Overview of Mark 13

1:00Think to yourself. If you knew he was going to be here in 15 minutes, what would you do? If you knew he was going to be here in four hours, like this afternoon he's going to come, what would you do? Would you spend your day praying? Would you spend your day witnessing? Would you go out and sin boldly? How would you live? Would you go out and make amends with somebody that you knew you need to make things right with? Or would you pretend that it just wasn't going to happen?

1:30Think honestly. Try to ask yourself: what would you do? What would you do if he was going to come 24 hours from now? How would you spend this next day? Or, how about if he was going to come next week and you knew for sure that this was the day, how would you spend your next week? Or perhaps a year from now? What would you do? And this is the thing that all believers in God's Word, rather, how they interpret the fine details, they understand the emphasis of the text here. And that is, it's not really a matter of when the Lord is coming, but that he is coming. The overall message of the passage is very clear, speaks to us in our time and space, but the message is not so much when he comes, but that he is coming, and how are you going to live your life in the reality that he is coming? Whatever time you may have left.

2:22You see, the bottom line is: Jesus wants his people ready for his return, and this is the clear principle that comes through here. And we're going to intend to work through this passage over the next couple weeks. But my goal this morning is really just to introduce this section of Scripture to you. But while I'm introducing this text to you, I want you to get an exalted view of Christ. I want you to get a picture of the good shepherd who shepherds our soul and who looks after us and who loves us deeply. And as we walk through this this morning, just in an introductory fashion, I want you to see four ways that Jesus is concerned for his people. People manifest himself. I want you to see four ways in which God's love manifests itself towards you. But before we look at these, I want to look back at where we have been. Remember, it is Wednesday in the Passion week. If you remember, Wednesday, been teaching in and out of the temple. Look at verses 1. As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Teacher, behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings. And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon one another, which will not be torn down. They come out of the temple, they look at the beautiful temple, and the disciples say, Man, look at this. Jesus says, Not one stone will be left upon another. So, in response to this bold statement, they come out of the temple, they go to the Mount of Olives, and in verses 3 and 4, the disciples ask him a question. Look at this. In this verse 3, as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple. So, picture the scene. They've come out of the temple. They've come to the Mount of Olives, which is about 100 or so feet higher than the Temple Mount. So they're looking down. They can see the Temple Mount and all of its beauty. And you've got to get a picture of what this must have felt like because the temple at the time took up about one-sixth of the city. So it loomed large over the city. Herod was in the process of making this the grandest building of the time, for sure. It was overlaid with gold. It very shortly. Shiny, very beautiful, spectacular building. And here they are sitting right across it. And he is speaking. And they ask him: Here comes Peter, James, and John, verse 3, and Andrew were questioning him privately. Tell us, verse 4, when will these things be? And what will be the sign that all these things are going to be fulfilled? Tell us. So you get the setting. They're on the mount opposite the temple. They can see it. The temple that Jesus has just said would come down. And then they ask a twofold question: when and what? Look back at verse 3. When will these things be? And what will be the sign when all of these things are going to be fulfilled? And the scope, picture the scope of what they're saying. The scope is not limited to the temple destruction. Sure, what he has said about the temple destruction has triggered their thinking. Okay, if the temple is going to come down, I want to know when this temple is going to come down. But also, there's a lot of things that go along with that. There is a reason it is coming down when all of these things are going to happen. He just talked about the temple, but it's like it represents something even more. So it's not limited just to the temple destruction, but it encompasses all things to the point of Christ's actual return on earth, the actual reign on earth. And Matthew makes this clear. Verse 3 of Matthew 24, as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him. Privately, tell us when all these things will happen. What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? So, as they're talking up there on the Mount of Olives, the disciples are bringing to the questions: when are these things going to happen? What is the final end of the age? Tell us when are all these things? See that word? All these things are going to take place. So, the in question involves the entire panoramic time sweep from the day they were on the Mount of Olives to the end of the age. The whole thing, tell us when all of this is going to be fulfilled. So, Jesus's answer begins in verse 4 and extends to the end of chapter 13. Very lengthy passage. It's the longest answer to any question certainly in the Gospels. The longest teaching section here in Mark. So, it is a very important passage for us to understand. And it involves the end times, the things that are coming. And Jesus wants his people to know what's coming, what they can expect. And so, with that, let's just pick up and read. I'm going to read through the whole thing just so you'll get a feel for the lay of the land. And we'll come back. As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple, Peter and James, and John and Andrew were questioning him privately. Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled? And Jesus began to say to them, See to it that. That no one misleads you. Many will come in my name, saying I am He, and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened. Those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. But be on your guard, for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death and father his child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be, let the reader understand. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. The one who is on the housetop must not go down or get into anything out of his house. And the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing. Babes in those days. But pray that it may not happen in the winter. For those days will be a time of tribulation, such as not occurred since the beginning of creation, which God created until now, and never will. Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. And then, if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or behold, he is there, do not believe them. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But take heed, behold, I have told you everything in advance. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send forth the angels and will gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest ends of the earth to the farthest end of heaven. Now learn the parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, too, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass. Pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey who, upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning, in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you, I say to all. Be on the alert.

