“For the Son of Man (Jesus) has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  Luke 19:10

“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.'”John 20:21

“Then He said to them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'” Luke 10:2

“He (Jesus) has delivered (rescued) us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption trough His blood, the forgiveness of sin.”  Colossians 1:13-14

Jen and I are proud of all four of our children.  Four? you might be asking, I thought you only had two sons?  Yes that would be right, we have Jared and Jake, but we also have Mindy (Jared) our daughter (in-law) and our newest addition is Gus our goldendoodle.      We are thankful and proud of all four of our children.  Our oldest son Jared serves in the Marines.  We are proud of him and Mindy for the sacrifice they make for our country.  Jared will be deployed soon.  Deployment means: sending troops into duty. He will be separated from his wife and family to serve his duty as a Marine. In preparation for his deployment he has gone through extensive training.   Pray for him and all those who serve in the military.

While thinking about deployment, I was reminded that Jesus was deployed also.  He was deployed from Heaven to this earth to lay down His life for our sins.  His deployment took Him to a cross.  His deployment cost Him everything.  Jesus knew that His deployment would cost Him his life, yet He still came.  What amazing love Jesus has for each of us.  He loved us so much that He couldn’t stand being separated from us because of our sin, so He came and took our sin upon Himself so we could be forgiven.  Jesus was deployed on a rescue mission, to rescue each of us from our sin and the penalty of death that sin carries with it. For those still held by the stronghold of sin, Jesus stands ready to rescue you if you will confess your sin and repent (turn) from your sin and confess Jesus as Lord.

Once Jesus had finished His work on the cross and conquered death through His resurrection, He then ascended back home to Heaven.   What a hero’s welcome He must have received when He returned to home to Heaven!  Once He sat down at the right hand of the Father, He then commissioned us to be deployed on a rescue mission.  As He had been sent by the Father, so now He sends those of us who are His followers to go share the good news of the Gospel to those held captive by sin.   Each day Jesus deploys you to the school you attend, the job where you work, the neighborhood where you live, the store where you shop, the restaurant where you eat and on and on.  He sends us there on a rescue mission.  We are sent out into enemy territory to rescue those held captive by their sin.  To be clear, sinners are not our enemy, our enemy is Satan and his world system.

Just like Jared we are in training for our deployment.  Bible study, prayer and church involvement are all part of our training.  Jesus is preparing us for the rescue mission He has prepared for us.  Sadly, many followers of Jesus are AWOL (absent without leave).  Many have left their post, neglected training and  abandoned their duty.  But here is the great news, today is a brand new day!  Even if you have been AWOL, Jesus is ready to forgive and re-enlist you for your deployment.  There is an urgent need for all of us to be deployed everyday with the hope of Jesus.  There are people that cross our path everyday that need to be rescued by Jesus.  Stand at attention and salute our Captain Jesus, and say Jesus I am ready for duty.

This week is National Police Week.  I am thankful for those who serve our community in Law Enforcement.  These men and women are deployed each day to protect and serve their community.  They willingly risk their lives for the sake of others.  Take time to thank those who serve.

One last thought to make you smile.  our son Jake was issued a fishing license today, they misspelled his middle name, instead of Luke they printed Luck!

Life is a journey, learn on the way! Till next time stay in the Scripture!

Pastor Jon