THE BIBLE’S NUMBER 1 PROMISE

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16, KJV

As I travel from country to country, I find that millions of people in many countries and cultures are receiving Christ into their lives after hearing about Him for the first time. Millions of others would respond joyfully if they fully understood the truth of John 3:16, the most wonderful promise ever given to man.

Only through His indwelling presence can they live supernaturally. The first prerequisite to supernatural living, of course, is life – eternal life, supernatural life from God. I encourage you to meditate often on the content of this God-inspired promise:

God: The omnipotent Creator – loving, sovereign, holy, all-wise, ever-present, compassionate God who flung a hundred billion or more galaxies into space merely by speaking.

So loved: His love is unconditional and inexhaustible.

He gave: a gift that can never be earned by our good works, but can be received only by faith.

His only begotten Son: the most precious, priceless gift ever given – Jesus.

That whosoever: you and I and every person who inhabits the world.

Believeth in Him: believes that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, the one who died on the cross for the sins of all people everywhere and who was raised from the dead.

Should not perish: should not be eternally separated from God. “The Lord…is not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9, KJV).

But have everlasting life: not only in heaven, but also on earth, experiencing the supernatural, everlasting life of the indwelling, risen Savior.

If I am not already a believer in Christ, I will receive Him into my life as Savior and Lord today. If I am a believer and have not already done so, I will acknowledge His lordship in my life and begin to draw upon His resurrection power as a way of life. As I continue to claim His promise, I am confident that the result will be a full, abundant and supernatural life.

Me, Be Grateful?

There are many ways that we express our thanks. We say, “Thank you,” “Many thanks,” “Much obliged,” and “Thanks a lot.” Expressing one’s gratitude for another’s kindness is nothing more or less than good manners.

However, when it comes to thanking God for His goodness, most of us become ingrates. Sad! One man even said to me, “I work forty hours a week; why should I thank God’?”

I like what Ann Landers had to say in one of her columns:

“On this day, take a few minutes to think about what you have to be thankful for. How’s your health? Not so good? Well, thank God you’ve lived this long. A lot of people haven’t.

“You’re hurting? Thousands, maybe millions, are hurting more. (Have you ever visited a Veteran’s Hospital? or a rehabilitation clinic for crippled children?) If you awakened this morning and were able to hear the birds sing, use your vocal chords to utter human sounds, walk to the breakfast table on two good legs, and read the newspaper with two good eyes, praise the Lord. A lot of people couldn’t.

“How’s your pocketbook? Well, most of the world is a lot poorer. No pensions. No welfare. No food stamps. No Social Security. In fact, one-third of the people in the world will go to bed hungry tonight.

“Are you lonely? The way to have a friend is to be one. If nobody calls you, call someone. Go out of your way to do something nice for somebody. It’s a sure cure for the blues.

“Are you concerned about your country’s future? Hooray! Our system has been saved by such concern. Your country may not be a rose garden, but it also is not a patch of weeds. In America, freedom rings. You can still worship at the church of your choice, cast a secret ballot, and even criticize your government without fearing a knock on the head or a knock on the door at midnight. And if you want to live under a different system, you are free to go. There are no walls or fences-nothing to keep you here.”

Contentment Is a Command

Oh, be thankful. Did you know that contentment is a command from God? He says in Hebrews 13:5, Be content with such things as ye have. Contentment is indicative of our spiritual temperature, and it also indicates a thankful spirit.

John Wesley records a conversation with a porter at Oxford College which changed his life. The man called at Wesley’s room late one evening and said that he wished to talk with Mr. Wesley. After talking for quite some time, Mr. Wesley, in a spirit of pleasantry, said to the porter, “Go home and get another coat.”

The man replied, “This is the only coat I have in the world, and I thank God for it.”

Then demanded Wesley, “Go home and get your supper.”

The man again replied, “I have no money or food, but I have had a good cold glass of water today. And I thank God for it.”

John Wesley again cried, “Go home and rest.”

The porter answered, “I have no home, but thank God that I have dry stones upon which I can recline at night.”

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, then said, “You thank God that you have nothing to wear, nothing to eat, and no bed in which to sleep. Is there any other reason you are grateful?”

“Oh, yes,” said the porter, “I thank God that He has given me life and health and a heart to love and serve Him.”

Is it any wonder that John Wesley declared that his conversation with this pauper had revealed to him something to which he had been a total stranger?

Where do you stand today, dear friend? Oh. be thankful, for the offering of thanksgiving to God is the duty of all His children, whether circumstances are good or bad, right or wrong, happy or heartbreaking.

