Life Lessons

How do we View the Baby in the Manger?

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Our speaker at church this week continued on with the theme of Christmas.  He pointed out how Christmas is all about Christ. Unfortunately, this seems to make people feel uncomfortable, and they have covered up the real meaning with commercialism, the getting and giving of presents and family time. While these things are all good, they tend to blur what the season is all about.

People can cope with Jesus, the baby in the manger, and with Jesus the Healer and Teacher. When it comes to Jesus on the cross, they agree that yes, it was a historical fact, but as for the Resurrection and the ascension to Heaven, they tend to pass that off as being a bit fanciful. As for the mere idea that Jesus Christ is still alive and about to return to earth to mete out judgement on all the evil that has been done over the ages, this idea is totally out of their realm and is refused out of hand.

   Stop and think about it for a minute…. if this is not correct, there is nothing to lose, but if it IS correct and no preparations are being done for it, then there is everything to lose.

Random Devotional Thoughts

A Joyous Christmas !

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And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).    None of the characters in the Christmas story were important or famous people from other people’s point of view…in fact, they just seemed very ordinary. Elisabeth and her husband Zechariah the priest, were two older people with no children. At the other end of the spectrum was Mary, engaged to Joseph the local carpenter, young and looking forwards to what life had in store for her.

Both these couples had had a visit from the angel Gabriel telling them that they would each have a miraculous child born to them. Elisabeth was too old, and Mary was not yet married, but they both accepted this news as from the Lord Himself with Whom nothing was impossible. Once Mary had ascertained how this miracle would take place for her, she humbly said, “Let it be so as the Lord has said”.

   Elisabeth was already six months pregnant by the time the angel visited Mary, and after talking with him, she immediately went to visit her older cousin. We wonder what these two pregnant ladies would have said to each other! We are told some of their conversation….it was not their condition or their symptoms they spoke about. It was the babies that they were carrying. In fact, Elisabeth the older lady, deferred to Mary the younger girl, recognising the importance of the child that Mary was carrying. She referred to her as “the mother of my Lord” and said how her baby had leaped in her womb at Mary’s greeting.

    Mary immediately burst into a song of praise….this was not a song of someone else’s, this was a spontaneous series of quotations from the book of Psalms that she knew off by heart, and that glorified God for what He was about to do with and through these as-yet unborn sons that she and Elisabeth  were carrying. God’s plan of salvation for mankind was about to be unfolded, and these children were to be the means of bringing great joy to the world.

Daily Devotionals

How Clean Are You?

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    I’ve just been cleaning down our back deck which faces a stand of tall trees. Not only that, it  doesn’t get the morning sun but only the late afternoon sun  through the trees. As a result, it gets covered with leaves and if left too long, covered in a green gunge as well. I have found that a bleach helps to get the black mould off (with plenty of scrubbing!), and so it is looking pristine clean after this time around. Perhaps one reason that it gets left, is that it is at the back of the house, and no one sees it for long periods of time!

     But while I was scrubbing it down with a broom,  it reminded me of how like our lives, this deck is. Just as it needs constant cleaning, so we need to keep our spirit and soul cleaned regularly before God. The bleach which gets into all the little grooves in the deck makes it all clean and shiny, so this reminds us that it is the work of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives and minds, that reminds us of things which need to be confessed and put right.

    Because it is in the shade for so long each day, the moss and mould begins to grow and make it messy. So we need the constant light of daily Bible readings to keep the moss in our minds at bay. We might think it is too hard to understand, but remember, that just as a sieve doesn’t hold the water in it, the constant washing under the tap keeps it clean. So even if we don’t understand some of it, other things will stick and help keep our minds in the right direction.

    There is nothing like a good clean up to make that back deck look lovely and a joy to behold. So those who keep their lives on the right tracks will be a joy and a help to all those around, to say nothing of having the satisfaction of being in the right relationship with the God of Heaven.

Stories for Teens

Christian’s (Pilgrim’s) Progress

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                                               13.  The Moral of the Story.

