Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.  1 Peter 1:13-21

Before You Lord I had no need for preparation, no need to consider what it meant to “gird up the loins of my mind”.  Being sober and obedient were irrelevant to a man who honored no authority serving only appetite.  I was seemingly content to accumulate or struggle for the whims of my endless, unrelenting, insatiable desire.  I cared nothing for hope tied to some anticipated day when Your revealed Glory and Grace will satiate my soul.  I remained in ignorance, not bliss, but foolishness not knowing that I could ever reflect holiness, through reverent fear of something beyond self.  I had no wisdom, no knowledge or understanding that my redemption, my freedom was bought by something that I can never deserve, something perfect that ultimately endowed me with belief that sponsored faith and hope in the Glory of Almighty God.

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.  To whom, coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 1Peter 2:1-5

Do you see it?  Does His glory appeal to your new found appetites, that you might be fed to growth?  Do you feel member to a holy priesthood, lively stones built into what God is constructing toward eternity.  Are you precious, not lacking humility, but convinced of your importance to God?  Do you feel it is time to take on His image and begin to show holiness to a world that like your previous man, understood it not?  When is it, this moment of our transition from old to new creature?  Was it that moment of redemptive prayer?  Perhaps the second we realized the humility of repentance?  Or is it right now as we begin to see that His Glory may only be revealed in each of us when we are awe-stricken by His Sovereign Authority, Majesty and Grace?  Why do we have to be sober?  Because without sober, clear and meditative contemplation upon the un-defiled price of our redemption we can never truly understand the Grandeur we were meant to reflect in this world.  We do not have to remain babes, but as the growth of each child is fully dependent on nourishment, our spiritual maturation may only be fed by the Word of God.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 1Peter 2:9-10

Forgive me for my poor ability to communicate God’s Love for you.  That is after all, the entire drive behind my ministry, to describe, demonstrate and convince you that although this world leaves us empty, alone and bewildered, that the Almighty God of this and every universe, Loves you deeply.  Though my vocabulary and communication skills are insufficient to this task, that matters little.  For it is the Holy Spirit of God that speaks to you using my feeble attempts as conduit.  Please do not focus on my inadequacies, for if you pay them particular attention you may miss the treasure of my attempts.  He is there, He is alive, He is waiting to hear from you and develop an eternal relationship of teaching, care and peace provoking fellowship.

Where are you now?  What is happening right now?  What demons do you face, what troubles are you fighting, what pains do you suffer and what feelings overwhelm?  None you say, you are entirely self-sufficient, needing nothing.  I applaud your position.  My seasons however have changed and each time they do I realize how poorly supplied I have been in the past to overcome those inevitable changes of life.  I have been convinced of God’s unrequited, unflinching, perpetual Love for me.  So now my inadequacies don’t matter.  It is no longer me alone, facing each obstacle, some of them even life threatening.  It is God fighting for me, protecting me, guiding me, intervening in my circumstances with a promise to never quit, no matter the size, force and longevity of the battles I must face.  For nothing is beyond God and He loves me enough to be my Saviour if I will believe and submit to His Will for my life.

That is the problem isn’t,  submitting to God?  None of us would argue against God Loving us, for there is no cost in Him Loving us that much.  There are none other than the wicked who would avoid the idea that God truly Loves each of us.  When faced with having to obey His Word and Will or depend on Him for our provision, protection and prayer, then and only then do we meet the true conflict in each man’s heart.  For that is the moment of our greatest determination.  The moment when our pains, mistakes, victories and challenges either fall within acceptable control or we find the need to cry out to God for relief and help.

