Jesus the Peacemaker

John 4: 11-12 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

In the disjointed conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan women at the well, there are several references to the common ancestry of the Jews of Israel and the mixed breed people of Samaria, though the groups hated each other at the time. When the woman asked Jesus what he meant by “living water”, she cited the great heritage Samaria shared with Israel – “our father Jacob”. The inclusion of Samaria in historical Judaism is and was fact. The well she was drawing from was dug during the time Jacob and family settled in Shechem as recorded in Genesis 33.

To answer the question (as she would soon after this) – “Yes, Jesus IS greater than your father Jacob.” And that greatness was long-reaching and world-changing.

The Messianic identity of Jesus was declared by the Samaritans themselves in the days following this encounter (see John 4:42). There were multiple points in his ministry where the narrative shows Jesus made sure to include Samaritans in parables and miracles.

In the book of Acts there were many who came to faith in Jesus in Samaria as well (see Acts 8). So, believers in Israel and Samaria were reunited as it were across the centuries. The one who was indeed greater than Jacob had re-established a single people of faith. This is remarkable.

Faith in Christ is pan-cultural and world-wide. It’s not that Chinese believers are the same as African ones; there are differences to be seen and noted. At the same time, there is a unity of faith across the nations that Jesus establishes. He is the Prince of Peace.

Yet perhaps the most pronounced organizational aspect of the church – from the outset and across history – is its tendency to split and independently function. The reasons are many and the situations are often quite different. Still, it is at stark odds with the work and intent of Jesus.

If I am a peacemaker, a role and work I pray for and have functioned in, there is unity to be had across the boundaries. Like the Samaria/Israel divide, the Lord would bring his people together. Let it be so, first in my/our heart(s) then in our walked out faith.

Amen.

Being reconciled

Genesis 45:5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

Joseph was able to disguise is identity before his brothers through several meetings with them until this one. He had purposely tested them to see if the schism still existed in the family – between children of different mothers, one of whom was greatly preferred by their father over the other. When Judah, son of Leah, offered himself up in place of Benjamin, son of Rachel (like Joseph himself), Joseph was convinced that they had mended the schism, at least to the point of desiring their father to not further grieve. So Joseph revealed his identity and the brothers were, predictably, terrified. Then he said the words above.

The events of Joseph’s life were both devastating and exhilarating. But mostly, since he had seen his brothers again, devastating. They had betrayed flesh and blood and, if not for a band of traveling merchants, had committed fratricide. Joseph was well within his rights and powers to annihilate them. Instead, all who would ever hear or read this story would know the extraordinary person Joseph had become through his deep knowledge of God and His purposes. For his faith had sustained Joseph when nothing else could. The Lord was with him at each of the many low points and now, exalted to second in command over all Egypt, the Lord was still teaching his heart.

Can I see the good purpose that prevails despite all the evil done to me? Pettiness, rivalry, vengeance, envy and pride would beckon that I only see the offenses and eternally lick my wounds as they fester and refuse to scab over and heal. Can I see the sun shining? Or the smile that greets me? Can I take a better and newer inventory of my life and see redemption? It is there, let my soul know that well. But do I choose to see it? And celebrate it? And name it as the purpose of God fulfilled?

What do I have to complain about compared to Joseph? Please, there is nothing. And yet comparison is always unjust, so let me indeed revisit my pain not his. Not to wallow there, but just to see it dispassionately, historically. And though I may not know how it works, let me surrender to this – that each of those points of loss and betrayal, of abuse and hurt, of trauma and indignity and shame, all of them were necessary for me to become who I am today. At the very least, they allow me to say “I know how that feels” and at their most, they mold me deeply into someone who is compassionate and who listens and makes time to hear the voice of God as to my place in healing and mending the wounds of the people on this planet, because it was to save lives that God sent me – the way he sent me.

Punishment for a good deed

Genesis 39:19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.