    Uncle Jeff was at the family’s home again one day, and Betty snuggled up to him. “Has our story about Pilgrim all finished now?” she asked. “Of course it has, silly,” said Bobby , “He got to the Celestial City where he was going to, don’t you remember?” Sarah came in then and she said, “Where did this story come from Uncle Jeff? Who wrote it and exactly what did it mean? I mean I can see some of the points of it, but what was it all about?”

“That’s a very good question, Sarah,” Uncle Jeff said , “ And this is how it came about….. There was a man called John Bunyan who lived in England  back in the 1600s…” “Oooh, that’s a long time ago!” said Betty, interrupting the story. “Yes, it sure was”, said Uncle Jeff,  “And he made his living by being a tinker.” “What’s that?” Bobby asked.

“A tinker was someone who travelled from place to place mending pots and pans and other things that needed mending,” Uncle Jeff said “But anyway. when John’s father died, he was still only a boy, but he had gone to school long enough to learn to read and write. He went to church, but didn’t really take much notice of what was said, and back then, there were strict rules for people to live by. They weren’t supposed to go to wild parties or anything like that, but young John did all of these things. For a while the Puritans were the ruling people of England, and tried to make people follow their rules. “

“What made John change his ideas about life then, Uncle Jeff?” Sarah wanted to know.

“Well, “ said Uncle Jeff slowly, “he was sent off to the civil war in England and one day as he was standing next to another soldier, that man was shot in the head, and John realised that if he had been in that man’s place, it would have been him that was shot. So it made him stop and think, that maybe God had some work that He wanted him to do. So John made a point of really listening to the sermons after that, and as he listened to the preacher, he wanted to be like that too.

So then John began to preach around the place. As time went by, new rules came in as the government changed, and people weren’t allowed to preach out in the open air any more. But that didn’t make any difference to John, he still went ahead and did it. One day the police came and arrested him and had him put in prison for preaching outside in the streets.

The prison was a horrible place, it was smelly and dirty, and he was often on his own. But John stayed cheerful through it all, and said well, he could preach to the walls and still read his Bible so what did it matter!!      After a while, he was told that if he promised to stop preaching, he could be let out, but he felt he couldn’t do that, it would be letting the Lord down.” “How long was he in prison altogether for then?” Bobby wanted to know.

“He was there for twelve years, Bobby,“  Uncle Jeff said, “ and it was while he was there thinking about his life and what had happened, that he had these dreams about Christian being a pilgrim travelling to the Celestial city, and all the things that happened to him on the way. Let’s see how many of these things you can remember now….why do you think his name was Pilgrim?” “It was because he was travelling through his life”, said Bobby. “That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “What was he carrying on his back?” “It was a heavy load,” said Sarah, “and he couldn’t get rid of it either, until he got to the cross where Jesus died. I suppose that’s like us knowing we are sinners and it feels like a load on our backs until we ask Jesus to take it away.”

“What other people did he meet on the way that you can remember about?” Uncle Jeff asked. “There was Mr. Helpful and Mr. Faithful , “  Bobby said. “Yes, but there were the other sort that tried to stop him going to the city, Mr. Smarty-Pants, and Mr. Atheist too, “ said Sarah, “And they are the sort of  people we have to be careful not to have too much to do with in case they put us off.” “Ooh, I remember there was that nasty mean Giant Despair that threw them into his dungeon!” Betty said.

“I know what that means,” said Bobby, “It means that when things go wrong we can get down in the dumps and think that God has forgotten about us!” “What about the different places that Christian saw as he went along?”

“Well, there was Vanity Fair where they were tempted to do wrong things,“ Sarah said, “And then there was By-Path Meadow where they left the narrow path to the city and thought there was an easier way to go and they nearly fell over the cliff.” “So what do you think all these things mean for us?” Uncle Jeff asked.

They were all quiet for a bit, thinking about the question. “I know, I know,” Betty piped up, “It means that when we follow Jesus we are not to get put off by bad things that happen to us, like if we get sick or have an accident.” “It means that we mustn’t take the easy ways out,“  Sarah said, “that if we do, we might come to grief and miss out on what God really wants us to do.”

