Showing posts with label Blood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blood. Show all posts

Saturday, June 22, 2019

The Tick

Yard work in Central Wisconsin often comes at a cost. If it's not the mosquitoes and biting flies that get you, it's the bees, wasps and snakes that get your attention. But by far the worst backyard nemesis has got to be . . . The Tick.

The tick is a silent killer that stalks the tall grass. They just hang out, waiting for something tasty to come along, and they hitch a ride . . . on their dinner. And that "dinner" awaits for them if they can remain undetected on their clueless victims.

It's not hard to draw the comparisons between the parasitic life forms in our backyards and Satan. All are distractions to our normal, preferred way of life. They want to suck the life-giving blood from our bodies and prevent us from doing what we were created to do - love and worship.

These pests, and I include Satan amongst them, bring disease and discomfort into our lives. They also can bring death. Such is the way of the Devil.

So, we basically have two choices. The first is the least dangerous and probably the smartest - never go into the tall grass again! Stay away from the sinful world and its entanglements. The farther we are from it, the better the chance we have from becoming consumed by it.

The second option is the best option, in my opinion. To be IN the world, but not OF it. God placed us here in this world for a reason. To simply lock ourselves in the closet and not engage with others in the world seems contrary to God's plan for us.

I believe we should be right in the middle of "the tall grass", fighting against the parasitical elements it contains, while spreading the best pest repellant the world has ever known. Love and The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you."
- John 17:14-21

Greater - MercyMe

Monday, February 11, 2019

Fluffy And Beautiful

I just got back inside after shoveling all of the snow out our driveway for the umpteenth time. Snow looks rather nice after it falls. Everything it so clean and white. Appearances can however be deceiving.

My wife and I bought the lot where our house now sits in mid-winter. It was covered with fluffy, beautiful snow then too. That's why we bought it. It was beautiful! Then the snow melted and we finally saw what was underneath. We spent many hours that spring cleaning up beer cans, newspaper, plastic bags - all kinds of garbage. We still love our lot but we were unaware of the debris we bought along with it,

We humans are a lot like snow covered ground. We can look all fluffy and beautiful on the outside but inside we also can be filled with garbage and all kinds of junk. How do we clean THAT up in the spring?

Let me introduce you to the best cleaning crew I know - the Trinity crew - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Together they make all things new. They can take the dirtiest and heaviest stuff we have hidden, layers deep under the surface, and make it all snowy white.

And if you think that the things you have done could never be forgiven, think again! God doesn't so much care that you've done those things as He does that you humbly come to Him and ask Him the remove them for you.

This time of year our roads get salty and dirty. A fresh layer of snow can be a beautiful thing. If your soul is ditry and dingy and in bad need of a cleansing, run to Jesus. He'll make it white as snow. And your cleaning is absolutely free! Why? Well, it's free because Jesus paid it all.

Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfill

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Save The Nipples!!

Do you have nipples? Just about everybody does. Do you like your nipples? Would you like to keep them? Then this story is for you! Read on!

A few nights ago I took a refresher course in CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) and AED use (Automated Exterior Defibrillator) from the American Heart Association. Guess what. I passed! Now, if anyone has a heart malfunction in my vicinity I can help them out. Yay!

However, there were some "interesting" things I learned in my training that surprised me and everyone else in the room as well. One of them might be very important to you if you have any body piercings. Keep reading. Here are some of the things I learned.
  • There is a difference between a "heart attack" and "cardiac arrest." A heart attack is a blockage problem. Cardiac Arrest is an "electrical " problem. Read more about it here.
  • Use of an AED in cardiac arrest cases increases your chances of survival from 10% to over 30%.
  • If you are wearing a bra, whether ye be man or woman . . . it is coming off! The wire inside can short circuit the AED's effectiveness.
  • If you have a hairy chest, man or woman, it won't be hairy for long. We have been instructed to dry-shave it where the AED pads go.
  • If you have any body piercings that are within 2" of the AED pads (like nipple rings or studs), we have been instructed to remove them . . . by grabbing them . . . and ripping them off. That's right. Ripping them off!
That last little bit of information might sound somewhat extreme but, when the alternative is death, would most people really mind?

Sin in our lives is a lot like having a nipple ring. We might like it. We might think it makes us look cool. But unless it is removed we have no chance of survival. We're going to die and that's that.

The thing that sucks is, no matter how hard we try to be good or to keep our nipples in one piece, we can never stay clean enough by ourselves to have any hope of life after death.

