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The Lament & Longing of God
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” Matthew 23:37-39
O Jerusalem, whose very name means Foundation of Peace or City of Peace where Jesus would lay down His life for our sins to make peace with God. O Daughter of Zion, on whose lowly eastern hills God chose to make His dwelling among men; He is not aloft and aloof as the nations suppose. O heart of God’s chosen people, Israel, who does not choose His heart in return.
Hear the lament of a loving God for the world He created and the longing to reconcile all people to Himself.
Despite the fact that His chosen people killed His messengers of truth, peace, mercy and hope [2 Chronicles 24:21; Matthew 5:12 & 10:23; Hebrews 11:32-38], God longed to protect them. To shelter them under His wings and guide them to the safety for which they constantly clamored [Psalm 91].
But the truth was, though Israel longed for the protection of the Almighty, it was not because they loved Him and wanted to live in peaceful communion with Him. They simply wanted God to bless whatever they did, even though everyone was doing whatever they thought was right for themselves and not living according to God’s righteousness [Judges 2:11, 3:7, 3:12, 4:1, 6:1, 10:6, 13:1, 17:6 & 21:25; Proverbs 21:2; et al]. They wanted Him to make life easy by removing every obstacle and hardship, without expecting them to be holy as He is holy in return.
In other words, they wanted God to uphold their false self-as-godhood.
But time and again in the Old Testament, God cautioned Israel about the consequences of living this way [Deuteronomy 6:10-19; 1 Kings 9:6-9; Jeremiah 22:1-5; & the many prophecies leading up to the exile]. Now Jesus was letting them know that, not only did He not come to remove the oppression of Rome–as they had hoped the Messiah would–but in fact, things were going to get worse because Israel’s heart was still far from God.
So far that they didn’t recognize their long-hoped-for Messiah. So far that, though they welcomed Him as king to Jerusalem, they returned to the normalcy of life as soon as they saw that He had not come to do what they desired [Matthew 21:8-11, 17 & 23]. So far that they crucified the very one for whom they’d waited their whole lives.
And only when Jerusalem–the heart of God’s chosen people, Israel–acknowledges Jesus as the Messianic King He is, will they see Him again [Zechariah 14:4].
To this day, God would dwell in each and every one of us, if we would choose Him over ourselves. We cannot be His in name only. We cannot claim to serve God and still do whatever we feel like in this world. We cannot expect God to uphold our self-as-god complex and deny Him when He doesn’t.
Does your heart long for God the way He longs for you?
KCS
Reactant Pride and Doubt
“And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.” Matthew 23:35-36
Despite the misguided works theology and even their love-of-self-and-therefore-hatred-toward-others lifestyle, how could these leaders become responsible for all of the righteous blood shed in the history of the world? Many would balk at the seeming unfairness of this Scripture. But look closer.
From Abel, the first person to be murdered–who was murdered at the hands of his own brother [Genesis 4:8-12; Hebrews 11:4]. To Zechariah, whose name means God remembers. An Old Testament prophet who brought his fellow-returning-exiles a message of hope and encouragement. Through Him, God proclaimed to Israel that her greatness was not past but was still to come in His and her future glory.
Jesus told them, All this will come upon this generation.
Yes, the religious leaders were guilty, just as we all are for our own sin. But Jesus is letting them know what the weight of their next choices would be. By crucifying Jesus, they would bring the guilt of all the murdered righteous men for all time to bear on their generation. Not that they would shoulder the guilt themselves, but that, by their hands and before their eyes, Jesus Himself would become the atoning sacrifice, bearing the guilt and shame of all of the murders of all time. And, of course we know today, not just the murders but for all sin for all time.
Scripture tells us that we are God’s children and coheirs with Christ–He is our brother, and, like Abel, our sins murdered Him on the cross. Knowing full well what we would do to Him, He stepped into our exile in the flesh, proclaiming in His person that God remembers us. God consciously keeps us in mind at all times and thinks on the goodness He has for us in Christ Jesus. And just like the message Zechariah proclaimed to Israel, our greatness is not past. Nothing that we have done or been in this life will ever compare with God’s future glory for those who are in Christ Jesus.
*Minds blown* And hopefully, hearts turned to God.
But as it happened and happens so often, the truth hardens the very hearts it was intended to soften. Like a chemical reaction, trace amounts of pride and doubt react in the presence of truth, often violently flaming up, resulting in a seared and hardened heart toward God.
Does God’s Word make you bristle? Has pride and doubt kept you from accepting His truth? Do you still long for His goodness? Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart, removing these reactants so that truth can take root and soften your heart toward God.