And that is why people hate Jesus, because they have no problem making a wooden or metal idol and rubbing it, asking three times for their wishes to be answered.  They have no problem with the man, called Jesus, preaching love, respect and freedom from the world’s troubles.  They hate Christ because He said He is God and told them that belief in Him is the “only” way to salvation and eternal life spent within God’s Kingdom.  They hate Him for saying that we cannot earn our way to heaven that it is out of reach of our own efforts.  That central idea is the basis behind the formulation of all false prophets or religions.  They hope that somehow religion might counter this assertion by developing new books, new rules or conforming the Word of God into a kinder, gentler, version of reality one that allows us to control our access into heaven.  One that allows man to save himself through good behavior or some set of behaviors and sacraments.  They hate Him for the truth.  Their only hope, since they are unwilling to humble themselves before God, is now to wish upon every star, that somehow Christ was wrong.

Again they have no problem with freely given love they have a problem with submitting to a “Sovereign” authority who has the Right, the Power and the Ability to pronounce judgment upon their behaviors and deeds.  Isn’t that the same circumstance that occurred in the Garden of Eden?  That the enemy twists God’s Word until it says what we want it to say and that man always seeks his own way instead of God’s, to his own demise.  Isn’t that why the Jewish Nation has been repeatedly disciplined by God throughout history?  They could not just accept His Sovereign Grace and instead developed rules, methods and rituals to earn their way into the presence of God.  It all comes down the central concept of do I obey a Sovereign God or do I choose to exercise my own foolish right of determination? Isn’t that the concept behind ethical relativism?  The mantra of today’s world, let each man be his own authority and respect each man’s choices of identity no matter how dangerous, odd or unrealistic they become. For to put rules upon any man implies that there is in fact a fixed, truth that bonds all men to what is universally right and wrong.  They killed Jesus for implying that any such Eternal and Lasting Truth exists.  What then do you believe they would do to me for making that same assertion?  It matters not for my life or death is in God’s Hands not my own.  I serve a Sovereign Lord.

I used to fight God, even when I began to trust Him and understand that His Will was “always” better for me than my own path.  Why?  Because, that is the battle to which each man is called to muster, the war between self and God.  Do I serve my wealth, my government or my religion or do I serve God?  It is that simple, but yet so complicated for us to comprehend.  We cannot afford for it to be simple because then we would have to make a rational and conscious choice and admit that God exists and therefore each of us must make a decision.  That is why this conversation is disallowed in all communities.  For even having the conversation clarifies our circumstance, destroys obfuscation and false argument.  This conversation introduces all men to the idea behind each of our lives.  Are we here by God’s Hand or by chance?  For through that discussion we all make the choice of whom we serve in this life and the next.

It was hard for me to understand that God would allow my disobedience.  I thought certainly, that when I chose His Way that He would force me to obey, but that was not always the case.  For God Loves me enough to allow me the free will to make my own choices and mistakes.  Although He never allows me to rebelliously disobey without direct consequence, as an indolent child, He allows me to struggle some times for His own purposes and my growth.  For in my struggle, I get my legs under me and I am taught to depend upon Him.  My struggles have grown me in wisdom and taught me that He never leaves, never ignores, never looks away in disgust at my inadequacies.  He is simply the God who “IS”.  God Loves you in a way that we cannot comprehend for every thing we do is finite or limited.  He is not limited or finite but is outside of time’s constraining influence upon definition and understanding.  When you have the opportunity to fight God or submit, I pray with all my heart that you give in and find the Goodness of God’s Plan for your life.  In Jesus’ Name.

For a moment, take in a deep breath.  And as you let it out allow yourself to contemplate your pain, your worry, your lasting wounds and scars.  Most won’t want to look at them, but that fact only elevates our need for relief.  For the wounds that remain open fester, ignoring them only allows for prolonged susceptibility to decay.  Is your current situation a result of the episodes associated with those particular wounds?  Are you suffering or are you living a life limited in some way through the sequence of events surrounding the instances that created those wounds?  Two things; the fact that the wounds remain means that you are carrying burdens you need not bear, and if a sequence of events got you to this point where you are unfulfilled, flustered or inhibited there must be a sequence of events that would lead you out of these circumstances.

