This is why I love "The Chosen".....these events, like the one Pastor Adrian just described, are not only words on the page, or a story someone is telling you.....but something you get to watch in "real time" being played out, just as the Bible describes. Now I can't wait for the resurrection to take place so I can watch Mary encounter Him afterwards.
And I do remember Jesus calling me by name....vividly. It was in 2021 and it was during a Christmas sermon in the Journey Church...and I was changed forever. I re-live that moment frequently.
Really Adrian? You seem good with names. It must not be often that you forget, but you have an awful lot of names to remember and it's rapidly increasing. It is a special feeling when people remember your name and even more special if they know your name before you tell them, which is what happened when I introduced myself to your wife maybe 2 or 3 months after I had started attending Journey Church. As i told her my name, she said, "I know your name." I was quite surprised because I had never met her and didn't think more than a handful of people knew my name. There have been several times in my life when I have felt invisible. So I know the difference and there is such an attitude of concern for other people in this church that I know many more lives are going to be reached and touched. It reminds me of that expression: "People don't care how much you know till they know how much you care." And I have thought about that scene many times where Mary being crushed by the torture and death of Jesus, probably couldn't hardly see through the tears in her eyes and came looking for Him not recognizing Him right away. And I wonder how many times Jesus is calling us, but we don't hear Him or recognize Him or His voice. Similar to your camp experience of hearing Jesus call your name when you were young, I remember the first time hearing the Lord call me when I was 6 years old at a Vacation Bible School. When the day was done, I walked up to a woman who was a missionary and asked her how I could know Jesus and she prayed with me and it was a very vivid and memorable event for me. Even though my father was a pastor and I had already learned to read through the King James version, I had never asked Jesus to be my Lord and Saviour.
And yes, Mike, I love "The Chosen" also. It is so powerful when they show Jesus knowing people's names and hearts. The episode of the woman at the well so clearly illustrated that.
Forgive me, but I must say a bit more. After your words about Jesus calling our name and Mike reminding me of "The Chosen" where Jesus calls people's names, I sought to hear the Lord call my name again as He does in His special way and I typed out a prayer as it came to me and I am thinking I should share it with others whose hearts might be touched by it.
Call my name again, my Lord
Speak to me; let the sound of Your voice flood my soul,
for You are my strength and my Redeemer.
Be to me as the winter rain which pours relentlessly,
nourishing the forests, running down from the mountains to the sea.
Be not far from me, for away from You my soul shall starve
and surely die of thirst as a stumbling and blind wanderer in the desert.
Speak to me again my Lord, saturate my soul with Your Holy Spirit,
For then I shall hear and know the way through this wasteland
Amongst the crowds lost in the darkness of desolation
And with eyes wide-opened and Your Light, lighting my path
I can help those also in need, those lost in this world’s darkness and despair.
Make my life a shining beacon of light and hope that I may lend a hand to the blind.
To lead them to safety from the ravages of the poisons and seductions of this world.
Put healing words in my mind and mouth to speak light and life to broken hearts and lost souls.
You are my Redeemer, the waterer of my soul, my Saviour, my God in whom I trust.
Call my name again my Lord, this day and everyday forevermore.
Noel, that's BEAUTIFUL! In fact, as I was reading it, I somehow dismissed the fact that you authored it and was getting ready to ask you where you found such a beautiful prayer. So I went back to your comments and saw that you wrote it. Very moving and inspiring. I'm glad you shared it, and I absolutely don't forgive you for "saying a bit more".....I thank you!!
4 Comments
This is why I love "The Chosen".....these events, like the one Pastor Adrian just described, are not only words on the page, or a story someone is telling you.....but something you get to watch in "real time" being played out, just as the Bible describes. Now I can't wait for the resurrection to take place so I can watch Mary encounter Him afterwards.
And I do remember Jesus calling me by name....vividly. It was in 2021 and it was during a Christmas sermon in the Journey Church...and I was changed forever. I re-live that moment frequently.
Really Adrian? You seem good with names. It must not be often that you forget, but you have an awful lot of names to remember and it's rapidly increasing. It is a special feeling when people remember your name and even more special if they know your name before you tell them, which is what happened when I introduced myself to your wife maybe 2 or 3 months after I had started attending Journey Church. As i told her my name, she said, "I know your name." I was quite surprised because I had never met her and didn't think more than a handful of people knew my name. There have been several times in my life when I have felt invisible. So I know the difference and there is such an attitude of concern for other people in this church that I know many more lives are going to be reached and touched. It reminds me of that expression: "People don't care how much you know till they know how much you care." And I have thought about that scene many times where Mary being crushed by the torture and death of Jesus, probably couldn't hardly see through the tears in her eyes and came looking for Him not recognizing Him right away. And I wonder how many times Jesus is calling us, but we don't hear Him or recognize Him or His voice. Similar to your camp experience of hearing Jesus call your name when you were young, I remember the first time hearing the Lord call me when I was 6 years old at a Vacation Bible School. When the day was done, I walked up to a woman who was a missionary and asked her how I could know Jesus and she prayed with me and it was a very vivid and memorable event for me. Even though my father was a pastor and I had already learned to read through the King James version, I had never asked Jesus to be my Lord and Saviour.
And yes, Mike, I love "The Chosen" also. It is so powerful when they show Jesus knowing people's names and hearts. The episode of the woman at the well so clearly illustrated that.
Forgive me, but I must say a bit more. After your words about Jesus calling our name and Mike reminding me of "The Chosen" where Jesus calls people's names, I sought to hear the Lord call my name again as He does in His special way and I typed out a prayer as it came to me and I am thinking I should share it with others whose hearts might be touched by it.
Call my name again, my Lord
Speak to me; let the sound of Your voice flood my soul,
for You are my strength and my Redeemer.
Be to me as the winter rain which pours relentlessly,
nourishing the forests, running down from the mountains to the sea.
Be not far from me, for away from You my soul shall starve
and surely die of thirst as a stumbling and blind wanderer in the desert.
Speak to me again my Lord, saturate my soul with Your Holy Spirit,
For then I shall hear and know the way through this wasteland
Amongst the crowds lost in the darkness of desolation
And with eyes wide-opened and Your Light, lighting my path
I can help those also in need, those lost in this world’s darkness and despair.
Make my life a shining beacon of light and hope that I may lend a hand to the blind.
To lead them to safety from the ravages of the poisons and seductions of this world.
Put healing words in my mind and mouth to speak light and life to broken hearts and lost souls.
You are my Redeemer, the waterer of my soul, my Saviour, my God in whom I trust.
Call my name again my Lord, this day and everyday forevermore.
A prayer of Noel LaChance on March 27, 2024
Noel, that's BEAUTIFUL! In fact, as I was reading it, I somehow dismissed the fact that you authored it and was getting ready to ask you where you found such a beautiful prayer. So I went back to your comments and saw that you wrote it. Very moving and inspiring. I'm glad you shared it, and I absolutely don't forgive you for "saying a bit more".....I thank you!!