The Martyrdom of St. Matra.

On this day, St. Matra was martyred during the papacy of Pope Demetrius, the twelfth patriarch of Alexandria, and in the days of Emperor Decius. When this Saint heard the imperial Edict read ordering the worship of idols, he went and took the arm of the statue of the idol Apollo, which was made of pure gold. He cut it in pieces, and gave them to the poor. When they searched for the idol’s arm, and could not find it, they seized many because of it. St. Matra came forward and told them, “I am he who took it.” They tortured him much, and then cast him into the fire, but the angel of the Lord saved him from it. Then they cut off his hands and his feet and crucified him on a tree, head downwards. A blind man came and took some of the blood that was dripping from the Saint’s mouth and smeared his eyes with it, and he regained his sight. Afterwards, the Saint was beheaded, and he received the crown of martyrdom.

May his intercession be with us. Amen.

At Saint Mark Coptic Church in D.C. one of our priests, Father Anthony, gives a Bible study every Wednesday night at 7 p.m.  Recently we have been studying the live of David.  If you are interested in hearing these talks, please go to www.orthodoxsermons.org  and download them.  The one recently given was on despair, and it will change the way you look at yourself in times of trouble, and how God looks at you.

One night wrestling with God

This story comes from Genesis 32:24-36.  It is the story of when Jacob wrestled with God and was blessed.

“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

It was only when Jacob WILLINGLY gave everything up that he was alone and wrestled with God.   Jacob gave up his livestock, servants, and family just to be alone and see what God had in store for him.  Would Jacob be saved?  Would God provide for him as He had previously provided for Abraham and Issac?

In the silence at night, God came to Jacob and began to wrestle with him.  Jacob struggled and refused to let God go until he was blessed.  Jacob’s blessings weren’t one that most would want, a weakened muscles, but it was given by God, or a new name (Israel) but we know that “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,” (Romans 8:28).

How often do we struggle with God?  How often do we push everything aside, even for one night to be in silence with God and see what He has in store for us?  During this time of Lent, we are are supposed to willingly give up sins or anything hindering us from growing closer to our Savior.  So the question is are we?  Are we willingly going to give up our possessions, so that we can spend one night wrestling with God?

Your Prayers

Thank You

Thank You for praying for me.

Thank You for listening to my prayers.

Thank You for Your prayers.

Thank You for watching me when I sleep.

Thank You for smiling as I dream.

Thank You for laughing with me.

Thank You for crying with me.

Thank You for the 41 lashes.

Thank You for the 3 nails.

Thank You for the crown of thorns.

Thank You for taking them instead of me.

 Thank You for coming after me when I am lost.

Thank You for carrying me on your shoulders when I am found.

Thank You for Your choice.

Thank You for staying awake 24 hours a day.

Thank You for mentioning my name to Your Father.

Thank You for putting Your hope in me.

Thank You for disciplining me.

Thank You for knocking at my door.

Thank You for waiting at my door until I open it.

Thank You for sharing your throne.

Thank You for wanting to share my life.

Thank You for another chance.

Thank You for yet another chance.

Thank You for every chance to come back to You.

Thank You for giving me a chance at eternal joy.

Thank You for giving me a share in your inheritance.

Thank You for making me something out of nothing.

Thank You for allowing me to imitate You.

Thank You for Your prayers.

Thank You for Your tears.

Thank You.

Thank You.

Thank You.

John 1:9-14

As great lent began, I decided that I need to look at my life and see what what is missing. Christ. The Holy Spirit. God. Not very hard to figure out what was wrong, and it is not very hard to fix this problem. As the new basketball ministry started tonight, we decided to revamp it by adding in a spiritual word. I called a friend and they gave me the quiet time for the day, John 1:9-14. This could not be more appropriate for the start of lent.

Many people believe when we fast it is just about giving up food. This is only the start. The point of fasting is to show Christ how much we love Him and how much we are willing to give for Him. Am I willing to give up meat for my Savior who gave His flesh for me? Am I willing to give up milk for my Savior who as He hung on a cross remembered my name? This is only the start though. Fasting makes us “weak” physically but at the same time it strengthens us spiritually. How does this work?

