1. 3 Also they do no wickedness,
   but walk in His ways.
2. 4 Appointed have You, Your precepts to be kept diligently.
3. 5 Ah, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes!
4. 6 As a result I would not be put to shame,
   having my eyes fixed on all Your commandments.
5. 7 Acclaim You with an upright heart, I will as I learn Your righteous ordinances.
6. 8 Attend to Your statutes I will;
   do not forsake me beyond enduring!

Verses 3-8 “Where Sinner/Saints Find Hope”
Can our lives fit the words of v. 3 “they do no wickedness”? It is a question we cannot escape. V. 3 sets the mirror of the perfect law before us and we fall short. We are condemned. But God stoops down with His mercy. The second half of v. 3 says “but walk in His ways.” What are God’s ways?

Look closely at the ways of the One who said, “follow Me.” His ways are mercy, grace, forgiveness and so much more. Jesus said, “Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls . . .” These are the ways and the works that God loves to do.

The ways of God are the way to Jerusalem and the way to Calvary. They are the path He walked to purchase me; and He calls me there to know that I am His. The ways of God include the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-34) and walking with us in eternal life.

Our psalm called to us and invited us to walk in the “Torah” of the LORD – to have our world filled with the things and the acts of God. Now it calls us to walk in His ways. This means to go through life with God’s ways and His doings all around us, and to follow and have our lives molded and shaped in harmony with His words and His ways..
The next 3 verses (4-6) are prayers voicing desire and longing – to be keeping His precepts (God says how I am to live); and to be steadfast in His statutes (God declares what is to be).

If I could only be in complete harmony with God’s ways, His precepts, and His statutes; why then I would never be put to shame. If only . . .

But again, God stoops down to me. He comes into our lives and into our world. Jesus gives us His words. His words do not tell me what I must do to win eternal life. They point to His mercy. They tell how He has won the victory for me. He has carried the burden, suffered the punishment, won the victory and opened up life. Now I find myself being built on His words; and on His words I am like a house built on the rock. No matter what comes; no matter the   
wind, the storm, the floods even – we are built on His words, and they are a firm foundation. They are eternal. (Matthew 7:24-25)

He is the One who said about the Law, “until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away” (Matthew 5:18) He says to us, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) The word of the Lord endures forever. But those words are words of life and words of promise to us. He speaks them to me, into my soul; and when the eternal word of God is in my soul – that is eternal life! We thank and praise and celebrate what Jesus has given us! (How can we do anything else?) So we say with the psalm, “I will” “acclaim You;” and “I will” “attend to Your statutes.” This Word of God truly is our life and salvation!

God sets His Promises, His words and hopes before us in so many ways. He tenderly invites us. He calls to our hearts. But I am a sinner. I know that I am not worthy to have Him stay in my life. The last prayer in Part “Aleph” is “do not forsake me” – specifically “do not forsake me beyond enduring!” (Verse 8) “Beyond enduring” would mean to be left by God, to have an eternity of being without Him. The sinner cries out with this prayer and yet knows: It is actually what I deserve!
But again God is there with His mercy. Jesus came to take what we have deserved, even taking up the very word “forsaken.” If there was ever a thing beyond enduring it was for the sinless Son of God to be forsaken and condemned for others’ sins. He was forsaken so I would never have to be. In this way – the most extreme of all acts of salvation – He has taken us sinners brought us in, given us His own holiness and made us His saints. To God alone be the glory!
​
Prayer:
Lord, Your word calls, Your word restores, and You surround me with Your words and promises. Help me to treasure the “Yes!”, the “Amen!”, and the promises in Jesus; so the sustaining, strengthening promises I have in Him may fill my hours and moments, my days and nights. Amen.

So the story is about Mount Moriah, Abraham and Isaac going to the mountain where Abraham would sacrifice his son. And in the telling of the story a lot of people have said that the main point is the faith of Abraham. That’s wrong. It’s not the main point. It is not about two people going to that mountain, it’s about four people.
And there’s where we start to get into what actually is going on. Over the past week my wife and I have been going through a time of illness in my life where we honestly didn’t know if I was going to pull through. There is a certain heartbreak in facing those things many of you know that. And it’s been said that the greatest heartbreak is in the loss of a son, of a child. Again, many know that. So what do you call Mount Moriah. One idea of what to call it is heartbreak mountain, because of the heartbreaking things that are about to happen there. Abraham bringing his son. Abraham giving his son up, and then finding out that it is about more than Abraham and Isaac.

