Tag: Rev. Jaebok Gu

1 Kings 17:8-16, Psalm 146, and Hebrews 9:24-28

 

As the economy becomes more difficult, there is a society where selfless service comes alive in people’s hearts. It is very healthy and its members make the world beautiful. On the other hand, we have seen many cases in which a country, just because it is wealthy, is not good at helping countries in need. Nevertheless, we Christians live before God every day as called stewards in the world. For the world and for the kingdom of God.

Today I want to look at three types of people of God. First, let’s look at people who obey in faith and serve others. Today’s Word from 1 Kings shows what God wants from us. God gives Elijah a command: God commands Elijah, “9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there.” Sidon is located on the Mediterranean coast in present-day Lebanon. In the past, it was a city-state ruled by Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, the father of Jezebel, queen of Northern Israel at the time. Because of its mild climate and proximity to the sea, commerce and economy were active. In this wealthy region, idolatry was more active than God. And in contrast, there is a very poor woman.

Elijah goes to Zarephath according to the word of God and meets a widow. He asks the woman for food as God commanded. He orders a piece of bread and water from the woman by believing the word of God. But what is the situation of this woman? She has only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug in her house. So she had these thoughts before meeting Elijah. “I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it-and die.” The woman’s financial situation is very poor. To make matters worse, there is a drought going on. It is difficult for many people to donate more than 20% of their income, but now this woman takes Elijah’s word and serves her guests with everything she has. Sometimes my $20 isn’t a lot of money to me, but sometimes it means everything to someone else. Likewise, this woman went all in today. And ever since, God has blessed through Elijah. So Elijah and this woman do not lack food to eat. The jar of flour and the jug of oil were enough for the house.

I can meditate on God’s blessing and protection through this episode. When the northern kingdom of Israel was going astray, God warned King Ahab and Queen Jezebel through the prophet Elijah. He even warned them of a drought. When many people, including the king, threatened Elijah, God hid Elijah in a place that no one could imagine. Just as Elijah, who was most wary of idolatry, was sent to the region of Sidon where idolatry was most prevalent. When he had no food and was having a hard time, God comforted him through a crow.He also allowed the woman of Zarephath to treat him to a precious meal. And God blessed him so that he would not experience any inconvenience while he was there. And even during this drought of God’s care and wrath toward idolaters, God does not forget His mercy. So, God remembered this woman who was suffering from a drought and took care of her through Elijah so that her household had plenty to eat. Amazing grace and care. And it began with obedience of faith.

Even when there is no hope in our lives, even when it is filled with only pain and despair, I urge you to risk everything you have and come before God. And above all, when you seek God’s things first, God sees your faith and turns despair into hope. Just as Elijah and the woman had God’s grace to help each other and survive together, I believe that God will use and bless us today.

The second type is the one who puts his hope in Jehovah God. The psalmist writes that they are blessed. The Psalms reveal to us the blessings and graces that those who are used by God receive. Those who praise Jehovah God and rely on Him are blessed. Those who always seek Jehovah God for help are blessed. He gives us freedom. He loves the righteous and considers the situation of those in need. The righteous God sometimes judges and gives food to those who are hungry and thirsty. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.(9) The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. (10)

A life governed by God is very peaceful. Our leaders are vital. Just as there were elections in the United States, the lives of people in each country around the world are greatly affected by the capabilities and roles of their leaders. Although humans are lacking and imperfect, God is faithful and perfect. May you find peace in His reign over your life.

The third type is someone who reminds us of Jesus Christ. These people bring God’s blessings through personal devotion and sacrifice. When we read Hebrews chapter 9, we can be assured of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our sins have been forgiven and new opportunities have been given to us. When I meditate on the sufferings of Jesus Christ, I feel very sorry and at the same time, I feel deep gratitude.

I also thought about the blessings brought about by the selfless sacrifice of Canadian soldiers on Remembrance Sunday. During the Korean War, Canada, a participating country, dispatched a total of 26,791 troops from July 30, 1950 to the ceasefire of the Korean War in 1953. Among the 16 countries that participated in the Korean War under the UN flag, it sent the third largest number of troops after the United States and Britain. Canada quickly dispatched a large army, and even after the armistice, it sent approximately 7,000 additional troops until 1955. During the Korean War, 500 Canadian soldiers were killed and 1,200 wounded while fighting against the Chinese army.