There is some good news though. It is possible to be saved, body piercings and all, by placing your faith and hope in Jesus. He knows exactly how to save a heart that has gone bad. And He won't rip your nipples off!

I have nothing against piercings I guess. But then again, I kind of do. Piercings and tattoos are an outward expression of the inner self. They cry out "Look at me!" Shouldn't we really be saying "Look at Jesus?"

"7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire." - Matthew 8:7-9

Nothing But The Blood - Matt Redman

Monday, November 10, 2014

Jessica

Why do interesting things always happen to me when I am donating blood? I have posted several here about my conversations while donating blood. This one is no different, although there is a new twist to the usual flow of words.

I had decided to take the afternoon off work. It was a Friday and there was no work on my table so I thought, "Hey, why not?" So I did.

One of my stops was the Community Blood Center. I was beyond my eight week waiting period between donations to I stopped in to see if they had any openings. They like me to donate blood and are grateful to see me, however I think their enthusiasm has more to do with my A-negative blood type than with me personally.

My blood technician for the day was named Jessica. She was good looking lady, hair pulled back in a ponytail. I'd guess she was in her late 30's - early 40's. I'd seen her there before. A veteran. That's always a good thing to have when someone is trying to locate one of your veins with a needle.

I usually donate out of my left arm and had my I Am Second bracelet all poised in position and rotated for easy reading. It's a great conversation starter and soon Jessica and I would be talking about I Am Second and what it meant and then we would be talking about God - my desire for ALL conversations.

But Jessica never asked about my bracelet. It was like she didn't even notice it! I was kind of disappointed. Instead she asked me this question.

"So, what are you doing for excitement this fall?"

The man I used to be would have answered that question differently than the Bob that lives inside this rickety old tent these days. I probably would have talked about the Corvette I used to have or all the projects I was working on at my job. That was then. This is now. I want to talk about Jesus.

"Well, I write a blog and I mentor / counsel teens and young adults in our area."

"Whoa. Back up a bit. You write a blog? What kind of blog?"

"I write a Christian blog. I write stories about where I have seen God working in the world around me."

"That's cool. Tell me more about the counseling thing."

"Well, I talk with kids about their faith, I give them advice when they ask for it, I listen to them as they unload their problems. I listen to them and then I try to tell them about Jesus and all the things He went through and how He will forgive their sins if they only come to Him in repentance and place their faith and trust in Him."

Mission accomplished . . . or so I thought. I continued . . .

"This time of year is really tough. Last year we had a young girl take her life and the year before a young man did the same thing. Suicide is a problem everywhere but it has hit our community hard these past few years."

That was the trigger. THAT was why "I suddenly decided" to donate blood that day. It's always amazing to see God working around us, and sometimes THROUGH us.

Jessica told me about her daughter who was struggling in high school and how her daughter had told her she didn't want to live anymore one night after breaking up with her boyfriend. Jessica was a wreck for one nasty week as she watched over her daughter like a hawk.

When her daughter went upstairs to take a bath one night Jessica kept walking by the bathroom, knocking on the door and asking if she was alright.

Zoom back out of this conversation for a moment and look at the two people God brought together - a mom with a daughter who has contemplated suicide, and a man who has had experience counseling teens who have seen two suicides in their lives.

We talked for the entire duration of my blood donation and for several minutes afterwards as well. I prayed for Jessica and her daughter and then I left for home . . . with a smile on my face. It is nice being used to help someone else. Another one of the many gifts God showers on those who love Him.

I pray to always be ready (as it says in 1 Peter 3:15) to give a reason for the hope that I have. To see these situations as they are happening instead of regretting my inaction after the fact.

One of the prayers I should pray more often is to ask God to forgive me, not only for my actions, but for my in-actions as well.

May each of us be faced with situations this week, opportunities, to serve God through pouring ourselves into the lives of someone else. As it says in Galatians,

"Let us do good to ALL people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - Galatians 6:10

We can never discern what is in a person's heart, whether they truly believe or not, whether they are in "the family of believers" or not. That is why we are to default to doing "good for ALL people." And doing them . . . In His Holy Name.

Good Things - The Bodeans

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Signs

My friend and I were out walking one lunch hour where we work when we came upon this lovely piece of sidewalk art. I boldly predicted, "Something is going to be happening here in the near future!"

"Gee, how can you tell?" my friend responded sarcastically. "What are you, a prophet?"

"No, but I'm pretty good at interpreting signs. You see these markings here? They were left by three men. Each was wearing a hard hat and they were carrying spray paint. They drove a white pickup truck with a flashing yellow light on top, a Ford if I am not mistaken. One of the men had a beard. Another walked with a limp."

