It doesn't take much to shake me. Throw one hiccup into my well-laid plans. Give me one extra phone call or text. Or tweak the hormones just a bit. And I am reduced to a bucket of tears, or Grumpy Bear (our code name for when I am being unreasonably touchy). Today was kind of one of those days... In fact, it's been one of those shake-me-up kind of weeks.
As I was cooking supper, I was listening to Seeds Family Worship. I love their stuff because it is just Scripture verses set to fun, catchy music! And I heard the song "Never be Shaken" from Psalm 62. I had noticed a very interesting progression in that Psalm some time back.
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalms 62:1-2
The Psalmist, like me, is shakeable. Circumstances in life make me question the goodness or faithfulness or power of my God. From the trivial to the life-altering, I am shakeable. But my Rock is not.
How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
Psalms 62:3-6
Do you see the word that is absent the second go-round? Because God is my rock, and my salvation, and my fortress, and because He is not shakeable, I will not be shaken. Or as Psalm 37 puts it:
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
Psalms 37:23-24
So rest in the Rock today.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
From a Know-It-All
When I was a kid, I always (well, almost always) knew the answers, whether it was Sunday school, public school, or the questions that my parents asked my siblings. (Hey, I'm an eldest child!) If I were a book character, I would be Hermione Granger (or Jane Austen's Emma-- or maybe some bizarre combination of the two!). Apparently I still have lots of answers, because I was taking one of those silly online quizzes the other day and when the question came up, "What's your character flaw?" My Crew (who were looking over my shoulder) all said, "know-it-all". Ouch! I thought I'd outgrown that one a little bit...
So I've been pondering that for a few days. Being a know-it-all can be a fatal flaw. One thing that tends to grow out of thinking you know most, (or all, or even many) of the answers can be arrogance, and an attitude of superiority. This is BAD. Also, and sometimes more to the know-it-all's detriment, is the tendency to not listen to wise counsel. I thought back, just over the last ten years or so, and quickly came up with half a dozen instances where I was offered wise counsel, but refused to listen. And I was reminded of the fool in Proverbs. Yep, that's me. =(
A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
Proverbs 13:1
A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
Proverbs 15:5
The good news is that I don't have to remain a fool. =)
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.
Proverbs 1:20-23
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
So I've been pondering that for a few days. Being a know-it-all can be a fatal flaw. One thing that tends to grow out of thinking you know most, (or all, or even many) of the answers can be arrogance, and an attitude of superiority. This is BAD. Also, and sometimes more to the know-it-all's detriment, is the tendency to not listen to wise counsel. I thought back, just over the last ten years or so, and quickly came up with half a dozen instances where I was offered wise counsel, but refused to listen. And I was reminded of the fool in Proverbs. Yep, that's me. =(
A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
Proverbs 13:1
A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
Proverbs 15:5
The good news is that I don't have to remain a fool. =)
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.
Proverbs 1:20-23
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
Monday, February 24, 2014
Little by Little
Every house I can remember living in has been a work in progress. When I was a kid, that meant learning how to DIY from my Daddy. As an adult that has meant prioritizing what project comes first and later, and when is the right time to begin. I've been thinking for a while about the nature of remodeling on a sometimes squeaky budget. The result is little by little.
We looked at several houses in our search for the one that would fit our needs. The one we chose didn't look or feel (or smell! ;)) like "ours" the first time we walked in... or the day we moved in... or even a month later! (Although by a month later, it was getting better.) But little by little, over the last ten months, I've changed things, and cleaned things, and ripped out carpet, and added new little things. And the more that I work on it, the more it feels like home. Little by little.
It is the same way in the walk of faith. When the Holy Spirit first "moves in", our life doesn't look holy (set apart for God). There is sin and filth and stink. But little by little, as we spend time in the Word, and prayer, and fellowship with other believers, He makes us "look" more like Christ. He exchanges the sin for love, the filth for faith, and the stink for a fragrance that draws others to Himself. I don't believe that we will ever be fully free from our sin in this life, but as we walk with Him, we are being prepared for eternity with our God. Little by little.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
We looked at several houses in our search for the one that would fit our needs. The one we chose didn't look or feel (or smell! ;)) like "ours" the first time we walked in... or the day we moved in... or even a month later! (Although by a month later, it was getting better.) But little by little, over the last ten months, I've changed things, and cleaned things, and ripped out carpet, and added new little things. And the more that I work on it, the more it feels like home. Little by little.
