WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.259 Our journey through the house in the middle of 00:00:02.259 --> 00:00:06.240 the forest continues. In our last conversation, 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:09.660 we discovered that some windows quietly changed 00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:12.900 the atmosphere of a home, not because they are 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:17.239 large, but because they are left unguarded. We 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:20.940 walked past the window of words, where we learned 00:00:20.940 --> 00:00:24.300 that life and death are in the power of the tongue. 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:27.600 Then we stopped before the window of comparison. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:31.420 where the serpent first convinced humanity that 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:35.200 what God had already given was somehow not enough. 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:39.320 Finally, we examined the window of influence 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:42.359 and discovered that not every voice deserves 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:46.740 access to our hearts, our homes, or our marriages. 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:51.439 Every voice is planting something. Every conversation 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:54.920 is shaping something. Every influence is moving 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:58.840 us either closer to Christ or farther away from 00:00:58.840 --> 00:01:02.679 him. But as I continued reflecting on my father's 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:07.019 story, I realized something else. The windows 00:01:07.019 --> 00:01:11.079 we have already explored are not the only ones. 00:01:11.340 --> 00:01:14.500 Some windows are easier to recognize. Others 00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:18.099 remain almost invisible. They quietly remain 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:21.959 open for years without anyone noticing the damage 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:26.060 they are causing. No loud arguments. No dramatic 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:30.500 crisis. No obvious signs. Just a slow change 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:34.359 in the atmosphere. Until one day, people begin 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:37.819 asking themselves, what happened to us? The answer 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:41.500 is often simple. The windows had been open for 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:46.120 a very long time. Today, I want us to continue 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:49.120 walking around this house. There are still more 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:52.379 windows waiting for us. Windows that have quietly 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:55.739 threatened not only marriages, but families. 00:01:56.740 --> 00:02:01.140 ministries, churches, and even entire generations. 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:05.700 Because remember, it has never been only about 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:09.580 you. Every marriage is influencing someone. Every 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:12.319 family is leaving an inheritance. Every Christian 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:15.379 home is preaching a message, whether it realizes 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:23.560 it or not. So, let's continue our walk. As we 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:26.229 make our way around the house, another window 00:02:26.229 --> 00:02:29.449 comes into view. This one doesn't usually make 00:02:29.449 --> 00:02:33.069 headlines. It doesn't attract attention. In fact, 00:02:33.349 --> 00:02:35.469 most people believe they can manage it on their 00:02:35.469 --> 00:02:39.330 own. Because this window is usually opened, one 00:02:39.330 --> 00:02:43.210 secret at a time, one hidden conversation, one 00:02:43.210 --> 00:02:46.889 hidden habit, one hidden struggle, one hidden 00:02:46.889 --> 00:02:51.150 compromise, until eventually, the hidden becomes 00:02:51.150 --> 00:02:55.539 heavier than the heart can carry. I call this 00:02:55.539 --> 00:02:59.680 the window of secrecy, because transparency protects 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:04.080 what secrecy quietly destroys. One of Satan's 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:06.400 oldest strategies has never been simply to tempt 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:10.740 people into sin. His greater strategy is to convince 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:15.319 them to hide it. That is exactly what happened 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:19.300 in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:22.539 they did not immediately run toward God. They 00:03:22.539 --> 00:03:26.659 ran away from him. Genesis tells us they hid 00:03:26.659 --> 00:03:29.900 among the trees of the garden. Think about that 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:33.039 for a moment. The God who created the trees. 