vincent uncorked

Secondhand isn’t good enough

Posted on November 19, 2016 by the Corks

I never noticed that Eve never received the command not to eat of the fruit straight from God, but probably from Adam. In Gen 2:16-18 God gave Adam the authority he had before He even made Eve. Adam had already named and ordered things before she was even created, Gen 2:19-22. It makes perfect sense why Satan went to Eve instead of Adam (Gen 3). Its easier to change the mind of someone who has secondhand information instead of first hand experience. God gave the command straight to Adam, and it was his responsibility to tell Eve, because she came later. God wants the husband to be the head of his wife, but He still wants intimacy with them both (1 Cor 11:3,11-12). Satan saw a window of opportunity in this time of discipleship and took it. This is the reason it is so IMPORTANT, KEY, ESSENTIAL, CRUCIAL, NECESSARY for everyone to have an intimate and personal relationship with the Father. We can’t learn everything from others. Sure we can depend on leaders, elders, or pastors in the beginning. But, if we as disciples of Christ don’t make disciples who seek God first and use others as confirmation, then we have created disciples and adorers of ourselves not Jesus. People who depend on us, depend on the flesh and will be easy pickings for the enemy. They will never have a stable walk, and will always be blown by the popular wind of the day and tossed about like a wave in the sea. People have to have to ability to interpret and hear God’s voice thru the scriptures on their own, if not its only a matter of time before they fall or even worse….give up. If we find hand-me-down clothes undesirable, why on earth would we be satisfied with hand-me-down revelation?

Who’s steps to follow?

Posted on January 5, 2016 by the Corks

(Español abajo)

In light of Jacob’s heritage starting with Abram ’til he received the name Israel. (Genesis 11-32)

Footstep I hope none of us today would follow the example of a man living in the flesh who was misleading, deceitful, selfish, showing favoritism, and a thief. Yet so often I hear many saying we need to do what Jacob did and wrestle with God. Why??? This man wrestled with a man, not God. The man could not overcome Jacob in the flesh… where Jacob lived and succeeded in dishonest ways. But that is not where this man’s strength lay. The man had the power to hurt Jacob with just one touch, because the man was a representative of God. The man had the Spirit, and that’s where his strength lay. I’m not sure why so many look at this event from the side of the flesh and not the side of God. He had to complete the promise that He made with Abraham, and had to do it with a sinner… a deceptive, deceitful, selfish, showing favoritism, lying thief. This event was the transformation point where God changed more than Jacob’s name to Israel. He changed the person. What Jacob did was wrong. Where does Jesus say to fight with the Father? Or any other Spirit-filled prophet for that matter? Jacob wanted more and more until he was hurt for life.

Is this what you want? If it is…. continue wrestling with God and let me know who wins.
I hope God blesses you today in His will, not in yours.

Mirrando la herencia de Jacob comenzando con Abram hasta que recibió el nombre de Israel. (Génesis 11-32)

Espero que ninguna de nosotros, en hoy día, seguiríamos el ejemplo de un hombre que vive en el carne y quien es engañoso, mentiroso, egoísta, que muestra favoritismo, y un ladrón. ¿PERO porque? muchas veces escucho como necesitamos hacer lo que hizo Jacob y luchar con Dios??? Esta hombre lucho con un hombre, no Dios. Y el hombre no podría vencer Jacob en el carne… donde vivía Jacob y tenia éxito en maneras deshonestas. La fuerza de este hombre no era en el carne. Pero aun el hombre tenía el poder para lastimar Jacob con solo una toca, porque el hombre era un representante de Dios, el hombre tenía el Espíritu, esto era donde estuvo su fuerza. No se porque la mayoría la gente mirra este evento de la lado de la carne no el lado de Dios. El tenia cumplir la promesa lo que hizo con Abraham, y tenia que hacerlo atreves de un pecador… un engañoso, mentiroso, egoísta, mostrando favoritismo ladrón. Esta evento era el evento de transformación donde Dios cambió mas que el nombre Jacob a Israel. Cambió la persona. Lo que hizo Jacob era malo. Donde dice Jesus para luchar con el Padre? o cualquier otra profeta llena del Espíritu? Jacob quizo mas y mas hasta el estaba lastimado por todo su vida.

Eso es lo que quieres? Si es… siguen luchando con Dios y dime quien va a ganar.

Espero que Dios va a bendecirles hoy día en su voluntad no en tuyo.

Seeing the answers

Posted on December 24, 2015 by the Corks

Many of us desire to have a prayer life that when we ask, we receive. Both Jesus and his servant, James, speak about how we don’t receive because we don’t ask. Then James goes a little deeper talks about asking incorrectly. But what about the times we do ask correctly, believing we will receive, and still nothing?

