Our bodies are susceptible to the diseases of this world. The affliction and misery that is common to man also fractures our stature. Days can be dark and dreary. Our emotions are up and down. Sometimes we are high and sometimes we are low. Lord, our only anchor is the Lord Jesus Christ. As the winds blow and as the rain falls heavy upon us, sometimes it seems that we are drowning, but we remember that Jesus loves us and we are encouraged. Lord, grant hope for the sick, healing for those who are ill, and strength for those who are stricken.

Remind us that the gospel is Jesus and Him crucified. The gospel is Jesus resurrected. The gospel is Jesus reigning as King at the right hand of God the Father. There is none other in whom we hope but in Jesus. Jesus by His death on the cross provided for the Father a sufficient atonement that all of our sins might be forgiven us. Jesus, by His resurrection, guaranteed that death has died and we have been made alive. Jesus, who sits on His Father's throne, directs the affairs of this world. The future is not in the hands of man. The future is not in the hands of kings on earth. The future is in the hands of Jesus. He is the only sovereign. He alone rules the earth from His throne.

Therefore, Lord, we can say today that we will not fear. Even if the sun becomes dark in the middle of the day and the moon becomes full of blood, we shall stand in the power of God. Men will run to caves. Men will hide in dark dungeons. We shall run to Christ. We shall hide in the shelter of His wings. We shall find safety in Him. He has never failed us in the past, and we are confident that He will never fail us in the future. This is a faith we do have. In this we rejoice.

Lord, we worry about our children when they are young and we worry about them when they grow into adults. There is so much temptation. Jobs are scarce. The economy scares us. Lord, grow our young boys into men. Make them brave. Give them a sense of duty. Enable them to think God's thought after God, and not be led by the whims of secular philosophy that has captured the world. Help them to find godly wives who know and love our God. Draw our daughters to men of Christian character. May their kindness and gentleness be a magnet for Christian men. Give us covenant children. May we hear again the nursery full of crying children and busy toddlers.

Lord, give us love between the generations. May the strength of our youth be there when the old are weak. May the wisdom of the aged be there when the young need guidance. Lord, we need each other. Don't give us a one dimensional generational church.

Our Father, help us to love one another. Love is patient. Love is kind and is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not arrogant. It does not act unbecomingly. It does not seek it own. It is not provoked and does not take into account a wrong suffered. It does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Lord, we have not loved as we ought to have loved. If we love only those who love us, are we any better than the unbelievers. The evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit is that we can love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Lord, indeed we have not loved as we ought to love.

Lord, be with Mike and Wendy and the children as the move to another place. Thank you for providing for their every need. May the Holy Spirit guard their hearts and minds as they face change.