I have friends who are completely enamored with Romans 1 through 8. And I have to agree with them that it is the finest theological treatise ever written. Perhaps it’s because I teach some of the psychology classes at our little college that I think Romans 12 through 15 cannot be excelled by anyone. Paul is so very practical. If we applied his counsel to our daily lives we would surely be the most psychologically healthy people in the world. I am amazed at the expanse of Paul’s knowledge regarding personal relationships and how to mind our own business and grow in the Lord.

But then again I should not be amazed. Not only did Paul have the best education of his time both in Hebrew topics but also in occidental topics. Paul was no slouch when it came to Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. The best part of all was his daily connection with Jesus. His works are not the mere product of a human mind. They are the product of a great human mind united to divinity. His works are inspired by the One who knows all things.

How about chapter 12:19 and on? “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.” Has someone harmed you? Do you want to harm them back? If you are a normal human the answer is yes. But the wise person who wants genuine peace will forgive and know that we have a heavenly father who knows how to give good gifts to us. If there is something to be revenged He will do it ever so much more skillfully than any of us ever could. Trust Him. It’s a sure prescription for a great life.

We were waiting for a green light in two lanes that merged into one on the other side of the intersection. Since it is on my way to school often I am stopped there. After the light turns green people usually perform as taught in kindergarten, they take turns merging. However, this morning the driver beside me decided to hug the bumper of the car in front of her not allowing anyone to merge between her and the car ahead of her. In the line of cars she had gained one car length. Once we had gained speed I did a brief calculation and guessed she had gained one tenth of a second by her rudeness.

One tenth of a second is gone before we can say it. I realize that is a very important amount of time at the Olympic Games. Actually one hundredth of a second often determines the difference between winning the gold or the silver medal. But, this was not the Olympic Games. This was people going to work. Surely a tenth of a second did not matter even if she did have to punch a time clock.

How often in life do we push our way to the front? How often are we rude? And for what? Perhaps it might matter if we were starving and there were just so much food to be passed out, but what would happen to us if we took Jesus’ counsel seriously about the first being last and the last first, or Paul’s counsel to prefer others above ourselves? Matthew 19:30 and Romans 12:10 Knowing that Jesus and Paul were great psychologists I am convinced we would discover life is richer and more fulfilling than had we acted otherwise.

I have a problem. We stopped at a Friendly’s this evening and I got a Fribble, a large chocolate milkshake. Even before I got halfway to the bottom I filled up; can’t eat as much as I used to. The server gave me a cup to use so I could bring it home. Now I have the problem. If I put it in the freezer it will get solid. If I put it in the fridge it will turn to milk. So where, other than my stomach, should I put it? Please do not be concerned for my health and say down the kitchen drain.

I wonder if God ever wonders what to do with us; too good for earth but not good enough for heaven. Obviously there was no problem with Enoch. “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5. And there was Elijah, “There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” II Kings 2:11. Apparently both of these men really really pleased God.

So what about you and me? I’m never going to be that good. And I have my doubts about you. The Good News is it isn’t goodness that gets us there. It’s grace. Eternal life is a gift of God. So neither Enoch nor Elijah really was good enough. Even for them it was a gift. For us, as it was for them, it is not a matter of being good enough but a matter of pleasing God by thanking Him for the gift and wanting to grow more and more like Him every day.

Friday night on my almost daily walk I was heading down our hill not watching where I was going. I was absorbed in reading my email on my iPhone. Hearing the sound of another’s footfall I looked up into the face of my neighbor walking up the hill absorbed with his iPhone. We were face to face a step apart. Phew! No collision. Both of us were so attentive to something other than what was important; where we were going.

I fear this to be the case for a fair amount of my students. They too are absorbed, with almost everything except where they are going. But, perhaps it’s not just my students. Could it be most of us? It is so easy to fill our lives with paying the bills, raising the kids, transporting the kids to school, play dates and soccer and hockey that we have little time to think about where we are going.

