What Now America...What Now Church?*

Recently, the Supreme Court overturned the Roe V. Wade decision regarding abortion fifty years after the original decision had changed the laws of the nation. As Rabbi Jonathan Cahn wrote in his newest book, Israel was often saved from the brink of God's judgment by removing the altars that had been built to false gods like Ba'al and Molech, both of which were connected to child sacrifice. The tearing down of these ungodly altars could have been a sign of revival in Israel at the time, or it could have been an anomaly in the nation's continuing fall from God. Will we rise up at this time and fulfill 2 Chron. 7:14, and its spiritual warfare of repentance? Our warfare is not natural, with guns and violence, or even politics, but it is spiritual, through repentance, faith, and the Word of God. God hates sin, which leads to death, but God loves the sinner. For this reason, God sent His Son to die in the place of all sinners who will accept Him. What will America choose? What will the Church choose? Paul wrote about the conditions in the last days, and we see those same things now: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Tim. 3:1-5). We certainly see this in man today. Paul wrote that even though "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived", we, the believers are to continue and hold fast in what we have been taught by the apostles of the faith, and the holy scriptures, even as persecution comes against those of faith (v. 10-14). We are seeing the beginning of persecution in this nation, as the preaching and speaking of God's Word is being silenced by law, even in pulpits. However, Paul commands Timothy: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (2 Tim. 4:2). There will come a time, wrote Paul, that because men's lusts, their destructive desires of various kinds, will rule them, Godly doctrine will no longer be tolerated (v. 4). Jude, the brother of Jesus Christ, wrote of similar concerns. He exhorted the believers to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares...ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord, Jesus Christ." (v. 3-4). Jude added that God had dealt with this kind of ungodliness in scripture as examples for us. He dealt with unbelieving Israelites, after He delivered them from Egypt, who had seen the power of God, but did not believe Him. Angels, who rebelled against their place, were chained in the pit as a result. Sodom and Gomorrah, condemned to eternal fire, chose fornication and strange flesh rather than the knowledge of God. "Woe unto them!" (v. 5-11). People who knew God, such as Cain, Balaam, and Korah, chose their own gain instead of God. Jude wrote that the Lord will bring judgment against the ungodly for "all of their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him", the Lord. (v. 15). These ungodly people are fruitless, shameless, without fear of God, and condemned to the darkness forever (v. 12-13). In "the last time", they are the mockers who walk after their own ungodly lusts...having not the Spirit (v. 18-19), as Paul also said, above. Believers, on the other hand, should build themselves up on our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of Jesus unto eternal life. It is He who preserves us, and keeps us from likewise falling (v. 1, 20-24). Peter, another apostle, wrote about these issues also: "...there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you...their damnation slumbereth not." (2 Peter 2:1-3). Like Jude above, Peter also wrote of the examples in scripture where judgment followed intentional ungodliness: the angels that sinned and were cast down to hell in chains of darkness; the sparing of Noah, while the ungodly were destroyed in the flood; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, while delivering Lot, who was considered righteous and just by God (v. 4-8). The Lord knows how to deliver the godly from destructive temptation, while reserving the ungodly, who walk after the flesh in lust, for His judgment (v. 9-10). There is a danger from those who walk in unrighteousness towards those who know God: "For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error...For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, and the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." (v. 18, 20-21). These who had formerly been saved through Christ, but turned back because of the influence of the ungodly, are compared to a dog returning to its vomit (v. 22, see Prov. 26:11). These ungodly men try to pull both you, and the nation, back from God. We are seeing the judgment of God in this nation through violence, pandemic, and destruction. As Paul and Jude above, Peter also warned: "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts." (2 Pet. 3:3). They scoff at the idea of judgment, because all seems to continue the same, while they willingly ignore the previous judgment of the great flood by which the world perished (v. 4-6). The same Word of judgment has now reserved the heavens and earth for the judgment of fire, rather than water. This fire is so consuming, that all elements will melt from its fervent heat (v. 7, 10). The only reason that we have not seen this judgment yet is because the Lord is "longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (v. 9). Again the question is asked by Peter that, considering all of these dangers of the last days, "what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness...?" (v. 11). So what now, America...what now, Church? King David in Psalm 12, cried to the LORD, saying, "...the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fall from among the children of men." They flatter and speak empty, vain things. They say as they please, refusing the Lordship of God over themselves, their words. They oppress the poor until the poor cry out before the LORD. "The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted." We see this today in that the vile have been promoted to the highest positions until the wicked think that they can do their wickedness without suffering any ramifications. However, David assured us: "The words of the LORD are pure: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." When a silversmith purifies silver, he repeats it until the silver is pure enough that the smith can see his face reflected in it. The Lord Jesus had this pure Word for all seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Although they almost all had failings that could lead to their destruction, He urged them to be overcomers. The rewards that the Lord promised to each overcoming church are the same rewards that all believers are promised if they abide in Christ: to eat of the tree of life; to be spared from the second death; to eat of the hidden manna and to receive a white stone with your new name written upon it; to rule over nations and to receive the Morning Star, which is Jesus Christ Himself; to be clothed in white raiment, which is the clothing of righteousness, to have your name remain in the Book of Life, and to have your name declared before the Father and His angels by Jesus; to be made a pillar in God's temple, and to have the name of God, the city of New Jerusalem, and Christ's new name written, or more accurately engraved, upon you. Even to the lukewarm church of Laodicea, whom the Lord called "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked", if they would overcome, Jesus promised to them and to us: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." The solution is not found in the wicked nor in this world, but in 2 Chron. 7:14 - If the people of God will repent. Jesus told us to judge ourselves, so we will not be judged. We know that judgment begins in the house and with the people of God. In the parable of the talents, the Master gave each one talents, and expected to see the increase from those talents. What are we doing with the "talents" that have been given to us? Our nation, like Israel of old, is standing near judgment. What now, America? What now, Church? *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 11/27/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

