LOVE, TRUTH, AND JOY

John was an old man—the last of the Twelve—who writes 2 John, this small, but substantive letter.  Was it literally written to a sister in Christ, or a church using symbolic language?  That debate will be for another time—for now, we recognize that it is eternal truth for us!  Three themes dominate the text: love, truth, and joy. 

We begin with LOVE, as John does. Love is used four times, (v. 1, 3, 5-6). In the first two, there is a connection to truth. Indeed, in the last two, there is the implication of truth, as love is spoken of as being commanded. Love and truth walk hand in hand. Love without truth is a toxic empathy—not really love. It is tolerating the intolerable, condoning the sinful, even celebrating the evil. It is tantamount to giving someone a pat on the back on their way to hell! Love cares enough to confront with truth, yet ever with a heart of compassion. I have never forgotten what John Maxwell said, “People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” You can have a mouth full of theological propositions, but a heart empty of real compassion. 

So, we move on to TRUTH. Truth is mentioned five times, (v. 1 [twice], v. 2-4).  We may add a term synonymous with Gospel truth, and that is “doctrine,” referenced three times (twice in v. 9 and once in v. 10). In addition, the core of the letter is a call to confront error, (v. 7-11). While we must be reminded that love without truth is toxic empathy, truth without love is cruel brutality. We must, however, equip our people to discern deception and reject it. It is not nit-picking about peripheral matters where genuine Christians may disagree, but it is holding to courageous convictions concerning the core of Christianity. John speaks particularly of the doctrine of Christ. Every cult and false religion denies the incarnation—the Only Begotten Son of God, fully God and fully man—and the only Way, the sole Truth, and the unique source of Life. We are to do all we can to defeat such deception by wielding the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God!

Finally, John stresses JOY. Joy is referenced twice—once as “rejoiced,” (v. 4) and then as “joy,” in v. 12. Joy is the result of seeing the children of God walking in truth and love. Walking suggests progress—advancing in the things of God. Disciples have not arrived at perfection yet, for that awaits Heaven, but there ought to be progression in sanctification. Truth does not have to be taught with a scowl on the face and a growl in the voice. Doctrine ought to be declared with delight!  While, what I am sharing with you online I pray is helpful, there is nothing like being personally in the house of God with the people of God to hear the word of God as we engage in the worship of God for the glory of God!  John’s joy would be fully experienced as he saw his brothers and sisters face to face. May this be our reality on this Lord’s Day!

If you attend a liberal church where a false love is promoted to the exclusion of truth, get out as fast as you can!  Should you attend a legalistic church where truth is used to beat people down instead of lifting them up, find another church. If you attend a lifeless church, where it seems more like a funeral home than a joyful celebration, pray for revival to come, and if it does not, then go where you can rejoice in the Risen Lord! 

There are three other words that should claim our attention in John’s greeting: “Grace, mercy, and peace…from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ,” (v. 3). The bottom line is this: our capacity to express God’s love, to expound God’s truth, and to experience His joy springs from a genuine experience of salvation. Grace is receiving what we do not deserve—eternal life; mercy is not getting what we do deserve—no condemnation, being forgiven; peace is what results from these—peace with the Father through the Son!

IS THERE PROFESSED FAITH OR PRACTICAL FRUIT?

“Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.”’”
(Zechariah‬ ‭7:8-10‬‬)

Outwardly, we come to worship, and profess our faith, but far too often, inwardly, our hearts are far from God.  Our hearts have not been prepared for encountering God.

These verses in Zechariah connect the two. Justice, mercy and compassion are essential heart preparations for worship.  If we are not in a right relationship with people we aren’t in a right relationship with God. Jesus told us when we bring our gift to the altar and remember our brother has ought against us, we must first go to them, and attempt reconciliation, before our worship will be acceptable.  John said that if we can’t love our brother whom we can see, how can we claim to love a God we cannot see?

The fact is that where bitterness, anger, and an unforgiving spirit are manifest, God will not manifest His presence.  Yet, it is not enough to seek to remove these relational cancers. We must actively pursue justice, mercy, and compassion.

LOVING ENEMIES

Read 2 Kings 6:8-23.

Can we be more concerned with winning souls than winning arguments?

Syrian raiders invaded Israel. The power of God, however, blinded them, and Elisha the prophet leads them to Samaria, where inside the city walls, their vision is restored, and they are surrounded by Israeli forces. The King of Israel sees the opportunity for revenge. That is the natural reaction. But, instead, Elisha extends mercy and grace.