I experience this so often when beginning a book. I get caught sometimes going somewhere I don’t want to go. Movies also do that. The reviews are good and yet I soon realize this isn’t where I want to go. Fortunately, God gave us choice and free will and just because we have started a book or a movie definitely does not mean we have to finish it. We are in charge of our destinations. My problem is that often I want to go where I don’t want to go. On such occasions I remind myself of Psalm 1:1, “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.”

We have amazing brains that compensate for our lack of physical perfection. As we age and begin to lose hearing often we miss the first sounds of words so our brains instantly search our vocabulary and fill in what our brains thinks should be there. They don’t always select the right word. This is one reason older couples often get a bit cranky or short with each other. They think the other has said something the other did not say. Ouch.

Our brains do the same with our eyes. We have a blind spot in each eye where the optic nerve connects to the eyeball. We don’t notice because the blind spot in each eye is just a bit off from the other and each eye covers the other eye’s blind spot. If you desire to see if this is so Google “eye blind spot”. It will take you to sites where you can test this by closing one eye and focusing on a + sign. Nearby is a dark spot. As you move your head toward the screen the black spot will disappear. It is in your blind spot. Now comes the interesting part. You will not see nothing. Instead your brain will fill in the spot with white just as it had compensated for your hearing loss.

We also have mental blind spots. These are related to our relationships and at times we are blind to, let’s say our children’s faults. Our brains will because of love choose the best possible interpretation for their failures. If our brain is full of God’s Word or something of much lesser value our brain can only draw upon what is there. Garbage in – garbage out. God’s word in – God’s word out.

“Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11.

I have come to a new meaning for Jesus’ first major miracle – the water into wine. This is major because prior to this Jesus told Nathaniel that He saw him under a fig tree praying. That was a minor miracle. But back to the water into wine. I couldn’t have understood what I am referring to when I was young. This only can come with age. Remember in the story how they questioned the host regarding saving the best wine until last. That is what is happening to me and I hope for you. The older we get. The longer we have been with Jesus. The better the wine gets.

There is a sweetness I never could have grasped when I first finished the seminary. Then I understood the doctrines of the church. Now I appreciate so much the abiding presence of Jesus and somehow the doctrines don’t seem to be as important. I am referring to such things as the end of Romans 8, “Who can be against us?” And motives are more important than deeds, “If I give my body to be burned, if I don’t do it for love it is a worthless sacrifice.” And after attending so many funerals I so value I Corinthians 15, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Perhaps the best is the parable of the unjust judge who only gave the woman her request because he was sick of her begging. God is not like that judge. We don’t have to beg. We can come boldly and ask and if it is good for us, we get it. God is a loving generous Father.

Every day it just seems clearer. The wine just keeps getting better.

It’s the last day of summer 2010. Autumn is knocking at the door. The hummingbirds are gone south. The males left about two weeks ago and the females just two days ago. It’s time for me to get the firewood in the garage. It’s also time to set mouse traps. They sense the coming of winter and are looking for warm accommodations. We were surprised this year to find a couple decided to live in my sister’s car. We keep it parked by the woodpile so we shouldn’t be surprised they decided to move in. I wonder what they think when they look out into the K-mart parking lot. Apparently they are smart enough not to get out because they keep coming home.

Getting ready for winter can be challenging. When I sit in church and listen to some very important offering appeal I am often tempted to empty out our savings. But if we all did that retirement might be pretty harsh. When one sees the snow on top one needs to be judicious. Jesus’ direction to the rich young ruler to sell all and give it all away wasn’t a universal command but a very specific remedy for a very specific problem. Our problem is deciding whether or not that’s an excuse for our not giving more.

Balance is a very important word. It’s not so easy. One needs to sleep but not too much. We need to eat but not too much. And so it is with giving. We need to give but not too much. I once heard a preacher tell his congregation they needed to give twenty percent because that’s what the children of Israel did. He failed to mention they had no other taxes.