Jesus promises to set us free from the burdens associated with sin and death, He promises a peace that surpasses the understanding of this world.  What does He require?  He wants belief, belief that sponsors humility, repentance and acceptance of the Truth of God’s Sovereignty over all our lives.  The practical questions often go unasked.  Questions such as what part did I play in losing my job, becoming addicted to whatever substance, broken or severed relationships that led to my eventual less than bountiful living circumstances?  This evaluation is necessary to healing, for if I am not willing to investigate the nature of my wounds, illness or predicament then how may I find a solution or define the options in moving to a better life?  How might I go before God in humility asking for forgiveness of sins if I cannot see and admit the sins for which I am asking forgiveness?

Am I hiding from the burden of having done something wrong, broken some law, embarrassed myself and others or have I just made so many mistakes that where I am is the only place I could have possibly ended up?  This analysis should give you Hope, the Hope that Jesus Christ provides the way to being free of all these ills, pains, memories, wounds and self-constructed incarceration.  Lay down the burdens at the foot of the Cross and experience rest.  Let go of the repressed or suppressed hurt of the past, repent of the horrible things you’ve done, give them to Jesus, forgive and be forgiven.

There is hope, stop wandering in the desert, come into the promise land and find peace, hope, abundance, healing and renewal.  Take a step today.  Call someone who you refused to forgive, send them on their way with a positive prayer of blessing.  Fess up for the ills you’ve created, be honest with yourself and God, ask Him to set you free of the bondage with these mistakes have imprisoned you, limited you, robbed you of choices and normal social interactions.  There is always an answer, but the answers always lay in admitting, facing and accepting the steps that led us to our current situation.  We cannot ignore our actions and expect that they will somehow disappear with enough time, alcohol, marijuana, heroine or sexual gratification, these things only prolong the time for our wounds to fester and decay, making them worse.

What is God saying to you right now?  Don’t ignore it, listen to that small quiet voice in the back of your head, telling you to seek healing, promise, truth and repair.  Ask for help, for if I am stuck at the bottom of the well and there are no handholds with which to climb out then my only salvation lay in the help provided by someone who is close enough to hear my cries for assistance.  Can I be that passer bye?  Can I give you a hand up, a word of encouragement a sympathetic but honest friend who understands that we have all failed and are in need of salvation?  Can I provide enough love to you today that you might see that Jesus has been waiting there all along, praying for you, hoping in you, knowing that one special day you would come to the knowledge of the truth and turn your heart to Him for forgiveness, repentance, healing, relief and repair?  Let this be the day where we investigate the options together.  Lay down your cares and your worries at the Cross, let the Lord set you free from sin and death and begin to live again with Jesus.  In His Holy Name I pray for you this day.  Amen

My deeds always have an attached component entirely about me.  I do not allow myself to be paraded publicly, persecuted, punished, counted with Christ for the Good of God’s Kingdom.  My greedy little eyes and hands devour those things I want, scouring the Bible for scripture that may be used to explain away or justify my actions as somehow appropriate.  Even when I do good, I have to stop and wonder my intentions, were they really chaste, just, selfless like My God, My Christ?  If I doubt my own motivation what then shall God see within my greatest sacrifice?  What makes the enemy so effective in attempts to steal our joy is that the truth may only be twisted or modified if the lie still contains the semblance of the original truth.  Praise be to God it is not upon my own works or worth that I shall gain entry to heaven, for they are filthy rags before the Lord’s nostrils.  I do not deserve fellowship with God.  I did not gain God’s favor through performance.  I was given grace and only by His grace was I made to see the error of my pensive and active life.  I owe all to His Selflessness on my behalf.

But then my heart, yes my heart, that little chemical engine that holds my life in its hands.  What motivates my heart, what does God really see at the middle of me?  For He knows the real me, that man concealed behind the superficial deeds I display as my portfolio to convince myself and others of my piety.  They don’t remember me because I never really did anything worth remembering.  They remember Him because He gave all for them.  How then may I give all if all that I know is what I know?  You see it is not enough for me to think that I have become a new creature because I say that I know Christ.  My mind must exhibit the notable changes associated with becoming sacrificial in my thinking toward God and man.  Everything about me must demonstrate the evidence and presence of God’s Holy Spirit at work in reconstruction of my desperate container.  I cannot be one with Christ if I do not love, honor, obey and truly begin to look like Christ internally.  The evidence of new construction is the demolition, ground breaking, planning and reconstruction of what was the home of errant living and thinking.  Or even better the presence of the master builder and His angels doing the work beyond each of us.

