Salome or Esther

what favor shall i seek? and whose?

wattissa hesed

even up to half my kingdom

 what shall i ask of the King?

...your favor, Lord, is our desire

it's Your beauty, Lord

that makes us stand in silence

Your love is better than life.

Cross-fade

The gentle death of an old man is not like the time-shattering death of a young one. It is no surprise. You have seen it coming from afar. You have seen him fading, fading. Like last night's candle burning, burning.

You have loved one another well, rectified regrets, so death arrives not as that sudden implosion that sucks all the air and love and plans out of life. Because it has been a cross-fade. Perceptible but gentle.

You have had time, and plenty of warning, to fill the space he would leave. You have arranged to cross-fade. An out-tro, an intro. Perceptible but gentle.

You have seen then, that death was his last enemy, his final care, and at last he welcomed it as a friend. You in your heart are grateful that he rests now, where love abides but loss is gone.

You smile. You cry. You'll live right on. You cry. You smile. You're fine.

You're fine. But you must not ask too much of other people.

when i forget my name, remind me.

God dignifies us with our True Identity.

Especially when the only images we can see are the veiled corrupt mimicries. 

Especially when wrestling the self and facing sin--both my own and those done unto me, and all the things that persist on earth to steal, kill, and destroy... The loss, death, ruins... oh they could crush our hearts.

Especially in real warfare, the darkness threatens to overtake the light by which the image of God is perceived.

God dignifies us with our True Identity.

Unless I glance at my sin and gaze upon my Savior, in whom my true self holds and is hidden--engraved on His heart that calls and draws me by name. My real name, it is written on His hands, in His wounds that heal me. When I forget my name, remind me.

Your sins do not define you.

Your identity is as a redeemed,

reconciled, justified, cleansed

son or daughter of our loving Father.

//The Resurgence

dearest MJ & MJ, who remind me my name. i'll remind you too.

so be that, in faith.

Illusion & Temptation - The McGurk Effect

Is seeing believing? Is it an advantage? Why did Jesus say to the crowd seeking to fill their bellies, "You have seen me and yet do not believe," and to Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed"?

It seems easy enough to differentiate what we see from what we hear.
The McGurk Effect is a linguistics phenomenon from articulatory phonetics
that shows how visual input overrides other sensory information.
"Our sense of vision takes over... allowing us to maintain a coherent view of the world."

To live by faith and not by sight?

At evening service last night, Scott preached on the temptation of Jesus and highlighted the nature of temptation. The Tempter frames the dialogue in such a paradigm that makes you believe the best option is to give in -- it appears that your options are narrower than they are (Scott Strickman). As though you could freely choose and rightly choose before being chosen, any more than a tiger would opt for a bowl of porridge over a hunk of meat (Kathy Keller).

Following John the Baptizer's announcement that the Kingdom was at hand because its King had arrived, was a crucial time to undermine the word of God. He countered the voice from heaven saying "This is My Son..." with earthly reason "If you are really the son..." and with visual temptations of visible kingdoms. The Tempter speaks again and again his same refrain, "Did God actually say...?" And sinners choose again and again what they see, what is delightful to the eyes.


God dignifies us with our true identity.

This season in my temptation to despair, the Lord repeatedly draws near to dignify me with my true identity. Even when my own rebellion has laid me low, He says, "You are My people, I am your God." You are not a reject or damaged goods, that's not your identity, you're a child of God, a daughter of the King--so be that, in faith (Michael Hwang).

And believe in the words of your Maker, though now you know in part. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory (1 Peter 1.8). Soon you shall see Him face to face.