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  • Are You Doing Enough for Jesus?

    Are You Doing Enough for Jesus?

    I grew up in legalism. We were taught accurately that you were saved by grace. And then it went South. We then were taught that sanctification came through grit. You had to work hard to stay in good standing with God. I used to laugh at this bumper sticker.

    “Jesus is coming soon. Look busy.”

    The application of that theology was anything but amusing. To grow in faith I had to do more. Try harder. Pray more. Read the Bible more. Have more devotional time. Stay busy for God and you will grow in faith. All of those things are good when properly utilized. But there is a problem in self-effort as your plan for sanctification. Nowhere in Scripture will you find this command.

    Be busy and know that I am God.

    Our busyness does not please God. Our faith pleases Him. We can’t have faith and trust in someone we are too busy to know intimately. David wrote this timeless truth in Psalm 46.


    Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

    Growing in faith is not about scurrying about to do more for Jesus. We are saved by grace and we grow more like Jesus by abiding in His grace.

    My personal belief is that one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that the church makes with new believers is not teaching clearly and continually what happens when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It seems that we too often get young Christians immediately into studies and activities. We subtly (or in my own experience, not so subtly) program them to believe that growth is about doing more right things. That righteousness somehow requires busyness for Jesus. We imply that change can only happen when you are trying hard and being disciplined for God.

    The truth is that a dramatic change has already happened when you make that faith commitment to follow Jesus. Let’s just hit the highlights. Scripture tells you that you now have a new identity. You are literally a new creation. You have imputed righteousness of Christ. That is a nice theological term that simply means that God sees you as righteous because of your relationship with Jesus. That’s it. Nothing you have done or ever will do earns that righteousness. It is a gift of grace.

    You have everything you need to grow in Christ at the moment you put your faith in Him. Yet I spent years looking for the keys to growing in faith. Finally I realized I had the keys in my pocket from day one. I was changed completely when I trusted Christ. The trick is living out of that truth. Instead of feeling shame when I fall short I now see a different picture.

    I see Jesus putting His arm around me and explaining that I have been changed. I see Him telling me that my sins are completely forgiven. I see Him explaining to me that all of those things that used to be true about me are no longer true. That no matter what the Accuser might say those things are dead and buried at the Cross. I see Jesus telling me that I have the Holy Spirit to comfort me and provide an unshakeable source of strength. That I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him. That sin does not have power over me anymore. That if I trust Him and let God love me I will please Him. My faith and trust is what pleases Him.


    So let’s disabuse ourselves today of the notion that busyness is somehow related to godliness. My growth happens when I live out of what Jesus has already done instead of worrying about what I need to do to earn His favor. I think that is why Jesus can say this in the Gospel of Matthew.

    “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)

    That is my prayer for today. To let Jesus teach me with gentleness. To learn from His humility. And to find rest in Him.

  • Why Lord? Why me?

    Why Lord? Why me?

    Why me Lord? I suspect that most of us have cried out to God with that question. And I would also guess that approximately ninety-nine percent of the time we are asking God why some trial has come our way that we feel is undeserved.

    The same question has been asked throughout history. “Why me Lord? Why me?”

    A song by Kris Kristofferson cycled up on on my satellite radio today and reminded me of a better perspective. I have loved Kristofferson’s song “Why Me?” since I was a young believer and, if you do the math, you realize that I am not so young a believer anymore. The truth is I am still trying to apply the wisdom of these lyrics.

    Why me Lord, what have I ever done
    To deserve even one
    Of the pleasures I’ve known
    Tell me Lord, what did I ever done
    That was worth loving you
    Or the kindness you’ve shown

    So true. What have I done to deserve even one of His blessings? I did not deserve forgiveness. That was a gift of grace from a loving God. I did not deserve to be born in the United States into incredible comfort, religious freedom, and opportunity. I did not deserve to be born healthy when others live with chronic afflictions. Those things were blessings that I received without complaining to my Creator.

    The “why me Lord” question we so often ask should have an entirely different focus.

    Why me Lord? What have I done to deserve your blessing?

    It is true that some seem to suffer a disproportionate amount of affliction and difficulty. It doesn’t seem fair. The theology that faithful Christians will experience nonstop prosperity, perfect health, and green lights at every intersection is a lie from the pit of Hell. Suffering is a part of the process that God uses to refine our faith and ultimately to glorify Him.

    My high school basketball coach was a winner and a great teacher. I remember Coach Tom Cuppett yelling at me. A lot. It seemed I could never do anything right. We would run a play and the whistle would blow. “Burchett….what are you doing?” Then he would grab me and the other forwards and walk us through what was supposed to happen. After my senior season Coach Cuppett called me in to his office.

    “I have to let you in on something. Remember how I always yelled at you and walked you through the plays?” He asked.
    I responded with a smile. “Pretty hard to forget that you can’t do anything right.”
    “The truth is that a lot of the time it was Jimmy (not real name) who messed up and not you. He couldn’t take the criticism and you could. So I yelled at you and then grabbed him and walked him through the plays with you so he would learn without losing his confidence.”
    “It would have been nice to know why I was the target so often.”
    “I couldn’t tell you at the time. But I trusted you to keep going. And you did. Your ability to handle adversity made him and our team better.”

    The lesson never left. I trusted a good coach and accepted what I had to endure to achieve our goal of winning. Later I found out that I had gained honor in his eyes by trusting him even when things didn’t seem “fair”. How much more so can I trust a God who loved me enough to offer grace when I was completely without merit? What if that trial is given to me because God deems me able to remain steadfast and through that faithfulness others will be impacted for good? What if I get called into God’s office someday and find out that He gave me the gift of trials to reflect His glory and now my rewards will far exceed that temporary pain? If I can trust an earthly coach then I can certainly trust my Heavenly Father with all of me.

    Kristofferson writes about what many of us regret.

    Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so

    That is the amazing thing about our God of redemption and second chances. It is never too late to start trusting and living in His grace. It starts with believing your real identity. Henri Nouwen says it well.

    “You can deal with an enormous amount of success as well as an enormous amount of failure without losing your identity, because your identity is that you are the beloved. Long before your father and mother, your brothers and sisters, your teachers, your church, or any people touched you in a loving as well as in a wounding way-long before you were rejected by some person or praised by somebody else-that voice has been there always. “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” That love is there before you were born and will be there after you die.”

    Paul wrote this to the Church at Ephesus.

    Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.  (Ephesians 1, NLT)

    Believing that makes it possible to ask “why me” in a very different way.

  • How A High School Football Coach Taught Me To Live Before I Die 

    How A High School Football Coach Taught Me To Live Before I Die 

    At some point in our journey most people start thinking about leaving a legacy. For some the idea of leaving a legacy means accumulating wealth or property to give to the next generation. A family business can be a legacy that keeps a memory alive through the years. Prestige and power can be thought of as a legacy.

    In the winter of 2017 I became friends with Newton Texas high school football Coach W.T. Johnston. His story of courage and faith became the basis of my book “Between the White Lines“. For eighteen months the Johnston family embedded me in their lives and shared their story with unvarnished honesty. I had no idea how much that project and that relationship would influence me.

    I had thought now and then about my legacy. I had always factored my accomplishments into legacy. I had a long and satisfying television directing career. I was fortunate to win a few awards. But the fact is that the moment I stood up to leave that directing chair another person sat right down. The telecasts went on just fine without me. W.T. taught me that leaving a legacy was not about accomplishment. Perhaps the most emotional moment of my career happened after Johnston won an improbable second consecutive state title several months after doctors told him he would be dead. His interview on Fox Sports has been seen by millions and it helped shape how I plan to live the rest of my life. Here is a bit of that remarkable sideline moment.

    “We got together in August right before we started practicing and I told them I probably wouldn’t make it through the season. I was only given eight months to live in January. And I wanted them to be aware of what was going on. And then we got going and there was about two or three weeks during the season I didn’t think I was going to make it. And we talked about that.

    “I always told them this was the last lesson I was gonna teach them. I’ve been around these guys and their dads and their mothers since 1991. And I told them the last lesson I would ever teach them is how to live before you die, and where you put your strength and where you put your belief. The Lord has done so much for me. It’s unbelievable what Jesus has let me do and see through these kids. And I tell everybody—they don’t understand this—I’ve been given a great gift. I’ve been able to see how my life could affect people before I die. These guys, they’ve touched my life. It’s been a mutual thing. But I’ve been able to teach them a lesson that you don’t get to see most times.

    “Last night they were talking about wanting to win for me. I’ve had my time. This is their time. This is all for them. I told them to do it for their teammates, to do it for themselves. Because fifty years from now, this will be something special they’ll always remember.  I mean, they’ll remember me—if I’ve done right, a part of me is going to live in them and that’s what I’ve always thought—if I’ve done things right.”

    What a succinct and brilliant definition of leaving a legacy. If I’ve done things right a part of me is going to live in them.

