Hope is a Person

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.” Romans 15:13

One of my favorite things about Christmas is seeing all the lights…a reminder that the Light of the world is among us.

This week for the first time in 800 years, the Christmas star (actually 2 planets), as seen by the Wise Men, was out on display for the world to see. It was beautiful! Just like it is in paintings trumpeting as David proclaimed in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God”! A light in the darkness, shouting joy, peace, and goodwill towards men! A glimmer of hope in the dark of the world. Amazing!

God is a God of hope and He will remind us of His presence with us.

He speaks in a variety of ways, through stars, through lights, and even Christmas ornaments. My favorite ornaments have a reserved seat front and center on my Christmas tree. The lights reflect off the ornaments, as a reminder of His glory. These special VIP ornaments are comprised of baby pictures, wedding ornaments, and a beautiful pure white cross boldly proclaiming the word “Hope”.

This Christmas in particular, the cross displaying the word hope needed to be in the center, and it is what I see every time I look at the tree…focusing on truth, the truth of hope reflected by His light.

Romans 15:13 is a verse that has been a steady reminder that God is a God of hope, with a promise of joy and peace as I trust in Him. The problem is I don’t always trust in Him. And when I don’t, hope fades along with the joy and peace promised.

How do we, as believers, after all we are “believers”, believe? How do we trust and believe that God is who He says He is and He is trustworthy?

Hope takes faith. Loss is all around us and in our homes in close heart wrenching ways. If you personally are not grieving, most likely, someone you know is grieving in some way.

Holidays stir up all kinds of emotions. For many, family dynamics or lack of family are a cause of disillusionment. And this year, many cannot be with family for reasons that seem altogether unfair.

I want to, as your friend, encourage you to allow yourself to grieve. Take a breath. Sit. Inhale and recognize and acknowledge your pain. Then, I want to ask you to go one more step in faith. Faith steps toward hope. Look to your side. See you are not alone. Hope is a Person. And Hope sits with you. Look at the Person of Hope and tell Him your pain and then trust Him with it. Exhale as you give Him your pain in faith and trust. Now look to your other side. Someone else is hurting. Someone else is suffering the same. Step in faith toward that person, bringing Hope as a carrier of the presence of Christ, His light to others.  

He is in you…the God of hope.

Hope is a Person, who came in the form of a baby as a Savior to the lost, hurting, and broken. He is the Light in the darkness and He is found in us, and with us. He is right with us, more bright and more beautiful than the star, and not millions of miles away. Right here…Immanuel.  Jesus, we need you. God of hope, come and fill us will all joy and peace as we trust in you. In Your precious and glorious name Jesus, we pray. Amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS BELOVED!!!

I Hate My Story

 

 

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11

Father, thank you that you have made all things beautiful in its time.  Lord, I pray for those coming to the retreat this weekend.  I pray they would forgive all that needs forgiving.  Lord, I pray for you to make beautiful the things they hate about their stories.  I pray for you to renew and restore sevenfold all things that have been stolen from them.  Make all things beautiful and set eternity in their hearts.  You know the end of the story and it is glorious.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Tears flooded my eyes.  My emotions were at war.  One fighting to save face, the other fighting to release the pain pent up inside.  Pain won over pride.   I was at a large national pro-life conference.  The beauty of speaker’s heart radiated outward.  At the age of seventy-five, she had lived a long life for the Lord full of courage, overflowing joy, tremendous heartache, and overwhelming victories.  She shared of a woman she knew who was considering abortion but choose life and how her now twenty-year-old child grew to be a lovely person on fire for the Lord—the child she considered aborting.

Although I have had much healing, these stories still stir up pain.  How I wished I had my twenty-something year old here on this earth to cherish and hold and tell her how much I love her.  How I long to embrace my daughter in heaven and be the mother I should have been to her.  As this beautiful story of victory rang in my ears and tears invaded my eyes, words I have often thought rose up capturing my attention…

I hate my story. 

I have told the Lord this before.  He is well aware.  This day he reminded me of this place in my heart and His plan of redemption for it.

