FALLING…INTO FORGIVENESS

Posted on January 20, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms for the Journey

God is amazing. Let’s us begin our day right now with that thought in our minds. He not only extends love. He IS love. The world cannot define His Love although they keep trying in media and in their lives. God’s love is perfect. God’s love is forever. God even sent Love to earth to help us understand Love. Most of the world at that time rejected Love, but some received it and lived it so that we can encounter His Love today. God’s Love fulfilled.

God listens. When the “bottom has fallen out of my life” as the Psalmist cries out, God hears. He hears our whining, our perspective of each circumstance then helps us see things from His view. Perspective changed.

God forgives. “Forgiveness is His habit”. Humans keep lists of all our wrongs and perceived wrongs and hold it against us forever. God keeps no such lists. We don’t stand a chance with human judgement. But God forgives…and forgets. We remember so we won’t sin again in the same ways, but God picks us up, cleans us up and puts us back on firm footing. We begin new. We are renewed, restored and refreshed ready to go forward with Him. We are not the person yesterday that we are today because of God.

God redeems. When we repent with a desire to never go “there” again, God pays the debt of our sin. We are a redeemed person. Bought and paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ our Savior. Now we live for Him, waiting and watching for him as he works in our lives to mold and shape us for His glory. We are deeply grateful and ready to be and do His will His way because of His redeeming action in us. “No doubt about it!”

Psalm 130, The Message

A Pilgrim Song

1-2 Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy.

3-4 If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped.

5-6 I pray to God—my life a prayer—
and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning.

7-8 O Israel, wait and watch for God—
with God’s arrival comes love,
with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,
buy back Israel from captivity to sin.

psalm-130-5

 

“I pray to God–my life a prayer–and wait for what he’ll say and do. My life’s on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching…”

In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe!

 

 

And I’m singing…(“Mended” by Matthew West)

When you see broken beyond repair
I see healing beyond belief
When you see too far gone
I see one step away from home

How many times can one heart break?
It was never supposed to be this way
Look in the mirror, but you find someone you never thought you’d be

Oh, but I can still recognize
The one I love in your tear stained eyes
I know you might not see him now, so lift your eyes to me

When you see broken beyond repair
I see healing beyond belief
When you see too far gone
I see one step away from home

When you see nothing but damaged goods
I see something good in the making
I’m not finished yet
When you see wounded, I see mended

You see your worst mistake
But I see the price I paid
And there’s nothing you could ever do, to lose what grace has won

So hold on, it’s not the end
No, this is where love’s work begins
I’m making all things new
And I will make a miracle of you

When you see broken beyond repair
I see healing beyond belief
When you see too far gone
I see one step away from home

When you see nothing but damaged goods
I see something good in the making
I’m not finished yet
When you see wounded, I see mended

I see my child, my beloved
The new creation you’re becoming
You see the scars from when you fell
But I see the stories they will tell

You see worthless, I see priceless
You see pain, but I see a purpose
You see unworthy, undeserving
But I see you through eyes of mercy

When you see broken beyond repair
I see healing beyond belief
You’re not too far gone
You’re one step away from home

When you see nothing but damaged goods
I see something good in the making
I’m not finished yet, no
When you see wounded, I see mended

Ooh, I see mended
Woah, oh I see mended
I’m not finished yet
When you see wounded, I see mended

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KEEP ON TICKING!

Posted on January 19, 2017 by randscallawayffm
Psalms for the Journey
 
Many years ago, before the technology of Fitbit and IPhones, there was Timex. (I know I have just lost half the readers because you will not have a clue about what I am about relate!) There was a commercial that ran often that told of the must have wrist watch (it only told you the time and date…just helping the young ones out) that defied being kicked, beat up, dropped and smashed. “Timex. Takes a licking, keeps on ticking!” was the catch phrase coined by a then famous news journalist, John Cameron Swayze. He is gone now, too, by the way. We all tick for just so long. (Smiling)
timex-watch
Life has bumps in the road, ruts to fall into, ridges to trip on or climb over. By trusting God we might “take a licking” and might even be kicked around by those who allow evil to run their lives, but we can keep on ticking in time with the rhythm of God’s grace. We can rely on God’s Holy Spirit to be our strength and wisdom. We can rely on God’s Word to be our shield. We arm ourselves with His Truth and continue to live our lives for His glory.
 
The psalmist opens with “They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young, but they never could keep me down.” My catch phrase for my life and work for today. Read, be blessed and keep on ticking! Praise God for life and more life!
 
