In reading ancient texts, we need to understand the background history. At this point, the Israelites had been in Egypt a long time since immigrating there during a famine. They were welcomed and sustained under the leadership of one of their own, Joseph, who had been sold into slavery by his brothers but rose to power through God’s providence. Time moved along until Joseph became a distant memory and sentiment toward the Israelites eroded.

The growth of the Israelite colony evolved to be viewed as a potential threat to Egypt, as they could potentially side with enemies at the border where Goshen lay and bring about a collapse of the Egyptian Empire. So, the new Pharoah Sethos I sought to control their population growth by genocide and by forced labor.

God thwarted their efforts first by the bold defiance of Hebrew midwives and birth mothers who did all they could to protect their babies. Sethos I was succeeded by Rameses II who doubled down on the repression and oppression of the Hebrew people. But God is the unseen mover behind the world scene and He is quietly at work, a reminder to us not to give up—but know, believe, and trust that God is at work.

Unobtrusively, the work of God began at Moses’ birth. Isn’t it interesting that the birth of Jesus also came quietly when people least expected anything life-changing to be happening? Moses’ name reflects his dual ancestry: mase’ (Egyptian for “child”) and masa’—the Hebrew form means “to draw out,” which is exactly what the Pharoah’s daughter did. The active form of the word means “one who draws out,” which reflects that she literally drew him out of the waters.

Clearly, it is prophetic that God was at work to draw him out first from the River, from his own people to learn the way of Egypt, then from Egypt to the land of Midian to learn the ways of God while shepherding flocks, then from Midian to Egypt to be a prophet for God, and finally from Egypt to the wilderness to shape a nation—and ultimately to the entrance of the Promised Land that God had promised Abraham and the succession of Israelite leaders.

By the time he was a young man, Moses identified himself with the oppressed rather than his adopted royal family of oppressors. In opposing a taskmaster that he saw beating an enslaved Hebrew, he renounced his royal heritage in Egypt and fled for his life to Midian, where God awaited him at a well. Here we see reflections from the life of Jesus, who welcomed a woman at a well.

In this story, Moses defended the daughters of Jethro (Reuel) from the oppressive acts of male shepherds, earning him respect and a place in the family of the priest of Midian, where he learned lessons of humility, faith and obedience to God through years in the humble task of shepherding. It took forty years. And we wonder why it seems we never quit learning and growing, sometimes failing, sometimes rising.

What does Moses learn from the encounter with God in the story?

• God is not destructive—even the bush is not burned by His presence.
• God is holy in pure righteousness that requires humble reverence before Him.
• God is all-powerful and aware of the sufferings of people and attuned to their cries for deliverance. We learn, too, that we are not just crying into the wilderness or the sky, not just hollering with a fist raised, but crying to God who hears.
• Moses and the Israelites had the faith background to see God as the one true God who had power to deliver them. They were schooled in the stories from their ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and others.
• Moses learned that his life has been on God’s radar all along; and now, after years of wondering, he gets to glimpse that God does indeed have a plan—one that scares him, but one that fits like no other plan could—a plan that would ultimately fulfill his heart’s desire to free his people. This time, though, it would not be on his own as a renegade but as a servant leader called and equipped by God over forty years, and still in process.
• When Moses had been sufficiently humbled in spirit, he was reassured of God’s call and was willing to follow with the resources God provided.

How do we see God in the story from the vantage point of the New Testament? We see Him much as we have come to know Him through Jesus.

• Saving, rescuing, protecting.
• God hears His people’s cries.
• God is compassionate toward their suffering—not as a distant spectator, but as a God who responds.
• God is a God of deliverance. He began to prepare for their deliverance in spite of worldly powers and human frailties.
• He is a self-revealing God, who centuries later would reveal Himself ultimately in the Christ, Jesus our Lord.
• He is a self-covenanting God, who has bound Himself to His plan of salvation so fully that He comes in human form to take on our sinful nature, participate fully in our sin death, and set us free for eternal salvation.
• God is worthy of praise, worship, and obedience.

