Ep.377: Strangers and Lovers.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

When Jesus chose Peter, he named him the “Rock”, but the rock shifted like sand when Peter denied Christ. So Jesus chose him again, rehabilitated him, and gave him a mission.

In his letter to the churches, Peter the Rock calls Christians “God’s chosen ones, strangers in the world” (1 Pet 1:1).

Chosen ones? Strangers? Like Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper”, where a poor boy with an abusive, alcoholic father becomes a prince, and the born prince becomes a poor boy. The story tells how the poor boy learns strange palace customs, and the prince learns the strangeness of poverty and abuse.

We are Christians and we are strangers in a strange world. We are poor people on earth, but princes in Christ’s hidden kingdom. Gentleman’s Quarterly and Vogue no longer measure our beauty. The Economist is not our Bible on wealth, liberal politics and world order. Constitutions and charters of rights don’t qualify as our statements of belief.

In private, we study the language of heaven, listening for the voice of Jesus. But in public we are ordinary citizens of Planet Earth, hardly different from everyone else.

Peter encourages us strangers with the lesson Christ taught him: to part ways with the man he was, to move beyond the fisherman who toiled and the disciple who denied. To focus instead on the man he could become, a rock in Christ’s church, a shepherd of God’s sheep, a day care attendant for God’s lambs. Peter was chosen and called. We are chosen and called.

Parting ways with his old self was an important bridge Peter crossed. When Jesus left the earth, Peter lost the life he loved: walking and talking and eating with Jesus, washing dusty feet, and strolling by the seashore. He moved into a new relationship, experiencing a Christ he could not see, talking to a Jesus who was not physically present.

I recently visited my mother’s grave. I stood there, looking at her tombstone, just . . . just remembering her. I talked to her, but she didn’t respond. Standing there, I talked to Jesus too, another invisible presence.

Peter says, “Though you have not seen Christ, you love him. And though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and are filled with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet 1:8). Peter invites us to join him on the journey he began after Christ disappeared into heaven. An invitation to walk with a Christ we cannot see, to talk to a Christ who is mostly silent, to listen for his quiet interior voice.

This is the Christ who makes us strangers and aliens in our world. He gives us an edge of discomfort as we participate in our day-to-day buying and selling, voting and promoting, leading and following.

We ask, how, in the midst of our daily routines, can we grow in love and faith for the Christ who chooses us and calls us strangers in the world?

Let’s pray.

O father, though we have not seen Christ, we love him. And though we do not see him now, we believe in him.

We are Christians, not because of stronger arguments, nor greater vision, but because Christ has touched our hearts with faith and love.

Grant us Peter’s experience, to look for the salvation Christ promises, to rejoice in our trials, to be steadfast in faith. to be strangers in the world.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.376: Job Hunting.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In the last four episodes, I told about hosting an immigrant family of three. Denied boarding in Amsterdam, they purchased expensive last-minute tickets to Canada, where I hosted them in an Edmonton Airbnb until they rented an apartment.

Next assignment: find a job. Unfortunately, the father’s dental technician and dental surgery qualifications are no good in Canada. How about a warehouse job?

His resume, created on an internet website, looked impressive. But it was written in corporate-speak nonsense like, “I liaised with cross-functional teams to facilitate smooth operations and achieve common goals.”

Oh, yes! Exactly what a warehouse supervisor needs–someone to liaise with his cross-functional teams.Or maybe he just wants someone who’s quick with a pallet jack and handy with a broom!

After replacing the corporate-speak with plain English, we looked at internet job sites–Indeed.com, the Canada Job Bank, and ALIS Alberta. We tried job searches on Google and job searches at companies with warehouses.

Uline sent our only response: a computer-generated corporate-speak email telling us we didn’t meet their standards. Perhaps we should have left the corporate-speak in the resume.

Two more days of silence. I checked the resume. Duh! I’d entered the wrong telephone number

We corrected my error and sent out corrected applications. Followed by two more weeks of silence.

