The Weight of God

We have begun videoing each chapter of College of Capturing Courage. I am finding it to be heavy work. The presence of the Lord weighs strong on me. There is a courage required to advance with this, to be sure. I recently realized that I am afraid of the glory of God.

I grew up understanding the value of hard work, the importance of diligence, the necessity to be productive and to prove oneself in this world. Now, all of this is important in its own time and place. Yet, within this work of Capturing Courage I’ve found that God continues to call me to the deepest emotional and spiritual labours. It is in this that I have struggled the most.

For instance, in the midst of my journey with compassion fatigue and as I was sitting more in the Lord, because of the illness naturally brought low, and consequently often overcome by the Lord and drunk in the Spirit a lot of the time, my first reaction was irritation.

I wanted to be productive. Have you ever tried to be productive while drunk? I am reminded of the writing of our college course. During those years, as God poured revelation and conviction and wonder into my writing, I would often get off of my chair and go to my knees before the Lord; I was so overcome by the Lord and brought low in worship. Finally, one day I cried out to God, “God, how am I supposed to write this course when I have to keep getting on my knees!”

Similarly, getting used to being drunk in the Spirit required of me this prayer, “Okay God. If you want me to settle into your presence in this way, if being drunk in you is the way you are moving with me, then I put down my need to be productive. Let me sit and become overcome with your Spirit, with your presence God. Amen.”

And that has settled it for some time. I’ve adjusted to a certain inability to get as much done, to stay on task (my tasks), and to write as much as I want. I’ve given over my ego that would like to prove myself. I’ve been stripped of childhood mantra’s of ‘stay busy’. Jesus, after all, did say of Mary, “She has chosen the better way.” I understand this now.

Yet, as it comes time to video record my reading of each chapter of College of Capturing Courage, I am pressed hard by the weight of God’s glory. I don’t really know how to explain it, except that my natural person fights this at all costs. I am afraid of the weight of God and not very used to this. It is not very comfortable to wander around my house for a couple of hours, completely impotent to do anything ‘useful’ after completing a recording. And the pressing beforehand is another thing entirely.

A week ago or so I prayed this, “Okay God. I will bear the weight of you as you choose. Amen.”

I don’t know how the Lord will use these recordings for others. On my part it is sheer faithfulness and obedience. Brutal faithfulness is what I have always called it. For yourself, I suppose your experience of this is up to you and your own journey with God.

All this to say, here is video of Chapter One – The Great Expectation, College of Capturing Courage. May this bless you, may the Lord be your All in All, may the Living God touch the deepest parts of your heart and life. For all time. Amen.

Tanzania 2023 – Waters of the Lord

It has come to be that Capturing Courage will be in Tanzania within a month’s time. We have been looking ahead to this for some years time and now glad to be on the cusp of another time in Africa.

“Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God’s Sunrise will break in upon us, 

Shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, 

Then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace.”

Luke 1:79 The Message

Peace is powerful. Chaos cannot remain where there is peace. We do not know exactly what God wants to do in Tanzania. So, we have been putting down our own thinking, setting aside any agenda we may have, and endeavouring to bring our anticipation and glad-hearted agreement unto the Lord for this time.

Therefore we pray peace. And we come in peace. We allow the Lord to make us people of peace. Peace makes way for refreshment. And specifically, God has been speaking to us about the waters of the Lord upon the hills of Tanzania. Yes Lord, may it be so.

Jesus Meetings

Some years back I began to deeply think, pray, and consider what I might want from a gathering of believers. Having been born into church and grown there for decades I was feeling a certain disconnect from the programs and services and the endless talk, the teaching and preaching.

Now, I am a teacher and a preacher. I’ve ministered in hundreds of churches. Even so, (perhaps because I’ve been to so many churches), I began to sense a certain hollowness in our gatherings. Something seemed to be missing. I was longing for something more. Even though I did not know what that was as I cried out to God with a hunger in my heart.