"Wow! You can tell all that by reading these signs on the sidewalk?"

"Well, actually, the men are right over there taking a break on the tailgate of their white Ford F-150. The one with the flashing yellow light on top."

"Funny."

We humans can be pretty good at reading signs. Have you ever heard this one? Red sky at night? Sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. It's easy to figure things out and know what's about to happen if one just observes the signs of the times.

When certain birds return to our area we are assured that spring is right around the corner. When the tassels appear on the sweet corn at the farm near our house we can know for certain that there will be corn on the cob for dinner in a few weeks. When we see a flash of lightning in the sky we know that in a few seconds we will be hearing a clap of thunder. There are all kinds of signs out there.

Speaking of signs, did you see the blood moon Monday night? Or should I say early Tuesday morning? It was amazing! A total lunar eclipse. I took this picture in my front yard at 2:20 AM. Some say a blood moon is a sign.

Do you believe in signs? Actually, that's not the correct question. Do you believe that God provides signs for us to see? Signs of forthcoming events? How about the star that guided the three wise men to find Jesus. That was a sign. Much of the Bible is prophesy. Jesus was a prophet. He predicted many things. We believe Him, right?

Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Joel. Jesus didn't say this. It's an old Testament text, but I'd like you to consider something - a possibility - about Jesus.

"30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls." - Joel 2:30-32

One of the signs we are to watch for in the last days, the days before Jesus returns, is for the moon to turn red, to turn to blood. That's what the moon did Tuesday morning. Yes, there have been "blood moons" before. But this year offers something very rare. There will be FOUR blood moons in close proximity to one another (it's called a tetrad). The total eclipse Tuesday morning, and the last of the four blood moons which occurs during this time in 2015, occurred on the first day of Passover. And the second and third blood moons? They just happen to occur during the Feast of Tabernacles. Coincidence? Or is it God's design?

Do you remember what Passover signifies? You've watched the movie The Ten Commandments before right? What did Joshua do to the door frame on Lilia's house the night that greenish smoke flowed through the city streets, killing the first born son of each family? He smeared lambs blood on her door frame. In the New Testament, The Lamb - is Jesus. The "blood" moon is used in scripture to signify the coming of the Lord, Jesus. Passover is a remembrance of the day that God's wrath "passed over" the houses of those who believed in God. And so it will be for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ.

"Many religious people believe that the upcoming tetrad has special significance because the eclipses coincide with important Jewish festivals. The two April lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015 occur at the same time as Passover, while the October and September eclipses occur during the Feast of Tabernacle. Astronomers and scientists however do not believe that this is of any significance." - TimeandDate.com

We will not know the day or the hour of the coming of our Lord. Only God knows that. But isn't it exciting every time there is a lunar eclipse, a blood moon? One day, and perhaps it will be soon, there will be a blood moon carrying tremendous biblical significance. And Jesus will return to claim His bride. That's us by the way. Whether it is this blood moon or the next or one that occurs 100 years from now, our only concern must be are we ready? Well, are we?

If you would like to know more about the biblical significance of blood moons, all this information is in the Bible. I would encourage you to read Matthew 24, The Book of Revelation, and the books of Daniel, Isaiah and First Thessalonians. There are signs everywhere. All we have to do is have eyes to see and ears to hear. But when that final blood moon comes, oh, what a glorious day that will be.

What A Day That Will Be - The Gospel Plowboys

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Chapter

How long ago was it? Hmm. Well, let's see. My wife and I had a water bed . . . It must have been in the late 80's or early 90's. The bed had these little lamps in the headboard and we had our clock radio/alarm clock right between them. And we listened. We listened as someone read us . . . a book.

I was working at an architectural firm in downtown Appleton. The owner of the firm loved to play Public Radio and the cavernous office building was always filled with classical music throughout the day. That was okay for this then 30-something guy but a little rock and roll once in a while would have been nice.

At lunch time though I got a break from the strings and operatic voices. WPNE, the local Public Radio station, had a news program at noon and then after that they had a half-hour long program called Chapter A Day. Someone at the radio station would read a chapter out of a current novel each day. No sound effects, no musical score, just the spoken word. I began to look forward to hearing the next chapter each and every day as I ate my lunch. I enjoyed hearing the readers voice as his or her words filled my ears . . . and my heart.

