Does Anyone have a witness for the Lord?

In my Inductive Bible Study class this semester, we have talked about the effects of our witness to the power of the Resurrection in our lives. Thus, let's tell our stories to one another. My story is every man's story; let's make that every Christian's story.

At the age of 25, I discovered a simple fact; I had sinned, repeatedly and compulsively.

But I did not realize this until I had been introduced to Jesus by girlfriend (now wife) Angie. She never judged me but simply placed before me a mirror with two images, my own and that of Jesus. No comparison.

My surprise is that Jesus did not condemn me for who I was, He simply offered me the opportunity to be released from the pain and agony which was being carried by the man in the mirror, ME. But the journey to the cross was far from painless.

Many of you who have been in my classes know that I had a terrible time with drinking and drugs in my late teen and early twenties…yet I was instantly and radically "saved." Some of you who have experienced effects of such a lifestyle will know what I mean by "Freedom" from guilt…it was real and it was joyous. My addiction to cigarettes, drugs, and drinking was immediately removed. No withdrawal symptoms, just peace. Sins were forgiven and I began my journey of new life

This new-found joy of forgiveness permeated all that I did for months. There was not a person that I came into contact with that did not recognize a difference in me. Wondrous conversations happened on a daily basis.

Yet inwardly, there was still a battle which I could not come to grips with. I loved Jesus but I often lived like He did not even exist. Poor choices. I just did not look like Jesus, even though I loved Him. The more I came to understand who Jesus was, the more I realized that I was not like him.

▪For He seemed to delight in doing His Father's will and in serving others.

▪As for me, I did it out of "moral obligation" and the social expectations of the church Angie and I had just started to attend. It was not an act arising from an inward love. I asked myself the simple question, "I know I am doing different things than before I became a Christian…but am I really a different person, inside that is?"

I knew I was a better man with Jesus than without; I knew that I would be a better husband, and a better father…but I was hungry to really love as Jesus loved.

I was 25…. And I had three great passions in my life; the Lord, Angie, and one other passion; I lifted weights like a crazy man. Often 10x's per week, which means obviously some days two-a-day workouts. I was 5 foot 10 weighted 155, had a 31 inch waist and could easily bench press twice my weight. Image was everything to me, my image that is.

One night we were in bed, Angie was reading a book and I was reading, at the time my favorite magazine, Muscle and Fitness. It's one of those glossy magazines which tells you how to bulk up your biceps or how to six-pack your stomach. At that moment, I was looking much too studiously at the women in the magazine, who were not clothed with any degree of modesty. The women models in the magazine were showing off every hard-body curve. And they caught my attention. I distinctly remember turning to Angie and saying, "If you worked out with the same level of intensity that I put into it, You can look just like one of these ladies!" To this day, I am uncertain what Angie's reply was, for God's presence overwhelmed me in a manner He had not done previously, or since.

He said clearly,

"There is far more to your wife than something that will meet your needs, or wants or your desires. Will you treat her as one of those two-dimensional work-out ladies or will you strive to assist her in cultivating the unique irreplaceable image which I have stamped on her heart? Will you see her, care for her and love her as I do?"

I knew that this was a defining moment not only in my relationship with Angie but with God Himself. Would I fully obey Him…would I, could I fully love her, as He does?

Angie will tell you that one of the most significant moments in our marriage was the resulting conversation we had over Ephesians 5:25-28, a passage I had been intensively studying

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

I could not love her in that manner on my own. I am convinced that I would have died for her…that is to protect her from others…but was I willing to die to protect her from my own selfish wants, needs, and desires. What was I willing to do when I realized I was her husband, her lover, yet I was caring for her so selfishly?

My divine moment came as God brought to bear His voice, the priceless image of God in my wife, and the call to complete obedience to His Word, simultaneously. At that very moment, God changed my heart; I saw Angie as a gift that God has entrusted into my care, for His pleasure as well as for my own.

