When I was first asked to write something for the bulletin, my reaction was “I’m not a writer”. Then I thought about God asking Moses to speak to the Pharaoh to free the Jews. Exodus 6:30 – But Moses said to the LORD, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?” Then when I was talking to Nancy, Pastor’s wife she reminded me that God used common fishermen to write the Gospels. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Not to say that this is extraordinary, well me writing anything extraordinary is. Think about what happed to Jonah when he disobeyed God. Jonah 1:17, Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. I can’t speak for everybody but I don’t want that to happen to me. Paul said it well in 2 Corinthians 12:10 “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  Therefore, if we let God turn our weakness into His strengths we can achieve great things for Him – 1 Chronicles 16:11. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always – 2 Corinthians 12:9. “But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” So in turn I hope that this small writing will strengthen somebody including me, as to aspire to God’s will.

Written by Brandan Emley,

Deacon, Calvary Chapel Monmouth County