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Greetings Lawndale family, I really miss meeting together with you throughout the week. Hopefully, we will be able to get back to our normal schedule in the not-too-distant future. Meanwhile, most of us have been sailing in the uncharted waters of the current lockdown. This past week, I was doing some personal research. I came across some remarkable statistics regarding the largest vessel in the United States Naval fleet. It is the nuclear-powered Nimitz CVN-68 aircraft carrier. It is an impressive 1,092 feet long. The food service on board produces approximately 20,000 meals a day. Its distilling units make 400,000 gallons of water daily. There is also an 80-bed hospital on board. It can cruise at a shockingly fast maximum speed of almost 35mph. Now, for a car, that is no big deal. For a floating city that can carry 130 F/A 18 Hornets, over 6,000 crewmen and two anchors with chains that weigh over 700,000 pounds each, it is utterly amazing. Perhaps the most eye-opening statistic that I came across regarding this remarkable vessel was its fueling range. It is capable of covering an unrefueled span of 20 years. Now, as impressive as that is, let’s look at the Bible. Just one memorized verse from the Word of God will take us through an entire lifetime! This is a great time to increase our power and fuel capacity for greater service, to RE-EMERGE STRONGER. Refuel, renew and watch as God REDIRECTS. Broken escalators don’t move anything, but temporary staircases open up endless possibilities. Blessings, Dr. Joe

If I am being honest, I can sometimes feel stuck when I’m trying to have a quiet time. I feel rushed by my lack of time, or I can’t seem to decide which book of the Bible to read next. This is why I am very thankful for God-honoring devotionals. They can be concise and help me better understand a particular passage of scripture. In addition, they typically ask questions that I can continue to think on during the rest of the day. One devotional book that I really like to use is New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp. A passage I read lately really sticks out to me. The devotionals don’t have titles, but I would probably call this one, “Hope is a Person.” In this short devotional, Tripp makes the point that we are always looking to put our heart in something. That can look like a few different things- a child hoping for the latest toy, a teenager hoping that the kids at school will like him, or a dad who hopes that he doesn’t get laid off work during downsizing. As people, what we are really looking for is peace of heart. We want to know that what we have set our hope in will deliver us the peace that we desire. We are asking our hope to deliver us from anxiety and bring us joy. What Tripp makes clear is that this peace and joy are only found in the person of Jesus. To put all that pressure on temporary situations is a lot to ask. Temporary situations are not designed to be our joy and peace. Can they help to ease burdens and be momentarily satisfying? Sure… but they cannot deliver the peace our hearts crave. Tripp says, “Whether you realize it or not, he (Jesus) is what your heart has been searching for, because what you have really been searching for is life, real heart-changing, heart-satisfying life-life to the fullest, life abundant.” That hope is only found in Jesus- our living hope who died for us and took our place on the cross. He never disappoints you, never leaves you, never forsakes you, never forgets you, and always loves you. Our true peace, hope, and abundant life are only found in Jesus. Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,” What the author of Hebrews is pointing out in this chapter is that Jesus is the anchor for our souls- our daily hope beyond all other laws and circumstances. Jesus is enough and can satisfy the peace that our hearts are longing for. What are you putting your hope in today? Where are you looking for peace? Give your heart over to your Savior today and find the peace that is only found in Him. Click Here for a link to “New Morning Mercies” by Paul Tripp Click Here for a link to “New Morning Mercies” by Paul Tripp

