Trusting God Yields Happiness

 

He who heeds the Word wisely will find good; and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. Proverbs 16:20 (NKJV)

Words of Solomon

I found a form of this verse in a gift book that I ran across in my living room. The book is entitled “Growing Through Prayer”.

I am certain that each of us has experienced not heeding God’s Word in the way we should.

When we choose to think that we know a better way to do something than God we do not heed His Word. We find ourselves in a fix, and it may be a while before we can say that we are out of trouble.

However, when we heed God’s Word and His leading, we find ourselves more relaxed and

possibly even have a pleasant outlook about things.

When we give our worries and concerns over to God and trust Him for the outcome, Solomon tells us we achieve happiness when we trust in the Lord.

This sounds so simple. There are times when I have wandered away from trusting Him and have taken on some issue that either is to big for me to handle or should not really concern me. That’s when I find myself getting unhappy and, yes, possibly depressed.

Prayer: Father God, please forgive me for those times I have not trusted You. I am sorry for rushing into things that are too big for me to handle, especially those things that only You can remedy. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen

Christmas is Here

 

Our New Tree 

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Shepherds visiting the Christ child.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond

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Merry Christmas to all.

God’s Forgiveness

 

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if My people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

God Himself spoke these words to Solomon.

God tells Solomon what those who profess to believe in Him have to do in order for Him to hear their prayers, for their sins to be forgiven, and their land to be healed.

Humble themselves

Realize they are sinners. Recognize that He alone is perfect. Admit these facts to God.

Pray

Take all their concerns to Him. He is the only One who can fix them.

seek His face

Pray earnestly. Consider Fasting as a part of our prayer time.

Turn from their wicked ways

Repent. Turn away from the things that God does not like.

I will hear from heaven

We believe that God hears all prayers of His children.

will forgive their sin

God will forgive any sin that we acknowledge we have done.

and heal their land.

I believe it hurts God to see all the upheaval going on here on earth. He did not create this world so that people could fight one another. God created this world so we could love one another.

Do these words of God speak to us today? Yes, God’s words speak to each of us, His children each day as we pray to Him.

Can we learn anything from them? Yes, we can learn what we need from Him to guide us through any difficult times our lives.

Do we still have time for the results He mentions to take place in our lifetimes? Yes, if we pray in earnest to Him and listen for His voice.

A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

 

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Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging your hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3:3-4 (NKJV)

Words of the Apostle Peter to those who were dispersed into five regions of Asia Minor.

His words speak of the inner beauty of the believers of Christ. Per his thought, the inner person is what God sees and deems as our true selves.

I am concerned that our world has worshiped youthfulness, forgetting that people age. Madison Avenue (the advertising industry) has caused us to forget the fact that we are aging. Several of my lady friends have aged gracefully. I have a picture of one of them and her husband in our living room.

Now, please do not misunderstand, there are things we might need to do to our skin. However, there are things we need to do to keep our inner self presentable before God.

#Reading God’s Word

# Applying what it says to our heart

# Living out His Word to others

# Seeking His guidance through prayer

Father God, Please help each one of us to be gentle and humble as we go through our days. In Christ’s Name, I pray. Amen

God Keeps Promises

 

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                                         Therefore know that the LORD your God, 

                                               He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant 

                                               and mercy for a thousand generations with those who 

                                               love Him and keep His commandments. 

                                                                                        Deuteronomy 7:9 (NKJV)

Words of Moses to those Israelites who did not know of God’s attributes and goodness. (These pilgrims were 60 years old and younger.)^[1] Deuteronomy means “retelling”

In this passage, Moses tells them that God is faithful not to just them and their parents but to those who love Him and keep His commandments for a thousand generations.

Moses states that God will keep His promises (covenants) and mercies for a very long time. (When I was a teenager, a youth group advisor said a generation was usually, on average, 26 years.)

There is a condition in this thought. The people must love God and keep His commandments. I once heard that if we break one of the Ten Commandments, we have broken them all. While this statement sounds harsh, I understand it. I believe it may have a domino effect.

It is the duty of God’s children to model Christlike behavior, to exemplify how He wants us to live our lives before others, and to speak loving words on His behalf.

Yes, we all fall short of these goals. When we fail, we need to seek His forgiveness and start over again. His grace and mercy allow us to do this.

