THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - July 31, 2014 - Day 8

There are 149 Psalms in the Bible and each and every one is special, but some just seem to stand out in our minds. Psalm 8 is one of the greats. It begins and ends with the same statement.

“O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

Praise to God is the place we should begin all things. When we awaken in the morning we should praise God for He has given us another day. When we get to work we should praise God for He has provided us our jobs. When we eat, we should praise God for He is our provider. When we gather in our churches on Sunday morning we should praise God for He has saved us. Even when we face trials such as illness or financial loss we should praise God for through our troubles He will transform us into the likeness of Jesus.

Praise to God is where we should end all things. We should praise Him at night for He has gotten us through another day. We should end our church service with praise for He has blessed us with His presence. When we are healed from sickness or we rise above a trial we should praise Him for He is the great physician of both physical and emotional infirmity.

Psalm 8:2
“Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”

Praise God for He and He alone is our savior.

Psalm 8:3-4
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

God created the heavens with only the use of His fingers. Imagine what He can do if He were to use the full strength of His arms?

Psalm 8:4
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

What is man? Why are we here?

Psalm 8:5-8
“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.”

God created us and put us in charge of the entire earth. For now we are like middle men…lower than the angels in the heavens but higher than the animals of the earth. He has crowned us with glory and honor. One day when Jesus comes back we shall judge the angels. Until then we should be displaying the Glory of God through our lives and our love for our fellow man.

We should be praising God; every moment until He returns.

“O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - July 30, 2014 – Day 7

Nobody likes to be slandered. In Psalm 7 we find David crying out to God about how this Benjaminite named Cush has made false accusations against him to Saul, who now seeks to hunt him down like a dog. One of the words I hear out of many Christians these days is the word karma. Karma today is used often in the context of saying that someone who has done something wrong to us will get what’s coming to him.

So is there such a thing as karma? David teaches us in this psalm that yes, in a way; there is a reckoning of judgment coming to those who sin. I hear a lot of Christians say, “God isn’t mad at you.” That may not always be the case according to this psalm. Hear the God’s Word as He speaks through David.

Psalm 7:11-13
“God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;
he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.”

The King James and the NIV use the word angry in verse 11 and certainly the word study confirms this idea. Verses 12 and 13 say “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.”  Nahum 1:2 tells us “The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.” Romans 2:5 speaks of God’s wrath saying “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.” Kind of sounds a little like karma.

But we must stop a moment and remember who God is.

Psalm 145:8
“The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

Romans 9:22
“What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction…”

2 Peter 3:8-9
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

We want evil punished. We don’t understand why “they” get away with it. Why doesn’t God stop this? Because He does not wish that “any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Nobody gets away with sin. Nobody. As a matter of fact all the sins we Christians commit have a steep price of judgment. The only difference between “us” and “them” is that Jesus bore our punishment on the cross. We still face the consequences of sin but eternally they are wiped out. We will not get what is coming to us.

David understands. He says this toward the end of Psalm 7 in verses14-16,

“Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.
He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.
His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.”

Reaping and sowing. But the lesson here is this. Judgment and vengeance is God’s work. Ours is to be thankful He has called us out of darkness and covered us with His blood. The blood of Christ is all that separates us from those who will perish in eternal damnation. Therefore we must share the light of the good news of the Gospel to even those who slander us and seek to destroy us.

David ends Psalm 7 with the answer to what we do in the midst of our own enemy attack. Praise God.

Psalm 7:17
“I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.”

When we praise God instead of desiring karma then shine His light and show others how loving God is. Preach Jesus to all, even your enemies. Forget karma. Replace it with love.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - July 29, 2014 – Day 6

It has been said that for every sigh there is a psalm and today we certainly find that true. Psalm 6 is called a penitential psalm and is one of seven found in the Book of Psalms. What that means is that we find the author, King David, expressing sorrow and repentance for his sin, as well as a cry for forgiveness.

David understood that sin does come with consequences. He cries out to God for mercy in the midst of his suffering.

Psalm 6:1-4
"O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?
Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”

Not all sickness is of course a direct result of a sin. But as sinners eventually our sin will wear us down. Alcoholics and drug users look fine in the beginning but the wear and tear of addiction will one day break people down. I remember when I was a telephone installer in North St. Louis back in the late 70’s. Every morning I would pass by the prostitutes out on Olive near the old Gaslight Square and at first observation I thought they were very pretty ladies. But the first time I went to one of their apartments to install a phone I saw a different picture. Years of drug abuse and the lifestyle they lived was revealed behind the make-up. They were only in their early 20’s yet they had faces that looked 50. They were sad and tired, beaten down by their sinful lives. They were broken. David speaks of just that in this psalm describing his condition as faint, his bones in agony, and his soul in anguish.

