Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / November 25 - Acts 13

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November 25 - Acts 13 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends, it's Sean. Here it is a new week.
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  It's Monday, it's the 25th of November.
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  And boy am I glad that you have decided to stop what's going on
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  in your day, just for a moment to invite me in so that we can
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  do what we do, read another chapter of God's Word together.
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  And this, this is an awesome chapter.
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  This is a chapter where we don't just hear a summary of, of one
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  of the speeches that Paul gives, but it goes through word for
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  word and shares his entire speech.
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  And that is because the author here is really trying to share
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  this very specific message, the message that Paul is going to be
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  preaching here in in Antioch of Presidia.
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  This is not about the law. This is not about the way that
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  it's always been, but this is about promise.
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  This is about what God is doing and God has promised to do and
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  God is fulfilling through Jesus. So this, this is a paradigm
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  shift. It might not sound like it if if
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  we're not listening for it, but this is a moment where Luke says
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  the old rules don't apply anymore.
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  We are now entering into a new phase where the law is replaced
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  by the fulfilment of this promise from God.
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  So with that lens on, let us hear what he says as that
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  applies back then to that audience all the way forward,
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  through time, to us in our lives right now.
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  Hello, Exciting. Let's read it together.
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  You ready? Yeah, me too.
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  All right. Let's read together.
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  Acts chapter 13. Among the prophets and teachers
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  of the church in Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon
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  called the black man, Lucius from Cyrene, Manayan, the
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  childhood companion of King Herod, Antipas and Saul.
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  One day, as these men were worshipping the Lord and
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  fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Appoint Barnabas and Saul for
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  the special work to which I have called them.
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  So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands
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  on them and sent them on their way.
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  So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit.
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  They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the
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  island of Cyprus. There in the town of Salamis,
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  they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word
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  of God. John Mark went with them as
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  their assistant. Afterward they travelled from
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  town to town across the entire island, until finally they reach
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  Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named
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  BA Jesus. He had attached himself to the
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  governor Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man.
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  The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him for he
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  wanted to hear the word of God. But Ellamus the sorcerer, as his
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  name means in Greek, interfered and urged the governor to pay no
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  attention to what Barnabas and Saul said.
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  He was trying to keep the governor from believing.
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  Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit and
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  he looked the sorcerer in the eye.
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  Then he said, You son of the devil, full of every sort of
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  deceit and fraud and enemy of all that is good, will you never
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  stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?
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  Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you,
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  and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight
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  for some time. Instantly mist and darkness came
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  over the man's eyes, and he began groping around, begging
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  for someone to take his hand and lead him.
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  When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer,
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  for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
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  Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for
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  Pamphylia, landing at the port down of Perga.
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  There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem, but Paul
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  and Barnabas travelled inland to Antioch of Presidia.
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  On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services.
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  After the usual reading from the books of Moses and the prophets,
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  those in charge of the service sent them this message.
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  Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people,
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  come and give it. So Paul stood, lifted his hand
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  to quiet them, and started speaking.
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  Men of Israel, he said, And you, God fearing Gentiles, listen to
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  me. The God of this nation of Israel
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  chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong
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  during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm, he led
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  them out of their slavery. He put up with them through 40
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  years of wandering in the wilderness.
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  Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to
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  Israel as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years.
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  After that God gave them judges to rule, until the time of
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  Samuel the prophet. Then the people begged for a
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  king and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of
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  Benjamin, who reigned for 40 years.
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  That God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man
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  about whom God said, I have found David's son of Jesse, a
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  man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him
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  to do. And it is one of King David's
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  descendants, Jesus, who is God's promised Saviour of Israel.
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  Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of
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  Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be
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  baptised. As John was finishing his
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  ministry he asked, do you think I am the Messiah?
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  No I am not, but he is coming soon and I'm not even worthy to
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  be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.
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  Brothers, you sons of Abraham and also you God fearing
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  Gentiles, this message of salvation has been sent to us.
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  The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognise
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  Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about.
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  Instead they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the
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  prophet's words that are read every Sabbath.
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  They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked
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  Pilate to have him killed anyway.
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  When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they
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  took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.
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  But God raised him from the dead, and over a period of many
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  days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee
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  to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to
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  the people of Israel. And now we are here to bring you
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  this good news. The promise was made to our
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  ancestors, and God has now fulfilled it for us, their
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  descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second Psalm
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  says about Jesus. You are my Son today.
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  I have become your father. For God had promised to raise
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  him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave.
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  He said, I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to
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  David. Another Psalm explains it more
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  fully. You will not allow your holy 1
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  to rot in the grave. This is not a reference for
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  David, for after David had done the will of God in his own
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  generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors and
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  his body decayed. No, it was a reference to
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  someone else, someone whom God raised and whose body did not
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  decay. Brothers, listen, we are here to
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  proclaim that through this man Jesus, there is forgiveness for
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  your sins. Everyone who believes in him is
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  made right in God's sight, something the Law of Moses could
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  never do. Be careful, don't let the
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  prophets words apply to you, for they said, look you mockers, be
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  amazed and die, for I am doing something in your day, something
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  you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it.
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  As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people
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  begged them to speak about these things again.
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  The next week, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism
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  followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to
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  continue to rely on the grace of God.
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  The following week, almost the entire city turned out to hear
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  them preach the word of the Lord.
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  But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous.
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  So they slanted Paul and argued against whatever he said.
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  Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared it was
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  necessary that we first preach the Word of God to you Jews, But
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  since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of
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  eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.
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  For the Lord gave us His command when He said, I have made you a
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  light to the Gentiles to bring salvation to the farthest
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  corners of the earth. When the Gentiles heard this,
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  they were very glad and thanked the Lord for His message, and
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  all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.
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  So the Lord's message spread throughout that region.
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  Then the Jews stirred up influential religious women and
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  the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul
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  and Barnabas and ran them out of town.
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  So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of
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  rejection and went to the town of Iconium.
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  And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy
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  Spirit. Ah Lord, what an amazing message
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  that Paul and Barnabas share, and that is your message to us
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  today, that through you there is forgiveness for our sins.
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  Everyone who believes in you is made right in God's sight,
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  something that nothing else and no one else could ever do.
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  Ah, thank you for your love for us, Jesus, that you would go to
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  these lengths to live and to die and to be raised again so that
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  we can be in the presence of the Father and bask in his love and
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  his glory, and that we can be your friends and even more, we
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  can be your family. Oh, thank you for this gift.
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  Help our hearts always cling to this, and when the words of the
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  deceiver try to convince us that it's by any other means that we
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  are saved. Holy Spirit, quiet that voice so
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  that we can hold on to Your truth.
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  For it is nothing that we do or we bring to the table, but it is
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  you and Your gift to us. And thank you for the faith that
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  you place in our heart. You are incredible and we love
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  you and we praise you. We pray all of this in your
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  saving name, Amen.