Reflective Bible Study

As we move through Matthew’s gospel looking at events that focus on Jesus, we come to an event where Jesus is more of a footnote in an event where the focus is completely different. In this event, Matthew records for us what happened to John the Baptist, who was Jesus’ forerunner in ministry. At this point of Jesus’ story, John the Baptist had been dead for a while, but Matthew breaks from Jesus’ story briefly to describe what happened to bring about John’s death.

While you probably know this story if you have spent any time in the gospels, let’s read it together and discover some things we can learn from what happened. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 14, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard the reports about Jesus. ² So he said to his servants, “Jesus is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why he can work these miracles.”

³ Sometime before this, Herod had arrested John, tied him up, and put him into prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, who had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. ⁴ John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to be married to Herodias.” ⁵ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they believed John was a prophet.

⁶ On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and his guests, and she pleased him. ⁷ So he promised with an oath to give her anything she wanted. ⁸ Herodias told her daughter what to ask for, so she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹ Although King Herod was very sad, he had made a promise, and his dinner guests had heard him. So Herod ordered that what she asked for be done. ¹⁰ He sent soldiers to the prison to cut off John’s head. ¹¹ And they brought it on a platter and gave it to the girl, and she took it to her mother. ¹² John’s followers came and got his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

In this somewhat disturbing passage, we learn how John the Baptist died. While John had likely been locked up for many months before His death, the impression I get when reading this event is that Herod did not want John’s death. Instead, He simply wanted John’s silence.

However, in this event, as I move through the characters present, we can discover some powerful themes that hold true today.

When looking at John and his interaction with Herod, we learn in verse 5 that “Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they believed John was a prophet”. From the verses prior to this, we learned that John openly challenged Herod on his marriage to his brother’s wife. From this section of the passage, we see the big themes that sinful people are intimidated by someone who speaks truth. We also see the theme that sinful people hate those who speak out against them and/or their actions.

At least one of the other gospels that include this event indicate that Herod wasn’t directly intimidated or hostile towards John, but was pressured and prompted by Herodias, his wife, because she hated John for speaking out against their marriage. Herodias had divorced herself from Herod’s brother, and Herod had divorced his first wife so the two of them could get married, and John challenged the validity of this arrangement.

The question remains whether this was a wise move on John’s part or not. In the big picture, John’s ministry led into Jesus’ ministry, and while many people understood this, John still kept followers even after pointing people towards Jesus. From the big picture, John could have been led to do this as a way of removing himself from the picture and emphasizing to his followers that they should follow Jesus.

However, unless God’s Holy Spirit is telling you to challenge someone in this way, this is not a wise move. While you might feel justified in your actions, calling someone out publicly for their sins or actions will only bring you hate and hostility in return. By calling out someone for the bad in their life, you only polarize people, and, more importantly, you likely misrepresent God’s love in the process.

While God is opposed to sin in any and every way possible, when we look at Jesus, we see a picture that separates the sin from the sinner, and through Jesus, we see a God who loved sinners and who called them out of sin. Jesus helped first then challenged second whenever He met a sinner who was hurting and needed help. I believe all of God’s people are called to model God’s love through Jesus’ example in this way!

Moving to the second portion of the event, when we look at Herod’s interaction with his niece, or adopted daughter depending on how you want to frame this, we can learn that we should be careful what we promise. Our promises may ultimately trap us in ways we didn’t wish or expect.

I don’t think Herod would have made such an open-ended promise if he knew beforehand what Herodias’ daughter was going to ask for. Because he had made a public oath, and because the request was well within the confines of the oath, Herod trapped himself into doing something he really didn’t want to do with this promise.

However, as a side-note, it is interesting that John believes Jesus to be a resurrected John the Baptist before he believes that Jesus is someone else entirely. This tells us that Herod believed the God of the Jews was powerful and that He could resurrect people, and that Herod believed John was worth resurrecting.