As if hearing the story at the conference of someone making a good choice wasn’t enough to get my attention, the Lord then gave me a word.  This beautiful 75-year-old lady had words she had written down for us.  She had prayed over these words and believed the Lord would use these words to speak to us.  One by one we went up to receive our words.

Three other Deeper Still team members were present and went up to receive their words as well.  Afterwards, filled with expectation, we opened our words to share with each other.  Their words were wonderful!

Unique.  Inspirational.  Abundance.

What great words!  Then I opened mine.

Forgive.

What?  What does that mean?  I searched my heart.  Do I need to forgive someone?  No one was coming to mind.  I didn’t like my word.

Again the Lord reminded of my thoughts.

“I hate my story”.

Forgive.  But Lord I have forgiven myself.

Forgive Me.

But Lord we’ve been through all this before.  First of all, you are God, there is nothing to forgive.  This was my choice.  I use to wonder why you didn’t intervene, but now I see you tried but my mind was made up.  You won’t interfere with free will.  So there is nothing to forgive you for.

Inwardly struggling, I ask the Lord for clarification.

It came.

Forgive Me.  Completely forgive me.  Trust me fully. There is a part of you who still questions my goodness because You question my faithfulness.  You question if my plan for you is always and completely good.  Do you trust the Author?  Do you trust Me to make all things beautiful in its time?  I am flawless.  I am good.  I am never failing.  I never make mistakes.  But if you think I made a mistake in the past, it will cause you to question my goodness.  You will question my faithfulness.  You will doubt in my provision.  This is why the word Forgive.  This is why.  My beloved daughter, I need you to trust me.  Trust me in the process.  Trust in my timing. Trust me to do above and beyond anything you can ask, think or imagine.  Trust that the story I am writing has an ending full of glory. 

The best stories never stop in the middle.  If you were to stop some of the classic best stories of all time in the middle, those stories would no longer be classics. Instead, their destination would be the thrift store in VHS form collecting dust (and if you don’t know what a VHS is, that is exactly my point).

I am asking the Lord to help me fall in love with my story because although the ending hasn’t been revealed, I know the ending is epic because I know the Author and He is an excellent Author.

The same is true for you.  Perhaps like me, you have thought how you wished your story was different.  That is ok.  Regret is not bad when it leads us to the Cross of repentance and the nail pierced feet of Jesus Christ.  But He is the great redeemer.  He turns our mess into our message.  He turns all things the enemy meant for evil and uses them for good.  Will you believe with me today that the best is coming, that the end of the story is glorious?  We don’t want to close this book before we finish.  We need to finish to reach the best part of the story.  Keep walking with Him my friend, trusting in the Author.  The best is yet to come.  Lord help us fall in love with the Author and the story knowing the story He is writing is amazing.

When Jesus Shows Up

“You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in his name.  He is your praise, and He is your God who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.” Deuteronomy 10:20-21

Father, again we give You all praise, glory and honor due Your Name! We may never fully understand the vastness of Your holiness, power and authority.  We give you honor and acknowledge that we are just small vessels, and we are humbled that You would give us the opportunity to partner with you in advancing Your Kingdom and setting Your people free.  Your power and might are incomprehensible and we are in awe of Your majesty.  We praise You for all You are and all You do!  We love you!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Deeper Still Summer Retreat 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee, will be remembered as one epic retreat.  It was off the charts amazing as the Lord showed up and showed off big time in changing the hearts and lives of those attending.

 

It is difficult to express in words the power and glory of the Lord that was experienced by the team members and the participants who attended that weekend.  One of our team members, Alaina Wingo, wrote of her experience: 

“I never was able to understand what it meant to fear the LORD until one day He gave me an image which helped me understand a bit more. I saw a picture of myself in a small boat in the middle of an ocean. The sea was placid with no land in sight. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a massive whale breached the water with his tail towering next to me. Though his tail alone was so much bigger than the boat, there was no damage to me or the boat.  I was filled with AWE and FEAR. To witness such an amazing sight was humbling and incredible and could have brought me to tears.  A feeling of terror approached me while marveling at the power and size of this great beast.

