Conditional goals

What is our goal as parents?  We spend 18ish years feeding, clothing, nursing, caring, teaching, testing, training, guiding, and living with our children.  While the “goal for today” may look different from last year’s “goal for today”, there is also a long-term target that we are trying to make sure they hit.

We don’t often verbalize what that “active-parenting-is-done-end-game” goal looks like.  Truthfully, the busyness of the moment makes it easy to forget that we’re aiming toward anything other than survival.  However, if we were to list out what we desire for our kids to be like when they finally become adults, it would probably look something like this:

I want them to be healthy, active members of society.  I want them to love God and others, and to be growing in both of those areas.  I hope they have a “good” career that uses their talents.  I really want them to be happy with their life/spouse/family/etc.

These are all good dreams for us to have for our children.  But it’s not very often that these ideas are forefront in our minds, especially as they get older.  I have to wonder, though, if we don’t think about this goal as much, not because of the busyness – but because we’re worried they may not be 100% ready when the time comes. 

No matter how well we parent, no matter how pure our love is, and no matter how spot-on our advice is – our kids’ lives could still be derailed by their own choices.  Lots of things in this world are ready to be distractions or disruptions: unhealthy relationships, various addictions, rejection of God, rejection of family, wasting of talents, etc.  But those are the reason WHY we parent them.  We give them guidance, love, direction, opportunities, and education so they CAN reach their full potential.

It’s no wonder we do these things – since God does the same with each of us.  Once we have been born again, we become part of God’s family, and He has a plan to mature each one of us.  He has an incredible end-goal in mind for what our full potential looks like.  Paul pointed this out in his letter to the believers at Colossae.  Look for God’s goal for them, but also be on the lookout for what will help them reach that goal:

Colossians 1:21-23
And you were once alienated and hostile in mind because of your evil actions.  But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him – if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

God the Father has reconciled you…to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.  That goal is a HUGE change from where I’m currently at.  But looking back on my life, I can see that I’m closer now than I was when I became a Christian.  God’s been patiently working on me, and I trust that He will continue to do so, all the while aiming for His goal in my life.

But we both know that I’m susceptible to distractions and disruptions.  I can be my own worst enemy.  I could derail God’s plan to mature me if I rebel and disregard His leading and direction in my life.  That kind of behavior wouldn’t mean that I’m not part of the family – instead it would mean that God would have to address my rebellion before getting back to developing my maturity.

That’s why Paul says that God’s goal for believers – to be shown as holy, faultless, and blameless before Him – is conditional.  Some of us won’t make it to full maturity.  That’s why Paul prays that the believers may walk worthy of the Lord (1:10).  That’s why Paul says his goal is that we may present everyone mature in Christ (1:28).  These things may happen…they may not.  Throughout the rest of the letter, Paul warns the Colossians about other distractions and how to keep step with God and His aim for us.

However, Paul’s best advice comes in verse 23.  We will be able to reach full maturity if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

Our starting point is also our anchor.  The hope of the gospel – Jesus coming to earth to save us when we couldn’t save ourselves – is what grounds us.  Just as we trust God for salvation, we must also trust Him for our maturity.

Keep Pressing,
Ken 

Physical action for spiritual need

Which is more important in life, the physical or the spiritual?

There have been some philosophies which teach that only the spiritual aspect of life matters, and the physical has no impact on our relationship with God.  Others have taught that everything physical is tainted with sin and therefore completely evil.  Then they argue – “If everything physical is inherently evil, how is it possible that a perfect God would pollute himself and put on flesh?”

These kinds of questions have been around Christianity as far back as the first century.  It is likely the believers in Colossae were dealing with these questions from the Greek philosophers of their day.  In his letter to the believers, Paul provides a description of the relationship between the physical and the spiritual…as well as pointing out how God has dealt with both aspects.

Speaking about Jesus, he said:

Colossians 1:19-20
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself
by making peace through the blood of His cross –
whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Paul says that God was pleased that Jesus was both fully God and fully man.  Also, the reconciliation we needed was brought about through the blood of His cross – which is most certainly physical.  Paul then reinforces the concept that our physical lives impact our spiritual existence:

Colossians 1:21-22
And you were once alienated and hostile in mind because of your evil actions.  But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him

It was our evil actions that spiritually separated us from God.  However, it was there that God met us – He has reconciled you by His physical body.  Jesus’ physical death paid the spiritual cost we could never pay.  The purpose of this payment wasn’t just to grant people access to heaven…instead, God has a much larger goal in mind, namely to present you holy faultless, and blameless before Him.

