journey onWord with us

My wife and I have dramatically different driving styles. Her style is two hands on the steering wheel at all times while abstaining from cell phone communication and strictly obeying all posted speed limits.  She would likely say that attentive driving has not been one of my greatest strengths.   Although it is never my intention to get distracted while driving, her style is right.  I can find a variety of excuses for losing focus, but none of them are good. Just a week ago, on a trip from North Carolina to Ohio, distracted focus caused me to go several miles out of the way.  I got so mad at myself that it caused me to make immediate changes to my style. But it takes more than one frustrated trip to become a focused driver. You may never get distracted while driving, but in the travels of life, have you found it easy to lose your spiritual focus?

Any serious Christ-follower is aware that He must be the focus of our life. However, you would be in good company if sometimes you feel about your spiritual life what I feel about my driving — great intentions, but too easily distracted. I start nearly all my trips laser focused out the front windshield, completely aware of my surroundings. But it is exceedingly easy to drift from focus to distraction (and it is not the cell phone’s fault!).  In all matters related to faith, others need to see us driving focused as well. But it takes work, discipline, and concentration.

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.
Psalm 86:11

There is no doubt that David had a sincere heart for following God with relentless passion. His life was proof of someone who honored the Lord, and at other times stumbled with distracted focus. Accepting that we can live with passion and then make a wrong turn should cause the words of Psalm 86:11 to be the cry of our heart as well. David knew his life, like we know our own strengths and weaknesses. His desire was to have an undivided heart, and his commitment was to walk in truth. It can be done. David’s desire for an undivided heart reminds me of my own for more focused driving — Eyes on the road, with undivided attention!

My wife (with two hands on the steering wheel, not exceeding the speed limit and avoiding cell phone distractions) illustrates textbook driving. Being a student of God’s Word, practicing its truth, with laser-focus on the Author is textbook living. Neither (textbook driving or living) will be accomplished well without undivided focus. Could it be in the spiritual travels of life that wrong turns and speeding tickets hinder the cause of our Savior and what He is doing in us and through us? That is reason enough to keep our hearts and minds focused on Him.

Driving well is God’s design for me. If you are a Christ-follower, I know the Father wants you to live with an undivided heart. It will take work for both of us. I’ve made my commitment! Will you?

Do you ever feel like life is one confusing event after another? There is so much that happens and we all wonder, “Why?”  On this side of eternity there are so many unanswered questions. Often, there is a sense of feeling disobedient or “unspiritual” if we think or voice honest questions about the tough issues we face. But believe me, God can handle our honesty. Look with me at a few examples that will resonate with all of us.

• I prayed so hard about it, but things still didn’t turn out well.
• Why did such a godly person pass away so young?
• Why do some of the people I care for have so much pain?  It seems unfair.
• Parents walk with God in front of their children, and then their children aren’t that interested in God.
• Does all of this praying we do really matter?

In your silent moments, some of those very thoughts may have passed through your mind. A godly relative of mine said to me once, “Faith is great … after the fact.” Even though I gave him a good spiritual lecture, I am not naïve to the fact that many of us encounter similar feelings. So how do we balance our confidence in the sovereignty and sufficiency of our Lord with the constant messages of life that attack our faith? We must choose to live by trusting in the absolute truth of God’s Word, and the power of its Author. Agreeing with the Word intellectually may be a given in your life, but battles still rage in the practice of truth.

In his great work, My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers gives insight into the confusion(s) of life. He said, “You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey”. Isn’t it true that in our quest to make sense of this life, we far too often use our own reasoning to make it everything fit? Unfortunately for us, even our best reasoning falls short in the simplest of life quandaries.  And has no chance to begin making sense of the bigger questions like: “Why do some get cancer?” and “Why do the wicked strike it rich?” Our only choice is to reject our own capacity to know and discern, and simply obey.  Obeying the truth of Scripture and the prompting of His Spirit will begin to make things clear. Clarity will come in gaining His perspective (and having His heart), and not by having all of our questions answered.