However, probably the most challenging theme I see in this passage is with Herodias herself. This theme challenges us with a simple phrase: Be patient. If you want something bad enough, an opportunity will likely arise when you can have it, even if it isn’t within God’s will, and even if everything about it will harm you in the long run.

This theme is challenging, because it places our desires and God’s desires for us as competing. God is not going to force His desires onto us. Instead, God is going to let us make the decision for ourselves, even if He knows that our desires will ultimately hurt us in the long run.

I don’t think God will protect us from every stupid decision we make that is outside of His will. Instead, I believe that more often than not, God will let us learn the results of our actions firsthand and face the natural consequences of our decisions. The challenge for all of God’s people is to lay our desires aside, and ask God to give us His desires for our lives. While God won’t always ask us to do things that make sense from our perspective, God is interested in filling up His Kingdom with as many people as possible. God works from the perspective of eternity, and He wants as many people as possible redeemed from this sinful world.

God’s ultimate goal is to save you, to save me, and to save as many people from this world as possible! God does not want anyone to perish. Instead, Jesus came to die for humanity and for all who are willing to accept God’s gift of salvation!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, continue seeking God first and intentionally place His will and His purpose above your own. While we might not always understand why God prompts us to act in certain ways or do certain things, trust that God knows what He is doing and that His perspective will lead the most people possible into eternity.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. For a relationship with God to be personal, you must be spending time with God in prayer and study, and this must be personal and not dependant on someone else. God doesn’t want anyone standing between you and Him. He wants a personal relationship with you because He loves you with all His heart!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or get tricked out of following where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

If you have ever faced or struggled with worry in your life, the message Jesus shares in our passage for this episode may be a relief for you, or it may challenge you. However, regardless of whether this passage is challenging or it brings relief, Jesus’ message in this passage is both powerful and relevant.

And this teaching, or perhaps just the parable included in the first portion of Jesus’ teaching, is shared because of a request from someone in the crowd listening to Jesus. Let’s read what happened.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 12, Luke tells us:

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to Him [referring to Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

Pausing reading for a moment, Jesus’ words here are powerful, and if you highlight statements in your Bible, this last message is worth highlighting because it is worth remembering. While we intellectually grasp the idea that our lives don’t consist of our possessions, almost every message we will receive from culture, from advertising, and from social media will try to define the value of our lives as being based on what we have, what we don’t have, and what we supposedly need.

However, even with everything, our lives are distinctly different from our possessions. From Jesus’ warning about greed, I wonder if greed in our lives is at the foundation of seeing our worth as been the sum of what we own and what we have.

Let’s read Jesus’ warning again, and then continue into the parable He shares as a follow-up illustration. Reading from verse 15, Jesus said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Pausing our reading again, this parable is powerful every time I read it. While some people might read this parable as God judging and killing this man for being greedy and not generous, the big truth in this passage comes from the rhetorical question God asks this man at the end of this parable. Summarizing God’s question, He basically asks this man what all the savings and value the wealth he had stored up will do for him once he is dead. After this man is dead, he cannot take what he has stored with him beyond the grave.

This means that regardless of how much we store and save in this life, when we die, the result is the same: Someone else will get everything we saved.

The implication is that we can choose how to use our wealth while we are alive, but how our wealth is used after we are gone is completely up to others. Even with a will, it is up to other people whether they will honor our last wishes or not. By being generous with our money when we are alive, we get to experience the joy that comes with giving because we can see how our gifts are able to benefit others.

However, Jesus isn’t finished sharing. Continuing in verse 22:

²² And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? ²⁶ If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

³³ “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In this big teaching about how useless it is to worry, Jesus makes a powerful statement at the end of this message. In verse 34, Jesus tells everyone living at every point in history: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Where we have placed our treasure, we have also placed our hearts. When we give money away to help others, we have the amazing opportunity of storing up treasure in heaven. Our intentional generosity is never lost, even when we do everything we can to be anonymous.

When we give up our possessions and give money to help others, we rob greed of its power. Greed is powerful in our lives when our focus is placed on what we own. When we shift our focus onto selling, giving, and focusing on helping others, greed is robbed of its power in our lives.