Why? He is God, and He is in control. The Bible says, Offer unto God thanksgiving (Psalm 50:14). [Give] thanks always for all things (Ephesians 5:20). Continue in prayer… with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2). In every thing give thanks (I Thessalonians 5:18). Yes, Thanksgiving… [to] our God for ever and ever (Revelation 7:12).

Thankfulness, as a duty then, is prominent in the Bible. It should have a big place in our lives, for thankfulness is the declarative mood of gratitude, a great incentive to faith, a glorifier of God, and a subduer of the lower nature.

Be Thankful in All Things

At this point, I can almost hear someone saying, “I can agree that praise to God is suitable when blessings abound, but should one literally thank God for everything?” Is it possible to praise God when the road is tough, when circumstances are unbearable, when the night is dark, when situations are disagreeable, when the cup of woe is bitter, when the black wings of disease flutter over the baby’s cradle, when the bill collector is at the door, when our neighbors mistreat us and our friends despise and forsake us? Yes, even then, we should say, “Thank You, Lord.”

Paul wrote the majority of the verses just quoted and he praised God for everything. Speaking of his sufferings as an apostle, he said in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13, For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted [beaten] and have no certain dwelling place [no home like others]; And labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer [allow] it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.

What do you have to say about all this heartache, Paul? In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

In 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, Paul again mentioned the hatred he encountered as a good soldier of the faith. He declared, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. What about this abuse, Paul? And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Be ye thankful (Colossians 3:15) seemed to be Paul’s motto. When he was in peril of his life in Damascus, suspected by his fellow believers in Jerusalem, persecuted in Antioch, stoned in Lystra, assaulted in Iconium, beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, attacked by a lewd and envious crowd in Thessalonica, pursued by callous enmity in Berea, despised in Athens, blasphemed in Corinth, exposed to the fierce wrath of the Ephesians, bound with chains and sent as a prisoner to Rome, Paul still praised God.

Yes, at all times, in all places, in all things he made known his requests unto God with thanksgiving. Though he was in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by [his] own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness (2 Corinthians 11:26-27), STILL Paul always abounded in thanksgiving.

Though he was in prison without his freedom, in winter without an overcoat, in court without a friend, in poverty without a donor, in exile without a home, yet he was ever singing his hymn of gratitude to his God.

How different we are from Paul-and how indifferent to God’s command, “Be ye thankful.” Most of us have a place to sleep, clothing to wear, food to eat, and a vehicle to drive. Yet we grumble endlessly.

I wish I could take you to Egypt today to observe the Coptic Christians at work. Because of their faith in Jesus Christ, they are unable to obtain employment in this predominantly Muslim land. Hence, they sift through the garbage and discarded junk of the land for food in order to exist. Their occupation is passed on from generation to generation, and there is no hope for improvement because of their beliefs.

Nevertheless, in the midst of their poverty, they have great love for their Lord Jesus. If they would renounce the Savior for Mohammed, their lot in life would change drastically. But they will not do that. Instead, they eke out an existence on garbage and castaways because they love God. Philippians 4:11 and 13 is their source of strength. I have learned, in whatsoever state [condition] I am, therewith to be content. [For] I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

This is the spirit of revival.

Jack Van Impe

jvim.org

CHRIST THE TRUTH

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19, NIV).

Many people today say there is no such thing as absolute truth. The folly of such a statement, of course, is that if one believes it to be true, that very belief contradicts the statement itself! In this message, Billy Graham shows that the Bible has much to say about truth and that, as the Word of God, it can bring order to our tangled thinking and lead us to the One who claimed to be the truth Himself  

Pilate asked the question, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). And many people today are asking, “What is truth?” Inside the Bible are stories of lust and hate and war and crime equal to anything else we read about in history. The Bible tells the truth—it tells the truth about God, about people and about the devil.

Jesus wasn’t afraid to call Satan what he is: a liar and the father of lies. Jesus said, “There is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

The first time man had to make a choice between God’s truth and the devil’s lie, he chose the devil’s lie. The moment that Adam and Eve rejected God’s truth and accepted the devil’s lie, all of the world’s troubles began. Our sinful nature often sides with the devil’s lie instead of God’s truth, because we are sinners.

We’d rather believe the devil’s lie than God’s truth.

Sin is a disease that runs all through the human race. The disease of sin is at the heart of the troubles of the world. To those involved in this dying world, Satan will come with evil’s undiluted power to deceive, for they have refused the truth that could have saved them.

