Category: Mercy

Strange Resurrection Day Meditation: Why Did David Sin and Israel Get Punished For It? 1 Chronicles 21

3/31/2018

How come David sins – and Israel gets punished for it? That is a question that came to me as I was reading 1 Chronicles 21 this morning. It is a good question to ask – and yet, as a person with leadership responsibilities in regard to my wife, my family, a church, and even a ministry at the Pregnancy Resource Center – it is a very sobering one to consider.

The quick answer to this question is simply that anyone who leads has a very large influence over those whom he leads. It is not that his sins are more wicked than others. But it is important to realize that when a leader sins – it has a greater effect because of the influence the leader has on those who are under him.

David’s sin was two-fold in this chapter of 1 Chronicles. First, he numbered God’s people on his own – something only God reserves the right to do. God is the One who calls for any kind of census over His people. When that happens, there must be a ransom payment for everyone who is counted. The amount of that is a half of a shekel.
That is what God commanded in Exodus 30.

The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, "When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD. Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD. The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves. You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves." Exodus 30:11-16

What is this commandment supposed to mean? It is a very important principle having to do with how we see ourselves. God wanted every count of the people to include a ransom payment – because the only count that is truly going to matter in the end is those who are redeemed by His mercy and grace. This count was only to be done with a view to counting the “atoned ones” in Israel. Note that in this the rich and the poor are to pay alike (an illusion to God’s grace in salvation – all come on the same basis and with the same price of Christ’s blood atoning for their sins). But why would God do this?

Pride. Here is the reason why such a thing was to be done. Any gathering of God’s people – whether they are a nation like Israel or even a church in the present day – has a sinful tendency to number themselves and take pride in how big that number is. We should note that the counting of the church in Acts only was mentioned in regard to those who were being saved. When God refers to a number of people in Corinth – it was only in reference to those who belonged to Him in the city (i.e. those He was going to save there).

David was priding himself – and Israel was taking part in that same sin – by seeing how big they were – and it was not with a ransom payment. There was no reminder that this was God’s doing with His redeemed people. It was solely so David could know how big his army was. It should make us take a step back that even his general, Joab (not exactly known for his godliness) found the request odious in his sight. Oh, and the fact that 1 Chronicles 21:1 starts with the fact that Satan rose up and moved David to number Israel. Yeah, anything that involves being moved by Satan is going to be bad. The sin he was moving David to – PRIDE.

David’s pride was mirrored in Israel – and his descent into pride only was a horrible example for them to follow. Now before you protest too loudly, consider our own nation and the example of 2 presidents (even though the number is probably beyond 2). Currently President Trump is embroiled in a controversy over an adulterous affair that allegedly took place 10 years ago. We also know that President Clinton was adulterously involved with an intern in the Oval office during his presidency. Both of their examples have been horrible to the rest of our nation. The character of those who lead us DOES matter. It DOES matter that they honor their marriage vows. It DID hurt us that they did not. When our leaders dishonor marriage in this way it lowers the view of marriage throughout our nation. This is especially true when their defense of their actions asserted that it does not matter what a man does in his personal life. That cavalier attitude toward a wedding vow – will carry over to the people as they figure that if it is OK for a president to do this – it is OK for me too.

David’s sin cost Israel dearly – in spreading the same attitude of pride and disregard for seeing people in light of the atonement. The physical plague that came upon the nation mirrored the spiritual one that was growing in their hearts. What was interesting was that it ended when God came to the point where the Temple was going to be established. It ended when atonement was made – and that place was where atonement would be made again and again for centuries. It would be THE PLACE where the world would be reminded that God was going to build a people – not on the basis of national identity – but on the basis of a blood atonement.

It is interesting that we were reading this on the day before we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in 2018. What a reminder of the seriousness of sin – the fact that in Adam (the very head of our race) we have sinned. There is a plague that has come from that sin that is here even today. The wages of sin is death – it has been since Genesis 3 through 1 Chronicles 21 – and even to March 31, 2018. The same plague wreaks havoc on the nations – costing them their lives. But there is an answer – just as there was one in David’s day. In the midst of our plague – we see the place where the ultimate sacrifice was made. We see, not an altar of stones, but a cross of wood. We see a lamb – but not a lamb of the flock, but the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. We see a sacrifice – not one to be made again and again – but one made once for all. We see a counting – not one where we count ourselves for the purpose of competing against one another – but a counting of every tribe, nation, people, and tongue before the throne worshipping the Lamb of God.

