Entering the Lord’s Presence

Psalm 84 is about entering into the presence of God. Unless God’s people enter into the house of the Lord according to His terms, they that build the house build it in vain.

Psalm 84 is a cross reference to Numbers 16 about the sons of Korah who rebelled against Moses, God’s prophet. When Moses confronted them about their murmurings and disputing, the sons of Koreh were swallowed up by a earthquake along with a number of the children of Israel who had risen up against God’s prophet and the Word of the Lord. God also allowed a plague to destroy the unbelievers in the ranks of the house of Israel.

Psalm 84 makes reference to the sons of Koreh when were rejected because of their earthly lineage… the curse that had followed their tribe from generation to generation.

According to Psalm 84:

1 HOW amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.”
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

In 4M men’s groups we learn that prayer is the way to align our hearts in a vertical relationship with God. Corporate prayer is the way to collectively bind our hearts together in unity of purpose as members in the body of Christ. Praying together builds the dwelling place of the most High for we are collective God’s temple… His dwelling place.

Christianity is God’s rescue plan to deliver desperate men. When men are desperate and wondering how they will provide for food, shelter, and clothing, God will meet his men in their moment of need. It’s not the things of this world that meet our needs, it’s the Lord. He is our Jehovah Jireh. He is our supply, our portion, our allotment, our all in all.

We’re are instructed to keep and guard our heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. The eye gate protects our heart. What is it that you look at and regard longingly? If thy eye be single, with singleness of mind, the whole body will be flooded with the light of the Word of God. The eyelid protects the eye… we need to condition our eyelids to protect us from being distracted from the baubles that the world dangles in front of our eyes.

The epistles say, grieve not the Holy Spirit. As the deer longs for streams of water, Lord I long for you. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. Jesus Christ is the bread of life… he is the fountain of living waters. He who drinks from the water of life shall never thirst.

As the darkness of the world increases, we need to approach the presence of God. Repentance means to turn from sin, the missing of the mark, and unto the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. When we forsake our pride and approach his throne of grace with meekness and humility then God will welcome us into his presence.

According to verse 3, Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

God created the sparrow with an instinct to return home. Sparrows are called home because God has created a homing instinct in the depth of their beings. This is our prayer, that we would develop a homing instinct to be drawn unto the Lord.

As we God’s people pass through the the valley of the shadow of death, the valley of pain and guilt and shame, we can turn aside from the darkness and destruction and into the presence of the Lord. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The spirit of God in Christ in us is his homing spirit in our hearts. Without his Holy Spirit, those who attempt to enter into God’s presence are just “playing church.” Home is where the heart is.. When our heart is at home with the Lord, then we’re never alone… for Jesus. Said, take heed and beware of covetousness, for I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Therefore forsake the terrestrial to approach the celestial.

According to Psalm 84 verses 6 and 7, “Who passing through the valley of Baca (tears) make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.”

Psalm 56:8-10 says, “put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.”

What does it mean to put thou my tears in a bottle? An ancient belief in biblical times was to collect tears in a bottle that were shed when moved with compassion for God and in service to God and His people. These righteous tears were an individual’s most prized possession. They were buried with the person at death. People believed that these tears would be weighed to determine rewards after death as an indication of a life of compassion for God and his righteousness. They believed that their tears in the bottle along with their names written in thy book are the record of their compassion and service to God.

In Luke 7:37-38, “And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” She took her most prized possession, her righteous tears, and poured them on Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her hair. Then she poured precious perfumed ointment on his feet. This is an indication that she sacrificed everything she held precious in service to her Lord. She wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair which was considered a woman’s crowning glory. This was an act of extreme humility for her Lord and Master. At the feet of Jesus, in humility, all my trophies at last I lay down….

Psalm 118 says the Lord is our refuge and strength. When our own strength fails and we’re at the end of our ropes, thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient for me.