What were my thoughts sans Christ?  What things do my mind and heart entertain now that I have been risen with Christ?  Would anyone who has known both parts of my life accuse me in front of the religious courts of being Christian?  Would they hate me as they first hated Him?  Would God speak to me of my deeds well done out of faith or would He wave His hand to ignite the kindling of my life misspent?  It is not this man that you see, the effectively camouflaged man, that I should bid you consider.  It should be my greatest hope that you see me at my worst possible moment and in that moment see Christ’s hand upon me, molding, shaping, remaking me and cleansing me from the poisonous spots of this world.  For it is only through being adopted to the Mind of Christ that my inner man might be set free from the treasonous treachery of sinful or wicked thinking, that my heart might be sanctified to the purity of God.  It is my greatest hope that you look at me and see Him, His Work, His Hope, His righteousness and certainly His Faithfulness and Sacrifice for mine have always been inadequate, superficial and worldly at best.

What then should I be showing this world if the inner man is healed?  Ought I contemplate fully upon what man sees in my life?  Should it bother me even the slightest the smell, texture and longevity of my fruit?  If I am God’s Man then shouldn’t it be apparent or is this too something to remain hidden within my authentic man, not publicly revealed?  I pray that you see my internal workings and see Christ at the helm of my life, the Captain of ship of my life, for He is my righteous King.  I don’t just want to say it to lure in the bees with whispers of honey.  I want to live it, to truly love Him and You with all my heart, mind, soul, spirit and strength.  I want people to be attracted to my character in curiosity of how they might embrace their own individual relationship with Almighty God.  Let us stop for a moment and think about what that really looks like, for that is the dream we preach to live or live to preach.  To be like Christ on Earth, even as this day He is seated at the right Hand of the Father interceding for each of us.  Even now adoring us, sacrificing for us, defending and providing for our safe, continued existence in time that we might have the opportunity to serve Glory’s Call.

Lord I am not there but please don’t give up on me.  My greatest fear is not that I lose out on some gain or spoil.  No I fear that the day that You believe I am beyond Your Hand’s repair.  For if You cannot remake me then what hope may I ever command.  Praise be to Your Name that Your Promises are True and You are Faithful to complete this work that You once began in each of us.  Give me Your mind and heart for this life, take away my dependence upon my own capacities.  Thank you for Your continued acts of selflessness in my life.  I certainly do not deserve them.  That is what makes them even sweeter for I may not honor myself in their acceptance.  Praise Your Holy Name, Christ the Living King.

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  And the Glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou has loved me.  The Word of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 17:22-23

Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him.  And led him away to Annas first; for he as the father in law of Caiaphas,which was the high priest that same year.  Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that is was expedient that one man should die for the people.  John 18:12-14

* A band of  Roman soldiers is 600-1000 men sent to arrest one man, who all fell to the ground when Jesus said “I am he”, an insight given by Pastor of a local Baptist Church.  Caiaphas had already decided that one man should die, enough said for a fair trial.  This was destiny revealed.  Meditate on that for a moment.

