tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187380502024-03-07T18:17:13.950-06:00Washing Windows"Now we see things imperfectly as in a glass darkly, but one day we will see everything with perfect clarity."Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.comBlogger412125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-46396374412774103552023-12-01T12:50:00.005-06:002023-12-01T12:51:21.844-06:00What Jesus tells us about himself in one prayer<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7AhvupjgOLxzoRa-J-_YdBoJqPYZClOT-Ida9K3sHGt7UqfStIbAt78OgWs8XakhDzBQ5hexTDGqcSpkeks3lQCY9bM4-cvU_5ilb2ftJA-JVIHDORr9o81sQBTMogYlXXEagxIGkb4abVVzABLT7Vm_AqQhl2YTRmAKg0zkPAMOFQyZgoRn/s1600/IMG_8400.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7AhvupjgOLxzoRa-J-_YdBoJqPYZClOT-Ida9K3sHGt7UqfStIbAt78OgWs8XakhDzBQ5hexTDGqcSpkeks3lQCY9bM4-cvU_5ilb2ftJA-JVIHDORr9o81sQBTMogYlXXEagxIGkb4abVVzABLT7Vm_AqQhl2YTRmAKg0zkPAMOFQyZgoRn/s320/IMG_8400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jesus' "High priestly prayer" in the seventeenth chapter of John's gospel is an inexhaustible fount of wonder. It rarely ceases to amaze me. Today, as I listened to Jesus' prayer, I was struck by all the various ways Jesus' describes himself as he is talking with Abba Father. Here are a few ways to express Jesus' sense of self, his identity, that I see in this prayer.<p></p><p>Jesus is our/the:<br /></p><h3 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Advocate-intercessor<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Father-glory-bringer-on-earth<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Work-finisher<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Glory-sharer-with-God-from-before-creation<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God-revealer<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Receiver-of-God’s-children<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Word-giver<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“All”-keeper<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protector-guardian-safekeeper<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joy-giver<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not-of-the-world-one<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sender<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Father-knower<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Desirer-of-being-with-us</span></span></h3>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-25211874574373933862023-11-17T16:49:00.003-06:002023-11-17T16:49:12.439-06:00Review of "Poverty, By America" by Matthew Desmond, Part 2<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fZsZwBKoRXVBDaXfaH3vC7mx-JYOsb1Y8Wm0KvnMW_swzt8lJX0cg-TTjx_peO-0w3vp0u99mywzJK_W0EOwZC7uoev0q4PyNoYWUdoMIltR37Z_75TMeXgRo89HWL7U3RG9KK32PsS2Ii66dCD_gK6KZOSw2RAqXzky8LAsLMJwuon2HIZ5/s4032/PXL_20230926_212831853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fZsZwBKoRXVBDaXfaH3vC7mx-JYOsb1Y8Wm0KvnMW_swzt8lJX0cg-TTjx_peO-0w3vp0u99mywzJK_W0EOwZC7uoev0q4PyNoYWUdoMIltR37Z_75TMeXgRo89HWL7U3RG9KK32PsS2Ii66dCD_gK6KZOSw2RAqXzky8LAsLMJwuon2HIZ5/s320/PXL_20230926_212831853.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>First, I would say it's encouraging to remember there are people like <a href="https://matthewdesmond.scholar.princeton.edu/" target="_blank">Matthew Desmond</a>, with brilliant minds, compassionate hearts, and steely determination, who are working at the forefront of the problem of poverty in America. It's a challenge and inspiration to the safe distance (and privilege) I too easily slip into. <p></p><p>I want to begin my engagement with Desmond's content with a passage from chapter seven, where he brings Leo Tolstoy into the conversation:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.6667; margin: 0px 0px 0.625em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.6667; margin: 0px 0px 0.625em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> In 1881, having published “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina<em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">,” </em>Leo Tolstoy moved to Moscow from the Russian countryside. He was fifty-three and a man of means, able to employ a team of servants who ran his household. One of the first things Tolstoy noticed about Moscow was its poverty. “I knew country poverty,” he wrote, “but town poverty was new and incomprehensible to me.” He was shocked to walk the streets of the city and see such hunger and hopelessness commingling with such ostentation and frivolity. The problem haunted Tolstoy, and he went looking for an answer. He visited houses of prostitution, questioned a police officer who had arrested a beggar, and even adopted a young boy, who eventually ran away. The problem wasn’t work, the great writer quickly learned. The poor seemed to never stop working. The problem, he ultimately decided, was himself and his fellow affluents, who lived idle lives. “I sit on a man’s back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means—except by getting off his back.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.6667; margin: 0px 0px 0.625em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> True then and there, and true now and here. There is so much poverty in this land not in spite of our wealth but because of it. Which is to say, it’s not about them. It’s about <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">us. </em>“It is really so simple,” Tolstoy wrote. “If I want to aid the poor, that is, to help the poor not to be poor, I ought not to make them poor.”</span></p></blockquote><p>In many ways, I feel this passage gets to the heart of Desmond's argument. The poor are poor in America because, frankly, we want them to be. We like it this way. We're all too comfortable with a certain level of poverty and the conveniences it affords us. We've come to depend upon a class of citizens who work for embarrassing wages and paltry benefits. The left blames broken, unjust systems and corporate greed. The right blames the welfare state and the poor for laziness. But, as a society, we've become all too accustomed with very high degree of poverty. And, there <i>is </i>something we can do about it.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.6667; margin: 0px 0px 0.625em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><p><br /></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-44271743253895686702023-11-13T16:27:00.005-06:002023-11-13T16:27:53.461-06:00Review of "Poverty, By America" by Matthew Desmond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89JxPwDEo5IlFhPRANRdW7qH_MXZ4kwzqbiF_GxZbYoXpXD1vGhfhM9AnFAt3O8yq6qDhttgblxAc-zOyz6cFPLS3KIrhkrxS2bv5sEU6MK3OMuJ8vsdpvhP0kfEzAO4yrYbK616UnocofzOjyCPAaZ6EWX16qbSc1cdliTMVG7GDRRf-Shzg/s4032/PXL_20230928_195739880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89JxPwDEo5IlFhPRANRdW7qH_MXZ4kwzqbiF_GxZbYoXpXD1vGhfhM9AnFAt3O8yq6qDhttgblxAc-zOyz6cFPLS3KIrhkrxS2bv5sEU6MK3OMuJ8vsdpvhP0kfEzAO4yrYbK616UnocofzOjyCPAaZ6EWX16qbSc1cdliTMVG7GDRRf-Shzg/s320/PXL_20230928_195739880.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>I can't tell you why. I don't remember the reasons. Barbara Ehrenreich published <i>Nickel and Dimed </i>in 2001 - my freshman year of college. I picked up a copy somewhere along the way shortly thereafter. Her book fascinated me. It startled me. It alarmed me. It drew my attention to the experience of the working poor in America. I couldn't un-see what she helped me see. <div><br /></div><div>In 2003, I lived in South Africa for six months. I was an exchanged student at the University of Cape Town. I saw poverty and racism to a degree I had not previously imagined. My house was broken into. I was held at gunpoint and knifepoint. I quickly became no stranger to the effects of poverty.<br /><div><br /></div><div>In 2005, I wrote a research paper for my law class on squatter legislation in the state of New York. What a strange topic for a Midwestern kid. It was a trip to New York City that seared my mind, seeing homelessness for the first time. I wanted to know where homeless men and women lived and what rights they had to make a home for themselves in abandoned spaces.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>That same year, I traveled to Memphis, Tennessee with my church group. We worked for a week with Service Over Self in the historic Binghampton neighborhood. We walked through the Civil Rights Museum. I had my first exposure to the stories of men and women struggling against the bondage of mind-altering drugs, felony records, homelessness, income inequities, educational injustice, broken immigrant systems, and health care disparities. Again, I couldn't un-see what I saw that week. </div><div><br /></div><div>My wife and I returned four years later for a one-year internship. This time, working with an economic development corporation in that same neighborhood, as well as walking alongside refugees being resettled in Memphis by the State department. We learned about "toxic charity" and "when helping hurts." We learned about affordable housing, asset based community development, youth development, and empowering the poor. </div><div><br /></div><div>Four years later, I was working full-time for that same organization that first arrested my attention in Memphis, partnering with homeowners in Binghampton, Orange Mound, and the Heights. Helping them keep warm, safe, and dry in their homes. Listening to and stewarding their stories. Investing in the youth of those neighborhoods. Fighting against that 'savior' mentality, and trying to learn how to be a faithful presence, a caring neighbor.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's now 2023. Half my life has passed since those early awakenings to the realities of poverty. Along the way, I've wrestled with the teachings of the Torah, the prophets, Jesus Christ, the apostles, the early church fathers, and modern prophets, on the topic of poverty, wealth, economics, justice, and government. I've read the books and blogs. I've been confronted by the warnings of Jesus to "be on your guard against every form of greed, for your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions" and to not "store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal" and "sell all you have an give to the poor" and "you cannot serve two masters; you cannot worship both God and Mammon" and most startlingly, "whatever you do for one of the least of these, you've done it for me." </div><div><br /></div><div>But - and this is confession time - a distance has grown between me and "the poor," between my heart and theirs. I am not walking in solidarity with the poor these days. A lethargy of spirit has crept in amidst the choking wants and worries of this life. I seem to recall someone issuing a warning about that...oh yeah.</div><div><br /></div><div>I suppose Matthew Desmond's <i>Poverty, By America </i>(Crown, 2023) startled me in a similar way as <i>Nickel and Dimed </i>did in those undergrad years at the University of Illinois. </div><div><br /></div><div>And now, I can't un-see what he's written. I'm not a fundamentalist on the left or the right, so I don't dismiss his words simply by association. I'm listening. This is my attempt to engage thoughtfully with Desmond's arguments.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll step into his thoughts in part two of this post.</div>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-2998271196621407562023-11-08T13:08:00.003-06:002023-11-08T13:23:26.706-06:00What is contentment? <p>"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)</p><p>I think of this Scripture often. Above all else. Guard your heart. It's the wellspring of your life, Jonathan.</p><p>I do want to live a 'good' life, after all (who doesn't?). So, what does it mean to "guard"? What is my "heart"? Above all, really? <i>Everything </i>I do flows from this spring? How do I get good <i>into </i>my "heart," whatever "heart" is?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8nCf5_Ao1-p4yDIDD-YIlbxGFLrRfPEG9igMdsnxNwfzwOQBnIuPqtG_U-LXqe78NtaHQhlN56o-YwAiDuLGS4IryZmOtoicKS9Hxx2l3ASq1HMu2Gfqegd2VqhtbXWgeVvbV0GoSEK5ztx80p-77hmQli5KsGrdOUwqG311KsJu7AJKIcXt/s4032/PXL_20231108_170958048.PORTRAIT.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8nCf5_Ao1-p4yDIDD-YIlbxGFLrRfPEG9igMdsnxNwfzwOQBnIuPqtG_U-LXqe78NtaHQhlN56o-YwAiDuLGS4IryZmOtoicKS9Hxx2l3ASq1HMu2Gfqegd2VqhtbXWgeVvbV0GoSEK5ztx80p-77hmQli5KsGrdOUwqG311KsJu7AJKIcXt/s320/PXL_20231108_170958048.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>As I was contemplating the meaning of contentment, that's the well-known proverb that drifted onto the shorts of my mind. Also, this psalm came along.<p></p><p>"I do not concern myself with matters to great and lofty for me, but I have calmed and quieted my soul. Like a weaned child with its mother, so is my soul within me." (Psalm 131)</p><p>And, then another Scripture came floating in with the tide of contentment's beckoning.</p><p>"Watch out! Be on your guard against every form of greed, for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Jesus)</p><p>There's a false contentment that plays a faux possum, sidestepping real emotional honesty, confrontation, and connection. I think that false contentment gets a lot of airtime and praise in Christian (or religious) circles. That kind of 'contentment' isn't moving us toward the abundant life which Jesus spoke of (see John 10:10). </p><p>The apostle Paul spoke of being "content" whatever the circumstances, though, right? He told the disciples in Philippi he'd learned the "secret" of contentment - lots of food, little food, poverty, riches...contentment! </p><p>Was he shutting down his soul, his passions, his heart's desires? Was he a masochist? Was he a gnostic who disregarded the body? No. I believe his secret lay in the satiation of a child who's been weaned off of mama's milk but yet living with a joyfully attachment bond at his mother's breast. He wasn't dependent on the gifts (i.e. the milk) anymore. He was attached and attuned to her presence, her heartbeat, her emotions. Which means, I suppose that "contentment" doesn't sidestep grief, sadness, groaning and lament.</p><p>In this world, we live amidst a deluge of pleasures - likes, shares, notifications, ads, subscriptions, episodes, channels, clicks, pings, hits, shots, possessions, etc. - that call for our attention, addiction, and allegiance. The subterfuge is real. The fight to live a fully human life as God created us for is a very real challenge.</p><p>There's a vigilance needed which we can't amass on our own. I believe, only in a place of connection, co-regulation, and felt safety in the merciful embrace of Abba Father as his beloved child, hidden in Christ, imbued with the holy Spirit, and interwoven in the physical body of Christ on earth, will we find the satiation that can help us live with a contentment that empowers us to truly "guard" our hearts and souls. It's the starting point, at least. </p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-54155376444721069252023-11-06T20:00:00.004-06:002023-11-06T20:00:00.145-06:00Nervous Systems, Israel, Gaza, and Emergentism<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURfL-H-JaUkgNS3-adwB6nr_mU9R1v9_gqfq_oZ7CMex1Z3FH4IkqZYQxYarVOjDArgjYpZr2XjeTsOlPIVd8jnczo54SklZbQdsXguhFTGcXAh4gt4h9zHiELVQ2vDPfA3hyphenhyphenOMVmsrfSFqdpcPjndHaPMUlhwRagSniTKrMM5Xi6s7bFvbg4/s4032/PXL_20231016_180452934.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURfL-H-JaUkgNS3-adwB6nr_mU9R1v9_gqfq_oZ7CMex1Z3FH4IkqZYQxYarVOjDArgjYpZr2XjeTsOlPIVd8jnczo54SklZbQdsXguhFTGcXAh4gt4h9zHiELVQ2vDPfA3hyphenhyphenOMVmsrfSFqdpcPjndHaPMUlhwRagSniTKrMM5Xi6s7bFvbg4/s320/PXL_20231016_180452934.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>When our nervous systems experience joyful connection, regulation, and felt-safety inside our bodies, in our environment, and in our relationships, things begin to shift.<p></p><p>Walls of protection recede; doors of curiosity open. Hyper- and hypoarousal diminish. Our window of tolerance expands, broadening the stage upon which we can roam with playfulness and wonder. The voice of trust moves centerstage. The voice of hypervigilance fades to the background. Our bodies feel safe and soothed. Our souls feel seen and loved. The true self begins to emerge. We're opening up, like a flower to the sun, toward healing, freedom, and the good life. Rules, commands, and critical feedback become less threatening. Rather, like a vine to a trellis, we creatively respond with humble submission to the freedom-producing boundaries of the trellis' structure.</p><p>But what happens when we <i>don't </i>experience this?</p><p>What happens when collective bodies <i>don't </i>experience this?</p><p>In thinking about this, my attention moved to the theory of emergentism. Roughly, as I understand it, this theory proposes that higher and larger entities are composed of lower and smaller entities. These lower and smaller entities act upon and influence the higher and larger entities that in turn shape the very particulates which comprise and sustain the larger being. Think: bees + hive, humans + architecture, child + family, brain + mind, etc.