Footprints

Good Sunday to all. I hope everyone was aware that today was the start of day light savings time. Waine and I slept right through it. None-the-less it's a beautiful spring day Waine and I are enjoying it thoroughly. I am reminded every day of God's good grace and mercy. I am reminded daily that God has a plan for my life and Heaven and Hell will not be able to stop it.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 22: 18-30 "Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They will not mourn for him: Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister! They will not mourn for him: Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor! He will have the burial of a donkey— dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem. Go up to Lebanon and cry out, let your voice be heard in Bashan, cry out from Abarim, for all your allies are crushed. I warned you when you felt secure,  but you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your way from your youth;  you have not obeyed me.  The wind will drive all your shepherds away, and your allies will go into exile. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced because of all your wickedness. You who live in ‘Lebanon, who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labor! As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. You will never come back to the land you long to return to. Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot,  an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know? O land, land, land, hear the Word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah." Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

I believe what God is admonishing Israel to do is to think about its legacy. What evidence did they want to leave behind as the proof that they were the children of the Promise. Throughout Jeremiah, God has pleaded with Israel to turn from their practice of worshipping idols and return to Him. They however have remained disobedient and now not only is their future at stake, the future of their legacy and the future of their children is at stake. One of the things that Waine and I take great pride in is that our children and grandchildren are the evidence that we walked this earth. Not to have that legacy would be disturbing to us. However, not to have a legacy with God would be  more disturbing. My spiritual footprint is more important to me than my physical footprint. I want a legacy with God. I want my name in His book and I want Him to call me as part of His tribe today. As a member of His tribe I am called upon to be in obedience to His commandments - to love Him with all my heart, mind and soul and then to love you as He has loved me. In so doing I am in obedience to His Will and then am truly in the path of Grace and Mercy. 

Where is your footprint today. If He took you across the River Jordan today what foot print would you leave? What foot print would I leave?

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen.

Stephanie 

Do What is Just and Right

Good  morning to all on this Sunday morning. God is in His heaven and all is right with the world! Waine and I are in Thomaston this weekend catching up with each other and catching up on all the many events that make our life together wonderful. The temperature has dropped down in the 50's and is more in line with Spring temperatures for Georgia.  I am sure that you have been watching the news and following all the tornadoes that have devastated parts of the South and Mid-west. Please pray for the folks in the 12 states have been affected.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah chapter 22 verses 1-17 "This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: ‘Hear the Word of the LORD to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by Myself that this palace will become a ruin.’ For this is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah: Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited. I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire. People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’ And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’ Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss; rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled, because he will never return nor see his native land again. For this is what the LORD says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace
with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me? declares the LORD. But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.” Amen. May God add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

Gilead holds a prominent position in God's heart. Gilead is the place of many important events in the Bible. When Jacob fled Labam after he stole the "promise", he went to Gilead. When Moses went up to the Mount of Moab to see the Promised Land, God showed him all the land between Gilead and Dan. When the crowds followed Jesus across the River Jordan, they followed Him to Gilead. The history of the twelve tribes of Israel and the eventual lineage to Christ surrounds Gilead. This place was very special to God however God was willing to destroy Judah, which was like Gilead to God, if the Kings of Judah remained disobedient to the commandments of God. The Kings were to assist the poor and protect the weak. They were to do what was JUST AND RIGHT!  Being Just and Right is a commandment which carriers forward even to us as Believers in Christ. This message is needed more than ever today as candidates for the US Presidency are beating the bushes for Americans who believe that the poor and weak among us should not be given a hand up; the poor are to do the best they can in a free market enterprise and if they are unsuccessful and become homeless and destitute then so be it--this was their destiny. Perhaps these candidates should really get into the Word of God. God does not desire anyone to be destitute and the greed of many Americans will end up destroying them. 

