Suddenly I'm Lost within Your Beauty - March 9, 2014

Please take a moment to really read and absorb this description -

“My beloved is dazzling and ruddy,
Outstanding among ten thousand.
“His head is like gold, pure gold;
His locks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.
“His eyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Bathed in milk,
And reposed in their setting.
“His cheeks are like a bed of balsam,
Banks of sweet-scented herbs;
His lips are lilies
Dripping with liquid myrrh.
“His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl;
His abdomen is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
“His legs are pillars of alabaster
Set on pedestals of pure gold;
His appearance is like Lebanon
Choice as the cedars.
“His mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.”  (Song of Solomon 5:10-16)

And I can feel your presence here with me
Suddenly I'm lost within your beauty...   (MercyMe: "Here with me")
 
I am actually writing this out of N - E - C - E - S - S - I - T - Y...Inside of me is whirring the ten or more things I need to do (or think I need to do) today, but this devotional has also been moving around inside of me since I began reading Song of Solomon several weeks ago before work each morning. 
 
Read the portion from chapter 5 (above) again.  Think upon...even picture...each individual definition of who the beloved is and what he looks like.  I can only hope that it has the same effect on you now as it did on me (and still does, thank God...literally).  This beholding and experiencing of this type of beauty seems so fleeting (if existent at all) these days.  Not that it isn't present.  We catch the whiff of it perhaps when we witness a beautiful morning or evening sky...a nature scene that hits our hearts just the right way...or even, like here, in the essence of a person we stop to take the time to truly observe and appreciate. 
 
This beauty, which is meant to captivate our hearts, is just a tiny portion or representative of the ultimate Source of Beauty, Jesus Himself.  Really.  It has been suggested that "the beloved" mentioned in the verses above IS Jesus - our True Love (Revelation 2:4-5) -  and even this description does not fully capture how amazingly and wonderingly beautiful He really is, both inside and out...   
 
And I can feel your presence here with me
Suddenly I'm lost within your beauty...  
 
How tragic it is that instead of getting "lost within (His) beauty" we (I should just speak for myself - I ) become so easily entangled and then frantically "lost" in the cares of this world (Matthew 13:7, 22; Hebrews 12:1), the list of things I do (or don't really) need to do, and the phantom "what if's" satan knows he can use to get me off track during the day (Matthew 6:31-34; James 4:13-17).  THANK GOD FOR HIS WORD and for the reminders He is always willing to put out there to woo us back to Himself.  I don't know about you, but I need those signposts constantly; so that I can remember that it is only in Him that I can do anything that equates to any substance anyway...anything that ends up having any beauty at all. 
 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser... As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing..."     (John 15:1-5)
 
One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.   (Psalm 27:4)
 
It is ONLY by beholding the beauty of the Beloved - Jesus our Necessary Savior - that we can truly function in this world as we were meant to: in love ....in kindness...in peace...in faithfulness (Galatians 5:22-23)...in Beauty...in Truth.  And it is ONLY by experiencing the beauty of His Presence within and around us that we can TRULY live.
 
Please pray for me (and I truly mean that, based on what I shared above) that I will more and more become "lost" within His Beauty instead of in anything else...and I will do the same for you.
 
In His Precious and Beautiful Love,  
Terri   

Lamb AND Lion - February 23, 2014

Then the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That tarry for no man
Nor wait for the sons of men.

The Lamb...

And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.

The Lion...

(Micah 5:7-8)

This "theme" has been discussed recently amongst some Believers, and it came up again while reading God's Wonderful Word this morning. 

Although according to one commentary on these verses, which suggests that the "remnant of Jacob" mentioned here could be the Jews of the time who were sharing God's True Presence, a tribe known as the Maccabees, or those Jewish individuals who would end up sharing the Good News of Jesus with the nations, the first thought that came to mind when I read this was how Jesus Himself is both our sweet, forgiving, beautiful, gentle Lamb but also our face-set-like-flint (Isaiah 50:6-7; Luke 9:50-51), non-budgeable, beautiful, and "ferocious" (always for the good) Lion.  These words also triggered a sort of sadness (and simultaneous hopefulness) about the lack of recognition and acknowledgement of the AMAZING POWER of our God Who set this world in motion, created us, and Who is still in control of His creation.  Hallelujah to Him!