</p><p>What if something like this is one of the variables at play in the phenomena in Israel and Gaza? </p><p>My question is not all meant to brush aside the suffering of real humans. The pain, grief, sorrow, and trauma are worthy of our compassion, action, prayers, and lament. It is not meant to discount the influence or presence of spiritual realities, religion, geopolitics, power, capitalism, economics, or any other variable. The history of the seemingly intractable conflict is centuries long, and is not one which I presume to fully grasp or have answers for resolution. </p><p>But I do wonder, and this is today's "wondering." </p><p>In the meantime, for all who are suffering, I will carry prayers, compassion, lament, and find my way to respectfully and justly neither be unhelpfully silent nor noisy.</p><p><br /></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-79020605530417185802023-10-26T13:29:00.005-05:002023-10-26T13:30:38.026-05:00"You're not a real Christian. You're going to hell."<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-Y9Jr6KtNS7_vSpCTBnl1Q7u7RnJNSCcmkgJg4zrkQbmbRws7SSfZYMtzdk9hK5h8fowkOoG36361oC8tTlVtWvnEFr0ZvfELUvxLuaAQEVLoukFqa4r-HHSlWJhiaePR3iglmz8O9uxGa6f7GaZdwUpRXTwJsoetWDzYdYVr8XpOaOIv5G4/s4032/PXL_20231026_163357883.MP.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-Y9Jr6KtNS7_vSpCTBnl1Q7u7RnJNSCcmkgJg4zrkQbmbRws7SSfZYMtzdk9hK5h8fowkOoG36361oC8tTlVtWvnEFr0ZvfELUvxLuaAQEVLoukFqa4r-HHSlWJhiaePR3iglmz8O9uxGa6f7GaZdwUpRXTwJsoetWDzYdYVr8XpOaOIv5G4/s320/PXL_20231026_163357883.MP.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The man shouted at me in reply. Above his head stood a banner with the familiar, uncomfortable words many of us have seen: "Judgment is coming. Hell awaits." No mention of Scripture, no mention of Jesus, no mention of the gospel, the cross, the resurrection, or the love and mercy of God. Just a long list of his preferred sins.<p></p><p>"Don't throw your pearls to swine," the ancient proverb reads. The words warned me, but I transgressed the boundary of their warning. I couldn't help myself. Why, after all these years, do these hucksters get under my skin? Why is there such a confrontation in my spirit? I grieve for the people who are walking by, for those standing and listening, for those attempting dialogue. I lament the injustice and harm of his methods. </p><p>"Jesus loves you. Another way is possible. You don't have to do it this way," I told him. "You're not a real Christian. You're going to hell," he replied.</p><p>The fear of hell haunted me as a child. Or, what I thought hell was. Or, the idea of hell that was presented in the church of my youth: eternal conscious torment in the flames of a pit separating you forever from the presence of God. Terrifying for a child. While our church and the Christian subculture within which I existed didn't peddle fiery, Bible-beating preachers, the message of hell still came through clearly. Through Sunday School lessons, visiting missionary speakers, the altar calls at the end of a Sunday morning service, the youth rallies, the Halloween weekend 'Heaven or Hell' dramas. </p><p>I was prone to fear and anxiety as a child, so I found myself particularly susceptible to the fear-based tactics of "Avoid hell. Choose heaven. Believe in Jesus." I lost sleep over this. I had sweaty palms at the end of a Sunday morning service while the congregation sang "Just As I Am." Was the song ever going to end? </p><p>And yet, there was also truth, and love, and tenderness. It wasn't <i>just </i>the fear of hell that drew me to Jesus. The old rugged cross. The forgiveness of sins. The awesome holiness of God. The beauty of Jesus laying down his life. The victory of the resurrection. The promise of eternal life. The gentle invitation of "Brother Richard" at the end of the Sunday sermon. Parents and siblings who were on board with Jesus and the story of the Bible.</p><p>I didn't want to be left out. I didn't want to be left behind. I didn't want to miss out on something good that might be coming. Heaven sounded better than hell. Everyone else here in this congregation seems to believe. </p><p>Looking back, I do believe the Spirit of God was reaching me through imperfect methods. I often doubt the veracity of my experience as a child. Was I manipulated? Is my faith just religion based in fear? Am I really a Christian? Is God good? Is heaven real? Is hell real? </p><p>I'm still on a journey of unwinding the antagonisms and discarding the impurities. I'm still very much "working out my salvation/healing with fear and trembling," as the apostle Paul writes. I'm searching for the real God and the real Story. I'm searching for what it really means to be a human on this planet. </p><p>I do believe the Hebrew and Christian scriptures tell the truth about existence, and God. The challenge is to really pay attention and hear what is true and real, and what are the cultural add-ons and hermeneutic lenses that need jettisoned. What does the voice of the Spirit of God sound like? What does the voice of accusation, condemnation, and falsehood sound like? </p><p>Someone once said that if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. I believe that's a good place to start.</p><p>I invite you on the journey with me. </p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-20887239885484590052023-10-20T11:21:00.002-05:002023-10-20T11:21:41.579-05:00God is Not Elsewhere<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaa6aaLUp6uKBI7xI94tWNKN9EvHTM5Eb-bpTOPVXZXi6vEFyqCKGxJ_WnV56rYZRR_Tt8OJTnOUIMxnvZgNYNDr6701SEQHWcBH9llIJC1cJGZI73r5w_wI8boIquvCRtIoT6tI7oNfz88JPyrVmJs8qHZGSFjyaqznJTFnQNfYKmZZbn6cvs/s4032/PXL_20231017_152051971.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaa6aaLUp6uKBI7xI94tWNKN9EvHTM5Eb-bpTOPVXZXi6vEFyqCKGxJ_WnV56rYZRR_Tt8OJTnOUIMxnvZgNYNDr6701SEQHWcBH9llIJC1cJGZI73r5w_wI8boIquvCRtIoT6tI7oNfz88JPyrVmJs8qHZGSFjyaqznJTFnQNfYKmZZbn6cvs/s320/PXL_20231017_152051971.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Maybe it's just me. But I suspect you might also hear the voice of this specter as well: <p></p><p>"God is elsewhere," the voice whispers with a hollow, haunting tone. Anxiety, fear, restlessness ensue.</p><p>Listening to this voice can unleash all manner of chaos in ours and others' lives. </p><p>It might stir a restlessness within that keeps us chasing "something." The grass is always greener elsewhere. God is always doing something better elsewhere. Life is more interesting elsewhere. Happiness is just around the corner. My problems will go away elsewhere. </p><p>Always searching, never arriving. </p><p>The scandal of Jesus confronts and defangs this specter.</p><p>"God is not on this mountain or that mountain," Jesus Messiah says.</p><p>In fact, he is <i>Immanuel, </i>"God with us." </p><p>The story we find in the Bible says that history is the tale that begins in "God with us" in the garden of Eden and ends with "God with us" in the new heavens and earth. </p><p>"Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee," the north African bishop Saint Augustine famously said. </p><p>Rest and peace are only possible when we meet the God who is here, the I AM who has come near, the Abba Father who embraces us now with merciful, tender, forgiving arms. </p><p>Holy, holy, holy is YHWH Elohim, El Shaddai; the <i>whole earth </i>is fully of his glory. God is here. His name is Jesus, the crucified and risen one. His Spirit has come. Be not afraid little flock, he says to his children, it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.</p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-90416906869945720332023-10-02T20:11:00.013-05:002023-10-03T15:49:20.854-05:00Manifesto of Purpose<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XA0N1jhbSphxc5Dc-j-r0HMWvjCsJxKgrPd-wrB-CbyfHWpcBP9546uGV_YxtUx5EpLkEom5ul54NLwogS8Xmn_62No7EobSWwgxxMQ9da7J-YrMfjoijf1CRSeLZOYHlNkOEE7GzroUIrs1jwtptsuI44AD7H7No44emrFkNhyoJme_zQcq/s4032/PXL_20230929_163136342.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XA0N1jhbSphxc5Dc-j-r0HMWvjCsJxKgrPd-wrB-CbyfHWpcBP9546uGV_YxtUx5EpLkEom5ul54NLwogS8Xmn_62No7EobSWwgxxMQ9da7J-YrMfjoijf1CRSeLZOYHlNkOEE7GzroUIrs1jwtptsuI44AD7H7No44emrFkNhyoJme_zQcq/s320/PXL_20230929_163136342.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>"I am becoming a Spirit-led person of love, practicing the way of Jesus with others who cultivate attention, beauty, justice, and truth on earth as it is in heaven."</span></div></span></h3><p>I'm playing with words as an experiment in naming my mission, my manifesto of purpose. Economy of words is fitting; this draft is likely verbose. No doubt revisions will follow.</p><p><b>I am becoming...</b> Here, I am thinking of something Dallas Willard says in <i>The Divine Conspiracy. </i>In American society, Christians are often quite focused on becoming successful people who achieve all their dreams in this life, to the neglect of who we are becoming. We forget that our lives will continue on after death; who we become matters and our deeds flow from who we are (see Matthew 25). Identity precedes praxis. Jesus was called Abba's beloved son before he performed any miracles. The present progressive tense "am becoming" highlights the unfolding, ripening nature of my being; I am not static. I am participating with God in his good work to reveal his luminance within my own earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4; Phil. 1:6).</p><p><b>a Spirit-led...</b> This affirms my union with the Spirit of God, and my need to imitate Jesus' example to listen to and follow Abba God who is already present and at work. I will seek to be led by the Spirit of God, not the undulating whims of culture, or my flesh, or my device's notifications. I will pursue solitude, silence, and stillness to listen. I will practice meditation and marination on the Scriptures. </p><p><b>person...</b> I am a human! Not a robot, not an animal, not an insect, not an angel, not a plant. A human being lovingly made as an enfleshed icon of God on the earth. I have emotions, a brain, a nervous system. I have needs for touch, water, and food. The heresy of Gnosticism wants to pit body against spirit; demoting the body and elevating the spirit. But not God! He calls his creation <i>tov - </i>good. So, I stop and smell flowers, I enjoy a good sandwich and enjoy a good beer, I savor fresh berries, and soak in the beauty of a sunset. I laugh and dig in the dirt. I cry and take naps. I show curiosity to the sensations and feelings that rise within. I show kindness to my body. Somehow, unbelievably, <i>my body</i> is a house of the holy Creator Spirit.</p><p><b>of love... </b>God is love; the love at the center of the cosmos. The dance of the Triune God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit - is a dance of loving, sacrificial, joyful interdependence. To be made <i>imago Dei </i>certainly implies I am to aim for <i>love</i>. The central manifesto and pray of Israel - confirmed by Jesus and the apostles - affirms this calling, "Hear o Israel, the LORD our God the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength," to which Jesus adds "Love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commands, the apostle Paul says, hang all the words of the <i>torah </i>and the prophets.</p><p><b>practicing the way of Jesus... </b>Everyone follows a "way" in this life whether intentionally and consciously or by virtue of habit from the example of culture around us. Wouldn't I want to follow a "way" that stacks up against the test of history? Jesus' resurrection from the dead is the great stamp of "yes!" on his way. So, I am an apprentice of Jesus, and his<b> </b>teachings and example - his "way" - are meant to be <i>done. </i>Jesus' famous sermon on the mount affirms this, "...whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:19) and "...whoever hears these words of mine and acts on them is like the wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matt. 7:24) The apostle John records Jesus' shocking words for us that "<span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">whoever believes</span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"> in me will do the works I have been doing,</span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"> and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:14) Finally, t</span>he apostle Paul once again affirms this as he recites the early Christ hymn in his letter to the Philippians and exhorts them to imitate Christ. JR Woodward's recent book reminds me that the way of Jesus is the way of <i>kenosis - </i>a way of humility, not domination.</p><p><b>with others... </b>In the midst of God's good creation, as recorded in Genesis 1-2, God said that it was not good for man to be alone. Imagine that! We are made for community. Interdependence. I want to sojourn with fellow travelers who are seeking first the kingdom of God amidst the world's buffet of kingdoms (all the alternatives are essential just the kingdom of self, in imitation of the satan, the accuser, the ruler of the present age). </p><p><b>who cultivate... </b>I dig agrarian metaphors. See what I did there? I am a farmer of soil and soul, a cultivator of the fruits of God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. To switch metaphors, I help buff off the mud from the window pane of the world to see God's light.</p><p><b>attention... </b>Without our attention, what do we have? We are simply products of culture, getting xeroxed and tossed in the trash bin of history. Most recently, living writers like <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57933306-stolen-focus?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Lf6Lm1rvx9&rank=1" target="_blank">Johann Hari</a>, <a href="https://bensternke.substack.com/p/an-attentiveness-apocalypse?utm_source=substack&publication_id=1463620&post_id=137484516&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=2m5nq" target="_blank">Ben Sternke</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58844848" target="_blank">Andy Crouch</a>, <a href="https://richardbeck.substack.com/" target="_blank">Richard Beck</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58429141-how-to-hear-god?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=SMY4cGh3nA&rank=1" target="_blank">Pete Greig</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/299451" target="_blank">Martin Laird</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26568656-you-are-what-you-love?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_21" target="_blank">James K.A. Smith</a>, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57801766-restless-devices?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=4h5plf8Lxp&rank=1" target="_blank">Felicia Wu Song</a> do their work to warn and convince me about the pivotal role of attention to cultivate a rich life. Certainly, dead writers like C.S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, St. Augustine, Teresa of Avila, Eugene Peterson, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, David Benner and many more helped me to consider the importance of paying attention to God, to truth, to love, to what lasts. Attention is the handmaiden of prayer; without the ability to focus, to pay attention to what we are paying attention to - can we truly pray? Can we really practice the way of Jesus? Cultivating attention is a calling for the body of Christ today.</p><p><b>beauty...</b> This past week I had an incredible opportunity. I spent four days in Oregon with my brother (see the photos in this post). In Oregon, my feet strolled on sandy beaches, I touched and inhaled the sea, I scrambled along rocky, lava-formed cliffs, I listened to the thunder of the tide's crashing swells, I hiked through verdant rainforests, listened deeply to waterfalls, and much, much more! Beauty calmed my anxious soul, awakened my senses, pulled me to attention, softened my hard edges, beckoned my soul to sing and give thanks to my Creator. Beauty is a refreshing spring rain, softening and preparing the soil to receive the seeds of God's word. The writing of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136814.Walking_on_Water?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=3hMv53tXkP&rank=2" target="_blank">Madeleine L'Engle</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52642143-art-and-faith?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=DCjzI0aQPt&rank=1" target="_blank">Makoto Fujimura</a> have helped me in this arena. For those who are paying attention, beauty can awaken the soul, preparing the way to encounter and pursue goodness, truth, and justice.</p><p><b>justice... </b>The prophet Micah says it succinctly when he records these words: "He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8) Justice is living in right relationship with God, neighbor, and creation. It is seeking the welfare of the other, at cost to yourself. Justice is a bit more accessible in our English-speaking mind perhaps than the biblically-related <i>righteousness </i>which admittedly sounds very "churchy," but is no less significant. I think of them as two wings of a plane, you don't get one without the other in the Hebrew scriptures. The books <i>Let Justice Roll Down,</i> <i>Generous Justice, </i>and <i>When Helping Hurts </i>and the witness of many Christians in Memphis, TN were very instrumental in the formation of my thinking about God's passion for justice and what that means for my life today.