How do you connect with the story?

• When/how have you been delivered, or have witnessed someone set free?
• When/how have you prayed for long years for a deep need or concern?
• When/how have you come to grips with an unexpected and unexplainable encounter with God’s compassion and purpose?
• When/how have you had to step out on faith to do something for God in defense of others and for His glory, or have witnessed someone do so?
• When/how have you been assured of God’s purpose and power in your life?
• When/how have you been humbled to see God in a new light?

I encourage fellow pilgrims of faith to reflect on this story in a contemplative fashion, using the creative gift of imagination to enter into the narrative personally. Stand before the burning bush, shoes removed from your feet, and hear God call your name. inviting you  to “Come and I will send you to help my people who are calling to me day and night.” Maybe it is your next-door neighbor, a family member, or a stranger you will meet. Go with courage! He is calling your name—most likely, to answer your very own prayers!

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With that project complete, I am returning to my love of writing in response to scripture. Today, my attention was called to Psalm 82, and I invite you to explore my reflections and join in my prayer of response.

Hear the word of God in the Heavenly Council:

God has taken His place in the divine council;
 in the midst of the gods, he holds judgment.
How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?
Give justice to the weak and the orphan.
Maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
(Psalm 82:1-4, NRSV)

This injunction from God is followed by God’s assessment of the social setting of those times: “They have neither knowledge nor understanding; they walk around in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken” (Psalm 82:5).

This Psalm is a type of colloquy—a conversation with God and with the readers. The Psalmist reports what he has understood as if he had been in the throne room of Heaven and witnessed God in His omnipotent authority surrounded by lesser ‘gods’—but beings worthy to hold court with God. Astonishingly, that status is broadened to include mankind in the next words of God: “I say, you are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals and fall like any prince” (Psalm 82:6-7).

The Psalmist, in response to this amazing scene, prays: “Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to You!” (Psalm 82:8).

I am hearing this in light of the trying times in our nation and world, marked by confusion and polarization, anger and suspicion, violence and abuse—none of which can stand before God’s judgment. No matter what our political viewpoints, it is God’s view that ultimately matters; and this Psalm provides a barometer for where we are expected to stand in God’s eyes.

May I suggest assessing our politics and theology honestly in light of verses 2-4? Are we judging fairly or unjustly? Are we standing with those who do? Is partiality being shown to the wicked (those opposed to God’s authority and the rights of others)? Are we supporting those who are giving preferred justice to the weak and the orphan, the lowly and the destitute, to deliver them out of the hands of the wicked?

Prayer of response:

O Lord, God our Father,
Omnipotent and Omniscient
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Divine Father of Jesus our Savior
Giver of the Holy Spirit
Who calls and invites us into your council,
Help us to live worthy of our holy privilege.
Help your people to hear the cries of the suffering ones
and support ways to help them.
Help us lay aside our political and social prejudices
in order to care for the weak and destitute, the orphans and widows,
the frightened and mistreated, the sick and dying.
Open our eyes, Lord, to see as You see
and to love as You love.
Amen.

Top painting: ”The Trinity” by Andrei Rublev. It depicts the three angels hosted by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre, but also represents the Holy Trinity.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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You can actually trace it back to dysfunctional families like Abraham’s! Yes, the patriarch of our faith muddled his way at times; and ill will fermented in Hagar, his concubine, and Ishmael, their son, when Sarah finally conceived Isaac and jealously mistreated Hagar and Ishmael. Sin is systemic in families and spreads to clans, tribes, and nations.

Hatred sprang up between Jacob and Esau, due to the favoritism of Isaac and Rebecca; and eventually Jacob’s family was embroiled in jealousies between the sons of two wives, resulting in Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt. This isn’t just ancient Israelite history, but the Middle Eastern animosities are fueled by those systemic failures in their most revered patriarchal families. It is repeated in other people groups the world over. Our poor familial relationships morph into societal upheaval as the centuries roll along. And it gets into our social and political systems.

