Latest / Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms / #147. In Quietness and Trust Shall Be Your Strength | Isaiah 28-34 Bible Study for Moms

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#147. In Quietness and Trust Shall Be Your Strength | Isaiah 28-34 Bible Study for Moms · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

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  Steph: This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
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  Steph: I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today we're looking at Isaiah chapters 28 through 34.
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  Steph: Isaiah will issue six woes of judgment, but repeatedly, God makes it known that He wishes to relent from the judgment if His people would only turn to Him And as you and I see how Israel is condemned for
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  Steph: trusting in foreign nations, for not remembering the Lord, and for relying upon themselves, we can also evaluate where we're tempted to find security and trust in sources apart from the Lord, And even in the busyness and the to-do
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  Steph: lists of motherhood, we can consider what it would look like to rest in the character of God.
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  Steph: The first woe that Isaiah issues is against Israel's leaders, and it's for giving themselves over to drunkenness.
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  Steph: To these corrupt leaders, Isaiah writes that God has one coming who is righteous and just In 28:16, behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of
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  Steph: a sure foundation.
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  Steph: Whoever believes will not be in haste You may recognize This reference to Jesus as the New Testament writers confirmed This is an incredible claim that is surely fulfilled in Christ.
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  Steph: Over and over in the chapter, God said, "To whom will I teach knowledge?
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  Steph: Give ear.
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  Steph: Hear my voice.
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  Steph: Hear the word of the Lord."
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  Steph: And in verse 26, For he is rightly instructed, his God teaches him."
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  Steph: And the chapter concludes, This also comes from the Lord of hosts.
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  Steph: He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom."
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  Steph: The word counsel is the same word Isaiah wrote in chapter nine.
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  Steph: His name will be called Wonderful Counselor In chapter 29 Isaiah writes the second woe against Israel's religious leaders for their hypocrisy, but it begins with a new name, Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped.
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  Steph: The word Ariel combines the Hebrew words for lion, which is Ari, and God, El.
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  Steph: It seems that this term Ariel means like the lion of Judah, or that the king of Judah is a lion.
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  Steph: After a lengthy description of the impending judgment, God rebukes the people for the condition of their hearts.
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  Steph: And that's why what follows in the therefore is so incredible.
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  Steph: Beginning in verse 13, Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and the fear of Me is a commandment taught by men.
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  Steph: Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden."
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  Steph: God will humble the arrogant and elevate the humble.
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  Steph: And verse 19 affirms this, The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exalt in the Holy One of Israel."
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  Steph: Chapter 30 is our main focus today.
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  Steph: In it Isaiah gives the fourth woe, which is rebuking the entire nation for their rebellion against the Lord.
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  Steph: This is present in three main ways.
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  Steph: First, their attempted alliance with Egypt, which God had commanded in Deuteronomy that they were not to do.
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  Steph: Next, they have rejected God's truth, and finally, they have trusted in themselves instead of in God As I read, try to listen for those themes Ah, stubborn children," declares the Lord, "who carry out a plan but not mine,
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  Steph: and who make an alliance but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin, who set out to go down to Egypt without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to
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  Steph: seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt.
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  Steph: Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter of the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
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  Steph: For though his officials are at Zoan, and his envoys reach Hanes, everyone comes to shame through a people that cannot profit them, that brings neither help nor profit, but shame and disgrace.
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  Steph: An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys and
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  Steph: their treasures on the humps of camels to a people that cannot profit them.
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  Steph: Egypt's help is worthless and empty.
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  Steph: Therefore, I have called her Rahab who sits still.
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  Steph: And now go write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book that it may be for a time to come as a witness forever.
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  Steph: For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord, who say to the seers, Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us what is right.
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  Steph: Speak to us smooth things.
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  Steph: Prophesy illusions.
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  Steph: Leave the way.
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  Steph: Turn aside from the path.
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  Steph: Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel."
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  Steph: therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this word, entrust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall bulging out and about
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  Steph: to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant, that it is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth or to drip up water out of the
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  Steph: cistern.
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  Steph: For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."
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  Steph: But you were unwilling, and you said, "No, we will flee upon horses."
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  Steph: Therefore you shall flee away.
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  Steph: And we will ride upon swift steeds."
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  Steph: Therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
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  Steph: A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.
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  Steph: Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
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  Steph: For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him God's availability is on full display in the second half of this chapter.
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  Steph: God makes it clear He wants to restore the nation to Him, but they must humble themselves and this is a powerful model for us as we're training our kids to humble their hearts Our goal is to help our
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  Steph: kids turn from their sin, repent, and return to the Lord and if we continually give grace and mercy without heart change, Then we're reinforcing the pride in their hearts and we're making them feel sufficient apart from the Lord
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  Steph: For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem you shall weep no more.
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  Steph: He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry.
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  Steph: As soon as He hears it, He answers you.
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  Steph: And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher, and your ears shall hear a word behind you saying,
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  Steph: This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."
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  Steph: Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images.
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  Steph: You will scatter them as unclean things.
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  Steph: You will say to them, Be gone."
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  Steph: There are a couple phrases from this chapter that I have returned to over and over.
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  Steph: In verse 16, "In returning and rest you shall be saved.
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  Steph: In quietness and trust shall be your strength."
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  Steph: As moms, it's required that we think and do and act so much.