Then they announced that each days chapter would be replayed at 10 o'clock each night. Sweet! So I got my wife to listen and me and my wife would lay in bed, our little reading lamps on, waiting in anticipation of the next chapter. We only listened to the reading of one book but we both remember that book, Michael Crichton's Sphere, and we both remember that program, fondly, and the joy we both received through doing something together.

Since those golden days of radio my wife and I have continued the "Chapter a Day" practice in our own way. My wife likes to take hot baths during the winter months. At least once a year one of us purchases a novel and I read a chapter or two to my wife every time she takes a bath.

We just finished a murder mystery featuring one of her favorite TV characters. We've also finished an entire truck load of water softener salt! (not really . . . but close!). Now it's MY turn to pick a book. I was thinking about the Book of Romans. She probably wouldn't go for that but I think that would be an awesome thing for a married couple, or ANY couple, to do. Take turns reading a chapter a day out of the Bible to someone you love.

So, my challenge for you and for me during the month of March is to pick someone in your life and ask them if they would like to read a book of the Bible to one another. Do it over coffee at your favorite cafe. Discuss what God is trying to tell us. Examine your lives to see if the lessons God teaches us through His Word can have an impact our lives. My guess is that they certainly can.

So find someone that God has placed in your life this week. Someone out of the ordinary perhaps and ask them. The worse they can do is say no and you will have to find someone else. But the person you asked will know that YOU cared enough to ask THEM. Let God's Holy Spirit use that thought in their heads for God's Glory.

Here's something I discovered this week. It actually came to me this morning while lying in bed. Check these verses out. See if you can find the hidden connection.

"18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth." - Deuteronomy 11:18-21

And now read this one . . .

"7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt."
- Exodus 12:7,12-13

So we are to take God's Word and the blood of The Lamb and place it on our doorposts (the sides of our doors) and we will be passed over . . . we will be saved.

Now check out these verses from the first chapter of John

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
- John 1:1-5, 14, 29

Jesus was the Word and the Word became flesh. We are you place The Blood of the Lamb (Jesus) on our door frames - the door we walk in and out of on our way to work or school, the door we walk through into the world. By walking through Jesus everyday and as we walk through the world, we will be a sign to the world who we are and WHOSE we are. And our lives will be a sign unto God. He will pass over us and we will be saved (Exodus 12:13.

Any questions? :)

Jefferson Bethke: Why Don't We Read the Bible More?

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Blood

When I was back in middle school, probably the 7th grade, I was in the Boy Scouts.We had a cool scout troop and an amazing scout master. He took us camping, hiking, and we did all kinds of adventurous stuff. One coolish fall night we met at the local fire station. Our scout master was also a volunteer fire fighter. Yeah, while it was true that we were going to learn all about fire safety . . . what I REALLY was excited about, along with everyone else in our troop, was that we were going to get to work an inch and a half fire hose!! Yeah!!!
 
The night started out rather routinely. We all stood and pledged allegiance to the flag as it was brought in to the meeting room at the fire station and placed in its stand. We sat through a MAJORLY boring lecture on what to do if our clothes suddenly burst into flames. Stop, drop and roll! And then we were told it was time to go outside. Shoving our chairs aside we all bolted for the door. Trying to fit a couple dozen boys through one single door, all at the same time, proved quite challenging but we all eventually made it out. And there it was! A shiny, red fire truck!
 
There was something about the way the metal glistened under the parking lot light that really made that truck look amazing. Every piece of chrome had been painstakingly polished. Beautiful. We turned our attention to our scout master as he began telling us about the truck. We were having a wonderful time. We had absolutely no clue. NO IDEA what was about to happen.
 
As our trusted scout master stood in front of us, speaking, he suddenly bent over, clutching at his chest. He fell to his right, hitting his head on the running board of the truck and . . . he died. His firefighter buddies quickly came to their comrade's side. They asked for coats to cushion this fine man's head against the gravel in the driveway. Me and my friend Jim gave them ours. But that night no amount of first aid helped and, after they took him away, I picked up my coat. It was covered in blood, and so were my hands.
 
I've been reading through the Old Testament lately. Lots of information about sacrifices in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Blood sacrifices offered to atone for the sins of God's people. One verse caught my attention as I read through chapter after chapter of these specific instructions from God.
 
"Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water." - Deuteronomy 12:23-24
 
"The blood is the life" . . . "you shall pour it out on the earth" - a foreshadowing of a sacrifice to come?
 
God demanded a perfect sacrifice, animals without defect. Their blood was poured out on the earth and their perfect bodies were burned, offered as sacrifices . . . "an aroma pleasing to God."
 
