September 2004

Hello All,
How time flies, summer vacation is gone and school is back in session. With it brings the start of a new year. Some of you may be starting at a new school, others are at the same school with new teachers. It is time that can be exciting, scary, fun, stressful, and adventurous. So many new things and yet so little time to learn them. Some of you are experiencing having new teachers for every class for the first time. And then there are the dreaded lockers, I still can not remember my padlock combination, yet somehow I always got it unlocked and made it to the next class.

We are also nearing a new season, football. No wait, I mean it will be fall soon. Soon the leaves will all have turned color and soon after that it will be time to rake them up. We all go through changes; schools, teachers, seasons, favorite foods, along with more than I have room to mention. Many of these changes can be difficult. Maybe you are not getting along with a new teacher or you like summer better than fall and winter. The thing to remember is that these changes are only a small part of our lives, yet they can feel like such a burden to us. Fortunately the one thing that we know never changes is God's love for us. No matter what changes we go through here on earth, God continues to love us. God loved us so much that He sent his only son to save us:
"Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18)

Kind of makes the little changes and things that bother us seem small. Jesus died for us, no questions asked, all we have to do is accept him as our Lord and Savior. Now this is not a one-time thing, you cannot go on sinning. That is like watering a plant once and expecting it to grow. You must constantly water the plant so it grows. Likewise you must constantly "water" your faith in God so that it will continue to grow.
"For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it us through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, "The person who is put right with God through faith shall live."" (Romans 1:17).

Faith has carried many a people through some very rough times. For those of you that have been to Youth Group you will remember me reading from the "Jesus Freaks" books. In these books there are real stories about real people standing up for their faith no matter what happens to them. Some go to jail while others were killed for their beliefs. From Jesus Freaks II, "Christ was the first to suffer," Pastor Li De Xian said. "We must follow him. There are many thorns, but we are just injured a little on our feet. This suffering is very little." What Pastor Li is saying is that Jesus experienced the worst possible suffering in dying for our sins on the cross and nothing that we go through could even be close. God will rejoice when you proudly proclaim your belief in him and stand up for those beliefs. As the song says, "our God is an Awesome God!"

Because of Him,

Terry and Diane

God is with us through all things
Heavenly Father, be with us today and everyday as we learn new things, meet new people and experience life. Help us to make the right decisions. Help us to be kind to everyone; our friends, our families, and those that we do not know. We thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins. May we be worthy of this act each and everyday. Amen.

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)