So, to pray for Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and all the Middle East, we must look closer to home and first begin to pray for human hearts to change—even our own. That is a tall order, but it is the only way to peace. One of the great promises regarding prayer is in the Old Testament, II Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

God offers a wonderful promise, but prefaces it with that big little word: IF. “If my people. . .” The offer begins with God’s people—those who are called by His name, or those who call on His name—those who are known as believers in God as Creator and Deliverer, and who trust Him enough to pray.

IF God’s people will humble themselves—step back, quit shouting, cease demanding, murmuring, bickering, threatening, retaliating—and do what? PRAY! He even tells us how to pray—simply “seek God’s Face.” In other words, it’s not about creating eloquent words and phrases from the mind or great prayer conferences. It’s about praying out of the heart longings in the soul, face to face with God, getting down deep and honest in real fervent prayer. Mean it. Get personal with Almighty God.

And what does He say to do next? “Turn from their wicked ways.” What? The enemy is the one with wicked ways, right? Surely, not God’s people who are called by His name and who call upon His name, and seek to live by His righteous will. Not us! The violent offenders, they have wicked ways. We church-going, law-abiding citizens don’t have wicked ways. Do we? But, then the prophet Isaiah rises up to remind us of his prayer in his day, confessing, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.” Ouch. That same indictment is sounded in the New Testament, in Romans 3:10–11: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one; there is no one who has understanding, there is no one who seeks God.” And we know there is truth in that assessment.

To turn from our wicked ways is to first of all agree with God that in His sight our ways are sometimes wicked and we are without the understanding He wants us to embrace. The Psalmist prayed the prayer we need to pray: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23–24).” So, first we must examine our own hearts to see if there are barriers within our own lives to the answers to prayer that we seek.

Consider the ways we may perpetuate ill will in the world by our own judgments and requirements expected or demanded of others. Notice the ways we fail to do the simple things God requires—like “to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). For those of us who believe in Jesus as the Messiah, our Savior and Lord, we also have His command to love God supremely and to love one another selflessly.

The offer for finding peace in the world is clear—to humble ourselves, seek God’s Face, turn from our wicked ways. THEN God says, “I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” If we really want our land healed so that all people can live safe, free and at peace—with clean water, good food, meaningful livelihood, and harmonious relationships—this is the path we must take. Sounds like a good deal to me. We surely aren’t making progress toward peace any other way. So, let’s pray:

Father All Glorious, and over all victorious, we turn to you confessing that we have failed to love as you call us to love, and we have failed to live as you want us to live. Our world is writhing in pain, and we are helpless to make much change. So, we come willing to change ourselves first, from the inside out. But, we are not even capable of that. Just as the leopard cannot change his spots, we cannot rid ourselves of all unrighteous thoughts, words and actions. Sin has been imbedded into our very nature, enmeshed even in our unconscious thoughts and comes to us in myriads of ways from our culture.

But, we are assured through your Word that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Through His work of Grace by His Spirit, we can be transformed to live and care for others and walk obediently with You. Through His work of redemption in us, we can walk in the way of truth that leads to the life we most want and need. One person at a time, the world can be changed. Lord, let it begin with me. Here I am to humble myself, pray, seek Your face and turn from my wicked ways. As the Psalmist prayed long ago, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Help me see what I have ignored and renew a right way of being in my life, through Your Amazing Grace in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Our might resides in our bodies, and we rightly interpret this to mean serving the Lord with our bodies. That includes ways in which we express love to God in prayer, music, art, work, service and worship. In the spiritual formation traditions, creative expression of worship through our bodies has emerged as a significant personal and group experience. Similar to liturgical dance, Body Prayer is interpretive movement and can enable our souls to express the deeper longings of our soul.

Through Body Prayer, we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit in creative ways. It enables us to engage our whole being in communion with God—Mind, Heart, Soul and Body. When our bodies are allowed to express the longings of our soul, we experience new freedom in prayer and a deepening sense of being in touch with God.

