I just returned from a week of camp at Blue Mountain Retreat Center outside of Fredericktown. The camp is for kids going into 6th, 7th and 8th grades. The last night is an opportunity for the kids to "say so." Twenty-four kids gave a first time confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For the counselors there, this makes the week of heat and exhaustion worth it.

Consider these two bits of scripture.

But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." - Romans 10:8-11

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. - John 12:42-43

What a thrill; 24 kids for the first time confessed Christ because they were more interested in the glory of God than the glory of their peers. And over 40 others recommitted their faith to Christ. That's a good week!

- Rob

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Have you ever felt hard pressed on every side, perplexed, persecuted or struck down? We were never promised that we would not experience those things in this life. Being followers of Christ does not exempt us from pain and suffering.

The bigger question is this: Have you ever felt crushed, experienced despair, been abandoned, even destroyed?

The very good news is this; Christ came to walk with you and give you strength through hardship so that you will never be crushed or in despair. You are never abandoned and nothing can destroy you because of who He is!

Are you aware of what an amazing God this is?

I pray that you will find His strength to be sufficient for you no matter what you face today.

If you have not yet accepted Him as your Savior, I pray that this would be the day for you to find Him to be all that you need!

-Angela

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. - Galatians 5:13

Chapter 5 of Galatians is all about a paradox of freedom. We want to be free, but the truth is we human beings will be enslaved by one thing or another. Paul, in this letter, is encouraging the people of Galatia to choose Christ as master rather than sin; these really are the only two choices. Our freedom comes when we submit to Christ who in turn gives us our life and and sets us free from all unrighteousness.

In this particular verse, though, I wanted to point out Paul's prescription for us when we are tempted to use our freedom to indulge in the sinful nature; it is to serve others in love. I found that quite interesting that it is not to fight temptation by trying to "be better and more holy." No, it is very practical - take the focus off of yourself and put it on another by serving him or her in love.

Been struggling? Who could you serve in love today?

-Rob

Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. - Galatians 1:1

My small group is starting a study of Galatians. The very first verse hit me harder than it normally would because we have commissioned two mission teams this weekend (a youth team to Toronto and a group of over 40 to Swaziland, Africa) and have another one in Russia.

These teams originate from La Croix Church in Cape Girardeau, just like Paul originated from the blossoming church in Jerusalem. But Paul reminds us and our mission teams who really sends us out - not men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.

- Rob

I was sitting in the room with my son, Michael, recently as he was watching the movie The Incredibles. He likes to listen to a line over and over (part of his autism) and the line he kept playing that day got my attention.

Mr. Incredible drives into his driveway and a little neighborhood kid sits there staring at him. Mr. Incredible, who was not in a good mood, says,

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

The kids says, "I don't know, something amazing I guess".

Mr. Incredible hangs his head and says under his breath, "Me too, Kid".

I think many of us, like Mr. Incredible, can become disillusioned by life. We're waiting for something amazing to happen. Life doesn't look like we imagined it would. We are sure we were meant for more than this!

What we don't realize is that God works right in the midst of the ordinary. We watch for "amazing" and we miss magical moments. We expect God to do huge things in us and through us, and we miss the everyday ways that He blesses and uses us. We can miss opportunities to love and to be Christ to the world because they weave in and out of our everyday experiences.

Jesus walked among normal people. He seemed to do extraordinary things on normal days. He taught life-changing lessons on normal walks from place to place. He poured into and left His message in the hands of ordinary people.

He was amazing. He was amazing on normal days with normal people.

Maybe we don't have to be "incredible" to be "amazing"!

-Angela

"He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." 1 Corinthians 1:8-9

Whew! I read that this morning and thought; "What a relief!!" He will keep me strong. He is faithful. I don't have to be strong or figure everything out. My bringing Him glory to the very end has more to do with how faithful He is than how faithful I am.

I simply have to abide in Him, hope in Him, rest in Him. That brings me a lot of peace!

-Angela