Our scripture reading for this evening, brothers and sisters, to which I invite you to turn with me at this time, is found in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings, the fifth chapter. It's after the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, before the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, chapter 5. We're going to be reading this entire chapter. But I draw your special attention, brothers and sisters, to verses 19-27. As verses 19-27 will constitute our text for tonight. 2 Kings 5, beginning in verse 1, hear then the word of the Lord. Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded. because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, if only my master would see the prophet who was in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy. Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. By all means, go, the king of Aram replied. I will send a letter to the king of Israel. So Naaman left, taking with him 10 talents of silver, 6,000 shekels of gold, and 10 sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read, with this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy. Soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me. When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message, Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed. But Naaman went away angry and said, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. are not Abana and Farpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed? So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman's servants went to him and said, My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he tells you, wash and be cleansed? So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him. and his flesh was restored, and he became clean like a young boy. The Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant. The prophet answered, As surely as the Lord lives whom I serve, I will not accept a thing. And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. If you will not, said Naaman, please, let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry. For your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing. When my master enters the temple of Ramon to bow down, and he is leaning on my arm, and I bow there also, when I bow down in the temple of Ramon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this. Go in peace, Elisha said. After Naaman had traveled some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him. So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. "'Is everything all right?' he asked. "'Everything is all right,' Gehazi answered. "'My master sent me to say, "'Two young men from the company of the prophets "'have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. "'Please, give them a talent of silver "'and two sets of clothing.' "'By all means, take two talents,' said Naaman. "'He urged Gehazi to accept them, "'and then tied up the two talents of silver "'in two bags with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away, and they left. Then he went in and stood before his master, Elisha. Where have you been, Gehazi? Elisha asked. Your servant didn't go anywhere, Gehazi answered. But Elisha said to him, Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or men's servants and maidservants? Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.' And Gehazi went from Elisha's presence, and he was leprous, as white as snow." Thus far the reading of God's holy word. And as always, brothers and sisters, I ask and urge you to keep your Bibles open and handy as we look to God's Word together at the close of this Lord's Day. Dear congregation of Jesus Christ, perhaps you have been following the local news headlines concerning the Clifton Diner manager was recently arrested for plotting the kidnapping, torture, and murder of his wife's uncle, who happened to be the restaurant owner. And he did so simply to attempt to obtain the combination to a safe in the Manhattan restaurant also owned by this man. Well, by the grace and providence of God, the ones in whom he confided this heinous plot and the ones whom he sought to hire to carry out this dastardly deed were undercover state troopers from the Violent and Organized Crime North Bureau. Now this man is in prison awaiting trial, being held on $1 million bail. Think of it. Ah, but notice. Not everyone who is in violation of the 8th commandment of God's holy law, recorded for us, for example, in Exodus 20.15, namely, you shall not steal. Not everyone who violates that command is guilty of the same crimes as this restaurant manager. For example, in question and answer 110 of the Heidelberg Catechism, the question is asked, what does God forbid in the 8th commandment? And as we confessed together a few moments ago, the answer is he forbids not only outright theft and robbery, punishable by law, but in God's sight, theft also includes cheating and swindling our neighbor by schemes made to appear legitimate. such as inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume, fraudulent merchandising, counterfeit money, excessive interest, or any other means forbidden by God. In addition, He forbids all greed and pointless squandering of His gifts. And then interestingly enough, as question 111 continues, the catechism goes on to instruct us. In question 111 we learn that there are not only certain negative behaviors which are forbidden by the eighth commandment of God's law, But question 111 tells us that there are also very, very positive, good activities and