You have your tough issues and I have mine. Pull no punches with God; cry out to Him! There is no one more acquainted with your grief. And then accept that He will choose what He wants to reveal to us. He is God! … and we are not.

It is not His design to answer all of our questions on this side of eternity.  But He has given us His Word, and His promise of peace. If you are a Christ-follower, don’t worry about what you can’t figure out or fix. Just obey what you know to be true, and let your confusion become as clear as the Father chooses.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Established as a national holiday in 1894, the first Monday in September honors the value that our society places on work.  God established the right and proper purpose of work (Gen. 2:15), and the wisdom book of Proverbs has much to say about its value (Proverbs 6:6-8, 6:10-12, 12:4, 12:11, 12:24, 13:4, 14:23, 18:9, 22:29).  Work is biblical.  Being diligent and honest in your work is a godly example to those you toil alongside.  Yet, context is also critical in the consideration of this good and right thing.  Listen closely to these words from the wisdom book…

Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
Proverbs 23:4 (ESV)

God designed us for work.  He designed us to care for His creation and provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8).  Yet, He designed us first for relationship with Him and has called us to the work of the kingdom.  And into that, I hear the voice of scripture speak powerfully…

Cease striving and know that I am God;
Psalm 46:10a (NASB)

I particularly love the first two words of the New American Standard Bible translation of that verse.  It is one of only a few translations which departs from “Be still.”  I have come to know, experience and value those two words as well, but I find a fullness and richness when I read “Cease striving” – quite like the first time you try on sunglasses with polarizing lenses (if you’ve ever had that experience, you’ll know just what I mean).

As we walk daily with Him and do the kingdom work He authored for us long before we were born (Ephesians 2:10), we would do well to live the words of the first half of Psalm 46:10.  We would be wise to stop trying to meet the day and its troubles in our own strength.  Hear clearly the permission God speaks in the words of the Psalmist.  This is what I hear Him saying … “Cease striving, my son (or daughter).  My strength is made perfect in your choice to stop trying to meet and make it through today (and each new one I gift you) with your own sweat and tears.  Let’s, instead, walk together.  I’ll pull the plow and you can know me more through the direct experience and observation of it.  I don’t want you walking a step behind.  No, take the other side of this very real yoke and walk with me.  See, hear, smell, taste and touch how it is all Me as you and I Am appear to be sharing the load.  Experience the true joy of receiving praise from others for ‘accomplishing’ something in My power.  Observe the oneness that is possible, especially in the experience of deep pain and loss.”

While it would seem fitting to leave you with the tidy truth of Cease striving on the occasion of Labor Day, it would be empty without its completing companion … knowing.  “Cease striving AND know,” the verse says (emphasis added).  In many ways, knowing is inseparable from ceasing.  When you know, it becomes more natural to cease.  When you cease, you know more deeply.

On this day which brings an unofficial end to the season of summer, may you be encouraged to also end a season of trying (in your own strength).  And in doing so, may you know Him more.  May you know His grace, mercy, forgiveness, patience, steadfastness, power and love more completely.  Work hard in the fields of the kingdom.  Cease striving and know that He is God.

Author and scholar Dr. E. Schuyler English is fond of telling the story of a science buff who finally fulfilled his dream of owning a high quality (and pricey) barometer.  When he had set up his new toy, he was upset to see that the needle seemed to be stuck on the section marked, “Hurricane.” Well, that was laughable to the man because, after all, he lived on Long Island, New York, and they simply did not get hurricanes there!  He sat down that night and wrote a scathing letter to the company asking for his substantial investment to be returned and also chastising them for charging so much for such a poor quality instrument.  When he went to work on Monday morning, in New York City, he mailed the letter. That evening he returned to Long Island to find his barometer missing … along with his house!  The barometer was right all along.  Do you happen to remember hearing about Hurricane Sandy?

I recently finished the book Agents of Babylon written by one of my favorite authors, David Jeremiah.  The book is a study of the biblical book of Daniel and the many prophesies contained therein; many are concerning and a little scary.  Dr. Jeremiah addresses the fact that many do not like what the prophesies depict, so they choose not to believe them. The author states,

 “Truth is truth, whether or not we choose to believe it.”