______________

[1] Jeremiah Study Bible, David Jeremiah, Worthy, Hatchette Book Group, Study Note page 238.

We Must Give Thanks

 

      

 

For the word of the LORD is right, and all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.            Psalm 33:4-5 (NKJV)

 

The psalmist tells us some wonderful thoughts about our LORD. He writes that His word is always correct; when we follow what he tells us, we will never go astray.

 

He continues by reminding that God works in truth; the Lord will not steer us in the wrong direction. It is up to us to listen to and obey what He tells us.

 

God delights in His children when He sees them living righteously for Him. He also delights in them when they seek justice for others and themselves.

 

The Lord showers goodness down on the earth. He gives us beauty in nature. He provides fresh fruit and vegetables during the summer. He allows us to have people in our lives who are good to us. These people display His goodness to us.

 

For every way the LORD displays His goodness to us, we must give thanks.

 

 

What Will It Take?

This is a departure from this month's theme. I felt so moved by hearing an answer to my thought. Because of this experience, I am also journaling this verse, one phrase as a time.

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quiet spirit 

Recently, as I read our local newspaper, I became sad about the violence occurring in our cities, our nation, and our world: People unable to peacefully resolve their differences, others, carrying weapons going into schools and taking out the lives of defenseless children and those called to educate them.

 

Memorial Day weekend saw multiple mass shootings across our nation. These followed the Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York tragedies.

 

As I was working in my kitchen, I wondered, “What will it take for order to come back to our world?” I received an answer to my question. “If my people. . .will humble themselves and pray.”

 

 If My people who are called by My name,

            The Lord is speaking about those who say they belong to Him. 

            He knows our hearts.

 

will humble themselves”

            We must recognize our sin, confess it to Jesus and leave it with Him.

 

 and pray

            Go before the LORD and ask Him to guide us, to help us conquer these sinful                issues.

 and seek my face.

            Diligently look for the LORD. Spend quantity time with Him.

 

 and turn from their wicked ways,

            Renounce and forsake the evil thoughts, and actions. Move away from anything              that God dislikes in us. Repent from the questionable language and behaviors.

 

 then I will hear from heaven

            The LORD patiently waits to hear us calling out to Him. He listens whenever we call upon Him.

 

and will forgive their sin

            God, in return, will forgive His people of their sin. He will not remember them.

 

 and heal their land

            God will heal those things that continually vex His people.

 

Some things to think on:

 

1.         Do we need to humble ourselves?

2.         Have we harbored “Christian” sins in our hearts?

3.         Do we truly pray, seeking His will or do we dictate to God what we want?

4.         Do we spend quantity time in prayer as we  seek His guidance, or do we pray on the run?

5.         If we have any bad thoughts and habits, do we want to give them up?

 

 

 

 

 

  

God’s Kindness and His Mercy

 

 

quiet spirit

 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts, and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:3-5 (NKJV)

 

When God chooses to extend His kindness and love, He exercises His mercy toward us who are sinners. He does so through the Holy Spirit. None of us are worthy of His love but it is because of His mercy that God extends them to us.

During these times of upheaval in our nation and our world, we must rely on the kindness of God to allow us to keep calm in the light of the circumstances that cause great anxiety in our daily lives.

 

God will guide us through these difficult times, whether they are international, national, or even personal in scope. We must accept His kindness and love to be able to be “more than conquerors.” In today’s world. It is only then that we are able to rise above the circumstances that vex us.

A New Name

 

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             The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name.  Isaiah 62:2 (NKJV)

 

The LORD gives Isaiah assurance of Israel’s salvation from her enemies. God will allow the non-Jews (the Gentiles) to see Israel’s righteous living for Him. In return for their righteousness, the nation will be given a new name, chosen by The LORD himself.

 

In the past, when a young woman married, she took her groom’s surname as hers. That was a new name. When a family receives grandchildren, the grand parents choose what name they wish those children call them. Another new name.

 

When a candidate for ordination into the ministry completes his coursework and receives his license and ordination papers, his name to those to whom he ministers becomes “Pastor (insert first name and last name.)

 

All these changes of names in our society recognize a change in a person’s status. When the LORD chooses to give each of His children a new heart, He recognizes his or her change of character. The interesting part of this process is that God Himself is the one who gives a person or a nation a new name.