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:37.039 The God who sees every corner of creation. The 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:40.659 God before whom nothing is hidden. They tried 00:03:40.659 --> 00:03:45.000 to hide from him. Sin always convinces us that 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:48.639 hiding is safer than healing. But God came walking 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:52.240 through the garden asking, where are you? not 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.699 because he had lost Adam, but because Adam had 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:59.879 lost himself. God's question was not about location. 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:04.699 It was about relationship. Sin had created distance, 00:04:05.139 --> 00:04:08.759 and secrecy was making that distance even greater. 00:04:09.099 --> 00:04:12.599 That same pattern has never changed. When people 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:15.680 begin hiding from one another, they eventually 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.560 begin hiding from God. When husbands stop sharing 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:23.389 their struggles, When wives begin carrying silent 00:04:23.389 --> 00:04:26.990 wounds, when children become afraid to tell the 00:04:26.990 --> 00:04:30.569 truth, the atmosphere of the house begins to 00:04:30.569 --> 00:04:33.850 change. Not because God has abandoned the home, 00:04:34.470 --> 00:04:38.730 but because secrecy has begun replacing transparency. 00:04:39.730 --> 00:04:42.189 King David understood this better than anyone. 00:04:42.949 --> 00:04:46.310 After his sin with Bathsheba, he tried to conceal 00:04:46.310 --> 00:04:49.879 everything. He hid the adultery. He manipulated 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:54.060 circumstances. He arranged Uriah's death. For 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:57.519 a season, everything appeared normal. The palace 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:01.579 still stood. The throne was still his. The kingdom 00:05:01.579 --> 00:05:06.139 continued functioning. But inside, David was 00:05:06.139 --> 00:05:10.759 dying. Listen to his own words in Psalm 32. When 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:14.540 I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:17.720 groaning all day long. For day and night your 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:20.959 hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:24.819 up as by the heat of summer. Notice what secrecy 00:05:24.819 --> 00:05:29.120 did. It didn't only hide the sin. It drained 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:33.600 his joy. It stole his peace. It weakened his 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:37.600 strength. The greatest burden David carried was 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:41.180 not the crown on his head. It was the secret 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:45.660 in his heart. David eventually reached the point. 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:50.100 where hiding became more painful than confessing. 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:54.060 There comes a moment when carrying the secret 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:58.220 becomes heavier than bringing it into the light. 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:03.600 That is exactly what Psalm 51 is. It is not merely 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:07.079 David's prayer after his sin. It is the prayer 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:10.639 of every person who has finally stopped hiding. 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:14.839 Listen to the cry of his heart. Have mercy on 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:18.139 me, O God, according to your unfailing love. 00:06:18.819 --> 00:06:21.339 According to your great compassion, blot out 00:06:21.339 --> 00:06:25.180 my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:28.899 and cleanse me from my sin. Notice something 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:32.540 remarkable. David no longer blames Bathsheba. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:36.680 He no longer blames his circumstances. He no 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:40.180 longer tries to explain himself. He simply comes 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:44.939 back to God, broken, honest. transparent. That 00:06:44.939 --> 00:06:48.259 is where restoration begins. Not when we become 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:52.060 perfect, but when we become truthful. The enemy 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:56.300 says, hide your sin. God says, bring it to me. 00:06:56.779 --> 00:07:00.360 The enemy says, if people find out, your life 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:05.279 is over. God says, if you confess, I will begin 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:09.120 restoring what sin has broken. There is something 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:12.870 beautiful about God's character. he already knows 00:07:12.870 --> 00:07:16.589 everything, yet he still invites us to come. 00:07:17.310 --> 00:07:20.910 Not because confession informs God. Confession 00:07:20.910 --> 00:07:24.310 transforms us. It tears down the walls we have 00:07:24.310 --> 00:07:27.550 built