If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
John 15:18 ESV
Never forget, friends. We are in a cosmic battle with eternal stakes.
In this video, a thirteen-year-old girl begs for her father to be released from prison in Iran, where he is on death row for converting to Christianity.
She says, “Don’t kill my dad! Kill me instead…”
For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
God’s people are blessed to be blessings.
We see this throughout Scripture.
A fool gives full vent to his spirit,
but a wise man quietly holds it back.
We’ve all flown off the rails emotionally.
Whether it’s been anxiety, anger, sadness, or any shade of emotion in between… We’ve all lost it.
Recently, though, I realized that as a dad, I’m the emotional thermostat for my household.