Protected

 

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              He who dwells in the secret place of        

        the Most High shall abide under the               

        shadow of the almighty. Psalm 91:1 (NKJV)

 

The Psalmist headed this chapter as Safety in Abiding in the Presence of God. 

                This verse speaks to me. If I had any doubts about abiding with God, these words would take away all those fearful thoughts.

Most of the time of COVID, I have been house-bound for reasons of health beside Covid. But my various quarantines were for my benefit. I praise God for His watch care over me as I learned the lessons of abiding in him.

 

The phrase, “under the shadow of the Almighty” remind me that God has been ever-present with me. Yes, I have had frustrations and even anger during these months. God knows what I have faced, the heartache, the disappointments, the uncertainty one faces while being ill. Despite my momentary hard feelings, He has kept me close to Him. For these things, I am very thankful.

 

During this time of uncertainty, I have been able to maintain my reading of devotions from two devotional books and of journaling one scripture passage each day. I also read our local newspaper to keep up with what is happening here locally. I have cut back my television news viewing to try to discover the cause of my malaise.

A lack of sleep at night is still an issue, but I find myself sleeping in during the day and sometimes falling asleep for “cat-naps.” In spite of all these things going on with me, I still feel protected by God.

Rest Gives Confidence

 

                            

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                 I heard, and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk 3:16-18 (NIV)

 

After a conversation with God, Habakkuk prays. In that prayer he speaks of destruction and torment on the earth. Toward the end of his prayer Habakkuk describes his reaction to all he saw. He concludes that he will wait patiently for the invaders of his land to receive calamity.

 

I see Habakkuk’s willingness to be patient as a gift from God. Only God can give a person that quality.

 

Habakkuk then paints a bleak word picture of what he believes his world will be like. Still, he says he will rejoice in the LORD, joyful in God his Savior.

 

Since July of 2019, I have assisted a couple from my high school graduating class keep track of those who have passed on. As of the day before I write this, we have had 15 pass away since then, six of them this year. We must praise God that they were some part of our school experience.

 

All believers must rest in the LORD during good times as well as trying times.

Jesus, the Greatest Gift

 

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For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him would have everlasting life. John 3:16 (KJV)

  

 

                 

(Please note I quote this verse in King James Version because that is the way I learned it.)

 

What does this verse say to us?

 

 For God so loved the world,  

           

            God’s motive was and still is love.

            He loves the world because He created it.

 

He gave

           

            Our heavenly Father chose to give us an incredibly special gift- His Son—Jesus. He did not scold us, His children, nor did he punish us.  

 

 his only begotten son            

            God gave us an incredibly special gift. He gave us a part of Himself. He shared His only Son with us—His children.

 

that whosoever believeth in Him

           

                God did this for anyone who would believe in Him. That tells us there is no time requirement, people who trusted in God when Jesus walked this earth and people who walk this planet today all are recipients of His love.

 

 would have everlasting life.

Everlasting life is a reward given to us by our Lord. He gives it to each of us for standing for Him, obeying Him, and living for Him in all we do. We receive everlasting life when we are taken home to live with Jesus.

 

Praise Him for His Caring

 

Warner Sallman

When I shut up the heavens so there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

                                            2 Chronicles 7:13-15 (NIV)

 

I have often quoted the middle verse of this passage. Most of us know it by heart.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

My focus in this post is the first part. 

When I shut up the heavens so there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,

Here in the Midwest, we went for several weeks without any measurable amount of rain. Out west, several states have had severe forest fires. The southern states have had three hurricanes and one tropical storm made landfall in a short period of time. Also, there is one more that might make landfall in the same path that the others have taken. Scientists have discovered killer wasps in a tree in the Pacific Northwest. And, we still have the Coronavirus with us. Do these things not sound like serious plagues to us?

 

God says something wonderful in these last words of this passage.

Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

God tells Solomon that He will hear and will watch over the prayers offered in the temple. God also hears the prayers of those who live for Christ. We must all be praying for our nation, for those who are ill, and for those who attempt to guide us through these times of uncertainty.

