What's up, what's up? Incredible, loved and valued people. My name is M.MA.

And I am truly just so filled with gratitude that I get to sit here with you. And I sometimes feel

like a broken record because I say that probably every single week, but it is so true that I am very much aware that it is by God's grace that I get to sit here, that it is by God's grace that I get to be a part of your life in the cool way of a podcast and that though we may have never met, we're getting to grow in our relationship with Jesus together.

We're getting to grow in love with His Word together.

We're getting to grow in our working out of our salvation with fear and trembling

and being more and more compelled by the love of Christ,

convinced that one died for all and therefore all died

so that we may no longer live for ourselves, but for him, but for him who died and was raised

together. Like I even just think about how in First Peter, this is a little bit of a side

track, but how in First Peter, he's encouraging you that,

like, hey, your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking for whom he may devour,

resist him, standing firm, knowing that, like, after a little while, like, God himself will

restore you. And then he brings encouragement. And he says, also know this,

that your family of believers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And so I

just want you to know, like, as your sister in Christ, you're not alone. You may be in a space right now,

in a season right now, in a town right now, in a town right now that you are feeling alone,

but you are not. You are in good company with many brothers and sisters around the world who

are running the race. And I'm just, I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you

for taking the time to sit and listen to the Word of God.

And I am thankful that I get to grow in love with Him and His Word with you.

Guys, this is so exciting because this is the first episode of a series we are going through in the

month of November. And it is a series of praise. I have had this on my heart

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