lamb says to the serpent’s venom, “Not here, devil !”

I thought it was interesting that the sheep who was bitten by a deadly snake, never even stopped eating, drinking or climbing, despite suffering pain and face swelling from the bite itself. The sheep had a built in confidence, and never stood still after being bit, but kept going, allowing its blood to do its thing, while the sheep recovered. 

We should live with that confidence, and trust in the blood of Jesus, which is resistant to the venom of the serpent, or enemy of our soul. We may occasionally suffer temporary pain or affliction from its bite, but we have the immunity of the lamb’s blood within us.

We will still eat, drink and climb to the heights we were meant to climb because His blood gives us healing, deliverance and eternal life. The book of Revelation says that the serpent was conquered by the blood of the Lamb, and that all conquering blood is spiritually within all of us who believe in Jesus. We can pray with confidence for healing and deliverance in the power of His blood, which says, “Not here, devil !”

Lord, give us a greater confidence in the power in your blood. Help us to live with the reality of being your sheep, having your blood flowing within us, which heals, sets us free, neutralizes all evil and gives us eternal life. Amen

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (RSV)

I was an art major in college and portraits were my favorite. I did many over the years, but nothing of this quality. When I found this portrait of Mary and young Jesus, on line, I thought it was breathtaking. It inspired me to write about it,  because I was struck by the purity and innocence in their faces, and the sense of comfort and security that Jesus, as a toddler, felt in Mary’s lap.

Being both human and divine, Jesus  grew up receiving the human love of His mother, the family leadership of Joseph, His step father and the divine comfort and sense of oneness with His Heavenly Father. It all qualifies Him to be the greatest comforter of all time. 

His earliest human connection of comfort came from the first face He ever looked at, His mother’s face, which is meant to be the case for all human beings. Newborns grow in comfort and security when they exchange glances with their mother. Mary also found eternal comfort in beholding the face of Jesus as well, knowing He was not only her son, but her Lord and Messiah.

From a natural perspective, no one denies that every human person needs the emotional security and comfort of a loving mother and father. Jesus is our comforter, not only because He is divine, but because he also had the love and comfort of being nurtured by both of His human parents.

Jesus also had a pre-incarnate family in heaven, with His Father and the Holy Spirit.  It was an infinite family relationship until He came to this world and was born as a human person, and raised in a human family, by the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Not much is mentioned about the childhood of Jesus in scripture, but at some point in growing up, He had to have made the connection of being one with His Heavenly Father. The gospel of Luke tells us that the twelve year old Jesus disappeared from his parents while traveling to Jerusalem, and was later found in the synagogue. (Luke 2:48-49)

He casually told Mary and Joseph that He was where He belonged, in His “Father’s house.”

Jesus probably grew in awareness of His divinity and hungered for His  eternal Father. As He approached adulthood, He found His comfort and true purpose in spending time with His invisible Father.

Jesus was always a part of a family, and after He became part of a human family, He pursued His life mission and created the spiritual family of God, which is the church, universal. God meant for all of the human race to find comfort through both their natural and spiritual families. 

As I meditate on today’s scripture with that picture, I see an interesting contrast. The most high God and Father of mercies, desires to share His loving comfort with humanity, in all of our afflictions. God, who is so high, came down so low, in order to comfort and lift us higher to Himself.

Jesus, the perfect blend of receiving human comfort, combined with divine comfort, now shares His comfort with us, which has a domino effect. He comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we are able to comfort others, with the same comfort which we received from Him. God always intended for the human and the divine to work together in the family of God, to ultimately draw us all closer to our true Father in heaven. 

Isaiah’s message of the Messiah are in these words: 

“Comfort, comfort my people,

says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.” (Isaiah 40:1-2)

The pinnacle of God’s heart and purpose is to give His love, peace, comfort and pardon, to all people, if they will receive it. 

Jesus said blessed are those who mourn, for they will be “comforted.”

There is a lot to mourn for in this world, but the amount of love and comfort that Jesus wants to give us, is far greater than all the sorrow and mourning combined.

Maybe it’s just the artist part of me, or my attraction to great portraits, but I can see in this picture, the power and grace of the loving comfort Jesus received while growing up. He now desires to share that comfort with all of us, so that we can share it with others, so that the message will go on and on. 

Lord, I pray for all who need extra comfort today, in any affliction, help us to surrender ourselves to you, to be held close to you, and find the comfort, gentleness and security of a toddler sitting on their parent’s lap. Amen