Psalm 129, The Message
A Pilgrim Song
 
1-4 “They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young”
—this is how Israel tells it—
“They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young,
but they never could keep me down.
Their plowmen plowed long furrows
up and down my back;
Then God ripped the harnesses
of the evil plowmen to shreds.”
 
5-8 Oh, let all those who hate Zion
grovel in humiliation;
Let them be like grass in shallow ground
that withers before the harvest,
Before the farmhands can gather it in,
the harvesters get in the crop,
Before the neighbors have a chance to call out,
“Congratulations on your wonderful crop!
We bless you in God’s name!”
 
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe!
By the way…I still have my Timex.
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PEACE

Posted on January 18, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms for the Journey

Yesterday I actually showed you a picture of my completely chaotic unorganized home with stacks of stuff everywhere. My kids who know me well are amazed that I am not going crazy in the mess. I am at peace because God is helping us go down this road of a simple remodel of care and maintenance for our home. I have always believed that we must care for what God has given us.

Why are we at peace? Because there is hope of future reward in seeing it all come together. Because we are a bit older, and we are doing it ourselves to save money it goes a bit slower, but that is okay. When I come home from work, I still have one place to sit in the living room. We can still get to the food in the kitchen. We have a bed to lie in at night. We can get to the bathrooms as well. Basic needs. Peace out. God is good…no, He’s great and I stand in awe of Him.

We are blessed in whatever mess we find ourselves because we believe, trust, love and have a desire to obey and follow the One who loves us most. “All you who fear God, how blessed you are!” begins the Psalmist this morning. “Stand in awe of God’s yes.”
“Enjoy your life.” “Peace”. These are the words that stand out to me today in our next Psalm for our own journeys.

Psalm 128, The Message
A Pilgrim Song

1-2 All you who fear God, how blessed you are!
how happily you walk on his smooth straight road!
You worked hard and deserve all you’ve got coming.
Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness!

3-4 Your wife will bear children as a vine bears grapes,
your household lush as a vineyard,
The children around your table
as fresh and promising as young olive shoots.
Stand in awe of God’s Yes.
Oh, how he blesses the one who fears God!

5-6 Enjoy the good life in Jerusalem
every day of your life.
And enjoy your grandchildren.
Peace to Israel!

family-blessing3

 

One last thought, unless you have already had it…
God is constantly remodeling us because he cares for us and loves us forever. HE will bring all things together at the second coming of Jesus Christ our Lord. Peace now. Peace then. Forever with Jesus in our perfect home that needs no new coat of paint. The work has already been done. Praise God! Yes, I stand in awe!

 

In the meantime, enjoy your spouse, you kids, their kids every day of your life. That’s what counts in glory. Peace.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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SEEING OURSELVES THE WAY GOD SEES US

Posted on January 17, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms on the Journey

win_20170117_05_47_13_pro

Right now Randy and I are in the middle of remodeling our home…by ourselves. All our belongings are stacked high in the living room while we paint bedrooms and closets. We are also waiting on carpet to arrive. Nothing can be on the floor where carpet will be laid. No, we are not laying the carpet ourselves, we will leave that to the professionals. Unless professionals lay the carpet we will stay in a mess. Mm, “if God doesn’t build the house, the builders only build shacks.” I need this psalm today!

If you walked into our home, you would think of the latest episode of the hoarders. I’m typing this from a small section of the dining room table that I carved out of the mess for my laptop, coffee cup and Bible. When I look at all this stuff we have accumulated over the years and acquired from generations past that I have not let go of, I am reminded that I am loved, cared for deeply and have been spoiled with blessings from the One who loves me most. “If I could only see me through God’s eyes”…I would be even more confident of His love, (A new song I heard yesterday that blessed me greatly.)

Psalm 127 reminds me of that song I heard on the radio while driving to work yesterday. Solomon reminds us how much God loves and cares for us. This pilgrim song also reminds us that if God isn’t in it, it not worth having. Whew, I need to get rid of some stuff. Let’s read…

Psalm 127, The Message
A Pilgrim Song of Solomon

1-2 If God doesn’t build the house,
the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn’t guard the city,
the night watchman might as well nap.
It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don’t you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?

3-5 Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?
the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you;
you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.

Do you see how much God loves us? His protection trumps our worries. He loves us enough to give us rest and helps us to pace ourselves. He ENJOYS us! What?! Yes! He even delights in all the details of our lives! How much more do we need? He even sent His Son to save us, you know. That’s not just a story for Easter, it’s our lifesong!

