Despair or Hope?

Matthew 5

Hope, peace, and joy.  That is what I hear in today’s reading of Matthew 5.  No, it is not packaged the way I expect it to be.  Nor is it presented in a way that is particularly pleasant.  Think about it for a minute.  Jesus begins the chapter talking about the poor, the mourning and the meek.  These are the people, he says, that are worthy of God’s kingdom.  As I read through the list, I am not sure where I belong.  In fact, as I consider the list more closely, I am sure that I don’t belong.  Continuing to read, I wonder, am I a peacemaker?  Merciful?  Maybe I am pure in heart?  No, not really, I conclude.  Sure, they show up on some level, but none to which I fully identify.  Now, it really gets tricky.  The balance of Matthew 5 consists of Jesus pushing deep into morality.  He skillfully exposes that which I would rather keep hidden.

Am I salt and light?  Uh, well, I don’t know.  Does my righteousness exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees (v20)?  Well….  Am I angry with my brother?  Do I call him a fool?  Has my right eye looked at something it shouldn’t and enjoyed it?  Have I taken an oath or ever wanted revenge?

Jesus knows the answer to each of these questions for all of us.  It is as true today as it was when he gave the sermon on the mount.  Thankfully, Jesus’ goal was not to spin me into despair and depression.  Nor was his goal condemnation.  No, Jesus carefully crafts the sermon on the mount to be sure that we find peace, hope, love and joy.  Thankfully, these results do not come from our perfection, our hours and hours of service to the kingdom, or our generous financial gifts.   No, none of these things will make our heart pure.  Only one thing will.  The perfect offering of Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 10:10 assures us, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”  2 Corinthians 5:21 explains this perfect sacrifice nicely.  It says, “for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  This, and only this, is the way to hope, peace, love and joy.

 

The Tempter

Today’s reading is Matthew 4.

As I mentioned in my previous writing 2 weeks ago, one of the big “ah-ha’s” for me as I became an adult was when it really hit me that Jesus was tempted, just like us and as we see in this writing, but was the only human to live without sin, yet died on the cross to take our place. As new small group members some years ago, there was a couple in our group who seemed to talk constantly about Satan and his temptations in their lives and the lives of others around them. They talked about it so much that it my wife and I found it awkward and thought they were really kind of out there. Not that we didn’t acknowledge Satan is real because if you acknowledge God is real you have to acknowledge Satan is real, but we just felt they were a little over the top about how much Satan interjects and they talked about it. However, as we have matured in our faith, we completely understand it now.

A few weeks ago, I was in a restaurant speaking with a friend who is really struggling to believe God is real and is struggling with other things in his life. We had been talking for over an hour and although there was much activity in the restaurant he was locked in on me, keeping eye contact the entire time. As I began to make a very strong and direct witness to him to the point that you could feel the intensity building in the conversation and I began to tell him we all have a God-shaped hole in our hearts only He can fill, “BAM!!” a worker dropped a trash can right in the middle of my sentence and he lost all focus on what I was saying. A few years ago, I would have said that’s crazy and this was just coincidence, but I now believe that was Satan interjecting. You’ll hear similar stories during conversions from other believers and pastors if you ask them.

I find it very interesting in Matthew 4:3 Satan is called “the tempter.” God did not have to use this terminology. This was very intentional. That’s what Satan does. He tempts. That’s who he is. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” If he tried to tempt Jesus 3 times here in a short period of time, you can bet he’s going to be tempting us. In fact, it is my humble opinion that he tries to tempt those of outspoken faith and belief the most because that is a huge win for him if he gets us to sin, especially when others find out about it about it. It does a lot of damage when a pastor, elder, small group leader, or strong believer sins and it becomes known by many. He loves this. People expect a known and public repeat sinner to sin so that is not a big win to Satan when they sin again.

How do we avoid falling into Satan’s traps and temptations?

