Day 17 - Keep My Heart

Kari Jobe - Keeper Of My Heart

 

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

Prayer

O, Lord, maker of heaven and earth. We put our trust in you. Keep us and guide us, be our ever present help in time of need. Lead us in all our ways. Let our hearts not be troubled by the trials of this life, nor faint because of evil. We put our trust in you. We look forward expectantly, with glad anticipation, looking toward the day of your return, King of Heaven, keeper of our hearts. Amen.

Revive My Heart - Write 31 Days

Day 13 - Search My Heart

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts

{Psalm 139:23}

The sun had not emerged yet, and I was fumbling for a cup of coffee when I heard her crying out again. Okay. But first coffee. With a cup full of brave, I walked down the hall to peek in her door and found her curled up in a ball on the bed.

My daughter had been sick with a fever for several days. This bug was hangin' on like a flea on a hound. Sweet girl had been enduring and fighting it like a Jedi warrior (light saber and all—true story). But I can't say I handled it so well with that nagging fear always nipping at a mother's heals when her little lamb is ill.

Day 4 - Time Out

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
    And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

{Psalm 27:8 NLT}

I gave myself a time out today. Life can feel so chaotic at times as we move from one thing to the next. Mix in bills and car repairs, dishes and laundry, and of course the unexpected crises [plural] that erupt just to throw it all into a whirl wind. It can leave one feeling breathless and broken in the fray.

It's good to slow and set yourself aside from it all for a bit. Because before you know it, the kids are in the door, and homework, shoe piles, Legos, and laundry take over the quiet. And if we're not careful we become unraveled, like that sweater that you just bought but the thread was pulled and now you're left undone.

Thanksgiving Prayer

I am a Martha temperament, wanting the food to be delicious, the house kept clean, the gifts neatly wrapped. I can easily feel overwhelmed with the preparations. But my greatest desire? To be like Mary and choose the more perfect way (see Luke 10:38-42).

Can I just sit for a moment with Jesus? May I be found for just a moment lost in gazing upon His glory, captured in the beauty of his grace.

Words Like Honey

a prayer of praise inspired by Psalm 119

Across the pages of news print words land like shrapnel in a war torn world.
Our generation is tangled in a web of media weaving sticky stories that seduce and ensnare.
O Lord, your word is a balm. Your word attracts a hurting and hungry world and gives it life.

Your kindness leads to a changed heart. The things I used to desire leave much to be desired. Only you satisfy and the more I get of you, God, the more I hunger for you! Your word has become like food and your Spirit like water to my soul. How sweet are your words--they are sweeter than honey to my mouth.

I never need to wonder if I can believe your promises, God. Your eternal word stands firm in heaven. It will not be shaken. You have said of your word, "I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it" (Isaiah 55:11). Let your word produce the work you have begun, for you are faithful to complete it.

God, you have taught us right from wrong and established truth in your Word, your only Son. He came so that we might worship in Spirit and in truth. Accept our praises and teach us your ways.

Let praise flow from our lips,

for you have taught us your decrees,

Let our tongues sing about your word,

for all your commands are right...

Let us live so we can praise you,

and may your regulations help us.

We have wandered away like lost sheep;

come and find us.

--see PSALM 119:170-175

Joy Echoes

"Joy is the hearty echo of God's great love for us."

--Margaret Feinberg

Morning song bird on the eaves speaks, and my girl asks, "What is it saying?"

I am nudged awake. How long have I been deaf to the melody? Like the bird at the window, the reverberations of God's love notes are echoing throughout creation.

And here? Right in front of me, my little girl–the one who never stops talking these days–asks me the questions that I should be asking. All the wonder singing back at me. How many times have I tried to silence it?

She is my back seat driver, providing direct commentary along our daily route, unrolling her questions for miles. It feels at times she may never stop talking. I'm provided great insight into the inquisitive mind of my young child.

Sometimes if I'm listening right, it's as if from the mouth of a babe she speaks words instructed by heaven and it silences the enemy and my doubts (Psalm 8:2).

“Mommy? Why did God give you only one?”

It hangs there for a moment...like feathers on the air when a bird's been caught in the cat's mouth. I'm dumbstruck. The profundity stops me in my tracks.

How does she know the question of my heart? Oh, Lord, you examine my heart...you know everything before I utter a word (Psalm 139:1-4).

The best teacher may respond to a pupil's pondering by echoing back the question. And the Lord, my Rabboni, uses my own child to ask it. I look back in the rear-view mirror at her soft round face, those apple cheeks, her deep brown eyes staring through me.

