The Pursuit of the Heart

A theme often repeated throughout scripture is people who spoke the truth were ignored.  God sent many prophets to warn His people of coming judgment for their sin, yet many who heard the truth did not engage with it.  We might assume all who heard God's Word were scorners or mockers, but a passage in Ezekiel shows this is not always the case.  People flocked to hear the prophet Ezekiel share and complimented his discourse and delivery, but God's words did not actually impact their faith or practices.  They listed to Ezekiel because it pleased and profited them in some way, but not with intent to please God.

Ezekiel 33:31-33 reads, "So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. ³² Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. ³³ And when this comes to pass--surely it will come--then they will know that a prophet has been among them."  God had remarkable insight into the hearts of people and discerned the motives behind their words and deeds.  We look on the outside, but God looks at the heart.  It is always sad for a preacher to see people drowsy during a message, nodding off whilst fighting sleep.  He is glad to see people bright and energetic, taking notes, and later even rehearsing aspects of the message for further discussion.

Ezekiel's hearers were the second kind, attentive like a music lover enjoying his favourite band live.  They were compared to a man whose foot tapped in rhythm and quietly sang along with words he memorised.  He owned every album, recognised the melodies, and even knew the backstory behind the lyrics of particular tunes.  But just like listening to music cannot fundamentally change a person, hearing the word of God made no impact without faith and obedience.  This is really challenging for me to consider:  when I read or hear God's Word do I take action to heed and obey it?  Or am I only pursuing my own gain?  Some people like rap or metal, others folk music or country:  do I enjoy being taught the scripture because it is a personal preference or because I want to honour God and be transformed?

Jesus spoke of the wise and foolish who heard His words.  Both wise and foolish heard His words, but the wise were those who ordered their lives in obedience to them.  Rather than being a pastor who wonders if his hearers obey the Word of God, I need to realise my natural tendency is to be a hearer but not a doer.  Ezekiel had no control over the kind of listeners who assembled, but he was responsible before God to be both a hearer and doer of God's Word, to not just "show much love" with words but to love God and people from the heart.  I am not responsible for the responses of other people, and ensuring my response to God's Word in humility, repentance, and obedience is key.  When an instrument is out of tune it is not pleasing to the discerning ear of the musician or audience, and if we hear God's Word yet do not change accordingly our lives resemble a clanging cymbal out of time.

James 1:19-25 says, "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."  Hearing is important, but hearing without doing brings self-deception.  As we behold Christ, let us take steps to live in the way that pleases Him.  The meek will receive the implanted Word and walk in it, whilst those who only seek a blessing for themselves will find it strangely elusive.  If we will pursue Jesus in faith, may we in meekness trust and obey Him.

Prosperity and Adversity

"Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what He has made crooked? ¹⁴ In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him."

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

Written by the wisest king who ever ruled, Solomon affirmed the sovereignty and goodness of God.  God allows the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust, and He allows situations we view as good and bad.  Though God's ways are higher than ours, He can be known by all as the loving, compassionate, gracious, and awesome God He is.  Knowing He is in everything and can redeem it for our good changes the way we view prosperity and adversity, for He has appointed one as well as the other.

It is erroneous to assume "bad" things which happen are of the devil, and that good things are the product of our deserving them.  God created our bodies to feel physical pain, and pain serves a useful, practical purpose.  In a similar way trials work for our good, to strengthen our faith and turn our eyes towards God in renewed hope.  When his wife urged him to curse God and die in pain and sorrow, the response of Job is recorded in Job 2:10:  "Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?"  The things men or even Satan meant for evil God can use for good.

During the reign of King Solomon the nation of Israel enjoyed prosperity and peace to a degree previously unknown.  After Solomon's death, however, the nation was suddenly divided when the northern kingdom rebelled against the rule of Rehoboam, his son.  When Rehoboam amassed an army to fight against the northern kingdom which had crowned Jeroboam king to reclaim it, God revealed through the man of God what He had previously said:  "This thing is from me."  Knowing the division was from God prompted Rehoboam to accept what he once previously fought against.  The situation was from God, and God was for him.  The wise find cause for rejoicing in God regardless of circumstances, for God is worthy to be praised and our hope, life, and peace is in Him.

