Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings 8:24-29.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings%208&version=NASB1995

I quote only the following verses.

“So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David;  and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.  Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem.  And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.  He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.”  2 Kings 8:24-27.

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There are two themes to this devotion.  I almost neglected to consider the second theme.  

The first theme to this devotion is the very short reign of Ahaziah.  We may think we will live and reign, so to speak, for a long time, maybe forever.  But, we need to meditate on the shortness of life and that we may not be able to do all that we want even if we have a longer life than most.

“As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.” Psalm 90:10.

“For all our days have declined in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a sigh.” Psalm 90:9.

“So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12.

“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:2-4.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“So do not worry about tomorrow;  for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Matthew 6:33-34.

“Then he said, ‘This is what I will do:  I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come;  take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your soul is required of you;  and now who will own what you have prepared?’  So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  Luke 12:18-21.

The second theme of this devotion is based on the phrase:  “because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.”  All the foregoing verses concerning the first theme sounds wise to us, but our position means everything.  Unless we are chosen and given all that we need, we will not be saved.

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.  But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings 8:16-23.

“Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king.  He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.  He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab became his wife;  and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.  However, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David His servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always.

In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.  Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him.  And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots;  but his army fled to their tents.  So Edom revolted against Judah to this day.  Then Libnah revolted at the same time.  The rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?”  2 Kings 8:16-23.

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Although Judah experienced revolt from Edom and Libnah, it was worse for Israel.  Israel was besieged by Ben-hadad king of Aram.  See 2 Kings 6:24-33.  

Judah may have become smug and sensed that “… the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David His servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always.”  Verse 19.  Judah may have not repented of its sin.  Judah may have continued doing evil in the sight of the LORD. 

We too may become smug.  We may think that we do enough good or have enough favor from God so that we do not need to repent.  We may continue to do evil in the sight of the LORD.  

But, the LORD does not let us slide by without discipline.

“3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.” Psalm 32:3-4.

But, there is hope!

God “grants” repentance as His gift to His elect.

“He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31.

“When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” Acts 11:18.

“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

Consider the following from the Canons of Dordt in the section titled FIFTH HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Perseverance of the Saints in which it is stated: “by his Word and Spirit, certainly and effectually renews them to repentance”.

Article 6.  But God, who is rich in mercy, according to his unchangeable purpose of election, does not wholly withdraw the Holy Spirit from his own people, even in their melancholy falls;  nor suffers them to proceed so far as to lose the grace of adoption, and forfeit the state of justification, or to commit sins unto death;  nor does he permit them to be totally deserted, and to plunge themselves into everlasting destruction.

Article 7.  For in the first place, in these falls he preserves them in the incorruptible seed of regeneration from perishing, or being totally lost;  and again, by his Word and Spirit, certainly and effectually renews them to repentance, to a sincere and godly sorrow for their sins, that they may seek and obtain remission in the blood of the Mediator, may again experience the favor of a reconciled God, through faith adore his mercies, and henceforward more diligently work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

“For who regards you as superior?  What do you have that you did not receive?  And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”  1 Corinthians 4:7.

“5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.” Psalm 32:5-11.

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!” Psalm 32:1-2.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings 8:7-15.

“Then Elisha came to Damascus.  Now Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”  The king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”  So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads;  and he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”  Then Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will surely recover,’ but the LORD has shown me that he will certainly die.”  He fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept.  Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?”  Then he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel:  their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up.”  Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?”  And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”  So he departed from Elisha and returned to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?”  And he answered, “He told me that you would surely recover.”  On the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face, so that he died.  And Hazael became king in his place.”  2 Kings 8:7-15.

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““Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24.

Elisha could weep even though he knew that the LORD would execute His justice against Israel.  Love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”   1 Corinthians 13:6-7. 

Today’s Scripture points us to Jesus and how He lamented over the desolation of Jerusalem.

Like Elisha, Jesus could lament even though He knew the LORD would execute His justice against Jerusalem. 

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.  Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!”  Matthew 23:37-38. 

But, there is hope!

The hope is in Jesus.

“For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”  Matthew 23:39. 

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.  And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET AND THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”  Matthew 24:29-31.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings 8:1-6.

“Now Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn;  for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years.”  So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.  At the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines;  and she went out to appeal to the king for her house and for her field.  Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done.”  As he was relating to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field.  And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”  When the king asked the woman, she related it to him.  So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”  2 Kings 8:1-6.