In the second half of the letter, Paul will discuss the practical ways that choices in our physical lives affect our spiritual health and relationship with God.  For now, let’s just marvel at the mystery of God meeting us in the physical arena, in the exact place where we made a mess of everything:

Speaking about Jesus, the apostle John wrote:

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and took up residence among us.

We are grateful because God took physical action in order to address our spiritual need.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Remembering where we came from

“Don’t forget where you came from”

We’re all familiar with the intention of this phrase.  Whenever someone moves on to something bigger than their previous circumstances, this piece of advice usually finds its way to them.  We want the recipient to keep his or her new life in a certain perspective, to remember the lessons (and a few of the people) that brought them to this new phase in life.

Similarly, we can find this same advice scattered throughout the Bible, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.  However, instead of wanting us to pull specific lessons from our past to guide us through our future circumstances, each author wants his readers to find value in remembering who we were before God met with us.

Paul brings up the idea of remembering our lives before meeting Christ in his letter to the believers in Colossae.  Although he had never personally met them, he knew their pre-Christ story – because we all start from the same place.  We all start out separated from God.  Speaking about Christ, Paul wrote:

Colossians 1:19-22
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself
by making peace through the blood of His cross –
whether things on earth or things in heaven.

And you were once alienated and hostile in mind because of your evil actions.  But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him

Did you see where we were before God took action?

We were alienated.  We were unable to participate in a relationship with the One who created us.  The Greek word for alienated means to be shut out from one’s fellowship and intimacy – a perfect description of how separated we were from God. 

We were estranged from God, but don’t think for one moment that we were the victim in the relationship.  For not only were we alienated, but we were also hostile in mind.  We were enemies toward God in our thoughts and feelings; we were angry with Him.  We resisted His overtures.  We argued.  We sought to bring God down to our level and our definition of what a relationship with Him would look like.  We accused Him of expecting too much, that His standard of perfection was unrealistic.

But was it God’s fault that the relationship was broken?
Were we justified in our hostile attitude?

Paul gives the reason for our alienation and our hostility – it was because of your evil actions.  Our own rebellion and our rejection of God is what lead to our separation from the One who created us and gave us our purpose.  We did this to ourselves, with no recourse to make amends.

It is while we were still in our rebellious, alienated, angry state that God chose to act.  We are reconciled only because God made a way to do so.  Keeping this mind reminds us of how we have been brought back into relationship and purpose because of God’s actions.  Remembering where we came from helps us to stay both focused and thankful.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Finding our purpose

A few years ago, I was having a “parental discussion” with one of my sons.  As he was struggling with the situation at hand, I pointed him toward what God had to say about the subject…to which he snapped in frustration, “Does everything have to be about God?”

I honestly can’t blame him for asking.  In fact, he verbalized something we all struggle with, but are typically too scared to say out-loud.  We don’t want to think about the bigger, God-sized perspective when we’re angry about our current circumstances.  We secretly don’t want to admit that we are not the main character in our life’s story.  We’re afraid that if we’re not in control of the situation, everything will fall apart…or at least not turn out the way we think would be best for us.

These kinds of questions and struggles are not new.  It is part of the sanctification process, part of us growing closer to God after we’ve accepted Jesus as our Savior.  Even believers in the first century dealt with the same struggles we face.  In his letter to the believers in Colossae, Paul’s solution to these kinds of doubts is to have an accurate view of who Jesus truly is.

Speaking about Jesus, Paul states:

Colossians 1:15-16
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation;
because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities –
all things have been created through Him and for Him.

The fact that Jesus is the One who created everything is explored in these verses.  The last line says it clearly – all things have been created through Him.  However, I don’t think that any of us believers have a problem accepting that.  We look at the magnificent world around us, and understand that it was created.  The design and detail we find as we explore creation points us toward an intelligent purpose rather than suggesting the world “happened” by some “random chance”.

However, it’s the last two words of the sentence that give us pause:

all things have been created…for Him

Did anything inside you bristle or pull back, even just a little bit?
With that slight recoil, we’re internally asking, “Does everything have to be about God?”

Because if those two words are true, if all things have really been created for Him, then our perspective on all things will have to change, won’t it?  When I’m honest with myself, I worry that I won’t have any say over what happens next if I’m not the most important person in my life-story.   I’m not sure of where this new understanding of life will take me.  In a word, accepting that all of creation – including my life – was created for Jesus…it scares me.