</p><p><b>truth... </b>My truth, your truth, whose truth? "What is truth," Pontius Pilate famously quipped to Jesus on the eve of the crucifixion. Truth was standing in front of him and he didn't see. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." (John 14:6) Truth is nothing without love. Again, they are two wings of a plane. The gospel of the kingdom is truth. Jesus warmly invites us to his banquet table, to return home, to taste, see, and feel the embrace of mercy, forgiveness, and the giving of a new inheritance far better than anything we could prepare for ourselves. As an apprentice of Jesus, I am asked to be a witness to truth, to point to the cross and the hope of the resurrection. </p><p><b>on earth as it is in heaven... </b>This reminds me of the prayer Jesus' taught his disciples which seeks God's kingdom here on earth as it is heaven. We want the good reign of God to manifest here on earth, just like it is in the heavenly realm where God's will is wholly expressed. The Bible tells an unbelievable story of God coming to earth, bring his presence to a temple in the created, earthly realm. Eden, Jacob's ladder, Israel, Sinai, tabernacle, temple, the prophets' words all reveal this shocking truth. Jesus was/is the meeting place of heaven and earth. Jesus' resurrection affirms the goodness of creation and points to an earthy existence for the new humanity. The body of Christ, the church, is now the temple of God's presence. John's revelation/apocalypse tells us that God will one day make his dwelling among humankind. He will renew the heavens and earth. Our future is not "going to heaven when I die" but rather joining Jesus in paradise as worshippers, co-rulers, and co-creators and in his new creation.</p><p><span style="color: #3d85c6;">One artifact I've created as an outworking from my own mission is the writing of a forthcoming book with co-author and friend Joe Thomas, <i>Wayfinding with Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Off the Beaten Path and into the Kingdom </i>(Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2024). We just submitted the final manuscript to our editor. I look forward to sharing more about this writing project!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7ZLVWR4dSh5AXReM6uMtnrdMlyGLlWHM6qJpkTKjGFAGwteh6sNcmXvoiwSST1yEw1IMo78_EGT5qQ1zt8S6-8cTGLfFbOP4R9-IW6SgcwbTyb1YGrkBchKLuH5GwvHWDYixDgy8DFVayKfgh_XL7Z_zNn9j-h0YOkB36sqehNuof8lJ_TMb/s2776/PXL_20230930_215042575.PANO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1673" data-original-width="2776" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7ZLVWR4dSh5AXReM6uMtnrdMlyGLlWHM6qJpkTKjGFAGwteh6sNcmXvoiwSST1yEw1IMo78_EGT5qQ1zt8S6-8cTGLfFbOP4R9-IW6SgcwbTyb1YGrkBchKLuH5GwvHWDYixDgy8DFVayKfgh_XL7Z_zNn9j-h0YOkB36sqehNuof8lJ_TMb/s320/PXL_20230930_215042575.PANO.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QEbWXESyAwkEuBvbvMjGAIlf7OwosI1G901PKQWObjzs2TBLHeheLmPz4PoNe4uTztPA4q76o_PnHZybwvSwMHUunhZaM3UmGLesrxjCK9WC3Z6pF9UAt9IJoAcvQS0FSM0XBXUEUMCsTeV4g8LmIBmbW4dIXtmNDYXzNDXRQDhbLOXCzCiX/s4032/PXL_20230929_163714714.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QEbWXESyAwkEuBvbvMjGAIlf7OwosI1G901PKQWObjzs2TBLHeheLmPz4PoNe4uTztPA4q76o_PnHZybwvSwMHUunhZaM3UmGLesrxjCK9WC3Z6pF9UAt9IJoAcvQS0FSM0XBXUEUMCsTeV4g8LmIBmbW4dIXtmNDYXzNDXRQDhbLOXCzCiX/s320/PXL_20230929_163714714.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wG_LM4ngKbrCJR7lYsiJc5nH-d8ZZlrj2PBXZc65U5DmrNpekQbbV3ajGOuSGe4udLlanCxnjOcICt4_-EOqK2_Lhf42KCdWAjmGIXyshPC-GYxA6cuuuwbjm2P0Beqi1JikORqrBn3HhJvj_3Cl6xLPGp1kyLhW64_ui077X2_jGSNakGqL/s4032/PXL_20230928_142208757.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wG_LM4ngKbrCJR7lYsiJc5nH-d8ZZlrj2PBXZc65U5DmrNpekQbbV3ajGOuSGe4udLlanCxnjOcICt4_-EOqK2_Lhf42KCdWAjmGIXyshPC-GYxA6cuuuwbjm2P0Beqi1JikORqrBn3HhJvj_3Cl6xLPGp1kyLhW64_ui077X2_jGSNakGqL/s320/PXL_20230928_142208757.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FhPoJljKicey9z0BzUaFECq8HuIRcQqBe7WtT29ksh0OL9QtxL-n76UC6A02l_YGdqgzlNoCDFuCd4EzMunCLOoC6UE8MAf-QriYLjsFOvd5Ru-lwojNio8jF8sD3-CW5z5GDNjFincCh_mt05_nXvlIbvg83twdhScgvtkqvHiRKGetVD-p/s4032/PXL_20230929_231204445.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FhPoJljKicey9z0BzUaFECq8HuIRcQqBe7WtT29ksh0OL9QtxL-n76UC6A02l_YGdqgzlNoCDFuCd4EzMunCLOoC6UE8MAf-QriYLjsFOvd5Ru-lwojNio8jF8sD3-CW5z5GDNjFincCh_mt05_nXvlIbvg83twdhScgvtkqvHiRKGetVD-p/s320/PXL_20230929_231204445.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-51476933264269736652023-08-09T13:35:00.000-05:002023-08-09T13:35:34.852-05:00Reflection on Psalm 84<div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJp8P2U304g7VnEIuq2wos-mWzo6EpSirKRA7eEymbxMdTQteJxqcNizAqbbeoBC2Bs1nSo4v4qOXHJmwQoMha0tFYps3QnBu4HXLK58D91tRWkYKYTLxMCe0Tmq-EAm794NDpDxXFyF8JOkFxwraHB9KsLzCCYetYvTWvSl4IqWlpgF81JL4/s4032/PXL_20230804_170046024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJp8P2U304g7VnEIuq2wos-mWzo6EpSirKRA7eEymbxMdTQteJxqcNizAqbbeoBC2Bs1nSo4v4qOXHJmwQoMha0tFYps3QnBu4HXLK58D91tRWkYKYTLxMCe0Tmq-EAm794NDpDxXFyF8JOkFxwraHB9KsLzCCYetYvTWvSl4IqWlpgF81JL4/s320/PXL_20230804_170046024.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Today, I'm thinking about Psalm 84 (NIV):</span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">How lovely is your dwelling place,</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Almighty!</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">2</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">My soul yearns, even faints,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">for the courts of the </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">;</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">my heart and my flesh cry out</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">for the living God.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">3</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Even the sparrow has found a home,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">and the swallow a nest for herself,</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">where she may have her young—</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">a place near your altar,</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Almighty, my King and my God.</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">4</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Blessed are those who dwell in your house;</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">they are ever praising you.</span><span class="ChapterContent_note__YlDW0" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_b__BLNfi" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; height: 1em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">5</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Blessed are those whose strength is in you,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.6" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">6</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">As they pass through the Valley of Baka,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.6" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">they make it a place of springs;</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.6" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">the autumn rains also cover it with pools.</span><span class="ChapterContent_note__YlDW0" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.6" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">7</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">They go from strength to strength,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">till each appears before God in Zion.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_b__BLNfi" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; height: 1em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.8" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">8</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hear my prayer, </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> God Almighty;</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.8" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">listen to me, God of Jacob.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.8" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">9</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Look on our shield,</span><span class="ChapterContent_note__YlDW0" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> O God;</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">look with favor on your anointed one.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_b__BLNfi" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; height: 1em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">10</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Better is one day in your courts</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">than a thousand elsewhere;</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">than dwell in the tents of the wicked.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.11" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">11</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For the </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> God is a sun and shield;</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.11" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">the </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> bestows favor and honor;</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.11" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">no good thing does he withhold</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.11" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">from those whose walk is blameless.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_b__BLNfi" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; height: 1em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.11" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">12</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Almighty,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">blessed is the one who trusts in you.</span></span></div><p>Verse 10 catches my attention today: "I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."</p><p>It's helpful for me to play around with the language to imaginatively place myself in this ancient context. The temple is not equivalent to churches or church buildings. Judaism is not equivalent to Christianity. But the emotion, the desire, the pursuit of God and his shalom - that has universal appeal. The allure of the world's ephemeral pleasures and promises over the long-term perspective of choosing another kind of life available in Christ, that I can relate to. </p><p><i>I'd rather be a floor sweeper at God's house party than throw back cocktails with the rich and famous.</i></p><p><i>I'd rather pull carrots in God's garden than feast on filet mignon with powerful elites.</i></p><p><i>I'd rather take out the trash at God's community center than take it easy at the country club.</i></p><p><i>I'd rather kick it with the poor and uneducated than yuck it up with the intelligentsia. </i></p><p><i>I'd rather bus tables in God's café than dine with oppressors.</i></p><p>I'm sensitive to the fact that for many, their lives have been quite painfully marked as the underpaid doorkeeper, or the oppressed slave, or the unjustly treated worker. It is a good thing to long for freedom, for just pay, for equity. That, though, hasn't been my own story. </p><p>I'm aware of the appeal of 'escape' that can pull me away from the world, from those who don't know Jesus. Jesus says I am a sheep among the wolves, to live in the world but not of it. How do I dwell faithfully in the midst of the world's thorns and thistles while keeping my heart, body, mind, and soul attached to the Vine? Where am I susceptible to hide in the courts of God's people rather than courageously take the light of Jesus into the darkness of the world? </p><p>And, yet, I also know the appeal of ease, affluence, and pleasure. How often do I actually say, contra Psalm 84:</p><p><i>"I'd rather binge Netflix by myself than pray with friends."</i></p><p><i>"I'd rather take another vacation than find ways to bless the poor."</i></p><p><i>"I'd rather get a nice paycheck and benefits than work hard to budget my finances so that I can do something adventurous together with Jesus."</i></p><p><i>"I'd rather scroll through Instagram than call a friend who's hurting."</i></p><p>How does this psalm hit you today? What consolations and desolations does it surface for you? How is the spirit of God whispering to you?</p><p>I'll end with Eugene Peterson's version of this psalm from <i>The Message:</i></p><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1+PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; color: #777a7b; display: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">1-2</span><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">What a beautiful home, </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">God</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">-of-the-Angel-Armies!</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1+PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1+PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">Always dreamed of a room in your house,</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1+PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">where I could sing for joy to God-alive!</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_b__BLNfi" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; height: 1em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.1+PSA.84.2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3+PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">3-4</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3+PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">sparrows and swallows make nests there.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3+PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">They lay their eggs and raise their young,</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3+PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">singing their songs in the place where we worship.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3+PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">God</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3+PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">How blessed they are to live and sing there!</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_b__BLNfi" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; height: 1em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.3+PSA.84.4" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5+PSA.84.6+PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">5-7</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">And how blessed all those in whom you live,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5+PSA.84.6+PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">whose lives become roads you travel;</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5+PSA.84.6+PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5+PSA.84.6+PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5+PSA.84.6+PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5+PSA.84.6+PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_b__BLNfi" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; height: 1em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.5+PSA.84.6+PSA.84.7" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.8+PSA.84.9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">8-9</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">God</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen:</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.8+PSA.84.9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying!</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.8+PSA.84.9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.8+PSA.84.9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_b__BLNfi" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; height: 1em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.8+PSA.84.9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10+PSA.84.11+PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span class="ChapterContent_label__R2PLt" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; display: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: inherit; position: relative; top: -0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">10-12</span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10+PSA.84.11+PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10+PSA.84.11+PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10+PSA.84.11+PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10+PSA.84.11+PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">All sunshine and sovereign is </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">God</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">,</span></span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10+PSA.84.11+PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">generous in gifts and glory.