A Thank You Note...

I just received a thank you note from Jonathan Philips, a missionary to Romania from Stillmeadow.  Recently at our 30 Hour Famine, our teens wrote him some encouragement and prayer notes.  Below is his response.  If you want to follow and support him on his journey, he updates this blog.  Cool God-stories there!


Josh,

I wanted to let you know that this week I received the cards the Stillmeadow teens made during their 30-hour famine. It was an unexpected surprise to receive so many cards. This has been a very busy and stressful week, so it was nice to receive notes of encouragement and to know that I'm being prayed for. Please let the teens know that they brightened my day.

Blessings,
Jonathan

A Blessing in the Advent Season

A shoot will come out of the stump of Jesse,
and a branch will grow from its roots.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. (Isaiah 11.1-4a)

My friends, it is Advent, and the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Let us pray that we will bear the fruit of repentance in our lives.
Let us pray that we will be people of righteousness, justice and faithfulness.
Let us pray that we will not judge by what the eye sees or decide by what the ears hears.
Indeed, let us pray that we will have eyes to see and ears to hear the good news.
Let us pray that we will have eyes that will see beyond our stereotypes,
…ears that will listen closely to the stories of our neighbours,
…eyes to see each others gifts,
…ears to hear each others joys and sorrows.
Let us pray that we will have the eyes to see a shoot that shall come out of the charred stump of Jesse, out of the charred stump of our own lives.
Let us pray, Amen, come soon Lord Jesus.

Some quality thoughts by Brian Walsh on Empire Remixed.
Here's the complete post...focused on judgmentalism.

Verse and Voice 12.02.2010

"Get up and pray for help all through the night. Pour out your feelings to the Lord, as you would pour water out of a jug. Beg [the Lord] to save your people, who are starving to death at every street crossing." - Lamentations 2:19

"We must move away from asking God to take care of the things that are breaking our hearts to praying about the things that are breaking God's heart." - Margaret Gibb We pray today for the victims of violence and war. We ask your healing, O Lord, for those who have been wounded in body, hurt emotionally, and broken spiritually. For the refugees who have been forced out of their homes because of war and destruction, we ask your protection and guidance. Amen.

A good word from the Sojourners Verse and Voice blog found here.