Romans 14 is a chapter that is a great monitor for our hearts. The crux of sin is stated clearly in verse 23. It says, “..for whatever is not from faith is sin.” Thoughts that dwell in the negative are not from faith. Faith believes in God and looks to Him through dependence.

Our flesh does not believe, but acts totally independent of God. Our flesh is used by satan to cause others to stumble. Verse 13 says, “Therefore do not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”

Flesh wars against flesh. Interpersonal relationships are often in conflict because of this truth. When one is acting out in their flesh, we must come in an opposite spirit. Otherwise we will be caught up in a fray.

Jesus warned His disciples in Luke 17:1. He said, “…It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!” Note the explanation point. The word here for offenses is stumbling blocks. 

Offense in Greek is skandalon. Does that sound like our word scandalous? It is like the trap stick in a trap. Metaphorically, it signifies that which causes error or sin (note in my Bible). Years ago I heard a message that likened it to a tumbleweed. When young, it is easily pulled up root and all. When left to grow and dry out, it dislodges and travels all over with the wind. It gathers debris as it goes.

What a picture of unresolved issues. They are deeply rooted, and filter through every part of our thought processes. Here is a key principle in our relationship with others. Romans 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. For God is able to make him stand.”

Matthew 7:1-2 says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Ugh! This should be another incentive to watch our thoughts.

Paul took it deeper. Romans 2:1 says, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”

Paul gave the antidote in Ephesians 4:29 and Colossians 3:12. Our thoughts, words, and actions come from our heart. The crux of all conflict comes through our beliefs. If you think that you cannot handle something, where is that thought coming from? Our fleshly outlook. We are depending on ourselves and know that we can’t.

We say, ‘I can’t’ or ‘It won’t work’ when we forget that God is using our adversity or hard trials to conform us to His image. Mark 5:15 says that the demoniac was in his right mind after he encountered Jesus. Before that he was bound by man because he couldn’t be tamed.

James 3 says that our tongue can’t be tamed. Yet through God’s way, we can speak truth that will defeat any lie the enemy throws at us. Right mind in the Greek is the same as a sound mind in 2 Timothy 1:7. It means to have disciplined thought patterns. This is the norm for one who abides in God’s word and applies it daily to their lives.

In Romans 11:18 Paul stated a fact that can be applied to every aspect of our lives. It says, “…remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” I’m taking this into the application of our thoughts. All thoughts are rooted in what we believe in our heart. Scripture bears this out. Here are two references you can look up. Matthew 15:19a and Matthew 12:34b. What do you crave? What do you desire above all else?

Those thoughts are based on what you believe about yourself in the circumstance you face. Our heart is our belief center. Here is a strong statement. If you have any negative thoughts, your belief does not match God’s word. This is so true. God’s word is truth. Psalm 15:2, 5 says, “He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart…He who does these things shall never be moved.”

God’s way to change our thoughts is to look at their roots. Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” We were born in the mold of sin. Our thoughts were conformed, fit as a round peg in a round hole.

Transformed is like the caterpillar that goes through metamorphosis. The caterpillar melts inside the cocoon. God does the transforming work to bring about His righteous design. So it is when we renew our minds through the truth of His word. He does the transforming work. We cannot change on our own. Have you ever tried? 

Yesterday I looked up the word ‘good’ in Romans 8:28. It is a noun that means: morally right or righteous. What is righteousness? It is our thoughts, purpose, and actions being conformed to God’s will and ways. The Lord uses every circumstance and situation as His tool in this conforming process. Verse 29 says, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”

Those two verses sum up our progressive sanctification. It is a process of metamorphosis. The caterpillar used to desire leaves. After its transformation, it desired only nectar. God’s word is the nectar provision for His children. Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Hunger and thirst in this sense is to desire earnestly or to crave. Does your heart crave to be more like the Lord? Do you earnestly desire to exemplify Him in all your thoughts?

