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 Good morning, Aspen Grove Church family! 11MAR25

I hope this letter finds you well. The last two weeks, we continued building upon the idea of “Being about our Father’s Business,” coming out of the Books of Ruth and 1 Samuel. From the Book of Ruth, we preached a message titled, “Between Moab and a Hard Place’” dealing with the results of working out of the Will of the Father coming from Ruth 1:1-8. We asked 4 Questions: 1—What is Moab; 2-- What would cause us to Moab; 3-- What will cause us to stay in Moab; & 4-- How can we leave Moab? In this life, we need to understand a few things. 1st thing is that when the tests of life come, we need to understand that these tests aren’t meant to break you, but they are to make you into what God sees in you. You wouldn’t make any major decisions about moving or changing jobs without seeking some advice from your spouse or parents, so why would you not seek God’s opinion first about all things in your life? Why would we go somewhere like Moab without making sure that it is God’s will for us to do so. Naomi lost her husband and both sons in Moab, but if they had just stuck it out back in Judah, would they have still been alive? Each of us has some life altering decisions to make on our journey in this world. Why wouldn’t you seek God’s council on the events that transpire in your life? I say… slow down, seek God, then follow His choice by simply “stepping out on Faith!” So, are you on your way to Moab? Considering a move to Moab? If so, did you seek the Will of God first?

This week, we read from the Book of 1 Samuel 15:1-23 and we asked the question, “Are we really ALL IN or not at all?” Three main topics stood out: 1—Be careful what you wish for; 2: Partial Obedience is NO Obedience; & 2—Its ALL or Nothing. We saw how the Israelites wanted a king, just like the rest of the world. One Problem… they had GOD already as their KING. After warning the folks of what their human king would be like, they still wanted a king and GOD granted a king for them. In the beginning, King Saul was a good king, honoring and staying in the will of GOD…BUT his human nature came into play. GOD told Saul to wipe out entirely everything of the Amalekites: the men, women, and children, babies, and ALL the livestock. Saul, however, saved King Agag and the best of the best of the livestock for sacrifices. Saul partially obeyed GOD and he learned the hard way that is just the same as not following any direction and GOD removed HIS anointing from Saul. With GOD, we are either ALL IN or we are all out of HIS Will. Church, today we are at a crossroads, and we are going to have to decide on our obedience or God will. We learned today that an undecided vote is simply saying “No God.” I cannot imagine God saying, “It repenteth Me for…” while speaking of me. As Joshua challenges the Israelites to choose this day who they will serve, that challenge is before us now. Are we ALL in or are we all out? I pray that this encourages you to continue to seek GOD and grow in your FAITH. May GOD bless you! I love you, but more importantly GOD loves you so much more. Have a great day. Sincerely, Pastor Sonny!