We pray this article encourages your attendance at the Community Wide Easter "Son Rise" Service Sunday morning beginning 6:30am April 24, 2011 at Yett Park. Recently, I (Pastor Phil Thompson) sat down with Jason Borchardt from Franklin Family Ranch to get a feel for his reason for being a part of this Easter "Son Rise" Service and why he believed we should want to attend this service. He shared that his primary motivation was to glorify God and be involved with a Community wide service to that end.

Jason shared that his prayer would be that we would come away from his presentation of "Life Lessons Through Basic Horsemanship" with a renewed since of our walk with God and a fresh direction to a stronger walk with Him. Jason added that horse enthusiasts of all levels would receive working knowledge and techniques to improve the performance of their own horses. Jason will be demonstrating step by step processes, that when duplicated with your horse and responded to in our walk with the Lord, will result in both receiving a higher quality of character. Jason has been riding horses virtually since he could walk and his own story of brokenness before the Lord has taught Jason how to share these two great passions; his love of God and his love of God’s creation the horse. Jason shared that many of those he has been blessed to instruct in horsemanship or counsel through life’s difficulties have come to understand more fully God’s process of godly character development.

Have you ever wondered since God can do all things, why didn't He just create us with perfect character? In other words, what is the purpose of this difficult and trying physical life filled with joy and suffering? Couldn't our heartache and suffering have been avoided? Of course God could have done all of that—if He had been willing to create us without the character we need for making our personal choices. It all gets back to our free will, our freedom of choice. God Himself had a choice about how man would be created. He could have made us automatons, functioning like programmed robots whose only course of action is to carry out the instructions of their maker. But He chose to create us like Him, capable of making choices that are limited only by our knowledge and character. This requires that we learn right from wrong and that our character develop gradually by our decisions under God's guidance and assistance.

Come let’s learn together from Jason how God is active in creating His character in our lives.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

"...Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and ...Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24, King James Version).

God is not finished with us. We are still His workmanship. He is creating in us "righteousness and true holiness"—His character. As long as we are human, our character is not firm; it is not permanent. We can change our minds (repent) and behavior. We can make mistakes and learn from them. We can learn from the fruits of our right and wrong choices. Since we can change our minds—and repent of our errors—God can change us even more and create in us the will and the capacity to steadfastly choose what is right over what is wrong. "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). Come join your community for an Easter "Son Rise" Service you'll love to remember!