“I don’t know why I can’t lose any weight.” Yes, we do – we love sweets & we never exercise.

“I don’t have any time to read my Bible.” And yet somehow we have time to watch our favorite TV show.

“My church just does not meet my needs.” But have you tried serving there to meet the needs of others?

Some of you may be chuckling about now, so on a much more serious subject, let me ask if you believe the Bible, God’s Word … ALL of it!  You believe, but that story about Jonah and the great fish has got to just be a parable or illustration, right?  You believe, but the prophecies of the book of Revelation are just a bit far-fetched.  They must just be a warning to mankind to shape up, right?  You believe, but could a loving God actually create a horrible Hell for some to spend Eternity there?

Let me review, “Truth is truth, whether or not we choose to believe it.”  And here is something else to grab on to … Just because we choose not to believe does not change the Reality!  We cannot be like so many in the world who pick and choose what parts of the Bible we believe – it’s ALL or nothing!  The prophecies of Daniel regarding ancient kingdoms and rulers all came true – so accurately that many historians are amazed at the details in the book.  So, one last question:  If the historical prophecies came to pass in the exact, detailed way Scripture predicted, why would any other prophesies in Scripture not be true?  When God says something is going to happen, it happens … every time and exactly the way He said it would happen.

We need to believe the Truth … ALL of it!  Oh, and probably lay off the brownies, too.

Just this morning I read a verse of scripture that was easy to agree with intellectually. My problem is, practicing what I believe about the verse. I am sure you could quickly recite verses that cause you the same contradictions. They are words that are lived by faith, and accomplished only by the hand of God. Quite frankly, our minds agree with the words, but in our heart and with our hands we struggle with them. It is my opinion that the experience of most Christ-followers is too much intellectual assent and too little purposeful application when verses seem contradictory (although they never are). Test yourself with the following:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
II Cor 4:18(a)

We live by faith, not by sight.
II Cor 5:7

For when I am weak, then I am strong.
II Cor 12:10(b)

Paul, the writer of II Corinthians, was a man who had struggles just like us, yet he lived with purpose. He embraced his weaknesses and lived in single-minded devotion to the will of God. I don’t think for a moment he never failed at living by faith. What I do believe is Paul grasped the significance of eternal realities, and lived with his eyes firmly fixed on the unseen.

Our culture drives us to live by sight and only speak about our faith. I am convinced that with just a quick moment of introspection we would all agree that on issues of faith, living by sight is far more comfortable and appealing. But that is not the way God has designed for us to live! He wants us to live with hearts that trust Him for what we cannot see in the moment. Remember from Hebrews eleven the words, “by faith Noah…”, “by faith Abraham…”, “by faith Joseph…” and “by faith Moses?”

Think about what you are battling today. You may be searching for a new job, praying for your home to sell, for a son or daughter to return to their faith, or asking God to move a mountain in your life. Have you noticed the tendency to become sight-driven by your concerns? Paul’s example challenges us to be faith-driven.

All Christ-followers have built their hope for eternity on faith. Doesn’t it make sense that we can live daily with faith in the One who redeemed us? Sure, it may sometimes seem like a contradiction to live by faith, fix our eyes on the unseen and believe that our strength is in our weakness. But when the Father saved you, the rules for living changed. Note your life through these words from A.W. Tozer:

“A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for one whom he has never seen; talks familiarly every day to someone he cannot see; expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another; empties himself in order to be full; admits he is wrong so he can be declared right; goes down in order to get up; is strongest when he is weakest; richest when he is poorest; and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live; forsakes in order to have; gives away so he can keep; sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge. The man who has met God is not looking for anything; he has found it. He is not searching for light, for upon him the light has already shined. His certainty may seem bigoted, but his assurance is that of one who knows by experience his religion is not hearsay. He is not a copy, not a facsimile. He is an original from the hand of the Holy Spirit.”