Psalm 51:17 “a broken and contrite heart These O God, you will not despise.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

When we are weak God will work through us. Physically we are broken, but spiritually God is taking us to another level.
John 1:10-11 “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” The Creator came to earth, and the earth did not recognize Him. How many times do we see someone in need and ignore them? Is this not Christ? How many times do we help someone who is stressed at work? How many times do we listen to someone who needs an ear to talk to or a shoulder to cry on? Christ is coming to us daily, hourly, every minute of the day, waiting for us to recognize Him and spend time with Him. Matthew 25:41 “‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’” So how do we get to know Christ? How do we prepare ourselves to receive Christ?

John 1:12-13 goes on to say, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Those who believe in Christ, recognize Him and help Him will be born of God. People will see the love of Christ reflected in those serving and ministering and will be recognized as sons of God. They will be children born of God and God will be proud to say “that’s my child feeding the poor man. That’s my child giving their jacket to the man freezing in the cold. That’s my child that is fasting for me so that I can hear the frailty in their voice and tears in their eyes as they stand to pray. How can I ignore them?”

Fasting is a time to get to know Christ. By emptying our body of sinful lusts and actions and filling it with Christ, whether by reading spiritual books, attending more liturgies or praying, we are recieving Christ into our hearts. In this way we will recognize Him more and in doing so will become His children. When we become His children we will begin to look at act like Him. In doing so, God, our Heavenly Father will be proud of us and smile when we glorify and edify Him.

As the great lent starts, ask yourself two questions, do I want to rid myself of these worldly pleasures and fill it with Christ instead? Christ is knocking at the door of your heart, will you let Him in and receive Him?

Christ’s helpers

this post was written about a month ago, and i never had a chance to finish.  what is here is what was revealed to me at the time and what the Holy Trinity was showing me.  if you care to continue reading please do so, and hopefully the Holy Trinity will reveal more from this post to you.

Recently a very good friend of mine sent me a text message with my guardian angel 🙂 now this made me happy of course because 1) I received text message and 2) it reminded me of God’s love for me. This past weekend we had a graduate retreat speaking about the love of Christ and how He is the bridegroom and we are the bride. Even more interesting is that I am reading the life of St. Peter and the recent chapter speaks about how the angel of the Lord escorted St. Peter out from prison (Acts 12:5-19). To reinforce how much God loves me, today’s quiet time was psalm 16. So how does this all tie in?

Being the bride of Christ means that He is going to take care of us all by Himself. He can support us and provide for us in everything that we do. He sacrificed Himself to have us. He hung from a cross so we can sit on His throne with Him for all eternity. He thirsted on the Cross for us so that we can be at the wedding banquet in Heaven. Christ is doing all He can to be with us. He gave His life for us. He blesses us everyday with gifts and grace that we need but don’t even know we need it. We sin so much and we feel that we are so far from God and not worthy to call on His name, yet He wants us to call on His name and ask for help. Then why do we delay?

It is amazing that Christ is praying for us, that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us, and that God has sent so many helpers to guide us get back to Him. Angels, beings created by God to glorify and edify Him all day. Some are praising God, and some are sent to protect us. We dont deserve that God help us at all. We sin, we stray from God, yet everyday He is providing for us and sending helpers. He sent helper’s to minister to Christ in the Garden of Gethsamne, He sent angels to minister to Christ when He was fasting on the mountain for 40 days. He sent angles to help His chlidren who were trapped in prison (St. Peter, St. John, the lame man, and numerous others such as Brother Yun).

The bridegroom is taking care of us, the bride. He wants us to be like Him. He wants us to look like Him, act like Him, think like Him, and essentially to be Him. He is sending helpers, that we may never see, to guide us along the path and help us when we are in danger. We cry to Him in Psalm 16 “Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.”

giving Christ a hug

Recently the message that God has been sending me is of love. For quiet time, He mention what love is. 1 Corinthians 13

The Greatest Gift

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Christ loves us. His sacrifice was not a single event, but a daily event. For everyday we sin, it’s another nail in His hands, scourge on His back, spit on His face, punch on His cheek, and laugh as He is hunched over broken. The Prince of Peace hanging on a cross, aware of the path He has chosen and why? For love. Love conquers all. The love of Christ conquered our sin. The love of Christ conquered our death. The love of Christ conquers our life, if we allow it. So let us think for a minute. After reading this part, try to close your eyes and envision what is going on.

