Contemporary 2019- 6-2

Jesus prayed I asked not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word. But they may all be one as you father are in me and I am in you may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. the glory that you have given me I've given them so that they may be one as We Are One I in them and you and me that they may become completely one so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them. Even as you have loved me. Father I desire that those also whom you have given me maybe with me where I am to see my glory would you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world righteous father the world does not know you but I know you and these know you and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them and I will make it known so that the love with which that you have loved me maybe in them and I in them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, please be seated.

So I got my backpack here and Cole you're familiar with backpacks. Right more than a couple days here and there and educational career. So backpacks you always taking things out and putting new things in getting ready for the next thing that you're going on to that. You are an excitement on the Valparaiso University and majoring in engineering right now. So and we look forward to what that will unfold and become down the road. Backpacks. What do you need on a trip? Well, if I were to put some of those things together for you as you get ready to go on this journey, I would give you courage courage because it's heading off to college can be a very thing I know for me my first day. I remember going to Albright College and parents took me two and a half hours away and get there. I don't know anybody whatsoever at the school and standing there and there's long lines and we're going from here to there to get this thing situated that thing situated and just standing there remembering looking at all these people going Who are they? What are the who are they going to become to me know? Where is it going to go and it was a scary time just the unknown of what was going to go on. What was encouraging is that? They became very significant people in my life. But let's back up a little bit scary times Acts chapter 16 is the other passage. That's a sign to the Sunday. We normally have free pass to this. But we only knew lyrics to I'm here so want to share this one from acts 16 where the disciples are getting underway. Paul has been converted from his daughter Jewish roots to it. Now seeing Jesus is the Fulfillment of those Jewish roots, and he the story is talking about a day that he and Silas were going along and they went to a place of prayer and there they met a slave girl that is Spirit of divination and brought her own or is a great deal of money because she was able to fortune tell basically and when she did that the right way, then those people paid up and she made that a significant amount of money. Along the way is that she saw Paul and Silas you started following them and she would cry out these men or leaves of the most high God and who proclaimed you a way of Salvation and she kept doing that for days on end until Paul got tired of it and he just turned around that I order in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her and that's fear that was in her lap. Which meant she can no longer help Jen's and her used as a source of income for her owners became useless. And it began to to change for them. They are the people got so frustrated over the situation that they took Paul and Silas into the marketplace and through them before the authorities and said these men are disturbing our city. They're Jews and they're advocating Customs that are not lawful Frost As Romans to adopt or in a crowd started attacking them and end up throwing them into jail and put the guard on duty under strict orders to not let these guys get out so they were put in the very center of the prison. And along that night there was an earthquake That Shook so violently that it knocked all the doors open and the Jailer wakes up from this and suddenly goes. Oh my gosh. My life is over there now. I'm the guy in charge and the prison doors are open and all these prisoners are going to be gone free. And so he's about to jump on the sword and I'll Paul shout-out don't harm yourself. We're all here. Does the jail or stops? And he rushes in and it gets it cost for the lights and low and behold. There are the prisoners still in their selves. It says he brought them the deal or brought them outside and said serves what must I do to be saved.

So they talked to him and said believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved you and your household. They spoke the word of God of the Lord to all who are in this house at the same hour for the night. He took them and wash then he and his entire family were baptized delay and he brought them up into the house and said food before them and he and his entire Rejoice that he had become a believer in God. incredible The things that Will Go On by following Jesus or people that are sitting assembly this last week who shared some of their story about if they were to admit that they were Believers in Christ in their home countries that they can be arrested maybe even killed. scary time What about Laos? What about us when we face those scary times? We might not face those times where our life is that threatens, but maybe we do in terms of our friendships will people stay friends with us. If we live out our faith or will they treat us differently. Will they question will they doubt? How will they respond?

What I discovered as I want along those four years of college was that some of those people who are total stranger to me in the line became close friends. Became fellow Christians became some of them even became fellow pastors. And incredible relationships were built their connections happen ended up getting connected to young life through Piper Lepore who was young life leader, but she was a resident assistant there at the school at the college for one of the dorms and through that. I met some girl named Carol and ended up marrying her. No, so you just don't know what is going to be down the road as you head off to college and your life begins to unfold but what you do know, is that God is with you. And you know that God is at work in your life. As you have seen already at this point and share their story with us after the youth Gathering and your family has been an active part of this congregation and living that out your parents have taught you the faith along the way.