But let’s take a breath and think through this a moment…

The one who creates is the one who knows the full purpose of his or her creation.  Ask any artist, architect, or teacher, and they will tell you how both the design and purpose of their music, their building, or their lessons are intertwined.  Each one of them knows the detailed reasons for their creation.  Each of them has a specific design and purpose for their creation to fulfill. 

Likewise, since we know that we have been created by Jesus – we should also recognize that He knows our purpose.

So don’t bristle, don’t pull back.  Even though we may not fully understand, even if the future looks murky…the One who designed us is with us, and He perfectly knows what to do with us.  And we can take comfort in the very next verse:

Colossians 1:17
He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

We don’t have to be the one to hold all things together, that’s not our job.  Instead, we just need to trust the One who created us, the One who created our purpose.

Are we willing to let go and trust that we were created for Him?

Keep Pressing,
Ken 

Jesus is "all that"

Sometimes we accept large concepts as being true, but we don’t necessarily recognize “how true” the concept is until we break it down into smaller chunks and realize the parts of life it applies to.

We know that Jesus said the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  The second is just like it – to love your neighbor as yourself.

Easy to say.  Easy to understand.  But when we start looking at all the specific ways that truth applies in our lives and in the grand scheme of humanity…our eyes open wider, we breathe in a little slower, and we mentally wrestle with how far-reaching Jesus’ words really are.

Similarly, when we read about Jesus as the “King of Kings” or “ruling over all the nations”, we usually acknowledge those statements as true and then move on.  We believe them; we’re not doubting those facts…we simply don’t take the time to think through those statements all the way to their natural conclusions. 

As Paul writes to the believers in Colossae, he wants them to have a complete picture of Jesus.  The rest of the letter will continue with the theme of Christ’s supremacy over all things and people.  It is here in the introduction that Paul begins with how much greater Jesus is, how comprehensive His authority is, and how far His governing reaches.

Paul makes this point by repeating one small Greek word over and over and over.  In these 5 verses, Paul says the word esti a total of eight times.  To help us English-speakers understand, the word esti is translated into two different words.  However, both English words convey the totality and completeness that Paul intended.  As you read this passage, look for anytime Paul uses the words all and everything.  What does Jesus have “all” of?  How far does “everything” go?

Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation;
because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities –
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that He might come to have first place in everything.

For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself
by making peace through the blood of His cross –
whether things on earth or things in heaven.

From the descriptions in these verses, we see that Jesus’ authority is both supreme and total.  He rightfully rules over all creation since He is the Creator.  Since Jesus created it all, that means He is also before all things, which boggles our minds to think that Jesus existed…before our timeline began.  Also, Jesus doesn’t lose track of any part of what He created – He holds all things together.  Which means He has intimate knowledge of every part of everything, at every second of every day.

Are we starting to see the immensity of who Jesus is?
Are we beginning to recognize His authority over everything?

Because Jesus is fully God – not a partial, not half/half, not a created being – His abilities and attributes are unmatched by anyone or anything else.  As such, Jesus has the greatest value in all creation…which is why the blood of His cross has the ability to reconcile everything.

This is our Savior.  This is our King.
This is the man who loves you enough to die in your place.

He truly deserves to have first place in everything.

Keep Pressing,
Ken 

Imagining Jesus

When you think of Jesus, what comes to mind?

Shoulder-length brown hair with a neatly trimmed beard?
Does he have a “I just want to be your buddy” attitude?
Always ready to have people gather around for talk?
Not very authoritative, rather subdued?
Just “ok” with whatever we want to do?

The assumptions we make about Jesus will not only affect how we approach and communicate with Him, but our perception of who Jesus really is will be demonstrated in the way we live.

In the beginning of his letter, Paul reminded the Colossians who Jesus is – in relation to the Father, in relation to creation, and in relation to the church.  These verses contain seven specific truths about Jesus – can you see them?

Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation;
because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities –
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that He might come to have first place in everything.

For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself
by making peace through the blood of His cross –
whether things on earth or things in heaven.

He is the image of the invisible God – No one can see the Father, except through Jesus.  He is our tangible connection to God.

He is the firstborn over all creation – The firstborn had the responsibility to govern, maintain, and prosper the family and family’s property.  Jesus fulfills that role for all creation.

He is the Creator – This is why Jesus can claim the rights of the firstborn over all creation, because He was the one who invented all of it.  He is the architect and builder.  Nothing visible to our eyes, and nothing invisible to our eyes came about unless Jesus set it up. 

He is the head of the church – Jesus established His church as the family for all who would trust in Him for forgiveness of sin and for eternal life.  Jesus loves the church body as a groom loves his bride, and Jesus willing leads His people.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead – Jesus was the first to come back from the dead with a glorified body.  He truly is the beginning of the newness we will obtain in Him.

