Gently

But God understands

Isaiah 40:11, 27-29 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. … How can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? … The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

From the time Karis was small, Isaiah 40 was important to us, she the lamb carried in the Lord’s arms, I the mother sheep He gently led. During long nights in hospitals and surgeries, we knew He was not weak or weary. No matter what our current crisis, dilemma, or grief, we knew He understood what we faced.

Karis with her sisters and cousins at a family reunion in Bolivia, 1992 (age 9). On this trip, Karis started getting sick again, after God gave her (and us!) two years of good health to adapt to living in Brazil. Karis was the oldest of eight granddaughters of Dave’s parents. Dan was their only grandson–adored by all the girls. Age 9 was the year Karis started keeping journals.

Aligned with Isaiah 40, two songs encouraged us. The first one you will likely recognize, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” which contains the beautiful line, “merciful and mighty.” It invoked our “lifeline” verses, Lamentations 3:22-24. We counted on God’s mercy and his power, renewed for us every single day.

The other, “Tu és soberano” (You are sovereign), we learned after we moved to Brazil when Karis was seven. Karis had a profound belief that NOTHING happened to her except by her Father’s permission and for some divine purpose. She was always asking not “Why did this happen to me?” in a self-pitying kind of way, but rather “What purpose does God want to accomplish through this?”

Because she asked this question, she was alert to what was going on around her. Who else was in the hospital this time to whom she could extend love? Who would God bring to her whose troubles she could better understand at a heart level because of her own pain and losses?

“Tu és soberano” includes this beautiful line: “Apesar dessa glória que tens, Tu te importas comigo também, e esse amor tão grande eleva-me, amarra-me a Ti, Tu es tremendo” (Despite the glory you have as Sovereign of the universe, you care about me too, and this love lifts me up and binds me to you. You are amazing).

Tears come to my eyes as I remember singing this beautiful worship song, full-throated, with my beloved brothers and sisters in Brazil. They have been God’s human arms to care for us and lift us to the Father not only while we lived in São Paulo, but through their prayers ever since.

I hope Isaiah 40 will encourage you today too.

For the next generation

But God adds or takes away life

Isaiah 38-39 When Hezekiah was well again [from a deadly illness], he wrote this poem. … “The dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise. Those who go down to the grave can no longer hope in your faithfulness. Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation tells of your faithfulness to the next.”

Isaiah 38:19, “One generation tells of your faithfulness to the next,” is one of the texts God used to convince me to write Karis: All I See Is Grace. I wanted grandchildren yet unborn to know about Karis, to feel in some sense that they knew her. I wanted to encourage their faith through her testimony of God’s faithfulness so personally treasured by her.

And the process of writing that book required me to take stock of my own life in a new way. Hope in the face of death dawned gradually from the darkness of grief. I wanted to help Karis communicate to a broader audience her experience of grace, to inspire others to hope in God’s love and care along with her.

I feel a bit sorry for Hezekiah. Jesus had not yet come to die and rise again, conquering death. The king had no vision of praising God in heaven. He thought physical death was the end. I hope his understanding deepened before he did die after the fifteen “extra” years God gave him.

I’ve just participated in a mission team retreat in the San Bernardino Mountains. We were challenged to write stories about our mission memories exactly for Isaiah’s purpose: to pass on to the new generation what we’ve experienced and learned. Last evening, we shared with each other some of the stories we had been writing. Such a rich time together! We barely began to plumb the depth of personal knowledge of God’s grace and faithfulness preserved in the memories of our team.

The OC International Ministry Team: rich in experience of God’s grace and faithfulness

Think about this: we have the holy Scriptures because the writers took time to write down what God inspired them to say. We have the records of believers through the millennia for the same reason. Our stories aren’t given to us alone. They are meant to encourage others.

We referenced several times this song by Steve Green. May all who come behind us find us faithful.

What would you like to communicate to your children and grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren? Oral communication is great. And writing and video can have even more generation after generation impact. Think about it! And if you’d like to share your story here, please let me know.

Even when words aren’t adequate

But God bends down to listen

Isaiah 36 and 37 “This is what the great king of Assyria says: ‘What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?’ … Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us.’” … The prophet Isaiah said to King Hezekiah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. Listen! I myself will move against him.’” … Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! … Then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” Then Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed … For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David, I will defend this city and protect it.’” That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Then King Sennacharib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land.

