The Gospel

Honestly, as believers, when was the last time you thought about what our hope for the future would be if it were not for Christ's death and resurrection? In everything that we believe - if it were not for Christ emptying himself, coming into the universe which he created, fulfilling every prophecy by his life, death, and resurrection - then what hope would we have through the course of eternity? If it were not for Christ satisfying the wrath of God, enduring the cross, and fulfilling the price of sin and death, would we honestly - when we really think about it - have any hope to stand on at all?

Oh how sad the thought that people go throughout life without this hope for eternity. There are times when I feel completely and utterly unworthy to speak the words of the gospel (John 19-20) into the lives of people (and in my sake this summer, the kids of camp), but it's in those times when God shines through and shows me exactly who he is, his power, and his might! And how glorious he is! We are truly a chosen generation. God is bringing his kingdom come in us and through us, may we run with this idea in sight!

Jesus did not have to come to the universe he himself created, but he did, out of love, grace, and a longing to spend eternity with each of us - who had messed up, who were drowning in sin.

Jesus was hated and not recognized by those who he came to save. The Jews, who hated the Romans with passion, would rather bow to Caesar and serve Caesar than have Jesus NOT be crucified! - These were the VERY PEOPLE whom Jesus loved, stepped out of heaven, and was willing to endure the cross for.

Jesus was flogged/scourged, beaten to the point that those who knew him the most could not even look on his face and recognize him.

He was then released to the people. Our Savior, the Creator of the heavens and earth, was dragged through the city, carrying his own cross, to the outer walls where he was crucified.

He was tortured, mocked, and hung on a cross as the Father turned his back on his Son - satisfying the wrath that was rightfully ours to bear before God.

Immediately following his death, Christ was taken and placed in a tomb in a garden nearby the site of Golgotha, the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. The tomb was heavily guarded, because the Roman government did not want any funny business to happen on their watch.

On the 3rd day, the stone flung from the tomb and the guards could not even move, having no need more prevalent at the time than shielding their eyes from the sheer glory. Christ had risen! - though it was believed at the time he had been stolen.

Shortly after, Jesus reappeared to many people, giving them clear directions to carry out until his return.

WE ARE A CHOSEN GENERATION.

MAY WE LIVE IN THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL.

May we realize what would be the extent of our vision if it were not for the blood and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ - death.

Go. Serve.

Eph 3:19

Meditations: this is where the healing begins...

Hello Fellars and Ladies,

We need to put more weight and value on the nature of God and who God is. We need to stop struggling with trying to be our own savior! Healing really does begin when we confess our sins to the LORD and to others - when we stop trying to save ourselves by our performance! This has been on my mind a great deal this last month - do we allow ourselves to be broken, on our face, before the throne of God. Do we then go as he commands us (James 5:13-16) and confess our sins to others to allow for healing? We need to stop relying on ourselves, and rely on him and all he is! Amen? Listen to what Mike has to say, the singer of Tenth Avenue North, one of my absolute favorite bands... May it be an encouragement and enlightenment...

Here's the 1st passage of meditation following this video:

James 5:13-16

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Prayer, praise, prayer, praise, that is what we are commanded to do... And here we are clearly told to confess our sins to one another, so that we may be healed. It's amazing how quickly that actually can freak us out - we can confess our sins to God, but then when it comes to confessing to a person we FREAK OUT. It's as if we perceive God as a fantasy, but for some reason people are more real. I believe, as this video discusses, that this is exactly why it is commanded of us to confess to one another! At that point we realize how we really need a savior, at that point we really can't wiggle our way out by being our own savior. It's crazy and true to really think about and begin to understand, that the healing discussed here in James 5 really does mean more of a freedom - a freedom from ever needing to try to save ourselves by what we do (by our performance), but rather relying on God and him as our savior in all ways. The gospel reveals to us completely that we are so far from God (that we are "a bum"), but also that when others may see the things we confess, that we have already confessed before the throne of God, and in that very moment we fully believe the gospel with our mouths and with our HEARTS! God knows all - but "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) May we listen to the word of God, which gives us freedom, and put it into better practice in accountability confessing our sins with others. Here is the song "Healing Begins" by Tenth Avenue North ~ may it hit you like a brick between the eyes! - - -

Here's the 2nd passage of meditation following the song, do read it, and allow it to let you meditate:

Psalm 139

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast the sum of them!

