Psalm 67:1

May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us ….

Lord, let Your face shine down on me.

Shine, O Lord, shine.

Shine on me

here in the darkness.

Shine on me

here in the shadows.

For I am bound and bowed,

(so many of us bound and bowed)

to this never-ending night.

My candle of Hope flickers

and gasps for air.

I am desperate to breathe, Lord,

desperate to find my breath,

desperate to find the breath

of Your spirit, Lord,

because Your light, Lord,

Your spirit;

it fills me.

It lifts me up.

And I am raised to the sunrise.

I am set free of these chains

that bind me,

these chains of helplessness

and hopelessness and grief.

I am set free to shine.

I am set free to be Your light.

I am set free to reflect Your love.

I am set free

as we are all set free,

an army of God’s children

set free to shatter the night.

So, shine on me, Lord.

Just shine.

Shine on us all.

Amen.

Ephesians 5:22

Walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.

Walk in love.

Walk in confidence.

Walk with a silly, little, grin on your face.

Walk!

Walk and dance

like the Hollywood legends of old.

Walk and dance and sing in the rain.

Walk.

And let the world see.

Let the world in on your secret.

Walk and laugh and shout His name.

Walk.

Walk in love,

because you are in love,

because the One who created you,

who breathed love into you,

who gave you—literally—life,

is the One who walks beside you,

is the One who can’t stop smiling,

is the One who is so proud of you,

is the One who will never leave you,

is the One who is always faithful,

is the One who will one day carry you home.

Walk.

Walk now.

Walk now while the Spirit moves you.

And then run.

Run up to everyone you see.

Rip the blindfolds from their eyes

and reveal 

that the same One who loves you, 

also loves each and every one of them.

And then together, walk in love.

Amen.

1 John 4:8

God is love.

Brothers and sisters, listen

to this Good News.

You are loved.

You are loved with a fierce Love,

a righteous Love,

a Love that never backs down,

that never runs away.

You are loved with a Love

that continues to rise

no matter how many times

it has been struck down.

You are loved with a Love

that does not hide in the shadows,

but reveals itself in the light.

You are loved with a Love

that demands to be shared.

So plant those seeds of Love

and watch them grow

in the souls of all you love.

Watch as Love gives hope

to the despondent

and strength to the weary.

Watch as Love lifts up

all who have stumbled.

Watch Love heal nations.

Watch Love wash over deserts

and bring new life to every place of ruin,

to all places once forgotten and abandoned.

Marvel at Love’s power.

Stand in awe of Love’s majesty.

Let Love draw out all doubt

from your heart,

and replace it with faith strong

enough to move mountains.

Amen.

Psalm 26:8

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
    and the place where your glory abides.

Abide in me, Lord,

as You abide

in all things rich

with life,

in all things that enrich

my life,

in all things that nourish

the soul,

in sunsets,

in fiery oranges

that stretch across

the sky before dipping

and disappearing with the sun,

extinguished by the night,

in sunrises,

in cool pink skies

that giggle and then elbow

and pinch and shove away the night

to make room for the morning,

in birdsong,

in the first song

that I hear every morning,

in the gentle, hollow cooing

of the Mourning Dove, followed

by the wind-chime melody of the mockingbird,

in color,

in flowers that survive

the late summer scorching sun

and revive themselves in the morning dew,

reds and oranges, a cooling fire that mocks

the sun and refuses to die.

Abide in me, Lord,

as You abide here.

Abide in me

and fill me with life.

Amen.

Romans 10:13

For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Save me, Lord,

not for tomorrow’s sake,

not for promises made

so far into the future,

so far down the road,

they appear as heat ripples

above the pavement

and are dismissed as mirages,

but instead, Lord,

save me for today.

Save me for the promise

You make every day

when I wake

and open my eyes,

the promise that despite the storms

that upend my life,

despite the haze of doubt

that obscures the sun

and the message of Hope

it carries in its light,

the promise that despite my failings

and all the anxiety I take up on

my shoulders and bring with me each day,

that each breath I take,

is a breath taken in Your Kingdom, Lord,

that each heartbeat

is yet another percussive drumbeat

in the orchestra of Your Kingdom, Lord,

that when I stand on the beach

and taste the salt on my lips,

I am tasting the salt of the Kingdom, Lord,

that each blink of the eye

is a snapshot

(Sun.

Sky.

Cloud.

Mountain.

Butterfly.

Hummingbird.

Puddle

Raindrop.

Dewdrop.

Grain of sand.)

of Your Kingdom.

Your Kingdom, Lord, is here now.

Your promise is fulfilled today.

When I walk, I am walking in Your love,

Your gift of love, and that love

washes over me, it knocks me off my feet

and my joy has never been greater.

Your Kingdom, Lord, is today, and always.

Amen.

Galatians 5:22

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness ….

Lord, surround me in Your presence.

Envelop me in Your joy.

Let my spirit be seeded

not with fruit from the Garden,

but with fruit from Your heavenly Kingdom.

Let my spirit grow and bear fruit

of love

of joy

of peace

of patience and kindness,

generosity and faithfulness.

And then ….

May my spirit never hunger.

May the vines of Hope that lift

my soul never wither.

May the heart of my heart

grow with the sun.

Lord, nourish the earthly foundation

of my soul with Living Water,

and may I find shade in grace

when the world’s fiery anger and fear

threaten to blister whatever is good in me.

Lord, let the fruit of Your Spirit grow

here and give me the strength to be

a good caretaker of such a gift.

Amen.

1 Kings 19:11-12

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:  And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Lord, I would search for You

in the silence,

if only there were silent places

still to be found.

We live in a world these days

where everyone thinks

they must shout

in order to be heard,

a world where even

the morning mockingbirds

mimic car and fire alarms.

But all these voices that scream and cry

out and demand to be heard,

all these voices that accompany pounding fists

and stomping feet that shake the very earth,

all these voices carried on whirling winds

that spin and knock me down senseless,

all these voices that precede the fire,

and the storms of war,

not one of these voices is Yours, Lord.

Where there is chaos,

where there is noise,

where everything is frenetic

and frantic and an emergency—

not one of these things is from You, Lord.

You, Lord, are the One who

unravels the chaotic knot

the world has twisted itself into.

You, Lord, are the One who

stills the winds and whispers

to the world that it’s time to rest.

You, Lord, are the One who

waits out the tantrum and then wraps

the world in Your embrace.

And then, after You have put

the world down for its nap,

and given it one more sip

of Your Living Water—

when the world stops, finally,

and closes its eyes and lets

out a generational sigh,

then, You look over to me and smile,

put a finger to Your lips and then say,

Let’s talk.

Lord, I can’t tell You how much

I long for that day,

how much I am longing for

Your still, small voice.

Amen.