Freedom

I have a country
I have a King
I have a song
That I can sing

I love my husband
And our tiny bird
My stacks of books
With their faithful words

I have strong family
And lifelong friends
That make life richer
At each day's end

We aren't home yet
But each day we find
We're one step closer
To that finish line

So while we wait
Life's immortal birth
Dear Lord, I think you
For blessings on Earth.

-Kristen Meyer Harmon

A Prayer

Our Father, which art in heaven,
How you must weep at the pain of our world today.  The unthinkable actions of hate and ignorance and their terrible consequences.

Hallowed by your name.
Your holiness beckons us from darkness.

Your kingdom come
We long for the day when your kingdom will reign over all people, when darkness will vanish, and death will be no more.

Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.
The evidence of life outside your will is plain, ugly and heartbreaking in the events today.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
Help us not to harbor bitterness, but to trust vengeance to you.  Thank you for offering forgiveness when we do wrong.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
We ask for your angels to walk beside us, to surround us with your protection. Thank-you for deliverance from evil through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
Even so Lord Jesus, quickly come.

Amen

Jesus the Warrior

There is incredible story tucked in the book of Daniel.

Daniel had been praying for answers to his vision, one of a great war.  Three weeks after he prayed this prayer an angel appeared before him.  His appearance was so overwhelming that Daniel fell into a deep sleep with his face on the ground.   The angel had to lift him up so that he was able to hear the incredible message:

“Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.  But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.  Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.”   (Daniel 10:12- 13)

Many people believe that Michael is a mythic word for Jesus.   His name appears again in Revelation.

“Then war broke out in heaven.  Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  The great dragon was hurled down.”  Revelation 12:7-9.

How does that match your picture of Jesus on Earth?

Its easy to imagine Him wearing sandals and a long white garment.  Smiling at children.  Kind eyes and powerful presence.  The perfect blend of humility and confidence.

But these verses paint a different aspect of Jesus.  Imagine Him leading an army of angels –one of which nearly frightened a very Godly man to death- but now an army of them!   Imagine Him wielding a leading an army to battle, his face shining like the sun, holding a sharp sword.  

A glimpse into this aspect of Jesus gives me a new appreciation for His sacrifice.

Consider the world from the Lord of the Rings movies.  Aragorn was a warrior.   If needed, he would have given his life in battle to save Frodo and Sam.

But, would he have dropped his sword?  Would he have willingly walked into Mordor, defenseless?

How much strength must it take for a fierce and powerful warrior to not use their strength?  To allow the weaker enemy to prevail, even for a moment.

Jesus said in John 10:17-18.   “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. “

On this Good Friday, consider what we know of Jesus.  He bears so much outer strength that no warrior on heaven and earth can defeat him.  Yet inner strength enough to conceal His glory to win a different kind of battle on earth.

Today we honor his sacrifice.  But the tomb is empty.  Jesus the Savior lives.  Jesus the Warrior lives.

And if we let him, He will fight for our freedom.  Our hearts.  

I can think of no better hero then this.

Hope

Hope is like air.
A constant source of life,
Even when we aren't conscious of it.

Hope is like water.
Filling us, sustaining us,
Providing energy as we drink.

Hope is like an anchor.
Grounding us when winds blow,
Reminding us of what we know.

-Kristen Harmon

A Prayer for Paris

The sun rises today, as it has for so many years.  There is beauty in the morning, beauty in the breeze, but heartbreak in the world.

Will you join me in praying for Paris?

Father,

We don't understand what causes humans to choose the path displayed in horror last night.   Their goal, their thought process.  But we are saddened by the consequences of their choice.
We ask that you be close to those that are mourning, those who didn't know they had hugged loved ones, sent texts, commented on FB posts, for the last time.
Please be with the survivors, those in pain, those in the hospitals, those struggling to process what happened around them.
Please be with the doctors, the nurses, the nurse techs, the environmental service members, the hospital administration who are caring for the victims.  Give them wisdom and kindness, patience and skill.
And please be with France's president Francois Holland and his team as they wrestle with their response to these terrible attacks.  May they choose the right reaction, and may their allies hear your guidance as they seek to support a friend in need.

Thank-you for providing us rescue from this world through Jesus.  Thank-you that we have eternal hope far beyond anything darkness could ever touch.

Amen

Truth and Politics

Haters will hate

Tweeters will tweet

“Reporters’ can lie

Beware what you read

Time will reveal

What mere words cannot

True richness is measured

By what can’t be bought

So before you get angry

Before you get rude

Step back and consider

What is true?

-Kristen Harmon  

Lessons in Make-up

I recently got a new bottle of eye make up remover.

It's so full, and I use so little each night, that it feels like I should never run out. But eventually, little by little, day by day, the liquid is poured out, used up, and the bottle is emptied.

Standing there by my mirror, I realized this was a lot like life.

It feels like life should be endless, filled to the brim with so many days that their number is virtually uncountable.

But somehow, minute by minute, week by week, years go by.  Even decades.

Sometimes I wonder, what am I doing with my time?  How is it possible that so many days have passed by?  Am I using my moments how I should?

I thought of Jesus.   In Isaiah 53 scripture says that He "poured out his life unto death."

Imagine my eye make up remover bottle, 3/4 full, suddenly being poured out on the ground until it was empty.   What an incredible sacrifice He made.

While on Earth, Jesus proclaimed a great truth.  There is more.

In John 4 He promises, "The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

I think about the future a lot.  So I'm pretty grateful to know there is a future.  Because its the end of another day, and time to use one more drop.