    Leaving a legacy is not getting to the top of your profession. It is not being the most successful or the most wealthy. Billy Graham had a pretty good resume. It is estimated he spoke to over 200 million people in live audiences over sixty years. He wrote over thirty books. His television and radio programming reached millions more with the Gospel of Jesus. I would say that is a pretty powerful legacy. But here is how Graham defined the word.

    “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.”

    That is the legacy I hope to leave. Leaving a legacy is being kind to people who can do nothing for you. Leaving a legacy is being fair to everyone and not just the powerful and privileged. Leaving a legacy is making each person you engage feel important and valued. Leaving a legacy is serving selflessly with no expectation for reward. Leaving a legacy is loving your wife, children, friends, and neighbors with forgiveness, patience, humility, and grace. Leaving a legacy is modeling what it looks like to walk with Jesus faithfully through both triumph and tragedy.

    Here is a verse to start you on the path to leaving a “part of you” in the lives of others.

    Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (1 Peter 4:8-10, NLT)

    In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus outlined how to be light to a dark and hurting world. 

    “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:14-16)

    That is how W.T. Johnston lived his life. My friend went to be with the Lord three years ago this month. He was one-hundred percent correct about his impact because a piece of his courage, strength, wisdom will live in me forever.

    Between the White Lines is an inspiring story of a great coach and how faith challenged and changed a town and team.

  • My Biggest Mistake?

    My Biggest Mistake?

    Years ago I wrote a book with the provocative title of “When Bad Christians Happen to Good People”. In that book I was incredibly candid about the damage that Christians often do in the name of Jesus. I expected to get roasted for my candor about my faith. For the most part that didn’t happen. Perhaps those who most needed to read it didn’t recognize their need to read it. A couple of fans of one heretical televangelist decided I was on the express train to hell. Who knew they could read?

    I took the most heat for a chapter where I cleverly (I thought) tried to use a political situation to make a spiritual point. Bad idea. I mean a bad idea along the lines of tank tops for middle-aged men and Spandex for almost everyone. 

    I learned my lesson. 

    I regret the political references I made in that book. I was able to revise and replace those words in a later version. I learned the hard way how much political remarks polarize and deflect the message of the Cross. I tried to make it clear that Christians were making a mistake by trying to change the culture through politics instead of by changing hearts for Jesus. But my entire message was ignored by some because of a poorly executed illustration.

    I expect to see Democrats and Republicans and Libertarians and Independents in heaven. But the common link will not be political ideology. The common link that will bring us eternally together will be Jesus.

    Jesus chose to work by starting his own grassroots movement of faith and discipleship. He could have chosen to work in the lives of leaders and politicians. He could have chosen to concentrate only on people of power and influence. That is likely what I would have done. Jesus could have encountered Caesar on a Roman road instead of Paul on the Damascus road. But He did not. He chose to work through common men and women. He taught a radical message of grace and humility and service. He valued women, children, the poor, blind, crippled, and ethnic outcasts in a way that was revolutionary and threatening to the status quo. Jesus was an off the charts revolutionary. You generally don’t get crucified for just being annoying. 

    He served instead of demanding to be served. He loved the unlovable and forgave the unforgivable. He taught that to a group of men and women in the first century who, with NO political power at all, turned the world upside down. 

    And that is where we as His followers have fallen short. We have fallen short by making righteousness about behaving the way we think you should behave instead of by modeling the One who makes righteousness possible. If the body of Christ had demonstrated His grace in a lifestyle wrapped around discipleship and serving I suspect we would not be fighting Washington to change the culture. It would be happening in the hearts of men and women and that would be the ultimate trickle-down effect. 

    I am not smart enough to decide what God has called people to do. If He has placed a desire for people to impact the culture through political action I am not about to question their motives. But my hope is in Christ and my trust is in a God who is in control even when I cannot see it.

    So this writer will steer clear of politics in my humble ramblings about faith. God’s Word taught with truth and love will mold followers of Jesus to view social issues wisely. Moralizing on sexual issues has produced guilt but not real results. Jesus forgave the woman caught in sin and THEN said go and sin no more. My goal is to tell people about the grace and love of Jesus, disciple them into a real relationship with Him, and then  watch as the Holy Spirit changes what my sermonizing cannot. Their hearts.

    The body of Christ is about Jesus. About being a good citizen that respects authority. And about demonstrating His amazing grace to a desperately needy world. The message should be grace, redemption, and the forgiveness available to everyone. All political parties are welcome at the foot of the cross. We need to spend more time there…for the good of America. Jesus left us with these words that would be good to remember when you get discouraged by the cacophony of twenty-four hour news.

    Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. (John 16, NLT)

    I pray that you will believe and trust that truth. And share your hope with joy.

  • How God Sees Me Is Hard To Accept

    How God Sees Me Is Hard To Accept

    Perhaps it was my early church teaching that causes me to struggle with the concept that God loves me. I believe He can love others. I believe He loves the homeless person on the street and the struggling inner-city mom trying to hold her family together. But I am less sure that He always loves me. I know me. I know what lies hidden in my heart. I know my reactions. I know my thoughts. God knows all of that too. So in the sad and difficult moments I wonder how He could possibly love me.

    Perhaps that is your struggle as well.

    Philip Yancey wrote these thoughts in What’s So Amazing About Grace. “Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible’s astounding words about God’s love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?”

    I am learning to look into the mirror and see someone that I accept by faith and not by my feelings. I see a saint. That’s right. Many (maybe all) of Satan’s accusations about me are true. But what I now see is a man who is a saint. I found twenty-nine references to the “saints” in Paul’s writings. I am pretty sure from the content of his writings that they were not always behaving like saints. They were saints because of Christ and not by meticulously following the law.

    God sees those who trust Jesus as holy. No matter how many accusations are thrown at me God sees me as holy. Amazing.
    All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1, NLT)

    That is my (and your) identity. Holy and without fault in His eyes. I will be accused again and probably sooner than later. But I am learning to simply say this to myself.

    “That is not who I am anymore. I am a saint who sometimes sins. I am holy because of Christ.”

    There may be no more important element to living fully in the moment with God than accepting that you are loved by Him right now just as you are. That is so counterintuitive to how “love” so often works in our experience. I will love you while you are attractive. I will love you when you make me happy. I will love you when you do what I ask you to do. Human love is almost always conditional. That is not God’s love.

    The attributes of God’s love are mind boggling. It is personal. We can relate to God the Creator of the universe as our Father. Think about that. I mean really think about that. I love this thought from Brennan Manning. “We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that he should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at his love, bewildered that at this very moment we are standing on holy ground.”

    We are conditioned to believe that if something seems too good to be true that we are being deceived. That is what the aforementioned accuser would have us to believe. But the stunning radicality of grace is that what seems to be too good to be true is more true than we can imagine. This unconditional love from God is unrelated to the emotions, expectations and desires that taint our human love.

    • God’s love is offered to the undeserving and unworthy.
    • God’s love does not consider status, gender, color, nationality, wealth, or educational achievement.
    • God loves us first. He is the one who woos us to Him.
    • God’s love is one way. He is the patient lover who never leaves and is always there when His child finally comes home.
    • This love is ours by simple faith. We don’t have to do a single thing except bring our wounds and sin to the loving Great Physician.

    I am choosing to believe that today. I am going to allow God to love me today. I am not going to attempt to earn that love. I am not going to remind myself why I am not worthy. I am going to open my arms and my heart to His love. My feelings ebb and flow. God’s feelings for me are an eternal fountain of grace. Jump in the fountain today. Splash around. Laugh. Rejoice. You are loved. You are cherished. You are adored. You are the child of the King. Live like it today.

    Excerpts taken from Waking Up Slowly – 21 Ways to be More Connected to God and One Another. 

  • Jesus Will Meet You There

    Jesus Will Meet You There

    Being in community with others means you share in their joys and their sorrows. Sometimes the sorrows come in tsunami waves and all you can do is care, pray, and be present. Good and decent people deal with financial, emotional, and physical suffering all around us and it is easy to lose heart. The news seems to be only tragedy and heartbreaking sadness. What can be redeemed of all of this suffering?

    A song called “The Hurt and the Healer” by MercyMe resonated when I first heard it but now that same song touches my heart even more. The lyrics ask the question we all struggle with.

    Why?
    The question that is never far away
    The healing doesn’t come from the explained
    Jesus please don’t let this go in vain

    I can’t explain why things happen. Sometimes it is sin. Sometimes it is simply life. I have learned in my years of following Jesus that He does not let suffering go in vain. I have seen over and over how God redeems sadness and tragedy. He does bring beauty out of ashes. When I cannot see how any good can come out of a trial I trust my Abba Father in faith. Believe me I don’t “feel” that but I can move forward in faith. God has never let me down. And I believe He never will.

