The Bible and "Race"

 Heyo! This is the second week of our look into a biblical perspective on some of the more pressing issues of our current culture. Last week we talked about our relationship with our parents (specifically focusing on what the Bible has to say about honoring and obeying our parents and how that plays into the relationship). This week we are looking at the topic of what our culture calls "race". We went through 11 different passages from the Bible, so bear with me as we read and unpack them together. This was a particularly interactive message time, and unfortunately I was not able to record all of the questions (or the corresponding answers) from the discussion last night.

Genesis 1:26-27 - “²⁶ Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ ²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

When God created all things, and in this case, mankind, He made them all "according to their own kind". Mankind is particularly unique as we see here, in that God decided to make mankind in His image. Mankind was given special authority and dominion over God's creation, which springs from this image of God we bear. This is where we come from as a people; this is our beginning.

Romans 5:12 - “¹² Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…”

This is part of a larger argument Paul (the author of Romans) is making to the church that is in Rome. The point he is making in this passage is that sin and death entered the world through one man (Adam) and thus affected all people. This point alludes to the fact that we are all (yes, all) descended from that one man. If we could somehow trace our lineages back to the very beginning, we would all reach the same common ancestors: Adam and Eve. If this were not so, then how could Adam's sin be passed down to us?

Acts 17:26-27 - “²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.”

This supports Paul's statement in Romans, that we are all descended from common ancestors. From Adam and Eve came all the nations that exist today. God established each nation throughout history, including the United States of America, and He spread them out throughout the world, as we will see in the next passage.

Genesis 11:1-9 - “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. ³ They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’ ⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’ ⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”

This is where the major divisions of language and ethnicity started. Up until this point in the history of the world, people spoke the same common language (not English) and probably all shared a close skin tone. When God confused the languages (by the way, "Babel" means confusion) and scattered people "over the face of the whole earth", that is when ethnic diversity would have begun to develop - based on diet and climate.

Romans 2:9-11 - “⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; ¹⁰ but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism.”

This is an important point to make note of, because some people want to claim that God favored the Israelites over other people. It is true that God chose the Israelites as His people, and He did that because He was going to use them to bring about His plan of redemption for mankind (His plan to save them from that sin and death Paul was talking about). When it comes to God's judgment, or His mercy, there is no partiality given. It doesn't matter where you were born, those who do good will reap the benefits of doing good and those who do evil will reap the consequences of doing evil.

The issue in the Roman church was that the Gentile (this just means those that weren't Jewish) Christians were arguing with the Jewish Christians, and Paul was trying to help them settle their differences by focusing them on Christ. It didn't matter if they were Jewish or not, they were all "in Christ" and that is what was supposed to bring them together.

Matthew 28:18-20 - “¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

The fact that Jesus commands His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations tells us that His death paid the penalty for the sins of everyone, not just the Jews or any other particular ethnic group. People of every nation could find salvation through Him, which puts all people on an equal playing field.

John 13:34-35 - “³⁴ A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Within the body of Christ, within the church, we are called to love one another. It doesn't matter what differences there are between us, we must love one another just as Christ loved us.

Leviticus 19:34 - “³⁴ The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

Even though the Israelites (the Jews) were called to be holy nation (this means they were to be set apart from other nations, distinguished from them), they were still commanded by God to treat foreigners (non-Jews) with love. If it makes the point clearer, let me use the word "immigrant" instead of "foreigner". Though there may have been ethnic differences, that did not justify treating someone with anything less than love.

Romans 3:21-24 - “²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

When it comes to sin, there truly is no difference between anyone. As human beings, we are all equally lost in sin, and equally incapable of earning salvation or attaining the glory of God on our own. We all fall short. In the same way, we are all equally (and freely) justified by God's grace through Jesus Christ. Not one of us is more deserving than another.

Colossians 3:5-11 - “⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

This is Paul again, in a letter written to the church in Colossae. Here he is commanding them to put to death (to remove) anything in their lives that belongs to their earthly nature. If it was connected to the sin nature they had before coming to Christ, it needed to go. It is quite a list, right? I remember last night we talked a little bit about the filthy language part. I wonder what that means for you? At the the end of the quoted passage, Paul lists some of the things that would have, before Christ, separated or divided the people from each other. Jews would not have associated with Gentiles (Jews were circumcised, Gentiles were generally not). Barbarians were those people from what we now call Europe, and they were seriously looked down upon. Scythians were from the slavic areas, and also considered to be outsiders. Slaves were not usually permitted to associate with free peoples. So then, these are the dividing lines, and likely major ones in Colossae. In this passage, Paul is saying that in Christ, these dividing lines are no more. They are gone. They are removed. Rather than division, the church is to be completely unified in Christ.