My newcomer friend was concerned. He said,”I can’t afford to spend eight months job hunting like my friend in Calgary did!”

I sat in my car with him in a Walmart parking lot, listening while he processed his thinking about Canada. He said, “I thought Canada had many opportunities with decent pay.”

I sympathized. “Yes. Canada can be difficult if you’re poor. Lots of people have two or more minimum wage jobs because they can’t find something better.”

We went into Walmart. “Look at the shoppers’ faces,” I said. “I see age and tiredness and sadness. What do you see?”

“I see pain,” he said.

I agreed. “I think many of these are Canadians who live near the minimum wage. Life is not easy for them.”

We continued job hunting. Every day, search the internet. Every day, wait for that phone call or email.

Then one Friday he had a phone interview with a logistics company. It went well. “Can you start Monday?” they asked?

Thirty-two hours a week and no benefits, but starting pay is above minimum wage. Since he doesn’t have a car, the company offered him a transit accessible day shift.

Job hunt complete. Mission accomplished.

Let’s pray.

Our father, we pray for those with part time work who need more hours.
  We pray for those with no work and no one to hire them.
  For those with too much work, and too little time to do it.
For those with menial work who want something more fulfilling.
For those marginalized and demeaned at work who long for respect and justice.
For those failing at work, attempting tasks beyond their skill.
  For those with good jobs and reasonable pay, who give you thanks.

Help us to be wise employers and wise workers.

And above all, whatever we do, may we do it with all our heart. For it it is you, the Lord Christ, whom we serve (Col 3:23-24).

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.375: A Place to Call Home.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In the last three episodes, I told about hosting an immigrant family. They were denied boarding at the Amsterdam airport, but purchased expensive new tickets before their visas expired. I hosted them in an Edmonton Airbnb, and helped them get social insurance numbers, ID’s, and health cards.

Next step: find a budget one-bedroom apartment for a family of three.

The first two apartments we viewed were brand new basement suites in the university area, reasonably priced at less than $1000/month. Small but suitable, the family said, so we filled in application forms and waited for news.

Our applications were rejected. I said to the father, “I think what the landlord wants are quiet graduate students who practically live at the university. They don’t want a busy family of three crowded into their suite.” Hmmm.

We expanded our search, looking next at a basement near Concordia University. It had a nicely finished kitchen, a less-finished living room, and a bedroom under the stairs with a clothesline for a closet.

The landlord told us she didn’t take students because she didn’t want parties on her premises. But a quiet family of three might work! And she would share her internet and Netflix at no cost. The next day, when we texted to see the place again, she said, “I’m sorry. But I’ve decided the suite is not suitable for a family of three. Good luck.”

Darn. We should have taken it when we saw it.

The next day we drove 40 kilometers across the city and queued up in the drizzling rain behind other renters to see another option..

When our turn came, we saw a lovely, renovated basement suite–open, airy, light. Perfect. But the reasonable $1100/month rent became unaffordable when they told us to expect an additional $350/month for utilities.

Onward to the next viewing. An older apartment building near downtown–good location, close to transit and shopping. The apartment manager took us down a long dirty-looking, pungent-smelling hallway. What did the renters do in these hallways?

The apartment was not well maintained, but ok. The overall effect was, No thank you.

Welcome to apartment hunting in Edmonton.

Next day we tried Boardwalk, a big rental corporation with highrises across Canada.

We sorted their listings by lowest price, which led us to a 1960’s apartment tower downtown . When we arrived for the viewing, a homeless person was prospecting in the garbage bin behind the apartment. The community mailbox in the front lobby had crowbar marks. Someone probably forgot their mailbox key. The window to the manager’s office was a fresh sheet of plywood.

The apartment for rent was old, but in good repair. Boardwalk offered immigrants a deal: half-price damage deposit, and advance payment of just one month’s rent instead of the usual two.