It is the same way in the walk of faith. When the Holy Spirit first "moves in", our life doesn't look holy (set apart for God). There is sin and filth and stink. But little by little, as we spend time in the Word, and prayer, and fellowship with other believers, He makes us "look" more like Christ. He exchanges the sin for love, the filth for faith, and the stink for a fragrance that draws others to Himself. I don't believe that we will ever be fully free from our sin in this life, but as we walk with Him, we are being prepared for eternity with our God. Little by little.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Friday, February 21, 2014
Baby Fat
What is cuter than a fat, smiling baby? I mean, seriously, all those giggles and dimples and squishiness? Babies are supposed to have a good amount of fat on them for the growth that will continue exploding through their little frames. I was talking about this recently with my sister. And she mentioned that, in her career, she has told her co-workers, "Babies are allowed to be fat." Namely, that young members in that field will not know things.
I've made it almost all the way through Numbers in my devotions, and I noticed the "babies" (the fledgling nation of Israel) being "allowed" to be fat. In Exodus, God delivers them from slavery in Egypt by His mighty hand, and leads them to the Red Sea. But Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues them. When they are cornered, they cry out, "What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?" And they are not reprimanded. Instead God parts the Sea and miraculously delivers them from Pharaoh and his army. Then just a couple chapters later, they get to a place with bitter water. Imagine walking through the heat and dust of the desert, then arriving at an oasis, only to find that the water is undrinkable. So the Israelites grumbled. Again they are not reprimanded, and God fixes the water. Later they complain that they are hungry. God responds, not with a rebuke as we'd expect, (After all, this is the third time in just a couple months that they have complained about God's care-- or lack thereof-- for them.) but He sends them manna. And again, as they continued to wander through the wilderness, when they complain of their thirst, God provides water from a rock. It is not until their continued unbelief leads them to make and worship the golden calf that God punishes them. However, in Numbers their unbelief and grumbling are consistently met with chastisement. Plagues, fire from heaven, the earth opening and swallowing up whole groups of people, serpents. It's as though God is saying, "You are not babies anymore! Grow up!"
So if you are a baby in the faith, be encouraged that God will display His faithfulness to you to help you to grow. Pray, read the Word, be engaged and involved in a local gospel-centered church, and GROW! And if you are NOT a baby in the faith, please don't act like one. Remember God's faithfulness! Pray! Read the Word! Be engaged and involved in a local gospel-centered church! AND GROW UP!
(And just for the record, I've been so convicted as I've been reading this about how often I grumble. And refuse to "act my age". And in short, act JUST LIKE the Israelites did, in spite of the fact that I have the indwelling Spirit. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58)
"To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."
Isaiah 28:9-10
About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:11-14
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
1 Peter 2:1-3
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16
I've made it almost all the way through Numbers in my devotions, and I noticed the "babies" (the fledgling nation of Israel) being "allowed" to be fat. In Exodus, God delivers them from slavery in Egypt by His mighty hand, and leads them to the Red Sea. But Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues them. When they are cornered, they cry out, "What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?" And they are not reprimanded. Instead God parts the Sea and miraculously delivers them from Pharaoh and his army. Then just a couple chapters later, they get to a place with bitter water. Imagine walking through the heat and dust of the desert, then arriving at an oasis, only to find that the water is undrinkable. So the Israelites grumbled. Again they are not reprimanded, and God fixes the water. Later they complain that they are hungry. God responds, not with a rebuke as we'd expect, (After all, this is the third time in just a couple months that they have complained about God's care-- or lack thereof-- for them.) but He sends them manna. And again, as they continued to wander through the wilderness, when they complain of their thirst, God provides water from a rock. It is not until their continued unbelief leads them to make and worship the golden calf that God punishes them. However, in Numbers their unbelief and grumbling are consistently met with chastisement. Plagues, fire from heaven, the earth opening and swallowing up whole groups of people, serpents. It's as though God is saying, "You are not babies anymore! Grow up!"
So if you are a baby in the faith, be encouraged that God will display His faithfulness to you to help you to grow. Pray, read the Word, be engaged and involved in a local gospel-centered church, and GROW! And if you are NOT a baby in the faith, please don't act like one. Remember God's faithfulness! Pray! Read the Word! Be engaged and involved in a local gospel-centered church! AND GROW UP!
(And just for the record, I've been so convicted as I've been reading this about how often I grumble. And refuse to "act my age". And in short, act JUST LIKE the Israelites did, in spite of the fact that I have the indwelling Spirit. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58)
"To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."
