Today's Word

Today's Word comes from last night's study. I had been asking the Lord what He wanted people to hear and this is where He led me. The actual study was comprised of Deu 10:12--11:32. It is a fitting section of Scripture, because in some ways the U.S. is like ancient Israel. 

Many traveled here for religious freedom, seeking to worship and serve the God of the Bible. The land had to be fought for, but was rich in "milk and honey". Also, like ancient Israel, this nation will only stand as long as God is our God. 

The following excerpt contains His instructions on how keep a right relationship with Him. While, certainly, we have been released from the need to sacrifice animals, we have not been released from the need to respect Him for Who He truly is.


And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? -- Deu 10:12-13

If this is what God expected of Israel, why do we now think our sins and lack of real commitment to Him is of no consequence? Christ died for our sins. This is true, but He did not die that we might continue in them. He did not die that we might treat Him as our servant. He did not die that the things He regards should not be our concern. No, Christ died that our forgiveness might be full, that in our efforts to serve Him -- with all that we are, with all that we have, with all that we can give -- might not be hindered by our sin.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us therefore repent, and turn to the task at hand -- worshiping and serving the Lord our God.

From the "Air of Heaven", "Regarding Salvation", "A Desire to Obey"

Thy word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against Thee. – Psa 119:11

When I first accepted Christ, I walked the aisle, repented from my sins, and was assured by the pastor that I was eternally and irrevocably saved. He believed that one could not fall out of God’s hand; therefore, once saved always saved. Years later, while my first husband was at seminary, he took on the same attitude. It became one of our primary points of dispute.

I have read the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation, more times than I can count. I spent every spare moment of every day for months reading it and seeking Him. I read and prayed and read and prayed some more. I began to see connecting factors throughout the entire set of books. The constant devotion to knowing and growing closer to Him also led to the Lord speaking quite clearly.

I was pondering the way we can learn so much by studying His word; how He teaches us without regard to who we are and the Lord said something that really gave me pause. I don’t remember His actual words. It’s been many years ago now, but it was something along the lines of, “Yes, Betty, but it is only true if one actually practices it. Talking about it isn’t enough.”

That prompted a search through the Scriptures on the need for the evidence of Salvation in our lives. What I found surprised me and thoroughly annoyed my husband. While God is certainly capable of keeping us, He will not force us to stay. The sad reality is that people walk away from Him all the time. The Pastor was right. He doesn’t drop us. What he failed to factor in is free will, which has caused many to just walk away.

And He spoke many things to them in parables saying, “Behold the sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears let him hear.”  – Mat 13:3-9

Most Christians know this teaching, but not so many grasp its application to us.

“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” – Mat 13:18-23

Now, here’s the thing: many who are represented here by the seed sown on the path, the rocky place or amongst the thorns made a profession of faith. They walked the aisle, were baptized, and communed with the brethren. By some denominational definitions, they were completely and irrevocably saved. Not by God’s word, but by man’s.

“He who has My commands and keeps them, He it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” -- Joh 14:21

If we are truly saved, we will love Him; therefore, we will obey Him. If your life is full of unrepentant sin, if you plan to sin then repent, if you love sin or accept your sin, if you continue in the same sins year after year, if your own sin isn’t repulsive to you – all these things should set off alarms in your heart. This doesn’t mean we won’t sin, but it does mean that sin will not rule our lives.

It is critical for us that we realize that the holiness of God does not play favorites. So many think that because they once made a profession of faith, it does not matter what they do. But it absolutely does. We are saved by grace, but not to continue in sin. Christ died for those sins. His holy blood was shed that we might be redeemed. So sin is a tremendous issue for God. Acting like it isn't is a serious disrespect of the cross and not one He will long tolerate. Consider this:

"So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of My mouth." -- Rev 3:16

He does not say they are lost, but just that their love is mediocre. If a weak love is enough to make Him sick to His stomach, how much more must He be sickened by a lack of regard for His sacrifice? Is not the decision to be willfully sinful more offensive?

No, those who are truly His seek to obey Him. We do not consider sin acceptable. We see it as the instrument of His suffering and are deeply humbled by our involvement. So, we submit ourselves to Him and strive to live in the Spirit, abstaining from sin as much as possible.

Blankets, please!

I've recently discovered that the old abortuary here is back to doing abortions. So, I am preparing to return to active, on-site witnessing. Literally, I'll be pleading for the children's lives as mothers come to the mill to kill their children.