The manager told us that one of yesterday’s viewers promised to bring a deposit tomorrow. And she had more viewings later today. The apartment would go quickly.

We had seen and heard enough. We sat in her office under her plywood window and paid the deposit. Mission accomplished. Apartment found.

Let’s pray.

Our father, Jesus said, “Don’t worry about what you will eat or drink or wear. Seek God’s kingdom and he will look out for you” (Mat 6:31, 33). But you don’t supply our needs by magic. So we hunt for shelter and buy clothes and go to the food bank when we’re hungry.

We depend on you, and we depend on our society. On builders to build housing and landlords to rent it; on farmers to grow food and corporations to sell it.

O Lord, help us to give to you what belongs to you–our love and worship and honor. And help us find money for rent and food and taxes in this good world you have made for us.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.374: What’s in a Name?

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In the last two episodes, I started telling my story about hosting an immigrant family. I met them at the Calgary airport, drove them 250 kilometers to Edmonton, and installed them in an Airbnb.

The next day we started our errands. First up: get a social insurance number. Not to be. Service Canada was closed for a long weekend. Check the to-do list. What’s next? Ah, yes. Bank account, then Alberta Health card and then, Alberta ID.

Here’s how our day went.

The father’s country-of-origin passport put all five of his names into one field. When this was copied onto the Canadian visa, they gave him no first name, no middle name, and a huge five-part surname. It was kind of funny, but we thought it might be a problem. What to do on forms that require legal first name and legal last name?

So the father made a simple request: “Please separate out my first, middle, and last names.” Seemed reasonable to us, but the Alberta ID agent said, “Can’t be done. I have to enter the name exactly as it appears on the visa. If you want your Alberta ID to show first and last names, Service Canada can change it on your social insurance number.

After the weekend, we arrive early at the Service Canada office to beat the lineup. Dream on! It’s eight o’clock opening time and the lineup already snakes around the cattle guards and slithers out into the mall. “Two hours,” said a Service Canada agent.

Two hours later, we’re at the front of the line, where they take our information . . . and send us to a holding area where we sit for two more hours.

Now, it’s noon and we’re in a cubicle to get a social insurance number. The father presents his request: “Please separate my first, middle, and last names!”

“Not possible,” said the agent. “I have to enter the name exactly as it appears on the visa. Only the immigration people at the airport can change it.”

So we drive 25 kilometers to the airport, only to find the immigration people behind locked doors. What? They only deal with incoming flights, not with local customers like us. So we find the border security people and ask them to help. “No can do,” they say. “Nobody at the airport can change your visa. You have to go to Immigration Canada.”

So we set out driving 30 kilometers to downtown Edmonton. As we drive, we try three times to phone Immigration Canada. And three times their telephone system takes us through six mind-numbing minutes of voice messages, menu options, and notifications for this and that. Finally, finally, when we get to the option we need, the recorded message says, “Thank you for calling Immigration Canada. Our telephone queue is full. We hope you find it convenient to phone us back at another time.” Click. Ahrrr!

We arrive at Canada Place in downtown Edmonton, and look for the immigration office, expecting a long queue. But there’s no sign of an immigration office and no queue. We ask the information desk, “Where is the Immigration Canada?”

“In this building,” they reply. “But since COVID, they don’t take walk-in clients. Everything’s by phone or internet.”

Really? The internet doesn’t have the option we need. And all the phone system can do is spout menus and messages and go “Click.”

So we go back to Service Canada where we started. We take the only option they’ll give. A social insurance number with no first name, no middle name, and a large five-part surname.

Errand complete. But was it a success? Tune in next time for more of the story!

Let’s pray.

Our father, what is in a name? Your names are father and king and judge. And you said to Moses, “Don’t ask my name. I am who I am” (Exo 3:14).

Paul said, “I bow before the father, from whom every family on heaven and earth derives its name” (Eph 3:14-15).

