QT 9/30/2022 Gal 5:1-6, Secret sins of spiritual pride

Galatians 5:1–6 (ESV) —

1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

 

NOTE: Paul uses circumcision for his example but it is only one aspect of the Old Testament Law (and I wonder if any unique commandment might apply, like mixing cheese and meat), although circumcision is probably the singularly distinct aspect of being Jewish. To be a Jew, you must be circumcised. But to be a Jew, you must keep all aspects of the law. Paul's argument is that you don't need any of that and if you think you do, you really have missed the point of what Christ's death did for you. You have now placed "your works plus faith" as a condition for salvation. Paul makes it very clear, circumcision counts for nothing. Later in Romans, Paul says that Gentile believers are circumcised in their heart when they believe. Again in Romans, Paul is arguing that an internal change is better than an external change. The only thing our salvation depends upon is our faith -- not our attendance, not our tithes, not communion or baptism, not anything. All those things are good things but they do not change God's heart toward us in any greater or lesser degree.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I internally boast to myself of some discipline that makes me "better" than others? Repent then, it is sin.

 

PRAYER: Father, search me and know my heart and see if there be any wicked thing in it. I want to confess my sins of spiritual pride and my struggles of the flesh. I am and always will be dependent on the salvation received by faith in Jesus, and sealed by the Holy Spirit in my soul.

QT 9/28/2022 Gal 4:9b-11, Is church attendance a work?

QT 9/27/2022 Gal 4:1-7, Thank you Lord!

 

QT 9/26/2022 Gal 3:19-22, He did it all

QT 9/22/2022 Gal 3:10-14, Realizing our sinfulness

Galatians 3:10–14 (ESV) —

10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

 

NOTE: I am quite amazed in T. George's commentary how many opinions there are on this passage. People really want to believe in faith plus works, and so have come up with quite a few interpretations of what Paul 'really meant.' But the language is clear and the only proper way to interpret the passage is a common sense reading, in this case literal unless the passage dictates otherwise. One is cursed by one single failure in obeying the law as James makes clear:

 

James 2:10 (ESV) — For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

 

Why is it so hard to understand that we fail to attain perfection by an immeasurable degree? The best man is not 99 percent perfect compared to God's standard of holiness. The best man does not even register at 1 percent. When Isaiah, a godly man, stood in the throne room of God, he said:

 

Isaiah 6:4–5 (ESV) — 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

 

I think we really do not understand the holiness of God. The longer Paul walked in the faith, the more convinced he became of his own unholiness and sin. It is only the spiritually immature and the unbeliever who think they are nearly without sin. Those who walk with God know their sinfulness.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I think I am pretty good? Then I am fooling myself.
2. Do I think I am pretty good? Then I don't understand God's holiness

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for revealing to me my utter sinfulness. I am so unworthy of your love. I deserve nothing. And yet, I am loved; I am your beloved. Jesus did what I could never do because you chose to love me.

QT 9/21/2022 Gal 3:2-5, Beloved

Galatians 3:2–5 (ESV) —

2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—

 

NOTE: Well, technically Paul asked five things, but it was really only about one thing -- was your new birth by faith or by works of the law? And the point is that the Christian life starts by faith, is lived by faith, and translates to heaven by that original faith. When you add things to it, it really changes everything. It is no longer the Christian gospel but some new idol you have created in your mind. When we add a human component, it is no longer a work of God. The only human part is the choice to believe and receive. God did everything. Now, it is true that the sanctification process, becoming like Christ and a witness to humanity, that part is work. Sanctification involves lots of choices and actions, but the purpose IS NOT TO GAIN FAVOR WITH GOD, you cannot do any better than what Jesus did on the cross! You cannot gain any more favor with God than you have at the point of belief. You cannot lose God's favor either, unless you never really believed.

 

PONDER:

1. Do we truly believe in the Christian gospel? Or are we pursuing an idol created in our own mind of what we think Christianity should be? There is ONLY ONE gospel. Woe to the person who tries to add to that gospel.

