Monthly Archives: January 2021
“The Wonders of Heaven and Earth”
A friend emailed me to thank me for my post titled, “You Can’t Hear Good News too Often.” She said, “I always appreciate GOOD NEWS! Especially lately.” I replied as follows:
“Yes, we all need good news—always.
And we always need to remember that “this world is not our home; we’re just a passin’ through,” to paraphrase that hill gospel song.
And remember: As you and I have decided, Heaven must have lots of books!
I have a recurring dream. In it, I am wandering through a very large, beautiful house. Every room is beautiful and every room is different. Some are filled with light and some with dark paneling, a fireplace, and (you guessed it!) books. I always have a profound sense of peace and joy and wonder while I am wandering through the rooms. Even when I awake, the peace and joy and wonder remain.
This planet, this life, is filled with wonder too. My prayer is that you and I and all of us will be captured by that wonder today, and that we will be as prepared as we can be for the wonder of Heaven.
“You Can’t Hear Good News Too Often!”
There was some sort of threat the other morning against the campus of my university. I teach online only, but I still care very much about what goes on at our campuses. So, I sent an email to a couple of people I know on campus, to let them know that I was praying for them. My supervisor fired back an email in which he told me something I had already heard: The authorities had already investigated and given the all-clear signal. I responded,
“Dear Anthony,
That’s great news! I had received the email sounding the all-clear, but I am glad to hear it from you as well. You can’t hear good news too often!” And then I added, “Hey, that sounds like a good title for an upcoming post on my website!”
And it really is a good title and a good saying, too. Why? Because you can’t hear good news too often!
When my wife says she loves me, that is good news. I don’t get bored when she says that. When a friend prays for me over the phone or texts me to let me know that he’s thinking of me, that’s good news! Even when someone says that dinner is ready, that is good news.
The Greek word that is translated “gospel” or “good news” is all over the place in the New Testament. In fact, it occurs some 73 times in the New Testament. The first four books of the New Testament are called “the Gospels” for good reason.
And indeed, the coming of Jesus into the world was and is good news. At least, there are many of us who feel that way. I am among that group. That God, the creator of the universe, would become one of us, teach, do miracles, forgive people (which is the greatest miracle of all), would die for the sins of the whole world, and be raised from the dead—that is really good news. And you can’t hear good news too often!
A twelve-step participant said the other day at an online meeting, “We do not simply carry the message to other addicts. We are the message.” Yes indeed!
Not all of those who name the name of Jesus Christ are good news, and none of us is good news all the time. But that is what we are called to be: good news. And you can’t hear—or see—good news too often!
“Ferry Cross the Mersey and the Longing for Home”
I just read last night that Gerry Marsden of The Pacemakers died on January 3. His song, “Ferry Cross the Mersey” calms my mind every time I listen to it. I remember the first time I ever heard it. I was always more of a Pacemakers person than a Beatles guy. That may be a failing on my part, but there it is. I’m a heretic! “And here I’ll stay.”
So, I wonder what it is that I love so much about the song? The beat? It begins with a snare drum played with brushes. (I used to be a drummer. We weren’t called “percussionists” back in those days, just drummers.)
Or was it Gerry’s voice? Well, as a matter of fact, I do love his voice. (Hey, I’m a tenor! What can I say!)
How about the pace of this Pacemakers song? Yes, that may be part of it. I generally like slower music. Linked to this, “Ferry Cross the Mersey” is a great song for slow dancing. I could dance to that song with some hope of not stepping on my dance partner’s feet with my two left feet.
And, then the song came out a time when I was young and thought I was fully alive. However, I’m more fully alive today than I have ever been, so that probably didn’t play much of a part.
Maybe it’s the words. The Mersey River in England is a river that flows to the city of Liverpool. And the song “Ferry Cross the Mersey” is a love song to Liverpool.
“Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
People they rush everywhere
Each with their own secret care
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
And always take me there
The place I love
People around every corner
They seem to smile and say
We don’t care what your name is boy
We’ll never turn you away
So I’ll continue to say
Here I always will stay
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
Here I’ll stay
Here I’ll stay
This land, the place we love
Ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place we love
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay”
Not profound, perhaps, but profound to me, even at the age of twenty when I first fell in love with the song. I didn’t know why I loved the song so much at the time. I still don’t. But I can tell you a few things.
I was returning from my first, nationally ranked, chess tournament—the 1971 Ohio State University Open. I did well and tied for second place in the unranked category. It was the final game of the tournament. Barry and I had fought to a draw. Barry and his college roommate were students at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, and were planning to hitchhike back to Antioch. It was already about ten o’clock at night, and that didn’t sound either safe or wise to me. So, I lied: “That’s practically on my way home,” I told them. So, I gave them a ride back to their dorm, went in and played my first and last game ever of Gomoko, drank a cup of coffee, and headed home. Now, I was only slightly closer to home than I had been in Columbus.
Nobody was on the road at that time of the morning, and I was getting sleepy. And then, this song comes on the radio. If I had heard it before, I had not really heard it before. And I spent the rest of my two-hour drive home thinking about the song. Was it ferry across the mercy? Or was there a place called Mercy? And why was this place (or whatever it was) so special as to deserve such a beautiful song?
I have continued to love the song and think it beautiful. I was privileged to study in England and to receive my Ph. D. from the University of Nottingham. I have been to Liverpool. I’m sorry to say that I did not take the ferry cross the Mersey. If this pandemic ever gets tamped down enough, I am going back to England, and I will definitely ride the ferry.
I think that the main reason I fell in love with the song and the reason I love it even more today is primarily this: It speaks concerning the love of a place that accepts you just as you are. And all of us long for that
Some people find such acceptance in a bar. I have not. Some people find it in a church. Even though I’m a Christ-follower and do participate in the life of a fellowship of believers, I cannot honestly say that I have found acceptance there either. Sorry, but I try to speak the truth, even when I don’t like the truth.
I have found acceptance with my wife. I’ve also found it in England, and with my 12-step groups, both the groups in England and in “The Colonies.” For some reason that I can’t pinpoint, I feel more at home in England than I have felt here in America. I love America, but England is my heart’s home. I would migrate in a heartbeat if I could.
And yet, perhaps no place, no group, no person is ultimately my heart’s home. There is an ancient story that tells of a man and a woman—indeed, the first man and woman—who were driven out of their home because they disobeyed a simple, but important, command. Perhaps the heart’s longing, mine and yours, is a continuation of the longing to return to that “place I love”, the one that Gerry Marsden sang about.
Someday, we’ll be home. I trust that Gerry is home now. Rest in peace, dear one. If I see you in Heaven, I will most certainly say, “Thank you!”
DTEB, “Normal? No Such Thing!”
I no longer believe in normal. Therefore, I have no desire to get back to it. In point of fact, normal never existed. What we call “normal” is usually just our faulty memory of the good bits and bobs that we think we experienced in the past.
Do you think I’m being pessimistic? It may sound so, I admit. However, I find this rejection of the fiction of normality as being positive and liberating. When I lust for normality, I tend to get up-tight, to worry, to overlook the joys of the moment.
Did you notice that yesterday was full of sunshine, and that it was unseasonably warm? It was a spring day in January. What a gift! Today is going to be a lot colder. So? The sun is still supposed to shine.
Have you noticed that on very cold nights, there are exquisite diamonds on the ground, sprinkled around by the extravagant anonymous Giver called Nighttime? They are gone in the morning, but man, are they ever lovely before they vanish!
Have you noticed that you can read this post? That you can read a book? Your Facebook friends’ posts? What is normal about reading, may I ask? You and I were not born knowing how to read.
Most of you can get out of bed, reach for a cup of coffee or a glass of water. What a privilege! But it isn’t normal.
Life and death are normal. They are also extraordinary blessings. Quite appropriately, I try to take good care of myself and others. I want to put off death as long as possible. That really is normal.
But death is normal too. And while I will be careful—for my own sake and the sake of others—I will choose not to fear death or the process of dying. Rumor has it that when I close my eyes in death, the next face I see will be the Face I’ve longed to see all my life: the Face of Jesus.
“The God to Whom We Pray: The God Who Listens, Looks, and Loves”
Our virtual church community group is working our way through a study guide on Prayer. The study is called “TALK,” and it is very helpful.
Last night, we were discussing that fact that we need to not simply talk in our prayers. We also need to listen. Many good comments were made during the discussion. My wise (and concise) wife summed it up this way: “God listens, looks, and loves.”
Yes indeed! One of the reasons why we so often feel that God is not answering our prayers is because he is such a good listener. He listens until he has heard it all. Of course, God already knew what was going on with us and with those people we love and those things we care about. But we don’t know that God listens until we’ve said everything we have to say. It takes a while to say it all.