O father, we are your children. Remember our first names, and call us by your surname.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.373: Stuck at the Airport.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In our last episode, I talked about hosting an immigrant family. Father, mother, and three-year-old daughter left Ukraine in 2022, spent last year in Europe, and now had air tickets, visas, and work permits for Canada. I rented an Airbnb for their first week in Edmonton, and planned the newcomer errands– bank accounts, social insurance numbers, health care cards, drivers’ licenses, etc.

Six days before their visa expired, they showed up at the Amsterdam airport with suitcases, passports, and plane tickets. But KLM denied them boarding. So much for my Monday job in Edmonton as a welcome-to-Canada host. Instead, I was now chief problem solver in a crisis.

I asked church friends to help; we contacted SuperSaver, the website where the newcomers had purchased their tickets. We called Westjet, the ticket supplier. We asked KLM: “Why did you deny them boarding?” A friend wrote a synopsis and sent it to CBC, hoping negative media coverage would embarrass one of the airlines into helping.

We spent three desperate days calling and emailing and discussing, trying to reason or even guilt trip one of the parties to help.
Monday. No progress.
Tuesday. More frustration. I canceled the Edmonton Airbnb.
Wednesday. Still stymied. Ahrrrrrrr!
Nothing was working.

KLM blamed UK immigration. They said that the UK wouldn’t let the family transit through Heathrow. Their solution? The family should have bought a KLM flight direct to Canada instead of a Westjet ticket through SuperSaver.

Thank you, KLM!

Westjet passed the buck too. “They bought the tickets on the SuperSaver website? Then we have to deal with SuperSaver, not the travelers! Tell SuperSaver to phone our agent hotline.”

Thank you, Westjet!

At SuperSaver we talked to super friendly customer care associates. They put the problem into the queue for their super efficient problem solving team to call Westjet and help us out. And the result? Nothing. Nada. Our request was sucked into a SuperSaver black hole, where it’s probably still spinning round and round.

Thank you, SuperSaver!

By Thursday, with only three days left on the family’s visas, we knew we needed a different solution. Last-minute flights to Canada? Wow! Now priced at $3,500 each one way! That’s more than $10,000.

What to do? Should I try fundraising? Should I try finding a sponsor with money? We were scrambling!

Then, an email from the newcomer father. A relative agreed, unhappily, to loan airfare for his wife and daughter. The father used most of the family savings for his own ticket. This time, no more SuperSaver. No more Westjet. Just expensive, last-minute direct flights to Canada.

The new schedule had them arriving in Canada the next day, Friday, in Calgary, 250 km from my home.

I quickly rented a new Airbnb in Edmonton. On Friday as I drove to Calgary, a friend stocked the Airbnb with food and flowers and welcome gifts.

My hosting duties were about to begin. Tune into the next episode for news of the family’s arrival.

Let’s pray.

O father, Canada is a short plane ride from Europe . . . except when immigration officers deny transit, and airlines and internet travel sites won’t help.

Only a privileged few can flee war, climate change, and hate in their home country to start a new life in a safe country. Millions remain at home, living in war, hunger, and danger.

We remember Gaza and Ukraine and Haiti and Sudan and Lebanon. People in war zones and refugee camps. Politicians unable or unwilling to care. Diplomacy conducted with AK47’s and laser-guided bombs.

O father, may our country be a refuge for many. Bring your peace and your kingdom to our war-torn earth.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.372: Strangers and Aliens, Part 1.

Hello. I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel Pray with Me. o.Hello. I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel Pray with Me.

Scripture calls Christians strangers and exiles on earth, because we are looking for a country to call home (Heb 11:13). This reminds of an immigrant family we recently met, exiles from Ukraine, foreigners to Canada, people without a country.

Here’s the story. In the fall of 2022 I had my cancer surgery, followed by four grinding rounds of chemo. This wiped me out for much of the next year. But when my health and strength returned to normal, I thought: “What shall I do with my newfound energy?”