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q1__wjdiM" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -2em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10+PSA.84.11+PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;">He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.</span></span></div><div class="ChapterContent_q2__Z9WWu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="ChapterContent_verse__57FIw" data-usfm="PSA.84.10+PSA.84.11+PSA.84.12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: background-color 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.42, 1, 0.16, 0.93) 0s;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s smooth sailing all the way with </span><span class="ChapterContent_nd__ECPAf" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">God</span></span><span class="ChapterContent_content__RrUqA" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">-of-the-Angel-Armies.</span></span></span></div>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-45679863334777007542023-08-09T12:55:00.010-05:002023-08-09T12:55:48.970-05:00How do you return to joy?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2-vmbp1SU1PNb007OYB9IJkqTpWXng7X9kuhhsqAk9blFDvcalP55gT_KY85fCwTuLlgqqp7D3jmg-9KegqF93IOv03lB5yPGQInE61GjDmEmrfJZedRo8WkQEWxOF8cVTzuX5ml8We4Hexn83oIKReWMT3VpZWJzfiRltSh4Xd9t4KX06ii/s4032/PXL_20230804_165745584.MP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2-vmbp1SU1PNb007OYB9IJkqTpWXng7X9kuhhsqAk9blFDvcalP55gT_KY85fCwTuLlgqqp7D3jmg-9KegqF93IOv03lB5yPGQInE61GjDmEmrfJZedRo8WkQEWxOF8cVTzuX5ml8We4Hexn83oIKReWMT3VpZWJzfiRltSh4Xd9t4KX06ii/s320/PXL_20230804_165745584.MP.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Humans are born looking for a face.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Attachment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Joy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Belonging. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mirroring. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Imitation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nurture.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Growth. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Safety.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Love.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But along the way, </p><p class="MsoNormal">pain, division, estrangement, temptation, accusation, self-protection, fear, hurt.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Where do you turn now when you are feeling weary, lonely, or burdened?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How do you return to Joy?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jesus invites us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He knocks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He beckons.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He doesn’t force his way in.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Come to me,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All you who are weary and heavy laden,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And I will give you rest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Take my yoke upon you,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And learn from me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For I am gentle and humble of heart,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And you will find rest for your souls.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Returning to Jesus.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Returning to Joy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Jesus, the face of God comes to us.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The face of love, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not condemnation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The face of forgiveness,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not shame.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The face of mercy,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not scorn.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The face of truth,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not deception.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The face of abundance,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not scarcity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The face of delight,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not disappointment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Uniting our faces with Jesus is a form of death.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s looking at his face, not our own reflection.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the light of your face shine on us, God.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dispel our darkness.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Return us to Joy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Melt the chains of our bondage.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Guide us with each other into the land of freedom and shalom.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-86918399932721550312023-06-09T15:19:00.002-05:002023-06-09T15:19:57.570-05:00Words carry us places.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_9B6HspKbrS1KrG-G9xU-BOGDbkuvN6cqVEVximEzn0-Wd_bMLrCR5ptIwVAJsI7hXd3z54UGun98uj5bYB26cydua2GCbd2atGpR4-uJstzv27VMToxsdifZO6y8PFOmbX_tGq1r5dG8GV_tFeA6tRvyyOE4MS3KVyJD_S9TRuStdQX0g/s4032/PXL_20230528_131218531.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_9B6HspKbrS1KrG-G9xU-BOGDbkuvN6cqVEVximEzn0-Wd_bMLrCR5ptIwVAJsI7hXd3z54UGun98uj5bYB26cydua2GCbd2atGpR4-uJstzv27VMToxsdifZO6y8PFOmbX_tGq1r5dG8GV_tFeA6tRvyyOE4MS3KVyJD_S9TRuStdQX0g/s320/PXL_20230528_131218531.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>I've been called a wordsmith, a gatherer and gardener of words. I'm a farmer whose soil composition includes syntax, syllables, and semantics. <p></p><p>I like how words feel on the tongue. I like how words look. I like how words sound when spoken with care. Words can act as passenger trains, carrying us to far-flung places, beyond the boundaries of our present imagination. Words can also be locomotives that steamroll right over others. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will <strike>never </strike>hurt me...and you. Words create worlds that we live in and which others inhabit as well, often against their will. Precise language can act as a key to unlock previously hidden landscapes of meaning, like a Narnian wardrobe escorting us into greater depths of meaning and purpose. Words are power. We are not only word-beings, of course. Words come more slowly than our fast-track brains that run on joy, images, senses, attachment. But, without a doubt, words are a distinctive mark of what it means to be human. </p><p>Among words I've collected over the years, I notice an affinity for words outside of my native English language (the version of English that has evolved within the past four decades) that help me access more of the human condition. If English is the vessel that carries me effortlessly across the seas, perhaps these new words from other languages and cultures are like subterranean vessels that plunge me into depths of beauty and meaning to which I was previously ignorant. Maybe I had a vague sense of what was there, but no single vantage point from the ship's prow allowed me to capture the vast range of exquisite vitality that lay beneath.</p><p>We all know words can become too familiar, too easy, worn out, empty, limp. Love. Awesome. Cool. Language is a living organism, growing, changing over time. We need fresh language to access new portals of meaning, discovery, and imagination. We do need to be thoughtful gatekeepers over language, too, lest it stripped of meaning and trustworthiness. Even the word <i>truth </i>itself has devolved. My truth. Your truth. </p><p>Writing is a sandbox where I play with words. Maybe I play too carelessly at times. But, I play nonetheless. The technology of internet and social media - not neutral technology, mind you - has encouraged us to push our words into the public domain with unprecedented velocity. We feel pressure to feel we exist. We feel anxiety if we don't say <i>something</i>. </p><p>Lately, I've been losing a taste for two commonly used, tired words: <i>awkward </i>and <i>interesting</i>. </p><p>What words do you have a penchant to overuse? What precise, fresh language are you discovering?</p><p>Among the new morsels I've been savoring includes the Portuguese word <i>saudade </i>(pronounced sow-dodge-ee). Thank you, Jeff Crosby, for pulling back the curtains to unveil a new vista of meaning! In his book <i>Language of the Soul, </i>Crosby discusses this most Portuguese of words, untranslatable. Within the habitat of this word exists the deepest longings and desires of the soul, a wistfulness and restlessness for what is because of where one has been while also aching for the sweetness of what is not yet, a burning in the heart for a world we currently don't grasp but have somehow tasted. </p><p>I'd like to do some more etymological and linguistic study of this word, and also seek out any possible connection to the German word <i>sehnsucht</i>. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-84143610792942840342023-05-07T19:33:00.005-05:002023-05-07T19:33:58.298-05:00The Opportunity for Life: Nine Days or Ninety Years, Part 2<p>This is a continuation of my previous post, "The Opportunity for Life: Nine Days or Ninety Years, Part 1." </p><p>This present age is not just <i>merely </i>an audition or interview, though - it really <i>does matter. </i></p><p>But, if we are entirely earthly minded, entirely temporally focused, and dismissive of the ephemerality of things, we will end up failing to to see the true <i>telos </i>of our brief life - be it nine days or ninety years. </p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #272727; font-family: Charter;">Consider C. S. Lewis in </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #272727; font-family: Charter;">Mere Christianity</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #272727; font-family: Charter;">:</span></p><blockquote class="past_blockquote" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #272727; font-family: Charter; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding-left: 29px; position: relative;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px;">A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px;">It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.</i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px;">The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px;">It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.</p></blockquote><blockquote class="past_blockquote" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #272727; font-family: Charter; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding-left: 29px; position: relative;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px;">Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”</p></blockquote><p>We are invited to join God in the renewal of all things in Christ - on this earth, in this age. We pray "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We "seek first the kingdom." We follow a Messiah who says "kingdom is at hand." </p><p>As his apprentices, we inhabit his words: "You are the light of the world...you are the salt of the earth." We illumine the dark and salt the earth with good works that provide the world with a sign, a foretaste, of the heaven here on earth. We are indeed a people who have been "surprised by hope," to borrow a phrase from Wright. </p><p>Yes, this brief sojourn is a prelude to a more permanent, enduring, and solid existence in the new creation - an audition, if you will - but the "hope we have stored up in heaven" is not a retirement account that elicits leisure. No, we of all people, as ones allegiant to King Jesus, are to pray and labor for justice and righteousness here and now. We are to live as if the kingdom really is at hand. We are to "practice resurrection," to echo Peterson. </p><p>In closing, the writer of the sermon to the Hebrews says this: </p><p><span class="text Heb-13-13" id="en-NIV-30255" style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial;"></span></p><blockquote><span class="text Heb-13-13" id="en-NIV-30255" style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial;">Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial;"> </span><span class="text Heb-13-14" id="en-NIV-30256" style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial;">For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.</span></blockquote><span class="text Heb-13-14" id="en-NIV-30256" style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px;"></span><p></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-71647535658405403162023-05-03T17:31:00.004-05:002023-05-03T20:07:54.770-05:00Builders of Myths, Meaning, and Narratival Structures<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvDzTuOrRCrGWTHnXnUzNSZIsLaHhR4cY7LCSN_ZU7JvWIOlM3px1Q-GfQaniuLds8eYZYnnhQDcChKjzRCN-_ZU_Ea1LWnjXeMykmVKRwTuH_z3Jy3SGlRCcSxblja5mcT57vpAmxh6bfVc01hBAJeqJ9XY-7NznbgR8ofgb1gRbeaeqhg/s4032/PXL_20230415_204700604.PORTRAIT.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvDzTuOrRCrGWTHnXnUzNSZIsLaHhR4cY7LCSN_ZU7JvWIOlM3px1Q-GfQaniuLds8eYZYnnhQDcChKjzRCN-_ZU_Ea1LWnjXeMykmVKRwTuH_z3Jy3SGlRCcSxblja5mcT57vpAmxh6bfVc01hBAJeqJ9XY-7NznbgR8ofgb1gRbeaeqhg/s320/PXL_20230415_204700604.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Beavers build dams.<p></p><p>Birds build nests.</p><p>Humans build houses.</p><p>We humans, the curious creatures we are, not only build homes for ourselves and our brood, but we also construct myths. We weave meaning-making tapestries. We build narratival structures to inhabit. </p><p>With our physical homes, we brave torrential downpours and icy blasts. We snuggle by the hearth and feast at the table. We gather around glowing pixels and hibernate under down comforters. Ideally, our homes provide dignity, security, safety, joy, identity. They root is in place. They provide rhythm for the rhyme of our come-and-go lives. </p><p>We also do this kind of construction with words, ideas, emotions, and mental maps. Yes, a physical home is not binary in its anthropological significance. Our houses are part of our meaning-making. In fact, we build spaces and then the architecture performs some sort of gymnastics by which it flips around and shapes us in turn. </p><p>But physical houses are not the focus of this post. Rather, I want to reflect upon an essential quality of humanity, as <i>imago Dei</i>, that really exists at the epicenter of the question, "What does it mean to be human?" </p><p>There is an unavoidable <i>teleological </i>quality to our humanity. We can't <i>not </i>build myths, meaning-making frameworks, and narratival structures. </p><p>It's been said that words create worlds. Indeed, former generations typically bequeath these myths to their progeny. Much ink has been spilled over the past half a millennia about undoing, questioning, or rewriting the myths and narratives passed down to us. The scope of that cultural project, particularly in 'Western' society, is beyond my capacity to exegete in a blog post. The point remains, though: for 'neuro-typical' humans who have their faculties, <i>we can't not build myths and narratives</i>. As psychologist and holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl astutely observes in his famed title, we are all on the "search for meaning." </p><p>These structures are not only ones we build for survival, but for <i>hope. </i>These structures must not only withstand the stress and strain of suffering, evil, injustice, and mystery, but also the groundswell of hopes, longings, dreams, and affections that arise from subterranean depths. We don't need to do any fracking to know that there are geothermal pressures shooting up from within our souls. </p><p>Does the myth you inhabit have the internal strength to withstand these pressures? What happens when tragedy strikes? When injustice or trauma comes knocking on your door? </p><p>Joseph Campbell argues that myths are 'lies' we tell to reveal the truth. He suggests there are four layers to the myths we build: 1) Who is the divine? Who am I?); 2) What is the meaning of this life?; 3) How should we live?; and 4) How can I live again? C. S. Lewis, the brilliant early 20th century literary scholar at both Oxford and Cambridge, traveled from atheism to Christ after coming to the conclusion that Christianity is the only "true myth." In this sense of myth, we are all mythological beings.