Lord may the words of my meditation be acceptable in Your sight. You see, the main idea is not Abraham and Isaac. It is God. God and Mount Moriah. Now you can change the name of Mt. Moriah from heartbreak mountain to mountain of heartbreak shared. Because you see Moriah is later known as Zion or Calvary, and let me do a little retelling of the story, putting the knowledge that comes in the end back in toward the beginning.

God says to Abraham, “Abraham, will you walk with me? I need you to walk with me. Because I am doing something that is breaking my heart.” And Abraham says, “Okay, what do you want.” God says take your son, your only son whom you love. Bring him to the mountain that I will show you and offer him there as a sacrifice. And in the going to Mount Moriah, Abraham is walking with God. He is sharing what it’s like to be the father bringing his son to that mountain. And actually Jesus is calling Isaac into it, Isaac walk with Me. Okay. And Isaac you and I will be carrying the wood. We will be watching the preparation. And we will be placed on the altar. You will be tied up, and I, I will be nailed to it. And we will watch, you as your father takes the knife, and I as My Father turns away and judges for all the sin of the world.

Now there is an afterward. And that is why Isaac is called Isaac. The name means laughter. He was named laughter when his mother didn’t think she would be able to have a child and then God fulfilled his promise and Sarah said, “Laugh with me, because God has done what He promised.” But the name laughter isn’t only for that time. It is for the walk down the mountain, when Abraham has received back his son restored to life. Symbolically restored back to life. It is named for Jesus in the time after. Easter morning and He laughs as He says to Mary, “Mary” and then she sees and then runs and tells. 

But the point I want to concentrate on today is the closeness. God says to Abraham, “Will you walk with Me.” There is a deep thing that happens when you share a walk heading to whatever heartbreak mountain that you have to go to. Many of you have prayed for me, and have prayed for us. Thank you. You shared the walk. To be able to come home from the hospital. And whatever the result is, home from the hospital and my wife and I were together. Sharing in whatever that walk is and there is more and more hope that this is to life. And we may look back and we may laugh. But consider, God draws close the Abraham, and in the theme of my life has become lately, God says to Abraham, “I love you. I want you in My Kingdom.” God says to Abraham, “I love you and I want you with me.” There is a call to that closeness with God. He invites. He invites into the deepest relationship we could ever have. That is one of the aspects. God invites us. Sometimes when he calls us, he calls us to share in the sorrows that are part of the whole arc of the story of salvation. There are sorrows there. But realize, some of the sorrows are the sorrows of God. The sorrows of God the Father who must give and sacrifice His own son. He is walking a long walk to get to that mountain, to the day of the actual sacrifice, a long walk. And some of it is the sorrows of Jesus. You see that in the Gospels when it’s in Gethsemane and Jesus says to Peter and James and John, “Come with Me.” And says, “My soul is sorrowful unto death. Watch with Me.” There is a deepness in the relationship that is absolutely amazing to be invited to share such a moment with God. That is part of the story. And indeed as God calls you. As he says, “Walk with me.” As he says, “I love you and I want you in my kingdom.” There is a lot to share in watching Him go through that. And now turn it completely around and realize why the whole thing is. Finally it is not only that God is inviting us to share in His sorrows and then in the joy that come after. He is coming close to you. You’ve got your Mount Moriahs, times of life that are heartbreak mountain. But you see, Mount Moriah is not just heartbreak mountain, it is mountain of heartbreak shared. Because God will stoop down, come to us, and he will put Himself in the place where He shares in all of the heartbreaks in order to bring the joys, bring the joys that are the after everything, the joy becomes all encompassing. He holds that out to us and invites us to share in His joy. We hope to hear at the end, “Well down good and faithful servant.” And then what? “Enter into the joy of your master.” And so it is mountain of heartbreak shared. God did not have to stoop down and walk with us through our troubles, but He did. He did not have to love us and call us from the mess of this world, but He did. He didn’t have to take all of our sin in him, but He did. 