There’s a funny thing about humans. The kind of world we think is out there is the kind of world we see out there. One would think the latter would come first but quite to the contrary. We are the designers of our world. We don’t see the world that is. We see the world we think is. Once upon a time I knew a woman whose life was most miserable. It is true she only had one leg but the last time I checked our limbs were not connected to our brain, the source of our attitudes. I was her pastor and I have to admit (I shouldn’t say this) that I was happy for her when she passed away. She sat home alone and had a rebuttal for every positive comment any of us could make. Nothing we could say could get a smile. I do so hope the Lord can make her happy. None of us could bring even a tiny ray of sunshine into her dismal world. I hate to sound like someone from the Sound of Music but think of your favorite things and life wouldn’t be so sad.

The law of God’s Kingdom, the rule for happiness, is service. When we set out to improve another’s life we are the ones whose lives improve. It almost seems counterintuitive but God’s Kingdom is like that. The first shall be last and the last first. Matthew 19:30. So how much sense does that make? Very little in our way of thinking but it is brilliant when Jesus says it. The reason being is He is the Master Psychologist. He created us. He designed our minds and knows exactly what we need for happiness.

We often hear people speak about having a sixth sense. There are things we know even though they are beyond our five sense’s capabilities. They are not empirical. We cannot weigh them or measure them in any manner. Yet they are real. No one would say love isn’t real. However, only lovers playing an up-man-ship game try to quantify love by claiming they love the other more than they are loved. Justice is real but cannot be put in the balance held by the blind statue of justice. Perhaps it is because justice cannot be measured that we often times want to retaliate just a hair more than our cause demands.

I have come to believe faith is our sixth sense. It is something Jesus certainly thought we should have. He actually expected us to have it. Just in Luke we fine the following. Concerning those who lowered the paralytic through the roof, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 5:20. He spoke of the great faith of the Centurion. 7:9. To the woman who washed His feet He said, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” To the woman who touched his garment, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.” 8:48. To the cleansed leper, “Rise and go: your faith has made you well.” 17:19. The list goes on and on. It is a great study if you are wanting to have a refreshing time.

In Luke 17:5 the disciples figured this out and asked for more faith. Perhaps it is the greatest want of modern man. We are so educated in inductive and deductive logic and in the scientific method of research it is difficult for us to reach beyond our rational minds. Philosophers call it the “leap of faith.” It does appear it is something we need.

I think I was about five years old the first time I heard Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It made a great impression on me. I recall associating it with a picture of Peter drowning in the stormy sea because he had taken his eyes off Jesus. He called and Jesus grabbed his hand and together they walked over to the boat. I am awed by this now, let alone the impression it made on me at five. I determined right there that I would always be ready to call to Jesus. It wasn’t until I went to an academy (high school) in Bible classes that I unlearned Romans 10:13. What I mean by unlearning is my Bible teacher added a lot of “buts” to the promise. According to him, while it was true I was saved by calling out to Jesus I then had a list of do’s and don’ts if I was going to stay saved. It was most depressing. I almost gave up on the whole thing. Sadly to say many of my classmates did give up.

Fortunately, I went on to college and I am so grateful that once again I relearned Romans 10:13 along with some accompanying verses like verse 9. “If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved.” I also learned that Paul wrote in Galatians that the moment anyone adds a ‘but’ he has negated the cross. I think some people fear this will lead people to live a self-centered life of sin. But it is just the opposite. Because I have been given such a gift I don’t want to sin. I want to be like my hero – Jesus. That’s the way it works.

I spent considerable time this evening looking for my glasses. I scanned my desk where they were supposed to be. I went to my bedside table. I checked the bathroom and the kitchen. I tried retracing my steps from the time I came home from school. All the searching was to no avail. Knowing they had to be here somewhere. I figured they would show up sometime so I gave up and sat down to write to you. And what to my wondering eyes did appear but my glasses. They were right where they were supposed to be. On my desk – the very desk I had so carefully scanned.

How can it be that I looked right at them? They were not hidden under a book or a magazine. They were in plain sight. But I did not see them. My eyes saw them. My eyes sent the necessary bits of data to my optic nerves which carried the signal to the back of my brain and yet my brain never processed the data. I was blind to them while they were right in front of me. Need I say more regarding the spiritual blindness that cripples so many of us? God’s love, the intricate design of creation, the miracle of life, the simple complexity of the Gospel is all there all the time and yet so often we just don’t see.