As parents, He loves and blesses us with a legacy to carry on His love and blessings to us, for us and through us. May we help our kids and their kids know how much God really loves them. To God be the glory, great things He has done. Seriously. Believe it when He says, “For God so loved the world that…He sent His One and Only Son to save us.” We are redeemed! We are the “so loved”!

So look above your mess to the mesmerizing love of God!

In Jesus Name, Because He lives and loves, Amen. I believe!

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ARMLOADS OF BLESSINGS

Posted on January 16, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms for the Journey

When God returned His people to their homeland after the Babylonian captivity, even the Gentiles neighbors confessed, “The Lord has done great things for them” (v. 2 nkjv). What has the Lord done in your life that might bring a similar response from unbelievers who know you?

For me, it has been many different blessings that God has poured out, undeserving but full of mercy and grace. We pray for God’s glory to be seen in our lives every day. He answers that prayer in saving Randy’s life from a terrible illness that almost took his life. When the results of that illness left him weaker, God intervened again on other occasions to save his life. Our life of serving God continued.

When we were having financial challenges, I won a car and not just any car. This car thrilled my dad who was living us at the time who was depressed because of the loss of mom. God’s glory seen in my life gave him the boost he needed in his life. After driving around iwinningn this pristine 1966 Mustang convertible for a couple of months, we sold it and paid off our bills. God’s glory seen! Our neighbors took notice of this. We were the talk of the town. We praised God, calling the car, “The Blessin'”, so that He received the glory. We had nothing to do with that incredible experience other than putting my name on a card. Another God-thing…the tithes from the sale of the car went to help a family in Haiti build a home. God’s glory seen, yet again! This was a blessing that just kept on giving, even to who bought the car!

Sometimes we are held captive by our own mistakes or life challenges. We are set free when we look up, repent and pray for God’s glory to be seen in our lives so that others will know Him, too. We pray for our work in “planting seeds of faith” in others to yield a harvest of salvation in Him. Then, we realize, He delivers armloads of blessings daily if we just stop and count. Mm. I could go on and on and on…yes, armloads of blessings from God…

Psalm 126, The Message
A Pilgrim Song

1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
“God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
we are one happy people.
4-6 And now, God, do it again—
bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
will shout hurrahs at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you. Just thank you.  Even in our struggles, Your glory can be seen.
In Jesus Name, Amen

 
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ROCK SOLID TRUST

Posted on January 15, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms for the Journey

“Red Rover, Red Rover, Let Susie come over!”, the team shouted as they got closer and held on to each others arms tighter. About 50 yards across the playground, the opposing team, lined up securely with their arms locked, would let go of Susie and send her running at full speed to break through the “enemy’s line”. Susie would think before she ran, looking for weak arms in the line, thinking she could get through. Sometimes it worked and many times it did not. She would bounce off the impenetrable line like a ping pong ball, fall to the ground, laughing…because it was just a game. Failing meant she had to join the enemy line. At the end of the game the team with the most kids won. If you broke through the line, your reward was bringing a kid back with you to your team.

As I read our next Psalm, I am reminded of this playground game. The enemy is consistently trying to break our strong line of faith and trust in God. But locking arms with God, through Jesus Christ, and fully trusting in Him for all of life, we are like a mountain. “Nothing can move it, a rock-solid mountain you can always depend on.” “As mountains encircle Jerusalem, God encircles his people!”, the song reminds us. Wow! This is why we trust God. This is why we believe and strive to behave in His ways for His glory, not worrying about what the enemy will do next, but being alert to his schemes and avoiding them. That’s why we pray, “Lead us not into temptations, but deliver us from all evil.” Jesus taught us this prayer to help us as it helped him while he was on this earth.

Jesus knows and understands what we are going through. Believe, trust, and keep obeying no matter what. We are mountains of rock-solid faith! Jesus commanded us to go and teach others to lock arms with him, too! Let us not forget that!

Psalm 125, The Message
A Pilgrim Song

1-5 Those who trust in God
are like Zion Mountain:
Nothing can move it, a rock-solid mountain
you can always depend on.
Mountains encircle Jerusalem,
and God encircles his people—
always has and always will.
The fist of the wicked
will never violate
What is due the righteous,
provoking wrongful violence.
Be good to your good people, God,
to those whose hearts are right!
God will round up the backsliders,
corral them with the incorrigibles.
Peace over Israel!

red-rover

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for peace then and peace now. Thank you for building our faith to rock-solid trust because of Jesus, the rock of our salvation. It is on Him we stand! To You be the glory, honor and praise! Deliver us from evil. Let us lock arms with You.
In Jesus Name, Amen

PS…Disclaimer: Red Rover is now outlawed by schools because you can get hurt. So, don’t try this at home.