Potiphar’s wife had trapped Joseph. We aren’t given the details of their marriage, but we are told that she lusted after Joseph and tried repeatedly to have relations with him. He refused outright. Finally she feigned an attack by Joseph, grabbing his cloak as proof, and made her accusation before her husband and the whole house.

Joseph was a slave, with no rights and even lesser chance of being believed above the word of a noblewoman like Potiphar’s wife (though she was no noble woman). So Potiphar regretted all the kindness and confidence he had shown Joseph and had him cast into Egyptian prison. We aren’t told, but it’s an easy presumption to see how Potiphar would be seen in the court of Pharaoh having a wife making such an accusation. We do know that he burned with anger, believing his wife.

But there was no defense attorney assigned; indeed there was no process for doing so. Joseph was going to prison, the final descent in a life that would end up on top. He endured false accusation and the penalty it brought, though he had done nothing wrong.

Life isn’t fair. Lies get told and are believed and acted upon as if they were the truth. Let Joseph teach me – teach us all – how to walk through darkness like that. Let me hear the words spoken over him by the writer of the book of Genesis “But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” For there is the bottom line below all bottom lines. God can be found and worshiped and followed in the worst places. And He grants favor in those places as well, elevating the life and soul of the one who would walk in righteousness.

The accusation against Joseph would stick but only for a while. He would be promoted to become second in the nation to Pharaoh himself – that is, above Potiphar and his wife.

But he would never exact revenge against any of those who hurt him – and they hurt him like none I have ever seen. May grace flow through my life like that. For Joseph could say “This is how they treated me” like Potiphar’s wife but be telling the truth. And he probably did, in prayer. Yet he came through without hatred, without anger and a vengeful heart. That’s how I want to pray. That’s how I want to live.

Acceptable gratitude

Genesis 4:4-5 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Coming right after God’s proclamation of the punishment/consequence of the disobedience of their father Adam, his two sons are seen giving an offering to God as an act of worship. It’s not a mystery as to why the offering of Abel was accepted and Cain’s was not. It is not the thing being offered but the attitude of that offering. Now, the proclamation of consequence (Gen 3:17-19) had stressed the hard work by which the land would yield its sustenance for human life. So we know that both Abel and Cain worked hard for that which they were offering in part. Yet, Abel was able (!) to foster gratitude for what he had though life wasn’t easy. Cain’s begrudging attitude soiled his devotional life, making it duty and not relationship. And once he saw Abel’s offering acceptable while his was not, envy and enmity sprung up that ultimately caused him to kill his own brother.

Let me learn and be offering what I have without moaning about my own exhaustion or all the personal struggles required to obtain it. Let me learn to let God redeem both my work life and the ethic that energizes it. And most of all, let me learn to love people -one at a time if that’s what it takes – as God does that he will bring them into knowledge of his love and salvation.

Rainbows after storms – Genesis 9:14-15 (January 4, 2013)

Scripture:

Genesis 9:14-15 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,  I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

Observation:

God’s decision to destroy all life and only save Noah through the floods as he floated with all the animals in the ark was tragic and dramatic.  It speaks definitively to the potential for human beings to live such evil lives that every thought, every intention of their hearts is rotten, self-serving, other-destroying and well, evil.  We can only imagine “society” in such an environment.  So the flood came – and it was not just rain, but streams from underground – and Noah and family were preserved along with the livestock they had aboard while all breathing life perished.  Once the floods receded, Noah and family settled in the land once again and God pronounced a covenant with him, as a representative of the human race.  Some dietary practices were to be observed – no blood in the meat they ate – and God sent the rainbow, announcing its meaning above.  Rain, normally a good thing that replenished the earth, had been the source of great destruction.  But now, as a sign of redemption and the end of judgment, rainbows were given as a sign of God’s promise.  Never again would there be a flood; never again would all life perish as it had.

