Attraction or Repulsion?

One monthly gem I enjoy on a regular basis is home Bible study. Held at the home of a good friend I knew for around 35 years, it can be packed to the brim at times, as was the case of the last meeting just a couple of days ago. Remarkably enough, although the meeting is open to anyone who wish to partake, in most cases there have always been a high proportion of male attendees. Very unusual in a church environment, where it tend to be dominated by higher female numbers. Then again, the warmth of a private living room with plenty of varied refreshments on offer present a wide contrast from the stone-cold formality of a grey Gothic chapel, where the sound of voices reverberates within the solid walls of the interior.   

Each of these Bible studies normally centre on a Biblical character rather than doctrine or devotional. In the recent past we looked at Abraham and Isaac, along with Joseph (adopted father of Jesus) together with Jezebel and Deborah, two contrasting Old Testament women whose conduct and relationship with God couldn't be any more opposing. But this time round, from a suggestion offered by one of our regular members, we looked at the Prophet Hosea.

Hosea was the Old Testament seer who was ordered by God to marry an adulterous woman, and for a while remained faithful enough to him for her to bear three children. The first was a son who was given the name Jezreel, a location in Samaria where King Ahab reigned, and a principle spawning ground for ancient Baal worship. The second child was a girl, who was given the name Not Loved. The third, another boy, was given the name Not My People. Some time later, Hosea's wife strayed, and while far from home, she was put up for sale as a prostitute, but her husband arrived at the slave market and bought her, and took her back home. The underlying thread of the study was that God called the house of Israel to himself in order to enjoy a relationship. But instead, the Israelites kept on worshipping foreign idols - images made with hands - and this eventually drained the Almighty of his patience, and the result that the northern ten tribes of Israel - to which Hosea ministered - were led into exile by the Assyrians.

I could see such a parallel between the wife's unfaithfulness, her wandering away and eventual enslavement, and the prophet's redemptive purchase - with the sorrowful history of the house of Israel, her exile into the nations, and the purchase the Lord Jesus made on the cross. For there are prophecies in abundance throughout the Bible foretelling the restoration of the whole of Israel to her homeland, and enjoying a healthy relationship with her King who will one day reign over the nation from the throne of David sometime in the future, just as Hosea enjoyed a happier marriage with his wife after buying her back.

During the session, I came up with a reminder that we are no better than they were. I too can be equally hostile to God and want to run away. And I can point to a time and place where I felt exactly like that. It was the love of God gently and without any condemnation who called me, and sensing his love, I responded positively and my faith was restored, albeit slowly. Quite a similarity to the woman caught in adultery as recorded in John 8:1-11.

There are questions surrounding the story. Caught in adultery? It takes two to tango. Why wasn't he arrested with her? Why just her? Perhaps it was her husband who caught them together. Terrified, her lover legged it as fast as possible. And successfully got away as he constantly turned to look back, he kept on running still, into the sunset. A plausible story, especially if the enraged husband called to the Pharisees who were nearby. Under condemnation by all those around her, she presented a golden opportunity for them to test Jesus, who couldn't have been that far away. Instead he showed her love by forgiving her. And that made her want to follow him instead of returning to her judgemental husband, who was most likely filing for divorce, a legitimate action in Jewish custom for such a transgression.

Then how can we forget the story of the woman at the well in Samaria featured in John 4? All he did was ask for some water. The woman was shocked. She knew that she and her people were hated by the Jews and seen as transgressors of the Mosaic Law. Then the Lord began to offer her something positive, including his awareness of her failed relationships with five previous husbands, along with his awareness of her current house-mate. But there was not a hint of condemnation from Jesus, even if she might have been expecting it. Instead, he showered her with love, and she responded by leaving her jug with him to draw from the well if he needs to, and ran off excitedly to inform her countrymen that the Messiah is here. Another devoted follower, the fruit of Christ's love.