Revelation 7:9-10 - “⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”

And this is a look at where we are going. Revelation is a glimpse at what the end times will hold. In the vision, John (the author) sees this great multitude "from every nation, tribe, people and language" worshipping God together. The church of God has spanned over two millennia now, and has covered pretty much every corner of the world at one point or another. There have been Christians from countless nations, tribes, peoples and languages already, and there will be more Christians yet.

God created mankind as one race - the human race - and we are all made in His image. What our culture defines as "race" - the different ethnic groups and nationalities - were originally created by God to divide us. And in Christ He has removed those dividing lines so that we can once again be unified. This means that in a Christian, biblical worldview, the color of our skin has no bearing on how we should treat each other. Jesus commanded that those who love Him must love one another, no matter how our culture might try to identify and divide us.

The racial discrimination that we see today can, unfortunately, be justified from an evolutionary perspective. If we really evolved from a single cell organism and are continuing to evolve, then its possible that the different "races" of humanity are at different stages of the evolutionary process, which would mean that some races really are better than others. HOWEVER, from a biblical perspective, the racial discrimination that we see today CANNOT be justified. According to the Bible we are all human beings, made in the image of God, equally lost in sin and equally in need of a Savior.

So, for those who are in Christ, it doesn't matter what color your skin is, what language you speak, or what country you're from - we are all one in Christ. We are unified by our faith in Jesus. So stop focusing on the things that make use different and start focusing on the One who brings us together in unity. Let us love one another as Jesus has loved us. And as we look out into the world, let us demonstrate God's love to others, regardless of how they might look or act different from us.

If you have questions or comments, I would be happy to discuss them with you in the comment section below. God bless you all.

The First Commandment With a Promise

Raise your hand if you have, at one time or another, had parents.

Yup, that's what I thought. We've all had parents, otherwise we wouldn't be here. Last night we took a deep look at what the Bible has to say about our relationship with our parents. Some of you out there might have a great relationship with your parents, and I am sure that some of the rest of you are having a hard time remembering the last time you and your parents got along.

Before we jump into this, let me say this: you cannot control your parents' part in the relationship. They have a responsibility in raising you, and God has plenty of commands for them in doing that well. But you can't control that. Only they can. You can only control your part in the relationship, and that's what we're focusing on here.

Exodus 20:12, one of the 10 Commandments, says this: "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." I don't know about you, but I don't use the word honor so much these days. This is why I am so glad the apostle Paul gives us some insight to this command in Ephesians 6:1-4: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother' - which is the first commandment with a promise - 'so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.' Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

I included that last part because that happens to be my mom's favorite verse to quote. Know why? It only mentions fathers. It says nothing about mothers exasperating their children. She loves that technicality. Anyway, this is one of those verses focused on the parents, so let's back up.

Paul says to obey your parents in the Lord before quoting the commandment. I think he anticipated us asking what it means to honor our parents, so he clarified it for us. Basically, "to honor" means "to obey". It is that simple. If we want to obey this commandment from God, it means we have to obey our parents. I like cookies, but that is a tough cookie to swallow. Chew on that for a bit. God wants us, no, commands us to obey our parents. What happens if we don't? Well, it's right there - it won't go well with you and even if you do manage to live a long life, you won't enjoy it. In the book of Romans Paul gives us some context for the severity of breaking this command (not obeying our parents). Romans 1:28-32: "Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

This is an intense list of wickedness, and you notice something included in there? Disobeying parents is listed right alongside murder, slander, greed, and adultery (infidelity). And according to these verses, anyone who does any of these things deserves death - so we know God is serious when He commands us to obey our parents. According to the Bible (and there is no getting around this), Christians are commanded to obey their parents.

There's one more thing I want to highlight from Ephesians, and that is Paul's phrasing. He says to obey... in the Lord. We are called to obey our parents, however, God remains our first priority. What this means is that if at any point our parents (or any authority in our lives, for that matter) tell us to do something that goes against what God says is right (lie, steal, cheat, murder, etc.), obeying God comes before obeying our parents. Jesus said it this way in Luke 14:26: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple." Before you go too far down the hate trail let me explain this real quick. While the word "hate" carries a sense of strong dislike and even malice in our use of it today, back then it meant "turn away from". So what Jesus is saying here is that if we are to follow Him, to be Christians, we have to turn away from our parents, our children (if we have any), our siblings, and even our own lives and turn toward Him. He has to be our number one priority, He has to come first, or else we are only deceiving ourselves into thinking we are Christians. A true Christian follows and obeys Christ first, and that's what Paul means when he says we are to obey our parents "in the Lord".

Alright, so, the other half of having a good relationship with our parents comes down to our communication. If you are sitting there reading this and you would say that you don't have a good relationship with your parents, ask yourself this: "How well do we communicate?" My guess is that it's not well at all.