Easy decision.

Since it was the middle of a cold and dark Canadian December, I decided to . . . hibernate. Yes! Closet myself in a warm corner with a cozy blanket, a good book, hot tea, and an occasional sip of fortifying spirits. Waiting for winter to end.

That was my plan. But after Christmas, I felt God suggesting I should pay more attention to people.

“What?” I said. “I’ve just come through a miserable 18 months. I’ve earned some comfort. Why are you bothering me about people? Not my problem.”

But that quiet inner voice continued–patiently and convictingly creating space in my cold heart, creating hunger to engage in relationship with God and others. But I was cocooned in my warm corner with my warm blanket and my hot tea. So I ignored the inner voice, except to add a couple books on prayer to my reading list. That should be adequate.

Then one Sunday someone in church announced, “Canada’s program for Ukrainian immigrants is coming to an end, so we anticipate many immigrants this month. Please consider hosting a Ukrainian family.”

I was convicted. Reluctantly, I joined the “Edmonton Hosts Ukrainians” Facebook site. I watched post after Facebook post of newcomer families who needed a host. To my immense relief, as each family approached its deadline, a host volunteered. “Good,” I thought, ”if this pattern holds for a few more weeks, I’ll be free and clear.” Back to my cozy corner reading a cozy mystery.

But the inner voice continued, drawing my attention to the parable of the good Samaritan, especially the priest and the Levite who avoided the injured traveler and left him to die. But of course, that didn’t apply to me, because I looked squarely at Facebook pictures of needy travelers, and watched other people come to their rescue.

As deadline day loomed, the site posted a hosting request for a couple with a lovely 3-year old daughter. They had left Ukraine because of the war, spent a year and a half in Europe, and were headed for Canada.

My heart said, “That’s your family” but my mind said, “Wait a bit, someone else will probably host them.” But as the deadline approached with no host, I messaged the site for details. I rented an Airbnb for their arrival, and said a prayer for them and me.

Then, on the day they were supposed to arrive . . . they were denied boarding on their flight.

What to do? Was their problem my problem? Could I just walk past the needy travelers? What would the Good Samaritan do?

Tune in next time to hear what happened.

Let’s pray.

Our father, thank you that Jesus loves needy travelers. Help us to see them with his eyes. Help us to hear his call to leave our warm and selfish comforts, to be involved in the lives of fellow travelers.

O Jesus, you traveled this earth, you were crucified as an unwelcome stranger, you gave your life to rescue wounded travelers. Show us who we should help. Give us grace and courage and strength to help them.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.371: The End of Revelation.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

We’ve spent 21 episodes on the Book of Revelation. Let’s review and ask, “What have we learned?”

I suggest four lessons.

The first lesson: Revelation tells us what to expect of the church and the world.

When Jesus sent messages to the seven churches in Asia, five were rebuked for being spiritually dead, or for losing their first love, or for tolerating evil teachers. Only two were praised.

I wonder what Jesus’ message would be for the churches you and I attend? I don’t have prophetic gifts to discern his rebuke or praise for us. But Revelation warns me: my church might get some important things wrong, and my comfortable middle class denomination might be in line for Christ’s criticism.

Jesus warned the churches of persecution and martyrdom. Revelation develops these themes as God-hating rulers and false prophets and antichrists lead the world astray, attempt to abolish Christianity, and tempt the faithful to despair.

What is Jesus’ message for today? I think Revelation says my brief life of peace and freedom in western civilization is an exception to the historical norm. The norm is that Christians everywhere should expect to be hated, rejected, persecuted, and martyred.

My second takeaway from the Book of Revelation? Apart from God’s direct intervention, the world is broken beyond repair. Unfixable.

History records many efforts to fix the unfixable. Communism fixes the economic system. Democracy fixes the politics. Strong-man dictatorships create security by suppressing freedoms and throwing dissenters into prison. Philosophers from Plato to Thomas More created recipes for utopia. But in Revelation, all the politics and economics and religions and utopian visions end in human violence and the judgment of God.