11:16Wow. Kind of a lengthy answer, right? Well, this answer was not what the disciples were expecting. You can be sure. What were they expecting? They were expecting that kingdom to show up right away. A lot of this is due to their understanding of the Old Testament. And many Old Testament prophecies, we've already looked at the prophecies of Zechariah. Remember in Zechariah 9:9, we read the words, Rejoice, O daughter of Zion, shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humbled and mounted on a donkey, even a colt, the foal of a donkey. He had just come in on a donkey into Jerusalem just a few days ago. Public proclamation and formal announcement that he is Israel's king and he is coming in accordance with the prophecy of Zechariah. So, disciples very much know the prophecy of Zechariah. Then, here comes Zechariah 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. The end of Zechariah is very clearly God is reigning over all. Speaks about in that day, the Lord is going to go forth and fight for Jerusalem. In that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. In that day, there will be no light, or the luminaries will dwindle, the Holy Ones will come with him, and in that day, living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, and the Lord will be king over all the earth, and in that day, the Lord will be the only one, and his name the only one.

12:52And so they know the prophecy. Here they know he came in. They know who he is. They know he is the king. They know he is coming in fulfillment of prophecy. And they also know that the end of Zechariah is the global rule and reign of Christ. But what they miss is the middle chapters there. There is going to be rejection in chapter 11. Jesus is going to be sold for 30 pieces of silver. The shepherd is going to come in, and he's going to break his staff favor, and he's going to break his staff union. And then there's going to be this rising up of this worthless shepherd. Worthless shepherd and hostile nations are going to come against Israel. And then there's going to be this repentance period of Israel. In chapter 12 and 10, I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace, of supplication, so that they will look upon me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for me. There will be such a mourning in by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They will come to understand that they pierced their Messiah after they have served this worthless shepherd. And there will be this repentance, and then the restoration of Jerusalem comes. So a lot of their understanding of what's going to take place is based upon what the Old Testament prophets had said. But it's also, and we could look on many, many more passages. I'm cutting some out just to be brief, but their expectation of what was going to take place was based upon the Old Testament prophecies, but it was also based upon Jesus' own words. If you remember, in chapter 12, verse 1, he starts telling the story about the parable of the vineyard, vineyard owner, who comes and he plants a vineyard and he hires it out to these guys, and then he sends his slaves to reap the produce of it, and they wouldn't give it. And so he sends another slave and another slave, and finally they kill, they beat him. So finally, the vineyard owner goes and he sends his son, and what they do is they take the son, they throw him out, they kill him. And then Jesus asks this question: what do you think the owner? Of the vineyard is going to do. He says he's going to come and he's going to destroy the vine growers and he's going to give the vineyard to others. So their understanding is very much linked just with what Jesus had just said, the parable that God is going to destroy. And of course, they're linking these things. Of course, there is a link.

15:22But Jesus' answer of the future was not at all what they were expecting. They were expecting on good grounds that things are going to look better here. Because Jesus' answer clearly states that there's going to be hardship, there's going to be great persecution for the followers of Christ. And Jesus' answer implies the passing of significant time. Time is going to lapse. It's not happening right away. In fact, when you get to Acts 1:6, 40 days later, they say, at this time, are you going to restore the kingdom? No, we've got a lot more than 40 days for wars, rumors of wars. I can't even get through a court trial, you know, five years. How do you think they're going to drag people before the courts?