between ourselves and the one who has never 00:07:27.550 --> 00:07:31.209 stopped loving us. John writes these powerful 00:07:31.209 --> 00:07:34.689 words in his first letter, but if we walk in 00:07:34.689 --> 00:07:38.490 the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship 00:07:38.490 --> 00:07:41.449 with one another. and the blood of Jesus his 00:07:41.449 --> 00:07:46.470 son cleanses us from all sin. Notice, he doesn't 00:07:46.470 --> 00:07:51.430 say, if we walk perfectly, he says, if we walk 00:07:51.430 --> 00:07:55.930 in the light. Light is not perfection. Light 00:07:55.930 --> 00:07:59.149 is honesty. Light is refusing to live behind 00:07:59.149 --> 00:08:02.430 mass. Light is refusing to build a marriage on 00:08:02.430 --> 00:08:05.250 appearances while it quietly falls apart behind 00:08:05.250 --> 00:08:09.240 closed doors. Light is a husband saying, I need 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:12.779 help. It is a wife saying, I've been carrying 00:08:12.779 --> 00:08:16.759 this pain alone. It is parents admitting we need 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:21.160 God to restore our family. Walking in the light 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:24.459 does not mean we have never failed. It means 00:08:24.459 --> 00:08:28.300 we no longer allow failure to live in darkness. 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:33.139 And then James takes us one step further. Therefore, 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:36.240 confess your sins to one another and pray for 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:40.320 one another so that you may be healed. Did you 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:43.799 notice that? He does not merely connect confession 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:47.460 with forgiveness. He connects confession with 00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:52.720 healing. There are wounds that remain open simply 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.960 because they have never been brought into the 00:08:55.960 --> 00:09:00.059 light. Some marriages don't need another vacation. 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:04.139 Some don't need a bigger house. Some don't need 00:09:04.139 --> 00:09:07.980 more money. Some simply need an honest conversation. 00:09:08.269 --> 00:09:11.190 Some families have spent years protecting an 00:09:11.190 --> 00:09:14.250 image while neglecting the healing God has been 00:09:14.250 --> 00:09:18.429 offering all along. Transparency is not weakness. 00:09:19.389 --> 00:09:23.470 Transparency is courage. It takes far more strength 00:09:23.470 --> 00:09:27.210 to say, I was wrong than to spend years pretending 00:09:27.210 --> 00:09:30.809 everything is fine. It takes humility to ask 00:09:30.809 --> 00:09:34.330 for forgiveness. It takes faith to believe that 00:09:34.330 --> 00:09:37.509 God's grace is greater than our failures. And 00:09:37.509 --> 00:09:40.889 that is exactly why secrecy is such a dangerous 00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:45.009 window. Because secrecy isolates. Transparency 00:09:45.009 --> 00:09:49.490 reconnects. Secrecy builds walls. Transparency 00:09:49.490 --> 00:09:53.470 rebuilds relationships. Secrecy suffocates the 00:09:53.470 --> 00:09:58.070 atmosphere of the home. Transparency allows God's 00:09:58.070 --> 00:10:02.090 grace to breathe again. The enemy knows something 00:10:02.090 --> 00:10:05.690 many people forget. He cannot stop God from forgiving 00:10:05.690 --> 00:10:10.389 you. But if he can convince you to hide, he can 00:10:10.389 --> 00:10:13.549 keep you from experiencing the freedom that forgiveness 00:10:13.549 --> 00:10:17.990 brings. That is why Jesus said, everyone who 00:10:17.990 --> 00:10:21.350 does evil hates the light and will not come into 00:10:21.350 --> 00:10:24.950 the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 00:10:25.649 --> 00:10:28.750 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the 00:10:28.750 --> 00:10:35.529 light. John 3 20 to 21. Coming into the light 00:10:35.529 --> 00:10:39.629 is not God's way of humiliating us. It is His 00:10:39.629 --> 00:10:43.970 way of healing us because every room open to 00:10:43.970 --> 00:10:48.009 His light becomes another room where His grace 00:10:48.009 --> 00:10:53.710 can begin its work. The tragedy is very few people 00:10:53.710 --> 00:10:56.889 intend to destroy their marriage. Very few Christians 00:10:56.889 --> 00:11:00.549 wake up one morning and decide Today, I want 00:11:00.549 --> 00:11:03.929 to ruin my family. It almost never happens that 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:07.870 way. It happens one hidden decision at a time. 00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:13.169 One compromise at a time. One secret at a time. 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:16.370 Until secrecy slowly creates something else. 00:11:16.870 --> 00:11:20.350 Isolation. And once a person becomes isolated, 00:11:21.070 --> 00:11:24.850 another window quietly begins to open. As we 00:11:24.850 --> 00:11:27.769 continue walking around this house, We arrive 00:11:27.769 --> 00:11:31.330 at another window, one that looks harmless, one 00:11:31.330 --> 00:11:35.169 that often disguises itself as friendship, advice, 00:11:35.950 --> 00:11:39.710 companionship, or simply someone who understands 00:11:39.710 --> 00:11:44.750 us. I call this the window of influence, because 00:11:44.750 --> 00:11:48.649 not everyone deserves access to your marriage. 