Just As You Are

Yesterday Dave and I worked hard the entire day. We had planned to get together with friends in the evening but ended up staying home, feet propped up and watching a movie on tv.

It was a movie that made me cry. No, not a Hallmark movie. The movie title is “A Carpenter’s Prayer”. Very good, I recommend it.

The premise – a drunk, who has carpentry skills, helps a church who is building a new complex. They love him just the way he is. They help him with work, food, friendship and finding Jesus. I won’t tell you how it ends but at one place in the movie the man realizes that Jesus will accept him just the way he is.

I went to bed remembering my own experience and realization that Jesus loves me just the way I am and that I needed a Savior. I’m so thankful that we don’t need to be “good enough” to be saved.

“God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.

I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from GodYou are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.” Ephesians 2:7-9 ERV

We come to relationship with Christ just as we are.

We don’t wash our cars before we take them to the car wash. That would be silly. It isn’t our good deeds that get Christ to love us. His love is unconditional; His grace is unmerited; His sacrifice paid the price for everyone.

“When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. 20 So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God21 Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.” II Corinthians 5:17-21 ERV

I grew up hearing “I’m just an old sinner saved by grace” nearly every Sunday evening. But that’s not true. We WERE old sinners but once we are saved we are a new creation. We are now called saints; we have become a child of God.

 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:23-24 CEV

God doesn’t want us looking back to who we once were, that part of our life is dead. He wants us looking forward to who He created us to be.

In A Nutshell

As I sat quietly this morning, it was a time of introspection. “My life in a nutshell”.

How to describe it? How would others define it? What am I most grateful for this Thanksgiving season?

God’s word – simply and emphatically. God’s word.

Oh yes, I am extremely grateful for Dave, the kids, the grands and great grands, my health and home, my friends but without God’s word these would be shallow. Without God’s word I wouldn’t know of His endless, boundless love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. Without His word, peace, joy and hope would be fleeting and that would seriously affect my family, health and friends.

What has had the greatest impact on my life, kept me on a firm foundation, been my source of strength and wisdom is God’s word.

I deeply love your Law! I think about it all day. 98 Your laws never leave my mind, and they make me much wiser than my enemies. 99 Thinking about your teachings gives me better understanding than my teachers, 100 and obeying your laws makes me wiser than those who have lived a long time. 101 I obey your word instead of following a way that leads to trouble. 102 You have been my teacher, and I won’t reject your instructions. 103 Your teachings are sweeter than honey.” Psalm 119:97-103 CEV

I spent a large portion of my early years, up to my thirties, not searching the Scriptures as my daily bread. I was too busy to take time to study the Bible. Oh yes, I loved the Lord. I was a Christian but a shallow one. I worried and fretted with the best of them. I could be short-tempered, easily frustrated and stressed.

Then little by little all that changed. Just a few minutes each morning – time was short so I had to be quick. After a while I realized without my morning time spent in God’s word and prayer the day just didn’t go as smoothly, and I wasn’t prepared for the challenging situations that would arise.

Just as I began to put fingers to keyboard this morning the words of this old song came flooding in:

“Wonderful Words of Life”

Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of life;
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty.

Refrain:
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life;
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life.

Sweetly echo the gospel call,
Wonderful words of life;
Offer pardon and peace to all,
Wonderful words of life;
Jesus, only Savior,
Sanctify forever. [Refrain]”

Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.

Once when Jesus finished a teaching, a large portion of the multitude that followed Him left. They said it was a “hard” teaching.

 Jesus then asked his twelve disciples if they also were going to leave him. 68  Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, there is no one else that we can go to! Your words give eternal life. 69 We have faith in you, and we are sure that you are God’s Holy One.’” John 6:67-69 CEV

Words of Life!

My greatest joy – my life in a nutshell – is to know God’s word in greater, practical depth each day.

Living Free

Last night as I was falling off to sleep a memory came to mind. I knew I would share it with you this morning.

Many years ago, I read a book by a man who built his business on honesty and integrity, even when it cost him financially. Once he gave his word he kept it, even though it might affect his bottom line.

He became very successful and was known for his philanthropy. He wasn’t given to worry; he lived a life of faith. When asked how he avoided the worry that consumes so many he told of his worry box.

He had a box on his desk and when something was worrisome, he would pray over it, write down on paper and put it in the box. Once a week he would open the box and remove the items that had been resolved and leave any others there. He refused to worry; he chose to trust. Worry never solved anything.

“What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need34 So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.” Matthew 6:33-34 ERV

When I searched for an image to use with this blog, I found there is a whole cottage industry out there now making worry boxes. That says a lot about our society. So many caught up in the cares of life. The world needs a worry box – God has given us one.

“All you people who are thirsty, come! Here is water for you to drink. Don’t worry if you have no money. Come, eat and drink until you are full! You don’t need money. The milk and wine are free. Why waste your money on something that is not real food? Why should you work for something that does not really satisfy you? Listen closely to me and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the food that satisfies your soul. Listen closely to what I say. Listen to me so that you will live. I will make an agreement with you that will last forever. It will be an agreement you can trust, like the one I made with David— a promise to love him and be loyal to him forever.” Isaiah 55:1-3 ERV

The Lord’s promise to love and provide is more than enough for any worry we can put in a box. He is more than able to handle any situation that we face, the key is to trust Him and let Him handle it.

I am so thankful for God’s wonderful promises. I can reply on Him. God’s got this!

Anticipation & Expectation

I hope you have been encouraged in your prayer life as we’ve studied the Bible verses on prayer the last few days.

Prayer is not a “genie in a bottle” experience. It’s not even Amazon delivery. It’s better!

Prayer is bigger than that. It is bringing our needs and our heart’s desires to the Father and leaving them in His capable hands. It’s allowing God to move on our behalf; inserting His power into our circumstances.

Sometimes we are tempted to give up or take things into our own hands, trying to make them work out how we think they should. Standing and believing God requires determination and fortitude. Expectation of God’s working; anticipation of how it’s all going to come to pass.

It’s hard to wait but that’s where the excitement of anticipation comes in.

Look at Abraham, he and Sarah waited 25 years to see God’s promise come to pass.

 The Holy Writings say, ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ This promise is good because of Who God is. He makes the dead live again. He speaks, and something is made out of nothing. 18 Abraham believed he would be the father of many nations. He had no reason to hope for this, but he had been told, ‘Your children will become many nations.’ 19 Abraham was about one hundred years old. His body was about dead, but his faith in God was not weak when he thought of his body. His faith was not weak when he thought of his wife Sarah being past the age of having children. 20 Abraham did not doubt God’s promise. His faith in God was strong, and he gave thanks to God21 He was sure God was able to do what He had promised.” Romans 4:17-21 NLV

I can just imagine the excitement that Sarah felt when she first learned that God had said Abraham would be a father, she would be a mother. She had been barren. Did she start making baby clothes, did she have diapers folded neatly and waiting in a hamper? The anticipation of what God was going to do had to be thrilling.

Years passed and there was no child. Sarah thought she would help God out. Maybe the Lord meant that Abraham would be a father but not that she would be a mother. She did the customary thing, she found a surrogate, her handmaid.

As we stand, waiting to see the answer to our prayers we need double dogged determination not to waiver in our faith and stay focused on God’s infallible word.

When the handmaid gave birth to a son Sarah became jealous and bitter. God protected the handmaiden and her son, forgave Sarah for her intervention in His plan and He reaffirmed His promise.

“Because Sarah had faith, she was able to have a child long after she was past the age to have children. She had faith to believe that God would do what He promised12 Abraham was too old to have children. But from this one man came a family with as many in it as the stars in the sky and as many as the sand by the sea.” Hebrews 11:11-12 NLV

A good lesson for us all. God’s plan is better than ours.

The verses above from Romans say that Abraham was strong in faith and gave thanks to God.

A heart filled with thanksgiving is a wonderful booster to our faith. We get up each morning and say “Thank you Lord, I am one day closer to seeing the answer to my prayer.” Personally, I remember two specific instances when Dave and I had to wait over eight years to see the final answer to our prayers. Thanking God for working kept us strong.

“So don’t lose the courage that you had in the past. Your courage will be rewarded richly. 36 You must be patient. After you have done what God wants, you will get what he promised you.” Hebrews 10:35-36 ERV

Anticipate. Expect. Just don’t quit!

Power of Prayer

The Apostle Paul was a not only a preacher, but he was also a great writer of encouraging letters, and a man committed to prayer.

This morning, I want to share two of his prayers with you. They are prayers that have stood strong for thousands of years. They are prayers that have the power to change our lives.

I’m praying these prayers for you.

… He also told us about the love you have from the Spirit. Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray:

that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need10 that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God11 that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come.

Then you will be happy 12 and give thanks to the Father. He has made you able to have what he has promised to give all his holy people, who live in the light. 13 God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son14 The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins.

15 No one can see God,
    but the Son is exactly like God.
    He rules over everything that has been made.
16 Through his power all things were made:
    things in heaven and on earth, seen and not seen—
all spiritual rulers, lords, powers, and authorities.
    Everything was made through him and for him.

17 The Son was there before anything was made.
    And all things continue because of him.
18 He is the head of the body, which is the church.
    He is the beginning of everything else.
And he is the first among all who will be raised from death.
    So in everything he is most important.

19 God was pleased for all of himself to live in the Son.
20     And through him, God was happy to bring all things back to himself again—
    things on earth and things in heaven.
God made peace by using the blood sacrifice of his Son on the cross.

21 At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against him. 22 But now he has made you his friends again. He did this by the death Christ suffered while he was in his body. He did it so that he could present you to himself as people who are holy, blameless, and without anything that would make you guilty before him. 23 And that is what will happen if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must remain strong and sure in your faith. You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the Good News. That same Good News has been told to everyone on earth, and that’s the work that I, Paul, was given to do.” Colossians 1:8-23 ERV

And now add to it this prayer from Ephesians:

 So I bow in prayer before the Father. 15 Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him. 16 I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit. 1I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.

20 With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. 2To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21 ERV

In prayer we tap into God’s power. Through prayer lives change, our lives change, by the power of God.

If you feel awkward and unable to find the “right” words in prayer, pray the ones above. Trust God and His great love. He will give you the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need for each day. His power working in you will be more than you can even imagine.

There is real power in prayer!

A Light in the Dark

Have you ever been somewhere when it was completely dark? Without light we become uncertain, even, afraid.

But once there is a tiny flicker of light, we begin to have hope and as the light gets brighter confidence comes and peace comes with it. God’s first recorded action was creating light.

No one has a life with no dark moments. For some those moments may be serious, life-threatening illness, for others they may be an emotional depression or a catastrophic accident.

If you are in that place of darkness, I pray that these verses I share with you today will serve as the light of hope that you need.

When the Lord Saves You from Death

1 I love you, Lord! You answered my prayers.
You paid attention to me, and so I will pray to you as long as I live.
Death attacked from all sides, and I was captured by its painful chains. But when I was really hurting, I prayed and said, “Lord, please don’t let me die!”

You are kind, Lord, so good and merciful. You protect ordinary people, and when I was helpless, you saved me and treated me so kindly that I don’t need to worry anymore.

You, Lord, have saved my life from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. Now I will walk at your side in this land of the living. 10 I was faithful to you when I was suffering, 11 though in my confusion I said, ‘I can’t trust anyone!’

12 What must I give you, Lord, for being so good to me? 13 I will pour out an offering of wine to you, and I will pray in your name because you have saved me. 14 I will keep my promise to you when your people meet. 15 You are deeply concerned when one of your loyal people
faces death.

16 I worship you, Lord, just as my mother did, and you have rescued me from the chains of death. 17 I will offer you a sacrifice to show how grateful I am, and I will pray. 18 I will keep my promise to you when your people 19 gather at your temple in Jerusalem. Shout praises to the Lord!” Psalm 116 CEV

Jesus knows how dark moments and situations can overwhelm us. He ministered to people in their darkest hours.

“Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, ‘I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” John 8:12 CEV

Join with me and the writer of this psalm and shout a praise to the Lord for being your light in the darkness.

Steadfast & Immovable

I’m sure you’ve had those moments when something pops into your mind and you say to yourself, “Gosh, I haven’t thought about that in a long time”. This morning is one of those moments for me.

I was praying over friends and family this morning and I began to pray these words. “Lord, let them be steadfast and immovable. A solid representation of Your love. Not moved by the world’s opinions but standing firm on Your infallible word”.

It was then a flood of Scriptures came rolling in. Verses I had committed to my heart years ago, verses that have been my life-line both physically, emotionally, and spiritually for many years.

Today, I liked to share them with you. Verses of victory and strength.

“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” I Corinthians 15:57-58 NLT

Steadfast and immovable. Steadfast: resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering

“If you live to satisfy your sinful self, the harvest you will get from that will be eternal death. But if you live to please the Spirit, your harvest from the Spirit will be eternal lifeWe must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up. 10 When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it…”Galatians 6:8-10 ERV

Don’t grow weary in well doing.

 To end my letter I tell you, be strong in the Lord and in his great power11 Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks12 Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. 13 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing.” Ephesians 6:10-13 ERV

When you’ve done all to stand, STAND.

 Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love? 36 As the Scriptures say,

‘For you we are in danger of death all the time. People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.’

37 But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39 ERV

Complete victory: more than a conqueror.

“We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow.Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.” I John 5:3-5 CEV

Overcome the world.

My dear friend, your struggle is not too great for God. His word is the solid rock foundation to build our lives on. Built on His word we can be and will be steadfast and immovable in the storms and we will stand!

Making Claims

Have you ever had to make an insurance claim? You know, you’ve been in an accident or perhaps had damage to your home or had something stolen.

You call the insurance company to report the loss. They send out a claims adjuster, he writes an estimate of damage done and then it’s filed with the company, and you wait for restitution and/or the repair to your property.

We had to file a claim on our home and one of our vehicles once because of a hailstorm. It was a lengthy process. That was the thought as I was reading this morning in Mark.

“Then so many of them came to the house that there wasn’t even standing room left in front of the door. Jesus was still teaching when four people came up, carrying a man on a mat because he could not walkBut because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof above him and let the man down in front of everyone.

When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were sitting there. They started wondering, “Why would he say such a thing? He must think he is God! Only God can forgive sins.”

At once, Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, “Why are you thinking such things? 9 Is it easier for me to tell this man his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and pick up his mat and go on home? 10 I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” So Jesus said to the man, 11 Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.”

12 The man got right up. He picked up his mat and went out while everyone watched in amazement. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:2-12 CEV

That particular damage to the house could certainly be listed as “an act of God”.

These four friends wanted to bring this man to Jesus, so they just picked up his bed and carried him through the streets to the house where Jesus was. Not being able to get in because of the crowd, they carried him to the roof and made a hole in it.

Now for the tricky part. They had to let the man down through the hole and hope that he would drop in close to where Jesus was standing. The Bible doesn’t specify but the friends must have come prepare for every possible circumstance. Did they bring the tools that made the hole in the roof? How long did it take to deconstruct? How did they let him down into the house? Did they bring ropes that they tied to his bed?

However, they did it, it didn’t matter. What mattered was their faith in getting to Jesus? They made claim on Jesus’ ability to heal their friend. Jesus also made a claim. His claim was that the man’s sins had been forgiven. That one set the religious leaders on edge. They objected – they refused His claim.

Jesus produced the evidence that supported His claim. “Take up your bed and WALK”. The man had been crippled. How long, we don’t know. But there was power in the words Jesus spoke. Power to give strength to legs that hadn’t walked in quite some time. Power to refute the skeptic minds of the religious elite. Power to heal and forgive.

Claim filed and settled.

“But I trust you, Lord, and I claim you as my God. 15 My life is in your hands. ” Psalm 31:14-15 CEV

We all need to make a claim. We claim the Father as our Lord and our God. We place our lives in His hands.

“Everything and everyone that the Father has given me will come to me, and I won’t turn any of them away.

38 I didn’t come from heaven to do what I want! I came to do what the Father wants me to do. He sent me, 39 and he wants to make certain that none of the ones he has given me will be lost. Instead, he wants me to raise them to life on the last day.” John 6:37-39 CEV

The claim we make on God’s love will certainly insure us against loss.

Planting New Seeds

Fall is a good time to plant in Arizona. The cooler weather and our mostly mild winters provide a good growing environment.

I miss my garden and my flowers so now I plant a different kind of seed.

In years past, I have chosen my plants carefully. Measuring out the distance between, giving them enough room to grow without hindering the growth of what was around them. Potting soil added to the ground, automatic watering system in place and lots of tender loving care. I would imagine how they will look in 5, 10 and even 20 years. Gardens planted at homes I no longer live in brought temporary joy.

More important are the other seeds I have sown in the past 10, 20, 50 even 70 years. Seeds that have produced a wonderful marriage (although we had to pull up some weeds along the way), 3 children and their mates, 7 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, numerous friends who have been a part of our lives for so many years. Sowing seeds from God’s word to encourage, bring hope and God’s forgiveness of sin.

And then there are the seeds that had to be rooted out, things like bitterness, anger, insecurity, pride, selfishness and discontentment. These had to be dug up and pulled out by the roots so that the other seeds could grow and produce fruit.

This morning, I won’t be planting physical seedlings, I will be planting seeds of hospitality, acceptance, forgiveness, peace, joy, healing and restoration. It is my desire that all who share my life’s garden will know God’s goodness and the abundant life that He has given us in Christ Jesus.

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” Hosea 10:12 KJV

“This is what the story means: The seed is God’s message, 12 and the seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But the devil comes and snatches the message out of their hearts, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don’t have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up.

14 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything. 15 Those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts. They last and produce a harvest.” Luke 8:11-15 CEV

Happy Planting!

A Reliable Cure

Have you ever been to the doctor and had them ask you about your medical history and your family’s medical history? Lots of questions and sometimes you wonder if they are even listening as you answer.

This morning, I have a question for you. Do you have heart trouble? Are there triggers in your life that have or are now affecting your heart?

Then let me give you a prescription for the cure.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1 KJV

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples right before His crucifixion. If anything would cause “heart trouble” for them it would be this, but Jesus’ command was don’t be troubled.

“My son, pay attention to my words and be willing to learn; Open your ears to my sayings. 21 Do not let them escape from your sight; Keep them in the center of your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, And healing and health to all their flesh. 23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:20-23 AMP

King Solomon knew the way to prevent “heart trouble” was to pay attention to God’s word. It provides health and healing to all who choose to live by it.

The dosing instructions for this prescription were given to Joshua by the Lord.

Always remember what is written in that book of law. Speak about that book and study it day and night. Then you can be sure to obey what is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything you doRemember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 ERV

Twice a day are the instructions but more if needed – day and night.

So, if you are experiencing heart trouble this morning, I’m sending you to my cardiologist, He’s never lost a patient. You have a private consultation with Him, listen to His instructions.

 I have told you all these things while I am with you. 26 But the Helper will teach you everything and cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name.

27 I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am leaving, but I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be happy that I am going back to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. 29 I have told you this now, before it happens. Then when it happens, you will believe.” John 14:26-29 ERV

I guarantee you that Jesus knew about situations that could weaken the heart. He had faced physical and spiritual attacks, mental temptations and reputation destroying lies. In the final night before His death, He was preparing the disciples to withstand the attacks of the heart.

 I have told you all this now to prepare you. So when the time comes for these things to happen, you will remember that I warned you… 33 “I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!” John 16:4 & 33 ERV

Take the Great Physician’s prescription and keep your heart strong!