Personally, I can't blame the ancient Israelites for their apostasy and blatant idolatry, rather I can identify with them. Hosea and his marriage, her unfaithfulness, and her husband's purchase and restoration are all models of the entire history of the house of Israel and her relationship with God, her heavenly husband. I believe that after the prophet's wayward wife was brought back, their marriage became stable. Despite her sins, which were many, Hosea showed his love for her, proven by going after her while in a helpless and desperate state. Love wins again. 

   

God has chosen Jacob and his descendants by grace, an act of love. Israel did not deserve God's love, instead his choosing was an act of grace. But God had to show them that they were sinners, falling short of his mark. And the only way sin can be revealed was to give his Law, because through the Law is the knowledge of sin. The whole object of the Law was to bring the sinner to his knees and call for mercy, which was available through the sacrificial ritual God gave them. Looked on in the proper way, the sacrificial system was meant to engender love through recognition of God's mercy, along with an expectation of a more perfect and permanent solution, a once-and-for-all sacrifice. While the intention was to draw them to God, their knowledge of sin compelled them to flee from him in their attempt for an easier route to salvation.

If my own experience has any value, the knowledge of sin in the human heart, stirred by the Law, causes many not wanting to know this God. This sort of reasoning makes it easier for Darwinism to make a home in the human mind, along with, for example, the worship of a certain make of car, or a favourite football team, the adoration of a non-demanding Head of State as depicted in last week's blog, a favourite celebrity, emphasis on nationalism, or anything else which provide an escape from the knowledge of sin in contrast to a holy God. 

Hosea would never had won his wayward wife had he taken the same attitude as the Pharisees, or many in churches up to this day. Look at it this way. If a wife was married to one who was morally perfect, but constantly scrutinising and judging her behaviour, even down to her thoughts and motives, how long would the marriage last? Worse still, if she was unable to leave the house on her own, how much would she love him? History is full of women who had divorced their husbands, there are even cases of murder. The real problem the Samaritan woman at the well was not merely being a difficult person to get on with. Instead, all her husbands most likely kept her under scrutiny and criticised her when she did not measure up to their desires. What she wanted was love.  

The same could be said about the woman caught in adultery. Her husband (if he was there) along with all the religious crowd, wanted to stone her in fulfilment of the Law of Moses, therefore making them look morally pure and feeling righteous. They had no interest in the glory of God. Instead they wanted to prove themselves righteous. But why did the woman commit adultery in the first place? Was she that bad? I don't think so. Instead her husband failed to show her any love throughout her empty marriage. And for that matter, neither her lover really cared for her either. When caught in the act, he legged it instead of standing up to protect and defend her before her accusers. Poor woman! She too wanted the tender love of her husband. Instead her emptiness brought her into the arms of another who, for selfish reasons, temporally showed her some affection and made her feel important. And if it wasn't for Jesus intervening, she would have been stoned to death, her screams echoing across the valley as the fusillade flew towards her from all directions.

Statistics have shown that every week, hundreds of young people abandon the churches their parents attend. Christians come up with such self-righteous, sanctimonious explanations:- "Oh, that proves that they weren't really saved after all." Or, "They were saved once, but having abandoned their faith, they forfeited everything and are lost again!" Maybe a truer explanation is the lack of agape-love in the church itself, not to mention the lack of agape-love between father and mother, as well as towards the teenage son or daughter, no matter how pious they may be in church. In addition, the church or parents could be law-orientated - any love received is conditioned on performance. Therefore they perceive God himself to have a Pharisaic attitude, withholding his love and quick to punish if they don't perform to his standard. Going by my own experience, a religious person who looks to performance in others before bestowing any merit or credibility can be very obnoxious, especially to his victims. Usually he has a very low self-esteem, caused by his own inability to perform to standard, and therefore scrutinising anyone he thinks don't measure up in an effort to lift his own morale.

Then as I would expect, no church is perfect. If such a church exists, I'll be doing everyone there a favour by not turning up - I'll only ruin it! Rather I'm grateful to God that there is a fellowship I can identify with, one I can call my spiritual home. Generally I'm very much liked and respected. Furthermore, Ascot Life Church has provided a good place to talk when doubts and fears overshadow my soul. But as with all other churches, the need to remove religiosity and replace with agape love is essential for vibrant living - especially to teenagers and young people! It needs to be a place where men and women from all walks of life can come in and experience for themselves the truly alternate society where everyone worships from the heart, and not be the ones fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy, like those in the house of Israel - that they worshipped him with their lips, but their hearts were far from him.

Which incidentally, was another comment I made at the home Bible study.

One Verse Causes A Riot!

The theatre at the holiday camp was packed. That was the result of having a Bible festival week during school term. With many still at school and at work, there were just not enough punters to fill the Big Top on the edge of the holiday camp. So the theatre became the main venue for the big evening meeting throughout that week in 1994. But instead of entertainers on the stage, there was a group of seated men, one began to stand at the microphone and opened with the text for the evening's preach - Philippians 2:12, or at least one line of that verse, which reads:

 

Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Full stop.

 

Then this fellow, who I will refer to as a Cambridge Don, because of his high academic level, began to tear apart the belief of Eternal Security, using this line as proof that anyone believing on Once Saved Always Saved is deceived. Although I use the title Cambridge Don for one person, on the stage that evening there were two speakers, in full agreement with each other, and both I will refer as Cambridge Dons, after a friend of mine and a follower of this blog page once rebuked me for referring to people by their names.

 

A near riot ensued in the theatre as the result of the sermon. The second speaker made every effort to quell the riot, calming them down to let the chief speaker finish. Afterwards, many in the audience gathered at the stalls outside to receive counselling. Cambridge Don referred to this as a mass repentance, a proof that what he had spoken was from God himself. Rather, it looked to me that they were gathering to have their fears allayed, a guess endorsed by one punter seeking assurance from a staff member that he was once saved always saved.

The result of that evening was a national change of belief and attitude in many churches across Southern England, if not the entire nation itself, discarding any belief in Eternal Security of the Believer to that of Conditional Security, or as I like to call it: Probational Salvation. I myself was rebuked by some in my own church fellowship for "sticking to my guns" and continued to advocate what I believed in. One elderly lady who used to believe in Eternal Security but not any more, stared hard at me and told me not to question such a great man. Not long after that, on one Sunday morning service, our unfortunate pastor delivered a sermon defending Eternal Security before his resignation a few weeks later. After his preach, a friend approached me and related to me of a vision he had during the sermon. He saw daggers come out of the eyes of many in the congregation, all aimed at the speaker. All thanks to a Cambridge Don, because of his vast learning and our national celebrity culture, he had became an icon, on the level of an Old Testament prophet, so I was told at the time.

I'm amazed how such a thing could have such an impact on our churches. All by misinterpreting Scripture. Twisting Scripture? Yes, indeed. By reading Hellfire into the line, Working out your salvation with fear and trembling. But by reading the whole chapter, and especially the verses following, eternal Hell has absolutely nothing to do with it! Hell was nowhere near Paul's mind when he wrote to the Philippian church. Never mind that the line reads, "Working out your salvation" rather than "working for your salvation" - but the matter of semantics can wait for another day. The fact is that a great many passed through a time of unease, followed by a change of mind with the creed. Nobody dares cross the mind of such a great thinker and public speaker. Our national celebrity-honouring culture won't allow for it. But as for me who sees no problem in making such a challenge, I write this blog with emotion, having come across this verse recently misquoted, implying the fires of Hell when no such thing was ever attached to Paul's epistle.

So what was Paul instructing when he wrote the letter? Mainly this: That he was taken in by the grace of God revealed in the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and how he was overcome with great emotion by such revelation. So powerful was the truth of Christ to him, that his heart was swallowed up in adoration and a love which was powerful enough to overshadow everything else in his life, particularly his social standing as a Pharisee and a son of a Pharisee. Read verses 9-11 of the second chapter, and see for yourself the adoration, love and joy the apostle had for his Lord. This is in utter contrast with the fear of punishment, as Cambridge Don and his ilk would have wanted us all to grasp. Also compare the love Paul had with what John wrote in his first general letter, which reads:

There is no fear in love, But perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18.