Colossians 3:1-10 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. ⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

So, what did I do? I put down the magazine, begged Angie for forgiveness, turned out the light, and had the best night sleep of my life. From that point forward, I loved Angie more than I ever had before; not with my love but with His. The next day I wrote out a letter to the publisher of Muscle and Fitness canceling my subscription.

Angie, I love…but I realized at that moment that she simply rolls weights to get them out of her way, never lifting one for exercise. And I rejoiced, for I no longer saw her with any need to change…she did not have to look or act in any way other than the woman God made her to be.

I stated at the beginning that my story is everyone's story. Almost all of us have encountered God in a significant way. But my desire is never to return to the man I was...I want to love her, I want to love my children, I want to love each of you far beyond my own capacity, so that we all may have our image of God fully restored…How can I love with that level of continued passion?

John Wesley, in his writings, makes a direct connection between love and obedience. He says,

You cannot say you genuinely love God unless you obey him…neither can you genuinely obey God if you do not love him.

For the first time in my life I realized that there was joy in obedience. It was not drudgery…it was not work…it was not accomplished by the sheer force of human determination. Rather, it was a simple response to the love He had placed in my heart.

Epiphany

A “Go with God” moment

 

Epiphany. That is the time of the Church calendar that we are currently celebrating. Epiphany (comes from Greek epiphaneia) which means “appearance” or “make known.” It’s the time period, post-Christmas, when we focus upon the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. This sacred time will continue until we meet Lent on Ash Wednesday (Feb 17^th).

Practically speaking, it is also the time of year as the days get longer and the darkness of night begins to recess. Simply, the light shines in the darkness with more regularity. So, at this time of the semester, how do we take advantage of just such as intersection of the sacred calendar with our own practical search for spiritual truth. Can you say, Spring Summit? This is when we intentionally schedule to see the manifestation of God in our often over-busy lives. Obviously , God showing up can never be forced…but I sincerely believe He can be prepared for. How???

·         When we take time to visit the manger like the travel-weary magi (Matt 2). What did they sacrifice to come to the Christ-child?

·         When in awesome wonder, we listen to the angelic chorus singing to the shepherds (Luke 2).

·         When we, alongside of Mary, “ponder” the revelation of Jesus and treasure them in our hearts (Luke 1 & 2).

·         When we cease the truth of the battle tested Son of God who overcomes temptations in the wilderness (Mark 1, Matt 4, Luke 4). His victory makes way for yours.

·         When we drink deeply at the fountain of Jesus’ first sermon of Jesus in Nazareth. Read, if you will Luke 4:19-19 to hear Jesus’ life verses.

 

I could go on and on about the opening chapters of the Gospels. But let me simply list a few common sense thoughts about finding the Light of the World this week:

1.       Go to the place where you expect to meet Him. Yes, I know that God is everywhere. But there are times and places where He makes Himself known more profoundly (Epiphany). The week it will be in the Chapel.

2.       Have patience. Simeon and Anna waited at the Temple for years to simply catch a glimpse of the Messiah (Luke 2). How long will you wait? Must He come Monday, or will you wait 1-2-3 days?

3.       Make time for God to “invade” your life and personal world. Do you desire (demand?) an instant spiritual high or would you allow Him to begin a steady transformation in your heart? Will you allow your reshaping to be done on His timetable? Will you allow it to include struggle and self-denial? Are you willing to pay the price.

4.       Say “Yes” to His Revelation, in advance of your knowledge of His Revelation. (Please re-read that sentence). Our natural inclination is to listen for His voice…and then decide if we like what we hear. That practice my friends is un-faithfullness at its most subtle core. Instead, make a decision right now (and I do mean now) that the discovery of God’s will and your obedience is the most wonderful adventure you could ever imagine. Simply say, “Yes” and I promise you that God’s voice will be clearer this week than it ever has been in your entire life.

 

During this Epiphany Summit, walk into Chapel uttering this prayer,

Lord,

At this holy hour

I come to this sacred place

I will seek You with all I have

I will tarry for as long as necessary

To be molded into Your Image

First, make known to me Yourself

Then, Your will for me

I say Yes to You, even before I know.