And now we are drawing close to Christmas. And realize as we draw each day closer to Christmas, all that it means that Jesus Christ is the Gift. He’s the Gift of Christmas, the Gift given, and as He is given He knows there will be heartbreak mountain where he will share in our heartbreaks. And finally by the forgiveness of sins, by his death that gives us resurrection, by His resurrection that gives us joy, He will give that amazing and wondrous gift that He calls us to walk with Him, past heartbreak mountain, past the mountain of heartbreak shared, and into an unending and eternal joy. To run with Jesus into all eternity, what an amazing prospect. What an amazing vision. In Jesus name, Amen.

"He Breathed on Them" 

Those words are from Easter Evening, written in the Book of John (John 20:22). Usually we pay attention to all the other parts. Jesus rose from the dead and began to show Himself to His disciples: to Mary Magdalene; the Two on the way to Emmaus; to Peter; and then the disciples in the upper room. They were huddled together in fear, the doors were locked, they had heard the stories but were not sure what to believe. And then Jesus was there, right there among them. He said "Peace be with you and showed them His hands and His side. And He sent them to bring forgiveness and the Gospel of salvation to the world.

But there is this one little part. "And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit ..." (John 20:22)

That's a very vivid image this year. We have had to think about masks, social distancing, sheltering at home, and so many things shut down. But, "He (Jesus) breathed on them". When I teach about this in Confirmation Class I always try to remember to bring garlic. Because this is not describing Jesus standing at the other end of the room and going, "Haa" One of my teachers told our class at Seminary how people in the Middle-east like to be so much closer to each other when they talk. It can be uncomfortable for someone from our part of the world. Then he said that when they want to speak a blessing they will get in real close and "bathe you in their breath." As the blessing goes on you will sometime have to inhale, and then you will find out whether they like garlic! 

When you hear the verse, "He breathed on them" do not think of Jesus standing far off. He is being close, giving a blessing and saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit." And, by the way, the word for Spirit and the word for breath is the same in Hebrew. 

We are in the middle of a time of being so careful of breath, and closeness, and still worried about getting something from someone else's breath. And then we read, Jesus "breathed on them". Exactly!

The scientists tell us there are bits of virus we could "get." It could be dangerous. It could bring death. What Jesus breaths on His disciples is bits of the Word of God. "Receive the holy Spirit." "If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven ..." (John 20:23) Bits of the Word of God, given by the breath and words of Jesus bring life. These are pieces of the God's Eternal Word. They get into the soul and they bring life. They get into the deepest parts of our heart and they change us. When that Word takes hold of us there is a dying and a rising. "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:3-4)

And then, with the words and the Spirit of Jesus within them, Jesus prepares them to spread His Gospel. Fifty days later came the gift of the Holy Spirit, giving languages and spreading the Gospel. Everyone who caught it (3,000 that day) was changed. The disciples went out breathing out the breath Jesus had breathed into them, breathing out bits of the eternal Word of God. It continued to spread, person to person all over the world, bringing faith and eternal life everywhere. And it hasn't been stopped yet!

Lord Jesus, breathe Your Word into my soul, and guide me by Your Spirit. I pray, that the verses and promises all over in Your world would work their way all through me, so my thinking, feeling, desires, and attitudes may be changed and formed according to Your will. Give me devotion to You, compassion for my neighbor, patience and grace in times of conflict, faith in Your wisdom and power, and winsomeness in my words. May I always see my neighbor as one loved by You and made in Your image; that I may serve Your kingdom, as You bring together the Great Gathering of souls into eternal life. Amen.

The Tasty Word 

There is "The Simple Word" of God, the "Means of Grace" that the Holy Spirit speaks into our souls to bring us to faith (believing the words and promises of God).
There is the "Wet Word," the "Means of Grace" that God pours over us, mixing His own name into the water, so we can have the name of God named over us, along with every word and promise that comes with His name.
And there is the "Tasty Word." In the Lord's Supper Jesus puts His words into the bread and wine. Right there at the center of the Supper are the words of Jesus. They give exactly what they promise, "forgiveness of sins." When Jesus speaks His word, this Supper is the feast of salvation.