The God who divided Israel into northern and southern kingdoms would purify His people through many trials and difficulties:  the northern kingdom would collapse and fall, Jerusalem's walls would be breached, the Temple broken apart and plundered, and God's people would be brought into captivity in Babylon.  But the God who kills also makes alive, and true to His promise God delivered His people from bondage and caused them to return to the land of their fathers and be restored.  No longer would they be entrenched in idolatry as before but would worship the God of their fathers.  God at times employs temporary adversity to prepare the way for enduring prosperity.  Prosperity and adversity come from the LORD, and all who trust in Him find rest for their souls.

The Heart of Jesus

I have been reading through A.W. Tozer's A Cloud by Day, a Fire by Night, a short compilation of selected sermons by James L. Snyder.  Tozer enjoyed poetry and hymns, and last night I read a poem by Oswald J. Smith titled "Deeper and Deeper" on page 107:

Into the heart of Jesus

Deeper and deeper I go,

Seeking to know the reason

Why He should love me so,

Why He should stoop to lift me

Up from the miry clay,

Saving my soul, making me whole,

Though I had wandered away.

The key to appreciating the sentiments of this poem are found in the first line:  it is Jesus we are to seek as we relish His grace and love.  It does us no good to look to ourselves to see why we are worthy of God's compassion, deliverance, and salvation because in our flesh no good thing dwells.  The world looks at Jesus through many lenses of unbelief, seeing no beauty in the One crucified on Calvary.  But those who have received His love and redemption through faith in Jesus look upon Him with wonder:  how good He must be to love the unlovable!  What humility and meekness is revealed in our LORD through His sacrifice; what generosity in His gifts and promises.  That He would pursue us when we wandered and wilfully disobeyed!

In Christ there is an endless layering of His glory with each new revelation.  His goodness is infinite and enduring forever, and of His love there is no end.  The answer to the question of why Jesus loves us so is found in Him alone and all His glorious attributes.  Every day we can be surprised and overwhelmed with the grace of God, for though He is God He picked us fallen sinners from the mire to be His chosen, His beloved.  We weren't just a "project" for Him to work on to feel good about Himself, but because He is good Jesus cares for everyone with all His heart.  He loves us because He is good, not due to our goodness.

Praise the LORD for making Himself known to us, having drawn us to Himself with cords of love!  Jesus has sought us out, called our names, stopped and stooped to lift us up, and saved us by His grace.  When the priest and Levite saw the man left for dead in the parable, they walked to the other side of the road.  The holiness and sanctification of Jesus is infinitely greater than mere man, yet He came to us when we were dead in sins and broken, healing and restoring us at His own expense.  God's love isn't content to be concealed or at a distance but draws near by grace.  Isn't it beautiful who Jesus is and all He has done?

Embracing Humility

In all seasons of life God provides opportunities to walk in humility before Him.  Today I saw a video of a young teen playing baseball who hits home runs with ease.  That was always a dream of mine in Little League:  to hit a home run over the fence.  Though a proficient player and coming close several times, it was a goal I was never able to achieve.  I bounced balls off the fence, but never hit one out.

A high degree of skill or below-average ability in sport both have ways of exposing pride and our need for repentance and humility.  The trouble about being good at something is we begin to have high expectations of ourselves we never had when first starting out.  As my bowling average rose with practice, so did my expectations of better scores.  Games I would have been pleased with years before when I was just "having fun" became a source of frustration.  But it wasn't 10-pin bowling, my team, my poor technique, or the score which was the problem:  the issue was pride in my heart.  Navigating failure in technique or execution of fundamentals is not nearly as challenging as addressing the pride prior success can bring.

In the heat of the moment it is easy to lose my composure, but the conviction of the Holy Spirit and even gentle rebuke by others has helped me regain proper perspective.  I am glad to have the insights afforded by God's grace to King Nebuchadnezzar after his seven years of madness in Daniel 4:37:  "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down."  After proud Nebuchadnezzar was humbled, God restored him to rule once again as king.  The greatest men ultimately will be humbled before our glorious God, but better to humble ourselves before Him voluntarily.  God is able to humble kings, sportsmen, intellectuals, celebrities, and the average Joe without difficulty, and we are blessed to embrace it.

Failure to perform well at sport up to our expectations is a humbling experience, and whenever we are humbled it is good.  The flesh resists and resents this treatment which can take far more than seven years, but it bears eternal fruit that is pleasing and acceptable to God.  We would be pleased with a perfect game in bowling or by hitting a grand slam to win the baseball game, but God is pleased when we humble ourselves before Him win or lose, thankful and grateful for the chance to play a game, enjoy being part of a team, and doing our best.

