Tag: Purpose of the Holy Spirit

A Basket of Fruit

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It was my observation in Galatians 5:22–23, Paul points us to help, he says — But the fruit of the Spirit is…  What follows that initial statement are nine characteristics of the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of a believer. The nine characteristics are part of a unified package. A believer does not have some and not others, though their relative strength may vary based upon our yielding to the Holy Spirit. What is the package of fruit comprised of?

Love is poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5). The Greek word is agape. This is a responsive love that evokes in us a love for God and a desire to please Him, guard our family, help our neighbor – always putting their needs in front of our needs (Galatians 5:13). Worship, serious surrender, and obedience are the core of pleasing Him. I think that the other eight fruits are focused expressions of agape.

Joy emerges from of God’s mercy and kindness to us. It cements an anchor in our life that keeps us from being swayed by the winds of change and trouble. We rise above drama, hard times, and circumstances that stand in front of us beckoning our attention. Unlike happiness, its ‘wanna be’ equivalent from human logic, joy does not depend on favorable circumstances. Joy just is.

Peace is resting on the one true living God’s lap, not just the absence of combat. Tranquility abounds in our heart, even if we are standing in a Hurricane, pushed to our limits to stand tall. The firm grounding, no matter the situation is rooted in God’s power, mercy, and the absolute iron clad awareness he will keep his word. He is the center post of peace. We are blessed to be sheltered by his peace.

Patience comes when we can see life through God’s eye. His eye sees beyond the ‘here and now’, to the cause and effects of actions (or reactions). Patient people are not easily offended or riled by drama or circumstances. They see God in everything, action, reaction. Kindness is our response to everything. We love the unlovable and treat them with kindness no matter what drama they bring to our life. Kindness is persistent, it resists harshness and unpleasant behavior by seeing God in the moment.

Goodness helps form the outcome from cumulated effort of joy, peace, patience, and kindness. Goodness in our actions is an expression of moral excellence. We do things with no expectation of any return. Faithfulness is all about being a person who can be trusted. We stand on the truth, speak the truth, defend the truth. We are dependable, reliable, and live a quiet life. Gentleness is not the absence of strength, it is not arrogance, it is not bullying, it is measured, controlled actions to achieve desired outcomes; it is considerate and measured in when enthralled in drama.

Self-control speaks to both the mind and the body. It centers observing, assessing, and thinking first and then doing second. It applies to all things we think, speak, and do. It represents exercising control over our passions – no matter what they may be.

Oh my. That is a very tall list of behavioral management tools. Who can do this? How? The answer is – more of God less of us. The more we give the Holy Spirit control, the easier it becomes for God to work his gentle control in our life. To be sure, we need to want the Fruit. But we have the helper, the Spirit of God to bring the fruit to the foreground of our daily thoughts, speech, and actions.

The fruit is a spiritual event, it happens over and over, every day of our life; it grows gently in our heart, maturing over time. The fruit has both a personal impact and a community impact. God brings these tools into the community life so we can find ways to get along, no matter what is happening around us.

I choose Jesus.

Water For The Desert

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It was my observation, in the mid 70’s I have a recollection of being taught the downside of meditation. Yoga instructors were barely permitted in church because of the strong eastern influence in their thinking and articulating, the Davidic discussions on meditation was not part of the common teaching and conversations of the mid 70’s Christian scene. For reasons that are unclear to me, none of us noticed the recurring concept of meditation in scripture. Goodness, how things have changed.

Somewhere along the way in the last few years I noted that word ‘meditation’ in the bible and wondered how did that term sneak into God’s vocabulary. Of course, the concept has been there always, just not talked about because of the extreme struggles of the late 60’s when musicians fully abandoned western thought and embraced the eastern thought processes.

To be clear — we all know that scripture provides a formidable discussion of meditation in the Psalms, it explains how we use meditation to embed the teachings of scripture in our heart and influence our actions. We should know that prayer becomes deeper and more personal when we move from prayer to meditation. This is not to say we abandon prayer. Not at all. Each format has its place. Prayer is the tool of choice to bring requests and supplications into his throne room. Prayer is the tool of choice to communicate with God, to learn of his will for our life. But within the context of walking with God, meditation goes much further by transforming our gait into something that brings us closer to him and his plan. We do not do the transforming, HE does, but transformation does gradually occur. Lest we think that meditation is just another trendy notion, please consider the thoughts of Thomas Brooks, a seventeenth-century church leader.

Thomas Brooks said — Remember that it is not hasty reading but serious meditation on holy and heavenly truths, that makes them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the mere touching of the flower by the bee that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time on the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he that reads most but he that meditates most that will prove to be the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian. Selah.