The Bible says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!" (Psalm 34:8) 
And it says, "On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast ... He will swallow up death forever ..." (Isaiah 25:6-9) 
And we sing, "This is the Feast of victory for our God ..."

This is the Supper of Salvation. When you put it together with Baptism and the Simple Word you find something. God has arranged it so we experience salvation with all our senses. We hear the Word of God. We feel the splash of the water. We see the printed word. We taste the bread and we smell the wine. Every one of the senses are involved.

We are invited to a feast; and the background of the Lord's Supper is a feast. It was the Feast of the Passover with the blood of the lamb marking the doors and the next morning heading out of Egypt. It is a celebration of freedom.

The celebration surrounds us, and the joy fills our soul. Jesus calls us to His Supper, and this meal fills the senses. He feeds us with the bread of heaven and the wine of joy. We are invited. But here is the best part. Together with bread and wine Jesus says, "Take, eat, this is My Body" and "My Blood shed for you for forgiveness." He gives us Himself. On the tongue? To eat and drink? Just how close does He want to be?

• Back in the Garden of Eden, God promised that He would send salvation. Sending salvation might be enough for some, but not for God.
• So God spoke the prophecies. He would not just send salvation; He Himself would bring it into our world. And bringing salvation certainly would be enough for some, but not for God!
• So God spoke more promises. He would not just bring salvation; God Himself would be born into our human race. The virgin would conceive and bear a child and would call His name "Immanuel," God-with-us. (Isaiah 7:14) He came so close to us that He became one of us. That certainly should have been enough, but not for God.
• Jesus came to bear our burdens and carry our sorrows. (Isaiah 53:4) He went to the tomb of Lazarus and shared the grief we feel. "Jesus wept." (John 11:35) And then Jesus went to carry our sins, take them as His own on the cross, and set us free. He shared the very worst part of us. And that certainly should have been coming close enough to us! But not for God!
• He died! He shared the punishment, the execution, the soul being wrenched away from the body! He shared the judgment and the wrath of God pounding down on sinners. (Mark 15:34) Exactly how close does He want to be to you and to me?

Here comes the sweet part:
How close does Jesus want to be with us? After taking all our sin and death on Himself, Jesus gives us His life!
It was not enough for Jesus to purchase and win us. He has decided to share with us His life, eternal, glorious and full of blessing. Jesus says, "Because I live you also will live." (John 14:19) Jesus shares His kingdom, and promises to transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. (Philippians 3:21) Certainly that is enough! How can there be any more closeness with Jesus?

But there in the Lord's Supper what happens? Jesus takes His own "risen-from-the-dead" body and He puts it on your tongue. He makes you of one body with God who has come into the world. And Jesus takes His "shed-for-you-for-the-forgiveness-of-sins" blood, and He gives it to you to drink; to taste and see that the Lord is good; to swallow forgiveness and have forgiveness become part of your physical being. There in the eating and drinking is the promise, "When He appears we shall be like Him". (1 John 3:2) 

It is the "Tasty Word." Jesus puts His word and Himself into this Supper, "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." Whoever believes these words has what the say, exactly as they read, namely "forgiveness of sins." (Small Catechism, Lord's Supper Question 3)

Indeed this is the Feast of Salvation, the meal that gives, renews, and strengthens faith. With Jesus' words and promises, "who shall separate us from the love of God? ... neither ... nor ... nor ... nor ... nor ... nor ... nor ... nor ... nor ... nor ... will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our lord." (Romans 8:35-39)

Lord Jesus, thank You for this meal, this amazing Supper. You give Yourself! Your body and blood! To feed me; to join Yourself to me; and to carry me into all the blessings You have! How this can be I leave to You. How I can receive such blessings I cannot conceive. But it is Your will to bless, to connect me to You, and to give me an eternity of blessings. Thank You, my Savior and Friend. Let me love You forever; and let me tell of Your love through my life and words. Amen.

