The Lord Is Coming: Jude 14-16

Jude 1:14-16


Now Enoch, who lived seven generations after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said,

"Look, the Lord is coming with thousands of his holy ones.
He will bring the people of the world to judgment.
He will convict the ungodly of all the evil things they have done in rebellion and of all the insults that godless sinners have spoken against him."
These people are grumblers and complainers, doing whatever evil they feel like. They are loudmouthed braggarts, and they flatter others to get favors in return. (NLT)

"The Lord is coming."

The Lord comes for everyone; there’s no getting around that. This is His sandbox, He sets the rules, and eventually He comes for everyone.

He comes for those who love Him.
He comes for those who hate Him.
He comes for those who embraced His Word.
He comes for those who denied He exists.

He comes for everyone. And He will meet each of us with justice.

Why wouldn’t we want that? We all want justice. We want to be treated fairly, to have the rules applied evenly, for everyone to have the same opportunities, and to have the laws apply to us in the same way it applies to everyone else. And God does that. When He comes for us, He comes to apply justice. God is always just.

Just as He is always loving, always merciful, always kind, always patience, He is also always just.

The problem with justice is that each of us has our own individual idea of what is just and we would like to apply that, not only to ourselves, but to everyone around us. And it makes sense. It’s difficult to live in a family or a society where there are different rules for different people.

I’ve often heard my students complain that their parents allowed their siblings privileges which they themselves aren’t allowed. Even children want to have the same rules as their brothers and sisters. Some would even like to have the same rules as their friends (who live in different households). But who determines rules? That’s the corker because earthly rules aren’t established by some overlying principle, but rather by the persons in power. Thus those rules have subjective connotations which almost always serve the benefit of those in charge.

God is the only one who is different.

God’s rules for creation emanate, not from a personal desire to have His own way, but rather from His holy character. His rules are always for our good. They are always just. They are always loving. They are always merciful.

So why do we buck against those kinds of rules? Because we are, by nature, rebellious. We want our own way; we want to set the rules. Think about it. How many of us wouldn’t jump at the chance to be "boss for the day?" How many of us couldn’t wait to become parents so we could raise our children differently than we were raised? Why? Because we knew a better way than our parents. We are born rebellious and most of us stay, at least in some ways, rebellious. This is why the Bible talks so much about submission and obedience. We have to bend our own wills to God’s will. That doesn’t come naturally and there’s no easy button. It’s something we learn by practice, doing it every moment of every day. And when we fail, we confess that sin, receive forgiveness, and begin again.

What do the rebellious look like? They are . . .

• grumblers
• complainers
• braggers
• manipulators
• do whatever they feel like

Does that ever describe you? I know that it describes me. That hurts me to say that, but I have to be truthful. What are the opposites of these traits?

• those who are thankful
• those who trust God to work things out
• those who are humble
• those who pray for others
• those who do God’s will

The Lord is coming for me. He is coming for you. Because He is loving, merciful, and kind, He has offered salvation to us through the death of His only Son. If we have accepted that salvation, He will meet us with open arms as His beloved child. If we have rejected that salvation, He will meet us with His justice which demands our death for our rebellion.

The Lord is coming.

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

We Live in a Dangerous Age: Jude 1:8-13

Jude 1:8-13

"Yet these false teachers, who claim authority from their dreams, live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at the power of the glorious ones. But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse Satan of blasphemy, but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you." (This took place when Michael was arguing with Satan about Moses’ body.) But these people mock and curse the things they do not understand. Like animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and they bring about their own destruction. How terrible it will be for them! For they follow the evil example of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they will do anything for money. And like Korah, they will perish because of their rebellion. When these people join you in fellowship meals celebrating the love of the Lord, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are shameless in the way they care only about themselves. They are like clouds blowing over dry land without giving rain, promising much but producing nothing. They are like trees without fruit at harvest time. They are not only dead but doubly dead, for they have been pulled out by the roots. They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the dirty foam of their shameful deeds. They are wandering stars, heading for everlasting gloom and darkness."
We live in a dangerous age!

I cannot say that often enough or loud enough: We . . . live . . . in . . . a . . . dangerous . . . age!

I recently read an article that a young friend of mine posted on Facebook. The article was by a young woman who claims she was a born-again Christian for some years and then, after going to graduate school, rejected her faith. (You can read the article here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/why-i-miss-being-a-born-again-christian).

She also claims that this phenomena is becoming more and more prevalent. And I wouldn’t disagree. I think that the Church has failed many who have come through its doors. In fact, this isn’t a new situation. More than twenty years ago, the Assemblies of God took the time to track their "new converts" and discovered that, after a year, fewer than 2% were actually still attending church.

