Day 142: "In Holiness and Righteousness"

Luke 1:74-75

Luke 1:74-75 ESV "That we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days."

Day 45: "Perfect Love"

1 John 4:18-21

 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (ESV)

Happy Valentines Day!

-L.

Day 19 - "You are a Worthy Woman"

Ruth 3:11 

Ruth 3:11 "And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman."

 

Shout out to my girls reading this! Walk in the light of knowing you are worthy because Christ made you worthy.

-M.

Easter - Is Jesus Missing?

Hey friends!!!

Happy Easter and happy almost April!! I wanted to share a poem with you guys!! I wrote it Sunday night when I was really just thinking a lot because this year felt so different from past Easters. Something felt wrong but I was still doing the same basic thing I'd always done for the holiday that is supposed to be designed for celebrating that Jesus rose from the grave. 

Disclaimer: the words of this poem might and probably will be considered offensive to some people. It's not pointed at anyone and I am not blaming or judging anybody in this poem. However, I am shamelessly calling out what I believe to be an oversight in the church and I honestly don't really care if that's offensive to people. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Oops, I forgot to take an Easter selfie yesterday and post it on the Internet with #heisrisen 

so all can see I love Jesus because that's all Easter is, isn't it, 

wait, Easter is the family picture, dressed to the nines, in front of our church, 

reminding the world that our family is perfect, 

that's all it's about. 

It couldn't be about the homeless man who walked up the street 

a few minutes after you stepped in to find a seat 

in an air conditioned room to listen to a sweet concert 

and hear the story again that Jesus died to make a way 

then he rose from the grave and he still lives today

But it can't be about that guy outside too, 

when he smells too bad to step foot in that room, 

you say God is risen but this man feels like he's in a tomb 

and he's starving for something more than just food 

but he probably didn't eat today either, 

but it's okay because you did and this is about you. 

Jesus forgave you for your sin

And he made you alive inside again

And he gave you a home to live in

And he let you take that for granted again

Because Easter is about you, right?

Jesus even died to give you new life! 

But he gave that guy outside new life also 

and he pays attention to him and loves him with all of his heart 

so much that he died,

And if this message moves you 

maybe you'll give your church fund some money,

maybe even go outside and slip him a twenty,

But aren't you gonna ask him his name? Learn about his journey in life? 

Pull him up from his darkness and share with him new life,

Even if it means you'll be late to family night,

All I'm saying is isn't Easter supposed to be about sacrifice? 

I think Jesus is missing not just from the tomb 

but maybe from our churches and hearts a bit too

I'm not trying to be pretentious. 

I'm still learning to walk my talk 

and live the words I give 

and reach out the same way I preach out 

but sometimes I've got to saying it 

so I can start making it happen 

and prove my words have actions. 

What if we start dying to live 

and trying to give light to those in darkness? 

Show em His heart for the heartless, 

maybe they'll see after all it isn't religion we worship 

it's the change in our lives that makes Jesus more than worth it to us 

to give up more than just our Sunday mornings to dress up 

while we mess up the rest of the week 

away from the eyes of the people 

but the eyes of the father still see. 

We are all homeless 

if Christ's tomb was still full. 

We would all be out in that cold 

world so many people are living in, 

they're really missing living in two homes; 

a home for their body but also a home for their heart 

that's why maybe we should think about starting 

to sacrifice a bit of ours to help them find both. 

But this point can't be contained in a single blog post

so I pray it reaches deeper past just mere words 

but transforms people who can then transform the world. 

-MB