As Christians we are commanded to have a Heart for the less fortunate. We are commanded to love one another as God has loved us, while we were yet in sin. God's overwhelming LOVE for His people will cover all sins EXCEPT when that sin puts other gods before Him. My prayer is that we are not like the kings of the Old Testament who worshipped idols; that we are not stupid to think that this world was created by accident. Out challenge as Christians is to use our lives as the testament of God's love for us and the world; He does not desire that any should perish. We are in need of more Jeremiahs providing a message of hope to a sin-sick world. Be encouraged my beloved because God has a plan for you today and that plan is Life filled with abundance because Jesus has already paid the price for it.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen

Stephanie

The Key is Obedience

Good morning to all on this Sunday morning. My last posting was on the Sunday after Violet's passing and I dare say that the past 2 weeks have been a whirl wind. Her brothers and sisters came from near and far as did her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Her memorial service was very touching and beautiful as the life of this woman was celebrated. I don't think it has quite hit Waine yet so please keep him in your prayers. I didn't even get to post my weekly Jeremiah blog entry because of the demands (good demands) of ensuring that our children and our obligations to Violet and her family were met. Waine and I had a great bonding time with all four of our children, Kai and Hailie and hosted a Sunday dinner for about 50 people. Funerals and weddings are a great time to catch up with family and friends. In lieu of flowers, Waine established a Violet Johnson-ABC memorial fund which anyone can access through http://www.abcardio.org/. Violet had atrial fibrillation for decades and if her passing can assist others, this would continue to honor the life of this remarkable woman who was eulogized by one of her son's as a woman "who never hid the talents that God gave her". What a wonderful tribute.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 21, verses 1-14 "The Word came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said: Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us. But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath. I will strike down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague. After that, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’ Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the LORD. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’ Moreover, say to the royal house of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says to you, house of David: “‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it. I am against you, Jerusalem, you who live above this valley on the rocky plateau, declares the LORD— you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our refuge? I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forests that will consume everything around you. Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

Here is what the Lord says, "I am setting before you the WAY of Life and the way of Death". This is a reference to the coming of Christ. In John 14:6, Christ declares that I am the Way, the Truth and the Light. No man comes to the Father but through me. God was telling the disobedient Israelites that although they would be conquered and would suffer because of their sins, there was still a way out. A path to secure life if they chose to take it. Even in their disobedience; even in His disappointment, God was providing a Way for the obedient to save themselves. It wasn't so much that delivering themselves into the hands of Babylonians would save them; the message to the Israelites was always that their OBEDIENCE would save them. Whether its their obedience to these particular instructions or their obedience to the instructions provided by God through His prophets, the key is obedience.

God desires that we have LIFE and have it more abundantly which is why Christ died for us while we were yet in SIN. The act of obedience to accept the sacrifice provided by Christ when He freely gave His life so that we could live, IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. On this hangs the balance of your life and my life. Violet went to sleep on Friday February 10th and never woke up on this side of Jordan. Hallelujah that she long ago had accepted Christ as her Savior so when she woke up on the other side of Jordan she was ready for the continuation of her life with Christ. Our job here on earth is to use our lives so that others can see Christ in it and also be ready whenever they are called to cross the River Jordan. That is an eventuality ofr all of us. We all have "one more River to cross". When we let out lives so shine that others will come to know God and to love God then our living is not in vain.

As you reflect on your obedience, I thank God that He never gives up on us. We are never lost and as we continue to step out on faith, His blessings are pressed down and multiplied. We are not to live in fear but break the bonds of fear through OBEDIENCE to His Word. As we approach this Advent season, know that God loves you and so do I.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie

Fret Not! God Is With You Like a Mighty Warrior.

Happy and blessed Sunday to all! I am in Thomaston weathering temperatures of 30-37 degrees! I left sunny Kingston, Jamaica on Thursday with temperatures in the 80's! What a difference a couple of latitudes make! Our news of the week is that Waine's mother Violet went on to her new sunrise on February 11, 2012. I can honestly say that Violet received her roses while she was alive and she knew she was loved. She will be missed by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. My husband will miss his frequent visits to her to taste her humor and her cooking. We will memorialize Violet on Saturday the 18th of February and as I record this Bog entry her loved ones and family members are preparing to come into Atlanta from near and far.Please keep us in your prayers.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 20, verses 7-18 "You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the Word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention His Word or speak anymore in His Name, His Word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce Him! Let’s denounce Him!”  All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps He will be deceived; then we will prevail over Him and take our revenge on Him.  But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. LORD Almighty, You who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause. Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, "A child is born to you—a son!” May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. For He did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever. Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame? Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

I had to read a commentary of verse 7 because I was not understanding why Jeremiah would accuse God of "deceiving" him. Apparently the Greek translation is "persuaded"; in other words God persuaded Jeremiah to be His prophet and as we have all discovered in these 20 chapters, Jeremiah was NOT without murmurings and laments as he went about his duties as God's prophet to a sinful Israel. He would go ahead and do as God instructed but God would hear about it. Which is good instructions for us. God doesn't mind that we lament; He minds that we lament and then become un-empowered. We focus on the terror and not on the revelation that "the Lord is with me as a mighty Warrior!" That statement at the beginning of  verse 11 starts with "but" which then negates all that has been said before that statement. "But" is a conjunction--it connects two thoughts in a contraction or contrary manner. Jeremiah was lamenting his trials in verses 7-10 and then realizes that despite the persecution he faced GOD REMAINED WITH HIM AS A MIGHTY WARRIOR!!!!!

When we are obedient to the commandments of God He has us covered. God will fight all the battles that befall you so you are free to continue to perform your Kingdom building activities. It is only when Satan can distract us from our duties involved in Kingdom building by "frustration", does he (Satan) win. We are to stay focused on the Cross; the place where all your battles have been fought and won. Be obedient such that God can do His work as your Mighty Warrior and not have to worry that you will run into the very sword that He is using for your enemies. Be bold in your faith and not worry about how the check gets covered. We are to step out in faith and let God work the rest for us. Thank you Jesus! Hallelujah!

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

God bless your daughter Violet who is now in your bosom.

Stephanie

Shaken but Not Stirred!

Good Sunday to all. Waine and I are in Hawkinsville, Georgia this weekend and it has been an eventful weekend for me. It started on Friday when I had to assist in the delivery of a 32 week old baby whose mother had taken methadone, marijuana and opiate before the delivery. The baby had to be supported for his respirations but is now fine but the mother is now in liver failure so please lift up both the mother and baby. Waine and I are off to Jamaica tomorrow; please pray God's traveling mercies for us. God is good all the time and His mercies endure even when we have given up. Thank God that He doesn't limit His blessing because of our doubt.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 20, verses 1-6 "When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD’s name for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. I will deliver all the wealth of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies. " Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

Jeremiah is not backing off! That is very refreshing. He has, during the previous 19 chapters been at times, whinny, wimpy and scared. Today he has endured suffering and still got in Pashur's face with the prophecies of God. Basically, Jeremiah is telling Pashur that both he and his family will suffer at the hands of the enemy because of Pashur's persecution of Jeremiah who was obeying God and spreading the gospel as told by God. Jeremiah was bold because he knows that God is going to take of him. God does have his back! I think Jeremiah is realizing that calamity may befall him but God is still in control and will deliver him from the hands of the enemy. What a mighty lesson! God always has a 50,000 view of our circumstance. We at times get lost in the trees of doubt, confusions, frustration and disappointment AND God never loses site of the promise He has made to us, His people. When we are obedient to His commandments, you can trust that what you have asked will be brought to past even though you may not have the vantage point to see clearly. It is always ok to be shaken; we are only human. Just don't be stirred from your mission to love God with all your heart and mind and to love your neighbor as your self. God loves your obedient heart.

