LOS ANGELES -  If you have seen the news lately, it is impossible to have missed the fact that the Golden State is in trouble! Wildfires are raging unchecked, bringing catastrophic devastation and loss of life, particularly in the Los Angeles area. As of this writing (January 9, 2025), the fires have ended at least six lives, razed thousands of residences to the ground, and turned over 180,000 citizens into refugees right in their own state. In such a circumstance, it would be easy for anyone to despair. Nevertheless, despite the sorrow and destruction, hope and the light of Christ continue to endure. In response to the relentless inferno, Christian organizations and congregations have mobilized to provide relief and support. The Salvation Army is actively seeking donations to offer essentials such as meals, first aid, and temporary housing to those affected. Similarly, Convoy of Hope is delivering immediate relief supplies, including water, food, and hygiene items, to the Los Angeles...

"Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."    -2 Cor.  3:1-6, ESV Since I received Christ Jesus as my Savior and...