You see the question is not, “Why was Israel punished for David’s sin?” The real question is this, “Why was Jesus Christ punished for OUR sin?” On this Resurrection Day Eve we should consider the astounding, infinite love of God that allowed His Son to be punished for our sin. Then we should lift our voices to sing the song that will echo through eternity.

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." Revelation 5:12

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Why I believe in a Compassionate Pro-life Position

1/17/2017

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This past Sunday was “Sanctity of Life Sunday” in the United States. As a result I chose to teach on abortion and the need to speak up for life. It was a difficult message to preach – and yet one that needs to be heard. Yet in the midst of recognizing that there is a life other than the mother that is involved which needs to be protected, I also wanted to emphasize the need for us to be compassionate as we advance the pro-life message.

I am vitally invested in the ministry of the Pregnancy Resource Center. This is a group of people who are committed to sharing the love of Christ and the truth with women who are facing crisis pregnancies. One of the key things we emphasize again and again in this ministry is the need for every woman who walks through our doors to feel our love and the love of Christ. There is a very good reason for doing this. Let me explain.

The vast majority of the women who walk through our doors do so feeling like they have no other choice than to abort their child. The announcement that they are pregnant hits them like a ton of bricks. For those who are single (as well as some who are married) there is a panic that comes with an unplanned pregnancy. They may be on a career path or in the midst of getting a college education where a baby will seriously derail the plans that they had made. Often there is a sense of dread when family and others learn of their pregnancy. Some, who already are dealing with poverty in their life, are overwhelmed at the thought of how they will pay for a child – and in some cases – another child. These mind of these precious women are often flooded with many different conflicting thoughts.

Then there is the relational issue many of them face as this crisis hits. What about my boyfriend? How will he react? Will he stick around – or will this cause him to dump me? Let’s face a fact – many men are cowards who just turn and walk away from something they’ve helped to cause. And because they don’t have to carry the baby – they feel a freedom (albeit a perverse one) to walk away from the situation they’ve caused. So the young woman who walks through our door has this thought going through her head as well. While we are at it – there are also problems relationally with regard to parents. Will they freak out – even in some cases threatening to disown their daughter because of an unplanned pregnancy? How will friends receive this information? If they are religiously minded – they are also going to face the problem of shame and possibly be ostracized by those around them.

We’ve had women come through our doors who face possible medical problems due to diabetes or other conditions. And in very rare cases (most often not ever revealed to us) they were the victim of a rape or of incest. Since justice in these cases can often result in a court case where they are treated almost as badly as the actual crime, many of these women do not come forward. They simply suffer in silence as they have this horror added to their already emotionally overwhelming circumstances.

Then there are those women who call us because they’ve already had an abortion. What we hear the most from these precious women is that they feel like they will never be able to be forgiven for what they’ve done. They are plagued by a consistent depression over their choice to have an abortion. Some cannot even see a baby without a sense of loss and guilt. They suffer from a PTSD because of what has happened in their lives, but struggle to even tell anyone about it. Therefore many choose to suffer in silence, thinking there is nothing they can do about their abortion.

This is what we face as we advocate for life with the precious women that God sends us. We want them to know that we love them dearly – that Jesus loves them dearly – and that even though we believe abortion is the wrong choice – there is forgiveness available for those who have had an abortion. Make no mistake – I am pro-life all the way. But because of a desire to minister to those women who face the crisis of a decision about an unplanned pregnancy we choose to address every situation we face with a tremendous amount of mercy and compassion. We do this because we know that we may be the only ones who will have a chance to advocate for life in their lives.

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Why We Need Words of Comfort Rather than Political Activism in this Hour.

10/6/2015

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Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord remind us that our words affect people - no matter how they are shared. May we then speak words that build up rather than tear down.

First of all, my heart goes out to those in Oregon at the community college that was the site of the recent rampage that killed 9 students. As was the case with every shooting like this, I have a special place of empathy and sympathy for those involved. Having been one of the pastors who helped pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the Westside school shooting, I know what it is like to be a community living in the aftermath of these kind of horrors. Long after the news trucks and politicians have milked what they can from the situation, those locally are the ones who put things back together for months and years afterward. No knee-jerk reaction by either those on the political or journalistic right or left solves anything. And after thinking about this for the past several days - ANY knee-jerk reaction in the midst of the pain and horror will probably do more harm than good. It is better for wiser, less power-motivated people to think through things and come up with truly wise decisions. That being said - I do want to weigh in on a matter that currently is breaking my heart as I read about this event.

I read several articles online about this wickedness, and in seeking to be informed, was shocked at the kind of rhetoric that is dominating the conversation. There was one news report that tried its best to stick to the facts on the incident - but the others quickly descended into pejorative and incendiary remarks that broke my heart. You can actually look at the source of the articles and pretty much predict whether it is going to be a rant from the right of the left before you even read the article. One rants about gun violence - the other gun control. Some rant about this being a hate crime - others that it is senseless violence. But if you truly want to be shocked, read the comments below the articles. The pure unadulterated vitriol and verbal poison spewed there blows my mind. It is as if we are unable to react to the tragedy and horror of what the people in Oregon are going through without immediately indicting the political right or left for what has happened. If you read enough of it - you will find yourself inexorably drawn into it - with the subsequent raising of your blood pressure and temptation to join in the verbal barrage from one vantage point or the other. After reading all this and thinking about it, I’d like to take a great risk and seek to insert some Scripture into our understanding of Oregon, Charleston, Fort Hood, Ferguson, Columbine, and even Westside.

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:29-32

I’ve actually walked up to a school that was shot up and smelled of death. I have sat and talked with people who were in shock after they endured an attack like this. They need comfort, prayer, and a shoulder to cry on. They need “edifying” words spoken - words which give them grace as they hear them. They do NOT need anyone from either side of the political aisle to politicize their suffering and grief. Paul said it best when he said we need to be kind and tender-hearted - steering clear of bitter, angry, clamoring, slanderous words that try to assign blame to someone other than the evil man who murdered 9 people at the community college where this happened. It is unconscionable in any of these horrific situations to take the pain or others and turn it into a platform for political action - and to do so before the sun even goes down on the blood of those who have lost their lives. What we did at Westside for days was sit and listen and cry and pray and comfort real, living, hurting people.

Where are we as a nation when even our most tragic moments cannot elicit from us comfort and compassion without it degenerating to a political shouting match within hours? I was in shock as I read how people posted online the most horrible statements about each other and about various groups that either support or oppose gun control. Both sides should be ashamed of themselves for using this event for their own ends. Before we have even buried one of the dead - the rhetorical “long-knives” have come out and the battle has ensued for who can claim the moral high ground. The truth is both sides are patently immoral for their words and actions that seek to use this situation for their own benefit - rather than respond with grief, compassion for those killed and their families, and prayer and support for the community that needs it right now.

Let me ask a few questions as I close this article. Rather than get caught up in the political rhetorical barrages that are being loosed by both sides, can we consider the following course of action instead? Will we use our words to build up others according to the NEED of this moment? Will we consider how to insert GRACE (especially the grace of God in the gospel) into the conversation? Will we make a decided choice NOT to respond with bitter statements and anger toward the wrong people or groups? Will we choose to reject what the Scriptures call “clamor”? (the word here is “krauge” and it spoke of a public outcry or public controversy - think seriously about the political people using this for THEIR advantage right now) Will we reject the temptation to slander others by stating that this shooting is their fault because they did or didn’t support “insert your issue of choice”. The fact is that this shooting is the fault of the lawless, ungodly actions of one man who chose to act wickedly! Here is the truth folks! We can use our words right now to build up or to tear down. The choice is ours. May God so work in the hearts of His saints, that especially in this situation, we look and talk radically different than the rest of the world.

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Joy in Weakness, part 3 - To Whom are you Measuring Yourself?

8/18/2015

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Weakness is not something most people want in their lives. But that is because they think themselves strong - or at least want to think that way. Our problem with understanding the blessing of embracing weakness has to do with perspective. God's Word tells us that when we examine ourselves amongst ourselves and measure ourselves against one another, we deceive ourselves as to the truth about ourselves. In that context and with that perspective weakness is relative to who you are versus whoever it is to whom you compare yourself. Men and women have all kinds of contests by which they measure their own comparative weakness against each other to ascertain who is the strongest. But in the end - it is only comparing weakness against weakness. We may walk away with a victory - even a trophy or medal - but it only tells us that we are stronger than another human being.

Man has fancied himself strong for centuries. Early on man thought earth to be the center of all things - only to learn as man caught up to the knowledge of God - that we are only a tiny little insignificant ball of dirt on the outskirts of our own galaxy. When compared with other stars in our galaxy, we come to learn that even our mighty sun is pretty much a fairly small star that pales into insignificance compared to others around us. If one started from the center of the universe doing a random search for earth - it would take millions of centuries to randomly come to our tiny blue orb on the outer edges of the Milky Way.

Job understood true strength - as he moved from a position of having everything to one of losing everything. He lived in moments of plenty - of great health - and of a life of relative ease and comfort prior to one of the most breathtaking devastations in all of Scripture. He grasped, as few others ever have, just how precarious our supposed strength is. It was in such a moment that he turned to God and grasped "real strength." Read his own words as he contemplated standing before God and being right with Him.