In the last few weeks we have seen the bulk of our society turn virtual. Businesses, churches, restaurants, coffee shops, schools, colleges and many other things have had to put their day-to-day operations online almost overnight. While it is a blessing that we live in an age where many people can work from home, continue their education from home, and do most of their day-to-day activities online, it has also created a unique situation in the home requiring more grace, more conversations, and more apologies. What do I mean by this? In a normal day, most people are outside of the home. People go to work, school, church, and many other social outings. In the span of a few weeks, all of these things have been pushed online, and families are quarantined to their homes. What this has created is more time being spent together trying to accomplish our daily tasks in a limited space. Whereas the home was once a place of rest and family time, it has quickly turned into the office, the classroom, and the worship sanctuary. So this raises the question- with an entire household being confined to their homes, attempting to do their daily activities in the same space, how are we to not only survive this time, but to actually live in a Christ-oriented way? First, we must look to give more grace. This has been an unprecedented time for everyone. People are on edge, and the fear of the unknown mixed with interrupted routines can cause some tension in the house. This is the chance for us to show grace. When we feel like we have been wronged, short-changed, or dealt with unfairly, we have the chance to let grace shine through. Our goal as Christians is to put Christ on display, and what better opportunity to do that than to show grace when we have been wronged or mistreated. This means that when your spouse nips at you for something, your children misbehave, or your roommate doesn’t pull their weight, you can look to show Christ to them by showing grace. Showing grace is a conscious decision made each day, each hour, and sometimes each minute. Wake up in the morning and ask God for help in showing grace to the people you live with. Remember, we can give grace because Jesus first gave us grace by taking our place on that cross. Secondly, we need more conversation. The usual amount of conversation will not cut it. Communication needs to take place every day, helping to set forth the various plans and expectations of the day. I personally believe that most arguments come from uncommunicated, unmet expectations. This can be in marriage relationships, parent and child relationships, roommate relationships, professional relationships and many more. Setting up healthy communication habits will only help as we are all stuck in our homes for the time being. We are given a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations that you would not likely get to have if we were all going our separate directions each day. Disfunction thrives in silence, but communication allows for healthy relationships. Lastly, we need to expect more apologies. Not from each other, but to each other. Be quick to say “I’m sorry” and to help fix the issue between you and the other person. When people are confined together for extended periods of time, conflict is bound to happen. Yet, what matters most is how we respond to that conflict. If we look to admit fault and work together towards a resolution, we can better love and serve the other people in our household. Saying “I’m sorry”, should not come from a position of weakness, but of strength, looking to honor and respect the other person and seeing the end relationship as the greatest priority. During this season let’s remember this verse: 1 John 4:9-11 9 ”In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” We need to set the goal now that we will do our best to show grace, start conversations, and be quick to apologize. By doing this, we can put the love of Christ on display to the people we live with.

As we approach the week we call the Passion of the Christ (Palm Sunday through the Resurrection/Easter Sunday), I wanted to share something about one of the songs that will be on the live stream this Sunday. In 1707 Isaac Watts, the father of modern Christian hymnody wrote the hymn, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. Watts, whose father was a pastor, was burdened as a young boy that the church only sang psalms during their worship times. As wonderful as they were, the psalms did not tell the story of God’s salvation through Christ’s life, the cross, His death and resurrection. They did not celebrate the grace, the mercy, the atonement, or the second coming of Christ, so Watts started writing hymns for their church’s worship services. This stirred up great controversy, but this hymn (along with the other 750 he wrote) gave Christians of Watt’s day (and ours) a way to express a deeply personal gratitude to their Savior. It is considered one of the finest hymns ever written. I especially love the last verse: Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. I am writing this on my spiritual birthday, March 31. The day I gave my life to Christ as a 15-year-old high school sophomore. His amazing love changed my life! It has been my joy to give Him my life. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross: When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7OA92u13VA

