This morning Pastor Justin completed our two-part series, Determined or Distracted, by looking at what it is to be Distracted.

Distraction can be a very subtle, but very effective, tool of the Devil to draw our attention away from God. We think of distraction as something that completely takes our focus away from God. But, a distraction doesn't have to take your complete focus away; even a small diversion of attention becomes a distraction. And it doesn't even have to be the "bad" things that distract us. Sometimes, even the most innocent of things can become a distraction if we let it.

With so much going on in our world and in our personal lives it can become very easy to get distracted from the things of God. But, take joy in knowing that we can have triumph over distraction!

Pastor Justin had to step out to minister to a family of our church whose father passed away very unexpectedly this afternoon. Please be much in prayer for this family as they deal with this sudden loss, and for Pastor Justin as he ministers to this family. We will pass along more details as necessary in the upcoming days.

In Pastor Justin's absence, Bro. Mike Meade shared with us a topic that God had placed on his heart about waiting on God. There is no doubt someone out there is waiting on God to move, to do something, to answer some prayer. Sometimes we wonder if He even hears our prayers. So what should we do while we are waiting? Do as the Apostles did...seek Him, and serve Him.

Often times we miss out on some of God's greatest blessings because we lack the determination to continue on even when it seems like God isn't answering our prayers. We are like a miner who gives up and stops just before he hits the mother lode of diamonds and gold!

Everyone is either determined or distracted. Do you refuse to give up? Do you refuse to stop when the going gets rough? Are you the type of person who will not let the devil beat you down? Then you are probably determined.

Or does life get you down and depressed, feeling like even God Himself has turned His back on you? Are you the type who gets out of church when trials come? Or maybe you just lose your focus on God from time to time. Then perhaps you are distracted.

In this two part series we are going to take a look at both states. In this first installment, I am Determined, Pastor Justin shows us what true determination is, how it is manifested in our life, and how it can become a major weapon in the arsenal of the Christian.

In the book of Joshua we see the story of some spies who sneak into Jericho in order to scout out the city for an upcoming assault. But they were found out, and the city officials were looking for them. To make matters worse, they closed the city gates, and the spies were trapped within the massive, impenetrable walls of Jericho. Thankfully, they found refuge in the house of a harlot named Rahab, who hid them within her house, and eventually let them down the city walls by a scarlet cord.

But, she had a request of the men as payment for her assistance; when the time came for them to attack the city, spare the lives of her and her family. The men agreed, but asked Rahab to bind the scarlet cord to her window, never to remove it, and when they attacked, they would be "passed over" and "saved" by the "blood" red cord.

Do you see the parallels here? This is an amazing story of salvation by the blood! Just like Rahab's home, if we are bound to that blood red cord, then we are saved! But it doesn't just stop with us; the blood can also affect our entire household!

Our youth just returned back from a week-long Youth Camp in Indiana where they had an opportunity to unplug, join together with other youth groups, and focus on the Lord for a whole week. Tonight, led by our Youth Minister Mike Meade and his wife Kaylee, we got the chance to hear some testimonies from the teens who attended.

Pray for our youth that they may keep this fire burning in their hearts and use it to fan the flames of revival throughout our church.