“Only one what, Honey?” But I know what.

She says it clear, “Why did God give you one child?”

The answer chokes in my throat. It begs to be said aloud. I need hear it for myself, declare it in faith:

"Well...I believe God has a different story for each person. Mommy and Daddy prayed a long time for a baby, and you are his gift to us. I believe God has a very special plan for your life."

http://jesshekmanphotography.com/

http://jesshekmanphotography.com/

I recall being in the second trimester of my second pregnancy, womb swelling with hope. My mother-in-law prayed over me, that God would restore the years the locusts had eaten (Joel 2:25). The pain from losing her own son to suicide just three years prior left a gaping chasm in our souls. But do you know the thing about empty spaces? They are never so big that Jesus can't fill them.

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. PSALM30:11

Sometimes our long interrogations of God are so repetitive and rambling that we begin to hear the sound of our own voice resonating back. All the whys, what-ifs, and maybes clink like wishing pennies tossed into the dried up fountain of a hollowed out heart.

Don't waste a moment more pining after what could have been or what might be with eyes and ears turned inward by discontentment. What we perceive as the silence of God may be the muted waves of his love tones stopped at the breakers of our heart.

Tune the ear to his Spirit and hear the song of the Lord. We can learn the notes only by way of listening for his melody and then respond in harmony. The days are brief and they are teeming with life. Let me spend them speaking back praise and I will say it out loud! God.is.good.

To the end that my tongue and my heart and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
PSALM 30:12 AMP

(Our humble thanks for the newborn photos, those five years ago, to our good friend JessHekman Photography)

Keeping in Step

Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. 

-- Galatians 5:25

He woke me up early. God did. I knew it was him because why else would I be awake an hour earlier than usual? My kid was still sleeping and I knew that was a gift in itself.

I sat down in the loveseat with a blanket over my knees, eyes closed, head filled with white noise of beating heart and faithful ticking clock.

The quiet soaked into me, mind and body still soft from sleep. A steaming cup of coffee stood by. Lord this time is a gift, help me to hear your voice and be attentive to your word. Show me your heart, God.

Presently my thoughts bumbled along, chasing dreams just awoken. My thoughts replayed a conversation with a friend who had begun taking ballet. I recalled my doctor's instructions to begin getting more exercise, like walking. My mind's eye swept up to the main road just above our neighborhood, the one I enjoy traversing because of the view of our town. The valley bellow leading to a far horizon of rolling wild grasses, untouched by progress. I imagined myself running along the upper road overlooking that view.

He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along (Psalm 40:2b).

The lens of my vision shifted, and I stood posing at a ballet bar, feet in first position, knees dipping into a grand plie then releve en demi pointe. I jolted back to alertness, shaking off sleep. Folded hands prayed while ticking hands advanced.

My hand clasped the book on my lap. Walking fingers through pages to find my place I landed on words that danced off the page: 

"Stay on the high road with me...I have called you to walk ever so closely with me...What I require of you is to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God [Micah 6:8]--wherever I lead."
(Sarah Young, Jesus Calling)

I have heard it said that even all the good things can keep us from doing God things. So often we pull against his lead and try to step in our own way. But we can get so busy with striving to keep in step that we stumble over our own two feet. It's not about what we do or don't do so much as it is about the attitude of the heart.

For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

In ballet, the position of the leg is important in preparing the body to move in a certain way. A leg in attitude is slightly bent at a particular angle. It displays beauty and form, posture and poise. Whereas a bent working leg may be ready to move the dancer into a graceful pirouette. So it is with the heart.

What is my heart's attitude? Is my heart positioned to move wherever God leads? Am I ready to step into what he has prepared for me? Am I available to be used by God to love on my family? Or minister to others whom he brings into my path?

My little girl just completed another year of dance classes. At this level it is fun to see the kids learning to develop motor skills and discipline (like standing in one place for more than like 2 seconds). They learn about rhythm and movement and how to follow simple choreography. It is not about being precise--goodness, my little one can barely walk from point A to point B without ping-ponging off of everything--but it is about the sheer delight of the dance.

As I learn to tune-in to God's gentle nudges, I must be willing to let go of control and trust him to take the lead. I must be able to relax my shoulders and take delight in his process. By stepping in with joy and thanksgiving I can say yes to God when he asks for my hand and allow him to sweep me into his choreography of grace.