As you go about your week, be a blessing to others because God has your secured! Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie

Don't Limit Your Blessings

Good Sunday to all! Waine and I are in Thomaston this weekend and the weather if great so you know where my beloved is! I have been relatively busy this weekend with little cherubs that had to be admitted because of wheezing. All and all a fruitful time was spent in Thomaston. I was celebrating with my sister over all God's blessing for her and her family already in 2012! God is a good God. There is no One better. The message from both Joel Olstein and from Reverend Stanley this morning is that out blessings are only limited when we limit God. Their suggestion is that we open up our mouths very wide and except all the blessings that God has in store for us. My mouth is wide open and I am expecting great things.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 19 verses 1-15, "This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you,  and say, ‘Hear the Word of the LORD, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.  So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.  In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them. Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the LORD. I will make this city like Topheth. The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods. Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the LORD’s temple and said to all the people, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to My Words."  May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

The patience of God is truly amazing. We have gone 19 chapters hearing of God's disappointment in the sinfulness of Israel. God continues to admonish Israel through Jeremiah by giving them examples; pleading with them to turn from worshipping idols and give Him their hearts. They continue in their sins and yet He sends Jeremiah out to talk with them and reason with them. He loves us that much more; that even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS! God gave us the most precious gift ever, the life of Christ, and He did it even while we were in SIN. That's the message from both Joel Olstein and Reverend Stanley today. When we limit God's blessings in our lives because we pray only for "small things", we are then not acting like the child of the King! Now unlike the folk of the Old Testament, our success has been guaranteed by the Blood of the Lamb. We have God on "Speed Dial" because we have an Intercessor. What blocks our vision of our blessing is our sin, however God instructs us to repent of our sins constantly not so that we can gain blessings but we can see the blessing we already have and then be bold in our requests for more.

When we tentatively approach our lives, we are not reflecting the power of God. Just as the Israelites who were worshipping false Gods, we are not living in the Promise when we approach life meekly. Rebuke the evil one who would have you believe that God does not want you to have a life of abundance. Satan is the Great Deceiver. Look what happened in the Garden.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Expect your blessing today.

Stephanie

Just Because!

Happy Sunday to all! Waine and I are in Thomaston enjoying each other, enjoying the football games and celebrating that God continues to bless us and our family! Aleron is now a licensed physician! He passed his part III of the qualifying exams with distinction! Waine and I have finally launched our last little duckling! Hallelujah and praise God from whom all blessings flow. I can't stop thanking God for His Grace and Mercy; He clearly will workout the best plan for each of us even when we mess things up!

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 18 verses 19-23, "Listen to me, LORD; hear what my accusers are saying! Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you

and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them. So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hid and den snares for my feet. But you, LORD, know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger." May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

Clearly Jeremiah is UPSET! Jeremiah is basically asking God to get rid of all these folk who he has been intervening for who now are plotting against him. Jeremiah wants calamity to befall these cut throat Israelites. It would appear that Jeremiah has been patting himself on the back; he has probably deluded himself into thinking that he is the reason God has not brought His wrath on the people of Israel. I think Jeremiah has forgotten, that all have sinned. There is no one whose hands are clean. God rains on both the just and unjust not that either group is deserving. God provides blessings to all JUST BECAUSE!

I can actually identify with Jeremiah's frustration. I have done good to and for a lot of people and have been repaid by viciousness. At those times I have to ask myself why did I help. Was it for self aggrandisement or was I obeying God. On the other hand, I ahve also been the recipient of much good will from strangers and friends. Was I deserving? Maybe not. I certainly have learned over time that I get more blessings from helping others than I get the negative results. As Christians we are to love one another just as Christ has loved us--unconditionally. When you put conditions on your love then you are no better than the folk that only do things when they are compensated. Our love for God; our true understanding of the sacrifice He made when He died for us will DRIVE US to love unconditionally. If this is not evident in your life, then ask God to reveal the junk in your trunk. You'll be happier.

Now  may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie