Think back in your past to a time when you needed a support system. Was it at a death, an illness, a job loss, family problem? Who was there for you? Was it a family member, minister, church member, or someone else?

We can all relate to the need for support at various times in our lives. We understand the importance of someone to just listen, or even take charge and make sure things get done.

Because our Lord was human, I’m sure there were times when He needed a support system. He often went off to be alone in prayer, to spend time with God and know the comfort of His Heavenly Father.

But what about His human support system? Do you realize that Jesus had no human support system? Over and over Scripture tells us of His compassion for others, and how that often led Him to heal or raise someone from the dead. Yet, when He was lonely or in need of support, He could only depend on God the Father.

I am not saying that God’s support was not enough. We have that too, but it is so comforting to also have some human support in times of difficulty.

Though Jesus had twelve disciples, hand chosen by the Master, they were not there for Him. Their concern was for who would sit on His right and left hand in the kingdom. They were concerned about their own safety, fearing to go with Him lest they be labeled as one of His and be arrested or killed. They ran when He was arrested. Judas betrayed Him, and Peter swore he didn’t know Him.

His closest friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were not there for Him either. Mary and Martha complained that He didn’t arrive in time to save their brother. Later, they were probably in hiding since the Jews wanted to kill Lazarus after Jesus raised him from the dead.

The Jews were His people. Where were they? They were out in front crying “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” He didn’t bring about the changes they thought He would, so they killed Him.

Nicodemus and Joseph showed up after the fact. They were Pharisees. They were probably afraid of losing their place among the rulers, so they stayed away until someone needed to remove the body of Jesus from the cross. Yes, they used their own money. Yes, Joseph used his own tomb. But they were not there when He was dying for their sins.

Even the system failed Him. The rulers did not conduct His trial according to the law. They hired false witnesses for the trial and even paid the soldiers to lie about His body being stolen.

And where were all those whom Jesus healed, fed, and raised from the dead? They were surely aware of what was happening. They may have even been in the crowd crying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”

No matter. Jesus had a support system. Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the mountain with Him; and there He was changed before their eyes. God sent Moses and Elijah. They knew some of what He was experiencing. They understood people of God deserting Him. Rulers attacking Him. People lying about Him. They understood His sorrow, His loneliness, His feeling of abandonment. Above all, He had God the Father. He knew this would soon be over, and He would be back with the Father.

We look to our friends and family for support when we are sick, lonely, distressed, in trouble, in the depths of despair. Often they fail to deliver. But there is one that never fails us—God the Father. Our prayers reach Him no matter the hour of the day. He is always there. He was the support system for Jesus, and He is our support system today.

Sandra Oliver

In a dark urban basement in downtown Detroit, the hilarious Second City Improv Troupe was wrapping up a coveted comedy class for aspiring comedians. During this last class, the students performed with members of the Troupe for a small group of family and friends. The audience, eager for entertainment, quieted as the performers walked onto the stage. One of the professional comedians explained to the audience the first rule of improv: “You can never say NO. If someone offers a suggestion or takes the skit in an unexpected direction, you have to say YES, AND…” It kills comedy to say NO, but it moves the storyline along if you accept the other idea (the YES) and add to it (the AND).

It makes sense. NO is like hitting a brick wall. It stops momentum and opposes one person to another. A power struggle ensues. Who is in charge? Which direction wins? On the other hand, YES unifies and builds momentum. It is collaborative in nature and together people move forward. YES, AND… takes the power of collaboration and adds to it. The sum ends up being more than the parts.

In improv comedy, the result is a cohesive, hilarious story. It’s an important tool in comedy, but does the YES, AND… principle apply anywhere else in life? The concept piqued my curiosity, and I often see it now working in situations ranging from the playroom to the boardroom.

Will YES, AND… work in every situation? Of course not, but YES, AND is a powerful tool to add to your toolkit. In fact, Paul knew the power of YES, AND…

During his second missionary journey, Paul visited Athens. It was a city known for philosophical debate and the worship of many gods. The many idols made it crystal clear the city was not worshiping God as He demanded. Paul, who was known to be a formidable teacher, took a different approach in this city:

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ (Acts 17:22-28)

Paul could have begun with, “NO, you’ve got this all wrong.” That would have been a true statement, but perhaps not a helpful one. Instead, he started with a YES statement, one that met the people of Athens where they were by acknowledging they were attempting to be quite religious. He continues in verse 23, “I found also…” (emphasis added). There is Paul’s AND that followed his YES statement. By commending their religious nature, and then adding information about the “unknown god” they had an altar for, Paul was able to teach the people of Athens about the true God without alienating them or butting heads right away. He gently met them where they were, built off of their intuition that there was something they were missing, and then moved forward with them into deeper truth and understanding about our amazing God!