Proverbs 1:8-9 says this: "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck." Proverbs is perhaps the largest collection of wisdom we have, and it has a lot to say about how to be wise and succeed in life. You want to know one of the main ingredients in getting wisdom? Listening. And right from the start the author talks about listening to your parents. Well, listening is also one of the key ingredients to good communication. James 1:19 puts it like this: "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."

If you want to have a better relationship with your parents, you MUST learn how to listen. And I don't mean just hearing the words that come out of their mouths, waiting for your chance to speak. I mean really listening. Hearing what they have to say and trying to understand where they are coming from. When you learn how to do this, to slow down and listen to what your parents are saying, it will radically change your relationship. As I said earlier, you can't control whether they will respond by listening to you, but just stopping and listening can prevent a lot of the arguing, anger, and slamming of doors that tends to happen in "conversations" with your parents.

So, from Scripture we have a very strong command to obey our parents, even when we don't want to or we'll miss out on something if we do. We also have advice on how to improve our communication with our parents, which is simply by listening first. Almost all of the tension between parents and children comes from a lack of good communication. If you can learn how to listen without being dismissive, I promise you your relationship will improve dramatically.

Sometimes the issues we have with our parents run deeper than a lack of communication or obedience. Sometimes there is serious hurt or trauma that has impacted the relationship you have with your parents, and in situations like this I advise you to seek out godly counsel. Find someone who can help you figure out what to do or how to go about repairing the relationship. I am here, if you need someone to talk to, as are the other youth group leaders. And even if what you're facing is beyond us, we can point you to someone who can help. Don't just give up and sit in a bad relationship with your parents, talk to God and look for help.

And finally, remember that every Christian has been adopted by God as His son or daughter. We are His children. So all of those things I said above, yeah, they apply to our relationship with God, too. What would happen in your life if you obeyed God, and listened to Him on a daily basis? I think some amazing things would happen. God bless.

Salty Flashlights

Salt is so incredibly useful. Most of us use it on our food, either to enhance the flavor or to curb some of the bitterness (a pinch of salt in coffee works wonders). Mankind has also used it for ages as a preservative. Long before refrigerators there was salt, keeping our food from going bad. And of course, we're gearing up to throw it all over the roads (and our front porch) as winter approaches, as something about salt melts ice and prevents it from building up.

Similarly, light is essential. Not only so that we can see, but the light from the sun gives plants energy and allows them to grow. Could you imagine a world devoid of light? Life would be so different. I used to go camping a lot more than I do now, and at night I would often use a flashlight to get around in the dark without bumping into or tripping over things. The light would show me what was around me so I could navigate through it safely. The Bible often talks about itself in this way, that the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. It shows the way. It shows the truth.

In the main passage for today, Jesus actually calls His people the light of the world. This is the final entry in our series on How to Live the Christian Life in a Non-Christian world. We've already discussed that first you have to be sure that you are of the faith. I mean, what's the point of trying to live the Christian life if you're not even a Christian? Second, as a part of being a Christian, you have acknowledge the Bible as an authority in your life. You have to believe what it says to be true and live by it. And third, you need to understand the nature of mankind as revealed in the Bible - we were created good, but messed up and became separated from God, fallen in our sinfulness with no way to fix it by ourselves.

Today I want to talk about our role as Christians in relation to non-Christians. How do we, or should we, interact with nonbelievers? Let's look at Matthew 5:13-16:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Jesus says we are to be the salt of the earth. I said earlier that salt is something extremely useful and helpful in our daily lives. It enhances flavor, preserves food from spoiling, and protects us from slipping on ice. If we are to be "salt" to others, then that means we should be useful - a blessing - in the lives of the people around us. We should be looking for ways to enhance other people's lives, make them better, or help in some way. This goes beyond offering to pray from someone, on to doing something practical for them. For example, if I see someone struggling to change a tire on the side of the road, I can pull over and help them (if you don't know how to change a tire, maybe don't do this). If I see that a friend is really struggling in math, I can offer to study with them. If I see that a coworker is just having a rough day, I can talk to and encourage them, or even offer to help them with their duties for that day - to make their load a little easier and their day a little better. That is what it means to be salt.

A word of warning here: salt, when used in the wrong way, can be bad. Just imagine putting salt in your hot chocolate instead of sugar - not good. We need to make sure that what we are doing is actually helping the other person, not just creating more problems. Good intentions isn't enough, we need to do good. Why? Jesus gives us the reason in the second part: "that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

We are to be salt, and we are to be light. What does light do? It illuminates, it shows the way. It helps us to see in dark places and avoid obstacles. Mot importantly, light helps us to see where we are going. If we, then, are supposed to be a light to the world, then that means we need to be showing people where they are going. Our good deeds - being salt - should point people to Jesus, not to us. Being light involves speaking the truth (which we find in the Word of God) AND living by it. When we live the way God has called us to live, and we do good for others, it will point them to God. In that sense, then, we are pointing people to God - we are light.

