Last Moments with the Risen Jesus

Alright, last day. I don't want it to end. If you would, please open in your copies of God's Word to John chapter 21. You'll notice that I'm hopping over verses 30 and 31 of chapter 20. I don't know, John's kind of summary of why he wrote this gospel in the first place, and everything that has gone before. He points out, and truly Jesus did, many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name and this is the purpose of this gospel of john and and that's why we're here we've believed in the lord jesus christ we have life in his name and we want to dive more deeply into that life we have in our resurrected jesus christ But moving on into chapter 21, we find the last moments of Jesus, some of the last moments of Jesus with his disciple, and I think it's fitting that our last moments together here at this camp would be spent considering the last moments of Jesus with his disciples. I'm gonna go through the whole chapter because it is as long as it is. I think I'll break it up as we go through our talk this morning. But we have come to the very end of John's Gospel. John has recorded already the second appearance of Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection.

And he has expressed previously how the wounds of Christ, the marks of his sacrifice on behalf of us brings to us peace. and strengthens our faith in our hearts. But he now moves on to some final moments with Christ's disciples, and as we read and look through this passage, there's just three main points that I want to draw your attention to, even though there's a whole lot more that you can find in this particular chapter, a whole lot more that could be talked about. And the first one is the excitement and serenity of Jesus' presence, and you find that in verses 1 through 14. And the second will be that a love for Christ motivates a life for Christ, verses 15 through 19. And then thirdly, the sovereignty of Jesus over our lives, verses 20 through 23. So again, there's a whole lot more that could be said from this passage of scripture, but I want to conclude our time together by just looking at these three. So first, the excitement and serenity of Jesus' presence. Give your attention to verse 1.

After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way he showed himself. Simon Peter, Thomas called a twin, Nathanael of Cana and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I'm going fishing.

And they said to him, oh, we are going with you also. And they went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, children, have you any food? And they answered him, no. And he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. And so they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had removed it, and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits, dragging the net with fish. Then as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it and bred. And Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish which you have just caught. Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land full of large fish, 153.

And although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, come and eat breakfast. Yet none of the disciples dared ask him, who are you? Knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish. This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. Lord bless the reading and preaching of your word this morning. Fill our hearts with an awe-filled love for our Savior Jesus Christ. It's in his name we pray. Amen.

Well, in this scene, we see that Peter, along with some of the other disciples, decide to go fishing. And you might be wondering, why is it that they wanted to go fishing? Well, those of you who like fishing don't have to ask that question, right? Because who doesn't want to go fishing? But why now? Why at this point do the disciples decide to go fishing?

Well, perhaps they're waiting for Jesus' promise to be fulfilled to them. He had said to them in the Luke account that power from on high was going to descend upon them, and so now they're waiting for that, and they're just sort of passing the time until that promise of Jesus comes to fulfillment, when the Holy Spirit does come upon them.

Another reason could be that they're hungry. They need food. They need to provide for themselves. Some of them are married, some of them have children, and they need to provide for their families. During their days with Jesus, there had been some rich women, some patronesses, who were providing a bit of an income for the disciples as they followed Jesus around. But now, perhaps, after Jesus is gone, that support begins to dwindle. especially for fear of the Jews. Maybe these women want to remove themselves or put some distance between themselves and these disciples. That could be the case.

But many tend to think that it's at this point that Peter really begins to doubt himself. You remember the night that Jesus was betrayed, Peter had denied Jesus three times. And even though Jesus has appeared to all of them in His resurrected state and commissioned them in a small degree in an earlier meeting to go and preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name, you have to imagine that there's still a part of Peter's thinking that says, you know what, I'm really unfit for this ministry.

How is it that Jesus could use me? I'm not qualified to carry out this message, this gospel of Jesus Christ. I denied Him. How could Jesus use me for this task? And so many think that it's here that Peter begins to turn his back on that calling of Christ on his life, to go back to his former profession. Maybe he's simply to just block out the remembrance of that guilt from his mind.

