“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you…and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3, NIV).

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10, NKJV).

“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43b-44, NIV).

“The Lord said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites…’” (Hosea 3:1, NIV).

“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions” (Mark 7:8, NIV).

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9, NIV).

“This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer a short time in various trials” (1 Peter 1:6, NET).

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves” (Romans 13:1-2, NIV)

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers…” (Luke 10:30b, BSB).

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8, NIV).

“Join with others in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do” (Philippians 3:17, NIV).

“Not long after this, a hurricane-force wind called the northeaster blew down from the island” (Acts 27:14, NET).

“But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents” (Mark 12:42, NIV).

“And he who was seated at the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new’” (Revelation 21:5a, ESV).

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over” (Matthew 18:15, NIV).

“…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV).

“When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under…” (Matthew 2:16, NET Bible).

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send. And who will go for us?’

And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8, NIV).

“One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, ‘Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self! —can’t be my disciple…’” (Luke 14:25-26, MSG).

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13-14, NIV).

“Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM…’” (Exodus 3:13-14, ESV).

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor heigh, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39, ESV).

“…the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake…” (Exodus 7:11-12, NIV).

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7, NIV).

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7, NIV).

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (Acts 10:44, NIV).

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13, NIV).

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son…” (1 John 4:10, NIV).

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name” (Ephesians 3:14-15, NIV).

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me” (Psalm 120:1, ESV).

“The Lord said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress…’” (Hosea 3:1, NIV).

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (Job 38:4a, NIV).

When we struggle, a painful friction changes us, and the change provides new opportunities for His glory.

On the last day of our Spring Canyon vacation with most of our children and all our grandchildren, after the adult time of worship and spiritual message, my son and his wife went to collect their two children from the children’s program.

My wife and I chose to use our vacation money this year to invite our kids and grandkids to a Christian ranch in Colorado. Today we were gathered in a worship service at Spring Canyon Ranch, where the hook of Mount Princeton is rising in the distance

I have been managing his prostate cancer for 10 years. During that time, his wife left him and all his children moved elsewhere. He loves the Lord deeply. His sister wants him to come live with her in Texas. His daughter wants him to come and live with her in Alabama.

Last Sunday I looked to the choir loft of my local church and spotted a man whose father I knew when I served in Nigeria as a medical missionary. Today, I found my diary and located my account of his father:

My faith, that hope grounded in certainty, was not imagined by a heartfelt desire. It was fully grounded on the character, capacity and commitment of my father.

“‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57, ESV).

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves…” (Ephesians 4:14, NIV).

“…I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12, NIV).