I want to wish our country a happy birthday this week.  I pray that you all will celebrate what the Lord has done for our nation and that his hand would continue to bless us.

No devotion today because I am at camp.  Pray for the campers.

Start praying with us for summer youth camp that starts this Saturday up in Evert, MI.  God is going to do some great things and you can be a part of it with your prayers.

Being stuck in a difficult circumstance is not uncommon.  In fact, as a modern day illustration just happened to me today.  My car needed a new alternator and with the minor engine knowledge I have (and have changed a couple of alternators in the past), I decided to tackle the job myself.  But trying to get a huge alternator out of a cramped engine is not always easy as I found out.  And despite how easy YouTube made it seem, it took me more than 6 hours of hot work to get it out.  (Plus another 3 to get the new one in).  But being stuck with car engines are nothing compared to being stuck spiritually in sin.  Nothing we can do in and of ourselves can get us unstuck in regard to sin.  But we have a Savior who came down to the muck with us and is able to lift us out of the miry we find ourselves in.  All we need to do is surrender to him.

Just like Jeremiah, God may whisper for us to do something out of the ordinary and against conventional wisdom.  “Buy a field that is currently occupied by the enemy”.  “Preach a message that many people will not accept”.  “Tell others about how God wants to bless them when the obey him”.  And other such messages.  Be like Jeremiah, who obeyed the will of God without question or hesitation.  Because if God is telling you to do something, it is best to listen and obey.

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day and thank you for all who laid down their lives for our nation.

I once again want to congratulate all of our graduates this morning and a special shout out to my oldest son Samuel.  God’s knows the plans he has for you son.  Just continue to follow His will.

“Cast all your cares on Him.”  This is an easy verse to memorize and remember but so often very hard to put into practice.  We need to trust him with every aspect of our lives if we truly trust him.  The good news is that this trust in Jesus is never misplaced.  It is never wasted and never comes to naught.  He is faithful to help all those who call on his name.  And because of this we can have all the confidence in the world that he will bring us through whatever comes our way.  HE CARES FOR YOU!!!

I may shock us to consider burning our Bibles.  But if they are just sitting around collecting dust, they are not doing us any good and they might as well be burned.  Now do not get me wrong.  I am not advocating burning books.  But if we are not reading and studying God’s word as we should, what would be the harm?  God’s words are to be read and studied and carefully applied.  It is not to be used as a coffee table decoration.  Other books, yeah.  But we are to use the words that God has given us to minister to our needs.  And so I would urge you to pick it up this week, dust off the cover, and open it up to read it.  That is much better than burning it.