 

PRAYER: Father, it is so freeing when you know that you are completely loved. I am part of the beloved. My position is secure, despite myself. Father, as I write this today, I want to pray for my brother in Christ, Phil. I hurt for him. It is so terrible to see injustice and to see innocent people terrorized and destroyed by the enemy. Free him. Give him a new ministry among those who are around him. Let his light so shine that others cannot ignore it but have to look at Jesus. Turn Satan's plans upside down. In Jesus name I pray.

QT 9/20/2022 Gal 2:16; 19-20, True righteousness

Galatians 2:16 (ESV) —

16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 2:19–20 (ESV) —

19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

NOTE: It was hard for the Jewish Christian to give up all those years of law, obeying commands that were different from how others lived. They set the people apart. They were part of what it meant to be holy and to be God's people, but they did not solve the sin problem. Sacrifices only covered over the sin. Justification, being declared righteous was not possible through the law. So they (the Jewish Christians) did what many do today -- they mixed their faith and the law. As George writes,

 

We should remember that the problem in Galatia was not the overt repudiation of the Christian faith by apostates who formerly professed it but rather the dilution and corruption of the gospel by those who wanted to add to the doctrine of grace a dangerous admixture of “something more.” (George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 188). )

 

Gal 2:20 is one of my favorite verses of the bible, as it is for many others. For me, it is a reminder that my savior died for ME. Yes, he died for the world, but he died for me. He loved me, although I was unlovable, and he died for me. What does it then imply? Again George has a great thought and challenges me to how I should then live.

 

Being crucified with Christ implies a radical transformation within the believer. The “I” who has died to the law no longer lives; Christ, in the person of the Holy Spirit, dwells within, sanctifying our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit and enabling us to approach the throne of God in prayer. (Ibid, p.201)

 

I'm a new creature now, the old has gone, the new has come. He has changed me. I am no longer that person, and because of that I desire to live my life wholly for him. Thank you Jesus!

 

PONDER:

1. Do I mix works and faith?
2. Is my life radically changed by the savior?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you so much for my salvation, my breastplate of righteousness. There is nothing the enemy can do to me to take my salvation away. I am secure in a righteousness that was obtained for me by Jesus.

QT 9/19/2022 Gal 2:11-4, There is no compromise regarding faith and works

Galatians 2:11–14 (ESV) —

11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

 

NOTE: I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing that our spiritual leaders are susceptible to religion, that is, to being seen or performing in a certain way. There are times, as Paul shares, where we do things for the weaker brother. But this does not appear to be one of those cases, at least in Paul's mind. Because, it attacks one of the central doctrines of the Christian faith, salvation by faith alone and works have no merit. This is a key concept, not something you do for a weaker brother, because it is wrong. So, the dividing line with religion concerns works and salvation. There is no merging of the two.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I merge salvation and works subtly without knowing it?
2. Do I have rules in the church and outside of the church that are a requirement for those who attend? If so, I may be living for works and not truly saved.

 

PRAYER: Father, protect us all from the subtle traps of religion. It is based on performance and not based on faith. Help me to be consistent with my life. Keep me from sin. Show me mercy. Give my daily bread. Forgive my sin.

QT 9/19/2022 Gal 2:10, Caring for the poor

Galatians 2:10 (ESV) —

10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

 

NOTE: Although this is very early in Paul's ministry, it does help us to understand Paul's heart. While Luke does not share the details in Acts, in Paul's letters we find that the return from the third missionary trip to Jerusalem was a special effort by Paul to support the poor Judean Christians. Apparently, this situation existed from the early days of the gospel, and may have been the reason for the creation of the deacons (Acts 4). This was not a quid pro quo to get an agreement, this was a heartfelt response of Paul that also weighed heavily on the leaders in Jerusalem.

 

PONDER:

1. What are my efforts to help?
2. Is it a priority in my life?

 

PRAYER: Father, I do support orphans, the poor, food ministries, and missionaries. What else do I need to do? There is no lack of food in my house. My problem is not having enough to eat but having too much. Help me to be sensitive to the opportunities that you provide.

QT 9/15/2022 Gal 1:15-16, God loved us FIRST!

