HACKED BY NESAS_0DAY

Tag: Psalm 139

  • The Only Foundation for Human Identity and Worth

    The Only Foundation for Human Identity and Worth

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” type=”legacy”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_sizes_right=”” first=”true”][fusion_text]

    Article published on The Gospel Coalition Africa, July 29, 2024. By Rosie Moore.

    King David’s worldview expressed in Psalm 139, that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” is the only true foundation for human identity and worth. It is also the bedrock for fundamental human rights and liberties. David knew that the Creator who fashioned his innermost being in the womb would continue to care for him throughout his life. When this truth is discarded, Satan gets a foothold, and promotes the dehumanising, degrading worldview that we see shaping thoughts on the body and biology today.

    Counterfeit Ideas

    When we reject God’s beliefs about human identity and worth, we adopt counterfeit ideas about ourselves and the world we live in. Nihilism, associated with the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, is the belief that there is no meaning in anything that exists.

    When nihilism creeps into a person’s worldview, depression, self-loathing, self-hatred, self-mutilation, crime, drug addiction and suicide are typical results. There is no sense that life is precious, purposeful, and worthwhile. Nihilism is a profoundly hopeless worldview with a heavy influence in our world.

    David knew that we have inherent value, without needing to create an identity.

     

    Another counterfeit idea is existentialism, the belief that you are worth nothing until you make something of yourself through your own actions. Your story is yours to create, and you are free to create any meaning you choose. Your significance is entirely up to you. You can be whatever you want to be. If you believe you are beautiful, you will be beautiful! Jean-Paul Sartre’s godless philosophy has influenced the thought patterns of atheists and Christians alike.

    Both nihilism and existentialism are deceptive atheistic philosophies that oppose God as Creator, nullifying human identity and worth. In contrast, David praised the Lord for creating his body “fearfully and wonderfully” (Psalm 139:14a). He knew that he had inherent value without needing to change or create an identity of his own. He knew that human life did not just evolve from impersonal forces but was meticulously crafted by a loving Creator.

    Intrinsic Human Identity and Worth

    A Biblical worldview places an intrinsic and equal value on each human life from the time of conception, as we are created in God’s image and known by God. This means that there are no redundant people, and no one’s worth exceeds another’s. Personhood begins when all twenty-three pairs of chromosomes are present.

    Many argue that a woman has a right to terminate the life of her unborn child when motherhood is a burden or a shame to her. Other women are pressured to have an abortion because the father does not want to accept the responsibility of a baby born outside of marriage. Still others claim that the foetus is not a person, though it is biologically a human being.

    The ideology of abortion threatens intrinsic human identity and worth.

     

    Abortion is not an issue of family planning or women’s reproductive healthcare; it is the murder of a human life, made in God’s image. The ideology of abortion threatens the intrinsic human identity and worth of all people. God stands against the taking of the life of children in the womb and after birth, and he also calls on his church to support and love pregnant women, because both have intrinsic value.

    The Hallmark of a Christ Follower

    Satan has always targeted children, the weak and vulnerable.

     

    Secular culture ties human value to productivity and performance, and dehumanises those who lack certain cognitive abilities. Psalm 139, on the other hand, is a cry of justice for the abused and voiceless, the old and needy, the disabled and despondent. Many people have been led to believe that they are a burden to society and that their lives are worthless. But Satan has always targeted children, the weak and vulnerable. He has always promoted infanticide, child slavery and child sacrifice. One of the hallmarks of a Christ follower is that we speak and act for the powerless and the voiceless (Proverbs 31:8-9; Psalm 146:7; 82:3-4).

    Our Bodies Have Dignity

    David is remembered as a great king and shepherd, but I doubt any of us would regard him as a man of science. Yet, three thousand years ago, inspired by the Holy Spirit, David wrote truths about human development which have been confirmed by the study of embryology and DNA in recent decades. David described his body as a ‘frame intricately woven in the depths of the earth’ (Psalm 139:15), like a tapestry with meticulous hand stitching.

    The process of three-dimensional DNA helixes, winding and unwinding to make proteins for human growth, looks a lot like knitting or weaving. And now we know, without a doubt, that an unborn child is a living, distinct, whole human being from the time of conception. Our DNA is unique and unchangeable; each of us is a walking miracle of irreducible complexity from the time of conception.

    We cannot unhitch our physical lives from our spiritual lives.

     

    Because God has created our inmost being, we cannot unhitch our physical lives from our spiritual lives. While there is a danger of obsessing about our bodies, there’s also a danger in de-valuing them or separating what we do with our bodies from our worship. The Christian worldview upholds the dignity of the body and biology, in stark contrast to the world’s pervasive hostility towards human identity and worth.