The blessings in Psalm 84 start with verses 4 and 5: Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.: The blessing in Verse 12 says: “O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”

God empowers us with his Holy Spirit to work within us to will and to do of His good pleasure as we delight in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not unto our own understanding. Jesus Christ is the solution to all of the problems of life. In the throes of addiction, He’s not the 12-step program…. he is the one step program. As we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

…. That we mean ever live to the praise of the glory of God’s grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

The beatitudes are attitudes attuned to walking in fellowship with God. You can choose a blessed attitude by focusing on the things of the kingdom of God. Blessed attitudes are diametrically opposed to the World’s attitudes. The nature of our fallen flesh that we inherited from Adam revels in the attitudes of this world. However, What the world considers blessings are the opposite of what Jesus defines as God’s blessings. Therefore Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit. The world doesn’t consider poverty a blessing. However until we empty ourselves of our own prideful spirits, God cannot fill us with his holy spirt. Without the spirit of God in Christ, we cannot receive or understand the things of the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The comfort is in the gift of God’s Holy Spirit… the gift of the new birth we received when we were saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. Jesus said, I am the bread of life and I am the fountain of living waters. For Jesus Christ who was without sin became the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. In him we’re sanctified…set apart, fit for the purpose for which God designed us with a heart of Christ in us the hope of glory.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. The meek are eager to seek God’s instruction and humble to receive the word of God with a heart of joy and rejoicing. With a heart of meekness, a Roman centurion approached Jesus and said, my little daughter is sick and near unto death. Jesus said, I’ll come heal her. The centurion said, I am a man of authority. I command men and they obey my words. You are a man of authority. Just say the word and she will be healed. Jesus marveled at the centurion’s believing. He said, I have not see such faith, no not in Israel. Meekness in believing is the condition to receive the promises of God.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Loving kindness and tender mercy are the very nature of God himself. His steadfast love endureth forever.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. A heart purified by God’s righteous payment of his son’s sinless life on our behalf is blessed by the things of the spirit of God. We even glory in tribulation because God purifies our hearts through trial and testing. Chuck Smith said, God will deliver us through the fire, in the fire, or by the fire. Proverbs says the crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but God tries and purifies the heart.

The Pharisees in the time of Jesus thought that they were justified by keeping their interpretation of the Old Testament law. They thought they alone were righteous and that everyone else was condemned because they failed to keep their Pharisaical laws. Jesus reproved them… they were proud, arrogant, judgmental and unrepentant. In Mark 7:5-7 he said to the leaders of the Pharisees, “Well hath Esaias (Isaiah) prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

It’s important to take a “check-up from the neck up”…. how’s your walk with God? We’re all products of our environment… of our own intellect and of our secular educations. We’re most like the people with whom we choose to associate, including our earthly families. The Pharisees were proud of their pedigree and traditions of their families. However, Jesus was not impressed by their worldly credentials. He said, Blessed are the meek… those who are humble and teachable… those who forsake worldly pride to approach their Heavenly Father with a heart of humility and love.

What does it mean to be pure in heart? A pure heart has been purified by God according to his Word…. for every word of God is pure like silver tried in the fire seven times. Therefore, try me, mold me, and make me after thy will, while I am willing yielded and still. God will purify our hearts when they are malleable and moldable from the heat of the crucible and the fire of the furnace. Through the refining of trals, he will purity our hearts to reveal His character within us..

Keeping a pure heart will cost us in a world of darkness.. For Believers, it’s not about the cost it’s about the value. What is it that you value most?

Blessed are those who have been washed in the blood of Christ. He is the lamb of God without spot and without blemish. He is our Passover lamb whose innocent blood was sacrificed in our stead so that our guilty blood would not condemn us to death without hope and without God. Because Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins, we who have been born again are clothed with His righteousness, not the filthy rags of our flesh. He is the one who cleanses and purifies our hearts. Though our sins are as scarlet… because of his perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf, we shall be white as snow.

The first and great commandment says, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. When our hearts are infused with the love of God, our minds focused and fixed on the things of the spirit of God, then God will work with us and within us to will and to do of His good pleasure.

How do we cleanse and purify our hearts from sin that separates our hearts from God’s heart? The answer is in 1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” The purifying and cleansing is in walking with our Lord and in fellowship with believers. Jesus Christ is the light that disinfects us from the contamination of the darkness of this world.