Our GOD out scales any whale, incomparably so. We cannot comprehend His greatness. My fear of the Lord is out of utter reverence for our POWERFUL GOD.  Just a glimpse and I am in awe. And that is how this retreat felt in some ways. There always seem to be problems before a retreat and often during. However, when Jesus shows up, all confusion falls away and fear dissipates to its appropriate place–.in the Lord alone.

Unprecedented things happened during the retreat. And yet I feel like we haven’t seen anything. There’s always more. I am truly humbled that God can take a group of imperfect people looking to serve and be healed and do such big things. We built the altar and He lit it on fire.”

~Alaina Wingo, Deeper Still Team Member, Knoxville, TN

The Mission is Too Great

 

 

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  Ephesians 4:1-3

 

Father, as Deeper Still grows, we ask for unity in the teams.  We ask for the leaders of the teams and the team members to understand the power of unity and understand the importance of fighting to keep the unity of the Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Unity doesn’t just happen.  If it did, Paul wouldn’t have had to write Ephesians 4:1-3.  When he says, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace“, there is an understanding that acquiring and maintaining unity must be intentional.

How many churches have split over minute issues?  How many divisions have there been in ministry over mishaps?  The power of unity is to be sought for and fought for.

Earlier this year, I had a misunderstanding with a friend who served with me in another ministry and offense entered.  It wasn’t my intention to offend, but offense does not care if it was invited, it will just come and try to crash any Kingdom party.

Knowing I had offended my friend, I asked for her forgiveness.  She admitted she had been offended and forgave me easily.  The Lord had already begun speaking to her about the offense and revealed to her I did not intend harm.  Prayer had been the catalyst to all this misunderstanding being resolved and all was well.  We were able to easily move forward in serving together with unity.  It was a beautiful resolution and we both grew in the process.

Later on, another friend we served with in this ministry asked me about the situation and how we were able to resolve it so quickly and move forward.  I answered her, “The mission is too great.  The mission is greater than any small differences or misunderstandings.  We cannot afford to be offended and lose unity when there is a mission as great as the Kingdom of God.”  There were ladies who needed to be loved on.  They needed to hear about freedom in Christ.  Disunity would have hindered the work of the Lord and that just wasn’t acceptable.

The mission is too great. 

 

What if we applied this mantra to other areas of our lives?  Our marriages?  Relationships with our children? Relationships with others in our church family?  The power of unity is vital.  There is no limit to what the Lord will do with a team that is unified.  Friends, the mission is too great.  Let’s endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

加油 Add Oil

“’Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.’ Then he said to her ‘Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels, do not gather just a few.  And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels and set aside the full ones.’” 2 Kings 4:2b-4

Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit and anointing.  Lord, we recognize our need for you.  Father, we pray for our Chinese sisters who are having their first retreat next weekend.  Lord, will you add your oil (anointing) and pour out Your Spirit on them and those attending. Do above and beyond anything they could ask, think or imagine.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

One of my Chinese friends would say the phrase “Add Oil” often while ministering together.   This phrase intrigued me and I loved it!  After looking it up, I found the phrase was a common Chinese expression of encouragement.  The phrase in English would read, “jiā yóu”. 

After being with my friend Joy from China who said this, I was writing and frankly felt a bit rusty.  I was texting a friend asking her to pray since I “felt rusty” and without thinking said, “I think I need to add some oil,”  referring to feeling rusty.  Then I laughed out loud at what I just typed.  Add oil.  Yes!  I need to add oil! 

In ministry, we need the Holy Spirit.  Without His oil, we will be like a rusty hinge making only noise. 

We have to add His oil to everything we do.  We need His oil.  And we need to be full vessels in order to be able to pour out the oil inside of us to others. 

The lady in the passage mentioned above in 2 Kings 4 had nothing but a jar of oil.  She told the man of God, “I have nothing… but a jar of oil.” 