  1. Acknowledge he’s real and tempting us daily..even by the hour and the minute.
  2. Stay in prayer and the Word. Expectancy theory says that which you think about expands. If you spend more time with God, you’ll stay close to and be thinking about Him keeping you insulated. Satan knows the Scriptures as we see her, but so did Jesus as we see here in Matthew 4:4, Matthew 4:7, and Matthew 4:10.
  3. Stay in close community with other believers through church and small group to keep you accountable (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). Consider reading The Resolution for Men and The Resolution for Women with other male or female believers…committing to the Resolution at the end.
  4. Stay humble and on watch…even as we mature in our faith. If he tried to tempt Jesus, he will tempt us!

Even the Lord’s Prayer tells us to pray “Lead us not into temptation” in Matthew 6:13. Let us put on the armor of God and answer the call today and everyday Timothy gives us in 1 Timothy 6:11-12.

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

 

 

John the Baptist

“I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

This past weekend, I had the joy of attending church at Highland Park United Methodist in Dallas, Texas.  I was moving my oldest back to college and always take advantage of attending this church when we visit.  HPUMC is a thriving community of churchgoers, including long timers and college students.  We are always amazed at the outstanding choir and at all the baptisms.  Each time we attend, multiple children are being baptized and welcomed into the church.  As we attended this week, it was a refreshing moment to hear these words from the minister, baptizing each child, five in total.  Certainly a renewal of all our own baptismal vows and a reminder of the responsibility we hold as Christians to raise our children and these newly baptized children up in the word of Christ.

Today’s reading, Matthew 3, highlights a key moment in Jesus’ life on earth.  John the Baptist leads the way:

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[a]

John’s  “baptismal font” is the Jordan River.  He baptizes the people as they confess their sins.  He calls for them to repent.  He continues to preach the word not in a temple but out in the wilderness.  He message is simple, and he is not fancy about this event.  We are told his clothes were made of camel hair.  Yet, he was given such an important job.  He is baptizing the people.

1 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire.

As we move further into the reading, Jesus appears.  John the Baptist believes Jesus should be baptizing him; he is a bit taken aback (as we would be too!).  Yet Jesus asks John to fulfill the scriptures and baptize him.  We all have a vision of these two people standing in the Jordan River.  John about to baptize Jesus.  What a emotional and wonderful moment it must have been.

Continue reading and we find the symbol of the dove.  “…and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

So much meaning is represented in these two verses.  We see the spirit in the vision of a dove and then we hear God praising Jesus and saying he is well pleased.  As we tie together present day baptisms with today’s reading, it gives me peace knowing baptism has given us the gift of repentance.

As I was writing my post, this verse came into my mind.  “Let you light shine before others that they might see your good deeds and give glory to your father who is in heaven”.  It is Matthew 5:16.  Certainly speaks to me as a natural follow on to our own baptisms and discipleship this week.

Faith enough to hear

Matthew 2

I usually associate the story of the wise men bringing gifts to Jesus with the season of Christmas. Reading and contemplating this passage in the middle of August, especially meditating on it with the concept that we are reading “all the words of Jesus” the text has new meaning to me.

The brief synopsis is that these wise men – or “magi” – from the east have seen a star which somehow reveals to them that it marks the birth of the son of God. These men follow the star and end up in Jerusalem. They begin asking in Jerusalem where they might find the newly born king of the Jews. The priests come together and advise King Herod that the prophesies say that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem, so King Herod sends the wise men off to find Jesus. They do – and they bring him gifts and worship him. The Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and warns him of the danger to the infant Jesus by King Herod’s intentions. Joseph and Mary leave in the night with Jesus and stay away in Egypt until the Lord reveals in another dream that it is safe to return to Israel.

When I read this chapter, I’m struck by the amount of faith-driven action. The wise men see and recognize the star of Bethlehem to be a sign that the savior was born. The prophets had written that this would take place thousands of years before – but these men knew the promises God had made and understood the sign that had been given them to be something worth following.

Joseph recognized the dream he had about the danger to his young child to be a direct message from the Lord, and Mary had faith that Joseph knew what he was doing in uprooting the family and moving to a foreign land. Then, years later, Joseph is told in another dream that the danger is over and to go back to Israel, picking up his family and moving yet again.

