Have You Not Read S2E30 - To Attend or Not to Attend?

Welcome to Have You Not Read, a podcast seeking to answer questions from the text of scripture for the honor of Christ and the edification of the saints. Before we dig into our topic, we humbly ask you to rate, review, and share the podcast.

Thank you.

I'm Dylan Hamilton, and with me are Michael Deere.

And David Kassin, Chris Kiesler.

Navigating a Bar Mitzvah Invitation in Good Conscience

We have a question sent in from one of our listeners, and we are very appreciative for this question. Our family has recently been invited to a bar mitzvah, celebration for one of our kid's friends, whose family are Messianic Jews, and we are uncertain if this is something we can or should attend in good conscience.

As believers, can we celebrate this milestone with our friends? Michael, you want to try to start by tackling this?

Sure, so this is a question that focuses in on the conscience. Okay, so the question is, is this something that we can attend in good conscience or should? Is this something we should attend in good conscience?

Now, this is an interesting situation because a family of Messianic Jews, now, for those of you who haven't researched this, Messianic Jews are a very wide and disparate bunch. So if you call somebody a Messianic Jew, you don't really have a handle on what they actually believe yet.

Okay, they would be somebody who believes that Messiah has come, they are ethnically Jewish or religiously Jewish, but they believe that the Messiah has come. Most often, this of course refers to, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, as the Messiah, as the Christ.

Now, to what degree do they understand the gospel and apply this good news in their daily life? That's a huge question. For some Messianic Jews, their adherence to Jewish customs is as essential to their salvation and their understanding of their salvation as believing that Jesus is the Messiah and that he rose from the dead.

So they would be very much on a side of works-based salvation and trying to keep the law as carefully as possible, all the customs of Moses and the traditions that have been handed down, you know, the Mishnah, Talmud, and so on.

They would try to be as Jewish as possible while still believing that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, that he rose from the dead. And it would be very difficult to find good common ground, I think, with what they believe and what Christians believe.

So they would have an idea of Messiah having come, but basically almost everything is the same. They're looking to rebuild the temple, they're looking to go back into sacrifices, and so on. That's the extreme one side of it.

To the other side, where somebody is, you know, they're ethnically Jewish, they believe that Jesus is the Messiah, that he rose from the dead, that he has delivered them from their sins, that they are not bound by the law, but they rejoice in their history, they rejoice in their culture, and they have, they enrich their lives by participating in these events as a cultural element of their lives.

Like a Passover Seder kind of thing.

Sure, so they're not looking at this as that which provides meaning to their doctrine, but it is providing meaning to their family life, to their culture, to their history, and so on. So that would be the other side of saying Messianic Jew.

I point that out because it's a very wide variety, and that's important to know when we're asking this particular type of question. So, well, I don't know this family, right? These folks obviously know this family.

Are they your brothers and sisters in Christ? If they are, and they have this very important cultural moment in their life, and there's nothing else going on that is going to be against your conscience, why not go learn something?

If something happens that is, that does bother your conscience, and you didn't know it was gonna happen, or something happens that makes you feel kind of uncomfortable, or you or your children are kind of left with, like, oh my, what just happened?

That's not bad. You know, that's an opportunity to grow. That's an opportunity to try to apply the scriptures and try to understand what is it that we encountered, and how is it that we are to love people who come out of different cultural backgrounds and traditions than we do.

So I am not aware, necessarily, of all the components of a Bar Mitzvah. I imagine that they change, the components of a Bar Mitzvah change based on different sub-traditions within Judaism, and some things are retained, and some things are not retained in various celebrations.

So, okay, I don't know what's gonna happen. All right, you know, is there a big dance that you're required to jump into, and what's your position on dancing? Are they going to, are they going to? I've seen Pillar on the Roof.

It's cool. Yeah. Come on. Are they gonna have an open bar afterwards, and what's your position on drinking? So I don't know what all is involved. You know, you're talking about a conscience issue. You're gonna have to work through the elements.

The first thing that springs to mind for me is the council different if they're Orthodox Jews rather than Messianic Jews.

Yeah, so again, are you being asked to participate in this Bar Mitzvah celebration in some fashion where you are required to deny Christ? Right. I wouldn't imagine that would come up, right? I don't think that would come up.

Would it be something where you'd be going there and they would want everybody in the room to affirm things, to, you know, to support this young man, let's say, and we want everybody in this room to affirm this idea, this idea, and this idea, but those are contrary to the teachings of Scripture.

