Live faithfully, serving and proclaiming His Gospel

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee, Every hour I need Thee; Oh, bless me now, my Savior! I come to Thee.

These were the thoughts in my mind as I woke today, a little strange as this old hymn is one I haven't sung in a long time. Fortunately due to Christ-following parents who had me in church from birth, this song imprinted deeply on me, and for this day, what a gracious reminder of what my posture should be.

Since January, God has demonstrated His lovingkindness to me and Tera in powerful ways. Countless people across this state have been, and continue, praying for us and the ministries of Baptist Children's Homes. We have so many examples of generous acts of service and sacrificial giving—and God's blessings flow daily to our BCH family.

Alongside the blessings and joys, we do see more deeply into the brokenness of the world in which we serve. Continual spiritual battle is the norm. There are days that can be long and filled with adversity, overwhelming challenges, and problems that at times seem unsolvable. They are continual reminders that this earth is not home. Some days, it is so easy to become fatigued and desire a life of simplicity and ease, free from this awareness of the battle.

However, this is the very promise that Jesus gave to His followers continually during His time on earth—we are sovereignly placed into this battle to be a proclaimer of His Kingdom and the Gospel. This is the great tension that we all live in.

We are faced with a daily choice—"Who will you and I serve today?"

In life, we do have more binary and straightforward choices than we might realize. Think of Joshua 24:15 where Joshua said, "Choose this day whom you will serve, the false gods or the One true living God."

Jesus continually presented to those He spoke to one of two options: you either follow or you don't follow—there is no in between.

I am asked regularly what we need at BCH. My answers are straightforward: We need to love the Lord Jesus more each day and, for all who are willing to join us, to pray that God brings the right laborers to this ministry—people who deeply love the Lord and want to make Him known to all we serve. We need people who passionately love the Lord's church, as they will help us become a ministry that serves, equips, and supports the local churches across this state.

We are on mission together! God's design is for His people to live in unity to demonstrate that we have been purchased by His blood, for His Glory, and to serve in His Kingdom.

Life is hard and one way God demonstrates His perfect love is to use circumstances, especially the challenging ones, to lead us to a point where we say, "Lord, I need You. Every hour I need You".

What better place can we be than one that realizes self-reliance will not work? God shouts that His strength is perfected in our weakness. While you and I may not have the exact circumstances each day, as believers, we are all on this path of sanctification and being conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus.

Lord help us this day to choose life instead of death and to follow You instead of following the ways of the world. His path leads to life now and life everlasting. As we live faithfully to Him and as we live proclaiming His Gospel, I believe, without question, He will do these things related to BCH:

God will raise up laborers to serve the vulnerable. God will provide the resources to minister to hurting families. God will draw the lost to Himself. God will build His Kingdom. God will restore families. God will raise up future missionaries and pastors. God will bring and receive the Glory Himself.

We will worship Him and celebrate all He has done and will do! And let us faithfully proclaim—"Every hour I need Thee, Bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee."

Written By David Melber, Chief Executive Officer