 

You may feel today like you have nothing.  You may feel ill-equipped and like you have nothing to offer.  But if you have the Holy Spirit inside of you as a believer, you have oil.  And the Lord wants you to use the oil you have to pour out into the vessels around you—and not just a few.  Add oil to others.  Encourage others.  You never have nothing to offer.  And if you need more oil yourself, ask the Lord and He will pour out His Spirit and fill you with more so that you can pour out into other vessels. It is the Lord’s desire to “add oil” to all His beloved.

Please Talk About This

“Mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.”  Jude 1:2

Father in Heaven, Lord, we ask for You to multiply the mercy, peace and love of Deeper Still.  We ask for you to expand Deeper Still.  We ask for You to multiply healing of those wounded from abortion to across the nation and the world.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Sobs interrupted by gasps of air filled the car. 

We had just left a fundraising event for a local crisis pregnancy center.  The guest speaker was Pam Tebow.  The crowd listened intently as she shared her powerful testimony.  The doctors had encouraged her to abort her son due to health reasons.  She chose life.  As a result, Tim Tebow was born.  Tim Tebow is the famous football player once known for writing scripture under his eyes and his bold kneel for Christ. 

I left the event broken and desperate.  Sobbing all the way home in the car, I thought about the girl I had aborted that never had a chance to breathe her first breath of air.  That night I wondered the “what ifs” and the “what ifs” broke me. 

God had been leading me on a journey of healing my abortion wounded heart for the past 20 years and I have to admit, up until that night I thought I was fine.  I didn’t see the need to go any deeper.  I thought, “I’m good right where I am.”

However, that night my heart whispered more.  God spoke to me during the event and said, “It is time.  It is time to go deeper.”

Three weeks after that event, He led me to the Deeper Still ministry through a friend and I attended the Deeper Still Ministry training two months later.  God led me deeper and drastically changed my life.

A friend recently told me she was hesitant to share her abortion story at her Bible study group because she was concerned there were women there who were post-abortive and that it may cause them pain to hear the topic of abortion.  Our churches remain silent on the issue of abortion for many reasons, but I believe this is also one of the reasons pastors tend to shrink back from this topic.

Can I just say something about this reason for not talking about abortion?  We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when sharing about any topic, but perhaps hushing is hindering the Holy Spirit from doing a much needed work in people who need to hear the hard stuff.  God uses the hard to stir up in us a discontentment for the status quo and open our eyes to our need for Him to heal.  It is easy to ignore the pain when it has been numbed and dormant.

For true healing to occur, a person has to realize their need for a Doctor.  The pain surfacing awakens our need.  Then as Christine Caine has said, “We must embrace the pain of recovery.”

In any surgery, there is pain involved.  We can ignore the issues and pretend they aren’t there and deceive ourselves into believing they will just go away or we can let the Surgeon do His surgery and embrace the pain of recovery.  After the surgery and recovery are over, we can be healthy and whole!  But, we have to know we need surgery and be willing to undergo the hard in order to be healed.

When churches, pastors and leaders decide to not talk about abortion because it might “upset someone” or because “It is a sensative issue”, they are denying that there is an infection in the body of Christ.  If Pam Tebow wouldn’t have talked about abortion that night, I wouldn’t have seen my need for deeper healing.  It is only when we are faced with our pain, that we realize how much we need the Surgeon.

The pain of recovery is temporal.  The pain of denial is infinite.

If you are a church pastor or leader, please talk about this issue.  Please let your people know there is healing and freedom.  In doing so, you are multiplying the healing of His wounded.  God is a God of mercy, peace and love.

God is multiplying His mercy, peace and love.  Thank you for joining us in prayer as He multiplies His Kingdom.

Shift in the Atmosphere

“Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.’  He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision.  Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure.”  Psalms 2:1-6

Oh Lord, You see the vain plotting of those in the world who do not understand You.  Father, they are deceived and do not know what they do.  At one time, we may have even joined in their depraved chorus.  Lord, open the eyes of those cloaked in deception.  Father, may they see the truth to avoid Your judgement. May their words be turned from bringing death to speaking life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I recently read an article in a popular teen magazine that brought tears.  Not tears of joy or even sadness, but tears of pain.  My heart ached for the one who wrote the article and for those who would join in applauding her exposé. 