Are you gonna be put in that position? A little research might be helpful. You know, you might need to ask questions of your friends. What goes on in a Bar Mitzvah? Help me understand. This sounds amazing, but I need to understand more.

Help have them describe to you what's all involved so that you know what you're signing up for. I wouldn't see the problem going to an Orthodox or traditionalist, you know, Jewish Bar Mitzvah if that's not, I mean, if you're just there to look on and witness and, you know, and be encouraging and give a gift to the young man and show them, you know, show your neighbor kindness.

I don't see what the problem necessarily is unless you're being called to affirm false doctrine or false religion.

Right, so like Jesus showing up to the wedding in Cana kind of knocks out two birds with one stone there considering the wine and it being an obviously probably Jewish wedding.

Sure, sure. I mean, it's, you know, if you go to, let's say, a wedding between a man and a woman who are not believers, okay, I've been to one of those. Hardly anybody were believers there at all and the bride and groom stood before no one and just talked to each other and married themselves.

Yeah, it is about as pagan as you can get, right? Without, you know, going off into homosexuality, et cetera. So I'm not being asked to deny my faith, right? I think it's good for a man and a woman to not simply live together but actually get married and recognize the solemnity of the moment.

I'm all for that, but I'm not being asked to deny my faith or anything.

I mean, if you got an invitation into a wedding and they happen to be, you know, they're both Hindu or they're both Arab and they are married, they're married legally, they're married within that cultural context, married in, let's say, the United States and then you go through all that, that's a legitimate marriage because marriage was instituted by God.

It's something you can actually rejoice in but those mirages that do not adhere to the biblical standard, then it's not even a conscience issue. You don't celebrate that, but you can go to a marriage, a marriage ceremony that lifts up God's ideal and you could do the same thing with birthdays and other things.

When you start to go into some of these religious traditions where you have maybe Roman Catholic christening or you have the Jewish bris or the, you know, bar mitzvah, you know, it's like, well, are you being asked to deny Christ?

Are we going there and celebrating a milestone in someone's life? Is that denying? Is this not necessarily? No. If you are going to a ceremony that is specifically anti-Christian, then yeah, you are denying Christ.

Let's say you're going to a gay marriage. You know, that is a violation of Christian principle. Okay. Members of my family, members of the new people that I love, I'm engaged in that. And there's no loss of love there, but this is, I had a conscience and because of my faith, I cannot participate and me attending would be participation.

You know, I can't celebrate, doesn't mean I don't love you, but this is where I stand. I don't think that a bar mitzvah rises to that level, whether it's messianic Jew of the stripe that, you know, Paul was a messianic Jew.

So was Peter. So was John. Let's just call them what they are, Jews who are Christians. So you're going to a Christian's home and celebrating something, a cultural tradition. Okay, fine. I would take this on a case-by-case basis, of course, but I'm just kind of, I'm wondering, you know, where this is coming from.

Is there something else? Is there something else going on? Are you participating in a religious ceremony and I'm a little uncomfortable about going? Is that the impetus for this question? Or is there something that's kind of a broader principle?

You know, are you being asked to deny your faith by celebrating, by participating, by attending, which is in many of these cases, that's what you are doing. If you attend, you are celebrating and agreeing with the tradition.

Like, okay, there are certain traditions that are not, that are just cultural and we can celebrate that like a pagan marriage ceremony. If I was invited to a Hindu wedding, I probably would attend. I mean, I think the food would be amazing, but where would you guys stand on that issue?

Well, yeah, you have to know what a bar mitzvah is first and maybe that's what the question's probably trying to get at is thinking that we might know better what a bar mitzvah entails for them than they do.

But like you said, Michael, that needs to come more from just asking your friends. Well, and wouldn't one of the dividing lines be, like, what kind of ceremony is it? Is it a religious ceremony or is it a cultural ceremony?

And then what is required of you? By going, you talked about actively, like, are you being required to deny your faith? But aren't there instances where they're not even requiring you to actively do anything, but just the fact of your presence does deny your faith or something like that?

You mentioned homosexuality. I think of, like, the ceremony of homosexuality for marriage and a reception. So some people would try to break that up and say, well, don't be a part of the ceremony, but come to the reception.

I would think that that would go, not just a conviction issue, but what are you, what's the reception, but to receive the couple. It's a celebration.