Could I challenge you, even for just one day, to look at every obstacle through the eyes of faith? Although it may sometimes seem that God has designed our experience of faith to be one of contradictions, that is only true through the eyes of our human understanding.  He can be trusted.  Just know that in that trusting the Father, life is going to appear confusing and backwards at times.  But when we live by faith, embracing our weaknesses, and trusting our Father’s directions, we never need to fear.

Read scripture, breathe scripture, walk scripture, trust scripture.  Live by faith, not by sight.

Children give us a great picture of reality. Unfiltered reality!  Once, while listening to a podcast by John Ortberg, I was intrigued by the comments of children, that whether we would admit it or not, mirror some of our own questions.

“God, did you mean for a giraffe to look like that,
or was it just an accident?”
— Norm

“Dear God, are you really invisible
or is this just a trick?”
— Aaron

“Dear God, thank you for my baby brother,
but what I prayed for was a puppy.”
— Joyce

Obviously, Christ-followers trust God and His ways. But in a more adult way, we mentally and sometimes verbally question His plans (sounding a lot like the children above). As I look over the years of my life, I would have never planned the course God designed for me. There have been twists and turns I could have never imagined. Quite frankly, if I had known the directional shifts before they happened, I may have done everything possible to stop them. You see, there is a part of me that wants to control the movement of my journey based on what I understand to be logical and best. I know better than that biblically, and experience has taught me to trust God’s plan with my future. Oh, but how I still battle for control! And I dare say, so do you!

During the last few weeks, I have been reading the book of Proverbs. It is easy to move through some of the catchy phrases without internalizing the truth you are encountering. One of my favorite ways to read and gain insight is to use a parallel Bible with four versions. It slows me down, but in good way. Last week, Proverbs 20:24 jumped off the page at me. For me, the insight gained relates to the struggle that I (and you) have with all the twists and turns of life. In reading from the New Living Translation, Proverbs 20:24 says …

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

No argument with the words that the Lord directs our steps. Although true believers in Christ give credence to the fact that God directs us, we battle with the second part of that verse. When the verse says, “so why try to understand everything along the way,” it is counter-intuitive for most of us. Our instinct and desire is to know, and also to know why.  But why do we insist and persist when God’s design is not subject to our carefully planned out life agenda.

My Life Application Study Bible defines this verse far better that I can.

“We are often confused by the events around us. Some things we will never understand until years later when we look back and see how God was working. This proverb counsels us to not worry if we don’t understand everything as it happens. Instead, we should trust that God knows what he’s doing, even if his timing or design is not clear to us.”

When you and I concentrate on the fact that the Lord directs our steps, then we will correspondingly begin to stop trying to understand everything along the way.  Why? If He directs our steps, then the steps along the way are covered. I know that you and I will sometimes still struggle to control the future, but this verse helps us reset our thinking to the truth of His control.  Take this to heart today.  Rest in the assurance that He is responsible.  He knows best.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Psalm 37:23

In a window seat on a five-hour flight last month, I realized quickly there may be no way to exit my aisle. Seated next to me was a man about 6’2” and 230lbs. who obviously knew how to relax on a long flight.  Picture this: the neck cushion went on, then the eye mask, followed by his sun glasses, and to top it off … ear plugs. Without much effort, he was in REM sleep and I was stuck. About two hours into the flight, I got tired of my plight and gave a little twitch that thankfully awakened my Rip Van Winkle friend. Now you may think badly of me, but it was time to stretch out and take a bathroom break.  Eventually, my seatmate became a stellar communicator and we enjoyed the last couple of hours of the long journey.

My flying difficulty mirrors situations that happen to almost everyone, every day. The mirror I am speaking of is a choice.  Countless times every day you and I are confronted with decisions on how to respond “in the moment.” Do we get angry, gossip a little, expand the truth, ignore dealing with an issue? The list of choices is seemingly endless.  How often have we wished we could have a re-do on a choice that was made?  And unquestionably, wrong choices hinder relationships.

My personal reading took me to a verse of Scripture this morning that bleeds with choice. It is a verse I had read many times before, but never really considered with much depth. Before sharing the verse, I would ask you to consider how often you are confronted with minor offenses. At work or at home, do you ever get the sense that someone is taking advantage of you, ignoring your (valid)  opinions, trying to make you look bad, and generally just being very selfish? To sum it up, people take advantage of you … and your choice in response will matter!