00:11:49.590 --> 00:11:53.769 Not everyone deserves access to your heart. Not 00:11:53.769 --> 00:11:57.879 everyone deserves access. To your family, one 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:01.799 of the greatest lies of our generation is believing 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:05.940 that every voice deserves equal value. The Bible 00:12:05.940 --> 00:12:09.639 teaches the exact opposite. Scripture repeatedly 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:13.139 reminds us that the people we allow closest to 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:16.240 us will eventually shape the direction of our 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:21.019 lives. Solomon writes in Proverbs, walk with 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:24.639 the wise and become wise. for a companion of 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:28.100 fools suffers harm. Notice what he does not say. 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:32.960 He doesn't say, become wise and then choose wise 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:37.740 friends. He says, walk with the wise because 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:41.539 influence always precedes transformation. Whoever 00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:44.980 you consistently walk beside will eventually 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:48.240 leave footprints on your own life. The apostle 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:51.899 Paul says something just as direct. Do not be 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:56.000 deceived. Bad company corrupts good character. 00:12:56.340 --> 00:13:00.080 I Find those first four words fascinating do 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:04.320 not be deceived Why would Paul begin there because 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:07.659 influence is rarely obvious? It doesn't announce 00:13:07.659 --> 00:13:10.679 itself. It doesn't knock on the front door and 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:14.779 say I'm here to destroy your marriage No, it 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:18.480 comes disguised. It sounds reasonable. It feels 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:22.139 comforting It makes us feel understood and before 00:13:22.139 --> 00:13:26.480 long Its values quietly become our values. Its 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:29.759 language becomes our language. Its priorities 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:33.399 become our priorities. That is why the enemy 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:36.799 has always worked through voices. Long before 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:40.080 Eve ever reached for the fruit, she first listened 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:43.639 to another voice. Nothing had changed in the 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:48.320 garden. God's command had not changed. The tree 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:53.519 had not changed. Adam had not changed. What changed 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:57.799 was the voice Eve chose to entertain. Every fall 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:02.759 begins with a conversation. Sometimes that conversation 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:06.200 happens with another person. Sometimes it happens 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:09.190 through a screen. Sometimes it happens through 00:14:09.190 --> 00:14:12.250 entertainment. Sometimes it happens in our own 00:14:12.250 --> 00:14:15.830 thoughts. But every influence is planting a seed. 00:14:16.129 --> 00:14:19.549 That is why we must be careful who has access 00:14:19.549 --> 00:14:23.250 to the atmosphere of our homes. Not every friendship 00:14:23.250 --> 00:14:26.350 strengthens your covenant. Not every co -worker 00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:29.490 deserves your emotional vulnerability. Not every 00:14:29.490 --> 00:14:32.820 family member speaks wisdom. Not every opinion 00:14:32.820 --> 00:14:35.919 should shape your decisions. Not every social 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:38.879 media voice deserves your attention. And this 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:42.419 becomes especially important in marriage. One 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:44.919 of the most dangerous trends of our generation 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:48.500 is the normalization of emotional substitutes. 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:53.879 Work husband. Work wife. People laugh. People 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:58.120 joke. People call it harmless. But words matter. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:02.710 Relationships matter. Emotional attachment matters. 00:15:03.409 --> 00:15:06.070 God never designed another man to occupy the 00:15:06.070 --> 00:15:09.629 emotional place reserved for a husband, nor another 00:15:09.629 --> 00:15:12.610 woman to occupy the place reserved for a wife. 00:15:13.549 --> 00:15:16.710 Affairs rarely begin in a bedroom. They usually 00:15:16.710 --> 00:15:20.350 begin in a conversation, in feeling understood, 00:15:21.289 --> 00:15:24.649 in repeated emotional dependence, in the belief 00:15:24.649 --> 00:15:28.289 that they understand me better than my spouse. 