As we walk in His light, we are purified through the trials of life… Trials and tribulations reveal God’s character in us. Paul said, I buffet my body to keep it under subjection… I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Thank God that because he has given us the spirit of Christ in us, we can delight ourselves in the Lord… then when our delight is His delight, he will give us the desires of our heart… to walk in fellowship with the Lord. cleansed and purified in His presence…

… that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Blessed Are the Merciful

When you ask a man a question, he’ll ask two questions in response: What will it cost me? What will I get out of it? All decisions in life are a risk-reward tradeoff. Life is a series of decisions. In the decisions of life, the question is, what’s it worth? The real question is not about the cost. Instead, it’s about value…. What is it that you value most?

Many men think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. The devil will tempt the gullible to believe that their salvation in Christ is insufficient…. that they need more of what the world has to offer.

The beatitudes are the keys to the kingdom of the Lord. To enter into the presence of the Lord, we must approach his throne of grace with a spirit of humility, a spirit that is destitute of myself so that he can fill me. When we’re hungry and thirsty for His righteousness, then Jesus said, I am the fountain of living waters and I am the bread of life.

The last three beatitudes are the practical application of first having a heart of humility, mourning over the sin and separation from the things of God and hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

Many churches emphasize serving. When Martha complained to Jesus because her sister Mary was not helping her serve, Jesus reproved her. He said, Mary has sought the greater thing… to sit at the Master’s feet. The beatitudes are about being, not being busy. The beatitudes define the attitudes of heart of those whom God has called into fellowship with Christ.

What is it that you value most? What is it that you love above all? Everything else is insignificant. The emphasis is on being and abiding with and within the love of God…. in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not what you do that counts but more importantly, it’s why you’re doing it.

Jesus said, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Loving kindness and tender mercy is the nature of God himself. Without the spirit of God, we cannot know and understand the mercy of God. Loving kindness and tender mercy is the most often used description of God in the King James Version of the Old Testament.

Many men want to bargain with God and manipulate him into giving us what we think we want. We say, we’ll worship the Lord if he’ll give us what we want. Serving God is similar to serving our wives. What can I do to serve my wife from a heart of love that my selfish flesh doesn’t really want to do? My challenge is to change my attitude to serve both God and my wife from a selfless heart of love.

Mercy is the manifestation of a heart of love. Mercy is the nature of God himself. Like as a father cherishes and loves his children, so the Lord has mercy on them that fear, respect, honor, and love him. Mercy is when my wife says to me, “we need to talk.” Mercy is when she gives me the opportunity to be restored to an upright position after i’ve fallen and broken our fellowship.

Jude 2 says, may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. God is merciful… otherwise he would never have forgiven us. Mercy is wrapped up in the love of God… he has dealt with us, not according to our sins, not according to our nature of sin and iniquity, but according to his nature of loving kindness and tender mercy. Mercy does not recompense evil for evil. Mercy is the withholding of righteous judgement. In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. He chose us before we chose him.

Jesus told a parable about a king whose servant owed him ten thousand talents. The servant could never repay the debt so the Lord was within his rights to demand that his wife and children serve the Lord their entire lives to pay off only a portion of the debt. However, the Lord had mercy upon his servant who owed the debt and with a heart of compassion forgave the debt. Then the servant confronted another man who owed him only ten dollars. He began to choke the man and say, pay it back! I will not forgive your meager debt. His debtor said, please be patient with me… I will pay back all that I owe. Instead the servant had his fellow slave thrown into the debtor’s prison. Then others reported back to the Lord all that the fellow slave had done. His Lord said, what is it that you have done? You asked mercy from me, shouldn’t you have forgiven your debtor like I forgave you. Then the Lord took the wicked servant and made him repay for the rest of his life everything that he had owed. This parable is an illustration of the beatitude that says, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Forgiveness and mercy is above the rational response of a fallen world. CS Lewis said, If you are looking for a comfortable religion, then Christianity is not that religion. The beatitudes fly in the face of human logic. Even though men twist the truth of the Word of God and call good evil and evil good, God is still on the throne… What men meant for evil God meant for good.