In the article, the writer gave advice to friends of teens who are about to have an abortion or just had an abortion.  Her ideas for comfort included a variety of superficial gifts that boasted to aid the physical ailments after her “procedure.”  What this author disturbingly missed and what so many in the world fail to accept is that no amount of physical effort can comfort the pain of the heart ripped in pieces from this “surgical procedure.”  As women, we were called to bring forth life, not destroy it.  Everything about abortion goes against nature.  It goes against our natural instinct to protect and nurture the life inside our womb.  However, pro-abortion groups constantly insist there are no emotional, mental or spiritual ramifications for abortion—only a medical procedure. 

In fact these groups would have us believe that not only is it no big deal, it is also the new normal.  The depravity astounds and defies sanity.  I wrote a post on how one in three or four women in our churches have had an abortion.  My reason for this post was to bring awareness that there are 1 in 3 or 4 women in our churches who have abortion-wounded hearts and need healing.  About a month ago, I read an article from a pro-abortion group that also brought up this statistic but not for the purpose of bringing awareness of healing.  Rather the goal was to show that abortion is normal.  The very thought makes this heart cringe in pain.  To think of destroying the life of the unborn as normal is barbaric and should not be considered a viable viewpoint.   

However, there is hope.  In the past month, legislation in the house and acts by our new President have proven to be consistently for life.  There has been a shift in the atmosphere and where there is a shift, there is bound to be turbulence.  We can expect to see more pro-abortion groups and those who support them to come out speaking in support of abortion. It is important to pray for these people.  Pray for the Lord to open their eyes and hearts to His truth.  Pray they see the hurt caused by abortion –as an unborn life taken and the mother and father hearts devastated.   Pray for life to continue to win and for the hope of light overcoming the darkness to spread from this shining city on a hill to the vast domains of the earth. 

As later on in Psalm 2 it says, “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.”  Amen. 

Willows by the Watercourses {Repost}

“I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.”  Isaiah 44:3-4

Father, we ask for you to pour Your waters onto those who are thirsty and flood the dry ground of those with abortion wounded hearts.  Father, as You know, the Deeper Still Ministry is needed beyond our borders, in other states and nations.  Father, we ask for You to pour out Your Spirit on the chapters that are emerging and bless the offspring from Deeper Still.  Father, we pray for the chapters to spring up like willows by the watercourses, fully nourished and fruitful.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

New chapters of Deeper Still are in the birthing process and many more haven’t been conceived yet.  God knows when and where these chapters will spring up.  As these new chapters are being planted, they will need to be nurtured and watered with the Spirit of the Living God. 

In verse 3 above, God says He will pour water on Him who is thirsty and floods on the dry ground.  Water and floods are often used in Scripture to depict abundant blessings and are also used to denote the influence of the Holy Spirit (Bible Hub-Barnes Commentary). 

God is saying that He will pour out His Holy Spirit on those who are thirsty and bless them abundantly! Amen!

In verse 4, the He says, “They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.”

Willow trees in our western culture symbolize grief, such as in the weeping willow.  However, in the places where the willow originated (China), it symbolizes vitality and growth.  This symbolism comes from its ability to reproduce easily from cut branches. 

Interestingly enough, I found 5 more facts about willow trees that I thought mirrored perfectly the heart of Deeper Still as it is beginning new chapters. 

       1.  Willow trees not only sprout easily, they are fast growers. 

       2.   Willows have medicinal properties that alleviate pain and bring healing.

3     3.  Willows are used to build.

       4.  Willows need to have the proper soil and need an abundance of water (Holy Spirit).

       5.   Willows help prevent erosion. 

As Deeper Still grows and becomes all God has for it to be, may the new chapters grow in vitality, may the pain of the past be shed as hearts are healed, may the ruins of many desolations be rebuilt and restored, may the roots be ever in the right soil and watered abundantly, and may Deeper Still help prevent the erosion of our culture, our nation, and the world.  Amen!  