I am reminded of John 1:4-5. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Jesus came and walked, talked, healed, resurrected and yet the darkness that blinded His own people prevailed and does so to this day. We can look and not see. It must not be that way for us.

Some people call them résumés and some call them vitas. They are similar. Basically they are a brief account of somebody’s life. Usually they are put together in an effort to impress us into giving the author a job. Often they are amusing to read, especially if they contain dates. Often we can see that someone has lots of experience but we wonder why they changed jobs every year. The list can be impressive except it might reveal they don’t wear well. Actually I like just the reverse. Lots of experience in a few places tells me a lot. I saw one today that made me smile. He put down, “International speaker.” Since he didn’t put public speaker or mention how many countries I figured he and his wife drove to Toronto and he talked with her in the car. Yes, I know. That’s harsh. Forgive me.

It all set me to wondering what we need on our résumés for entrance to heaven. I’m sure many people would list all the money they have given to charities. They might list the clothes they put in the Good Will box or calculate the number of hours they volunteered at the local hospital. If they were brave they might list the temptations and opportunities for sin that they resisted. How about mentioning they haven’t eaten meat or mustard in twenty years? Or better yet if they were a pastor they could list all their baptisms – stars for their crown.

I think I have figured out the ultimate résumé for heaven. “Sinner – Forgiven.” You must admit it’s not very long. But, it has a certain elegance about it. Its simplicity tells the whole story. The only story needed.

While waiting for a waitress I watched a young man service one of those big glass boxes with a large claw that sells you a chance to snag a stuffed toy. I was intrigued that he did not just randomly toss in a new supply of Bert and Ernies. Ever so carefully he put in each new toy so it was positioned upright. Layer after layer of cute teddy bears and such were all poised so the claw could easy grasp it by the head. The advantage was for the child operator and not for the owner of the restaurant. He was smiling as he locked it up and carefully cleaned the glass.

I liked that guy. He reminded me of Jesus who also positions everything to our advantage. Jesus has tried to give everyone the best chance possible. However, I must admit life’s circumstances do indeed impede millions of people. If one is born into the home of an abusive father, calling God “Father” can create a gigantic barrier to the Gospel. If one is raised in an underprivileged neighborhood the disadvantages can distort one’s view of God and can very much get in the way of realizing what is available.

I am a great supporter of Head Start programs. They aid underprivileged children to have a running chance at a good education. I’m wondering if unbeknownst to us God has a “Head Start” program for those who need it. What I do know is God is in the business of saving people and positions “heads-up” all that’s needed for our salvation. What is great about it is we don’t have to put two quarters in the slot to have a chance.

We have some friends away, a long way, from home to be with a dying father. It’s a difficult time and such things as tomato plants and flowers around the house fade in importance. But that’s what friends are for. We have been watering and making sure their homecoming will not be tomatoless. We have been feasting on some of the over abundance of cherry tomatos. We feel like the lazy dog and the sleepy cat in the story of the Little Red Hen. She did all the work and the others wanted to eat all she made. Alas we didn’t plant or care for the tomatos all summer and here we are enjoying the fruit of our friend’s labor.

That’s the story of my life. I have continually from birth been blessed by others. Need I mention my father who always worked two jobs. My mom worked in a shoe factory so I could attend church school. My church members always made sure the pastor was well cared for. I actually had to ask from the pulpit that they slow down in their gifts of squash, homemade bread, and canned fruit because we didn’t have any more room. I have a wife and children who are continually giving me things.

Then there is salvation and eternal life. My eternity is not the fruit of my labor but the gift from my Creator who paid the ultimate price so He can give me the ultimate gift. I have to look in the mirror and say, “Thanks for everything.” I have been and will continue to be the recipient of the love, care and labor of others. The truth is I’m spoiled.