“It means that we have to think ahead, “ Bobby said slowly,  “Instead of doing things in a hurry, and making mistakes that we might be sorry about later”. “Well, I can see that you have got the points that the story was trying to bring out,” Uncle Jeff said, “And what was the final outcome?”

“When Christian came to the end of the road, even though it wasn’t going to be easy for him, he knew that the King was waiting for him on the other side,” Sarah said, “And we can be like that too….even though we don’t like the thought of dying, we know that the best for us is on the other side. Doesn’t the Bible say that to be with Christ is far better? I guess that is what we have to keep remembering. Even young people die sometimes, so it pays to be ready because we never know when that is going to be ! “ “Very good!”  Uncle Jeff said, “Now I think that warrants something to eat, look in my coat pocket and see what I brought for each of you!!”

Stories for Teens

Pilgrim’s (Christian’s) Progress (12)

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12.     The Final Test.

      Uncle Jeff walked in one wet Saturday afternoon. Sarah was curled up on the sofa reading a book as usual, while Bobby and Betty were playing a card game on the mat in front of the fire. “Ooh, story please!” Betty cried. “Yes please, Uncle Jeff”, Sarah said, just as keen as the little ones this time, “We must be nearly to the end of the  story by now!”

“Well now,” said Uncle Jeff sitting down on the couch opposite Sarah, “I seem to remember that Hopeful and Christian had escaped from the Atheist, and then they came to a large smooth plain. It was while they were walking over this that Hopeful got very sleepy, and got slower and slower. ‘All I want to do is to lie down and have a nap’, he said. ‘No, no’ said Christian, ‘You mustn’t do that. We have to be watchful and keep on our way.’ And he pulled Hopeful’s hand and they carried on. ‘Tell me how you came to leave Vanity Fair’, Christian said, ‘Did you see us trapped in the cage there?’ ‘Yes, I did’, he said, ‘And that is what made me feel ashamed and want to leave. While I was feeling like this, I thought I heard Jesus call to me from heaven saying to just believe on Him and I would be saved. So I did. And I felt as though a great burden had left me’. ‘Me too,’ said Christian, ‘That’s how I felt’.

     They were soon across the plain and the next valley they came to was covered in beautiful plants and flowers. There were festoons of vines with fruit and flowers all over them. They came to a sign saying, ‘Beulah Land’. ‘I’ve heard of this place’, said Christian, ‘The King has prepared it for His servants so that they may have a glimpse of how beautiful and restful it is in the Celestial City. It can’t be much further to go, I can hardly wait to get there!’ ‘That’s how I feel too’, Hopeful said, ‘Let’s keep going’.

      A little further on and they saw two shining ones walking among the trees. Somehow they knew that these were angels who were keeping pace with them. These two angels had actually been with them all the way, but they hadn’t seen them until now.” “Doesn’t the Bible say something about the angel of the Lord being with Christians?” asked Bobby. “That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “It says the angel of the Lord camps round about those who love God and delivers them from bad things happening”. “Does that mean I’ve got an angel with me too?” Betty asked. “If you love and obey the Lord Jesus, that is what it says Betty. So just remember that whenever you get afraid of bad things happening”, Uncle Jeff said.

“Anyway, these angels told Hopeful and Christian that there was still another test for them before they could get to the gates of the Celestial City. ‘You will come to a wide river’, they said, ‘and you will each have to get across it on your own. You can’t go together, and we can’t even go with you. We can go to the edge of the river, but there is only One person who will go across it with you. He is the One who has said He will never leave you nor forsake you’.” “That’s a verse in the Bible too, isn’t it”, said Sarah, “Jesus has given us that promise”. “That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff, “And that is what Christian and Hopeful found for themselves.  ‘Oh, I’ve done some silly things on this trip’, said Christian, ‘You go ahead of me Hopeful’.

       Hopeful stepped into the water, and began to swim with strong strokes across the river. He went quietly and  determinedly, and soon disappeared from Christian’s sight. He could faintly see the angels waiting on the other side of the river, and knew he should be following his friend. But he felt so alone, and began to wonder if God really was with him. He started swimming and got halfway across when he began to struggle and half sank.  ‘Oh God, where are you?’ he cried.          Suddenly he felt lighter and happier and was able to swim more strongly. He could almost see what the Celestial City was like, and kept going until his feet touched the bottom. The angels reached out and pulled him to safety. The relief was immense and there was a bright shining light.  ‘Oh’, he cried out loud, ‘I had no idea it was like this!’