Galatians 1:15–16 (ESV) —

15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

 

NOTE: In John's letter, he writes;

 

1 John 4:19 (ESV) — We love because he first loved us.

 

This principle is declared by Paul in his testimony. Paul was far from God. He was zealously seeking to destroy this movement. He was in the mold of the Maccabees, zealous to protect his faith. He was educated. He was committed. He had all the correct pedigrees. And he was dead wrong in his beliefs. And God took the first step. Paul wasn't seeking God, although he was trying with all of his effort to please him; God was seeking Paul. By grace (unmerited favor), Paul was called. God was pleased to reveal his Son to Paul. What an incredibly humbling sequence of events.

 

None of us found God. He found us. None of us were worthy. He loved us when we were unlovable. We were sinners in his eyes undeserving of anything good, and only deserving of Hell. Until we capture that essential truth, we will never really know how to thank God. He loved us first. We did not love him.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I really believe and understand that God loved me first?
2. Do I think my life was deserving of salvation, because if I do, then I am still in need of salvation.

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for loving me and freeing me from my deception. Your love can never be earned. It can only be received and enjoyed.

QT 9/14/2022 Gal 1:11-12, Knowing God, not religion

Galatians 1:11–12 (ESV) —

11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

NOTE: The gospel has nothing to do with man-made religion. Satan has used religion to hide the truth of the gospel from people. Religion is when man-made rules are devised as a path to God. Whether it is Hinduism or Islam or Catholicism or Paganism, they are creations of man or at least add-ons of man to hide the truth. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a God-developed answer for man's greatest need -- a restored relationship to our creator and an answer to our sin burden. Jesus, God-man, who came to earth to show us the way and to die in our place is the mediator of this new covenant between God and man. Jesus is the point of the gospel. Faith is all that is required of the gospel. And Grace is the result of the gospel. We are saved from eternal separation from God by Jesus' work on the cross. It is pretty simple. And that is why Satan wants to make it messy, confusing, and man-based.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I have a relationship with Jesus or do I follow a religion/denomination?

 

PRAYER: Father, I lived before in religion and it is so satisfying to have a relationship with you. There really is no greater thing than knowing you (as the song goes). You give me life and you make life satisfying. Thank you for saving me and for revealing (giving glimpses of) yourself to me.

QT 9/13/2022 Gal 1:6-10, It is Grace, not religion and law

Galatians 1:6–10 (ESV) —

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

 

NOTE: This passage is one of the bluntest and harshest passages in the entire New Testament. The Greek word for accursed, anathema, is translated "condemned to Hell" and "eternally condemned" in two other translations. And the repetition of verse 8 and 9 is a long way of saying, if someone should preach or is preaching, they should be condemned to Hell. What is the issue at state? From the later context, some group of false teachers is mixing works into the gospel message. They are requiring that one follow the law in addition to believing in Jesus. They are adding legalism. They are creating religion instead of a relationship with Jesus Christ. They are destroying the gospel of Jesus Christ which is grace (unmerited favor) received by faith alone. People are more comfortable with a religion that has rules (a little works) as long as it does not affect their lifestyle too uncomfortably, like attend church one in a while or give a certain amount of money (not too much) or say your prayers before a meal. We want to feel in control. We don't like being dependent upon others. And there are always false teachers out there who will give people what they want in order to please them and gather a following.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I believe that there is no additional favor I can receive from God no matter what I do?
2. Do I believe I am completely and fully loved by God?

 

PRAYER: Father, protect me and my teaching from ever presenting a gospel different from the one fully revealed in the New Testament. We are not under the OT Law. We have freedom in Christ, although we are not to use our freedom to hurt your name or other members of the body. Continue to give grace and mercy to me these days.