Every Old Testament sacrifice was a precursor of the ultimate sacrifice to come, Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. It was HIS blood, HIS life that was poured out on the earth . . . as an atoning sacrifice for OUR sins. Jesus gave his life . . . for US!
 
This week I had a blood donation appointment. It held extra meaning for me because I was still in the midst of writing this story. I thought about the blood as it ran out of my arm and into the collection bag - a small sacrifice to help an unknown "someone" at some point in the future. The parallels were not lost on this man's heart.
 
How beautiful, the blood flow (we sang that in church this week). Humans and animals, designed by God, all contain blood that flows and gives us life. To give ones life, ones blood, as a sacrifice so that others may have life? That is what God wants from each of us. He is after the "pleasing aroma" as we offer ourselves to Him. We do this in service to others. We do this by loving others and in the worship we bring to our Lord and savior, Jesus.
 
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." - Romans 12:1
 
As my donation finished and as the needle was removed from my arm, the person attending me commented on the I Am Second bracelet I was wearing. I told her, "It means God is first, and I am second. No matter what."

There is life, eternal life, in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. It was his blood that was "poured out on the earth" as a sacrifice, once and for all. Propitiation is the word. His blood, our sins. Covered. It is finished.

I think that from now on, when I donate blood, I will offer up the communion verses from 1 Corinthians 11 when Jesus said, "This is my blood. Do this in remembrance of me." And so I offer myself, my blood, as a sacrifice to the one who gave ME life, and life abundant.

For a related story on blood donation, please read - Jared

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Jared

I received a call earlier this week from my friends at the Community Blood Center. This time of year donations are usually down and they were really in need of blood donors. My eight weeks were up, so they told me, and they asked if I could come in, to which I replied, "Sure. No problem." All too easy. It was as if my blood donation appointment was "meant to be."

God seems to always conceal his master plan, at least in MY life. Probably in YOUR life as well. Often we can look back on things and say, "Of course!" But usually, we have no clue what's going on in real-time, when things are in the midst of "going down." What happened at my blood donation appointment last night was no exception. I had absolutely no idea what I was walking into. But I am glad God did. :)

Everything was situation normal. Flash the picture I.D. card at the front desk, circle all the correct answers and items on the deferral list, get tested for my iron level, temperature and blood pressure. I passed everything and was escorted out to the main room where all the donating goes on.

After the girl who had done all of my testing positioned me in one of the chairs she said, "I'll be right back" and took off for the back room. That was the last I saw of her. Long pause. I should have known God was as work behind the scenes right then and there . . . but nope. Clueless.

A few minutes later a young man happened by and asked,"Are you still waiting to be hooked up?"

"Yup."

"Well," he said, looking around for the person who had left me there,"Well, I guess I can do that for ya."

So he started prepping my arm, getting all the little hose clamp things lined up, he put on the blood pressure cup and inserted the needle into my arm. Things went along quite very smoothly. Nothing to make me think that something was about to happen. Then, after I was finished, Jared, my new little buddy, cleaned off the iodine stain from my arm and said to me, "So,what's the band for?" Referring to the I Am Second band I wear around my wrist. That . . . is when I knew that God had something up His sleeve.


"I Am Second is a Christian organization that promotes the concept that Jesus, and others, come first in our lives and I . . . am second.

My I Am Second bracelet, and God, had opened up a wonderful faith-based conversation. And I now had a new friend, and brother, in young Jared. We talked for a full ten minutes AFTER my appointment was over, each of us excited to give our testimony to the other. I told Jared how that after I placed my trust in Jesus I had an insatiable appetite for His Word. I couldn't stop reading!

"Really?? Me too!!" Then Jared told me how he had seen an I Am Second video at Lifest and what an impact it had on his life.

"It was about some guy who used to play with a really hard rock band . . "

"Brian Head Welch?"

"YES!!!"

I then told Jared about Josh Hamilton's video, how it was the first I Am Second video I had seen and how it had impacted me. We were having a awesome time and did some MAJOR bonding - all orchestrated by God. :)

Jared looked like he needed that talk. It was almost like he needed to speak with a brother, a fellow believer, and God provided that opportunity. We ALL can use a little encouragement from time to time. And aren't we glad that we have a great God who provides? I sure am! And I am grateful when He uses me, even without my knowledge, which is most of the time I'm afraid. What a blessing it was talking with my new friend. And what a blessing it is to serve such and incredible, loving God.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:36-40

Brian Head Welch
Josh Hamilton