Along the Way Application

Here are a few ideas on how to incorporate the YES, AND… strategy into our daily lives:

Scenario 1: Family

Sibling A: I want to ride bikes.

Sibling B: You always want to ride bikes. I want to play a board game.

In the perfect world, a parent might be able to say YES to both, but often, time is not in our favor. Perhaps the parent could try, YES, I want to ride bikes AND play a board game. Additionally, the parent could add a third option in: YES, I want to ride bikes, play a board game, AND get ice cream. We don’t have time for everything today, so I’ll flip a coin to see which one we do today and we’ll do the other tomorrow.

Even though the result is the same (only 1 sibling is getting their wish today), there is power in not being told NO. Nobody was shot down, no idea was rejected. It’s small in semantics, but powerful in action.

Scenario 2: Business

Two very different ideas are being contested in a business meeting.

The boss might be able to say, YES, I’m interested in exploring these two ideas AND _______ (insert 3rd idea he/she is interested in pursuing). Let’s make a plan for how we can test the practicality/profitability/feasibility of each of these options.

It might take a couple more days to come to a conclusion, but by empowering ideas, employees feel heard leading to an increase in future ideas, collaboration, and buy-in.

Scenario 3: Church

An individual may come to you with a belief you know is not found in the Bible. For example, “I was baptized as a baby, I don’t need to be baptized again.”

Insead of a quick, “NO, look at these verses”, perhaps we could get farther by starting the conversation with something like, “YES, I have heard a lot of people are only baptized as infants. Would you be willing to meet me for lunch on Tuesday and teach me more about that? AND, after maybe we could look at some of the verses that led me to my decision to get baptized later in life. I’d love to hear your opinion on those verses too.”

Note: There are other ways to say/show the YES, AND… mindset. For the sake of clarity, I used those exact words in the examples, but there are so many possible ways the YES, AND… method can be applied in everyday life. Leave a comment if you try it. We’d love to hear how your experience goes.

Kristin Arbuckle

The brightest day in a garden

The accuser darkened and marred.

The tree of life was forbidden

Secured by the cherubim’s guard.

Another dark day in a garden

When God, for me, fell on HIs face.

And sweat fell as blood for my pardon

Could it be, at the tree, yet a place?

The dawn of redemption has broken.

A tomb’s stone has rolled from its head …

And sweet angel voices have spoken.

The living lie not with the dead!

The tree of life stands in a garden

Near a throne in the midst of the street

No cherubim stands in the east now

But covers my God’s mercy seat.

A garden, a tree….but forbidden for me.

Till the trembling earth gave up its prey.

The accuser is done and the Victor has won

And the cherubim taken away.

Cindy Colley

What’s not to love about young people? From children all the way up through college aged, many of them are joyful, enthusiastic, hard workers, servants, and VERY evangelistic. But there are a couple of qualities about young people that I especially appreciate:

They’re not afraid to ask questions. In class or in person, young people like to ask questions. They want answers so they can figure things out, and they expect those answers to come straight from the Bible. They ask about worship, baptism, women’s role, the second coming, angels, relationships, and Bible translations. And if they’re not satisfied with the answers, they’ll tell you so. If something doesn’t make sense to them, they’ll keep at it until it does. As a result, they are building their faith and their understanding of Scripture. Shouldn’t we all be so fearless and persistent? If we don’t really get why we do what we do, shouldn’t we be humble enough to ask questions and dig for answers (2 Tim. 3:17)? Shouldn’t it bother us if we don’t know enough to defend our faith (1 Pet. 3:15)? Spending time with young people challenges me to keep growing in my knowledge of God’s Word!

They love to be together. It really matters to them. There aren’t many things more beautiful than young people getting together to sing, sitting together in worship, or supporting each other. They act happy when they see one another. They don’t roll their eyes when another ‘youth activity’ is planned because they enjoy spending time with each other. They see togetherness as essential to their happiness.I remember feeling that way when I was young. Shame on me for the times when I forget that God wants His people to love being together (Heb. 10:24-25; Rom. 12:10).

I thank God for the energy, personality, and fun our young people bring to the church family table. And I’m eternally grateful for their inspiring examples of no-nonsense learning and close-knit community.

