It’s Not Them, It’s Him

December 20, 2022December 14, 2022 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

A woman’s friend stopped talking to her after being her best friend for 30 years. A man’s children disowned him. Another man’s own mother and sister have nothing to do with him. One woman doesn’t get invited to the family’s Christmas gathering.

What is it about these individuals? Why would people not want to be around them? Are they bad people? Rude? Inconsiderate? I know them, and the answer is not at all. But the one thing they all have in common is this; they all walk with God, and God’s presence surrounding them is strong.

People can sense God’s presence even though they do not see it. The funny thing about this is; when they are in that moment, there is a reaction. Some might sense it and celebrate, praise Him, or feel His love and be joyful. Others might sense guilt or conviction. It is this second reaction that drives people away. Little do they know that God isn’t condemning them but drawing them to accept His love, His Son, Jesus, and experience freedom. Yet they do not accept this truth but continue to believe the enemy’s lies that their way is better. Like a magnet, they repel from the one who walks with God.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. John 3:17 (NET)

A fellow blogger and I were discussing this recently. She commented on the price of picking up your cross and following Him. She’s right, but it hurts to be rejected. Jesus knows all too well about that. Yet it is only for a season because, in the end, we will be surrounded by those who love and choose God. So it really isn’t them, but Him.

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. John 15:18 (NIV)

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. John 1:11 (NIV)

But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason. John 15:25 (NIV)

Let There Be Light

December 16, 2022December 12, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

At least twice that we know of, darkness was upon the earth until God spoke. The first time was after God had created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:3, “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.” A few verses later, He called it good.

Another time was right before Jesus was born. Theologians call the time “The Dark Ages” because God had not spoken for 400 years. Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35 AMPC)

Then during his ministry, “Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.“ (John 8:12 AMPC)

There will be a future time when God will once again separate light and darkness as He did during creation. This time, He will judge everyone, and those who accepted “Light” (God’s son, Jesus) will enter heaven and those who didn’t will send themselves to hell. Hell is absent of light. Meaning the absence of the presence of God.

Light can come in different forms. One is in people. Last Saturday, I watched a little four-year-old boy while his mother was participating in a Bible study. The child was so precious and full of the love of God. His personality brought light into my day, and when he was leaving, he stopped, turned around, and returned to hug me. It was like being hugged by God himself. I needed it, too.

Even though it’s Christmas time in the city, people are living in darkness, possibly due to their life situation(s) or the mere fact they do not know Jesus. We can cast Light into their lives during this season and throughout the year. We can share with them the hope of Jesus Christ, and God will once again say, “Let there be light.”

Favor

December 13, 2022December 7, 2022 / Mark Brady / 3 Comments

Can you imagine the emotions that Mary must have experienced when the angel appeared before her and said, “Fear not.” Well, actually, he first said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!”

But it’s what the angel said next that would trouble Mary the most. “Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³²He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. ³³He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

So God found favor with Mary. With who she was on the outside as well as who she was on the inside. Then He asked her for a favor. A big one! To give birth to His son, Jesus, even though she was a virgin and engaged to Joseph. She had to conquer her fear. Mainly, what will my fiancé think? What will others think? But Mary believed, and she said, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word.”

What is God asking you to do that seems impossible? We have proof from Mary’s story that with God, nothing is impossible, especially when the Holy Spirit is involved. Like her, be willing to serve the Lord. You don’t need to know all the “how to,” and you don’t have to be the best, just willing. It would be best if you did not consider what others would think. You can’t control that aspect, and they will judge you anyway. Know this; your obedience, saying “Yes” to God, will prompt Him to bestow upon you even more favor, and you will accomplish what God wants to do, even the impossible.

If you would like to read the entire section of events from Luke 1:26-38 (NET), I have included it below:

²⁶In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. ³⁰So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God! ³¹Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³²He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. ³³He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” ³⁴Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” ³⁵The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.

