And if any place

   will not receive you

and they will not

         listen to you,

when you leave,

shake off the dust

that is on your feet

as a testimony against them.

               Mark 6. 11

(God does not call us

        to be popular

        or achieve success,

        win the struggle,

        or gain accolades,

but to be faithful

and bring His name there,

  no matter where we are,

  no matter among whom.

Whether others accept us

            or accept God

     does not define us

     nor limit God's power.

We need not feel failure

          but compassion.

Many people did not even

       listen to Jesus.

But God's Word

            always bears fruit

       in unexpected ways

   and among unlikely people.

   God radically transforms

               the landscape

   and plants a forest of sequoias

     through tiny seeds

                   of faithfulness.

Even in what we cannot yet see.)

O LORD,

We walk through and abide in

places that only appear barren.

But You see something different

    and always have deeper plans.

Help us to be faithful,

not looking for others' acceptance,

but seeking to accept them

      and welcome others

           right into Your Kingdom.

We cannot change hearts,

              but You can.

      Even ours.

Show us the way of faithfulness

   in whatever we do today

and know You are already

       bearing fruit through it.

May we follow You,

  even in what we don't yet understand.