When my first child was two, we were waiting in the WIC lobby waiting to be seen. Compared to the bright sun outside, the room was dark and dingy and half-dressed little toddlers were waddling around the hot room. A young boy tottered over to my daughter and after they wordlessly stared at each other for a moment, without notice or provocation, the little boy swung his leg back and planted a firm kick on my daughter’s shin. She stepped back in shock and I ran over waiting for the cries to erupt. I picked her up and while I hugged her, I surveyed the room looking for this little boy’s mother. Mama tiger mode was fully activated and I was ready to have a word with his mother and at least demand an apology. My intuitive daughter must have sensed this because she cupped my face in her hands, looked me in the eye, and whispered calmly, “It’s ok Mama, he probably doesn’t know about Jesus.”

Like an untied  balloon, my anger deflated and I saw the face of Jesus on my child. She knew she was wronged. She had never been kicked or hurt by anyone before—she was pure and knew hurt came from not knowing the source of true love.

My sweet daughter was right, so instead of making a scene, I looked firmly yet calmly at the little boy and said, “it’s not ok to kick and hurt people.” I picked up our stuff and we moved to the far end of the room. I told my daughter she was right that most people who hurt others don’t know Jesus’ love, and I also explained that she has the power to call out what was wrong and protect herself by walking away when needed. It’s a conversation that continues to grow as her understanding and wisdom grows.

More than likely, we are each wronged EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. On the road, at school, in the workplace, in our homes, and unfortunately even within the church. We are fallen humans living in a fallen world and the results of sin are painful.

The world often reacts to injustice with anger, aggression, and revenge. God calls us to a very different response. Note the difference in those two words. Our REACTION is automated. It is how we think, feel, or desire to act when faced with an uncomfortable injustice. We have little control over this REACTION. It is often influenced by past situations, tramas, and our fear. On the other hand, our RESPONSE is the conscience/chosen decision and the course of action we decide to take. Sometimes there is no distinction between the two. We tend to feel the heat of our emotional reaction and immediately move to action accordingly. With practice, we can become skilled at pausing, and responding instead of reacting.

Jesus demonstrates the power of our choice in a situation. Let’s look at two situations where He was insulted and wronged yet chose a response instead of simply reacting. The first comes from Mark 11:15-18:

Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written,

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?
  But you have made it a den of robbers.”

And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him, for they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.

At first glance, this might look like a heated reaction. Jesus was angry at the way His Father’s house was being used. He walked in and started overturning tables. I’m sure you’ve seen this sort of anger on display in the world. What is the result of unbridled anger in the world? Most likely fear and more anger. The Scriptures show us that Jesus was not acting in a rage, but he was “teaching” (v 17) and the audience was “spellbound by His teaching.” John 2:15 adds another detail to this account: Jesus made a whip. There was at least a small amount of time (enough to make a whip) where Jesus considered how He would respond to the situation He saw. Uncontrolled rage does not produce teaching that creates a spellbound audience. Rather, we can conclude that this was a calculated response Jesus made when He saw a situation that angered Him and that there are times when it is ok to be “fired up” as long as it is controlled and the response that we believe will best reach souls.

The second example shows us the exact opposite response: calm, peace, and healing in the midst of wrong. Jesus goes to a garden in the night with His disciples as he often did. In the night, Jesus knew soldiers with lanterns, torches, and weapons were coming to arrest him (John 18:3-4). As his friend and follower turned traitor approached him with the soldiers, we see in Luke’s  account (22: 47-53) Jesus’ disciples were riled up and ready to fight.

When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a robber? While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”

Jesus, in His humanness, was suffering too, but we see Him choose a different response. He did not lash out in frustration, but instead chose to heal and offer grace to the servant who was injured. Instead of fleeing, Jesus courageously walked alongside His accusers for God’s glory.

Most of us will not face such life or death circumstances, but we will face trials and be wronged. Just like Jesus, we have the opportunity to pause and respond instead of simply reacting.

When you are wronged

• Pause. Take a deep breath or 3. Sometimes we can recover our rational mind in seconds, other times we may need a lot longer.
• Pray. It might be a simple “work in me and through me” as you take your deep breath and respond to the situation or it may be an evening of prayer before you meet to resolve the conflict.
• Consider your situation and goal. Are you a representative of Christ trying to build relationships to save unbelievers? Are you among Christians who are in the wrong? What do you hope to accomplish in this interaction?
• Respond. Now that you know your goal, what response will best accomplish that? Respond accordingly.