KCS
The Viperous Heart
“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.” Matthew 23:33-34
All reptiles are considered unclean in Jewish law. Not only that, but when Jeremiah prophesied that foreigners would overtake Israel he said they would come among the people like venomous snakes, like vipers [Jeremiah 8:17].
So this analogy of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to unclean animals, that were synonymous with Israel’s enemies, would have shocked the people and horrified the religious leaders.
Deeper still, the viper is an ovoviviparous animal, meaning that the babies develop inside eggs inside the mother viper. Once the babies are mature, they also hatch while inside the mother, so that she then gives birth to live young.
Again this analogy would have shocked and horrified the hearers. Everyone believed the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to be the ultimate example of God’s righteousness, the consummate expression of all that God desires in our lives. But Jesus is explaining how, not just spiritual uncleanness, but fully matured sin has found life inside mother Israel. How people born and raised on the truth of God’s Word possessed the same sin nature as those who lived without it.
*Jaws drop.*
He asks them–the self-righteous leaders–How will you escape being condemned to hell? Remember, when God asks a question, it is not for His sake but theirs.
They didn’t see the truth of their sinfulness despite their extensive studies of Scripture. Even after all of Jesus’ earthly ministry, they did not accept the truth of their sinfulness [Matthew 5:22, et al] or understand that they were leading others toward hell and not toward eternal life [Matthew 23:15].
Yes, the leaders of Israel needed to repent of their works checklist and grow a heart for God. But Jesus’s question is also pregnant with forgiveness! If they only connected the dots. If they only looked up into His eyes at this moment, let their hatred go and saw the answer to His question.
It’s me guys. I’m the only One that can keep you out of hell. And I want to!
I sent the prophets ahead of me so you would know I was coming and could recognize me.
I have preserved a remnant of wise men among you so that you would know the truth of my coming.
I came as your teacher so that you might learn from Me yourself.
Instead–out of pride, jealousy, fear–the religious leaders hunted down, flogged and killed the ones God sent.
And still God loved them. Just as He loves us though we deny Him.
Even 2,000 years later, we have to be so careful not to stand in judgment on the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. For we are like them. Today we have the full knowledge of Scripture in the completed Bible, but we are capable of missing God. If Jesus were to come minister on the earth today, would He find an unclean viperous heart within you? Would He see sin’s venom flowing from your life into others?
KCS
A Million Billion Mercies
“The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” Revelation 8:7
When people think of the End Times as described in the book of Revelation, the focus is often on the doom and destruction. It’s hard to read a verse like Revelation 8:7–about a hail of fire and blood that burns up a third of the earth, a third of its trees and all healthy grass–and not feel fearful.
But look at the verse again. And look at the verses that come after it [Revelation 8:7-12].
…a third of the earth
…a third of the trees
…a third of the sea
…a third of the sea creatures
…a third of the ships
…a third of the waters
…a third of the sun and moon and stars
Do you see the mercy? If God truly wanted retribution, why not just fully destroy? Why not just wipe people from the face of the planet? He is more than capable of it. Just ask Noah [Genesis 6:9-9:17].
But look at the Divine Restraint in the so-called judgments of Revelation. Two-thirds of all these things remain. Why? Because so great is God’s love for human kind that He doesn’t desire any to perish [2 Peter 3:9]. So great is His love for us that He sent His One and Only Son to die for our sins so that every one of us could be reconciled to God and have life eternal [John 3;16-17].
When we see a pandemic like Coronavirus burning through the world, we tend to blame God for the loss of so many lives. But underlying the accusation is the fact that we daily take for granted millions and billions of God’s mercies.
Everyday, just over 7.5 billion people miraculously wake up with the breath of life in their lungs. And everyday just over 7.5 billion people return to their beds to rest. That in itself is miraculous!
That’s more than 15 billion mercies from God’s hand in one day without counting the millions and billions more that come in the hours between waking and sleeping.
How many tragic accidents are averted? How many near death experiences? How many crimes thwarted? How many life-giving miracles meted out? How many prayers of provision answered? All without most of us ever acknowledging that God is responsible for these mercies! Why?
Because God’s mercy rarely makes the news.
Who reports on the goodness of an uncommitted crime? Who gives God praise for the houses that are not burned down or swept up in a tornado? Who blesses God for the goodness of more than 250 new lives being born on the planet every minute of every day? And who gives God the glory for, not just positioning the earth in just the right place in the universe to sustain life, but holding it there every minute of every hour?
Fear. Is. A. Liar. And it wants us to blame God for our finite ability to preserve ourselves.
Let us lift our eyes to the Lord our help, our God and our salvation [Psalm 27 & 121]. Let us think on all of His million billion daily mercies so that His peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds from blaming Him for the repercussions of our congenital finiteness or worse, denying His existence because of them [Philippians 4:7-8].
