Romans 15:13 ~ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing

Edward was the tall man in this (re-done) skit at Church in 2010

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Psalm 16:9
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.


Isaiah 55:12
For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands


Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 4:7
You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.


Colossians 1:11
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.

Psalm 33:21
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

Romans 15:32
So that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.


Romans 3:1-9:33
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say?


Proverbs 2:1-5
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.


Psalm 7
17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.


Father God we ask for Your Blessings of Honest Communication. We ask motivations be corrected to the up building of Your Glory.

We pray for what feels weak to be strengthened, talk is proven trustworthy, for Trust to increase. And Encouragement and Honor. We ask the Body of Christ would effectively walk away from what is wrong, and strengthen individuals in His ways, create a harbor for marriage, and to include families blending the parts of the Body to be a whole. And we cover our prayer with the strong name of Jesus - Love. Amen.

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Psalm 135 ~ The Lord is great and our Lord is above all gods

Psalm 135 ~ New American Standard Bible

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD;
Praise Him, O servants of the LORD,
2 You who stand in the house of the LORD,
In the courts of the house of our God!

~ Gabriel

3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His own possession.


5 For I know that the LORD is great
And that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the LORD pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.

7 He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who makes lightnings for the rain,
Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.

8 He smote the firstborn of Egypt,
Both of man and beast.
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

10 He smote many nations
And slew mighty kings,
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
And Og, king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 And He gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.

13 Your name, O LORD, is everlasting,
Your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations.

14 For the LORD will judge His people
And will have compassion on His servants.

[Lamintations 3:22-24
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." }


15 The idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.

18 Those who make them will be like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

19 O house of Israel, bless the LORD;
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;
20 O house of Levi, bless the LORD;
You who revere the LORD, bless the LORD.
21 Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!

~ For I know that the LORD is great
And that our Lord is above all gods.

Why would God want us to be victorious in Him?


Exodus 33:19
And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

 

Exodus 34:6,7
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.


Psalm 16:2
I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."


Psalm 104:31
May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works -

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.



Psalm 145:9
The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.


1 John 4:14
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.




Psalm 8

1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

Today I heard the most marvelous and sad set of events. A teenager on fire for the Lord marries, sorta, and has a child. Her common-law husband sells drugs and sends her out to pick up or deliver. A car accident happens and now she is in custody of the police in the ICU. Where is the fruit of her life?

Recently her only two year old child, a daughter, came to the family and she made all the family get down and kneel and pray. This is the fruit of this young mother. For these complicated reasons - God does not give up on us. Her family is so worried for her and the baby - pray His miraculous help for them.

Romans 8:20,21
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Psalm 11
4The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.

Luke 2:12-14

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Ephesians 3
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 79:8
Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.

2 Chronicles 36:15
The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.


Psalm 103

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

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Psalm 107 ~ the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast Love endures forever!

Psalm 107

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits' end.^{[all their wisdom was dried up]}
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Life can be crunchy.

Very oddly crunchy.

When you get to almost middle age, Life. Can. Hand. You. Crunchy. Hair.


Hare today gone tomorrow.


It's an odd thing what two millenniums can do to polite. Winston Churchill knew something of right and wrong.

I like a man who grins when he fights.

If Hitler invaded hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.

I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.

Winston Churchill


And as I am in recovery for crunchy hair - I'd have to say I have lived down some disapproval.
And some "religious" intolerance for loving Jesus.
{Don't we all vastly prefer the reward of being a child of God over 'religious'?]

Imagine being thrown out of a Facebook Group in Texas. Imagine this is done quietly. Sorta. Don't imagine. Be informed. Be shocked. Ask questions.

“You can't pick and choose which types of freedom you want to defend. You must defend all of it or be against all of it.”
― Scott Howard Phillips

Crunchy Moms
Feel free to ask questions and join discussions with other moms here. Just remember there may be some 'hot' topics and to respect others. Fully live intentionally in a holistic, life honoring manner. The definition is left broad, because many topics are worth exploring. Among these topics would be: local food systems, clean food choices, natural and minimally invasive (true "health") care, life-honoring child care, natural child birth options, chemical-free home living, pure water, fitness... etc...