Application:

Are we to take it that there were no rainbows prior to this?  Or was this just a new meaning God assigned to an existing phenomenon?  The story is told plainly in Genesis; the account has no accommodation for skepticism or watering-down (to pun shamelessly).  Rather than advancing doubt, which is easy concerning the make-up of the ark, the gathering of the species, etc., I must consider the tenderness of this sign.  The first rain storm after the flood must have been a terrifying thing to Noah and family.  After seeing the destruction of all the waters, a passing shower would have had major traumatic impact.  But the rainbow was God’s sign of blessing, and the rain that accompanied it was beneficial for life.  The beauty of the colors, the symmetry of the arc, the possibility of double or even triple bows are the attributes of the sign.  They speak of a Creator Who nearly abandoned his entire creation due to its rank evil, only to save a representative few and then send His blessing upon them and their descendants forever.  That is, the rainbow is as much mine as it was Noah’s.  It’s not that destructive judgment cannot happen again; it just won’t happen with a flood.  God is a righteous judge (and please  ..  I and we are NOT), let my heart know that full well and proclaim it full well.  Human beings are bent on evil; it is not even debatable.  But there will never again be a FLOOD to destroy life.  That’s God’s promise.  So thunder, roll, rain, pour and wind blow.  We can weather these storms.  We can also weather the storms of our lives, which is the final proclamation of the rainbow.  For even as the refracted sunlight creates the colors to display beauty after a storm, so the light will shine into my life after I have withstood the test of my own storms and I will see a thing of beauty where there was dysfunction, stress, trouble and even destruction.  God is faithful.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for the rainbow.  It colors my world and gives great hope.  Help me to look for it.  I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

The blood that cries out – Genesis 4:10-11 (January 2, 2013)

Scripture:

Genesis 4:10-11 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.  Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Observation:

The Bible’s first murder was not a mystery.  Indeed, no murder is a mystery to God.  When the Lord asked “What have you done?” it was not to be informed, but for Cain to confess his acts.  Cain had answered God’s earlier question about his brother’s whereabouts with the famous quip “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  Now God calls him on the carpet, as it were, to listen to something.  It is the loud cry of the blood of Abel spilled upon the ground in Cain’s murderous rage.   This crime would neither go unnoticed nor unpunished.  As the first fugitive from the law, Cain would be caught and brought to justice.  But it is not Mosaic Law-style justice, under which Cain would have been executed by the people.  Though there was no society to carry it out, that is not God’s intention with Cain.  It is instead to teach him a lesson about serving God over the long haul.  Cain’s livelihood, “the ground” would be foreign to him from then on and he would have to find another way to survive.  God’s provision would still be there, but since Cain had resorted to self-reliance, that would become his life from now on.  This is the first instance of someone being turned over to his/her sins.  And there is a deep statement made by the very ground that opened to receive the shed blood of Abel.  It is no longer receptive to Cain; his crime has made it unsuitable (can we say “unfertile”?) for his further residence and provision from it.

Application:

There is no mystery with God.  I can hide nothing; no one can.  The unsolved murders of men are not unsolved with God.  And though the courts of people pass their judgment and mete out there punitive sentences, God’s court has no need of such deliberations.  He knows the heart of every man and woman, most poignantly including me, and judges without a need for counsel or testimony.  Abel’s blood cried out.  What cries out to God for my sins?  What testifies against me?  I know what I’ve done and I am ashamed of it, but let me know deep inside that God knows it all full well even if I have a strong defensive story all ready to tell.  I need, that is, we ALL need, to face the ugly music of our wrongdoing.  And if I hesitate to confess, why is that?  Is it to hide?  Is it to do good to balance things out?  Or do I fear being vaporized by the ogre god of my own devise?  This is why Jesus came and died, for my murders, for my thefts and pride.  It is no quick out, no absolution machine that I call out to.  It is by the blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel that I am saved and cleansed.  Let me NEVER take that lightly, for the ground also received the blood of Jesus and this time the blood redeemed the earth and all its inhabitants.  Only let me come to the cross, to confess and fall on God’s mercies.  Indeed, let all humanity do that and find the delight of forgiven sin and changed desires such that we all decide to sin no more.  This is grace.  This is life.