" . . . how can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to dispute with Him, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times. Wise in heart and mighty in strength, Who has defied Him without harm? It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how, When He overturns them in His anger; Who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; Who commands the sun not to shine, and sets a seal upon the stars; Who alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down the waves of the sea; Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; Who does great things, unfathomable, and wondrous works without number. Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him. Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?' God will not turn back His anger; Beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab. How then can I answer Him and choose my words before Him? For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my Judge." Job 9:2-15

According to what Job had learned there are some things that tell us of God's absolute power and strength. These things also helped Job to grasp just how weak he truly was - and how He needed to cry out for God's mercy for true strength to be given to him.

First - no man can dispute with God and prove Him wrong. If we tried, we would be unable to answer God even 1 in a 1000 times. God is the wise one - God is the mighty one - and for us to defy Him and debate with Him is only to harm ourselves. We do not have any wisdom that we can claim on our own. If we have any wisdom - it is because we have learned it from God by His mercy.

Second, no one can "impress" God with what they can do. All we have to do is look at Job's description of God's resume and we are rendered speechless. He removes mountains and shakes the earth so that the very pillars of the earth tremble. He can command our sun not to shine. He is the One who stretches out the heavens - so that our expanding universe seems to grow ever larger in terms that dwarf our understanding. In the end Job puts it like this, "Who does great things, unfathomable, and wondrous works without number." For us to boast of our meager achievements (even if they dwarf those of the rest of humanity) is laughable in the sight of the strength and power and wisdom of Almighty God.

Third, we cannot even perceive God unless He graciously allows it by revealing Himself to us. God is Spirit and is beyond us and our understanding. We would not even have a clue as to His existence or presence except that He chooses to manifest Himself in ways that our little pea-sized brains can understand. Our own strength and ability fall infinitely short of "getting" God.

Fourth, we can do nothing to deliver ourselves from His hand or ultimate purposes. Listen to these terrifying words Job says about God's power over us, "Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?" God's power is absolute. If God so chooses to snatch us away we can do nothing to stop it. Even a protest on our part would mean nothing. Though men question His works and purposes - there really is no one who can call God to account to where God has to given some sort of answer. Within this statement is the doctrine of God's ultimate goodness and perfection. He cannot do wrong - and whatever it is that He wills - it is always what is right. Thus in the moment we decide to question Him and call Him to account - we are already wrong.

Finally, we can do nothing to alter God's righteous judgment. Here is a terrifying reality. God will judge and destroy the wicked. There is absolutely nothing they can do to render God's judgment null and void. I see fools wearing shirts and making statements that, "Only God can judge me." This is not meant to be a statement honoring God - for those who parade such things do so while living lifestyles that mock His Word and the righteousness He reveals in it. But what they do not know is that God has already judged sin. Thanks be to His graciousness that ultimately He has done this at the cross - and granted forgiveness to those who respond to the gospel with repentance and faith. In the end Job says that his only play - is to implore the mercy of his Judge.

So - how strong are we feeling now? How apt are we to tout our own abilities in light of God's revelation of Himself to Job - who went from everything to nothing within moments? The truth is we ARE weak - maybe not in comparison with others around us - but when we stand in the light of God's revelation of Who He is. Wisdom, dearest saints of God, is turning to God regularly for mercy. Wisdom, precious ones, is to regularly remember and embrace humility in His glorious, infinite presence. Wisdom is to bow before Him - lay ourselves at His feet - and rejoice in His most amazing condescension to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it is only in such moments that we truly "get it" and are granted grace to move from weakness to strength by His mercies alone.

Be strong in Him and in the power of His Spirit!

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A Perspective on Dancing in the Streets Over Osama bin Laden's Death

5/6/2011

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After watching last week’s coverage of Osama bin Laden’s death as a result of our brave armed forces and the ensuing celebrations that happened in our streets, I’ve spent some time thinking about these things. What is to be our response to such things as Christians? I remember watching Muslims in the streets of several countries dancing with joy when the Twin Towers were attacked in New York City and thinking to myself, “Why would anyone dance in the streets at the terrorist attack on innocent people? How could ANYONE, ANYWHERE, after watching people jumping to their death from the burning carcass of these skyscrapers, dance and rejoice? I have to wonder if some in the Muslim community thought the same thing when they watched demonstrations erupt in the streets of America when they learned that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Could these people be thinking that this is Christianity – and be confused by what they were watching?