Real Freedom*

In today's message, which is on July 4th, Independence Day, I would like you to consider the meaning of independence and freedom. America has always represented freedom to other nations, and oppressed people around the world. Many desire to come here to America to obtain that represented freedom. America is described in our national anthem as "the land of the free, and the home of the brave". What is the real truth about freedom? Jesus began to reveal to those who believed in Him the truth about freedom: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (Jn. 8:31-32). The root of freedom is not political, but spiritual, and not just any spiritual source, but freedom is created and obtained in the truth of the Word of God, and more specifically, the Word that Jesus came to deliver to us. However, his listeners rejected the idea that the Words of Jesus exclusively provided this freedom, as He had said. They argued that as the descendants of Abraham, they had already entered into the freedom of which Jesus spoke. On the same occasion, Jesus revealed the root of the opposite of freedom, which is slavery and oppression: "Jesus answered them, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant (meaning "slave; to be in bonds")of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (v.34-36). Jesus told them that sin in a person's life made that person a slave to that sin. It is sin that creates slavery. He also said that His unique position as the Son of His Father's house, rather than being a servant, such as Abraham had been to God, gave Him the authority to set the enslaved sinner free. The Apostle Paul wrote that not only is freedom found in Christ's power to deliver us from that slavery to sin, but in order to remain free, we must abide in Christ, and not again submit to the bondage of sin. Sin still has the power to enslave us, if we give it a place in our lives: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that sre dead to sin, live any longer therein? ...that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life....Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve (meaning "to be a slave") sin." (Rom. 6:1-6, excerpt). Our body of sin was killed, crucified on the cross with Jesus. Why would we want to reintroduce sin to our new lives to be enslaved once again? "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace...Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you...But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (v. 12-14, 16-17, 22-23). America is not representing freedom when it does all that it can to celebrate and condone sin. Instead, it is guiding people into slavery. Again Paul wrote, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage...For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." (Gal. 5:1, 13). In that liberty from the enslavement to sin given to us through Christ, we have become a special people: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy...for so it is the will of God, with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." (1 Pet. 2:9-10, 15-16). How we carry ourselves, our lifestyle of service to God through Christ, puts to silence those who would lead others into the slavery of sin. Are we serving God here in America, or are we serving flesh? Concerning those who, having known the freedom of Christ, turn back to the slavery of sin, and encourage others to do the same, Paul wrote: "For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption...For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and The sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." (2 Pet. 2:18-22). America, along with Israel, are the only two nations that have ever dedicated themselves from their beginnings to service to God. However, America is turning away from the true liberty found in Christ, and turning back to the ways of bondage to sin and the flesh. The verses above warn that the end of such are worse than their beginnings. We have a responnsibility, as those who are commanded to love God and to love our neighbor, to live in the ways of freedom from the bondage of sin bought by Jesus Christ for us, so as not to lead our neighbors into the slavery of sin. As we celebrate Independence Day here in America, let us thank the two people who have been willing to lay their lives on the line for our freedom: those who have served in the military to fight on our behalf, and Jesus, Who died and rose again to make men free. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 7/4/21 message to the church. To contact: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and endtimeschool.com.