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  Steph: How often is there a problem that comes up in your day that needs to be fixed?
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  Steph: But this verse tells us that looking to the Lord should be our first response to any situation in life we've recently read that one day God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and verse 19 reiterates that, For
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  Steph: people shall dwell in Zion.
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  Steph: In Jerusalem you shall weep no more."
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  Steph: And even when God gives us discipline or trials to refine and purify us, We know that this wonderful counselor remains as it says that your teacher will hide himself no more the fifth woe continues in chapter 31, because
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  Steph: the people failed to trust in God.
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  Steph: It begins, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots, because there are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy
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  Steph: One of Israel or consult the Lord."
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  Steph: Yesterday I was driving with my kids embarking on a several-hour drive so a few of them could have a special time with their grandma.
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  Steph: About a half hour into the drive, my car absolutely unexpectedly, completely died.
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  Steph: Praise the Lord, it happened as I was on an exit ramp approaching a stoplight.
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  Steph: We didn't even make it to the light, but if I would've broken down a quarter of a mile sooner, we would've been in the middle of the interstate I had to put it in neutral and have my young
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  Steph: sons help push me to the side of the road There was a storm before I broke down, But thankfully the rain let up Quickly, a very kind gentleman in a construction vehicle pulled up.
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  Steph: His name was Javier.
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  Steph: He took a look at my car and said, "I'm not a mechanic, but I'm pretty sure your engine has overheated and is dead.
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  Steph: This kind, sacrificial gentleman cleared a spot in his truck And my kids and their suitcases and I piled in.
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  Steph: I said to them, "Wow, we really prayed before we started out on our trip.
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  Steph: Can you imagine if we wouldn't have asked the Lord for help?"
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  Steph: And I told Javier, "You were a blessing from the Lord to us today.
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  Steph: He said, "Nothing is as important as our walk with God."
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  Steph: Thankfully, we were near a Target, so he dropped us off there, refusing to accept any money at the moment that my kids and I tucked our suitcases into the corner of the Starbucks within the Target, we looked out
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  Steph: the window and saw the rain starting again.
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  Steph: God had held it off for just the right amount of time for us.
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  Steph: I handed my kids some money while I called the insurance company, and as I was finding out that we didn't have roadside assistance on that vehicle, my kids were in line finding out they didn't have enough money for
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  Steph: what they ordered.
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  Steph: another kind stranger just happened to be behind them and offered to make up the difference You know, the day wasn't what I expected to happen, and my poor mother-in-law, instead of meeting us halfway, ended up driving all the
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  Steph: way here to get my kids and I can honestly say that I was thankful for that car every time I got in it.
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  Steph: The way we received it was an absolute testimony, and we're not able to replace it now.
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  Steph: Just as we're about to have a third driver, we're likely becoming a one-car family again.
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  Steph: But it's okay.
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  Steph: We can trust that the Lord knows just what we need.
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  Steph: The Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want But as I was sitting in Javier's vehicle, I was thinking about that verse we've meditated on together.
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  Steph: Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
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  Steph: I don't think that there's been a moment where I've connected that verse to transportation, which is kind of silly because obviously horses and chariots are what they relied upon then.
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  Steph: I've mostly thought about them in terms of battle, but it was just another picture to me that this was something I relied on in my life But it shows that even in moments where vehicles break down and prove
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  Steph: untrustworthy, that the Lord is faithful and he provided the kindness of strangers to display that to my kids and I yesterday So as I'm reading chapter 31, this rebuke for them relying on horses and trusting chariots, it reminds
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  Steph: me to not rely on the comforts and conveniences of modern life.
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  Steph: In chapter 32, Isaiah says, "This judgment is going to be bad.
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  Steph: how about a different way, Israel?"
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  Steph: And he describes how the Messianic King will be different I particularly love the concluding verses.
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  Steph: Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
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  Steph: And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
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  Steph: My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."
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  Steph: here's our dwelling theme again but I thought that was such a powerful phrase that the effect of righteousness will be peace That can be true now as well as for eternity Chapter 33 Verse five and six tell us,
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  Steph: "The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high.
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  Steph: He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times.
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  Steph: Abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge, the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure The chapter ends, "And no inhabitant will say, 'I am sick.'
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  Steph: The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity."
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  Steph: It will be glorious, won't it, and finally, Isaiah 34 begins A summary of God's judgment, but also the blessings that are available.
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  Steph: Isaiah reminds the people, "The Lord has a day, a day of judgment, and you'd better be ready."
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  Steph: We'll continue his words tomorrow heavenly Father, you are exalted and dwell on high.
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  Steph: We look forward to the day when you will set everything right on this earth.
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  Steph: But until you do, help us to be transformed by the truths of who you are and how you care for us We thank you that the fear of you is our treasure, and that you provide an abundance of
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  Steph: salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
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  Steph: We thank you, Lord, that you are our stability, that in returning and rest is our strength, and in quietness and trust is our salvation.
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  Steph: We pray we would look to you over reliances and comforts.
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  Steph: We pray particularly for our kids that they would understand that the effect of righteousness is peace.
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  Steph: Train them to walk in innocence and purity, that they would experience the blessings of their God-honoring choices thank you, Jesus, that you are the cornerstone.
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  Steph: It's in your name we pray.
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  Steph: Amen