Now, I must also express that my experience of God across these many churches has been one of wonder and delight. Holy Spirit marks us all the same. With a gladness of heart, with eagerness for the Lord, with easy song and worship and that particular essence of God’s breath in our hearts, the church around the world holds something of God that transcends culture, race, socio-economic classes, language, geography, and countries; we can travel anywhere in the world and find a people of God just like us.

Yet, even so, because of this familiarity of God within us around the world, I’ve come to what we are calling Jesus Meetings. I am eager and the time seems right to explore and engage and experience the Lord, to set our attention to Jesus Christ, to sit within the love of the Father, and to inquire of Holy Spirit.

Let me share what I wrote some years ago about this:

“We are a people gathered to celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ. To be in deep gratitude to God our Father. And to welcome our Beloved Holy Spirit. 

“Yet for us there is only one God — the Father. Out of him is all things, and our lives are lived for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus, the Anointed One, through whom we and all things exist.” 1 Corinthians 8:6 TPT

We hold space for each other and for the Lord. Our understanding is that each of us are welcomed as part of God’s living body on earth; together we are the temple of God. 

Church is the people. People are the church. 

Each of us wants something more of God. There is more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control than we have experienced thus far. There is more intimacy and forgiveness, more gladness of heart and bounty of life than what we have known. We want more of the Lord. 

We want to grow. To be challenged. To be strengthened, emboldened, and courageous in our listening and in our walking and in our daily lives with God at our side and within us, and us within God. 

As the church, as Ecclesia, a body of people called out for a specific purpose, we seek to live our lives for the glory of God for the renown of his name on earth and in our worlds, in your and my context. 

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” Psalm 96:3

We hold this framework and welcome our Holy Spirit to lead us: 

  1. SILENCE – allowing Holy Spirit to touch our hearts. 
  2. WORSHIP – exalting Jesus Christ together. 
  3. TESTIMONY – what have we seen of God this week? 
  4. SCRIPTURE – what might God speak, as we gather? 
  5. PRAYER – for and with each other and before the Lord. 
  6. WITNESS – how might we position ourselves to witness the glory of God? 

We gather for a few hours. Come and go as you want. We literally use the above Silence, Worship, etc as our ‘order of service’. We follow the leading of the Spirit regarding time and depth. We point to Christ together.”

As we have entered 2023 there is a quickening of the Lord within and for us. Have you felt this? I am all about an equipping of the body of Christ. We must be nimble before the Lord in our hearts and minds. Our hearts and lives are meant to abide in God. It is good to sit before the Lord together. Each week demands a pause in which we turn to God, “God, we love you, we trust you, and we know you to be good.” Amen.

Sharing: Praying Across Canada 2022

I am recently home after two-months across the country and back again. It was a praying across the land in faithfulness to the Lord, in agreement with the heart of God. I’m hosting an evening of sharing about this trip. I did not write or video or post nearly what I thought I would while on the road. I forgot how much energy and how deep are these kinds of prophetic works.

Now that I am home, Join Us, for an evening of hearing more:

Friday, August 26th, 2022, 7:00 pm.

Zoom Call: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89945852693?pwd=WE5JRUo5ZHdkQmwxaGo1TkY3WEZwZz09

PassCode: 118609

NOTE: I will be hosting this in my home for those who want to gather in person. The big blue house in Surrey (Greater Vancouver Area, Canada), if you are familiar. If you have no idea on this, send me a message and I’ll give you the address. To come in person please arrive between 6:30 – 6:45 pm, as the zoom begins at 7:00.

See you then!

To come in person, use this form to RSVP and receive the address of where we are gathering:

Praying Across Canada

Tomorrow is the day. I’ll be starting across the country. It’s a prayer journey. A praying across the land. I was on a Capturing Courage visioning weekend in January when Holy Spirit said to me, “I’d like you to pray across Canada.” I’d not ever thought of that before. But my heart and mind were immediately caught with the idea and I set to hold this before the Lord, to see if it was truly a God idea or not.

You may have already heard me share that there were a number of things that absolutely had to come into place in order for this road and camping and praying ministry journey to take place. And within the three next months all of these things shifted. The way was clear to proceed.