Whatever the case may be, Peter decides that he needs to go fishing, and he essentially asks the others to go with him by saying, I'm going fishing. Meaning, anybody wanna come with me? And the other disciples say, yeah, we'll go with you this time. And so they go out in the boat, and they spend all night trying to catch fish, and what's John say? They catch nothing. Nothing. Now as a fisherman, that's a pretty frustrating thing, isn't it? To catch nothing. Spend all night trying to catch fish, they get nothing.

And it's interesting, well maybe they need to warm up the bait first. Yeah, put the bait in the mouth, right? That's right, yeah. But it's interesting here how God in His sovereignty orchestrates it so they don't catch any fish. God is in a way saying, no, listen boys, this isn't what you're supposed to be doing. I called you to be fishers of men, not fishers of fish. And so I'm not going to let you catch any fish. They spend all night trying to catch these fish, and they don't catch anything. Undoubtedly, they're exhausted, they're grumpy, they're miserable. Perhaps they're starting to bicker back and forth with one another. Oh, you smell so bad the fish don't even want to come near the boat. Right? Harassing one another, making excuses. Who knows?

But as morning comes and as the sun arises, we find the sun walking on the shore. And Jesus, standing there, calls out to them, Children, do you have anything to eat? Well, they don't know that it's Jesus. John tells us they're about 200 cubits away, which is about a football field away from the shore. They can't see him all that well. They don't expect him to be there. So they think it's just some other guy who was walking along the beach who saw them out there and thinking they've been out there all night. Surely they have something to eat. Guys, do you have anything to eat? The disciples being tired, answer with just one word. No. You can imagine being pretty upset by this whole situation here.

And so the man standing on the shore proceeds to say, well, try throwing your net on the right side of the boat. On the right side of the boat? What's he talking about? We're fishermen. We know what we're doing. We've been out here all night. Throw our net on the right side of the boat. This is ridiculous. But there's something about what that guy said that causes them to throw the net in immediately. You know, maybe something comes to their remembrance about a similar circumstance like this before. Yeah, you know what? Something like this did happen before. Luke chapter five, similar situation occurs.

They're having trouble getting fish and then Jesus directs them on what to do and what happens. They get fish. Maybe it's John who comes to realize these things because he seems to be quick to understand, right? They cast their net in, and all of a sudden they have all of these fish, and John realizes, yes, this is just like what happened before.

This is Jesus. He's doing it again. He says, Peter, it is the Lord! And Peter's so filled with excitement, he throws on his clothes and he dives into the water. Wait a minute, that's backwards, isn't it? You're not supposed to put on your clothes when you dive into the water. You're supposed to take them off, right? And then dive into the water. What's happening here? What's going on?

In those days, it was common when you were out fishing for your profession or with your friends, you would take off your outer garment because they were often long flowing garments and you didn't want them to get caught in the net or get caught in the rigging. Oftentimes it could be kind of hot and so you'd remove those so you didn't get overheated. And so they'd take this outer garment off and you would really be left in somewhat of a loincloth or tunic. Underwear, really, as you're out there fishing, which I guess is okay if you're fishing with your fishing buddies. You can fish in your underwear. That's okay.

But when he goes to meet with Jesus, he doesn't want to meet him in his underwear. And so he puts on his outer garment and he dives into the water. That's why he gets dressed before he jumps in. But he's so excited to meet his Lord, he literally cannot wait to row to shore. And besides, they have to drag all those fish in with him. He just wants to get to Jesus because his heart is filled with such excitement to see his Lord. Well, the others, they haul back this massive catch, this load of fish.