There are many Cambridge Dons who discards this verse as being irrelevant to us because our love for him is not perfect, so we should fear punishment. That is utter tosh! And coming from academic men as well, who should have known better. It's not our love that is perfect, for while at this side of the grave, our inherited sinful nature will make everything else in us less than perfect. Rather, John was referring to God's perfect love. Untainted by any sin, God's love is absolutely perfect and therefore can be both trusted and responded to at the same time. It was God's perfect love shown in the Resurrected Jesus that changed Paul from a persecuting self-righteous Pharisee to a devout loving believer who can't stop delivering praise upon praise Heavenward to his risen Saviour. No fear of punishment there. No implications of Hell and fiery torment there!

Cambridge University

So why did Paul used the words fear and trembling? What are we to be afraid of? Ending up in Hell, as these guys imply? Or maybe the chance possibility of dishonouring Christ before other men? Immediately after sending up praise to his Saviour, Paul then exhorts the church at Philippi to have the same attitude, the same love, and the same devotion to the Lord as he had. And the reason behind this was not only for their own well being, but also for the well being of others, especially unbelievers. They were to shine like bright stars for the benefit of others, in direct reference to Matthew 5:16:

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

How does sinful men praise their Father in heaven? Or more precisely, as the KJV puts it, to glorify their Father in heaven? It is impossible for the natural man to glorify God, because of the presence of sin. However, there is one way that would bring glory, and that is for the sinner to believe in the risen Jesus as Saviour. From that moment on, he receives full acquittal from all his sins, and the righteousness of Christ is imputed on him, making him as righteous in God's sight as Jesus was. Nothing less can bring such glory to the Father than a conversion from sinner to saint.

To further this purpose, Paul wrote this to Titus:

This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Titus 3:8.

So this looks to me that "everyone" means what it says, and not restricted to fellow believers or church members. If by keeping in line with the above Scriptures, what Paul wrote to Timothy may not be referring to being saved from Hell, but saved from having the name of Christ fall into disrepute among men, especially unbelievers:

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrines closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 4:15-16.

Cambridge Dons love to use such proof that having our salvation hanging in the balance is the best reason for good performance motivated by fear of punishment. But that kind of thinking arose by reading "saved from Hell" into these verses. They are nothing of the kind, as I have emphasised, this word "save" has several meanings - our eternity being one of them. But not in this case. Rather, Paul was encouraging Timothy and his listeners to keep their good reputation intact, to save themselves from disrepute by unbelievers surrounding them. That was the point of the whole of both letters the apostle wrote to Timothy. As Timothy was a leader of a church, or even a group of churches, his performance had to be extra immaculate because the world was watching him. And by remaining blameless in their sight greatly enhances soul winning, with people turning to Christ for salvation and glorifying God.

The letter written by James backs this up. The second chapter brings this across very clearly. After accusing his Jewish readers of arrogance and showing favouritism, he then points out that despite their quest for righteousness, they were guilty of murder. He then goes on to explain that if they keep the Law but stumble at just one point, they are guilty of breaking all the Law (James 2:10.) From verse 14, the apostle discusses general hospitality shown to someone less well off or in dire straits. If the believer simply says, "Keep warm and well fed," but gives nothing to make these possible, then where is the virtue? Will his lack of good works save him?

Here we go again. The Cambridge Don crowd will read Heaven and Hell into the script because of the words "Will his faith save him?" (James 2:14) - even if the verse had nothing to do with eternal salvation. But James was talking about the danger of disrepute from other men especially by the poor man mentioned. What would the poor man think of the believer's faith if the latter had a heart without pity? If salvation was involved after all, then I can assure that the poor man will not turn to Christ if this faith in Christ was a cold, merciless profession. He'll go away believing that this Jesus Christ was a sham after all, an impostor. Very much like the situation in churches at present. But if James was referring to the believer's faith, it was his reputation in dispute, not his salvation.

And so I can go on. A genuine believer will be seen by God as righteous as Jesus Christ himself, because the righteousness of Christ has been imputed upon him from Heaven. But other men cannot see into his heart, therefore the only way he can show his faith is by works. Or else he falls into disrepute and publicly dishonours God. And that is what this "trembling and fear" of Philippians 2:12 is all about. The danger of bringing the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God into disgrace in front of the watching world.