The last time this pit of hell was open I made, collected, and offered free handmade blankets to mothers as an incentive to choose life for their babies. Although it wasn't something that had been tried before, it proved to be a wonderfully effective deterrent. I stopped counting when we had given out over 1,000 blankets. The program was such a success that others were making and offering blankets, as well. So, I know that more -- probably many more -- than 1,000 children were saved by going that extra mile.

As a rule there are always willing witnesses who do not know how to crochet, quilt, etc. They have witnessed first hand the difference these blankets can make, but they just can't make them themselves. So, I have historically tried to keep them supplied, but one person can only do so much. Today, I am pleading with those of you who are crafty to help us help the children. Even if you can only make one here and there, God will bless that effort, and we will be eternally grateful.

If you can edge a pre-made quilt, we can use it. If you crochet, quilt, knit, sew -- or otherwise make baby blankets, we can use them to save children. I have already been busily working to get things rolling, but if things go as before -- and I pray they do -- I will not be able to do this by myself. So, anything you could do to help will be appreciated.

Here's the thing offering free blankets for children's lives is both a testimony that we truly value the children, and a representation of our faithful, abiding love for the Lord. It reflects Him to them, and make no mistake mothers do get it. They recognize and appreciate the extra effort. I've even had those who did not take the blankets stop and tell me just how deeply they appreciated the extraordinary regard.

I am also looking for copies of the New Testament or the book of John. I believe the New Testament we used before was called the "Hope" New Testament, but any decent translation will do. I already have some tracts. So, we'll use those, too, but it is a bonus to be able to give a copy of God's word to those caught up in this culture of death. In addition, baby clothes, diaper bags, and the like are also quite useful. I find displays of baby items to be quite good at catching a mother's eye. We give them to mothers, too, if they need them. So, it's good to have a supply on hand. Of course, I'll be taking a piece of art or a poster as I can get that together. (It has been quite awhile since we had a need in this area. So, I'm pretty much starting from scratch here.)

I realize that much of this sounds easily done, but it runs into quite the undertaking. Although I never ran the effort with an eye towards making money for myself, it has always taken money to do. In part that is because I prefer to equip and encourage other witnesses, and supply mothers where I can. We didn't get to 1,000 by just considering my own personal requirements. Even the art became an expense, because there were so many possible uses for it.

Please understand, although I have worked with some of the larger organizations in the past and surely will work with them here, I find it important to stay free from them. I don't work like they do. My priorities are different, and so is my approach. To be dependent on them would mean being obligated to them, and I know that to not be the way that God would have me work. He made me a gifted witness for the children. By His grace I was able to reach many mothers, even to the point of comforting those who had gone through with their abortion. So, I'll be sticking to what He has called me to. Please understand, I'm not putting the major organizations down. We just have a different way of doing the job. In my opinion, my way is better; but, of course, they would prefer theirs.

So, if you want to be involved in saving little children, but cannot be an onsite witness, this is an excellent alternative for you. In the past, I sent email updates to those interested. Though I'm not completely certain which form I'll use for reporting this time, there will be a report (for those involved) should any desire one. So, you will know when we reach a mother and, likely, when witnesses have something to share.

Children are dying here. Together we can do something positive to help them. My website is children-of-the-heart.com. You can leave a comment here or contact me through the site.


God's peace.

Last Night's Study

Dear Brothers & Sisters, I do not expect to be on the net much right now as I am in prayer for the Philippines (and others) and seriously ailing myself. However, my during Bible study last night certain Scripture seemed especially relevant. So, I want to share it with you.

But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man DO NOT even eat. 1 Cor 5:11

Do you not know that the wicked will NOT inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor 6:9-10

The entire discourse is about how we are to act towards those who present themselves as Christian, but clearly are not. Many of today's churches embrace people immersed in such sins under the pretense of "being Christ" to them. Brothers and sisters it is true that we need to be Christ to the dying. However, if we ignore sin in our midst, how are we to be perceived as different from the masses? The truth is we will not, because that leaven will work through us and, indeed, already has. For many now accept these sins as normal behavior.

I encourage you to read through Chapters 5 and 6 in Corinthians. Paul was adamant that the Corinthians not allow themselves to appear to embrace such sins. Look at what he says:

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast . . . 1 Cor 5:7

There's no wiggle room here. We are not to tolerate those who claim to be Christian, but clearly have no love for His laws. Again, this is not for the unsaved, but for the saved. We cannot be His beacon to the lost while we are embracing the darkness.