He heard the reply from the gates, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers shall not overflow you!’       They could both see the other side before they got to the far side of the river and it was different for both of them. Hopeful got there peacefully and quietly, while Christian had a struggle on his way, but they both got there and found the King waiting to welcome them in. They saw the bright pearly gates there, and as they each arrived they were given bright white shining clothes to put on.     Everything else just fell off  them. All their aches and pains left them, and as they looked at each other they saw themselves as at the peak of their maturity Their faces were lovely and peaceful with no more lines or marks. Their hair was thick and shining, and all the grey had gone. Yet they still looked the same. They were still the same people, and were filled with a love and peace such as they had never known before. And there waiting to welcome them was the King Himself.

    The whole scene was like nothing that Hopeful and Christian had ever seen or known. It is so wonderful that no-one on earth could ever describe it…earthly words just cannot tell us anything about it. There were so many wonderful things to explore and see that the old world was completely left behind and forgotten. The Bible tells us that the former things (that’s now) will never be remembered once we get to the new heavens and new earth that God is going to make for His people. But that is the end of the story of Christian and Hopeful,” said Uncle Jeff.

Betty sighed loudly. “Oh, that is so wonderful Uncle Jeff, I almost felt like going with Christian myself!” “I suppose we are in a way,” Sarah said thoughtfully, “After all, we are all on the road of life right from when we are born”. “But Christian did such silly things on the way”, said Bobby. “That is such a comfort to us”, Uncle Jeff said, “It just shows us that even when we do wrong things, we can be forgiven if we confess it to the Lord Jesus and He will make everything fresh and new for us. Every single silly thing we have done will be  taken away and never remembered again!”      He stood up and stretched, and said, “That’s enough for now….let’s go and put the jug on for  afternoon tea”.

Stories for Teens

Christian’s (Pilgrim) Progress  (Part Eleven)    

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.       Beware!

      It was a cold wet Sunday evening, and Bobby put some more wood on the fire. Uncle Jeff was with the family for tea again, and when the dishes were cleared off the table they all gathered around to hear more story. Even Mum and Dad had got interested by this time and wanted to hear more of Christian’s adventures along the road of life. “Well, we left Christian and Hopeful starting on the next stage of their journey”, said Uncle Jeff, “and as they went along, Christian remembered hearing a story about this part of the journey they were going on. ‘You know Hopeful,’ he began, ‘this is where Little-faith nearly lost his way to the Celestial City. He lay down under a tree somewhere here as he was so tired, and went to sleep. He woke up to see three robbers coming up on their horses, but by the time he had got off the ground they were upon him. They robbed him of his money, and one of them clubbed him on the head. Just as they were about to search him more thoroughly, they heard another traveller coming on a horse so they took off. They didn’t know that it was the Prince who was coming, because He has promised that He will never leave His people, no matter how weak they are or how foolish they have been.’                                             

 ‘What a great story!’ Hopeful exclaimed, ‘It gives me courage to carry on. We have certainly been silly sometimes, and yet the King is always with us even if we can’t see Him! Did the robbers get Faint-heart’s jewels?’ ‘No’, said Christian, ‘He had them hidden over his heart, and his soul was safe. But there is one thing that we have to remember, and that is to always have our sword ready and our shield as well, because our enemy is always lurking around ready to take a swipe at us’. ‘Oh, I will’, said Hopeful.’

“I know what that means”, Betty piped up, “It means that we always have to learn verses so we can say them, and to remember everything that God has done for us other times!” “That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “If we stand firm when the devil attacks us, he will run away from us. He is really a big coward!” “Doesn’t the Bible  say something about always wearing the armour of God too?” Sarah asked. “That’s right, that is the only way we can resist the devil and use our sword against him,” Uncle Jeff replied. “ Do you remember what the sword is in the armour that we have?” “Isn’t it the Bible?” Sarah asked, “I seem to remember something about it being the sword because it is the Word of God.”

“Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, “And that’s why it is so important to fill your mind with memory verses, so even if you don’t have your Bible with you, you can remember verses to keep you from temptation and displeasing God. Anyway, our friends went on a little further, and then they came to a fork in the road. ‘Which way shall we go?’ Hopeful asked. They stood there looking at the roads for a bit, and neither way seemed better than the other. ‘Let’s go this way’, said Christian, ‘There’s a man over there, we’ll follow him’, and off they went, catching up with him.  ‘Hoho’, the man said, ‘You look like two nice fellows, come and join me on my travels.’ So Christian and Hopeful followed him. He kept telling them how lucky he was to have such nice fellows to walk with and how good they were to keep him company.

    They had completely forgotten what the shepherd had told them about a man called Mr. Flatterer, and so they listened to his nice talk as they went along, and he kept telling them what good fellows they were!  But they never noticed that the road they were on had turned right around and was now facing the City of Destruction once more. They kept following him without ever once looking at their book of instructions, and never noticed where he was taking them until they found themselves all tangled up in a large net that was lying in the way. ‘Haha!’ laughed Mr. Flatterer, ‘you’ll be lucky to get to the Celestial City now! Haha!’ and he laughed again and then vanished.

‘Oh, oh’, cried Christian, ‘what shall we do? Oh, I’ve taken you the wrong way again Hopeful! Can you ever forgive me?’ ‘Of course I forgive you’, Hopeful said, ‘Even if you make mistakes seventy times seven!’ But this didn’t help them get out of the net. They spent a miserable night feeling sorry for themselves, and when it came daylight, they could see an angel there hovering nearby. ‘How did you come to be tangled up in this?’ he asked, ‘Didn’t the shepherds give you a map with directions on which way to take? Why didn’t you read it?’ Christian looked at the ground in shame. ‘I forgot’, he muttered.

‘Well,’ said the angel, ‘You will have to suffer the consequences of your foolishness. Here is a small hook to undo all those knots and get out of this mess’, and he passed them a small hook each. It took them almost all day to undo those knots, and their fingers were covered in blobs of blood by the time they finished and were free once more”. “That’s just like us when we do something silly without thinking”, Bobby said, “We might get out of trouble but then we have to put up with what follows. Like the time I went outside when I was told not to. It was raining and I got wet and cold, then I ended up with a bad cough for days”. “That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff, “Sometimes God has to let us suffer for our foolishness to teach us to obey our parents and to not forget to read His Word!”

“What happened to them next?” Sarah asked. “When they eventually managed to undo all the knots and get free, and  they carried on the road again, going in the right direction this time. But we’ll have to leave our story there for this time, “ Uncle Jeff said, “I’d better  have that cup of tea now  and then I’ll have to go”.

Stories for Teens

Christian’s (Pilgrim) Progress  (Part Ten)    

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  In REAL Trouble This Time.

    Uncle Jeff walked in one wet Saturday afternoon where the three young ones were reading (Sarah and Betty)  and building a meccano set (Bobby). “I figured it was time we caught up with a bit more story”, he said, “And seeing it’s a wet afternoon, it’s a good time to do this”. “Ooh goody”, cried Betty, “Come on Bobby, more of Uncle Jeff’s story!” Sarah came into the room with the others and settled down to listen as well.

“What was the big mistake that Christian and Hopeful made?” Uncle Jeff asked. “They left the narrow way of the King, and went over the stile for an easier road”, said Bobby, “They were following Cocky who thought he knew best, and then they all got lost in the dark”. “I know what that’s like”, Sarah said, “It’s like when we think we know what’s best for us instead of doing what the Bible says. When we get the huff with someone who has been mean to us, and then won’t forgive them!”

“Yes, and now they find themselves in a real mess. Without knowing where they were going, they had wandered off the right track and were now in the grounds of a large castle called Doubting Castle that belonged to Giant Despair. He was going the rounds the next morning to see what damage the storm had done, and what should he see but Christian and Hopeful asleep in his shed by the track.   He picked them both up by the backs of their necks as though they were little kittens, and took them off to his castle where he threw them into a stinking  dungeon. It was dark and smelly inside. Our friends picked themselves up off the floor and they shook their heads trying to see what their prison was like. They were left there without anything to eat or drink for three days. Christian especially was feeling bad because it was his idea to go over the stile the easy way.