In Psalms, we see David meditated on God’s law, His righteousness, His word, His deeds and works, His precepts, His ways, His testimonies, and God Himself. Review Psalms 19, 39, 48, 77, 104, 119, and 143. Read slowly and breathe in the message. God is speaking. Meditate on his word.

Paul says — Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—MEDITATE on these things (Philippians 4:6-8).

Paul tells Timothy to meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all (paraphrased from I Timothy 4:15) — note again that meditation is expected to produce something in us. Eastern meditation empties us so we can see ourselves as God. This is not what David is doing, Biblical meditation is about infusing our mind with the pure virtuous message of scripture. We become very aware of the one true living ‘God who is there’, Jehovah-Shammah.

I think — meditation is deep focused contemplation by a renewed mind on the amazing wisdom of God. David tells us in Psalms 1 to delight in the Lord’s Law. David “meditates (Hebrew – hâgâh) day and night” (Psalms 1:2). This term means to murmur, ponder, to mull over carefully. The word translated meditate in Psalm 119:15 (Hebrew – śı̂yach) talks of a preoccupied mind, often murmuring audible words. This term can be translated as pray (Psalms 55:17) or talk (Psalms 119:27). Psalms 143:5 includes both words, showing their relationship. David says — I remember the days of old; I meditate (hâgâh) on all Your works; I muse (śı̂yach) on the work of Your hands (Psalms 143:5). You want to know what he is thinking? Meditate on His Word.

Meditation is to our heart as water is to the desert. I live in the desert. Most of the year the desert is a dry and dusty place. Shade from a tall mesquite tree is a gift from God. Then comes the monsoon. Oh my.

The desert leaps to life overnight. The brilliance of the morning sun on the fresh green leaves is glorious to the eyes. The entire land looks different after the rain, it really is different. This is the impact of meditation focused on the Word for our soul. Our soul is refreshed.

Our dry and dusty life is filled with power. God moves in us. God is unleased by his tools and his Word. For meditation to be effective – the wall clock is not our friend. We cannot rush God, he will infuse himself and his word into us as he deems proper, at his pace. We are not in control, He is. But rest assured – he will infuse us with His life. Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord who Is there (see Ezekiel 48:35) will arrive.

Therefore, I focus on the Word, meditate on his precepts and….

I choose Jesus.

Hollywood and the Midnight Ride

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After Hollywood settled down in life, he found a job working at the Q-Bar Ranch on the far west side of the Black Hills. He did not know how much he was going to love this job until after three or four years of work. He found it to be the perfect balance of solitude, time out on the range, chasing down the cattle that were in trouble, protecting them from the wolves and the bears and all the other critters that chased the cattle. He also loved the time spent with the men who worked on the ranch, working as small teams and sometimes in the evenings as they would sit and talk to each other, solving all the problems of the world.

But gradually, his most favorite time of all was the evening watch. Late at night, he’d go out on the range and he spent his turn on Guard. He was working and looking after the cattle to be sure that they were safe through the evening. It was the same type of job as a shepherd. He had read about this type of work in the Bible. Over the years he developed an affinity for scripture, he loved to read and study the passages his mother had introduced him to.

Yet tonight, there he was, riding his horse, watching the stars move, watching the shooting stars light up the sky, seeing the horizon change as the moon shifted across the heights. They could see the ridge outline and the mountains. They could see the cabin lights at the ranch. They could see the tree outline. And then he could hear his friends, who were a long way away, but they would be singing. They could hear each other sing. They sang beautiful harmonies. Slowly. He learned what they were singing. And then, when it was his turn, he would start a song for the others to sing. He would share the songs he learned from his mother. He often sang —

Moonlight on the prairie, cowboys are singing low.

Cattle are all sleeping, riders look to and fro.

Protecting the herd from trouble, cattle decide to trust us.

They come and touch my hand, never want to make a fuss.

These are simple songs. But they told the story of what a cowboy did and what a Cowboys life was like. The men that worked the range loved what they did for a living. Hollywood loved looking after the cattle. They all knew that these cattle ultimately would wind up on a dinner table someplace. So, while the cattle were in their care, they looked after them and gave them the best life possible. Make no mistake, the cattle are rough and tough. And yes, the cattle made a lot of noise and often resisted our efforts to look after them. Yet, the moments of tenderness we would experience with the members of the herd spoke volumes of the character and resolve the herd felt.

But in the end, everybody understood their role and the cattle really grew to appreciate these men as they raised them up over the years. Eventually the day came when we had to bring these herds into the gathering points. We gently loaded the cattle onto the train. These cows would go on a long journey.