Lauren goes to my Church. This week, Lauren and her entire family plus another Church child - were in a weather related traffic accident. The car was rolled over and totaled. She posted a picture of the totaled car and a brief thanks to God for His mercy in sparing their lives on her membership status as a Crunchy FB Mom.

Birds without trees can never feel free.”
― Leena Ahmad Almashat, Harmony Letters

Freedom of Information. "A Family Thing"
Aunt T.: If he looks white it's 'cause his daddy's white. I don't know how he look, I can't see him like you can, and don't need to. I don't have the blessing of being able to separate people by lookin' at 'em any more.

The moderator of the site - asked Lauren if she understood the pain she had just inflicted for praising God for their lives. She went on to say did Lauren believe she was more special and blessed for having survived. Did Lauren think that God loves her and her family more than children who suffer and die in other areas of the world??? Why do Christians Impose Their Belief On Others?

Lauren was allowed to face the ridicule for one day. And quietly removed from the membership.

Ma'am. Living life abundantly is being open minded. Have you experienced child death? I have, let's talk.

Lauren was being grateful for what she has - Today. Surely you can open your heart some and rejoice with her. She is expressing joy. I've held my own child in my arms - she was smiling peacefully in departure. Let us be open hands and reason together.

Do you still feel that you are open enough? Gandhi said he found reason to love Jesus, just not the Christians.

Ghandi is regarded as peaceful. So...
let's see why Gandhi might find a way for this to be reasoned out.


Luke 9:50
Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

You and Lauren support a lot of the same things in life. You were not being threatened.

Gandhi liked Jesus for this one trick - specifically given during the Exodus - and repeated in Scripture - when life throws blessings and throws opportunities for a prayerful solution -

Proverbs 4:27
Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Being centered is Plan.

Isaiah 42:3
A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.

Timing. Having said you know car accidents rather well, did you remember that after coming close to losing family - you have a time period of shock and worry.

Life honoring?
Isaiah 35:3,4
Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Perhaps you have both experienced this trauma but at opposite ends of the same spectrum. The spectrum ends up in the Lord's hands, eventually.


Who is Jesus to Lauren? 
God is a Mom. 
Genesis records Adam was both male and female. God is open minded to open hands and hearts. Jesus only lived to be 33 years old, having walked our lives with vim and vigor. Proclaiming mercy over sacrifice. Daily.

Matthew 23:37 -
How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings

Matthew 9:36 -
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.

What would Jesus do with this tussle, without complete circle communication, between His child Lauren and you, His child?

Isaiah 40

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40 is about your comment that life is not crunchy but sometimes exceedingly fragile. God assures us in this passage about recovery, healing, passing,

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.


Because:

26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
...not one is missing.


For your pain, dear moderator, we grieve with you. For your intolerance we cry - open your hands and your ears. For your judgment - we ask peace.

For your life experience, open your sails.

For greater peace, open your heart. God is not against you. God is For You. God is Love.

Loves has been born of God and knows God.

Judge not, that you be not judged.

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.





”It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.” -Albus Dumbledore, Philosopher’s Stone. In case you didn't notice, magical Harry Potter died that goodness might live. It's all His Story, just tweeked a little.


I bet, dear moderator, you might just reconsider. All you need is a tall ship and a Star to sail her by. Gandhi would probably agree. 
 We just call our star an unspoken testimony and wisdom proclaiming Jesus Christ-
 was born - 
for all the world.

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Stand for your Freedoms

Religious freedoms - very important to the people who arrived in the United States for this very integral part of our Nation. Gene Simmons is an Israeli-born American. His mother, Florence and her brother, Larry Klein, were the only members of the family to survive the Holocaust. He used to invest in Tweed, however on October 1, 2011 Gene Simmons married Shannon proving to America again that all that good parenting - wasn't a show. Gotta love Love. Awww.