    Although our bodies are ageing and decaying day-by-day, we are not less than the bodies that God has given us. We are embodied souls. Jesus had a physical body like ours, when “the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). He gave his body to redeem us and to raise our bodies on the last day; our bodies are part of God’s redemption story. As Christians, we must reject every attempt of the enemy to subvert God’s order for human beings.

    The Body Is a Gift From God

    And so, regardless of our body’s weaknesses and imperfections, David reminds us that the body is a gift from God. We should be in awe of its incredible design and functionality. It is sinful to reject, despise, harm or wish for a different body than that which God has given us to steward.

    The body is a gift from God.

     

    The Bible equips us to live in our bodies as sexual beings. We should not look to the world for wisdom on these matters. Our bodies have been created through Christ and for Christ, to do the things that God has made them to do (Colossians 1:16-17). God has called us to sexual purity, as well as sexual enjoyment within marriage between a man and a woman (Proverbs 5:15-16; Matthew 5:27-30; 1 Corinthians 7:3-5).

    David and the Apostle Paul were in perfect agreement: “The body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:13). Therefore, “glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20). Our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Spirit” who dwells in us (1 Corinthians 6:19), and since our bodies belong to God, it matters what we do with them (1 Corinthians 6:13-20).

    Glorifying God in Our Bodies

    In light of our human identity and worth, glorifying God in our bodies is not just about what we avoid, but also about what we do positively—how we work, eat and exercise, what we do to help others, how we nourish our minds, how we listen to others and control our passions, and what we say with our mouths.

    The Bible gives us practical wisdom on how to live well in our bodies.

     

    The Bible gives us practical wisdom on how to live well in our bodies. Issues like sleep, sex, laziness, hard work, indulgence, gluttony, anxiety, and self-control are not trivial to God (Psalm 127:2; Proverbs 9-11; Ecclesiastes 5:12, Song of Solomon 2:3-6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; Romans 13:13; Proverbs 23:2-3, 21; Hebrews 12:16-17; Philippians 4:6-8; Matthew 5:30; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Proverbs 5).

    As Christians who seek to glorify God in our bodies, we need to counter the dehumanising worldview of secular culture by seeing our bodies as God sees them–worthy and valuable. After all, one day God will raise our weak and broken bodies in glory, strength and power (1 Cor 15:35-58). The resurrection of believers will be just like that of Christ–real, physical and recognisable. God will give each of us a transformed body that retains our own unique identity, but is immortal and incorruptible (1 Cor 6:14; 15:37,38,42). Jesus says that the righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of our Father (Matt 13:43).

    This promise of a future resurrection reminds us that our bodies are not going to be thrown away, but renewed and revitalised. Just as God made us– body and soul, He will redeem us– body and soul. All that God made is good, and He will redeem what He has made (Rom 8:22-24).

    Our belief in the dignity of the body and biology should frame the way we see substance abuse; sexual immorality; mental illness, self-harm and suicide; transgenderism and marriage; the clothes we wear and the selfies we post; female circumcision; and pornography; eugenics and gene therapies; euthanasia, abortion and sex-trafficking. These are not just social or cultural issues. They are matters of the human body with deep spiritual roots, in which Satan has profoundly vested interests.

    [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

    Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]

    Part 2 of Psalm 139, by Rosie Moore.

    “For you formed my inward parts;
        you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
    14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
        my soul knows it very well.
    15 My frame was not hidden from you,
    when I was being made in secret,
        intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
    16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
    in your book were written, every one of them,
        the days that were formed for me,
        when as yet there was none of them (Ps 139:13-16)

    David is remembered as a great king and leader, poet and musician, courageous warrior and tender shepherd, sinner and man after God’s own heart. But I doubt any of us would regard David as a man of science. Yet, three thousand years ago, he understood the truths about conception and human development, which have been confirmed by the study of embryology and DNA in the last few decades.

    The process of three-dimensional DNA helixes, winding and unwinding to make proteins for human growth, looks a lot like knitting or weaving.  And now we know, without a doubt, that an unborn child is a living, distinct, unique, whole human being from the time of conception.

    Fearfully and wonderfully made.

    In these verses, David demonstrates a healthy attitude towards himself and his Creator. He assumes that God rules providentially over his life even when he was just a dot in his mother’s womb. He doesn’t view himself as an accident or a mistake. Thanks to ultrasound technology, we are now able to see just how fearfully and wonderfully God has made every human being, as He is the inventor of procreation.

    An unborn baby not only bears a unique human fingerprint, but also the fingerprint of a loving God stamped on its forty-six chromosomes.

    From the moment of conception, the embryo has its own unique genetic code that is different from its mother and father’s. It grows by cellular reproduction; metabolizes food into energy and responds to stimuli. Between twelve and eighteen weeks, the foetus feels pain and reacts to stress in a way that resembles an adult’s response.