</p><p>Campbell says that our myths really meet their fate when crisis comes. When the flood waters roll in, will the narratival structures of hope we've built withstand the pressure? How do we actually go about interrogating the myths we've built? How do we know a myth is worth living in? How do we know if our meaning-making is worthy of our devotion? If we discover that our narratival structure is not built with indestructible hope, then what do we do? Where does a 'true myth' come from - and how do we inhabit such a framework with humility and perseverance? These are questions for further reflection.</p><p>One question which informs the stickiness of our myths and narratives we choose to inhabit surely must also include: What provides joy? Because let's be honest, we are happiness junkies. This was also part of Lewis' story; he found himself "surprised by joy." We surely choose to live in a narrative that will give us joy. We need a story to live within that provides existential survival, and also hope and of joy. </p><p>To bring this reflection to a close. Joy. I mean, look at that photo of my son. He started out painting a picture on the canvas and ended up painting his body - all in the pursuit of pure joy. Does the myth, or meaning-giving framework, or story structure you are living within have a <i>telos </i>of joy?</p><p><br /></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-9525160802576378452023-04-26T09:44:00.011-05:002023-04-26T09:53:34.323-05:00The Opportunity for Life: Nine Days or Ninety Years, Part 1<p><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><blockquote><i><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Teach us to number our days, <br /></span><span class="text Ps-90-12" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="font-size: 16px; position: relative;">that we may gain a heart of wisdom.</span></i></blockquote><p>It's safe to say I've interviewed for my lion's share of jobs during my four decades. But none of those interviews bore the weight which I recently observed in the film <i>Nine Days. </i></p><p>In a solitary bungalow in the desert, an enigmatic man named Will - part host, part interviewer, part judge, part friend - interviews a cast of characters for the opportunity to live. Yes, they are interviewing to be born into a human existence on earth. They have a maximum of nine days to pass through a cadre of assessments ranging from informal conversations, intense interrogations, ethical scenarios, stream of consciousness journaling, and recorded observations of the lives of real humans they can watch on a 24-7 livestream. Ultimately, their fate lies in the hands of their interviewer Will. </p><p>To avoid spoilers, I can tell you that the film <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10451852/" target="_blank">Nine Days</a></i> is an imaginative, evocative rendering that exposes the true brevity of life we each experience this side of the veil. Death is inevitable. What if the life we are now living is really akin to those 'nine days'? Even if we have ninety years as sojourners on this <i>terra firma</i>, is this life perhaps an interview, an audition, for the chance to live "<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%206:18-20&version=MSG" target="_blank">life that is truly life</a>"? </p><p><i>Nine Days </i>offers an invitation to reflect on life and death, regret and gratitude, longing and passion, authenticity and judgment, what it truly means to be human, and the call to live a life worthy of the gift which it is. The narrative invites the viewer to inhabit time with integrity, without guile, with honesty, wonder and love. </p><p>On the heels of watching <i>Nine Days </i>I learned of the death of a friend. At 33 years of age, David was healthy by all estimation before his unexpected diagnosis of cancer. Five months later his body is in the ground. On the heels of David's death, my wife's grandpa, well over 90 years of age, made the transition beyond the veil of his earthly sojourn. I rejoice that both men fixed their hope upon the life, death, resurrection, and promise of King Jesus. </p><p>Our lives are a mist, a vapor, a wind, a fading flower of the field. And we do live before a host, a judge, an interviewer, if you will. We each bear, as C.S. Lewis once wrote, the "intolerable compliment" of human freedom as God's image bearers. The very liberty we so crave is also a double-edged blade. </p><p>Apart from the representative, substitutionary, exemplary, and conquering work of love by the God-man Jesus of Nazareth, there is every reason to fear the "interviewer" who is a blazing inferno of white-hot beauty, goodness, truth, and creative power. But because of his mercy, his extravagant, excessive love which covers us by the victory of our King Jesus, we do not have to fear the "interview." Jesus has passed the interview for us. Jesus has usurped the accuser who wants us to fail the interview. The invitation and the challenge, however, is to let go of our attempts to perform and to surrender to his Way. Only then, in imitation of his Way, will we discover the "life that is truly life." </p><p>One of my favorite scenes in the film takes you into the eye of one of the interview candidates. From her perspective, you are able to view the beauty of leaves dancing in a rush of breezy sunlight, you are able to feel and hear the sound of your hand brushing over stone and wood, you are able to delight with her in the surprise of laughter. The scene really does cause you to step back in awe over the joyous fecundity that colors the canvas of our human existence.</p><p>Nine days or ninety years. However long your "interview" lasts, look to Jesus the author, the artist, and the life-giver. </p><span class="text Ps-90-12" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="font-size: 16px; position: relative;"></span><p></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-87462121946578359632023-04-07T18:43:00.004-05:002023-04-07T18:43:52.639-05:00One Year Later, Tree Stumps Can Bloom<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvdzlvdMrVWDwbv5lVrvgIlEAfn1ZI4OuK8smYWDtQ8-LrQzwfYTxqAQ7gh1XtJLDkYZJ0t1vI2kroXHdBsEPZyKZJV2rt3Cm_cC1UTdOVOvjNh5xiO_F1YdBfuNARRCmY2Oc9pIqLTBseig4bB15xoGQe7HwfgCw5uvc8WO6YNoSN4w2pA/s4032/PXL_20230316_152800869.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvdzlvdMrVWDwbv5lVrvgIlEAfn1ZI4OuK8smYWDtQ8-LrQzwfYTxqAQ7gh1XtJLDkYZJ0t1vI2kroXHdBsEPZyKZJV2rt3Cm_cC1UTdOVOvjNh5xiO_F1YdBfuNARRCmY2Oc9pIqLTBseig4bB15xoGQe7HwfgCw5uvc8WO6YNoSN4w2pA/s320/PXL_20230316_152800869.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Coincidence? Happenstance? Statistical probability? Perhaps. Or was it the timely voice of a loving God who cares deeply about his kids? </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">One year ago, on resurrection Sunday, I sat in the back of a church service. I listened to the teacher d</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">eliver his Easter Sunday message. It was admittedly an atypical sermon for the occasion. He spoke about a tree stump. He reminded us of a stump that once looked barren, and out of that stump grew a shoot. That shoot was Jesus. The shoot has bloomed,</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> blossomed, and spread its branches for two millennia now. He spoke to us about two years of a pandemic, which left many of us feeling like or looking like a tree stump. Unemployment, racial strife, gun violence, sickness, death, fear, political and ideological culture, m</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">arriages falling apart. It was a period of unprecedented instability for which we are still experiencing the ripple effects. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">As I sat there, I felt both seen and exposed. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I wept. Behind the scenes, and underneath the surface, as I looked at my own life, I felt quite like a tree stump. It was the perfect metaphor for the ecosystem of my own soul. No, there was no major "trauma" for the outsider to observe. But there was much that left me feeling quite barren, not the least of which was a waning faith, struggling to hold on to the goodness of God.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I felt so clearly that his message was a word from God for me that day. To underscore that sentiment, a</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">fter he left the room. He walked back in and laid his hands on me and said, "I know you feel like a tree stump. God sees you. Hold on. Keep faith that he will come through and send the rain. One year from now, next Easter, I believe things will look different for you." It was the encouragement I needed.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Fast forward to Palm Sunday, one year later. I sat in a different church, listening to a different teacher preaching a very different sermon from the book of Hebrews. But he opened his message with a photo of a tree in Washington, D.C. But not just any tree. This was was named "Stumpy." Gangly and unattractive, it had one single branch spreading out to the right, defying the odds. It was adorned with cherry blossoms.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As soon as I saw that photo, even before he spoke, I sensed the Lord's loving eye upon me as he whispered, "I haven't forgotten."</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">One year later, he was pursuing me, responding to my cries. There were indeed changes afoot in my life and in my perspective. The cartography of my soul does look different than it did last year. God hasn't changed. His grace and mercy haven't waxed or waned. But I could look around me and within me and see blooms - signs of growth.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Life is not just only up into the right these days. My faith flickers. I know there are many areas for which I need to return to my first Love. Trials and temptations still come. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yes, it is quite possible that one year from now, I could again look at my life and feel like a tree stump. Tragedy could strike. But what will be different is that I will look back on this past year and I will have a witness calling out to me to remember the kindness of the Lord.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Trial, testing, tribulation, tragedy. These are all things we each face. None of us escapes them. So where do we turn for hope?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'm putting my hope in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has proven his love. He is the only one who has proven his saving power over the enemies which I will never be able to conquer: sin, death, satan. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">"We are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us."</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Today is Good Friday. Thank you, King Jesus, that you are victorious. Thank you for leading the way, as you emptied yourself of all that was rightfully yours, and you chose the cross. You did it for love. You alone have the power to bring gardens from the gravesites of our lives.</span></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-62108553720023052022023-02-20T09:52:00.004-06:002023-02-20T09:52:35.261-06:00Glory Due<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEhYqjrL7sO4bncSJQOorxTmMyfenSOPBI2Hn1CCfVGVtNSz4S9zZfGIBdN19Ax_62MmR0W0V5KQaVpMAf0UvUN5ruCWlee-lKxsclHIxP6NiuRGwlqg7sRu_jUakZYlxiSD6_8gO1q2acRCQQyhORX_u-VjdstlFsnARCZW8SElAZcMPaw/s4032/PXL_20230219_231830983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEhYqjrL7sO4bncSJQOorxTmMyfenSOPBI2Hn1CCfVGVtNSz4S9zZfGIBdN19Ax_62MmR0W0V5KQaVpMAf0UvUN5ruCWlee-lKxsclHIxP6NiuRGwlqg7sRu_jUakZYlxiSD6_8gO1q2acRCQQyhORX_u-VjdstlFsnARCZW8SElAZcMPaw/s320/PXL_20230219_231830983.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>"Why are you downcast, O my soul?" <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I awoke this morning in a fog of discouragement. T</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">hanks to a slew of influences in the hands of God accompanied by prayers of friends, slowly and steadily over the course of the day, my soul found encouragement in the Lord. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">But the exclamation on that restoration was tonight's Black Sacred Music Symposium, led by the inimitable Dr. Ollie Watts Davis - surely one of the greatest gems at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"> One cannot help but absorb the joy of the Lord when in the presence of that woman. What she has poured into the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Black Chorus at Illinois for 40 years is remarkable; her achievement and accolades prolific. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">And yet, as one of tonight's many songs concluded - "Glory Due" - and the audience erupted in applause, she raised her hand inconspicuously from the side aisle, mouthing the refrain "The Glory Due His name", the words breathed into the lungs of her pupils as they echoed back. It was clear - she wanted the glory not, but to point to Christ the exalted one who has bestowed a bountiful measure of grace upon her and this choir. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I can too easily, a fragile, sensitive man be pulled down by minor disappointment, but here I witnessed - as a timely gift of grace - the defiant jubilation of the Black Sacred Music tradition. The music rebels against the tyranny of the world's oppression and looks up at the merciful Savior on the cross who experienced and triumphed upon every suffering imaginable. Where you there when they crucified ma Lord? Precious Lord, take my hand. Thank you, Thank you, Jesus. Great is Thy Faithfulness. I believe in Miracles. Glory Due. There is a Balm in Gilead... and many more. Some well worn songs, and some newly crafted ones. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">It was a privilege to be present and be lifted up, to remember the story I inhabit, to exult in Christ - even that in a building owned by a public university campus no less. Music fades, and performance can leave us questioning the fleeting enthusiasm, but sometimes you need music like this to point you beyond yourself to the Real. And that is the gift of their music and tonight the gift for me was real. That I know for certain. Grateful to have been a witness and worshipping participant.</span></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-23283416580971746352023-02-17T10:37:00.000-06:002023-02-17T10:37:07.244-06:00Thy Great Mystery of Christ<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbYAnAR52STJWw60-PGaihOlcq7q_zni50JbdHn5f6L1z-Lb9tfy_yddcy4Lc1GWWSy0q4eXsMnRGEFzI-VdprSK5EMyvTN__RdxZWjSf_dirbEsM0GammRQxkNOVJArE9cgeqPmhF4U1bAL95wmePfxEJtyl19xAcCdsi4tcbVjzhCoC_g/s4032/PXL_20221229_223033396.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbYAnAR52STJWw60-PGaihOlcq7q_zni50JbdHn5f6L1z-Lb9tfy_yddcy4Lc1GWWSy0q4eXsMnRGEFzI-VdprSK5EMyvTN__RdxZWjSf_dirbEsM0GammRQxkNOVJArE9cgeqPmhF4U1bAL95wmePfxEJtyl19xAcCdsi4tcbVjzhCoC_g/s320/PXL_20221229_223033396.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The mystery of Christ is great.<p></p><p>The mystery of Christ is not
visible to the naked eye or to the casual listener. The mystery of Christ can
offend us. The mystery of Christ <i>does </i>offend us. </p><p>Why is there so much
sin, evil, pain, and suffering? </p><p>What is the mystery of Christ, I ask. Why is
the Messiah an enigma whose power and story escape and transcend our earthly expectations?
Who is the Messiah from Nazareth who brokered a new covenant between heaven and
earth and revealed the kingdom of God to us with a simultaneously awesome and awful
manner? </p><p>Jesus, the God-man, scandalizes heaven and earth when he empties
himself of his Divine rights and powers and enters into our suffering, experiences our
temptations, sympathizes with our weaknesses, becoming a high priest who doesn’t
perform empty ritual but rather brings his holiness into our darkness. He steps into the ring on our behalf and takes the blows. </p><p>He not
only comes to meet us in our suffering, but he climbs up the ladder to the
heights of our violence and he descends into the pit of our pain. He comes as God
on the cross, a fierce lion in the guise of a meek sheep. He liberates us from
the existential fear and tyranny of our own inner turmoil and haunting anxieties. He offers freedom from condemnation and shame.</p><p>Not only does he liberate, but he transforms our suffering. He takes
our weakness and makes it strength. He takes foolishness and subverts it into wisdom.
He plants gardens in the compost heap of our rank mess. </p><p>Not only does he
transform our suffering, he elevates the suffering one. He exalts the humble.
