WHAT IS LOVE?

“…forGodislove.”(1John4:8b)

WhatIsLove?Anemotion?Anaction?“HowDoILoveThee?LetMeCountTheWays”isafamouslovepoemwrittenbyElizabethBarrettBrowning,describingloveasaforcethatcanconquereverythingintheuniverse.So,isloveaforce?

Loveisnotjustaforce,loveiscomplicated.WeuseonewordinEnglishtodescribeouraffectionforeverything.IloveGod,Ilovesports,Ilovetohike,andIlovemywifeandfamily!Sameword,butdifferentlevelsofaffection.TheGreeklanguageusedatleastsevendifferentwordsfor“love.”TheBibleusedoneofthoseGreekwords,“agape,”todefineanddescribethehighestleveloflove.“Dearfriends,letuscontinuetoloveoneanother,forlovecomesfromGod.AnyonewholovesisachildofGodandknowsGod.ButanyonewhodoesnotlovedoesnotknowGod,forGodislove.”(1John4:7-8)

Loveismorethananemotionoraforce,loveisGod.Godislove!Inwhatwecallthelovechapter(ICorinthians13)Pauldescribes14differentwaystobelikeGodanddemonstrateHislove,“Loveispatientandkind.Loveisnotjealousorboastfulorproudorrude.Itdoesnotdemanditsownway.Itisnotirritable,itkeepsnorecordofbeingwronged….Wait!Stoprightthere!Lovekeepsnorecordofbeingwronged.Inathleticswekeeptrackofeverystatistic,goodorbad!InFCA,wekeeptrackofhowmanyschoolswevisit,Huddlesthataremeeting,Biblesdistributed,livessurrenderedtoJesusChrist–wekeeptrackofeverything!

ButGod’sloveisnotatrackingsystem.God’slovekeepsnorecordofwrongs.TheGreekwordwasanaccountingterm;describingapersonwhostoresinhismemoryallthemistakesorperceivedwrongdoingsthatsomeonehasmadeagainsthim.Ratherthanforgive,theyrecorditandrefusetoletitgo.Paulsays,thisisnotthewaylovebehaves!Ifyouwanttoknowhowlovebehaves,lookattheactionofGodtowardsus.WeknowGodcoulddragupourpastbeforeusallthetime,butHedoesn’tdothat!Hekeepsnorecordofoursins,Heforgives.Thatislove.

Wearelivinginatimewhenpeopleareeasilywrongedoroffended.Insteadofrecordingtheperceivedwrongsofothers,letsdemonstratetheloveofGodandshowgrace,justasGodhasshownusHisamazinggrace!Lovemaybecomplicatedandhardattimes,butit’spowerful!Sodearfriends,letuscontinuetoloveoneanother,forlovecomesfromGod.

Thankyouforshowingusyourlove,asyourfinancialgiftsareanincredibleactofloveandweareverygrateful!Asweenter2021,weaskthatyouprayforouroffice!Wearestrivingtoaddanotherstaffperson,butthattakesmoreHomeTeamdonors.Pleasejoinusinprayerthatwewillhavemorepeoplegivetothisministry.Moreimportantly,prayforusasweprepareforoursummercamp,andcontinuetospreadtheGospeltodozensofschoolsandteamsonaweeklybasis!

Ministry Update of Buckeye Border FCA

February, 2021

Rex Stump, Area Director

OneofourformerFCABaseballcoachesandhisson,havecontinuedtheirfaithjourneywithanewteam.WhatthisplayerlearnedwithFCAhascontinuedasColtWardstartedpullinghisMotorCityHitDogsteamtogetherforpregameprayer,andwitnessingtothosethatdon’tknowJesusastheirSavior.Hefeltconvictedtotalkonhisowntohiscoachandaskedforpermission,astheleader,todothisbeforetakingthefield.PicturedisColtandhisteamprayingatatournamentinFloridainJanuary.

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BuckeyeBorderFCA•1111ArrowheadTrail•Wauseon,OH43567•419-583-7013•rstump@fca.org•www.bbfca.orgRexStump,AreaDirector•RickStraley,AreaRepresentative•EricSteinke,FieldAmbassador

BrookeChastain,FieldAmbassador•JennyStump,AdministrativeAssistant

2021 Buckeye BorderFCA Camp

Date:July17-21,2021

Grade:6-12

Location:MichindohConferenceCenter4545EBaconRd.•Hillsdale,MI49242

Cost:$325ifregisteredbyMay31,2021$375afterMay31,2021(ScholarshipsAvailable)

Deposit/Fees:A$50non-refundabledepositisrequireduponregistration.

Registeronlineat:www.bbfca.org/camp

Formoreinformation,contactusat:419-583-7013orrstump@fca.org

FCACampisafivedayovernightcampforstudent-athletesandstudentswhoserveasleaderson

theirlocalcampusesandintheircommunities.FCACampfocusesonteachingpracticalskillsfor

Christiangrowth,thedevelopmentasaneffectivecampusleaderandthetrainingforspiritual,

organizationalandmotivationaltoolsforuseintheFCACampusMinistry.

CAMPUS NEWS

AsschoolsworkaroundstrictCovid19rules,ourHuddlesarestillstrivingtomeetweekly!PicturedisthePatrickHenryHSHuddle,astheymeetweeklyandcontinuetoencourageoneanotherwithGod’sWord!PleaseprayforourmanyHuddlesthathaveadjustedtheirschedulestomeet.Somearemeetingoff-campus,whileothersaremeetingbeforeschoolstarts.

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WinterTeamTimesarewrappingupandwepraiseGodfortheopportunitieswehavetostillworkwithteams.Wehavelearnedaboutteamwork,makingchoices,nevergivingup,andmostrecentlybeingprepared.Usingscriptureandobjectlessons,theseathletesarebeingencouragedmentallyandspirituallytobetheirbest.

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CongratulationstotheLenaweeChristianHSFootballTeamastheywrappedupthe2020seasoninJanuary!TheCougars(11-0)tookadvantage,overwhelmingSuttonsBayfromthestartina47-0win-theirfirsttitleintheDivision1Final(8ManPlayerFormat).SomeofthekeystandoutplayersareFCAleadersattheirschool.

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