Meet Me In Galilee

Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. 

(Matthew 26:31-35)

Isn't it amazing how well God knows us?  Just as He guaranteed the disciples that they were going to stumble because of Him, "this very night you will all fall away on account of me," He knows that we too will fail Him in our struggle between living devoted to Him and overcoming the powerful pull of sin and desire for self-preservation/control/trusting in ourselves.

What I normally remember from this passage is that Peter disagreed with Jesus and claimed he would never fall away even if everyone else did.  He thought he knew himself better than Jesus did. Jesus doesn't let it go but makes sure that Peter cannot deny his denial when it happens and would be unable to forget Jesus' knowing words. The same goes for all the disciples and with all of us who trust in our own resolve to hang on to Jesus. 

Normally this passage leaves me with thoughts on how the disciples had no idea what they were saying. If they only knew what would happen in the garden. Just look what happens 21 verses later, "Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled." 

But God's grace is revealed in this text in a deeply beautiful way that I never noticed until this morning. Verse 32 says, "But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." In essence Jesus said, you will fall away but here's where you can find me. Meet me in Galilee. 

He knows that though we claim He is Lord, we will all act like we don't know Him. Nevertheless, He longs to put our shattered relationship back together. He invites us to reconcile and reconnect.

Next time your expectations for yourself in your relationship and commitment to Christ totally fail, remember that Jesus still wants you. Let Him be your Hero. Put all your confidence in Him and fall on Him. He will still claim you as His own.

6 Words = To One

What Will You Choose?

Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings pg. 91-93

Singleness of purpose, wholehearted devotion to God, is the condition pointed out by the Saviour’s words. Let the purpose be sincere and unwavering to discern the truth and to obey it at whatever cost, and you will receive divine enlightenment. Real piety begins when all compromise with sin is at an end. Then the language of the heart will be that of the apostle Paul: “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” Philippians 3:13, 14, 8.

But when the eye is blinded by the love of self, there is only darkness. “If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.” It was this fearful darkness that wrapped the Jews in stubborn unbelief, making it impossible for them to appreciate the character and mission of Him who came to save them from their sins.


Yielding to temptation begins in permitting the mind to waver, to be inconstant in your trust in God. If we do not choose to give ourselves fully to God then we are in darkness. When we make any reserve we are leaving open a door through which Satan can enter to lead us astray by his temptations. He knows that if he can obscure our vision, so that the eye of faith cannot see God, there will be no barrier against sin.


The prevalence of a sinful desire shows the delusion of the soul. Every indulgence of that desire strengthens the soul’s aversion to God. In following the path of Satan’s choosing, we are encompassed by the shadows of evil, and every step leads into deeper darkness and increases the blindness of the heart.


The same law obtains in the spiritual as in the natural world. He who abides in darkness will at last lose the power of vision. He is shut in by a deeper than midnight blackness; and to him the brightest noontide can bring no light. He “walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:11. Through persistently cherishing evil, willfully disregarding the pleadings of divine love, the sinner loses the love for good, the desire for God, the very capacity to receive the light of heaven. The invitation of mercy is still full of love, the light is shining as brightly as when it first dawned upon his soul; but the voice falls on deaf ears, the light on blinded eyes.


No soul is ever finally deserted of God, given up to his own ways, so long as there is any hope of his salvation. “Man turns from God, not God from him.” Our heavenly Father follows us with appeals and warnings and assurances of compassion, until further opportunities and privileges would be wholly in vain. The responsibility rests with the sinner. By resisting the Spirit of God today, he prepares the way for a second resistance of light when it comes with mightier power. Thus he passes on from one stage of resistance to another, until at last the light will fail to impress, and he will cease to respond in any measure to the Spirit of God. Then even “the light that is in thee” has become darkness. The very truth we do know has become so perverted as to increase the blindness of the soul.

My Personal Translation of Psalm 147

Psalm 147

Praise the Lord
It’s good to sing to Him about His goodness
It’s enjoyable, a thing of beauty

The Lord has built up His church
He is the one who brings in His people from unknown places

He heals those who are broken inside
He makes safe the causes of that brokenness

He knows how many stars are in the sky
He remembers their names (He was there when they received them)

Our God is amazing and has no lack of power
He knows and understands everything about everything

The Lord not only takes care of the humble, He exalts them
The wicked are cut off from His help (unless they become humble in time of course)

Sing praise to the Lord with exuberant gratitude
Sing praises accompanied by your guitar to God

He’s the cloud Creator
He's the one who waters the earth
The one who dresses the mountains with grass

He provides food for wild animals
He hears the cry of young ravens and is moved

It’s not the strength of horses he delights in (or the greatest help men can employ)
Not the legs, not the best of men's strength

He finds joy in those who fear Him (those who realize who He is)
He delights in those who hope is in His mercy (the same mercy that cares for even obscure animals)

Praise the Lord REACH Philadelphia
Praise Him blessed of the Lord

He is Your defender
He cares for your young

He give You peace among yourselves
And blesses You with the best for your needs

When He gives the word
Time is no obstacle

The beautiful snow is His covering creation
He can cover the ground with frost as well as ashes

He has abundant hail to dish out
Who is His match?