End Time Knowledge - Pt. 2*

As we continue last week's study of 2 Peter concerning the end times, this verse from Lamentations applies to what we discussed as revealed in Peter's epistle:

"Your prophets have seen (imagined) for you
False and foolish visions;
And they have not exposed your wickedness
To restore you from captivity [by teaching you to repent],
But they have seen (imagined) and declared to you false and misleading oracles."

                                                                             Lamentations 2:14 (Amplified Version)

 

Peter made clear that false teachers and false prophets would be enticing believers. Their unrighteous agenda comes from covetousness and the desire for gain, as they intend to make merchandise from their followers. Peter compares these false prophets and teachers to Balaam, a prophet of God, who compromised his relationship with God for the promise of gain from an earthly king:

..."these...speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness; beguiling unstable souls: a heart they have exercised with covetous practices; which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam ("Not of the people/compatriots") the son of Bosor (Beor: "burning, to feed upon, stupid, brutish, barbarous, dull-hearted, unreceptive"), who loved the wages of unrighteousness."   2 Pet. 2:12-15 (excerpt) (see also Jude v. 4-16)

These false teachers promise liberty, but they themselves, and those whom they deceive, have become instead slaves of corruption (2 Pet. 2:19). Jesus corrected the lie of finding liberty in sin as He spoke to His believers who thought they were free because they were descendants of Abraham:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."   see Jn. 8:31-36

What happens to those who know Christ in this way, but choose to follow the unrighteous teaching of the false prophets and teachers instead, because of their false teachings appeal to their lusts (desire/coveting for what is forbidden)? Peter wrote that "the latter end is worse for them than the beginning", like a dog returning to its vomit, or a washed sow returning to wallow again in the mire (2 Pet. 2:20-22, see also Heb. 6:4-6, 8)). This is a warning for all of us, as we see the corruption and lusts that are drawing men, including believers, all around us today.

Peter wrote this epistle as a reminder to the Church, to stir up our pure minds, so that we are mindful of both the Word of God, and the commandments of the apostles of Christ:

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his (Christ's) coming?...all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation..."  2 Pet. 3:3-4 (see also Jude v. 17-19)

They are promoting the thought that Jesus is not returning, and there is no need to fear judgment, because God has not judged men or the earth to this point. However, as Peter pointed out, God has indeed judged cataclysmically during the flood of Noah. That same word which precipitated that judgment is still active:

"Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."  2 Pet. 3:6-7

There are indeed those today who mock and jeer at the promise of judgment, and the return of Christ to rule and reign on earth. There was even a declaration from the son of a respected President who proclaimed that he is not afraid of burning in hell. There are indeed many scoffers who hold that false assurance against the judgment. Peter warned not to take God's patience and forbearance as slackness to keep His word regarding the judgment of the wicked. The Lord is patiently giving the opportunity for repentance and salvation:

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  2 Pet. 3:9

However, when that day of judgment does come, Peter warned, it will come suddenly, without warning and unexpectedly for some, "like a thief in the night":

"...the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up."  2 Pet. 3:10

Keeping these things in mind, especially in the light of the end time falsehoods, scoffing, and the misrepresentation of scripture (2 Pet. 3:15-16) that can lure many away from the faith, Peter exhorts us, with wisdom for these end times, to be diligent, guarding and examining ourselves and our faith  "that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless...grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 
                                                                      2 Pet. 3:14, 18 (see also 2 Cor. 13:5-8)

 

 *The above is based upon the 1/20 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson.

To Contact/Submit prayer requests/Support the ministry/Order the book, "NAZAH":

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

http://endtimeschool.com/
 

To watch Dr. Stevenson's complete message:

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

 

Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.

 

 

 



More End Time Knowledge*

 

We are going to look at the subject of the end times again, but this time, on a verse by verse basis. We will be studying the book of Second Peter, chapters 1 and 2 for this message.