To feel anxious is a bit of an understatement when your world has been flipped upside down. When life as we know it comes to a screeching halt, it seems our natural reaction is to feel anxious. This COVID-19 crisis is certainly no exception. It’s not enough to feel anxious about getting the virus yourself but there are warnings that anyone could be a carrier and pass it along without even knowing it. Not to mention the economic halt that has shut down business, cost people their jobs, and tanked the retirement accounts. All of this would be bad enough but to top it off, our churches cannot meet due to government mandates for health and safety and there is no clear indication when this will lift. To say that this crisis is a breeding ground for anxiety is an understatement. Yet, when our world is flipped upside down, when we have lost our money or our jobs and are physically cut off from our community, the questions remains, is it possible to fight back against this overwhelming anxiousness? The answer is yes! Yes, we can fight back but to start with we need to put our faith into action. This means that we must take what we know of the Bible and about the Bible and put it into action, trusting that since this is the very Word of God, we can bank on what it says. By doing this, we can look at 3 ways to fight this anxiety. 1. Take Your Thoughts Captive. To start with we need to take our thoughts captive. Peter puts says this well in 1 Peter 1:13. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The phrase “preparing your minds for action” comes from the Greek meaning to gird up the loins of your mind. Peter tells us to take our thoughts captive and be ready for action. Anxiety can have a crippling effect; it can easily control your thoughts where your thought life becomes unfiltered and the downward spiral quickly begins. You can begin to fight this by taking your thoughts captive and not letting them control you. Don’t let the worst-case scenarios cloud your judgement. Take a moment, pray your request to the Lord (Phil. 4:6-8) and then make a plan on how to proceed next. This is how you can be sober minded. Where you no longer try to fight the anxiety by anything other than Jesus. Why Jesus? As Peter says, we are to set our hope fully on Him! If we think back to Jesus, who loved us so much that He took our sin punishment and died for our sins on the cross, it helps to view what we are anxious about through this gospel perspective. If He loved us so much that He would die for us, can’t we then trust Him with whatever it is that is making us anxious? By taking our thoughts captive, we can begin to turn over our anxiety to Jesus and set our hope fully on Him and not of the things of this world. As we have seen the last few weeks, this world will fade away, but our Savior will not. 2. Saturate Your Heart in Jesus. During this time of crisis there is a battle going on for your heart. This can get overlooked but it is the battle taking place right here and now. The Bible talks about the heart as the inner man, the core of who you are. The evil one wants to do what he can to fill your heart with anything that will pull you away from Jesus. He will even settle for a distraction of sorts, whatever it will take to pull you away from your Savior. This is why we need to fight to saturate our hearts in Jesus. What does it mean saturate our hearts? Well, think about it like this, if you take a towel and pour a tablespoon of water on it, you will see that part of it gets wet. Then you take the towel and set it in the sun for a few minutes and what happens? The towel becomes dry. Now, if you filled up your bathtub and took that towel and held it under water for about 30 seconds what would happen? The towel would become completely saturated. If you took that same towel outside in the sun and after a few minutes would it still be wet? Yes, because the towel is completely saturated. Our heart works the same way, we must saturate our heart in Jesus because if we don’t, we can quickly become dried out. Hebrews 4:12 puts it like this, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The best way we can saturate our hearts in Jesus is with the Word of God. God’s Word was written to be timeless and cuts through all the stress, fear, anxiety, tension and emotions and cuts to the heart. When our hearts are saturated in Jesus, it is much harder for the things of this world or the evil one to dry them out. This doesn’t always look like sitting down and reading the Bible. This can be listening to sermons or podcasts on your way to work or listening to good Christ centered worship songs that are filled with Scripture. This can even be calling a friend and talking about what you have been learning in your quiet time. All of these are simple ways that throughout the day we can work to have our hearts saturated in Jesus by filling it with His Word instead of the things of the world. By doing this, we take a huge step in fighting anxiety. 3. Fight for Community. This part can easily get dropped off when life isn’t in crisis let alone in the middle of a quarantine. Being alone in the midst of a crisis is hard and can build on some of those anxious thoughts. This is why we must fight for community. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” If you have ever watched any show about lions, you can quickly see how they hunt. The look for the one that is weak and alone and that is their target. Peter describes Satan the same way. He lurks around looking for the ones who are by themselves. This is why we must fight for community! We must come together as brothers and sisters in Christ to build each other up with the Word and encourage one another when the things of this life get you down. Being in community doesn’t mean that you won’t be attacked but it does mean that you are stronger as you are supported by your brothers and sisters in the faith who love you and want to point you to Jesus. In this time of crisis where we cannot be together in person, we must fight for community virtually. Praise God that we live in a time where technology can connect us now more than ever. Call a friend, FaceTime your small group, check in on your family members and fight really hard to stay in community. This is a crucial time when anxiety hits and we are being forced into quarantine that we must fight hard to maintain our community. As I write this, I pray that this will be helpful to you as it has been for me. Not because I have mastered my anxious thoughts by any means but because I must remind myself of these truths every day. God is bigger than the COVID-19 virus and by His grace, has given us the tools we need to fight our anxieties.