Imagine yourself in the Garden of Gethsemane. A cool night, the wind blows by you as you hear the animals in the garden chirping and humming. Imagine the moon high above you, glowing bright as you make it out inbetween the tree branches. Imagine seeing a Man, hunched over a rock praying while crying so hard, drops of blood fall from His face to the ground underneath Him. His hands are folded together on the rock as He cries not to die. He cries to live, yet He you see Him reason and understand that He must die. You watch as sadness and joy enter His hear and His face at the same time. You begin to hear marching through the forest. The animals have stopped their noises and the cool breeze is now replaced with the warmth of torches and a hundred cold faces stare at the Man standing in the middle, standing knowing His time has come.

The cold handcuffs and chains go around His body and begin to weigh Him down. Now He walks through the garden and into the high courts where all the “nobles” are surrounding Him and accusing Him. As laughs and jeers begin to come toward Him, so does spit, slaps and punches. The weight of the chains and the abuse begin to take their toll. The Man falls down but stands back up. His face now turning purple and black, His body bruised, His heart crying that those who are beating Him will one day believe in Him, He still stands and takes the beating.

A few hours later, He hangs on a cross. A crown of thorns on His head, piercing through His skin, blood dripping down His cheeks, over His mouth, down His arms and chest. Blood pours from every pore in His body. He just carried a cross that tore into His flesh after He was whipped, yet through the city, through every step He never stopped. He walked and every time He fell, He stood back up. He now hangs on the cross half naked with holes in His hands and feet.

Wrongfully accused. He knew it, all of Heaven knew it, and yet He prevented the angels from interfering. He willingly chose this way to die. Looking up at the cross and watching the Prince of Peace hanging by only three nails, all you can do is close your eyes and turn away. It can’t be. How could innocence be more violently abused?

Hanging on the cross, and watching the Christ, the Savior, on the cross, all you can do is run up to Him and give Him a big hug. All you want to do is take Him down and hold Him. Feel the love of a King as tears flow. Your tears because He did this for you, and His tears because He did this for you. But that is you giving Christ a hug.

Every day, Christ is waiting next to your bed. Every day Christ is waiting for you to uncover yourself and take your first steps of the day. Every day Christ is waiting with His arms spread out, so that the first steps you take will be into His arms to hug Him. Will you give Him a hug? will you spend time in prayer and quiet time to feel His loving arms around you? Will you do whatever it takes to feel the hands of Christ, wrapped around you? All He is asking for is obedience and time with Him. Imagine how it would feel to hold Christ and have the warmth of His tears running down your back. Imagine the tears of joy He has all because you came back to Him and wanted to spend time with Him. Imagine the tears of joy flowing from His eyes because you wanted to give Him a hug. Think, before you were born, He wanted to give you a hug, and He is waiting in Heaven to greet you. Will you do whatever it takes to give Him that hug He has been waiting for since the foundation of the world? Imagine that hug, that killed pure innocence, that discovered unconditional love and is waiting to hold you

carrying each others burdens

truly the Holy Trinity is amazing and both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit intercede for us to God our Father. how incredible of a union? how incredible this team working for every single one of us that we may enter the Kingdom created for us since the foundation of the world.

today’s quiet time was from Genesis 24:12-21. this is the story of abraham searching for a wife for issac. isaac could have easily chosen a wife for himself. he could have gone out to himself a wife, one that he likes, one that he wants, not one that will be chosen for him. yet we see that abraham asked his servant to help. abraham asked his servant to help carry the burden of finding a wife for issac.

was the servant going to be alone in his search for the bride? verse 7 tells us that the Lord God will send an angel to lead. how awesome. this servant is carrying the burden of finding a wife, yet he has an angel of the Lord leading him. when we have burdens to carry, we are to ask each other for help to carry each others burdens, and when we do, God sends His angels to lead us, help us, and minister to us along the way. sometimes the burdens of our brothers are to much and we can’t help, but if we are faithful, God will send His angels to lead the way and reveal His path to us. this servant had the task of finding a wife in a foreign land. this servant had to find a girl that met certain requirements. this servant had no idea what he was looking for, but he knew that God would provide. who did the servant look for to help? who did the servant look for for guide him? the servant looked at God who put him on the path.

