St Paul gives us a model of how we may remember those in our lives. He writes to the Philippians to tell them how he remembers them regularly and thank God for them. This must be true for us also. When we take the time to remember people in our lives, it offers us the chance to be grateful to God and pray from them.

Rely on God's grace and the Christian virtues of fidelity, trust, love, forgiveness, patience, and kindness, and the mighty power of prayer and God’s word to live each day without permitting your faith and the joyful, happy Christian life you have to be truncated by any Pharisaic, Herod-like moves and threats we confront now or later.

We cannot depend only on the promises and the words we hear from politicians to determine our role in elections. What God leads us to do is far more important because it is the Lord who knows the thoughts and hearts of people. Pray for guidance about the person you should choose and pray for the country.

Christian growth also has indicators that help us determine which direction we are going with our Christian life and whether we are on track or off track. Notice how Jesus applies two brief parables about the mustard seed and yeast to proffer for our admiration the fundamental indicator of God's kingdom.