This week, our Fuel band played one of my absolute favorite modern praise songs - How He Loves by John Mark McMillian.

Love's like a hurricane,

I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of

His wind and mercy

When I first heard this song I was confused. I think of a hurricane as a destructive force. How is God's love for us like a hurricane? In the song, we stand as trees, beaten down by the force of the storm. This conjures up the image of a palm tree being bent over and whipped down by the strength of the

storm. A tree in a hurricane is completely helpless. In the same way we are completely helpless. Our attempts to stand independent only separate us from

our Father. When we try to stand strong on our own we always fall to pride or jealousy or lust. Even the great things that we accomplish can turn us away from God. How many mistakes have you made in your life? Can you think of a time when you chose to write your own script rather than follow God's

script?

Despite our faults and mistakes, despite our bad choices and constant rejections, God is still there. His hand is still stretched out to us. That is how He loves. Our Father loves us so much that He defeats our misguided actions which separate us from Him. He strikes down our mistakes. He casts out our

failures. Oh, how He loves us so. We bend beneath the weight of his mercy. John Mark McMillian explains his inspirations for writing this song in a video: How He Loves: A Song Story. It only takes five minutes - watch it. And then, as you have quiet time in the following week, reflect on the overwhelming love that He has for us. It is a kind of love that flows despite our anger, our doubts, and our insecurity. It is a kind of love which overwhelms our mistakes and failures. It is a kind of love which embraces the lost and pours out grace on sinners.

Peace, 

Spencer

As part of the worship this past week at Fuel, Dominique briefly recounted the events of the life of Horatio Spafford.

Horatio Spafford was a prominent lawyer and activist in the late nineteenth century. His father had had a writing relationship with Thomas Jefferson before his death and Horatio had earned his own rite in the legal profession in Chicago. He was heavily involved in his church and was an outspoken abolitionist.

During his career, he heavily invested in real estate, particularly in what is now the city center of Chicago. On October 8th, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire swept through the city killing 250 and destroying everything that Horatio had built. In order to escape the events in Chicago which had left him financially devastated, he decided to take his family and spend time in Europe. When they reached New York, Horatio was delayed by urgent business and sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him. Their ship was struck by another and sank catastrophically – killing over 300. All four of Horatio Spafford's daughters died at sea while traveling to get away from a fire which had destroyed his livelihood.

While on the journey to reconvene with his wife, he wrote these words:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea-billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know:

"It is well, it is well with my soul."

Tho' Satan should buffet, tho' trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed his own blood for my soul.

I imagine those things in life which I have lost. I remember how much more important each one was to me after I lost it. This man lost more in life than I have. He lost more in life than I will ever have. When Jesus comforts his disciples before his death, he leaves them with the promise of Peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 

Though the way of the world rises and falls, we remain confident in the assurance of His control. All is well with our souls.In Christ,

Spencer

Hey Dads & Daughters...

Join Pastor Chris and his daughters Kaylee and Macie Joy at this year's Daddy Daughter Dance! It's open to all of Saddleback Church! You can also invite anyone else you know that might want to bring their daughters along.

FUEL Dads...This is the perfect opportunity to show your little girl just how special she is!! (Some ideas for you are: ask her in a uniqe way to go out with you, dress up, take her to dinner before, go to ice cream after, look into her eyes, g...ive her all of your attention, get her a gift, tell her how much you love her, ask her how you can be a better dad)

FUEL Daughters...if your dad is older, ask him to join you. There will mostly be little girls with young dads but, WHO CARES, rage against the machine and have a special time with your daddy! Remember, you're always daddy's little girl!

There will be music, dancing, snacks, and of course, aweome memories!!

 

How often do you fail to do what you think that you should be doing? How often do you recognize

yourself acting in a manner inconsistent with the man or woman that you want to be? How often do

you separate yourself from God?

You know how we know that God loves us? God sent his only Son to die so that we may be forgiven.

What have we ever done in our lives to deserve that sort of gift? What must we do to be worthy of

such a sacrifice?

Nothing. There is nothing we can do. We don't deserve it and we never can.

That is how we know God loves us. He gave us a gift that we don't deserve – that is Grace. He gave it

to us because He truly loves us.

Church means many things to many people. It is a body of followers. It is a time for learning. And, it

is a place of worship. Each week, we come together at FUEL as a body to hear a speaker teach us

about Christ, but also to join in the worship of our Lord. We cry out to give Him praise.