16:06Time. Time. Jesus was telling the disciples the future isn't going to be what you think it's going to be like or imagine it will be like. See, the future is going to be according to God's plan, and it may not be exactly the way you're thinking. In fact, I think we can relate, right? I think we can relate pretty well. There are going to be times in life when we think life ought. To be a certain way, and that God ought to do a certain thing, and that life ought to unfold in a certain way. And he's like, No, I've got a different plan. I've got a different plan. And even following Christ is going to have its surprises. Things aren't always going to be like we think they should be.

16:47But it's over and against this misguided expectations of the disciples that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gives his loving answer. And so, as we briefly move through this overview of this passage, I want you to see four ways the Good Shepherd's love for His people manifests itself. I want you to see how God's love manifests itself for His people. First thing, the Good Shepherd teaches His people. His expression of love and concern for His people is manifested by the fact that He teaches them. He teaches them, He gives them the raw facts. In answer to their question, He tells them the future course of human events. And He teaches them about three distinct phases of human history. First, the birth pains. And this is from verse 5 to 13. These are the birth pains. You can see in verse 9, going to start with deceivers. There's going to be war, there's going to be earthquakes, there's going to be all kinds of things going on. And he says to them in verse 9, but be on your guard. As for you, you be on your guard. You're going to be handed over to the courts. You're going to be flogged. You're going to go through a lot of things. There's going to be even but Betrayal of horrendous proportions, you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. That is the birth pangs. And just like the birth analogy increases with intensity, so that will be the birth pangs. And this is the current era. We're living in this era right here. This is the era that starts with all of it and goes all the way up until a very specific point in time. Everything here in verses 5 through 13, this birth pain, is all general language. But then he switches gear. A very specific phase in human history begins in verse 14. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be, notice this parentheses, let the reader understand. There's an audience, audience shift. In verse 9, he's telling the disciples, but you yourselves be on your guard, because let me tell you what's going to happen to you. And boy, it happened to him.

19:03But here he's like, let the reader understand. Tribulation, still future. It's going to be verse 19, for those days will be a time of tribulation such as not occurred since the beginning of creation. So you have the birth pangs, that which is leading, intensifying up to this great tribulation time. Then you're going to have the period of the tribulation. And then the third phase distinctions. Phase in human history begins in verse 24. But in those days, and notice the connection, after that tribulation, see the close connection. In those days, but after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from the skies, then they will see the Son of Man, verse 26, coming in the clouds with great power.

19:54He will come. So you have the birth pangs, you have the tribulation, and you have the second coming. We are in the current era of the birth pangs. Still future, the great tribulation, still future, the second coming. Closely connected. So he teaches them. But he also teaches them three distinct things that must take place. And this is based upon this verb in the Greek, must. Must. It's an interesting term, but three things must take place. Verse 7. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened. Those things must take place. In other words, let me tell you what life in a fallen world is going to be like. There are going to be wars. There are going to be rumors of wars. This is the nature of the world as we know it.

20:52There must be war. Second thing that must happen. Look at verse 10. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. In a world that is ravaged by war and sin and decay and darkness and evil, guess what is going to go forth? The gospel must be preached to all nations. There's a third thing. The abomination of desolation is going to stand where it must not be. What is this abomination of desolation? Well, it's the culminating expression of rebellion against God. Where is the place? There is unquestionably only one place: the mount, the temple mount. And this abomination will take his stand, literally perfectly. He will settle in, set himself up as the one to be worshipped. Just like Babel was the culminating expression of human rebellion, so there is this coming abomination of desolation, this man who sets himself up as the Christ, as the one. Isaiah said, Isaiah 14, I will sit on the mount of the assembly, and I will be like the Most High. That's Satan's goal from the very beginning, to be worshipped like God. And here comes that culminating expression. It must take place. And just like at Babel, when it did take place, God's judgment came, just like there is a future culminating expression where all the rebellion gets united under one head and takes a stand against the true God.

22:46These three things must take place. He teaches his people. Look at verse 23. But take heed. Behold, I've told you everything in advance. I'm kind of going back, you told us everything? Let me go back and read that again. You see, no, he said, I told you everything in advance. You have the mile markers. You have everything you need to pin what's going to happen right here. I've given it to you. Now, he may not have told us everything we wanted to know. I sure would have liked to have seen more detail. But you know what? He told us exactly what we needed to know. You see, the Good Shepherd teaches his people, and he gives us exactly what we need to know. He doesn't give us a bunch of superfluous information. He knows how to instruct his people. He's given us sufficient words about the future events, but not only the future events, he gives us sufficient words about how we are to live our life now.

