God makes it clear in His Word that once you confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord your life is never yours again. You belong to Him! You have been bought with a price: His blood shed for you on the cross! His Spirit now lives within you. What He wants, you want; what He tells you to do, He also empowers you to do. You are never alone. Your life has meaning and purpose as you live every day to please Him. Jesus said to His disciples, and He says to you and me, “As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). When Jesus was about to ascend into heaven, He said to the disciples, “You will be My witnesses, in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). These eleven would not go to the ends of the earth, but those who received their message and believed would be sent as “ambassadors for Christ” (II Corinthians 5:20), sent from the King of God’s kingdom “to the end of the earth.” This IS the Church, the Body of Christ, and all who believe in Jesus are called and sent to bear witness, to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ and the reality of the kingdom of God, both present and future, to those around us. The task of those called to shepherd Christ’s Body, the Church, is to equip God’s people for this task. Over the next nine weeks, this will be our goal! Pray for wisdom and boldness in these days as you watch for opportunities to give to anyone who asks you the reason for the hope you have in Jesus!!