He who is repentant and broken mourning over the sin that has separated him from God’s righteous standard, will come to the Lord with a broken and a contrite heart. With a heart of meekness, humility, brokenness and repentance we can approach God’s throne of mercy and grace forsaking our pride in poverty of the spirit, hungering and thirsting for God’s righteousness, peace, redemption, cleansing and salvation. A broken and a contrite heart God will not forsake…. that he may restore our hearts according to the heart of Christ in us…

… that we may live to the praise of the glory of God’s grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Blessed Are the Merciful

The beatitudes are the preamble to the Sermon on the Mount… Jesus’ teachings about the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

The first four beatitudes are blessed are the poor in spirt, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are the meek, and blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. These four beatitudes lead us into meekness and humility to forsake our selfish selves in order to turn toward the Lord Jesus Christ and his righteousness.

The next theee beatitudes are the practical application of these first four beatitudes. The purpose is to love God above all as we minister to others with Christ’s heart behind our heart. These next three beatitudes focus on the nature of Christ in us the hope of glory.

The fifth beatitude says, “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Mercy is the withholding of God’s righteous judgement. The meaning of mercy is known only when we give others the same mercy that God gave us… For in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.

Paul said, be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit. The gift of God’s spirit is his enablement in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.

There are four possible responses to the good news of the gospel of Christ. The first is outright resistance. The second response is , “i’ll consider your message.” The third type of response is bargaining: Let’s make a deal. God, I’ll do what You want if you do what I want. The fourth stage is, “Lord I surrender all… my life is in thy hands. Use me and make me after your will, while I am willing yielded and still. Not my will but thine be done.

The fourth stage goes beyond questioning God’s motive: Does God really have a good plan for my life? Is he working all things together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose?

CS Lewis said that if you’re looking for a religion that makes you comfortable, then Christianity is not that religion. God will break our hearts so that he can pick up the treads of our broken hearts and weave them together to conform to the image of His dear Son. Proverbs says, the crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the heart of man is for the Lord’s refinement.

This is a hard lesson to learn. Pete learned this lesson in the father’s waiting room after his wife had carried their second child to term. The doctors had said, “we’re losing the baby’s heartbeat. You need to leave the delivery room.” Pete prayed, “God, Please save my wife and baby.” God answered, “No matter the outcome, will you still love, honor and serve me?” Pete thought to himself, will I still love God as a good, good father no matter if my baby and my wife both die? Pete searched his heart. Then he answered, “Yes Lord, no matter what happens in this situation, I will still love you above all.” When the doctor came into the father’s waiting room, she pulled Pete aside and said, “I’m sorry but we lost the baby.” Pete was thankful that God had prepared his heart to love and honor him despite this bad news.

Jesus said, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. You’re never more like Christ than when you show mercy to others. The Apostle Peter had asked Jesus, how many times must I forgive my brother? Should I forgive him seven times? The Levitical law said that you should only forgive a person three times. Peter thought that seven times would show mercy. However Jesus said, you should forgive not seven times but seventy times seven.

Jesus illustrated this point with a parable about a slave who owed his master $10 million in today’s money… a sum that could never be repaid in several lifetimes. The master could rightfully require the service of the slave’s wife and children for the rest of their lives to pay a portion of the debt. The slave approached his master and said, Lord have mercy on me… I’ll attempt to repay but this is a debt that I cannot bear.” The Lord took mercy on his servant and said, your debt is forgiven.

Then the forgiven servant confronted a fellow slave who owed him just $10. He said to the man who owed him, pay up or I will have you thrown into the debtor’s prison. The man said, please be patient with me and give me some time to pay you back. The servant dealt harshly with is fellow slave who could not immediately repay and sent him to prison. Then word came back to the Lord about how the slave that he had forgiven would not offer mercy to his fellow slave. The Lord reinstated his wicked slave’s debt and required him and his household to work the rest of their lives to pay only a partial payment of the debt rightfully owed to the Master. This parable is an illustration that those who are merciful shall receive mercy.