Psalm 116:1-2 I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!

It happens regularly when I’m with my young grandchildren. The tug on my clothing or my hand. The urgency in the child’s voice, “Grammy, listen!”

He or she wants me to stop what I’m doing, bend down to their level so our eyes can connect, and give exclusive attention to whatever the issue is: “I need to show you something,” “I think …” “I want you to help me …” “I’m sad [or mad or glad] because …”

I thought of this when I read Isaiah 36 and 37, this story of a desperate king needing assurance that God saw and cared about his situation. King Hezekiah had no resources in himself adequate to the overpowering strength of the Assyrian army, bent on conquest.

What situation do you face today that’s simply too difficult for you to face on your own? What army do you find arrayed against you?

Cry out to the Lord. Picture him bending down to you, as an adult to a small child. Pour out your need and watch for him to act on your behalf.

I’ve written about this before, but it’s such a powerful example of God bending down to us that I want to remind you and myself again of an experience Karis recorded in her journal. In January 2006, Karis had received a five-organ transplant (the first intestinal transplant in 2004 had failed). After a two-and-a-half-year absence from school as she battled for restoration of health, Karis was able to return to Notre Dame for fall semester, 2006. In January 2007, a doctor told Karis the steroid she had to take to combat rejection had destroyed her hip. He recommended immediate surgery, which would require her dropping out of one more semester at Notre Dame.

Karis was devastated. She threw herself down on the grass beside Mary Lake, her despair too great for words.

And Jesus came to her. She saw him with each one of her scars on his body, in the deepest imaginable identification with her pain. He knew, he cared, he faced this new crisis with her.

God does bend down to listen.

Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering (Isaiah 53:4).

An abundance of flowers!

But God’s vision is joy!

Isaiah 35 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom … There will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! … With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to save you. … The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! … Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Luke 7:22 “Tell John what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”

1 Peter 1:6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.

In my Bible beside Isaiah 35:2 I noted in 2012, “Val’s wedding!”

I’ve never attended an event with such an abundance of flowers. The wedding was held at a campsite outside of Joinville, in southern Brazil. The decorators did such an amazing job with flowers, linens, crystal, china, and candles that you would never know you were in a plain camp dining room.

I was as surprised as any other guest when I walked into this gorgeous setting. Though mother of the bride, I was unable to participate in the planning of this milestone in Valerie’s life because I was in Pittsburgh caring for Karis. She (Karis) had planned for months to travel to Brazil for her beloved little sister’s wedding, but an untimely accident left her in the hospital instead of on an airplane. That’s another whole long story. Karis called it the biggest disappointment of her entire life.

I left Karis in the care of my beloved younger sister and traveled to Brazil with no idea of the beauty that awaited all of us. I experienced in my own small way the joy foretold in Isaiah 35. For that day, I was able to set aside my “tired hands, weak knees, and fearful heart” for Karis and let my soul absorb the loveliness and joy of Valerie + Cesar. A celebration that renewed my strength for the long days awaiting me in Pittsburgh on my return.

Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus, and fulfill in some measure today your promises of future joy.

Those ants!

But God cares about his creatures September 25, 2023

Isaiah 34:16-17 Search the book of the Lord and see what he will do. Not one of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate, for the Lord has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true.

My five-year-old grandson Caleb asked me questions about his Aunt Karis as we drove home from the park. We rounded a corner and I had to slam on the brake to avoid a deer crossing the road. For Pittsburghers this is a frequent occurrence, but I was a bit rattled by how close we had come to hitting the deer, likely killing it, and causing an accident to my car and possibly others on that busy road.

Caleb asked me why I was so worried about hitting the deer. “I might have killed it,” I told him.

“But Grammy, you told me heaven is a wonderful place and Aunt Karis is very happy there. So, wouldn’t it be better for the deer to be there instead of here? Maybe Aunt Karis would like to have this deer with her in heaven.”

Disregarding the folly of taking on five-year-old logic, I endeavored to explain that God is in charge of life and death, and it isn’t up to me to decide an animal should die. God knows better than I do what is best for the deer and his other creatures and for people, too.

“Then why did you kill those ants in your kitchen this morning?”

Treasure

But God is our sure foundation

Isaiah 33:5-6 Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven … he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.