For behold, The Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.  And I will give children to be princes, and babes shall rule over them.  And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.  Isaiah 3:1-5

Do we see the world being shaped for God’s Glorious Appearing?  Do we hold fast the hope of His Revelation to judge all mankind for our iniquities and obedience?  Do you see that the circumstances are in fact being perfectly aligned for persecution of the beloved, for the world to cry out for the man of perdition to save them from the tragedy and for the Jews to have the Messiah revealed to the remnant nation?  The purposes are Divine, they represent God’s Infinite dependability, His inescapable Truthfulness, Righteousness and the imminence of His Holy Word.  This world is running out of time, it is in entropy, winding down toward God’s reinvention of the Heaven’s and the Earth.  Take hope that though things appear to be getting worse, it has all been foretold in the Bible and we know what comes after the chaos is the Righteous Reign of Peace through the Hand of God.  His Glory has been shared so that we might be One in Him.  Does that knowledge bring you Hope and Peace.  I hope that it finds you encouraged and empowered this very morning, in the Name of Jesus Christ the King of All.

My heart weeps for Your people Father.  We have forgotten our joy, that joyous place of obedience through Love for Your Word and our fulfillment.  This nation, built upon a foundation of blessing bestowed upon women and men of Truth, seeking freedom to Worship You.  Obedience brought this blessing, fellowship and righteous living continued its reward, but disregard, unheeded warning and shameful ignorance has brought us the slippery slope upon which we now find ourselves disciplined by Almighty God.

What can any single man do Lord, to convince You, beg You, plead with You to forgive us?  Your Word is clear on my need for humility, repentance and ardent prayer.  Father forgive me of all my wicked thoughts, behaviors and acts of disobedience in service of my flesh or willing aid to Your enemies.  I have nothing but You.  Seeing my country swiftly decay into an unrecognizable shadow of Your Glory it once reflected brings me past tears to the treadstone of despair.  How have we so swiftly forgotten our origins, our peace, our seemingly endless blessings?  The problem we all know the answer, we all know the stories of Your Nation being disciplined for ignorance our outright rebellion.  What we experience is no mystery.  I beseech You Father to show us the miracle of Your Forgiveness as Your Children Repent and cry out to You for succor.

May my voice be joined by other believers in humility crying out to You for Healing Father.  May they forget themselves and realize the price of our continued folly.  Turn our hearts, our prayers and our walk back to You, so that You might hear our voices from  Heaven and heal this land.  In Jesus’ Holy Name.

Father, I know that revival and my capacity to be used of any significance for the Kingdom, begins in my own heart.  Thank you for the desert path, but I so much wish to answer Your bidding to enter the promised land.  Forgive then Lord for trying to succeed of my own accord.  I see now that when I begin to whine it always accompanies a demonstration of my own attempts to work the circumstances to my own design.  Take this self-reliance from me Father, allowing me to rest in You, Trust in You, depend upon You.  For in my independence is only found momentary wins, no lasting victory.  And when I do not win Lord the price of self-reliance is truly evident for there is never peace, especially the kind that surpasses the cares of this world.

I am frail Father.  I cannot see how I might be used of God, but somehow you have determined that shall be disproved.  You are definitely a Mighty God, beyond my understanding, for I feel a piece of useless clay, yet you continue to shape me into what I cannot yet comprehend.  Please allow me to voluntarily conform to Your Mighty Craftsmanship.  Please show me how to remove any personally or wickedly constructed obstacles to accepting  my place of service in Your Will for my life.

This is not a thing of false humility, yet I ask You to search my heart and remove any thing that causes deluded thinking on my part.  Allow me clarity of purpose and penchant.  Father,  let me become the man you’ve intended, let me not go to the afterlife with the regret of in-completion.  Make of the man I stand the possibility of becoming, if I were to lend myself entirely to Your intention.  Take away from that carnal man who seeks his own end.  I don’t want the poisons of my previous life, the spots of the world or the pressures associated with denying you in order to fit in amongst the lost.  This is not my home, Lord.  Please keep me ever cognizant of that fact.  It is in Your Name that I pray and thank Jesus for the opportunity to fellowship with You.

For the Prince of Peace lived among us.  Born to a virgin, out of love for humanity in a plan of sacrifice and grace to save us all.  Showing us the righteous way to live and our rightful place within the Kingdom of God.  We have been given the handbook, the training manual, the sole connection to the Will of God through His Word, the Bible.  We are armed with prayer and relationship to God through our belief in Christ.  Our peace shall not be shaken even by extreme burden or audacious circumstance for we lay down those ills at the foot of the Cross in exchange for world-understanding, surpassing PEACE.