That's what it is, you're celebrating it. Yes, and of course, in a wedding setting, it is a solemn covenant arrangement before God and witnesses. So you're there to hold them, you're one of the witnesses.

You sign the book, I'm here, I witnessed this. Before all these people, you made a promise to be faithful to one another, so on and so forth. Well, I can't serve in that function at a homosexual mirage or any other type of rebellion against Christ.

Christ is king, everywhere I go is his turf, but it doesn't mean that I go into the rebel camp and fly their flag. Now, if I can, but everywhere I walk, Christ is my king, and if I'm around those who don't recognize that, but they're not asking me to put up the white flag of surrender, then I'm perfectly fine being around them.

I used to live in Middleton, Tennessee. It's a very small town, about an hour east of Memphis, and a little bit west of us was another tiny little town called Whiteville, but it was pronounced Wyattvale, and out there, they had the National Bird Dog Museum, okay?

Of course they did, that sounds amazing. Yes, yeah, so they were well known for the breeding and training of bird dogs, and there was an Episcopalian church there in Whiteville, and they still had fox hunts there, and full regalia, fox hunts, and the Episcopalian priest would come out and anoint the dogs and pray over them and bless them before the hunt.

And we think the English are boring. Right, right. No way.

Yes. Just modern English. Yeah, so, so. That's awesome. So I had a friend who lived in that town, and he was asked to participate and come out and also pray for the dogs and so on. So, could he and should he, in good conscience, participate in this event?

I'm just, I'll pitch it to you guys. I'm praying that my pig comes back home. We lost him recently. Oh, I'm so sorry. But yeah, I can pray for an animal.

Wow, and anointing dogs with oil for a good hunt.

Touch not the Lord's anointed. Right?

That anointing a dog with oil may be a bridge too far, but participating in a fox hunt is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would probably go just to see it once. I mean, the only fox hunt I've ever seen was the cartoon version in Mary Poppins.

But when you talk about anointing dogs with oil in order to have a good hunt, that sounds a whole lot like making a sacrifice for a pagan god for a good harvest. So, I'd have a little bit of difficulty doing that.

Yeah, it's a cultural event, to be sure, but it's also religious. And that's where a lot of these things blend together. So, again, if it's a matter of conscience, each one must be convinced in his own mind.

We must proceed out of faith. If there's something that you find that you're unable to, in good conscience, in good faith, to participate with, then you should not go against that. Now, maybe later on, with more prayer and learning and counsel and so on, you will not have that very same conviction and that you would find yourself, you know, I think I could participate in that now.

I think I've sorted it out. I think I'm ready and I could be a part of this and I wouldn't be betraying my loyalty to Christ. But that's something that you have to work through. And, of course, some things are not gonna be.

Permissible at all. Sure. And we would know that because the word of God is clear on certain things. It doesn't talk about the fox hunt, but it does talk about principles. I mean, we are, after all, have you not read?

What does the Bible say about conscience and where does conscience end? I mean, we have clear stipulations in the scriptures regarding, you know, and sometimes Paul brings out specific examples, but he always goes back to the basic principles.

So what kind of principles would you apply to a scenario like this? Because I added a couple other ones, you know, like the different marriages or some kinds of christenings. Like I have a strong aversion to a christening that is baptismal regeneration.

It takes away original sin. I have a real problem attending and agreeing with that. Now, going to a infant baptism, I don't. If I was invited to a Presbyterian infant baptism, I would probably go, because I know what their reasoning is for it, and I can actually rejoice that they are, will want to raise their child in the admonition of the Lord, you know, and share the gospel with them, you know, regardless of our standpoints on the covenant.

But those are, you know, I'm not trying to parse hairs, but the general principle that you would use when addressing this kind of event, where would you go?

Walking in Love Without Participating in Darkness

What came to my mind was Ephesians 5, and he's talking about walking in love, but he also points out maybe some things to divide from. So he says, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But sexual immorality and all impurity and covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, who is covetous, that is an idolatry, has no inheritance in the kingdom of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Therefore do not become partners with them, for at one time you were in darkness, but now you are in the light and the Lord. And he goes on and he talks about not partaking in the deeds of darkness. And so when you think about like weddings, well, God created man and a woman to go together.

