Dr. Jim Jeremiah
Dick Kroese
On March 22, Kerry Blount started off our men’s retreat by stating that he and Pastor Ron Gannett have been organizing our men’s retreats for the last eight or nine years, but we did miss the last two years because of COVID. Pastor Ron then started our men’s rally by giving all of us some empowerment basics, which is how our men’s groups study the Bible and God’s word. Then some of our empowerment leaders gave their testimonies as to what empowerment and studying God’s word has done for their life.
Pastor Ron Gannett then introduced our guest speaker, Dr. Jim Jeremiah, who started off by giving us mandates to guide us each day in a world that seeks to gain influence. He told us to stand firm in our faith, be courageous, do everything in love, and to watch for those who distort the truth to gain influence. He told us to guard against temptation, to be courageous, and to have confidence in ourselves. Dr. Jeremiah then gave us the principles of love: be patient, kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, not rude, not selfish, and do not keep score. Love finds no joy in evil, rejoices in truth, always protects, always perseveres, and never fails.
Dr. Jeremiah then talked about God’s goodness. There can be no limits to his goodness and with no boundaries. We need to live confidently, be filled with love in our hearts, and know that God cares for us and wants us to be successful.
Dr. Jeremiah then pointed out as to why it is better to trust God than man—God is Holy and man is unholy, God never fails and man is not dependable, God cares about character and man tends toward reputation, and God honors our trust. He said to stand firm for what is right, and do not give in to what is wrong, and if we do, we could set a new standard. He pointed out over and over to enjoy the Lord, for he is our strength and salvation. Dr. Jeremiah also pointed out that a good leader gets excited about others’ success in business and the good things that they are doing.
All of us walked away from having attended our men’s rally and Dr. Jeremiah feeling like he had given us so much insight to God’s teachings and love for us, and we learned that God never gives up on us. It was truly a wonderful day.