1 Peter 2:22 says that there was no deceit found in His mouth. Verse 23 says, “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.” Here is one of my anchor verses. The Lord gave me this verse to stand on when I was taking care of my dad and he lost his ability to reason. Genesis 18:25 says, “…Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

1 John 2:6 says, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” How did Jesus walk? Reading the four gospels will help us to see Him in action. He discipled others through His truths that would set them free. As we continue to be transformed through the diligent renewing of our mind, we will become more like Him. We will showcase His character instead of our flesh.

When I was in our youth group during my High School years I heard this definition of fellowship: two men rowing a boat in the same direction. What does fellowship mean to you? Romans 12:3 says, “…to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

We have this common bond with all believers. We were all given a measure of faith. We are all instructed to add to our faith in 2 Peter 1:5-7, and to increase it by hearing God’s word in Romans 10:17.

Here is the crux of conflict. When we disobey God’s word, we walk in our flesh and do not please the Lord. Peter instructed his readers to add these inward graces to their faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

Verse 8 says, “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” However if we fail to do this? Verse 9 says, “For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”

The root to interpersonal conflict then comes from a disobedient heart. We have not forgiven others as we were forgiven. We forgot that principle, or ignored it because of our pride. We are not walking in grace and therefore God is resisting us. Apart from Him we are barren and cannot bear fruit for His glory.

Romans 12:5 says, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” The Amplified says, “…(mutually dependent on one another).”

Colossians 2:19 revealed what happens when one member is living in sin. There is a disconnect from the Head. It says, “And not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”

When I fell into the ravine (1977) my muscles atrophied in three weeks. Useless. They no longer supported my body. It is a great picture of one who has disobeyed God’s word to add to their faith. Their place in the body of Christ is missed. The necessary part they supplied is inoperable. Think about what happens when the veins to your heart are blocked.

1 Corinthians 12:23 says, “That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” Let us strive, endeavor, and persevere to keep, protect, and guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

In Acts 2:1 there are three words, ‘with one accord’ that have tremendous meaning. I personally have pictured this scene like this. There were about 120 folks gathered. In order to be in one accord there must have been some serious repentance and forgiveness. Here is the Strong’s definition of with one accord: being unanimous, having mutual consent, being in agreement, having group unity, having one mind and one purpose.

This was the beginning of the new church. In Acts  2 Peter spoke to the crowd. Verse 41 says, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” 3,000! Verse 46-47 says, “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

Their being with one accord bore fruit that glorified the Lord. What about the church today, the body of Christ? The enemy has stepped in to bring division through this whole covid epidemic! In Ephesians 4:1-3, Paul exhorted that church to, “…walk worthy of the calling…with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Here is our oneness. Verse 4-6 says, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God  and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” This is our clarion call for unity. It doesn’t matter whether we get the vac or whether we don’t. We  need to see the issue at hand. The enemy has come in like a flood to devour! 
Galatians 5:15 says, “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” I call Romans 12:9-21 the Christian Magna Carta. If you haven’t read it in a while, I encourage you to do so and hold it up as a mirror. James 1:23-24 says, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”

How were we? Ephesians 4:17-18 says that we were futile in our mind, our understanding was dark, and we were alienated from the life of God. At salvation, we were redeemed, bought back from the slave block of sin. Yet, when we act out in our flesh, we are walking again in darkness. Romans 13:12 says, “…Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us  put on the armor of light.” 

1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” How do we walk in one accord with those who differ from us? We stay on common ground through essential truth. Anything that does not pertain to eternity? It is a waste of time arguing about. Ephesians 5:16 says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” We could put an exclamation point behind this verse. Redeeming means: to rescue from loss. I encourage you to evaluate your heart before the Lord. Are you redeeming the time He has given you?

I want to share something with you from my homework. I had never thought about this before. Perhaps you have. The one who sinned against you is a believer. They acted out in their flesh and hurt you deeply. Do you view them as your sibling in the family of God? Do you view them apart from Jesus’ death on the cross? 

