Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Seeking Glory: John 5:16-47

Published September 17, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 5:16-47 (NIV)

¹⁶So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. ¹⁷In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” ¹⁸For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

¹⁹Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²²Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

³¹“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³²There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

³³“You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. ³⁵John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

³⁶“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. ³⁷And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

⁴¹“I do not accept glory from human beings, ⁴²but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

⁴⁵“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. ⁴⁶If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

Read John 5:16-47 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In one of Jesus’ replies to a challenge He received, He shared a statement that completely shifted my perspective on His character. While Jesus hints at this idea earlier while talking about John’s testimony, He clearly states it several verses later in a way that doesn’t leave any loopholes for misunderstanding His intent.

During His response, Jesus directly states, “I do not accept glory from human beings.” (v. 41)

However, He quickly follows this up by saying “But I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.” (v. 42)

If Jesus followed His “but I know you” statement with an exception, or with a group of people who truly gives Him glory, then we might think He shared an exception to the rule. But Jesus essentially follows up by saying that He especially doesn’t accept glory from those who don’t have God’s love in their hearts. A human being who believes in Him may give Him glory, but He doesn’t accept it. A human being who does not believe would be even less likely to give Him glory, and even in the rare case that they do, He still would not accept it.

The next two logical questions we could ask ourselves are, “Does Jesus ever accept glory from anyone/anything?”, and “Since Jesus doesn’t accept glory from human beings, where does the glory go that is directed His way?”

To answer our questions, we can continue reading to learn a little more about what Jesus meant. Jesus continues by saying, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (v. 43-44)

The response to our second question is easier to see. Since Jesus came in His Father’s name, any credit (i.e. glory) we try to give Him will be directed upwards toward the Father. Reading this shifted my thinking and prompted me to open my eyes to seeing miracles Jesus did where the gospel writers share that glory went to God the Father. In case you are wondering, there are many such examples. Giving the Father glory was one thing that motivated Jesus to help and heal people.

The response to our first question is trickier to see, but Jesus hints at it when He talks about how we should “seek the glory that comes from the only God”. (v. 44b)

While Jesus does not accept glory from us, He does accept glory from the Father, and He does allow the Holy Spirit to work through Him. In this way, Jesus sets an example for each of us – and it reveals His character. At the core of Jesus’ character is a 100% focus on God (the Father), and this God-focus can be a test we can use to determine whether someone is truly sent from God or not.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Flashback Episode — Setting Up a Betrayal: Mark 14:1-11

Published September 16, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

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Leading up to the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Mark’s gospel pulls two events together and connects them. However, it is likely that these two events did not happen as closely as Mark and Matthew describe them. Instead, while these two events happened within a week of each other, these two gospel writers connect the two events because together, these events give context for what will take place during the following weekend.

Reading this passage, which could be broken apart into three different parts, gives us an amazing insight into how God’s timing for events supersedes our timing and our planning. Let’s read about what happened, and discover what Mark teaches us about the events leading up to Jesus’ betrayal.

Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 14, and we will read from the New International Version. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us:

¹Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ²“But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

Pausing our reading here, these two verses make up the first part in this passage. Basically, Mark tells us that the chief priests and other religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus secretly and kill Him, but they decided to wait until after the festival because they feared the people would riot.

However, Mark then jumps back to an event that happened a few days earlier. If what we just read happened on a Wednesday, then the event being described likely could have happened the Thursday, Friday, or Sabbath of the week before. We can conclude this because John’s gospel gives a clear timetable for the event Mark is about to describe.

Continuing in verse 3, Mark then tells us:

³While he [referring to Jesus] was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

This marks the end of the second part of our passage. While Mark doesn’t say who prompted the condescending remarks towards the woman and her gift, the context of what happens next gives us a clear clue that Judas Iscariot was among those who were leading the belittling remarks towards this woman. John’s gospel also validates this by telling us it was clearly Judas Iscariot, and John tells us that he challenged this use of the money, not because he cared for the poor, but because he wanted a larger moneybag that he could more easily help himself to.

However, Jesus clearly foreshadows this event as preparing His body for burial. The two events in that culture where people were anointed were when they were set apart or dedicated as a ruler or king, and when they were a corpse and were being buried. The first anointing is a symbolic and spiritual action, while the second anointing was primarily for very practical reasons, otherwise known as masking the smell of decaying flesh.

While the woman anointing Jesus with the perfume likely could sense Jesus nearing the culmination of His ministry, everything in that culture pointed to the Messiah stepping into the role of king. She likely gave Jesus this type of gift because she wanted to be the first to anoint Him as king.