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

HOW TRULY IS THAT OUR PRAYER?

Do we realize the significance to who God really is? Do we realize that he knows our every thought? That he is there through our every waking action? The story Mike told in the beginning of the first video is so similar, I believe, for all of us. We have no problem confessing our sins to the LORD, because our mind obtains him as almost a fantasy - something that we may say we believe but there's really no feeling of guilt before him. If we truly do fall before his throne, realize we are bums, and that we need a savior, then healing comes. It just does. It always does. God knows everything about us, and we need to understand the gospel every day better and better, not just with our mouths but with our hearts...and our hearts really get involved when we are broken, which comes through true confession. That is the healing, the freedom. That is how the shame disappears and so many other things - when we realize WHO God is, and we realize how important confession to him and others really is! May we, who earnestly seek him, realize this more and more every day.

Go. Serve.

Eph 3:19

Bread of Life

Hey everybody,

So some of you know this and some of you don't, but I work at a bible camp over the summers throughout college, and I love it so very much! The kids are such a blessing, to see their hearts growing for the Lord our God (those who already know AND those who have no idea who he is and what he's all about...it is such a beautiful thing!) Our theme this year is "Plug Into God's Promises" and it is such a fitting topic, because it is helping me grow while at the same time just rocking these kids' worlds - that God, who is so much bigger and stronger would really keep the promises he makes us because he loves us so very much! It's a good lesson for any of us, and an important thing for us to think about more than we probably actually do. Just think about that. God could end our lives in an instant, has all power, and still makes us promises and keeps every single one of them - those which we completely don't deserve, but his grace is just that strong.

So the topic we as a camp are focussing on this coming week is that of God's promises of provision for his people - mainly on how he is the all-satisfying "Bread of Life." If you think that this is too "low" for you or too "immature" of a lesson for you, then you really need to evaluate your relationship with God - or if there even is one that you treasure to begin with. Exodus 16 is a passage where Moses is leading the Israelites through 40 long years in the wilderness, and literally as God hears their grumbling and their cry he rains bread down from heaven. The Lord proved - as he always does - that he cares and would not let his people suffer beyond what they could bear. He promise to care after his children, his people, has stood the test of time. Let's meditate on this passage:

Exodus 16:1-3

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month and after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."

Right off the bat...what are the Israelites doing? Complaining. God had just brought them out of slavery, bondage, humiliation, and was leading them to where he had promised to lead them. And they don't trust him, they say they would "Rather be back there than follow after and trust God!"

And what do we do, often times, as we go through hard times, even if it is immediately following something sooooo good that God did for us? Really, ask yourself. We're no different. Do you trust God whole-heartedly, when you're going through something hard, to get you through it? To keep his promises? DO WE.

Exodus 16:4-8

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."

So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?" Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the breat you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."

Remember how big of a group of people this was? They had a significant crisis on their hands (not having food for the thousands and thousands of people stuck in the middle of the desert just wandering around) - Now think about your crisis - Do you think God can handle it? I think so.

Exodus 16:9-18

Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.' "

While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.

The LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' "

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, think flakes of frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' "

The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.

Such an amazing story to show us how God really does provide, and always will for his people. He is passionate about his people, about those who follow him and seek him. Here is how Jesus referenced this story:

John 6:30-40

So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last night. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Meditate on that passage from the gospel of John. Just as God provided for the Israelites as they wandered for 40 years through Israel, he does today, through his Son Jesus Christ, who gives us bread that makes us never want to be satisfied by anything else! May we try harder and harder to understand this better and better. It is the will of God that everyone who believes Jesus will never be driven away, but will received eternal life and be taken up with God to spend eternity with him. Think of this other reference that Jesus made to "Bread" and what that was to signify. Just as God provided for the Israelites and meant those promises, he meant the one in sending his son to die for our sins and be risen from the dead. Praise glory and honor be to the LORD God! May we all examine our faith, think about this, and truly believe in Jesus the Son of God.

Meditations this 4th of July...

Psalm 73:22-28 (NIV)

22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.

23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds!