We were never commanded to make converts! We have created a hit-and-run gospel and it is leaving far more victims in its wake than believers. We listened to false teachers who told us that this was the way of the Lord. It’s not! It never was.

Years ago, Ray Comfort, an evangelist from Australia, began to warn us about our tactics which created persons who were initially "saved" but later became vaccinated against Christianity (his words) due to their lack of discipleship. Being a Christian has never been about "accepting Jesus as your Savior" and has always been about becoming a disciple. The word in Hebrew is "talmid" and the connotation is much more than simply believing. It is literally becoming exactly like, in every way, the teacher you are following, in this case, Christ. It is a process which allows for few distractions and no self-indulgence. This is why the Lord Jesus said:

"If anyone comes to Me land does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26 NKJV)

Jesus was obviously not advocating that we hate our parents. Many other places in the Bible we are commanded to honor and respect our parents. What He meant is that we must have a singular focus in order to be a disciple; demands from the other things in life, regardless how intimate or precious, must be discarded in order to become a Christian in all that being a Christian means.

We have failed to communicate that to the world.

Instead, we have tried to market Christianity, to reduce it to a "Happy Meal," and to convince people that being a Christian can simply be another part of their healthy lifestyle. We have weakened the impact of a Holy God upon the life of a sinful person until Christianity has become slogans to be shouted at a ball game rather than a life-changing event that cannot be denied. We have tied ourselves to information systems (such as television and the Internet) rather than immersing ourselves in the Holy Word, weakening our own knowledge of our Savior until we have no answers for those who would try us out and then leave for something that feels more authentic. We have listened to the false teachers who have told us that this is the way to go, paid them our money, given them our allegiance, and then sat crying in the streets, wondering why society is falling around us.

Society isn’t the problem; we are! And it’s time that we begin to take responsibility where responsibility lies and step up to the plate. It’s time that we began to seek true teachers rather than the ones who tell us what we want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). It’s time we began to take our Christianity seriously, to become the disciples the Lord Jesus longs for us to be, and to be that salt and light in the world. Otherwise, we might as well pack it up and go home. For the Lord and for us, there is no middle ground.

　

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Facing Problems -- Luke 12:6-7

Luke 12:6-7

"What is the price of five sparrows? A couple of pennies? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows." (NLT)

It’s sparrow time in Big Bear. The custodians hate them; I love them. But regardless, they often try to take over the school I work at with their mud nests, tucking them up in the beams of the porch overhangs. This year, I must have seven nests over the ramp to my classroom door. Rather than single nests, it looks like bird apartment buildings! The sparrows flit and fly around, sometimes trying to dive bomb the students or staff as they walk across the asphalt bus lines between the portable classrooms (where I am) and the main building.

One of the things I’m always impressed about the sparrows is how small they are. Two or more would fit into the palm of your hand. And when one of their eggs falls out of the nest onto the ground, they are tiny, like the size of a large jelly bean. Luke tells us that the price of sparrows in his day was five for a few pennies. Very small in size. Very small in value.

"Yet God does not forget a single one of them."

Our God isn’t too big not to be concerned about even the smallest of our problems, the tiniest hurt, the most inconsequential worry.

Right now I have friends with problems. To all of us, our problems seem immense, consuming, even overwhelming. Objectively compared, it may be that some problems are larger than others. But that never matters. A problem is like a splinter. One splinter may be smaller than another, but they all hurt; they all nag at our core and cause us to focus on that which is other than the Lord’s beautiful face.

The Father knows what concerns us and He is already working it out for us. As Christians, we often forget that we live win-win lives. We cannot lose! He has promised "everything work(s) together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" (Romans 8:28 NLT). Thus, as hard as the situation is we find ourselves in, as much pain as we are experiencing, as complicated as the circumstances are, He is working all of it for our good.

What then should be our response? Our first response should be prayer, prayer, and more prayer. 1n 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Paul admonishes us to pray without stopping. And in v. 17, "in everything, give thanks." So, before, in the midst, and after whatever it is that consumes us, we are to pray. Pray, intercede, give thanks. First and foremost, always, pray.

Secondly, we should then make every effort to live the fruit of the Holy Spirit: "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

What I’m learning about the fruit of the Spirit is that there is no self-protection listed here. Living the fruit of the Spirit is risky. It puts us out there, in harm’s way, allowing others to possibly take advantage of us, to hurt us. But what happens–and this is the amazing spiritual truth–that when we put God in control and live the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, He becomes our protector, working out the situation in His power and wisdom for our good! And to be honest, I’d far rather have the Lord protecting me than me trying to protect myself. I’m not very good at it, but He is my shield, my banner: Jehovah-Nissi. And what is also amazing is that, as I live out the fruit of the Spirit, many situations defuse. Because when you get two people trying to protect and defend themselves, all that happens is chaos and hurt. But when you reach out in love, in patience, in kindness, in gentleness, the problems that existed begin to diminish.