Should we despair? No! Jesus said of a woman, “She did what she could” (Mark 14:8). That is the motivation for Christian effort. We do what we can, as Christ did when he was a carpenter and itinerant preacher. He loved those he interacted with, and he suffered religious and political persecution. At the end, he left it all with God. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

My third take on the Book of Revelation is the huge disconnect between what is happening on earth and what is happening in heaven. On earth, churches are in a mess, angels deliver plagues and disasters, the devil installs his rulers and religions, and believers are martyred.

Meanwhile, heaven is a concert of praise to God. There the lamb is planning a revolution to tear down the world systems and build a new system that works.

And my last take away from the Book of Revelation? The story has a happy ending. We look forward to the great wedding feast of the lamb . . . to a world at peace . . . to a tree of life that gives healing to the nations

Let’s pray.

Our father, we come to you in the joys and sorrows of life on earth, in the pain and promise of our life in church, in despair and hope of what tomorrow may bring.

Christ is our example. With him we celebrate you, our father in heaven. With him we sometimes cry, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Now, as the Book of Revelation ends, we hear the spirit and the bride say, “Come”. We hear your invitation, “Let the one who is thirsty drink freely of the water of life.”

Yes, Lord, we drink. May your river quench our thirst and give us life, both now and forever.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.370: Heaven on Earth.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Revelation chapters 20 and 21 gave us the terrible battle of Armageddon, the welcome demise of Satan, the astonishing resurrection of the dead, the spectacular final judgment of God, and a marvelous new heaven and earth.

What do you think? What’s left to say after this happy ending? Not much. Only to point out three things in John’s vision.

First, he describes the capital city of the new earth. It’s the new Jerusalem, the city of God that relocates itself from heaven to earth. It has 12 gates, named after the 12 tribes of Israel, guarded by 12 angels. The city walls have 12 foundations, named after the 12 apostles. Old Testament Israel and New Testament apostles and angels from heaven together create a new civilization. And Main Street? Paved with gold!

John is astounded to see the city has no temple. Of course not: God himself and the lamb are the temple. No need for an ornate building. No need for sun and moon. God is the light 24/7. There’s no darkness and no evil, only glory and honor and righteousness.

A river of pure water runs through the city, flowing from God’s throne, watering the tree of life that bears fruit 12 times a year. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations.

What an amazing vision of utopia. In scripture, history began in a garden populated with two people. Now, history ends not in a garden but in a city with living water and a life-giving tree. A city at peace, where all nations come to worship. The long battle with sin and injustice is won. The curse is lifted. Earth is paradise. The long dark night of faith is rewarded with a vision of perfection.

A second amazing characteristic of John’s vision: the veil between heaven and earth has disappeared. The city of heaven has been relocated to earth. The doorkeepers at the city gates are angels. God lives among humans in the new Jerusalem. At last, we experience heaven on earth.

In my life, I have felt God’s presence in fleeting moments that pass too quickly, leaving me wishing for more. Perhaps in the new city, I will experience God’s presence continuously.

A third characteristic of John’s vision? The absence of conflict. Long ago the psalmist said,
I see violence and strife in the city,
Malice and abuse are within it (Ps 65:9-10).

But in the new city, peace reigns. The wars of the world have ended. The long day of worship has begun.

Let’s pray.

Our father, Abraham dreamed of a city whose architect and builder was you. We too are disillusioned with the noise and violence and corruption of the cities we live in. Keep us safe in this city of man. Bring us quickly to your city of light.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.369: The End of the Unholy Trinity.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Revelation chapter 19 brought world history to a satisfying conclusion. Christ’s white army overcame the antichrist’s dark army. The beast and the false prophet were thrown into hell. Peace at last.