When I think of the Canadian church that helped Korea achieve independence and the 500 young Canadian soldiers who died for democracy, I confess that the Republic of Korea exists today because of their sacrifice and dedication. I express my deep gratitude and at the same time tell you that through their noble dedication, the gospel took root in Korea and I came here too. When I look at them, I meditate on the sacrifice and dedication of Jesus Christ. Thank you. And today, I hope that we too, like them, live as people who remind others of Christ. God bless you.

John 11:32-44, Psalm 24, and Revelation 21:1-6a

 

In the church tradition, I grew up in, members celebrated Jesus Christ alone as a saint. However, as I encountered various traditions of the global church, I learned that they commemorate and remember the disciples of Christ and the leaders of different churches. Some churches celebrate All Saints Day, while others focus more on Jesus Christ in their worship. While meditating on this Weekly Lectionary Readings, I thought about new life beyond death.

First of all, I hope we all have faith in the resurrection. In today’s Gospel of John, Jesus visits Martha and Mary of Bethany. Furthermore, Lazarus had been dead for four days. In the ancient Near East, it was customary to hold a funeral immediately after death due to the risk of infection. So, the tomb or cave entrance was separated from the living area by rolling a large rock.

In Korea, funerals are held within 3 to 5 days after the death. Many bereaved families hold funerals within three days. During this period, there will be more than four prayer meetings and a Celebration of Life. Completing this entire process within 3 days makes it very difficult to sort out the sadness and pain of the breakup properly. Sometimes, officiating the funeral of a church member who died as a child or young adult is a great pain for a pastor.

Today, Jesus also goes to meet the death of Lazarus at a young age. Jesus is also in a challenging position. It is an upsetting and heartbreaking place. It is a place of frustration and heartache. So, as in verse 35, Jesus also wept. Some people criticize Jesus even in this situation. “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” It would be okay just to empathize and cry together. The shortcomings of human beings are also written in them.

When we meditate on the ministry of Jesus, we often read of the miracle of raising the dead. And today’s verse gives us that expectation as well. Jesus says. “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”(11), “Your brother will rise again.”(23), “Lazarus, come out!”(43). This is an authority we have never seen before. But Jesus proclaims, and God responds to Jesus’ request.

What kind of person is Jesus? If you read verses 25-26, you can meditate more deeply on Jesus. “25 I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” Yes, Jesus is the resurrection and the life. All of us who live and believe in Him will live even if we die. We will never die, even though our bodies will rot. So, I am afraid of death, but I am not scared. I think that through faith in Christ, we move to another place for a while. I moved from Korea to Vancouver and then to Red Deer, but I am still the same. Likewise, when I die, I will only move to God. So when I think about meeting my grandparents and grandparents-in-law who loved me, I also look forward to life in heaven. Of course, I don’t expect to see them right away tonight.

As we read the Word today, I think it would be good for all of us to have firm faith in the resurrection. We are not alive and experiencing miracles with Jesus, but the Word is with us. We confess Jesus Christ as the Word who became flesh. By believing in Jesus, the Logos, without seeing him, we believe we will live forever next to God.

Second, let us meet the Almighty God with clean hands and a pure heart. David confesses to God: “The Lord Almighty, he is the King of glory.” The Bible often compares hands to a person’s external actions. Therefore, clean hands mean that our lives outside the church should be holy. That life is about loving and serving our neighbors and revealing God’s presence. I think we would be very happy if we heard these words often in our lives. “When I look at you, I know you are a Christian. “I want to go to the church you go to too.” And furthermore, I would be extremely happy if I received this kind of praise from God. “You seek me. You seek my face, God of Jacob. You are holy.”

Dear everyone, Let’s meet the God who created Red Deer’s Wide Sky here. And I hope to be recognized and blessed by God, who created everything and is the owner of everything. And I pray that the same blessings will come to our descendants.