Without trying to sound too obvious, we are in an unprecedented time. There is nothing in recent history that we can look back to as a guide for how to navigate these days ahead. Not to mention how fast all of this has happened. Within a matter of days, we went from a nation with a healthy and steady economy to a nation that is on the verge of a recession. Schools and businesses have closed, and the world is forced to stay at home without much warning. These are the times where we see everything come to a screeching halt and we quickly can find ourselves without much to do. What we were working on a week ago is no longer an option and leaving our house seems less and less like the best thing to do. We are faced with a choice; we can sit and wait out this season or we can embrace it and be good stewards of the extra time at home that God has given us. I want us to consider together 5 simple ways that we can better use our time during this quarantine. 1. Read God’s Word. This might seem like a given and if we are followers of Jesus, we should strive to read our Bibles on a daily basis. However, when we are quickly and abruptly thrown out of our routines, having a quiet time with the Lord can easily become the first to go. One simple way we can help in this is to create a new routine. Create some idea of a schedule and look to have your quiet time around the same time every day. If you find you have lots of time, that is wonderful but if not, take just 10 minutes to prayerfully approach God’s Word and look for one key takeaway that the Lord has showed you during this time. I encourage you to write it down in the margin of your Bible or in a journal and reflect on that during the day. By doing these little simple things, I pray that you can have a fruitful quiet time in this chaotic season. 2. Create a Prayer Journal. We are actively living through history each day. We are experiencing a worldwide phenomenon that generations after us will ask us about as they read their history books. This really is a time we will not want to forget. Not just because of the unique nature, but how God moved and worked during this time. A prayer journal can be a great way to not only help us process out things that happen throughout our day, but also to record our specific prayer requests during this time. This doesn’t have to be hard. Simply get a notebook or journal and start writing. You will be amazed at how the words will begin to flow. Even if you only write a few sentences it will help you, not only better process the world around you, but to help you be more intentional with your prayer life. Imagine being able to prayerfully write down what it is that you are wrestling with and look back one week, one month, one year or many years later only to see how God had His hand in it all along! Let us be intentional during this time with our prayer journals! 3. Read a Spiritually Inspired Book Taking the time to read can be a hard decision to make in the moment, but one that is always worth it. With the extra time we have now, we can start to crack open some of those dust covered books on the shelf that we have been meaning to read but was never given the chance. Reading spiritually enriching books can not only help pass the time but challenge your brain and heart spiritually on a variety of subjects. Reading does not need to be a daunting task. I believe that one of the main things that can keep people from reading is the hesitation of committing to reading the hundreds of pages in a book. If you take it one page at a time, you’ll be surprised at how much you can actually read. An easy way to start, is by committing to reading 10 pages a day. Just 10 pages. That should take no more than 20 minutes. If you commit to that, you can easily read a 300-page book in roughly a month! Who knows, you might actually find out you enjoy reading! Reading good Christian books can help us find encouragement, helpful insights and help us grow in our walk with Jesus. During this quarantine it will be very easy to binge watch the latest Netflix show, but if we replace even some of that time with reading, it will be a worthwhile investment. Not sure where to start in looking for a Christian book? Click here 4. Be Creative with your family If you have children of any age, you have likely found yourself spending more time with them within the last few days. As the schools and daycares have closed, your kids are home with you. Parents, how we choose to spend this time with our kids is crucial. Despite the circumstances, we have been given more time with them to teach them, guide them and shepherd them. My wife and I have a toddler who is almost 2, but thinks she is 22. One thing we have found is that she loves to be outside and is up for anything new. Sometimes that means helping her go up and down the back steps 43 times because she finds it to be hilarious that day. I say this, to say that given this extra time with our kids, we must be creative in how we spend our time with them. It will be easy to turn on the TV for most of the day and keep them “at bay.” Yet we are missing a golden opportunity. Yes, you might have to sacrifice some of things you wanted to do, but what you are gaining is well worth it. This doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. Intentionally look for ways to spend quality time with your kids at 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon when you normally wouldn’t be there. Maybe this is cooking something with them, playing new games, building Legos, going on a walk or joining them in an activity that they enjoy. Whatever it is, don’t waste this precious extra time you have been given with your kids! Lastly, take this time to point them to Jesus. They will inevitably hear various things from friends, the news or anywhere else but take the time to help them spend more time with Jesus. Show them what you learned in your quiet time. Buy them their own devotional book. Pray with them or any number of things. As parents we must look to shepherd our kids through this season. 5. Rest. In our world that never seems to stop moving, we want to rest but often we are unsure how. On top of that, for some of us our world has come to a stop, or at least been flipped upside down and we have been given an opportunity to actually rest. We can spend our time recharging and being refreshed. Yet, where do we start? There is an old saying that says, “If you work with your mind, you rest with your hands. If you work with your hands you rest with your mind.” What this means is that if you spend your days sitting in front of a computer screen one of the best ways you can rest is to do something physical. Maybe that means washing the car, building something or even just going on a walk. This can be a great way to get some needed rest. On the other hand, if you spend your days doing physical labor, sometimes the best ways to rest are with the mind. Maybe that means reading a good book, flipping through a magazine or catching up with a friend. This might not be true of everyone, but it is helpful to use this as a starting point in looking at how to even begin resting during this time. Most importantly we need to rest in Jesus. We do this by recognizing that we are not in control during this time and remembering that He is. While we are not in control, he is always in control and nothing happens outside of his control. There is true rest in recognizing that you are not in charge yet completely trusting the one who is. To wrap it up, we have been given the gift of some extra time during this chaotic season and limited interaction with others. Yet we are responsible for how we are to use it. By God’s grace, we can use our time in a fruitful way, helping us to grow closer to Him. You have been given a choice as to how you are going to use this extra time. Let us look to use it in God honoring ways.

