(Audio version; Music: "My King Was Born Today" by: WorshipMob and "We're Not That Far From Bethlehem" by: Point Of Grace)
Introduction
Christmas
is a little different for me as a pastor because I spend every day of the year
focusing on Christ and the message of the Gospel. However, for many Christians,
Christmas is the time of year when they can refocus on the foundation of their
Christian faith and how it all began. This year has been much like many recent
years where Christians have felt like their faith and their Christian values
have been under attack from every side. And for some Christians, their very
lives have been under attack from every side. This year has witnessed a
boldness of practices and values that fly in the face of traditional
Christianity—a boldness to force the acceptance of killing babies as a form of
women’s health; a boldness to force the acceptance of same sex marriage as a
normal form of human relationships; a boldness to force the acceptance of
lying, cheating, and stealing by political, business and religious leaders in
the name of the “greater good;” a boldness to accept virtually anything that
opposes Christianity, from atheists erecting billboards in America advancing
the idea that believing in nothing demonstrates a higher level of intellect and
understanding, to Muslims killing Christians here in America as well as in
other parts of the world in the name of their false prophet and false god. When
dealing with these things throughout the year, Christians often feel like they
spend all their time on the frontlines of a battle with little time to reflect
on why they are in the battle to begin with. Maybe just for a moment, let’s
stop and remember that Christianity is not strictly about upholding certain
values or adhering to a certain set of beliefs. Christianity is about a
relationship with Jesus Christ and the fact that it is Jesus who is God’s Gift To You. I know you are all
very busy this Christmas season so I didn’t want to burden you with a tedious
lesson. Instead, I want to leave you with the Christmas story right from the
Scriptures. Take a moment to read and relive the Truth of Christmas.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He
will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing
and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever. The zeal of the
LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isa 9:6-7)
Subject Text
Luke 2:1-20
1In
those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should
be taken of the entire Roman world.2(This was the
first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)3And everyone went to his own town to register. 4So
Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of
David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be
married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they
were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave
birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8And there
were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks
at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and
the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But
the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news
of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of
David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger.” 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared
with the angel, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” 15When
the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the
Lord has told us about.” 16So they hurried off and found Mary and
Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.17When
they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them
about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and
pondered them in her heart.20The shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard
and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Application
At
times it can be difficult to stay focused on the real reason for Christmas. I
hope you have a chance this Christmas to reflect on Jesus—God’s Gift To You. This year, take a moment to reflect on the
paradox that is Christmas. We have received a Gift that no amount of money can
buy yet will cost us everything when we receive it. Remember, Christianity is
about a relationship not a once-per-year celebration. It’s about a person; a
person sent to bring us the greatest joy we could ever imagine. That’s the
reason we say, Merry CHRISTmas. God
is now with us and nothing can ever change or replace that! This Christmas,
take the time to welcome Jesus into your celebration for He is God’s Gift To You.
Please
note that the next lesson is scheduled to be posted on January 7, 2016. May God
richly bless you and those you hold dear this Christmas season. For all of you
who have faithfully prayed for this ministry, diligently followed the weekly
lessons, and shared the lessons with someone and thereby shared the gospel
message, I pray that God will remember and reward your faithfulness, diligence,
and obedience. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
(Audio version; Music: "With All I Am" by: Hillsong and "I Surrender" by: Hillsong United)
Introduction
In the wake of some of the recent tragic events in our country and the growing depravity not only in our nation but throughout the world, thousands of Christians have gathered in prayer daily asking for God’s divine intervention, guidance, grace, and mercy. In addition to their daily prayers of provision and protection, many Christians have expanded the scope of their prayers to include their local and national leaders. I also believe that many Christians are beginning to realize that the only means of vanquishing the growing darkness in our world is by introducing more light. So more and more, I see Christians praying that a self-serving and unbelieving world will come to know the true Light of the world, Jesus Christ. There are, however, those who have recently admonished praying Christians saying, “You can stop praying because God’s not doing anything.” Sadly, these people insist that broken people can fix a broken world through the power of a broken political system. In every corner of the world, people seeking protection and guidance as they stumble around in the dark, place their hope in some kind of power structure made up of people who are also stumbling around in the dark. And the only logical outcome is more and more people getting lost in the dark. However, many Christians don’t live this way. The lives of many Christians are bathed in light because they purposely seek to be in the presence of the Light of the world that is Jesus Christ. And to a large degree that happens through prayer.
