Kissed by the Spirit

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”

Acts 9:13-15 (NIV)

A dialog between Ananias and the Lord took place through a vision. The Lord wanted Ananias to go visit Saul of Tarsus, but Ananias was resistant because every Christian feared Saul, who was notorious for leading the persecution of Christians at the time. Still, the Lord urged Ananias to “Go!” and he finally went. 

Yesterday, I shared a true story of a woman who heard an audible voice warning her not to go somewhere and by obeying, she avoided a bomb explosion which saved her life. 

God’s Spirit may urge us to go or not to go somewhere. When someone is resistant to the Spirit’s urging, He simply presses them a little harder as in the following true story. 

Jim, a devout Christian young man, preparing to go to seminary, heard the Lord speak to him while he was driving home from his restaurant job one night. It was around 11:30 pm, and while he was driving home, the Lord told him to go visit an old friend that he hadn’t seen in a while. 

He kept insisting that it was too late at night to bother his friend’s family for a visit, but he felt a strong urge as the Spirit kept pressing him, saying two more times, “Go!” so he finally did. He headed in the direction to visit his old friend for a reason that only God knew. 

When he arrived, the parents of his friend were very welcoming. Despite the late time of night, his friend was also happy to see him. Jim and his friend spent time in the man cave of his basement, sharing stories and reminiscing old times from the days together in their church youth group. 

When Jim was preparing to leave, his friend looked at him curiously and asked why he came over in the first place. Jim told his friend that he came because God told him to, explaining how the Holy Spirit kept urging him to “go”. His friend invited him to come look at something inside his bathroom. Jim walked into the bathroom and saw a noose hanging there. His friend told Jim that he was going to commit suicide that very night. 

Jim’s visit changed his friend’s heart and turned his life around. He had a new awareness that God loved him so much that He urged Jim to come see him late that night. No one is too lost, too depressed or too alone, to keep God from reaching out to them. The Lord could intervene directly in anyone’s life, but He chooses to do it through people. He wants us to know that He isn’t up in the sky somewhere far away, but right here in people like us, where He has chosen to dwell.

We might be prompted to call an old friend, or to pray for someone. Beautiful things happen when people hear and respond to the Holy Spirit. Jim learned that God has no borders regarding time of day to respond to Him. 

It doesn’t need to be a dramatic intervention such as preventing a suicide. The Spirit works in odd ways, sometimes just by slowing us down from our busyness, in order to give our time to a lonely person. We never know how it will impact a person’s day. 

One day, I was on an errand at a Home Depot store, and an elderly stranger started talking to me. He mentioned that he immigrated here from Greece, which caused me to perk up and tell him that my father was also an immigrant from Greece. He asked what town he was from, and when I told him, he was thrilled because it was a neighboring town that he knew very well. 

Nick talked to me for 15 minutes, and before we parted, he told me that I made his day. I’ll never know why a brief dialog with a stranger made Nick’s day, but God knew. 

Since then, I believe in the daily providence of God, working through brief interactions with strangers we meet. God is writing people’s stories, and our role is to be whoever God made us to be. As we slow down and listen, someone’s eternal destiny might change for the glory of God.

Lord, help us to live each day with awareness of divine providence, and keep our hearts open to go and share your love with whoever you bring our way. Amen

“While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Matthew 17:5 (NAB)

The transfiguration was such a mystical experience, to see the face of Jesus shining like the sun as his garments become a bright white light. It was even more amazing to see two men from the dead, appear with Jesus on that mountain. The disciples saw a glorious vision that day, but to hear the audible voice of God, was the most awesome part of the whole event. God spoke from a cloud, just to tell the world that Jesus is His beloved Son and to listen to Him. 

Moses, was the first one who instructed the Israelites in how to prepare and eat the Passover lamb, but on that day, he had the privilege of meeting the one and only Passover Lamb of God, in the flesh. 

Elijah, the prophet who once called down fire from Heaven and ordered the rain to end a drought, was blessed to finally behold the incarnate Son of God.