Many people connect the word “love” to the month of February. That is probably due to the fact that Valentine’s Day is February 14th. The theme of “love” is found throughout the pages of Scripture and has been a recurring theme of countless books, movies and songs. Back in the 1990's, a Japanese company capitalized on that theme in a very unusual way. A woman named Satsuki Ohiwa founded a “rent a family” business. It appears that, due to the hyper-work pace of Japanese culture, a number of elderly people were being isolated from their families. The company founder stated, “What is common about our clients is that they are thirsty for human love.” What is the cost of this rented human love, you might ask? Would you believe that a lunch and several hours of visitation with your “rental family” cost over one thousand dollars! Now, think about the priceless truth found in I Peter 1:18, 19 . It says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefather, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” When it came to loving us, God didn’t market His love. He gave it unconditionally. Our Lord didn’t hire a “rent a redeemer” business when we needed a Savior. God is never too busy for us. He cares for us and loves us too much to neglect us. God proved His love for us and came from heaven to earth to show and offer us His unconditional love. His sacrificial love for us is the most underrated act of love in all eternal history. And, ironically, perhaps, it is the most unappreciated. Blessings, Dr. Joe

Happy New Year! I pray that you and your family will experience a very fruitful and fulfilling 2020. As you know, the new year is often ushered in with a host of resolutions that are intended to improve our lives. Many times, these new year resolutions have a shorter shelf life than fresh-cut flowers. Why is that? Perhaps something called the RV (Recreational Vehicle) affect plays a significant role. People generally purchase an RV with the intention of getting away from home, seeing new places and doing new things. Today, most RVs are equipped with the same lush furnishings that we find in our homes. It is possible to go “camping” without ever having to go outside! No wood fire, outdoor facilities, insects or foul weather to bother us. A person can travel to new locations with all the conveniences of home. It doesn’t take long, however, before all the “newness” wears off. Why? We haven’t changed our settings. We’ve only changed our location. The experience of the new life journey in Christ begins when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind. Real change comes when we replace the “old self furnishings” with fresh new life furnishings. It involves commitment to Biblical ideals and spiritual disciplines fueled by our love for the author of our salvation. It involves the willingness to do away with the excuses that keep us holding on to our old furnishings. 2020 is filled with all kinds of potential for growth. Determine NOW to embark on a fresh, new journey and fulfill the truth found in II Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Blessings, Dr. Joe