Prayer is at the same time terribly complex and beautifully simple. I don’t even think it is possible to fully define the complexity of prayer but if you think about it you will realize just how complex it is. We tend to pray as though we are in a vacuum, as though the answers to our prayers will affect only us or the person or people we are praying for. However, creation does not existed in segregated components. I’m sorry if that’s confusing but suffice it to say that each of us has an impact on the world that we won’t fully realize until this life is over. Mitch Albom captures a sense of this in his best-selling book, The Five People You Meet In Heaven. The book tells the story about Eddie the maintenance man at a carnival park. Eddie is killed saving a little girl when one of the carnival rides malfunctions. The story, however, begins in earnest when Eddie reaches heaven and meets just five people who were impacted by his life and how the events of his life were woven together to form the tapestry of life. It’s an amazing story that depicts the complexity of our lives over the course of our lives. For Eddie, that represented 83 years of life and only five people. Now imagine the five people that those five people affected and we’re now talking about twenty-five people. Continue to carry this pattern out and you’ll get a sense of the complexity of life. Well if we believe that God is sovereign over all, we have to remember that our prayers fall somewhere within life’s complexity. God must take into consideration not just how our prayers affect us but how our prayers will affect others and how those affected by our prayers will in turn affect others. Are you starting to get a sense of the complexity of prayer? It’s almost too hard to think about because it is just too big to wrap our minds around. So let’s focus instead on the simplicity of prayer.
Imagine for a moment the ideal friend if you can. Imagine that you get to spend every moment of your life with that friend. He knows everything and can do anything but all He really wants to do is spend every day with you. All He wants to do is be in relationship with you. Can you ever imagine going through an entire day with Him right next to you and never saying a word to Him? Probably not. Well that’s really the simplicity of prayer—talking to a faithful Friend whose sole desire is to be in relationship with you! You can yell at Him; you can cry on His shoulder; you can laugh with Him; you can ask Him for help; you can ask Him for advice. And imagine this, He will never burden you with His problems or His desires. Because He knows that if you will continue to spend time with Him and talk to Him, your problems and desires will begin to mirror His simply because of the depth of your relationship. For example, I’ve now been married more than thirty years and I can tell you that when someone hurts my wife by something they do or say, it hurts me just as much. I may respond differently to that pain as a man and her husband, but my pain mirrors hers. That only happens through relationship. And that’s really the simplicity of prayer. Prayer is the language of love—love of God and the people God created. Imagine for a moment that the Creator of all the universe takes the time to listen when we pray! Imagine that the One who placed the stars in the sky, said to the oceans “This is as far as you go!”, and took on human form to make sure we could be in relationship with Him, is moved by our prayers and you’ll begin to understand The Power Of Prayer. The simplicity of prayer, in comparison to the complexity of prayer we looked at previously, is just the process of communication with a Friend. There’s no magic; there’s no formula; there are no rules. It can be loud, it can be silent, it can be angry, it can be sorrowful, it can be repentant, it can really be anything because it reflects relationship. In truth, God would much prefer an angry prayer to no prayer at all. Unfortunately, when it comes to prayer, too many Christians get so tangled up in the form and function that they forget that it’s about relationship. And if it isn’t about relationship then it’s not sustainable and we spend days in the presence of a perfect Friend and never say a word to Him—at the expense of our own peace.
Subject Text
Matthew 21:18-22
18Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. 20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 21Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Context
This isn’t the only time Jesus says something like this. In John’s gospel, Jesus says, “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it (Jn 14:14).” These verses are provided for our edification and encouragement but many people see in them the opportunity to get what they want. When understood properly, our Subject Text supports and builds up our faith. However, when we interpret these verses through the prism or our selfish and self-prioritizing desires, they tear down our faith and instead make us cynical when our prayers are unanswered. At the risk of being redundant, placing our Subject Text and similar verses into their proper context is essential. It is important to consider the events immediately before and after our Subject Text. The day before the events described in our Subject Text, Jesus entered the temple area and chased out all the merchants and money-changers who had set up shop in the temple. Jesus was furious that the temple had been turned into a business venture by the religious leaders and He wasn’t about to stand for that. Jesus admonishes them with the words of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah respectively when He says, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[1] but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’[2]” Jesus was clearly giving the impression that He was cleaning house—His house. And when He began healing the blind and the lame who came to Him, the children began singing His praises saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David”—a clear announcement of the long anticipated Messiah.