My dreamlike prayer that early morning had been a vision of God's purpose: to walk closely with him, trust him above all circumstances. And when exercising faith there's walking and there's dancing. Let him lead in this dance of faith and he will enable you to do beautiful things. 

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. --Ephesians 2:10

Every Good Gift

He commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before...in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
--Acts 1:4-5

From the back of the chapel I looked down a long aisle of pews. Left and right the walls spoke gospel glory, colorful glass panes telling God's story. The alter draped red, the color of His blood, the color given to the Holy Spirit like fire. 

Pastor recited the apostles creed and little ones mimed back hand motions. My heart cheered at child-like faith, such mighty declarations of belief. 

Shepherd's voice called out while tiny voices echoed all sweetness in refrain: 

Jesus said, 
“The Holy Spirit  
will glorify me. 
He will take
what is mine
and give it to you.”

Then taking the cross from the alter, "What was given on the cross is given to you."

One little guy, clothed in robe of righteousness red, walked about to hand the cross to the next small saint, and she in turn came up to receive a gift from the cross. Pulling a paper note off the erected symbol she held her gift and read it: “grace.”

And one-by-one little priests of the gospel came to receive a gift and declare it: faith, hope, love...

It went like this until the gifts were too many to name and short attention spans wiggled in their pew. But each recipient kept their gift and took it with them.

I didn't expect to receive it today. The gift of grace. Why?

When these past forty-plus days I have exercised a little faith in choosing to believe, choosing to practice giving thanks. There were days when I felt far from victorious, when it was a stretch to thank Him for the gifts, the daily graces. Some days my eyes were turned inward instead of looking upward. 

Some days I have forgotten the sound of his voice.

And yet? He keeps speaking. Revealing himself the risen Lord, walking with me and telling those parables only I could relate, just as he did with the disciples. Didn't they marvel? When he walked with them along the road did they see him? When he appeared among them with the holes in his hands and in his side didn't they doubt?

I thought about the fifty days after Easter before the day of Pentecost. Typically we see in the Bible how God uses the number 40 to represent his holiness, a number of significance, of purification, of mercy, of completion. I thought of the forty weeks when I carried my daughter in the womb, the process of finding rest, strengthening, preparation, and growth needed before life bursts forth from within.  

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father...He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word (James 1:17-18).

When love bares down and delivers grace I am reborn. My identity as a mother renewed my faith in God's sovereignty and allowed me to identify with the Father who bore His only son unto us and birthed new life from the womb of the earth, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32).

My gaze swept the chapel at those stained glass story tellers and I pondered. The Pentecost didn't occur until fifty days after the resurrection of Christ on what we celebrate as Easter. So from the date of Christ's assent into heaven, the disciples then waited ten more days before receiving the promised Holy Spirit.

For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so (Hebrews 10:14-15). 

They had said goodbye to their Lord and were on their own now, so it would seem. What happened while they waited? Did they sit idly twiddling their thumbs? Were they feeling, maybe, a little alone? Did they question how they were ever going to fulfill this great commission they were given? Acts 1:24 tells, they all met together and were constantly united in prayer.

How have I responded to the days when I have felt the dark drape around me and the waiting was more like being out at sea completely aware of my vulnerability? I had stepped out on the waters of faith in obedience, but then it was like, now what?

Forty-eight mighty mini voices reverberate the gospel truth: Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will glorify me. He will take what is mine and give it to you” (John 16:14).

I heard it loud this time. The word illuminated within! The Holy Spirit was given the authority of Christ to take the work accomplished on the cross and freely give it to me declaring truth into my heart so that I can declare it to the world. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere...to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

All that is needed now – that I have ever needed to do – is to ask. Open the grateful hand to receive. So if [you] know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. (Luke 11:13)

Cease striving and take up grace that never runs out. In counting the graces every day I have seen how God multiplies--From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another (John 1:16)!

So we do not receive this gift in the fist, hoarding the truth for ourselves, but splay the palm and unfurl fingers to give away that which was freely given to us. The best gifts are those we give away.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

--2 Corinthians 9:8

Rejoice. Pray. Thanks. Repeat.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
 --I Thessalonians 5:16-18

We moms love our routines. The predictable, the workable, the structured control that makes momma feel sane and the kids--well, they need it. It's been a week-long relay to hold it all together, and dinner is a struggle, and here we are at the steepest leg of the race. We finally reach our breaking point. I'd like to think that after a few years of the same routine that we'd have it down...Maybe one day.