However, the biggest benefit of choosing a life of generosity isn’t the removal of greed, or the storing of our treasure in heaven. Instead, the biggest benefit of living a generous life of service to others is that our hearts will be stored in the same place where our treasure is, and when our treasure is stored in heaven, our hearts will be there as well!

God desires your heart and mine. When we live lives focused on serving God, helping others, and storing our treasure in heaven, God gets our hearts as well – and God is the only one who is able to restore a sin-stained heart. God solved the sin problem through Jesus, and He is willing to solve our personal sin problem when we give our hearts to Him!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to live a life of generosity and service in order to store up treasures in heaven! Trust in what God has given to us through Jesus and His sacrifice and live a life of gratitude, giving thanks to God for everything He has blessed us with!

Also, always continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. Through personal prayer and Bible study, strengthen your relationship with God and discover what He wants to teach you personally through His Word. While others people have ideas and opinions, God wants to speak through the Bible to you personally!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Following a long series of parables that Matthew includes in his gospel, we discover that Jesus makes a trip back to His hometown of Nazareth. However, the reaction He gets when He arrives is fascinating in my mind.

Let’s read about what happens and what Jesus experienced when He returns home. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 13, and we will read from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 53, we read:

⁵³ When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place ⁵⁴ and went back to his hometown. He taught in the synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. “Where did he get such wisdom?” they asked. “And what about his miracles? ⁵⁵ Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? ⁵⁶ Aren’t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?” ⁵⁷ And so they rejected him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown and by his own family.” ⁵⁸ Because they did not have faith, he did not perform many miracles there.

In this passage, Jesus returns home to Nazareth, and when the Sabbath came, He went and taught in the synagogue. Two things stand out significantly in my mind about how this group of Jews responded to Jesus.

The first of these things is found in the questions they ask themselves about Jesus. Matthew tells us that they were amazed when they heard Him. This is powerful. They ask, “Where did he get such wisdom?” and “what about his miracles?” The initial response of those present is amazement. They appear to be very impressed with what Jesus was saying and sharing.

However, where this leads is just as amazing in my mind. Instead of seeing Jesus as someone who has grown in His relationship with God, they immediately seek to question where Jesus received His insight. Instead of simply accepting the wisdom Jesus shared, they are skeptical that someone as ordinary as Jesus could actually be extraordinary. These people look at Jesus’ family and they conclude that there isn’t anything special or abnormal in Jesus’ earthly parents or siblings. Because of this, they ultimately conclude that Jesus is not special at all, and not worthy of faith. These are the people who Jesus grew up with and around.

Mathew concludes by saying in verse 58 that “Because they did not have faith, [Jesus] did not perform many miracles there.”

This means that Jesus did perform some miracles while in Nazareth, but the miracles He did perform didn’t increase the faith of those present. Jesus helped those who chose to have faith, but the little faith that was present seemed to breed more skepticism rather than more faith.

I wonder if Mary and Joseph kept Jesus’ supernatural conception a secret. While Mary was definitely Jesus’ mother, I wonder if they didn’t openly share how Joseph was not Jesus’ father. Or, I wonder if those present simply assumed that Jesus and Joseph were biologically connected and they simply did not ask the question.

The other thing that stands out significantly in my mind when I read this is how we often fall into the exact same trap that those in Nazareth face. In our own lives, when we learn, hear, or read something new, the temptation is to quickly look deeper for a source, a story, or a motivation for what was shared. If new research comes to light about anything, we as a group instinctively will try to discern all the reasons we shouldn’t trust the research findings before looking at the findings itself.

If the findings validate what we already believe, they we blindly accept the research probably too quickly, whereas if the findings contradict what we believe, we challenge anything and everything about the research, the researchers, the funding source, and the motivation for the research itself. This is a characteristic of human nature, and it is as beneficial at times as it is detrimental.

The worst place we can find ourselves is listening or reading something about Jesus and choosing to accept or reject the idea based on our current beliefs. The next worse place we can go is to discredit the source of the idea. The best place to go to validate ideas about Jesus is to the closest source to Jesus we have, and that is the four gospels of the Bible.