³⁶“And look, your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son in her old age—although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! ³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸So Mary said, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Are You Praying to the Wrong Person? Part V: Wrong Jesus

December 9, 2022December 3, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Ann is my guest blogger today. She loves God and loves, even more, sharing the truth about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. She is grounded in the Word of God, and it shows. You can find her regular blog at: https://seekingdivineperspective.com/ I highly recommend following her as she follows Jesus.

Are You Praying to the Wrong Person? Part V: Wrong Jesus

seekingdivineperspective Uncategorized December 2, 2022 4 Minutes

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:1

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! – Galatians 1:8

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” – Charles Spurgeon

Baby Jesus: It’s that time of year when even the staunchest atheist might hum along with songs about Mary’s baby Boy, the cuddly little Babe in the manger. And when the Christmas season is over and the manger scenes are put away, so are any further thoughts about Jesus until His birthday next year. But Christ-followers know there is much more to this “Babe” than the songs playing in the mall tell us.

Are we so caught up in the sweetness and the sentimentality of the season that we fail to stop and ponder the wonder of the Incarnation – “Emmanuel’ – “God with us“?

I for one appreciate the Christmas carols that tell the whole story – that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die in our place, as the atoning sacrifice to pay for our sins, so we can be restored to fellowship with the Father and live forever. – “God and sinners reconciled!”

That Baby in the manger was born for one purpose, to die so that we could live.

And yet, if you ask the simple question, “Who is Jesus?” you will get varying responses.

The illogical Jesus: Many say Jesus was a good man, a great moral teacher, like Buddha, Mohammed, and Confucius. But as C. S. Lewis famously pointed out, this is not an option. Jesus claimed to be God, and this claim was one of the reasons His enemies set out to kill Him. Such a radical claim must be either true or false. He couldn’t have been “sort of God.” If Jesus isn’t God, then He was lying, and moral people don’t lie about something as basic as who they are. The other option is that He was mistaken – He only thought He was God. And that, as Lewis said, puts Him on the level of a man who thinks he’s a poached egg. Great teachers know who they are. The only other option is that He was and is who He said He was. So, to say Jesus was a great moral teacher but not God incarnate is not a logical option.

The liberal Jesus: To many church goers, especially in America, Jesus is our Big Brother, the example we want to follow to live good, moral lives. But to stop there and fail to see Him as our Lord and Savior, the God who created us and to whom we owe everything, is to miss the point. And the point is, we can’t follow His example. Jesus was perfect, and to try to live as He lived for one day – one hour – is to see how woefully short we fall. This is the very reason we need Him as Savior. Nothing we do or say can pay for one sin we’ve committed. Even sacrificing our own lives would be insufficient, since God requires a perfect sacrifice, and we are far from perfect! To presume that we could follow His example is pure arrogance.

One of many “gods.” This Hindu belief has the same problem as the “illogical Jesus.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except by Me.“ Jesus claimed exclusivity; therefore, He is either the only true God, or not a god at all.

The Muslim Jesus was a prophet, but not divine. Again, can someone be a true prophet and miss the mark on something as basic as his own identity?

The Mormon Jesus: Mormons call Jesus “the Christ,” but their view of Him is not in line with mainstream Christian teaching. To a Mormon, Jesus is not the second Person of the Trinity but the half-brother of Satan. (Doctrines and Covenants 76:25-27)

The Jehovah’s Witness Jesus was created, not begotten. He is inferior to Jehovah but superior to the angels. After His death He was resurrected as a spirit creature.

Partial Savior: Several religions belief systems recognize Jesus’ atoning death on the Cross but don’t believe His sacrifice is enough to pay fully for our salvation. Works must be added, and life becomes a feverish race to do enough good deeds to cover the bad. Some believe that Judgment Day will have a giant scale to weigh every person’s good works on one side and sins on the other, and if the good deeds don’t outweigh the bad, that person is not saved. Sadly, believers in this system never know the peace of being secure in their Savior’s love.

