Preachers Must Only Preach the Gospel; 1Corinthians 2:2

A brief word at the beginning of each post will help keep the purpose of these posts in mind as this blog goes forward. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems counter to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean. This is the most important thing to do; test it and see if what I am saying is true by scripture in context.

In the last post we gave an overall view of what the redemptive focus means to the church and church doctrine. Here we want to reinforce the idea of the gospel focus for the scripture. And continue on with this thread for a while yet.

Preachers should always, only preach the gospel. What am I saying here? I am simply saying that every time a preacher or pastor gets into the pulpit he/she should only and, always preach the gospel. Teaching is not a function that should take place in the pulpit. Bible study is the place for teaching but preaching by definition is a function of proclaiming the gospel message.

The gospel message is as good for the seasoned saint as it is for the novice or non-believer, Hearing the gospel as it exists in the entire scripture will strengthen the faith of the body and, develop the love for God that will translate into obedience and transformation. The gospel is God’s ordained method for transforming lives and, it is important for the saint to hear it regularly. Just think back to how much you rejoice every time you hear the gospel message afresh. It is richly found in the Old Testament as well as the new. In fact, I think that gospel messages preached from the Old Testament are even more love inspiring than ones in the New Testament.

The gospel message is the source of real praise and worship. The idea expressed in John’s first letter that it is God’s love for us and not our love for God that brings about real love for God which is the source of all worship. You cannot truly love God unless you are aware of His love for you and there is no other way to express God’s love than by preaching the gospel.

Churches would do well to have their praise and worship services after hearing the gospel. I have found that the praise that flows from hearing the gospel is genuine and not fabricated by emotional hype but rather, generates from a deep appreciation and love for God. Remember, we love him because he first loved us and how can we know that without hearing the gospel. The gospel brings about faith for; faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (the gospel).

This is undoubtedly why Paul said the following: 1Co 2:1-2  And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.  (2)  For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The Sword of the Spirit II

A brief word at the beginning of each post will help keep the purpose of these posts in mind as this blog goes forward. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems counter to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean. You also may want to take a look at the last post which was a continuation of the introduction. These kinds of articles will be posted from time to time to keep the perspective clear.

In the previous post on this thread, we looked at the sword of the spirit being the word of God and we determined by Hebrews 4:13-17 in context that the sharp, two edged, sword was Jesus and not the scripture; what about Ephesians 6:17? Let’s look for a place where Paul defines the word of God. You can find it in 1Thessalonians.

1Th 2:13  For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

In the above verse Paul is referring to the gospel. The saints in Thessalonica received the gospel from Paul. They had the scriptures for a long time prior to Paul’s preaching. Likewise, it is also the gospel which was effectively working in the believers. The gospel is working by faith.

Moving on to Ephesians 6:17…since the overwhelming definition of the word of God in the New Testament is the gospel, it follows, that the word of God used in Ephesians 6:17 is the gospel. This is interesting when you look at the entire passage of Ephesians 6:14 – 17. I will posit the passage below, but will add some words in parentheses that will show the overall gospel focus of the passage. The key to spiritual warfare is the gospel.

Eph 6:14-17 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, [Jesus is the truth] having put on the breastplate of righteousness, [the righteousness of God, imputed righteousness via believing the gospel] (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  (16)  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. [faith in the gospel to quench the accusations of the devil]  (17)  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;[gospel]

Interestingly, all of the armor revolves around the gospel and salvation; again a redemptive purpose. This gospel focus is so very important in the development of the saints of God. Whereas most of Evangelical Christianity focuses on scripture…the real focus of the New Testament writing is the gospel and redemption. In fact, it appears as we go forward with this paradigm shift that redemption and the gospel are truly the only focus of the New Testament writings.

Where am I going with this blog anyway? More on the purpose of the blog

Well, this will be the eighth post since this blog began and I would like to take the time to recap and review where we have gone so far and, to give an idea of where we are going and why. Thus far, we have looked at what the New Testament says about the phrases, the word of God and, the word of truth. We have found that the term refers to either Jesus or the gospel and we have yet to find a reference where it means scripture. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems contrary to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean. This is the most important thing to do; test it and see if what I am saying is true by scripture in context.