Training Up Children

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6

When I was an apprentice, a big part of my training was following the example set by my foreman concerning how he wanted work done.  Over many years I spread my time between several different foremen and they all had different standards and expectations.  My conduct was a mix between standards of quality established in the classroom as well as in the field on the job among my peers.  I was required to switch gears quickly between tasks and multiple job sites, remembering how particular bosses wanted duct wrapped, chillers covered with rubber, or how exposed metalwork should be completed.  I benefited from working under and receiving training from journeyman who had different specialities.

Solomon exhorted parents to train up children in the right way applying knowledge of God's wisdom and truth.  Being a proverb, however, this is not an absolute guarantee that godly parenting always results in godly children through adulthood.  This is a general principle not a promise.  God is the perfect Father, yet His people went astray in unbelief.  There are many people who were raised by godly parents who went their own way, and children raised in homes without the knowledge of God later became His faithful servants.  Many parents have heaped guilt and condemnation upon themselves because they blamed their poor parenting for their child's rebellious choices.  Others imagine they must have done a great job of parenting because their kids are well-behaved with polite manners.  But the maxim rings true:  children trained to obey and honour obey God in their youth will be most likely to continue walking in God's ways through adulthood.

If we desire to train up children to live the right way, it is important as parents we set a godly example.  Childhood provides many teachable moments, opportunities to practically apply scripture, and hands-on experiences we can utilise to encourage, teach, and correct.  A father who loves his son will discipline him when necessary in an appropriate and loving manner as the situation and the leading of the Holy Spirit dictate.  As parents it is imperative we remain humble and teachable during the process of this training, for God uses children to instruct parents in countless ways.  How many times in teaching my children has God taught me and revealed my need to change!  Ultimately both parents and children will stand before God and give account for their actions:  parents will not be condemned for stubborn or wayward children, and children will not be given a free pass to disobey because their parents were slack.

Since I want my children to go the right way, I must be disciplined and responsible to walk in the right way myself.  It is hypocrisy for me to refuse to do myself what I expect of my kids.  Becoming angry about their disobedience or laziness could very well be self-inflicted, for it may be I have been slack to communicate, instruct, discipline, or adequately model a standard which meets my expectations.  Child rearing is a means God uses to train parents and guardians of children to look to Jesus for strength and wisdom, to step up in obedience to Him, and to press on in personal sanctification.  Should my children follow Jesus through adulthood, it is not because I have "done something right" but because God is gracious and good, worthy of being followed forever.

Stay Hungry and Thirsty

I don't think anyone prefers troubling times, feeling insecure, or realising we are in danger.  These seasons of hardship can provide a blessing and benefits ease and comfort cannot.  Recently I saw an example firsthand of how trials shift our perspective.  I observed a new social media acquaintance share a series of posts on what bothered them, pet peeves concerning politics and church.  But when there was a diagnosis of cancer in the family, the perspective shifted to seeking God in prayer with tears.  The awful, sudden illness shifted focus from self to God for the better.

The Bible has many such examples.  The book of Judges has a repeating cycle of people doing what is right in their own eyes, crying out to God, then God raising up a deliverer.  Yet as soon as the judge through whom God wrought deliverance and rule died, they ceased from following the LORD.  God revealed this predictable outcome concerning His people in Deuteronomy 32:15-18:  "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; you grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation. ¹⁶ They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. ¹⁷ They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear. ¹⁸ Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you."

When the house was built, the food abundant, and the enemies defeated, the people of God grew complacent.  With physical needs met and barns full there was little motivation to pray for God to provide.  Thankfulness and gratefulness were swallowed up with greed and covetousness.  Their success caused them to forsake the God who caused them to succeed in every endeavour.  They were not mindful of God because they were not troubled on every side and did not seek His guidance because they were self-confident.  God, in His grace, would allow His own people to fall by the hands of their enemies, to suffer lack and pains, to face famine and languish through drought so they might recognise their lack and turn their eyes to God again.