Have you thanked God for the millions of mercies in your life today?
KCS
From the Student Question Board: Is Coronavirus God’s Judgment?
“The great day of the Lord is near—
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness—” Zephaniah 1:14-15
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep across the globe, a question on many hearts and minds is, is this God’s judgment?
First, we need to understand what is meant by judgment.
Immediately, the human heart thinks of a misfortune or calamity viewed as a divine punishment. Because fear has to do with punishment [1 John 4:18]. And even though God’s nature is love, He is also holy and just.
This is why we often think of judgment as a court of law where we are found innocent or guilty. Did we keep God’s laws–His checklist of right and wrong? Or are we guilty of breaking them? This is why we feel that we are good enough. We feel there’s enough evidence of having kept the checklist most of the time that we’ll be able to make a case for ourselves when we stand before God. This is also why people blame God for a tragedy like COVID-19. How could you punish good people? What bad thing have we done to deserve this?
But in actuality, we need to think of judgment as two kings bringing their armies to a battlefield. Both kings are seeking supreme authority. Both kings will be judged in the standoff with the other. And only one king will win.
The sin nature that entered Creation through Adam and Eve [Genesis 3] cannot continue forever. Sin naturally leads to death [Romans 6:23; James 1:15].
But why? Because the essence of sinfulness is not a checklist of right and wrong. It’s not about pleasing and displeasing God. It is living Satan’s lie that we can be our own gods and not die [Genesis 3:4-5].
When Adam and Eve chose to disregard God, they stepped out from under His authority in all things. God alone is omnipotent–He alone is able to hold every cell in our bodies together perfectly for eternity. But we have finite power. As our own gods, we are only able to do so much through nutrition, hygiene, fitness and medicine to preserve the life we have. And even the strongest and most disciplined among us cannot sustain their own life forever. Only our Creator has that power.
You see, God’s judgment is not divine retribution. He isn’t punishing us for all the things we’ve done wrong. God’s judgment is a light of truth showing us that we are not Him. If we were truly God, then when invading armies come, we could flick them off with a finger and crush them underfoot. If we were truly God, then when a pandemic like COVID-19 comes, we could zap it out of existence with a word. If we were truly God, then He would submit to us and do our bidding.
Instead, this pandemic should make us realize:
1) Coronavirus has come because the sin nature–us in God’s place–is powerless. It shows us our inability to maintain perfect health and life in both our own bodies and the world we live in;
And
2) God is not punishing us, but where He has removed His hand of life-sustaining mercies it is so that He can extend mercy to those who remain. It is so that we can recognize Him alone as God, and thereby repent and be reconciled to Him that we may have eternal life.
Will you recognize God for who He is now and receive His grace? Or will you choose to standoff against Him in your own strength to prove that you are god when the real judgment comes?
KCS
Million-Dollar Hot Dogs
“‘He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. ‘Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.’” Matthew 22:4-5
Too good for the king?
In joyful anticipation, the king prepared every detail to both celebrate His Son’s wedding and to honor His guests.
And the guests snubbed him.
The king gives them a second chance to choose this honor for themselves, telling them how highly He plans to honor them–with the finest meat a king can buy.
Red meat was not commonly consumed in ancient times because it was costly. Cows were needed for a continual milk supply and commoners couldn’t afford to house and feed the amount of oxen and cattle that we would need to satisfy the American drive for beef today. But they also didn’t have the food preservation that we have. So even one butchered cow–approximately 500 pounds of meat–needed to be eaten in one sitting so it wasn’t wasted. What better way than to invite the whole town for a celebration?
Needless to say, they didn’t eat much beef and these invitees snubbed the king again. They go off to provide for themselves. I’ll earn my own beef, thank you very much. Why humble myself to eat at the king’s banquet? I can wine and dine myself.
Even though we do eat lots of beef in our society, we can certainly understand how crazy this scenario is.
And yet this is exactly the truth. When people reject God–His Son Jesus, His Word, His standard of good and right–to be their own god, they throw away an eternal King’s banquet to temporarily provide an impoverished subsistence for themselves. It’s like trading a FREE, infinite buffet of the finest steak and seafood for a million-dollar, hard-earned handful of hot dogs.
God loves you. Will you love Him in return? Will you, by faith, accept the honor of His gracious invitation to the eternal wedding banquet?
KCS
An Uber Donkey Ride?
“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie then and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.’ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”” Matthew 21:1-5
Oh, Jerusalem. They city where Jesus would be crucified–all for His love for and the redemption of humanity. He approached His death purposely, each step laden with understanding and the desire to reconcile each and every one of us to Himself.
