partnership.

"We must remember that God is involved in our doings, that meaning is given not only in the timeless but primarily in the timely, in that task given here and now. Great are man's possibilities."

-abraham joshua heschel.

joyful sounds.

"He created us to make a joyful sound to the heavens."

-mp mckee.

The very words of God.

(Gamla Synagogue - Torah Closet. Israel, 2009).

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"The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and teachings. Carefully observe them with all your heart and all your soul." Deut. 26.

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119.

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In Biblical times, a Torah scroll was a rare and sacred thing, and one of great value. Generally priced at an extremely high cost, a normal Biblical city would have only one, and sometimes not even that.

There was great ceremony and joy associated with the scroll. At the beginning of the gathering, the keeper of the synagogue would remove the scroll from the Torah closet, open it, and slowly make his way around the people, holding it out for all those present to touch. Each person would place their fingers on the precious scroll, dancing before God and praising Him because His words were still there.

The very words of God, before them.

I got to mimic this ceremony and celebration while standing in the ruins of the ancient city of Gamla, in one of the oldest synagogues left in Israel. To dance with joy amongst other believers in celebration of the words of God was a beautiful and life-changing experience, and one that I will never forget.

This same attitude was true in other religions as well. I was told by one teacher that in Biblical times, people of the world would pay extravagant amounts of money, wait days and weeks and months outside of temples, and do just about anything possible in order to be given a word from the gods. They pursued with great fervor any guidance they could receive from the powers above.

They understood that a word from a god was a valuable and precious thing, and they would go to incredible lengths to receive one.

Even one.

one. little. word.

OUR GOD GAVE US AN ENTIRE BOOK.

A book FILLED with His blessed words.

His guidance.

His love.

His story.

His law.

His desires.

His will.

A whole book.

A Book that was carefully constructed, passed down, and preserved, for our benefit.

Do we read it?

Do we know it?

Do we seek it out morning, noon, and night, pouring over it like precious silver and gold?

We have it! His Words are STILL HERE.

Dance for joy.

His words.

The very Words of GOD.

perspective.

my prayers have started to evolve a bit in recent weeks.

instead of asking,

Lord, show me what to do in this situation,

I pray instead,

Lord, show me WHO YOU ARE in this situation.


my ultimate priority in this life is not to perform, succeed, accomplish, or attain -

it is to know the Father.

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Lord, show us Your heart.

arise.

"Had God made you for companionship, your curse would be that you were lonely.

Had God made you to be strong, your curse would be that you were weak.

but, as it is

God has made you to be leaders,

and so your curse is that you are irrelevant.

...

your covenant, church, at its core, is not about your rights, but about your ability to bless the world."

-steve deneff.

----

"ARISE
(church).
SHINE
(church).

for your light has come.

and the GLORY

of the Lord

rises upon you. "

-isaiah 60.

foundation.

"Grace is the one foundation that is solid all the way down to the bottom, immovable. It is the only safe and forever trustworthy place on which to build."

--lisa fleischaker.

universe.

"would it not be strange if a universe without purpose accidentally created humans who are so obsessed with purpose?"

-sir john templeton, the humble approach: scientists discover God.

did you see?

The great leader of nineteenth-century german orthodoxy, samson raphael hirsch, surprised his disciples one day when he insisted on traveling to switzerland. "When I stand shortly before the Almighty," he explained, "I will be held answerable to many questions...but what will I say when...and I'm sure to be asked, 'shimshon, did you see my alps?' "

-martin gordon, journal of jewish thought.

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a communion of saints.

"Whatever we know about God and God's love; whatever we know about Jesus - his life, death, and resurrection - whatever we know about the Church and its ministry, is not the invention of our minds asking for an award. It is the knowledge that has come to us through the ages from the people of Israel and the prophets, from Jesus and the saints, and from all who have played roles in the formation of our hearts. True spiritual knowledge belongs to the communion of saints."

--henri nouwen.

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and what blessed and life-giving communion it is!

call.

It is not my duty to convince.
It is my call and my privilege to live.

people.

shiny
happy
people
holding
hands.

- ambrose t-shirt.

All good things.

All good things come from God.

Which means that pride is the root of all sin.

Because when we take our eyes off Jesus

and turn them on to ourselves,

we cease to be good.

Arise, Shine.

"In your lifetime, what you need to know is this:

God has chosen you. God has called you. God has taken you by your right hand. He has strengthened you. DO NOT BE AFRAID - I AM is at your side. DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, looking away in fear - I AM will take hold of your right hand.

You do not need to worry about the outcome. God will control the outcome.

He needs us to be faithful in our day, and church: this is our day. None other.

This is our day.

ARISE, SHINE on the world.”