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Zechariah 12 ~ a spirit of grace and supplication

Jerusalem, Damascus Gate. Rebuilt in 1542, presumably based upon archaeology, it is the 3rd Damascus Gate.

Zechariah 12 ~ New International Version

1 This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: 2 "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.'

6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

7 "The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

An impossible miracle of God's. God is a fortress, a shield to .... an entire nation. Only God could bring about a miracle to a country so attacked.

Did you know the family of David have kept their lineage and they come together, from all over the world to have family reunions. According to God, David's line continues today.

In the middle of such a great victory, the people do not dance a dance of victory, instead they know only God can have done this and they are far from worthy. God knows how poorly we really listen and learn. So many things in the Scriptures repeat and repeat. The water parted in front of the Children of Israel several times. Water was a wall, and the wall of Jericho fell. Jesus was called upon to heal and was met with small faith, many times. John 14 is one of the verses telling us we pray in faith to accomplish His Will. Praying with faith that His Will be done. The Body of Christ, calling upon Him, to ask for our lives to be to His Glory and the Proclaimation of His Mercy and Enduring Love.

Zechariah tells us about Jesus being killed, how multitudes came not to the rural areas, but to God's Temple to learn more about Jesus. The Word of God says so in Acts 5.

Because the Word of God is living and active, this is a story which will repeat when the world is facing the rebuilding of the Temple, when we are coming to the end days the Lord has told us about since the time of Daniel in 600 B.C.

This impossible story occurred to the people of God during the reign of Hezekiah when the Assyrian Empire didn't destroy Judah. The new country of Israel has almost been wiped from the face of the earth, surrounded by enemies in impossible odds. Israel exists today. The miracle will come again. Rejoice. We are the Easter people.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Give us the Day! We Climb the High Path believing the Kingdom Heaven is like a tree, where the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. Let your Body Jesus, Your Church nest in in You - resting and comforted. Let us rest, calmed and quieted, gathered in Your pinions. Your wings, Father God.

Let not our heart be troubled, Jesus You are the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Jesus. Lord, show us Your will as be enough for us. Jesus - we ask in Your name, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. We ask You, Jesus, to see and know and do Your will and we will do it. Help us to keep Your commandments.

We ask Your Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will send, will teach all things and will remind us of everything You said giving Peace to our families and Churches and communities and nations to the world. Teach us this - let not our hearts be troubled and not to be afraid.

We ask for the Body of Christ to be one as Your Sacrifice, Jesus, made this possible. Your Victory over death. We commit our life as Your Family to You this day and submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus and the blood of His redemptive power.

Thank you, Jesus, is in us and Your Spirit dwells in us, Your Body. Thank you when You look upon us, You only see righteousness, worthiness, holiness, and purity, because Jesus cancelled all our guilt and shame on the cross.

Thank You, You created us to be who You want us to be. We are Your children. Help our community to be beautiful in Your sight. Today we choose to see ourselves as You see us, to believe in our life in You as You believe in us and to love each other as You love us. Thank you that the resurrection power of Your presence is living in us as individuals and in your Church known as HopePointe.

We receive everything You desire for us this day. In awareness, our gratitude has not prevailed. We go forth in You in a New Day. Renewed in You, Lord Jesus.

Father, we bind our will to Your will, to Your plans and purposes for us. We bind our minds to the Mind of Jesus, hearing Your thoughts in our thoughts. We bind our emotions to the healing balance and comfort of Your Holy Spirit.

We put aside all the wrong beliefs, wrong attitudes, excuses, deception, false religion and denial. We bind the effects and influences and wrong words spoken about us or to us, and we bind the works of the enemy from us as individuals, marriages or families. We affirm love as going the extra two miles You spoke of.

Let's pray this until Easter and watch for the rewards Father God tells us accompany prayer. Knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord

Today, Lord Jesus, Your will be done on earth (at HopePointe, in our families, communtities and nations) as it is in Heaven. Amen.

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