23:42We are to listen to his morality. We are to listen to his ways. We are to be in submission to him. Our lifestyle, all that. He teaches us what we need to know. We're not lacking in that. Second thing the Good Shepherd does is he counsels his people. He counsels. His people. You see, he doesn't just lay out the brute facts of human history, but he counsels his people how to wisely live in the midst of human history. In other words, all these things are going to happen, so you be ready for them. He says, Let me tell you now, and given the fact that this is the case, let me tell you how you are to live. And he's got a defensive plan, and he's got an offensive plan. Defense. You're going to have to play some defense. There's danger ahead. There are going to be deceivers that are going to come. In all eras, there's going to be deceivers coming to lead you astray. Verse 6, verse 21, there are going to be false Christ. So be ready for deceivers. Second, they're going to be persecutors. And they're going to come from all sides. Look at verse 9, verse 12. All sides are going to come, even the closest relationships. There are going to be those who want to shake you from your faith by persecuting you. Be ready for that. Verse 13, people are going to hate you. Be ready for it. They're not going to deal with you according to some love of law necessarily. They're going to deal with you out of hate, and they're going to bend and twist the law so that they can exclude you. Get ready for it. And in verse 22, look who's expressly targeted. It is the elect. All this stuff and wonders in order to lead possible the elect. It's like the elect of God are right in the center of all this action.

25:26Everything's coming against them. And through them is coming the beautiful. Gospel message going forth to the world. That's the events to come and going on. So be ready for it. Play defense, but you're also going to have an offensive planned. You are going to be a witness for Christ. This is what verses 9 and 10 are saying: that the gospel is going to preach and going to be preached to all nations. Don't worry when they hand you over. Don't worry when they arrest you because this is going to take place. Luke 21:13 says your arrest is going to lead for an opportunity for the gospel to go forth. So don't worry about this because God is going to use it. The Holy Spirit is going to speak through you to the generation.

26:12And you are going to testify to the good news, which all people need to hear. So get ready to play defense, but get ready to play offense because there's going to come times God is going to use you through your trials, through your tribulations, to exalt the name of Christ and to preach the message that dying world needs to hear. So be ready. It's an exhortation. Verse 5 says, see to it. Same verb, be ready. Verse 9, be on your guard. Same verb, be ready. Verse 23, but take heed. Same verb, be ready. So the good shepherd, he teaches his people, but he doesn't just give us the brute facts. He teaches us how to live in light of those. He shepherds and he counsels his people. So he teaches, he counsels, but the good shepherd also comforts his people. He comforts his people. In each distinct phase of human history, he gives words of comfort. And I want you to see this. Look at verse 7. Here you are when there are wars, rumors of wars going on all around you. Look at what he says. Verse 7: Do not be frightened. Don't be frightened. This stuff's going to come and go. Don't worry. And then in verse 11, when they arrest you, perhaps when you've even been betrayed by your closest relatives and all that, and when you're arrested, look at what he says. Don't worry. Don't worry. Don't worry about what you're going to say, but whatever is given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit. Don't worry.

27:41And then he says in verse 13, endure to the end, because those who endure to the end will be saved. There is a salvation at the end. And when you get done with all this enduring, let me tell you something: that salvation is going to be so far greater than anything you have endured. Paul said it's not even worth comparing what I have gone through compared to what I am going to receive. So even in this birth pain section, in the verse 5 through 13, there is comfort. But even in the future tribulation period, there are words of comfort. All forces, the final expression of human rebellion against God, and it's being taken out on his elect. Look at verse 20. And he says, But I've shortened the days for the sake of the elect. No life would have made it through there, but for the elect, for my people, I've shortened the days. In other words, God hasn't forgotten. Forgotten his people. He has not forgotten a single one.

28:35And then he says, verse 22, when all these false Christs appear, and here they are, purposefully doing all their signs and wonders for the purpose of deceiving the elect. He says, it's impossible to deceive the elect. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But it's not. His people are going to stand. And then, then you see in the second coming, the comforting words there, then you're going to see the Son of Man coming. And look at what he says. He's going to come with great power. Verse 27, and then he will send forth the angels and will gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest ends of the earth to the farthest end of the heaven. He is gathering them all. Not a single one is going to be missing. He knows them by name. And there is going to be this gathering. Not a single one will be missing.