Praying across Canada begins with a common lament. To facilitate healing and wholeness for anyone, personal or corporate or community or nation, begins with an entering in with a willingness to sit within what has gone wrong. This lament has already begun within me. The Lord has been making space within my being for a certain sadness that is not mine, that speaks to past and present injustices.

The next manner and way of praying across a country is the deep listening to the groans memorized by the land. In places, on streets, in neighbourhoods, on plains, the land remembers what has gone wrong. In scripture we read, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:19-21 ESV

The Passion Translation says it this way, “The entire universe is standing on tiptoe,  yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility  resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children.” Romans 8:19-21 TPT

Henry Gruver is a man called to pray as the Spirit leads him from place to place, from country to country. Once there he will sense the trouble that happened in a spot. This revelation is facilitated by the power of Holy Spirit. He then remits the sins off of the land. And declares, pouring in, the goodness of God. While I’ve been an inner healing prayer minister for more than twenty years, this remittance and then a pouring in of God’s goodness, was a great additional layer to what I was already doing with folks and places.

From Henry Gruver: “When you remit, you: relax, absolve, release, pardon, discontin- ue, acquit, surrender, leave off, moderate, mitigate, alleviate, desist,–as in “cease and desist.” That should give you an inkling of the kind of power there is in remitting someone’s sins. Here is another synonym that is really powerful: soften. Have you ever met a hard callused person? You can begin to soften those calluses by remitting that one’s sins. Here are some more synonyms: relent, excuse, overlook, exempt, forward, dispatch, transmit, convey, transfer, consign, and deliver. Think about those words in relation to sin. Clearly, there is power there!

On the other hand, if you don’t remit someone’s sins, what are you doing? Consider these antonyms for the word remit: hold, withhold, keep, retain, reserve, tie up, persist, continue, exact, control, command, sway, dominate, avenge, take revenge, get the upper hand, impose a duty on, bind, enjoin, render obligatory, make responsible, repress, suppress, restrain, restrict, prohibit. Antonyms and synonyms will help you to understand whether or not you are choosing the right mountain.

Are you getting the picture of those two mountains in front of you—the Synonym Mountain of Blessing, and the Antonym Mountain of Cursing. Which mountain have you been climbing? Which act have you been performing? Have you been releasing others? Have you been sending them forward? Have you been dispatching and transmitting and conveying and transferring and consigning and delivering them? Then you have been remitting sins! If you have been making others responsible, placing them under obligation, repressing, restricting, restraining and prohibiting them, you have not been remitting their sins. You have been retaining them!

At the risk of repeating myself, I will say it again. You can be either a blessing or a curse. Choose the blessing and live.

Looking at the Greek Strong’s Dictionary for the word translated as “remit” in the New Testament, we find that it means “to cry, or, forgive, to lay aside, or, forsake.” It comes from a root word meaning “off”—as in, “Get it off from me!” “Shake it loose!” According to Strong’s Concordance, this root word “usually denotes separation and departure… When we speak of redeeming the land, what are we talking about? We are talking about reclaiming it for God… Remitting is lifting the burden of condemnation off of people so that they can breath again.” Henry Gruver

http://joyfulsoundministry.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/handbook.pdf

So, this is the primary work of praying across Canada. I’ll be remitting sins in the name of Jesus, and thereby ‘lifting the burden of condemnation off of people so that they can breathe again’; both people and land.

  1. Take out principalities and powers
  2. Remit the past sins
  3. Cleanse the land
  4. Release the goodness (fills the void) of the Lord, to the land.
  5. Ask for a harvest

I am glad to begin tomorrow. There is a deep contentment and peace that has settled into my being this past week. Every ministry journey at Capturing Courage has had a deep peace with the Lord’s favour paving the way each day. May the Lord lead-on as we head across the land.

“God, we lift Canada to you in the name and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. This vast land needs you God. We need you. We ask your mercy and we commit to justice. May righteousness envelope this country. Bring us back to worship, that our awe may be turned to you God and you only. Amen.”

…………………………………

As you know gas prices are exorbitant. Perhaps you would like to partner with us towards kilometres across the land. From where Cyndy lives to St.John’s, Newfoundland, it is about 5500 km’s.