Think about it. The Syrian soldiers were merely submitting to their sovereign. They were blinded. The spiritual man overcomes evil with good. He conquers with love. Those on the winning side reach out to the losing side, realizing they are just following Satan’s orders. They are blind to the truth and we need to pray that their eyes would be opened.

We can win people by love. That’s the way our hearts were won. Who is our war with anyway? Not with sinners.  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12).

The Syrian soldiers were given mercy and grace. It was mercy that spared them from the death they deserved, and it was grace that gave them what they did not merit—a feast and freedom!  God has done that for us!  Now, He expects us to show mercy and grace to other sinners.

We must be careful that in our stand for God and for truth, that it doesn’t sound like an attack on the people Jesus died for. Can we speak against the act of homosexuality and witness to the homosexual? Can we cry against the act of abortion and reach out to the abortionist and those who have had abortions? Can we find the balance of Jesus who told the adulterous woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more?”  That balance is seen in that Jesus was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,” (Heb.7:26), and yet was called the “friend of...sinners” (Lk.7:34).

We must never compromise Biblical convictions. Yet, this same Bible contains these words:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matt.5:38-48).

THE SHOWING OF MERCY AND LONG-SUFFERING

“However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” (1 Timothy‬ ‭1:16‬‬)

Paul was overwhelmed by the thought that God would be merciful to him.  He described the way he was in 1 Timothy 1:13,15, “although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ...This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”

Imagine, this great defender of the faith had once been a denier of it.  He who became an apostle had been an antagonist. Paul identified himself as the biggest sinner in the world. That’s how he felt. But God had shown him mercy and had been long-suffering with him. None in the church would have suspected what their enemy would become,  but God changed him. That’s what He does—and He transformed me too!

How much God put up with in suffering so long with me!  I did virtually everything I could to die and go to hell, but He pursued me relentlessly!  God spared me and saved me.

He is patient and merciful each day. But, even though God is slow to anger, the flood of wrath building day by day will eventually burst through. None who have not cried out for mercy will then be spared.

What do we need to do about this truth? As a sinner without Christ, I must repent.  I must cry out as the wicked tax-collector, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” (Luke 18:13). As one saved by Christ, I ought rejoice.  I must proclaim with Paul that God has spared the chief of sinners!

Then, to us who have been shown mercy, we must show mercy.  We cannot expect God to give mercy to us, if we fail to grant mercy to others.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt.5:7). I ought to be able to suffer long with others like me, when a holy God has suffered long with me.  If I cannot express mercy and long-suffering, it means that I have not experienced it!

THE SUPPLY OF MERCY AND LONG-SUFFERING

David declares in Psalm 86:15 that God is “Long-suffering and abundant in mercy and truth.”  As there is a difference between grace and mercy, there is a difference between God’s long-suffering and His mercy, too.  Mercy has pity for the sinner while long-suffering has patience with the sinner.

Long-suffering does not arise from God’s lacking ability to judge us, but in loving power to restrain that ability.  Consider, Nahum 1:3.  “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet.”  Sin will eventually be judged if there is no repentance—usually delayed, though not ultimately denied.

Scripture is replete with examples.

Think of how patient God was in dealing with the first sinners, Adam and Eve—how He sought them and clothed them and though they were sentenced with death, that death was 930 years later for Adam. God endured the wickedness of the population during Noah’s day for 120 years, before sending the flood. The vile citizens of Sodom had occasion to turn to God, and Lot the opportunity to flee, because God responded to Abraham’s intercession. Pharaoh went through a season of plagues to pressure him, 10 in all, God being patient with Pharaoh’s obstinence. The iniquity of the Amorites meant Israel was enslaved for 400 years, until their “cup was full,” and God brought Israel out and then up into the land to judge the people of Canaan.  Jonah preached, “Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”  Those pagans merited judgment, but a long-suffering God gave them opportunity to repent. They did and were spared, until they backslid. Over and again, God restrained His wrath upon Israel—the repeated condition of that nation throughout its history until the present day—and still God is not through with them.

God warns and waits and works so that when people repent then He extends mercy.  How patient God has been to me!  We should all praise Him that He is long-suffering!

THE SOURCE OF MERCY AND LONG-SUFFERING

“But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.”
(Ps.86:15)

Out of the infinite fullness of a long-suffering God—from the bottomless well of His compassion and grace—flows the abundant mercy we must have.

Why would God be merciful?  Why would He be long-suffering?

You know what “long-suffering” is, don’t you?  Turn the word around—it is to suffer long with a problem or a person—and in this case God finds the problem is with the person—our sinful heart!  We are stiff-necked, stubborn, self-willed and self-absorbed.  Thankfully, Almighty God is patient with us.  He endures that we ignore Him, or worse deny Him, or even worse hate Him.