Pray for the Philippines, our brothers and sisters in North Korea, our brother Saeed, and the little children. Please ask our Heavenly Father to incline mothers to choose life. If your heart's not breaking for them, it should be. Their innocent blood is on us. Ask that this "god" of NK come to realize who the real God is. Ask that our merciful Father no longer allow this man to continue to kill those who recognize that he is just a man. Plead for mercy for the Philippines, and that our Lord use this to bring revival to them. Ask that revival break out in the prison where Brother Saeed is being held, and that the Lord comfort him and his family. Let us be together on these things before Him to His glory.

God's peace.

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More from "The Air of Heaven", "Why This Book Now", "Planted Seeds"

There is much distress these days over the destructive path our world seems to be on. In some ways we appear to be heading into a type of “dark age” or, as some believe, the end-times. Truth and, therefore, knowledge suffer increasingly at the hands of those of station and power. Freedom and peace are being replaced by control and fear; and life, itself, has been dramatically devalued.

Take, for example, the case of evolution and life. If man is no more than an elevated ape and life only begins when we quantify it as such, then what once was murder is now no more than a culling of the herd. Now, evolution is a highly unsubstantiated hypothesis, but by declaring it the origin of man, man’s value is remarkably diminished. He is not “made in the image of God”, because – by evolution’s reasoning – there is no God. So, man becomes just another animal like any other beast in the forest. And life, by this same reasoning, becomes expendable because where there is no God there is no great Maker to take offense at the destruction of His creation nor any Holy Supreme Being to fear – a very dark age, indeed.

As Christians we know this argument to be baseless and delusional, but it is representative of the type of logic being pressed upon us daily. As I’ve already noted, many say this perversion has come about because we are in the end-times. I believe the answer more directly relates to reaping what we have sown. We may well be in the last days, but I think our crops are producing as ordered.

With the freedom we’ve grown accustomed to disappearing like vanishing ink, natural disasters multiplying around us, relentless inflation, catastrophic unemployment, and strangling debt; I think it beneficial for us to take inventory of what we’ve seeded our lives with. A truly honest look will, I believe, reveal a fairly sobering reality.

Like ancient Israel – which fell away from God during Solomon’s reign -- we have abandoned our God – at least publicly. I don’t believe it a conscious choice – at least not by professing Christians; but rather, an attempt to present God as agreeable. In most cases this has resulted in ignoring the truth where it might be considered offensive, omitting or overlooking Scriptures that might alienate, and/or treating sin as immaterial. While it has been considered acceptable for Christ to have died for our sins, in some circles it has been deemed unreasonable for us to be required to abstain from those sins. Many focused on His love while ignoring His holiness altogether. Others seemed to want God to be viewed as some Spiritual rock star, forgetting that His presence far exceeds the need for such earthly embellishment. Ancient Israel did not even realize that God was angry with them, for the most part, neither do we.

Since His holiness is what resulted in our salvation, it is not an aspect we should even want to ignore nor will He allow us to. Given that we are to confess Him before men, our silence is, also, unacceptable. Again, it simply isn’t something He will long tolerate. Yet, we stood silently by while the seed that led to His removal from our public life was firmly planted in our institutions, our workplace, and our government.

Many even had the audacity to affirm and confirm publicly that their god had no real effect on anything other than their most private lives. Think for a moment about the politicians who have brazenly declared their ability to keep their personal beliefs separated from their very public choices. This silenced-idol-in-the-closet approach allowed them to appear righteous to a blind public while engaging in some seriously wicked dealings. Not only did they step away from God, but they slandered Him by implying that He would in any fashion tolerate such double-minded behavior.

Education is an excellent example of how those seeds of silent agreement have born fruit. At one time school began with prayer. The halls were safe, the level of education high, and the atmosphere one of respect. One ridiculous argument later, and our God was marched right down the hall and straight out the door. Soon after, History books were re-written to omit all reference to our Christian foundation. Science was degraded from the study of God’s creation to the desperate denial of any and all things God related, regardless of evidence – or, more accurately, lack thereof. Achievement levels were lowered, then lowered again. Sex-ed became more important than simple math and schools became combat zones where children struggled to survive, let alone learn.

Our founding fathers believed that children could not be taught without the Bible. One reason is that God’s word teaches respect. They knew that raising children to respect and fear God leads to a moral and responsible citizenry. Yet, we allowed the Bible to be removed from our public schools, because we did not want to offend unbelievers. Now most do not understand Who this Holy God really is or what He is capable of. We don’t fear Him. We don’t know Him. So, we don’t have the sense to fear Him.

