Why does every story have a villain?

The question is not, Are we spiritually oppressed, but Where and How? 

Think of it—why does every story have a villain? 

Little Red Riding Hood is attacked by a wolf. Dorothy must face and bring down the Wicked Witch of the West. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi go hand to hand against Darth Maul. To release the captives of the Matrix, Neo battles the powerful “agents.” Frodo is hunted by the Black Riders. (The Morgul blade that the Black Riders pierced Frodo with in the battle on Weathertop—it was aimed at his heart). Beowulf kills the monster Grendel, and then he has to battle Grendel’s mother. Saint George slays the dragon. The children who stumbled into Narnia are called upon by Aslan to battle the White Witch and her armies so that Narnia might be free. 

Every story has a villain because yours does. You were born into a world at war. When Satan lost the battle against Michael and his angels, “he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him” (Rev. 12:9). That means that right now, on this earth, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fallen angels, foul spirits, bent on our destruction. And what is Satan’s mood? “He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short” (v. 12). So what does he spend every day and every night of his sleepless, untiring existence doing? “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against . . . those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (v. 17). He has you in his crosshairs, and he isn’t smiling. 

You have an enemy. He is trying to steal your freedom, kill your heart, destroy your life. 

(Waking the Dead , 150–51) 

Secondhand Jesus

So many times we trade rumors of God from preachers or revelations from other people rather than seek after firsthand faith of who he is and how he personally can change us.  

Glenn Packiam was a founding member of the Desperation Band and has written a new book called "Secondhand Jesus."  Check out the link below and listen to his words of encouragement.  Where have you put Jesus in second where He should be first?

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=54957104941&ref=mf

Faith, Hope, and Love

Faith looks back and draws courage; hope looks ahead and keeps desire alive. And meantime? In the meantime we need one more item for our journey. To appreciate what it may be, we have to step back and ask, what is all this for? The resurrection of our heart, the discovery of our role in the Larger Story, entering into the Sacred Romance—why do we pursue these things? If we say we seek all of this for our own sake, we’re right back where we started: lost in our own story. Jesus said that when a person lives merely to preserve his life, he eventually loses it altogether. Rather, he said, give your life away and discover life as it was always meant to be. “Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self ” (Matt. 16:25, The Message). Self-preservation, the theme of every small story, is so deeply wrong because it violates the Trinity, whose members live to bring glory to the others. The road we travel will take us into the battle to restore beauty in all things, chief among them the hearts of those we know. We grow in glory so that we might assist others in doing so; we give our glory to increase theirs. In order to fulfill the purpose of our journey, we will need a passion to increase glory; we will need love. 

Memory, imagination, and a passion for glory—these we must keep close at hand if we are to see the journey to its end. But the road is not entirely rough. There are oases along the way. It would be a dreadful mistake to assume that our Beloved is only waiting for us at the end of the road. Our communion with him sustains us along our path. 

(The Sacred Romance , 158) John Eldredge

Faith, hope, and love......where will you place it in your life in place of the fears you have of the future, the doubts about your past, and the feelings of insignificance the haunt you?

Samuel

Read 1 Samuel 3-The Lord speaks directly to Samuel, and all Israel recognizes Samuel as a prophet.

INSIGHT
For all the glory of speaking directly with the Lord, Samuel is given a very difficult task: He must deliver to Eli a troubling message from the Lord. With a pure heart and nothing to gain or lose by the encounter, Samuel tells Eli the truth. We too must sometimes confront people with truth, knowing that the truth will hurt. Ephesians 4:15 instructs us to speak the truth in love. Speaking the truth without love is destructive. Samuel's example is a difficult one but a good one. Like Samuel, we can only fulfill such a task if our hearts are pure and we do not manipulate the situation for our own benefit.

PRAYER
Because we can know the truth and the truth can set us free, offer your praise to the Lord:
I will extol You, my God, O King; 
And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 
Every day I will bless You, 
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; 
And His greatness is unsearchable. 
One generation shall praise Your works to another, 
And shall declare Your mighty acts (Psalm 145:1-4).