Am I trying to belittle the scripture? Am I trying to downplay its value? God forbid! I believe that the scripture is God breathed, inspired, will make one wise unto salvation through faith in Christ and, profitable for doctrine, reproof, instruction in righteousness etc. However, it is only profitable in view of the redemption that God has freely provided humanity.

It is not profitable as a law book. It is not a book that should put the saint in constant fear of disobedience. When it is used that way it is used erroneously. When it is readily referred to as the word of God; it then, appears to have a force that it was not meant to have. This is not to say that one cannot and should not take the ethical messages of the bible and try to apply them to their lives….they should. But, if you link obedience and salvation as the bench mark then, you distort the value of the scripture and end up making it a law that kills the spiritual life and love of the saint.

It is too easy to create an environment whereby people are motivated by fear and not love. Sadly, this is the state of far too many evangelical fellowships today. A proper understanding of the gospel, redemption and, putting the scripture in its proper role will go a long way toward alleviating this problem. This is where the gospel comes into its supreme importance. It assures the saint, casts out all fear and torment and, prepares their hearts and minds to properly love God. It is from love for God that proper obedience flows. Paul called it the obedience of faith.

So here is the first solid clue of where I am going with this blog…I am showing that Jesus and his disciples put the focus on the gospel because that is what he wanted emphasized. In other words, the gospel is the catalyst…it is the engine driving the entire Christian experience.

I would appreciate any comments or questions so feel free to participate and, I would like to encourage you to look at the other posts in this blog.

Is the Scripture the Sword of the Spirit or, is it the Gospel and Jesus?

A brief word at the beginning of each post will help keep the purpose of these posts in mind as this blog goes forward. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems counter to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean

In the last post we examined 2Tim 3:15-17 and found that the scripture is only profitable for a redemptive and gospel purpose. This has been the focus of all of the previous posts so far and, a case is building for a paradigm shift concerning scripture use.

I can remember my days at youth meetings…I know it has been a while but, I can still remember it. One of the activities that we used to participate in was a sword drill. We would stand in a line with our scriptures in the air and the facilitator would give us a scripture reference, book, chapter and, verse…and then, he/she would say draw swords charge and we would race each other to find the verse and the first one to find it would be the winner and would read the verse. I recall this to illustrate that the bible is called the sword of the spirit or, the sword, by many evangelicals. One of my favorite electronic bibles is e-sword called that because of this connotation of the word sword.

One passage that has caused this notion is Hebrews 4:12. Here again is a verse that is taken out of its context to arrive at a meaning not supported by reading the scripture itself. This verse must be seen in a greater context and the meaning of the word of God used in Heb 4:12 is explicitly defined and, it is definitely not the scripture.

Heb 4:12-16  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  (13)  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.  (14)  Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  (15)  For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  (16)  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

There can be no other interpretation. In this instance the passage is speaking of Jesus himself.

Please feel free to comment.

What About 2 Tim 3:16?

A brief word at the beginning of each post will help keep the purpose of these posts in mind as this blog goes forward. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems counter to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean

In the last post we looked at what Jesus taught his followers about the scriptures and concluded that he taught them a strictly Christ centered interpretation. It was different than the Pharisees Christ centered interpretation because he showed them that he was the Messiah. In other words, it was a redemptive focus with him as the redeemer of Israel. Interestingly, the Pharisees with their Christ centered lens could not see him as the Messiah.

Often, you hear someone quote 2 Tim 3:16 all by itself. This strips it of its contextual meaning. The verse has to be read with three verses together to understand it in context. It is posted below:

2Tim 3:15-17  and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  (16)  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,  (17)  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In this passage, Paul is speaking to Timothy and telling him how well he knew the scripture because of his upbringing. His mother and grandmother had made sure that he knew the scriptures well. Paul is reminding him of this. Notice in verse 15 that Paul states he purpose of scripture for Timothy. He says they will make one wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. So, you see first off the redemptive purpose. They are there for salvation, redemption.

