Scripture, from beginning to end, is woven with imagery to help us connect all its events and teachings to God’s ultimate purpose and plan: that of redeeming us to Himself. Here’s a great example. We read about Moses’ brother, Aaron, being appointed and anointed as the first high priest (Exodus 28:1). His job, as wellContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: High Priestly Prayer”
Author Archives: Shelley Linn Johnson
Embrace Prayer: Abandonment Prayer
There’s a marvel of twenty-first century technology that I’m thankful for everyday – the one that leaves us wondering how we ever found our way anywhere without it. I feel acute gratitude for my GPS as I navigate our new city and state because I know where nothing is. Even back in Texas, where we’dContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: Abandonment Prayer”
Embrace Prayer: Forsakenness Prayer
Christ is risen!!He is risen indeed! We’ve spent the week immersing ourselves in the stories of Jesus’ final days on earth, and if we’ve read the words written in the Gospels with any sort of openness, emotions have run high – shock and surprise, anger and angst, grief upon grief. Our feelings might be sourcedContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: Forsakenness Prayer”
Embrace Prayer: Forgiveness Prayer
Today marks the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey, hailed as the Savior of Israel. Coats lined the road. Palms waved overhead. Shouts of “hosanna” rose in the air. This ‘triumphal entry’ of Jesus was His intentional, public pronouncement of Kingship; He finally and fully claimed His Messianic title and role.1 ContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: Forgiveness Prayer”
Embrace Prayer: Gethsemane Prayer
From the moment Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, everything heightens – the awe of the crowds, the anticipation of the disciples, the anger of the Jewish leaders. Where Jesus once tried to fly under the radar so as not to draw attention to Himself (too soon), He steps into the full spotlight in BethanyContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: Gethsemane Prayer”
Embrace Prayer: Glory Prayer
This is the third Lent that I’ve let go of tuning into TV as ‘normal’ and watched The Chosen instead. This year I’ll add Season Four to my viewing repertoire, which builds my anticipation, even my anxiety, of knowing we’re getting closer and closer to the cross. In fact Season Five releases just in timeContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: Glory Prayer”
Embrace Prayer: Lazarus Prayer
In a small group setting, I once confessed the way I struggled emotionally with the time God called me to gather others to pray for the healing of a dying friend, and I did – yet he still died. A well-meaning person in the group confidently, yet wrongly, told me that I had not prayedContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: Lazarus Prayer”
Embrace Prayer: The Great Reversal
It’s so humbling when a child sees a situation for what it is – and we miss it. I think of the time one of my boys saw someone with clearer vision than I. I had let pride keep me from seeing the goodness in her while my son saw her though childlike eyes. HeContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: The Great Reversal”
Embrace Prayer: Teach Us to Pray
Years ago I had the great honor of co-leading a class about worship and prayer alongside our Associate Pastor. As one who has had a mostly ongoing conversation with God for big chunks of my life, I admit my inability to answer the question we got the most frequently in that class: Why should weContinueContinue reading “Embrace Prayer: Teach Us to Pray”
Embrace Faith: Word and Spirit
When I think of two things that go together, peas and carrots come to mind. Not because I like them, but because Forrest Gump thought he and Jenny went together really well – like peas and carrots. To follow the love story of Forrest and Jenny, we recognize quickly they’re very different – male/female, wellContinueContinue reading “Embrace Faith: Word and Spirit”