actions which God's people must also engage in in order to fulfill that eighth commandment of God's holy law. And so, brothers and sisters, when we bring this confessional information to bear, in the words of our text for this evening in 2 Kings 5, verses 19 through 27, we find that by God's grace, through faith, All true Christians everywhere must seek to fulfill not simply the negative requirements of God's 8th commandment, but the positive implications and applications as well. And we must do so not in order to earn our own salvation. The Bible says that the best we do, the best good works we do, are like filthy rags in the eyes of a holy God. And Ephesians 2 verse 8 and 9 says, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, lest any man should boast. But we seek to fulfill both the negative and positive implications and aspects of God's law out of sheer gratitude for this great and gracious salvation which God has accomplished for us and given to us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. And to the extent that by His grace and the power of His Spirit we can fulfill both aspects of that commandment, the Bible says that we will also then be able to avoid both the sin as well as the painful and perilous consequences of the greed of Gehazi. Now then, As we begin to work our way through the words of our text and consider together this theme of the greed of Gehazi, let us notice, first of all, that his greed was rooted in contemplation. It was rooted in contemplation. For example, skim over verses 17 and 18 of 2 Kings 5 with me, if you would, just for a moment. Here we realize that Naaman has been miraculously cleared of his leprosy. He has been cleansed white as snow. Out of deep gratitude to the prophet Elisha, he wants to give him a gift and Elisha will not accept any gift. And so, as we read a moment ago, he desires to simply take some dirt. He wants to take some earth from Israel to bring back to his homeland in Aram, so that he might remember to worship only the one true God, the Lord Yahweh, the covenant-making, covenant-keeping God of Israel. That's a bit of the context. Now, as we get to the words of our text, in verse 19, we read, Go in peace, Elisha said. That's one word in the Hebrew. Elisha simply said to him, Shalom. He said, Shalom, meaning not simply peace in the sense of an absence of war, but meaning health, prosperity, wholeness, well-being, indeed even salvation. Elisha said, Shalom. Now notice, after Naaman had traveled some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, the man of Elohim, the Hebrew says, said to himself, he is now thinking within himself, my master, The Hebrew is my Adonai. He's showing here great respect and honor for Elisha. He says, my master, my Adonai, was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean. And you can almost sense the disdain in his voice. Now he is speaking very disrespectfully with great dishonor of this officer, Naaman. He says, my master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. as surely as the LORD lives." Notice all the capital letters, as surely as the LORD, Yahweh, lives. Now Gehazi seems to be violating the third commandment of God's law by misusing the name of God. He is taking God's name in vain. He says, as surely as the LORD lives, I will run after Him and get something from Him. Friends, think about that. Think about the way in which Gehazi was sort of ruminating within himself. He was contemplating within himself what his desire was, what he wanted to do. And by sort of toying with that sin in his mind, he allowed the subsequent sins of envy and greed and covetousness to take root and to also bear a bitter fruit. in his heart and in his mind and his soul. It began with his thinking, his ruminating over the sinful possibilities. Sound familiar? Genesis 3 tells us that that is precisely the very same way Satan sought to seduce Eve in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man. When she saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye. She took some and ate it and gave it to her hubs and also ate it. And they realized they were naked and they hid themselves, et cetera. Friends, it isn't only Eve, it isn't only Gehazi whom Satan tries to tempt that way. Isn't it true that that is also the same way that Satan, that the root of sin takes root and bears fruit in your heart and life and in mine? It's classic. It's absolutely classic. James 1. Turn there with me, if you would, please, toward the end of the New Testament, right after the book of James. James 1. The Apostle James, brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, leader of the church in Jerusalem, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in James 1, verses 13 through 15, writes this. He says, when tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me, For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. But each one is tempted, when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." You see, that is why you and I need to rip up and root out sin at the very start. We need to beware the very first seeds of sin that are being sown in our hearts and our minds and our Contemplations and our ruminations and we need to rip them up and root about and crucify him to use the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians chapter 3 Before they bear such bitter fruit as they did in the heart and life of Gehazi But now we might ask well Well, personally and practically speaking, how are we to do that? How can we fortify ourselves against those sins being