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
"For a mere moment I have forsaken you, 
But with great mercies I will gather you. 
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; 
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," 
Says the Lord, your Redeemer (Isaiah 54:7-8).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. 

Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, 
I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
greater love for your family,
the work of missions in North and South America,
whatever else is on your heart.

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

Break Out- Jesus Freaks

As we break out of our bubble today lets check out this website where we can pray for persecuted christians all around the world.  Take time to scroll through the countries and pray for multiple people.  We must support and love our brothers and sisters.  

http://www.jesusfreaks.net/

Break In-I Dare YOU

Today during your break in I dare you to read the whole book of Titus.  For every Chapter (there are only 3 chapters) write 3 things you found that you never knew and 3 things you can apply this next week.  When we give time to soak in God and his word it is amazing how our days and weeks are completely changed.

I DARE YOU

Focusing in

Offer your praise to the Lord who renews our strength when we wait on Him:
O God, my heart is steadfast; 
I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. 
Awake, lute and harp! 
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, 
And I will sing praises to You among the nations. 
For Your mercy is great above the heavens, 
And Your truth reaches to the clouds. 
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, 
And Your glory above all the earth (Psalm 108:1-5).

Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. 

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
O God, You know my foolishness; 
And my sins are not hidden from You. 
Let not those who wait for You, O Lord
God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; 
Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, 
O God of Israel (Psalm 69:5-6).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. 

Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
"This is My commandment, that you love one another 
as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
the Lord's leading in your life,
opportunities for evangelism,
your activities for the day.

Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
May the God of patience and comfort grant you 
to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 
that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God 
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:5-6).

What can you do? Compassion International

Sponsoring children in need is breaking the cycle of poverty  

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.

Founded by the Rev. Everett Swanson in 1952, Compassion began providing Korean War orphans with food, shelter, education and health care, as well as Christian training.

Today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 25 countries.

Please watch the clip at this link and then think about what you can do with just a few bucks a month.

http://www.compassion.com/jeremycampvideo/

The Speaker is a worship pastor at First Baptist Woodstock....

The Speaker wheres polos....

Guess WHO?

The Speaker is a man....

The Speaker loves to worship...

House Divided

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Ps. 147:3) 

Yes, we have all been wounded in this battle. And we will be wounded again. But something deeper has also happened to us than mere wounds. 

I expect that all of us at one time or another have said, “Well, part of me wants to, and another part of me doesn’t.” You know the feeling—part of you pulled one direction, part of you the other. Part of me loves writing and genuinely looks forward to a day at my desk. But not all of me. Sometimes I’m also afraid of it. Part of me fears that I will fail—that I am simply stating what is painfully obvious, or saying something vital but incoherent. I’m drawn to it, and I also feel ambivalent about it. Come to think of it, I feel that way about a lot of things. Part of me wants to go ahead and dive into friendship, take the risk. I’m tired of living alone. Another part says, Stay away—you’ll get hurt. Nobody really cares anyway. Part of me says, Wow! Maybe God really is going to come through for me. Another voice rises up and says, You are on your own. 

Don’t you feel sometimes like a house divided? 

Take your little phobias. Why are you afraid of heights or intimacy or public speaking? All the discipline in the world wouldn’t get you to go skydiving, share something really personal in a small group, or take the pulpit next Sunday. Why do you hate it when people touch you or criticize you? And what about those little “idiosyncrasies” you can’t give up to save your life? Why do you bite your nails? Why do you work so many hours? Why do you get irritated at these questions? You won’t go out unless your makeup is perfect—why is that? Other women don’t mind being seen in their grubbies. Something in you “freezes” when your dad calls— what’s that all about? You clean and organize; you demand perfection—did you ever wonder why? 

(Waking the Dead , 128–30) 

Guess WHO?

The speaker has brown hair...

The speaker has blue eyes...