God also looks. He looks at the person praying, and not simply at the prayer. To be ignored is a horribly hurtful thing. I know this first-hand. Probably, everyone has had the experience. But, although God may seem invisible to us, we are not invisible to God. The praying person is seen.
And God loves. It is because God loves us so much that he listens and looks. God listens in love, God looks in love. God is madly in love with us. And God’s loving madness is our sanity.
“The God of Big and Little Things”
“Psa. 36:5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.
Psa. 36:7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.” (English Standard Version)
The God of the Old Testament is incredibly deep and high and powerful. He is also described at times as being incredibly tender.
Take Psalm 36:5-6, for example. After focusing on the wicked in verses 1-4, the psalmist changes his prayer focus very abruptly. In the rest of the psalm, this praying person focuses on God (with the exception of saying that the wicked will get their comeuppance in God’s good time in verses 11-12).
And what does the psalmist say about God? Well, God’s love is as high as the heavens and God’s faithfulness is as high as the sky (verse 5). God’s righteousness is like the highest mountains (vs. 6). Everest has nothing on God! And God’s justice is like the ocean depths (also verse 5).
And then the psalmist does something that is weird and wonderful: He says that this God, this God whose qualities are so high and wonderful, also preserves both people and animals!
Say what?! Yes! This same God, who is so big, also takes care of individual people—and the animals too. The word for animals is a generic one in Hebrew. This word refers to both domesticated animals and wild ones. Apparently, God’s loving faithfulness and such extends to all people and animals—even the wild critters.
Even those who don’t believe in God ought to wish that a God like that should exist. And those of us who have experienced God’s goodness should learn to trust and praise this God unceasingly. Yes, even in tough and uncertain times such as we’re going through right now. Especially then.
“Learning in War Time”
What follows is an email that I just sent to my students. I think it may help you with whatever you need to do today, whether it is a Zoom business conference or running the vacuum cleaner. It has very few of my own words, and a lot of good thoughts from C. S. Lewis.
“Dear Fellow Students of God’s Word,
Old Testament Interpretation class starts today. Again I say, welcome!
I know that this is a difficult time to focus on anything other than news (or opinions about the news). I must admit that I struggle with this as well.
However, as important as what is going on in our country is right now (and it is important) it is also important to focus on other things, at least part of the time.
I had to turn NPR off in order to reread a sermon by C.S. Lewis title, “Learning in War Time.” I was thinking that there might be something in that might speak to our current situation. I was not disappointed. (Ladies, I am sorry, but Lewis refers to “men” several times in his sermon. I suspect that if he had lived longer, he might have begun to see the error of his ways in this regard.)
“Learning in War Time” was a sermon preached on October 22, 1939. The United Kingdom had declared war on Nazi Germany on September 1 of that year. Even some university faculty were raising the question as to whether or not it was even right to go ahead with university teaching and learning.
Lewis argued that it was more than appropriate to get on with the business of teaching and learning. Here are some quotes from Lewis’ sermon:
“Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. . . . If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with ‘normal life’. Life has never been normal.”
“A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself.”
“If our parents have sent us to Oxford [or Southeastern University, D.D.], if our country allows us to remain there, this is prima facie evidence that the life which we, at any rate, can best lead to the glory of God at present is the learned life.”
“The learned life then is, for some, a duty. At the moment it looks as if it were your duty.”
“The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorourable. Favourable conditions never come.”
One final quote:
Lewis writes that we must practice “. . . leaving futurity in God’s hands. We may as well, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not. Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment ‘as to the Lord’. It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.”
So, lets all of us get on with our work, with our loving of our families, with our ministries, our studies! Your instructor is, of course, talking to himself.”
“On Avoiding Civil War”
I generally try to avoid the controversial topic of politics on this website. Religion is a divisive enough topic. Why write about another?
However, in this case, I am going to make an exception. I fear that our nation is teetering on the brink of civil war. Some friends thought I was being too dramatic when I’ve said that in the past. I hoped and prayed that those friends were right and that I was wrong. After the events of this past Wednesday, I’m not so sure. If we are to avoid a second civil war, there are steps we need to take right now.
First, we need take responsibility for what we say and how we say it. Rhetoric is the means we use to try to persuade people of something. Inflammatory rhetoric doesn’t persuade. It just inflames.