There are more copies of the New Testament gospels than any other ancient written document. Also, the copies we have date more closely to the originals than any other ancient written source that I know of. This makes the Bible, probably the most controversial book in our world today, the best book to use when testing information and ideas about Jesus.

When Jesus arrived back in Nazareth, He was met with greater skepticism than if a complete stranger had arrived. Jesus came sharing wisdom and truth that was amazing and very impressive to those present. However, instead of accepting Jesus as Someone God sent to them with a special message, those in Nazareth decided it was best to dig into how Jesus could have learned or known what He shared, and when their search turns up empty, they decide to reject Jesus entirely.

We run the risk of this trap when we choose to reject Jesus based on anything but what the Bible teaches us in the gospels. The gospels are filled with information from eye witnesses and from those who were the closest to Jesus while He was on earth, and they are the best place to learn who the real Jesus was.

It’s also interesting in my mind that Jesus was rejected by people while He was alive on this earth. This means that we shouldn’t be surprised, hurt, or discouraged if we are rejected or if others reject Jesus in today’s world. Jesus didn’t come to please everyone or to get everyone to like Him. Jesus came to save all of God’s people, and to give humanity a better picture of God and His love for us!

Any message that paints Jesus as unloving towards those who were hurting, or unloving towards those who God loves, is a picture that does not match the Bible’s message about Jesus. With few exceptions, the only times Jesus speaks harshly are when He challenges those who believed they were better than others and who were self-righteously putting others down while trying to raise up their own status in God’s eyes. Jesus came to help those who were hurting and to give humanity hope for a future with God!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, be sure to seek God first and place Him first in your life. Choose to accept Jesus and what He did for us when He came and died on the cross. Accept Jesus’ life as a picture of God’s heart and His love for you and for me.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and become more like Jesus. Through praying and studying the Bible, we are better able to be the representatives that God has called us to be, and we will be better equipped to love others like Jesus loved them.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue through Luke’s gospel and look at some of the amazing events Luke chose to include, we come to a place where Luke records a very powerful, very challenging message Jesus shares to a group of Pharisees and religious teachers. However, leading up to this challenge, we have a fascinating teaching Jesus shares about light. In this teaching, a phrase always stands out in my mind because of the seemingly impossible contrast Jesus makes.

Without any further introduction, let’s read what Luke tells us Jesus taught. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 33, Luke tells us Jesus taught saying:

³³ “No one lights a lamp and hides it. No one puts it under a bowl. Instead, they put a lamp on its stand. Then those who come in can see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is like a lamp for your body. Suppose your eyes are healthy. Then your whole body also is full of light. But suppose your eyes can’t see well. Then your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness. ³⁶ Suppose your whole body is full of light. And suppose no part of it is dark. Then your body will be full of light. It will be just as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Let’s pause here because Jesus has just finished speaking this big thought and Luke is about to shift focus onto the challenging statements Jesus makes to a group of Pharisees and religious leaders.

In Jesus’ teaching about light and our eyes being lamps for our bodies, He makes a fascinating statement in verse 35: “Make sure that the light inside you is not darkness”.

The immediate context for this statement is contrasting someone who has great eyesight with someone who has poor eyesight. The person with great eyesight would logically have lots of actual light inside of them, while the person with poor eyesight would not have as much light.

However, Jesus isn’t speaking only in a literal sense. While there is a literal application to Jesus’ statements, light inside us is not literally darkness because light and dark are opposites. Where there is light, there is not darkness, and where light is not present, there is darkness. This means Jesus’ statement about light and dark must have a spiritual application as well.

I suspect that Jesus is challenging people throughout history to be conscious of what they believe and internalize because many things that people are considering as light or new light is really darkness. While literal light and literal darkness are not true opposites, in a spiritual sense, light and dark are polar opposites. When we believe and internalize ideas we come in contact with, we should intentionally be filtering out darkness from light. We can best do this by holding up the truth in question to the filter of the Bible.