QT 9/12/2022 Gal 1:1-5, We can't earn God's love

Galatians 1:1–5 (ESV) —

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

NOTE: Paul's salutation often hints at the topics his letter will discuss. One thing he emphasizes is that his apostleship comes not from men but from God. He is no way inferior in his teachings to other apostles. His teachings and his words have authority. Peter, who is rebuked by Paul in a story related in this letter, will say the same thing later in one of his letters, calling Paul's writings God's word. The second main point in the salutation is Jesus -- who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age. Jesus' work is complete. We are delivered -- we are justified. Our life now is lived as a witness of what God has done. Yes, we do work out our salvation so that our witness shows Jesus. But nothing we can do in this life will increase God's favor upon us. God the father already loves us because of what Jesus did on the cross.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I do things to gain God's favor?
2. Do I understand that I am fully loved by God because of Jesus?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you that my salvation is complete. I know I struggle to live it out at times. But I can never lose your love. You bring discipline, but you always love. Help me to rest in your love. It can't be earned by works. It is already fully given. I just need to rest in it.

QT 9/9/2022 Ps 31:23-24, Waiting on God

Psalm 31:23–24 (ESV) —

23 Love the Lord, all you his saints!

The Lord preserves the faithful

but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord!

 

NOTE: The verse only makes sense in the light of eternity. While God does rescue on earth and recompense on earth, he has all of eternity in view. In heaven or on the millennial earth, those short years will seem like nothing in comparison to eternity. And for those who are judged, repaid for their sin, eternity will be overwhelming. The key part of David's ending wisdom is  1) be strong, 2) be courageous, and 3) wait for the Lord. As Michael Card sings in Maranatha,

 

"It's certain that waiting's the most bitter lesson

 A believing heart has to learn"

From <https://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/michael+card/maranatha_20263426.html>

 

I'm not good at waiting. My sticky fingers try to get involved and speed things up. It is hard to wait. Someday, evil will be judged and all will make sense, but for now I need to get better at waiting.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I wait or do I try to help God along by getting my sticky fingers involved?

 

PRAYER: Father, I know I need to trust and wait. I'm not good at waiting. Give me grace and strength to trust you. Give me courage to wait. I want your best, not what I think is best.

QT 9/8/2022 Ps 31:14-16, My times are in His hands

Psalm 31:14–16 (ESV) —

14 But I trust in you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

15 My times are in your hand;

rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

16 Make your face shine on your servant;

save me in your steadfast love!

 

NOTE: Eighteen years ago I was sitting on a hotel balcony looking over the Persian Gulf and admiring God's creation. I was also praying for the Arabs, that they might know Jesus, the truth. They are blinded by a lie, and in need of the true savior, who alone is the way, the truth, and the life. No one will come to God unless they go through Jesus.

 

John 14:6 (ESV) — Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12 (ESV) — And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

I was also thanking God for the times. Today is different. I sit in my office at home preparing for work, I don't know what the future holds. I could be retired a year from now, and working full-time in the church. I could be doing a lot of things that I do not know. But I do know one things, "I trust in you, O Lord; … my times are in your hand."

 

PONDER:

1. Do you ever stop and just ask God, what's next? I doubt he will reveal it at that time, but it makes for a great conversation.

 

PRAYER: Thank you Lord for these days. Thank you for peace and for opportunity to spread your word. My mission is the great commission. My job is not to defeat evil by politics or human efforts, my job is to rescue and warn people, and to make disciples.

QT 9/7/2022 Ps 31:6-8, Putting God first

Psalm 31:6–8 (ESV) —

6 I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,

but I trust in the Lord.

7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,

because you have seen my affliction;

you have known the distress of my soul,

8 and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

you have set my feet in a broad place.

 

NOTE: In the English language, "hate" is a very strong word. In the

psalms, which are emotional by their nature of poetry, we must be careful not to read too much into it (or I suppose too much out of it). The psalms express David's true feelings. He did dislike and had great emotional distaste for those who served idols. It was a very strong feeling, but it does not suggest he meant to do physical harm to the person. His love for God only made the hate more intense because the individual  was giving praise to an inanimate object instead of rightfully to the God of the universe. His emotion could have also been extreme sadness for the foolishness of the person who worshipped idols. We still do this today. Our gods are a little different and yet also the same. We worship money, possessions, and even our own self-determined picture of God (versus the true God revealed in the bible).