watered, against those sins being conceived and ultimately leading to an eternal death? Well, for example, let's go to the book of Romans, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. Turn to Romans 12 with me, please. The first two verses, Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. In Romans 12, 1 and 2, the apostle Paul declares, therefore, And he's basically drawing on the whole good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And now he gets very practical. And he says, therefore, I urge you, brethren, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. Boys and girls, young people, the world is continually trying to force you into its mold to be like it. And the Bible says, ward against that. Do not allow the world to force you into its mold, to form you into its mold, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Listen. Garbage in, garbage out. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will. Now, the Apostle Paul picks up on that same theme in 2 Corinthians 10. If you would turn several pages to the right with me, please. 1 and 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 10. And let's look at verses 3-5. 2 Corinthians 10, verses 3-5. Here Paul writes, For though we live in the world, We do not wage war as the world does. We sang tonight, a mighty fortress is our God. Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power, they have divine dunamis to demolish strongholds. One little word shall fell Him, as we sang. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Get this. And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Take captive every thought. You can only think one thought at the same time. And if we're thinking on godly things, if we're thinking on holy things, if we're thinking on righteous things, we can't we can't be thinking on sinful things. It is physiologically impossible. Similarly, turn with me finally on this court, the first Timothy, chapter six, first Timothy, chapter six. right after the Thessalonians. And in 1 Timothy 6, verses 6 through 12, Paul writes, But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. Billy Graham once said, I've never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul. And that's true. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and have pierced themselves with many griefs. You see, brothers and sisters, our meditation, our internalization, our application of these and similar kinds of biblical texts will fortify us, they will arm us, they will enable us to rip up and root out those seeds of sin before they take root and bear a bitter fruit in your heart and life and mind. And the reason that is so is because we see it in the greed of Gehazi. It was rooted in contemplation. It was rooted in contemplation. Ah, but notice, let's go back to 2 Kings 5 once again together, where secondly we find that the greed of Gehazi was revealed in capitulation. It was revealed in capitulation. Boys and girls, young people, capitulation basically means to yield. To surrender. To give in. In this particular instance, it refers to a giving in to a particular sin. The sin of greed. It was revealed in capitulation. For example, look at verses 21 and 22 of 2 Kings 5 with me, if you would please. So, Gehazi hurried after Naaman. Naaman saw him running toward him. He got down from the chariot to meet him. Naaman here is showing Gehazi great honor, great respect. He gets down out of his chariot, lowering himself, if you will. Is everything all right? He asked. Single word in the original. Naaman gets down out of his chariot and he says, Shalom. Same thing that Elisha said to him in verse 19 when he sent him off. Shalom, he says. Is everything all right? Verse 22. Everything is all right, Gehazi answered, again a single answer. Shalom? Shalom. So they said to each other. My master, my Adonai, sent me to say, two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talon of silver and two sets of clothing. All of which, of course, was a blatant lie. It was all a blatant lie. reminding us of the fact, brothers and sisters, that sin begets sin. Sin begets sin. As someone once so wisely said, Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. And that's what was happening here to Gehazi. Once greed took root, it was leading to lying, and the lying was going to lead to stealing. And stealing can make itself manifest in so many different ways, can it not? Not just the kind of sins that the local diner manager is involved in, but some sins which we might even call fairly acceptable or commonplace among more cultured people. We may deceive ourselves into believing. For example, we can violate, brothers and sisters, the eighth commandment of God's law by refusing to give our employers an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. We can violate the eighth commandment of God's law by refusing to give our employees an honest day's wage for an honest day's work. We can violate the eighth commandment of God's law by pretending that we did not notice the incorrect change that the cashier gave to us or that the bank teller erroneously forwarded to us. We can violate the eighth commandment of God's law by cheating on our taxes, which I remind you are due tomorrow. I've been reminding myself of that as well. We can violate the 8th commandment of God's law by permanently borrowing from the company store without permission. We can violate the 8th commandment of God's law by outright theft or shoplifting. And young people, a personal word to you, if I may, with love and respect. I've