The Bible is a lens that doesn’t explain everything, but it does explain everything we need to understand in the spiritual dimension of life and it does explain a great number of other things that many people might be surprised to discover.

However, Luke may have finished sharing this portion of Jesus’ message, but he continues by sharing a powerful event that may have been one catalyst towards getting the hostility of the religious leaders turned in Jesus’ direction.

Continuing in verse 37, Luke tells us:

³⁷ Jesus finished speaking. Then a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. So Jesus went in and took his place at the table. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised. He noticed that Jesus did not wash before the meal.

³⁹ Then the Lord spoke to him. “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish,” he said. “But inside you are full of greed and evil. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ Give freely to poor people to show what is inside you. Then everything will be clean for you.

⁴² “How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.

⁴³ “How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you with respect in the market.

⁴⁴ “How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ An authority on the law spoke to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, when you say things like that, you say bad things about us too.”

⁴⁶ Jesus replied, “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You put such heavy loads on people that they can hardly carry them. But you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

⁴⁷ “How terrible for you! You build tombs for the prophets. It was your people of long ago who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you show that you agree with what your people did long ago. They killed the prophets, and now you build the prophets’ tombs. ⁴⁹ So God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some. And they will try to hurt others.’ ⁵⁰ So the people of today will be punished. They will pay for all the prophets’ blood spilled since the world began. ⁵¹ I mean from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah. He was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, the people of today will be punished for all these things.

⁵² “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You have taken away the key to the door of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered. And you have stood in the way of those who were entering.”

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law strongly opposed him. They threw a lot of questions at him. ⁵⁴ They set traps for him. They wanted to catch him in something he might say.

In this last set of verses to conclude this event, I am wholly not surprised that when Jesus left, the Pharisees and religious leaders strongly opposed Him.

While there are many things we could pull out and focus on for the remainder of this podcast episode, one phrase stood out to me that I want to emphasize. In verse 41, Jesus tells the Pharisee, “Give freely to poor people to show what is inside you.”

In this statement, Jesus hints at generosity being a function of the heart. Generosity, or a lack of generosity, shows others what is in our hearts. When we look at almost all of Jesus’ challenges to these religious leaders, two big themes Jesus challenged them on were a self-centered attitude that pushed people away and an arrogant attitude that looked down on others. The religious leaders judged first and only when proven wrong would consider changing their judgment.

Jesus’ challenge regarding generosity stands in strong contrast to the attitude these religious leaders had. When we are generous, we have other people in focus, and we step into a serving role to help the other people. While I’m sure it is possible to serve others and be generous with a self-centered attitude, these two actions are not easily blended.

The religious leaders are accused of standing in the way of people coming to know God and Jesus. This is a challenge with people at every point in history. God wants a personal relationship with us. Any leader, teacher, guide, or mentor who wants to get in the way of you growing closer to God has more in common with these religious leaders Jesus speaks against than people God sends into our lives.

If you face opposition from someone when you are trying to grow your relationship with Jesus, chances are that God did not bring this person into your life, or if He did, they are not acting within God’s will. The religious leaders God wants to have present in all His churches and spiritual communities are leaders who help others, leaders who open the door to knowledge, and leaders who help sinners understand that they are truly forgiven because of what Jesus accomplished for humanity on the cross!

God is looking for leaders to help people grow close to Him, and these leaders will always point people back to the Bible and help them focus on applying the truths found in the Bible into their daily lives!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and don’t let anyone get in the way of you and your relationship with God. Filter the “truth” that is presented to you through the lens of the Bible in order to determine what is really true and worth applying into your life.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. I hope and pray that what I share each week helps your personal relationship with God grow stronger, but I also hope and pray that with everything I share, you will take and study it out for yourself so it becomes truth that you know from the Bible and not simply truth that I shared. While pastors, authors, speakers, or podcasters can give great ideas, always study what you hear and read to determine if it is truth worth applying in your life.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!