That comes from God. A perversion of that is darkness. We couldn't celebrate in something like that. A cultural ceremony that is lighthearted but does not have sexual immorality, sure, maybe that does not offend your conscience, but one where there's going to be dancing of a certain sort and maybe there's not very many clothes being worn and there's a whole lot of drunkenness, maybe that's something you shouldn't be involved in.

But there the principle seems to be love. He points out love and then he points out some things to avoid.

So if you define love as acceptance regardless, that was the motto of an EPC church in Memphis, Episcopal Church, acceptance regardless. If you define love that way, then you have to show up to everything.

Right, no matter what. Yeah, and you have to cast off those warnings there about sexual immorality or deeds of darkness.

Yeah, but often it's cited, well, Jesus, he was among lepers and prostitutes and tax collectors and so on and so forth. So obviously, we can show up anywhere too because Jesus went everywhere and was a part of everything.

That is, of course, overstating the case. Right? Jesus did not go and participate in deeds of darkness. Right? He did not go and approve of these things. And in fact, very often he was invited into situations where there was sin and sinners, even something as simple as vying for the best seats and he just spoke up against it and just completely disenchanted the whole moment.

You know? So it's a matter of like, you know, yeah, maybe Jesus would go to a gay wedding but nobody would like what he said when he got there. You know? Because that happened a lot. Jesus showed up to a lot of events and then he would say things and people get really upset.

Big mad. So if you want to be like Jesus, go to gay weddings and speak up and preach the truth. Right? Raise objections. That's the kind of thing that he would do. But he would do so, why? Well, you know, because he would speak the truth but God sent his son into the world to save sinners.

And he came to preach the truth and to tell sinners what that was, repent and believe in the gospel. That would be a loving thing to do. So love is not acceptance regardless. Love is a righteous and sacrificial devotion.

You are positioning yourself to be for somebody's good in the right way, even if it costs you.

Yeah. And to tag on that verse I just read, Ephesians 5, it says this walk as children in the light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good, right and true and try to discern what is pleasing in the Lord.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them. Which is what you were saying that Jesus often did and it made people uncomfortable, but it's out of love.

Yeah. So if you're going to go to drag queen story hour out of love, it's going to be in the manner of the prophet pointing the finger and saying, this is heinous, this is abominable, you are celebrating the lives of demons.

All of the parents who have brought their kids here, you need to repent, you are guilty before God for child abuse, those kinds of things. If you're gonna show up to a place like that, then you show up as Christ would.

You know, you have to, you're not joining in, you're there to expose it. So there's nothing, the Bible's not saying you can't go to drag queen story hour, you can't go to a homosexual wedding, but if you're going to go, you go flying the flag of King Jesus, right?

And if you're gonna go and not fly his flag, then why are you going, right? So if you go there and you're not going to claim his authority and say what needs to be said, then you are participating in the deeds of darkness, you're not bringing light to that situation at all, right?

So that's something to consider. But just because somebody has a different culture and custom and has maybe some sort of event that is rooted in somewhere in the distant past out of a different religion, and it's just become a cultural event for them, that doesn't mean we can't show up.

And you know, the bar mitzvah thing of a Messianic Jew, I think that's a good question, but it's definitely in the area of conscience. And you're gonna have to kind of work through the particulars on that.

There are some so-called churches and church services I'm not gonna go to, because if I did go there, I would feel like I'm supporting them. If I would go there, then I would need to be speaking out against what was happening, so.

Yeah, that exact scenario has happened to me several times, and what I found, and it's a conscience issue. I have grown up in a particular church, and I get invited back every so often, and it's a family thing, and I go.

But I wait until I'm asked, and then I give them my clear answer. And they know what the answer's probably going to be, but they asked, and they get the truth. Or as the scriptures read clearly. And this is what I saw.

This is why I think this person was completely off-base on their 10-minute sermonette, and they missed the point. And I was able to talk with a family member for about 15, 20 minutes about where I think that the reverend was completely off-base just by reading.

Now everything else about the service was really very nice. Beautiful singing, old hymns. They read from the Old Testament, read from the New Testament, read from the Gospels. Because it was an old-style high church, and you read the Anglican prayer book, and there's a lot of good stuff in there.

I had the 15-minute sermonette. You could probably leave it out, and everybody would be fine. But since you asked, this is what I think. And that is a conscience issue, and not everybody at this table, or everybody in our church, would make that same decision.

I mean, that's what I do. And the only way my conscience would be wounded is if I did not speak up when asked. Sure, that's a good point, that's a good point.