 

PONDER:

1. Do I care about God's honor? He doesn't need any help, but is his honor that important to me?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for these days. I think I understand the heart-felt pain that David experienced as he looked upon others who lived for things and not for you. I live in a dying world, getting worse by the day, but totally oblivious to its needs. It is rage run rampant. There is no peace only anger in the hearts of men. Help me to stand out as different from the world.

QT 9/6/2022 Ps 30:7-12, A strong relationship all the time

Psalm 30:7–12 (ESV) —

7 By your favor, O Lord,

you made my mountain stand strong;

you hid your face;

I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cry,

and to the Lord I plead for mercy:

9 “What profit is there in my death,

if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you?

Will it tell of your faithfulness?

10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness,

12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

 

NOTE: David seems to be going through ups and downs. When life is good, something happens, causing him to reach out to God. Then God answers and rescues him again. God allows pain in our life to cause us to reach out to him. When life is going well, we have a tendency to forget God, and even though we might give God the praise for our situation, we tend to glory in our own ability or spirituality in getting us there. What is the real goal? The real purpose of God is that we would be reaching out to him all the time. He wants us seeking him in the good times as well as the bad. He deeply wants us to experience a full relationship with him, and not the things of the world.

 

PONDER:

1. What effort do I put into my relationship with God?
2. Do I only "really" reach out when things are bad?

 

PRAYER: Father, we are a stubborn and sinful people. Even redeemed by Jesus and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we are still selfish sinners. I need to make my prayer time more of a priority these days (well, all days). I want to reach out without circumstances forcing me to reach out.

QT 9/5/2022 Ps 30:4-5, Prayer is the key to understanding good times and bad times

Psalm 30:4–6 (ESV) —

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

and give thanks to his holy name.

5 For his anger is but for a moment,

and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,

“I shall never be moved.”

 

NOTE: There are times of pain and there are times of joy. It is hard in the midst of either to see the other. Pain is more memorable and more blinding. Nothing seems good and life seems almost pointless. It is difficult to think back on good times and it is difficult to believe that God is bringing about good. Faith, if honest, is hard. And that is why prayer is the most important tool during those times.  We can't gin up faith, but we can express our true feelings. We can complain to God in prayer, and it is a good thing. It helps and it does seem to increase faith.

 

Psalm 55:17 (NASB95) —

17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur,

And He will hear my voice.

 

But prayer is also the key during the good times. We need to develop a spirit of thankfulness for everything around us -- it could disappear in a moment (and is more likely to disappear if we think it is our due or take it for granted). In verse 6, David relates a time when he did take it for granted, and it was a foolish choice.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I pray in true openness and frankness to God in the times of pain?
2. Do I take life for granted when things are going well?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for the hard lessons of life. I readily admit they were for my good although I would never willingly choose them. Thank you for these days of peace which are in sharp contrast to the other days. There is so much good I experience and I am truly undeserving of your kindness. Thank you for both times.

QT 9/1/2022 Ps 28:1-2, Learning to wait and trust

Psalm 28:1–2 (ESV) —

1 To you, O Lord, I call;

my rock, be not deaf to me,

lest, if you be silent to me,

I become like those who go down to the pit.

2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,

when I cry to you for help,

when I lift up my hands

toward your most holy sanctuary.

 

NOTE: David was probably in one of those crisis situations where he needed help quickly. It may have been when Absalom revolted, but whatever the situation, David was in desperate need. It seems that it is normal -- normal to call out in desperate need and normal not to receive the immediate response. God is never caught off guard, and yet he withholds his hand for his reasons. God does want us 1) to learn to wait and 2) to learn to trust him. Both are very difficult. We must believe that God has heard and God will answer in a way that is best for us, his glory, the situation, and the people involved. We are not the only person at stake in a crisis, no matter how it may seem to us. This is hard. I know. I have been at this point far too often.

 

PONDER:

1. Can we wait and trust during the crisis? I hope we don't need to learn.

 

PRAYER: Father, those days of crisis after crisis were very painful. It did not look like we would ever see the light of hope. And yet we did, but some people never do. I believe you are doing the best for your children. Have mercy on us. Open our eyes to your truth. Protect us from the lies of Satan.