The true Jesus of the Bible: As Jesus died on the cross, He declared, “It is finished!” meaning, “Mission accomplished!” or “Paid in full!” We can rest in the assurance that our sins are paid for. Good works will follow, but they’re done with joy, out of gratitude for our salvation, not an attempt to earn it. And the biblical Jesus rose bodily from the grave on the third day to seal the promise of eternal life. He specifically said to His disciples that He was not a ghost: “Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39)

It’s not enough to say we believe in Jesus. The question is, which Jesus? It’s not necessary to study all the different versions of Him, just the Bible. The Jesus you find there is the true Savior. If you haven’t turned your life over to Him, do it today. Then, as you celebrate His birth this year, know that you have given Him the one gift He wants most from you – yourself.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, as the world celebrates Your birth with activities and trappings that really have nothing to do with You, help us to stay focused on the wonder of Your love, that You would leave Your home in glory and come to earth to be one of us and die for us, so we can be Yours forever. In Your name, amen.

Seeking Divine Perspective

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:1

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! – Galatians 1:8

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” – Charles Spurgeon

Baby Jesus: It’s that time of year when even the staunchest atheist might hum along with songs about Mary’s baby Boy, the cuddly little Babe in the manger. And when the Christmas season is over and the manger scenes are put away, so are any further thoughts about Jesus until His birthday next year. But Christ-followers know there is much more to this “Babe” than the songs playing in the mall tell us.

Are we so caught up…

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Close Enough

December 6, 2022December 3, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I saw this photo on Facebook, and, like you, I laughed. But a moment later, I heard a whisper in my spirit. It said, “That is some people’s attitude toward God.”

Some only attend a church service at Christmas and Easter. Others might go every time the doors are open, but neither put much more effort into their relationship with God than that. Lucky for us, God doesn’t take attendance! For the record, going to church alone doesn’t mean you will live in heaven for eternity after you die. And the only thing that can guarantee your final destination is believing in Jesus Christ and accepting him into your life and heart.

Having a good relationship with God goes further and much deeper. One must be intentional about spending time with God, which doesn’t mean being “religious” about it, like getting up at 5 AM every morning to pray and read the Bible. It means talking to God all the time about anything and everything. Your ups as well as your downs. And then taking time to see if there is anything, He would want to say to you. It’s like having a conversation with your best friend. It also means reading his Word regularly. This whole blog/website was started to encourage people to grow in God.

Having a close connection to God means having a full, adventurous, fun, and exciting life. Having an “abundant” life, as Jesus said, is one reason He came to this world.

“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”
John 10:10b (MSG)

“Close enough” really just doesn’t cut it. You will find yourself lacking and still in want. It may not take much effort, but it is not satisfying, just as those Christmas lights in the photo wouldn’t be as well. So try harder. Be purposeful in developing your relationship with God. Your efforts will be rewarded, and now is a great time to start. God accepts you as you are and loves you more than you will ever believe.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8a (NKJV)

Joy to the World

December 2, 2022December 2, 2022 / Mark Brady / 3 Comments

Tis the season to be jolly. You know the rest of that line from the song, but are you? Are you jolly? Do you have “joy”? It’s the happiest time of the year. At least, it’s supposed to be. There could be many people for countless reasons that are not “joyful” right now. Financial hard times, relationship issues, living in a war zone, dealing with losing a loved one, etc. So if you can raise your hand, it’s okay, no one is looking around, and say, “Yeah, I don’t have “joy” right now,” then what do you do?

If you can be counted as one lacking joy right now, you can turn to God. Doing so is more than a cliché.

You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psa. 16:11 (MEV)

A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.
Prov. 17:22 (MSG)

“This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!
John 16:23-24 (MSG)

God knows what joy in our hearts does for us. A lack of joy can lead to depression, which doesn’t help anyone. You can go to God and tell him why you don’t have joy. Then you can ask him to help you with your lack of happiness and even ask him to change your situation. Reading God’s word can help you find hope and joy. The book of Psalms is full of hope from the Lord.