Recommended Reading and Media on Sabbath, Music, Providence, and the Supernatural

Well, I think that about wraps up that conversation. Michael, what do you have to recommend this week for the people out there?

I'm gonna recommend a book by, I don't know if I recommended this already, by Trey Talley that, did I recommend this? I don't know, I don't know if you recommended it. Go ahead and recommend it again.

It's called Sticks and Stones, Sticks, Stones, Sabbaths, and Sundays by Trey Talley. He's a pastor of a church down in Texas. What's it called again? The Church Pecan Creek in Denton. Seeing the Sabbath in Light of the New Covenant.

It's a forward by Stephen Wellam. So it's a great discussion on the Sabbath. I've been doing a lot of studying on the Sabbath lately. I'm getting ready to teach on it on Sunday nights. So it's very helpful.

It kind of goes through all of the discussions about the significance of the Sabbath in the Old Testament, how it's dealt with in the New Testament, how we're to understand it and appreciate it as Christians who follow Christ.

Does he deal with any opposing views or is he just basically giving his view on the Sabbath specifically?

No, he does deal with the views that would see a necessity for keeping the Sabbath, or in other words, obeying the fourth commandment as Christians by implementing principles and practices of worship and rest on Sunday so that there would be a hermeneutical principle of interpreting Sunday as the Christian Sabbath and then working through principles of worship and rest in order to keep that Sabbath day.

He does talk about that position as a way in which many Christians understand how to keep Sabbath. And then he explores his own point of view trying to read the scriptures, saying that what does Sabbath mean in light of Christ?

There's broad agreement amongst Christians that Christ has indeed fulfilled the Sabbath, but what does that actually mean in practice? What does that actually mean in your practical weekly, not just your weekly actions, but in your understanding of what you're doing?

Okay. There's a difference there. Right.

David, what about you? Very cool. Well, I, especially early in the morning, I do like to listen to piano music. This is an Italian pianist and composer. He writes in kind of a minimalist. His name is Ludovico Einaudi.

I was introduced to him 20 years ago, maybe, by a very good friend of mine that I'm still in contact with as someone that I continue to pray for. But Ludovico Einaudi, E-I-N-A-U-D-I. And perhaps my favorite piece by him is Nuovole Bianche, and it is haunting.

I don't know his faith background. I mean, as a traditional Italian, I'm gonna take a guess and say that he's Roman Catholic. That's stereotyping. It is, it's total stereotyping. But maybe not. You'd be okay with it.

He might be okay with it. But I don't know his background. But it's, you know, God creates the best art. And as part of his image has put a love for music, beauty, art, things that are aesthetically pleasing into us, and it just erupts.

And he has graced certain people with talent. And you can listen to people like this, like you listen to Mozart or listen to others, and praise God for it. So that's my suggestion on content that this particular composer, and you may find something else of his that you like better.

But Nuovole Bianche is my personal favorite. Amen, amen.

Chris? I read a book called The Benefits of Providence, A New Look at Divine Sovereignty. Going through it, he mentions a lot of older views and some new modern views. And so I think it's less of a new look and just a re-look.

It's by James S. Spiegel. I found it very, very encouraging. It's very readable, but it's also systematic in the way that it lays things out, point one, point two, sub points. I like that kind of stuff.

But he goes through and he answers a lot of the objections about divine sovereignty, absolute sovereignty, things like that. How can God be sovereign and there be evil? He talks about Molinism, which is a popular idea more recently.

William and Craig kind of popularized that. Heiser too. Yeah, yeah. So this one, to me, it just kind of picked it apart, I think in a very logical way, and it goes through scripture. And so I found it very helpful, The Benefits of Providence.

Okay, thank you for that. My recommendation this week is a podcast called Haunted Cosmos. It's produced by New Christendom Press out of Ogden, Utah. They just started it. They've only got like four episodes right now, but they deal with supernatural events that cannot be explained by our secular age or secular culture.

So things like Mothman out in West Virginia and Ohio, the Ohio River Valley, a high strangeness on the high seas, so like sea creatures and stuff like that, that are like recorded and they're corroborated by not just one or two.

Like cryptids? Huh? Like cryptids, like strange? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the next one that they're gonna deal with is sleep paralysis, which is ubiquitous across culture, religion. They all have sleep paralysis.