How silly it is to kick out at God, to provoke Him with pride and idolatry!  This tragic response of God's people has been a cycle common in my life too.  There is a redemptive aspect of failure, tragedy, and trials I do not always appreciate at the time:  God uses seasons of plenty and lack to show us what is in our hearts and to move us to look to Him in thanksgiving and salvation.  It is good for us to come to God hungry and thirsty, desperate for His wisdom and guidance like a little child who runs to his father when he sees a stranger, an unfamiliar cat, or upon hearing a noise at night.  In all our doing, our coming and going, let us not forget the God who fathered us, the God who loves us and has graciously provided for all our needs.  This place of faith, humility, and reliance upon God promotes spiritual fitness and increases energy for His service.

Seeking An Occasion

When God says His thoughts and ways are above ours, He isn't wrong.  How often we look at situations without knowledge necessary to understand what God's purposes are!  Samson's parents faced such a dilemma with their son's choice of a spouse.  He demanded they go to Timnath and arrange a marriage with a Philistine woman who lived there.

Initially Manoah and his wife gently rebuffed the idea, suggesting there must be a woman among their countrymen who would be a more suitable match.  But Samson would not be deterred.  Judges 14:4 reveals this particular choice was of God:  "But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD--that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel."  It seems odd God would "seek an occasion" against the Philistines in such an...unorthodox way...as if there is an orthodox way.  Reading this emphatically demonstrates God is right to use whatever means He wants to accomplish His good purposes.  Behind Samson's request for a Philistine bride was an occasion God would use to deliver His people from their oppressors.

God's ways are higher than ours, and like Him we ought to seek opportunities to do good.  We cannot say how God will use a kind word, a compassionate smile, or prayers for the benefit of others.  Galatians 6:9-10 says, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."  God provides us opportunities to spend and be spent for His glory, to give of our time, resources, and efforts to encourage and edify others, especially amongst fellow believers.  A farmer understands the seed he sows will bring forth a crop after its kind, and as we sow to the Spirit there will be eternal fruit we don't even realise.

It was faith in God--not in the wisdom or foresight of their son Samson--which would have provided peace in a very troubling and unexpected development, that Samson would ask for the hand of a Philistine girl in marriage!  How that must have gnawed at them, and what pains they endured when the marriage lasted only days and their son came home angry and broken.  But God knew what He was doing; God's purposes were being furthered in a way none could have predicted.  The vendetta between Samson and the Philistines escalated until the death of Samson, and in his death he defeated more Philistines than he had during his life.  Only God can bring victory in death.

Isn't it amazing God would come to earth and die for sinners on Calvary in the person of Jesus Christ?  No one could have anticipated such a thing, not even the scheming devil himself.  The death of Jesus and His resurrection was a death blow to the powers of Satan, death, and hell.  God provided for Himself a spotless Lamb to atone for the sins of all under Satan's rule, and He shed His own blood to purchase all who will trust in Him.  The ways of God are truly past finding out!  Who knows what God will do in the lives of people and nations to accomplish His purposes!  What appears or actually is foolish in the hands of our gracious God can be redeemed for good and His glory.

Faultless Faith

It is a natural tendency for us to focus on faults we perceive in ourselves or others.  Sometimes these faults are merely a matter of preference, style, or opinion.  Yet in all of us there are genuine faults, damning sins to be repented of:  selfishness, pride, deceit, greed, and covetousness.  These blemishes cannot be covered up or ignored because everyone does them.  Bad behaviour and sinful characteristics in people provides instruction for the wise coupled with the insight of the Holy Spirit:  every fault we see in someone else and condemn, we are guilty of the same.

Finding fault in others might be the easiest task ever.  Doing this also plays to our own pride, thinking we are somehow superior to others because we have not made the same mistakes.  What we fail to recognise is whilst we may not have made the precise mistake because our circumstances differ, the sinful heart and mind found in us is just as deeply flawed and calls for judgment from God.  The things which bother us the most in others tend to be things we still do or used to do.  It grates upon us because it is so us.  We must be careful even in our explanations of behaviours which irritate us lest we become those whom we reproach.

One thing I am sensitive to is the criticism of other Christians, especially those who appear in the Bible.  God has graciously provided us His uncensored Word, not covering or justifying faults of flawed people who trusted in God.  It is a grief to my soul when believers today (and I have been guilty myself in the past) of mocking, scorning, and criticising actions of people in scripture, condemning them for a fault when God commended their faith.  To scoff at the unbelief of the Hebrews in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt is to scoff at ourselves if we will be honest.  To criticise Elijah for fleeing from Jezebel or Peter who denied Jesus is beside the point:  are we any better?  A list in the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11:32-34 is a great example:  "And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: ³³ who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens."