As I write this, I am aware that in a way, I'm throwing down the gauntlet in front of any Cambridge Don, regardless of who he is. Take that 1994 Bible festival. What was the end result of such preaching? Did the entire audience shout their praises to God from the heart? Were they edified in their faith and beliefs? Did they share the same feeling of exultation as the apostle felt? Has a greater love for each other well out like living waters from these people? Rather, a riot nearly took place, and it would have done had not another Cambridge Don elder stood up to calm them down. Fear of punishment took hold. People went for counselling afterwards to have their fears calmed. They became critical towards those who stuck to their guns in believing Eternal Security. Surely, something was seriously wrong.

Yet who am I to say those sort of things? I am not a Cambridge Don, whether I believe in Eternal Security or not. I have never seen the inside of a University, any University let alone Cambridge. So because of this, it will be obvious that most would disregard the contents of this blog in favour of the other. It looks to me to be a tragedy that I happen to live in a land where celebrity culture has such a firm hold. The majority would flock to listen to someone very educated in Theology to bring them down into a state of panic, rather than pay heed to someone who might have a chance of holding and advocating the truth of Scripture and therefore edify. Who am I? A nobody really. At least I never had any opportunity to preach publicly to a large audience. But Paul the apostle might, just might, have a sliver of sympathy or compassion for the likes of me. How come?

By reading what he says in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, quite a chunk of Scripture used to forward his point that God chose the foolish to shame the wise, the lowly to nullify those that are high, the weak to shame the strong - all to demonstrate the power of God to confound the wisdom of the wise. And in the forty-plus years of the life as a believer, I don't think I have ever listened to a sermon taken from this passage of the Bible, although the pastor of the previous church I attended in the 1980s mentioned from time to time that secular education was not the be all and end all in a Christian's walk with God. But I wonder whether the congregation at the time, with a large percentage being graduates fresh out of college, had really bought what the pastor said on those occasions.

We live in a country where culture is dominated by celebrity honouring, if not worship. This means that a theologian who had graduated at Oxford or Cambridge will always hold sway over someone who hadn't. Let's thank the Lord for his goodness and mercy, pouring oil over troubled waters and calming them.

Rant over.
 

Our God Is Great!-How I Believed

Easter weekend 2012. This time of the year we remember the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, and his Resurrection three days later. What love! What joy! That Christ loves us enough to take upon himself every sin we have, and will commit, upon himself. So we can be with him, our maker, in Heaven for ever!

It had to think hard before writing this article, but I guess, being Easter, I decided to take the risk and do something I was reluctant to do in the past - but felt it was something I always wanted to do for a long time - to open up and to reveal that no matter how dark our lives has been in the past, God is in control. God is sovereign, therefore I have nothing to fear what other people may think. God loves me as I am.

I flown the nest in 1976, then aged 23. To me, I thought that was old, because I had friends attending our church fellowship who had graduated from their universities and colleges, having left home at 18 years of age. I guess I envied their independence, to be free from the restricting house rules imposed by my Italian parents. Rules such as not to stay up too late. Then the want of the freedom to go out in the evenings to paint the town red, and not be asked either one of those dreadful questions:
Where have you been last night? Or What did you get up to last night? Or even, What time did you get home last night?

To be asked such questions in my early twenties while knowing that students younger than myself were greeted by an empty apartment or college room co-occupied by one or two fellow students really got up my goat! This might have been the start of my feelings of inferior complex, that I was not trusted by my parents for the reason, as I believed then, that I was rubbish at school. In fact, I clearly remember my Dad back then telling me in so many words that these students have proven worthy of their greater independence at a younger age. Massive arguments broke out as a result. In 1976 I found it a joy that I was given a bedsit accommodation by the Council which was the necessary launch pad to start out on a life of my own.

It was after a long while after moving out that I began to feel closer to my parents with a greater warmth. But being single, I still kept them at a distance. At least our loud disagreements began to be the thing of the past.