He paid for all your sins with His own blood. He paid for all the sins of the one who sinned against you with His shed blood. There is no difference. The sins done against you are not in a special category. Sin is sin in the eyes of the Lord.

I want to go to the story of the prodigal son. He wasted his inheritance. He was destitute and thought of his father’s house. He mulled over in his mind about going back and asking if he could be one of his father’s servants. Luke 15:19 recorded his thoughts on what he would say. It says, “And I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”

He began the journey back to his father’s house. Watch this great emotional drama unfold. Picture this in your mind. The father was waiting all this time, and watching to see if his son would return. Can you feel his heartbeat of longing? He loved his son unconditionally.

Verse 20 says, “…But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” Verse 24 were the father’s triumphant words, “For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And they began to make merry.”

The father and the son were separated. Yet the father’s love never waned, even though the son had taken what his father had laid up for him before it was time. Verse 13 says, “…and there he wasted his possessions with prodigal living.” The father was not focused on his son’s past behavior, he met him in the present.

The story of the prodigal son can be likened to one who has sinned against us. It is so easy to hold onto past hurts. We forget that they are our siblings. We are joint heirs together with Jesus. We are still part of God’s family no matter what we have done.

Unforgiveness brings heart-estrangement. It causes families to be divided. We know that a family united is equipped to weather any storm in strained relationships through their bonds of love. Let’s continue the narrative with the older son.

He was out working in the field when he heard music and dancing. The father entreated him to come and celebrate. Verse 27 says that when the servant told him that his brother had returned, he reacted in anger. His father entreated him to join in the merriment. He retaliated with words that speak of years of buried emotional pain.

The father spoke from his heart in verse 31 which says, “…Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.” The narrative ends without the siblings being united in heart. That is what happens in unforgiveness. Holding onto the hurt, draws up the heart like a drawbridge to a castle. The entrance is blocked for repentance and reconciliation. 

1 Peter 1:22 says, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.” There will always be tension in our relationships when we hold something against another. Unforgiveness reveals a disobedient heart that has failed to remember that we are to forgive AS we have been forgiven.

Sometimes we go through trials that mar us. The marring can be emotional as well as physical. When I fell into the ravine in 1977, it marred me physically. I went from 5’9 3/4″ to 5’8″ and suffered a severe brain injury. Any type of abuse, birth defects, accidents, etc. They all mar.  The list can continue. The marring is very individual because of our personal and complex situations in life.

The takeaway always goes back to the fact that God allowed it. In my case with the ravine, it radically changed my relationship with the Lord. He used that marring to woo me to Himself in a way I had not read about nor ever experienced before. What does the Lord desire to accomplish through our marring? His main purpose in the lives of His children is to conform us to His image.

Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” We never arrive. Our walk with Him is progressive. He leads us step by step into His purposes through what He has ordained for us to walk in. Hebrews 13:21 says, “Make you complete in every good work to do His will…”

His will is first and foremost. What is His will? He desires that we will represent Him in all of our relationships. The verse continued, “…working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” As I read the words ‘working in you’ my mind goes back to a potter.

The potter takes a chunk of dry clay. It is worthless to him, until he works water into the clay. Does that sound familiar? God’s word is spoken of as water. Ephesians 5:26 says of Jesus and His church, “That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.” The potter has to soften the clay so he can knead it until it is malleable. He then can place the softened lump on his spinning wheel. There is another essential process. He has to apply pressure in order to center it. Until it is centered in His hands, he cannot form his desired design.

The Lord uses the pressure of our trials to center us on Himself. If He has allowed a trial to mar us, we can embrace it as His mark of ownership. I want to go to another example of marring. Have you ever seen a stone sculptor at work? Every blow of his chisel and hammer mars the stone. He has to chip away the superfluous in order to expose the design he has in mind.