John says 153 fish. There are many who try to discern what John means here by identifying specifically. He doesn't do this very often. specifically why there was 153 fish. Is there some kind of message or indication that John is giving us here? You remember John wrote Revelation, lots of numbers, lots of interesting symbology there. What's John trying to communicate to us here with 153 fish? And so I wanted to take just a little bit of time to try to unpack this 153, what John means here by this. So if you have something to write with, get ready to try to jot these things down. I think what John's trying to say with this 153 is that there were 153 fish.

That's what he's saying. There was a whole lot of fish. And he was there to see it. He knows exactly how many there were. Before, he had no fish. But now he has a whole bunch of fish, 153 of them. Without Jesus, they had nothing. But with Jesus, they have an abundance of fish. So much so, they can hardly bring this net to shore. It should be breaking. And yet it's not. Jesus, again, miraculously providing for them. They drag this net to shore and it doesn't break. And Jesus is waiting for them there with breakfast.

And I just want you to step back and take in the scene again. Here you have the king of heaven and earth. You have the resurrected, glorious Jesus Christ, the one before whom every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. The radiance of the Father's glory.

Coming and meeting with these men in this way. This peaceful, serene setting. Jesus meeting with them, having breakfast with them on the beach. The water lapping up on the shore, the wind, the breeze blowing through their hair. Simple meal with his friends. What an amazing contrast that is to the image we usually have of Christ as this high, lofty, exalted, majestic King, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord of Glory. And yet here he is coming down and meeting with his friends in this simple way. A simple meal with his friends.

Jesus has such love and concern for his people that he would meet them in this way. And I really think John is painting a picture of heaven here for us, isn't he? The excitement that will fill our hearts every time we see Jesus in the new heavens and the new earth. We'll be like Peter, we'll want to dive in the water just to get to Jesus.

And when we get to him, this great king, our hearts will be fluttering and we won't approach him and then fall down on our faces. No, we'll approach him and he'll embrace us in an intimate fellowship in this beautiful way because we're his friends. We're His family. A peaceful, intimate relationship we will have with Him. What a wonderful hope we have in Jesus Christ. He's not some distant God. He's not some distant king, but He's a close friend of ours. Our Savior and friend. And brothers and sisters, that's not just some future reality. But this is true even now. Jesus delights to be with His people. Jesus delights to have you in His presence.

And so I hope when you go to Him in prayer, that this is the kind of relationship you experience. This is the kind of relationship you have in mind as you go to your Lord, your friend, in prayer. Yes, He is the Lord of glory, but He is also one who delights in you and loves you very much. and wants you with Him, to commune with Him, and the excitement and the serenity of Jesus' presence. We'll notice, secondly, how a love for Christ is to motivate a life for Christ, verses 15 through 19. So, when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?

And he said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon son of Jonah, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And he said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon son of Jonah, do you love me? And Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things.

You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished, but when you were old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. This he spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me. After breakfast, Jesus has a moment with Peter. He says, come here, Peter. Let's go for a walk. And they get up and they start to have a bit of a conversation. And lots of folks call this interaction between Jesus and Peter, Peter's restoration.

And like I said, on the night that Peter or that Jesus was betrayed, Peter denied Jesus three times. And I think John is intentionally making a connection here to that night. Because before, when you see Jesus having breakfast with him, John is quick to point out that he made a fire of coals there. Well, the only other place that you find a description of a fire of coals is in the courtyard outside of the place where Jesus is being, you know, in the kangaroo court being tried, and Peter's outside in front of the fire of coals. And so there's this connection being made to that night of denials. And so Peter had denied Jesus three times, and you read this portion here that Jesus asks Peter if he loves him.

Three times. It's as if he's trying to reaffirm Peter's love for him, to wash away, to put away those denials, to say, Peter, you really do love me, don't you? Giving him an opportunity to say, yes, yes Lord, I do, I do love you. And Jesus meeting this broken disciple, reminding him that yes, he is indeed fit for the ministry. He's qualified for what Jesus has called him to do because he loves Jesus. Jesus asks him firstly, Peter, do you love me more than these?