Finally, I hope that you will live in a new heaven and a new earth. People who believe in resurrection are different from non-religious people. People who have clean hands and a pure heart fear God. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to talk to people who work on satellites. At that time, I expected that there would be many scientists who denied the existence of God. Of course, there are also opposite cases. However, both the scientist I met at that time and the church member who sold satellite insurance said this to me. “The more I look at the Earth and the stars in the galaxy, the more I feel that God is alive.” Of course, God will evaluate the lives and hearts of these people. However, the important thing is what kind of heart we should live with. We confess that God lives. We live in a new world with that faith.

What kind of world is the new heaven and the new earth? It is the time and space where those who believe in God live. Theologians say this is where the kingdom of God will be. They expect that the final landscape of the current universe will be like this. They say that the Apostle John saw the final realization of human salvation through a vision and wrote Chapter 21. But why did God have Apostle John write the story of the end of time?

What is God’s purpose in giving us this lesson? Many people have misunderstood God’s intentions. So, due to misinterpretation of Revelation, numerous heresies were created throughout history and are still being created today. Many people have misunderstood this answer. They think that thinking about the end times through the cruel descriptions of the catastrophe and judgment ahead is scary and challenging to interpret. In other words, they thought that the Revelation, a record of the end times, would cause fear to the saints. And this thought has a huge impact on their attitude of faith. People who fall into this misunderstanding do not enjoy the freedom and joy of obtaining righteousness and holiness. Rather, they live a defensive life of faith in order to avoid being passively judged. When we raise children or pets, many guardians would be heartbroken if they could not enjoy freedom within discipline.

Likewise, God gives us the Word to enjoy freedom and joy. So, even though a life of faith may seem uncomfortable, it brings joy, happiness, and gratitude. I dare say that the world we live in by faith is the kingdom of God that we experience on this earth. The life we ​​live by listening to and obeying the word may be uncomfortable, but it gives us greater freedom. Even if we lack wealth, we can praise God. Even if we do not have much wealth, we can help those in a much more difficult situation than anyone else. We can also support those who are economically and mentally cornered through policies. This generous heart is because the gospel is in us. The gift of generosity received from God illuminates the world.

God says, “I am making everything new!” (5) The One who makes all things new makes our eyes and values new.

The new faith given to Martha and Mary,

The life of resurrection given to Lazarus, the second chance,

The vision of a holy life granted to David,

The vision of the new heaven and new earth given to Apostle John, And a vision of a world where there is no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain.

 

Dear brothers and sisters, God, the Alpha and the Omega, invites us. He calls us to a new vision, a firm faith, and a pure life. Like Lazarus, who received a second chance to live through faith in our Savior Jesus Christ, we also hope to receive a new chance to live every morning. So, I hope to be able to present the gospel of the new heaven and new earth that I experienced to my family and friends. Amen.

Psalm 126, Hebrews 7:23-28, and Mark 10:46-52

 

This week, reformed churches around the world celebrate Reformation Sunday. As many of you know, religious reformer Martin Luther published 95 theses on October 31, 1517, attempting to renew the existing errors of the Western Catholic Church. At that time, a Catholic priest in Scotland attempted reform centered on the Bible, grace, and faith. He was John Knox, and he became a leader in leading the religious reformation of the country. He fled to Switzerland when there was persecution by the Catholic Church and the British Crown. At that time, he met another religious reformer, Calvin. Calvin had a significant influence on Presbyterian theology. Knox also created the system of the Presbyterian Church. Therefore, our Presbyterian Church, one of the roots of the Reformed Church, needs to celebrate Reformation Sunday and continue to reform our faith and transform society.

November 1 is also an important day in the church year. Since the church’s founding 2,000 years ago, there has been a culture of honoring as saints those leaders who have protected the church and protected the Word from persecution by external forces, including Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Through this, the highest leaders of the Eastern and Western churches commemorated them by setting All Saints’ Day on November 1st after their deaths. And the day before, all People Hallow Eve. In other words, a culture of celebrating Halloween emerged. I find it interesting that Reformation Day and Halloween are the same day. Of course, the Korean church I grew up in places greater value on Reformation Sunday than  All Saints Day and Halloween. That’s why I never really enjoyed Halloween in Korea. After coming to Canada, my Halloween was about giving candy to the kids who came to my house.