The faith of these individuals caused them to be able to hear God’s voice, to recognize His signs, and to act in full obedience without doubt. Later, Jesus talks much about faith – it is the link between us here on earth and the Lord God on high! The faith we see in the actions depicted in this chapter is not weak. It is strong enough to silence any and all doubt. This faith demanded immediate action.

Reflect on the faith of those who God chose to be such prominent players in the earthly life of his son Jesus. The level of faith these people had enabled them to take immediate action on something that – to many others (probably most others) would have been ignored, or at best thought about then tucked away.

I wonder what all the Lord is saying to me that I would be able to hear if I had the faith to listen?

Ordinary Descendants

Today’s Reading: Matthew Chapter 1

Good morning friends. I’m excited to begin a new series with you all today on the words of Jesus. For the next several weeks we’ll study the actual words of Jesus Christ as they appear in the gospels. Today, we’re going to begin at the beginning; the genealogy and birth of Jesus. In the first seventeen verses of Mathew 1, we are presented with three sets of fourteen descendants of Jesus beginning with Abraham and ending with King David. The list of 46 people spans more than two thousand years and includes both icons of faith and some shady characters! We hear about the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Ruth and David which connect the Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah to Jesus’ birth. We also hear of Tamar and Rahab as part of Jesus’ birth line. We know from Genesis 38 and Joshua 6 that both women have a reputation for prostitution. Matthew isn’t just ticking off a list of descendants in verses 1-17, he is showing us that God’s work is not limited by human sin. Matthew reveals to us in his very first lines that our heavenly Father uses all of us for His glory. Of course, this genealogy offers proof that Jesus is the Messiah but it also shows that God uses ordinary people to establish His kingdom.

 

Perhaps one of the best examples of an ordinary man making extraordinary history is Joseph. Beginning in verse 18, Matthew describes Joseph’s dilemma. After discovering that Mary is pregnant he finds himself with two choices: divorce her quietly or expose her apparent unfaithfulness and have her stoned by the Jewish authorities.

“And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:19-20

Joseph could only see two ways out of his situation but God showed him another solution. So often God shows us that there are more options available if we are just willing to trust in Him. I think there is so much encouragement in today’s Jesus story that is right here waiting for us. According to Jewish law, Joseph had every right to divorce Mary when he discovered her pregnancy. He faced significant social stigma for staying with her as her husband. How often do we face social stigma at work or school when our beliefs about Jesus are challenged. Joseph may have been an ordinary man, but he made an extraordinary choice in the name of his faith in God.

Today’s words of Jesus show us that although he was born of a woman, Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. Jesus’ lineage is full of faith filled prophets and ordinary sinners. As Christians, we are now the descendants of Jesus. As we move about our modern world we have the opportunity to make extraordinary choices in the name of Jesus. I pray that you will take that encouragement to work, school, the grocery store or the doctor’s office today. I pray that you will be strengthened by His grace to be a witness of His love.

Have a great Monday!

 

Wave Walker

Matthew 14:25-31

Two weeks ago our family had a trip to Wisconsin, where much of the time was spent on the water, swimming, skiing, tubing, etc. When my 8 year old was out on the water skis, we could see her from the boat smiling and singing this song from Citizen Way:

I can’t help but think of Peter singing (shouting) this song as he was helping to build the early church! From the moment he was called by Jesus to be a disciple and follow him, he was a learner. Peter asked all the questions, had doubts, and had real fears. Jesus continued to surprise Peter with his parables, life lessons, and responses to his questions – even down to Jesus telling Peter he would deny him three times. Can you imagine? And then to experience everything Peter did through Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and then the Holy Spirit coming to them. He had quite a testimony! As he was building the early church with Paul, I have to think that his time walking on the water with Jesus was huge in his faith journey, and a point he could always go back to. When things would begin to crumble around him, Peter could remember that he is a wave walker! Jesus not only did miracles in front of Peter – he did miracles THROUGH Peter.

When I asked my daughter what she knows about the real story of the wave walker, she quickly replied that Peter was in a boat and a storm came and Jesus was there and walked to the boat from the shore. He gave Peter the power to walk on the water, and as soon as Peter took his eyes off Jesus he would start to sink. But if he kept his eyes on Jesus he would not sink! I love the matter of fact faith that kids have – it’s humbling and challenges me to not overcomplicate things. . Pure and simple, keep our eyes on Jesus and we can be wave walkers too!