But we know, we all seem to understand, and we even think sometimes the cattle understood how important their role was — people’s lives depended upon having something good to eat. The cattle lived a good life on the range but then gave themselves for others to live. And so, life progressed — it was not easy. It was not a life that was made for everybody. Our life was protecting and herding cattle. We spent time roping and gathering the cows during the daytime. We rode out into the rain, snow, hail, lightning, and heat to find and help the cattle. Sometimes we would see trouble on the horizon, when you are the only cowboy for 50 miles around, you are it. The cattle were our responsibility.

Yeah, you had those songs to sing, and at night when you could hear the silence, it was so, so quiet and so beautiful. But we had God on our side to keep us safe. We stayed the course, doing what needed to be done. And then came the songs and the poetic lyrics about real life, his life. And he was saying things like —

Soon it will be morning, west wind is turning gray.

Cattle will soon awaken, At the break of day.

Up the trail we travel, each step defines the fun.

We count heads carefully, Never want to lose one.

For hours he would spend time on his horse, moving to and fro, checking on the herd, talking to them quietly, keeping the peace, keeping them calm. They would gather in small bunches, and the young would circle around, nudging his horse.

He would wait quietly for the night to pass because the cattle knew he was there to protect them; they knew that they were safe. So, they just rested.

Sometimes things did not go so well. Sometimes a coyote or a wolf would move in looking for an evening meal and you would have to isolate those cattle and get between the cattle and the threat – Hollywood would stand his ground. The cattle knew their guard was going to take care of business. So, Hollywood would stand there and he would talk quite loudly and let that predator know he needed to move on, he was in the wrong place. Gradually Hollywood would coax the enemy away, and then the cattle would once again be relieved. They would be at peace and they would settle down once again, and he would return to his singing. Hollywood’s eye was always watching to be sure that the threat stayed far away and did not come close to his precious cattle.

Hollywood enjoyed the evening with his horse and his wonderful songs. He would look up at the stars, and he would describe the stars in song to the cattle. He would describe the way the moon looked, singing how the moonlight wrapped around his shoulders and lit up their eyes. He would sing what it was like to see the sunrise just starting to emerge. He would sing songs about how the warmth from the sun gradually emerged and filled up your face with pleasure. And then those songs would talk about the morning breakfast, what it was like to get a bite to eat during the day, and how welcome the rest was when your night’s work was done.

The songs were the threads that connected his life to God and to his work. As he got older, his songs became more important, he started writing them down so he would not forget. His voice lingers, even to this day, on the Wind River Range.

Exodus 14:13-14 — Do not be afraid, stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today … the Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Exodus 15:2-3 – The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.  The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.

Please note: In 1956 a cowboy poet, Jim Jennings, published a short book about his experience working at ‘dude’ ranches in the west. My Great grandmother, Goldie Livingston, obtained a first edition copy of Jim’s self-published book in the fall of 1956.  The poetry in this story is adapted froSm Jim’s book.

Communion with God

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It was my observation in the Old Testament, two Hebrew words are translated “meditate.” One of the words hints about a quiet muttering sound; the other suggests an idea to be taken up or absorbed. Taken together, we get the idea of someone pondering a biblical text, quietly vocalizing the meaning.

David writes — I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways (Psalms 119:15)

JI Packer said — Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God… It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.

If our focus of meditation is on God, his word, his holiness, his ways, his creation, then we are moving in the right direction. We are putting the makers mark on our heart. We are infusing scripture into the very place where it can do the most good to shape our inner life and outer actions…

CS Lewis says — meditation is a devotional practice that we engage in with God’s help to know Him better, love Him more, experience closer communion with Him, and live for His glory.

Read this slowly — But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night (Psalms 1:1-2); I meditate on You in the night watches (Psalms 63:6); My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long (Psalms 71:24); Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight (Psalms 19:14); My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall give understanding (Psalms 49:3); I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways (Psalms 119:15); My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes (Psalms 119:48); Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation (Psalms 119:97, 99). Are you feeling it?? If not read it again.

When God asked Joshua to lead the Hebrew nation into the promised land, He said — This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8). To accomplish this task, the thing that God called him to accomplish, Joshua needed to infuse himself with God’s message, breathe it into the other people around him, and move the nation forward.

When you start to crawl into the life of Paul you get the feeling that he was far beyond just carrying a box of scripture around, with file tabs and handy little bookmarks to make it easy to find stuff. They were so closely tied (meditation) to the message he simply allowed streaming thought to prevail. Paul walked and talked about this stuff all the time.

Yet, Paul was the first to say – I struggle with this thing. I know what is right, but fail, I want to do right and I fail, I could just sit in the road and pout. But thanks be to the Jesus I serve — He knows my weaknesses and lifts me up. Not by me, but by the grace of Jesus I live (paraphrased from Romans 7). This infusion of the Word on his heart was amazing. He moves back and forth between the old covenant and the new, using the old to explain the new — never missing a beat, he hears from God, he understands, and he moves forward. No fear.

This solid grasp of God’s intent, empowered by the Spirit of God infusing us with the Word, is what we need. All of us. How else can we successfully navigate the daily drama of a fallen world? This is how God whoops Lucifer. Jesus scores. Lucifer is down.

I choose Jesus.

Be Still and Listen Carefully!

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It has been my observation when pondering on the nature and range of events that occur during prayer, I have not used this tool as effectively as I could have over the years. Listening is not my strong suit, being a passive-aggressive alpha leads to the compulsive need to fill ‘dead air’ with something. The sound of my voice? Oopps…

I learned from Miles Davis, a jazz player, the melody is as much about what you do not play (silence) as it is about what you do play (sound). An improvised melody must have time for the listener to breathe, it is important to rest the listener’s mind, and gently lead the listener to the next line, the next paragraph.

This might be a bit too much ‘music speak’, but it strongly illustrates the notion of — be still and know I am God, be still and know, be still, just be… Know who you are waiting on (God), accept he will be reaching out to you (Know), get very calm (Still), open your ears (guard your heart, confirm all messaging with scripture).

When I postulate on prayer, listening is not the first thing I usually think about. But if we want to hear Him speak, we will need to stop talking long enough for God to get your attention. He wants to talk. He tells us stuff in scripture but has more. Listening patiently, trusting there will be communion, a message, a thought… Is not easy.

I learned a while back that we will do what we will do. Message or not, we will do it. Failure to get clear guidance will not impar many of us when it comes to the decision point. We will press on, try to get it right, and ask for forgiveness later.

The still small voice is not easy to hear, and perhaps, just perhaps we are not really asking for direction, we are consulting, asking for confirmation OUR plan is the right plan. Asking for confirmation is much different that asking for directions. If we have made up our mind, I think we may not hear the still small voice. Consulting for confirmation is different from dropping anchor and waiting on God before you move any direction.

Some people call this type of listening contemplative or reflective prayer. Sounds a little too much like a ‘new age’ thing to me so I just think of it as ‘getting still’ and letting God be God. Get still. Gettings still will shut out the noise, the ‘knowing I am God’ part is our clue to not empty our mind, but to focus our mind. Focus on the majesty and grandeur of God. This does require effort and practice. I find it a bit easier to do on my Walkabouts. Might not be the same for you, but that helps to keep me focused.

This ‘being still’ is active listening, it is shutting out all the things around us (I walk the same trail every day, I can walk that trail in my mind any time, any place). The trail helps me to shut out the distractions. This is key – I expect God to speak. Do not engage him — nothing is likely to happen. Engage and expect a response. We see a strong recurring theme in Psalms from David — My soul waits in silence for God only (Psalm 62:1); My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalms 42:2). I know he is God; I will be still and wait (implied Psalms 46:10)

No agenda? No prayer request to ruminate? God could say anything, God could ask me anything. Oh my. Dat is scarry. When we quietly wait on the Spirit, He may communicate extremely penetrating stuff—words of conviction, words of love, or no words at all – Just an overwhelming awareness of his presence.

David writes — You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11) Selah. I suspect I often do not stay in his presence long enough to hear his words of love; I blurt out my fears and a few thanks, then I move on — oblivious to this wonderful God, the One true living God who has slowed down and rested his hand on my head; only for me to move on. I wonder what I have missed. This is not easy. It takes a lifetime. Be patient with yourself. He is a deep pool of water.

I choose Jesus.

Declare What Is Right.

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It has been my observation that we see a recurring message in scripture that Elohim is to be trusted above all else in this universe.  Idols are man’s creation – they have zero power, they are inert, lifeless, useless. Elohim reveals himself when it is necessary to accomplish a goal or we are in trouble. When our free will gets us into mischief then God intervenes as necessary to be sure we do not get too far into the weeds.