 

Preparing Our Hearts

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I had to extend my blog break into this week. My husband was in the hospital. God has been good to us through this ordeal. When I wasn’t at the hospital, I was exhausted and just sat and read and watched television. I brought him home yesterday afternoon (Thursday, Dec 5^th)

Last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent. It was my turn to talk to the children of our church during Children’s Moments.

One of the questions I asked them was, “Do you know who Jesus is?” I got some very good answers. LORD, King, and God were the answers they gave me.

I shared with them that Advent is a time of preparation. One of my favorite traditional Christmas carols is “Joy to the World.” I love the line, “Let every heart prepare Him room.” As we prepare our homes and plan for family festivities, we also need to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ birth.

Just the next day, someone reminded me of a challenge she saw on Facebook. It goes like this. Starting on December 1^st, read the book of Luke one chapter a night. There are 24 chapters in Luke. By the time you read the last chapter on Christmas Eve, a person would understand the true meaning of Christmas. I came home from that meeting and promptly read the first chapter. Later that night, I read the second chapter.

As we enter this Advent season, let us remember to take time to prepare our hearts, as well as our homes, to receive Jesus.

Do you do anything special to remember Jesus during Advent?

Has your family ever had a birthday party for Him?

Some Christmas music for your enjoyment:

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

 

Our Hope in God

The following post is the devotional message I wrote to give to Church Women United at an area meeting held in our city today.

But this I call to mind, and therefore, I have hope.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

‘The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

 ‘therefore, I will hope in him.’

Lamentations 3:21-24 (ESV)

As I watch news reports and read about events that happen in our cities, our state, and our world, I believe that people, young and old, have lost hope. The news reports on television point out violence and loss of lives every day. The newspapers tell us of man’s maltreatment of others.  We as a nation have almost lost hope.

The Biblical meaning of hope is the confident expectation of what God promised. (Hope’s strength is in God’s faithfulness.) This summer, at our church, we sang a song, new to us, Confidence by Sanctus Real. I love the chorus:

So, give me faith like Daniel in the lion's den

Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness

Give me a heart like David, Lord, be my defense

So I can face my giants with confidence.

In today’s world, we should remember that God has promised not to leave or forsake us and that we need to communicate that to others.

As we witness, read about, or hear of events that the LORD does not like, we need to cling to Jesus, pray about what concerns us, and listen for His guidance.

I leave you with this encouragement Paul wrote to the believers at Rome:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)

Will you pray with me?

Dear Father God, we come before You with the needs of others on our hearts. We ask that we, your servants, be able to tell others of the hope we have in You and that, whatever they face, they can also be able to find hope in You. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen

Freedom: Knowing the Truth Will Free Us

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So Jesus said to the Jews who believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you know the truth and the truth will set you free . . .Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not stay in the house forever, the son remains forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. “John 8:31-32, 34-36 (ESV)

If you abide in my word, this is a conditional phrase. When we follow God’s word in our daily life, we live God’s Word. 

you are truly my disciples. When we live God’s Word, we model Him. People see Him when they see us.

you will know the truth Jesus tells us He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. When we learn of Him, we gain knowledge of His desires for our lives.

the truth will set you free. When we study God’s Word and apply it to our lives, we will be free of the guilt of our sins. When we should happen to accidentally sin, all we need to do is immediately ask Him to forgive us. When Jesus went to the Cross, He did it in order to take away our sins and the guilt of our misdoings. 

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Jesus reminds the Jews that He speaks the truth. He further tells them that if anyone sins, that sin becomes his or her master.

The slave does not stay in the house forever, In the societies that practiced slavery, a slave could be bought and sold at the a whim of the masters.

the son remains forever. In the Jewish faith, a son was a permanent part of each family. This is in direct contrast to the life of a slave.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. This is Jesus’ thought on the subject of freedom for the believers. William Barclay translates it very well. “If the Son shall make you free you will really be free.

Freedom from sin, isn’t that what believers strive for?

Let Me Hear

Let me hear in the morning of your

steadfast love,

for in you, I trust.

Make me know the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8 (ESV)

David, the shepherd king, penned these words. He asks the Father to speak to him in the mornings. David desires to hear of God’s steadfast love.  He tells God that he trusts Him.

David also asks for the Father’s guidance. Again, he speaks of his trusting God with his very being.

I have learned it is important to spend time in prayer and devotional/Bible reading when I am most alert. For me, that is in the morning. Some people function better later in the day. The main thing is to find some time to spend with God.