   The giant’s wife was as cruel and mean as he was, and tried to get him to kill them. But he went back the next day  to see them and gave them both a beating  instead. They were feeling so sore for the next day or so, and when the giant came back again, he had a bottle of poison and a rope in his hand. ‘There’, he said as he threw them down on the floor, ‘You can either take the poison or hang yourselves. Nobody ever gets out of here alive!’    The two men were so weak and sore, that they actually talked about taking the poison. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea’, Christian said, ‘But I was the one that got us into this mess!’ ‘Not really’, said Hopeful, ‘But I don’t think the King would like us to be talking about killing ourselves’.

They lay down again and tried to rest their sore backs and legs. When they woke up, Christian suddenly said, ‘Oh! I’ve been such a dope! Look what I have here!’ and he put his hand inside his shirt pulling out a large key wrapped in his handkerchief. ‘What is that?’ asked Hopeful. ‘The girl where I got the armour from gave it to me just as I was leaving and said that if we were ever in real trouble to use this key of promise and prayer. She said that it would unlock any door of any size!’      So that night after dark, Christian went to the door and put the key in it. Sure enough, it unlocked easily. They went through it and came to the second door. This was a much bigger door, but it too opened with no trouble. The final door led to the outside and it was heavy and rusty. The key could not unlock it so they both turned it with all their might. Suddenly it flew open making a dreadful clatter. The Giant’s wife heard it, and pushed him out of bed saying, ‘Those prisoners are running off. Go and catch them!’ Giant Despair ran after them, and almost caught them as they got to the outside gateway. But what with the effort of waking up suddenly and being a bit dizzy, one of his fits came upon him and he fell down on the ground.

‘Quick’ said Christian, and they ran through the gate slamming it behind them. They kept running until they could run no more and were well clear of Giant Despair’s land. After they climbed back over the stile, they said, ‘Let’s put up a notice to warn others of the dangers of leaving the King’s Highway’. They found a large smooth piece of wood and carved a warning notice on it with an arrow pointing along the narrow way they had left.  It said, ‘This is the way, only walk this way!’

A little further along, they came to a beautiful meadow with plenty of green grass and shepherds looking after some sheep. ‘What is this place called”‘ Christian asked the shepherds. ‘This is the place of rest beside the still waters’, they said, ‘The Chief Shepherd leads his sheep here, and gives them a full table to eat from. He restores their  souls  and  anoints  their  heads with oil until their cup runs over with joy. Why don’t you stay here and recover from all your aches and pains. It isn’t much further to the Celestial City from here’ “, and Uncle Jeff paused.

“Did they do that?” Bobby asked. “I guess it’s like us taking a break after a tough time”, Sarah said. “What happens next?” asked Betty impatiently. “Well,” said Uncle Jeff slowly, “They decided to do just that. They stopped there until they felt fit enough to carry on. The names of the shepherds there were Knowledge, Experience, Watchful and Hope. Whenever we have gone through tough times, we come out of it knowing more and having all those experiences behind us. We know to be more watchful like Christian was now, and filled with hope for better days ahead. The shepherds went with them to the end of the restful plains, and then after climbing a small rise, they handed Christian a pair of binoculars to look across to the hills with the bright  glow behind them.  ‘There’s the Celestial City over there’, they said, ‘behind that bright gateway’.  Hopeful too, had a look and it made him feel joyful at the very thought of being there. ‘Whatever you do’, the shepherds said, ‘Beware of a man called Flatterer, and don’t stop on the Enchanted Ground.’ ‘Watch out for the robbers too’, called out Knowledge as they went on their way.

 So Christian and Hopeful went on their way, feeling rested and with a song in their hearts. And we’ll leave it there for now”, Uncle Jeff said. “I think the rain has stopped now, so let’s go outside”.

See what God has to say to YOU.