What miracles has Jesus done in your life? What’s your anthem of praise for who He has created you to be?

Overcoming the World

I’m on vacation as I write these words to you today.

Beach, family, relaxation, unwinding, nice meals, reading, sunrises, sunsets, cool night breezes, games, laughs, meaningful conversation, silly conversation, trying new things, exploring, people watching, travel adventures, reflection, worship.

Those are some of the first thoughts that come to mind as I reflect on our time here. Then as I read today’s verses, there is this theme of overcoming the world and commentary from Matthew Henry summarizes these verses quite nicely:

He cannot be satisfied with this world, but looks beyond it, and is still tending, striving, and pressing toward heaven. We must all, after Christ’s example, overcome the world, or it will overcome us to our ruin. – Matthew Henry

As I questioned in my prior post: “With all that is in my life, am I seeking up or seeking the things of this Earth?”

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:5)

Even on vacation, there is the temptation to want more, but as I surrender to Christ and say “I want you more than things”, I find true relaxation, true rest.

I take 1 John 5:5 to mean that we can try as hard as we want (on our own) to deny ourselves the things of this world. We can try to be good people as some religions or human wisdom suggest, but those plans are flawed because humans aren’t perfect.

Believing that Jesus is the Son of God brings us down the path of truth in recognizing that through His perfection and sacrifice, we too can overcome the world.

The world is often like a garbage dump overflowing and stinking. It is messed up because of the lies we’re told, the lies we buy into, and the false hope we often seek, but God has a different plan and he can help us recognize his ways are better than the world’s ways in how we spend our resources (time and money).

Here are some of the things I think the world is saying as compared to what God has to say:

World Says

God Says
Keep your kids busy. Sign up for as many activities as possible. You want them to have every opportunity to get ahead, right? God rested (Genesis 2:2).

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33)
The Bible is too restrictive and too hard to follow. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)
Want more? Work harder. It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:2)
If I had just a little more… 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.[b] The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
Let someone else take care of the poor. I give enough through taxes.  44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ (Matthew 25:44-45)
Buy this and you’ll be happy. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25)
You can do it yourself or simply, “you’re on your own”. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

What is Love

Today’s reading:  1 John 4:7-21

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:7-11).

When I was in junior high, I had Steve Camp’s Fire and Ice cassette tape. I bet I listened to that thing a hundred times.  The five songs on the front side of the tape that is.  I never turned the tape over because the songs on the back weren’t nearly as good (I’m laughing as I write this.  Do you remember waiting forever for a tape to rewind?  What about fastforwarding and trying to guess how long was long enough to get past the song you didn’t like?  Oh how thing have changed.)  As I read today’s scripture, it took me back to Steve Camp’s 1984 duet with Michelle Pillar – Love’s Not a Feeling (the 3rd song on side 1).  The chorus went like this:

Love’s not a feeling, oh, we’ve got to learn
To get past our emotions to the meaning of the Word
Love’s not a feeling we can lose or throw away
Lord, give us the courage to live it every day, oh…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak7xi3OnjpY

If love isn’t a feeling, what is it? What is the meaning of the word?  What does it mean to “live it every day”?  1 Corinthians chapter 13, often referred to as the love chapter of the Bible, describes love as a choice.  As you read this passage, notice love involves taking an action or abstaining from a self-centered action every time.  It is definitely not passive.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Our scripture in 1 John identifies actions God takes to demonstrate his love.

  • God creates – because he loves, God creates people in his image to love others. (Genesis 1:26-27)
  • God cares – because he loves, God sent his son to pay the price for our sins; the sins we’ve committed in the past, those we commit today, and those we will commit in the future. (1 John 4:9)
  • God offers himself – because he loves, God makes a way for us to spend eternity in his presence. (Romans 10:9)

Notice these actions aren’t a once and done kind of thing. They are written in present tense, as God is living and active in our lives today. Now the call to action – because God loves, we ought to love one another. What are ways you can be patient with others, kind to others, rejoice in truth, bear others burdens, believe in others, hope with others and endure with others today? This is love.