In verse 4 David knows what he needs as he asks God to “Turn… and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.” He goes on crying out to God in a desperate plea.

Psalm 6:6-7
“I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.”

But see then the change when David has cried out in true repentant sorrow.

Psalm 6:8-10
“Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.
All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.”

This is the Gospel my friends. David saw his own sinful nature. He cries out to God confessing his sinfulness and appeals only to God’s mercy. God hears and accepts those come before Him with that simple faith. He hears our cries and sends His mercy to those who come in true repentance.

Every one of us needs God's mercy. All we need do is ask.

 

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - July 28, 2104 - Psalm 5

Again we find David coming to God in the morning. This is wise counsel; to wake up and begin our day in prayer, for it is the ultimate compliment to God. It says to him that we are trusting in Him for our every step and that we put Him first in our lives. In this 5^th Psalm we are again taught about prayer. Observe how David approaches God.

Psalm 5:1-3
Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

David’s words teach us 3 things about prayer we should apply in our lives. Fist we see David’s boldness. “Give ear to my words”, David says. This would speak in the Hebrew language of telling God to cup His hands around His ears so as to better hear the prayer David brings. “Hearken unto the voice of my cry”, speaks of even more boldness. It means to “prick up your ears” and is best thought of a how a dog’s ears kind of get perked up when they hear something. Though we always approach God in a reverent and respectful way, what this teaches us is that by asking God to hear us we are expressing faith that He does just that.

Notice the second aspect we see from David is a heavy burden. Obviously David is crying out to God with a desperate need. Again this shows God our complete dependence on Him. Romans 8:26 tells us that sometimes our burden may be so heavy we cannot even speak words to express it. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” That is the time to just be quiet and pray in the Spirit.

But as we come to God in prayer we find the 3^rd aspect to be an orderly and harmonious method of prayer. “In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee…”, David says. This speaks of a careful preparation of our petitions. We can and should be specific in our prayers. Consider scripture as you go to Lord and be prepared to ask God to answer us as per the promises of His Word. This honors God because again it says we believe He is who He says He is.

This Psalm continues on with David acknowledging the holiness of God and contrasts it with the evilness of man. Recognition of the sinful nature of man makes us humble and puts in place our worship and trust in the only one worthy of our worship.

Psalm 5:4-7
“For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You.
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.
You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
But as for me, by Your abundant loving kindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You”

David finishes up with a bit of intercessory prayer for fellow believers.

Psalm 5:11
“But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You.”

Then he closes with a statement of worship through acknowledgment of God’s favor to those who are His.

Psalm 5:12
“For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.”

God is our shield. Morning and night we must call on Him to be our savior.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - July 27, 2014 - Day 4 - Psalm 4

Sometimes nighttime can be the hardest. Our day may be filled with trials, with fears, and with difficult circumstances but by God’s grace we survive to live another day. But evening as the sun goes down can be a time when doubts and fears creep in. Closing our eyes to sleep is a time when our minds start to wander and worry and anxiety can overtake us. Psalm 4 is known as a night-time psalm. Possibly David wrote this psalm after a second day of his flight from his pursuing enemies, one of which was his own son. In it we find help for the night.

As in Psalm 3 we see David taking the best, first step in any and all situations; he prays.

Psalm 4:1
“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!”

Going into the place of prayer will lead us to the place of peace. But we shall not take hold of God’s peace unless we can come to him in faith and trust that He will take care of us. In this psalm we find David doing just that.

Psalm 4:3
“But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.”

Notice though what has occurred in David, who having placed his trust in God, does not stop there. David understands that to those whom God has chosen to dwell within His salvation, also comes the process of sanctification for “LORD has set apart the godly for himself.” Then David offers advice when he says in verses 4-5, “Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah. Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.”

Note again the use of the term “Selah.” First we should check our anger, which may lead us to sin, at the door before finishing our night. Then ponder your heart, give some thought to how the day’s events have affected your attitude and take some time to be quiet as you do so. Then comes the pause, Selah. Having gotten our hearts right then and then only can we make our sacrifices to God and put our trust in Him.