The events following our Subject Text find Jesus once again in the crosshairs of the religious leaders who want to know who gave Him the authority to do the things He was doing. This text jumps backwards over our Subject Text to the previous day’s events of Jesus clearing the temple of their religious business interests, healing the blind and the lame, and accepting the praise of the children as their Messiah. You’ll have to take my word for it that they weren’t really looking to be edified. Instead, they were trying to find a way to trap Jesus. So Jesus says that He would answer their question only after they first answered His. Jesus asked them where they thought John the Baptist received his authority to baptize the people—from heaven or from men. You have to love how Jesus sets this up. It’s a lose-lose proposition for the religious leaders. The people believed that John the Baptist was God’s prophet so if they answered that he received his authority from men, the people would have revolted against the religious leaders and they would have lost their power and influence over the people. And if they had said his authority was from heaven then they would have condemned themselves for not believing the Baptist’s witness. Remember, John the Baptist did more than call people to repentance and baptize them. He was also the one who pointed the people to Jesus and announced that He was the long awaited Messiah. If the religious leaders said that John’s authority to baptize came from heaven then his witness about Jesus would have been divinely appointed as well. They were in trouble and they knew it so they said nothing. Consequently, Jesus refused to answer their question as well.
Our Subject Text falls directly between these two events so it must be informed by those events to a large degree. There is a trajectory to Jesus’ ministry that would culminate in His death on the cross. However, in the three years leading up to that, He wanted people to know who He was and what He was about to do for them. He’s gradually leading people to confess that He is divine; that He is God incarnate. That wouldn’t happen in the fullest sense until after His resurrection. Nevertheless, our Subject Text is part of that trajectory. If we accept that Jesus is God then we must also accept that He has the power to do what only God can do if we would just ask; if we would just pray.
Text Analysis
18Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
After Jesus cleared the temple area, He left and spent the night in the town of Bethany, which was only about two miles from Jerusalem and the temple across the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives. The text doesn’t tell us but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jesus and the disciples were staying with His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus who lived in Bethany. According to vv. 18-19, Jesus and the disciples set out for Jerusalem the next morning when they encountered a fruitless fig tree. To you and I it doesn’t appear to be that big of a deal but you have to see these events; all these events in the shadow of the events from the previous day. We tend to fly right over these verses never doubting that Jesus has the power to cause the fig tree to wither and die—He is God you know. However, this is the same Jesus who took a couple of small fish and five loaves of bread and fed more than 5,000 people the left twelve baskets of leftovers. Do you really think that he couldn’t have produced figs from the fruitless tree? Think about it. Jesus didn’t curse the tree simply because he was disappointed that the tree hadn’t born any fruit. There has to be another lesson here. Remember the context. Remember the shadow of the events from the previous day. What was the purpose of the temple? What was the task of the religious leaders? The temple was the place where the people could go to meet God. It was God’s house. And the religious leaders where suppose to feed the people spiritually with God’s Word. Instead, they turned God’s house into a religious business and manipulated the people in order maintain their power and control. The religious leaders, the Temple, and their religious business were like the fruitless tree—fine to look at but useless for their intended purpose.
“This incident occurred in April, and the green leaves should have indicated the presence of the edible bulbs that Jesus expected to find on the tree. This tree, however, though full of leaves, had no bulbs. The tree looked promising but offered no fruit. Jesus did not curse this fig tree because he was angry at not getting any food from it. Instead, this was an acted-out parable intended to teach the disciples a lesson. By cursing the fig tree, Jesus was showing his anger at religion without substance. Jesus’ harsh words to the fig tree could be applied to the nation of Israel and its beautiful Temple. Fruitful in appearance only, Israel was spiritually barren. Just as the fig tree looked good from a distance but was fruitless on close examination, so the Temple looked impressive at first glance, but its sacrifices and other activities were hollow because they were not done to worship God sincerely.”[3]
20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked
Really? This was the first question that popped into their minds? In case you’re unfamiliar with the complete narrative of Matthew’s gospel, let me help you find your place in the chronology of Jesus’ earthly ministry at the time of our Subject Text. V. 20 is part of the events that occur on the Wednesday before Jesus is crucified. So the disciples have been with Him for nearly three years. They have watched him heal the sick and the lame. They saw him drive out demons and return those possessed to their right mind. They helped collect twelve baskets of leftovers after feeding thousands with a couple of small fish and a few loaves of bread. They were frightened when they witnessed Jesus walk on the water. They were amazed when Jesus quieted the storm with a single command. They had to be astonished when Jesus raised a previously dead Lazarus. And yet they wondered how the fig tree withered so quickly. At this point, should there really be anything left that Jesus could do that would still amaze them? Apparently the withering of a fig tree under the command of God somehow still amazed them. After nearly three years of witnessing what Jesus was able to do, they were still amazed by His power. It is therefore logical to presume that the disciples still had their doubts that Jesus was who He said He was. If they didn’t have their doubts then they probably wouldn’t wonder how Jesus accomplished what He did. Let me ask you something, with all your knowledge of the Scriptures, and your belief that Jesus is God, would you have asked that question? I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have. But the disciples don’t have the benefit of 2,000 years of biblical development and understanding. They still weren’t able to fully wrap their minds around exactly who Jesus was and they certainly weren’t able to grasp what He was about to do. That will change in a few days but at the moment, they still had doubts so they asked ‘how.’