God sends upon them, therefore, the full force of evil’s delusion, so that they put their faith in an utter fraud and meet the inevitable judgment of all who have refused to believe the truth and who have made evil their playfellow (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

God says these people deliberately forfeited the truth of God and accepted a lie. God, therefore, handed them over to disgraceful passions (Romans 1:24-26). They see truth as a lie and the lie as the truth. They accept the lies of the devil. What are some of these lies?

First, there is the lie about sex. In Proverbs we read, “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared?” (Proverbs 6:27-28). That Scripture refers to lust. Lust means if you had the opportunity, you would commit immorality. Many people fantasize in their thinking, and lust that way.

Second, the devil lies about drugs. And it’s interesting that the words drugsandwitchcraftcome from the same root word in Greek——pharmakeia. Drugs are one of Satan’s great lies. He tells you that you will soar to heaven and have great, wonderful experiences. And every time you listen, you end up in trouble.

Third, there is the lie about religious hypocrisy. Millions of people attend church services without having a personal relationship with Christ. I used to be taken to church by my parents, and I hated church. But when I was a teenager, I received Christ as my Savior.

When I went back to church, I said to my parents, “The pastor certainly is preaching wonderful sermons.” They replied, “He’s preaching the same type of sermons, but you’re listening with different ears.”

Fourth, there’s the delusion that peace is just around the corner. It is not! There will not be peace in the world until the Prince of Peace comes.

We find deception, delusion and lies on every hand. What is the answer? What can people do?

Turn to the truth—turn to Christ. Jesus said, ‘You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). He said, “I am … the truth” (John 14:6). Jesus did not say, “You shall know a truth” or “anytruth” but “thetruth.” He’s the embodiment of all truth.

Jesus said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). If you don’t believe that and don’t accept Christ, you will die in your sins and you’ll be lost. Jesus Christ claimed to be ultimate truth. Are you willing to face the truth?

Jesus Christ told the truth about sin. He said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, and adulteries, and all other sins that we commit” (Cf. Matthew 15:19). War comes from the human heart. Family tensions and problems come from the human heart. Rebellion comes from the human heart.

He told the truth about love. God loves you. And He loves you with a love that you don’t know anything about, because there is no human love comparable to divine love. God’s love sent His Son to the cross to die and shed His blood for you. Then God raised Him from the dead, and He’s alive.

Jesus told the truth about judgment. He warned people to “flee the wrath of God” (Cf. Matthew 3:7). Yes, God is angry with the wicked. Jesus said, “Every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). Every idle word, all your thoughts, all your words, everything you have ever done, will be at the judgment. And you will be condemned by your own words.

Jesus told the truth about repentance. He said, “Unless you repent, you will perish” (Cf. Luke 13:3). Have you repented? repentancemeans change. I change my mind about God, about myself, about my fellow man. I change my way of living. But on my own I don’t have strength to change. I can’t change. I can’t become a Christian. Why? Because I’m “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

God has to help me change. He has to help me repent. And I have to say, “O God, help me to repent.” Not only do we have to repent; by faith we must also receive Christ into our hearts as Savior and Lord.

Jesus told the truth about conversion. He said we have to be born from above, born again (John 3:3). The process is called conversion. Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

He’s not telling people to become like adults. He’s telling us to become like little children and have childlike faith. We come by simple faith, like a little child who trusts his mother and father. We put our total confidence in Jesus Christ by faith. Have you done that?

We also must obey Him. Live the life. Follow Him, serve Him, whatever the cost. And it is costly. In the world in which we live, if we hold on to Christian values and live up to the moral standards laid down by Christ, it will cost us. Obedience means following Christ, even to death. Are you willing to do that?

Before you come to Christ, you are a slave of sin. Christ’s truth makes you free—free from the penalty of sin. No other truth can free you so that you’ll never go to hell.

Christ’s truth provides freedom someday from the presence of sin, freedom now from the power of sin. Sin shall no longer have dominion over you, if you come to Christ and let Him change you. You can be free, right now, by coming to Christ.

 

Billy Graham

bgea.org

GOD SAYS IT; I BELIEVE IT; THAT SETTLES IT

Many of us have a very hard time receiving love. Why is this? We feel we must earn it or we must deserve it. BUT GOD DOESN’T OPERATE LIKE THAT. God loves us not for what we do but for who we are– His beloved children. This is great news!

Meanwhile, many of us try so hard to earn love. Maybe we’ve been raised in a home where conditional love was practiced. “I won’t love you anymore if you do that,” keeps ringing in your ears. Maybe you’re in a marriage relationship where love is on again, off again. Maybe you’ve been betrayed by people who said they loved you.