So, I offer you this morning prayer and encourage you to use your imagination to form movements of your body (perhaps like Yoga) to express the yearnings of your soul as these words guide you.

Morning Body Prayer

Lord, I stretch to You like a flower to the sun, seeking Your life-giving Presence to imbue me with the power and energy I need for the living of this day.

I bow to You in Worship and Praise, for You are “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,”[1]—Lover of my soul, Redeemer of my life, and Eternal Guardian of all that is. You are the God who comforts me like a perfect Mother and who reveals truth to me for my life.

I bow to You in deep and sorrowful contrition for all my many manifold sins and failures—the things I have done that I should not have done, and the things I should have done but did not do.

I stretch out to You in absolute surrender, for You are Sovereign God and I am Your creation, created and re-created in Christ Jesus for good works which You have fore-ordained that I should walk in them, and which I have failed to do as I ought to have done.

Wash over me with Your waves of Love, Mercy and Grace; and cleanse me till I am “whiter than snow”[2], until I have clean hands and a pure heart, that I might stand in Your Holy Presence and see You, O Beautiful God, in all Your Glory—and serve You forever.

I thank You for all my sustenance in life and the Presence of Your Holy Spirit to guide and teach me. Hold me up when I and others fail, as we often do in the course of life. Bring me back into Your Womb of Love and Transforming Grace. Bring me back through gestation in Your Will and remake me in Your Divine Image. Re-form me like clay on a potter’s wheel until I am shaped according to “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ,”[3] into a vessel fit for service in Your Kingdom.

Fill me with Your Spirit and enable me to stand and move and have my being for the Praise of Your Glory now and forever. Amen.

[1] Isaiah 9:6 (NRSVue)

[2] Psalm 51:7 (NRSVue)

[3] Ephesians 4:13 (NIV)

Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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When I meditate on these passages, a prayer wells up:

O Lord God of Heaven and Earth, we see the world around us writhing in pain at the same time that babies are born, bringing the delight of new life amid death and destruction. We dance and we cry over and over. Every night the evening news gets louder as the reporters raise the volume and the pace of their voices with urgency about the latest despicable actions of those who have lost any sense of love and compassion. We seem looped into a cycle of pain and suffering.

Isaiah brought us a beautiful vision of the creative work that the book of Revelation promises God is going to accomplish. But, there are many long centuries between the prophecies, the vision, and our experience. Sometimes we feel as if we are standing on the edge of the crater of hell, seeing the evil bubbling closer and closer to the surface where we stand. Our day-to-day world is beginning to resemble the description of the Great Tribulation. O Lord, help our world find a positive way forward. Give ear to the prayers of your people crying out night and day for help.

Surely, in every generation there have been people who experienced severe tribulation. But, when it comes over and over from every direction, day after day, we begin to lose heart, for we instinctively know that there is no way for this to subside or end without something monumental happening. We hardly know what to seek in prayer. It seems so hopeless.

The book of Revelation ends with, “Come, Lord Jesus.” That is certainly an understandable way to pray: “Come, Lord, put away this evil once for all. Come establish your Kingdom of Love and Righteousness forever. Come end the shameless evil and long suffering of innocent people.” But, Isaiah holds up a portal through which we see God’s vision and hear God’s longings; and from that, we can pray and live more effectively. When our prayers are in tune with God’s purpose, we can be sure that the answers will come.

So, what does God envision? For what does God long? It is surprisingly simple and practical. God wants what we want—for people to be able to build houses and live in them, and plant vineyards, gardens and fields. He wants open green space, fresh water, clean air—safe space for animals and people, where a wolf and a lamb can have their needs met without one being prey of another.

He desires people to be steady like strong oak trees, faithful to place, family and community. It is not God’s will for people to labor in vain, with a sense of futility. God longs for blessings of fruitful lives to flow from one generation to another, and that their prayers will be met before they even notice the need to ask. In God’s vision, no one prays and gets no answers; but prayers are in tune with His longings.