Isaiah 28:9-10
About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:11-14
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
1 Peter 2:1-3
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Song of the Day- 15
I was blessed to be born to, and raised by, Christian parents. They worked hard to teach my siblings and me right from wrong. They sacrificed in every area of their lives to do what they believed was best for us. And I embraced their faith as my own from a very early age. God in His grace preserved me from so many kinds of sin. And I am thankful. But it is so easy for that thankfulness to turn into arrogance. To think, "Well, I've never done THAT."
Do you know, Christian, that every variety of sin is equally detrimental to your soul? Do you really believe that every sin deserves the wrath of God? Every. Single. Sin. Do you realize that any time you are delivered from any kind of temptation or sin, it is a miraculous event? Each and every time you choose to obey God in faith, it is chipping away at your sin nature. And changing a nature is a miracle! Which reminded me of this song that I learned when I was very young. =)
I Know What Jesus Did For Me
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:14-18
Do you know, Christian, that every variety of sin is equally detrimental to your soul? Do you really believe that every sin deserves the wrath of God? Every. Single. Sin. Do you realize that any time you are delivered from any kind of temptation or sin, it is a miraculous event? Each and every time you choose to obey God in faith, it is chipping away at your sin nature. And changing a nature is a miracle! Which reminded me of this song that I learned when I was very young. =)
I Know What Jesus Did For Me
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:14-18
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Nuggets
One of my girls is studying "recent" American history this year. Just before Christmas she spent a week studying the California Gold Rush. The facts about the Gold Rush are absolutely fascinating. We learned that over the course of eight years, the gold that was found was worth some $500,000,000! More surprising than this, though, is the fact that very few prospectors ended up even reasonably wealthy. Most wasted their rich profits and died poor. I became curious about the average size of a gold nugget, so I searched the internet. (Not always the best source of information, I know. ;)) I found lots of information about the "largest" specimens, and the "first" nuggets, but very little about the "average" size. I did finally discover that the average gold nugget weighs less than one ounce. Even though gold is intrinsically quite valuable, at that size it would take quite a bit to get rich.
I've been thinking this week about the "nuggets" of truth that I'm gathering from Scripture. I've been picking away at the Scriptures for nearly two decades, and I consistently turn up new "nuggets". But like the average gold nugget, you won't get the richness in your spiritual life if you're only picking up a nugget here and there during sermons. However, if you pick and pan at the passages of Scripture consistently, over a lifetime you will acquire riches of wisdom far beyond your imagination! And that is wealth worth pursuing!
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Ephesians 1:16-21
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:1-3
I've been thinking this week about the "nuggets" of truth that I'm gathering from Scripture. I've been picking away at the Scriptures for nearly two decades, and I consistently turn up new "nuggets". But like the average gold nugget, you won't get the richness in your spiritual life if you're only picking up a nugget here and there during sermons. However, if you pick and pan at the passages of Scripture consistently, over a lifetime you will acquire riches of wisdom far beyond your imagination! And that is wealth worth pursuing!
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Ephesians 1:16-21
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:1-3
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Axis
axis: a central or principle structure, about which something turns or is arranged
I've started trying to read through the Bible in a year again. (I'm a bit behind, but hoping to catch up...) And I've noticed something that is not really new to me, but continues to amaze me nevertheless. The Old Testament is full, packed, brimming, and overflowing with shadows and whispers of Jesus! At a glance you may not notice Him, but if you peer closely you can't miss Him. Every story shadows His, and every page whispers His name! Jesus is the axis about which the entire Bible, and the Christian faith, revolves. And as believers in 2014 we have the blessing of the New Testament to shed light on all the shadows and whispers. Along with THOUSANDS of years of insight from other believers down through the ages! And I've been convicted that my life should also revolve around this great Christ. He made me. He bought me. And He loves me!
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
John 14:6-7
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-- that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
I've started trying to read through the Bible in a year again. (I'm a bit behind, but hoping to catch up...) And I've noticed something that is not really new to me, but continues to amaze me nevertheless. The Old Testament is full, packed, brimming, and overflowing with shadows and whispers of Jesus! At a glance you may not notice Him, but if you peer closely you can't miss Him. Every story shadows His, and every page whispers His name! Jesus is the axis about which the entire Bible, and the Christian faith, revolves. And as believers in 2014 we have the blessing of the New Testament to shed light on all the shadows and whispers. Along with THOUSANDS of years of insight from other believers down through the ages! And I've been convicted that my life should also revolve around this great Christ. He made me. He bought me. And He loves me!
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
John 14:6-7
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-- that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)