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FLASHBACKS OF THANKS!

Posted on January 14, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms on the Journey

Sometimes, we just have to stop and give God praise for all the ways He brought us through bumps and turns in our journey. Remember the time when God _______________?  You can fill in this blank many times if you pause life long enough to allow your mind to flashback to life altering, sometimes miraculous, moments on your own journey when God intervened and redirected your life. Remember the times He worked you through your own missteps and mistakes and helped you turn life around for the good of all, making something beautiful from a mess.

This next psalm bring a smile to my face as I picture the worship leader encouraging the crowd to sing out praises of thanksgiving to God who has always been for us! Where would we be without Him, he seems to shout. This song of David causes flashbacks of thanks for God’s people. As we read, let’s take all the time we need to realize what all God has brought us through, protected us from and taught us all along our own journey. Then we will understand the passion in our psalm leader’s voice when he says, “all together now, Israel, sing out!”

Psalm 124, The Message
A Pilgrim Song of David

1-5 If God hadn’t been for us
—all together now, Israel, sing out!—
If God hadn’t been for us
when everyone went against us,
We would have been swallowed alive
by their violent anger,
Swept away by the flood of rage,
drowned in the torrent;
We would have lost our lives
in the wild, raging water.

6 Oh, blessed be God!
He didn’t go off and leave us.
He didn’t abandon us defenseless,
helpless as a rabbit in a pack of snarling dogs.

7 We’ve flown free from their fangs,
free of their traps, free as a bird.
Their grip is broken;
we’re free as a bird in flight.

8 God’s strong name is our help,
the same God who made heaven and earth.

psalms-124-8

 

Think about it…
What would we do without God? Yikes, let’s not go there! God’s strong name IS our help, the same God who made heaven and earth. What power and majesty and creativity! Our God who never sleeps and is always at work for us, in us and through us because He loves us. There is NO ONE like our God!

Lord, thank you. Just thank you!
In Jesus Name, Amen

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PRAY FOR MERCY

Posted on January 13, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms on the Journey

When a situation is misrepresented to make you look bad and another person look better, it is uncomfortable at the very least. When you believe in God and committed to follow His ways, you will have trouble in this world. Jesus told us that. Although this is annoying, like a “thorn in the flesh” so to speak, others around the world suffer in ways we cannot imagine for following Christ. Many are killed.

Psalm 123 speaks of mercy, looking to God for help, then being alert to see how God will work. It is not until we read verse 4 that we discover the true burden of the writer: the constant persecution of the people of Israel, being treated with scorn and contempt. In Psalm 124, Israel was almost swallowed up, drowned, and imprisoned in a trap. Captivity is the theme of 126, and 129 compares their suffering to a farmer plowing their backs. Has any nation ever suffered the way Israel has suffered?

Of course, God’s people today are also suffering because of their commitment to Christ (John 16:30). According to missiologists, more Christians were martyred in the twentieth century than in all the previous centuries combined! Join me and continue this prayer for mercy for others around the world who are slaughtered for believing in Jesus.

Psalm 123, The Message
A Pilgrim Song

1-4 I look to you, heaven-dwelling God,
look up to you for help.
Like servants, alert to their master’s commands,
like a maiden attending her lady,
We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath,
awaiting your word of mercy.
Mercy, God, mercy!
We’ve been kicked around long enough,
Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men,
kicked when we’re down by arrogant brutes.

psalm-123-mercy

When we find ourselves among the slandered, ridiculed, and persecuted, where do we turn for help?
1. We Look by Faith to God’s Throne (v. 1).
2. We Look by Faith to God’s Hand (v. 2).
3. We Look for God’s Mercy and Grace (vv. 3-4).

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being us and for us. Thank you for teaching and encouraging us. We look to You for your mercy and grace. We see You at work always in our lives and in the lives of others. Continue to have mercy on those who are persecuted to near death because they stand for you. Comfort and bless the families of those slain around the world, because they believed in You. In Jesus Name, Amen

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WE HAVE ARRIVED!