He lifts up the lowly. He takes our shattered identity, our ragged cloaks, our
expired green cards, our poverty, our worn-out scripts for living, and gives us
a new name, a new set of clothes, a new citizenship, a new story, a new home, a
new family.</p><p>Not only does he elevate, but he then invites us on a forever journey as his companions, coheirs, and co-rulers in the kingdom of God. </p><p>The mystery of Christ is great. The mystery of Christ is revealed. </p><p>Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ is coming again.</p><p>Be strong. Take courage. Fear not. Hold unswervingly to the hope you profess for he who promised is faithful.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-56326318269342882652022-11-15T15:09:00.004-06:002022-11-15T15:09:46.369-06:00Happiness in Finding Something Unexpected<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNtWIXBd47iMJHaqjrp9Cq-2_ueRCBfzPxBZdkJYHf3cc1mvFIIT2nQA5p2iLyuHOLLzaTB0tPRKcViVvA0gn4YSnPEraNk7ykAOoUxtDxrH_7_CVWjA0DF_jfin55xl7w4NTIqzzUBkgSd5xlWES9N20JKDOVTD6K0qJWZVHJ9RJa6ACtw/s2430/PXL_20201008_180235149.PANO.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2430" data-original-width="1656" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNtWIXBd47iMJHaqjrp9Cq-2_ueRCBfzPxBZdkJYHf3cc1mvFIIT2nQA5p2iLyuHOLLzaTB0tPRKcViVvA0gn4YSnPEraNk7ykAOoUxtDxrH_7_CVWjA0DF_jfin55xl7w4NTIqzzUBkgSd5xlWES9N20JKDOVTD6K0qJWZVHJ9RJa6ACtw/s320/PXL_20201008_180235149.PANO.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>The shovel sliced through the dirt with a careful determination earned from years of excavation. He labored alone on a private plot of land where he was carrying out his latest search. His team was enjoying a holiday today, but not this scientist. In solitude, under the midday sun, he worked. The soil his faithful friend; the ancient artifacts buried deep within, his trusted companions. Bernard, a respected but unpretentious archaeologist, had devoted his life to discovery, and little did he know, this day would be a day unlike any other. <p></p><p><i>Thunk</i>. The shovel hit something solid. The vibrations of unexpected discovery coursed through the spade's handle and into his hands, arms, and shoulders; it was music to his body. Bernard dropped the shovel excitedly in exchange for tools more suited for the craft of unearthing a potential treasure. </p><p>With a small pick in his right hand he knelt down, carefully removing the dirt clinging to the surface of the soild-shrouded mystery that lay beneath him. Was it merely a large rock? Was it a skull of long deceased animal? Was it a fossil?</p><p>To his shock, he quickly realized this was no ordinary find. Not a rock, not a fossil, not scrap metal, it was some sort of box, perhaps a chest. Swapping out his pick for a brush, he dusted off the upper surface of his latest find. Immediately, markings appeared, and a gilded trim glistened under the sun. </p><p>It took every ounce of self-control to restrain his enthusiasm from feverishly clawing at the dirt to rip the discovery from the ground. Instead, he patiently continued the craft he'd perfected over decades. Hours later as dusk settled in, he pulled the box from the hole and fell down in a heap of exhaustion. </p><p>Hours must have passed. With uncharacteristic weariness, he had fallen asleep beneath the silver moon. The howl of jackals and chirping of crickets were the only sounds of the lunar-basked night. With the giddy anticipation of a child on Christmas morning, Bernard picked up his discovery.</p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-43382651317130603332022-10-03T15:24:00.006-05:002022-10-06T14:02:19.204-05:00Reflecting on the SOS Memphis Reunion<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Gp2vWrH-wQnZv9R58Pv5MM3BTP7lBdEYFS0Vm_fPAl1Og0TMsAOrmD5rBuvvIXck1GqpQJx9xCy-zcAFqgnamQoSlMRh8d_mufHE8Zt1vqwyWvd3uIJmftsLIvoSKPfOlu1p-Gh2HvEPVDvezcC6ik6gRNc6VHaT5pbajBQVz9hlsI5lEQ/s4032/PXL_20220917_141531162.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Gp2vWrH-wQnZv9R58Pv5MM3BTP7lBdEYFS0Vm_fPAl1Og0TMsAOrmD5rBuvvIXck1GqpQJx9xCy-zcAFqgnamQoSlMRh8d_mufHE8Zt1vqwyWvd3uIJmftsLIvoSKPfOlu1p-Gh2HvEPVDvezcC6ik6gRNc6VHaT5pbajBQVz9hlsI5lEQ/w240-h320/PXL_20220917_141531162.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>What influence has SOS had on your life? </b><b>Reflections from the SOS Reunion</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bilbo opened the door to a rather unexpected journey. Lucy
happened upon another world hidden behind winter coats in a dusty wardrobe. Like
a portal into another dimension, SOS, too, transported me into another realm nearly
17 years ago.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I walked through the doors of a home repair camp in
Memphis, Tennessee, little did I know I had stumbled upon a different world
right in the heart of the city in a neighborhood called Binghampton. I
discovered there a counterformative ecosystem in which the prevailing scripts
of my American social imaginary were exposed and exchanged for a narrative shot
through with the wonder and peculiarity of the kingdom of God. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In short, SOS ruined my life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Okay, to be fair, SOS was not the sole harbinger of The
Great Ruining; that drama unfolded with a cast of characters including Illini
Life Christian Fellowship at the University of Illinois and Colorado LT at the
YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, CO. But the theater in which much of the
unfolding drama took place was no doubt there at a place called Service Over
Self. SOS and the people I came to know as a result of SOS pulled back the
curtain on a different way to live—and that alternative existence could not be
ignored. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 2005, as a college senior, I sat in a 15-passenger van
rolling south down I-57 from the cornfields of central Illinois to that iconic
Bluff City nestled along the banks of the mighty Mississippi. I had no idea
what threshold I was about to cross, not just across America’s grandest river,
but from the quaint terrain of my white, conservative, middle-class, university
existence and into a city with a history and a culture as thick and visceral as
the humidity which clings to the atmosphere. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In that land of the Kings—a city where rock ‘n roll, blues, and
barbeque sprouted up and shaped the culture of an entire nation; where the
barrel of a gun stared down America’s prophet whose only weapons were words and
brotherly love; where great beauty and tragedy reside uncomfortably adjacent; where
the seeds of class inequity have sown a harvest of tremendous philanthropy <i>and</i>
gut-wrenching poverty; and, where the stench of America’s original sins still
rise up from the floorboards—I encountered a people and a way of life that was
simply impossible to shake off. As if cupid’s arrow pierced my heart, I was
lovestruck over this strange attraction I found at Service Over Self.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Warmer, safer, and drier—an inauspicious goal; to offer home
repair as a tangible sign of the kingdom to those whose bank accounts were
hungry. But those three words “warmer, safer, drier”, as simple as they may
sound, usher in a measure of sanity and comfort that any of us would want for
our own homes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SOS doesn’t just toss out charity roofs as if they were a
handful of candy on the 4<sup>th</sup> of July; rather, SOS seeks to embody a
generous justice that both upholds the extravagance of God’s free grace in
Christ while also respecting the dignity of each homeowner who has the capacity
to be a full partner and activator in the gift. SOS home repair camps are not
merely platforms to speak the good news of Jesus, but the acts of service are an
integral part of the holistic gospel of the kingdom which Jesus came to pronounce
and demonstrate. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jesus came preaching and healing; he called for repentance;
he blessed the poor; he upended the dominant narratives of the religious and
political elite while taking children up on his knee; he responded to faith whether
he saw it in a social outcast or a civic leader; he got a reputation for being
gluttonous as he dined with misfits; and he cooked breakfast for those who
rejected him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A great heresy that has reared its ugly head for centuries
says that the body is rubbish but the soul is valuable, that material things
are bad but spiritual things are good. That gnostic error is one that SOS has faithfully
pushed against as they embody the hands of Jesus, swinging a nine-pound hammer in
the midst of the muggy midafternoon heat of a Memphis summer. Jesus Christ came
to reconcile <i>all things</i> to the glory of God–even a house in need of a
new roof. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While learning the trade of construction<a name="_Hlk115956479">—</a>primarily in tearing off an old roof and installing a
new one—I also came to know the names, faces, and stories of Memphians who are
my neighbors, people previously hidden to me, now standing in front of me whose
stories I couldn’t ignore. I sat in couches and at kitchen tables among
portrait-covered walls and smelled the glad tidings of southern home cookin’. I
met Americans living in “poverty”, though I often realized that it was their
faith in Jesus that made them truly rich and exposed much of my own poverty! I
didn’t walk away “just feeling grateful” for all that I had back home in my own
kingdom of comfort; no, I left having faced a reckoning with the economic
injustice that stains our country, and the extent to which I am complicit in
upholding the scaffolding of its sustaining. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, as I replay that famous end-of-camp-week question many
years later—how has SOS changed my life? —I see that God has set the alarm
clock once again, awakening me to his vision that justice would roll down like
the mighty waters. We are not called to pass our days until the sweet by and
by, but to take our stand against evil and injustice wherever we see it, to
tend the flame of Christ’s light, and to shine with acts of mercy and justice.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How has SOS changed my life? At SOS I also met people with
all the “potential” that the American dream could muster—people who took the
downwardly mobile turn upon the highway of the Messiah from Nazareth, a maneuver
that plopped these curious souls down as intentional neighbors in “nothing-good-comes-from-there”
neighborhoods tossed into the trashbin of Memphis. Neighborhoods previously
dismissed by elite Memphians’ collective shoulder shrug were stuck in cycles of
poverty. Faith, determination, familial love, culinary know-how, and an irreplaceable
body of knowledge of America’s slave and race history lived in their bones and
in their homes, but the vital signs of these neglected pockets of Memphis were
low; much of the lifeblood which generates and sustains flourishing in a local
place had been drained for far too long. It's a complex story, and I as a
college student then and a grown man today did not and do not pretend to know
all the warp and woof of the city’s checkered tapestry. But there, I met individuals
and families who counted the cost and considered the occasional stray bullet to
be worth the risk. It wasn’t for worldly prestige, pleasure, power, or the
promise of possessions. It was for the sake of obedience in the way of Jesus
who taught and showed that it is better to give than to receive, that life
comes from death, that love for neighbors and for enemies prevails. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At SOS, I met a man with a friendly smile and a towering
frame whose immense hands were only outsized by the generous, selfless spirit
within, a man endearingly called “Big Dog”, who extravagantly scatters the
grace of God upon forgotten, wandering, hurting souls on the streets of
Memphis. Himself a former local basketball superstar turned street-dwelling,
hustling junkie of twenty-three years, was pulled from the wreckage by the
prodigal God who takes delight in those far from home. Jesus came to seek and
save the lost, and Marlon Brown is an unashamed card-carrying member of the
Memphis lost-and-found. With the weapons of the selfless Jesus way—be it a
chainsaw for a widow’s fallen tree branch, a hammer for a social-security-check
subsister’s dilapidated roof, or a new pair of boots for a homeless veteran’s
bare feet—Marlon “Big Dog” Brown slays his way through the threatening forces
of his own addiction-stained past and joins with the Savior who took up the
weapons of a servant’s towel and a Roman cross. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At SOS, I met young women with university diplomas who took
up residence on an eyesore of a street on a forgotten corner of America so that
they could live close to refugees coming to America from those enemy
territories on the other side of the world, places on the map with names like
Somalia and Iraq. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As SOS, I met doctors, nurses and administrators binding up
the wounds of America’s hemorrhaging health care system and the countless sick
and dying in Memphis.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At SOS, I met men and women and youth overlooked by society
and relegated to systems and cycles of inequity, but instead of giving up and
taking the road of ease or the road of despair, they didn’t keep their heads
down. They showed their God-given capacities and dignity and pressed against
the waves of injustice and discrimination.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At SOS, I met the God who is reconciling <i>all things </i>in
heaven and earth—the reconciling God who is reuniting God’s space and human
space in a glorious harmony achieved by the subversive and revolutionary act of
love and justice in Jesus Christ. I learned that the <i>demonstration </i>of
the kingdom— the just and loving action that incarnates God’s good reign here
and now—are an essential twin act of the robust proclamation of the gospel.