Learn from those who didn't persevere

Read Judges 1- The tribes of Israel do an inadequate job of vanquishing the aliens living in the Promised Land.

INSIGHT
The book of Judges is a pathetic chronicle of a weak and willful people. Soon after Joshua's death, the Israelites begin to fall short of the directives he gave them. They fail at the most crucial point and tolerate the presence of immoral idol worshipers among them. The story which follows is one of sexual immorality, murder, idolatry, corruption, and greed. The depths to which the Israelites plunge is truly disgusting - reminding us of the warnings given by Moses and Joshua. Turning your back on God always has tragic consequences. When we read about the Israelites, their foolishness seems so clear. Yet when we are faced with temptations today, it doesn't seem so clear. We can learn from the past, however. The consequences can be just as grave for us. A wise man walks with the Lord and is saved.

PRAYER
Because we can be delivered from bondage to sin, offer your praise for the Lord's goodness:
O Lord, how manifold are Your works! 
In wisdom You have made them all. 
The earth is full of Your possessions . . .
May my meditation be sweet to Him; 
I will be glad in the Lord (Psalm 104:24, 34).

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
He is despised and rejected by men, 
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. . . .
All we like sheep have gone astray; 
We have turned, every one, to his own way; 
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:3, 6).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. 

Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
greater faithfulness with your time,
the president and national leaders, 
whatever else is on your heart.

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
The Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!(Psalm 84:11-12).

Break Out of your box

Today lets do something that we never do in our high tech world of text messages and emails; lets write a letter to someone!  Write a one page letter to someone who has inspired you to be a better person seeking after God.  Include the story of how they inspired you, what it changed inside of you, and how you are acting out that change now!

Break In

We have been talking to a ton of you about your struggles and doubts about God in your life.  Read this and pray it over yourself.  Keep this in mind when you are struggling with fear, doubt, and insignificance.  

The Work of Christ

By the Cross…

I am Ransomed

The Son of Man Came to give his life as a ransom for many.  Matt 20:28

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption (God has purchased us with his blood), the forgiveness of sins.  Col 1:13-14

…with your blood you purchased men for God  Rev 5:9

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. 

1 Cor 6:19-20

I am Atoned For

…justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.  Rom 3:24-25

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  1 John 2:2

This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10

Pikes Peak take 2 ;)

This was one of fusion's first posts and it was on my heart to post it again!  I hope it encourages your heart as it did  mine!

Pikes Peak.
In Colorado Springs where I lived before coming to Georgia there is a massive mountain that overlooks the whole city called Pikes Peak. It towers over everything and you can see it from pretty much anywhere in the city. When you climb or drive to the top of this 14,000 Foot high mountain, there is a café and look out where you can see far and wide. But my favorite view of Pikes Peak is at night. Many nights I would be driving home from a long day and would look up to the top of the mountain. On the very top of the mountain is a light. It shines all day, every day. 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5: 14, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” 

Every night as I looked at this mountain and the light on it, God reminded me that I am suppose to be a light to all those around me and it takes sacrifice and hard work to get to the top of that mountain to shine your light.

So What?
Where has God asked you to sacrifice so you can be a light to those around you? Has he asked you to step out of your comfort zone to talk to people or to be more excellent with how you act around people so they can tell there is a light inside of you that shines on them? Think of 5 ways that you can be a light to those around you today.

Break Out to the world

We usually do break outs on Sunday but I wanted more of you to see this so check out this link to the I am second website and watch the video.

If he did that what can you do?

http://iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Blake_Mankin/

Courage

The most dangerous man on earth is the man who has reckoned with his own death. All men die; few men ever really live. Sure, you can create a safe life for yourself . . . and end your days in a rest home babbling on about some forgotten misfortune. I’d rather go down swinging. Besides, the less we are trying to “save ourselves,” the more effective a warrior we will be. Listen to G. K. Chesterton on courage: 

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. “He that will lose his life, the same shall save it” is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. The paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.

