excerpts from letters to Chris and his fellow Battle Schoolers

Greetings in Jesus' name.

We glorify God for His victories and advances in your lives and through your lives this summer.

You have definitely blessed us by your partnering in the Gospel here. Thank you.

Be sure to live up to what you have already attained. Maintain the disciplines you honed here. Fight hard. Reflect glory to Jesus.

It is great to have gotten to know you.

Stay close to Jesus. Keep fighting as heroes. Much grace. I remain,

Yours in the Salvation War,

Stephen Court

************************************************************************************

I want to express to you my gratitude and the Lord's pleasure for your lives. You have all put tremendous effort into this summer and will be rewarded with increased power and maturity in Christ. I exhort you to look over the lessons you have learned: thank the Lord for what He has poured into your life this summer, either sufferings or blessings. Please share with your parents openly and honestly about what you have done. Don't say, "it was good." Thank them for their blessing. And live obediently with them as your authority, "You children must always obey your parents, for this is what pleases the Lord." -- Col 3:20

I leave you with this from Colossians 2:6-10; 3:1-17:

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.

Don't let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ. For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body,and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God's terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you. In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Col 3:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
--
________________________________________
Jonathan Evans
Training Secretary/Registrar
thewarcollege.com