Unless we know and understand that Jesus, Who emanates the Exact Nature of God (John 14:8-10), is both Lamb AND Lion, we will miss out on Who He Truly Is in our own lives and in this world.  

It was and is God's AWESOME POWER - the same that resides in His Son (John 5:19) - that supervises the Universe and which is Alive and Active up to this very moment: that did part the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13-21), that did and does break down and rebuild at the same time  (Psalm 46), and that does give Life...Real Life...to our dead spirits and souls (Genesis 2:7; John 5:21, 24-25)...

And it is Jesus's Lamb-like loving-kindness - which replicates that of God - that woos (Jeremiah 31:3-4) and shelters us (Psalm 91:3-6), and it is His Lion-like love - given straight from the Father - that only can drive away the demons (Mark 1:32-34, 5:11-13), that only can renew our minds (Romans 12:1-2), and that transforms our dead natures into the likeness of his Fully Alive One (Ezekiel 36:26-27; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 1 John 3:2)... when we call on Him, obey Him (Deuteronomy 4:29-31, 11:13-23), and believe on Him to exercise this Power (John 11:25-27, 40-44).  
 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
 
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear
 
will live..."

Let us fearfully recognize, acknowledge...and UTILIZE...His Amazing Power:

Glory to the Lamb AND the Lion...

and live...

In His Power-filled Love,  
Terri 
 

Come Down from the Cross! - February 2, 2014

In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, made sport of Him, saying, "He rescued others from death; Himself He cannot rescue from death. He is the King of Israel? Let Him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in and acknowledge and cleave to Him. He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now if He cares for Him and will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God'".   (Matthew 27:41-43)

Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him...

Another amazing irony emanating from God's Living Word...

Here was Jesus, hanging from a gnarled execution stake made of wood...the Son of God Himself...multiplying food miraculously (Mark 6:40-44)...healing others (Matthew 4:24)...driving out demonic entities (Mark 5:1-20)...seeing and doing what God, the Ultimate Creator of all, was showing Him (John 5:19, 14:9-11).  They - His executioners - were both absolutely right and absolutely wrong.  Jesus did save others from death (and here they were, murdering a rescuer!) BUT...He certainly could have also extricated Himself from the clutches of this crucifixion.  He could have come down from the cross; but due to his UN-dying love (Hosea 11:4; Jeremiah 31:3), He chose not to: For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross... (Hebrews 12:2)

If Jesus had come down from the cross, would the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders have truly believed?  Maybe...maybe not...we'll never know...

...because He stayed up there so we would...

And for those of us who do believe, isn't this the same taunt that the world, our flesh, and satan scream out to us almost every single minute of every single day while we're here:

"...COME DOWN FROM THE CROSS AND SAVE YOURSELF!..." 
(Mark 15:30)

"Don't stay up there, it hurts too much..."
"It's not worth it...He doesn't really care..."
"It's all a lie and besides, you're not getting what YOU want..."

It's those cries that are actually the lies; and we must, like Jesus, believe and hold onto the joy that is set before us if we endure the crucifixion of our old nature and allow God to do HIs transformative work within us (Ephesians 4:20-24; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Galatians 5:22-23).  The promise that we will also know what it is like to have an UN-dying love for Him and others...the promise that we will be like Him (1 John 3:2)...

For the joy set before Him (that we might be able to experience a similar joy), He endured the cross...

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.  This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."   (John 15:10-12)
 
For the joy set before...
 
...endured the cross...