Merry Christmas to all my dear Lawndale family! As you well know, this is an especially busy time of the year. The hustle and bustle of running here and there can get in the way of reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas. It’s especially important, therefore, to remember to take time to “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 For believers, this is a special time to reflect on the significance of Christ entering our sinful world. What does Christmas really mean? Perhaps its greatest meaning is found in the reason that God chose to enter time and space that first Christmas day. For if mankind’s greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us an illustrious techno-genius. If our greatest need had been material possessions, God would have sent us stockpiles of gold. If our greatest need was pleasure, God would have sent us a ‘Do whatever makes you feel good’ philosopher. But none of these would have taken care of our greatest need because our greatest need was forgiveness. So God sent us a Savior. And through Him, we have forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life, a gift that was purchased by His blood and eternally measured by His love, the costliest gift ever purchased, the freest gift ever given. Have a blessed and Merry Christmas, Dr. Joe

We celebrate a national holiday in the month of November that reminds us about the role that thankfulness plays in each of our lives. One of the most refreshing perspectives on thankfulness can be found in the writings of a man that is still highly regarded for his Bible commentary series. His name is Matthew Henry, and he lived over 300 years ago. Ironically, the thankfulness perspective that I am referring to is not found in one of his commentaries. It is found in his diary. One night, after being robbed on the street, he wrote the following words: “I am thankful that during these years I have never been robbed until now. Also, even though they took my money, they did not take my life. And although they took all I had, it was not much. Finally, I am grateful that it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” As we walk and grow in the Lord, He teaches us how to find thankfulness in the midst of some of the strangest and most difficult places. Perhaps, one of the most telling signs of a mature believer is an attitude of unlimited thankfulness. May the diaries of our daily lives reveal as such for He is worthy! Blessings, Dr. Joe

There is power in the Word of God. The American Bible Society Record from the early 1990s told of an incident involving the General Secretary of the Bible Society in Zimbabwe and a very disagreeable man. Gaylord Kambarami approached this particular man and tried to give him a New Testament. The man said that he would take the New Testament and roll the pages and use them to make cigarettes. Mr. Kambarami gave the man the New Testament but made him promise that he would read each page of the New Testament before he smoked it. The man agreed and they both went their separate ways. Fifteen years later, the two men met at a Christian conference in Zimbabwe. The man had gone from an unbelieving scripture smoker to a full-time evangelist. He told the audience at the conference, “I smoked Matthew, and I smoked Mark, and I smoked Luke. But when I got to John 3:16, I couldn’t smoke any more. My life was changed from that moment.” There IS power in the Word of God. Perhaps the Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 1:16: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. The Gospel still has the power to change lives today. God is waiting to unleash His power through us every day—the power to change lives and change our world! Blessings, Dr. Joe

There has never been a book like the Bible. It is God's message to mankind. Between its pages, it contains the good, the bad, and the ugly. It tells the truth about the humanity of man and Deity of God. The Bible is our guide for truth and righteous living. It contains the words of life and death. The Bible takes us through the entire course of human history from creation to the cross to the culmination of time. It contains the words of eternal life found in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The Bible has always been under attack. Kings have sought to disregard it. Governments have educated against it. Scholars have mocked it. And people in general have ignored it. But it still stands. God's Word will abide forever. The Bible also contains prophecy. Today, we see signs of Biblical prophecy being fulfilled all around us. Just take a look. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the last days. Jesus told us these words in Luke 17:26,27. In the days of Noah, the Bible records in Genesis 6 that the earth was filled with violence, that people's hearts continually dwelt upon evil and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. While there has always been sin on earth, think about how these descriptions of Noah's time have become more and more prevalent in twenty-first century culture. We are not called to run and hide. We are called to bring light and salt into the world of darkness. Elijah faced such a world. He decided that God could use him to make a difference. One man and his God turned that world upside down. We have to step to the plate to confront the Ahabs of this world. It is time to get more serious and more committed than ever to God's work. One man and his God made a difference. It's up to us to stand up and be God's representatives.