(Wild at Heart , 169) John Eldgredge

So What?

So what do you think?  post your comments and questions!

Where is your Jericho?

Read Joshua 6 -The Lord fells the walls of Jericho.

While your reading think about where your Jericho is, has been, and will be. 

INSIGHT
The Word of God often goes against all reason. Consider Joshua, a military strategist so brilliant that his campaigns are still studied today. He is standing afar, looking at the city of Jericho, pondering how to conquer it. The angel of the Lord appears to him saying, "Walk around the city several times and shout. That ought to do it!" Can you imagine the response from the standpoint of military strategy? It is sheer nonsense. Yet it is a test of faith and obedience. Joshua believes and obeys, and the fallen walls are history.

PRAYER
Offer praise to the Lord who fights mightily for His people:
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, 
Who only does wondrous things! 
And blessed be His glorious name forever! 
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. 
Amen and Amen (Psalm 72:18-19).

Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. 

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid; 
Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known; 
In wrath remember mercy (Habakkuk 3:2).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. 

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: 
God was manifested in the flesh, 
justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, 
preached among the Gentiles, 
believed on in the world, 
received up in glory (1 Timothy 3:16).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
greater confidence in the Lord's power,
revival to pour down on our spiritually parched land,
your activities for the day.

Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord who does everything according to His plan and purpose:
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:4-5).

Break Out- Prayer for New York

Today our Fusion Leadership students in Leap are getting the chance to be blessed by the church as BridgePointe collects an offering for their Missions Trip to New York.

Lets Break out today and pray for the offering that God would display his wonder and majesty as people give generously out of their hearts.

If you are not in Leap, find a student, ask them about the trip, and pray for them as they are getting prepared to go on this adventure! 

If you are in Leap go a pray for one of your fellow brothers or sisters going on the trip with you.

Lets all agree together and break out as one body to see God move here in Woodstock and in New York City.

Break IN

Watch a movie or TV show today. Pull out three ways you can experience God in the movie whether it be the beautiful scenes that are depicted, the plot, or by learning from the people's mistakes and the solution that is found.   

Did the movie or TV show ignite God's spirit inside of you or did it put out the fire?

Since we are His body and his temple we have to be careful what we allow in our lives.

New Life- I always love when God reminds me.....

The new covenant has two parts to it: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26). God removed your old heart when he circumcised your heart; he gives you a new heart when he joins you to the life of Christ. That’s why Paul can say “count yourselves dead to sin” and “alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). 

The story of the Incarnation is the story of a descent and resurrection . . . one has the picture of a diver, stripping off garment after garment, making himself naked, then flashing for a moment in the air, and then down through the green, and warm, and sunlit water into the pitch black, cold, freezing water, down into the mud and slime, then up again, his lungs almost bursting, back again to the green and warm and sunlit water, and then at last out into the sunshine, holding in his hand the dripping thing he went down to get. This thing is human nature. (C. S. Lewis, “The Grand Miracle”) 

The Resurrection affirms the promise Christ made. For it was life he offered to give us: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). We are saved by his life when we find that we are able to live the way we’ve always known we should live. We are free to be what he meant when he made us. You have a new life—the life of Christ. And you have a new heart. Do you know what this means? Your heart is good. 

(Waking the Dead , 66–67)  John Eldredge 

Rahab

Read Joshua 2-Rahab shelters two spies and helps them escape from the city of Jericho.

INSIGHT
God will meet any person, any time, any place. There are few people who seem to be further from the Lord than a harlot. Yet, in the course of her everyday life, Rahab finds herself keeping a divine appointment with two strangers in need and, in the process, meets with God. The kind of risks Rahab takes will not be taken without a searching heart. In her own way, she takes a step of faith; God meets her. Her reward is not only eternal life, but also the honor of being included in the messianic lineage. Wherever you are in your life, God will meet you there.

PRAYER
Offer to the Lord this psalm of praise as you remember all He has done for you:
You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name (Psalm 97:10-12).

