Because Of The We

It’s because of the “We” that I’m in.

The message of Jesus, expressed across time from Genesis to Revelation, champions the “We” of community with God, and community with each other.

From the small “i” of individuality within the “We” of eternal community, we chose the capital “I” of Individualism.

The falling.

Then, it recognizes that we ultimately don’t have the power to attain the “We” with our own altruism and effort – that we are “bent” as Shaeffer put it, toward the “I.” We need and indwelling Presence and outdwelling Mover to recover Edenic community.

I think Eden is what the best of human beings are after. We want to return to life as it was meant to be.

History tells us that our greatest efforts toward goodness and righting the world seem powerless among the waves of human desire and self-preservation.

FirstCreation, to FirstAdam, to NewAdam, to CrossRighting, to ResurrectionLife, to NewCreation.

I can’t find another human/divine story as compelling, addressing the darks and lights, the suffering and joy, the leaves and the life, the space and the spark, the woman and the man, the hate and the love, the flesh and the bone, the heart and the mind – as this one.

AVAILABLE NOW

Sheltering Mercy and Endless Grace help us rediscover the rich treasures of the Psalms—through free-verse prayer renderings of their poems and hymns—as a guide to personal devotion and meditation. Sheltering Mercy helps the reader pray Psalms 1-75; Endless Grace leads in prayer through Psalms 76-150.

The church has always used the Psalms as part of its prayer life, and they have inspired countless other prayers. Each book contains 75 prayers drawn from the Book of Psalms, providing lyrical sketches of what authors Ryan Smith and Dan Wilt have seen, heard, and felt while sojourning there. Each prayer is a response to the Psalms written in harmony with Scripture. These prayers help us quiet our hearts before God and welcome us into a safe place amid the storms of life.

These artful, poetic, and classic devotional books are a perfect gift, and feature compelling stunning illustrations and hardcover binding, offering a fresh way to reflect on and pray the Psalms. Co-written with Ryan Whitaker Smith, Brazos Publishing.

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