When we spend time with God, we learn of Him and we begin to trust Him with more and more of our lives. God will guide us when he knows we sincerely spend time with Him in prayer.

Dear Father God: Please allow me to schedule my time with You. I need Your guidance each day. I want to know the way to live that pleases You. I can only know this if I commune with You each day. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen

David’s Plea for God’s Mercy

Have mercy on me, O God

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin!”

Psalm 51:1-2 (ESV)

David wrote these words after the prophet after Nathan confronted David with his sin with Bathsheba. He broke at least three of God’s Commandments. Let’s look at this passage and try to understand it better.

Have mercy on me, O God,

David asks for God’s love, although he realizes he doesn’t deserve it. He asked for mercy. Please notice that David did not ask for anything else.

according to your steadfast love;

David asks for God’s mercy as God defines it. He realizes God is in control. He realizes that God’s love is the greatest we can experience.

according to your abundant mercy

He recognizes that God has a vast amount of mercy. He knows God’s mercy has no limits. Sometimes, we give conditional mercy when we forgive another person of hurting us.

blot out my transgressions.

 He asks God to erase his wrongdoing from His memory. As humans, we tend to keep certain information in the back of our minds and bring them to the forefront when we deem it advantageous to us.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

David asked that God do a complete job of removing his sin from the ledger.

and cleanse me from my sin!

David presents his request a third way. He truly wants to be free of this sin. I read somewhere that the cleansing process of the hyssop was a scrubbing process. This could be why David dwells on the removal of his sin.

Grace, Grace, God's Grace 

Hope in His Steadfast Love

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His delight is not in the strength of a horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Psalm 147:10-11(ESV)

These words of the psalmist tell us that God does not rely on the things we might trust. He looks with favor upon those who respect Him and who truly believe in His undying love. As humans we see others placing their trust in things that will eventually wear out. The house my parents bought when I was a toddler has been torn down for several years. All but one of the schools I attended have been demolished. The one build that still stands is a community center for those who live in that area.

We know physical strength can weaken and cause issues for us. We see it in those who become encumbered with weakened joints and muscles. I have witnessed different friends of mine lose their mobility due to disease and infirmities. It can be sad to watch someone go downhill. The only positive help is when they know the LORD.

Strength in God gives us all peace of mind and the ability to endure the times of intense stress and health crises. It is not easy to watch a loved one as they go through the rigors of disease. However, God is there for His children as they watch as he or she goes through those tough times.

Let us all learn to lean on God and his steadfast love as we endure times of stress and heartache.

Thoughts on The LORD’S Prayer

Warner Sallman

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

    on earth as it is in heaven.

 Give us this day our daily bread,

 and forgive us our debts,

    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

 And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from evil.

 Our Father

God created us all. He desires a special relationship with us. Jesus calls Him Father because that was He was Jesus’ Father. By addressing God as “Our Father”, the Lord includes each of us as God’s children.

 hallowed by your name.

God’s name is to be treated as special. No one else can be called Abba, except the one who created us. We all have one Father. He loans us to earthly parents for them to raise us.

Your kingdom come,

Our Lord Jesus requests that God allow His rule to guide and direct us.

 your will be done

Jesus asks that His Father’s desire for us, His children be accomplished. When God’s will is done, it is done to please Him.

 on earth as it is in heaven.

What would our world be like if everything on earth was done according to God’s will?

●No crime

● No wars

● No debt

                                                    ● No divorce

                       ● No illness

  

Give us this day our daily bread,

Jesus asks God to give us what we NEED each day. Basically, our needs are simple, food, clothing, shelter, and rest.

 and forgive us our trespasses

The church I belong to uses the word, ‘trespasses’, while most use the word ‘debts’. The word trespass means to transgress or enter an area without permission. When we happen to sin, we do just that. We enter an area, by action, speech, attitude, or behavior, where God does not want us.

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

   

Jesus finishes His teaching on prayer with these words, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you.”

And lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil.

Jesus asks His Father to keep us safe from the paths that will bring us into the difficulties of life and bring us out of those areas should we wander into them.

For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, Amen

God’s kingdom will last forever. He has all the power in this world and deserves all the praise and glory we can give Him.