It has been finished, not only for episodic events of history, but for all time.  With surrender and belief comes forgiveness.  Not a momentary, fickle forgiveness customary from one man or woman to another, but the forgiveness with eternal affect.  God now looks at believers through the filter of His Holy and Perfect Son.  We have been given righteousness beyond ourselves, faith that moves mountains  and protection from angelic forces from whom only torment shall come.  We have been set free from man’s collective prison of eternal separation from God as well as the personal prisons each of us create through behaviors, addictions and regret.  All this coupled with the realization of our individual and unique, Divine Purpose edifying our confidence throughout whatever trials and times we might face.  Armored with Truth and Hope we face those challenges which may certainly come.

For those few reading, it is not my perspective I pray you will take with, but the knowledge that you might personally know and depend upon God, for love, forgiveness, protection and righteous judgement.  I pray that you go beyond my incapacity to effectively relay His Grace through mere word, pointed toward a Holy Gospel Word and direct interaction with a Mighty God that you will personally experience the Truth beyond my ambassadorship.  Test Him, forget me if that serves even minute purpose in connecting you with God through acceptance of and belief upon the sacrifice Jesus made for all upon that Cross.  He is waiting there and I will have been entirely fulfilled as even but one of you find out my statements are true.  Bless God and may He protect and guide you through His Word and Love.  In Jesus’ Name.

I can either run, become bitter about what God has given me or I can be satisfied, rejoice and be glad in this day, these trials, these talents or treasuries.  The first two reactions are normal for a worldly person.  These are the promptings of stress that spark the fight or flight mechanisms to which evolutionists hold fast as evidence of our mud based origin.  But these are autonomous, reactive and frankly immature responses to a world that holds some complex relationships.  The saved woman looks beyond the stimuli of her eyes, holding to the knowledge and reliance upon God’s greater purpose in our placement.

It just isn’t what I wanted and frankly I deserve to be happy.  This proclamation, writhe with entitling undertones bemoans the thinking of a self-actualized man.  If this is what He gave me and it frustrates or provokes my sensibilities, then I must assume that in the unwinding of its origins I will find the intended learning requiring my participation.  Yes, my kids make me crazy, but why am I getting such rich provocation from them who should be bringing me peace?  I ought not to seek a way out of it but rather surrender to it, understanding that their insanity probably reflects something missing or present in my own chemistry.  God does not make mistakes, so my chosen environment is exactly what I need to become more like Him.  How then might I embrace it and hasten or assist in His edification of my soul?  If I am meant to have peace then let me find it first right here.

There is great joy in being satisfied.  There is greater communion and relationship with Almighty God when we find peace in our present.  By nature, we all want to become heroes, just as those from the Bible, but to do so we know that it will most likely require severe humbling, a walk in the desert and most likely great hardship.  So, how might logic be served if I wish to be a hero but I don’t want the edification, sanctification or life defining hardship that most or all Prophets and Apostles endured.  Perhaps that is why we don’t step forward for our calling, because we want the ribbon without the trial?  God might use me.  However if I am not readily and voluntarily serving in my present circumstances then how might I consider the likelihood viable that He might transport me to other circumstances in order to employ my utilization?  If He cannot use me where I am, then I am certainly headed for trials to prepare me for the place I will be considered useful.  My logic must be adjusted.

I love my life.  It is frustrating, difficult, beyond my capacity to overcome and often more frightful then the enemy’s assaults.  But that is precisely what defines it as perfect for my edification.  I am stretched beyond ability, beyond patience, beyond my level of self efficacy to teach me that this road may not be walked without the power of God.  These things He bids us do require His authority, His provision, His Love, forgiveness and presence.  Being brought to the end of myself is essential to being used by God.  This life does that for me, therefore I should pray for the ability to rejoice exactly where I am.  In Jesus Holy Name.