He goes on in verse 16 to state that all scripture is given by inspiration from God. He also states that all scripture is profitable for doctrine (teaching), reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. Many evangelicals single this one verse out from the other two to suggest that the scripture by itself is profitable for doctrine and the rest. This is not true. It is only profitable from a redemptive position and, it is only profitable when interpreted in the same way Jesus taught them to interpret it.

The Jews who rejected Jesus had the scripture and, they had an extensive knowledge of the scripture. They had all of the interpretation that was in the Talmud, though not written down until later, they had extensive knowledge of the oral tradition which later became the Talmud. However, the scripture was not profitable for them. It did not bring salvation, it did not reprove them, it did not correct their erroneous doctrine, and it did not instruct them in the righteousness of God (Rom 10:1-4). Their temple was destroyed, their city fell and, many of them were killed. They were scripture experts and missed redemption. Redemption alone must be the focus. That means that every sermon must be a gospel sermon. The scriptures will not change lives. The gospel and Jesus changes lives when given a chance.

I have to wonder why so many evangelicals use the scripture for non redemptive purposes?

As always, feel free to comment or ask questions.

What Did Jesus Teach His Followers About Scripture?

A brief word at the beginning of each post will help keep the purpose of these posts in mind as this blog goes forward. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems counter to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean

In the last post we took a look at how Paul and James defined the phrase the word of truth and we discovered that it was defined as the gospel and not the scripture. It becomes a fair question to ask how my paradigm shift views scripture in the overall scheme of my faith.. I would like to begin to answer that question in this post. What did Jesus say about scripture?

The answer to the above question is that Jesus always showed how scripture pointed to him as Messiah. It must be stated up front that the Jews had a Christ centric view of scripture also. The Rabbis taught that the “every prophet only prophesied for the days of the Messiah and the penitent” (Everyman’s Talmud, Abraham Cohen, pg 124) so that is a Christ centered view of scripture…and yet, this Christ centered view of scripture did not prevent them from completely missing Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah.

So then, even the unbelieving rabbis believe that scripture has a strictly redemptive focus…hmnn! Here is a verse that explains Jesus view in no uncertain terms. He spoke it to the Pharisees about the authority of scripture. You can find it in the gospel of John, chapter five and verse thirty-nine”

Joh 5:39-40  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  (40)  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

So then, Jesus view of scripture’s purpose is that it was given to point to him so that those who believed in him could have eternal life. In other words it was a solely redemptive purpose.

Look at these verses from Luke’s gospel:

Luke 24:27  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

And…

Luke 24:44-47  Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  (45)  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  (46)  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,  (47)  and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

It becomes very obvious by the above passages that Jesus was only interested in the scriptures for their redemptive focus. In the passage from Luke 24 it is explained that Jesus actually opened their understanding with a new hermeneutical paradigm. It is interesting to me that this reinforces the passages in Revelation that tell that only the Lamb could open the scroll but, we will address that as time goes on in these posts.

Don’t forget, I look forward to your comments, input and so forth so feel free to participate.

The Scripture and the Word of Truth are These Terms Interchangeable?

A brief word at the beginning of each post will help keep the purpose of these posts in mind as this blog goes forward. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems counter to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean

In the last post we covered the use and meaning of the phrase the word of God in the book of Acts. Now we will shift to the phrase the word of truth. This phrase is most familiar from the often quoted and preached on verse, 2Tim 2:15. So the question once again is what is meant by Paul and others when they use the phrase word of truth? And again, the most widely accepted evangelical meaning is scripture. When anyone discusses rightly dividing or correctly handling the word of truth, they invariably mean the scripture. But is that what was meant by the phrase in the first century writings?

First off, the phrase is used four times in the New Testament writings three times by Paul and once by James; (2Co_6:7; Eph_1:13; 2Ti_2:15; Jas_1:18;) Interestingly, Paul actually defines the term in Ephesians:

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,  (Eph 1:13)

Notice that Paul outright states that the word of truth is the gospel of your salvation. There can be little room for debate about what he meant in his writing and he would not have been confusing with his terms; therefore, we can believe that the meaning that he attached to the phrase in Ephesians 1:13, is the same meaning that he gave it in 2Tim 2:15 and, thereby we can reasonably assume that he meant that the man/woman of God should rightly divide and, correctly handle the gospel of salvation.