I love this passage - because it pretty much describes my walk. I am just a character in a much larger story. I do not write it, but I live it to the glory of God. May we all realize how we must depend on the LORD our God for our every need, every desire, and we must not take lightly the promises he has made to us and all those who believe in him and call upon his name to be saved. "Whom have I in heaven but you?" Meditate on that passage. We have such a need for God, such a hunger, such a momentum in our relationship with God that other people stop and think. We must reach a level that only he can satisfy us fully. Only when he is the center of our world do we understand what living life to the fullest really means...I know this full well. May we not be deceived.

I'm sorry if I step on people's toes again, but I am just gonna be honest with you...so I'm sorry for that if it bothers you. I have many prayers for our nation this time of year/this weekend! We have fallen so far away from Scripture and so far away from all that God desires, and I am convinced that God has many strong desires for the United States of America - to be a significant part in bringing about his kingdom - but we must first pray and pray hard. I bet half of us don't even remember to pray for our country regularly, as the bible clearly says we should. In that, it is a crazy thing to take the time and meditate on the bigness of God and the goodness of his plan - the importance of following him in all we do - when we (as people and a country) are so small compared to him. So what could he possibly desire with us? What are we to do? We must pray, pray that his will be done in this nation, pray that people come back to sense with the purpose of life. God is so good to us, and his mercy and grace is so beyond anything we can even understand. Let us pray, let us pray for an awakening that sweeps over everything and everyone! Thank you LORD, for your grace.

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Meditate on that passage. Meditate on all God's done and all he's doing (in your life personally and in the lives of those you know!) Take those thoughts and think about what he can do here in America, what he also desires to do in us and through us for this country! I pray that what I am saying encourages you to be mindful of the prayers that I believe are more necessary now than ever before in the United States of America. The world may say that there is no such thing as an "absolute truth," or something that "transcends every aspect of life and reality," but they are wrong and it is evident to me that there is something bigger out there. Amen? What we need in America is an awakening! And it can happen. But we must be obedient and pray. We must pray that we ourselves follow God's calling he's placed in each one of our hearts, and also that we as a country follow God's desires and not our own!

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

It is our calling, to do this. Again, we often times forget - I believe - to lift our country up in prayer...and no wonder we're struggling so much. We may remember to pray when we're struggling, stressed, nervous, hurt, upset, but do we pray for the United States of America and its leadership on a regular basis? May we, with every opportunity this coming weekend, get on our knees and pray for Barack Obama (I don't care if you don't like him), may we pray for the Church, may we pray for revival amongst the nation and the Church! It can happen. Remember - as the Psalm in the beginning said - he is our strength, our portion, and our refuge. Whom have we in heaven but you Lord? Guide us with your counsel and take us into glory! Pray. "Like the rising sun that shines, from the darkness comes a light, I hear Your voice and this is my awakening!"

Go. Serve.

Eph 3:19

Meditations this Friday...

2 passages I have been meditating on lately...

Matthew 27:45-54

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

Romans 8:31-39

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A picture I took this past month at Golgotha,

the hill outside the city walls in Jerusalem

where Jesus was dragged and crucified...

Oh just think about the love that is ours found in the life and death of Jesus our Lord, the son of God. May it be our heart's sole desire to understand him and know him more and to make him known to others! His Word is marvelous and the humility in his death is astounding (Phil 2:5-11). The fact that we went from sinners, the extent of our vision ending in death and nothing more, to an ability to spend all eternity with our Savior is something that should make us ever thankful and full of gratitude for receiving that which we have nothing in us to deserve. The earth shook and the veil was torn, and we again were (and are) in communication with the God the father! We were separated from the one thing we needed, and the Lord had mercy on us - his creation - and our guilt, sin, and shame was pardoned once and for all. And the same Jesus who died for us is now sitting at the right hand and interceding for us to the Father, and nothing can separate us from that love. How do we respond to such a message? I am not anything other than a character, I do not know more than any of you. What I do know is we were bought by the blood of our creator - which makes no common sense. We were brought into a relationship with our creator that we did everything NOT to deserve - which for those who know relationships, also makes no common sense. So just ask yourself: What can separate you from the love of Christ? It's beautiful, wonderful, and so rich and full of mercy - that God would turn his back on his only son to save us...his creation. We had fallen so far but God redeemed us and now we have him interceding on our behalf to the father and the opportunity to know him better and tell of him to all he brings into our life...and that is our mission, our vision. May these passages inspire you as you study his word, may this short message encourage you, and may you always ask yourself: How great is the mercy and grace that God our Father had on us? How great is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ? May the reason we breathe be to sing of his glory, to glorify him in everything we do, to tell others of what he has done.