However, Jesus validates the gift she gives, but then attributes the symbolism onto the other reason for anointing. Instead of anointing Jesus who would become king, Jesus tells everyone present that this anointing was preparing Him for His burial.

We could add this statement as one more example of Jesus foreshadowing His upcoming death, and the disciples, Judas Iscariot especially, missing the obvious conclusion to Jesus’ clear statement.

The third part of this passage shifts back to the timing of the first event, just days before the Passover celebration. Continuing in verse 10, Mark tells us:

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

In these two concluding verses, we discover that while the chief priests and religious leaders decided to wait until after the festival, Judas Iscariot’s decision changes their plans. While Judas Iscariot may have plotted and planned how to respond to Jesus’ rebuking him because of his response regarding the woman’s gift, it took several days for Judas to conclude that betraying Jesus was the way to get back at Him.

Judas Iscariot ignored, forgot, or was blinded into discounting all the foreshadowing Jesus had shared regarding His upcoming death, His upcoming betrayal, and His upcoming resurrection. Prior to this weekend, even before Judas Iscariot knew he would be the betrayer, Jesus had warned the disciples about the events of this weekend.

Everything in this passage leads me to believe human timing for Jesus’ death should have happened after this weekend festival. However, God’s timing for this event clearly dictated the time Jesus would die, and all the details and human plans are rewritten during the 48 hours or so leading up to the cross to make humanity’s planning and timing match God’s plan. The religious leaders had decided to wait until after the Passover; however, Judas Iscariot’s offer of betrayal changes their plans to match the timing God had planned from the beginning of our world.

In our own lives, it is always good for us to remember that while we can plan and move towards goals in our own lives, it is always best to leave room in our plans and expectations for God to step in and redirect our lives to match His plan for each of us. When God steps in and changes our plans, we can choose to be upset, or we can be grateful that God is bringing us into alignment with His will. When faced with that choice, I always recommend being grateful because when God redirects our lives, it reminds us that He cares about us and that He wants the best for us from eternity’s perspective!

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 leave room for Him to step in and change your plans and your goals to match His will for your life. Invite God to come into your heart and let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you into matching your goals and plans to His will for you!

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. While other people can have ideas and great things to think about, filter everything you learn from other through the truth of the Bible! Through prayer and Bible study, discover how God opens our hearts to Him and His will and decide to invite Him into your 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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Mark – Episode 38: Before beginning to describe the events of the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Mark pulls two separate events together that sets the stage for Jesus’ betrayal and the creation of a betrayer. In this event, discover how God’s plans and timing will always happen regardless of our planning or timing.

The Pharisee Trap: Matthew 23:1-36

Published September 13, 2024 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 23:1-36 (NASB)

¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their *I.e. small cases containing Scripture texts worn on the left arm and forehead for religious purposesphylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. ⁸ But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ [*This v not found in early mssWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? ²⁰ Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. ²² And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

³⁴ “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Read Matthew 23:1-36 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During Jesus’ warning statements to His followers and the crowd regarding the religious leaders, He concludes by drawing our attention onto an interesting statement that reveals a profound insight into human nature. By sharing this statement, Jesus in many ways incriminates everyone in all history who has ever displayed a similar “self-righteous” attitude like these religious leaders had done.

Matthew shares Jesus’ caution towards and against the scribes and Pharisees by saying, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.” (v. 29-31)

In this challenge, Jesus essentially puts words in the scribes’ and Pharisees’ mouths, and then He uses those words to discredit their position. However, while this might sound like an underhanded tactic, the only way Jesus could have successfully pulled this off is if this was a legitimate reflection of the attitude these religious leaders had. By claiming they would have acted differently than their fathers, they are subtly associating themselves with the actions of those who went against God’s will many centuries and generations ago.

A few verses later, Jesus emphasizes all the wrong that these leaders are associating with by saying, “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” (v. 34-35)

The claim the scribes and Pharisees were making highlights a trait that most, if not all, humans exhibit. This trait is thinking that we would act differently than someone else if we were placed in the exact same circumstances that they were in. If we were raised in the same way they were raised and if we were placed in the exact same decision they faced – all without knowing the outcome – we maybe would choose something different, but we are fooling ourselves to think or say that we definitely would act differently. There is truly no way of making an accurate comparison between what happened then vs. what we would do knowing what we know.

This understanding highlights how the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day had a very “self-righteous” attitude, and it is this attitude that Jesus is challenging them on. For us living today, pushing back at this characteristic of human nature will help us remain humble and more Christ-like, and it is only by letting the past be the past that we will ever be able to truly move into the future.