Last night Dave and I put together a jigsaw puzzle while listening to music on Youtube. Hillsong’s “Oceans” randomly came on and made me teary. It was one of Karis’s favorite songs, an articulation of her lifelong treasure hunt: to find God in the circumstances she faced each day, no matter how painful or challenging or disappointing or rewarding.

The lyrics follow, and you can listen here.

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep my faith will stand

And I will call upon Your Name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Saviour

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

The present moment

But God will make his voice heard

Isaiah 30: 15, 18, 26, 29-30 Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. … The Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. … Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. … So it will be when the Lord begins to heal his people and cure the wounds he gave them. … The people of God will sing a song of joy, like the songs at the holy festivals. You will be filled with joy … And the Lord will make his majestic voice heard. He will display the strength of his mighty arm.

People have been asking me, “When will Book 3 be out? I want to know what happens!” This is gratifying, of course. I had hoped it would be out by Christmas, but Easter is my new target.

So, I’m pouring my time and energy into completing the rough draft of Facing the Faeries 1906, Book 3 of the Cally and Charlie series. My big goal is to finish it and read through the whole manuscript once before the end of September. I want to send it to early readers before I travel for most of October. In November, I can make revisions based on their feedback, do the final edit, and send it–I hope!–to AE Books by Thanksgiving.

To accomplish this, though, I’m neglecting everything else. Other projects are piling up. People I long to spend time with are multiplying.

What tends to keep me awake at night, though, is this concern: By trying to write fast, will I miss hearing God’s voice? Will I leave out something he wants to be included in this book? Am I capable of writing the vision I believe he has given me, of how the distress of my characters will resolve into joy?

Last night was one of those nights. I believe God guided me to read a chapter from The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, as well as Isaiah 30. The verses I’ve cited speak directly to my heart and my concern. They encourage me to take time to go to him, be quiet. and listen for his direction. Even if it’s in the middle of the night. The Lord will make his majestic voice heard.

Here’s a brief excerpt from chapter 6 of Soul of Desire, in which Curt highlights Psalm 27:4, One thing I ask from the Lord … to gaze on his beauty. I felt like Curt gave me a flash of insight into Karis’s ability to find joy in even the most distressing circumstances:

“Earlier I noted that our imaginations must be stretched, at times painfully so, if beauty and goodness are what we are going to see, create, and become. … Every moment is a crossroads of choosing to move toward or away from integration, toward or away from Jesus and each other, toward or away from goodness and beauty. … One of the most difficult things we have to do is wrest our attention from the painful memories of the past or dread of the future and … imagine beauty while still lamenting what is painful.”

Shutterstock: LeManna

The Lord taught Karis to do this, to make this choice, from the time she was very young. A zillion examples spring to mind. But writing about that must wait for another day.

Here’s Curt again:

“When our attention is firmly ensconced in the past or the future, we remain outside the present moment, the only dimension of the temporal domain of integration in which we are able to find joy and create beauty, even in the presence of our suffering. … Who among us doesn’t have something in our life we have simply given up on—some wound we assume won’t ever be healed, some ruptured relationship whose future we can picture only in images of the injured past, some addictive behavior we believe we can’t overcome, some part of our character in which we are so embroiled that we no longer even consider that it can change? Our discouragement and even despair about such things are, more than anything else, deeply dependent on the degree to which our minds and hearts are living in isolation. Becoming deeply known, living interpersonally integrated lives, enables us to persevere in the face of all that tells us not to, to “will one thing” in order to see the beauty of the pure in heart emerge, to see God in places and ways that heretofore we could not.”

The Lord will make his majestic voice heard.

The people of God will sing a song of joy.

Accurate disagreement, with Julian Adorney, Braver Angels volunteer

But God gives fresh joy to the humble

Isaiah 29:13, 19-21, 24 The Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. … [But] the humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord. The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The scoffer will be gone, the arrogant will disappear … Those who convict the innocent by their false testimony will disappear. A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice and who tell lies to destroy the innocent. … Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction.

1 Peter 3:14-16 Even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear.

I’ve mentioned before an organization called Braver Angels whose purpose is to build bridges across the divides that polarize America. BA is committed to equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats throughout the organization, so everyone has a voice. I want to share with you part of a letter I received from a BA volunteer that seems directly connected to what Isaiah says in chapter 29 as well as Peter centuries later.

Here’s Julian:

At Braver Angels, we talk a lot about civility. But what does civility mean?