A cloud suddenly hovered over Peter, James and John as a voice spoke from within it, saying, 

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Upon hearing the voice, the three disciples dropped down, covered their heads, and lied prostrate on the ground. Jesus touched them saying, “Rise, do not be afraid.” The voice of God must be very frightening to hear, yet the touch of Jesus brings comfort and peace. 

The transfiguration wasn’t the first time that Peter, James and John ever heard the audible voice of God. After Jesus was baptized,  a dove flew overhead and a voice was heard saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The disciples had the privilege to hear God’s voice, but also to live with His incarnate Son for three years. 

Throughout the Bible, God doesn’t speak audibly from Heaven very often, except when He spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai when giving the commandments. Elijah also heard the voice of God in a whisper, assuring him that he would be safe and live, while he hid from Queen Jezebel’s assassins. When God does speak audibly to people, something extraordinary is about to happen.

The Holy Spirit communicates to us today, mostly by speaking to our spirit, soul or mind, and sometimes He simply speaks to us through other people. He rarely speaks to us audibly, in a voice we can hear with our ears, but what if God is speaking audibly, more often than we are aware of? 

There are people who have heard an audible voice which proved later that it came from a Heavenly realm. One person who heard this voice is Judith. 

Judith is a Christian psychologist and counselor, who was on a Holy Land tour in Israel with her prayer group. During some free time, she was browsing gift items at an outdoor market place, shopping for souvenirs with a friend. They spotted a jewelry market across the street and started to go there, when Judith heard an audible voice clearly say to her, 

“Don’t go there.” 

The voice sounded like it was right beside her, so Judith turned to look at her friend, but it wasn’t him. She told him what she just heard, so they decided not to cross the street. At that very moment a bomb exploded in the jewelry market. Later that evening she met with her prayer group and another lady shared how she also heard an audible voice that stopped her from going towards the jewelry market.

The voice could have been their guardian angel, just doing what God assigns them to do, which they heard audibly. We may never know why some people receive audible warnings from Heaven and some people don’t. 

I believe that everyone receives these warnings, though they don’t always hear them audibly. When a voice is speaking to us from a Heavenly realm, whether it’s our guardian angel, the Holy Spirit, or Jesus Himself, we need to have ears to hear. There are so many voices in the world, drowning out the voices from Heaven. The transfiguration message of God  is still speaking to us today, saying, “Listen to My Son.”

Lord, tune up our soul, spirit and mind, so we may hear you more clearly, and know the radiance of your glory that still echoes in your words since the transfiguration. Amen

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Matthew 13:44 (NAB)

The Israelites went through extensive humbling while they wandered through the wilderness. They were hungry, thirsty, hot, and bitten by snakes. They missed the comforts of home, like their own bed, their favorite foods and the abundance of drinking water.

After being enslaved in Egypt, they were finally free and heading for their own promised land. God had many treasures in store for them, but instead of seeing their journey as a path to a blessing, they saw the wilderness as the worst thing that could ever happen to them. They were dwelling on the problems of their journey instead of the promise of their destination.

In 2019, I went through a type of wilderness when my late husband was diagnosed with ALS and died within a year. The following year was the Covid pandemic and my church was closed for months. Then, I was furloughed from my job, and didn’t see much of anyone at all. I was living in a strange state of isolation, as was everyone else that year.

During that time, I wondered if I had any gifts, and how I could use them during the downtime. I’ve always read scripture, but that year, I started journaling whatever I learned, which led me to write meditations. Although I never sent them to anyone, I couldn’t stop writing, and it became my passion and my joy during that period of solitude. One day, the following year, I mentioned to my friend, Laura, that I was writing meditations. She asked me to send them to her, and so I did. 

To make a long story short, soon there were friends of friends, receiving daily meditations, via group email and phone texts messages. My passion for writing continued to grow, and I still write a meditation each day. The first treasure that I discovered hidden in my wilderness, was a love for writing. 