In your free time this next week, find a quiet moment to really listen to the song From the Inside Out

by Hillsong. Let us all lose ourselves in bringing Him praise this week – from the inside out.

In Christ,

Spencer

Have you ever wished your faith was stronger? Have you ever asked God to strengthen your faith?

In Luke 17, disciples where gathered around Jesus, listening to him speak. After he had explained to them the nature of Sin, the apostles asked Jesus to “increase [their] faith.” They had followed Jesus for some time and had seen him do amazing things. Jesus heals the sick, He creates food from nothing, and He commands the weather. Jesus even brought people back from the dead.

When Jesus teaches, he speaks not as a man but as one with true authority. With that same authority he commands the elements. The disciples, seeing his great faith desire to know God as He knows God. They ask Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus responds in a most unexpected manner. He does not perform a miracle, He does not explain the mysteries of the universe, He does not call upon angels. Jesus compares faith to a mustard seed. “He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.” Luke 17:6

If you were able to make it to FUEL this past week, you will know intimately how tiny a mustard seed is. Pastor Chris asked us to hold a mustard seed in between our fingers during the entire message. That posed much more of a challenge than you might otherwise think. Mustard seeds are so tiny they are almost impossible to even pick up individually. Yet, Jesus compares faith to a mustard seed. He goes on in Matthew 20, “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

A mustard seed. The smallest of all seeds. Faith does not need to be a bolder. Faith does not need to witness miracles, faith does not need to fathom all things, faith does not require legions of angles singing of God's glory. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1. It is commonly accepted that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews to the Hebrew church of Palestine from his jail cell in Rome sometime in the first century. He was writing to Jews who had given their lives over to Christ but their faith was in danger. Trouble surrounded them.

Write this down right now: go read Hebrews 11. The next time you have quiet time explore in Hebrews 11 how faith even as small as mustard seed transformed the heroes and heroines of the Old Testament into the instruments of God.

Blessings, 

Spencer Roberts

When I was in high-school, I started taking sailing classes at Dana Point Harbor. You can take a whole series on the proper techniques and principles of sailing where you practice in these little 14' boats. On the final day of the final class in the series, our last test was to sail from one side of the harbor to a restaurant on the other. My team and I got in our boat and set off on what had, at this point, become a routine trip.

What we had failed to notice, however, was that the plug which is used to drain the boat had been left out. Every minute we were out, water was leaking into the inside of the hull. About a third of the way we noticed that the boat was turning rather sluggishly but we could not figure out why. We began to execute another turn and everything went wrong. As we started to turn, the water that had built up inside the hull rushed over to one side and caused the boat to tip over. We were dumped out into the water. My two mates had been on the other side of the boat and were thrown further out. I was trapped under the boat as it turned upside down on top of me.

The water was a mess of sails and ropes and my legs became tangled in the rigging and my life vest caught against the hull. I was trapped underneath the overturned sailboat. Claustrophobia hit me hard and I panicked. I started shouting and flailing about but I could not free myself. I could not see or hear anything else above my heart pounding. The world had changed suddenly from a pleasant afternoon of fun to a wet cave of darkness and despair.

In my panic, I noticed a sandal floating next to me. Quite suddenly I felt calm, I had a purpose. I knew what I had to do. I was going to rescue that sandal and bring it back to my friend. I composed myself, untangled my legs, took off my life jacket, grabbed that sandal and swam out. The message this past week reminded me of the events of that day. In Mathew 8:23, we hear a story about a boat trip with Jesus. A storm comes up and the disciples are freaking out, panicking, running around and shouting. The whole time Jesus is napping on a pillow. Jesus naps not because he is

unconcerned for their safety. He naps because he knows that despite the storm that surrounds them, they will be delivered.

Jesus was with me in that sailboat. He was with me in my panic. He was with me as I shouted and flailed and despaired. But, it was not until I could see my purpose that I could act. God is with us always. He has a purpose and a plan for each one of us and despite the storms and darkness that threaten us, his purpose will be fulfilled.

When you are in trouble, trust in God. Reach out for that sandal. It does not matter where you are at in your faith. Whether you are just discovering Jesus or you are sold out on Christ; you are not alone.

Blessings,
Spenser Roberts

Just a quick reminder about an amazing opportunity for you to bring your unchurched friends to hear Jesus taught in a very clear and relevant way. This will also be an event that will inspire you in your walk with Christ!

Click Here for more info.