Isaiah 45:15-19 says — All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgrace together. But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, for the ages everlasting. For this is what the Lord says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited— he says: I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, Seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right. (NIV)

Isaiah mentions the everlasting salvation to be sure we are not discouraged too much.  Yet, Elohim must be true to his own sense of fair play and justice, if we make mistakes and fail to repent then we can expect issues. Sometimes, if training is required, even with repentance, issues come our way. Our job?  Stay focused. Keep our eye on God. The growth of God’s people is delivered in layers of grace and training. We learn, we get better, but we still seem to stumble. Fortunately, Elohim is longsuffering and patient with us. He knows how timid and helpless we are when faced with huge obstacles. Elohim knows we charge ahead foolishly and get ourselves all tangled up in the brambles. He smiles, then at the right time Elohim pulls us out of trouble, every time. The Spirit of the Lord is always working on our heart (implied in Zechariah 4:6), therefore the accidental troubles we encounter are mere speedbumps.

Isaiah 57:14-16 says – Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people. For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry for then they would faint away because of me—the very people I have created. (NIV)

The people who make our distractions (graven objects) sometimes create public personalities that we aspire to be like (worship).  They are makers of Idols (chaff).  Then they say — you need this thing or you need to hear this or you need to see this event if you want to live life to the fullest.  They quietly place a fence about our life — we find ourselves generating loads of activity as we aspire to emulate the public personalities or accomplish the specified objectives. We are trapped.

The deeper truth — It is God’s hope that we get still, listen to the Holy Spirit, and reassign our adulation to the one true living God. The makers of the public personas and distractions often see the emptiness themselves and they pull away from the façade as they get a bit older. They become more honest in their messaging and we all benefit. Consider the transition of some aging rock stars as they settle down, abandon drugs, and start leading godly lives.  Usually, something occurred in their life (an uncomfortable event) that helped them to see their sin and yield to the one true living God. It is amazing to see this happen with people– we all need Jesus – it does not matter what we do or how we live – we all need the one true living God.  In this transformation – we are able to declare what is right and live for God.

I choose Jesus.

Refine your Message

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It has been my observation, during the time we spend talking to God, he gradually aligns our will with his, changing the way we view a situation, and changing the way we respond to a problem. Sometimes we miss his answers (because we are not listening or we are expecting a different answer so we do not recognize it when it comes), and other times the answer comes through reading the Bible or talking to others, but God will answer. His wisdom sees farther and loves deeper than we can imagine. God enables us to set our vision for an eternity fellowshipping with those he loves, not just gratification in the immediate moment. There is no one else who can see and know what he does, and he delights to share his wisdom with us in prayer.

If you have an approach to formulate your prayer, then stick with it. Nurture your method and grow close to God. If you were curious about finding something different to formulate your prayer time, you might consider using the ACTS approach (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication). Let us take a closer look at the four elements.

Adoration. Begin your prayer in adoration and praise of God. When the time is right, focus on the absolute majesty and wonder of who God is and how He desires to be with you, always. If you want inspiration, you can pray with a Psalm of praise such as Psalm 100, or Psalm 67.

Contrition. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your sinfulness and need for God’s mercy and grace. Become comfortable talking with God about specific sins — repent and seek forgiveness. Check out Psalms 51 for an example.

Thankfulness. Take the time to thank God for the positive things in your life. Try to notice the blessings you often take for granted. Take a look at Psalms 77 for an example.

Supplication. lift up your cares and concerns to God. Pray for the people in your life, for those who are suffering, for the needs of all people throughout the world. Ask God to show you who to pray for today.

If the Holy Spirit—God’s way of being with us, working through us, and speaking to us—is the way in which continuity is maintained between the life of Jesus and the life of Jesus’ community, then prayer is the primary way we receive and participate in that presence. Prayer is our way of being attentively present to God who is present to us in the Holy Spirit. This frees us from thinking that prayer is about our posture or our ‘right words.’ Prayer is a part of being attentive to the God who is already present with us; to the God already at work in us, our communities, and the world; and to the God who wants us to participate in his ongoing work.

As we pray, we are dependent on the Holy Spirit whether we recognize it or not. Paul says — we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God (Romans 8:26–27).

In this passage, Paul is saying more than — When you cannot find the words, the Spirit will help. We are given assurances the Holy Spirit is interceding as needed. As needed, the Holy Spirit will take whatever we offer, however rich or impoverished our words are, however inadequate we feel, and intercede. This is an amazing part of prayer and of the relationship we foster with the one true living God. He fills in the blanks. We are struggling, unsure how to proceed, he moves with authority. He then gives us glimpses of his plan, his focus, his assurance we are in a safe harbor. Why? Because we have yielded to him, we have conformed our requests to his will.

In Revelation 5, John describes a vision of a slain Lamb upon a throne, surrounded by elders who are constantly worshiping. Each elder is holding a golden bowl full of incense, the incense in the bowl are the prayers from the people of God. Our ordinary, everyday prayers reach the very presence of God. They fill the throne room. They are the smoke that surrounds the throne.

I choose Jesus.