Plymothian

⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.⁶ If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Sustainable Childlike Faith

The faith that Jesus wants is the open teachability that comes from being a child.  Children seek out information in order to grow.  Adults often seek out entertainment in order to medicate themselves.  They soothe themselves with sit-coms, divert themselves with movies, or immerse themselves in video-games.  When pain comes we must keep ourselves open. Pain and suffering often lead disciples astray and Jesus sternly warns those who would lead a disciple from their path.  It is not just pain that distracts but also shortcuts to pleasure or gain.  Ecclesiastes warns us of the foolishness of trying to work the system to get ahead for personal gain.  It seems that there are a plethora of get slim, rich, happy, or sexy quick schemes.  The life of the disciple is a way of life.  We know how important routine is for children and we do well when we let parents model a routine for us.  We also do well when we seek God about how to develop sustainable childlike faith.  The community of believers need to encourage each other to keep meeting, keep seeking God, keep modeling godly behaviour for our children, and how to prioritize each day.

Questions

1. How does Jesus motivate the community to embrace child-like disciples?
2. What aspects of being a child would enhance discipleship?
3. How do wrong-minded communities cause the heart to harden?
4. What causes you to cease pursuing God with an open attitude?
5. How can you encourage others to maintain a child-like pursuit of God the Father?

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Humility Is Greatest

Because of repeated accounts in the gospels, it would seem that ‘greatness’ was a concern for the disciples.  In our day people often talk about ‘significance’ or ‘legacy’, and their desire would be the same.  Greatness need not be a negative thing, but it often is rooted in pride.  When an individual wants to further themselves and promote themselves it can be destructive to spiritual growth.  We need to have the attitude of a child.  A child looks to adults with simple trust.  The child allows parents to shape their view of reality.  In the same way, those who bend reality to their own ends lose their grip on reality.  Those who serve self end up with a poor sense of community.  Those who, like a child, allow the heavenly Father to shape their reality will find they see reality most accurately.  In such a narcissistic society as the West is cultivating, it is hard to look past ourselves and our own schemes to see the greater reality of God and his designs.  We need to stop our consumer lusts and we need to be still in the chaos around us and see that if we want a healthy community, it will come from sacrificing our own agenda for the agenda of a loving Father who teaches us to sacrifice our needs for the common good.

Questions

1. About what were the disciples arguing?
2. What did Jesus use as an illustration?
3. How would a childlike attitude foster healthy community?
4. In what ways do you desire greatness?
5. How would a childlike disposition lead you to real greatness?

²² When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. ²³ They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

²⁴ After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

²⁵ “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

²⁶ “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷ “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

No Taxes

Jesus talks to Peter and makes it clear that he does not need to pay the temple tax.  The temple tax was taken from the people so that the temple complex could be maintained.  It was essentially a religious tax and not administered by a ruling power.  At first glance the reference to kings collecting tax seems obscure.  Jesus’ argument is that ruling kings generally did not tax those within their own family.  The family was usually the government that received the tax, not the one who payed it.  By way of Illustration, Elizabeth Queen of England only started paying taxes on her personal income in 1992.  Jesus is saying that as the Son of God he has the right to receive the taxes and he doesn’t have to pay them.  However, so as to maintain the peace he agrees to pay the taxes.

The sending of Peter to find a fish with the coin in its mouth is masterful tactile teaching.

Questions

1. What question was posed to Jesus’ disciples?
2. How did Jesus explain that he didn’t have to pay the taxes?
3. Why do you think Jesus paid the temple tax?
4. What do you think we can learn from this passage today?
5. What can teachers in particular learn?

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

¹⁷ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

So Little Faith

Those who are in the crowds Jesus is talking to have no faith.  His disciples have little faith.  Jesus has much faith.  The amount of miraculous and world-changing work a person is able to do is directly related to their amount of faith.  If a person has no faith, their perception will be that the physical realm is all that there is.  They will look to technology and scientific discoveries for hope.  Although disciples trust that science can be used for good, they do not look to it primarily.  There are those who think that faith is anti-science and limits thinking.  Faithful thinking encompasses science and is broader in its thinking because it allows for more holistic approaches to life.  As well as the scientific, the emotional and spiritual can be fully explored.  Science tends to reduce emotional and spiritual phenomena to synaptic impulses or electrical flow.  This is the means by which signals are transmitted in many cases, but it is not the whole story.  Those who have bought into the limited perspective of scientific naturalism tend to accuse people of faith as being stupid.  People of faith they say just stop the discussion with statements of faith.  How does lightning form?  God does it!  What is the internal fluid of the eye?  Whatever God put there.  There is a faith community that embraces shallow thinking and stupidity, however, there are those who go deeper and ask, “If God forms the lightning, how does he do it?”  They believe that God reveals himself and not all that we experience is divine mystery.  So when we deal with illness, troubles and trials we can engage with science, but it must be done with an holistic perspective that develops faith.