Posted on January 12, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms of Journey

“Are we there, yet?” is often asked by the back seat residents while going on a long trip. Most often it is the younger crowds who ask this question every few minutes, but adults ask the same thing if the journey seems longer than necessary. What joy, peace, and excitement tingles every sense in our bodies to know we are there! We finally made it! We are no longer confined in a vehicle on the way to our destination! We are free to look around, explore and learn about our new surroundings!

We relate to the pilgrims’ excitement in the mere planning of their trip! Imagine the conversations, “Do we have enough to eat for the journey?” “Did you remember to pack the provisions for camping along the way?” “Did you pack clothes to wear to the Temple for this special time to worship God?” We can only imagine. After a long, dusty, treacherous journey, they arrive! The words describe their excitement to be where “all Yahweh’s tribes go up to worship…THIS is what it means to be Israel.”

Psalm 122, The Message
A Pilgrim Song of David

1-2 When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,”
my heart leaped for joy.
And now we’re here, O Jerusalem,
inside Jerusalem’s walls!

3-5 Jerusalem, well-built city,
built as a place for worship!
The city to which the tribes ascend,
all God’s tribes go up to worship,
To give thanks to the name of God—
this is what it means to be Israel.
Thrones for righteous judgment
are set there, famous David-thrones.

6-9 Pray for Jerusalem’s peace!
Prosperity to all you Jerusalem-lovers!
Friendly insiders, get along!
Hostile outsiders, keep your distance!
For the sake of my family and friends,
I say it again: live in peace!
For the sake of the house of our God, God,
I’ll do my very best for you.

psalm-122-6

 

Years ago, our churches would gather in one place for a time of learning and worship of God. We traveled over a thousand miles each summer to be there. It was economically challenging to my family but worth every sacrifice to make the trip. This gathering gave us a tiny glimpse of what the pilgrims traveling on foot to get the Temple might have been like. What a thrill to see God’s people all in one place worshiping Him on a mountain of praise, extolling His glory. THIS is what God wants when we gather, in His Name, in any place that gives honor and glory to Him. THIS is church…a gathering of God’s people.

Dear Heavenly Father, Do not allow us to become complacent of the privileged to get in our vehicles and drive a few miles to worship you each week with others who believe and worship you, too. Our love for You and Your love for us increases exponentially as we worship You together with others who love You. It’s all about You. Everything begins and ends with You. May we never forget to meet with each other to give glory and praise to You.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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I WILL LIFT MY EYES…IN THE JOURNEY

Posted on January 11, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Psalms of Honesty and Truth

Psalm 121, King James Version

1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

psalm-121-hills

I WILL LIFT MY EYES…
This hymn tells us who God is and what He does. It was probably written to be sung on the way to Jerusalem by the pilgrims walking to get to the place of God, to meet and worship Him with others in His Holy Place at the temple. People came from all the surrounding towns for the special occasion. The journey was long, treacherous and challenging, yet it was worth every step to make the trip. The Psalm reminds them that God is with them and will always help them.

Now, let us go back to the mid sixties in my journey. This “poem” was posted on the blackboard, in chalk, in my fifth grade classroom. We repeated it in unison every morning until we had committed it to memory. This was a public classroom in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma! Times were different. Our teacher was dedicated to God’s Word. She didn’t preach but she did tell us to memorize this “poem” as it was meaningful to her and would be to us. This came first, the flag salute was second in our morning routine after lunch count and roll call.

This moment in time was before other translations were popular and printed widely so our memory work of Psalm 121 was in the version I have just printed above. When I am troubled or perplexed, the first line of this psalm is the first thing that comes to mind to this day. I am immediately drawn back to that classroom that was taught by a teacher who was quietly passionate about God. When I recite the rest of they psalm in my mind, peace washes over me, and with God helping, I can face whatever comes by His strength.

As a “church kid” I remember telling the teacher I knew where that came from because it was my grandma’s favorite! With a twinkle in my teacher’s eye, she just smiled and nodded. What a powerful witness to this day! One small act by a caring teacher gave me credibility and the reminder that God never sleeps and will always help me…even in my classroom. Wow!

Times are different. I get that. Many things are not allowed like this moment in my journey, but our lives can still reflect His glory by the way we behave. St. Francis reportedly said, “Preach Jesus! and if necessary, use words.” I knew my teacher was a Christian before Psalm 121 went up on the board. Just sayin’.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for always being at work, never sleeping and helping us in our journey to be all You created us to be. Help us still as I know You will.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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