To make a one-time or a monthly financial gift head to our ‘Give’ page. Donations are processed through GCF (Great Commission Foundation). This is our charitable receipting partnering organization. They will send a charitable receipt for those donating from Canada. These monies come to our CCIM bank account the middle of each month.

To make a one-time gift that you want to come to Cyndy directly on the day you send it, use your bank to facilitate an e-transfer to the email, cyndy(at)capturing courage(dot)org . If the Spirit is compelling you to send funds on a particular day, this is the way to do this. Note: that sending via an e-transfer will not give you a charitable receipt. Something to keep in mind.

Either way, your financial partnerships with this journey are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Blessings and peace upon your days.

The Mountain of the Lord

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am weak.

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am a sinner.

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am not good enough

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am an addict

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am a failure

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I must go to church

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I’ve not been approved

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, my life is in shambles

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am not healed

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I don’t know how to pray

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I cannot fast

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am not good

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am busy with your work

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, my leaders do not approve

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I am afraid

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God, I don’t know how

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

but God …

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”

The Lord is GOOD

May we know the REST of God within us this day. May we know the GOODNESS of God surrounding us this day. May we know the GLORY of God touching us this day. And may we ABOUND in GLAD Hearts, this day and all days. This is our heritage in the Lord.

“Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he came and set his people free.He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives, and in the very house of David his servant,Just as he promised long ago through the preaching of his holy prophets:Deliverance from our enemies and every hateful hand;Mercy to our fathers, as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,What he swore to our father Abraham— a clean rescue from the enemy camp,So we can worship him without a care in the world, made holy before him as long as we live.And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,” will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,Present the offer of salvation to his people, the forgiveness of their sins.Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,Shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death,Then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace.” Luke 1:70-79

Centres of Gravity

I am reading a book about strategies of war. The chapter just read is about discerning the centre of gravity of a person or army. I would add, discerning one’s own centre of gravity.

The author gives an example of a boxer. While it may seem that the jabs of the boxers gloves may be the thing that establishes the winner, that it is actually the balance of the boxer upon which a match depends; the balance of the boxer is the centre of gravity. Upset the boxers balance and the boxer loses the fight.

It’s got me thinking. Reviewing. What is Capturing Courage’s centre of gravity?

1.Coming on the inside, as one long-term friend recently said, is a core tenant at CCIM. This is modelled after Luke 9 and 10, where Jesus first sends out the twelve disciples, and then sends out the seventy-two. Paraphrased:

  • Go
  • Take nothing with you (be vulnerable, without financial clout or possessions, but within relationships to come)
  • Enter the town (as led by the Spirit)
  • Look neither to the right or the left (face like flint, focussed, no distractions)
  • Find the house of peace. (as discerned by the Spirit)
  • Enter in. Settle. Eat what is fed you. Sleep as prepared for you. (honour those keeping you, receive well)
  • Then, after all this Jesus tells them that NOW you can pray and heal and declare the Kingdom of God at hand.

The power of relationships, of rapport and trust, of mutual submission and honour, is the primary mechanism (we may call it) upon which all of Capturing Courage ministry rests. Without this there would be no CCIM ministry. Vulnerable, mutual, honourable, relationships is a centre of gravity at Capturing Courage.

2. Living in the manna. People often think that we are a wealthy organization, that there must be a lot of money in order to have been advanced in the way that is evident over the years. But this is not the case at all. Money is not one of our centres of gravity, rather relying on the Lord for all financial provision, is.

In the understanding of a centre of gravity, this means that we cannot be undone by little to no finances. We have found our heart and soul apart from money. We have found the Lord moves us forward regardless of the funds we think we might need.

To be sure we are well-blessed by a number of generous financial partners. But we do not have a lot of these. We literally have nine monthly financial donors. And then a small handful of others that give throughout the year as they are able or as the Holy Spirit alerts them.

Contrary to most organizations, money is not a centre of gravity at Capturing Courage. This makes us exceptionally strong as we are long on faith and deep in trust, nimble and strong in stewardship of what we do have at any given time. Trust in the Lord for all our needs, living in the manna as we call it, is our centre of gravity. This comes of relationship with God, from deep inside of us, and cannot be touched by outward circumstance.