How can we say that we have repented and confessed our sin unless we forgive others? We are debtors burdened with a debt of sin that we cannot repay. We rightfully deserve to be committed to debtors’ prison for the rest of our lives. Even when we have done all our Lord requires of us, we cannot ask his mercy and grace because we’ve simply done our duty as subjects of our Lord. If we carried a Roman soldier’s pack one mile as the law requires, what reward can you ask… you’ve simply done your duty as required by Roman Law. Did you walk the second mile from a heart of love? According to 1 Corinthians 13, Without the love of God, even though I gave my body to be burned, it will profit me nothing.

Loving kindness and tender mercy is the most often used description of the character of God in the Old Testament. Loving Kindness is the Hebrew word “hased” which is the same word as the Greek word “Agape,” the love of God in the New Testament.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, You are servants of you father the devil… You are a brood of vipers. The devil is the father of lies and you’re just like your father the devil. Romans says, ye are slaves of whom you obey. As sons of God the nature of our Heavenly Father is loving kindness and tender mercy. We inherited his nature when we were born again not of corruptible seed that we inherited from Adam, but from the seed of the Word of God… the spirit of God in Christ in us…

That we may demonstrate our Father’s loving kindness and tender mercy to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Ascenders

Despite the chaos and the confusion in the world around us, Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the throne of God to intercede on behalf of believers who pray in his name according to the will of God.

Although death and destruction is all around us, greater is he that is in you than he that is in this world. When we cast our care upon him, he cares for us. As men of faith, God has called us to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free, not to be entangled in the yoke of the bondage of this world and the Old Testament Law that convicted all men of sin and death. The liberty that we have in Christ is in the spirit of Christ in us the hope of glory to love God above all and to serve one another from a heart of love.

As the old hymn of Martin Luther says, “did we in our own strength confide, our battle would be losing, were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing. Doth ask whom that may be? Christ Jesus it is he… and he must win the battle.

To scale the highest mountain peaks, mountain climbers need to be prepared… they have to have the right equipment and safety lines. They need to bring their own oxygen and weather conditions need to be favorable. Climbers are connected to a safety line by devices called “ascenders” that allow them to ascend but not retreat. If they slip and lose their footing the ascender will keep them from falling. They ascend together with a team of climbers.

The analogy of mountain climbing is an example of the Christian walk… of each individual pilgrim’s progress upon the pilgrimage of this earthly life. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”. God is faithful to His word. The origin of the Aramaic word “Amen” means, “God said it…. so shall it be done.” Regardless of circumstances, situations, and the unbelief of men, God’s word shall come to pass. Why? Because God honors the integrity of His word.

Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus Christ is the word of God made manifest… He said, “I always do my Father’s will.” The word of God is the will of God. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be a disciplined follower of the word of God.

The next verse in Hebrews 10 says, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:”. The team of mountain climbers cannot ascend to the peak unless they climb together and encourage one another. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

Jesus Christ is our lifeline. What happens if we get disconnected from the line? Without the support of our brothers in Christ, the devil will have his way with us. His purpose is to steal, to kill and to destroy. Ecclesiastes says, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

Therefore, Jude says, maintain yourselves in the love of God. One wife complained to her pastor, “My husband just pushes all of my buttons.” His response: “Just get rid of your buttons.” As Pastor Pete often says, “There is nothing wrong with my wife that God can’t fix in me.” The love of God thinks no evil. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs done. It gives others grace and mercy from the heart of the love of God. The Apostle Paul said, “owe no man anything but to love one another, for he that loveth another fulfilleth the law.”

James says, Save others by snatching them out of the fire. Chuck Smith said, God will deliver us through the fire, in the fire, or by the fire. The fire of tribulation and trials reveal God’s character in us. For tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience (proven character), and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.

Jesus Christ is our lifeline who keeps us from falling. Therefore, give diligence with urgency to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things you shall never fall. What are these things? According to 1 Peter 2, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness the love of God.

It’s easy to become discouraged about current world events and the sins of the world (and our own hearts) that so easily beset us. However to run with patience, press toward the mark of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus. We ascend to new heights as we pursue our Lord along with others who chase after Christ. Jude 23 says, Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory with exceeding joy… to the only wise God be glory and majesty and honor and glory both now and forever, Amen and Amen …

… That we may live to the the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael