Christ's Sharp Two-edged Sword

We've all heard the saying, "The pen is mightier than the sword." This adage suggests that the independent press is more effective in governing a people than direct violence. The idea has been expressed in various forms many times. This particular form, says Wikipedia, was coined by English author Edward Buller-Lytton in his 1839 play Richelieu. 

John's Revelation says that from Jesus' mouth "came a sharp two-edged sword" (Rev. 1:16).

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The image has often been portrayed literally, but what does it mean symbolically? The phrase is found several more times in Revelation:

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. ... Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. - Rev 2:12, 16 ESV

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ... And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. - Rev 19:15, 21 ESV

The prophet Isaiah speaks of the coming Messiah as a shoot from the stump of King David's family:

. . . but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. - Isa 11:4 ESV

How does the Christ strike the earth and kill the wicked with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips? And in Revelation what is this sword of Christ's mouth that strikes down the nations? The straightforward answer is that Christ has always done everything with His Word. John wrote of this in the beginning of his Gospel. There John speaks of Christ as the Word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. - John 1:1-3 ESV

That Word creates and redeems, but He also judges and condemns the wicked. When He speaks it happens. No one can resist the power of God's Word. Moreover this Word is both sharp and two-edged; it can cut in either direction. One day all will stand before Him to be judged by His Word. And His sword will bring vengeance and judgment upon those who dare to oppose Him.

Even Christ's apostles and disciples are permitted to wield that sword. Paul calls it the sword of the Spirit. It is part of the armament to be worn by soldier / disciples as they fight the devil to the death.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, - Eph 6:16-17 ESV

We believers find great security in the power of the Word. It is Christ's Word; Christ's creative Word. It is the Word that strikes down the nations and rules them with a rod of iron.

On the other hand, the believer is comforted knowing that Christ's Word accomplishes all that the Lord wishes. With His Word He called us to faith, confirms us in the faith and promises to guard us until we reach our heavenly home. The Word of our Good Shepherd brings forgiveness and the promise of life forever as well as His all-powerful and eternal protection.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. - John 10:27-29 ESV

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. - John 15:7 ESV 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 ESV

What Is Faith?

What exactly is faith? This is the next question poised by the Hebrews letter after urging enlightened readers not to throw away their confidence in the promises of God. The author quotes the prophet Habakkuk, about whom little or nothing is known. His short book is nevertheless in the Hebrew canon and quoted by the apostles. The Hebrews author seems to be combining quotes from a couple prophets or quoting from memory. At any rate, while what he quotes is not precisely what we have in Habakkuk, it is what the prophet essentially says, namely that the righteous person shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4). But what do the two authors mean by faith?

Turning to the internet I find these definitions:

faith

fāTH/

noun

1. 1.

   complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

   "this restores one's faith in politicians"

   synonyms:

   trust, belief, confidence, conviction;  optimism, hopefulness, hope "he justified his boss's faith in him"
2. 2.

   strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

   synonyms:

   religion, church, sect, denomination, (religious) persuasion,(religious) belief, ideology, creed, teaching, doctrine "she gave her life for her faith"

Is that what these authors mean? Which shall we choose? Complete trust in someone or a strong belief in certain religious doctrines? Or is faith something that is apprehended by one's spirit, an understanding that defies proof, that simply is? Let's listen to Hebrews. 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. - Hebrews 11:1-2 ESV 

And how do those two definitions help?

The Greek translated as assurance refers to a substructure or foundation, something firm on which to build. So Ezekiel is told by God about the forms or design of the temple (Ezek. 43:11). The building had specific dimensions that must be followed exactly. So faith has specifics. It is not something vague or mystical, without clarity, a mere whistling in the dark. When you hope for things to come you turn to faith, but that hope is based upon some specifics, some events and acts from the past. You can build your life upon it.

Hebrews modifies that definition with a second. Faith is the conviction of things not seen. A conviction is a proof. You can test it. Paul, writing to Timothy, uses another version of the Greek word here to speak about the use of Scripture. It is useful for correction or reproof, he says (2 Tim. 3:16).  One does not correct or reprove without proof. So the man of faith speaks and acts with proof, even though what he hopes for in the future is not yet seen. His hope is based upon proof from the past. That proof is the foundation upon which he builds his life. The Scripture, in Paul's usage, is a record of that past. It is a record of what God has said and done for His people. As such, it is proof. So the Hebrews writer picks up that thought to write about people of faith who looked back upon the deeds of God and heard His words. Based upon God's earlier acts and words, they trusted themselves and their futures to Him.

In the rest of the chapter he then gives example after example of men and women who walked by and lived in such faith. We'll take a look at those examples in future posts.

So Easy To Drift Away

CNN reports that salvage of the Costa Concordia has begun. The question: Will the ship stay in one piece during the righting. Giant hollow boxes have been attached to the side of the ship, seen in this CNN photo of May 27, 2013. The plan is to eventually haul the vessel upright and then attempt to re-float it with the aid of the compart-ments pictured here. As you may recall, the giant cruise ship ran aground and tipped over in January, 2012, killing 32 of the 4,200 people on board.

In July, 2013 five members of the ship's crew were convicted of multiple manslaughter and causing personal injury. The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is being tried separately on charges of multiple manslaughter in the wreck and abandoning of his ship. The charges are that the captain deviated from the ship's computer-programmed route, claiming that he was familiar with the local seabed. When the ship hit a reef, causing the engine room to be flooded, he did nothing to contact the nearby harbour for help but tried to resume the original course, before a U-turn back to Giglio. Why did he not pay attention? Why did he deviate from what he knew was the correct route? These questions will be argued  before the court.

A similar question is raised by the Hebrews writer in light of what he wrote in the first chapter about God's revelation in Christ. He has spoken clearly, unequivocally. Therefore . . .

we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. - Hebrews 2:1-4 ESV 

What was this "message declared by angels" that proved to be reliable? Paul writes about the law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:1-26, etc.),

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. - Gal 3:19 ESV 

Stephen makes the same point in his indictment of the Jews. Of them he says,

"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it." - Acts 7:51-53 ESV 

 Do you see the points Paul and Stephen are making? In previous times God gave to Israel the law, summarized in the ten commandments. The purpose was to demonstrate to them how they failed to keep covenant with Him, even though they claimed to be children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (whose new name was Israel). In turn the law was given to Moses on the mount by God's angels or messengers. Moses then delivered it to Israel in the wilderness after God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt. But they ignored it, disobeyed and failed to trust in God and in His promises. Consequently they learned that God's commands must be obeyed or you will have to suffer the consequences. That first generation led by Moses perished in the desert. They did not enter the promised land. They ignored God's Word. They let it slip away. They did not obey. Their bones were all left in the wilderness. They never came to the Promised Land.

Other prophets tried again and again to call later generations back to God. They spoke about the coming of the Messiah who would accept responsibility for their sins, bearing the sin of many and making intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:1-12). But, says Stephen, you persecuted the prophets and now you have betrayed and murdered the Righteous One promised by the prophets, the One sent to be your Savior.

Hebrews makes the same points. Jesus has come as God's Word in these last days. God has spoken again, but not through prophets or angels this time. He has rather spoken directly, decisively and clearly through His Son. Jesus is God's Son. He completed His work on the cross, rose on the third day and now rules over all things at the Father's right hand.

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it (Hebrews 2:1 ESV). 

It is oh so easy to drift away, as did the captain of the Costa Concordia. Reports indicate that he was talking on the telephone to an old friend when the disaster occurred. It is oh so easy to let things slip, to turn your attention to many, many other things, to neglect what is given. As a result you and those who look to you as a model or leader will do the same. And ultimately both you and they will lose this great salvation.

More on this next time.

Making It Personal

I have this thing about the use of modern media. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I am obviously using it to write this blog, but I much, much prefer to speak to someone face to face and have someone do the same for me. That's why, I suppose, I have always had such a hard time with sermons that are read. I do NOT want my pastor to read his sermon. I can do that without his help if he would but put it up on the church's website for example or send me a written copy of what he wants to say. What I do want is for him to look me and the rest of his congregation directly in the eye and talk to us as a personal representative of our Lord Jesus.

I have this understanding—is it so strange?—that pastors are called by the LORD Jesus to be His spokesmen. Through them the LORD speaks His Word, warning us about disobeying God's commands, but also speaking about God's mercy offered to us from Jesus' cross. I don't want an essay about this Good Word. I want a face-to-face, person-to-person conversation. That's my view of what a sermon should be. It's the way I've always attempted to preach, both when I served a congregation and now when I'm invited to be a guest preacher. Is it so strange?

The writer of this book we're studying, this Letter to the Hebrews, resorted to the written word. It was all he had in those days. The letter came to be seen as a letter from God Himself and over these next two millennia has been re-copied countless times. Who the original author was no one knows for certain. The letter does mention one of the Apostle Paul's proteges, Timothy—assuming this was the same Timothy to whom Paul wrote (1 & 2 Timothy).

You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. - Hbr 13:23 ESV

It is impossible to know to what incident this refers. Released from where and by whom? We simply do not know. Does this mean that Paul wrote this letter? We don't know that either.  Luther believed Apollos wrote the book (Acts 18:24). He was both eloquent and competent in the OT Scriptures. The letter must have been written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The author is very concerned about the Old Covenant being superseded by the New in Christ and would surely not have ignored Jerusalem's and Jerusalem's temple's destruction by the Roman General Titus and his army.

All that aside the author is concerned that we know in these last days—the period we now live in—God has spoken and continues to speak to us by his son.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. - Hbr 1:1-2 ESV

In the days before Christ, God spoke to His prophets and through them to His people. He spoke to

• Moses by a burning bush (Exod. 3:1-22). He was to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt to freedom in the promised land. 
• Elijah by still, small voice after he fled from the anger of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1-21)
• Isaiah by heavenly vision (Isa. 6:1-13). The people would not listen and would be sent into exile.  
• Hosea by family crisis. He was commanded to marry Gomer, a whore (Hos. 1:2).
• Amos by basket of summer fruit. The end has come upon Israel (Amos 8:1).

The letter emphasizes that God still speaks to us through these ancient prophecies. God uses the written Word as His medium to this day. But He now speaks in a clearer and purer manner in His Son. All the writings of the OT pointed to Christ. He is the fulfiller and completion of all that the prophets heard and proclaimed. As we work through the letter to the Hebrews we'll learn more about this wonder. We shall learn about that to which the Apostle John wrote, the Word of Life. 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-- that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. - 1Jo 1:1-3 ESV 

This is personal to each one of us. I only wish I could say this to you face-to-face. I trust that if you have a pastor he will do what I cannot through this media. I trust that he will help you to know more and more about the fact that Jesus is now God speaking to you face-to-face and person-to-person. 

God Gives Daily Bread To All Regardless

When Jesus guides us to pray for our daily bread, He's not only talking about bread itself. The word is often used as an analogy for food and all those other things that belong to daily living. Jesus even speaks about Himself as the living Bread. So we read,

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." - Gen 3:19 ESV 

Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, "Serve the food." - Gen 43:31 ESV 

My appetite refuses to touch them; they are as food that is loathsome to me. - Job 6:7 ESV 

My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?" - Psa 42:3 ESV 

How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. - Mat 16:11-12 ESV

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." - Jhn 6:51 ESV

 Whether you do or do not pray for daily bread, the Father in heaven will most likely provide what you need today. Whether you do or do not care about what happens to your enemies, the sun will still rise today and the rain will fall on you and them. You have no control over it, as Jesus says in His sermon,

For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. - Mat 5:43-45 ESV

So why pray at all for food and other earthly blessings? The answer lies in your heart. Do you truly believe that you are a child of God? Do you believe that everything happening today is the Father's gracious gift to you, as Jesus taught?

But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" - Mat 4:4 (Deut. 8:3) ESV 

And do you truly desire to listen to Him and His guiding?

If all this is so, then tell Him and let Him know how thankful you are for all that He continues to provide both by your words and by your actions. Let your life be a ceaseless prayer of praise and thanksgiving.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1Th 5:16-18 ESV

Further, learn from the teaching and examples of Jesus and the early disciples to love your enemies and pray for them even as they persecute you. Share with others what the LORD gives you each day and do so with joy in your heart. And make sure that you provide for your relatives, especially those who live with you or are close to you. In all these and related ways show the Father in heaven that you are truly His child, born anew by the washing of Baptism and the indwelling power of His Spirit.

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons (i.e. children) of your Father who is in heaven. - Matt 5:44 ESV 

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they (i.e. Jerusalem disciples) received their food with glad and generous hearts, - Acts 2:46 ESV  

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. - 1Ti 5:8 ESV

Each day our heavenly Father provides us with good weather, food, shelter, friends, family, home, country, good government, work, protection, healing, help and countless other blessings. And He gives all these to us even though we do not deserve the least of them.

What then if He withdraws these blessings from our lives? Can we still pray? More about that tomorrow.

Satan Cannot Stand Against The Mighty Word

The third and final temptation our Lord Jesus faced from the devil was to bow down to the god of this world who promised Jesus everything. All he had to do was worship the devil.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" - Mat 4:8-10 ESV

What is Matthew telling us when he says that the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain? I've been to the top of a high mountain in Colorado, but I could not see all the kingdoms of the world. Perhaps Satan took the Lord there in spirit. Perhaps he filled his imagination with high and lofty visions.

"Imagine! Just imagine all the kingdoms of the world—the vast Roman empire, the Ethiopians, the Persians, the strange kingdoms of the orient, the Egyptians and on and on—imagine all of them bowing before you. I can make that happen. I am the ruler of this world. I have all this power. In many devious ways I control what these people do, how they think and what they want. And I can give them all to you." 

How often kings and emperors have fallen into this trap. In their pride they boast as did King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

"Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" - Dan 4:28, 30 ESV

You and I may have no such lofty visions. And yet . . . we all may have dreams of glory and power, of some small kingdom, some kind of recognition, some control, some wealth, some happiness. But how? Then comes the whispered temptation to bow down and worship the god of this world. Follow his ways and this will all be yours. So the vision grows.