Second, we need to take responsibility for what we hear and how we hear. Listening to the same political pundits (or only our like-minded friends on Facebook) all the time may not further our knowledge. Such a practice only confirms us in our opinions. And sometimes our opinions become convictions that destroy us and others.
Third, we need to think very deeply about what is going on in our country right now. Slogans won’t cut it, but slogans will cut our nation into pieces. Slogans such as “Stop the Steal” are not a viable substitute for doing our homework.
For example, if there was widespread voter fraud, if the Democrats really stole the election, if there were a lot of bogus ballots, then why did the Democrats not elect more senators and more representatives than they did? Pretty poor planning on their part, if you ask me. Even in states with supposedly widespread fraud, many Republicans who were on the same ballots won. Why? Maybe because the ballots were not doctored or made up.
As another part of our homework, we need to ask ourselves this question: Why did Trump lose so many court challenges—somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty of them. Many of these challenges were made before conservative judges, and even trump-appointed conservative judges. These cases were dismissed due to a lack of evidence. Simply alleging voter fraud isn’t enough. Where is the proof?
Fourth, and above all, we all need to think about our tendency to create us-and-them categories. Republicans are not demons; neither are Democrats. But if we create enemies among ourselves, we are all in league with the demons. And we will lose more than our nation. We will lose our very souls.
“Circle of Concern vs. Circle of Influence”
DTEB, “Circle of Concern vs. Circle of Influence”
In a wonderful book that I need to reread, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen R. Covey identifies two circles: the circle of concern and the circle of influence. The circle of concern refers to everything that we care about. Many of them are huge and important. He includes such things as the national debt and the dangers of nuclear war. The circle of influence refers to areas in our lives in which we might be able to do something positive.
Covey goes on to say that the problem is that too many of us operate—or try to operate—directly in our circle of concern. But, since these concerns are not within our sphere of influence, we simply spin our wheels and don’t get anywhere. In fact, such a preoccupation with those things that concern us actually causes our circle of influence to contract. We become less and less able to change anything that concerns us.
Now, I think that it is safe to say that a lot of us right now are concerned with a lot of different things. This may be the greatest understatement that I have ever made in my life. Think about it: COVID-19, economic havoc, racial injustice, political instability—and that’s just today’s headlines. There are plenty of other things that concern us. And these things should concern us!
However, if we spend too much time on these things, thinking about them, worrying about them, talking about them, we simply dimmish our ability to do anything about them. Our circle of influence contracts.
For those of us who are praying people, even “praying about” our problems and concerns can be a euphemism for worry. I am reminded of an old Christian hymn that counsels us to “Take your burdens to the Lord.” But the hymn lyrics don’t stop there. The lyrics say, “Take your burdens to the Lord, and leave them there.” Even those of us who claim to be believers are prone to taking our burdens to the Lord, and then picking them right back up. That is why so many of us are bent over before we’re forty years old.
The circle of influence refers to areas where we can make a positive difference. These are areas where we are more or less in charge. Let me give a simple example. I can’t do anything directly about COVID-19. It is something that concerns me for sure. And it should! But I am not a medical person or a scientist. (I got straight Ds in chemistry, and the only reason I didn’t get Fs was that the teacher liked me and knew that I was a good student in my other classes.)
But what I can do is wear a mask and practice social distancing. I can wash my hands. I can take the vaccination when I get the chance. These actions are within my sphere of influence.
In the case of this pandemic and in a multitude of other concerns, the best question I can ask at any given moment is this: “What can I do right now to stay within my circle of influence to make a positive difference in this concern of mine?”
One of the many ways in which we get way out of our sphere of influence and into an illegitimate preoccupation with what concerns is our consumption of information. This has been called “The Information Age.” I’m not so sure that it shouldn’t be called “The Misinformation Age.” But no matter what you call it, it is largely a snare and a delusion. Even if the information is good and true (and much of it is not), does it really help us to change things? In most cases, I suspect that all the information we consume is junk food. A thing is believed simply because our friends affirm it on Facebook.
But even consuming good, nutritious information can cause our circle of influence to contract. For example, I have been listening to National Public Radio a lot of late. I had to resist the urge to stream NPR live this morning, before I had done my devotions, read my Scriptures, written and posted this post, taken the dog outside, or written my gratitude list. (Of course, I had already had some coffee. First things first!)
Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with National Public Radio. I think that NPR tries to be balanced and to go into depth in its reporting. Do they always get it right? Of course not! But I think they actually try to get at the truth. However, there comes a point when I have consumed all the news that I can handle. Anything more, and I am out of my sphere of influence.
In a deep sense, the Serenity Prayer is precisely what we need at this moment. If I, if we, are to stay in our circle of influence, we need to pray it many times each day. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
There’s a longer version of the prayer that I like even better. It goes like this:
“God grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as he did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would like it.
Trusting that he will make all things right,
If I surrender to his will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this world
And supremely happy in the next.” (Reinhold Niebuhr, Theologian)
So, may you have a serene, courageous, and wise day! And may you operate in your circle of influence today!
“An Email to My Students the Day After an Insurrection”
My Dear Students,
And you are dear to me, already, right now. I always feel a great affection for all my students—even those who are dill pickles with bumps. (None of you falls into that category, of course!)
The events at the capitol building yesterday were profoundly disturbing to me, and I’m sure, to you as well. However, I would remind you of a few basic, spiritual realities.
First, God is still in control. Not the Democrats, thank God. Not the Republicans, thank God. Neither you nor me, thank God. God is in control, thank God! While I do believe in God’s guidance, I also believe that God holds the reins of this wild horse called “humankind” with a very loose hand. God does intervene at times with miracles and judgments, but at least for now, God allows us a lot of free will. Unfortunately, we often abuse that free will.
Second, the Bible actually speaks often about political issues and it speaks to (and often, against) human violence. For example, last night I taught a Hebrew class. I almost canceled, but my students wanted to meet. So, we looked at two verses from Isaiah: Isaiah 8:12-13. Here are these verses in their immediate literary context:
“Is. 8:11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” (English Standard Version)
I pointed out to the class that this word from the LORD came to Isaiah and to Judah at a time of profound political unrest. Assyria was menacing Judah from the northeast, and Egypt was trying to reassert its authority from the southwest. And there were people within Judah who were divided among themselves. Some favored Egypt, some favored Assyria, and some just wanted to ignore the whole thing.
Sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it?
But God says to the prophet, “Now don’t you be the same as everybody else who are always saying ‘Conspiracy!’ and who are afraid all the time. Instead, fear God. And also, make God your sanctuary.”
I think that, in this time, indeed in any time, we need to hear this Word from the Old Testament. Joyce Myer often says, “I know this is not a new word, but it is a now word.”
Right! So it is with this word from Isaiah: It is not a new word, but it is most definitely a now word. I am sending you this email (which will double as a post on my website, downtoearthbeliever.com) mainly because you might need to hear it. Of course, I’m trying to listen to this word myself, because I need to hear it.
But there is a secondary motive behind this email. I think that this illustrates something very important about the Word of God. The Bible, both the Old and New Testament, speaks to our modern 2021 struggles and fears. The Bible is not silent about the real social, political, or personal struggles that we all face.
Furthermore (and this has nothing to do with the Isaiah passage), I would remind you that I am praying for you right now and throughout the day. I will be available for most of the day if you need to email me (dldocterman@seu.edu), call me (513-827-8936), or text. I believe in praying over the phone, so don’t hesitate. If I am taking a nap (and remember, I’m an old guy), I will have the phone on DO NOT DISTURB anyway, so you won’t wake up grumpy (a.k.a. me!). And I don’t generally take long naps, so I can call you back soon.
But let me not just talk about prayer. Let me pray for you right now. “What? You can pray via email??!” Yes, actually, you can!
Oh God our Father, I affirm that you are in control. While you give us free will, and while we are all responsible for the exercise of that free will, you ultimately either cause things to happen or you allow them to happen. And your ultimate intention for the whole human race is that we repent and trust and love you. So, help us—help me—to repent and trust and love. Grant a spirt of kindness, generosity, and holiness. Grant us a fresh filling with your Holy Spirit. Without your Holy Spirit cleansing us and empowering us, we are not simply dead in the water. We’re just plain dead!
Help us to get on with our days as best we can. Raising children, working at our jobs, doing our studies, loving our friends, reaching out the lost, and encouraging one another. May your divine love be in our hearts today, and may your love flow out to others from our overflowing heart. Amen and amen!
Daryl, Instructor for Old Testament Interpretation (and Application!)
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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