The second treasure that I found during that period of isolation was a relationship with the Holy Spirit. I began to talk to Him every day, asking for direction, wisdom, and inspiration before writing, and that’s how the meditations kept flowing. I created a website and posted all my meditations on my website called

kissedbythespirit.com

In 2023 I entered an unexpected new wilderness, when my adult son, Jon, had a serious motorcycle accident. He went through brain surgery, two weeks in a coma, and is now awake but living in a long term care facility, relearning how to walk and talk. There are still many unknowns regarding his prognosis, but he is making gradual progress.

The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to something while I was visiting his Nursing Facility one day. As I looked around, I saw other people who would sit alone, receive no attention and never have a single visitor. That was the day I discovered a third treasure, hidden in Jon’s place of residence. It’s the treasure of being able to befriend the friendless.

The residents responded so happily to the smallest thing I would say or do. Whether it’s a smile, a wave, a hug, or simply greeting them by their name, it was like giving them the gift of dignity. Some residents just wanted to be listened to, and to tell their own story, but every visit gave them some attention and a treat.

Whatever kind of wilderness we are in, it helps to remember that it’s a journey, not a final destination. The Holy Spirit taught me to look outward, to see those who were around me, and that’s how I found the treasures that were hidden in each wilderness.

I’ve learned that to find our purpose in any wilderness, it requires looking outside of ourself. If I dwell on own my losses, problems and frustrations, I would surely become depressed. 

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and we receive His comfort for a purpose, so that we can comfort others. We each have our own unique mission as we journey through our own wilderness, but we are all heading towards one common destination, which is heaven.

An older man used to sit in a church pew, looking at the altar, praying long after the services were over. He was asked one day by his minister, “What are you hoping or praying for?” He answered, “Nothing, I just look at Jesus and He looks at me.” 

That’s the spirit of adoration. Prayer doesn’t always have to be filled with frantic requests. If we spend a little time looking at Jesus, He looks back at us and shows us where to look to find the next hidden treasure. 

Lord, as we journey through our current wilderness, open the eyes of our heart to see you in those around us, so that we may find the treasures hidden there. Amen

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

1 Peter 2:9 ( NIV)

It’s always been customary to name things in honor of people. There are foods, beverages, flowers, parks, highways, and many other things named after special people.

The Margherita pizza was named to honor Queen Margherita of Italy, made in the colors of the Italian flag, using mozzarella, tomato and basil. Beef Wellington was named after the Duke of Wellington. Clementine oranges are a hybrid between a mandarin and a sweet orange, named after Brother Clément Rodier, a french missionary who first created them. There is even a specific garden rose that was named after Princess Diana.

Instead of a food, a flower, or a place, Jesus has people, members of a universal church scattered across the globe, called by His name.  We’ve all been named after Jesus, since Christian means “of Christ.” 

The suffix “ian” in Latin, means possessed by. Scripture says we are His special possession, carrying His name, and bringing Him honor. 

Peter called all believers a royal “priesthood.” Royal, because we are the adopted children of God, the King of creation. The royal priesthood is more like a mini priesthood, one that is valid, yet without requiring degrees or ordination. 

We’ve been initiated into this mini priesthood, by virtue of our baptism. We reflect Christ by introducing His love to others with dignity and humility. In ancient Judaism, it was the priest’s role to offer sacrifices for the people, but God asks us to become living sacrifices for Him. 

(Romans 12:1-2)

Anyway we look at it, being a part of a mini priesthood, lifts us to a status we would never assume for ourselves. We cannot earn it and may even feel unqualified, but God has qualified us, by calling us to it. 

Jesus told us to shine our light so that others may see our deeds and glorify our heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:16) 

Mini priests are not heard in pulpits but rather are seen, living the gospel, illustrating God’s love, showing kindness and mercy to others. They are also seen and recognized by God for their good deeds, often done in secret.

If we stumble and mess up, we ask God’s forgiveness and go on. We all have a mission to fulfill as mini priests for Jesus, and He has equipped us with all the gifts and talents needed. Jesus’ parable of the talents is a reminder that we can choose whether to use our talents or to bury them. 