Just as easily He can melt the frigid
Bring the wind and let the waters flow for new life

He has made His word known to us
We know his rules and the consequences of our actions

This is our special privilege as His people
Those without His Word don’t get know what causes what

God has been so good to us!

Sexual Healing

I saw this during summer and was reminded of it today.  I'd say it's worth sharing.  I hope it's memorable, impacting and worth sharing for you too. 

Are You Listening?

“Hiro, are you listening to me??  I asked you a question!”  It was another Monday afternoon and Hiro, my adorable, yet difficult, 4-year-old client was once again giving me a run for my money during our therapy session.  He wasn’t paying attention to anything I was saying and refused to participate in what I had planned.  “How am I supposed to help him with his language problems if he won’t listen to me??” I asked myself in frustration.  Every time I asked him a question, he would talk about a number or a color he noticed hoping that that answer would be sufficient. That was his typical reaction when he didn’t know the answer to something.  Instead of working hard at figuring it out, he blurted out something about numbers or colors, something that he was really good at.  Later during the session, he started getting out of his seat and copying everything that I would say to him.  When he realized that I wasn’t going to back down and let him go off and play Candy Land, he stuck his hand in front of my face and said, “stop talking!”  Was this really happening?  I was literally speechless.  Hiro then looked at me with a serious face, pointed at me with his tiny 4-year-old sized finger and stated, “This One, bad.”  When Hiro forgets my name, which happens every session, he calls me “This One.”  He was calling “This One,” Deanne, bad??  I was hurt, confused, and tremendously disappointed.

The therapy session felt like a complete failure.  All the time I spent carefully planning out the session felt pointless and I wished at that point that Hiro was old enough to understand how much I cared.  How much I wished that he would just pay attention so that I could help him get better.  If Hiro would just pay attention, he would improve very quickly.

Isn’t it the same with us and God?  God knows exactly what areas of our lives need improvement.  He plans out perfect therapy sessions for each of us every day.  Sometimes we show up and sometimes we don’t.  And even if we do, we don’t always pay attention.  We don’t listen to His carefully thought out activities that, we may not always like, but are designed for our improvement and growth.  When we realize that God is challenging us to grow in our weaknesses, we don’t like that it’s hard.  And what we do instead is bust out with our strengths hoping that they will compensate for our weaknesses.  Sometimes we get so fed up that things aren’t going the way we want them to that we stick our hand out in front of God’s face and say, “stop talking!”  And sad to say, we can get so selfish and self-absorbed sometimes that we even forget the name of God.

It makes me smile that God could take this makes-me-want-to-rip-my-hair-out-of-my-head-little-boy, Hiro, to teach me about the true Hero in Heaven, God my Father.  God is the perfect therapist and He has the perfect session planned for you and me everyday.  Let’s pay attention and stop trying to be the heroes of our own lives.

The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10

Deanne Kazumi Snell

The Taylor Street Open House: Worth It for at Least One Young Man

After weeks of planning and publicizing the Taylor Street Open House through flyers and personal invitations in the neighborhood of the location as well as announcements at church the event finally ensued at 11 A.M. April 16, 2011. The REACH Philadelphia Interns and their supporters were organized together, prayed for God’s leading and blessing and they were expectant. The Ministry House sign was freshly set, gospel music was playing into the streets, the scent of freshly prepared vegan sandwiches and other goodies invited passers-bye into the kitchen for food and conversations. Some of our members even went into the streets to bring people into the home but honestly...it was a harder sell than most expected. But that didn’t take away at all from the amazing work that God had for the team to do that day.

The guests who came and the contacts the young adults acquired made all the effort well worth it. One example of those connections is Young Ervine. Shortly after this youth’s entrance he shared with those around the refreshments that he had a hard time trusting people but that he felt safe in the Ministry House for some reason. He’s already had Bible studies since the open house and is extremely interested in more. Though we weren’t overwhelmed with more attendees than we could accommodate, it is overwhelming to realize how God uses our humble efforts to bring in a harvest for His kingdom. Luke 15:7 NLT states, “heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!"

                       This is the Taylor Street Ministry House before the sign was added.