where waves grow sweet

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

One

A Christmas letter from a family friend that speaks for itself. It is being posted here with permission:

Dr. Bern came in and calmly told me that I had breast cancer. My world came to a halt. I remember sitting with a dear friend a few weeks later, listening to her talk about her vision for the future and how she was pursuing God and He was opening doors for ministry for her. All I could think of was, “well, I wish that was my story.” At this point in my life I was trying not to think about chemotherapy, losing my hair and how much time did I have left on this earth.

It’s now three months later. I am in my fifth week of radiation with eight sessions left. I feel peaceful although my flesh is uncomfortable. I was listening to Brian Houston from Hillsong on the DayStar channel this morning. He said sometimes you have to tell your soul to just “shut up.” I loved that, because that’s what I have had to do a lot over the last few weeks. Healing is in the atonement and I believe Jesus will do what He says He will do. When my mind goes to fearful thoughts I say, “be still” God loves me and has plans to do awesome and wonderful things for me (Jeremiah 29:11). When my soul feels fear I say, God is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made (Psalm 145:17).

What would the human race have ever done without the birth of Jesus? No salvation, no healing, no freedom from sin, no freedom from the harassment of the enemy, no eternal life, no comfort from the storms of life, no direction from a wisdom greater than ours. I am so grateful to have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

Two

A song by Sara Groves that I listened to about a dozen times in a row. It pressed on some deep place in my heart about what compassion looks like and, as seems to be the trend this week, brought me to tears.

Three

A sermon by Joyce Meyer called “The Lord Our Peace.” I can’t even tell you what it was about – I’m thinking peace – but I know it was good. And that I’ll give it another listen.

http://jmmdownloads.org.edgesuite.net/podcast/tv/december/120310_video.mp4?siteid=itunes