Some people say, “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian,” which is true, and we don’t have to go home to be married either, but going home is foundational to building a good marriage, just as going to church is foundational to building up the body of Christ. 

Peter’s words in today’s scripture, mean just what he said. God has called regular people like us, to be His chosen people, a holy nation and a royalpriesthood. Jesus loves the world and He loves His church in every nation of the world. Now, if only we could think of ourselves as God thinks of us, as part of His mini priesthood.

Lord, help us to live according to our status as your sons and daughters, a mini priesthood, serving others and spreading your light in the darkness. Amen 🍀

“My spirit remains in your midst;

do not fear!

For thus says the Lord of hosts:*

In just a little while,

I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.”

Haggai 2:5-6 (NAB)

God works in mighty ways when people get shook out of their comfort zones. Entire nations can get shook or individuals may feel like something has shaken their world. An outside circumstance can move us out of our usual comfort zone and into a place of discomfort. When this happens, God uses our discomfort for good, by getting our attention. 

Discomfort once saved me from a premature death, according to an incident my mother told me about. 

When I was two years old, I was playing with a balloon in the next room, and like any two year old would do, I put the balloon to my mouth and it burst. A large part of the balloon flew to the back of my throat. Since I couldn’t make a sound, my mother had no idea that I was choking. 

Something made me walk to her in the next room, where she looked at me, quickly opened my mouth and pulled out the balloon lodged in the back of my throat. At two years old, I could have easily stayed where I was and choked to death. Maybe my guardian angel led me to go to her, but most likely it was a sudden loss of comfort with a struggle to breathe, that led me to go and get help. My discomfort saved my life that day.

Entire nations have been shook to extreme discomfort many times in recent history. Every nation in the world eventually lost their comfort zone after the crash of the Great Depression in 1929. More shaking came in World War I and II, the Holocaust, 911, and the Covid pandemic in 2020.

No one can deny that God gets our attention during a crisis of comfort, whether it happens to nations or to individuals. I believe God overcomes evil with some type of good in all those earth shaking events. God said through Haggai, that even in those times of shaking, He is with us, saying “My spirit remains in your midst; do not fear!”

The kind of good that God brings out of a great shaking and loss of comfort is a total reliance on Him. There are so many conversion stories that started by someone’s world being shook as they lost their comfort zone. Our senses tell us that the world is full of chaos and trouble, but our heart must listen to Jesus, telling us there will always be trouble in the world. He also said that His peace is not the kind of peace that the world gives. The shaking and discomfort we feel, prompts us to go to Jesus, just as a choking two year old goes to their mother. 

There is a current immigration crisis worldwide and refugees tell stories of leaving their native land due to food insecurity, poverty, wars, or oppressive regimes. Thousands have left their homes and countries to find refuge and many have encountered kindness from charitable groups in the countries where they found refuge. 

Refugees from the middle east nations are now finding refuge in Armenia, Turkey and Greece, being helped by Christian based charitable groups. There are some incredible stories of refugees who received a revelation of Jesus, before they ever left their country, through a dream or a vision. One man had a dream that Jesus was standing before him, surrounded by a bright light, saying, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, follow Me.” Those words are straight from the gospel and yet the man never read a Bible or heard those words in his life. 

When Christians do their part to pray and support those groups, amazing things happen. It is the providence of God, to reveal His lovingkindness and mercy to all people, especially those being shook by a global immigration crisis. God uses all the shaking and discomfort in the world to lead people back to their faith or to invite them to new faith in Jesus. It begins when the comfort zone is lost, and the church goes out to help the least among us. The love and peace of God is revealed through His people. 

God is quietly changing many hearts today, even if we don’t hear about it in the mainstream news. He is renewing the faith of all people and building up His church everywhere in the world. No  tyrants, political ideology, power of government or any force of evil can prevail against God’s church, established by His son, Jesus Christ. 

It makes me wonder, whenever our comfort zone is shook up or removed, whether God is drawing us into a deeper relationship with Him. The next time we experience any situation of discomfort, and our world is being shook, maybe God is trying to get our attention. After all, He isn’t finished with any of us yet, and He who began a good work in us will continue it, until completion. (Philippians 1:6)

Lord, help us have a deep, mature faith, so that when our comfort zone is shook, we will know in our hearts that you are continuing the good work you began in us. Amen

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:13-14 (RSV)

I have written before about the eclectic mix of clientele and people who are employed at a certain hair salon that I frequent every 7 weeks. My hairdresser, Rania, is also the owner of a salon which is a total melting pot consisting of Moslems, Orthodox Jews and Christians, most of whom were born somewhere outside of the United States. 

Rania is the kind of person who genuinely loves people and just radiates joy. She treats all people with utmost respect. She is a non religious Moslem, who was born in Jordan. I was surprised to learn that she no longer fasts for Ramadan, saying “fasting makes me too cranky.” Out of her family of four, only her 25 year old son observes the one month Ramadan fast. 

Every time I go to this salon, I am amazed at how they all get along, employees and customers from such different faiths, beliefs and backgrounds, yet all under one roof. They treat each other with a quality of respect, that is so rare in today’s world.

Yesterday, I got to talk to another hair stylist at the salon, whose name is Sylvana. She was born in Iraq, and calls herself Assyrian. She made sure I knew that all Assyrian people are Christians, a minority among the Moslem country of Iraq. Sylvana told me how her people as well as others, suffered under Sadam Hussein’s ruthless, oppressive regime. 

Her family like many others, desired freedom more than anything, and like many others, they planned to flee from Iraq. Sylvana’s family made the decision to leave one day in the early 2,000’s, when she was only eight years old. 

The day her family of four fled the country, they locked the front door of their home, with all of their life’s belongings inside the house. Taking nothing but a backpack on their back, her whole family walked away, leaving their homeland for good.

The family of four separated to avoid suspicion, and each parent took a child with them, as they headed for the border. They reunited later after immigrating to the US. She has been living in the Chicago suburbs since the early 2000’s. Sylvana openly tells her story in detail, and then she ends it by saying that her salvation and her freedom were a gift from her Lord Jesus Christ, to which I replied, “Amen.”

Her outspoken love for her faith amazed me, especially in a workplace surrounded by so many different faith beliefs. The beauty of it is that they all respect one another and work together in peace. That salon is like a small sample of how our world should and could also live and work together in unity and peace. 

One image that stays with me after talking to Sylvana is of her family taking the brave step of leaving all their belongings inside the home they loved, and walking away with nothing but a backpack, and all out of their desire for freedom. I believe most Americans could never imagine doing that, since we have lived with freedom all our lives, and freedom can easily be taken for granted. It leads to cherishing our material things more than our freedom. For those who have been denied freedom, no material things could be worth more than their actual freedom. 

Listening to a story like Sylvana’s and seeing the unity among the melting pot of faiths, all in one place, made me think about what I value most. The salon seems to be living out the words in today’s scripture, reminding us that we are called to freedom in order to serve one another, and fulfill all the laws of the Lord in one word, love. 

Lent is a time to focus on prayer and giving to help others, but most of all it’s a time to reassess what we are cherishing most in our lives. That salon taught me that when we cherish our freedom, we will desire to use that freedom to fulfill God’s will by loving our neighbors as ourself. Freedom gives us the power and opportunity to love. 

Someone once said that we look forward to a day when the power of love will replace the love of power in this world. 

Lord, in whatever we cherish most, help us to put it all in perspective according to Your will. Show us how best to use our freedom for your honor and glory. Amen 

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5 (RSV)

When I was a child, my brothers and I were reminded that we were Spartans, especially whenever we skinned a knee or got hurt while playing. My father was from the  region of Greece, known as Sparta. The legendary Spartan warriors were known for being highly resistant to the hardships of war, cold, hunger, thirst or pain. Though it’s partly legend, Spartan children in 650 B.C. were actually trained from an early age to have high endurance to all types of hardships. 

The apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church told them to put on the full armor of God in order to stand firm in the faith. As Spartan soldiers used to strive for physical endurance, Christians strive for the endurance of faith. We stand firm in perseverance of our faith, even during hardship or pain. That makes us veteran survivors in a spiritual army of God. 

I once heard a true story of an 84 year old retired Navy seal, who was a widower living alone in Fort Meyers, Florida. During Hurricane Ian in 2022, the hurricane washed away his home as well as many others in his area. He survived by clinging to his leather sofa, using it as a lifeboat on the rushing waters. 

The 84 year old retired Navy Seal had a cardiac health condition, making the ordeal even more stressful. He was without food or water for 26 hours, floating on his leather sofa, until found by rescue teams. His strength to survive came from tapping into his many years as a Navy Seal, which kept him calm the whole time. 

When he was rescued after 26 hours, he was exhausted and dehydrated but after being checked out at a local hospital, he was discharged in good health.

His son later asked him if he was afraid while waiting to be rescued, and he said he was never afraid because he was trained for this. To the staff at the hospital he may have appeared as an average retired senior, with cardiac health issues, who narrowly escaped drowning, but his self identity was as a veteran Navy Seal, trained to survive rushing waters, hunger, thirst, cold or pain. 

This incredible true story was shared with me by a surgeon I worked with in 2022, because that 84 year old retired Navy Seal is his father. His story touched me because I learned a valuable lesson from it. His father said that endurance is what he was trained for. It was apparent that despite age and poor cardiac health, once a veteran of survival, always a veteran of survival. He is someone that my own father would have called a Spartan. 

I can apply the same idea to being veterans of spiritual survival of the faith, since we’ve all been trained through the many trials that tested our faith over time. We have learned to survive the deep flood waters of spiritual warfare, pain, hunger, thirst or cold. We have been through spiritual hurricanes that rushed in and overflowed our state of comfort and stability, yet we endured by  trusting God through every storm, which prepares us for the next one. 

We are trained veteran survivors of faith in Jesus Christ. When the flood waters rush in, we float on our lifeboat of hope and faith, until the rescue team of Heaven comes to our help. We may be spiritually dehydrated and weary when help arrives, but we have gained the most valuable of all virtues, endurance. 

Without endurance, no other virtue can be sustained without it. Faith, hope or love have little value if they do not “endure” the tests and trials of life.  Endurance, through tribulation, builds character and character brings hope, and we need renewed hope every day. Each one of us is the tested and trained spiritual version of a Navy Seal.

We are all led by the Master of endurance, who is Jesus, and He will always bring us through flood waters with renewed hope and perfect peace. 

Lord, thank you for the endurance that comes through the training of past trials, which leads to the  gain other virtues as well. Amen

LOOK BEHIND YOU

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Psalm 23:6 (RSV)

In this meditation, I put the picture first, instead of last, because the look on this lamb’s face is worth a thousand words. He seems to be saying, Where is everybody?  Which way is home? Help, I’m lost!

He doesn’t know that his shepherd is right behind him, running to catch him before he wanders deeper into the woods. Goodness and mercy are running behind him, but he just hasn’t realized it yet. 

Just like that lamb, sometimes we are unaware that goodness and mercy is running behind us. There may be times when we feel lost in the woods. Whatever type of woods we are in, the deeper we go, the more we tend to convince ourselves that we are alone, and no one else knows what we are going through, but in reality, Jesus is right behind us.

I remember being lost in the woods when I was four years old. My relatives had a cabin in a wooded area, somewhere in Michigan, and they invited my family to come visit. Somehow I wandered away from the family cabin, and got lost in the woods. Some very kind people in a nearby cabin found me and took me in, and they kept me safe until they found my worried parents. 