God sent Jesus to the earth to help us know Him better, and even though these religious leaders rejected Jesus, they did so because they had a flawed view of God and a self-righteous attitude. While it’s easy for us to fall into the same trap, focusing on Jesus is the only way for us to beat the trap and truly be free.

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Praying for Protection: John 17:1-26

Published September 12, 2024 in Audio Journal Entries

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On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, while traveling to the Garden with His remaining disciples, John’s gospel records a powerful prayer Jesus shared and it may surprise you to learn exactly what Jesus prayed for in this prayer. While we might wish for Jesus to have changed certain parts of His prayer, I know that because Jesus prayed the way He did gives us answers to how God may be moving in the world today, even if we would rather He move differently.

This powerful prayer comes immediately following Jesus teaching these disciples and promising them that He would send them the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and teach them.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 17, and we will read it using the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹After Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up toward heaven and prayed:

Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. ²And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. ³Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. ⁴I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. ⁵Now, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you before the world was created.

⁶You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you. ⁷They know that you gave me everything I have. ⁸I told my followers what you told me, and they accepted it. They know that I came from you, and they believe that you are the one who sent me. ⁹I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. ¹⁰All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.

¹¹Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. ¹²While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who had to be lost. This happened so that what the Scriptures say would come true.

¹³I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. ¹⁴I have told them your message. But the people of this world hate them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t.

¹⁵Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. ¹⁷Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. ¹⁸I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. ¹⁹I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.

²⁰I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. ²¹I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.

²²I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. ²³I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world’s people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me.

²⁴Father, I want everyone you have given me to be with me, wherever I am. Then they will see the glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the world was created. ²⁵Good Father, the people of this world don’t know you. But I know you, and my followers know that you sent me. ²⁶I told them what you are like, and I will tell them even more. Then the love that you have for me will become part of them, and I will be one with them.

In this prayer, which seems to end a little abruptly, we see a powerful theme present that many of us might wish was framed a little differently. At several places within this prayer, Jesus emphasizes His request for God to be with His followers while we are in the world and to keep us safe. In verse 11, Jesus prays, “I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me.” Verse 15 includes the request, “Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one.” And verse 18 emphasizes this truth even more when Jesus prays to God about His followers saying: “I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me.”

While we might have wished for Jesus to pray that God would rescue all of Jesus’ followers from this world, that was not part of Jesus’ goal. If Jesus had prayed for rescue for His followers, we likely wouldn’t be here today believing in Jesus. Instead, we have people who believe in Jesus over 2,000 years later because Jesus prayed to God to protect His followers while He sent them into the world.

Also, just in case we might have doubts about who Jesus was focusing His prayer on, Jesus quantifies that this prayer is bigger than just these eleven remaining disciples. In verse 20, Jesus emphasizes this point saying: “I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me.”

Jesus’ clear message in this verse is that we are included in His prayer just like His first disciples when we have faith in Him because of what His followers share. We are also able to spread Jesus’ prayer even further by inviting others to believe in Jesus so they can also experience God’s blessings and His promise.

However, near the beginning of this prayer is a powerful truth that is often overlooked or simply missed. In verse 3, Jesus tells us clearly: “Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent.”

Eternal life is only found in knowing God, which can only be done through knowing Jesus Christ, the One God sent. Jesus came to show us God, and He died so that we can have the opportunity of redemption. Jesus Christ brings eternal life, and eternal life is only found when we know God the Father through what Jesus Christ accomplished for each of us!

Knowing in this context is more than simply being aware that God loves us, that Jesus died for us, and that belief in Jesus brings salvation. Knowing in this context means letting the truth about God and about what Jesus has done for us transform our lives! We accept God’s gift through Jesus when we let the Holy Spirit Jesus promised transform our lives with the truth of God’s love!

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 to seek God first in your life and choose to accept the truth of God’s love into your heart and let the Holy Spirit transform your life. Choose to accept the mission God has given all of His followers to go into the world and trust that He will protect our lives. Even if our lives on this earth are given up in service to God, our lives are never lost when we have our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to protect us through the evils of sin and bring us into His recreated New Heaven and New Earth that will exist forever without sin.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. God wants a personal relationship with you, and a personal relationship with God is best formed and strengthened through regularly praying and studying His Word – the Bible.

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 walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year in John – Episode 37: After teaching the disciples and promising them the Holy Spirit, Jesus shares a prayer that you may be surprised by, and He shares a promise that ever believer in all points of history can depend on while we press forward with God towards eternity and the end of sin.

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.