The Lord placed the seed of our conception in our mother’s womb with the knowledge of all that we would go through and what we would be. He knows us thoroughly. He orchestrates what needs to take place in our lives in order to fulfill His intended purpose. Ephesians 1:11 says that He is working everything according to the counsel of His will. Let us embrace His process.

At salvation we were laid into an eternal foundation. It is unshakable, immovable, steadfast, and secure. 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are His, and Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Iniquity is acting independent of God.

Paul wrote about our foundation. 1 Corinthians 3:11 says, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.” Our foundation is established, but the Lord allows circumstances, adversities, as well as all our trials to mold us. Much like a potter who works with dry clay. 

Jeremiah 18:1-6 is a little discourse about the potter’s house. Jeremiah was observing the potter at work. Verse 4 says, “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.” Romans 9:20-21 was written about Israel in light of a potter with his clay. We need to read the words for our own application.

It says, “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, Why have you made me thus? Does not the potter have power over the clay…” Jeremiah 1:5 says that the Lord knew us before He formed us in our mothers’ womb. I like to think about this in light of my own life. Every event, circumstance, and trial in my life was set into my seed of conception. The Lord knew exactly what needed to take place for my future molding. So it is with you.

Our progressive sanctification pathway may bring marring. Yet it is a stamp of God’s image being worked out in our lives. Our Potter is always at work for our good. Romans 8:28 is a well known verse, but we have to be careful that we don’t use it as a cliche. It says, “And we know that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Verse 29 is the capstone of the verse before. Parentheses are mine to connect us back to Jeremiah 1:5. It says, “For whom He foreknew (before He formed us), He also predestined to be conformed (progressive sanctification) to the image of His Son…” Hebrews 12:11 says that He uses our trials to train us in His righteousness. The Amplified says of righteousness, “…in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action…”

When we resist God’s working, our heart becomes hardened and not moldable. Confession of our sin, that leads to repentance, will soften our heart. Here is what David said after his confession of his sin with Bathsheba. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart–these, O God, You will not despise.”

Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” As we embrace each circumstance, adversity, and trial as coming from our Potter’s Hand, He will be able to mold us to be more Christlike. Our entire life was laid out in our seed of conception. The Lord has charted our course. Let us walk in humility before Him so that we can become all that He has called us to be.

I mentioned yesterday that Abraham and Sarah challenged God’s promise. The result was of their own making then, yet the whole world continues to deal with it today. They created Ishmael. That is what we do when we try to make God’s promise happen. We reap what we sow. 

Galatians 6:7-8 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption…” What fleshly thing have you sowed that you are still reaping?

I also noted that God did not bring up their failure to wait. In Romans 4, God only spoke of Abraham’s faith. So it is with us. Romans 4:7-8 in the Amplified says, “Blessed…are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered up and completely buried. Blessed…is the person of whose sin the Lord will take no account nor reckon it against him.” What amazing grace!

Verse 16 says of God’s promise, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.” That’s us!

Every moment in our lives is a new, pristine canvas. There are no markings from our past on it. Nothing mars its perfection. This is where we often fail to block the ‘failure thought’ from satan’s fiery dart lies. Our past is passed. We cannot go back and change anything. We are called to go forward.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith…” This very moment is now faith. It is our uncharted present. Not to worry. The Lord has gone before us to prepare the way through. He is our Leader. Our path is tempered according to His wisdom of our faith’s strength.

All prepared paths in our trials: develop not destroy; encourage not defeat; strengthen not weaken; establish not uproot; expand and not shrink back. In Luke 9:61 they told Jesus that they would follow Him but (excuses). His reply fits us as well. Verse 62 says, “…No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” God’s work is right now in your present. Looking back only causes you to plow a crooked furrow. The past is behind you and cannot be changed, the future is ahead and cannot be reached, but the present is now.

Parenthesis are mine. Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require (seek with demand) of you but to do justly (fitting), to love mercy (goodness, kindness, faithfulness), and to walk humbly (to show humility) with your God?” 