Questions

1. What are Jesus’ disciples not able to do?
2. Why can’t they do it?
3. How are faith and healing related?
4. How do you approach mental illness, sickness, and trials?
5. How could your faith be increased in your approach to life’s problems?

²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

John and Elijah

Disciples are set apart by their ability to understand, but they understand by asking questions.  I was able to commend two of my students yesterday for actively pursuing more information from my classes.  Some students are getting extra credit by reading this blog.  Still others have finished reading a book early so that they can read another book and enter into bonus activity in a class.  The principle holds true for human mentorship as it did for divine mentorship.  Those who actively pursue deeper understanding receive it.  The disciples are confused, they have just seen Elijah on the mountain, but they know that Elijah is meant to come before the Messiah and not just have a converstaion with him on a mountain.  Because they ask Jesus, he explains that Elijah’s spirit is represented by John the Baptist.  Then the disciples understand.

Maybe you think you understand a lot, but Jesus is infinite and the fraction of his infinite nature that you understand is small.  Maybe you think you can not know much, but Jesus bids you to come into a relationship.  Those who take initiative find understanding.  Those who get busy with other things are sit passively are left in ignorance.

Questions

1. What confuses the disciples?
2. What do they do about their confusion?
3. What answer do they get?
4. What confuses you?
5. How do you proactively find an answer?

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

The Transfiguration

Jesus is more than we think he is.  Peter was not able to think of something helpful to say when he saw a man shine like the sun.  He was lost for words, and should have kept his mouth shut, when he saw great leaders looking up to Jesus and having a discussion.  Jesus is more than a man.  He is The Son of God.  In the Transfiguration we see revealed a little of the cosmic scale of the person of Jesus.  Our thoughts of him are too small.

Some of us have a tiny Jesus who we invited into our hearts and then locked away for a rainy day.  That is not the real Jesus.  Some of us have a Jesus with whom we made a deal.  We would pay tithes, attend church, and be nice if he would make our standard of living a little better.  Jesus doesn’t make those kind of deals.  Some of us look to Jesus moment by moment to inform us on our Bible reading, shopping, families, and hobbies.  That’s more like it, but that Jesus is still too small.  Some of walk in a constant fear and trembling mixed with joy as all of life draws our thoughts back to Jesus.  That’s still too small because it is limited by our finite minds.  A relationship with Jesus is continuous, limitless, and profound.  Why do we have such little faith?

An election happened yesterday and America chose a leader who might be the best candidate to protect God’s creation.  He might care for the poor and seek to bring God’s justice to large corporations.  He might further the cause of homosexuals and bring in labour laws that threaten Christians’ ability to run businesses.  If we become people in our mothers’ wombs, less people may be safe under the present administration as they will never leave the womb.  Whether you were for Obama or against him, as Daryl’s (my son’s) teacher reminded me today, God is still God.  Jesus shines in his glory in ways that Romney and Obama never could.  Human government may be ordained by God to act for the good of the people, but ultimately all government submits to Jesus.  He now sits glorified at the right hand of the Father and he will come back for his own.

Questions

1. How was Jesus appearance changed?
2. What was Jesus’ disciples’ response?
3. Why do you think the Transfiguration happened?
4. How do people limit their perspective of Jesus?
5. How can you grow your understanding of Jesus and move your life to a life of worshipful relationship?
6. How does the Transfiguration inform your view of the American Presidential Election?

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

² He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.^{[a] 4} A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

⁵ When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. ⁶ “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷ They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

⁸ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? ⁹ Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹¹ How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter,^[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^[c] will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[e] loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life^[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Who Do You Say Jesus Is?

Most of the rumours floating around ancient Palestine were that Jesus was a prophetic figure of some kind.  Maybe he was Elijah or Jeremiah or even a reincarnated John the Baptist.  The disciples were struggling with who Jesus was.  They knew he was special and they were loyal to their rabbi.  However, the full implications of who he was were not yet apparent.  The leaders of Israel thought they knew who Jesus was, but they were wrong.  They worked from their predispositions and pride and would not allow the truth of scripture and Jesus life to spell out the truth for them.  They demanded that Jesus show them signs and played to their rules, but Jesus was not tempted to play along.  The crowds were wowed by Jesus and enthralled by his teaching, but it didn’t go deeper than that.  They were open to the whole Jesus phenom, but they didn’t draw in to0 close to the man himself.  God the Father revealed the truth of who Jesus was to those who pursued Jesus.  Peter, as a representative of all disciples, declared that Jesus is The Christ, the Son of God.  Perhaps emboldened by his own identification as The Rock, he then goes on to try and stop Jesus from living out exactly what the Christ was meant to do.  Jesus in a moment changes his name from Rocky to Satan.

