Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Joy in Pain

1 Thessalonians 1.6-7

At the September 15, 2001, satellite broadcast of “America Prays,” Christian author Max Lucado read the following prayer that he wrote in response to the September 11, 2001, attack on America.

Dear Lord, we’re still hoping we’ll wake up. We’re still hoping we’ll open a sleepy eye and think, What a horrible dream.

But we won’t, will we, Father? What we saw was not a dream. Planes did gouge towers. Flames did consume our fortress. People did perish. It was no dream and, dear Father, we are sad.  There is a ballet dancer who will no longer dance and a doctor who will no longer heal. A church has lost her priest, a classroom is minus a teacher. Cora ran a food pantry. Paige was a counselor, and Dana, dearest Father, Dana was only three years old. (Who held her in those final moments?)


We are sad, Father. For as the innocent are buried, our innocence is buried as well. We thought we were safe. Perhaps we should have known better. But we didn’t.


And so we come to you. We don’t ask you for help; we beg you for it. We don’t request it; we implore it. We know what you can do. We’ve read the accounts. We’ve pondered the stories and now we plead, “Do it again, Lord. Do it again.”


Remember Joseph? You rescued him from the pit. You can do the same for us. Do it again, Lord. Remember the Hebrews in Egypt? You protected their children from the angel of death. We have children, too, Lord. Do it again. And Sarah? Remember her prayers? You heard them. Joshua? Remember his fears? You inspired him. The women at the tomb? You resurrected their hope. The doubts of Thomas? You took them away. Do it again, Lord. Do it again…

Most of all, do again what you did at Calvary. What we saw here last Tuesday, you saw there that Friday. Innocence slaughtered. Goodness murdered. Mothers weeping. Evil dancing. Just as the smoke eclipsed our morning, so the darkness fell on your Son. Just as our towers were shattered, the very Tower of Eternity was pierced. And by dusk, heaven’s sweetest song was silent, buried behind a rock.

But you did not waver, O Lord. You did not waver. After three days in a dark hole, you rolled the rock and rumbled the earth and turned the darkest Friday into the brightest Sunday. Do it again, Lord. Grant us a September Easter…

And we thank you for these hours of prayer. The Enemy sought to bring us to our knees and succeeded. He had no idea, however, that we would kneel before you. And he has no idea what you can do.

…Have mercy upon the souls who have departed and the wounded who remain. Give us grace that we might forgive and faith that we might believe. And look kindly upon your church. For two thousand years you’ve used her to heal a hurting world. Do it again, Lord. Do it again. Through Christ, Amen.

This Christ centered prayer was how one man responded to a situation that brought physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual pain into his life and the lives of countless others.

So now, I ask you, 

How do you respond to difficult situations?

What’s your go to reaction when something happens that you did not expect?

In moments of suffering, where do you go for comfort?

In moments of pain, who do you look to for answers?


In moments of affliction, what brings you reprieve and hope?


Your response to difficult situations reveals who and what you really trust.


When you are feeling down and out, 


Do you run to a parent to tell you that you are the greatest thing since sliced bread, no matter what anyone else says?

Do you run to a friend or friend group to rally around you with an attention diverting night out on the town?


Do you run to Amazon, Target, or the Mall to buy yourself something nice or something fun?


Do you run to book a vacation to get away from the problems of your daily life?


Do you run to the computer for sexual satisfaction by drooling over images of girls in bikinis or muscle men with ripped 6 packs?


Do you run to a bottle to numb your experiences in a euphoric buzz?


Do you run to a drug dealer (some who are unfortunately legal in today’s world) to help you escape the moments of life that you are tired of dealing with?


Or, do you run to God in prayer like the Christian author who wrote the response to the events of September 11, 2001 that we just heard?  


Or, do you run to God in His Word, in His Church, in His people, in Bible Study, like the Apostle Paul, and his companions Silas and Timothy who authored this morning’s text?


As we return to the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians for the 6th week in a row, we hear about the Godly way to respond to life’s troubles.


1 Thessalonians 1:6–7 says this:


[6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, [7] so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (ESV)


Last week, we focused on verses 5-6 from chapter 1.  In those verses, we heard that the Christian leaders writing this letter—Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy—were thankful that the Greek Thessalonian Christians were faithfully imitating them as they were first imitating Jesus.  


What we didn’t have time to hear about was the specifics of how the Thessalonians were imitating Paul, Silas, Timothy, and ultimately, Jesus. 


So, today, we that the Greek Thessalonian Christians were imitating Jesus and Jesus’ leaders in their local church by copying the way that they responded to affliction.


Affliction encompasses many things.  Affliction can be physical pain.  Affliction can be mental suffering.  Affliction can be distress.  Affliction can be spiritual struggle against lies and evil.


And, affliction can come from many different places.  Affliction can come from disease or illness.  Affliction can come from financial or physical hardship.  Affliction can come from mental and spiritual struggle that causes things like depression, despair, and anxiety.


One of the authors of our Biblical text, the Apostle Paul, was well-acquainted with the hardships of often intense suffering on many different levels.  In his 2nd letter to the Christians in the city of Corinth, he lists off some of the mental, physical, and spiritual struggles that were an intimate part of his daily existence.


In 2 Corinthians 11:24–29, the Apostle Paul gives a rundown of some of the troubles he faced saying this:


[24] Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; [26] on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; [27] in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. [28] And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. [29] Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? (ESV)


Just like the Greek Thessalonians, many of the troubles that the Apostle Paul dealt with stemmed from his faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul’s confidence in Christ alone for salvation led the politicians to hate him.  Paul’s trust in Jesus as God’s Savior led the most popular religious leaders of his day to desire his death.


When Paul felt like he was at a breaking point and couldn’t take any more trouble, he cried out to God to remove all of the suffering from his life.


As Paul prays, God responses to Paul, but doesn’t give Paul the answer he was looking for.


God does not remove the affliction from Paul’s life.


God never promises to remove pain and suffering from your earthly life.  God only promises to remove pain and suffering from your eternal life.  But the promise that God does make to you is that he will be with you in this world through every moment of pain and suffering.  And, you can rest in that promise because in the life and death of Jesus Christ, God became personally acquainted with every single form of human pain and suffering.  Therefore, God knows how to help you because he once thought what you are thinking, he once felt what you are feeling, and he once struggled with what you are struggling with.


Hebrews 4:14–16 makes this good news for you clear.


[14] Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (ESV)


As Jesus, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and then the Greek Thessalonians knew, it’s only by running to the God the Father in Heaven, in one of the many ways He has reveled Himself, that you hear the good news that gives you the comfort and peace you are genuinely seeking.  God’s promise is that He will eventually, at his return, right all wrongs and eradicate all pain and suffering for you in the life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son, who saved you.


The Greek Thessalonians did not believe the message of Jesus’ cross because it made their life easier and more comfortable.  The Greek Thessalonians believed the message of Jesus’ cross even though it, at times, made their life harder and more uncomfortable, because the message of the cross of Christ instilled in them a hope in God’s grace and love for them that was alive and active working all things out for their good—their salvation—regardless of what they experienced on any given day.  


A few years ago, I was at a Christian leadership conference in Brooklyn and one of the speakers said, “If you want a day without problems and frustration, walk away from pastoring, leadership, and Christianity.”  


Being a pastor, leader, and Christian, I understand what the speaker was saying.  However, the truth is that even for those who are not pastors, leaders, or Christians, problems and frustrations still fill the days on this earth.


Everyone of us is well acquainted with affliction and suffering from time to time.


But, as our text for this morning is telling us, as Christians we have a blueprint for understanding the problems and frustrations of our daily lives and a blueprint for responding to the problems and frustrations of our daily life.


When he was imprisoned for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ, Paul sang hymns in his jail cell.


Acts 16:16–34 tells us about one of these incidents where two of our text writers, Paul and Silas were wrongfully imprisoned but responded with joy!


Acts 16.(16-18)19-34 records this piece of history.


After telling us that a slave girl turned away from her sin, which included the unGodly dark art of fortune telling, and turned to a life of preaching Jesus as the Savior, like she heard Paul and Silas do, the slave owners who made money off of her evil dealings were upset.  The story continues like this:


[19] But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. [20] And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. [21] They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” [22] The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. [23] And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. [24] Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.


[25] About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, [26] and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. [27] When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. [28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” [29] And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. [30] Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” [31] And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” [32] And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. [33] And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. [34] Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. (ESV)


Why should we respond with joy in times of pain and suffering?



Because our suffering in this world unites us with our Savior Jesus who suffered so that we could be saved.


What did Jesus do in the difficult situations that the affliction of rejection, persecution, imprisonment and the wrongful sentence of the death penalty on the cross brought his way?


Hebrews 12:1–4 answers this question in the midst of the encouragement it provides.  These verses say:


[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.


[3] Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. [4] In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (ESV)


Nothing in your life compares to the level and amount of suffering that God in Jesus faced in this world. 


However, we often ridiculously act like our momentary troubles are comparable to Jesus’ life and death.


“Starbucks is out of my favorite pink drink! FML!”


“Gas is $4.00 a gallon. Kill me!”


“I only got a 99 out of 100 on my test.  I wish I was dead!”


Even in what can be considered real suffering in this life, things like dealing with cancer and depression, losing a job and struggling financially,  being bullied, enslavement to addiction, etc., you have not been asked to offer your life and have your blood shed because of your Sin and the Sin of others.


When Jesus was asked and tasked with being the Lamb without blemish that would be led to the slaughter to pay for your Sin, Jesus endured the suffering of death on the cross for the joy that he knew was coming on the other side.


Death on the cross was not easy.


Death on the cross was not comfortable.


Death on the cross was not enjoyable.


In fact, death on the cross was the worst form of capital punishment available at the time.


However, Jesus knew that by walking the road up to the cross, after being physically beaten and tortured, and then being crucified with real criminals in a such a brutal way that a new word had to be invented to describe the pain suffered, he would have the joy of knowing and seeing you saved from Sin and reconciled to God.


It’s so hard to understand and believe, but throughout of the most disgusting and despicable event in human history, Jesus had a mind and heart set on the joy that his death would bring to you and to God the Father in Heaven as repentant sinners could now find forgiveness once and for all.  


In her book Ten Fingers for God, Dorothy Clarke Wilson writes about Dr. Paul Brand who worked with leprosy patients in India.


Sometimes they would all gather together in fellowship. One evening, Paul joined them, and they asked him to speak.


Dr. Brand had nothing prepared, yet he willingly stood up, paused for a moment and looked at their hands, some with no fingers, and some with only a few stumps. Then he spoke: “I am a hand surgeon, so when I meet people, I can’t help looking at their hands. I would like to have examined Christ’s hands. With the nails driven through, they must have appeared twisted and crippled. Remember, Jesus, at the end, was crippled too.”


The patients, on hearing this, suddenly lifted their poor hands towards heaven. Hearing of God’s response to suffering had made their suffering easier.


In Jesus’ life of obedience to God and service to you and in Jesus death on cross where he shed his blood for you, he did not grow weary or fainthearted.  Jesus faced all of the suffering, walked through all of the suffering, and Jesus overcame all of the suffering with an attitude of joy.  Jesus willingly ran this race set before him by God the Father in Heaven knowing that he would be the victor winning the prize of your salvation.


When Paul and Silas responded to suffering with joy by singing hymns and praying for God’s help, one of the prison guards watching over them witnessed their joy-laced demeanor and came to believe in Jesus so that he too could experience joy despite worldly suffering.