The fall 2010 Football season began this evening with a battle between the reigning Super Bowl champions verses the oldest quarterback in the league. You will have to forgive me for what I am about to write because I am a psychology teacher at our college and I cannot resist a bit of Freudian philosophy regarding the value of football to the male community. One of Freud’s famous ego-defense mechanisms is identification. The success on the football field of a few provides a feeling of success for those who have chosen to be fans. If life hasn’t provided very many exhilarating moments we (usually guys) can get pretty excited when the ones we are rooting for perform with excellence. A long pass for a touchdown, a fifty-yard field goal can raise our blood pressure and fill us with almost as much joy as if we were the one who kicked the ball. We identify with winners and quickly become disinterested when our team doesn’t do well. Being a fan is of undisputed value for youth and old guys who never felt the joy of hearing applause directed their way.

Somewhere along life’s journey I discovered the unutterable joy of being a fan of Jesus. What happened on Sunday morning means we are identifying with the ultimate winner. Don’t you love Revelation’s promise that overcomers will sit with Him in His throne? What a joy to hear Him invite us up. What a wonder to participate in the divine nature. What a thrill to put this aging body aside and awaken every morning to renewed strength and a new opportunity to learn and grow more talented. I enjoy football but I thrill to identify with Jesus.

This morning I read 1 Thessalonians 4 to a class of thirty-six supposed Christian youth average age of about twenty-one. I don’t know what I expected. I know I didn’t expect Hallelujahs and Amens but what I did get startled and bewildered me. Basically what I got was nothing. No changes in facial expressions. They looked bored when I started and they looked bored when I finished. I had to jar myself to remember that I teach in a “Christian” school. Have we become so jaded by pop culture that unless text is accompanied by a carefully scripted soundtrack of music it makes no impact? Or worse, have we become so used to the spectacular promises of God’s Word that they have become ho-hum? Does the joy of the Word regarding resurrection and eternal life only mean something to those of us who are running out of years? When one is twenty-something with decades of career and family ahead perhaps they are overwhelmed with thoughts of “that’s not important for me now”? I will not even suggest that perhaps they just don’t care or believe.

Once again let me say I don’t actually know what I was looking for, but what I got left me with a feeling of desperation. When we open the Word we are handling the Bread of Life. We are reminding ourselves of the greatest promises in the universe. Surely angels must long to have the opportunity I have each day to share the finest and the best of God with young people. Maybe my wife got it right. She said, “It is the beginning of the semester. Those students don’t really know you. Perhaps it’s them that don’t know what to expect.” I do hope she is right.

This afternoon we stood 140 feet above the Connecticut River in the middle of the King French Bridge. Since 1932 it has safely aided millions of trucks and cars across its 460 foot span. It is a thing of beauty. While we were watching speed boats below us two semis, one going west and one going east, rumbled past. Ever so gently the bridge trembled under our feet. It was a tremendous amount of weight but the bridge was more than up to the task.

It was a beautiful day and I couldn’t help but think of Jesus who spanned the abyss of sin and death. Without Him it would have been impossible for us to have safe passage across the hell that hungrily devours the lost. Millions without Jesus fall into the depths of despair and death. Every day we see miserable lives and we long to have them understand there is a way to happiness and life. In John 14 Jesus declared He was the way. Our trying to scale our way to heaven by our own righteousness is like the ancients trying to build a tower to heaven. It is so futile it mocks our feeble efforts.

In Genesis in a dream Jacob saw a ladder from earth to heaven. The ladder was Jesus. He is the Way. His righteousness is so perfect we need nothing else. If any righteousness was required of us we would most likely brag that we had done the whole thing. It is Jesus from beginning to end. He is the Alpha and the Omega. As Isaiah so descriptively put it, “Our righteousness is like filthy rags.” We have a bridge and the name is not King French. It is King Jesus.

It is difficult for us who have been born and raised in a Christian culture to understand just how revolutionary was Jesus. We take for granted the promises of grace and adoption into God’s family. We grow up calling God, “Our Father.” Early on we learn to “come boldly” before His throne with our requests. We never had to depend on a human priesthood to make intercession for us because we have Jesus who opened the way into the throne. Because Paul wrote in Romans 10:4, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” we did not think we could by our own works obtain righteousness. We knew from Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace.

