“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”  I Peter 1:3-5

On February 9, 2016, my friend Chris Collier won his battle with cancer and went home to be with Jesus.  At such an early age, Chris and Lauren showed such maturity.   They both honored the Lord with their faith on this journey.  Whenever you saw them at the softball field, gym, or at the hospital they always had a smile of reassurance that “God’s Got This”.  That became the theme for their lives.  Through a “God’s Got This” attitude they touched lives around the world with their faith in Jesus.  Personally, they inspired me and encouraged my faith.  Thank you Chris and Lauren for teaching us that “God’s Got This!”

What are you currently going through that you need to adopt a “God’s Got This” attitude?  Our enemy, Satan, will tempt us to give up when life gets tough.  He will tempt us to have a pity party when life seems unfair.  It is easy to be pulled into a negative attitude when dreams go unfulfilled and life disappoints.  But like Chris and Lauren, we can rise above the difficulties and disappointments and have a determined faith that “God’s Got This” and learn to trust Jesus.   When life gets hard, we can either allow circumstances to make us bitter or allow the Lord to make us better through them.   Challenges in life need to be seen by followers of Christ as opportunities to bring Him glory.

Eye of the Storm by Ryan Stevenson

(Second Verse)

When my hopes and dreams are far from me, and I’m running out of faith

I see the future I pictured slowly fade away

and when the tears of pain and heartache are pouring down my face

I find my peace in Jesus’ name

(Third Verse)

When they let me go and I just don’t know how I’m gonna make ends meet

I did my best now I’d scared to death that we might lose everything

And when a sickness takes my child away, and there’s nothing I can do

My only hope is to trust You, I trust you Lord

(Chorus)

In the eye of the storm, You remain in control

In the middle of the war, You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me, in the eye of the storm

Thank you Chris and Lauren for teaching us that “God’s Got This”.

It is an exciting time to be serving at Ridgeview.  If you don’t have a church home, it would be a great time to get connected with us at Ridgeview.  Join us this Sunday at 8/10:30am as we celebrate Jesus with the Lord’s Supper.  Also, at 9:15am we have Bible study classes for all ages.  Next Sunday, August 7th 6-8pm we will be kicking off our fall schedule with an end of the summer Chill N’ Grill.  Come join us for hot dogs, snow cones, cotton candy, inflatables, corn hole tournament, and lots of fun and fellowship.  Hope to see you Sunday!

Life is a Journey, learn on the way! Till next time, stay in the Scriptures!

Pastor Jon