served with Brother Roger on Juvenile Conference Committee here in Paquanic Township, as many of you know, for about 25 or so years, and we deal with first-time juvenile offenders. We're volunteers trained by the Superior Court State of New Jersey Family Division, again, to deal with first-time juvenile offenders, underage drinking, vandalism, some minor pot instances we've been having recently, fighting, all sorts of things. One of the most common violations of the law by young people in Pequonic Township. It's one of the most frequent reasons they come before us is shoplifting, is shoplifting. It is unbelievable. And many of these young people will come before us having been arrested, handcuffed, put in the police car, brought down to the police station for shoplifting. And we ask them the same kinds of questions, and we often get the same kinds of answers. From a nice home, you seem to have a nice family. You go to a nice school, live in a nice town. Why'd you do it? And by the way, many times they do it with the money in their pocket. Many times they will shoplift while they've got their parents' credit card in their wallet. But we ask the question, why'd you do it? And we hear two or three standard answers. You probably could suppose what they might be. One of them is, well, everybody's doing it. Everybody's doing it. A second one, I just wanted to see if I could get away with it. I just wanted, and obviously they couldn't, but I just wanted to see if I could get away with it. And then we've even heard quite frequently, I felt I deserved it. I felt I deserved it. And that's not surprising in a country, in a culture that says, it's all about me. It's all about me. Think of it. Well, friends, that kind of rationalization, that kind of sinful reasoning is precisely what Gehazi got caught up in. He tells the lie. My master sent me. He's blaming Elisha, the man of God. Elisha sent me. He said we've got some guys came from the company of the prophets and they need some clothes and some money and would you please give us some. So look at verse 23. By all means, take two talents, said Naaman, in completely unsuspecting fashion. Now friends, stay with me in verse 23. He urged, underscore that, Gehazi to accept them. I studied that word, urged, in the Hebrew text, and you know what I learned? Interestingly enough, it literally means to break down or through. To break down or through. He urged him. What does that mean? Well, that tells us that as part of his ruse, Gehazi was acting as if he really didn't want to take them. He was kind of deferring, and well, you know, and so Naaman had to persevere. He had to break through the seeming reluctance of Gehazi To make him take that which he had already requested, he be given. And so he urges Gehazi to accept them. And then he ties up the two talents of silver in two bags, the two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants. Now Gehazi has these two servants as unwitting accomplices. And they carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left. seemingly a clean deal. Nobody knew, he thought. How could this servant of a man of Elohim, how could this servant of a man of God fall into such sinful contemplation and then go forth into lying and then outright stealing and seemingly walk away with a clear conscience? How could this possibly be? Well, brothers and sisters, the answer is back there in what we just read a moment ago in the book of James. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. The greed of Gehazi was rooted in contemplation, but it was revealed in capitulation. Ah, but now notice. Thirdly and finally, our text teaches us that the greed of Gehazi resulted in condemnation. It resulted in condemnation. Verse 25, look with me if you would please. And he, that is Gehazi, went in and stood before his master, Elisha. Where have you been, Gehazi? Elisha asked. Your servant didn't go anywhere, Gehazi answered. Young people, sound familiar? In my 30 years of pastoral ministry and in my several years of youth ministry, it occurs to me that those words are very similar to what many a teenager or a young person said to the vice president in charge of discipline in their home when they got home in the early morning hours after they violated a 10 or 11 o'clock p.m. curfew. Where have you been? No place. What have you been doing? Nothing. Who have you been with? Nobody. Gehazi tried that. It didn't work any better for him, my young friends, than it probably did for you. Your servant didn't go anywhere, Gehazi answered. But Elisha said to him, was not my spirit, literally the Hebrew says, was not my heart, with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you." Boys and girls, young people, young adults, my dear friends, brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, let us never forget this. As Moses said to the people of Israel in Numbers 32, 23, the Spirit of God needs to say to your heart and mind every moment of every hour of every day, Numbers 32, 23, Moses said, you may be sure that your sin will find you out. You may be sure that your sin will find you out. You may be sure that your sin will find you out It's what gaze I found out our text continues Unless you said to him was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you Friends these words gripped my soul this week. Is this the time that? I just says, is this the time? So I'm saying to myself, was that the time? And is this the time with a country and a culture running rampant with immorality and idolatry? Was that the time? And is this the time with cultural decay all around us? Was that the time? And is this the time with the Word of God needing to go forth literally throughout the world? Was that the time? Is this the time? With a countless number of missionaries and mission organizations and Christian schools and mission agencies crying out for funds. Was that the time? And is this the time? with some 200,000 people passing on into a Christless eternity throughout the world each and every day. Is that the time? Is this the time? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes or olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or manservants and maidservants? Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever." Think of it. I ask myself, why so? Why so? Well, I don't fully understand why so, but I do know that in Exodus 20, verse 5, God's holy law speaks of visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. Tough text, really tough text. It seems to violate other texts, but that's what it says. The Reformation Study Bible makes this comment on that particular passage of Scripture, visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children on the third and fourth generations. The Reformation Study Bible says, and I quote, the longest span of generations represented in a given household at any one time. The severity of God's judgment on subsequent generations warns those who love their children's children. of the terrible consequences of their sin." Sobering words, indeed. Friends, our text concludes by saying, then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence and he was leprous. Literally, he was a leper, as white as snow, as white as snow, thereby being sentenced to an incredibly lonely and isolated existence. In fact, if you'll turn back several pages to the left with me, please, to the book of Leviticus, the 13th chapter, verses 45 and 46. Notice what we read. Leviticus 13, 45 and 46, we read, The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face, and cry out, Unclean! Unclean! As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone. He must live outside the camp. You know, friends, interestingly enough, in our men's Bible study breakfast this past Wednesday, we cross-referenced this passage in Leviticus 13, 45 and 46 while we were studying Mark 1. Why so? Well, turn to Mark 1 with me just for a moment as we close. We were reading together in the men's Bible study breakfast Mark 1, verses 40-42. And here we read, a man with leprosy came to him, that is to Jesus, and begged him on his knees, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. I am willing, he said, be clean. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Think of it. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. You see, only Jesus Christ, only Jesus Christ could cure that man of his physical leprosy with a simple touch and a word of command. And friends, it is only Jesus Christ. It is only Jesus Christ. which can cure you or me or any man, woman and child who ever lived, of the spiritual leprosy with which we are born, the spiritual leprosy which takes over every aspect of our being, the spiritual leprosy of sin. Only Christ, only Christ can heal that and can cleanse that. For you see, just as the prophet Elisha is reported to have said to Naaman in 2 Kings 5.13, wash and be cleansed. So too, in 1 John 1 verse 7, the Apostle John proclaims, And the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. All glory be to God. And so you see, dear friends, when by the grace and mercy of God, You and I repent of our sins and profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All of the guilt of our greed and all of the guilt of all of our sins are washed away through His blood shed on Calvary, and we are made like Naaman." White as snow. White as snow. Think of it. And consequently, We are then set free solely out of gratitude to God for such a great and gracious salvation, not simply to seek to fulfill the negative aspects of God's law, his eighth commandment, you shall not steal. But we are also set free out of gratitude to God to seek to fulfill the positive implications and applications of that eighth commandment of God's law as well. Question answer 111 of the catechism asked, for example, what does God require of you in this commandment? And the answer is that I do whatever I can for my neighbor's good, that I treat him as I would like others to treat me, and that I work faithfully so that I may share with those in need, thereby being spared both the guilt and the grief of the greed of Gehazi. Amen. Let's bow our heads and our hearts together in prayer. Our mighty God and merciful Father, some 2,000 years ago, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul penned the words, Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. Glory be to God. That is what some of you were. But you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. And so, O Lord our God, Grant to each and every one of us the grace, we pray, to confess to You our own varied violations of the eighth commandment of Your law, and solely by faith to receive cleansing from all such unrighteousness through the shed blood of Christ on Calvary. O Father, by Your Holy Spirit's power, Enable each and every one of us each and every day to generously give to others in each and every way Toward the end that they too may come to love you and trust you and believe in you as our only Savior from sin and as the God from whom all blessings flow Hear us Heavenly Father. We pray in Jesus name Amen