But what really ends up happening is we keep dancing the same clumsy steps and playing the record on repeat. What did Einstein say about insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

It's the week after Easter, aren't God's promises still fresh on our hearts? Joy to those of us who are being save.

We read in the first chapter of Acts that during the forty days following his death and resurrection, the risen Christ appears to the apostles from time to time, proving to them in many ways that he is actually alive. He talks to them about the Kingdom of God and about the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-5).

On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles for the first time! We see the transformation of Peter, who had three-times denied Jesus, as he begins walking in the power of Christ. We listen in as he delivers passionate sermons in the presence of the religious high counsel. We witness as the apostles perform miraculous signs and wonders.

And I can't help but feel like somehow, I've been missing out on something...

So this month following the resurrection, approaching the Pentecost, I wonder: What does it even mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? What if the same power and passion that impelled the apostles to preach the gospel, to heal the sick, to persevere through suffering, is for us? Today. 

What if I lived today like that? Like when the Spirit of Christ himself filled and empowered his followers to do and to be all he called them to. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit (Galations 5:25).

I think about those fruits of the Spirit that I have long suffered to bear. Striving to reap the benefits of the power to become a better mother, wife, and friend. Even to fulfill part of that great calling in Christ to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). And momma? There are those little ones hugging our ankles whom Jesus welcomed freely because he knew they would be his greatest disciples. Yes, we are making disciples of Jesus...everyday (Luke 18:16).

I had read it in my morning devotions, but twelve hours later I am like the woman who looked at her face in the mirror and then went away and forgot what she saw (James 1:19-25). It's something about bath time that turns our home into a scene out of the pages of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Sitting near the edge of the bathtub, I help my daughter wash her hair. Why is it always so difficult? She is excited and careless and I get splashed in the face. I'm fuming frustration. My shrill voice startles even me. Her big round brown eyes blink hot tears. “Momma, will you forgive me?” Grace. It is in the receiving as much as the giving away.

Conviction from the epistle burns into my heart like hot embers... about being quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry... Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2). What was that about joy? A fruit of the Spirit?

It was printed there on the page of my devotional: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

And here's the rub – I see it tucked away there in verse 19:

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.

Ouch. It hits me like an arrow between the eyes. I'm thinking, how do I not stifle the Spirit in my life?

The dots all connect like the shining pegs on a Light Bright.

• Always be joyful.
• Never stop praying.
• Be thankful in all circumstances.

For this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

But it's so hard. This dying to self. Had I forgotten about grace? How because of the empty tomb I could awaken to life?

A big fan of Ann Voskamp, I've started my own list of counting one-thousand things I love, and here it is. The secret to joy. You have shown me the path of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence (Psalm 16:11).

Record-scratch. Lift the needle on this revolving record. God does not always work in formulas. Neat, predictable, ordered patterns that always give the same result. Been there, done that. I fall flat on my face trying to run the course in my own strength. This is not a color-by-numbers.

Being a Christian is not a check list of rules to follow and then you've got it all figured out. God's people already did that, remember? Thankfully, we are in a new covenant of grace. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit --That old way? Leads to death. And I have killed joy in trying to keep it-- But the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Yet this? It's so simple it's profound.

How can I kindle the Spirit's fire in my life? These are baby steps and I'm learning to walk in it:

Joy.

Prayer.

Thanks.

In all circumstances.

This is God's will.

It's joy that runs over the rim of my cup. I bite into joy and the sweetness runs down my chin. Taste and see (Psalm 34:8).

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit (Psalm 51:12 KJV).

It's prayer that humbles me and brings me to my knees at the foot of the cross. “Prayer, to be prayer, to have any power to change anything, must first speak thanks:

In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6).

“Prayer without ceasing is only possible in a life of continual thanks. How did I ever think there was another way to enter into His courts but with thanksgiving?” (Voskamp, "Praying Grace", One Thousand Gifts Devotional)

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name (Psalm 100:4 KJV).

It's thanksgiving that has me counting daily graces. But we do not give thanks for the circumstances – which fluctuate between good or bad as we perceive them – but we give thanks in and inspite of our circumstances because God is good. Because God.

I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.

-- Psalm 116:17

Update:

The weekend of Easter I challenged myself and a dear friend to three-days of counting graces. We were surprised by the joy. And it didn't end there. Do you know what we found as we searched for wisdom as if hidden treasures...? We found the empty tomb. We found Jesus.