Father, help me today to live your fruit in my life and to trust you to take care of the problems that face me, whatever their size or intensity. Your solutions are always far better than mine!

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Self-Control versus Self-Indulgence (Jude 1:3-4)

Jude 1:3-4

"Beloved, being very eager to write to you of our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For admission has been secretly gained by some who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
The description of the Christian life is filled with opposites; we are supposed to be this and not supposed to be that. We are supposed to do this and not supposed to do that. As a teacher who deals with student behavior, it can be difficult only to focus on one side of the equation. Sometimes we need to know what we should do and know what we shouldn’t do.

Back in the 60's, a new idea came into the Church, particularly the American Church. It was the idea that God loves us regardless of our appearance or our lifestyle. That, in itself, is true. But it is not entirely true. As my pastor often says, "God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you just the way you are." In other words, we come to God honestly ("This is who I am"), but we don’t stay as that person. Our relationship with the Lord should move us from where we are to becoming more and more like Christ. We should not only be discontent with our sin, we should be ashamed to the extent that we work, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to change! We should want to not sin. And that "want" should come, not from our emotions, but from the knowledge that we have been saved by a sinless God Who desires that we choose righteousness over sin.

In these two verses, Jude describes a situation where ungodly people have come into the Church, posing as Christians, but are trying to convince the believers that it is okay to continue to embrace sin. The word "licentiousness" is interesting. It has a number of connotations.

Licentious, in English, means lacking legal or moral restraints, marked by disregard for strict rules of correctness. In other words, believing that the rules don’t apply to us; we can choose to sin and not worry about it. After all, Christ died for our sins, so it doesn’t really matter what we do. The apostle Paul addressed this very issue in Romans 6:

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (v. 1-2, NRSV)

Shall we continue in sin . . . for whatever reason . . . once we are saved? Paul (and the Holy Spirit) say emphatically, "No!" It doesn’t matter that this sin, these habits, these behavior patterns, are who we are. We weren’t saved to continue to be "who we are." We were saved to become like Christ! We were saved to choose the fruit of the Spirit, not the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5).

The problem is that, even after we saved, the Lord continues to give us–and to honor–our free will. We can choose at any moment who we want to be, what we want to do. If we choose sin, while God may create circumstances to try to compel us back to Him, He will not forcibly make us love Him or obey Him. He will, instead, allow us to reap the consequences of our choices. And that include even the possibility to rejecting the salvation once so freely embraced.

Strong’s defines aselgeia (G766) (translated here as "licentiousness") as "unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence." And while this is about sexual lust, it is not only about sexual lust. It is much more about rebellion, about refusing to change our behavior so that we don’t have to obey anyone else. It is about refusing to submit to the will of God as outlined in the Word and as taught by His godly teachers and preachers.

Beloved, we have embraced those teachers and teachings that have allowed us to remain in our own self-indulgence. We want salvation in that we don’t want to go to hell, but we also want to be able to continue to live with our creature comforts. We are willing to sacrifice in some areas as long as we can indulge in others, while the point was to discipline and sacrifice in all areas so that we could indulge in communion with the Holy Spirit and that alone! But we aren’t content with God; we also want _____ (and how we fill in that blank differs with all of us, but the fact that blank exists at all is the problem).

Jude tells us to "contend for the faith." This connotes an active struggle. In other words, this isn’t something natural. We won’t easily embrace the things of God. We need to spend time preparing (studying the Word and praying), encouraging each other as we see both failures and successes, and practicing over and over what it means to live the Christian life. We need to memorize scriptures (such as Galatians 5) so that we can easily describe what our lives should look like and we need to constantly be confessing our sin when we fail to allow God to direct our footsteps (and our mouths)!

A Church infiltrated is a Church that will soon fall. A Church contending for the faith is a Church that will stand. Where do you want to belong?

　

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Mercy, Peace, and Love . . . Multiplied (Jude 1:2)

Jude 1:2

"May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you."

I don’t know about you, but when reading the epistles, I often breeze over the salutations, thinking them to be merely form and not much substance. Sort of like reading a letter that has "Dear . . ." and "Regarding" at the beginning.