However, as I meditate on the Reformation and the Weekly Lectionary Readings, I want to share the following two things with you. The first is praising God. After the fall of Israel, many people were taken captive by the Babylonian Empire. After living in exile, they returned to Israel and sang Psalm 126. They enjoy the joy of liberation. They can go up to the temple and worship to their heart’s content. There is no greater joy than this. The joy of being able to worship. Through this song, they express their determination to make the temple more beautiful and to sow the seeds of the Gospel.

Let me tell you a personal story. Many men in Korea are required to serve in the military. So they serve for a short period of 16 months or a long period of more than 3 years. In my case, I served for 40 months as a second lieutenant. During the cadet period, there were restrictions on going to church to worship. Of course, I was not persecuted, but there were times when many senior officers wanted to avoid work on Sundays, so I, a newbie, took over. Then, I couldn’t go to church. I don’t know how sad it was at that time. That’s because I’ve never missed church on Sunday since birth. However, since there were times when I could not go for unavoidable reasons, I was able to think about how important worship is to my life. Dear friends, we want to exalt and praise God like the Israelites who wrote our psalms. And I hope we can sow the seeds of the gospel and harvest with joy for the living God. The amazing God will work in our lives more amazingly than we think.

The second is to commemorate Christ. As the book of Hebrews says, Jesus is eternal. Jesus is the Savior. He is always alive and intercedes for us. Jesus, the high priest, is holy. We cannot find evil in him. Through Jesus Christ, we can pray directly to God. We do not meet God indirectly through the priestly sacrifices in the temple. This is a great gift and grace of God. Through Jesus Christ, the High Priest, we can think of God at any time. We can pray without anyone’s permission. We can meditate

In Korean churches, there is an early morning prayer meeting. In rural areas, church members gather to pray at 4 or 5 in the morning, and in cities, between 5 and 6 in the morning. After that, they start their day at work or home. Of course, if this is difficult due to time and distance constraints, the pastor recommends that the believers set aside time to meditate on the Word. My grandparents and parents also went to early morning prayers daily, and I usually went to church with my mother only on Sundays. And while I was praying, I had a dream of becoming a pastor. Three weeks ago, a pastor from a local church met with me and shared this story as he was curious about Korean churches. At first, I didn’t know the church’s name, but later, I discovered that the pastor was Pastor Dan Cochrane of CrossRoads Church. Last week, my wife attended the evening service of CrossRoads Church for a school assignment, and the pastor preached this story ideally—a life where you start your day with the Bible and prayer.

Of course, I am not saying that I will start a prayer meeting with you at 4 or 5 am tomorrow. I am just praying about what our church needs and the right time. And the next day, when I went to install an engine block heater in my car, the service person came to me and asked if I was a Korean pastor at Knox Church. He said: If I can, I want to come to worship next time. I’m not sure if I look Korean. However, genuinely remarkable and mysterious things happen when I come to Red Deer. So, I am grateful to God. I am thankful that I met you and that you continue to allow me to meet new people. I can praise Jesus Christ alone, who made all this possible.

So, I hope we all meditate on Christ, meet Him, and receive grace. Just as Bartimaeus, who could not see, confessed with faith and received the miracle of healing as a gift, I hope that you and I all experience the gift of grace in our daily lives—for the beggar Bartimaeus, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the descendant of King David, stopped walking. I hope this amazing miracle of love will come true through meditating on and encountering the Lord.

Mark 10:35-45, Psalm 91.9-16, and Hebrews 5.1-10

 

Experiencing and learning something new requires energy, which is very enjoyable and worthwhile. I am very curious, so I enjoy the fun of visiting new areas and learning new things. On the one hand, experiencing changes in the environment is developmental, but it can also be challenging, so some people have difficulty with this.

When I think of the disciples of Jesus, I believe their lives are dramatic. Before they met Jesus, some were fishermen. Some were disciples who loved studying the Bible. Some were construction workers, some were tax collectors, and some were zelotes. They met Jesus and had a short but impressive three-year period of learning. They followed Jesus without any convenient means of transportation, walking from place to place and sometimes taking a boat. Life with Jesus is thankful, but it is a time of physical training that is not easy.