David chooses to find his joy in God, not in the things of the world. How many of us turn to alcohol in our evenings in the hope of putting away the harshness of the day? But David finds his joy in the Lord. Psalm 4:7, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”

See the result of David’s choice to go to God in prayer and not only have lifted up his requests, but having then paused and considered his own heart as he gets quiet. Oh how often we say we don’t hear from God yet how could we? We must be quiet to hear from God. But David having done so finishes this psalm saying “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

Want to lie down and sleep with complete peace and safety? Like David, go to God. Skip the nightcap and spend some quiet time with Jesus. He, alone, is the peace we need.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - July 26, 2014 – Day 3

Today’s psalm was written by David as he flees from his own son who not only has taken the kingdom from him, but is considering executing his own father. Most of us can relate. Who hasn’t felt betrayed by someone they loved. Psalm 3 has an important lesson for us all. What do we do in the face of betrayal? How do we react in times of peril?

Psalm 3:1-2
"A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE FLED FROM ABSALOM HIS SON. O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah"

David’s fear is real. Absalom has a mighty army in hot pursuit. But even worse it is being said that even God will not save him. But take notice of what ends verse 2, the word Selah. The definition of the word Selah is generally thought to be a meditative pause probably from a musical sense. And this seems to be exactly what David is doing here. Facing possible death and even worse at the hands of his own son, David simply stops and takes a break here. Good advice. In the midst of the difficult times sometimes it pays to just step back, take a breath, and just relax. Selah. I think that’s what it means here.

Having taken a moment to just pause see how David responds.

Psalm 3:3-7
But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah. I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

David did not fall for the negativity of the world. He knows the faithfulness of God. First he offers God worship calling Him his glory. David cried aloud in prayer and then hears God’s answer. Then he pauses. Having taken God his needs in prayer, David simply goes to sleep in full confidence the God will sustain him. As David awakens from his rest he recognizes it is God who in whom he must have his faith. And then David simply chooses to let God be his defender. Again David calls out to God and asks Him to save Him. And finishes up by saying this verse 8, “Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!” And then in complete faith in both God’s ability to save and in His willingness to save, David again takes a break. Selah.

Whatever we face in life it is not too big for God. The odds may seem impossible, the pain too great, and the fear to strong. Maybe the most important word is Selah. Why not pause in the midst of the storm and cry out to God. Salvation belongs to God. He is our only hope. Selah.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - Why Does the World Hate Jesus?

July 25, 2014 – Day 2

 Psalm 2

Why does the world hate Jesus? Psalm 2 provides the simple answer. Verse 1 asks the question;
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” Verse 2-3 give the answer; “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."

I think the NLT Bible translation of verse 3 makes very clear the answer. Psalm 2:3
“Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

The world does not want to be told what to do. Let’s face it; for the most part sin is fun and feels good. The world wants to tell us we do not need Jesus judging us. How often as a Christian do you hear that one? “Don’t judge me”, they say. “Who are you to tell me what’s right and wrong.” I don’t know about you but I am tired of hearing that. So what we have now is a fast moving process in our culture that is headed down the path to a day when anything goes. If you do not believe that talk with someone who grew up before WWII. Adultery, homosexuality, pornography, and drug abuse are all examples of how far down the pit we have fallen. Yes, those things were in existence before, but they were kept in the dark and not nearly as available as they are now.

Psalm 2:2
“The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his anointed…”

This is a messianic psalm. Jesus is God’s anointed. The world wants no part in Him.

But God is the one still in control. He put those kings and rulers in place. Romans 13:1 tells that “…there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”

God is not happy with those who plot against Him.

Psalm 2:4-6
He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,
"But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain."

God has installed His son, Jesus upon His holy mountain and listen to the prophecy of what will become of these foolish rulers. Here is God’s instruction to Jesus concerning these things.

Psalm 2:7-9
“I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

Next a warning to those, especially those who are in government;

Psalm 2:10-12
“Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.”

But Psalm 2 ends with good news. “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

So even though it appears the world and its leaders are getting away with all this…this Psalm tells us they will answer for their rejection of Christ and of His Word and ways. I leave you with the words of Daniel that further support this Psalm.

Daniel 2:20-21
Daniel said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. "It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding.”

Take refuge in Him…Jesus. The sure and true hope.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - PSALM 1

July 24, 2014 – Day 1

 Psalm 1

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the same word as the first Psalm begins, blessed, which actually translates as happy. The Book of Psalms is a book on how to worship God in the midst of anything we might face in this life. For those like me who struggle daily with the burden of depression, the Psalms are a great place to find God’s comfort and to be reminded of the surety of our hope in Him. Maybe you don’t struggle with daily depression but are just sometimes feeling down as occasionally storms pop up in your life. The best advice to those who are in the midst of a storm is to first worship God in that storm.