So, to heal our world today and for the future, let’s pray for what God longs for—for the vision of Isaiah to be fulfilled—with humanity rejoicing and glad forever in what God has been creating all along. While we cannot see the end result yet, we have the promises of the Gospel that He has redeemed, is redeeming and will redeem and create a new Heaven and a new earth in which His people will live together in peace with all of life—and will be glad and rejoice forever as they allow themselves to change and become truly the people in whom God delights.

Hear our prayer, O Lord:

Please move in every country to restore faith among all people and lead people of all nations to fall in love with the earth, the sky, the water, each plant, tree and each creature—and to love one another. Restore the joy of family, the comfort of home, the fellowship of community, the satisfaction of good work, and the faith to believe in Your creative, redemptive power.

Encourage hope to rebuild houses where destruction has brought ruin—to plant vineyards and gardens, and live in harmony with nature and people of all cultures. Teach us how to make peace through humility rather than increasing division through competition and domination. Help us let go of our willfulness that is rooted in fear of losing or being mistreated; and help us gather courage to love and not hate, to help and not fight.

May the Spirit of Jesus the Christ enter our souls and make us whole. May goodness and kindness replace jealousy and retaliation. May mercy and hospitality replace prejudice and blame. May the gift of redemption overcome our “name, blame and shame” games so that we forgive one another. Yes, Lord, may Your beautiful vision of what You are creating be seen with our spiritual eyes and give us hope that even now You are working toward that beautiful purpose. Guide us to find ways to help Your dream come true; for when we do, our prayers will be answered, too. Amen.

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And then, around the “corner” in March 2020, we were aware of cases in the US and people dying from lung suffocation due to the virus. And, what we thought would be over by Easter was rushing like a tsunami throughout the world, overwhelming everyone in its path. Vacations were canceled. Businesses shut down, some never to recover. Around the next corner, people we knew close to home died and hospitals and healthcare staff were hard hit with the shock, overload of desperate patients, distraught families. Society in general was reeling with grief, fear, anger, weariness and the growing pathos of it all mixed with the “false” news complaints and resistance of masks and vaccines.

Around the next corner came more of the same, but with new variants—but also vaccines. Like many of earth’s diseases before, this one began to have treatment plans and even some immunity from the worst outcomes of the virus. Hopefully, it will go the way of polio, smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and other controlled and managed diseases. That is what we have been hoping is around the next corner. But we rounded other corners that brought immense human suffering into plain view on our TVs and phones—fires, floods and wars.

Whenever we round a corner, we leave behind a lot. It lies in our memories like stones on a path. We can go back there and recall—even take on the fear and the dread of what has transpired until it weighs us down and makes it impossible to move forward positively. We carry yesterday’s griefs in our loins, in our very tissues. Someone has said that every sorrow has a zip code some place in our bodies. So, what do we do with it all? Ignore it and hope it will go away seems to be a popular option. Cover it up with careless living or super ambitious work. But the deep place in our being where it resides will speak up, sometimes in chronic illness or in acute crises.

It needs attention, and that is where the ancient spiritual formation practices come to our rescue. We cannot always be in the safety of a counselor’s office—and many people cannot afford it. No matter how much time we spend in healthcare facilities, the root of the problem is not addressed by medications and treatments alone, though the symptoms may be relieved. As much as we need to care for our bodies, we need to care for our souls—that inner being that we received from God at our birth and through which we can know God as more than an idea. A healed soul soothes the rattled psyche and makes possible the restoration of health for our bodies and peace for our lives.

So, I invite you to turn another corner and give your soul a daily “spa treatment.” Perhaps you have ignored it too long. For we who know ourselves as Christians, we have been discipled to undergird our lives with Bible study and Sunday School, Worship, Christian Music, Missions and Ministry. In my Protestant tradition, though, I was not made aware in my early faith development of other life practices that could enable me to open to the Spirit of God more fully. Our Savor the Sacred website exists to introduce Christians and other seekers to spiritual habits we can weave into our lives that can expand our spiritual consciousness of God’s Love.