And I don't think he's talking about the fish or the boats or his former profession. It's do you love me more than these men, these disciples? You remember you said to me that night, even if all forsake you, Lord, I will not forsake you. Well, Peter, do you really love me more than these?

Again, giving Peter an opportunity to express his love to him. And Peter says, Lord, yes, you know that I love you. And Jesus said, feed my lambs. Each time Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, Peter gives his response of affirmation. And then what does Jesus do? He gives him a task. He sets him to be the shepherd of God's people and under shepherd of Jesus Christ. But he gives him a work to do. And he shows Peter that his love for Jesus Christ is to be the motivation for his service to Jesus Christ, for his obedience to Christ. Now you remember that Jesus is the King of heaven and earth.

He could have come down and said, Peter, I am your King. Feed my lambs. Peter, I am your Lord. Tend my sheep. Peter, I am your master, feed my sheep. And Peter would have had to have obeyed, right? Out of duty to his king, to his master, to his lord. But that's not how. Jesus interacts with Peter, is it? That's not how God relates and interacts with us. That's not how Jesus relates with his people. Jesus doesn't want the motivation for our service to him to be out of fear or duty. He wants it to be out of love.

And so he says, Peter, do you love me? Yes, I love you. And live your life for me. Do what I want you to do. Brothers and sisters, that needs to be our motivation as well. We can't just serve the Lord out of fear or duty. We need to serve Him out of love because anything else is gonna be a burden and it would be wearying to serve God out of duty and His commandments are not burdensome. If you love me, you will keep my commandments, Jesus says. We serve the Lord, we live our life for the Lord out of love and so let us pray that would be the case in our own hearts. That we would live out of love and not out of fear. We're out of duty. Notice the last time Jesus asks and speaks about love, Jesus goes on to talk about the suffering and the death that Peter is going to experience.

When you were younger, Peter, you could go and do whatever you want. You could follow wherever you wanted to go, do whatever you wanted to do. But now that you're older, they're going to take you, Peter. They're going to gird you. They're going to tie you up and take you where you don't want to go. And they're going to stretch out your hands. And Jesus is saying that this is how he's going to die. This is referring to people being crucified. They would stretch out your hands.

And church history confirms that Peter was indeed crucified. And yet crucified upside down because he didn't consider himself worthy to be crucified like his Lord and Master. But again, Jesus ties his sacrifice, his suffering and death with love. Again, love must motivate Peter's sacrifice for Jesus Christ. And likewise, love has to motivate our sacrifice for Jesus as well.

When we're called to live for Jesus Christ, we're called to forsake so much in this world, aren't we? to give up its pleasures, its passions, its glory that the world provides, perhaps even some of the joys that we could partake in. We're called to forsake those things, to follow after the Lord. And again, if we only do that out of duty, how wearying and burdensome that is going to become. Yeah, maybe we'll do it, but it will do it begrudgingly. Okay, yeah, all right, fine, I'll do this.

And that's when Satan steps in. He says, you see, this God really doesn't care for you. He doesn't want you to be happy. He wants your life to be miserable. You're his slave. Look at all the things you're missing out on. All the enjoyment you could be having in this world. He wants to make your life miserable. And you start living with bitterness and resentment toward God and toward the church, towards God's people. Okay, I have to do this, but I don't want to do this. And friends, that's not what God wants for you. It's not what Jesus wants for you.

He wants you to base your obedience and the forsaking of this world, the suffering you experience in this life out of love for Him. So as you think about all of the things you are called to give up in this world, as you think about the sufferings you experience in this life, continually try to unite that to what Jesus Christ has done for you and allow that to stir up love and affection in your heart for who He is and what He has done. Think about how Christ has left the realms of glory and humbled himself to become like one of us, to suffer in this world and then go to the cross and die and then experience the eternal weight of God's wrath upon his soul so that we would never have to taste any punishment in hell at all. But instead be raised up in glory with Christ and live with him in the fullness of joy for all eternity. this Jesus has given to you, allow that to stir up your heart in love for Christ, and allow that to motivate you to service to Him, to sacrifice for Him out of love for Jesus Christ, as Peter will do for his Savior here. May that be the case for us, that we would live for Christ, that we would sacrifice out of love for Jesus Christ. Well, before we move on to the third and final point, I want to identify one more thing in this short passage that we really can't see all that well in our English translations.