Go. Serve.

Eph 3:19

Treasure God...whatever it takes.

Momentum.

Psalm 71:17-18

"Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, til I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come."

Mark 8:36

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

Lord forgive us for when we get consumed by the things of this world, that fight for our love, and our passion. As our eyes are opened wide and on you, grant us the privilege of your worldview. And may your kingdom be what wakes us up and lays us down.

What is needed for a person keep their momentum in their relationship with God? What must we do? How must we live? The most important entity that there is and we still think that He doesn't deserve our very best? Our life hangs by a thread and that thread is in His hands. When was the last time you even thanked God for keeping you alive to experience all He is? When will we realize that this outlook can and will change the world? People let us down, but He has never and will never let us down. We may think that at times that He doesn't have our best interest in mind, but guess what, He does. We must understand how wide and how deep the surpassing love that Jesus Christ has displayed to us on the cross of Calvary is. I am reading through a lot of Paul's epistles right now, so that is why I have such a kind of "go-getter" mentality right now, but isn't that what we're supposed to have? I have come to the realization that must do whatever it takes to keep that frame of mind. We must fight through things that distract us, that disconnect us, no matter how painful. We must embark on a mission to fight this. It is clearly not an easy thing to fight momentum, but it is so important and vital to our daily lives and it is something I desperately want, that I long for, and that I will fight anything to get to. God will give us what we have been looking for if we treasure Him above all other things, and he will do it in his own crazy unique way! Because that's who he is! He doesn't want us to think it's us, because then it's not glorifying him! May we live in a way that he is our sole desire, that he is what we thirst for, and may he be what we seek above all else. We need to build and keep this momentum, I'm realizing more and more in my own life, whatever it takes. I want to fall for God. I want to demonstrate my love for him in a way that's unmistakable. And we are meant to walk this road together. Be encouragable, our God is a great God

Proverbs 10:2

"Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death."

Go. Serve.

Fathers Day

Alright, let me expound some of my thoughts upon you.

Examine your heart. Don't let anything go unnoticed. Let the Holy Spirit do His work.

Ephesians 2:13-22

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

Do you remember reading how much Jesus himself loved and talked to his heavenly father? That relationship was to him like none other. Granted he was Jesus Christ. But I believe there is something to be taken from his vivid example. It gives clarity to me in that fathers have a significant place and role in the life of their children - as a true personification and vision of God's love himself: protecting with his life, loving no matter what, remaining faithful and legit, providing for his wife and children, and so much more. What does the Bible say about our heavenly father? He looks on us and dances over us and gives us life and protects us from harm if we obey and trust him. A father is given more responsibility than any role on earth - and it is no easy job or one to be taken lightly. It is a term of much respect, one that is never to be taken lightly and one which God has placed great importance on.

Our fathers have a crazy huge impact on us, and that impact is not something that we can forget if we tried. It is never something we forget for as long as we live. Talk about significant. Fathers constantly aspire to be heroes to their wife, heroes to their children, and those people always come before they can be heroes to anyone else, of top value. God places the greatest value on the home and all that is within it, the primary and original learning community, with the father to lead spiritually and guide as the Lord moves his heart. When was the last time you thanked your father for that? He places such great importance on the teaching of the father as well. It was a profound study I have been doing. In Ephesians 5 and 6, after Paul goes on about marriage and the roles of the husband and wife, he goes to children obeying their parents. And to end everything he says (Ephesians 6:4), "Fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." May we thank our fathers today for the instruction they provide, for the encouragement they give, for the love they show, and for the wisdom they impart to us that we so often take for granted. We have watched them our whole lives, and the wisdom and impact they have had in our lives is something that we ought to give an unparalleled respect. We have watched him our whole lives and learned many important things.

Let us thank God throughout today for our fathers. Thank them for the amazing leaders they are. Tell them how special they are to you, even thought they're not perfect, and how they have brought about life change in your heart.

And if our God is for us, than who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, than what could stand against? Then what could stand against??

Go. Serve.