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"I
should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I
came as near the central idea of the occasion in
two hours, as you did in two minutes."
So
wrote the famous orator Edward Everett to
Abraham Lincoln, after they spoke at an 1863
dedication. Everett's speech has faded to a
footnote, but Lincoln's concise eloquence became
a national treasure—the Gettysburg Address.
Today, God boldly calls with a briefer speech:
Arise! Shine!
For
two weeks, I tested God's speech in daily life,
good moments and bad. Arise, I reminded myself.
Shine!
My
outlook changed. Everything about our faith
seemed more intimately entwined than ever
before—forgiveness, hope, peace, encouragement,
and the assurance that God will provide.
Arise! Shine!
I
have an in-law in the Mitchellville women's
prison. The state put her there, against her
family's will and logic, for 50 years. An inmate
friend of hers, now released, married and
thriving, wrote:
"[Heidi] once gave me a card and called me one
of God's people. I will never forget that.
People were calling me a lot of things in that
time period, and one of God's people wasn't one
of them!"
Arise, you captured. Arise, you complacent.
This
is your invited moment to shine! |