Love, in deed

A Trilogy from Another Brother:

1 John 3:17 – 24

“But if anyone has the world’s goods sand sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”

Have to admit that I read this morning’s verses several times and came up with:  “it says what it says”.  So, what do you do when you have no other trains of thoughts…you go with movie themes.

Verse 17, Trading Places

I would like to think that if any of us saw someone in need, that we would respond in a generous way.  How far would we go out of our way to help others?  How far could we go out of our way to help others?  There are so many aspects to both of these questions.  If I spent all of my time helping others, how much would I have to share with them?  Yet, there are some that their spiritual gifts are giving and are SO amazing at it.  There are also some that thrive with what God has given to them and thrive at sharing with others.  What this verse speaks against is having the means and doing nothing with it.  Don’t go down that road:  don’t be Louis Winthrop III toward the beginning of the movie…be Billy Ray Valentine toward the end of the movie.  “Mortimer…we’re back in business!”

Verses 18-20, Forrest Gump

“I may not be a smart man, Jenny…but I know what love is.”  Forrest was really good at walking the walk…once he learned to walk.  He showed love to his mama, Jenny, Bubba…and little Forrest.  He loved his momma through obedience…loved Jenny by never giving up on her…loved Bubba by going back in the thick for him (it’s like a snake jumped up and bit me)…and loved little Forrest by “fixing his breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day”…and putting him on the bus with Dorothy Harris.  Forrest didn’t talk the love game…he flat out lived it…with passion!  You could see the love for Lt. Dan in the excitement for his gain:  “Lt. Dan, you got new legs!”  May we be generous and genuine in our love for someone in our circle…or someone running from one coast to the other coast that we don’t know.

Verses 21-24, Pinocchio

In this verse, we need to let The Trinity be our Jiminy Cricket.  I think we all believe in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus or we wouldn’t be reading this.  These versus tell us to believe in the name of Jesus and that we can have a clear conscience in Him, with the Holy Spirit in us.  Is there much more exciting and inspirational than verse 24:  “Those who obey God’s commandments live in fellowship with him, AND HE WITH THEM.  And we know he lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us.”

Have a blessed Wednesday and please pray for all of the students and teachers starting another school year.

MT

Children of God

Today’s Reading: 1 John 3:1-3

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

We are blessed to have three beautiful children.  Jackson, Marshall, and Gianna.  Just 5 weeks since the birth of Gianna I can still pause and reflect on the amazing gift of birth.  Yet, no matter my love for them, it doesn’t compare to our verses today. I’m reminded about the love of our Father. reading our verses today reminds me of the love from our Father.  He loves us and our children more than we can imagine, inviting us into His family forever.  Just like when I paused to remember the birth of our children it’s more important to pause and land of the fact that we are part of God’s family. He’s adopted us  How amazing is that?  Our children, our siblings, our parents.  No matter our last names, origins, or any other family dynamic we are members of God’s family.  Amen!

Ephesians 1: 4-7 says  4 even as He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us[b] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 

Often people will say we are  images of our parents, or our children have various characteristics that are similar to our caregivers. Actually,  we are reflections of our Heavenly Father.  We are reflections of our Father now, and we always will be.  This is something we should be growing towards each day.  It’s not easy. Our Christian life is a journey of growing more Christlike daily.

I remember running away from home when I was younger, I remember times when I didn’t want to come home when I was out doing my own things, I remember even times when I didn’t claim my family.  I was set on the world and the lies it can bring making you believe you can do it all on our own.  The truth is we have a Father.  A Father who loves us before we knew ourselves, who loves us now more than we can ever imagine.  A Father who calls us His own. One day we will come face-to-face with our Lord.  What an amazing day this will be.

Philippians 3:20-21  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

This Hillsong Worship song reminds me of our verses today. Enjoy!

Who am I that the highest King
Would welcome me
I was lost but He brought me in
Oh His love for me

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am

Free at last He has ransomed me
His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin
Jesus died for me
Yes He died for me

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
In my Father’s house
There’s a place for me
I’m a child of God
Yes I am

 

Yes I am!