God’s love is very different. His love is unconditional. His love is everlasting. His love is not based on good behavior. Listen to what the Bible says: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

We’ve sang , “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so” , since we were little children, right? But how does love go from head knowledge to heart knowledge?

Let me suggest some practical steps: Write down Bible verses of God’s love on recipe cards, put them where you can see them–on the door of a kitchen cupboard and the bathroom mirror. Take the cards with you into the car. When you have a few moments, read the cards out loud, adding, “God says it, I believe it, and that settles it.” All the while your emotions may be screaming to the contrary. Don’t believe them! As you drop the seed of God’s word into your heart and mind, it will grow, and eventually your emotions will catch on and come along.

Which of God’s promises do you find difficult to intellectually or emotionally accept? (These might be some good ones to include on the cards suggested above.)

GOD’s TIMING IS NOT OURS

Mark 5:21-34

Jairus is in a hurry. If you have children, or even if you don’t, you can probably sympathize with his plight. You see, his little daughter is dying. Or, as the Message paraphrase puts it, his “dear daughter is at death’s door.” (Mark 5:23)

So you can imagine why he’d be more than a little perturbed when, the Lord tarries on the way to Jairus’ house. “Who touched my clothes?” Jesus suddenly asks the crowd. The disciples, perhaps a bit anxious themselves given the gravity of the situation, reply “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”. Then Jesus proceeds to leisurely engage the woman in conversation. It turns out that she’s suffered from a medical condition for the last twelve years.

“Twelve years?” thinks Jairus, “My daughter is dying! Surely this woman can wait a little longer!”

Then, while Jesus is still talking with the woman, messengers arrive with the most dreaded news imaginable: “Your daughter is dead.”

“Oh Lord, why couldn’t you just have hurried?” Jairus probably cried to himself. From a human perspective, all was lost. But from a heavenly perspective, “all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27) Jesus responded immediately: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark 5:36)

God’s timing is not ours: “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (1 Peter 3:8) But we can be confident that whenever and however God chooses to respond to us, it will be good, just, and to His glory.

If you’ve been patiently praying with seemingly no response, don’t lose heart. Jesus implores us to not be afraid and trust in Him; consider the parable of the persistent widow Jesus told in Luke 18:1-8, which Jesus told to encourage us that we “should always pray and not give up”. Be encouraged that while God’s timing is not ours, because He is always for you, not against you, and we will someday, at just the right moment, fully understand His divine timing.

What is a prayer that you have been earnestly praying for lately? Are you ready to leave it in God’s competent hands when/how/if he answers it?

DENY SELF

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

What does it mean to deny myself?

The primary thing that springs to mind is the idea of doing without things desired – a picture of a monk leading a strict and harsh life, far from luxury.

Although the concept of doing without is found in the dictionary under “deny”, the first definition under “deny” is “to declare untrue”. Of course the dictionary was referring to denying a statement, but I began to wonder if it might apply to denying oneself.

If I declared myself as being untrue, I would point to someone or something outside myself as the ultimate source of truth – it could not be found in me.

If I declared myself as being untrue, I wouldn’t trust my feelings or my interpretation of the facts.

If I declared myself as being untrue, I would admit that I am not right, that my ways are not right, that I indeed have a sinful nature that desires what is contrary to what God desires.

Is that not what Jesus is asking us to do? We must acknowledge Him as the only true one. God’s ways are always right.

We are called to choose His way rather than our own, to surrender our will to Him and to follow Him where ever He leads.

What does the idea of “declaring yourself untrue” mean to you and your approach to God?

LIVING WATER FOR THE THIRSTY

“I will pour out water to quench your thirst” Isaiah 44:3

When a Christian believer falls into spiritual depression, he or she often tries to lift themselves out of it by focusing on their sorrow. That’s not the way to rise from the dust. It’s a sure way to continue in it.

It is not the law, but the gospel which saves the seeking soul. And it is not legal slavery, but gospel liberty which can restore the hurting believer. Slavish fear won’t bring back the backslider to God, but the sweet wooings of love will draw them back to Jesus. Similarly, the spiritually depressed must focus on the living God’s love and promises.