In His Amazing and Transformative Love,  
Terri 

One Man, One Way - January 25, 2014

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John 1:14)

"Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover..."   (John 18:28)

Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am...   ( "Take Me In,"  Kutless )

Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor...and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover...

The absolute irony spiritually and supernaturally manifested in this one statement from God's Holy Word!!!

After Jesus was arrested (John 18:1-3), his captors, which included some of the chief priests and Pharisees who spent their whole lives striving to perfectly obey God's Law, brought Him to the praetorium - or "palace" - of the Roman governor, Pilate (John 18:28-29)...a gentile.  It is significant here to point out that Pilate was a gentile ("unclean" in the sight of the Jews), since this was probably part of the reason they were unwilling to go directly into the governor's chambers (Acts 10:27-28).  Evidently not only did they believe that by entering the abode where a man from a nation other than their own ("gentile") lived they would somehow become dirty in God's sight; but they also were afraid that by doing so, they would be counted unworthy to partake in the Passover, one of the beautiful and central High Holy Days signifying God's "passing over" the Israelites during the Exodus when He brought death to their Egyptian captors (see Exodus, chapter 12 for the entire amazing occurrence of the first Passover)...but freed the Jews. 

The thick, almost impenetrable irony is that the One who was in these Jewish leaders' possession...Jesus, the Man Whom they were determined to see put to death, but Who was and is the true Passover Lamb for the entire world...was the Very One who could enable them to enter anywhere at any time and still be holy (1 Corinthians 5:7-8; John 1:29-36).    

...but they walked the other way...

Jesus cries, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life..."  (John 14:6)

As I was reading these Scriptures, I almost cried, picturing the Pharisees and chief priests being afraid of a structure - a room in a building - because of the belief that it would cause them to be unholy before God.  But here was the Glory of God Himself (John 17:1-6), in the form of a man (Philippians 2:5-8), right before them and they wanted to kill Him (Isaiah 53:7-9).  Here was the One. that if they just touched the hem of His garment in faith (Mark 524-34)...reached out to Him and grasped His Hand instead of eventually nailing both his hands and feet to a wooden execution stake (Matthew 27:39-41)...they would be made clean...forever.  And not just on the outside, but through and through (Matthew 23:25-26). 

Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb...

Ironically, the "Holy of Holies" was right there: Jesus Himself (see Hebrews 9 for an amazing account of how this happened!); but instead of realizing that they could have entered the praetorium  with Him...or anywhere for that matter...and still been washed as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18-20), they continued to walk in their own way; and even though they continued to try to obey all of God's Law, they still remained unclean.

Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am...

May the ultimate Passover Lamb, Jesus the Messiah of the whole entire world, touch your lips and your hearts today - either to refresh or revive in order to keep following Him, or to draw you to Himself for the very first time.  Either way is an eternal blessing.  He is the eternal blessing. 

In Jesus' Love,     
Terri   

 

THE Desire of our Hearts - January 20, 2014

I have so much wanted to send this out but haven't been able to finish it; finally, here it is below.  Please pray for me to be able to, as this devotional indicates, give the Lord EVERYTHING, which includes "my" time (which is really His time) -- which includes learning how to NOT let work consume me, which it very easily can if/when I let it (pride, perfectionism...pride...).

 I hope this blesses you all.

*************************************************************

About a week ago, while in prayer, God gave me an entirely different way of looking at my circumstances for which I am thoroughly grateful.  I hope I can now share this perspective with you...

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart...  (Psalm 37:4)

Much has been said and written about this well-known, oft-stated verse.  One of the "final conclusions" about this scripture to which many have come is that once you begin finding joy solely in being in the Presence of God (Psalm 16:11; Acts 2:28), then the desires of your heart will begin to conform to those He holds for you (Romans 12:2), which will then be a pleasure and blessing to Him to satisfy (Isaiah 55:1-2):  Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  By beholding His Beautiful Face, our hearts are transformed, and we begin to no longer hunger after the things of this world but after what God desires: which is always...ALWAYS...Good (with a capital "G") (1 John 2:15-17); always...ALWAYS...with the amazing reality of being able to explosively express His Kingdom here on earth; and because of this, always...ALWAYS...with Love for us and others at the center.

The only addition to that which came while I was praying was that each circumstance we encounter in our lives can either facilitate or block delighting ourselves in Him and serving in His Kingdom as Sons and Daughters, and only God knows perfectly which is which (Proverbs 3:6).  This perspective came about because as I was laying there with face-to- ground before Him; all I cared about at that moment (and did not want to be taken away from) was being in His Presence and having all things that I did or experienced once rising from that position to reflect Him.  Suddenly, my desires for this or that to (supposedly) help make only my life more meaningful (which is usually a lie anyway...and if looking at it primarily as getting our own perceived needs satisfied; those things - or circumstances - once received, typically end up leaving one empty or frustrated yet again) seemed to be taken to a higher place, where the measuring rod for whether each circumstance in my life was "good" or "bad" was if it was being used to reveal God's glory, or not.  (This is not easy to put into words!).  That's all that mattered.  So (getting a little personal here)...was being single being used to reveal His Glory?  If yes, then good!  Was a physical pain being used to reveal Him in some way?  Then thank God for that discomfort!  Would having my own family somehow be an obstacle to how He wants me to serve Him right now?  Then my desire is not for my own nuclear family.  What pleased God pleased me.  What helped to shine His Light was what I wanted.  What a piece of heaven and remarkable sense of freedom and joy...

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart... 

This perspective also sort of reminded me of the scripture which talks about being a member of Messiah's Body:

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.  (1 Corinthians 12:18-20)

Perhaps if we were all spending more time being wooed by our Heavenly Husband (Isaiah 54:5) and feeding on His Living Word (John 6:53-57), our priorities (along with our desires) would be more where they are supposed to be: right in line with His Will for each and every one of us...and we would be joyful about just where we are at each and every moment: both as it glorified Him (1 Corinthians 10:31) and as it carried out what each one of us is supposed to be doing as a member of His Body.  Wow.  

But many (including myself) would ask, "So is it wrong to want this or that here on earth?"  It is wrong if we don't constantly offer up each and every desire to God and exclaim, "Not my will, but YOUR will be done" (Luke 22:42), and realize that by doing so we are once again placing ourselves on the same path Jesus walked where, "for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).  We too can sit there with Him each time we lay down our own lives, which includes the desires of our hearts. 

Several days ago, a dear sister shared a short but meaningful saying with me (not coincidentally), which I felt fit this devotional beautifully:

One should only GLANCE at one's circumstances...but fix one's GAZE upon Jesus.  

When you gaze upon Jesus - which I believe was what was happening during that time of prayer which inspired this long overdue devotional (smile) - the desires of your heart (and subsequently how you perceive your circumstances) become as His were and are:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel..." 

(John 5:19-20)

May we ourselves, as followers of Jesus, come to the point where we too can see more and more clearly what the Father is doing, and desire only that which facilitates His Presence in and manifests His Glory through our lives.  

In His Wonderful and Beautiful Name,

Love,   

Terri 

 

 

 

 

Something New - December 22, 2013

All of these verses relate to the following devotional:

Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”

And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’”   (Luke 5:33-39)

The scribes and the Pharisees (the religious leaders of the Jewish people at the time) could not comprehend why the disciples of Jesus were eating and drinking - almost partying! - while the followers of other men were seemingly more somber: fasting, praying, doing things the more traditional way.  Was this something new for them to behold?   In fact, Jesus' response appears to indicate as much, as he offers an explanation using the illustration of a celebration between a bridegroom and his friends, and a comparison that suggests that when something new has come (i.e., "new wine") often there will be a different way ("new wineskins") that results.  For those who have ears, let him/her hear (Matthew 13:8-12).  And this is certainly not the first or last time the exciting revelation of "something new" happening through the entrance of Jesus-as-man onto this earth: through His life-and-times altering, monumental-turning-point death on the cross to his mortality-shattering, eternal life-giving, explosive resurrection from death...the whole Scripture resounds with it.  Please take some time to meditate on the following verses announcing a "new thing":

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”   (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.   (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.   But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  (Galatians 5:16-18)

For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.  (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
 
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.  (Hebrews 12:18-24)

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment...