verse 12 shows the love that the servant had for abraham. this verse shows the depth of this burden that both the servant and abraham are carrying. “O Lord God of my master abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master abraham.” this servant prayed for abraham. the wife was for issac, but the servant saw how abraham wanted a bride for issac. the servant saw the burden of abraham and helped him carry it. he did not just carry it five or ten miles, but he carried it until he found the answer from God that took the burden from them both. the servant prayed that God would provide success. this servant out of love and obedience sacrificed everything to carry abraham’s burden. so then why do we not risk everything for our brothers that he may have success? would he not also do the same for us? would it be so bad if we all prayed for each other constantly and helped each other in our times of need? if i help you, is there not someone else to help carry my burden? do we create stumbling blocks for our brothers? do we watch them carry the burden alone? why do we shelter ourselves and our problems? abraham was an old man and not very mobile, should he be the one searching for the bride of issac? he called on a brother to help him. we must do the same. when our burdens weigh us down, we must get all the help we can to lift our burden and keep moving toward the Kingdom of God.

we have so many burdens that hold us down and the only way to get rid of them is to pour our hearts to God and rely on each other for help. in verse 15, before the servant finished speaking to God, his prayer was answered. the servant took the burden of abraham and gave it to God in prayer. once this prayer was uttered, that God provide success, it was answered instantaneously. what was God’s provision for this prayer? was it just a girl? was it some random girl that was walking? was it an average looking girl? it was rebekah, who “was beautiful, (and) a virgin,” and from her actions, generous and loving (verse 16). when we carry each others burdens and pray for each other, God sees the love two brothers have between themselves. God sees the love of Christ between the two and lifts the burdens being carried.

Christ said in Matthew 11:30, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” if we do not carry the yoke of Christ and choose to carry our own, Christ has given us brothers to help. David had Jonathan, Peter had John, we have each other. the three saintly children had the same burden to carry, but they all went in together, praying for each other and (like verse 7 says) God sent His angel before them. do we walk with each other through the fire with God leading? or do we let each other get burned and wait our turn? if we let each other get burned and fall from the weight of their burdens, who will help us when we fall? who will help us when the weight comes crashing down on us? who will reach out their hand and help lift our burden?

in verse 21 the servant still does not believe what just happened. the servant did not know if the Lord provided. the Lord specifically answered his prayer (that a girl would fill up her water pitcher and give both drink to the servant and his camels. in fact she waited until the camels finished drinking. she made numerous trips until the camels were filled. the abundance of love rebekah had is incredible. God truly provided). the servant still could not believe what happened and the speed of God’s response to the specific prayer. God answers the specific prayers. we must be specific when we pour our hearts out to God and our desires as well as for each other. we must repent and put God as our answer to all our burdens, and each others.

let us pray for each other and grow together in unity. it’s what God wants, should we deny Him of the request He asks for us? should we deny Him that we do not love one another? let us carry each others burdens and pray for each other, knowing that God is waiting to answer and provide. let us put our trust in Him and no one else. let us carry the yoke of Chris that is easy and light. let us carry the burdens of each other, knowing one day that we will need help. we reap what we sow, sometimes we reap more than we can carry, yet we have brothers to help us.

lets continue to pray for each other and make all our requests known to God.

one drop of blood

abouna anthony mentioned this in one of his talks a few weeks ago, and ever since then, i have been trying to grasp the entire meaning of it. it was such a simple comment, yet i never thought about it as much as i should. the question…

what is the most expensive thing on earth, ever?

of course this is easy to narrow down to something spiritual, but what exactly? it is something so small, yet even the whole universe could not be traded in for it. the answer…

one drop of Christ’s blood.

as i said earlier, it is something so simple, yet not mediated on as much as it should be. the blood of God’s only begotten Son. the blood of the Prince of Peace. He gave us peace by shedding His blood for us. the blood of the Teacher, so He could teach us about the Holy Trinity. thinking even harder, it’s not the blood of Christ that is worth the whole universe, but just one drop that is worth the whole universe. one drop, get a pipet, and a petri dish full of the blood of Christ, take the pipet and put it in the petri dish of the blood of Christ. take the pipet and place it over a microscope slide. now squeeze out one drop on the microscope slide. that one drop, that small crimson dot, is worth all the stars, planets, beauty, of the whole universe. so how much blood did Christ actually shed? how many drops did He shed for us?

Christ shed all of His blood, for every single one of us. for me, He shed all of His blood. for you He shed all of His blood. for your family, for your friends, for all of us He shed His blood. for all the trillions and fillions* of people, ever, He shed His blood. while hanging on the cross with his hands hammered in, drops of blood ran down His wrist slightly and fell to the ground. drops of blood ran down His brow, down His cheeks, down His neck, down His chest, down His waist, down His legs, down His feet and landed on the ground. all those individual drops of blood landed on the ground. and what did Christ purchase with all that blood?

He purchased the dirtiest thing. He purchased our sins. He purchased our dirty thoughts, our anger, our hate, our lies, our sins. by purchasing us, He also freed us. He freed us and has given us the choice and the option to either follow Him or live in the sin that He shed His blood for. the blood has been shed. the price has been paid. we just need to decide whether we want to stay in darkness and sin, or make the blood that was shed worth it. this same blood washed us and cleansed us of our sin. are we going to choose to stay in this dirt and trash of sin?

with that one drop of blood, Christ purchased all of His children as empty vessels. we who are just clay in the potter’s hand. we who are made from dust and earth which we will one day return to. Christ bought us all. Christ bought all of us empty vessels to fill us up with His love, His light, and the Holy Spirit. do we allow ourselves to be filled up with heavenly gifts and whatever Christ, our Owner, wants to fill us up with? or do we reject what our Owner wants to put inside of us? do we want to belong to our Owner, or are we happy being empty and full of darkness?  did Christ get what He paid for? did Christ purchase the empty vessels and fill them up with what He wanted?

as sinners, we are foolish and wicked. we know nothing and are incapable of doing anything on our own. it is the goodness of Christ and His grace that we can do anything right and anything to glorify and edify Him. so then Christ purchased us, yet are we the ones telling Him what should be inside of us, or is He the one that should be filling us up? Filling us up with His gifts, His talents and His blessings that WE can use whenever we need? what person buys a pot for $10,000 and puts someone foolish in charge to fill it up? the buyer puts what they want it that they know will not defile the vessel but make its value appreciate. that is what Christ is doing for us. He is filling us up. are we giving Him complete ownership to His property or are we telling Him what to do?

one drop of blood, that’s all it took, to buy the whole world.
*abouna anthonys word 🙂

jars of clay: worlds apart

so ive been listening to this song recently on their cd and its amazing.  the lyrics are amazing.  if you havent heard this song, its worth buying the whole cd.

I am the only one to blame for this 
Somehow it all adds up the same 
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride 
I flew too high and like Icarus I collide 
With a world I try so hard to leave behind 
To rid myself of all but love, 
To give and die 

To turn away and not become 
Another nail to pierce the skin of one who loves 
More deeply than the oceans, 
More abundant than the tear 
Of a world embracing every heartache 

Can I be the one to sacrifice 
Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow 

To love you - take my world apart 
To need you - I am on my knees 
To love you - take my world apart 
To need you - broken on my knees 

All said and done I stand alone 
Amongst remains of a life I should not own 
It takes all I am to believe 
In the mercy that covers me 

Did you really have to die for me? 
All I am for all you are 
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart 

And I pray, 
To love you - take my world apart 
To need you - I am on my knees 
To love you - take my world apart 
To need you - broken on my knees 

I look beyond the empty cross 
Forgetting what my life has cost 
And wipe away the crimson stains 
And dull the nails that still remains 
More and more I need you now, 
I owe you more each passing hour 
The battle between grace and pride 
I gave up not so long ago 
So steal my heart and take the pain 
And wash the feet and cleanse my pride 
Take the selfish, take the weak, 
And all the things I cannot hide 
Take the beauty, take my tears 
The sin and soaked heart and make it yours 
Take my world all apart 
Take it now, take it now 
And serve the ones that I despise 
Speak the words I can't deny 
Watch the world I used to love 
Fall to dust and thrown away 
I look beyond the empty cross 
Forgetting what my life has cost 
So wipe away the crimson stains 
And dull the nails that still remain 
So steal my heart and take the pain 
Take the selfish, take the weak 
And all the things I cannot hide 
Take the beauty, take my tears 
Take my world apart, take my world apart 
I pray, I pray, I pray 
Take my world apart 

Worlds Apart.