We may not get lost in the physical woods, but we can feel the same isolation or loneliness, by being in a place that is far away from all that has been familiar to us. It might be a situation that removes every sense of stability, security or peace. It could be the woods of a deteriorating relationship or a financial burden, or maybe a health scare that leaves us in a dark place, filled with fear. 

We have all been in the woods of some kind, and we all fit the image of that bewildered lamb in the picture, who unknowingly has his good Shepherd running behind him. 

Goodness and mercy are more than a shift in our destiny, or the answers to our prayers. It’s more than a thing, it’s a person-it’s Jesus, our shepherd, who is good and merciful, and follows us all the days of our life. We have all been taught to follow Jesus, and we should, but there are times when He follows us, because that’s what Shepherds do for their sheep.

The Lord manifests His goodness and mercy in our lives, in different ways at different times. Sometimes, that goodness and mercy is revealed through others, like the kind people who took me into their cabin, when I was a helpless and lost four year old. 

Even when our faith weakens and we give up hope in moments of crisis, His goodness and mercy still follows us in the dark, wooded trials of our lives, assuring us that He is right there.

Paul wrote “The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) 

Paul was imprisoned when he wrote those words and didn’t know if he would be freed from prison or put to death, but one thing he knew for sure-that Jesus was with him. Jesus is also with us, following us all of our days, if we only look behind.

Lord, whatever we go through, help us to trust that you are always running behind us with goodness and mercy, all the days of our lives. 

Amen

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”

Isaiah 49:15-16 (NIV)

When Isaiah wrote this around 701 B.C., the Israelites were at a critical point in their history, of being taken captive by the brutal Assyrian Empire. All their hopes were shattered, but Isaiah, the prophet inspired by the Holy Spirit, stepped up to speak these memorable words to His people. God reassured them to keep hoping in Him, because His love for us is more enduring than the love of a mother. Then Isaiah said that the Lord has engraved His people in the palms of His hands. 

First, He compares His love to the tenderest of all images, a nursing mother. Then He says that He has engraved His people in the palms of His hands. These are images that emanate from the heart of God, in order to touch our hearts. The Lord wants His people, all who believe in Him, to know that He will never forget us because we are engraved in His hands.

To engrave, pierce or cut into one’s hand seems like a strange way to express love, but when we visualize engraved palms today, we can’t help but think of Jesus and the nails that engraved or pierced the palms of His hands. I wonder if the prophet Isaiah was prophetically hinting of the crucifixion of Jesus, 700 years before He ever entered the world.

An engraving also correlates to a covenant. People have wedding bands and lockets engraved to symbolize a covenant of love. God engraved His commandments into stone tablets, as a covenant between Him and His people, but He went a step further with the new covenant, which was also an engraving. Instead of engraving wedding bands or stone tablets, the engraving was in the body of His son. 

Jesus came to the world with a human body, in whom God could make that scripture in Isaiah, a tangible reality. With His human hands, Jesus touched, gave comfort to and expressed His love to others. He hugged, brought healing and in the end, gave those same hands up for us, which were engraved by nails on a cross.

The words in today’s scripture convey a tender image of God’s love for us, which is parental, unconditional, enduring, and transcending all of our human limitations and frailties. Love is best expressed through sacrifice, and Jesus became our sacrifice, by permanently engraving us in the palms of His hands as well as His feet, forever.

Scripture ironically says that Jesus endured the cross, for the joy that was set before Him. (Hebrews 12:2)

It gave Jesus joy, because He knew in advance of the faith, salvation and restoration of souls, that would result for centuries to come from His suffering on the cross.

The deep scars from His pierced hands and feet remained on His body after His resurrection. Jesus surely could have made His scars  disappear after His resurrection, but He chose to wear His scars forever. His engraved palms are a permanent memorial and visual reminder of the Father’s love for us, as presented in the words of His prophet, Isaiah. 

Since God loves us relentlessly, He never stops pursuing us in order to reconcile and restore as many people that will respond to Him. The engraved hands of Jesus still comfort and heal us today. It’s the greatest expression of God’s love and mercy, which surpasses any relationship of love that ever existed. 