Conversation starters for when someone else is wronged

• I’m sorry you had to suffer this unfair treatment. Were you wronged because of your faith? (If so, rejoice, 1 Peter 4:12-19)
• What happened was wrong. When Jesus was treated wrong, He sometimes walked away and went where His message would be respected, He sometimes stayed in peace to bring understanding and healing to searching souls, and sometimes He used His anger to help teach the truth. What course of action do you think would accomplish the best outcome for this situation?
• It sounds like someone considers you an enemy. God gives specific instructions for that. Love them (love as a choice and a series of actions, not as a feeling – see 1 Cor. 13). How can you demonstrate God’s love? What do you need to do to refill your cup and heal from this insult so you can continue serving in love?
• Hurt people tend to hurt other people. That doesn’t make it right. Is there a way you could help bring God’s healing to this situation for yourself and possibly for the other party?

May the God of peace bring each of you peace as you face challenging situations and choose to respond instead of react.

Kristin Arbuckle

Where do I start?

How do I get deeper into God’s word in order to grow?

Do these questions sound familiar? Many women feel inadequate when it comes to knowing how to study God’s word. We may read God’s word daily, but do we study it? It is vital for women of God to learn how to study the Bible. We are responsible for our own study and we are responsible for teaching our children the word of God (John 8:31; Deuteronomy 6:7). In the following series of articles we will be developing a methodology in simple steps that will help us to be better students of God’s word.

“Exegesis” may be a new word for some of you.

“Exegesis” comes from a Greek word that means “to lead or to guide out.” (ek “out” and egeisthas “to guide or lead out”) it is a process where we get out of the scriptures only what they are trying to say… Correct exegesis will keep the Bible interpreter from putting meaning back into the Bible text (Petrillo).

Exegesis, put simply, is what does the text say? (While hermeneutics deals with what the text means.)  In order to get to the application or meaning of a text, we must first know what that text says. The primary goal of Biblical exegesis is to find the author’s original purpose for writing.

Why do Exegesis?

Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:14-16,

Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction (emphasis added).

1. Some things in the scriptures are hard to understand.
   We need to be able to accurately handle the word of truth, working diligently in this endeavor (2 Timothy 2:15) and it takes in-depth study and research to understand some of the words we find in scripture. Peter is upfront with the fact that it may be difficult, but by him saying this we can infer that we should be trying to understand.
2. Some people distort the Scriptures to their own destruction.
   What types of people distort the scriptures? The untaught and unstable. May we never be guilty of being either of these types of people. The “untaught” do not know what they are doing and are ignorant by choice because they do not seek out a teacher. The “unstable” are emotional and irrational, “tossed to and fro” (Ephesians 4:14)

Having a methodology will help us to know where to start when we open our Bibles to study. We will be able to get deeper and truly study God’s word instead of just reading it. This series of articles will be focused on developing this methodology. Through exegesis we can find out what the text says which will later help us to understand what the text means.

By Aimee Lemus

2 Corinthians 9:14-15 “And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!” 

There is a saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” but gotta admit, receiving a gift has its merits. Gifts say, “You are special.” A useful gift requires forethought on the part of the giver and demonstrates a personal relationship with the recipient. And gifts come wrapped in beautiful packages. Truly, what’s not to love?

Unless……  the gift is never unwrapped.

Our family hosted a foreign exchange student who came home from an event one evening with a beautifully wrapped gift. It had shiny paper and a big bow with lots of curly ribbon. He had never received a wrapped present before, and his excitement was evident although he struggled to understand what he had done to deserve it. Assuming he would open it in his room, we forgot about the gift until weeks later when we spied it still wrapped and sitting on his bookshelf. We inquired as to why he had never opened his gift and his puzzled expression told us he did not understand. It seems he thought the gift WAS the beautifully wrapped box. He was totally unaware a treasure lay inside. We explained the gift was INSIDE the box. His opening it revealed something he needed and could have been using had he only unwrapped it.

So it is with our Heavenly Father. God bestows upon us many beautiful gifts. One is His gift of grace. Our sin separates us from God. It is His grace that draws us back to Him. We, too, struggle to see how we deserve it. But like a gift that sits on a shelf, God’s grace can remain undiscovered. It is only when we open the gift, we discover the essence of a God whose love defies comprehension.

God’s grace is never earned nor deserved. It is a gift. His grace surpasses our sins. It saves us, frees us from our lost state, and brings us back into His loving presence. And dear friend, that is a gift too wonderful for words.

Father God, may we never place your gift of grace on the shelf.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

Ephesians 3:20a NKJV “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…”

I was recently asked to describe a friend using only three nouns. Now recalling middle school English class (which for me is a stretch), a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. So, I retrieved pen and paper and began my list. After numerous scribbles and mark-overs, I settled on, “Worker,” “Confidante,” and “Friend.” As I stared at the three, I was disappointed, for they stopped far short of telling her story. She was more than just any “Worker.” She was not your ordinary “Confidante.” And the word, “Friend” was far too vague.