Jesus changed everything. Solomon once wrote there was nothing new under the sun. Obviously he didn’t know the Good News that was coming. Over and over in Galatians Paul speaks of the bondage of law keeping and the wonders of freedom in Christ. Because of Jesus the keeping of the law became a joyful process of wanting to be like our Savior by being as much like Him as possible. The law was not a list of don’ts but a model of love for God and love for each other.

Paul couldn’t have said it more clearly than he does in II Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” It’s a new day. It’s a new message. It’s a new way of life. It is why the first four books of the New Testament are called Gospels. It is why the early church referred to itself as “The Way.

Most of us have restore dates on our computers. It is a marvelous feature. Should we be invaded by some horrible virus that corrupts your system we can restore our system to a previous date when all was well. More than once this has saved me headache and heartache. Now all I need is a restore date for my human behavior. Wouldn’t it be grand if we could back up and start over on a previous date? When I say something stupid or hurt someone or violate my sense of right and wrong it would be terrific to back up and start over.

In one sense we do have that. God is quick to forgive and forget. Restoration is but a prayer away. However God isn’t the only one with whom we have to cope. He’s not the problem. It is humans that are the problem. Hurtful words, calloused attitudes, slights, and deliberate meanness leave indelible impressions on the minds of others. Even though they might be smart enough to forgive us (It’s always smart to forgive. It lessens the pain.) they will have trouble forgetting what we did.

It is a rare person indeed who can forgive without the transgression forever affecting the relationship. Once a trust has been broken it can never have the luster and shine when it was perfect. Let’s face it. There are no restore buttons available. Forgiveness - yes. Having it exactly like it was prior to the event – sorry. Life on earth just doesn’t work that way. It does work that way in heaven. Isn’t God grand? When forgiven He treats us as if we had never sinned at all. That’s the best restore button ever.

When we moved into our home in Massachusetts we discovered the former owner left behind a wonderful old leather-bound set of Encyclopedia Britannica published in 1910. I learned it was a classic edition. While doing some research this evening I wondered what scholars thought about my topic exactly one hundred years ago. So I pulled down volume XIII – Harmony to Hurstmonceaux. While doing so I remembered as a child we had a set of World Book Encyclopedia, not quite in the same league as Britannica, but respectable for a child. I used to wonder what it was like to be so famous one got an article about oneself in such books. This evening I turned page after page of such names without recognizing one name. I realize my education is limited but really I should know some names.

Who or what was Hurstmonceaux? Why should I care? Does anyone in the 21st century care? Probably the people who live there care. It is a village in England. In 1818 Percy Shelley wrote the famous poem, Ozymandias about an old statue in the desert.

“And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Greatness and fame are a fleeting thing in this world. So tonight I think of my childhood curiosity about fame and realize the only place I want my name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life mentioned in the book of Revelation. There is Someone in charge of that book who will never forget us. Let the ages pass and we will not only live in His memory but be alive forever in His kingdom. How grand!

Jesus had come home. Sabbath morning the little place of worship was packed with relatives and friends. Nazareth was a little town. Most everyone was somehow related and everyone knew everything about everyone. Rumors about Jesus had set their imaginations on fire. The room was hushed when He rose to speak. Isaiah flowed from His lips. “He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.”

The crowd was electrified with horror at the blasphemy. Uncles, nephews, granduncles, and grandnephews grabbed Jesus and dragged Him out of town to a cliff. But before they could throw Him over, their own flesh and blood, He walked right through them. It is the last time He would go home to Nazareth. A few years later He went to His real home.

His message is just as appropriate today. The good news is salvation is a gift no matter how bad we have been. The freedom is from our guilt and slavery to our nature. Sight is to enlighten our understanding that we need not fear the future. Our place in eternity is secure. The release is from the oppression of memories of a not so perfect past. We are given power to forgive others as well as ourselves. Is there someone who harmed you? Let it go. Is there someone you harmed? Fix it if you can. If you can’t, let it go. God will fix it for you. Take Him at His word. Believe Him. If we don’t we are just like the folk at Nazareth. When we do believe, joy and inner peace are the natural fruit.