Are you today thirsting for the living God, and unhappy because you cannot find him to the delight of your heart? Have you lost the joy of your relationship with God? Then this is this your prayer: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” (Psalm 52:12)

If you are feeling totally barren, like the dry ground, in this state you are not producing the fruit which God has a right to expect of you. Here is the promise which you need: “I will pour out water to quench your thirst.” (Isaiah 44:3)

You will receive all the grace you require, and it will exceed all of your needs. Water refreshes the thirsty and you will be refreshed. Your desires shall be gratified. Pulse quickened by exhilarating grace. Harvest of fruit multiplied. You will enjoy all of the goodness of divine grace. It will be as though you were drenched with the water of divine grace. How do I know that? Because God promised it!

And as sometimes the meadows become flooded by the bursting rivers, and the fields turn into pools, you yourself will become a pool of living water as God fills you. In this way the entire thirsty land can become full of pools of living water for the good and refreshment of all!

Have you felt spiritually dry lately?

LOVE THAT SWEATS

When Jesus loves, he works up a sweat; he rolls up his sleeves, gets on his knees, and washes our feet with his blood, sweat, and tears.

He labors at love, though his love is never like labor. He’s a giver, not a taker, loving us into being with a gifted carpenter’s hands. And he’s no slacker, loving us until we can take no more; no more because we’re filled to overflowing, his love spilling and splashing through our pores into the cores of those we love with his love, a love’s labor not lost on a world that needs to be found.

He wrestles our fears and wrangles our doubts and labors at love until he’s exhausted, lying prone in a garden, drinking from God’s cup the nourishment necessary for one last heroic sweaty, bloody, tearful lift of the Father’s infinite love; ready to die for God’s undying love.

A Jesus-love sticks to it, even when the it seems like an unstickable fury that’s no longer fun or convenient or even something you want to do. Jesus keeps on laboring in you and through you, finishing what he started, loving until the last with a love that lasts forever (John 13:1).

What example of Jesus’ labor in love is most striking to you, and why?

EVANGELISM? ME?

Matthew 28:16-20

Evangelism. Does the word make you uncomfortable? It makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Sharing our the good news of the gospel is sometimes a thankless job. Yet Jesus calls us to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

Don’t we have an obligation to share the message of God’s grace and love with others? Paul says “woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16, KJV) It would be rather selfish to keep such amazing truth to ourselves!

Why then is evangelism so uncomfortable? One reason is that we’re worried that we’ll fail. We know that often people don’t accept the gospel. Sometimes people refuse to believe even what’s right in front of their face. Read the passage from Matthew again about when Jesus appeared on the mountain to the disciples: “When they saw him [Jesus], they worshiped him – but some of them doubted!” (Matthew 28:17) Did you catch that? Some of the disciples even doubted!

When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee, Jesus lamented that we Christians “speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony” (John 3:11). We shouldn’t feel that we’ve failed when people do not accept the gospel, for it is only through God’s grace, not our own efforts, that someone may be saved. By sharing our faith and giving someone to think about, we may have helped alter their life course to bring them one step closer to knowing the living God.

A second reason is that we may have negative images of what evangelism is like. Street evangelism (such as handing out tracts or shouting “Repent sinners!”) is surely not the only way to share our faith. The internet, for example, gives us an incredible new method to reach people all over the world. Over one billion people worldwide now have access to the Internet, and this is an amazing opportunity to share the gospel all over the world regardless of whether you are shy or outgoing. Your talents and God-given gifts can be used for ministry online. Let’s use the internet for God’s glory!

“Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!” Psalm 107:2, NLT

LET GOD VINDICATE YOU

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice… “ Isaiah 42:3

I had been accused of something I didn’t do. Now it was being gossiped about. When I tried to correct the misinformation, the response was, “Why are you so defensive?” The more I tried to explain, the worse it got.

Crushed I went to my friends, both in their eighties, who had often been my listening posts. “It’s not the truth, is it? Then don’t hang on to it,” they advised. “Don’t give the gossip any weight by mulling it over or talking about it. In due time God will vindicate you.”

But I couldn’t just leave it. Silence is consent, isn’t it? I spent much emotional energy trying to prove my innocence. To no avail. Finally I realized my friends were right: I needed to focus my energy on more constructive coping. How?

Searching out what God thinks about me, I wrote out Scripture verses on cards so I could say them while driving the car or walking the dog, verses such as: “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:33-34).

In these words I heard Jesus saying, “I’m the only one qualified to judge you and I don’t condemn you.” In fact, He let me know his pleasure in words like these: “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17)

Focusing on God’s truths helped me walk with dignity and courage.

And in time, it happened just as my friends predicted: the gossip was proved wrong and I was vindicated.

Have people spread rumors or gossip about you before? How did you respond? How can you aim to respond in the future?