So, I made an editorial decision to break the rules and add in adjectives to better describe the nouns I had chosen. “Worker” transformed into “Dedicated Worker.” “Confidante” became, “Trustworthy Confidant.” And “Friend” was rewritten as “Faithful Friend.” Now the description more accurately represented her.

In scripture, the Holy Spirit also found it necessary to use descriptive words, so he filled the Gospel writers with adjectives and adverbs. Notice the verse above from Ephesians. Yes, God’s desire is to fulfill our needs, but it doesn’t stop there. Our God responds exceedingly and abundantly above anything we can ask or even think about asking. Those two underlined words were necessary for us to better grasp God’s amazing power and His desire to bless us.

This thought led me to a quick search. Prepare to be amazed at the underlined words the Holy Spirit used in describing God.

Psalm 62:7-8 tells us God is our “mighty rock.”

Ephesians 2:4 wows us with “His great love with which He loved us.”

Friend, I suppose I broke the rules when I added to the nouns describing my friend. But, I was simply following the example of the Holy Spirit who, long before me, made the editorial decision to use adjectives and adverbs in describing our mighty, everlasting, merciful, gracious, righteous, faithful, and great God.

Thank you, Father, for the many ways You are our God.   

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

Exodus 14:13-14 NKJV “And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the lord, which He will accomplish for you today. . . The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Against all odds, Israel departed bondage in Egypt. But freedom seemed short-lived as they stood wedged between the massive Egyptian army and the even more massive waters of the Red Sea. Without a doubt, Israel faced a big problem that yielded only tragic foreseeable outcomes: be killed or return to slavery.

Israel cried loud and clear the big-ness of their problem. (And without a doubt, it was a big problem!) But Moses saw the bigger solution. So, as Israel shook with fear, Moses calmly declared,

“Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. . . The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Allow me to paraphrase Moses’ instruction to Israel in a bit more everyday lingo:

“Don’t tell me how big your problem is before you tell me how big your God is!”

You know the rest of the story. Israel’s Big God rolled those mighty waters up into walls of protection allowing Israel to cross to safety and began their new life. The walls of water protecting Israel were the very same walls of water God used to defeat their enemy.

Oh, dear friend, we serve that same BIG GOD. So today as we face our chaos, we must remember. . .

Our Big God raised up the dead. So, when all feels hopeless, He can raise up a new spirit within us.

Our Big God turned water into wine. He can turn our sorrow into joy and our tears into blessings.

Our Big God healed the sick, so we should never doubt He can heal whatever heartbreak we are living.

Our Big God formed man from dust and breathed into him life and He desires to breathe new life into our worn-out existence.

So sweet friend, when you find yourself in the midst of chaos, you are welcome to tell me all about your big problems, but first, you must tell me about your BIG GOD!

Father God, we praise You for Your Big-ness!

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

What if there were no resurrection?

This very question is asked and answered in 1 Corinthians 15. If there were no resurrection:

• “our preaching is in vain” (v. 14)
• “your faith is in vain” (v. 14)
• “we are misrepresenting God” (v. 15)
• “your faith is futile” (v. 17)
• “you are still in your sins” (v. 17)
• “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (v. 18)
• “we are of all people most to be pitied” (v. 19)

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead” (v. 20)!

And because of that, we will be raised, too, in glory (v. 43), in power (v. 43), and in victory (v. 57). Because He lives, we have comfort in what lies ahead and an “imperishable” (v. 42), “spiritual body” (v. 44) to look forward to.

But the resurrection of Christ blesses us NOW, too. The book of Ephesians is filled with reassuring promises for those who are in Christ (His church). By my count, there are more than 20! For example, because He lives:

• We enjoy every spiritual blessing (1:3).
• We have redemption and forgiveness (1:7).
• We have an inheritance (1:11).
• We have His power (1:19).
• We have been made alive (2:5).
• We have been saved through faith (2:8).
• We live with purpose (2:10).
• We are members of the household of God (2:19).
• We have boldness and confident access (3:11-12).
• We have strength through His Spirit (3:16).

“These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:19-20).

It seems like each one of these would be enough on its own. But our Christ “blesses and blesses again” as the old hymn says. An awareness of this will help us live gratefully and faithfully here until we are raised with Him there (1 Cor. 15:58)!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Pet. 1:3)

By Kathy Pollard