    Breathe
    Sometimes I feel it’s all that I can do
    Pain so deep that I can hardly move
    Just keep my eyes completely fixed on You
    Lord take hold and pull me through

    Most of us have been there at some point. If not, you will be someday. Peter talked about the inevitability of suffering in this life in a passage that we usually leave out of the brochure when we tell others about our faith. All of us who follow Jesus are going to suffer.

    Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. (1 Peter 4, NLT)

    Count me among the brethren who tried to dance around this truth for as long as I could. Be very glad? Seriously? But when you have nowhere else to turn but to Christ you find out that you should have turned to Him first all along.

    So here I am
    What’s left of me
    Where glory meets my suffering

    I’m alive
    Even though a part of me has died
    You take my heart and breathe it back to life
    I’ve fallen into your arms open wide
    When the hurt and the healer collide

    Jesus meets you there and not in theory. He suffered. He agonized with God the Father. He knows the human condition. He has already been where you are. When the hurt and the Healer collide something amazing happens. The pain may not immediately go away but peace and hope begin to slowly heal the pain. Peter did not end his writing on suffering with the buzz kill of Chapter 4. He wrapped it in a bow of incredible hope in the next chapter.

    In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. (1 Peter 5, NLT)

    That is a promise that we can hold on to in times of sorrow and suffering. I am trusting that promise this week for myself and my friends who are hurting.

  • One Of The Worst Days Ever

    One Of The Worst Days Ever

    There is much written about Good Friday. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross is incomprehensible to my puny human intellect. There is much written about Easter Sunday. Christians around the world rejoice and proclaim that “He is risen!”. But there is not nearly as much written about one of the saddest and most confusing days in history. The Saturday between the Friday horror of Jesus on the Cross and the Sunday mystery of the resurrection. Some churches do observe Holy Saturday but it was never a tradition in my faith upbringing.

    I have been thinking about what that day must have been like for those who dropped everything to follow Jesus. How crushing those events had to be. I imagine the fear they felt that they would also be killed. And for what? On Saturday they feared they had given their careers and their very souls for a false hope.

    I think in particular of Peter. I identify so much with him. Like him I throw down bold statements of loyalty to the Lord and then betray them. Like him I draw attention to my own accomplishments instead of recognizing where my accomplishments come from. Like Peter I am a generally sincere but desperately needy follower of Jesus.

    You know the story about Peter before the arrest and mock trial of Jesus. Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times before the rooster crows at dawn. For many years I breezed by the setup to that prediction.

    “Simon (Peter),  Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”  (Luke 22, NLT)

    Jesus had already prayerfully pleaded for Peter to be used in a powerful and redemptive way before the failure, shame and repentance that Jesus knew was about to happen. Our sin does not take Jesus by surprise. Why does His grace and forgiveness surprise us?

    Like me, Peter did not hear the tender words of encouragement from the Lord. Nope. He blustered.

    “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.”

    After the arrest of Jesus a suddenly less bold Peter followed the crowd. He denied to a servant girl that he knew Jesus. He denied his alliance to another bystander. The crushing sorrow and shame of what happened next is hard to fathom.

    About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.”

    But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

    At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind:“Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

    I imagined what the expression might have been on the face of Jesus when He turned and looked. I suspect it was a look of sadness, compassion and longing to comfort His friend. But what Peter probably saw was only disappointment and failure. Peter’s tears likely flowed until they could no longer flow. I suspect it was hard to even breathe. His heart literally ached within his chest. His mind could not imagine any future hope. I wonder if he thought about running away or even ending it all. I wonder if he could think at all.

    That Saturday was one of the worst days in history and Peter may have felt the pain of that awful day more intensely than anyone. He did not know what would happen the next day. Peter did not yet understand what Jesus had been telling him.

    When Luke recounts that Jesus appeared to the Disciples the only one mentioned by name is Peter. What gives me hope this Easter season is the tender story of Jesus affirming and reinstating Peter to be a leader who would “feed His sheep”. That is the grace that changes a heart.

    I can betray Jesus. Ignore Him. Live selfishly. At some point I once again recognize my desperate need for Jesus to rescue me. For the one millionth time I turn to Him. And what happens? He lifts my shame bowed head and looks deeply into my eyes. He tells me how much He loves me. That is grace. That is real. That is love. Maybe I won’t have a day quite as bad as Peter on that horrible dark Saturday but his story of redemption encourages me this Easter season.

    He is risen! He is risen for me! Jesus is pleading for me that my faith will not fail. What a joyous hope for all of us this Easter.