Say things your backpack has many good things in it to take with you and to go into the world and do God's work. And so I just add into that Courage the courage to trust in God that he will lead you and guide you through that time and see what God wants hold. courage vision I would give you a pair of binoculars. But I put the directions on just to be sure cuz you know, there's some people to take out the binoculars and put them on backwards right big fat on the problem. And when you do that everything gets real far away. Sometimes though. That's what we do with God. We look at him weird and we look way down the road and Heaven that day that we breathe our last and we open our eyes again, and we see God face-to-face and we look at that, but it's Faraway seems so small what we look down the road at what our future holds our career our whatever family might come along for us and it seems so far away. What would binoculars turn around the right way it brings it all off clothes and you begin to get to see what some of what is wanting you to do?

The Bible is one of those binoculars to use to focus in on what God is doing and what God is calling you to do until I encourage you to pick up close and personal with the Bible and studying it and asking God to continue to guide you and reveal to you what he wants you to do.

But also encourage you to take them off a time and pay attention to those who are right around you because sometimes we so focused on having me way down in the future that we lose track of it all the times we can get it so up in our face then we trip over ourselves walking along. We need to remember those around us get to know the custodians get to know the assistants get to know the people with no title and relate with them and build friendships with them and see what God is doing in their life in your life through them. courage vision

and finally, I would put into your backpack Unity. Unity being together as one came across this devotional in just thought I'd think it fits very well. I don't know what to say. That hasn't been said. I wonder if anyone is listening. Anyway, I'm talking about events that have taken place recently shootings near Minneapolis and in Baton Rouge and now Bob Virginia Beach and it just keeps coming. How long oh Lord how long until we work together all human beings to heal your land. If we could truly see each other through our lord Jesus then we would see Beauty in one another. We would see people that are beautifully and wonderfully made instead of seeing other or enemy or them. We would see everyone as one of us. We would together work toward Peace Love Harmony and caring for one another rather than killing one another. Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God. We are constantly looking for solutions to this evil problem with answers already been presented to us. The answer is Jesus. The struggle is simply that not everyone has the answer. So it is up to us who are those who have been taught by Jesus example to have love and humility to be loved and to be humble or to Humble ourselves no matter what the circumstances Has Martin Luther King Junior Road hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that. We cannot hate evil more than we love good was written by an Oklahoma police officer recently as he was telling the story of how a woman and her children hold their car over and got out and stepped up to his car. I have a son-in-law who's a police officer. So I'm learning a whole new appreciation of what life looks like Through The Eyes of a police officer. My son could be that if I was voice overs are sitting in my car and all the sudden. He started walking up to the car. I would just be a little bit Mill is this totally innocent or is something going to happen and then says that the family asked if they could pray for his safety.

Pray for safety and I got I thought if I was a police officer in the family came up and wanted to pray for my safety. I'm beginning to wonder. Why are you praying for my safety? Is this just in general or is something specific coming down the road?

He shared his experience because he wanted people to see through this one encounter that we should give others a stamp. the regardless of race or Perfection you simply cannot judge an entire group of people because of the actions of some why is this significant the man and the woman and her children are black and the police officer is white. I'm reading more more about incidences. Like this. People are trying to build Bridges rather than creating larger divides between us. Jesus we need more of those. We cannot allow hate to Spur us on to violence, but we should allow our love to Spur us on to humility and peaceful resolution. How long oh Lord how long the question for each of us becomes. What can I do today to build a bridge?

What can I do to build a bridge? Unity courage and vision are the three things I would put in a backpack for you and encourage you to use to use them to see what God is calling you to do and what resources he has given to you and what he will accomplish through you and may you see The Wonder of God and the beauty of his because it is an amazing world that God has created and he calls us to be the ones to share his love with others. Is join me in prayer?

But God we give you. Thanks. We are not perfect Lord. We have reasons that we are afraid of others we Tend to look up so far down the road that we forget. What's right around us? And sometimes we look at things so up close. That we have trouble seeing the bigger picture.

Lord help us on our Journeys that as we go.

Get up the courage division the strength that we need to carry out your work in this world. Lord we give you thanks for your love in Jesus name we pray I'll men.