The Wet Word 

It happened during a Confirmation Class. Students come up with some brilliant insights. Teaching Confirmation is a special treat because young Christians learning about Jesus, about salvation, and about faith can see things from a fresh angle that their teacher never thought of before. And that is thrilling!

Some years ago in the middle of class one of the students, Sarah, asked, "So can I call Baptism 'The Wet Word'?" I thought to myself, "That's better than all the other words I was going to use. That's really cool!" 

"The Wet Word" is a wonderful way of saying it. Right at the center of Baptism is nothing else than the same life-giving, sin-forgiving word of God. The Word is what powers Baptism. "Without the Word of God it is just plain water and no baptism; but with the Word of God it is a Baptism, that is a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a bath of the new birth in the Holy Spirit." (Baptism Question 3) God wants us always to hear and hold on to and treasure His word. He puts all the treasures of salvation in the Word; everything that Jesus earned for us on the cross. 

And yet, there is something special about Baptism. It is physical, and we get to experience the Words and Promises of God in a very distinct way. God pours His Words and Promises over our heads, and soaks us down with something eternal. How cool is that?! And then while He is busy soaking us down with the life-giving, sin-forgiving "Wet Word" -- at the same time He is packing His Word in through our ears all the way down deep into our souls. Something for the body and something for the soul. Why that might even give you the idea that God wants both parts of us saved and living forever -- the spiritual and the physical parts. It should give you that idea; because that is exactly what God has in mind. "We wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:23) And what is that Word of God that He packs into our ears all the way down deep into our souls? It is nothing else than the Name; the name of God Himself. That's how personal it is.

Many years ago I wandered into my brother's room. He is the talented one, who was working with clay, molding things and getting them fired in a kiln. He was molding chess pieces and had decided to give each pawn its own personality. He was in the middle of talking with one of them, changing its expression, and carrying on, until he decided that it was a little dry for what he was doing and popped it into his mouth to moisten it. Of course I reacted how I think he wanted. "What are you doing!?" He answered, "You have to put something of yourself into your work."

So Jesus did. He put something of Himself into His work; was born and became one of us. Did you know that the human body is about 60 % water? Jesus joined our 60 % water human race. And then at the right time He walked that 60 % water human body down to the Jordan River and was baptized by John. John reacted exactly how Jesus knew he would. "What are you doing!?" And Jesus said, " ... to fulfill all righteousness." (Matthew 3:15) He did not need any additional righteousness. His was perfect. But don't you know, "You have to put something of yourself into your work."

Luther called it sanctifying "all waters to be a blessed flood ... a lavish washing away of sin." And Paul said it was "so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21) My soul redeemed and my body raised, transformed and glorious will be Jesus' own victory that He celebrates on the day when He returns and fulfills the prophecy, "He will exult over you with loud singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

Lord Jesus, thank You for this "wet Word," this thing called Baptism. Thank You that You put Yourself into our human race, to put Your own holiness into us. Thank You for dousing and soaking me with Your Words and Promises, and putting Your name into my ears and into my soul. Remind me day by day of the promises, and how Your promises call and guide me through these days to the day when I will hear You celebrating Your victory in my salvation. Amen.

The Simple Word 

Look inside. Look deep inside and ask a question. In your inner life, as you think through things; or as you decide what it is you want; or as you reflect on the things that you have been through -- how do you do that? How do you think back over your memories or picture what you want to see in the future? The simple answer is "words." That is the stuff of the inner life. It is how you reflect on the world and how you reflect on you.

It should not be a surprise that the life of the soul is so completely bound up in words and the word inside us. After all that is how God created the world, by His Word: "Let there be light"; "Let the earth bring forth"; Let us make man in Our image". (Genesis 1:3, 11, 24)

God spoke His word over Adam and Eve. He blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it ..." (Genesis 1:28) When Adam and Eve fell into sin, what they did was turn away from the Word of God, listening to, "Has God indeed said ...?" (Genesis 3:1) When God began to call them back, He did that through speaking the promise about "the seed of the woman," Jesus. (Genesis 3:15) The Gospel of John describes Jesus' birth as, "The Word became flesh ..." (John 1:14) Jesus is the living, breathing, walking around sermon of God the Father, a sermon with skin.