Prayer:

Father I am by no means perfect and by no means without need of forgiveness.  Let me look upon Cain in his anger, produced from fear, with my own anger in mind.  Let me look upon his murder with my own intents and misspent passions directly before me.  I need the blood of Jesus.  Wash me, cleanse me I pray.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Creator and the Apex of Creation – Genesis 1:1 and 1:28 (January 1, 2013)

Scripture:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

and

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Observation:

The Genesis account of the creation is not ornate.  In its sweeping narrative, we do find neither the formation of the duck-billed platypus nor that of the blue headed wrasse.  We are given a broad brush of the order of things, familiar terms upon which to hang our understanding.  But the account insists that God was the One doing the creating.  And it insists upon order, beauty and goodness to describe what was created.   In that order, human beings are the apex of what God created.  The human race was given dominion over the plant and animal kingdoms.  The earth was, then, God’s idea, His work, His accomplishment.  All debate with extra-Biblical accounts about how long it took (e.g. even in the Biblical account, the Hebrew “yom” – day – can mean more than a 24-hour period), the progression of creation or the self-sustaining nature of reproduction is secondary to these two aspects of the creation – God did it, and humans are at the top of what was created.  It’s a faith statement with all kinds of evidence and all kinds of abuse in its application.

Application:

God’s hand and voice and will in creating the world has vast evidence but even that falls prey to ideologues vaunting their understanding of the origin of the species.  God does not HATE inquiry and research; He created the mind to do just that.  And He does not HATE people who come up with ideas.  He simply won’t share His glory with them (or anyone).  So my attitude must be one of awe and wonder at all God has created, even the great minds that find evidence that supports their atheism.  But they are wrong to exclude the hand of God in creation; let my soul know that well.  But evolution is NOT the hill to die on, THAT hill is Calvary.

If human beings are NOT the ultimate creation, then we are to be subjugated by the apes, the plants and all the rest of the creation.  If there is nothing special about people, then how dare the human race take any action to establish its dominance?  Let me be careful to be superior to dogs and pigs and plants.  Substance abuse is an overthrow of the created order since resins and byproducts from plants control people.

But it must also be said that God did NOT create humans to exploit and plunder the earth but to fill and subdue it.  On that point, environmentalists try to invent human laws to protect the creation (though they usually call it “the environment”).  Laws do little to change hearts, but knowing the love with which God created all things changes them.  So “Earth Day” is not a foreign concept to the person of faith, for the saints sing “This is My Father’s World” and it is perfectly good-hearted to work to make it beautiful.

Prayer:

Father, it is perhaps the most fundamental of fights that people have over Your being the Creator.  Let me fight that fight with all respect, gentleness and honor for You.  Give me words to speak and a life to live that proclaims Your handiwork, this reborn life of mine.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Heirs of the prophets, blessing the nations – Acts 3:24-26 (January 27, 2012)

Scripture:

Acts 3:24-26 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days.   And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

Observation:

Peter’s brief speech to the witnesses of the healing of the cripple in Acts 3 began with self-deprecation – stating that he and John had NO power in themselves to do what was done.   But it quickly turned into an historical account of the death of Christ with a powerful evangelistic invitation to saving faith.  The greatly venerated pointers – the prophets – during the long history of the nation had given witness to the present events.  The coming of Jesus was the culmination of all the promises given to the people of God.  At once this connected with the people gathered in the holy place where the words of the prophets were recited and honored AND gave those words new life that applied directly to what had been just seen.  Peter then cited the word of God to Abraham concerning the offspring the old man was to father.  It could not have been said about Peter’s and John’s day that the descendents of Israel had been a particular blessing for all peoples of the earth.  If anything, they had either been reclusive enemies or badly degraded sinners, worse than the nations they displaced, as announced by the prophets.  But now it was to be so, that Israel would headquarter and spawn a movement that would reach around the world with blessing.  Peter spoke this before the missionary journeys had begun, but he spoke it with authority.  And the action they were to take?  Repent, turn from sin.  For without that turning they would never be able to even believe, let alone walk in the promised blessing.  This part of the message aligned with the earlier one of John the Baptist, whose wilderness mikvahs (ceremonial Jewish cleansing of sin) were well-known as preparatory to coming of Messiah.  THEN the blessing would come.