Amidst all this, a minor incident occurs in Mark 10:37. James and John ask, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” Every time I read this verse, the thought that comes to mind is, “They are not so sense, so considerate.” However, if we read the Gospel of Mark carefully from the beginning, we may make the following guess. That means, “On the one hand, they were impatient and anxious. On the other hand, they were probably excited to see Jesus performing miracles.” This is truly an interesting part. Mark, the gospel writer, recorded the negative aspects of the disciples.

The disciples saw it. They saw Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law with fever, a man with leprosy, a paralyzed man, a dead girl, a sick woman with bleeding, a deaf and mute man, and a blind man at Bethsaida.

They saw miracles such as casting out demons, calming a storm, feeding five thousand, walking on the water, feeding four thousand, and the Transfiguration of Jesus.

They also watched Jesus argue theologically with authority with the Pharisees. Sometimes, he used parables to make things easier for his disciples to understand. And Jesus again predicted his Death. I haven’t even told you a third of what happened between Jesus and the disciples. But this alone is enough to cause a huge shock. If I could do one of those episodes or see it with my own eyes, my life as a pastor would be different. However, among the disciples who experienced and learned all of this together, James and John, mentioned relatively often in the Bible, requested that the seats immediately to the left and right of Jesus’ glorious seat be assigned to them. These people were originally wealthy fishermen. Was it because of the psychology of compensation? They proudly demand a position as the closest person to Jesus. Of course, Jesus said, “You don’t know what you are asking.” And the other ten disciples watching this also became angry. They are disciples who are very similar and have many shortcomings.

But let’s consider the time when this was written. Jesus died, and Christians were persecuted by the Jews and the Romans in the first century. They believed in Jesus, but the Lord was no longer with them. Now, the disciples, including Peter, are the church leaders spreading God’s word. Church leaders are encouraging them to overcome this ordeal together.

Yes. The disciples tried to do their best, but they fell into the test. Also, they did not correctly understand the test Jesus would face. They were Jesus’ collaborators, but they were also hinderers. So, why did Mark describe the shameful past of the disciples, the church leaders of the time, so realistically?

It is to convey the fact that the disciples who were with Jesus in the past also failed and fell into temptation. They were weak, had many shortcomings like us, and were greedy like ordinary people. However, the disciples who experienced the resurrection have become church leaders. They obey and submit to God’s will. That is why Mark shows the disciples the most negative but also, paradoxically, the most positive present. Therefore, it gives the strength to overcome the trials, crises, and tests that the church members faced at the time.

We can see Jesus’ request and prayer in Hebrews 5:7. “⁷ During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”

Jesus offers up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears. And because of his reverent submission, his request and prayer are answered by God. Through suffering, he learns obedience and becomes the source of salvation for all who obey him. Although he is the Son of God, he suffers without sin. But because of his piety, he receives answers.

There are some differences between the disciples’ and Jesus’ requests and prayers. They are piety, obedience, and service. Jesus’ request has a life of purity. He is entirely obedient to the will of God. Unlike the disciples, he does not desire to be greater than others. Instead, he has a love to serve all mankind. He even endures all kinds of insults and hardships because of that love. Therefore, God made him the source of salvation. God even calls him a high priest. He is a mediator who belongs to God and worships for people.

I hope that our prayers will soon resemble Jesus’ prayers. I hope you and I will live a life of piety, meditating on and obeying God’s will. So, I hope we will serve our neighbors with love and enjoy the joy of salvation together in our daily lives. We will enjoy God’s protection through this piety, obedience, and service, which the psalmist sings. We will experience God’s protection and salvation. Also, like Jesus, God will answer every time we ask. As Psalm 15 and 16 say, “We will call on God, and God will answer us; Creator will be with us in trouble, Savior will deliver and honor us. The Lord will satisfy us with long life and show us his salvation.”