The record of people falling into such temptations is written in every daily newspaper or media report. Lie, murder, cheat, steal, deceive, break promises—do whatever it takes to make it, get what you want. Bow down to Satan and it will be yours. Here are but a few of today's headlines:

• Jail, Probation for 76-Year-Old Mom in 1957 Murder
• NJ Pastor Convicted of Attempted Murder; Stabbed Mistress 28 Times
• Jodi Arias Takes The Stand For Cross-examination In Her Murder Case
• Cannibal Cop Trial To Start In New York
• NYC Man Arrested in Meat Cleaver Attack

And so it goes, day after day, from city to city, country to country. The god of this world successfully tempts and controls millions with his false promises. He tried his wiles on the Lord Jesus. But Jesus showed us how to resist. He turned again to the written Word of God. He quotes Moses.

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ... It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—- Deu 6:4-5, 13-14 ESV

Jesus is that LORD who brought Israel out of Egypt. But even more than that He brought us out of the bondage of death and eternal separation from our Creator by His death upon the cross. In Him we have forgiveness and life. When tempted to turn to the ways of this world and the methods of this world's god, we take hold of the written Word. Before it Satan cannot stand. He must flee from the terrifying Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). 

How Easy It Is To Trash God

Over the past several weeks I've wondered why it is that we who blog about our religious heritage and what that means both to us and to our world are considered insignificant. And why, when movie goers are gunned down, little school children are murdered in their classrooms and scores of innocent people are slaughtered by drug dealers, why is it we think the solution is to pass more laws? Isn't there something deeper and more important to consider? Have we not lost touch with the very foundations upon which those laws rest? Listen to words supposedly delivered by Ben Stein on CBS Sunday Morning a few years ago. Stein didn't actually say it this way. Whoever penned the words does, however, speak to my concerns.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities, and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to. . . .

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

The LORD Jesus Christ put it this way in his Sermon on the Mount:

"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, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." - Mat 7:24-27 ESV

The wise man Jesus speaks about is the man who knows how to protect his family. He is prudent, cautious, has foresight and is intelligent. He knows how to build a house that will withstand floods and wind storms. All too many build upon sand. Now the storms are raging and those houses are trembling, creaking and beginning to fall down.

I pray that you are building a house for your family upon the only solid rock there is.

Pet Names For God's People

In one of the Bible verses Jesus referred to in his promise to pour out his Spirit upon those who believe in and trust him (John 7:37-38) the LORD calls Israel by a sort of pet name, Jeshuran.

Did your parents or siblings give you a pet or nick name when you were a child? Sometimes parents simply shorten a child's name. Nathan becomes Nate and Jeffrey becomes Jeff, William is Billy and James is Jimmy. At other times they use endearing terms like Sweetie, Snookums, Honey or Blossom. My mother called her twin Little Lally although her given name was Elma.

That's what the LORD did when he called Israel Jeshuran, "the righteous or straight ones" (Isa. 44:2-3). Greek speaking Jews translated the name into their language as Epagamenos, meaning "most beloved". One English speaking translator tried to pick up the sense of the Hebrew by calling them the righteous little people. What I sense the Heavenly Father does in this verse is simply to say, "I want you guys to know that I really, really love you!"

So having used that pet name for the Children of Israel, He promises,

I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my 
Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.This one will say, ‘I am the Lord's,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's and name himself by the name of Israel. - Isa. 44:3-5

Willows by the river

This is a beautiful image of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. People so blessed will be like willows by flowing streams of water. Willows love water. They flourish and grow beside rivers and streams. That's how Psalm 1 describes the man who delights in God's Word.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. - Ps. 1:3 ESV

Of such men and women Psalm 92 says,

They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, - Psa 92:14 ESV

No matter how old their bodies get to be, they still have that fresh, invigorating stream of God's Spirit flowing through them, filling them with new hope and power to praise God. That's what Jesus was getting at on the final day of the Feast of Booths as he cried out to the people in the temple.

"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. - Jhn 7:37-39 ESV

The feast was technically only seven days. But on the eighth and final day, the Great Day, Jesus promised to give God's people the Holy Spirit. John says this proclamation pointed forward to what was to happen after Jesus was glorified. What great honor and praise was bestowed upon him by his heavenly Father? Why was the Father so pleased with him? Because he freely offered himself as the sacrifice for the sins of all men. And then on the Great Day, the eighth day, the heavenly Father honored Jesus and confirmed the sacrifice by raising Jesus from the dead. The sacrifice was complete. Forgiveness and life were now available to all (John 19:28-30; Acts 3:13-15).

Now the Holy Spirit is freely poured out like a flowing stream, speaking to the hearts of God's people, saying, "You are My beloved, forgiven and righteous children, My sweet little ones. I love you, dear ones, and will never ever let you go." These words invigorate and renew like no others can. They fill even old people with peace and hope.

May it ever be so for you no matter what your age.