Amen  

 

Now, Go with God

Keep Your Degree in a Global Perspective

A Go with God Moment;

 

I recently received a letter from the Chancellor of Durham University (my alma mater; and Dr. Schenck’s as well). In it he helped me put what we do here at IWU in a global perspective. He referred to a Stanford University study where the entire earth was reduced to the imagery of a village of 100 people, but the study keeps the numbers in correct proportions. In this village,

80 percent would be very poor;

70 would be illiterate,

50 would be chronically malnourished.

6 people would control 66 percent of the wealth.

The part that hit home with me was that in this village, only 1 person would hold a university degree.

 

Some of you will receive your diplomas in less than two weeks. I know you have thought often about all the hard work you have invested in earning your degree. BUT, have you thought about the global responsibility of what you will receive? Yes, I know that here in the United States your degree has a certain value for an earning potential.

 

But would you please see yourself as part of our global community. And with such a vision, let me ask just a few probing questions.

·         What actions or what decisions would you make if you were the only one in town who had a University degree?

·         What if only you had the knowledge and the skills with assist this village to provide for its own economy and for its spiritual awakening?

What if someone asked for your help? Like the person who placed you here at IWU; like the person who placed you here in the US, like the person who placed you with your family. You know I talking about the Lord. He has enabled and empowered you from the day of your first breath. What if you were the only person available? Would you say, “Yes.”

 

And with this being Advent season, let’s keep in mind that when Jesus was the only one in the village who could come and teach us; He came. If we know, “What would Jesus do”…what about us?

 

Lord.
May we find our stories to wondrously intersect with Your grander story.
May we find the Advent season to be the incarnation of God’s Story.
May we see Jesus’ story as the place where God’s new exodus begins;
May He start with us.
Amen.

 

Now, Go with God

 

There are many joys I have being the associate dean of the School of Theology and Ministry but nothing compares to announcing the names of students that have been awarded scholarships. This year, the recipients of the Williams Scholarship to Israel are:

1.      Tyler Klein

2.      Kearsten Karrick

3.      Kelly Jones

4.      Andrea Fetterhoff

If you see them, congratulate them. They will be traveling with Dr. Williams to Israel this spring break or during early May. Even more so, let’s give thanks to the people who make this and all the other scholarships possible. Their sacrifice is our gain. For many students, it is the only way they can afford an IWU education. Ultimately, thanks be to God!

RE: Can You Say,"Liturgy?" Part 2

Last week I proposed to you a new (maybe more accurately, a novel) definition of the term “liturgy.” A Christian liturgy is a communal sacred activity whereby the participants are shaped and formed in godliness. Now, this could take pages to unpack, but allow me to simply state a few of my presuppositions.

Let me remind you of the  three main ingredients to this definition. First, my definition of liturgy begins with the adjective, “Christian” as a principal modifier. Everything we do (or may I now add, refrain from doing) shapes our lives and our loves. Do your choices have a distinctively “Christian” flavor to them? Second, I do not see sacred liturgy is not a private act but as a communal one. Liturgically speaking, our lives are most highly impacted as we touch one another, collide into one another, and graciously offer care for one another’s well-being (see 1 John 1:7 for a wonderful one verse homily of corporate Christianity). Third, the most obvious given is that liturgies shape and form us, the participants.

 

Let me give you an example. This weekend, the Society of Biblical Literature is holding its annual meetings, where thousands of Bible scholars throughout the world converge in one location. Our overt task is to present papers and to work in hundreds of forums to learn more about Jesus. But a secondary agenda is to network with one another, exchange ideas (and a few resumes), and to fellowship over meals and coffee. There is a true sense of “liturgy” about this event; some Christian some not so Christian. First, the Christian. In a standing room only worship service Sunday Morning, Daniel Block (OT scholar at Wheaton College) reminded us all of what it means to revere and personally honor the name of the Lord. Powerfully, we were charged not only to be teachers of the Biblical word but to profoundly live out the Word before the community were are entrusted to live among. He closed with the following passage:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:16-17 NIV).