Could it be: how we do or don’t see things, our impatience, our spiritual blindness, or our point of view?

Think of it through the life of Daniel. In chapter 2, when he couldn’t see, he asked for the interpretation of a dream to save his and his friends’ lives, and received what he asked for that night. In chapter 9 he had to have patience, even though while he was still praying God sent His response. It was, “no, it’s going to be awhile, certain things have to happen.” In chapter 10 he was blinded to what was happening in the spiritual realm while seeking his understanding of a vision. His response wasn’t as immediate because of resistance from the enemy, yet his prayer was still answered. In chapter 6, we can see the same thing, God ALWAYS answers prayers, even if its through a den of lions. But this is where a lot people have problems, even more so than patience….it’s their point of view.

I think many times this passage is overlooked in this aspect- there was an immediate answer. It wasn’t in the sealing of the lions’ mouthes; it was in the protection of Daniel’s integrity and worshiping of God. He was so fervent in his prayer life and so committed, that he sought immediate help from God when it became threatened. Think about the anguish Daniel probably felt. He was a righteous man, not only following God’s laws but also serving the most powerful men on earth that God had established. Remember this wasn’t the first king he served… probably his 4th or 5th (difficult to say exactly). A person in such high position doesn’t last that long by looking out for his own interests. He was faithful to God and his earthly leaders. Remember his first year in captivity? He asked for an exception for his diet so he could be obedient in the eyes of his captors and still follow God’s law. And here he goes again, 60 or so years later, the same predicament- “how do I put God first, but honor the king He established?” Remember, Daniel knew beyond a shadow of a doubt through the visions he had seen that Darius was put in authority over all of the known world by God just as Nebuchadnezzar was. However, this time there was no exceptions, just the completion of the law.

Daniel’s enemies appealed to the king’s pride to push their own agenda, putting a new law into practice for 30 days, saying everyone had to pray to King Darius alone. The consequence for breaking the law was immediate and severe, “thrown into a den of lions.” God’s creativity and wisdom is Las Vegas 011706 023 amazing in the answ
er to Daniel’s request. How better could God of answered Daniel? God allowed Daniel’s enemies/accusers, following their own pride (how ironic?), greed, and impatience, to go and find him on what appears to be the first day. By the end of that day, Daniel fulfilled the consequence by being thrown in the the lions’ den, but without harm. And by the morning of the second day of the 30 day period, he was able to continue his prayers with a clear conscience being obedient to God AND his earthly ruler. Moreover, Daniel’s accusers reaped what they had sown. God allowed the king’s fury to completely destroy all Daniel’s current or future enemies when they and their families received what they intended for Daniel. God was faithful to Daniel because he was faithful to Him.

Let’s face it, not many of us have received God’s responses from angels as Daniel did occasionally. Instead, we receive many of our responses as he did in the lions’ den… through the of events that follow the prayer. We have to learn to interpret them as God intends them, to develop our perspective and point of view seeing it as God allows them. We have to remember WHAT we prayed for, and not focus on how WE want it answered.

Summary: The key in “seeing the answers” lies in James 1:5-8 and Romans 8:28. Daniel knew these promises of God almost a half a millennial before they were written. Remember God always answers the prayers of his children- sometimes it’s delayed by the enemy, sometimes it’s not the answer we were hoping, sometimes it is, but he ALWAYS responds. So I have to look at what happens after I put forth my petitions to see His working and try to understand spiritually what is happening. If your not seeing how God’s answering, seek God more through fasting, reading, more prayer, and meditation, realizing the silence maybe His response. It maybe the time needed to review your standing with your Father.

Daily Application: Increase your faith, believe He will answer, not necessarily how you think, but He will answer. If you don’t believe, why are you asking?

A bit tricky…

Posted on November 17, 2015 by the Corks

Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.’” Isa 43:7

One morning, Juzzie Smith’s harmonica song was in my head, so I listened to it. The Spirit is always faithful to reveal something… despite how odd or off-subject the song maybe.

I felt Him showing me how we can start with something simple- throwing one ball in the air. With practice and experience we begin to do more- two balls, maybe even throwing them behind our back… then some more- three balls… and more- adding a beat… and more still, even if “it’s a bit tricky”- playing harmonica all at the same time.