But chapter 20 says, “Wait! That’s not the end of the story. There’s more. The peace only lasts a thousand years.”

What? Only a millennium of peace? Wasn’t Christ supposed to reign forever?

Here’s the story from Revelation 20.

First, Satan, that old serpent from the garden of Eden, is thrown into the Abyss.

Then the saints martyred by the beast are resurrected to reign with Christ on earth for a thousand years.

And then, at the end of that millennium, we have a second coming of Satan, who escapes from the Abyss and convinces the nations that Christ’s reign is a disaster. Who needs Christ and all his religious servants to impose their morality on earth?

Satan organizes a worldwide revolt to depose Christ and to take back the earth for those he thinks deserve it–people who are strong and independent and think for themselves. Like him.

Sounds like a repeat of the garden of Eden. The serpent counseled Adam and Eve to revolt at the world’s beginning. Now he convinces the nations to revolt at the world’s end.

This time, Satan’s gift is . . . Armageddon, that great battle where every nation marches against God’s city, Jerusalem. But this time, this time God has had enough of human free will. He acts with power, sending fire from heaven to consume the evil armies. That unholy trinity–the beast, the false prophet, and the devil–are finally and forever defeated.

Then, God resurrects everyone who has died from the beginning of the world. He judges every person, rewarding some and sending others to join the unholy trinity they have served.

God continues by remaking heaven and earth. The holy city, the new Jerusalem, comes down from heaven. God says he will live there among his resurrected people forever, healing their pains and sorrows, wiping away their tears. Only joy belongs in the new order.

God says, “It is finished,” echoing Christ’s words on the cross. He says, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.” The long story that began in the garden of Eden ends here in a new Eden, a new Jerusalem, a new heaven and earth.

Let’s pray.

Our father, we live in the middle of your great story. Born too late to see the garden of Eden. Born too early to experience the wars and chaos at the end of time. Unless they happen soon.

Look upon us with your favor. Help us to journey in faith, as our world experiences again the rise and fall of empires.

Help us not to place our hope in king or empire, not to believe that the right policies or the right morality will convert the kingdom of earth into the kingdom of God.

In our time, help us wait patiently for the new story where your kingdom triumphs over all the others.

Help us to be your faithful servants in everything our life and times brings us.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.368: A Feast for Saints and Vultures.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Revelation chapter 18 predicted the destruction of Babylon, saying, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” So, what’s next?

Chapter 19 continues the story. At long last, after the lamb’s servants on earth have endured persecution and martyrdom, heaven is ready to act.

The main event? The wedding feast of the lamb. We see the church pictured as a bride dressed in bright white linen, the one who will soon marry the lamb of heaven. Having long endured the violence of the beast and the machinations of the prostitute Babylon, it is time for the church to exchange sorrow for joy, persecution for victory.

Before the wedding supper is prepared however, heaven has to vaporize the beast. To accomplish this, Christ appears on a white horse wearing a robe dipped in blood. Now that’s a disturbing fashion statement. His army follows him into war, also dressed in white and riding white horses.

As the army marches from heaven, an angel summons the birds, “Come one and all to God’s supper. You will feast on the corpses of kings and generals and horses and riders and people great and small.”

On earth, the beast and the kings muster a massive army of darkness against the army of light. When the white army wins, the beast and his false prophet are turfed into the lake of fire.

And the birds on the battlefield feast.

Let’s pray.

Our father, we love the lamb, we love the picture of Christ riding to war with an army of white. We love the vengeance and destruction he wreaks on the evil empires, and the punishment he imposes on their leaders.

But we say, “When O God, when will you bring this about?” For our experience has not yet changed: we are still the hidden church finding her uncertain way through the labyrinths of earth’s twisted kingdoms, its evil moralities and false religions.

Bring us soon to the time when you will destroy all evil, when your white army will overwhelm dark powers, when we will joyfully say our wedding vows to the lamb, when we will eat the feast he prepares.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube