Jase:

He walks with surety that would strike fear in the hearts of those around him. He's a wild animal who's been cornered. A huge glittering watch covers his wrist. He's so proud of that watch. His body language screams, "Don't touch me!" but his eyes cry out for help. He's only 8 years old.

I wanted to help him read better, to help him solve the unique problems he had. But more than that... I wanted to help him be himself. Little by little I broke open that boxy cage that he had been squeezed into. We played games. I joked with him. I tried again and again to get him to give me a hearty high five.

We were making progress. He was reading quicker and with more confidence. One day, he was so tense, so on edge. I offered to just read to him this time. Two pages later, his little eyes drooped and he laid his head against my arm. I let him rest.

I saw him walking through the hall yesterday. He still walked with that alert surety, but maybe his eyes were a little brighter. He came up to me and asked toughly, "Why don't you read with me anymore?" I explained to him how our schedules had changed, and that I had read to other boys and girls now. He nodded calmly and turned to walk away. I wanted to wrap my arms around him but knew I couldn't.

Someone, please, give him a hug. Don't let him be forgotten.

That First Step
Genesis 12:1“1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." 4 So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him.”

Meaning of the message
Abram was a rich man, living in the land of Ur, surrounded by his family and everything that he had ever known. He was comfortable, but he was not satisfied. He was an old man with no heirs to inherit his wealth. God singled this man out of history to establish the Holy plan of the Gospel. Through Abram’s step of faith in leaving his homeland for an unknown place, and through the other steps of faith he took after this point, he became the head of the lineage that would lead to the Messiah. God promised him this by saying “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”


Personal Application We can see the results of Abram’s faith now, looking back. We can see what great works came of that amazing move into unknown lands. I often wonder what Abram and his family thought that day that they left their home. I wonder how they decided which direction to take their first steps. They wouldn’t have been able to see the great paths that God had lay before them before time began. All they could see was the doubt about that initial step.
I do the same thing. God has great plans for me. I’m part of His purpose for humanity, but all I can see is the steps in front of me. It’s a matter of great faith to put out my foot and step down, trusting that God will bring up that path under me. Yet, I know He will, because not only did He do so for Abram, but He’s done it for me before. Praise God.

“It was very good”
Genesis 1:31

“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Meaning of the message:
This verse comes at the end of the passage telling the Creation story. This story had been passed down from generation to generation so that every Israelite would know how their God created the universe. It shows not only the specifics of how the world was created, but it also shows why: that God may show His power and then pour His love on His creation so that He might receive glory.

Personal Application:
I was in the Prayer and Praise service that they have in Speer chapel every Sunday evening. I was singing the familiar song, looking all holy and spiritual, but really I was fretting about the things coming up the next week and all the other things that bog down my mind. Something tickled me and I looked down to see a lady bug making her way across the back of my hand. God created such a complex universe with little specks of beauty like that ladybug on the pew.
Sometimes I think that I’m better than God. It’s not a conscious thing. Rather, by my mind set, I steal His glory. As the worry wart I sometimes can be, what I’m really doing is doubting that God can take care of my future. If He can create a whole universe, He can for sure handle my problems. Not only can He handle it, He can make it good. He orchestrates my life into a beautiful creation, and throws in little specks of ladybug-like beauty along the way