Please understand that as a citizen of the United States, I am glad that this man was brought to justice and had to pay for the 3000+ deaths he conspired to take. Knowing that his actions and plots cost even more innocent lives than this, I am relieved that he is no longer able to give direct input and inspiration to those in Al Qaeda who desire to do the same. But when I read the newspaper headline, “Rot in Hell” that ran in one of our largest cities, I knew that such a response was going to do much to hinder evangelism among those in the Middle East.

The Scriptures are clear about the role of civil government in punishing wrong doers in Romans 13:4. It is the responsibility of our governing officials to act in the best interests of our population and punish and even remove elements that are dangerous to the rest of society. I support the civil government’s use of the death penalty for murder and I also support our military hunting down those who do heinous things like what was done on 9-11. But with that being said, I would also like to offer some additional counsel from the Scriptures concerning our response to our enemies.

Proverbs 24:17-18 has some interesting counsel for us in light of the fact that our enemy has fallen. We are told the following: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him.” The reason we are told this is because God Himself has enemies – and He shows them mercy. You may not know this, but if you have sinned – you were His enemy. We read in Romans 5:10 that “. . . if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” This refers to who we were before Jesus Christ saved us. We were enemies of God, yet God in His mercy saved us. Even more sobering is James 4:4 which tells us, “. . . whoever therefore is a friend of the world is an enemy of God.” This is told to us as a warning against worldliness – after we are saved! Yet, God shows mercy, even to His enemies. The reason we are not to rejoice when our enemy falls is because God wants us to be those who can show mercy. Therefore dancing in the streets over the death of our enemy is not fitting for believers.

Having said this, I want to offer one more word to those of us who are believers. I pastor a congregation that has an active outreach into the Muslim community in our city and on a college campus that is nearby. As we have befriended these men and women from the Middle East, they often tell us that it seems as if Americans fundamentally distrust them – and are very unfriendly to them. How are we going to reach them for Christ if their only taste of American Christianity is a lack of hospitality and headlines like, “Rot in Hell” in our newspapers when a radical Muslim enemy of our state is brought to justice? Please do not see these comments as a lack of concern for the radical Muslim agenda in our nation – or as a call to just “turn the other cheek” when we are attacked like we were on 9-11. The civil government needs to hunt down terrorists and bring them to justice – even if justice means killing them so that they will not commit another atrocity in our land. But individually we are called to love the Muslims around us – and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. We are to show them the love of Jesus Christ in our actions – and by doing this help them grasp what Jesus Christ truly came to do for them. The Muslims that we love, hug, and even share meals with in our area are shocked at our kindness and the love that they are experiencing. It takes a long time for them to grasp the gospel – but the most effective weapon we have in our arsenal is the love of Christ flowing through us to them.

To sum up what has been said in this article, there are two responses that we embrace biblically in light of the events of recent days. We can be grateful to our military and civil government for acting in the best interests of our country. They did this by hunting down the terrorist mastermind of the 9-11 attacks. Osama bin Laden perpetrated a horrendous evil when he hatched such an evil plot against innocent citizens of our nation. It was right and it was even good that he was made to pay a price for what he did. Our other response is more individual – and is embraced for the purpose of advancing the gospel to those who are Muslims in our society, as well as to those Muslims around the world. That response is measured – and does not rejoice over this man’s death, especially not with dancing in the streets and with epithets dispatching him to hell with our blessing and cheering. A wicked man has fallen – and those terrorists who embrace his twisted ideology will continue to be hunted down and dealt with from a civil government standpoint. But our role is to take the gospel to them – not just across the street, but across the globe! Our responsibility is to love them individually – share with them individually – and hopefully win them to Christ individually. May God give us understanding, grace, and strength to apply ourselves to this monumental task!

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Strange Resurrection Day Meditation: Why Did David Sin and Israel Get Punished For It? 1 Chronicles 21

Why I believe in a Compassionate Pro-life Position

Why We Need Words of Comfort Rather than Political Activism in this Hour.

Joy in Weakness, part 3 - To Whom are you Measuring Yourself?

A Perspective on Dancing in the Streets Over Osama bin Laden's Death

Biblical Articles

Categories

Strange Resurrection Day Meditation: Why Did David Sin and Israel Get Punished For It? 1 Chronicles 21

​Why I believe in a Compassionate Pro-life Position

Why We Need Words of Comfort Rather than Political Activism in this Hour.

Joy in Weakness, part 3 - To Whom are you Measuring Yourself?

A Perspective on Dancing in the Streets Over Osama bin Laden's Death

Biblical Articles

Categories

Why I believe in a Compassionate Pro-life Position