Why?  Because that is His nature.  God is love, and His love reaches out to those who merit His wrath.

Christ’s nail-scarred hand reaches out to lift us from our sin and deliver us from judgment, and what do we do?  We slap it away.  Then He reaches out again, and we jerk back.  Still, His long-suffering mercy is extended—for how long?

Not forever.  If we insist on our own way, there will come a time that even the patience of God reaches its limit and in holiness, compassion gives way to condemnation.

How does grace compare to mercy?  Think of it this way—grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve—heaven—while mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve—hell.

Thank God for His mercy and long-suffering!

THE MERCY AND LONG-SUFFERING OF GOD

“But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” (Psalm 86:15)

I heard a story about a notorious criminal who was behind bars.  His trial would begin the next day.  He asked the prison guard to summon the chaplain.  Arriving at the prison cell, the chaplain was surprised to see the man reading his Bible. The preacher commented on that and the man behind bars replied, “I’m looking for a loophole!”  The convict, then asked the chaplain to pray for him.  The preacher asked, “Do you want me to pray for justice to be done?” Horrified he yelled, “No!  Pray for mercy!  I need mercy, and not justice!”  That’s true for all of us.  Thankfully, the God of justice is also a God full of mercy and one who is long-suffering.

That is what I need.  It is what you need. It is what we may have if we will repent of our sins and seek the Lord.

THE RESULTS OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS, Part 2

God’s faithfulness is for His glory, but also for our good. Yesterday, we learned that His faithfulness results in God saving and sanctifying us (1 Cor.1:9; 10:13; 1 Thess.5:23-24)

Today, we will note three additional results.  Because He is faithful:

• GOD SHAPES US.

“I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.” (Ps.119:75)

The troubles that come our way are not meant to harm us, but to help us. These problems are the pressures of life that the Potter uses to shape our human clay into the image of Christ.

• GOD SECURES US.

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam.3:22-23)

We can be secure in knowing that God is faithful to extend to us mercies every morning. We are not consumed with the condemnation we deserve, because God is consumed with the compassion He desires. We may fail, but He will be faithful.

• GOD STABILIZES US.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Heb.10:23). This does not mean that our faithfulness is insignificant, but that it grows out of God’s faithfulness to us. We can hold fast to our confession because God holds fast to His children. We may be unwavering in our stand for God is unmoving in His stability—and our feet rest on that Rock!  God’s faithfulness is the root of which our faithfulness is the fruit.

How wonderful is our Mighty God!  Great is His faithfulness. Again this morning I find mercies for the multitude of my sins. Compassions are abundant for my need is great. As the sun rises, God’s faithfulness dawns anew for me!

DEDICATED TO GOD

Read Romans 12.

Paul has presented the glory of God’s Gospel in the first eleven chapters of Romans.  Now, he turns to the practical implications of that truth, as we see belief is to impact behavior.  His call is to complete dedication to God.

The basis of this dedication is in grace—what God has done for us, “I beseech [beg, implore] you therefore [because of what God has done for you], brethren, by the mercies of God [that has spared us from hell and opened up heaven], that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”  (v.1, comments added). That is, it is a perfectly reasonable thing for you to dedicate your all to the Savior who gave His all for you.

The means for this dedication has both a negative and positive dimension.  In verse two, the negative to avoid is “do not be conformed to this world,” and the positive to apply is “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” with the result, “that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  You will either be conformed to the world or transformed by the Word.  It’s your choice.  You can’t do both, for they are mutually exclusive. You cannot walk in opposite directions at the same time!

For the rest of the chapter, Paul makes practical application of what it means to be dedicated to God.  There will be the deploying of spiritual gifts in humble service (v.3-8). There will also be the demonstration of sanctifying grace in personal action (v.9-21). We are in the world to make a difference, but not of the world in being different. Our dedication to God is seen in our devotion to our fellowman.

MERCY: GIVING IT AND GETTING IT

Mercy—it means that one does not receive what they deserve.  God has been so merciful to me.  I deserve hell.  I have been such a wretched sinner.  My crimes against heaven and humanity are too numerous to recount.  Yet, what did God do?  He loved me so much that He would send His Son to die in my place—to suffer the punishment I deserve, so that I might have an inheritance in heaven. What great mercy!

This ought to motivate the follower of Christ to be merciful. How can we claim to be Christians and fail to extend mercy?  You may argue, “But, you don’t know how they hurt me!”  I will not debate that.  I am not minimizing the hurt.  My question for you to ponder is, “How much hurt did Jesus know on the cross?  What did He do?”  His pain was the price for obtaining our mercy.

