His Blood Speaks a Better Word

I have this beautiful Jasmine plant outside.  You can imagine my delight when the small white blossoms opened up and filled the air with a heavenly scent.

It has been a frequent topic in my God conversations lately. I thanked the Lord for creating such beautiful expressions in nature. I marveled at Springtime and how the earth just cannot keep itself from declaring new life, life from that which seems dead.

I even shook my head at how this insignificant Jasmine plant was quietly and unassumingly taking over the fence line. With stretched-out tendrils and runners, it spreads its little domain, if you will.

Seriously, we have been talking about the parallels between this little plant and the Kingdom of God— it’s fragrant, relentless, and advancing.

But after looking at it multiple times a day for many days, today when I looked, it caught my breath.

I walked over to it to see what this red leaf was, maybe it blew into the fence from last night’s storm. No. It was very much a part of this thriving creation.

In the moment, the Lord whispered, the Blood is always in the middle of the Beauty.

Selah.

Holy Week is a pathway. From the Lord’s Supper, to the garden, to the trial, to the outrageous brutality, to the cross, to the tomb.  Pause and reflect but don’t stop in any one of these places. Taste the wine, cry the tears, wince at the nails being driven in, feel the breath leave His body, and flinch as rock grinds on rock as they rolled the tomb closed with His body inside.

But don’t stop there.

Resurrection Sunday is the unspeakable joy as the Blood bursts into glorious song.

“He is not here! He has risen just as He said.”

The Blood is always in the middle of the Beauty. Celebrate the Beauty and remember the Blood.

And we have come to Jesus who established a new covenant
with his blood sprinkled upon the mercy seat;
blood that continues to speak from heaven, “forgiveness,”
a better message than Abel’s blood that cries from the earth, “justice.”
Hebrews 12:24 TPT

 

Pearls of Wisdom: The Supernatural Power of Kindness

Please and Thank You are still magic words.  I saw this on a FB post and smiled and agreed. Wholeheartedly. Please, by all means, be courteous. Thank you. After spending years trying to fight my way through the world, I learned that saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ opened doors and hearts in a different way. Ever so slowly, the Lord made me aware that every person is having a hard time, most of the time. So a little courtesy goes a long way. And…

Never sacrifice the truth for the “Being Nice” Game. This game breeds dishonesty more than it fosters compassion for others.  Instead, speak the truth in love. But how?

Through the Holy Spirit’s characteristic of Kindness.  It is truly the mark of greatness. And it is not automatically acquired but chosen.

For me, it began with an Amanda Cook song called “Kind.”  This song haunted me actually. It’s a calming melody, but eerily charged. Like a war cry ringing out of the shadows at dawn.

Then God used it to rock my world.

My daughter worked late night hours at a job I was not crazy about. I was in turmoil over what I sensed was happening in the spirit. And she and I were doing our then-typical dance of silent and suspicious.  One night she texted that she was on her way home. It was  2 a.m. and I was furious over the breach of curfew but the Spirit brought this song back to mind:

“Kind” (click to listen)

You are not a tyrant King
You do not delight in suffering

Your power doesn’t compensate for insecurity
‘Cause You are not a tyrant King

You are not an angry man
You do not treat us with contempt

Your voice is sure, Your eyes are soft, Your smile, confident

‘Cause You are not an angry man

You are kind
You are kind

Your love is a fury all its own
Sweeping the dust and turning feet towards home

Carrying the orphans and resetting broken bones
Your love is a fury all its own

Your love is powerful enough
Without the fear of punishment

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I cried as I listened to it over and over. I was struck by the comparison, hearing the Spirit ask after each line:

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