“The object lesson of the fig tree now receives a new twist. The disciples’ amazement at how rapidly the tree withers overrides their perception of why it has withered and what it signifies. Again they do not understand what Jesus is doing, and their question is beside the point of Jesus’ action. Yet he uses the occasion to teach them about faith and prayer.”[4]
21Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
When we read vv. 21-22, we have to decide if Jesus is speaking literally or hyperbolically. You know what happens if you take Jesus’ words literally right? You know if you’ve every sat praying at the bedside of a friend dying of cancer only to watch them die in spite of your prayers. You’ve prayed for God to heal your marriage only to see it end in divorce in spite of your prayers. You’ve prayed for your son or daughter to kick their drug habit only to see them spiral deeper out of control in spite of your prayers. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people I hear from who have given up on God because they took these words from Jesus literally and still watched their friend or family member die or a relationship come to an end or have been deeply wounded in some other way. If you take the words of Jesus literally and your prayers remain unanswered, it seems you are left with only three options: (1) Your faith wasn’t strong enough; somewhere deep within you there was still some lingering doubt; (2) Jesus lied and doesn’t actually have the power to grant you anything; or (3) Jesus does have the power to answer your prayers but doesn’t care enough to do so. Jesus doesn’t equivocate or place conditions on these verses so those are really the only logical options we are left with if our prayers remain unanswered. But what if Jesus isn’t being literal? What if Jesus is being hyperbolic in order to convey the idea of The Power Of Prayer too accomplish God’s will?
When our lives are swirling in the midst of a storm, we can’t bring ourselves to think outside the literal interpretation of these verses because our pain demands relief. However, when we read these verses within their immediate context and their wider context, we will realize that there is a fourth option to understanding these verses and that option has to do with the complexity of prayer and the will of God. I’ll try not to drag us too deeply into the weeds but I want to remind you that these verses are not about a fig tree. First, these verses are about religion without substance. Jesus is condemning religion without substance and the fig tree is simply a visual parable of that condemnation. Second, Jesus’ earthly mission was to secure the means for people to be reunited with God through His death and resurrection. And finally, it is God’s will that all people would come to believe that Jesus provided the only way of salvation. This is the trajectory of the entirety of the gospel message within which our Subject Text generally and vv. 21-22 specifically fall. If these verses were literally about fig trees and moving mountains then we have to ask: How does making a fig tree wither or throwing a mountain into the sea travel along the trajectory of the gospel message? It may or it may not and that is actually the point. If our prayers travel along the trajectory of the gospel message that will somehow accomplish God’s will, then He will answer those prayers. That might be a bit convoluted to understand and that’s why Jesus gave us instructions about prayer elsewhere. Specifically, Jesus gave us The Lord’s Prayer that includes in part the following: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Mt 6:9-10).” Our prayers are specifically intended to be offered in accordance with God’s will.
What Jesus is saying in vv. 21-22 is that the disciples, and by extension all of us, will have the ability, through prayer and faith, to accomplish great things, even things that seem impossible, if our prayers are in accordance with God’s will. That seems easy enough except we have to always remember the complexity of prayer and humanity’s free will. For example, you’ve been praying for your unbelieving child to come to faith in Christ but he or she appears more resolute than ever to reject God’s gift of salvation. Your prayers couldn’t possibly be any more in the center of God’s will than praying for someone’s salvation. Except your will and God’s will can never over-rule the free will of your child. That doesn’t mean God won’t cast a mountain into the sea to answer your prayer, it means He will not overwhelm the will of your child and wrestle their freedom to choose away from them.