If you are one walking around with an abundance of joy, look around and be willing to share your joy with someone else. One thing that helps others is when you do something for them that is unexpected, or something is done for someone else anonymously.

May you find joy in your life. Not just in this season but the whole year through. And remember, you can have Jesus’ joy as your own.

I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature.
John 15:11 (NKJV)

Because He Does It

November 29, 2022November 28, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

For the last several years, God has been nudging me to learn how to love unconditionally. What that boils down to is this; accepting someone just the way they are. That can be extremely hard to do, especially when you are around them. You might live with them, work with them, or be connected to them in another way. You might even know them through the church.

They probably don’t think like you and certainly don’t do everything the way you do or the way you think it should be done. They might even have personal habits that discuss you or you choose to get angry about. It’s hard and, at times, extremely hard! Especially when you are tired or low on patience and understanding. The problem may be with you. Like you may have high expectations. Or you might have arrogance issues thinking your way is the only way.

So how do you love the one that is so different than you? First, you have to make a willful decision to love them. To accept them as they are. They’re most likely not ever going to change, but you can. Then you have to remind yourself what real love is constantly.

Real love demonstrates patience, and genuine love is kind to the other person. Unconditional love puts up with the other person for a long time. It also forgets when they make the same mistake again and again. This kind of love means not having to have everything your way and it wants the best for the other person. That kind of love also does what it can to encourage them. If you practice this kind of love, you will not show how frustrated you are with your face or body language but will smile and assure them everything is alright.

Showing another person the kind of love above, God’s love, will make them feel loved. It might even change them, but that should not be your motive. Love them because it’s the right thing to do. It’s hard, but you can do it because He does it.

Psalms 36:7

7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalms 109:26

26 Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love.

Romans 5:8

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:7

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Romans 5:5

5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

1 John 4:8

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4:19

19 We love because he first loved us.

Jeremiah 31:3

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Psalms 86:15

15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalms 136:26

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Romans 8:37-39

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 3:17-19

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

John 13:34-35

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 15:12

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

1 Corinthians 13:8a

⁸Love never ends.

But it Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas

November 25, 2022November 24, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I was flipping through radio stations last week and came across Christmas music. Yeah, one whole week before Thanksgiving, even. Why not? Stores have had Christmas items for sale displayed since Labor Day. But it doesn’t feel like Christmas.

Does it take party invitations or Christmas cards arriving? Making lots of plans for gatherings with family to make it feel like Christmas? How about putting up the Christmas tree? Or hanging some lights on the house? Going around and looking at other homes that put up lights? Do these activities make it feel like Christmas?

What if “Christmas” wasn’t a feeling but an attitude?

at·ti·tude

[ˈadəˌt(y)o͞od]

NOUN

a settled way of thinking about someone or something

So using the definition of “attitude,” I should have a settled way of thinking about Christmas. How does one do that? It starts with a healthy view of who Jesus Christ is. Yes, the baby that was born in a manger who we celebrate at Christmas. But that same child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. And he started his public ministry that wound up killing him. That baby one day hung on the cross and died for our sins.

Having the right attitude of who Jesus is, generates the right attitude about Jesus and Christmas. That means you can get excited about Christmas all year long because that is where God’s love began: He loved us so much that He gave us his only son. And ya know, I can “feel” God’s love; therefore, it can feel like Christmas!

Let us look only to Jesus. He is the one who began our faith, and he makes our faith perfect. Jesus suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing. He did this because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.
Heb. 12:2 (ICB)

Ready

November 22, 2022November 19, 2022 / Mark Brady / 3 Comments

My grandmother had a painting in the hallway of her house that captivated my attention on more than one occasion. I would stand there and study the details of it, thinking, “Boy! That day is going to be something.” It portrayed the rapture. The moment when Jesus came back to earth to call his bride home. The painting showed people ascending into heaven from cars, an airplane, fields, and houses. The plane crashed because the pilots were both Christians. Some of the vehicles crashed too. It was as if the earth went chaotic in a moment. (The photo displayed is similar to the one my grandmother had.)