And it has to do with the words that Jesus and Peter use with one another as they're talking about this love that they have for one another. Jesus says, Simon Peter, son of Jonah, do you love me? And when Jesus says, do you love me, he uses the word or the verb agapao. which comes from the word agape, and you're familiar with the term agape.

You've heard that before, perhaps. It's the word for love. It's a wholehearted love. It's the all-that-I-am kind of love. Theologians describe it as a high form of love, the kind of love that you would yoke together with the idea of loving the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. But it's interesting to see how Peter responds to these elicitations of love. Peter, son of Jonah, do you love me with your whole being? And Peter responds with another word altogether. Peter says, yes, Lord, phileo you. I phileo you.

It's a different word. It's a word that's been described by theologians as a lesser form of love, more of an affection, an emotional attachment kind of love for someone. It's not a bad love, but it's kind of a lesser form of love. It's not the wholehearted devotion and desire for someone.

And so if I can read this passage again with this understanding in mind, just listen to how it goes. Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me with all that you are? With your whole soul more than these? Yes, Lord. You know that I have affection for you. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me with all that you are? With your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? Yes, Lord, you know that I have affection for you.

But then listen to what Jesus says the third time. John says, he said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me? Jesus changes the word to the one that Peter has been using the whole time. And John tells us that Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you have affection for me?

Instead of the other kind of love. And Peter says, Lord, you know all things. You know that I have affection for you. You see, I think Peter had come to the point where he was, he was just utterly humbled. He was not that great, proud Peter anymore. He's a broken man because of his experience. He denied Jesus and knew that he wasn't that great anymore.

And he had to be honest with himself. He had to be honest with Jesus. Say, listen, Jesus, I know what kind of love you want from me. I know you want me to love you with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. But Jesus, in and of myself, this is all I have. I can't conjure anything more than this. All I have is this weak, imperfect love to give you a lesser form of love. I can't make anything more than this. in and of myself. But you know, it's incredible to me that even though Peter responds in this way, what does Jesus do? He still says, feed my lambs. He still says, tend my sheep. He still says, feed my sheep. You see, Jesus is about the business of using imperfect and weak and flawed people to carry out his purposes on this earth.

Even people like Peter, which are people a whole lot like you and me, isn't it? Even though he thought himself unworthy, Jesus says, because you are with me and I am with you, even if you have an imperfect love for me, Peter, I will still use you in an incredible way in my kingdom.

And I don't know about you, but this brings me such comfort. Because whenever I think about my love for Jesus Christ, it is not that strong. Oftentimes I look at my own heart and I see that my love for Him is so weak, so broken, so failing. And yet, Jesus still calls Peter to continue to live for Him, to sacrifice for Him despite that. The same is true for me, the same is true for you.

How wonderful it is to have Jesus as our Lord. The one who loves you, the one who still desires to walk with you, to work with you, to use you in His kingdom, even when you are weak and broken. Love for Christ, even a weak love for Christ, motivates a life for Jesus Christ. Thirdly, and finally, let's look at the sovereignty of Jesus over our lives, verses 20 through 23.

Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on his breast at the supper and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays you? And this is John we're talking about. But Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, but Lord, what about this man?

And Jesus said to him, if I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me. Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but if I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?

Well, after Jesus tells Peter about his fate, Peter turns around and notices that John is following them. And interested, curious in the destiny of his close and intimate friend, Peter says, Jesus, what about John? What's going to happen to John? You said that I'm going to have my arms stretched out for you. You said I'm going to die for you, Jesus. What's going to happen to John?

And Jesus turns to Peter and basically says, mind your business. You don't worry about John. You worry about what I've called you to do. I've called you to follow me. If I will that he remain till I come again, what is that to you? Essentially, it's no matter to you, Peter, you just follow me.

But in saying this, there was obviously some misunderstanding between Peter and the other disciples to the point that they thought that Jesus meant that John was going to live until Jesus returned from heaven. And I find it just fascinating that John has to stop and take the time to record and correct this whole idea here. No, I'm not going to live and remain until Jesus comes back. How awesome is that? He just sticks it right in the middle of this gospel. Just so everybody knows, I'm gonna die, right? I'm not gonna stick around until Jesus returns. And we know that John dies.

But it's interesting, isn't it, that John did get to see Jesus return in a way? Right? Because it was to John that God gave the revelation of Jesus Christ. So in a way, he did get to live and remain until he saw Jesus come again. At least the vision of it, right? The picture of it. But notice that Jesus says, if I will that he remain.

See, Jesus is expressing his sovereign determination over John's destiny. Jesus is the one who orchestrates John's life. Jesus is the one who controls everything that happens in John's life, even the end of John's life. Jesus is the one who will take him out of this world. And just as Jesus orchestrates Peter's life to his very death on the cross, he orchestrates John's life. And he does so for you and me as well. Jesus orchestrates your life. He's sovereign over it.

Everything that comes into your life comes at the hand of Jesus Christ, for good or for ill. At least we think it's ill. But it all comes from Jesus Christ, and I hope that's a comfort to you as well. That when life does not go the way that you thought it would, or you planned it to go a certain way, and it takes such a turn in a direction that you hadn't even conceived of, you couldn't even conceive of, and it seemed like such a disaster to you, not so in the mind and heart of Jesus Christ, who works all things for good, like we talked about in the beginning, all things after the counsel of His own will, and all things together for your good, you who are called according to His purposes. And so we have the excitement and serenity of Jesus' presence, a love for Christ, motivating a life for Christ, and the sovereignty of Jesus over our lives. Three things that you can draw from this passage, but not just three things in this passage. There's a whole lot more that you could find in this text of Scripture, let alone the rest of the Word of God.

Which is why it's amazing, I think, that 2,000 years later, Books are still being written to expound and express the Word of God and who He is and what Jesus has done for us, isn't it? It's an amazing thing to consider. People are still writing books about this stuff. Which is why I think that John says here at the end, it's no wonder that John says at the end of his gospel, this is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things that we may know that his testimony is true.

And there were also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Friends, I don't think that's hyperbole. I don't think that's an exaggeration on John's part, because when you think about it, really, how can we finite creatures living in a finite world accurately and completely quantify and capture all that the risen Lord Jesus Christ is, our infinite God, all He is and all that He has done for you and your salvation in one place in this world? We can't do it. There would not be enough books or space in this world to record all that Jesus is and all that Jesus has done for you to save you from your sins. It's not possible. You would need eternity to do that. And friends, you will have eternity to do that because of Jesus Christ, to plumb the depths of who He is and what He has done for you.

And brothers and sisters, you will never get tired of it. You will delight and rejoicing in your King and the salvation He has purchased for you through His life, death, and resurrection from the dead. And you will take joy and delight in your King for all eternity. How wonderful it is to love and live for the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to God. Let us pray, brothers and sisters, to this great and risen King, Jesus Christ, who is our Savior.

Our Lord in heaven, we thank you so much for who you are and what you have done. We thank you so much for just this week and this time we were able to spend in your word. Please, by your Holy Spirit, continue to write these things on our hearts. Do not let us be so quick to forget as we are so often to do. But Lord, burn these things into our minds, into our hearts. Increase our love for the Lord Jesus Christ and cause us to rest more fully in our risen Savior. We ask all of these things for your glory and for our good. It's in his name we pray. Amen.