When John the Baptist’s disciples queried whether Jesus was the Messiah—the
long awaited inaugurator of God’s kingdom of shalom on earth—he told them to
report what they saw: the blind received sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear,
lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At SOS, I learned about the vortex of safety that sweeps
countless American Christians—including me! —into its clutches. Rick Donlon
spoke to us of SAFE threats to the American church, things we often experience
as good, but which can easily crowd out our souls of devotion to Jesus and his
teaching—security, affluence, family/friends, and entertainment. To that same
tune, through SOS I met entrepreneurs and business owners who took seriously
Jesus’ teaching: “You cannot serve both God and Mammon…Beware of greed for a
man’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions…What can a man give
in exchange for his soul?” These individuals made the outlandish, upside down
decision to put a modest cap on their income and to distribute company earnings
across the city and the globe for the cause of the kingdom.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SOS forced thrust a decision upon my life, one that is
startlingly easy to avoid or ignore as a “Christian” in America. Will I live
for myself—even as a church-going, Bible-reading, worship-song-singing
“Christian—or will I surrender my life to a more sacrificial but more genuine,
transcendent, expansive, and generative life? Will hoard a false peace or seek
the shalom of my neighbors? Will be satisfied with a reductionistic, atrophied
gospel that promises heaven after I die, or will I join the wild, reckless, and
abundant life together with God’s family now? Will I be content for Jesus just
to reconcile my soul and satisfy my dreams, or will I lay them in the soil to
die and be reborn as the fruit of a better world?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, SOS has ruined me for a normal American life. The
tension is taught in my soul. But for this, I am grateful. I remember the words
of Philip who would often say to SOS campers as they prepared to depart a week
of SOS home repair camp and return to their normal lives. There isn’t something
special in the water at SOS. What happens at SOS can happen in our lives
wherever we live. The Holy Spirit, the gospel of the kingdom, the generous
spirit, the community, and servant leadership we practice there—none of these are
confined to the walls of SOS camp. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, while SOS may have ruined my life—I receive it as an
unexpected but necessary gift. And, what I do with this “ruining” as an
apprentice of Jesus in my life here in Illinois, that is part of the continued
“working out of my salvation with fear and trembling” here and now. By God’s
grace alone, I persevere, and I fix my eyes on Jesus who is the author and
finisher of this faith that empowers and sustains SOS in Memphis and me here in
Illinois.</p><p></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-43030495098960676262022-06-24T14:31:00.003-05:002022-06-24T14:31:32.266-05:00Equine-shaped Christology<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnkKgh5FO6Puti3imx0O-djeXrrc2L2cqtLTvG1hm5TS3zbYGkPbMwfA_LWfTK7y3uaRzswFBGfyagBIN9VXbi9McKR93McBKrK3Qtlg91Mk3sfcKoFXeSfUEOfrYijv-PB7ihQbD2Y0Xvlm0pxZ5TeI-V8tQcDvsE9ctUiXHro8Yt82WcQ/s4032/PXL_20220620_231643481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnkKgh5FO6Puti3imx0O-djeXrrc2L2cqtLTvG1hm5TS3zbYGkPbMwfA_LWfTK7y3uaRzswFBGfyagBIN9VXbi9McKR93McBKrK3Qtlg91Mk3sfcKoFXeSfUEOfrYijv-PB7ihQbD2Y0Xvlm0pxZ5TeI-V8tQcDvsE9ctUiXHro8Yt82WcQ/s320/PXL_20220620_231643481.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><i>Written after encountering a horse named April at The Springs retreat in Indiana.</i><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Calm, mild, gentle</p><p>Sweet, warm, kind and near</p><p>I touch your cheek</p><p>I feel drawn in - yet, fear</p><p>For you, a majestic beast, can crush me</p><p>A broken sternum with one blow</p><p>Strength and fierceness</p><p>Like none I know,</p><p>And yet I cannot pull away</p><p>Your strength you lay low</p><p>Offering to lead me to places</p><p>I would not go</p><p>Mountain passes</p><p>Bucolic meadows</p><p>Tranquil water's edge</p><p>Forested trails</p><p>Sweeping vistas;</p><p>Never alone,</p><p>Your power and gentleness</p><p>my guide,</p><p>Your nearness and otherness</p><p>my wonderment.</p><p>O Christ,</p><p>let your heart of meekness and might</p><p>love me out of the shadows of fear</p><p>and into the light of your embrace.</p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-70775113225878484942022-04-25T16:07:00.001-05:002022-04-25T16:07:06.697-05:00Pursued by the Creator of Trees<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGos4liP_NR3HjA0P7QLxqlz_Jx3LqradoombHW1zzOuscp1ayZS3tBCytxjTn2uFz4q_JRsa0-ZkeT6DUzKSm6VFYZFdZrjzHJX6ERp2NVtX1vY7NdNY_Gj7T27UWd5nCI74B3TcM1Im3netOwx0_LH8LDqBH7hiMc6XulJQmkdZmMRkzQ/s4032/PXL_20201005_172755183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGos4liP_NR3HjA0P7QLxqlz_Jx3LqradoombHW1zzOuscp1ayZS3tBCytxjTn2uFz4q_JRsa0-ZkeT6DUzKSm6VFYZFdZrjzHJX6ERp2NVtX1vY7NdNY_Gj7T27UWd5nCI74B3TcM1Im3netOwx0_LH8LDqBH7hiMc6XulJQmkdZmMRkzQ/s320/PXL_20201005_172755183.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>"A tree gives glory to God by being a tree." Thomas Merton<p></p><p>This quote, embossed on a small plaque at the foot of a newly planted tree, stretched up to me, a branch of God's tender love saying, "I see you." </p><p>I was walking in a park which I formerly frequented when we lived in a nearby neighborhood. Now, I rarely enjoy its trees and walking path, but the Spring season beckoned me. Today, while I walked, I listened to today's episode of "Pray as you go" in which the daily text was Mark 16:15, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all of creation." That last phrase, "all of creation", grabbed my attention. </p><p><i>All </i>created things, not just individual people, are in need of the gospel of the kingdom through which Jesus Christ brings liberation from death and decay. "<i>All </i>creation groans<i>,</i>" Paul wrote to the Roman believers. </p><p>Perhaps, even trees are worthy of our "preaching." Even gardens, birds and all manner of wonders that fill the earth. The poem of Psalm 98 calls to all creation - hills, seas, rivers, trees - to "sing" and "make a joyful noise." </p><p>So, as I listened to the reflection on Mark's ending to his gospel, in which he records Jesus' commission to the disciples, to go into all the world and preach the good news to all of creation, I was thinking about trees. In fact, specifically today, I had quaking aspen trees on my mind. I love Colorado. I want to be in Colorado most days. Aspen trees, in particular, with their delicate leaves that dance in the breeze, their white bark, and the golden flame of color in the Fall, are one of the beautiful parts of Colorado that captivate my attention. A "stand" or aspens, or even a thick forest of aspens, is a thing of beauty. I have wanted to plant one in my yard, but they aren't typically thought of as native to east central Illinois, so I've held back. But I had an itch yesterday to reconsider and I went online to find some on sale. I was debating the purchase in the back of my mind all day, and here I was in this park which I haven't visited in some time, as I meandered off the trail to a "random" tree I just happened to stumble by and I looked down at the plaque to read this quote by Thomas Merton - "A tree gives glory to God by being a tree." Well, perhaps it's a sign I thought. And then I wandered a few feet away to find what, you ask? Yes, an aspen tree planted in this very park. </p><p>So, maybe planting a tree is part of preaching good news to all of creation. It's an act of hope, an investment in the future, a sign of blessing for the next generation who will surely enjoy the fruits or beauty or shade of a tree more than I who plant and wait for its maturity to slowly arrive. </p><p><br /></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-6115650165449000312022-04-11T11:45:00.008-05:002022-04-11T11:51:27.371-05:00One Thing in a World of Many Things<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5UeZ06Ct0Qqknf9KPpVi5EwEblwEgZhMeZGuAAXk64Iob_D47fC_e8RFPbpJeKlSi0v4LRotY1eKQjKNhBT-Lk59AvRWpYMQBUNZT1_XQwh08tuXA1ETWMTqqw_LIp0SOlCRVxEr0ldsxH2wY6_dBwT1XkwW-8rpD2jiLAiXOxLPbdBG0mg/s4032/PXL_20220409_140404884.MP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><img alt="puzzle" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5UeZ06Ct0Qqknf9KPpVi5EwEblwEgZhMeZGuAAXk64Iob_D47fC_e8RFPbpJeKlSi0v4LRotY1eKQjKNhBT-Lk59AvRWpYMQBUNZT1_XQwh08tuXA1ETWMTqqw_LIp0SOlCRVxEr0ldsxH2wY6_dBwT1XkwW-8rpD2jiLAiXOxLPbdBG0mg/w320-h240/PXL_20220409_140404884.MP.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Last night I attended a fundraising banquet for a local ministry. In between bites of chicken cordon bleu, I made brief acquaintance with the strangers at the table. The man to my left, quiet and bearded, shared that he makes a living writing code for a local video game developer. He's spent the past five years working on the next game. Five years. One thing. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In recent years I've found myself regularly moved by the work of artists and craftsmen who are able to focus their attention and efforts upon one thing. Perhaps its a gentle rebuke to my own divided spirit, blown and tossed by numerous pursuits. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One particular memory takes me back to a small town in Jerome, Arizona, the former copper mining capital of the West. Nestled on the mountainside, amidst the ruins of the stone structure of a deteriorating church parish, a glassblower invited us into his glass shop where he showed us the wonder of his craft - a trade he's been devoted to for decades, with evidences of his creative devotion flanking us on every side. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I remember opening up a children's book this past Christmas with my daughter. We marveled at the artistry unfurled before us on its pages. So moved by the artist's work, I went to Google to discover more of his work and there discovered a treasure trove of his illustrations - handiwork created over a lifetime of artistic devotion.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The existentialist, Kierkegaard, once wrote that "purity of heart is to will one thing." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I tend to agree with him. My life bears it out. I struggle to focus on one thing. Is it harder nowadays? We live in a world of many things, the seeming ubiquity of <i>things </i>to beckon our attention, affection and devotion. I'm not so sure the past two years of pandemic have helped us, likely driving us further into the digital frenzy of life in the cloud. Hurry, anxiety, performance, consumption, striving - these are some of the hallmarks of our broader culture. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Maybe it's just me? Am I the only one who struggles to stay focused? Who gets overwhelmed by the options? Maybe, as one author has argued, Google has just made me "stupid." Or, as another author has argued, perhaps I've conformed myself to the image of my phone, a device which breeds restlessness, distraction and inattention. Maybe it's just my brain and the propensity for attention deficit and struggle to get into "flow", a term which has worked its way into our social imaginary as a generative space where we are able to devote entire selves to productivity with one single project.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But, this isn't a reflection on productivity. This is an honest appeal to consider: is it possible to focus on one thing? To live for one thing? What is my one thing?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus, the wisest teacher to every walk the earth has some words for us on this question. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">With language of "purity" that Kierkegaard picked up on, Jesus said in his famous "Beatitudes" preamble for his consequential Sermon on the Mount, "<i>Happy are the pure in heart, for they will see God." </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To see God and not turn away in shame, fear, guilt, greed, distraction, boredom or inattention, but instead to bathe in his joyful presence? <b>That sounds like bliss; like what we are all chasing with our pixel pushing, our Amazon one-clicking, our endless swiping, scrolling, seeking and striving.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Later in his ministry, while in the home of sisters, Mary and Martha, Jesus spoke to the distracted sister: <i>"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but <b>only one thing</b> is necessary; Mary has chosen the better portion and it will not be taken from her."</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">That story appeared twice yesterday for me amidst an acute experience of anxiety and trouble in my own soul. What is my one thing? Have I chosen the better portion? If I understand Jesus correctly, when he's talking about the "better portion", he's referring to Mary's choice to sit at Jesus' feet, to still herself in his presence and listen to his teaching when she could have been busying herself with meal prep and serving house guests (that's what she "should" have been doing in that patriarchal culture). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus referring to himself as the "better portion" and as the necessary "one thing" reminds me of his words to the crowds in John 6. After he multiplied a little boy's lunch offering of five barley loaves and two fish and with it fed over five thousand people, Jesus proceeded to tell the temporarily satiated multitude that it actually he, the Son of Man in the flesh, who is the "bread of life" who can satiate our gnawing hunger and appetite for immortality and peace with God. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Hundreds of years before the Messiah, Jesus, arrived on the scene Isaiah prophesied these words: <br /><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"><span> </span><i><span> </span></i></span><span class="text Isa-55-1" style="position: relative;"><i><span>Come, all you who are thirsty<br />come to the waters;</span></i></span></span><i><span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="text Isa-55-1" style="background-color: white; position: relative;">and you who have no money,</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-55-1" style="position: relative;">come, buy and eat!</span></span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="text Isa-55-1" style="background-color: white; position: relative;">Come, buy wine and milk</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-55-1" style="position: relative;">without money and without cost.</span></span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="text Isa-55-2" id="en-NIV-18743" style="background-color: white; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="display: inline; font-weight: 700; left: -4.4em; line-height: normal; position: absolute; top: auto; vertical-align: text-top;">2 </span>Why spend money on what is not bread,</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-55-2" style="position: relative;">and your labor on what does not satisfy?</span></span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="text Isa-55-2" style="background-color: white; position: relative;">Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-55-2" style="position: relative;">and you will delight in the richest of fare.</span></span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="text Isa-55-3" id="en-NIV-18744" style="background-color: white; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="display: inline; font-weight: 700; left: -4.4em; line-height: normal; position: absolute; top: auto; vertical-align: text-top;">3 </span>Give ear and come to me;</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-55-3" style="position: relative;">listen, that you may live.</span></span></span></i></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Mary is a living witness of obedience to this word of Isaiah. She was aware of her own hunger and thirst and recognized in Jesus the incarnational fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. She chose to delight herself in the rich fare of Jesus' presence. The house guests, the cleaning, the food prep, it didn't matter. She was focused on her <i>one thing - </i>the only <i>one thing </i>who truly stills the troubled waters of a turbulent, tortured and restless soul. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But...life. We wake up to whining children, hungry bellies, to a full inbox, dirty dishes piled in the sink, to depressing headlines, a dwindling bank account, to unemployment, unfinished books, and growing to-do lists.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">That is life. I don't hear Jesus saying we are to ignore responsibility. Obviously that would go against the grain of his teaching. But <b>we are invited to cultivate a fertile garden of attentive and needful simplicity in the midst of the wild and harsh landscape in this east-of-Eden exilic terrain in which we sojourn.</b> We will never be able to do it all or accomplish it all. As the wise sage once wrote in Ecclesiastes, "<i>the eye never has its tire of seeing and the ear its fill of hearing</i>."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I will close this reflection with two parting words. One from the author of the letter to the Hebrews and the other, a stanza from the mid-19th century American <a href="https://www.shakermuseum.us/tis-gift-simple-things-arent-simple-seem/">Shaker hymn</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><span><span class="text Heb-12-1" id="en-NIV-30214" style="background-color: white;">"...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text Heb-12-2" id="en-NIV-30215" style="background-color: white;"><b>fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross</b>, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."</span></span></i><span><br /></span></span><p><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #202124;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #202124;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">And when we find ourselves in the place just right,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #202124;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #202124;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">When true simplicity is gain'd,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #202124;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">To bow and to bend we will not be asham'd,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #202124;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">To turn, turn will be our delight,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #202124;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">Till by turning, turning we come round right.