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“Ask, and it will be given to you;  seek, and you will find;  knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  Matthew 7:7-11.

“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”  John 14:13-14.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”  John 15:7. 

“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”  John 15:16.

We also see that the LORD totally and tightly controlled every detail, causing everything to work together for the woman’s favor and for her good so that her request would be granted.  The LORD caused the king to talk to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done.”  And, the LORD caused the woman to appear before the king at the exact time that Gehazi was relating to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead.

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

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;  and these whom He predestined, He also called;  and these whom He called, He also justified;  and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”  Romans 8:28-32.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings 7:3-14.

“Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate;  and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?  If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there;  and if we sit here, we die also.  Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans.  If they spare us, we will live;  and if they kill us, we will but die.”  They arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans;  when they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, behold, there was no one there.  For the LORD had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.”  Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life.  When these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they entered one tent and ate and drank, and carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and went and hid them;  and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also, and went and hid them.

Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right.  This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent;  if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us.  Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”  So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were.”  The gatekeepers called and told it within the king’s household.  Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us.  They know that we are hungry;  therefore they have gone from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.’”  One of his servants said, “Please, let some men take five of the horses which remain, which are left in the city.  Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who are left in it;  behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already perished, so let us send and see.”  They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the army of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.”  2 Kings 7:3-14.

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There was commendable wisdom in the four lepers’ decision to go over to the camp of the Arameans.  Verses 3-4.

There was also commendable wisdom in the four lepers’ decision to share the good news with the king’s household.  Verse 9.

And, there was also commendable wisdom in the recommendation of one of the king’s servant and in the king’s decision to “Go and see.”  Verses 13-14.

The lesson for today’s devotion is that there are some people who view the Reformed camp, so to speak, with as much suspicion as the four lepers viewed the camp of the Arameans.  “Predestination?!”, they shriek.  But, there is hope in the thought-process, wisdom, and actions of the people in this devotion.  

“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”  Acts 17:11.  

“Go and see.”  Verse 14.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings 6:24 to 2 Kings 7:2.

“Now it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria.  There was a great famine in Samaria;  and behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.  As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”  He said, “If the LORD does not help you, from where shall I help you?  From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”  And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?”  And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’  So we boiled my son and ate him;  and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’;  but she has hidden her son.”  When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body.  Then he said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today.”

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him.  And the king sent a man from his presence;  but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head?  Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door shut against him.  Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”  While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “Behold, this evil is from the LORD;  why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of the LORD;  thus says the LORD, ‘Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’”  The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”  Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.”  2 Kings 6:24 to 2 Kings 7:2.

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This is shocking, difficult Scripture to read.

But, there is hope!

There is the hope of Elisha’s prophecy.

We may have shocking, difficult experiences.  We may see no hope.  We may be like the royal officer who said in reply to Elisha’s prophecy:  “Behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”

But, there is hope!

There is hope in all of the LORD’S precious and magnificent promises in Scripture.  

And, there is more hope as we read in the closing Scriptures for this devotion.  The LORD “swore by Himself” an oath that He would do as He promised, and Jesus, the Son of God, our High Priest, our Savior, personifies the hope that we have, being within us “an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast”.   

“For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.”  And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.  For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.  In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”  Hebrews 6:13-20.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”  Romans 8:32. 

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:37-39.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings 6:20-23.

“When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.”  So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw;  and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.  Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them?  Shall I kill them?”  He answered, “You shall not kill them.  Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow?  Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”  So he prepared a great feast for them;  and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master.  And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.”  2 Kings 6:20-23.

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“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.  Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.  “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK;  FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  Romans 12:18-21.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings 6:8-19.

“Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel;  and he counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.”  The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.”  The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him;  thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice.

Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?”  One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king;  but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”  So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.”  And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”  He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city.  And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master!  What shall we do?”  So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.”  And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw;  and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.  When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.”  So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.”  2 Kings 6:8-19. 

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“10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’
14 “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the LORD, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 41:10-14.

“9 “Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.” Isaiah 46:9-11.

“What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?”  Romans 8:31. 

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:37-39.

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them;  because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”  1 John 4:4.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.  For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;  to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.  And who is adequate for these things?  For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”  2 Corinthians 2:14-17.

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.  Amen.”  Ephesians 3:20-21.