Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

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Rejoicing in Rescue

December 12, 2024 by Ellen Leave a Comment

The haunting melodic chant washed over me. Lyrics slowly told the story of people mourning in captivity and exile. How could this be a Christmas hymn? It didn’t seem joyful at all. But then…the refrain burst forth:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

Although the melody may have a disquieting effect on you, in reality, this is a hymn of hope. The mourning exiles would be ransomed. Immanuel would free them from captivity by paying a price.

 Haven’t we all felt like exiles and captives, even at this most joyous time of year? We’re held captive by demands on our time and by the expectations of others. Sadly, many of us are exiled and estranged from family. So often, though He freed us with His blood, we are still slaves to our sins. But Jesus. He redeems and ransoms us from our captivity to sin.

O come, O come, Immanuel,  

and ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lonely exile here

until the Son of God appears.

Jesus, Immanuel, God with us will do the same for us. One day soon, He will come to rescue us from this earth and bring us home to Him. One day the messiness of this earthly life will be completely and perfectly redeemed. By Immanuel.

O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem,

unto your own and rescue them!  

From depths of hell your people save,

and give them victory o’er the grave. 

O come, O Key of David, come

and open wide our heavenly home.

Make safe for us the heavenward road

and bar the way to death’s abode. 

We are exiles here, longing for home. But we can rejoice today and every day because we are redeemed, ransomed, and rescued by the blood of Jesus. And one day soon, we’ll be Home for Christmas.

For His Glory,

 

 

Want to know more about being an exile? Grab a copy of my book, Longing to Belong-Filling the Longings of Our Hearts with the Hope of Home.

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Are You Thirsty?

March 15, 2018 by Ellen 6 Comments

It is a blogger’s dilemma: I have this wonderful picture of a classic drinking fountain. I took it last summer in Savannah. Love it! Want to use it on the blog! But how?

The answer came at a home prayer meeting we had this week. I can see your eyebrows raised with the silent question “How on earth does a home prayer meeting relate to a drinking fountain?”

Well, let me tell you…

We’re having a revival with a guest speaker in our church March 25-28 (Y’all come if you are in the New Iberia area!). In preparation, we’re gathering and praying for revival in our hearts and in our community.

One important aspect of revival is repentance, which is a change of mind that results in a change of action. It’s a genuine regret over our sin and behavior.

Ok, so…repentance and an old fashioned drinking fountain. Ellen, help me make the connection!

Yay! I thought you’d never ask!

Sometimes, deep, down inside, we may hesitate to give up that old, sinful habit. Maybe it’s comfortable. Maybe it’s all we’ve known. Maybe, just maybe, we wonder what will fill us? What will replace that emptiness, that longing, that thirst we have?

Well, now. Jesus tells us many times: He will!

John 7:37 “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”

John 4:14 “Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst.”

John 6:35 “He who comes to Me will not hunger and he who believes in Me will not thirst.”

Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

Jesus is the water of life. That longing and desire for whatever we turned from, can be filled with Jesus. With Him, we’ll never thirst again.

Come to Jesus. Come thirsty. Drink His living water. Be filled. Be satisfied. Never thirst again.

Grace be with you,

 

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Welcome!

Torrential rains had been pelting us for weeks. With the rains came weeds growing tall in the flower beds. But I noticed other new growth, too. It wasn’t colorful flowers. It was teeny, tiny little oak trees! Squirrels had been working hard, burying food for later. The rains had soaked and softened … Read More...

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