Where did you go?

with a combination of graduate school work, a full time job, and a church ministry, i have not been able to post, and if you read earlier posts, you will read that i felt called to start this blog. i have been unfaithful in keeping up and so now i will try and be more consistent. i dont want this to be the “i will try and do better” blog, and it never happen. as much as i can, i need to stay faithful in my quiet times and blogs.

though the title of this blog is not about me. it’s not about you either if you’ve been “keeping up.” it’s about a friend that i have noticed disappeared from my life as well as so many of my other brother and sisters lives. He left not because He was or sad, in actuality, He didnt leave at all. It was us who left Him.  the previous posts mentioned Him and his role, yet there has been a huge lack of His presence in church service as well as with Christians all over the world. where did the Holy Spirit go? where has He gone in our lives? why is He so quiet? why can’t we hear Him anymore?  what have we done to keep Him silent?

the silence of the Holy Spirit is not good for anyone.  the Holy Spirit must not be quenched in our hearts, yet why are we doing this?  why are we in denial?  if we are not in denial, then what are we doing that He remains quiet?  are we praying for our brothers and sisters faithfully that they may be strengthened and that the Holy Spirit is working in their lives?  are we praying that we are worthless and need to be humbled, or do we still think of ourselves as something?  i was talking with a brother of mine today and he made a comment that we dont have any of the answers to the lack of the Holy Spirit.  we dont know what to do, or what to say, we dont know anything.  what my brother and i came up with was that the Holy Spirit knows, and He needs to be the one to tell us.

where are you Holy Spirit?  why have i willingly ignored you and kept you quiet?  what has my life become without my best friend?  what has my life become without my quiet times and guidance.  You are the Spirit of Truth.  You are the Comforter.  You are my Guide.  now that i dont know where you went, i no longer have the Truth, but rely on myself and my will.  now that i dont where you went, i am no longer comforted by spiritual powers and blessings, but the things of this world that are worthless and passing away.  now that i dont know where you went, i have no guidance, just what i want to do.

why have we let the Holy Spirit escape from our grasp?  why have we allowed Him to be silent?  oh repent.  repent spirit.  repent flesh of this world.  start that relationship again with the friend we once lost.  rekindle the love we had with the Holy Spirit.  rekindle the fire that was once inside of us.  let us cut out all the garbage in our life that is blocking the connection between us and the Holy Spirit.  let us not make Him the one friend we are with for some time and then cut out of our lives.  let Him not become the friend that we keep in touch with everyone now and then, and then have lunch with once every few months.  let us make Him one with us.  yet wait, hasn’t He always been with us since baptism?  let us pray that He not remain silent.  let us pray that He prays for us and shows us how to pray, and even gives us the words to pray.  let us repent.  let us not worry about God’s judgment.  let us not worry about God’s grace or blessings.  let us not worry about anything except repentance.  let us focus on erasing our sins and going back to God.  let us focus on the Holy Spirit and bringing Him back into our lives.

let us struggle to be in one accord.  let us struggle to be a family.  let us struggle to be the body of Christ.  let us strengthen each other and pray for each other.  please do not let the Holy Spirit inside of us be quenched.  let us do whatever we can to bring this Friend back.  let us do whatever we can  to be in one accord.  let us repent.  let us pray for the Holy Spirit to come back in our lives.  if we lose the Holy Spirit from our lives, if we deny His work, then we have lost the greatest Friend in the world.  we have lost Jesus Christ.  we have lost God.  it all starts with the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us.  it all starts with repentance.  i dont know the answers, i dont have any answers, but i know who does.  the question is where did You go Holy Spirit?  where did You go?