Since Jesus ascended into heaven, men have been looking for and anticipating his return. After all, He said he would. The Bible contains at least 100 scriptures concerning his return. There have been many books written about it and even some movies made. Countless sermons have been preached, encouraging people to watch, and pray, but most of all, be ready! I remember a word given in our church when I was about eight years old. The man said that Jesus’ return was so close it was as if He was already standing up. I got excited and put my shoes back on!

Matthew 24:36 – “But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.” (MSG)

1 Corinthians 15:52 – We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. (MSG)

Matthew 25:13 – “So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.” (MSG)

Matthew 24:37-44 – “The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah’s. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away.

“The Son of Man’s Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up. (MSG)

I look around and definitely see individuals preoccupied with life. They are more concerned with current politics with striving to be successful or famous. Trying so hard to earn more money or where their next meal may come from. They might even be more concerned with their relationship status. Satan loves this. He wants us to forget that Jesus Christ is coming back for us. He wants anything for us other than to be ready. It takes focus on our part. It takes keeping God first in our minds, hearts, and life.

In the days of Noah, very few believed that it would rain one day. It had never rained before, so why should they? Today, there are probably very few that believe Jesus will return for believers, for He has never returned previously, but we have been told that He is going to. We have a choice to either believe it and live accordingly or not.

I pray that you choose to believe me and, more importantly, believe God’s word and live your life ready to be caught up in the air with Jesus. If you don’t, you will definitely know the truth when the rapture occurs. There will be mass destruction and confusion everywhere around you. People will disappear right before your eyes. I, for one, have no desire to be here when that happens. I mark myself as “Ready!”

Why “MB4384?”

November 18, 2022November 19, 2022 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Our home WIFI was upgraded the other day, receiving a new gateway. “MB4384” was the name of our old network name, but for a specific reason, we could no longer use it. As I was getting all of our devices reconnected to the WIFI via the gateway’s default name and password, I told April we needed to come up with a network name and password. Of course, something easy to remember.

We discussed many options for both. We finally settled on “KUYA_MARK,” Tagalog for “Brother Mark.” We assumed no one in the neighborhood was using that for a network name. Then we came up with a password we could recall without having to look it up. Again, I reconnected all of our devices to the new network. That’s almost worst than having to turn all of your clocks backward.

“MB4384” became my company user name 17 years ago after SBC purchased AT&T. It took some time to get used to it. I had no idea how in the world they came up with that pattern of letters and numbers, but now I do. God had his hand in it!

Being extraordinarily vulnerable and transparent, getting married again after 24 some years of being single hasn’t been easy. There have been times I have wondered if I did the right thing. I know there were several events and moments of confirmation, but nothing beats what I am about to tell you.

As we were discussing possible names, April disclosed that she thought I changed my WIFI network name to “MB4384” after I met her. She didn’t know it was my AT&T user ID. I was confused, but I told her I used that name when I moved into the house five years ago. Thirteen months before I ever met April. Then I asked her, “Why did you think I changed it after meeting you?” She replied, are you ready for this? “Because that is my birthday.”

Yeah, that’s right. April was born on April 3, 1984, or 04/03/84 or 4384.

I teared up. Then I laughed as I thought about how funny God is. He knew 17 years ago (well, honestly forever) I would need another confirmation that no matter how hard getting used to being married again is for me, it is worth it because God ordained it. When you see that kind of love in action, it’s almost impossible not to trust that God knows what He is doing and that He has to have a purpose for us.

Thank you, God, for loving me.

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. Jer. 29:11 (MSG)