And my brother Daryl has dealt with this before as well, and I had a roommate who dealt with it on a regular basis. But they're going to deal with what these might be from a Christian point of view, but also where's the mystery?

Where's the line that's mystery and how to prepare yourself for answering questions about it or even just receiving that sort of content whenever you see it, because these types of things are out there, whether you've experienced them or not, and we should always be looking through a biblical lens.

So that's my recommendation for this week. Michael, what are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving for Answered Prayer

Well, along the lines of the supernatural that you can't explain, I'm thankful for answered prayer, where we live in a time when we are conditioned to try to give some sort of material, directly causal explanation for everything.

But there are so many times in which, again and again, God answers prayer and it had nothing to do with the doctors and the medicine, but God standing in between the doctors and the medicine and my family, my family members, wherein we pray for God to give us guidance to make a good decision or that God would provide a change in our situation.

And then God does, and there's just no way to explain it other than God directly being involved. Down to the kinds of prayers when you're right in the moment of need and you pray for help and God delivers everything you need right then and there.

More than one instance in mind, you think about these things. And of course the praise goes to God in that, but it's not something that anybody else can give a full accounting for and explanation for.

It's just something that God does when he answers the prayers. So I'm thankful for God answering our prayers and not leaving us in some sort of warm deistic, distant relationship where we have positive thoughts, but basically he's not getting involved.

I'm thankful that that's not the case. Amen. Amen.

Thanksgiving for Music, Family, and a Daughter's Giftedness

Dave. I am thankful for, again for music. Went to a concert earlier this week with my family. It was actually a high school group, a performance group. Some of these kids have never and probably never will again perform in front of an audience.

It was just not their talent, not their interest, but I saw a couple of kids that apparently really came out of their shell. I watched their teacher, basically after they finished up, like this one kid who's a little more reserved, I watched him sing a Johnny Cash song and his teacher says, this is why I do what I do.

And it's like, okay, he has come out of his shell and been able to express, and a lot of the music was very Christian-based and I listened to the audience cheer and wake up when that stuff was expressed.

So it was just a joyful time and I was like, I couldn't have gotten up there and done some of those things that those kids did. And some of these kids were naturally talented and others absolutely weren't.

And others, I heard them, and some of the other parents coming up and talking to me, says, I had no idea you could sing like that, amazing. So it was a really neat time to see some of my daughter's friends express talents that they didn't know that they had and it was a nice time with the family as well.

So I'm very thankful for that concert.

So coming out of your shell and singing a Johnny Cash song, did he kick the stage light afterward or is this post gospel Johnny Cash we're talking about?

He sang, I've Been Everywhere. And this is a kid who doesn't talk a lot. And if you've ever heard that song, it is a tour de force and it is very difficult to sing. And I came up to him, I went up to him afterwards, I'm like, good job, young man.

He was like, oh, thanks. Yeah, how in the world did he get that out? It was great. It was great. Awesome.

Thanksgiving for a Wife's Growth in Femininity and Motherhood

Chris, what are you thankful for? I am thankful for my amazing wife. I am thankful for what God is doing in her and bringing her into my life, just to see how he's growing her in femininity and motherhood and being my wife, walking this road together with her.

I'm absolutely floored that I get to be a part of her life and that God brought her. And so I'm grateful for her. Amen, I think we can all echo that sentiment and that position. I'm thankful that we are, as a family, coming to the stretch on another pregnancy.

A little Charles Hugh will be due early June. And I'm thankful as I consider a recent miscarriage in our family. I'm thankful that the Lord has my children in his hands. He has my little nieces and nephews in his hands.

And the fact that both my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are Christians and that he also holds them is a wonderful blessing to watch them trust in him and to depend upon him in prayer and depend upon his people.

Whenever they have needs, they were very readily asking us for things as they should. I think Christians should be, just as we are generous to our brothers and sisters, we should not withhold our needs from each other and ask.

And they did so and they knew when to rest and not have any more help because sometimes the helping can come to where it's a hurt. So it worked out very well to have them here and to see them and to love on them and give them what they needed.

But I'm still very thankful when we're considering pregnancy and birth that God and his sovereign will is the thing that we rest in and we praise him for. That concludes season two of Have You Not Read?

We would like to encourage all of our listeners to test all that we have said with the scriptures. We also have plans for some bonus content coming this summer, so stay tuned. Please continue to send us your questions and we will do our best in season three to answer those questions.