Meat for the Hungry

  FLAG robert-linder-fcFEnjBmm14-unsplash “O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” [1]   LORD God, here we are again, boldly entering Your presence on behalf of our beloved A m e r i c a .   This “shining city upon a hill,” as President Reagan called her in his January 11, 1989, farewell address, today is greatly dimmed. You, my LORD, know President Reagan took this phrase from the 1630 sermon of John Winthrop to the Massachusetts Bay colonists. Reagan stated, “…Winthrop…wrote it to describe the America he imagined.” [2]   As true believers, we know Jesus said it first, speaking of those who are born-again of His Spirit. Jesus called us “…the salt of the earth…” and warned about losing our saltiness. But then He said, “You are the light of the world…” like a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. [3] We, LORD, who have Your Word in our he...

Candlelight pierces the blackness of night creating a comforting glow in the darkness of heartbreak. The warm flicker of a single candle soothes our soul and symbolizes hope. Hope for a missing child, a killer convicted, a social injustice righted, or that someone somewhere will make sense out of a senseless tragedy. I don’t know when candlelight vigils and memorials first began or even who invented the concept, but I know a feeling of hope washes over us as we gather together with candles. Have you ever wondered why? Not why do we gather, but why do we use candles in the night?