The choices we make with the offenders are often the wrong ones. But, they are the ones being selfish, while we always put others first … At least, that is what we tell ourselves. All Christ-followers are challenged to live out our faith in the choices we make. And those choices don’t exclude offenders who take advantage of us. Proverbs 17:9 challenges us to look at how we respond when the inevitable offenses arise.  When reading the verse, ask yourself, “How do I respond when someone takes advantage of me?”

Overlook an offense and bond a friendship;
fasten on to a slight and — good-bye, friend!
(MSG)

It is certainly easy to say “Overlook an offense,” but our flesh cries out to hold a grudge.  I sense the true battle for Christ-followers is forgiving then releasing the offense. Consequently, we become offenders ourselves by responding in way that is not Christ-like. The result – friendships are wounded severely and sometimes die completely. When you and I forgive offenses and seek to value the offender, God is honored and relationships grow stronger. There may be someone who has taken advantage of you who comes to mind right now.  Will you lift them and their offense to the Father in forgiveness?  Will you let loose your grip on the slight?

Life is too short and precious to carry all the petty relational stresses that confront us daily.  A moment or day given away is truly gone … never to be recaptured. Discipline yourself by refusing to hold a grudge.  Forgive and release.

And by the way, choose your seats wisely!

We are weightlifters.  We attempt to bear the full weight of our burdens (and many times other people’s, too).  If we do “cast our cares,” it often looks like the cast of a fisherman. The care leaves us, but it is not long before we reel it back in and throw it over our shoulder to carry once again.  We spend time weight training and challenging our resolve in the pointless pursuits of “bulking up” and increasing our stamina.  All this to be able to carry more, lighten the load of what we are already carrying, or extend the distance we can walk before buckling under the weight.  We wear our incremental “achievements” like Olympic medals — outward evidence of “stronger.”   We take heart in our progress or judge ourselves harshly in our failures.

This mindset is an unmistakable by-product of our sin nature.  The instinct and capacity to carry was not in God’s design for us.  Blessed are the weak, meek, poor and poor in spirit, the Bible says repeatedly.

Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
Psalm 55:22

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary
and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.
But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

Did you notice the repeated mention of “I” in the verses above?  Those mentions are not an exercise in <insert your name here>, they are the voice of the great I Am!  I Am is with you; I Am is your God; I Am will hold you up; I Am will strengthen you; I Am will give you rest; and I Am has overcome the world!  This is Who is for you.

Jesus wants to bear our burdens.  He wants us to give them to Him fully and freely.  He is willing to engage with us about their nature and purpose, but we are not meant to carry them ourselves.  Don’t waste your time building up muscle to make the weight lighter or to increase your own strength, so you can carry more.

I leave you with words which formed in my mind last week as I rode home from work.  I was burdened over the circumstances of a friend.  I was praying and listening to some encouraging music as I unconsciously made the series of rights and lefts that led me home.  At some point the music faded and the Spirit spoke…

The only distance we are ever expected to carry our burdens (our sins, our circumstances or those of others) is the single breath that defines the distance between where we are right now and the foot of the cross.

Cease striving and know that He is God (Ps. 46:10).  Be a care “giver,” not a weightlifter.

Sitting in the cool and quiet of my early morning sacred space, I felt a distinct prompt to raise my head.  I was completely immersed in the good of reading and recording; the gentle breeze and harmony of the birds were like background music to my studies.  Then all at once, I simply lifted my head.  I don’t recall anything conscious in my field of focus or periphery, but my head obeyed something within me which signaled the invitation to look up.

As I did, I was awed by a simple and stunning sight.  A literal sea of resplendent white seagulls blanketing the brilliant blue backdrop of the morning sky above me.  With the sun blazing bright, low in the sky to our east, it acted as light hitting the facets of a diamond, the underside of each bird shimmering and sparkling as they flew overhead.  It went on for more than a minute and at times looked like the heavens being lit up by a thousand tiny flashbulbs.