3. Love. Whenever we have been overwhelmed by the work, put upon by the great needs of so many people, so low on my own capacity, we ask God for more love. The love of God, becoming our own love, is a centre of gravity at Capturing Courage.

Out of the love of God we are glad to be with people. Because God LOVES people. Out of this we are strengthened to carry on with the work apportioned to us. Because God LOVES people. We find our purpose and are reminded of what God wants to do with us, as we settle into his love. Because God LOVES us.

And then too, within the great love of others unto us, we enter in, gladly settle into favour, honour all that folks offer to us, are deep in gratitude, and eager to serve and to do all we might do to encourage and build up the body of Christ around the world.

Love is the centre of gravity that holds all of what we do, together.

4. Holy Spirit. Last but not least we walk according to the Holy Spirit. This means that we refuse to make our own way. We never make plans and then ask God to bless them. We avoid excess focus or energy that would remove from us our nimbleness of obedience, of hearing the Lord, and of moving forward in perfect sync with God.

Our blessed Holy Spirit is our centre of gravity. She is the light of our lives and the one who shines through us. It is her light that directs us, quietly leads us, strengthens us, and by her kiss we are gladdened and in joy.

We listen long. We use strategy of slow, slow, quick, quick. Relationship, faces turned to God, ears held to the ground, God’s purposes over our own, are possible because of Holy Spirit our helper. Thank You Holy Spirit.

These are the primary centres of gravity at Capturing Courage. These are the strategies of God for us and through us. It appears that very little can touch these. For they are first and foremost, manners of heart that flow from the Lord himself.

The Kingdom of God has different centres of gravity than what we would envision or expect or want even, from a people or god purposed to win over the whole world. It is why the Kingdom of God, the manner of our Lord, cannot be discerned by worldly eyes, only by spiritual hearts. We are surprised and dismissive of things like, love, vulnerability, honour. We wonder, ‘How do these things win a war?’

But they do. And they will. And they are.

Love disarms evil. Peace is powerful and active. Honour makes for soft hearts.

Vulnerability is the strongest kind of strength.

Like water under a rug, is God with us and through us.

Let us rest ourselves on the strategies of God.

We are revisiting all this as we look ahead to a House of Prayer. What are our centres of gravity?

Do we lead with these the same way with a specific house within a specific community?

How might these past leadings, manner, and way of God apply as we come to a ministry settled into time and space?

As for me, I am super excited to find out.

Yes Lord. Yes.

Award a Pastor their Degree

We are delighted to announce that there are twenty-one pastors who have graduated College of Capturing Courage to the degree level; a Bachelor of Professional Studies in applied Christian Ministry. 

This has been a two and one-half year process for them, faithfully attended to, taught, facilitated, and reported, by Bishop E. in Tanzania. 

While all reporting and Certificates, with a Diploma, are processed from Head-Office Capturing Courage, this Bachelor Degree is externally awarded from Global University of Lifelong Learning

While those who financially partner with us on a regular basis cover our in-house work of awarding certificates and diplomas, the degree from GULL requires an extra sponsorship, enabling these to happen. 

The individual cost of each degree, the processing, printing, and shipping from GULL direct to our students, is 20£. 

This is about $34 CAD. Making room for the amount processed by GCF, our charitable receipting and partnering organization, through which all donations come, we suggest: 

$38 CAD Donor Contribution

We are looking for twenty-one individuals to sponsor one of these pastors 

to receive their well-earned bachelor degree as awarded by GULL. 

Sponsor a Pastor’s Degree Today – A Great Christmas Gift

Upwards of 80% of Pastors in rural areas have had no to little training. Often, they cannot access the good Bible Schools that are in primary cities in their countries. Due to limited means, the need to remain with families, the realities of subsistence farming and lack of funds, pastors have not had the education they deserve and need. 