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart...

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven..."   (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28, 20)

But I say to you...

I guess it is appropriate at this time, when we are hearing a lot and talking about Jesus coming to Earth as a little baby, to shine a light on the fact that His earthly birth was the "first step" toward all of mankind having the opportunity to partake in a NEW, heavenly birth (John 1:12-13):

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  (John 3:5-8)

Celebrating instead of fasting...

A NEW covenant...

A NEW birth by the Spirit...

God's Son entering into our world as a living, breathing human being  - the "Word made flesh" (John 1:14) - opened wide the windows of heaven (Mark 1:9-11) to a banquet to which everybody is invited...to the opportunity for anyone who receives to be able to become a son or daughter of the Magnificent, Living God of all creation.  No longer do we have to be slaves to our flesh (Romans 6:1-11), to the world's enticements (1 John 2:15-17), or to satan (James 4:7; Mark 1:34)...but we now have a heavenly Counselor who comes to fill us with Himself and to break us free from the OLD way of seeing and responding to things (John 8:35-36, 14:15-19, 16:5-15; Romans 6:4) ...Walk in the Spirit (and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh)...to transform us into a NEW creation (2 Corinthians 3:15-18, 5:17)...AND to enable access through this new creature to eternal life with God NOW (John 3:16, 10:10) and forever when Jesus returns to once again be visible to all (Isaiah 65:17-25; Revelation 21:1-8; John 3:16).  

Were the scribes and the Pharisees beholding something new?  That the Word was now flesh; had a heart; and came to live, die, and then live again for all humanity (so that we could be made new) - although certainly God's Plan from the very start - was now a "new way" made available to all of mankind.  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  (John 14:6)    Hallelujah!

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”   (Revelation 21:5)

"... the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory..."  (Colossians 1:26-27)

Thank you, Awesome and Beautiful Jesus.

In His Love,  
Terri

Enveloped by the Living Word - December 11, 2013

Hello.  I should be going to bed right now; but when something as been blazed into your heart by God, you want to share while the flame of it is still supernaturally burning.   It's still burning (even though I'm only flickering at this point)! 

Today at work, while sitting quietly at lunch with co-workers (and sort of staying in my own little "zone" due to the direction of some of the conversation), I was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of thankfulness for not just what is written in the Bible, but more so for being able to truly experience a connection with those words when I think about them or read them: that (unless my heart is turned away) they make me feel satisfied, washed, clean (even radiant at times), alive, and at rest.  A sense of being just where you need to be.  It then occurred to me that THAT is what makes them "Living"  words, and that those words could have breath in them only because of the One Who gives everything Life and Breath: Jesus - Who IS the Living Word.  

And as I sat there, this prayer started to form...I wish I could have captured it at the time to share it exactly as it was with you all.  But it went something like this:  

Thank you that right now the Word of God is enveloping me, surrounding me, protecting me.  Thank you that because I am here with You right now, I have hope and am safe and sound.  Thank you that I do not have to rely anymore on the many other ways that are out there which people use to find life, hope, peace, rest...because none of them will work...they just don't know that yet...or maybe they do; and if so, I hope they come to find You.  Then we'll be able to be in that same "zone" together...away from the oppression of this world...and Home Safe where we belong.  Thank you, Father, that Your words are SO rich, and truthful, and protecting, and alive.  I love Your words.  And thank you for Jesus, who IS the One Who makes those words alive: the Living Word.  Thank you, dear Jesus, for enveloping me right now...

Just wanted to share that...

Love,

Terri