</span></span></i></p><p><br /></p></div>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-47017812192527938952022-03-05T14:38:00.001-06:002022-03-05T14:38:16.732-06:00I Swipe, Therefore I Am<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGoZcDf5eFQBSlH8kSrGMp4eix6o-TDbNBIeZeaZmkLnd3SsbMxjwYHrMdkMyfa1QxsEJoD-bw90HM8UHrLx4IizkFJiUrNsc6IvewI-fpglx4oci3O2SvggyIJG7cncLZX0_6jLAt4YYUXd1OCY3EFdkaXZclR_pEiei9mbXOMLT-Y2Ig1A=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Children with snowman" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGoZcDf5eFQBSlH8kSrGMp4eix6o-TDbNBIeZeaZmkLnd3SsbMxjwYHrMdkMyfa1QxsEJoD-bw90HM8UHrLx4IizkFJiUrNsc6IvewI-fpglx4oci3O2SvggyIJG7cncLZX0_6jLAt4YYUXd1OCY3EFdkaXZclR_pEiei9mbXOMLT-Y2Ig1A=w240-h320" title="Still had to use my phone for this very non-digital snowman moment" width="240" /></a></div><i>Raw thoughts on living in the digital, AI age...</i><p></p><p>Can I be human anymore without my connection to the internet (and the associated media platforms, apps and devices)? Does the immanence of the digital captivate my heart's affection? </p><p>Is it simply that I am a part of a generation that lives somewhere in the liminal space, the tension, of a childhood without the internet and an adulthood in which the internet drives our society? Is this the inevitability of being a human caught in the crosswinds of major technological shifts?</p><p>A wise teacher once wrote: "The eye never has its fill of seeing, and the ear never tires of hearing." He also said, long before the internet age, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out."(See the wisdom book, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%201&version=NIV">Ecclesiastes</a>, in the Hebrew scriptures.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">There's always a new podcast, a new artist, a new album, an email, a post, an article, a book review, a text, a video to click through, to discover, to see, to hear, to fill me, to scratch that curious itch. (And, this is nothing to speak of TikTok or Reels.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">But they never satisfy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">There's always more.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">When did the internet colonize my brain? When did its allure capture the affects of my heart? When did I begin turning to the internet from dawn to dusk? How did I let it happen? Was it inevitable? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Even as I type this post, is there some gnawing urge to "have to put words out" into the connected world (What are we calling it now? Cyberspace? The internet? The interwebs? The metaverse?)?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do I even know how to think my own thoughts any more? To be content in being alone with myself - without my phone, without connectivity - dare I say, even without a book?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do I even know how to really rest in solitude in the presence of God? He promises that that he can satisfy and quiet me with his love - have I given over my imagination and will to other gods?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even now as I type these words I listen to a Piano Guys album on Spotify. But is it the perfect album to be listening to right now? Is it the ambiance I need to help the words flow?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think the global pandemic has pushed many of us to the upper limits of what we can handle as humans in terms of our engagement in the connected world. Some of us may never emerge again from that hyperconnected parallel universe where we remain detached even while permanently tethered. Some of us may become Luddites. Some of us may </span>rediscover<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the joy of incarnational community, embodiment. Some of us learned how to be alone with ourselves. Some of us learned how to distract ourselves quite effectively while being isolated.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"My people have committed two sins: they have rejected me as their fount of living water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves - cisterns that cannot hold water." </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those words from the prophet Jeremiah on behalf of the LORD God, spoken to his people, have been imprinted upon my heart for many years. How have we rejected God for our broken cisterns of constant connection to the immanence of the digital where we have a seemingly unending stream of infotainment? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How are we to return to God as the true fount of living water? As the wise teacher said, all of our scrolling, reading, listening, learning and watching will never really be enough. Is a digital fast what we need? New habits? A new imagination for what's possible? A detox and renouncing of the powers of the i-gods that rule over us (e.g. Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft). </span></p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-76159071676999898242022-02-09T14:45:00.005-06:002022-02-09T16:07:35.059-06:00An Opportune Time <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJqudLzduxpl19zV3DC44gmo7OzrioKXx-cwupKveuyloIVuSugB25USgKXOPpj8jgafc0c8eLoiNVATiQuTbpy0s3Ht6VLVogcv2DoLHcKaSF1xbwiK-m3g3_0I8-J6hpnFrB719QflwK-j9znB0Q1gNNHdgv_YWodbBiPb_eyIHZYtx9pA=s4032" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJqudLzduxpl19zV3DC44gmo7OzrioKXx-cwupKveuyloIVuSugB25USgKXOPpj8jgafc0c8eLoiNVATiQuTbpy0s3Ht6VLVogcv2DoLHcKaSF1xbwiK-m3g3_0I8-J6hpnFrB719QflwK-j9znB0Q1gNNHdgv_YWodbBiPb_eyIHZYtx9pA=s320" width="240" /></a></div>The waters of baptism had barely evaporated. The breath of the Spirit's hovering presence was fresh upon him, filling him up to the fullest measure. The affirming words of his Abba Father still resounded within his soul. But now, Jesus wanders alone. <p></p><p>Fresh off the heels of that triumphant, jubilant occasion in the Jordan waters, the Spirit now draws him out of the waters and hurls him into the wilderness. Jesus of Nazareth prays his way through the dusty, desolate wilderness as he makes his move toward his throne. From Israel's history, we would imagine the coming of Israel's long-awaited redeemer - that new and better Moses - to march right up to Caeser and claim the Promised Land. That's what Israel expects from her Messiah. </p><p>But, no. </p><p>The accuser, that ancient archenemy of humankind and yet, somehow, also a servant of the Divine council, appears on the scene. Just as he appeared before Elohim Adonai in that famous tale of the wealthiest man in the East, Job, the accuser steps into the courtroom and delivers his best attempt to divert the Messiah from his mission, to plunder the rightful King's ascent to his rightful throne. Yes, the good King is here. Yes, the serpent head crusher has arrived. </p><p>But the earth's current prince is no slouch. Like a vassal trying to manipulate the suzerain with wily tricks, the satan delivers a threefold attempt at coup d'eta. </p><p>Hungry? Turn stones to bread and get satisfied! </p><p>Looking to rule the earth's kingdoms? Bow and get your throne now! </p><p>Need to erase all doubt? Throw yourself overboard and just watch the angels show up! </p><p>In sum: the accuser seeks to put Jesus' mind on earthly, human ways and means rather than heavenly, divine ways and means. </p><p>These temptations were nothing new, though. The accuser's bag of tricks proves itself minimal in its scope, but deadly in its effect upon all save that one man from Nazareth. The temptations were there with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. The temptations were there with Moses en route to the Promised Land. </p><p>So, what's new? This new Adam passes the test. Unlike Esau, he refuses the temporary satiation of vituals and salivates, instead, for the life-giving word of God. Unlike King Hezekiah, he refuses alliance with worldly power. Unlike Adam and Eve, he trusts his Abba Father and doesn't put Yahweh to the test. With the very words of YHWH-breathed torah in his mouth, he shoots down the satan's attempts to deter the rightful King from his journey to that unexpected, subversive and glorious throne on that hill outside the Jerusalem's gate. </p><p>Thankfully, the anointed King emerges from the ring victorious over that rebel prince. The gospel writers give us an important footnote to this critical story from the Messianic narrative - "the accuser left him until an opportune time." </p><p>Fast forward to the middle of Messianic storyline in the gospels (here, I'm thinking of Matthew's account as recorded in chapter 16). Once again, we find Jesus fresh off the heels of a triumphant moment. In Caesarea Philippi, Jesus receives a declaration of faith from the outspoken Simon. "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Jesus asks the twelve. "But, who do <i>you </i>say I am?" Jesus inquires, taking the matter to their innermost thoughts. "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!" Yes, Simon. This wasn't revealed to you by humans, but by God, Jesus assures him. </p><p>With a public-yet-private declaration of faith now filling up the disciples' ears, the annointed One then proceeds to rename Simon as Peter ("rock") and confirm that he <i>will build his ekklessia on this very rock and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. </i>(Is the "rock" Peter himself? Is it the very rocky soil on which they were standing where pagan sacrifice rituals took place, a gate of Hades in their midst - the exact darkness upon the earth where the kingdom of light would prevail? Yes. I think it was a double entendre by the master wordsmith, Jesus.) </p><p>This Messiah would not rule alone, though. Jesus says he will share power, restoring the dignity of <i>imago Dei</i>: "I'm giving you the keys to the kingdom! Whatever you bind or loosen here on earth, it will likewise be bound or loosened in the heavenly realms." </p><p>So, what kind of Messiah is this? What does the Son of Man have in store? The disciples, being good Jews (mostly?) knew that the "Son of Man" is a title reserved for the annointed one who sits at the right hand of the Ancient of Days in Daniel's prophetic vision. For Jesus to have used this title more than any other is lost on us unless we understand the monumental significance of "Son of Man" nomenclature. The identity and destiny of Israel - indeed, all nations! - was bound up in that title. So, now that Jesus's true identity and destiny were known and named by Peter and the disciples (their full understanding still childish in their pre-resurrection, pre-Pentecost, pre-Cornelius-visitation imaginations), it's safe to say an "opportune time" had arrived. </p><p>Sure enough, the accuser steps back into view. Matthew's record continues with a emphatic note that "from this time on" Jesus' face was set like flint to a stone. He was making his move toward Jerusalem to his cruciform throne. </p><p>This "opportune time" was now here in the guise of Jesus' own confessor, Peter. Jesus announces that the Son of Man - the Messiah himself - must suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes, and - gasp - be killed! The satan knew what the disciples did not, knowing that his own occupancy of earth's throne was threatened if, and only if, the Messiah were to ascend Golgotha onto the Roman crucifix. Weasling his way into Peter's ambitions and words, the tempter throws his A-game. "Never! My lord, Jesus, you will not die!" Peter retorts to Jesus. The Messiah, in Peter and disciples' imaginations, will surely be an earthly kind of king who will oust the Roman occupation and dismantle all the political, economic and religious oppression that were standing in the way of Israel dwelling in the land in shalom (the whole "so that the nations may stream to it" bit was lost on them until the Cornelius vision). </p><p>Jesus recognizes the illusion; he hears the voice of the accuser. "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to my mission. You don't have in mind divine things but rather human things." Jesus doesn't mince words. Peter is a puppet for the attempted coup d'eta, and his words must be crushed immediately. Worldly power games and politics might work that way, but not in my kingdom, Jesus declares. </p><p>But he doesn't stop there.</p><p>"If any of you wants to be my apprentice...you're going to have to die, to take up your cross, and follow me. Every. Day." What? Cross? Jesus, crosses are those instruments of political torture and humiliation that the Romans are lining our streets with. Do you know what you're talking about? They should be the ones hanging on crosses, not us - right? </p><p>Jesus goes on to say that his followers, like Adam and Eve, stand before two trees. We can take the fruit from the tree of knowing good and bad and get what we want now (power, influence, accolades, false peace, safety, and an illusion of "good"), or we can choose the tree of life and wait with patience for the bearing of fruit that endures, a fruit that will bring true shalom when God reconclies all things in the Annointed One and heaven and earth are renewed and reunited in a beautiful harmonious goodness.</p>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18738050.post-88106048114137780202021-12-07T20:01:00.003-06:002021-12-08T19:23:56.682-06:00Elizabeth, Did You Know?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjU2-2Wgg8zueMxVfnOjjlTndOgdfMnshzO-6WRYe6rdN9yhYalBruVHsccTtPy6Je9zMg7naSATjT4bz6Akgdit0nxOxG4klMne6E3Po51lq2GWRmfi18MC4jq0nXnli5Ea-mu5_VvQ0WHuvAbfabri7iEac3QUKmb34dRTAhY0KDCsIfmKA=s1435" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Luca della Robbia" border="0" data-original-height="1435" data-original-width="1265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjU2-2Wgg8zueMxVfnOjjlTndOgdfMnshzO-6WRYe6rdN9yhYalBruVHsccTtPy6Je9zMg7naSATjT4bz6Akgdit0nxOxG4klMne6E3Po51lq2GWRmfi18MC4jq0nXnli5Ea-mu5_VvQ0WHuvAbfabri7iEac3QUKmb34dRTAhY0KDCsIfmKA=w282-h320" title="Luca della Robbia" width="282" /></a></div>This morning I was freshly struck with wonder at Matthew's account of the life of Jesus, in the fourteenth chapter. Contained within the artificial boundaries of this chapter we find a dramatic sweep from one of the deepest valleys of Jesus' life to one of the most dramatic heights. I want to focus in here upon the opening of chapter 14 because it relates to this season of Advent: the death of John the Baptist. <div><br /></div><div>How does John's death relate to Advent? John the Baptist is a central figure in Advent time. He is the forerunner of Christ - the one who leaps in the womb of his mother at the coming of his in utero Messiah and later prepares the way in the wilderness for him. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've read the story of his beheading a thousand times, but today, during the season of Advent, John's death surprised me in a new way. It wasn't John I was thinking about. It wasn't even Jesus as much (though, his grief at John's death and immediate withdrawal into solitude are very instructive for us about Jesus' humanity and emotional life). It was Elizabeth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Elizabeth, who along with her stunned-mute-husband, Zechariah, were selected to conceive and give birth in their old age to the Messiah's forerunner. Elizabeth, who at the visitation of Mary, was transported into worship along with the leaping babe within her womb. </div><div><br /></div><div>Elizabeth, did you know that your baby boy would one day die an early death, his head served up on a platter at the whim of a wicked King's daughter? </div><div><br /></div><div>John's life can sometimes seem so insignificant, if I'm honest. He wasn't named as one of Jesus' disciples. He wasn't there at the cross, or the resurrection, or the ascension. His mom and dad were well past their prime. He wore the hide of a camel and ate locusts in the desert. The people he "prepared" for the Messiah seemed to later wholesale reject the Messiah - "Crucify him!" just a few years after getting washed in the Jordan. </div><div><br /></div><div>Injustice, violence and death on the heels of promise, prophecy, preparation. Elizabeth, did you know your boy would one day have his head served up on a platter? </div><div><br /></div><div>John, Jesus, Elizabeth, Mary - the cast of characters most near to the heart of Advent - all acquainted with grief, sorrow, death. Each lived a life incongruent and shockingly against the grain of the dominant culture. </div><div><br /></div><div>Is there hope in this story? Is there peace? Is there joy? Advent begins in the dark, writes Fleming Rutledge. In the dark of waiting, hurting, longing, wondering, watching, the light of Christ dawns upon us. The prophet Isaiah said that the light will shine - the light of seven days of full sun (Isaiah 30). </div><div><br /></div><div>The light has dawned. Christ has taken up poverty and death, so that the world can be turned upside down. Christ is our life; we are hidden in him - the one who allowed the full weight of earth's violence fall upon him. We wait and watch and work and pray and love in the meantime, in the promise that Christ <i>has come </i>and he <i>is near </i>and he <i>will come </i>again.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is not pie-in-the-sky religion. This is not escapism. This is not naivete. How do we know? Jesus wept at the death of John. He was stricken with grief over the wickedness of man, over the unjust abrupt ending to John's life. But he knew that the blow of the sword would not have the final word.</div><div><br /></div><div>Come Lord Jesus, come.</div><div><br /></div><div>Addendum. I came across this relevant quote the following day in Fleming Rutledge's <i>Advent, </i>pp. 277-8:</div><span id="docs-internal-guid-01625475-7fff-7739-9642-5e9bc247822d"><span style="background-color: white; color: #45413e; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“John the Baptist is the new Elijah, standing at the edge of the universe, at the dawn of a new world, the turn of the ages. That is his location as the sentinel, the premier personage of this incomparable Advent season - the season of the coming of the once and future Messiah. John’s divinely ordained location in the world…is on the frontier of the ages as God arrives in his world to turn it away from its past of sin and bondage toward a future of promise and freedom. John’s function is to proclaim the coming reversal of the downward spiral of human history, to deliver the message of the invading Son of God. He cries, “Already the axe is laid at the root of the tree…” The whole purpose of John the Baptist is to announce the beginning of the end….the import of John the Baptist as Mark’s opener could not be more clear: when Elijah comes back, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #45413e; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the next person to appear will be God, and it will be the first day of the age to come…</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #45413e; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John the Baptist, whose single-minded life and horrendous death at the hands of the powers and principalities are a preview of Jesus’ own death. What a strange story we Christians have to tell! It is in the suffering and death of God’s servants at the hands of despots and tyrants that God’s new rule is made manifest.</span></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Jonathan Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877675228692221845noreply@blogger.com0