Application:

All miracles, starting with the miracle of my faith in Christ, are meant to point to Jesus.  They are neither accomplished in a vacuum nor given to only make someone well or break the laws of nature.  If I get that motivation wrong then I should expect no miracles and be satisfied with a theoretical faith.  Also suspicion is due towards those who accomplish or claim to accomplish great miraculous works apart from Christ and disregarding His purposes.  Peter was quick to point away from himself – so should any person used to perform God’s mighty works.  And the message is not a namby pamby “God loves us all so He does nice things” presentation.  No, the gospel was given for hard sinners.  Healing is performed on those dirtied by their own malice and greed and pride and debauchery, like me.  It is the utter unworthiness of the recipients of grace that makes it so radical.  And it is a mockery to conclude that any person deserves the blessing of God.  Any such statement fails – even obstinately – to understand holiness.  But also miracles are given to include people – God did NOT stop performing miraculous signs though the nation of Israel had crucified Christ.  The death of Christ was not an end, it was a beginning.  It would turn the ingrown people of Israel into a force for worldwide blessing.  It would, in essence, conquer Rome, but not politically and according to neither the schedule of humans nor parties nor armies.  The “offspring of Abraham” would then apply to a very wide group of ethnicities as spiritual progeny where spawned everywhere.  Do I have that same zeal?  Has my faith become ingrown and stale?  Do I shrink back in fear of being found out?  I need to know the blessing I bear and give it copiously and commonly.  For this I was born .. and born again.

Prayer:

Father, it is a great move You have instrumented and orchestrated.  Let me find my place in it with ever more certainty.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

God intended it for good – Genesis 50:19-21 (January 20, 2012)

Scripture:

Genesis 50:19-21 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Observation:

Jacob had just died.  His other sons (that is, those of Leah), terrified that Joseph would now exact revenge for their earlier treachery, made up a command that Jacob had supposedly given concerning their good treatment going forward.  Joseph needed no such coercion.  With humility learned by approximately 20 years in slavery and imprisonment, he assured them that no harm would befall them.  He gave all power for judgment to God, refusing to act in vengeance because he had long learned God’s ability to judge better than any human.  By no means did this fail to acknowledge the malice in which they acted, but Joseph now had a perspective of those earlier days – seeing his own teenage arrogance and pampered place in the family – and had forgiven their actions a long time ago.  Moreover, he saw God’s good intention even in the midst of their murderous deeds – it was God’s good purpose to have Joseph interpret the dream of Pharaoh and institute the famine-fighting policies which fed the entire nation of Egypt during the brutal years of no rain.   That provision had driven every action in the past and had culminated in the present abundance which had brought his family to Egypt, accomplishing their reunion and reconciliation.   So, given this view, they had nothing to fear from him; he would provide for their needs going forward since he honored them as flesh and blood despite their earlier breaking of that basic bond (it had been reestablished).  Joseph’s kindness reflected the kindness of God and it would mark the family legacy forever.