There is one more important thing to understand about how we are to relate to nonbelievers, and that is found in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13:

"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked person from among you.'"

It is not our job to judge those outside the church. I'll say it again. It is NOT our job to judge people outside of the church. "But Mike," you might say, "you just said we have to speak the truth! Doesn't that mean we have to call people out on their sin?" Yes, we need to speak the truth, and that means showing people that they are sinners (just like us). But there is a huge difference between showing someone that they are a sinner and judging them for their sin. The first is meant to lead them to the understanding that they need Jesus to save them from their sin, while the second is meant to make them feel bad. Should we feel bad about our sin? Yes, absolutely. Should we go out of our way to make other people feel bad about their sins? No. The Holy Spirit, God, convicts people of sin, and God is the one who will ultimately judge them. That's His job, not ours. Our job is to speak the truth - to let people know they are sinners and in need of a Savior, Jesus. And we do that in love, as we do good in their lives and point them to Jesus.

So to put this all together (and I know that last part might have gotten a little confusing):

1. Be salt - demonstrate God's love in practical ways - help and serve others.

2. Be light - be the person God has called you to be and speak the truth of His Word.

3. Share the Gospel, not judgment. Judgment IS coming, and that is a part of the Gospel, but it is not WE who are going to be doing the judging - that's God's job.

If we do these things, we will be living the Christian life, and these are all things we can be doing in a non-Christian world. People may not like us (a lot of people hated Jesus), but it is what God has called us to do. God bless.

Do Not Worry About Tomorrow

 So last week (yeah, I know, this was supposed to come out on Thursday) we met outside and had ourselves a little campfire in the parking lot. It was a super relaxed evening as we tossed the ol' pigskin around and sat around the fire chatting.

I wanted to take advantage of the fire we had, so we did a little activity as a part of the message time. If you are reading this during a season where its comfortable to build a campfire (aka, Fall or Spring), I would encourage you to do so. If you happen to have an in-home fireplace, even better.

The first passage we read is where the title of this post came from, Matthew 6:25-34. This is a part of Jesus' longest recorded sermon, the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7. As He is teaching, Jesus shares this with His audience: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

What is it that you worry about? Some of you have college applications due, and I know all of you have tests, exams and papers coming up. Maybe you are worried about Covid-19, or some drama going on with your friends or family. Perhaps there is a habitual sin in your life that you've struggled and struggled with, but can't seem to shake. The truth is, we all have something that we tend to worry about. Sometimes it is focused on ourselves, sometimes it is other people we worry about. Whatever the case may be, Jesus is telling us to let them go. The things of this life that we worry about, the things we get anxious over - let them go.

He makes a promise here. He says that if we seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, then all the things we truly need (food and clothing, etc.) will be given to us as well. Seek God, and He will make sure you have what you need. That promise gives us a lot of hope, and it is that promise which allows us to "not worry", so long as we believe that God will fulfill His promise. So, here's where we get to the activity. Take a piece of paper and write down the thing(s) that you worry about the most. The thing(s) pressing down on your heart day after day. Maybe you have one big thing, or a lot of little things - write them all down. Once you have done that, keep reading. I'm sure you've got some idea of what comes next.

In Philippians 4:6-8, Paul says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."

He says that rather than sitting in our worry and anxiety, we should cast all our worries on God. Present them to God. Turn them over to God. He wants us to give up our anxieties and fears to God. So, take that piece paper upon which you wrote down your biggest sources of worry/anxiety/fear, and pray to God. Lift them up to God. Entrust them to God. Trust that He will take care of your needs and that He has your future in His all-powerful hands. Once you have done this, cast your paper into the fire and watch it burn away. Let your worry/anxiety/fear burn away with it as you trust in God to provide for you.

Now, there is one other important aspect which both of the passages share: we are called to turn our focus away from our anxiety and toward God. "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness..." and "Whatever is true...noble...right...pure...lovely...admirable...excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Jesus wants us to focus on Him, because when we do, we get an eternal perspective about the things around us. He helps us to see the big picture of His plan for us, and to know that in the end, we will get to spend eternity with Him. That is where our peace comes from, a peace which doesn't always make sense, but that will most definitely guard our hearts and our minds from anxiety, worry, and fear.

So, anytime you find yourself struggling with anxiety, look back to these verses and look to God. He is there for you, He will provide for you, and He alone will give you peace.

God bless yall!