When the Greek Thessalonians responded to suffering with joy by remaining faithful to the tasks of preaching Christ crucified and resurrected while being persecuted by the government, the non-Christian religious leaders, and sometimes family and friends, residents of the towns and regions surrounding Thessalonica came to believe in Jesus so that they too could experience joy despite worldly suffering.


Just like the Thessalonians, as you endure the suffering of this life with joy, knowing that by suffering God is uniting you with Jesus, making you like Jesus, and will exalt you like Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven, others will see your faith driven, hard to understand and believe, joy in affliction and come to repentance and faith as they see the life of Christ exemplified in your daily experiences.


This week, hide 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 in your heart for times of trouble and affliction. 


[9] But [Jesus] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (ESV)


This is the Word of God for you today.


This is the Grace of God for you today.


Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.


June 21, 2026

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Joyful, We Adore Thee

Matthew 11.2-15

God has a funny way of working in my life so that I am prepared each Sunday to stand in the pulpit and bring you a true-to-life message of how God’s grace meets the ground we are standing on.

God’s funny way of working is this: If the message’s theme is hope, like the first week of Advent, God allows most things in my life to lead me to the edge of insanity where I am tempted to give up all hope in good finally prevailing.  If the message’s theme is peace, like last Sunday, God allows me to have a restless week where I question every decision I ever made.

That being said, this week’s message, for the third week of Advent is always centered on the theme of joy.

Now, experiencing joy is something I struggle with on a regular week.  However, this week, God did his thing in my life and allowed me to experience the burden of a to-do list that exponentially generated more and more items that needed my attention alongside seemingly impossible relationships and seemingly impossible situations to navigate.

Midweek, as I was driving out to Garvie’s Point Museum to join my younger son on a field trip, I was experiencing great discomfort with a never-ending thought cycle that was attempting to figure out all of the current problems I had on my plate.

To help lessen some of that nervous anxiety, I decided to put on my mentor’s podcast just to hear the soothing and gentle and gracious tone of his voice.  

The podcast is always bookended with short musical content that pertains to the podcast’s topic of discussion.  

As soon as I hit play, I heard the 1963 bop from Lesley Core that contains these lyrics,

“Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows

Everything that’s wonderful is what I feel.”

I immediately and literally laughed out loud.  

“Everything that’s wonderful is what I feel.”  What a striking contrast to my then current feelings!

Life is filled with doubts and disappointments.

Life is filled with unmet hopes and expectations.

And, all of this can easily steal our joy.

If you remember from last week, God sent John the Baptist to the people of Israel to proclaim that when God shows up on the scene in the person of Jesus Christ, God is giving out the gift of peace.  To make sure we have what we need to meet God face-to-face, John the Baptist laid out the specifics of being prepared for that encounter. 

He tells those that have ears to hear that peace with God comes from confessing one’s sin and repenting of one’s sin.  He also mentioned that peace with God comes from being washed clean of sin through baptism and receiving the guarantee of forgiveness and salvation through God living with you daily in the third person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit.

All of this work is accomplished for you, the work of forgiveness and salvation that makes you right with God,  is finished for you through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

This week, as we celebrate the Third Week of Advent, the Sunday that thematically centers on joy, we meet back up with John the Baptist.

Let’s just say that John’s current situation tempts him to lose all hope and lack both peace and joy.

Matthew 11.2-15 tells us this:

[2] Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples [3] and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” [4] And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: [5] the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. [6] And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

[7] As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? [8] What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. [9] What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. [10] This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

[11] Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [12] From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. [13] For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, [14] and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. [15] He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (ESV)

When we meet back up with John the Baptist, we find him in prison.

Why is John in prison?

Well, besides people causing an uproar after being offended by his message of sin and salvation (when they should have rejoiced!), John found himself in trouble with one of the political leaders. John, in his God ordained task, confronted King Herod in  his commandment breaking action.  King Herod, one of the Roman leaders, was having an adulterous relationship with his sister in-law.  When John informed King Herod of his disobedience to God’s by saying, “It is unlawful for you to have her,” King Herod imprisoned John. 