Application:

The righteousness and mercy of Joseph surpassed that of his grandfather Isaac and his father Jacob.  It had been honed through the hardest of trials – betrayal and abandonment of those closest to him and outright injustice in a land hostile to his faith.  So what trial am I avoiding?  I need to see the end from the beginning – Joseph’s life speaks directly into mine that way.  And what to what offense am I holding others accountable?  What horrible thing has been done to me?  Can I not see God’s good intent?  I never will if I don’t persist in faith.  But if I do – and this takes a certainty of trust – I will surely see the good thing God had in mind.  His provision of all my needs and the needs of my family is also assured.  It is against the harsh elements and the harsh treatment of people that God’s mercy fights and delivers.  Do I have Joseph’s perspective?  For sure it does not appear with the snap of the fingers but only after years of difficulty.  But as the story says “the LORD was with Joseph” – I can know and NEED to know God was with me and is with me now.  If I give up on that knowledge then I cannot hope to gain the long term view of things that was so redemptive in the lives of the children of Jacob.  And when it’s up to me to seek revenge may I forgive and seek none of it for God knew all along the good things that would result even though people sought to invalidate, disqualify, discourage and shame me.

Prayer:

O Lord, I pray for the heart of Joseph.  I need to go through the trial to the end; I know that that though I cringe and go to dark places.  Let me know Your light there and see the light that shines on the culmination – the place of sheer delight where brothers dwell together in unity.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Why it all happens – Genesis 45:4-7 (January 18, 2011)

Scripture:

Genesis 45:4-7 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Observation:

Joseph’s “coming out” speech was so heavy with emotion that we can hear these words as coming through a throat choked with sobs.  He had tested his brothers by endangering the well-being of Benjamin, the only brother he had from the same mother.  For that split in the family – 10 from one mother and 2 from another – was the basis of their father’s favoritism which had led to Joseph’s maltreatment by his brothers.  When they acted righteously, protecting Benjamin with their own lives, Joseph’s heart melted and he ordered all the Egyptian servants to leave them while he said these things to his brothers.  Naturally they were terrified thinking that he would now avenge their sins against him.  But the heart of the ruler forged in Joseph was far beyond all that.  He saw God’s hand in sending him as one who interprets dreams in order to avoid mass disaster and death during a horrid seven year famine that had come upon the whole region.  His work was one of salvation, not of rising to power to wield authority as a sword to brutalize those under him.  And for sure this was a fulfillment of the very dream his brothers had found so offensive when as a teen he told them he would one day rule over them.  At that time he had no idea the man he would become when the time came or the circumstances under which his entire family would come to him as one with supreme authority.  Yet the riddle of his life had a punch line of grace and the depth of his love for his family was able to be expressed.  Gone was any wound or bitterness.  His ministry – his job – was one of restoration and fulfillment of all things and we can hear his joy in that work in his words.

Application:

Do I see my hardship with this perspective?  Can I believe God for not just a happy ending, but one that saves and restores?  It is His will whether I would believe it or not!  Very few lives have the drama of that of Joseph – indeed most could not bear what he went through.  But the theme of that life – a series of downward moves into drudgery and degradation only to find God’s favor and mercy at every depth to form the heart of a humble servant then ready for amazing promotion and able to wield authoritative power with wisdom forged in the mud – that theme is for all believers everywhere.  For we are to process hardship as discipline and discipline as a necessary step in molding us into the image of God’s Son.  Then and only then will we have an understanding of what it was all for.  Joseph clung to his integrity and faith at every point of his slide into the dungeon and there in the dungeon he even became lord!  Let me reign in life like that, not taking on the labels and assignments of this world’s caste systems and social stations.  And as I descend, let me ennoble those around me as Joseph did, affirming their worth before the God Who made them.  For they too have purpose and a promise and an awesome future if they would embrace it by faith.  But that – the faith – is the one ingredient I can never be without.  Let me see and act with it as my main grasp of reality.  If that happens, then I too can be reconciled to my enemies and tell them the real reason why it all happened.

Prayer:

Father, it is my desire to be the best I can be at whatever You call me to do.  Let me know that You will redeem it all in the end.  Let me never entertain a degrading thought toward myself or those around me, for You can move in the dungeon as well as the palace.  I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.