    But David’s positive understanding of his life and his body is not just a mantra to affirm his self esteem, nor is it wishful thinking. It is firmly rooted in the imago dei, namely  that human beings are different and distinctive from animals, plants and the rest of Creation. As God’s image-bearers, men and women are made to be the Creator’s visible representatives on earth (Genesis 1:27), to rule in his place.  Thus, David’s self esteem is based squarely on God’s estimation of him:

    “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”.

    David understood himself through the lens of Genesis 1:27-31, which our society seems to be defying at the deepest level. He knew that God has a plan for each of his image bearers from conception, throughout their lives, through death and into eternity.

    David knew that mankind was made to “be fruitful, increase in number and fill the earth” (Gen 1:28); to rule over every living thing and produce food from the earth, whilst living in harmony with the rest of creation (Gen 1:29-31). Of course, sin spoilt everything, but David knew that God’s image remains in humanity.

    And because David assumed the imago dei, he knew that his intrinsic worth had nothing to do with his accomplishments or status as king. His value was not conferred on him by society, but endowed by God the Creator. His value as a human was therefore inalienable.

    We can either praise God for being the wonderful Creator that He is, or depose Him and adopt our own ideas of what it means to be human.

    Whatever happened to the human race?

    Recently I re-read Francis Shaeffer’s classic, “Whatever Happened to the Human Race,” and was struck by his prophetic warnings about the war on Western society’s foundations for faith and freedom. In 1979, Schaeffer wrote,

    “If man is not made in God’s image, nothing stands in the way of inhumanity. There is no good reason why mankind should be perceived as special. Human life is cheapened. We can see this in the many major issues being debated in our society today: abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, the increase of child abuse and violence of every kind, pornography (and its particular kinds of violence as evidenced in sadomasochism), the routine torture of political prisoners, the crime explosion and the random violence which surrounds us.”

    I think there are at least three practical principles that flow out of Psalm 139:13-16:

    1. Every human has intrinsic value.
    2. God has ordained the days of our lives.
    3. Our bodies matter to God.

    Today we will focus on the first one. Let’s ask the Lord to make this principle real in our lives.

    1. Every human has intrinsic worth.

    Ps 139:13-16 answers two crucial questions: What does it mean to be human? What makes us valuable? These questions are the volcanic hot spot of every emotive debate in our culture.

    The fact that God creates, knows and cares for the unborn in the unseen haven of a woman’s uterus, means that God’s concern for all life begins at conception. And logically, this must mean that God’s people also have the responsibility to care for children in the womb.

    The reason for abortion on demand is that our society has assumed the right to determine human value. Humanity has re-defined what it means to be human and usurped God’s right over life and death. Quite simply, our culture no longer believes that God has knitted us together in our mother’s womb, nor that there is a purpose for our existence.

    You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

    The recent overturning of Roe v Wade should be celebrated by every Christian worldwide as a small step in pushing back what Francis Schaeffer described in 1979 as “the slaughter of the innocents”. Schaeffer warned that the judgment of God would be upon any nation involved in this slaughter.

    Yet, today’s desperate fight for the right to kill babies in the womb, (and even shortly after birth for the harvesting of human tissue) is framed as a reproductive health or choice issue; a women’s rights or constitutional issue; an economic, philosophical or religious issue. It is often seen as a private matter between a woman and her doctor. It’s presented as the compassionate option.

    But it’s impossible to ignore the silent, small victim who is ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ by our loving Creator. What if the unborn had a voice and could express their choice? One person’s unfair or hard circumstances can never justify intentionally taking the life of an innocent victim.

    So, while God is concerned for every pregnant mother, he sees another person in the mother’s womb who is worthy of care and protection. Psalm 139:13-16 tells us that an embryo is not a constructed thing, a clump of cells or a piece of flesh. God sees both the unborn child and the mother, made in his image.

    Human worth is totally unrelated to how independent or ‘viable’ a person is. My son is dependent on an insulin pump for survival, but his life has equal value to any other twenty-three year old. The elderly, sick and disabled rely on caregivers and chronic medications, but that doesn’t make them less worthy of protection. Human dignity and worth only exists because we’ve been made in God’s image.

    Moreover, since we are not the Creator, we do not have the right to confer or withdraw the rights of ‘personhood’. Human beings have rights simply because we are human. They are automatic and intrinsic, because God has bestowed them. This is the basis for human dignity and the only safeguard against terrible atrocities and degradation.

    The basis for human dignity.

    The ‘image of God’ remains the only basis for human rights. We have taken these rights for granted in Constitutional democracies, but they are under siege from every angle—The right to life and freedom from cruel treatment; the right to property, privacy and bodily integrity; the right to work, think and express one’s thoughts, the right to human dignity and equal protection under the law.