Today students are actually punished for bringing their Bible to school, harassed for wanting to pray at school functions, and maligned for believing in God. The planted seed bore fruit matching its nature. That’s the way it works. We don’t get corn by planting broccoli and we don’t get freedom from emulating an ostrich. We planted a lack of respect for God and that’s exactly what is coming up in our fields – an utterly horrific lack of respect for our awesomely, all-powerful Creator. A lack of respect that is far more dangerous than all our worldly weapons combined.

And, our public life is not the only area suffering from a bad case of dandelions. Our churches have been over-run as well. Many pastors are more interested in filling the offering plate than reaching the lost. The same can be said for deacons, elders, and others in the ministry. Some churches are so fixated on prosperity that their focus has completely shifted away from God altogether. They try to trade the blessings of God for earthly riches, as if God could be fooled. These, weeds-in-the-pulpit, live lavish lives on the back of those hoping to cash in on God. They should have been plucked out like the tares they are. Instead, many flocked to them and the seeds that greed has born are both plentiful and devastating.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. – Gal 6:7-8

The need for opulence led to more turning away from the truth of God’s word and a rejection of the established church by many who truly belong to the body of Christ. (Of course they did not forsake Christ, Himself; but rather, the established church.) Obviously, this is not the only thing that emptied the churches, but it is one of the problems behind failing church attendance. And believers aren’t the only ones who fled.

It’s practically impossible to grasp the selflessness of Christ when presented Him by someone who clearly relishes an over-abundance of earthly treasure. Comprehending God’s holiness isn’t simplified by a leader’s milk-them-dry approach to personal finance, either. The fact is God just isn’t well represented in these churches – at least, not the God of the Bible. Greed is. Greed, selfishness, idolatry . . . but, not the holy God we seek. So, some who went to church looking for God just moved on. They were looking for holiness and holiness isn’t found in the greed of man.

Greed wasn’t the only well-tended seed in the church field. Ignoring the truth of Scripture was also tolerated to the point of bearing fruit. Denominations were more interested in arguing with each other than holding hard ground. However, much of that also ties back to the love of money, because most churches completely ignored major issues in order to keep members that might otherwise have strayed. In doing so, they kept some who only wanted their ears tickled and maintained their tax-free status, but separated themselves from God.

Obviously, these are not the only areas where what we have allowed to take root in our lives has born undesirable fruit, but you can see where this is going. This book is about those areas, Who He is, who we are supposed to be, and what we should be doing about it. It is also about the love of God and our love for Him. So, it is part love-song and part reality check.

The Holy God we claim to worship and serve has been seriously defamed and very publicly humiliated. We did not regard Him enough to keep Him or, perhaps, we just loved our sin so much more? Whatever the case, spurning Him publicly has led to a private and public separation. The idea that the jealous God of the Bible would tolerate a private relationship that is denied publicly is ridiculously delusional.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in Heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” – Exo 20:4-6

It helps to understand that since there is no sin in God, He and sin cannot cohabitate. The type of seeds we’ve been planting prove that we are neck deep in sin and the tolerance of sin. If we expect to spend eternity with God, we must be cleansed and live holy. If we want a nation blessed and protected by God, we must be a nation that embraces and honors His laws wholeheartedly. We cannot just say we are His and go on allowing His laws to be ignored. He simply won’t tolerate it. If we insist on acting like He is irrelevant, He will walk away from us. Much of the distress we’re witnessing is due to His hovering on the edge of abandoning us to our sins. If He does leave us, we can be certain He will also punish us -- as much as sign to others as a statement that, even though we rejected His authority over us, He is still the great I AM.

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” – Exo 3:14

The relevance of this statement is, of course, that He is the great Creator, the God of all time – past, present, and future; the God of Abraham and Isaac; the God that each of us -- whether we recognize it or not -- will answer to; the ultimate, supreme Authority over all, forever. It stands to reasons that if Supreme, His law is law whether we accept it as such or not.

In the Scriptures just prior to this proclamation, He gave Moses this beautiful, if sobering, insight regarding His holiness:

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside now, and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”

When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!”

And He said, “Here I am.”

Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” – Exo 3:1-5

I absolutely love the clarity of this piece of Scripture. Even the ground was made holy by His presence. Dirt! Common, ordinary, everyday dirt became holy when He drew near. We should take note of this, because being close -- obediently, spiritually close -- to God leads us to holiness, too.