The Mount of Olives was an intentional stage, chosen by God and established through Old Testament prophecy. It was a declaration of Jesus’ Messianic identity made without words. It symbolized God fighting on Israel’s behalf [Zechariah 14:3-21]. And it was a place to which Jesus would return often during His last days [Matthew 24:3 & 26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 21:37 & 22:39; John 8:1].
The donkey–the chosen vessel to carry the Christ into Israel’s capital city, right under Herod’s nose–symbolized kingship, but also Jesus’ Messianic identity and that He came to restore peace not to make war as would’ve been symbolized by a horse [Deuteronomy 17:16; Judges 10:4 & 12:14; 2 Samuel 15:1 & 16:2; Psalm 20:6-9, 33:16-18 & 147:10-11; Proverbs 21:31; Zechariah 9:9-10].
Herod the Tetrarch whose father, King Herod the Great, had tried to exterminate Jesus as an infant [Matthew 2:16] and who, Himself, had John the Baptist beheaded [Matthew 14:1-12]–though he is not the focus.
Jesus sent two disciples to pick up His ride. But this was obviously before Uber existed and before cell phones and internet. So it wasn’t like Jesus opened an app and apple-paid for the donkey then sent the guys to go pick it up. No, this was prophetic. God knew from the Creation that this moment would exist and every detail–from where the donkeys would be, to how they would be tied, and what words the donkeys’ caretaker would need to hear to allow the disciples to take the animals.
And Jesus–being fully God–also knew.
It’s amazing to me how so many people will flock to any human who claims to be able to see/read the future, or have ESP, or consort with the dead, or any other number of superhuman imposs-abilities. While people while believe it possible for a fellow finite human being to possess these capabilities, these same people will read this scripture and dismiss its credibility–as if God couldn’t possess the ability to perfectly know past, present and future.
But God did, does and always will know. He prophesied this moment perfectly in the Old Testament. And He gave these two disciples an exactly detailed advance directive here in the New Testament. No doubt, every time God dropped these kind of miracles into the disciples’ experience, it confirmed His existence and their faith and Jesus’ identity over and over again.
What confirmations of God’s existence have you experienced? What confirmations of Jesus’ identity?
KCS
God-Defined Goodness: On Beyond Benevolence
“Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Matthew 19:21-22
Did you catch it? Being humane and civil, abstaining from bad behavior toward other people isn’t God’s definition of goodness–it’s the limited human standard. Perfection–completion, wholeness–however, means that we lay this life aside, that we hold onto nothing physical or temporal, and instead lay up treasure in heaven [Matthew 5:48 & 6:19-21; Luke 12:33; Acts 2:45 & 4:34-35].
That is, if we want to enter the narrow gate of eternal life then we must seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness–His definition of infinite goodness–in and with our whole physical life. This is an embodiment of the first four of the ten commandments [Exodus 20:1-11]. It is the greatest commandment, loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength [Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:36-38; Mark 12:28-30].
Many confuse Jesus’ words here with asceticism. Give everything away. Be an extremist. Have nothing. Beat yourself into submission.
But Jesus isn’t talking about severe self-discipline at all. In fact, just the opposite. He is saying that no amount of self-discipline can ever get us into heaven. But only reconciliation–the submission born of a loving reverence for the One true God.
The command to sell everything was, for the rich young man, a test of the heart. Not a test for Jesus to see if the man was sincere. Jesus already knew his heart. It was a heart check for the man to see whether or not he truly meant to offer his whole life to Christ with no other gods before him.
But the man was rich and he was young. He’d become the envy of many in a short amount of life and probably had every intention of living a very benevolent life. If he knew he could buy his way into heaven, how easy it would have been to do humanitarian and charitable works without ever submitting his heart to God. And he wanted Jesus to tell him that this would be enough.
Instead, Jesus broke the news to him, No amount of charity and good will toward men will remove the money-god in your life. You have to do that. Don’t trust in your money to do right by others. Trust in God to do right by you and all the others with or without your money. Get rid of that faith obstacle in your life and let God work through you in ways you could never imagine and ways that your money could never supply.
Benevolence doesn’t make us good. Not only that, but when we come to Jesus, we each have a faith obstacle–another god in our life that we must lay down to follow Christ.
If you have already accepted salvation, think back. What did Jesus ask you to lay down to follow Him? If you are struggling with your faith–either to accept it or to grow in it–prayerfully consider, what is God asking you to lay down? What non-god stands between you and the One True God?