29:42So the Good Shepherd, He teaches, He counsels, and He comforts. But the Good Shepherd also prays for His people. I don't want you to miss this. It's not specifically in this text right here, but it is closely associated with it. I remember. I remember when I was little, I had this wonderful period of my childhood where I was at home before going to kindergarten. And my mom stayed home, and she loved to play games, and I loved to play games with her. And we played games day after day. Then came that dreadful day where I had to go to kindergarten. And I can still remember being dropped off at this place, watching her drive away, and my tears just started coming down. I remember having that sinking feeling of being abandoned, right?

30:37Well, think about what Jesus has just said about following Christ. You're going to be hated. You're going to be abandoned by your family. All nations, all people are going to hate you because of my sake. Jesus has a heart for his people. Going to John, we're on Wednesday now, the very next day he celebrates Passover. He washes the feet of the disciples. And the disciples know he's going away. And then he says this in chapter 14: he says, Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

31:28He knows. He's like, I'm not going to just. Abandon you. And then he goes on in verse 16. It says, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper, one just like me, that he may be with you forever. That is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him, but you know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. You can kind of think of how the disciples are feeling right now. They're in Jerusalem, and he's leaving. And he knows. They can feel the heat. They can feel the pressure. They believed his word, and this is what made them hated. Go over to John chapter 17. As Jesus then moves on out that evening, and he goes and he prays for his people. In verse 6, he's praying to the Father, and he's praying for his disciples. I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. And then look in verse 11.

32:35I am no longer in the world, and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name. Do you see the prayer? And he goes on. Verse 14: I have given them your word, and the world has hated them for it, because they are not of this world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world. But to keep them from the evil one. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. Verse 17. Verse 20, and this is where your name is on the pages of Scripture. It says, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those who believe in me through their word. That's us.

33:19That they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you. Get this picture of him praying for his people. Not just his disciples, but through all who would receive his word and be hated in the world because of his word. He is not going to leave or abandon. I am very aware of the direction our nation is going, and as I train my kids to think biblically, I realize I am setting them right on collision course with the world that hates them. And I can tell you, as a father, I pray for that. And let me tell you something about the Good Shepherd. He has given you His Word, and He has set you on course in a world that is going to hate you.

34:05Listen, feel His heart. He is not going to abandon His people. You know, He experienced a separation on the cross between the Father that we can't understand. But the writer of Hebrews said that he had to experience this to be made perfect. He had to do this to be made perfect. We think, how in the world could the Son be made perfect? He had to be made a perfect high priest. He understood, he had to go through this separation. And guess what? He's never going to put us through that. He promises to be with us forever. And that's what makes him a perfect high priest. He prays for us. He prays for his people even now.

34:45He didn't stop. So the question is this morning: who is the shepherd of your soul? Who is the shepherd of your soul? Are you serving a worthless shepherd? Or are you serving the good shepherd? The good shepherd expresses his love for his people by teaching them, by counseling them, by comforting them, and by praying for them. He promises to come back for his own. He doesn't say exactly when, but he promises to come back. Look at verse 32 of Mark 13. What I say to you, I say to all, be on the alert. The critical thing is not when, but that he is coming back, and that you are to live alert as if he could come at any moment. So it comes back to the question I asked earlier. If you knew the Lord was going to return in the next 15 minutes, how would you live? What would you do?

35:44The command is to be ready at any time. Your lifestyle, you should really not have to change anything a whole lot about what you would do because your lifestyle should be daily a reflection of your love for the good shepherd. So whatever you are doing now, whatever. Whatever you're doing in 15 minutes, whatever you're doing in 30 minutes, whatever you're doing a day from now, however you plan to spend the next week of your life, all needs to be an expression of supreme love for the great shepherd. That is how you are to live. That is what being ready is like.

36:20So it's not a matter of when. And you look at verse 32, but of that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son. Very interesting. If the timing of his return was that critical, guess what? The angels might know. You'd expect them to know. But certainly the Son should know, right? It's irrelevant. What is relevant is living your life in the truth that he is coming. That is the response of faith. He is coming. Whether you have a day, an hour, a week, a year, ten years, how are you going to use them in the light that he is coming? And my exhortation to you is, brothers and sisters, serve the Good Shepherd. Love Him. Let your lifestyle be a love story to Him.

37:14And if He's not your Good Shepherd, call upon Him now because He promises not to cast anyone out who calls upon Him. Let's pray.