I’m convinced that if we could get a handle on just how holy He is we simply would not rest until we made sure He had removed every single weed in our garden. I can’t say that that would straighten this world out, but I can assure you that it would make a very big difference in how we live in it. It would make a big difference in how we view our circumstances and it would make a big difference in how we deal with those circumstances. The holiness of God is no little thing. We’ve treated it like it is, but it isn’t.

This lack of regard for His holiness has led to confusion over what He expects of us and a disregard for His laws. We need to get reconnected to the reality of how that holiness affects us and our world. We need to seek Him. We need to turn from our everyday troubles and put His priorities first. We need to return to Him and commit to Him. We need revival. But we cannot and will not have it until we are honest about where we stand before Him, ready to give up our comfort for His call, ready to be broken, ready to be shown where we’ve missed it, and ready to understand where we’ve failed. Until we’re ready to ask Him to convict and prune us into fruitful vines, revival will not be ours.

Understand, I’m not talking about the “feel good” revival; but rather, a return to genuine closeness to God and the renewal of His protection. Some are seeing “feel good”, but few are seeing a return of His protection. No, what we are seeing is the unrelenting removal of His hedge of protection. Ask yourself this, do you feel safer today than you did 20 years ago? If you do, you’re not paying attention.

Before we can draw near enough to Him to breathe the air of Heaven, we need to acquire a deeper appreciation of Who it is that called us. We need remind ourselves of the true nature of God. Further, we need to explore who we are before Him and the nature of our relationship to Him.

From "The Air of Heaven, Regarding Salvation -- It's Alive"

The true Christian relationship is a living relationship. It is an unequal partnership to be sure, because He is our superior by far and we are the obvious underling. But it is still a partnership, because we are tied together. The only way we can mature is by partaking of Him – His word, His presence, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t need us, but He does desire us. So He gives and we take, but we must reach a point where we are also giving back.

In the beginning the Spirit does much for us. For instance, we are assigned angels. Again, this may be an area where some would draw back, but the Bible is full of references to angels. They’re not imagined beings. On the contrary, they are quite real.

Now when they had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.  – Mat 2:13

And the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Yeshua, who has been crucified. – Mat 28:5

And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and roused him, saying, “Get up quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. – Act 12:7

Now, in today’s world many find the idea that angels are still amongst us laughable. In reality, that attitude is like saying one doesn’t actually believe the Scriptural accounts of them. It’s an illogical and detrimental stance, because angels are still very much involved in our lives. Personally, I think we do far more harm pretending they don’t exist than dealing with their reality. I think that because angels are often the ones who deliver us, much like Peter from the jailhouse. In addition, they respond to our prayers -- those uttered in faith and coming from obedience. So, by denying them, we are, in fact, denying His power – at least one avenue of it.

Like us angels serve God, but unlike us they are not tied to this world. Many who see or hear them report it as through a vision or dream state, but they can speak as clearly or appear as tangibly as us. Perhaps the greatest misconception about them lies in thinking them weak or too full of joy to obey His Word. While they do rejoice at our salvation, they are also quite capable of taking out whole armies.

Then the angel of the Lord went out, and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead. – Isa 37:36

Fortunately, the legend about guardian angels happens to be true. I heard the call go out when I returned to service and I heard the two that answered. Since God is no respecter of persons, I tend to think that all believers have two. I’ve seen the ones assigned to me more than once through the years and must tell you I’m thoroughly impressed with their dedication. We really aren’t alone. The Lord does check in on us. He is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives, but the angels assigned to us stay with us as long as we are alive spiritually.

I had this beautiful experience a few years ago. I was greatly grieved over something. I can’t say for certain now what it was, but it weighed heavily on me. I lay on my couch weeping bitterly, pleading with the Lord to help me. In a brief dry-eyed moment, I saw one of those assigned to me bending over with his ear right up next to my mouth listening intently.

Suddenly, the Lord stood beside him asking, “What is wrong with her? Why is she so upset?”

Tender love, that’s what we get from our Lord when we seek Him with a broken heart. Don’t ever think He isn’t listening or doesn’t care. He is and does. He and those He sent to be with us are, too. We’re not left to our own defenses, nor expected to carry the weight of the world. We are to be looking to and expecting Him to be very much involved in our everyday lives, because our relationship is as alive as we are.