Now, the non-Christian aspect of liturgy. At some presentations, biblical scholars are simply jerks. Their presentation style can be self-inflating and condescending to opposing views. Often, some folks sit in the audience, typing away on their computer to the neglect of the presenter and to the detriment of the surrounding audience. The worst example was during a paper being delivered by our own Bart Bruehler. Someone in the back of the room answered a cell call and continued in conversation until what I would call a “presentation bouncer” tossed him out. Thus, the way we operate in a liturgical setting is certainly a demonstration of the shaping which the Holy Spirit has accomplished in our lives.

So, may I ask you a parallel personal question? In a liturgical situation which we may call a classroom, “Are you letting Jesus shine?” Do you Facebook while your professor presents? Do you practice actions which sanctify or de-consecrate the classroom? In chapel, are the people around you being detracted from worship because of the light on your phone during texting? Or may I ask you to risk all for the Kingdom and actually act like a “bouncer” and asking someone not to hinder the “liturgical moment” and stop texting!

Lord,

In a moment when You are speaking to us or thru us

May the liturgical moment we cooperate within be another wonderful means of grace

May the sacred time, the sacred place, and the sanctifying effect of your corporate body reveal Your Glory on earth.

May our humanity and our shortcomings not quench the Spirit of Christ.

Amen

 

Now, Go with God

 

PS.

Almost all the Bible Department at Indiana Wesleyan University is here at the SBL conference. You would be so proud. Dr. Ken Schenck presided at one session and will present a paper at another. Dr. Steve Lennox presented at a Psalms session. Dr. Bart Bruehler will present two papers this weekend. An IWU alumni Alicia Myers (PhD student @ Baylor doing her dissertation on the Gospel of John). 

 

Can You Say,"Liturgy?"

When I say the word, “Liturgy” what comes to your mind? Maybe you envision a service in an Episcopal or Catholic Church where you see yourself participating in a service passively (i.e., being lead by an ordained clergy thru written prayers) rather than actively engaging in worship, such as in Chapel at IWU.

But could I give you a different perspective on the “liturgies” so you may see them in a whole new light. My definition of liturgy would be this: a Christian liturgy is a communal sacred activity whereby the participants are shaped and formed in godliness. Now, this could take pages to unpack, but allow me to simply state a few of my presuppositions.

 

First, I begin my definition of liturgy with the adjective, “Christian” as a principal modifier. There are all kinds of liturgies that we are involved in that alter our life and loves. Some are more overt Christian (Chapel MWF) others are more subtly secular (watching 8 hours of NFL football on Sunday). Notice in Romans 12:1-2 Paul writes,

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

 

Paul talks about our lives being affected in one of two ways, conformed (by the liturgical practices) of this world or transformed (by the Christian liturgies) which leads to the renewal of your mind. Thus, I would argue that there are practices in your life that serve as liturgies for your good or for your ill. (More on this later.)

 

Second, I do not see sacred liturgy is not a private act but as a communal one. Yes, you can recite the Apostles’ Creed alone or pray in isolation or even sing a hymn privately. But I would see these privatized acts as more devotional in aspect. Spiritual formation certainly, but it may be limited in its affective value because it does not place you in a setting where you are making a public declaration of your faith. Moreover, praying the Lord’s Prayer is liturgical in its origin. Listen to the pronouns, “Our Father who is in heaven...give us this day our daily bread…forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…lead us not into temptation…but deliver us from evil.” All the pronouns are plural. So, as we pray this prayer with sincerity it assumes a public audience whereby we offer forgiveness in order to receive it. Thus, liturgy can be an authentic public confession of forgiveness shaping us together into the Body of Christ or an announcement of a refusal to listen to the Sprit of Christ begging you to release the hurt of past sins done against you. A privatized faith would rob the Body of Christ of the corporate formation it could give. 