– steve deneff.

—–

“ARISE, SHINE, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

– isaiah 60.

—–

do not be afraid.

the LORD has chosen you.

Arise.

Shine.

for the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

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the Faithful.

LORD.

I pray you make me one of the faithful.

Allow me to be a part of the remnant.

Make me into one of the few.

Teach me how to speak against the gods of this age.

Show me how to embrace ALL of You.

Give me roots that are deep.

Unite me with others who desire the same.

RAISE US UP, LORD, send us out.

Grant me courage, strength, truth, and zeal for You, Your Word, and Your people.

Keep me RAW.

Break me, refine me, humble me - anything to help me always remember my need for You.

Make me into a true servant.

I pray you make me one of the faithful.

I beg.

Father God.

Make me, whatever it takes, into one of the faithful.

Friend.

"The greatest gift my friendship can give you is the gift of your belovedness. I can give that gift only insofar as I have claimed it for myself. Isn't that what friendship is all about: giving to eachother the gift of our belovedness?" - henri nouwen.

-----

I find this quote to be incredibly true.

Because I have experienced in my own life the incredible gift of friends who do this.

Friends who remind me.

Friends who have reminded me, again and again, who God is.

When it seemed like He was far. When loneliness felt overwhelming. When my heart felt like it would bleed dry from hurt and confusion and fear.

These friends reminded me that God is good, gracious, and always NEAR.

They told me that I was

Chosen. Delighted in. Graced.

Beloved.

And then they prayed for me, that I would know it too.

----

What an incredible gift to offer someone.

Truth. Perspective.

The gift of belovedness.

-----

LORD, help me to understand what it means to be YOUR BELOVED. Let me experience it all the way down to my core and let it wash over me, saturating my identity with Your love.

And, walking as your beloved,

I pray you help me be a friend

to all those people who have forgotten,

that they are Your Beloved too.

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that Great Shepherd.

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our LORD Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Messiah, to whom be glory for ever and ever. AMEN." --hebrews 13.

----

Blessed LORD, equip us. make us good through communion with Your Son. work in us what pleases You.

we do it for YOUR Glory,
we do it for YOUR pleasure,
we do it for YOUR will.

let us not forget.

Light everlasting.

"No longer shall you need the sun
For light by day,
Nor the shining of the moon
For radiance by night;
For the LORD shall be your light everlasting,
Your God shall be your glory.
Your sun shall set no more,
Your moon no more withdraw;
For the LORD shall be a light to you forever,
And your days of mourning shall be ended.
And your people, all of them righteous,
Shall possess the land for all time;
They are the shoot that I planted,
My handiwork in which I glory.
The smallest shall become a clan;
The least, a mighty nation.
I the LORD will speed it in due time."

(isaiah 60).

-----

We wait, we work, we HOPE,

Oh LORD,

in expectation.

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Harvest.

"Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." -- matthew.

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Raise us up Lord, send us out.

Make us many.

Make us one.

Priesthood.

"As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him -you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood." -- 1 peter 2.

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"The description of Israel as "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" alludes to the consequences that flow or should flow from that special relationship with God. The priests are set apart from the rest of the people by dedication to the service of God, by their consecration to a distinctive way of life that gives expression to this intimate involvement with the divine through special duties and restrictions, and by the obligation to serve the people. This concept of priesthood provides the model for Israel's self-image and for it's role among the nations of the world." -- nahum m. sarna, exploring exodus.

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"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. -- 1 peter 2.

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unified. set apart. declarers of light.

that is who we, the church, are meant to be.

-----

baruch Ha-Shem.

Heart.

While in Costa Rica, I had the privilege of talking to a classroom of young kids about Israel.

And it was the coolest, most amazing experience - one of the best things I have ever been blessed to be a part of.

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I stood up in front of the class, and as soon as I said the word Israel, their eyes opened big and wide and I had their undivided attention.

And when I said the name Jesus, they collectively, as a class, "oohed" and "aahed" and "wowed" and sat up in their chairs.

And then, when I started showing pictures, they all clamored around as close as they could and pointed at everything - amazed at the smallest, tiniest details.

And when I asked if they had any questions, their little hands shot up, one by one by one.

-----

And the entire time I was talking, I could feel a certain spirit growing in the room.

excitement.

awe.

joy.

curiosity.

WONDER.

And even at the very end, when we all bowed our heads to pray, those kids were so excited to say a few words for their friends in Israel - prayers for peace and family and happiness.

It was absolutely beautiful.

-----

And as I bowed my head and listened to each one of those little children's prayers, I could only think one thought - I could only pray one prayer:

"Rabbi, help my heart to be like theirs."

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"Anyone who does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." -- mark.