Civility isn’t just a desire to find common ground, or to bury our differences and sing “kumbaya” with people who disagree with us. It’s not a desire for ideological unity, a jettisoning of our core convictions, or a refusal to engage in healthy conflict.

Here’s what civility means to me.

1) If I want to criticize Critical Race Theory (for instance), then I need to read books and listen to TED talks by the most prominent supporters of CRT. I want to grapple with the best reasons that someone might support CRT, not the worst; and also get an accurate picture of what proponents like Robin DiAngelo and Kimberlé Crenshaw truly believe.

2) I won’t spend a lot of time reading or citing other critics of CRT. I want to avoid a game of telephone i.e. “I think that CRT is bad, and I’ll define CRT according to how this other critic defines it.”

Rules 1 and 2 are part of what Braver Angels calls “accurate disagreement.” In a republic, we the people should disagree vociferously. But we should also disagree accurately. We should try to learn what the other side thinks, and we should get this education from the horse’s mouth. Abiding by these two rules can help us to have more productive conversations on contentious topics, because it reduces the extent to which we all talk past each other.

3) Be hard on ideas and soft on people. Though I disagree with them, when I read their books, I get the sense that CRT proponents like Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic are good, decent and smart human beings who just want to make their communities and their country a better place.

4) Whenever possible, I’ll mention the good ideas that an ideology brings to the table. Few ideologies are monolithically bad (though some are) and I want to acknowledge these shades of gray and also give credit where it’s due.

Of course, all of this sounds like a lot of work. What’s the point?

The first benefit of civility is that it reduces affective polarization. A world in which we hate every member of the other team is bad, both for our country and for ourselves as human beings. Accurate disagreement and seeing the good in our opponents’ views can help us forge a healthier union.

But there’s another benefit that’s not talked about enough: civility makes it possible to have bigger and better conversations. When we’re civil, our discussions get more rigorous and more intense, because we’re discussing bigger things—the future of civilization and what it means to forge a more perfect union—rather than mudslinging at our political opponents. When we spend less time and energy throwing insults and attacking the other side, we free up those resources to have the conversations that really matter.

For me, this second benefit of civility is summed up in one of my favorite lines from the old TV show The West Wing, by Leo McGary: “We’re gonna raise the level of public debate in this country. And let that be our legacy.“

So let’s all disagree a little more rigorously. And a little more civilly. But I repeat myself.

— Julian Adorney, Braver Angels volunteer

(Debbie again) Christians at least theoretically believe that God loves the world (John 3:16) and that he shows no favoritism (Romans 2:11, 1 Timothy 5:21, James 3:17-18) and that we are to love and pray for our “enemies” (Matthew 5:43-48). We’re to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in every part of our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). This is the heart close to the Lord (Isaiah 29:13); what James calls God’s kind of wisdom (James 3:17-18).

Food for thought as we head into this week.

An exciting announcement!

But God is a wonderful teacher

Isaiah 28:23-29 Listen to me; listen and pay close attention. Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting? … The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding. … The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom.

Matthew 13:3-23 [Jesus said] Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. … To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given.

Dave’s ministry has many facets. One of them is to encourage pastors to form or join a discipleship/mutual care group with other pastors. They experience care for each other and grow together in intimacy with God, in pastoral skills, in balanced priorities, and in personal character. These groups often cross denominational lines. One of the blessings of this has been joint outreach projects between leaders who used to view each other as competitors. Now they are friends, committed together to the growth of the Kingdom in their city.

Dave has written a variety of tools to help pastors grow, care for each other, and rightly order their lives. His book O Lider que Brilha/El Líder que Brilla (“The Leader Who Shines”: Seven Relationships that Lead to Excellence) has been used in Portuguese and Spanish by thousands of pastors meeting in small groups, from Argentina to Mexico.

And THIS MONTH, a long-awaited ministry tool will finally be published in Spanish! It’s the Discipleship Bible, written by Dave and his co-author Josadak in Portuguese for the Brazilian Bible Society, and now available in Spanish for the rest of the continent.

A personal note about writing the Discipleship Bible: When it became apparent to Dave at the end of 2009 that Karis wasn’t getting better and he would have to leave Brazil and move to Pittsburgh, he felt like his world had fallen apart. It took him a year to fulfill existing ministry commitments in Brazil, deal with twenty years of living and raising four kids—I couldn’t help with the move because I was taking care of Karis 24/7 in Pittsburgh—and say goodbye. He knew it was the right decision. Dave and I had lived on different continents for six years already. But what on earth was he going to do in Pittsburgh?