It is the simple Word. God has said that "whoever believes in [Jesus] should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) God has said that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners". (1 Timothy 1:15) And God has said, "The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." (John 10:11)

It is the simple Word, straightforward, unadorned by clever speech or lofty wisdom. (1 Corinthians 2:1-4) In that simple word God speaks straight to our hearts. He tells us of the Savior and promises forgiveness and life.

Because it is the simple Word, we are called to simply believe it. That is the pattern all the way through history. From Adam and Eve who believed God's promise of "the Seed of the Woman", Jesus; to Abraham who "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" (Romans 4:3, Genesis 15:6); to David who "also speaks of the blessing"; to Paul who said, "by grace you have been saved through faith ..." (Ephesians 2:8); to Martin Luther who thrilled at salvation "by faith apart from works of the law." (Romans 3:28) All of salvation, complete from beginning to end, comes to us through the Word, because God has put all of His blessings in the Word.

And the Word of God is "self-authenticating." That means, it proves itself to the soul that it takes hold of. It causes faith; actually brings into the soul the belief in God who spoke it.

The Word of God is life-giving, sin-forgiving, faith-creating, life-renewing, faith-restoring, blessing-bringing, and is eternal in its blessings. Jesus said, "Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall." (Matthew 7:24-25)

Lord Jesus, fill my soul with Your words. Speak them into my heart day after day, and by Your Spirit sustain my faith each day. Fill my thoughts with the promises You have brought into the world; those promises You have fulfilled in Your own flesh, living, suffering, and rising for me. Hold Your promises before me, bound together with the promise that You will return with eternal life for all Your people. Amen.

The Word 

We have a "Means of Grace" theology. That is important. 

We are now half way between the Day of Ascension and Pentecost. Last Thursday was 40 days after Easter. Jesus appeared to His disciples over those 40 days, showing and proving to them that He truly is Risen! Forty days after Easter Jesus ascended into heaven, telling the disciples to remain in the city until they were clothed with power from on high. It has been 5 days. There are 5 more days until Pentecost. During their waiting, the disciples were "continually in the temple" worshiping and hearing the words of the Old Testament. When they were not in the Temple, they were devoting themselves to prayer and studying the Word of God.

That is the pattern. Guided by the Holy Spirit they were searching out the prophecies about Jesus. It was a time to prepare The days would come when the Holy Spirit would move them out to tell the Gospel about Jesus. The words of prophecy they were reading would be the words of prophecy they would share. But there is something else happening.

We have a "Means of Grace" theology. There are specific things that God uses to create and strengthen our faith. They are the "Means of Grace" and the tools of the Holy Spirit.

It works like this. 

• Just like God said in the beginning "Let there be light." and the light had to be; and just like He said, "Let the earth bring forth ..." and the earth had to bring forth what He had commanded -- ... 
• In the same way when Jesus commanded the storm to cease, it had to happen; and when Jesus said "Lazarus, come out!" and the dead man had to be alive and come out of his tomb -- ... (John 11:43-44)
• So it is that when Jesus said "Your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5) and it had to be true that the sins were forgiven; and when Jesus said, "Today you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43) the thief on the cross had to be in heaven with Jesus that day.

The Word of God is living and active. When God sends out His Word, it does what He has commanded. (Isaiah 55:11) The heart and center of the word of God is the teachings about Jesus, about forgiveness through His cross, about victory through Jesus rising from the dead, and how there is salvation in Jesus for all who believe in Him.

When God speaks His grace-filled, forgiving and life giving words, we want to be there. We want to hear them. We want to have them spoken over us.

This is especially true because the Word of God is faith-creating. Paul said, "you have been save bygrace, through faith, and this [the faith] is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God ..." (Ephesians 2:8)

It is exactly as Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life ..." (John 6:68)Since it is exactly as Peter said, let's dive into the Word of God, savor the promises, hear the teaching of salvation, and just simply love walking with Jesus in life.

Lord Jesus, guide me by Your Spirit and lead me into the promises of salvation in You. Teach me to trust and treasure the sweetness of forgiveness and salvation. And by Your Word constantly renew and increase my faith; so that I may trust in You through all the "changes and chances" of life. Amen.