Does James back this up? The answer is a resounding yes. Look at the passage from James:

Jas 1:17-18  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  (18)  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

In the above passage James is speaking of being brought forth as a kind of firstfruit. This is description of being born again by the word of truth, Jesus and/or, the gospel. In any instance, you can be sure that he is not saying that he or, the other believing saints were being brought forth by the scripture.

This is the third post in this particular thread and it’s becoming more obvious that there is some substance to my assertion. So, what is the reason for this gospel focus? The answer is simply that Jesus taught his disciples a totally redemptive view of scripture that pointed to him and, the redemption he brought. The earlier focus of the word of truth, Psalm 119:43 was supplanted by this use of the phrase. The first century Jews, especially the Pharisees, saw the Torah as the word of God based upon the 119th Psalm and Jesus and his disciples are replacing the meaning in an overwhelmingly forceful way and, they are careful not to refer to the Torah as the word of God. Now before you jump to conclusions about how I view the scripture I will begin to get at that next. We will come back to the word of God a few posts down the road however.

As usual, if you have comments or questions feel free to share them. And I would strongly suggest that you go back and read the posts that come before this so you can see how the logic is built on the evidence.

The Scripture and The Word of God; are these terms interchangeable? Part II

A brief word at the beginning of each post will help keep the purpose of these posts in mind as this blog goes forward. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems counter to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean

In the last post…we looked at what Jesus said in the four gospels about scripture, the law and prophets and, the word of God; Specifically, his definition of the term word of God in Luke 8:11. Let’s move on to how the Book of Acts uses the phrase word of God.

First, the phrase is used in twelve verses. And, when you read the verses in context, in each of them, the phrase only makes sense when the meaning of the phrase is gospel. In other words, if you try to replace the phrase with scripture it does not make sense but, if you replace the phrase with the gospel, it is obvious that gospel was the intended meaning. And yet, to the average evangelical, the first connotative meaning attached to the phrase is scripture. Here are a few examples of the apostolic meaning:

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.  (Act 4:31)

In the above verse, the clause, they spoke the gospel with boldness makes perfect sense but it does not make sense to say that they were speaking the scripture with boldness because all of the Jews spoke the scripture and it did not take boldness to speak the scripture. They memorized scripture from the time that they were small children on.

Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.  (Act 6:7)

In Acts six they were only speaking to Jews because the Gentiles were not included in the evangelizing until Acts chapter 10 so, when you read Acts 6:7, it only makes sense when you see the word of God as the gospel….the gospel spread and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem …and conversely it would not make sense to say that the scripture spread

Here are all of the scripture passages that have the phrase the word of God in them in the book of Acts: (Act_4:31; Act_6:2; Act_6:7; Act_8:14; Act_11:1; Act_12:24; Act_13:5; Act_13:7; Act_13:44; Act_13:46; Act_17:13; Act_18:11;) In each of them, the only term that makes sense when substituted, is the gospel. Using the word scripture will not work in any of them. Check it out for yourself.

By the same token, the word scripture is used seven times in the book of acts to describe what was written their sacred scripture and, the Law… or, the Law and the Prophets… are mentioned in 20 verses. It is clear that the apostles and, contemporaries of Jesus saw the difference between the scripture and the word of God. As we move forward with this blog, it will become obvious that the first century saints never referred to the scripture as the word of God.

Again you may ask, “so what?”

Well, for one thing, you should ask yourself “why did they make the distinction and how did we end up changing this meaning?” We will provide an answer in the long run as these posts develop but for now, please check out closely what has been written so far. As always, I would love your comments as this goes forward.

The Scripture and The Word of God; are these terms interchangeable? Part I

A brief word at the beginning of each post will help keep the purpose of these posts in mind as this blog goes forward. If you haven’t read the introductory post, I suggest that you take the time to do it before reading on. I am keeping the posts short so that they can be quickly read and digested. It is my hope that you will reflect on these articles and put them to the test. When you encounter something that seems counter to everything you have been taught or know to be true…remember the assignment….smile…be a Berean.