At the beginning of this epistle, Peter identifies himself as an apostle. Peter makes clear that he has written to the Church, not as a believer in fables, but as an eyewitness to the majesty of Christ, and the voice of God from heaven proclaiming Him (2 Pet. 1:16-19). He is writing to those who have found faith in in the righteousness of God and Christ as Savior. He is addressing believers. He emphasizes the importance of growing in the knowledge of God. As their knowledge of God and Christ increases, grace and peace is multiplied to them as a result. The increase in knowledge of God is a growing and maturing process. All things pertaining to life and Godliness have already been provided to us through His divine power and through knowledge of Him. We have been called by nature of these things to glory and virtue (moral goodness and excellence, modesty, purity). We have been given great, precious promises including the partaking of God's divine nature. As receivers of His divinity, we have been given the escape out the corruption of the world that comes through lusts. Peter assured the Church that God knows how to deliver us from the temptations of the world around us (2 Pet. 2:9). In his letter to the Church, Peter is establishing what has taken place through our faith and through our growing knowledge of God and Christ. From the very beginning, Peter is emphasizing the difference between believers and the world as a result of this knowledge (see also Rom. 12:1-2).

Peter describes the progression of the divine nature of God and Christ in us in the transformation of our character, through diligence on our part, and its effect upon the fruitfulness and success of our Christian walk. Without this growth and progression, a believer cannot see ahead, and loses the knowledge of what he has been delivered from-his old nature, and sin. This is the progression in our growth in the knowledge of God:

faith--->virtue--->knowledge--->temperance (self control, self governance)--->patience--->godliness--->brotherly kindness--->charity/love



In the book of Ephesians, Paul also taught the goal of growing in the knowledge of God into the perfect man, which is the fullness of Christ. Paul goes on to say:

"...put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."   Eph. 4:22-24

These principles are directly related to end time conditions. Peter warned that because of covetousness, false prophets and false teachers come among us, the Church (2 Pet. 2:1-3). They teach false doctrines because of covetousness, to gain wealth from those who are deceived. In teaching about the signs of the end times, and His return, Jesus also warned about false prophets who would deceive many:

"And many false prophets shall rise, and deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."   Mt. 24:11-14

For the first time in history, the gospel has been carried to almost every nation on earth. Iniquity abounds through the same deception of which Jesus spoke. Many have turned from their faith. False prophets and teachers have told the Church that sin no longer matters, and they teach a false love. The love they teach is not a sacrificial love that saves, as is the love of God and Christ, but license masquerading as love that endorses sin leading to death. These are all confirming signs of the end times that we see today.

Peter opened his letter to the Church reminding believers of the purpose and privilege of God in Christ to elevate us into His divine nature: to achieve glory and virtue, to escape the corruption of the lusts of the world, and to walk in the divine nature of righteousness and true holiness in Christ. He was confronting the false teachings of his day that denied the importance of morality, and falsely taught that the gift of grace through Christ allowed men to live in whatever manner pleased them. They taught that Christians did not have to follow the Ten Commandments. In the first and second centuries of Peter's time, this was called Gnosticism, and later, Antinomianism. Scripture clearly refutes this falsehood (Rom. 3:31, 6:1-2, 15-16). As with all scripture, Peter's warnings are as relevant today as they were then. These false doctrines, and their false prophets and teachers still exist today in these end times as Jesus prophesied, and as we can all see.

Peter assured the Church then, and today, that judgment is sure to follow those who teach, believe, and practice these lies that corrupt. God did not spare the angels that embraced the lies. He did not spare the old world of Noah, which He destroyed by flood. Nor did He spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, which He destroyed by fire (2 Pet. 2:4-6). Only the righteous men, Noah and Lot, who was considered righteous because he was distressed by the wicked behavior around him, were spared in the midst of the destruction. Jesus said that in the day of His appearing, the days on earth would be the same as in the days of Noah, and also Sodom and Gomorrha, with men going about their lives until the moment that judgment hits (Lk. 17:26-30). But the judgment did come.

This wickedness being taught and practiced, and the manifesting of unclean, unnatural and reprobate behaviors as a result, arises from men who refuse to retain God in their knowledge, even though they know that their sinful behavior is worthy of death, and subject to the judgment of God (Rom. 1:24-32). They have knowledge of God because He and His works have been revealed to them, and so they are without excuse (v. 19-20). Because of this, the word of God says:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness."  Rom. 1:18

As Paul describes them, they call sin, righteousness, and the truth of God, unrighteousness. This is exactly what we are seeing today. In the face of false prophets and teachers, Jesus has warned, Peter has warned, and Paul has warned about disregarding the knowledge of God. 

The people of God, instead, are to grow in knowledge of Him, and of His truth. We are purposed to share in the divine nature of God, having been called to glory and virtue.

*The above is based upon the 1/13 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson.

To Contact/Submit prayer requests/Support the ministry/Order the book, "NAZAH":

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

http://endtimeschool.com/

To watch Dr. Stevenson's complete message:

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

 

Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.