Lesson: First, we must not get caught up in the struggle, difficulty, repetition, mundane, or even the frustration (if you allow that sort of thing) that could be in the practice, work and/or training. Instead, we must concentrate on the joyful noise unto the Lord (Ps 98:4) we are making, even if it sounds really rough. Remember, we are a living sacrifice, and its in that working it out and doing it, which is our worship (Rom 12:1). Second, if we drop a ball, pick it up laughing at ourselves- if it’s appropriate. Third, we have to concentrate on the voice of our biggest Fan, the Father, because He’s cheering us on. Lastly, start again, do it over until we get it perfect. He enjoys the music we are trying to make with our lives in and for Him.

Application: So smile; start with something simple- reading His Word. Practice; have a quiet time EVERY day, add what you can. Have a healthy prayer life, and enjoy the music you are making unto the Lord in your walk with Him, even when its tricky or difficult. Put into practice what you are reading and what the Spirit is showing you. And when you drop something, when you make a bad decision or fail someone, don’t get discouraged- don’t think that you are no longer worthy to be called His son or daughter. Pick the ball up and try again; make changes if necessary, but don’t quit (Prov 24:16). Remember, your Father is cheering you on- He is walking with and has promised never to leave you (Gen 28:15). This is just practice- in this life we are to learn what ‘making a joyful noise’ is in our worship to Him through taking up our cross every day and denying ourselves with a willing heart (Luke 9:23-25). He’ll tell you when it’s time for the show- when its time to proclaim His name without being ashamed before others so that Jesus won’t be ashamed to say your name before God (Luke 9:26). He will be there in the front row cheering you on with every note you play- seated in the heavens receiving all the glory and praise due Him (Isa 6:1).

Ps 98:4 (KJV): Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

Rom 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Gen 28:15: I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Prov 24:1: for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

Luke 9:23-26: Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Isa 6:1: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

What!?… the same story? Get some new material. Waa, waa, waa…

Posted on May 10, 2015 by the Corks

Purpose: To help get rid of bad attitudes and understand the hope there is in the “Rock of our salvation”

Passage: Numbers 20:1-13

Ponder:

This is the same Bible story as my last blog… how does that make you feel?

Have you ever noticed how bad attitudes are highly contagious and/or extremely draining? You know what I mean. For example, when someone comes to you and begins to complain, nag or talk negatively about someone, something, or some event, and you are not careful you may allow yourself to be infected… jumping on the slam-wagon… or if you CAN resist, after they leave you feel like there is a layer of sludge on you that has to be scraped off… maybe even toxins you have to vomit. If you don’t, you know it will cause you to have a bad attitude all day, focusing only on the negative things.

Should we find comfort in knowing it happened even to the greatest of men, Moses- the friend of God¹? He tried to resist but was unsuccessful. Who can blame him, right? He had a multitude of people come against him complaining and quarreling saying they would be better off dead² than be where they were… not to mention they were at the point of wanting to kill him.³ DO NOT find comfort in it. For it was this very incident Moses, the man inspired by the God to write the Pentateuch, wasn’t allowed to enter the promise land after leading God’s wayward children through the hot, dry desert for 40 looong years. Whoa… why the stiff penalty?

God gave specific instructions to Moses, like usual. He was to speak to the rock,⁵ strike the rock and honor God who was standing right there with him⁴– but he didn’t speak to the rock, he struck the rock twice, and gave the glory to himself and his brother.⁶ Moses’ bad attitude³ caused him to make bad choices; he didn’t follow all of God’s commands. Moses didn’t realize the symbolism he was making. The man who helped establish the Levites as priests and wrote the laws they were to follow, was to strike the rock “once” bringing forth life-giving water to save God’s people from dying in the wilderness. 1400 years later, the relatives of Moses struck and crucified the “Rock⁷” allowing “living water⁸” to flow, saving God’s chosen and all peoples who are lost in the wilderness of sin. The Rock of our salvation has been struck once, the next time He comes… He will be victorious and rein forever more.⁹ We can be assured our eternity is firm in the “Rock of our salvation”¹⁰ So we need to stop the bad attitudes!¹¹ There maybe a high price to pay.

Put in to practice:

Begin recognizing negativity and/or bad attitudes right away and the damage they can do to you and others. Do your best to turn the situation or conversation around, and begin to breath life with your words. If you are not succeeding, remain silent¹² and at least you will not have allowed the virus to spread. Then, as soon as you can, scrape the sludge off and continue being hope and light in a lost and dark world.

Exodus 33:11
Numbers 16:1-38
Exodus 17:4
Exodus 17:6
Numbers 20:8
Numbers 20:10-11
1 Peter 2:6-7
John 4:13-14
2 Sam 22:47
Revelations 11:15
James 3:2, 9-12
Proverbs 17:28

I’m thirsty, and it’s your fault!

Posted on March 17, 2015 by the Corks

Purpose: To help understand the hope there is in the “Living Water.”

desert Passage: Exodus 17:1-7

Ponder:

Have you ever noticed how we can be down right rude, ungrateful, or selfish when we become desperate or discouraged? They subjugate our self-control; we are over taken by stress, worry, and anxiety. No longer is the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control of the Spirit manifested in our lives,¹ but quite the opposite… we have taken our trust in God and thrown it in the sand only to pick up stones of quarreling, grumbling, and complaining, ready to throw them at anyone we can find to blame. Discouragement WILL come into our lives, but it doesn’t have to stay. If it DOES, we are showing how little our faith in God really is. And, if our faith is little, it is extremely difficult to please God.²

Well, the good news is, God doesn’t want our faith to be small. So He always provides a way out.³ Jesus is that way out. Our faith is to be tested to produce perseverance, so the perseverance can make us complete.⁴ He knows what it is to be tested; He knows what is to be tempted; He understands our weaknesses, but He did not sin.⁵ He offers Himself as “living water.” We don’t have to stand in the desert of discouragement or the wilderness of desperation grumbling and quarreling about the thirst we have. We have hope in Christ Jesus. He will quench the thirst if we just believe. He will reach down deep into the well of our soul, restore it, and open a spring of living water so it flows up and out of us.

Passage: John 4:10-13, 7:37-39

Put in to practice:

Begin praising God, constantly.⁶ Thank Him when things are good; thank Him when things are bad.⁷Ask Him for the “living water” so you will never thirst again. And when discouragement and desperation come, you will find they leave faster, and rather you’ll become a source of encouragement to others. You’ll also find you don’t need to toss your trust in the sand and that you never have to pick up the stones of complaining and quarreling. Instead you will be blameless and pure, shining like the stars in the skies. You will be His child.⁸

Galatians 5:22-23
Hebrews 1:6
1 Corinthians 10:13
James 1:2-4
Hebrew 4:15
Psalm 71:8
James 1:2
Philippians 2:14-15

Interceding for the marriage of others…

Posted on February 11, 2015 by the Corks

If you often find yourself

praying for others’ marriages while seeking your Father’s presence in the early morning hours before the sun has risen… interceding and pleading that they would just give it over to God, so He could do what He needs to, hoping, yearning, desiring that they would “get it,” stop arguing, start communicating in a healthy way, truly forgive each other, stop bringing up the past, start trusting each other, or whatever… try sharing this short and simple note this Valentine’s Day after laying them at the throne of God.

WARNING: often the deepness and truth is never grasped. It’s highly recommended to send the endnotes so the Holy Spirit may speak through God’s Word.

“I was praying for you¹ and your marriage² this morning and I felt prompted to say I love you¹ and that I hope that same love³ of God awakens⁴ in you this morning letting you see how God sees you⁵.”

With much love³ for you¹,

(insert your name here)

Endnotes:

¹ you:

meaning both: “…a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh (Gen 2:24, Mat 19:6)

² marriage:

“…what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Mark 10:9, Mat 19:6)

³ love:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you…I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends…” Jesus (John15:9-14)

⁴awaken:

cause to stop sleeping, to make someone aware of something for the first time, come to the realization: “…while he(insert husband’s name here) was sleeping, he took one of the man’s(insert husband’s name here) ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman(insert wife’s name here) from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man(insert husband’s name here) said,

“This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

for she(insert wife’s name here) was taken out of man(insert husband’s name here).” (Gen 2:21-23)

⁵you:

meaning one = both of you = all of Him: “…Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:21-23)

A healthy diet… sounds so New Year’s resolution

Posted on January 13, 2015 by the Corks

Looks good As the New Year came in I encouraged people in my last blog to stop putting things off and began climbing the path God wants you to go. Now that the New Year is well under way, I was hoping to continue the encouragement. With a healthier diet. I came across a not so good diet in my quiet time with my Father. I thought I would share it with you all, to help you try and loose a few pounds of spiritual sludge for this year.

Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them. So now, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. (Jeremiah 9:14-15)

I began to meditate on these verses in Jeremiah… and soon a flood of verses about a healthy diet came to my mind. I began to realize that if I’m not actively seeking God I am seeking what I want… giving my spiritual being a diet for a short lifespan.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty…very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you…for my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink…this is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:35,53,55,58)

…but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

We can’t deny that our spirit needs to eat as well. It’s a part of our being, how we are constructed, and is a parallel to the physical body. We have to eat; we have to drink; we have to rest; we have to exercise. Likewise with our spirit. God gives us everything we need… but He won’t hand feed us, nor do our exercises for us. We have to seek, thirst, and hunger for Him and His righteousness and we will be filled. We have to be actively involved in our relationship with God. If not… as I said earlier, we will be seeking what we want and our spiritual part will be lost, left to scavenge for whatever it can find. Our spirit will began eating a diet of bitterness and poison, that will quickly have an affect on our physical body. It will manifested itself in all sorts of ways. Some scientists have even said bitterness can affect metabolism, immune response and/or organ function.