College of Capturing Courage is a gift indeed to these folks. We offer the course free of charge. It is taught by pastors to pastors, spreading with a multiplied impact person to person, effecting personal and church renewal, extending even to the level of communities and regions. 

MODULE THREE TESTIMONY. Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior from Tanzania.
This module was very interesting and challenging at the same time, but the Holy Spirit help me to understand it .
I got challenged when studying chapter 89, The Robe, the Ring and the Sandals. At first it was very hard for me to understand the meanings  of these things and their importance. Until I had to kneel down and ask the Holy Spirit to help me understand these things.

After that the Holy Spirit helped me, I came to learn that, Robe was an act of love and of compassion. God restores us. I also learnt that, the Ring which was given to the son by the father meant that, the son was restored back to the family and all the authority that this meant. The son restored to having a “say” in things. This means that we have been covered over with the robe of God, restored back as sons and daughters with all that, this means in this world and beyond. We now speak for the Father, for we know him intimately. This was very challenging to me and the class.

This module three had great impacts in my life and the ministry. After finishing studying the chapters 66-89, I have witnessed a lot of things changing in my life and the ministry. People are testfying what they see in my life and the ministry, as a result, more people are coming to Jesus Christ. Because they can see that, all God’s services are given freely to them, unlike what they see from other ministries, prophets and pastors. This has brought a great change, glory to God. Thanks for your great teachings and God bless you. Bishop in Tanzania. 

To Sponsor a Pastor in receiving his or her Degree in Applied Christian ministry, use the form below and please insert SPONSORSHIP in the comment box. 

Thank you for helping to make this momentous achievement for these individuals both awarded and recognized.

Note that the picture at the top of this post is from a Ugandan pastor and his network, from which there are currently six College of Capturing Courage classes. Keep these ones in your prayers as they also advance through the course.

How Does God Partner with You?

How does God partner with you?

I’ve been teaching a class called Advanced in The Kingdom. We have just completed week four of six after which, with each class, I find a particular point stands out to me. This is often a summary thought that I may not have even made in class!

This week: How does God partner with YOU? Specifically, you.

It is vitally important that we come to understand the unique breath of God through ones self. There are one or two elements, actions, manners of you that God breathes through. This breath of God is what turns ordinary actions into supernatural impact. An impact that we may not realize so much as those around us; we still feel very ordinary but we find that others are thanking us for this or that, in this manner or that way. This is God through us.

Where our impact may produce an increase, the Lord’s impact brings a multiplication. We may find that we cannot keep up with the fruit of our lives. This marks the Kingdom of God among us.

So, inquire of the Lord about his breath through you. Look at the fruit of your life, where does it seem to be out of proportion to the rest of your life. Consider the patterns of your years. Step back from yourself and see what might be more evident from a distance. Think about the things that others specifically thank you for.

And once you begin to realize how God partners with you, do more of that thing. Leave off the sub-optimal efforts of lesser projects or focus. Optimize your life around the breath of God. There is deep satisfaction in this. And much life.

Be blessed this day by the breath of God through You.

Most Epic Superhero

It’s the most epic superhero story ever. ‘All human beings caught by sin and death’ the headlines would read. And our hearts would know.

But then, in due time, the exact right time, Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, God, the one who was and is and from whom all things flow, the beginning and the end, arrives on the scene.

With deep compassion (the kind that changes worlds) and in epic bravery, courage, and deep co-suffering love, God cloaks himself in the sins of the entire world, past, present, and future, and he takes on death. Our superhero enters into hell.

But hell cannot keep him. Death cannot contain him. Darkness cannot overcome the light.

And with that the Christ, our Messiah, opens the door of hell from the inside out and marches out with his plunder, YOU and I, the whole world.

We are free from sin and death. The authority of sin has been removed. It has no say. Death has lost its sting. A deep goodness rushes in, a kind of goodness that belongs to God and God alone; the authority is his.

And now, we live by the light. We live in Christ and Christ lives in us. Let us agree to this. God, teach us to live by the light. Give us eyes to see and hearts to understand.

I wonder that we have a personal and corporate memory of salvation that spans all time and peoples about this God who saves. It’s time to remember.

God, reveal yourself to us.