As you ponder the wondrous holiness of the Lord, pray this confession to Him as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
"Come now, and let us reason together,"
Says the Lord,
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord who will protect you:
When the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us,
through the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5)

Proverbs 2

I read the proverbs every day- there are 31 Proverbs- 1 for every day of the month!
I am going to take you through how I read, pray, and apply them daily. I hope it is a helpful tool as you learn to seek our Jesus with all of your heart.

I will outline the first 4 and you apply what you learn to the last 4!

1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,

God help me to accept your words of wisdom and correction even when it is hard. Give me revelation to understand your commands- to love you and others.
      
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,

How can I turn my ear to your wisdom today? Find 3 ways to apply what I am learning today; write it down in your notebooks so you see and are reminded of it all day.

3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,

Hear I check myself to make sure I am crying out to God with a pure heart and not just because it is the "right" thing to do.

4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

I watch National Treasure and see how they hunt for treasure of this world because of its value.  How much more should I be hunting for the treasures of who God is and how he loves me.  Then I pick one thing that I usually pursue "in the world" and I give it up that day so I can pursue God and seek the deep things of him that day.

Now you try it.  Try to pray the verse outloud into your life and find practical ways of applying it to your life.

5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Now imagine if you did this everyday as you read through the bible.  Your "Jesus Time" would transform into a hang out time with a very close father and friend.

Where is your Loyalty?

James 4

Drawing Close to God

1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? 6 But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,

“God opposes the proud
but favors the humble."

7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

So what does this look like in your life?

Patience

It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
Proverbs 16:32

CAN YOU DO IT?

Can you become a patient person, can you start changing the way you treat people? YES! You can, so why not start today. Isn't it amazing when someone treats you better than they have to... WE can start treating others like that too.

Break Out and help others

Today make sure to step out and do something for your parents to serve and love them. So do the dishes, vacuum the house, dust, clean your room, or make your parents a card telling them how much you love and respect them!

Break IN

Go and get your bible...we are going on a faith venture. WE are going to read to scripture references from 2 weeks ago durning mat's message on the journey of faith. If you already did it...do it again because I promise that you will find something new and interesting!

James: 1:2-4
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Pray it over yourself!
Now read
Romans 12:9-16
How does this go again the ideas of this world?
What are the things that MUST change in your life so these can become part of your life?
Hebrews 5:7-8
Jesus offered up prayers to God who helped him through all of his trials, temptations, and suffering- Jesus understands what we are going through because he suffered through them as well. The only difference was that he went through them perfectly because he did not conform, give in, or sacrifice any part of himself during that time.
Do you think he can guide you through your hard times since he has already gone through them?

2 Timothy 4:1-8
Read and pray the different things (like running the race) over yourself)

Make sure to post your thoughts!

The end of the Book of John

This has been on my heart recently so I hope all of ya connect with it.
Read John 21- Jesus appears to His disciples again to reassure them and to build their faith.

INSIGHT
Without a shepherd, the sheep scatter. After Jesus' death, His disciples scatter and the fishermen return to the sea. They simply do not know what to do next. After an evening of unfruitful fishing, they return to shore to find Jesus there with breakfast ready. We see a picture of Peter and Jesus, eating together in perfect harmony. Bear in mind, this is the man who denied that he ever knew Jesus. This incident adds weight to Jesus' statement that the one can love greater who has been forgiven for the greater sin. The Lord is mindful of our frame and knows that we are but dust. You must not let sin fester in your heart. Confess it and accept His forgiveness.

PRAYER
The Lord reigns and He forgives. Praise Him for His blessings on our behalf:
The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord is clothed,
He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting (Psalm 93:1-2).
He is your praise, and He is your God,
who has done for you these great and awesome things
which your eyes have seen (Deuteronomy 10:21).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you(Isaiah 44:22).

As you confess your sins, pause and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
your spiritual growth,
the fulfillment of the Great Commission,
your activities for the day.

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!(Revelation 5:13).