Third, liturgies can and do deeply shape and form the participants. Yes, I am certain that listening to a sermon on your iPod “informs” your mind and makes for sound cognitive growth. But when I speak of liturgy, I am leaning more towards its affective value upon a person holistically. As we experience well thought out liturgies, they do much more than “inform” our mind but wondrously “form” our hearts and ultimately “transform” our loves to adopt those of our Trinitarian Lord. 

So maybe I will ask the question this way. What liturgies play a shaping role in your life today? Here is the hard question which we will ponder further next week; as the liturgies that shape your life and loves the most, Christian or secular?

[To help with this soul-searching, I encourage you to delve into Dr. James K. A. Smith’s lecture in the PPAC @ 4pm Thursday Nov 19^th for this semester’s Athens and Jerusalem Seminar lecture. Plus Dr. Jamie Smith will be speaking in the Thursday evening Chapel. His new book entitled Desiring the Kingdom explores the topic of how liturgy informs all that we do and love.]

 

Now, Go with God

 

I Declare this "Praise Week"

A Go with God moment.

I declare this Praise Week for the School of Theology and Ministry.

Now, in honor of such a declaration, a word study on “praise” would be a wonderful endeavor. But rather than showing myself to be a Greek or Hebrew geek, can I list just a few verses that have struck me this week from Psalm 22. You know, the Psalm that Jesus quotes from the cross as His own death approaches.

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?

Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In the midst of what appears as life at its worst; Jesus teaches us that praise should resound from our lips since it is the very place within which the Lord resides. Read the rest of Psalm 22 and you will discover that this tragic story is utterly transformed into a cacophony of praise. Psalm 22:22-24 reads like a completely different story

I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.

You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

May I say simply, “Appearances can be deceiving.” Life may look dim and dark when you can only see thru your physical eyes. Moreover, you probably are missing a large part of the overall story if your trust only what you can see. We need to develop “eyes of faith” and a life of perseverance. For example, throughout the Gospels Jesus taught that His death was only the prologue to Easter and His resurrection. Thus, Jesus’ words from the cross should not be reduced to a faithless cry of dereliction but they are the prophetic announcement of God’s ultimate victory for us all. He is proclaiming Praise to all the world with His last breath. 

 

So, as a School of Theology and Ministry, I declare this as Praise Week. I want you to tell others your words of praise for who the Lord is and what He is doing for you. I’ll start. Below is part of an email I sent to “Umf” Jim Lo last Thursday morning. He asked me if I was doing alright; because he know I was struggling:

Yes, there seems to been a real heaviness on me these days. I have suffered from severe headaches for the last 10 days. So much so that for the first time in 10 years I stayed home on Monday and dismissed my class. But even that did not seem to help. It only prolonged an already painful weekend into a blue Monday. But Wednesday afternoon Jennie Telfer and Michele Perry (Wed chapel speaker) stopped by my office and the three of us talked for quite a while. It was a deep and significant conversation on many levels. As they prepared to leave, they asked how they could pray for me. So I told them specifically about my headaches and my inability to shake them. Then they prayed. It was a wonderful and beautiful time with the Lord. Since then my pain is gone. PTL. But the best part is that I can now think more clearly than I have in quite some time. And to use a strange metaphor, “Finally, I have been able to breathe again” and God seems to be filling my lungs with His breath.

 

Now, here is my assignment to each of you.

1.      Tell your praise to someone else. Do not keep it to yourself. Let’s make a contagious effort where declare that God is “enthroned on the praises of His people.”

2.      Send a brief note of praise to Melissa.Fipps@IndWes.edu and she will begin to have them scrolling on our computer screens in the CM Building so your prase can touch our entire school. Do not hesitate but pass the word, “Praise” is our marching orders this week. 

 

Now I will start.

Praise # 1: Just this weekend I heard a wonderful praise. It came from two former IWU students, Daniel and Stephenie (Beutler) Freemyer (both ’06 grads). Daniel went on to Duke Divinity school (MDiv ’09). They just paid off their entire grad school bill this week. They have made huge personal sacrifices to see this become a reality in their lives. I Praise the Lord for how the Lord will use them even more profoundly in ministry because of being debt-free.

