I was with some friends last night and one of them mentioned that God’s promises for us are as many as there are stars in the sky.  However, to gain his promises we have to trust him with our Faith.  As we know faith is believing without seeing, that means we must trust that our God has promises for us to guide us and bless us.  I think a lot of us look for the wrong kinds of blessings when we should be looking at the ones we receive everyday.  Every time we get a chance to live for Christ is a blessing, but we must know that the call he has designed us for is undeniable.  You see we may be good or even great at different things in our life, however, his call for us is to Glorify his Kingdom and take those same things we have used for ourselves and in turn use them for God.  We must surrender all of ourselves including the parts we try to keep or think we can control or worse the ones we enjoy.  You see our sin and our flesh are working together to keep us bound in a place where we cannot move, but God told Abraham, look into the sky and the stars you see are the promises I have you.  He challenges us to look to the impossible because nothing is impossible to him.  We cannot even count the amount of stars we can see, and this is his example of the abundant life he speaks of.  For us to share our lives and let him shine through us, so that others can receive him and know that he is ALIVE.  Our world has many dark places, but in each of those places there is a light, there is a fortress and a refuge where those who are there can run too.  It doesn’t mean life wont come at us and try to end us, but what it does mean, that even in a world where evil can reign supreme, the light of Christ can penetrate through any darkness.  His promise is to live in us and guide us, we in turn live in his image and serve him as disciples of Christ.  Our lives should not be easy, we should have to persevere to understand that we can only make it with God being for us.  Remember my friends, as it says in the bible, If Our God is For US, then who can be against us.  We can endure anything that tries to make us stumble, but only through trusting him, listening to the Holy Spirit and surrounding ourselves with friends who are just as broken as we are.  Amen to a God who says, I LOVE YOU, Anthony… You are my Son! Put your name where you see mine and know with No Doubts that He loves you and has Promises to give you and He keeps his promises.