In fact, it is to our benefit to extend mercy.  According to Jesus, if we want to get mercy, we must give mercy. Knowing the mercy of God, and then refusing to be merciful to others, shuts off the flow of mercy to us.  Bitterness, vengeance, and hate will fill the heart of one who refuses to grant mercy, and there is no room in a heart like that for God’s mercy to be given.

In fact, the danger here is that should such a spirit dominate a person, it may well be that they do not have God’s Spirit.  Such a heart of hate may prove that we have rejected the mercy of God, and are unregenerate.

Would you receive mercy today?  Be merciful. How can you be?  Take a trip to Calvary and ponder deeply the mercy of God in Christ.  It is life-changing!

FAITHFUL TO THE UNFAITHFUL

Who is a God like You,

Pardoning iniquity

And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,

Because He delights in mercy.  (Micah 7:18)

We can be faithful to God, even if those about us are unfaithful.  That was what Micah faced, and we hear the despair in his voice as we come to the final chapter of his prophecy (v.1).  It is hard to be faithful when you are not fruitful.  He considers his ministry and despite all his effort, the people will not listen.  He declares that the faithful are not to be found (v.2).  Far from the nation being a holy people and practicing righteousness, the man of God offers an indictment of the many crimes of Israel.  From the prince in the throne room, to the judge in the courtroom, and the businessman in the merchant shop, there is bribery and injustice (v.3).  They would not evade punishment for their wickedness forever—a day of reckoning was coming (v.4).

Micah felt as though no one could be trusted (v.5-6).  Even his friends and family failed him.  There is One, however, we can always trust—God will be faithful when no one else is (v.7).  We are to “look to the LORD,” for to look around us is to find reason to despair, but to look above us is to find strength to stay true.  We must “wait for…God,” resisting the cultural current with the anchor of the hope of salvation.  We ought to continue to call upon the Lord for He “will hear,” and answer in His time and in His way.  There was a supplanting of fear with faith, as the prophet looked past the unfaithfulness of men to the faithfulness of God (v.8-10).

The love, grace, and mercy of God are unchangeable—His purposes unalterable and promises unbreakable—despite the faithlessness of men.  The Good Shepherd will care for His flock—even the straying ones (v.11-20).  His rod of correction may chasten His sheep, but His staff will lift them and lead them when they fall.  What a comfort this is!

None compares to our great God!  His forgiveness reaches to the most unfaithful.  His anger has its limits, but His mercy knows no bounds!  His grace will conquer.  God takes our sins and casts them into the deepest ocean, and places a sign that says, “NO FISHING”!  He is the covenant keeping God.  His truth was sufficient to overwhelm the deceitful nature of a stubborn rogue like Jacob.  His mercy was enough to reach into a pagan city and call an idolatrous man named Abraham to faith.

God is good when we are not.  His grace abounds to the chief of sinners.  Do not despair because of the unfaithfulness all about you, but meditate deeply on the faithfulness of an unfailing God!  Stop looking around at others, and look up at Omnipotence.  It will make all the difference.

AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits….  (Psalm 103:2)

Your attitude determines your altitude.  Among the instruments in the cockpit of a plane is the attitude indicator.  It shows the relationship of the wings to the horizon.  If you want to climb higher, it requires an attitude adjustment.  That is true spiritually, as well.  If we want to soar, we must adjust our attitude according to the heavenly horizon.  If our attitude is set relative to earth’s perspective, then we’ll never take off.  What would happen if we adopted the attitude of gratitude displayed in Psalm 103?

We should be grateful for God’s benefits (v.1-5).  The Psalmist underscores this with the phrase, “forget not all His benefits” (v.2b).  There are so many.

The key benefit is forgiveness of iniquity (v.3a) for it unlocks the door other blessing.  It is the greatest provision for our gravest poverty.

The Great Physician—Jehovah Rapha—heals us body and soul (v.3b).  Someone asks, “Do you believe in divine healing?”  What other kind is there?  There is the guarantee of ultimate healing in the resurrection.

God redeems us (v.4a).  This means we are set free by payment of a price.  Jesus did that on the cross!

The Lord crowns our head (v.4b).  God promises a crowning grace.  The New Testament also teaches there are crowns we may win.  In heaven, we will cast all our crowns at the feet of Jesus recognizing that any crown given is for His glory.