 

Lord,

Allow us to realize that momentary hardships are merely precursers to lives of praise.

Give us eyes to conceive of Your Kindgom,

Eyes to perceive Your Glory,

Most of all, may we have voices to reveal praises in Your Name.

Amen

 

I usually end with the words, “Go with God.”

Not today, I ask you to go to your computer and send a note of praise; student, alumni, or merely a reader of this note; “let’s just praise the Lord.”

Can You Say, "Means of Grace"?

A Go with God moment.

So, you know I’m a bit obsessed with keeping people close to Christ. Sorry, it’s one of my many flaws. And my other shortcoming is that if someone finds following Christ to be not-worth-the-effort, I sincerely want them to at least ponder staying with Him for just a while longer. And both groups can accomplish this by utilizing the same practice. But you might say, “Since these two groups of people (let’s call you either a faith-seeker or a faith-decliner) are traveling in such different directions, how can the same practice accomplish similar results?

How about an answer in narrative form? While I was in seminary I heard the most wonderful personal story from one of my professors. He was tenured (which means you have a job-for-life) but gave it up to go back into the local church to serve a struggling congregation just outside of Washington D.C. He preached faithfully and loved his people, but the church never seemed to grow. As a matter of fact, the move from a small city in Kentucky to the huge metropolitan area of D.C. actually created a series of almost insurmountable family catastrophes. Slowly but surely my friend/professor began to perceive Jesus differently. He was still real, but rather than powerful and active, He seemed distant and uncaring. My friend did not come to this realization overnight, but it was a slow and almost imperceptible change. Until one day, he decided there was no value in investing time in prayer; because nothing he prayed for came into being. God was there, He just did not seem to care about his family or the church he was serving.

This newly formed vision of the divine frightened my friend. He knew if he did not take some kind of action, his chilling relationship with the Lord may someday turn Ice Cold. He needed to put himself into a river that would give hope that a life of faith would return. He knew that the way to God was to practice what Wesleyan’s call the “Means of Grace.” The means of grace are simply those practices where God shows up in a tangible way with the participants. For him, prayer was the key means he would employ. Yet, he knew he did not have the personal faith to utter sacred vocabulary to reach the heavens. So, he simply rubbed his fingers across the text of the Psalms each day; reading aloud the same words that functioned as the prayer book of Israel and the hymnal of Jesus. He rubbed and recited the prayers of David until the ink began to fade from the page. He knew that walking away from the Lord was more frightening than striving with a silent Savior. So he waited, he rubbed, he prayed.

Friends, practicing the Means of Grace is simply working within the ocean currents of faith-seeking. It’s not demanding a sign or forcing a divine ultimatum. Rather, it’s being honest with oneself that I do not have all the answers or maybe I’m not even asking the right questions. So, I’ll wait like so many faith-seekers before me.

I’ll pray - even is its someone else’s prayers.

I’ll read scripture - even if today, it they seem like mere human words.

I’ll attend church - even if the singing is poor and the sermon is dry.

I’ll take Communion - even if the bread is flavorless and the wine tastes sour.

I’ll wait, for maybe in the midst of this means God’s grace will once again speak into my world.

Waiting on God is not passive, but an active endeavor. So, why not rub your fingers across the screen…Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you-- the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

And what about my friend? He is indeed fully restored. He teaches once again, with a fully-orbed grace that is contagious. He is much deeper in character, more tender-in-heart, much quicker to laugh and tears up even in the midst of class. He is strikingly Christ-like. He is sold on the Means of Grace.

What about you? Any takers for the Means of Grace?

Please Lord,

We long to be like you…but are fearful of the process.

We are afraid of tarrying in silence…but know that the still small voice is hard to hear.

We know that the “fellowship of suffering” is Your call upon us…but we are taught to avoid pain. Teach us anew.

Grace us with the Means to become just like You.

Amen

Now, Go with God.