Dear brothers and sisters, we are sometimes weak like the disciples. Our requests and prayers are often like those of James and John. However, I hope our faith and prayers grow and mature as children grow. I hope we can pray and serve like Jesus and be recognized by God. So the words of Psalm 11, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” May God bless you and allow you to live under God’s protection and grace.

Mark 10:17-31, Psalm 90:12-17, and Hebrews 4:12-16

 

Today is Thanksgiving Sunday. It is a time to think about the efforts and fruits of this year and gratitude. On the other hand, it is a precious time to meet family living apart. It has been a month since I became a Red Deerian. For the first time, I purchased winter tires and a freezer. A church member gave me a lawn mower, so I used it. Now that I have a lawn mower, I purchased and assembled an outdoor shed to store it. I could continue to buy something and enjoy the brief joy and gratitude that came from it. So, looking at this year beyond the past month, I spent this year re-entering school to change my status, starting work at church, and seeking God’s guidance, just as I always did my homework. Sometimes, I was frustrated and sometimes happy, so I now live with great gratitude.

Since last Wednesday, I have been visiting the homes of our church members with the elders. I am very grateful that this pastoral visit allowed me to better understand and pray for you. Since I have divided the pastoral district with the four elders, I plan to visit you by next month. It is a great pleasure to share my grateful story and your family’s prayer requests with you. I am very thankful I could confirm why God called us to Knox church rather than live a life of faith alone.

The story in Mark today is a very famous episode. A wealthy young man asks Jesus what he must do to obtain eternal life. He is very confident in himself. Like a student who expects praise and asks questions, he says, “I kept this commandment well, and I did well that teaching.” Looking at him, Jesus begins speaking in verse 21 by saying that he loves him. “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Of course, Mark didn’t record how he became rich. However, in the story in Luke 18, parallel to this content, we can see that “he was a ruler, and he was very wealthy.” What kind of person would a rich official be under colonial rule? Looking at the experience of Korea, which had a similar colonial experience, it is highly likely that they worked faithfully for the interests of the ruling country. And there is a high possibility that he was harsh towards his compatriots. The Bible specifically pointed out and recorded a Tex collector among these people. But the question was what he valued most within him. He probably valued wealth more than eternal life. In the eyes of Jesus, the most critical value in a rich man’s life was to increase his wealth, so he sold all of it, shared it with the poor, and ordered him to overcome that greed. These words were not what Jesus commanded everyone he met. Of course, there were times when He called His disciples who were fishermen and told them to give up their jobs and follow Him to become His disciples. However, there has never been an extreme order to sell everything, as in the case of this rich man. Why did Jesus do so? The answer is in verse 21: “Because Jesus loved him.” Jesus knew that man had to go beyond materialism to possess the treasure in heaven that lies beyond it. Jesus wanted the rich man’s entire life to change. He asked him to look beyond keeping the law and commandments to the values ​​that God wants. Jesus wanted him to worship God before money. Jesus asked him to love his neighbor before money. Money is a tool. Money is a tool. Jesus tells the rich man to use his money to serve his neighbors with love.

We love Christ. We know how to possess eternal life. We see the kingdom of God. We know that happiness and gratitude through material things do not last long. The duration of happiness, joy, unhappiness, and sadness varies depending on psychologists’ analysis, but Harvard University professor Daniel Gilbert estimates it to be around three months. Philip Brickman and Donald Campbell published the Hedonic treadmill theory long ago and determined that the period could last up to 6 months. There are big and small events for which we are grateful daily. What is important is our lives that do not lose sight of that gratitude. And it’s about continually remembering what’s most important.

I hope that we will not be the rich who lost Jesus because of the wealth they had, but we will be those who hold on to Jesus the Great High Priest. So, as in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

A life of walking with the Lord is beautiful as we ask the Lord for the grace to help us in our time of need. So, the way they seek the Lord’s grace and help is very religious. Like the prayer of Moses in Psalm 90, “¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. ¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.”

May all your days be filled with joy and gratitude because of the Lord’s unfailing love. I hope that through God’s wisdom, you will see great graces that the rich man could not see and live in the glory of the Lord.

Grace beyond materialism. Yes, that’s right. We are Christians. Amen.