What Every Heart Needs J. Marshall Jenkins Every heart needs a witness: hidden enough as it is, it needs to be known, cannot remain invisible, yet it can only be seen by its own. Every heart needs tears lest it shrivel and harden like a forgotten raisin...
Don’t rely too much on what you know. Unknowing may save your life. Read on to see what I mean…
Heart Like an Oyster J. Marshall Jenkins Your heart is no mere blue thistle surprise on an altar with lilacs, lilies, and leaves, all of which will die soon after the church service ends. No, your heart is an oyster among oysters resting on coral and sharp...
Taking Wind As Love J. Marshall Jenkins I remember the wind that caressed my brow when I could not yet walk well. Sitting in the stroller in hot, sticky Montgomery, I watched the air until it moved, which I took as love without hands, without a face, without words,...
The Formerly Blind Man Remembers (poem) by J. Marshall Jenkins “Tell no one,” he insisted after spitting on dust and rubbing the mud in my eyes until I saw, before anything else, his face. Now I understand: Time ripens like a fig, does no good plucked too soon, no...
The Denial “Woman, I know him not,” Peter replied on behalf of us all. Give him credit: He did not altogether lie. Who then could claim to know Christ? Time and again he worked wonders and forbade the healed to tell, a futile command, true, but to our eyes, it...
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). The blessing, to “see God,” and the virtue, purity of heart, need each other. For the desire to see God is the fire that purifies the heart. In this sense, the Beatitude says, blessed are those who...
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For...
"Lord, teach us to pray."He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come....
On preparing your heart to see and hear as Isaiah did.
Blessed are the merciful, for the will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:7-8). The following is the text of a sermon delivered at North Broad Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia on October 10, 2021 Sermon Text: Mark 10:17-31...
When I see your face, whether on earth or in heaven, I want to look into your eyes and see the face of God.