Out on the Rock {A Testimony from the Chinese Retreat}

“Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.  Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.” Psalms 51: 14-15

Oh Lord, how we but praise You!  We sing Your praise for delivering from the guilt of bloodshed.  Father, we ask for more of your people to be delivered throughout all the nations, for more on this earth to declare Your praise!  How we praise Your Holy Name for the mighty and great works You have done!  Amen.

The morning air whispered breaths of a new day as I gazed over the mountain tops from Eagle Rock’s magnificent view.  The clouds were laying as pillows on a bed of mountains for miles upon miles.  As I sat clenching my coffee in both hands, Bible in lap, taking in the picture of breathtaking beauty, a faint voice filled the once silent scene.  It was a lovely sound, one that mirrored the winsomeness surrounding it.  The sound led me to see a most beautiful sight.  Out on the rock at Eagle Rock was one of our participants from the Chinese retreat.  She was adorned in all white.  Her shirt flowed in the wind and her hands were lifted as she swayed back and forth rhythmically matching the melody on her lips.  What an incredible picture of God’s grace, healing and freedom! This woman who had been in tremendous bondage and hindered in worship was now free and her lips could not help but praise her King!  

It is a vision I shall never forget, our Chinese friend out on the high rock overlooking the mountains singing praises to our Lord.  The Lord had brought his beloved daughter 20,000 miles to set her free.  Her heart could only praise Him!  

After the retreat ended that Sunday, she continued to praise Him.  For hours, she sang and sang and sang.  It was the most angelic sound in the world to our ears.

Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed.  

This is her story.  This is her song.  Praising her Savior all the day long.  

In a Loveless Nation

“And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity.”  Matthew 24:12

Father, we lift our nation up to you.  Father, we ask for you to forgive us for our iniquities as a nation.  Lord, we have blasphemed Your mighty name.  We have turned our backs on our statues and mocked those who stood for truth.  We have forced You out of our public schools and institutions in the name of equality and separation of church and state.  We need You in our nation again.  We need Your love to come in and flood our hearts.  We need Your eyes to see the depravity in this world.  For what we are too blind to see we will inevitably run into.  Lord, may our love not grow cold.  Fill us.  In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.

Hallerin Hilton Hill, a popular radio personality, spoke at my church last Sunday as a guest speaker.  He shared his heart and love for this nation and encouraged us during this time in which our nation has endured several sad occurrences recently with tragic loss of life.  One statement he shared was his father’s advice to him as his father was in his final days on earth.  He said this:

“Remember the answer to everything is love.”

In our nation, we are in a crisis of loveless-ness.  We are in a crisis of disrespect and disregard for human life.  We have forgotten the commandments Jesus gave when on the earth: 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. 

Two commands.  That’s it.   All the others hang in the balance of these two.  A friend of mine, who is also a very gifted and anointed worship leader wrote these words that beautifully illustrates this point: 

“If we see ourselves as unworthy of love, we see others as unworthy of love also.  But if we see that He is crazy for us, we will love ourselves as well, and in return love others with the same crazy, extravagant, gracious love.  I believe America is broken and hurting, and in search of her true identity…If we would fix our eyes back on Jesus, we would learn how to love ourselves and how to love others, and in doing so would end this nasty epidemic of hate that seems to be rooted so deep in this land. May authentic love be rooted once again in this country and in the Church, but most of all may it start with me.”  -Ashlynn Bolding

Amen and amen. 

I pray we would not get calloused as a nation to the terror and fear that has happened recently.  This is not the norm in our nation, nor should it be the accepted as commonplace anywhere.  Having disregard for human life should never be the norm. 

Devaluing human life cannot and should not be ignored.   We have all been created in the image of God, no matter the age, color, ethnicity, religion, background, education or socioeconomic status.  We are His image bearers, and as such, we are violently hated by the enemy of this world.  This enemy has one mission, and that is to kill, steal and destroy.

 

We have one mission given to us by our Creator, and that is to love, all people.   May we never become indifferent to human lives lost no matter the cause or circumstance and may our love never grow cold.