As the last few trailing birds disappeared from view and my mind replayed the scene, I felt a deep and overwhelming sense of gratitude for the still small voice of God.  The “voice” my youngest son once asked if I had ever heard.  The “voice” that is really challenging to explain to a beautifully curious ten-year-old boy.  The “voice” which was almost certainly the one my head obeyed in looking up.

In the midst of my immersion in reading and studying, I was prompted.  That prompting was an invitation to experience God in something that was getting ready to happen just beyond the horizon of my fixed focus.  It was good and right to be in the Word that morning.  It was equally so to have ventured into God’s creation to do it.  What I was doing in the moments before the celestial light show was neither wrong nor bad.  But the enemy of experiencing God and His authored purpose for our lives is not always the “wrong” or “bad.”  It sometimes is in our dogged determination or laser-like focus on what is right in front of us at the moment – staring deep into the words on a page while resplendent white seagulls are shimmering and sparkling overhead.

A maturing life of faith is not lived with one’s head on a swivel, and sometimes the shimmering and sparkling is a distraction in the direction of disobedience.  Discerning  the true source of a prompt requires abiding in Him and a life controlled by the Spirit.  In knowing Him and being tuned to the sound of His voice, you can be certain of the prompts to look up or look out.  It is yours to simply obey, and in the re-orienting, experience His revealing.

Thank you, God, for your Word, your Spirit, and your resplendent white seagulls.

Have you ever noticed how life can easily descend into a daily routine of one thing after another? My experience has been that this one thing after another routine quickly begins to dominate.  So much so, that our quiet moments, times of reflection, meaningful moments with family and even more meaningful moments with God, are pushed out of the routine.  If you and I were to chart last week, I wonder whether every day would look eerily similar, with too many scheduled events squeezing out the unscripted moments that give us room to breathe? If, in truth, our focus is one thing after another, then you must agree with me that there is a real tendency to live a mile wide and an inch deep.

Frankly, so many of the one things are good, and we have to be intentional about trying to live deeper and fight for times of quiet, solitude and meaningful moments. With full candor, I must tell you that mastering depth versus breadth is difficult. My wife and I were talking last week about having a season that is tough to manage. I absolutely know that many who are reading this article would concur. But there is never an excuse to give away the vital life-giving moments that provide the energy to accomplish the routine with a settled heart and focused mind. And although the daily one another’s are not easy to navigate, we are intentional about the opportunity to find God’s design as we fight for space. Will you do the same?

Over the last month, I have been fascinated by a book entitled One Sacred Year by Michael Yankoski. It hasn’t been an easy read, but there have been nuggets that are driving my thoughts toward greater depth and away from the one after another routine. One particular illustration has been especially meaningful.

Mr. Yankoski was told by a friend that if you take a gallon of water, “pouring it into a straw about the size of a human hair, it would reach all the way down to the center of the world, four thousand miles beneath the ground on which you stand.” The point of this story is that if you decrease breadth (size of the straw), then you increase depth. My desire is definitely not to debate how deep the water would penetrate, but to validate the simple principle. Is there anyone who would argue that decreasing clutter, activity (even good), and the one after another’s, would certainly add to the depth and quality of the same activities? Have you ever felt that your work performance, family time and spiritual disciplines would be better if life wasn’t a series of events that never stop and zap your physical and emotional energy? Everything seems to get done, but it lacks the depth you would like.

Understanding the principle of decreasing breadth and increasing depth is the easy part. But your life and mine will probably demand the same one after another activities this week that it did last week, and the week before, and the week before … So what must we do?

It starts with intentionality! What are we going to do to increase our depth? For my wife and me, it is about creating space (non-negotiable), and living by it. It is also a spiritual issue, and we are seeking to apply Psalm 37:7a:  Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. (Msg)  Choosing to tackle every day with this verse in mind creates a different perspective of how to attack the one after another’s that demand our attention.

Do you feel that there is a need to decrease the breadth and increase the depth of your journey? If so, be intentional about making some changes, and even more intentional about engaging Scripture to guide you.