Instead of trotting out a disclaimer about the notable faults of each of these people, it was their faith the writer of Hebrews emphasised and affirmed.  We all have faults to be sure, but this does not condemn us before a God who accounts faith in Him as righteousness.  This should in no way embolden us to sin, but the grace, longsuffering, and goodness of God towards sinners should humble us and urge us to righteous living pleasing to God.  As I grow older I begin to understand a bit better why David said in light of the harsh actions of his cousins, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?"  While they bayed for blood, justice, and revenge, David realised he already had enough blood on his hands.  I am grown weary of finding fault, and it seems my faults are ever before me.

Faith in God is always better than the appearance of perfection or the self-righteous criticism of others.  Praise the LORD He will not bring my faults to remembrance when I stand before Him, but by faith in Christ He will enable me to stand.  Jesus is the one who will present me faultless (despite my faults!) before the Father with exceeding joy.  The walls of the courtrooms on earth have heard a great deal of testimony concerning heinous crimes committed, but what sin will there be to recount before the judgment seat of Christ when all sins of the saved have already been expunged by Him?  God knows what He has done, and Christ's followers know it too.  If we will not remind Him of our sins on that Day, why should we mock or scorn others for their faults today?  

Don't Be Troubled!

My memory was jogged the other day during conversation to look up a passage in 2 Thessalonians.  Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians the day of the LORD would come as a thief in the night, suddenly and unexpectedly.  This commonly employed phrase "day of the LORD" throughout the scriptures means a time of judgment from God.  With the persecution and tribulation of the early church, it appears there were some who taught the day of the LORD had already come.  Perhaps they wondered if they had somehow missed the rapture of the church.  Paul refuted this in his second letter, explaining necessary events which much happen first.

Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, "Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ² not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come."  Paul wrote intending to provide comfort for followers of Jesus, but it seems they did not understand.  He sought to alleviate their concerns by correcting their understanding.  Paul affirmed the day of Christ had not yet come; they were not experiencing the wrath of God though they suffered much.  He then laid out (in my mind) once of the most clear and concrete explanation of major eschatological milestones in the New Testament.  Since prophecy is not always linear along a timeline, this revelation of the LORD through Paul is very useful and important.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-7 reads, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way."  The "Day" of the LORD would not occur until other prophecies were fulfilled.  Paul spoke of a "falling away," a massive departure from faith in Jesus Christ and the revelation of the "man of sin" who is commonly referred to as the anti-christ.  This son of perdition will exalt himself in the temple (there is currently no temple of God in Jerusalem, much to the dismay of pious Jews) and declare he is God and to be worshipped.

What is restraining this great apostasy?  The presence of the Holy Spirit in the church who fills each believer.  The mystery of lawlessness was already at work in Paul's day and has continued until now, but a day will come when He who restrains will be taken away with the rapture of the church when we are gathered to Jesus.  If we did not have the Holy Spirit within followers of Jesus we could not be presently born again, saved, love one another, or do any viable ministry unto the LORD.  The second coming of Jesus to judge the world in righteousness and the gathering of the church to Himself are two distinct events.  Once the church is removed there will be a great falling away from God like the world has never seen, the anti-christ will be revealed for who he is, and ultimately the Day of the LORD will follow.  Jude 1:14-15 says, "Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

When I was a kid, I was sadly much more intrigued about who the anti-christ was rather than lifting my eyes to Jesus Christ and following Him.  I was more determined not to receive the "mark of the beast" rather than loving God and other people.  No one knows when the rapture of the church will occur, but we are told of specific things which must occur before the Day of the LORD comes:  the temple will be built, the restraining Holy Spirit will be removed (and Christians with Him for He will never leave or forsake us), there will be a great apostasy, and the anti-christ will demand worship as God in the temple.  Those who once celebrated the return of temple worship of God will have their eyes opened to behold the reality the one they perhaps imagined to be their hero and messiah to be unveiled as a blasphemer and devil.  Amazingly, many will come to Christ during the great tribulation period, and the return of Jesus with His saints will bring it to a close with the establishment of Christ's physical kingdom in Jerusalem.

Instead of feeling unsettled or troubled, what confidence we can have in our Saviour Jesus Christ!  Let us recall the words of Jesus to His disciples in John 14:1-4:  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know."  All who trust in Christ need not fear, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He is with us today, and we will be together forever.