KCS
A Match Among Stars
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ ‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good.'” Matthew 19:16-17a
With the exception of Psalm 16:11 which use the words eternal and life separately but in the same thought, the phrase eternal life primarily shows up in the New Testament. However, the concept of eternal life is not explicit to Jesus’ teaching.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit inspired the writers to first of all address the eternality of God Himself [Genesis 21:33; Deuteronomy 33:27]. And because He is the Eternal One, then everything ascribed to Him must also be eternal: His love [1 King 10:9], the praises due Him [Psalm 111:10], His words and law [Psalm 119:89 & 160], and His steadfastness [Isaiah 26:4].
Moreover, His kingship and kingdom, dominion and sovereignty are also eternal [Jeremiah 10:10; Daniel 4:3 & 34]. But how can a kingdom be eternal if its subjects are not?
In the scheme of eternity, God created us for life eternal. He designed human beings to live eternally in His kingdom and, whether knowingly or unknowingly, each of us longs to fulfill that destiny [Ecclesiastes 3:11]. The eternity in our hearts cries out at the injustice of suffering and death. It testifies to our spirit that we were made to live forever.
Yet the sad truth is that the wages of sin—living life as our own God–is death [Romans 6:23].
We cannot be the king of our kingdom of one and subject to God’s kingdom at the same time. Our sinful-human nature is ever at odds with the Sovereign Eternal. And unless we submit our self-authority wholly back to Him, we can never enter into eternal life.
However, this rich young man approached Jesus with the notion that he could in fact come to God as his own sovereign. He believed, as so many people want to believe, that if he did enough good things or the one right good thing, then God would accept his self-sovereignty instead of requiring his submission.
So Jesus–in true God fashion–asked him a question. Jesus already knew why the man asked Him about what was good. Yet He posed the question so that the man would consider himself, Why are you asking this? What do you already know to be true that you’re hoping I will tell you is false?
Only God is good. Meaning, there is no good that we can do in our thoughts, words or deeds that will ever come close to God’s transcendent goodness. Like a candle trying to shine brighter than the sun. Like a match trying to illuminate the whole universe. That’s the futility of our human goodness.
The only way that we can be good is to allow God to become our goodness. Because Only He is good, then He alone must be Sovereign of our lives and we must wholly submit to His goodness.
Have you surrendered your heart to God’s eternal goodness? Or are you trying to live your matchstick self-kingship among the stars in His universe?
KCS
Marriage–Establishing God’s Pattern for All Relationships
“When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?'”Matthew 19:1-3
We see Jesus begin to make His way toward His appointment on the cross. Until now, though born in Bethlehem in Judea, He has largely lived and ministered in the northern reaches of Israel around the Sea of Galilee.
The multitudes still followed. And Jesus still healed them [Matthew 4:23].
However, some Pharisees–clearly not having been present at the Sermon on the Mount, or perhaps having heard about Jesus’ sermon topics–decide to press him on the subject of divorce one more time [Matthew 5:31-32]. Likely because there were two schools of interpretations that had developed concerning the Law of Divorce [Deuteronomy 24:1-4].
The more traditional interpretation held that marital unfaithfulness was the only justifiable reason for divorce. While another interpretation had sprung up focusing on the phrase, who becomes displeasing to him. This thought said that anything a woman did that could upset a man was grounds for divorce. Whenever the man was fed up, then he could just get rid of her and move on.
Is it lawful, these Pharisees debating the two schools of thought asked–does it conform to, is it permitted or recognized by the Law of Moses–for men to divorce their wives if they are displeased with her? Settle our political debate if you’re such a great and wise rabbi.
The devil loves to throw out alternate interpretations of God’s Word. Things that people either underthink or overthink and come to a wrong conclusion. And relationships are definitely a favorite target for the enemy.
God intended marriages, families, friendships and communities to function within holy parameters. Parameters that ensured the wholeness of everyone involved. Marriage was the first of these [Genesis 1:27 & 2:24; Ephesians 5:31], and all other social interactions descend from the thoughts that govern this union.
So if it’s ok for men to behave so flippantly towards women that they can choose to divorce them over burnt toast or the toilet paper hung the wrong way, then it’s also ok for lack of respect or seriousness, for superficial reasons, to mistreat the parent-child relationship, and friendships, and community relationships.
This is such a huge topic in modern culture, because relationships have been redefined by the world in so many ways. Flippancy, superficiality and selfishness reign in media-portrayal of these. But God still holds to His standard no many how many questions the world asks or how many lines they erase and redraw in their attempts to assert themselves as god.
Do you hold to a Godly view of all relationships–marriage, family, friendship and community? Don’t answer that too quickly. Instead, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you where your views transgress God’s design.
KCS
Generation Heroes 