So who is the one who can be happy in this life? Here God speak in this Psalm.

Psalm 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

If you want to find happiness in this life then you must not listen to those who do not follow God’s Word. It is the Word of God, The Bible, within which God has given us every answer to every problem that exists on the earth. The blessed man is the one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord” and who “on his law he meditates day and night.”

Hebrews 4:12 says this about God’s Word. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Lesson one from this Psalm is that we must read God’s Word and make its ways our ways. Notice it says to meditate on it day and night. The use of the word “meditate” in the Hebrew speaks of how a cow eats. The cow chews its cud over and over again because that is how it extracts the nutrients from its food. We must not only take time to read the Word; we must constantly be thinking about it and taking it in slowly piece by piece. We must then apply its truth into our lives. It is our emotional nutrition.

Joshua 1:8 is as relevant to us as it was to the Jews. It says this, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Psalm one starts with the word blessed but it ends with the word perish. God wants us to know there are only 2 ways our lives will go. We can be blessed both in this life and the next by following His Word or we can live out this life on our own. But the final words of Psalm 1 say this in verse 6, “ but the way of the wicked will perish.”

God has given us a choice. Follow His Word and be blessed or listen to man and perish. I end with the words of Joshua.

Joshua 24:14-15
"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Which will you choose?

Faith Even in Sickness

“It’s one thing to have faith for healing. It’s a greater thing to have faith for sickness.” – Jon Courson

 The Book of Job is probably my favorite OT book because through it the Holy Spirit led me to Christ. Job can be a difficult book to traverse but in it are the simple truths of God and when understood properly our faith will grow once we understand the message it brings. But understanding Job requires a complete reading because by its nature the story must completely unfold.

Today I was reading the 13^th chapter and came across a great point that was illuminated more clearly by a commentary from Pastor Jon Courson. To set up the context Job has lost everything he has including his health. All he has left is a wife who really doesn’t help and 3 friends who have been kind enough to have come to sit with him in his time of loss. Unfortunately his buddies have done little to help Job as they have pretty much just told him these things have happened because he is a not a Godly man and has all this sin which God is punishing him for. The problem is Job is a righteous man (not to be confused with perfect and without sin) who has been doing his best to follow God.

 Job is the quintessential book on suffering. While it may not answer the question completely of why suffering exists, what it does is teach us that God is sovereign and He is just and righteous. Just because we do not understand God’s ways, we do not have the right to even question Him, for His ways are greater than ours.

 Job makes a declaration that exemplifies the exact position all Christians need to take in all circumstances in chapter 13, verse 15 where he says, "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.”

This is what Courson in his OT Application Commentary says about that statement:              

“And with these words, Satan lost his bet. Although Job didn’t navigate his difficulty perfectly, he completely shuts Satan down right here. “Even if I don’t understand what God is doing, even though it seems to be to be unfair, even if He should slay me in the process, yet I will trust Him,” Job proclaims. Yes, Job’s faith will falter, but here it’s ignited. It’s one thing to have faith for healing. It’s a greater thing to have faith for sickness. That is, it takes greater faith to say, “I come to You for healing. But, Lord, should You, as You did to Paul, say, ‘My grace is sufficient,’ I will still trust You. I have faith in You, not faith that I can get You to do what I want You to do, but faith that You will do what’s best.” Even if the affliction doesn’t go away, even if the problem continues, even if the solution doesn’t come, faith says, “Though You slay me, I will still trust You because You were slain for me. You gave up everything because You love me. Therefore, I embrace whatever You decide to do. You see things I don’t. You know things I can’t.” Here, with his body broken out in boils, with his worldly possession and his family taken from him, with his friends relentlessly accusing him, faith flares up in Job.”

Read a part of that again. “It’s one thing to have faith for healing. It’s a greater thing to have faith for sickness. That is, it takes greater faith to say, “I come to You for healing. But, Lord, should You, as You did to Paul, say, ‘My grace is sufficient,’ I will still trust You. I have faith in You, not faith that I can get You to do what I want You to do, but faith that You will do what’s best.”

So do you trust God in ALL circumstances? Pray about this and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to have more faith than ever before. This life is hard and with it will come hard times. We must trust our God. Yes we can pray and ask for healing or ask for Him to remove the trial but whether He does or doesn’t we can rest in Christ knowing He is working things out for our good (see Romans 8:28) and in the wonderful promise of Jeremiah 29:11-14, “For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 'I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.”

God bless.