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When the giants of your life seem overwhelming, just remember all you need is a rock. JESUS  So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. - 1 Samuel 17:50
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 During those early morning drives when the fog is so thick you cant see right in front of you but you *know* the road is still there and the same scenery is still surrounding you.
You trust. And In the midst of the fog. When troubles seem so overwhelming that you cant seem to see, you don't understand whats going on, and you don't know which way to go. Trust in God. He is there. Through it all. The great I AM hears you and is with you during the foggy days and after the fog and troubles clear. Sometimes you have to do the..
"dirty stuff" the ... "every day stuff" the... "stuff that seems pointless" the.. "stuff that makes you wonder why" the... "stuff that's mundane" the... "stuff that no one wants to do" the stuff God has called you to do! ...so that He can Humble you. Heal you. Help you. Grow you. Lift you. Bless you. Make you whole. Naaman dipped in the dirty Jordan seven times (the number of perfection). Over and over again he dipped, by doing what God told him to do, he was made whole. Doing Gods work is not beneath you. It is for you. It is a testimony of your sacrifice, faith, and love to our Lord! Go dippin and be made whole! God prepared Jeremiah for what he would see happen to the people of Judah and what he would see on the faces of those people as Jeremiah would warn them of what they were going to face. But... He also told Jeremiah that through all of this he should prepare himself, arise, and continue to do what God has called him to do. And what reassuring words the Lord offers to Jeremiah and the people that He is with them and will deliver them. He is with us no matter what we are facing and He will deliver us!! God keeps His promises! Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee. - Jeremiah 1:11-19   This is the month for lots of change. Kids, teachers, and families are starting a new school year with new routines. Some kids are headed off to college leaving parents stressed and worried. Some kids may be also worried about leaving their families for college. In Ecc. 3 God says that there is a time and season for everything. So, its okay to go through these changes and to care about your family as you go through them. In the story below from Luke, a certain person told Jesus that he would follow him, with no mention of family or anything else. Jesus response told this person that following him wouldn't be easy and this world is not our home (Heb. 13:14). Jesus went on to ask two others to follow him, both said they would but wanted to go back home first to say goodbye to their families. Jesus replied to not worry about those things but to go preach His word and to keep moving forward for Jesus Christ. And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. - Luke 9:57-62 We love and care for our families just as these people did theirs. Leaving home and dealing with change is not easy. New school years offer challenging situations for many and it may seem like Jesus doesn't care just as it seems like he doesn't care about these families in the story.
That isn't the case in this story or in our lives. Jesus cares for these families but first and foremost he wants us to follow him before anything and everyone no matter where we are or what situation we are facing. He, himself, will take care of our families and our situations. We just need to teach others about the love of Christ and dont worry about the rest. Trust and Believe and Follow Him! And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, - Nehemiah 1:4 Nehemiah heard about his people, Jerusalem and how the wall and the gates were broken and burned. ...and he wept. His heart was broken for things of God. Is your heart broken for things of God? Do you pray, fast, and cry when you see a need? Nehemiah did. He continued to do his job even though his heart hurt, but God heard his cry and made a way. The king noticed he was not his normal self and asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah once again prayed and then proceeded to tell the king of his home. The king not only allowed him to take off from work but provisions were also made for things that Nehemiah needed. Do you hurt when you see Gods people hurt? Do you weep over things of the world or do you weep for things that are of God? The world is hurting all around us and it should hurt our heart. We need to focus on the needs of God and others more than we are on ourselves. When our heart is in the right place He will make a way and provide what is needed to help.
 Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins. And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear. - Jeremiah 13:1-11 Jeremiah was to get a linen girdle, wear it, then hide it in a hole of the rock. Jeremiah not only listened to the Word of the Lord, but he obeyed Him as well even though the request may have seemed very odd. The Lord was trying to teach Israel a lesson. They had discarded the Lord and their relationship with Him. Often times we end up burying our relationship with the Lord also, whether it be through work, activities, money, other relationships, etc. Over time it takes a toll on our relationship with the Lord. It becomes marred and useless. Others cannot even recognize that we have Christ living in us and we cannot be used of God as He wants us to be. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:30 The Lord wants a relationship with us and Jeremiah is a perfect example of how close we should be with the Lord, listening always, and doing His will. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22 Are we going to mess up? Yes. But hopefully we won't discard our relationship with the Lord as Israel had done. We should strive to keep our relationship with the Lord first and foremost in our minds and hearts.  Micah ziplining Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) - Hebrews 10:23 Bible camp is fun, tiring, and uplifting! Its easy to remain faithful in our walk with Christ as we are surrounded by fellow believers and we are disconnected from the problems of the world around us. After bible camp is over, reality of life hits. We however should remain as strong in our faith and walk in Christ as we would at bible camp. Keeping our hope, trust and focus on Christ and our work for Him. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? - Romans 8:35 No matter what life throws at you. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ! His love and His faithfulness is stronger that holds fast better than the zipline at bible camp. The following verses in Hebrews go on to tell us And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Don't let life get you down. Keep going for Christ and when you need encouragement, a shoulder to lean on, or just to be surrounded by other believers.
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