00:15:29.129 --> 00:15:32.330 That sentence has destroyed countless homes. 00:15:32.509 --> 00:15:35.909 If someone understands you better than your spouse, 00:15:36.350 --> 00:15:39.830 the solution is not to deepen that outside relationship. 00:15:40.190 --> 00:15:43.809 The solution is to rebuild communication inside 00:15:43.809 --> 00:15:46.850 your marriage. Protect the covenant. Protect 00:15:46.850 --> 00:15:50.629 the atmosphere. Protect the access. Because not 00:15:50.629 --> 00:15:54.990 everyone deserves a key to the house God entrusted 00:15:54.990 --> 00:15:59.929 to you. There is something remarkable about everything 00:15:59.929 --> 00:16:03.389 we have discovered today. The window of secrecy. 00:16:03.889 --> 00:16:07.450 The window of influence. Neither of them begins 00:16:07.450 --> 00:16:10.690 with the intention of destroying a marriage. 00:16:11.250 --> 00:16:14.809 One begins with something hidden. The other begins 00:16:14.809 --> 00:16:19.809 with someone welcomed. But both quietly change 00:16:19.809 --> 00:16:23.350 the atmosphere inside the house. And perhaps 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:26.710 that is the greatest lesson we have learned throughout 00:16:26.710 --> 00:16:30.700 this journey. No marriage collapses because of 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:35.240 one moment. No family drifts away from God because 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:39.559 of one decision. The atmosphere changes long 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:42.779 before the house begins to fall. That is why 00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:46.580 we must guard what enters our hearts, what enters 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:50.039 our conversations, what enters our relationships, 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:54.440 and what enters our homes. Because every window 00:16:54.440 --> 00:17:00.220 is an invitation. The question is, who or what 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:04.059 are we inviting in? As I thought once again about 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:07.359 my father's story, I realized something that 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:10.700 had been there all along. He never spent much 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:13.339 time talking about the forest. He talked about 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:17.079 the house. He never tried to make me afraid of 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:20.420 what was outside. He wanted me to understand 00:17:20.420 --> 00:17:25.740 the value of what was inside. because people 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:30.400 never protect what they do not value. And perhaps 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:33.559 that brings us to the greatest question of all, 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:36.420 what creates the atmosphere inside a Christian 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:40.460 home? Is it love, communication, commitment, 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:44.359 shared dreams, or is there something even deeper, 00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:47.799 something without which none of those things 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:52.640 can truly survive? That is where our journey 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:56.309 will continue. because there is one final window, 00:17:56.930 --> 00:17:59.309 one that explains every other window we have 00:17:59.309 --> 00:18:04.450 explored. I call it the window of spiritual atmosphere 00:18:04.450 --> 00:18:09.130 because a house without God is a house with every 00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:13.549 window open. In our next conversation, we will 00:18:13.549 --> 00:18:16.269 discover why the greatest protection for a marriage 00:18:16.269 --> 00:18:21.329 is not stronger walls or tighter locks or even 00:18:21.329 --> 00:18:24.569 better communication. It is the presence of God 00:18:24.569 --> 00:18:28.930 reigning, dwelling, and remaining at the center 00:18:28.930 --> 00:18:32.390 of the home. Because when Christ becomes the 00:18:32.390 --> 00:18:35.569 atmosphere of the house, everything changes. 00:18:36.170 --> 00:18:40.150 The words change. The relationships change. The 00:18:40.150 --> 00:18:43.750 decisions change. The priorities change. The 00:18:43.750 --> 00:18:46.630 peace returns. And even in the middle of the 00:18:46.630 --> 00:18:50.690 darkest forest, the house remains standing. Until 00:18:50.690 --> 00:18:54.980 next time. May the Lord bless your home, strengthen 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:59.039 your marriage, guard your family, and remind 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:02.480 you every day that the greatest treasure inside 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:06.759 your house has never been the house itself. It 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:11.539 has always been the presence of God. Thank you 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:14.940 for joining me on Pomodra Podcast. Together in 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:16.759 faith, together in Christ.