Except . . . each salutation at the beginning of the New Testament epistles is different . . . and these are books Spirit-breathed. In other words, this isn’t just Jude writing to the Church; this is God the Father writing. These are the things that He wants to say to us and His words are never form without substance. They are always substance.

• May mercy be multiplied to you.
• May peace be multiplied to you.
• May love be multiplied to you.

Mercy . . . peace . . . love.

I believe that not only the words themselves but the order has significance for our lives, so why mercy first? Why not love first? And why peace after mercy and before love?


Mercy
Mercy is God’s patience at work. It is His understanding that we are sinners desperately in need of salvation and unable of obtaining it ourselves. It is His willingness, because of the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, to extend forgiveness instead of judgment to us.

Vine’s Dictionary explains it like this:

"eleos is the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it. It is used of God, who is rich in mercy, and who has provided salvation for all men."

I am a sinner. There can be no equivocation about that. If there is even once in my life where I wasn’t loving, kind, generous, patient, or self-controlled (and there are many more than one instance), I have demonstrated my sinfulness. And the "wages" or natural consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). It is only because of God’s mercy—His compassion—toward me, His fallen creation, that I have a chance for life. And that chance has been provided through the death and resurrection of my Savior, the Lord Jesus.

Salvation must come before anything else. Without it—when I am in a state of spiritual death—God cannot interact with me. Sin cannot come into His presence. And only He, through His sinlessness, could make a way to remake me into a sinless being. Thus, God sees me through the perfect sinlessness of the Lord Jesus. This transformation must occur before I can have any other communication or relationship with God. Thus, mercy must come first.


Peace
As Westerners, we have a very different idea of peace. Our concept of peace is almost always about the freedom from something else . . . the freedom from discord, the freedom from conflict, the freedom from distress. The Jewish concept of peace, in their word "shalom," is entirely different. It means freedom with . . . and the "with" is God. Shalom means freedom or peace between me and God. It is the resolution of the conflict that occurs, but this peace isn’t about resolving circumstantial conflict. It is about resolving the conflict between me and God due to sin. Thus, this peace is about salvation, about the ability to come into His presence boldly because I have accepted the saving act of the Lord Jesus on the cross.

Mercy . . . then peace. We cannot have peace without mercy and we cannot have peace first. We cannot be reconciled to God without recognizing that we first desperately need His mercy—His salvation—in order to then have peace between Him and us.


Love
While God’s love is always present, we cannot experience it without first being reconciled to Him. Romans 5:10 tells us that prior to salvation we were God’s enemies. We can’t have God’s love while we are His enemies. His friends—His children—experience His love. His enemies experience His judgment.

This is why it’s wrong to state that all people are children of God. Until we are saved, until we are adopted into His family, we are His creation, but not His children. We only become His children once we are saved.

God loves all people all the time. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:10). But we cannot experience that love until we are reconciled to Him. And we can’t be reconciled without first experiencing His mercy and His peace. It is only then that we can understand and experience God’s love for us.

Multiplied

When Jude writes that he wants us to have mercy, peace and then love multiplied, he is recognizing that we are habitual sinners who need over and over again God’s forgiveness and His reconciliation with us. Not only that, but the word also means increased. Jude wishes that our experience, our relationship with God increase each day. When we are fully willing to recognize our sin, to confess it, and to understand that we are desperately in need of forgiveness, it is only then that we can embrace the mercy, peace, and love that God is instantly willing to give to us through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross.

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Servants of Jesus Christ: Called, loved, kept (Jude 1:1)

Jude 1:1

"Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ" (NRSV)

Just in this small introduction we learn four things about our standing in the Lord, four characteristics that we become when we are grafted into the family of God:

• We become servants of Jesus Christ
• We are called
• We are loved by God the Father
• We are kept for Jesus Christ

What are all those things and how do they affect who we are?


Servants of Jesus Christ
During the First Century (and before) there were basically three ways one could become a slave or bondman/bondmaid: (1) One could become a slave during a battle, being on the losing side, and then being captured by the victors. (2) One could be sold into slavery by someone else (Think about Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers). (3) One could sell themselves into slavery as a result of a debt. The Greek word doulos literally means "one who gives himself up to the will of another" (Vine’s).

In one sense, as sinners, we have a debt, the debt of sin. When we give ourselves up to the will of the Holy Spirit, we are placing ourselves in His care as His slaves as a means to begin to pay the debt, a debt which, of course, we can never repay!

In another sense, Paul, in Romans 6:6, stated that we are either slaves to sin or slaves to the Lord. Those who aren’t saved are slaves to sin. Think of it! They have given themselves up to the will of sin and must follow that master. We who are saved—who are part of the family of God—have willingly given ourselves up to the will of the Lord.