With COVID less of a threat and with great desire to heal from the effects of isolation, job changes, anxiety, as well as to gather strength for the daily news of other world threats, the first practice I would recommend is to read Scripture differently. Read it from your heart. Read it as a “place” to meet God, rather than simply learn about Him. Read it especially as a place to enter into communion with Jesus, who is the main character in the Bible. From beginning to end, everything points to the Messiah who would come, has come and is ever coming to us as we learn to open our souls to Him as more than an intellectual concept.

Approach Scripture from the stance of one who has been invited into eternal communion with the Creator and Savior of the universe. Let the Spirit of Christ speak to you through the pages of the Bible and Christian literature. Listen for His voice in all the places you go, with all the people you interact, in all that surrounds you in nature, art and music. He is always speaking. As Jesus said, “Let those who have ears to hear, hear.” In other words, listen up! God is near, nearer than your latest breath.

And one more thing. Actually, this is the most important thing. I urge you to turn the corner away from existential fear and doubt of God and let yourself relax into Divine Love which is shown in glimmers in the Old Testament but shines brightly through Jesus. While the roots of Christian faith reach back into the Old Testament, we are citizens of a new realm of faith in which God has been revealed fully through the Christ—His teachings and His life. As He said, “Greater Love has no one than to lay down His life for his friends.” By the way, He has called us “friends.” We are not enemies. We are God’s creation, and He loves all that He has made. So, turn the corner into friendship with the Divine Lover of your soul, our Gentle Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

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Holy God, our Father who loves us like a mother, Jesus said that not even a sparrow falls without your awareness. You are keenly in tune with all our joys and all our sufferings. We are never apart from your presence, even in the midst of suffering.

We are witnessing suffering like we have not seen in our lifetime, though our lives came into being in the wake of wars. So much of what we believe seems impotent in the face of such horrendous evil. We need our faith stabilized and renewed day by day.

So, teach us again about faith in the face of wickedness, like the Israelites faced in Egypt as slaves for 400 years, like the African slaves, the Native Americans, the Jews—like people have suffered from time immemorial and that sadly continues today.

Remind us of your promises for deliverance for all who call on your name. Ukrainians have called and are calling on your name. Some prayed in the snow on their knees before the violence began, and they continue to pray. This is our hour to kneel with them in true and relevant faith. Teach them and us to believe truth and pray aright. Hear our prayers, O Lord.

Help them and us to find courage to trust that this life is not the life to be treasured and held onto, but the Eternal Life is your supreme gift. Help us to be willing to deny ourselves, take up whatever struggle we need to, in order for wrongs to be righted and others to be rescued, helped and restored as you did for us in our salvation.

We hold in our hearts all who hear, see and feel the devastations of war and conflict, all who are under the threat of extreme cruelty, all who are in the throes of horror and devastation, all who have lost loved ones, are separated from families, children and parents, wives and husbands, mothers, babies, siblings, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends.

For those who are dispersed far and wide, lead them to safe haven among those with hearts of hospitality and places of sanctuary. Help people in surrounding countries to have compassion on the fleeing hordes, to forgive years of hostility and hatred, and reach out with welcome and hospitality to those in need. Thank you for those who are already extending selfless compassion to the refugees.

Protect those who are fleeing from further evil. Let them all find safety, help and hope. In time, Lord, fulfill your promises of deliverance and restoration. Send forth power from unexpected quarters to rescue, renew and protect the land of Ukraine and all its natural resources and beautiful places.

Raise up those who will work against the Russian aggressors and turn this evil against those who have propagated such horror; and let this crime sicken the hearts of people and ultimately lead to the defeat of communism and punitive government leadership in Russia and throughout Asia, into all the world. May all the work to bring democracy to those lands sparkle in the minds and hearts of Russian citizens until they drive this evil from their nation once and for all.

May the time come when we will all beat our tanks and guns into agricultural and gardening tools to feed and bless the world, as you have promised (Isaiah 2:4). In the name of Jesus Christ, The Light of the World, Amen.

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