God satisfies our needs (v.5a).  Only He can.  Everything this world offers is like trying to satisfy your thirst by drinking water from the ocean—the more you take in, the thirstier you become.

The Lord renews our strength (v.5b).  As the eagle molts--shedding feathers and gaining new ones so he can continue to soar—we exchange our weakness for God’s power.

Furthermore, we should be grateful for God’s bounty (v.6-10).  The text testifies that God is “abounding in mercy,” (v.8b).  The first stanza of the Psalm is personal and the second one is national.  In verses 1-5, there is a solo, and in v.6-10, the choir adds their voices.

God gives abundant liberty (v.6).  Israel had been oppressed in Egypt, but God set them free.  There are injustices and inequities in this sin-cursed world, but the hope that God may deliver us now, and will assuredly right every wrong in the end.

God bestows abundant life (v.7).  God led and fed His people through the wilderness and brought them into a land flowing with milk and honey.  In a place of barrenness, they had blessedness!  God has pledged to meet all our needs, too.

God grants abundant life (v.8-10).  It takes Him a long time to become angry and a brief time to forgive.  By grace He give us the eternal life we cannot deserve, and in mercy keeps us from the hell we do merit.

Finally, we should be grateful for God’s benevolence (v.11-22).  It is, “So great…So far” (v.11-12).  The song builds to a crescendo—from personal, to national, and now universal—the voice of every creature, terrestrial and celestial, blending their voices in a symphony of praise!

There is extensive mercy (v.11-14).  It is three-dimensional: in height (v.11), breadth (v.12), and depth (v.13-14).

There is enduring mercy (v.15-18).  Here we see a contrast between our frailty and God’s faithfulness.

There is exhaustive mercy (v.19-22).  The word, “all” is used nine times in this Psalm.  

Old Graham Scroggie put it well, “Those whom the Lord blesses should bless the Lord.”

FROM THE GRAVEYARD TO GLORYLAND

even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)  (Ephesians 2:5)

When we are saved we move from the graveyard to Gloryland.  This truth is pictured in the Gospel story of the Gaderene demoniac.  He was a demon-possessed man who lived in a graveyard.  He was violent, uncontrollable, an outcast who was hopeless—but then Jesus came by—and everything changed.  Christ commanded the powers of darkness to leave.  The naked man put on clothes.  The crazed man came to his right mind.  He would leave the cemetery and head for home with a testimony of what Jesus had done for him.  He was a new man with a new mission.  This illustrates the Scriptural principles Paul is sharing in Ephesians 2. 

There is OUR STATE WITHOUT CHRIST (v.1-3).  One word summarizes our state without Christ: dead.  Paul doesn’t say this is the condition of some of us, but all of us.  It is the natural state of man.  Death means separation—not the end of existence.  As the demonized man lived in tombs apart from other people, so we are in a realm of death apart from God—the location Paul refers to as being, “in trespasses and sins.”  Apart from Christ we are like the world (v.2a).  This is the world system with its philosophies, practices, passions and pleasures apart from Christ.  We are like the world and of the devil (v.2b).  If we are not the children of God through a new birth, we are children of the Devil via our natural birth.  Apart from Christ we are like the world, of the devil, and in the flesh (v.3).  We are driven by fleshy desires.  Why does a dog bark and not meow?  What does a cat meow and not sing?  Why does a bird sing and not bark?  That is their nature.  We are by nature powerless to change—and so must be born again. 

Thankfully, there is OUR SALVATION BY CHRIST (v.4-9).  One word communicates the experience of salvation: delivered.  That’s what Jesus did for the demon-possessed man.  Observe, Jesus gave us love (v.4, 7-9).  We were children of wrath deserving Hell, but mercy means we do not get what we deserve—and God is “rich in mercy.”  It is His great love that moved Him to send His Son to save us.  He gave us life (v.5-6).  A resurrection took place.  We are united with the life of Jesus—all He is and where He is!

This leads to OUR SERVICE FOR CHRIST (v.10).  The one word that conveys our service is: disciple.  God call us to discipleship.  We aren’t saved by works (v.8-9), but are saved to work (v.10).  The man set free from demons was given a commission to witness to family & friends.  There is our resource.  God prepared His plan for us beforehand.  God gives grace—we work out what God works in.  The branch abides in Vine to bear fruit.  Our resource brings our response.  No wonder the man set free from thousands of demons wanted to follow Jesus!  “Workmanship” in the original language is “poema,” a life of rhyme and reason.  God has designed you with a special plan in mind.

Have your moved out of the graveyard and into Gloryland?  The work of grace is to move you from death to life.  Receive Jesus today!  He makes all the difference!