I think for me, and perhaps for many of us, the problem comes that we believe there is a third option—giving ourselves up to our own will. According to Romans, there are only two choices, submitting to the will of sin or submitting to the will of God. There is no third, or no neutral, other choice. As Christians, our responsibility—and our free choice—is to give ourselves up to God’s will, to listen to His voice through His word and through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.

The question becomes, can I truly call myself a servant of Jesus Christ? Are my actions, my choices, my directions in life wholly determined by His will . . . or by my own? My own will comes from a sinful nature, that old person who was surrendered wholly to sin. As someone who has been saved by the power of the cross, I need to give myself up to the will of the Father. And how easy that really should be! God is loving, kind, generous, forgiving, and patient! He only wants the best for me all the time. I need to fully surrender to His will and to discover then what He has planned for me.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes." (Jeremiah 29:11-14a NLT)


We Are Called
According to Strong’s (G2822), kletos means to be divinely selected and appointed. Calling, then, is a two-pronged identity. First, we are selected by God. That doesn’t mean that God selected some and not others. No, we know that it is God’s will that all would be saved.

"The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 NRSV)

We are all selected to receive salvation, but only some respond. Billheimer is convinced that one of the reasons that only some respond is a lack of prayer on the part of the Church:

"Without violating the free moral responsibility of any individual, the Church, by means of persistent, believing intercession, may so release the Spirit of God upon a soul that he will find it easier to yield to the Spirit’s tender wooing and be saved than to continue in his rebellion.

"God will not go over the Church’s head to do things in spite of her, because this would abort His plan to bring her to full maturity in the Son. He will therefore do nothing without her. To this John Wesley agreed when he said, ‘God does nothing but in answer to prayer.’" (Paul Billheimer, Destined for the Throne, p. 17).

Thus, we are all called in the sense that we are all selected. God has chosen to give the life of His precious Son in order to save His own creation, mankind. The fact that all are selected doesn’t make salvation any less wonderful. Think about those you love who are not yet saved. Don’t you wish for them to know the Lord Jesus as you do? You wouldn’t want God to have not selected them, those you love?

But there is being selected and accepting the selection. I could go on a job interview and be selected for that position. But if I don’t show up for work, then the selection becomes null and void. If I refuse to submit myself to the will of God, the fact that He has selected me comes to naught. The loved ones you want saved, God has selected them. We need to be in continuing, fervent prayer for their salvation.

Because of kletos, we are also appointed. As a part of the universal Church, we each have a specific place and purpose. And those purposes may even change throughout the seasons of our lives. As we grow and mature in the Lord, as our circumstances change, God moves us into different situations. Our job isn’t to cling to the past or long for the future, but rather do what He has put our hands to do today. Our purpose is to exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit in each interaction that we have during this day, to focus on the people that He so loves and to be His hand to them.


We Are Loved
Being loved by God is such a basic Christian belief that I think we often just run over it without basking in the idea that God, the Creator of the universe, the One who made all, controls all, determines all loves me! It doesn’t matter what my circumstances or what my problems. It doesn’t matter that I have sins and habits that still plague me. God loves ME! And He loves YOU! He loves us. John 3:16 begins: "God so loved the world that He gave . . ." He gave His Son. And He continues to give . . . His provision, His protection, His direction . . . His love!

All of us want to be loved. We crave the attention and affection that comes from someone loving us. And yet every earthly relationship will fail us. We will fail others. But God’s love cannot fail, will not stop. Our desire to be loved has been answered through His love. We need only recognize it, embrace it, bask in it. The Father loves us! There is nothing else so precious, nothing else so necessary.


We Are Kept
This is an interesting word, tereo. It means, in this context, keeping the eye upon. God is keeping His eye on us. He is watching us, but not only watching. As He watches, He takes care of us. There isn’t one thing in our lives that He isn’t aware of. There isn’t one need that He hasn’t already met. There isn’t one problem that He isn’t already solving.

If you think about that, there is great freedom in living, understanding what God is already doing in our lives. We are free not to worry about the future, not to bemoan the past! God is taking care of it all (and much more adroitly than we ever could). We are free to live today in the fruit of the Spirit and not concern ourselves with how things seem to be turning out. The Father—OUR Father—is in control and is going to take care of everything! Even when we sleep, even when we fail to think of Him, even in the most dire circumstances, He is keeping His eye upon us, making provisions at every step.

We are His slaves, willingly surrendered to His will, and in becoming this, we are called and appointed, we are kept, and we are loved. Is there anything else? Not for me!　

　

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com