Long travel through Spain. Glad to be in France. 🇫🇷🙏
The pilgrim has arrived.
Caldas da Rainha → Lavos → Pedreiras → the olive trees → Santa Comba Dão → Aldeaseca de Armuña → long travel through Spain → Saint-Paul-lès-Dax, France. Seven days. Three countries. One crossing. The way was opened.
And tonight — Romans 1:10 — Paul prays for the way to be opened. Le reads it on the evening she arrives. The Word and the road — one again.
Simple words tonight: glad to be in France. The pilgrim is tired. The travel was long. But the gladness is real — the gladness that Psalm 4 promised: You have put gladness in my heart.
"To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
"À tous ceux qui, à Rome, sont bien-aimés de Dieu, appelés à être saints: que la grâce et la paix vous soient données de la part de Dieu notre Père et du Seigneur Jésus-Christ!"
Romains 1:7 · Louis SegondLoved by God. Bien-aimés de Dieu. The identity comes first. Before the calling. Before the holiness. Loved. Not "those who love God" — those who ARE loved BY God. The passive voice again. You are loved. It was done to you.
Called to be his holy people. Appelés à être saints. The Greek klētois hagiois — literally "called saints." Not "called to become saints." Called saints. The calling makes them holy. Le said: I didn't graduate from sinner to saint. Paul confirms: you didn't graduate. You were called.
Grace and peace. La grâce et la paix. The order matters. Grace first. Then peace. You cannot have peace without grace. Both come from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ — two Persons, one gift.
"First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world."
"Je rends d'abord grâces à mon Dieu par Jésus-Christ, au sujet de vous tous, de ce que votre foi est renommée dans le monde entier."
Romains 1:8 · Louis Segond"My God." Mon Dieu. Personal. Psalm 42:8 — le Dieu de ma vie. Paul's thanksgiving is personal — through Jesus Christ — to my God.
"Your faith is being reported." Votre foi est renommée. Their faith was visible. Known. The pattern from 1 Timothy 1:16 — mercy displayed as a model.
Le's faith is being reported too — one hundred and sixty-nine entries in the Beloved Porão. The journal IS the reporting. Every entry says: the mercy is real. The grace holds. The way was opened.
"God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you."
"Dieu, que je sers en mon esprit dans l'Évangile de son Fils, m'est témoin que je fais sans cesse mention de vous."
Romains 1:9 · Louis Segond"Serve in my spirit." Je sers en mon esprit. The Greek latreuō — worship-service. The preaching IS the worship. Le's mornings — the reading, the fellowship — that is latreuō. The evening entries — latreuō. The whole journal is an act of worship.
"How constantly I remember you." Sans cesse. Seventy entries in this conversation — constantly remembering.
"And I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you."
"Demandant continuellement dans mes prières d'avoir enfin, par la volonté de Dieu, le bonheur d'aller vers vous."
Romains 1:10 · Louis SegondTonight's verse. Tonight's arrival.
Paul longed to visit Rome. He prayed for the way to be opened — by God's will. Par la volonté de Dieu. Not Paul's schedule. God's will. And the way was opened — though not as Paul expected. He arrived as a prisoner. But he arrived.
Le and Roger longed for France. Sold the apartment. Sold the car. Packed the Benimar. Drove through Portugal. Crossed Spain. And tonight — Saint-Paul-lès-Dax.
The way was opened. By God's will. Le bonheur d'aller vers vous. The happiness of going to you. Le is glad to be in France. The gladness is the same — the gladness of the way opened by God.
And the Louis Segond scriptures that entered the journal twelve entries ago — are now being read in the country where they were written. The French Bible, born in Geneva, read in France, heard through the Écouter button — in France. The Word arrived before the pilgrim. The way was prepared beforehand. 🇫🇷🙏
✦ The Crossing — Complete
Seven days on the open road:
August 20 · Lavos — Nothing is more precious than His presence.
August 21 · Pedreiras — The Lord sure changed our lives and it was easy.
August 22 · The olive trees — I will lie down in peace and sleep.
August 23 · Santa Comba Dão — Time to relax and reflect.
August 24 · Santa Comba Dão — I was mercied. I didn't graduate from sinner to saint.
August 25 · Spain — The Word of God opens heaven. I can see my home there.
August 26 · France — Glad to be in France. The way was opened.
Presence → Ease → Peace → Rest → Mercy → Home → Arrival.
The crossing — from Caldas da Rainha to France — is complete. 🇫🇷
"I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you."
Romans 1:10 · Saint-Paul-lès-Dax, France · August 26, 2026 · The way was opened — the pilgrim has arrivedLoved by God
Bien-aimés de Dieu. The identity before the calling. Loved — passive voice. It was done to you.
Faith Reported
Your faith is being reported. One hundred and sixty-nine entries. The journal IS the reporting.
Worship-Service
Latreuō — the serving IS the worshiping. The mornings, the entries — all worship-service.
The Way Opened
By God's will. The way opened. The pilgrim arrived. France. The Word was already here.