As John becomes intimately acquainted with shame, hunger, physical torment, and emotional struggle, it would have been really easy for John the Baptist to loose his joy.

After a life of following God and doing things that aligned with God’s will, John found himself locked up behind bars.

Seeing this progression of events, we can find ourselves asking, “Why did God allow him to end up in jail (where he would eventually be beheaded)?”

In a similar fashion, people often ask me to answer their big question of, “Why?” — “Why is God allowing me to experience this current suffering?”

The answer is, I don’t know exactly.  I don’t have an exact answer as to why God allowed John to be imprisoned following a life of service to God.  I also don’t have an exact answer as to why God allows you to experience the pain and suffering that you experience.

And, I never will never have that full answer this side of Heaven.

But, what I do know is that Jesus tells us that we will experience suffering this side of Heaven due to the persistence of Sin in this world.  We find ourselves in some very dark places due to the problems our own sin creates as well as the problems that the sin of others creates.

Oswald Chambers, an early twentieth-century Scottish Baptist preacher, wrote, “Happiness depends on what happens; joy does not.”

So, how can I be joyful if life is a dumpster fire right now?

That was basically John’s question that he had his disciples ask Jesus.

And, Jesus gives them this answer:

You can have joy in every situation and circumstance by looking to Jesus, the assurance of God’s love for you.

2 Corinthians 1:20 tell us this:

[20] For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (ESV)

And, this is the exact message that Jesus gives John’s disciples to restore them to a place of joy.

Jesus tells them that, YES!, He is the Messiah, the Anointed One, God’s sent Savior.

He tells them that all they have to do is look at His actions and listen to His words because they match the exact description of the Savior that God has been talking about and promising for thousands of years.

Jesus lists off His qualifications.

He has restored sight to the blind.

He has restored the ability to walk to those that have been crippled and paralyzed.

He has restored health and wellness to the terminally sick.

He has raised people from the dead.

He has brought hope to the hopeless.

He has brought peace to the restless.

And, He has brought joy to the despairing.

All of this work of Jesus matches the promises of God.

One of those promises is found in the words of the prophet Isaiah who describes the coming Savior.

In verses 35:4–6, Isaiah tells us this:

[4] Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

[6] then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy…(ESV)                                                           

We often confuse joy with the absence of problems in our life.  

However, we hear James, the brother of Jesus, in his Epistle say this:

[2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4, ESV)

The Apostle Paul writes the following words from a prison cell, where he too was being held captive for preaching the Good News of sin and salvation.

To the church in Thessalonica, he writes:

[16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, ESV)

Joy does not come from the absence of problems in our life.  

Romans 8:31–39 reminds us of this truth.

[31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?…

[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?…

[37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

Karl Barth, another early twentieth-century preacher, this time from the Swiss Reformed tradition said, “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”

Joy comes from having faith and being thankful that God loves you and has made a way for you to find yourself in the comfort of His arms—even if you are experiencing difficulties right now.  

Joy comes from daily trusting that you have a Savior, Jesus, come to you and die for you and rise from the grave for you, so that you too can be dead to Sin alive to God.

“God’s Word is a rock, not because it makes everything easy, but because it keeps your feet out of sinking sand amid difficult situations and unmet expectations.

Even in the middle of difficult situations, unmet expectations, and limited perception, Jesus is worthy of our trust. Telling others about Him won’t be easy, but it is a calling worth giving our lives to. We fight doubt in this world and fight fear of this world with faith in the promised Messiah.”

Wherever you are right now, whatever you are experiencing, I leave you with a few other words, also written by the Apostle Paul from his own place of shame, hunger, physical torment, and emotional struggle, while being imprisoned for doing the work of God in the world.

Paul said this to the church gathered in the city of Philippi and he says it to you as well:

[4] Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. [5] Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4–7, ESV)

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

This is the Joy of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

December 21, 2025.