He has the fullness of God dwelling in Him – Jesus is not part man/part God.  Instead He is fully God and fully man, which makes Him the perfect mediator between God and mankind.

He is the reconciler – Jesus’ mission was to reconcile us rebellious sinners and the fallen creation back to Himself.  Through His death on the cross, He brought us the ability to have peace with God.  It’s important to remember that our reconciliation happened both on His own initiative and on our behalf.  We could never have been reconciled without the cross.

Is this how we view Jesus?  Is this how we see our King?

Don’t just laze around in the comfortable Jesus-stereotypes.  Remember who He is…and then be overwhelmed at the truth that he knows us fully and still desires an eternal relationship with each one of us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken 

Describing Jesus

When we trust Jesus for our forgiveness of sins and for eternal life, when we believe in Him for these things, God the Father responds to our faith in a mighty way:

Colossians 1:13-14
He (the Father) has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We have a new citizenship.  Our transfer is a complete one, and we now fully belong to Christ’s kingdom.  The domain of darkness no longer has custody over us.  By taking our well-deserved punishment, Jesus has provided the redemption we could never have obtained on our own.  God the Father rewards our trust in Jesus with citizenship in the kingdom of the Son He loves.  However, this is just the start of our new life in Christ.

Now that we are a part of His kingdom, it’s certainly fair to ask: What is Jesus like?  Is there more to who He is than just my Savior?  How does He help us understand the Father?  And even if it might feel disrespectful to ask, we may even be wondering…Why is Jesus the one who rules over our new citizenship?

The next section of Paul’s introduction specifically deals with these kinds of questions.  It is overflowing with the truth of who Jesus is and why all the authority ascribed to Him is rightly His.  It is time well spent to read over and meditate on this magnificent passage. 

These verses contain seven main descriptions of Jesus, but there are also many wonderful details for us to ponder.  Read slowly…what grabs your attention?

Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation;
because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities –
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that He might come to have first place in everything.

For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself
by making peace through the blood of His cross –
whether things on earth or things in heaven.

This is a comprehensive description of Jesus, a lot here to digest.  However, this is who our Savior truly is…supreme above everything.

When you read through this list, did anything surprise you?

Now that we are members of His kingdom, if we are going to relate to Jesus, if we are going to know Him better…then we need to see Him properly. 

How closely does this description match how we think of Jesus?  Do we honor Him as much as He deserves?  Or do we see Him as something less?

Keep Pressing,
Ken 

Completely rescued

Earlier this year, hundreds of fishermen were rescued from a life of slavery on Thai fishing boats.  These men had been trafficked and sold to work on these boats for up to 20 hours a day.  Some were kidnapped, others were lured there with promises of money or work prospects.  Yet instead of these lies, they were paid with beatings, torture, and sexual abuse. 

When the Indonesian government stepped in and rescued them, the world cheered.  Others had done for them what these fishermen could not do for themselves.  However, once they had been freed, they had nowhere to go and no one to help them cope with adjusting into being part of the real world.

There is a spiritual parallel to this story.  Christ has done for sinners what they are unable to do for themselves – He took the punishment for our sin, because we could not pay that debt.  Since the Father accepted Christ’s payment, those who trust in Christ for eternal life have been rescued from the domain of darkness.  Fortunately, though, we are not left to ourselves.  Our story doesn’t end there. 

As Paul began his letter to the Colossian believers, he reminded them that not only were they rescued from sin’s domain, but they were also rescued to a new domain.  Read the verses below and look for where believers have been transferred to:

Colossians 1:11-14
May you be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.  He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

God the Father transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.  While we were removed from sin’s jurisdiction, we also get a complete change of citizenship.  Only those in authority of a country can determine who gets to be a citizen; no other country’s declaration, decision, or complaint can affect a given citizenship.  As such, God can add anyone – from any background, region, or nationality – to the kingdom of the Son He loves.  Those He has chosen to transfer into Jesus’ kingdom are the ones who trust Jesus’ payment on the cross and trust Him for eternal life.

And it’s not like God has rescued us and then placed us into some other far-off area where life is just little better than it was before.  The Father doesn’t just send us on our merry way.  We aren’t left to figure out the question of “What do I do now?” or “How do I deal with the leftovers from my past?”  On the contrary, we have been transferred into the kingdom of the Son He loves.  Given how much the Father loves the Son, then the benefits of that relationship will spill over to those who identify with the Son! 

