We receive guidance from our heavenly Father, but we don’t have to wait for it only once a year. Every time we hear a sermon, attend a Bible class, or open our Bibles and read, we receive instructions and clear direction. What we do with it is up to us.<\/p>\n
May God give us a clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for, because unless we stand for something, we’ll fall for anything.<\/p>\n
“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ<\/em>” (II Thessalonians 3:5).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Zeke Flores Who doesn’t love getting personal, hand-written letters? I read about a boy living in New Jersey who waits expectantly every year for the mailman to deliver a special letter to him on his birthday. When his father was dying of a terminal disease, he knew the youngster would not have the benefit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[981],"class_list":["post-87957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-communication"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94615,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/red-letters\/","url_meta":{"origin":87957,"position":0},"title":"Red Letters","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by John Guzzetta I'm sure you've noticed that in many editions of the Bible, maybe even the one you are holding, the editors have printed the words of Jesus Christ in red ink. The first red-letter edition was conceived and printed by Louis Klopsch in 1899, first titled (in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Red-Letter-Bible-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35614,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-paul-talking-only-about-unequal-yoking-in-ii-corinthians-614\/","url_meta":{"origin":87957,"position":1},"title":"Is Paul talking only about unequal yoking in II Corinthians 6:14?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I must question slightly\u00a0your discourse about II Corinthians and marriage. I am pleased that you do not recommend anyone marry an unbeliever. And you are correct that many will ignore that advice. The part I question is that you read something into the scripture that isn't there and have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/unread-letters\/","url_meta":{"origin":87957,"position":2},"title":"Unread Letters","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matt Hennecke via\u00a0Think on These Things, April-May-June, 2009 A childhood accident resulted in poet Elizabeth Barrett becoming an invalid and a recluse. Despite her isolation, her early poetry drew the attention of Robert Browning who began courting her. He eventually asked for her hand in marriage and Elizabeth and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/letter-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1687,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-did-ahaziah-begin-his-reign\/","url_meta":{"origin":87957,"position":3},"title":"When did Ahaziah begin his reign?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When comparing II Kings 8:26 and II Chronicles 22:2, which is the true age of Ahaziah when he began to reign? Answer: \"Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90594,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ii-corinthians-and-paul\/","url_meta":{"origin":87957,"position":4},"title":"II Corinthians and Paul","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong \"There are many things I disagree with Paul about\u2026\" This was how my grandmother concluded our discussion on being faithful to the teachings of the New Testament. In Paul's time, not everyone who was converted remained faithful to acknowledging Paul as an apostle of Jesus and thus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":659,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happened-to-the-letter-to-laodicea-mentioned-in-colossians-416\/","url_meta":{"origin":87957,"position":5},"title":"What happened to the letter to Laodicea mentioned in Colossians 4:16?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What happened to the letter to Laodicea mentioned in\u00a0Colossians 4:16? Answer: Near the end of Paul's third journey, Paul visited churches and gathered funds for the relief of brethren in Judea suffering from a famine (I Corinthians 16:1-9). 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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/handwritten-letter-300x225.jpg\")
I read about a boy living in New Jersey who waits expectantly every year for the mailman to deliver a special letter to him on his birthday. When his father was dying of a terminal disease, he knew the youngster would not have the benefit of his guidance and help as he grew into manhood. So, he wrote a letter for each year and left instructions for them to be sent, ensuring they would arrive annually on his birthday. A final envelope containing words of fatherly direction and advice was given to the son on his wedding day. I’m sure that son cherished those letters.<\/p>\n