So I want to you encourage you to realize how sweet the love of God is and how good it tastes to our spirit. Seek Him. Thirst for Him. Hunger for Him. Go on a new diet for this year if you have to… whatever you do, do it daily and see how much your spirit grows.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Mat 5:6)

Obedience likened unto a mountain path…

Posted on December 31, 2014 by the Corks

A little history of this post: I wrote the meditation below and posted it on our hotelcork.wordpress.com blog two years ago this January. When I posted it I said I would be launching this blog in the “near future…” It TOOK me a year and nine months to do that!!! So I am reposting it and updating it to encourage you not to put off that desire or goal you have, because before you know it, too much time will have gone by and it will become a “I wish I would have…” Happy goal setting for next year, if you are into that sort of thing.

Have you ever seen a mountain and said to yourself, “I bet the view from up there is absolutely magnificent and breathtaking…”? I have… and I have been called to climb that mountain. The truth is, we all have been called to something bigger than ourselves, if not, whats the point of living from day to day? Should we not have a relationship, with a God who is bigger than us that calls us to these things that are bigger than ourselves? By relationship I mean a communion between us and Him in the form of listening, sharing, asking, learning, revealing, and receiving a deeper understanding about Him and ourselves. Because how can we make this climb if we aren’t getting to know the one who has asked this of us?

Let’s view the path with the light (Ps 119:105) from what Jesus said in Mat 6. Despite the overall goal of reaching the top to see the view God has for you, we have certain things we need to do on a regular basis: “…when you give to the needy…(v:2), and when you pray…(v:5&6), when they sin against you…(v:14),when you fast…(v:16)” The “when’s” show the things that are expected of the “children of God.” We only need figure out how often to do them and how we will respond to the sins against us. You might say there’s no mentioning of “when” you read God’s Word, but remember what was happening- these people were listening to Jesus, God’s Word in the flesh (Jn 1:1&14). They were already “reading” the only Bible they had because the average person didn’t own a set of scrolls…

Jesus said to pray, “…give us today our daily bread…(v:11)” If He said, “…today our daily…” He implies we are praying everyday. And when He said, “…bread…” please don’t assume this to mean actual food or think this is the reason we say grace before eating… its Jesus Christ Himself (Jn 6:33-35).You will receive exactly what you need for each and everyday if you do this. So “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…don’t worry about tomorrow…each day will have enough trouble of its own. (v:33-34)”

In doing what is expected of us, these “when’s,” is how we place one foot in front of the other during our ascent to reach the view God has for us. We will see less and less of ourselves and more of Him and what His will is for us because we are no longer conforming to the pattern of those around us (Rom 12:2). As we are faithful to these tasks before us, we will reach the summit and be able to see what He wanted for us all this time, to be in His presence. After all, that’s what the climb is all about (Ps 24:3-4): our wills conforming to His, His desires becoming ours, our minds transforming to see and hear what we never have before, and becoming more like Christ, holy- having clean hands and a pure heart. Chuchani summit

I guess there really are only two questions to ask…. “what is my mountain?” and “do I want to see the view?” If you know the answers already and you have begun your ascent, then determine how badly you want to see the view… this will have a direct affect on your efforts and results.

Blessed climbing!

My Prayer from Zephaniah

Posted on December 14, 2014 by the Corks

Zeph 3:9-13 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Zephaniah%203&version=NLT;NTV

As I begun to read this passage I thought, what an awesome declaration by the Lord this is… I am excited to see one day all peoples’ speech purified and praising God. But for now, I will praise God for seeing it within the work the Lord has called me to… I have seen people from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, the US, Colombia, Argentina and more all worshiping together with beautiful words of praise and honor. Then I began to realize this declaration needs to be my personal prayer as well as everyone else’s so that this prophesy comes to fruition. Please pray this with me…

“Purify my speech, oh Lord, so I can worship you properly, bringing me back to Your house where I can present myself as the offering you desire, a living sacrifice. I no longer need to be ashamed of my past, the days I was unfaithful to You, for I no longer want to rebel against You. Remove my arrogance, help me to be humble so I can worship You on Your holy mountain. I trust in Your name. I no longer need to do wrong, lie or deceive. I know you will keep me and guard me so I can eat and sleep in safety, fearing no one. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”