Here is something from my homework this morning. What is a servant’s heart? Luke 17:10 says that when the servant had done what was required of him, he was called unprofitable. I looked up some words in my 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary regarding this.

Merit means: to have the right to claim reward in money, regard, honor, or happiness. Here is a quote from South: A man at best is incapable of meriting anything from God. From this I realized that many broken expectations occur when we assume God will do something because we deserve it. It is a fiery dart thought that hits the ‘error’ button. Servants have no rights. Our walk before the Lord is because of His grace. He paid the penalty of our sins with His death. He canceled our debt and set us free to serve Him with gladness.

I love Romans 4. I turn to it each time I face an impossibility. Why? Abraham’s example instructs my heart. God had promised him that he would have a son with Sarah. Genesis 18:10 says, “…I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

Their hearts challenged that promise as time continued and no child. Remember Ishmael. Yet this is what God said. Romans 4:19 says, “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” The word consider means to ponder and think about. This is where we often fall into error.

Dialoguing about our impossibilities in our mind fortifies them. We roll the whole situation around in our mind until it takes all our focus. Abraham resisted that temptation. Romans 4:20 Amplified says, “No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith AS he gave praise and glory to God.”

What was the basis of Abraham’s faith? Verse 21 says, “And being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” This is where faith meets doubt and overturns it. We have to focus on God and not our impossibility. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all…” How does He work this? The verse goes on to say, “…according to the power that works in us.”

What is that great power? It is the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead. His resurrection power dwells within us! Ephesians 1:19-20 says, “…the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…”

Since God did raise Jesus from the dead, He is able to take us through anything that seems an impossibility to us. His divine power dwells within us. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” What a promise!

Circumstances that seem impossible to us, are divinely orchestrated opportunities for the Lord to reveal Himself to us in a way we have not seen Him before. Think back on your former trials. How did the Lord take you through? He magnified His character that thrilled your inner being, and caused praise to burst out of your heart. He is always ready to do it again, and again. He does not operate through our past victories. He takes us into new victories.

What impossibility do you face right now? Fortify your heart through the truths of His word. What did the Angel say to Mary? Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” This is God’s commendation. Verse 45 says, “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of things which were told her from the Lord.” God’s word is true. Mark 11:22 says, “…have faith in God.” He is Faithful. 

How we spend our time behind closed doors affects every aspect of our lives. it influences what we think about, what we say, what we do. When we live out the gospel, it empowers us to bring change. However, when we live for ourselves, gratifying our flesh, we only drag others down.

When I was really young, I went to our State Fair with a family from our church. I saw my first chameleon. It was so small and so green. Yet, when put against a bright cloth, it would turn the color of the cloth. It fits into its environment. In Jesus’ priestly prayer He asked the Father something. John 17:11 says, “…Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.”

Verse 15 says, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them.” We are to be in the world, but not allow the world’s system to influence us. We are called to be the influencers!

Romans 13:12 says, “…Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” Verse 14 says, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.” The world system operates only in the flesh. Roman 8:5 says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

Peter was acting like a chameleon and Paul took him to task. Galatians 2:11 says, “…I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed.” Verse 12-13 says, “For before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.”

There is the key to why we are spiritual chameleons. We blend in with whatever crowd we are with because of the fear of man. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.” The fruit of the fear of man is: insincerity, lack of integrity, the message and messenger are not the same, pretense, and a facade.

James 3:10 is the chameleon mouth. It says, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” Proverbs 10:17 Amplified says, “He who heeds instruction and correction is (not only himself) in the way of life (but also) IS a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof (not only himself) goes astray (but also) causes to err and is a path of ruin for others.”

That verse should be very convicting! The path we walk on influences others. We can make David’s prayer our own. Psalm 25:4-5 says, “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” May we exemplify the Lord through our thoughts, words, and actions.