This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Good Sunday to everyone. Today's service was excellent. The singing was great but the sermon was even better. We had a guest pastor today, Pastor Wes, a missionary to Sudan. He was speaking about 2 Timothy 2:4, The Life of a Soldier. Pastor Wes spent many years in the Marine Corps, so he shared some great insights with us. There are seven duties of a soldier.
1) Protect and defend the nation. We need to defend and protect Christianity from our enemies: the world and Satan.
2) Defend threats to the country.
3) wait for marching orders from your superiors. In the military there is a command structure. In the kingdom of God, there is a command structure. We need to get our orders for our life from God.
4) Know and understand the enemy. Our enemy, Satan, attacks us from people outside the Christian faith but he also attacks us from people within. He doesn't follow a rule book.
5)Know the battle plan and your weapons. We need to be in prayer daily and read our Bibles. So many times we look for others to resupply us but God is the one who gives us all we need.
6) Train for battle. Confidence without training is dangerous. We need to count the cost of following Christ. He never promised us an easy life. Instead, He tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him.
7) The Christian life involves sacrifice. Sometimes it isn't pleasant to serve. We like to say, "Yes, Lord. Use me. And could it be somewhere that I could take my surf board? That was I could surf a few hours each day and then witness about You at the cafe." We need to serve on God's terms, not our own. We need to take up our cross and follow Him. A Christian life isn't an easy one. We need to have faith that He knows what He is doing with our lives. Without faith it is impossible to please Him.

Well, I hope you all have yourselves a wonderful day.