Those who want to know who Jesus is are on a lifelong journey.  It is only a start to acknowledge that he is God’s anointed and is The Son of God.  Demons have been declaring this truth already in the Book of Matthew.  One has to daily take on hardship and die to be able to discern who Jesus is.  Our own agendas for food (bread in the passage), power, significance and autonomy get in the way of the full implications of our beliefs having their way.  What are the implications that Jesus is the Messiah?  Peter thought he knew, but he had it all wrong.  What does it mean if a man is the Son of the Most High God?  Too many Christians learn these truths at the level of a true/false test or multiple choice:  Is Jesus the Son of God?  Yes/No.  Was Jesus a)  The Squirrel b)  The Toast c)  The Messiah d) Elijah?  Did you answer “Yes” and “the Messiah”?  Oh, good, then you know all there is to know, right?  What is a Son of God?  What does a Son of God want with you?  How many Sons of God are there?  What is a Christ or Messiah?  What does a Messiah do?  What do those things mean for a personal relationship with Messiah (Christ), Son of God?  If you are still working that out and bringing its truth to bear on every area of your life, you are probably a disciple.  If you got that question answered at a church camp when you were 10 and haven’t given it much thought since, maybe you didn’t understand diddly-squat.  The disciple understands something about suffering and sacrifice and takes up their waterboard and electric chair and follows the one who walked purposefully to execution on a cross before them.  They find the courage to be a martyr each day based on a growing understanding of just who asked them to pick up and carry their own instruments of torture and sacrifice.

Questions

1. Why do the leaders of Israel ask for a sign?
2. Why don’t the disciples understand about yeast?
3. Why does Peter say Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and yet have a fiercely wrong idea of what Christ must do?
4. Why do Christians today have a shallow and self-serving idea of who Jesus is?
5. How is your relationship deepened by a daily deepening of understanding of who Jesus is?

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[b] 5} But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides.^[d] If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”

¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

²⁹ Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰ Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. ³¹ The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

³³ His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

³⁴ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸ The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Heartfelt Faith For All Driven By Scripture

In chapter 15, Jesus takes the faith that he has been preaching and expands God’s blessing from the people of Israel to the Gentiles in the neighbouring regions.  He acknowledges that Israel comes first in the Salvation Plan, but what Israel rejects is cast to the Gentiles.  The Syro-Phoenecian woman receives blessing although she is a ‘dog’.  The feeding of the 4,000 is marked with completion of the gospel reaching the gentiles with completeness marked by the use of 7 fish and 7 baskets left over.  7 is a number that marks completion in the Bible.

Jesus distinguishes a few things about true faith here.  True faith is founded on the authority of scripture and is not rooted in church tradition.  It is not only Catholic and Orthadox churches that have to wrestle with the implications of placing their traditions above scripture.  Some charismatic churches will have services that have everyone speak in tongues when scripture clearly says that speaking in tongues should be orderly.  Other churches insist on very particular attire and conduct for their women which can not be supported by scripture.  Still other churches associate deeper spirituality with whichever form of music they use to worship God.  However, Jesus cuts through the tradition to the heart of the matter.  Does the heart of the believer truly find God in these rules or, like the Pharisees, is the choice of clothing, the use of liturgy, or style of worship masking a barren soul which is holding onto a dead faith?

Israel had constructed a dead form of faith and Jesus exposed it for what it was.  He found a living faith outside of Israel and he took the gospel to those who received it.  What is the condition of your heart?  Is it a heart for Jesus, or does your religion shut him out?

Questions

1. How does Jesus present the role of The Word of God in contrast with tradition?
2. How is the heart central to Jesus’ message?
3. How does Jesus show the gospel is for all peoples?
4. What role does the Word of God have in your daily life?
5. What is the condition of your heart?

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Provision

Jesus provides for 5,000 people in miraculous fashion.  12 baskets of food being left over accounts for the bounty of God’s provision for his people.  The disciples lack faith and initiative, but in their ignorance they are obedient.  Jesus, then provides the power to compensate for their fledgling faith.  Disciples should not seek to exercise power in Jesus’ name for kicks.  We should not want Jesus, through His Spirit, to provide cheap entertainment.  Jesus’ miracles are most often about provision.  He is capable of providing for all our needs and delivering more than we expect.  The posture of the disciple is one of faith in action.

Questions

1. What did the disciples think must happen as evening approached?
2. What did Jesus tell them to do?
3. What do you think the significance of 12 baskets left over is?
4. What areas has God provided for in your life?
5. What do you need to relinquish control or fear about and trust God?