Being single, even on my own, had mixed blessings. True, I was able to stay up until two in the morning and no one would bat an eyelid. Ditto if I suddenly decided to go away for a couple of days, and in the 1980s, this was a frequent occasion. As a competitive triathlete, many a Saturday night was spent at a hotel in the location where the event would be staged early the following morning, as the Sunday roads would be considerably free of traffic. Then not to mention my backpacking days, where I traveled solo across Western Europe, then to Israel, Canada, the USA, Singapore and Australia. The things I can do as a single person. This is testimony that God had his protective hand on me by pure grace. I did not have to work to receive it.

But being single also had its downsides. I found relationships with the opposite sex very difficult, if not impossible. I lacked confidence, I had a speech impediment, I was into a manual occupation - something our middle-class church girls, as it looked, wouldn't be seen dead with. I was also a loner, not good with team work, and enjoyed reading rather than play footie with the boys (as many of my church friends of my age did).

But that is precisely where God stepped in. After conversion to Christ, one of my greatest joys is studying the Bible. I also poured into books written by trustworthy authors to help me get a better grips with the Bible. The end result was my love for Israel, the nation and its people, and the prophetic plans God has for them.

Then in 1998 I found Alex, my future wife. I was already 47 at the time. We married ten months later during the Autumn of 1999. My first daughter was born in 2001, three years later, my second daughter was born in 2004.

But in the months to follow, we found parenting very difficult. The Health Visitor (who calls at the home of every parents of newborns here in the UK for the first couple of months) noticed this and she was very concerned, and called Social Services. To cut a long story short, after months of assessments, it was decided that our two daughters were to be adopted.

We were devastated, and I felt shame and embarrassment. I only told my family and those at church. During one service, I broke down and wept aloud publicly. But my faith in God never wavered. In fact, if there was a time I felt that I desperately need God in my life, it was then. Although I hang my head in shame, I knew that my two daughters would be in a better environment at their adoptive parent's home, and better provided for than we could have provided.

One morning, while pouring through the prophet Jeremiah, I came across these verses:

This is what the Lord says:
"A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
for her children are no more."
This is what the LORD says:
"Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for your work will be rewarded,"
declares the LORD.
"They will return from the land of the enemy.
For there is hope for your future,"
declares the LORD.
"Your children will return to their own land."
Jeremiah 31:15-17.

Of course, the literal meaning of this passage is that after all the Jews had been exiled from their homeland by the Assyrians and the Babylonians, God promises their safe return. But Matthew also quote part of this text as referral to the slaughter of the innocents by King Herod, after being let down by the Wise Men. Obviously, the grieving mothers in Bethlehem will never get their kids back - not in this life anyway.

But reading this myself, I strongly felt God speaking directly to me. I believed. One day, God will return my daughters "from the land of the enemy." The "enemy" are not the adoptive parents of my daughters - they are treating them well and they are well provided for. The "enemy" refers to the Social Worker who had them snatched out of their beds at three in the morning, with not a sliver of compassion or sympathy for my hysterical wife and grieving grandparents.

The loss of our children has been very grievous for both of us, but seven years on, I'm happy to tell you that Alex and I enjoy a strong, robust marriage. We are just two of us, living in the quietness of our home, while knowing that God is in full control. Knowledge of his sovereignty is the key to Eternal Security. Security in him in this life as well as the in the promise of the next.

But what was the basic cause of all this trauma? The assessments showed that we both have Asperger's Syndrome, or "assie." It is a form of Autism. Several mysteries are answered straight away. First the way my parents looked on and treated me while I was still at home (since married, my parents and I are now very close). Then why the girls at our church did not find me compatible. And the inability for team work, including footie with the boys. But what could be surprising result of the assessment is that I also have above-average IQ. Both my wife and I have "assie". This could be the truth behind our robust marriage, despite the loss of our daughters.

The key to this article is Romans 8:28, which reads:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Let us quote the rest of the chapter, for want of such brilliant words:

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What then, can we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring to any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is it that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There you have it. How great is our God!

Wishing you all a very happy Easter.