When you look at the various creeds written over the years, they most often, if not always begin with a section on the scripture. This is true of systematic theology books also. They generally begin with the scripture or the concept of divine revelation. The reason is simple. The section on divine revelation and scripture establishes the foundation for all of the doctrinal points that follow. Most statements of faith include a position on the scripture. It is only natural that this discussion of my paradigm shift should begin with the scripture. Is it accurate to call it the Word of God? And, if it isn’t, what difference does it make? In my view, it makes a very big difference and I think that the subtle, nuanced truth will point to a major shift.

First of all, Jesus himself referred to the scripture twenty-four times in the four gospels. In other instances, he called it either, the law or, the law and the prophets. He did not call the scripture the word of God with one possible exception in John 10:34-35 and, we will deal with that in a later post individually. However, he did call it the scripture 24 times and he referred to it as either the law or, the law and the prophets 25 times for a total of 49 times. Here is what I find most interesting. He defined the word of God as the gospel of the kingdom in Luke 8:11. If you look at the parallel verse in Matthew 13:19 he defines the seed as the word or message of the kingdom… in other words… the gospel.

In fact, as these posts progress, you will find that overwhelmingly and, even exclusively, Jesus and his apostles define the word of God, the word of truth or, the Word, as either, the living Word Jesus himself or, the gospel, the word or message of the kingdom of God. It is my plan to do an exhaustive analysis of this throughout the entire New Testament scripture. I will use many illustrations in subsequent posts but for now let me end this post with an example for you.

I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.  (Rev 1:9)

Now here is the question that you should ask yourself. Was John banished to the Isle of Patmos for the scripture? Of course not. It was very legal for Jews to have the Torah or the scriptures. Rome had decided to let that go long before Jesus came on the scene. The fact is that John was on Patmos for the gospel and Jesus. It was the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus that caused Rome to persecute the Christians.

So, in this second post we see that the gospel and the incarnation are very important to the story of the New Covenant. It will become more and more clear that in reality, at least according to Jesus and his contemporaries, that it was the only focus. Please remember that I welcome comments and observations so feel free to interact.

Introductory Post; why is a paradigm shift needed?

After years of study, thoughtful reflection and, prayer I have decided to launch this new blog aimed at Evangelical Christianity. In the past, I have been argumentative in debate on various theological lists and it has lead to very little change, although, I have found that a few people have had the paradigm shift also, and perhaps in some small way it was because of something I wrote. It is to this end that I begin this project. I welcome comments and questions but, I ask that the reader reflects, searches to see if what is written seems right with what is found in the New Testament and if it bears witness with your spirit. In other words, my request is that you become a Berean to see if these things are so.

I realize that people have invested a lot of emotional capital in their various doctrinal positions and, I realize that compromise is not considered a virtue in most evangelical circles. That said, it would seem to me that a person who is earnestly seeking God and truth would be willing to invest some time with an open mind. Ask yourself, ”what can it hurt?”

The conclusions that I have reached came to me over a long period of time and study so it will be important to look at the blog posts as they develop. I will be building this paradigm shift over time. In the meantime, I will give you a heads-up on what this blog will focus on in the long run. It will cover many topics such as; how Jesus and his apostles re-defined the word of God, how they differentiated between scripture and the word of God, how they put a solely redemptive purpose on the Old Testament and New Testament writings, how the New Testament writings reflect a gradual change from the old covenant to the new covenant, how there is a gradual emphasis change from a Jew Gentile distinction to a new creation focus, what the destruction of the temple meant in terms of man’s relationship with God and, what the kingdom of God should look like today.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers but, I think that some of these things will help to change the paradigm to a much more inclusive gospel that is reflective of a God who is described as being love. Hopefully as time goes on it will be evident that finding out how really gracious God truly is will transform lives and people into more ethical beings that can learn to love God, each other and, the planet. This transformation can generate ethical obedience from a loving heart set free by the gospel as opposed to legal obedience founded in fear.

In a perfect world this paradigm shift could bring about a pattern of behavior that would result in a gentler kinder world more reflective of the divine nature; A world in which humanity is able to truly love God with all of their hearts strength and to love their neighbor as themselves.

I hope you follow this blog on a regular basis and, if you happen upon it later that you go back and slowly look at it over time. May the Lord truly bless this effort and I look forward to your interaction.