Shortly before Dave left Brazil, toward the end of 2010, he received a surprise phone call from the Brazilian Bible Society. Would he be willing to write a Discipleship Bible?

If Dave hadn’t moved to Pittsburgh, he never would have found time for this work.

Dave still traveled a lot over the next years, back to Brazil and to other countries across Latin America. But whenever he was “home” in Pittsburgh with Karis and me, and later our other two daughters who wanted to be near Karis while she was still with us, Dave had work to do. A huge project that became a profound joy to him. He was able to integrate material from twenty books he’d published in Brazil, packed full of practical, challenging studies and motivation for people who want to grow as disciples of Jesus.

We’ve been using pieces of the Discipleship Bible in Latin America for years, translating individual studies and sending them around by internet. But finally, all its resources will be available for Spanish speakers everywhere. It’s a huge milestone for us. (Before you ask, yes, we would love to see it translated into English. You can pray with us for this to happen in God’s way and time!)

The Discipleship Bible includes introductions to each book describing what that book offers to a disciple of Jesus, seven courses, each with eight modules, each of them with eight studies for small groups (448 studies!) and application notes on every page Plus several other topical studies and a thematic index. The seven courses are:

1. Disciplemaking fundamentals

2. Relationships – a lifestyle of healthy personal relationships

3. Marriage, the most intimate and profound experience of discipleship

4. High-performing teams

5. Soul (emotional) restoration

6. Biblical disciplers

7. Godly character

For two years, I’ve been using studies from the Discipleship Bible with my Monday evening Zoom group of women leaders from several countries. The studies are simple—five questions and two or three paragraph article—and they inevitably take us deep into Scripture and into our own lives. As soon as I post this, I’ll prepare the study for our next meeting. We rotate the facilitator role, but all of us prepare ahead of time. I’m surprised every week by how rich that week’s study is for us as we share how God is using it in our own growth and practice as disciples of Jesus.

Thank God with us for the wealth of his wisdom and for being such a great teacher through the Scriptures he has given us!

Alone, no!

But God is a gardener

Isaiah 27:2-3 In that day, sing about the fruitful vineyard. I, the Lord, will watch over it, watering it carefully. Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.

John 15:1-5 [Jesus said] “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. … Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

*“Watering it carefully” Shutterstock: Max Lindenthaler*

“Sozinho, não!”

“Solito, no!”

This is the rallying cry or slogan of my husband Dave’s ministry, Discipling and Pastoring of Pastors in Brazil and Latin America (see dppastores.com). It means “Alone, no!”

A Pastoring of Pastors retreat in Brazil

Many pastors in Latin America do feel alone. They’ve been taught that the success of their church is on their shoulders. Denominational leaders tend to communicate demands more than support. They don’t have anyone with whom to share their burdens and receive encouragement, either personally or ministerially. Often, they are afraid of potential consequences if they tell anyone they are vulnerable or needy in any way. Sometimes they are afraid to admit this even to their spouses. They don’t have help in “watching over themselves.”

And sometimes all that explodes into a scandal of one kind or another. Sometimes that’s because the pressure the pastor feels becomes overwhelming. Especially the pressure of loneliness.

Other times, the pastor simply quits. The stats on this are not pretty. The loss of pastors is part of what has been called “the great dechurching”**—in the US as well as Central and South America.

Over the years, Dave has had the privilege of participating in the restoration of pastors. The process is different, of course, in each case. But it always involves this basic concept: You can’t do ministry alone. It must be a team effort, with encouragement, support, and accountability. You must be connected to the vine AND to the other branches.

Sozinho, não!

I encourage you—and myself—to pray for your pastors, support them however you can, and be very careful about gossip and a critical attitude. Resolve conflicts directly and with love. Don’t “church hop” because of disagreements over nonessentials. Don’t turn your worshiping community into a political battlefield. And maybe most important: God didn’t ever intend us to be loner Christians. We need each other. Each of us needs to be a part of a body of believers submitted to Christ as Lord, growing in grace, and caring for each other. Alone, no!

When I started writing this post, I didn’t realize it would become so long. So I’m breaking it into two parts, with an exciting announcement next time!

**For example, in this book. You can Google other books and articles and discussions.