Day 1 - Jesus' death - Gifts of Comfort: mother and child cuddle; cup of coffee; a good book.
Day 2 - Jesus is risen - Gifts of Renewal: a good night's sleep; songs of worship; time with family.
Day 3 - Jesus appears to disciples - Gifts of Promise: grey rain clouds cloak mountains on a back-drop of sky robins-egg-blue; "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Ps. 119:105); "Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Mt. 7:7).

If you're reading this, maybe you too, are searching. Maybe you are like me and wondering how to live the abundant life Christ promised. The simple answer? Jesus. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.

Jesus walked with the disciples forty days before he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. On about the fiftieth day began the feast of Pentecost, the time when the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

I personally feel the need for accountability, to keep on giving thanks in all circumstances, keep on praying, keep on rejoicing. If we start today we can spend the next 40 days counting gifts of thanks. Will you invite Christ to ignite the fire in your heart? Will you take this challenge with me?

Abiding Grace

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”

--John 15:5

Winter's epilogue had left the hardness of ground, leaves crushed like dust beneath the feet. We had waited for clearer skies, for fresh dew upon the earth, for life to return to barren soil, for readiness and new beginnings. We had waited for the fragrance of hope.

In the waiting do we question? Do we doubt the goodness of our Creator, that the Gardner who planted generously would not produce an abundance? Do we speculate that the yield will come up just short of what we need? That there is too much need...?

We are a species driven by results, eager to reap the benefits of our labor, demanding now what is designed in process. In season we may forget that Time is the perfect teacher delivering instruction through small exercises – cultivating trust in the waiting. Beauty is found in the growth. The gift is in this moment.

My girl knows how joy is found. She looks for it, always in a curious pursuit of glory moments. She bends over weedy clover flowers to collect a honeyed bouquet for Mommy. And I am stilled in the midst of the daily striving, by a little child demonstrating the gospel of grace, always open and ready to receive. Hope is when we find joy right here.

“As you wait in My Presence, enjoy the greatest gift of all: Christ in you, the hope of glory!” (Sarah Young, Jesus Calling; see Col. 1:27).

We go together to the raised garden on the side of the house and see remnants of last year's growth. Together we gasp at the wonder of renewal. Two tomato vines entwined about the wires need pruning, the cutting away of the dead pieces. Tiny yellow flowers have begun to blossom and a green tomato, no larger than a marble, hangs tautly on the vine.

I come hungry, seeking the fruits of the harvest yet planted, and hear the stillness of His voice: "I Am the gift. Seek Me above all gifts. I want you more than what you can do for Me."

We take stock of the needs in the garden for the time of planting: cucumbers, marigolds, a few strawberry plants, and fresh herbs to transplant. But one more thing is needed: the soil must be tilled and fertilized to be made ready.

Eagerness compels my daughter to leap up to the raised bed and begin digging in the dirt. But without the proper tools or materials there would be no gardening. So off she goes with Daddy to the local nursery for plants and supplies. They return with arms full of life and potential, and together we work in the garden.

Full of enthusiasm our little girl asks if she can help with every step: the tilling, the fertilizing, the planting, the watering. She works with gusto! Yet there are moments when Mommy and Daddy have to remind her not to go ahead of us in the process, “You need to wait. Be patient.”

Off she dances to an empty flower bed with pink princess shovel in hand singing, “I'm waiting to be patient...”

I belly laugh thinking of how many times I have prayed for patience as a mama! And I recall the value of learning to wait on the Lord and seeking that fruit of the Spirit. Just as the Word cautions that we not be too eager to go ahead of God. Everything happens at its appointed time.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Eccl. 3:1).

How do we make the ground of our hearts ready to receive God's will?

How can we wait for patience when we are eager to have the gifts he has prepared and to see the results of the work he has begun? Go to the Word of God which is life, and be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2).

Come to the well thirsty, dipping buckets deep into pools of grace. When we come in prayer with hearts abiding, we are ready to receive the abundance of the Spirit's power. This is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph.2:8).

 

O Lord, this is the remedy for we who feel compelled to find solutions to our worries before you have worked them out; who feel pulled in many ways and seek answers that haven't been revealed. Lord, forgive us for our fretting and our need to direct and control. Lead us beside the still waters that we may find our rest in you. Fill us with joy in your presence that we may rejoice in the present moment and keep on working with gusto. For you are the gift that is ever full-filling and always enough. And by remaining in you, abiding in true grace, we will bear the fruit that is promised and so rejoice in the work You have accomplished. Amen.