During His last night on earth, Jesus told His disciples:

John 16:27
For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.

We have redemption, we have the forgiveness of sins, but we are not left behind as orphans without a country.  Instead, we become part of the one Who is dearly loved by the Father!  We now have both a place and a purpose.  We have a new life as citizens in Jesus’ kingdom.

Never forget where we were rescued from, and always remember where we have been rescued to.

Keep Pressing,
Ken 

Finding strength in joy

Ever notice that feeling “blah” often goes hand-in-hand with feeling “weak”?

I’ve never had a moment where my mood was kinda “eh” and I was also feeling strong, or empowered, or engaged in life.  Instead, when I’m discontented or feeling a little down…it seems like everything takes additional effort – thinking, handling routine responsibilities, or just moving my body all seem to be a chore.

As he opens his letter to the believers in Colossae, Paul tells them what he has been praying for them.  He’s been petitioning God for three specific things – first, that God would fill them with the knowledge of His will; second, that God would strengthen them with His power, so they could have both endurance and patience; and now, we’ll take a look at Paul’s third request.

Paul is still asking God to give the believers strength; however, this time, Paul wants them to find strength in joy.  We can all recognize that a lack of joy usually accompanies a lack of strength, but the idea of joy actually giving us strength might seem a little strange.  To fully understand his reason for connecting both strength and joy, take a look at where Paul says that our joy should come from:

Colossians 1:11-12
May you be strengthened…with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

The Colossians’ joy, and ultimately their strength, was directly tied to their perspective.  If they were looking only at their present circumstances, their own failings, or the hopelessness in the world around them, they would not be able to find any lasting enjoyment. 

Instead, Paul prays that they would recognize the benefits the Father bestows on His children.  He is the one who made it possible for them to share in the saints’ inheritance.  There was no way for any of us to merit eternal life, or to merit becoming part of God’s family.  Eternal life and the opportunity to share in the family inheritance are both gifts of God to us; all because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. 

Think back over the other gifts that God has given you…if He is able and willing to bless His children in so many ways while we still wrestle with our sinful desires, imagine how great our inheritance will be when our sin-natures have been left behind!

Thinking about such big ideas and big topics leads us to wonderment and thankfulness for what the Father has done.  Whenever we stop and honestly thank someone, we are shifting the focus off of us.  We look at the gift and the giver in full appreciation; we stop looking at ourselves.  It is in this attitude of thankfulness that we find joy, because being thankful towards God puts Him in the proper place in our lives.

As we joyfully thank God for who He is and what He has done, we are strengthened.  We can deal with the sin-soaked world that pulls us down, because we see more than just the circumstances and difficulties that are momentarily in front of us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Finding endurance, finding patience

We’ve all had times when we’re weary.  We tell ourselves that we just need a little recharge – whether it’s good food, or additional sleep, or some relaxation time.  Those things are good, and it is necessary build-in good eating, sleeping, and resting habits into our lives…but if we’re going to live life the way God intended us to, we’re going to need more than just a good night’s rest.

In the first chapter of his letter to the believers in Colossae, Paul continues spell out what he’s praying for them.  He specifically details three things that he is persistently asking God for on their behalf.  The first one was that God would fill them with the knowledge of His will (1:9).  The second request is one that we’re familiar with asking for ourselves…to be strengthened by God.  However, Paul also has a specific application as to where he wants the Colossians to use this gift from God:

Colossians 1:11
May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience

The believers are to receive strength, they are to be empowered, by a God-sized dose of His glorious might.  Paul is not looking for a “little boost” to get them through.  This strength won’t be found in us, or drummed up from within…Paul is asking that God would super-naturally strengthen them by sharing His great power, the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead.

This is no small request!

Large requests, however, must be made with an intentional aim.  We would not walk up to our boss and ask for authority or control “just because”; no, we know better than to make that request without having a plan for how to use the resources we are asking for.

Paul’s desire is that with God’s power, the Colossians would be strengthened…for all endurance and patience.  Having endurance means to not easily succumb under suffering; whereas patience means having self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate.  On the contrary, having a lack of endurance often results in despondency or losing heart; while a lack of patience often leads to wrath or revenge.

In order to have the level of endurance and patience the Colossians needed to represent Christ to the world while navigating the sinful culture around them, they would need God’s power to be their strength.

Reading verses like this one gives us hope, for we now know that God’s power is available to us.  We don’t have to cultivate our own endurance.  We aren’t expected to be our own source of patience.  We can have both as we depend on God for His power to strengthen us.

All we have to do, is ask.

Keep Pressing,
Ken