MICKEY'S MESSAGE We are enjoying a great week of service and fellowship!  I hope you can stop even now, right where you are, and think about how many opportunities you have had to lead through service this week:  a phone call to give encouragement, a visit that reminded someone that they were missed, a note or an email that brought a smile, a prayer for the sick, some Christian work that needed to be done to make things better!  God sees and knows.  He forgives and forgets our sins (1 John 1:9) and remembers our service (Matthew 25:31-46). Let me say “Thank you” to whoever places the beautiful flowers in front of the pulpit every Sunday.   Thank you, also, to the men who operate our sound system.   If the church cannot hear the lessons, how can we have a stronger faith?  After all, we know that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).   If you look closely, you will notice that our pantry and kitchen area across from the church office was cleaned and organized recently.  Thank you, ladies, for your work and dedication. Tuesday night is my first “Men’s Night Out,” and I’m very excited to know that both boys and men get together on a regular basis for a special time of fellowship together. If we are to “love life and see good days,” we must cherish our friends.  Remember what we learned from 1 Peter 3:8 last Sunday?  We must endeavor to live in harmony -- “be of one mind,” sympathy -- “having compassion for one another,” fraternity -– “love as brothers,” compassion – “be tenderhearted,” and in humility, “be courteous.” This Sunday morning we will again focus our attention on 1 Peter 3, this time on verses 9-12 to see how we can “love life and see good days” by Confronting our Foes.  We must not return evil, repeat evil, or respect evil in our lives.   May God bless us with a stronger faith as we study and meditate on His word day by day.  Read the message David writes in Psalm 1:1-3. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.”   Of course, studying and meditating is not enough.  In order to be successful, you and I must obey God’ s word.  In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us, “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve God and mammon (worldliness)” (Matthew 6:24).  We must choose to serve God.   He also teaches about two gates, one broad that leads to destruction and the other narrow that leads to life (7: 13-14).   Then He says, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES THE WILL of My Father in heaven” (7:21).  Then Jesus finishes His sermon with the analogy.  Whoever hears and obeys is “like a wise man” (7:24).  Whoever hears and does not obey is “like a foolish man” (7:25).  Choose to serve God!  Choose to live your life on the “straight and narrow.”  Choose to study, meditate, and DO the will of God.  Choose to build your house (live your life) hearing and doing Jesus’ instructions.