“Any believer with true faith can do great things by drawing on the power of God. Faith is the basis for answered prayer…With that kind of faith, the disciples would be able to wither fig trees and more. Jesus and his disciples were probably crossing the Mount of Olives as they approached Jerusalem. Jesus probably pointed to the mount when he said this mountain, giving the disciples a visual image that illustrated the power of God available to the person with true faith. The disciples could envision the Mount of Olives being lifted and cast into the sea at the word of a faith-filled believer.
Jesus meant us to assume that mountain-moving faith should not be exercised in such frivolous ways as rearranging the earth. In fact, faith cannot be exercised in any way except according to God’s will. It is not the faith which moves mountains, but the power of God in response to the expression of faith. True faith is always in keeping with God’s will and is based on the intimacy with God and an understanding of his heart and will.
Jesus’ closing comments reinforced the power of God in response to faith. Prayer is an expression of our powerlessness and dependence on God. The weaker we realize we are, the greater the working of God’s power through us. The mature believer has strength that comes from God. The believer in humble dependence becomes a vessel for God’s power. A person who asks in accordance with God’s desire will have his [or her] requests granted.
The faith Jesus implied here is an attitude of submission to his will, confidence in his wisdom, and assurance of his love. This is faith that the Father can take our requests and sort them out according to our best interest and his glory. With such an attitude, we will gradually grow to share the mind of Christ, to desire his desires and to ask for his requests.”[5]
Application
This might come as a surprise to some of you but God is not a genie in a bottle or Santa Claus. I’m sorry if I just poured cold water on your fantasy. Jesus Christ did not come to us at Christmas bearing gifts—He is the gift! Jesus is offering the most valuable gift we could ever ask for—the gift of salvation. But Christmas isn’t just about receiving gifts, it is about giving gifts as well. Honestly, at my age I enjoy giving gifts as much as, if not more than, receiving them. I derive great joy out of giving my family and friends a gift they don’t expect. However, we’ve all struggled with giving a gift to someone we think already has everything. Now imagine how hard it would be to give a gift to God! What kind of need could God possibly have that we could fill? Is God in want of anything? How about a big beautiful house? Probably don’t need that when you call heaven home. How about a fancy new care? Unnecessary when you can be everywhere at the same time. How about gold or diamonds? I guess you don’t really need something that you created in the first place. There is, however, something God desires that only you can give Him—your faith in Him; your devotion; your love. God desires relationship with you. And that relationship is expressed through our prayers. When we pray, we give God a gift that can’t be built or bought. Prayer is a gift that is deeply personal and relational and is different from each person offering the gift. Nevertheless, it is the gift that God desperately desires from all believers because it signifies the existence of relationship. Where there is no prayer, there is no relationship.
The danger is always treating God as though He is a vending machine—make our request and receive what we requested. Not only that but we want answers right now, not tomorrow or next week or next year. And even that’s not enough, we want God to answer our prayers exactly the way we want them answered. So, we want answers to all our prayers right now exactly the way we want them. But God’s not a vending machine. God is a living being who desires a deep and personal relationship with us. He can perform like a vending machine but we can’t be in relationship with a vending machine. Can you offer prayer without the need of receiving an answer to that prayer? I’m not saying that you can’t expect an answer to your prayers. I’m saying that faith expects an answer but doesn’t need one. I believe that shows the level of faith that God desires. God doesn’t want to be treated like a vending machine dispensing answers to prayers.
What could be more powerful than a prayer that can move mountains? How about a prayer that can move the heart of God! In a sense, that’s what prayer does. God is moved when one of His children prays. God can’t help but be moved when one of His children seeks to be in relationship with Him through prayer. And if your prayer and my prayer can move the heart of the Creator of the universe to act in response to our prayers then we get a real sense of The Power Of Prayer.
“Do you want to know how to deepen your prayer life? Pray. Don’t prepare to pray. Just pray. Don’t read about prayer. Just pray. Don’t attend a lecture on prayer or engage in discussion about prayer. Just pray.
Posture, tone, and place are personal matters. Select the form that works for you. But don’t think about it too much. Don’t be so concerned about wrapping the gift that you never give it. Better to pray awkwardly than not at all.
And if you feel you should only pray when inspired, that’s okay. Just see to it that your are inspired every day”[6] and you will soon experience what God can do through The Power Of Prayer.
[3] Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), p. 93.
[4] David L. Turner, Matthew—Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), p. 504.
[5] Stuart K. Weber, Matthew—Holman New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2000), pp. 342-343.
[6] Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment, (Nashville, TN: J. Countryman, 2000), p. 376.
