I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Mark 11:23.

Do not quench the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 111: Words of Grace come from His lips. Psalm 45:2: You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever. And, John 1:17; Luke 4:22: For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

The first Scripture verse cited above in Hearing God by Dallas Willard can be a stumbling block and I loved the very last part of his devotional: “Reflect: Which, if any, of these truths do you find difficult to believe or understand: reality is a kingdom; reality is permeated by God’s authority; reality is permeated by a personal relationship with God and communication with Him? Ask God to help you absorb these truths.” Sometimes that mountain is our own tightly held wrong beliefs. And this today in You Are the Beloved by Henri Nouwen: “When we claim and constantly reclaim the truth of being the chosen ones, we soon discover within ourselves a deep desire to reveal to others their own chosenness. Instead of making us feel that we are better, more precious or valuable than others, our awareness of being chosen opens our eyes to the chosenness of others. That is the great joy of being chosen: the discovery that others are chosen as well. In the house of God there are many mansions. There is a place for everyone – a unique, special place. Once we deeply trust that we ourselves are precious in God’s eyes, we are able to recognize the preciousness of others and their unique place in God’s heart.”

Last night watching The Chosen In the Wild With Bear Grylls, we saw Paras Patel who plays Matthew in The Chosen. He shared his own experiences of feeling separate from others when as a child his family moved from India to Florida and he looked nothing like the other kids there. And that had a profound effect upon him that Bear remarked upon, seeing the sadness as he spoke about it. And he was able to bring that vulnerability into his portrayal of Matthew who was an outcast because he, a Jew, was a tax collector for Rome. Patel couldn’t help but wonder if the love we all have for him is due only to the character he portrays. No Paras! I couldn’t help but think about the awful separating children do to other children to exclude that carries over into adulthood in so many ways. And how hurtful that is always. And as Bear pointed out in their conversation, Jesus welcomed everyone! Can we sit with that for a moment? Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ! And watching the joy Bear also saw as Paras talked about the close family that has formed among the cast made me wonder what it will be like in the kingdom when this cast portraying those disciples and Jesus meet the disciples and Jesus they so beautifully portray. I love The Chosen because it has knit together time itself and has brought us in close to what it would have been like to be there when those remarkable events in human history unfolded in real time. And how we need all of that today! The actors bring to life words of Scripture and give flesh and full human emotions to men and women who were no different from us. And that helps us to see what God Himself sees. His children dearly loved from every nation, tribe and tongue then and now and for all eternity.

***JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE – I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong. I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, dear LORD, close to Thee. Through this world of toil and snares, if I falter, LORD, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear LORD, none but Thee. When my feeble life is o’er, time for me will be no more. Guide me gently, safely o’er to Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. Just a closer walk with Thee, grant it, Jesus, is my plea. Daily walking close to Thee, let it be, dear LORD, let it be. “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” 1942.***