    But what happens to human rights if we reject the imago dei? We are walking on dangerous quicksand if we remove the foundation set out in Genesis 1 and 2.

    One example of this quicksand is evident in the Sustainable Development goals imposed on the world’s nations as part of Agenda 2030. As Christians, the Bible says that God has entrusted mankind with dominion over Creation, but it’s limited because we are creatures and not the Creator. So our role is to responsibly rule the creation and make it a suitable habitat until the Creator comes back to reclaim it. We are to be good stewards of the earth.

    However, there are many who argue that the world can only sustain around half a billion people. They claim that we have until 2030 to get the numbers down in order to survive, as we’re in a climate emergency.

    I am tempted to ask: “Who are the seven billion people that must eliminated on this planet, and who is going to decide that? What if the fertilizer bans and zero carbon emissions goals destroy agricultural industries and lead to mass famine and starvation?” Time and time again in history, so-called ‘utopias’ have led to human devastation, degradation and enslavement.

    The dangerous truth is that atheists do not believe that God created human beings in his image. They reject God as Creator, his order of Creation, man’s inherent value and the mandate to rule that God established at the beginning of the world. Consequently, this worldview does not see human beings as unique, worthwhile and irreplaceable. We are no different from the animals and the trees.

    When the human race is no longer seen as made in God’s image, there is really no basis for treating people well and no barrier to abusing or even eradicating them. Even the words ‘crime’ and ‘cruelty’ lose their meanings.  Thus, the cruel calls even for late term abortions come as no surprise.

    When humanity is devalued for long enough, the unthinkable becomes acceptable.

    A fierce spiritual battle.

    While we should pray for those who do not see the value of every human life and show grace and truth in conversations with those who disagree, Christians cannot celebrate choices that inflict suffering on the poor and the weak, even if they’re couched in compassionate words.

    As Randy Alcorn points out here, there is a fierce spiritual battle raging at the heart of abortion. “Abortion is Satan’s attempt to kill God in effigy by destroying the little ones created in God’s image.” It is essentially a war against God.

    As a final word on the principle of intrinsic worth, I thought I’d share the comments of a profoundly handicapped man called Craig who was born without a left leg and without arms below the elbows. Today he would probably have been eliminated in the womb due to serious birth defects:

    “They don’t really see that what they are talking about is murder. I know, when I was born, the first thing my dad said to my mom was that “this one needs our love more.” An individual with a handicap needs our love and needs us to help him grow into the being that God has made him to be. They are advocating that we destroy these children before they’re even given a chance to live and conquer their handicaps.

    I’m very glad to be alive. I live a full, meaningful life. I have many friends and many things that I want to do in life. I think the secret of living with a handicap is realizing who you are—that you’re a human being, someone who is very special—looking at the things you can do in spite of your handicap, and maybe even through your handicap.” (Schaeffer, Whatever happened to the human race?)

    Prayer

    Lord, thank you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in your image. We are built and designed by you. Our unique bodies, brains, eyes and ears bear your unmistakable marks as master craftsman, master designer and master builder. Thank you that we are not just the product of impersonal forces such as time and chance and natural selection. Help us to trust in your providence as our Creator and to represent you well on this earth until you return. Help us to to protect the dignity and worth of every human being, as you do. And help us to nourish and respect our bodies, as we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Amen.

    Join us next week for our final devotion in “The Days formed for me.” We’ll look at the last two principles from Psalm 139:13-16:

    1. God has ordained the days of our lives.
    2. Our bodies matter to God.

    Sources:

    1. Megan Almon, The Case for Life and the Gospel, Life training institute, June 2022.

    2. Francis Schaeffer, Whatever happened to the Human Race? (Crossway Books, 1979)

    3. Randy Alcorn, There’s a fierce spiritual battle at the heart of abortion.

    4. Randy Alcorn, Why Pro Life? Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers.

     

    [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”5%” padding_right=”5%” hundred_percent=”yes” equal_height_columns=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_3″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”center center” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/fusion_imageframe][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”2_3″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”2%” margin_top=”2%” margin_bottom=”2%” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Receive our latest devotion in your Inbox[/fusion_title][fusion_code]Q2xpY2sgZWRpdCBidXR0b24gdG8gY2hhbmdlIHRoaXMgY29kZS4=[/fusion_code][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”5%” padding_right=”5%” hundred_percent=”yes” equal_height_columns=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Other devotions from the God Walk…[/fusion_title][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_recent_posts layout=”default” hover_type=”none” columns=”3″ number_posts=”6″ offset=”” cat_slug=”devotion” exclude_cats=”” thumbnail=”yes” title=”yes” meta=”no” excerpt=”yes” excerpt_length=”0″ strip_html=”yes” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][/fusion_recent_posts][fusion_text]– more devotions –[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]