There are times in every believer’s life, when God seems far away, especially during sorrow and grief. We may feel like we are under siege by problems and trials in our lives. Things will happen that cause us to look up and ask, “Lord, are you still there ?” 

That’s when Jesus answers us, and says, “Look at my hands and my feet, you are engraved there forever.”

Lord, thank you for the memorial scars of your love for us, that you bear in your hands and feet forever. Amen

“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14 ( NIV)

Esther was an orphaned teenager who lived in 5 B.C. in the Persian empire, which is modern day Iran. She changed history and became the heroine of a Jewish holiday, which is celebrated at this time every year, called Purim. 

Last week was a significant week related to the ancient story of Purim and current world events. 

Purim was on March 3rd, this year, and on that day, there was a full blood moon, a lunar eclipse, and headline world news focused on the war in Iran, the exact place where the Purim story originated. 

The signs in the heavens along with the events happening in Iran, remind people of faith that our redemption may be drawing near. We live in ominous times and we should pray not only for peace between nations, but for the peace of God to be in the hearts of people who are trying to survive in all war torn countries. 

Esther was an orphan, raised by her older cousin Mordecai, who was like an uncle to her. The king of Persia frequently re-staffed his harem with new women, and by no choice of her own, Esther was forced to become a member of his harem. Fate may lead people to places they never wanted to be, but scripture shows that if we pray for God’s will to be done, He uses people to bring about a greater good, which may not make sense until later.

Meanwhile, Esther found favor with the king and was promoted from a concubine to a Queen. Despite her new status as royalty, she had no power over the decisions the King made. As was typical in many cultures in history, Persian women were treated as possessions of men. According to Persian tradition, the Queen was not permitted to go before the King unless he first summons her. If she went unsummoned she could be killed.

Mordecai learned of a plot by a man named Haman to destroy the entire Jewish population living in the land. He urged Esther to go to the King and intercede to prevent the genocide of their people. 

Esther was afraid at first, but Mordecai gave her spiritual insight and courage, through inspiring words which have since been printed on T-shirts, mugs, posters and wall plaques. He told Esther that perhaps she has become Queen…

“for such a time as this.”

Esther fasted and prayed, then found the courage to go directly to the King, though not summoned. The King listened and granted her request, and the genocide plot was thwarted. What Esther did was counter cultural and unheard of at the time. She stepped out of her boundaries as a woman to speak up and save many lives. She discovered her first identity was as a daughter of God, which gave her the courage to break tradition and take action. 

As sons and daughters of God, we may be led to do what is counter cultural at times, in order to bring God’s mercy and justice to others. 

There is not one mention of God in the entire book of Esther, but His plan and Presence was evident, as He worked His will through the prayers and insight of Mordecai and Esther.

A theology professor once said, “Women are channels of God’s wisdom, created to give counsel to men and intercede for all.”

I can see this played out in scripture so many times, not only with Esther, but with Abigail who pleaded with David not to shed blood in a moment of anger, when his pride was injured. Deborah, the only female judge in Israelite history, offered spiritual counsel to kings and military generals who sought her advice before they went to war.  Mary Magdalene was the first one at the tomb, and the first eyewitness to see the resurrected Jesus. The apostles didn’t believe her, yet her spiritual maturity was beyond that of her male counterparts. (Mark 16:11)

God gives courage and wisdom to anyone who asks Him for it, whether male or female. Esther broke the mold as a daughter of God, taking action which saved her people from genocide, simply by being a Queen, 

“for such a time as this.”

Today, our King is Jesus, who always welcomes us to approach His throne of grace. Aware of our spiritual identity as sons and daughters of God, we pray, intercede and speak for people, finding courage to relieve the suffering of others, and asking God for justice and mercy for those who need it. 

Lord, help us live in the identity of being your sons and daughters, fulfilling your purpose and doing your will, wherever we are, for such a time as this. Amen