So it' Father's Day tomorrow in Australia. I love this easy gift idea using family photos. It would be even easier if you bought a cheap frame from K-Mart or Big W. You could include Dad's favourite Bible verse at the bottom too.

Fervr is my favourite Christian website for teens and young adults. It has lots of relevant articles on how to live out your faith. And it's Australian! Here's a sneak peak of what's new this month.

We first meet Barnabas in the book of Acts chapter four. His name was Joseph but the apostles called him Barnabas which means "one who encourages." What a great nickname to have. He sold a field and gave the money to the disciples.

It was Barnabas who took Paul to the apostles after he was converted. Everyone was afraid of Paul because he had been persecuting followers of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit told the church in Antioch to send Paul and Barnabas out on a mission trip.Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement about who they should take on their next trip and where they should go so they went their separate ways.

Life Lessons:
Be an encourager.
Be generous.
Don't let petty arguments get in the way of friendships or relationships.

This verse is part of a song David sang when God saved him from Saul and his enemies. God might have saved David from his enemies but he has saved us from our sin. No one is perfect (except Jesus) so no one can earn eternal life in heaven.

If you go to the shop to buy a chocolate bar, but you don't have enough money, you can't get it. Salvation is like that - we can't afford it. So Jesus bought it for us. That blows me away. That's like me going to Coles and paying for everyone else's groceries, except we're talking about living for eternity with God, not chocolate bars.

Here's some more information about Moses story in the book of Exodus. Part two follows tomorrow.

Moses is a very interesting character - his story takes up the whole book of Exodus. When he was born the Israelites were living in Egypt because of a famine (see the story of Joseph). The Israelites were increasing in number so Pharaoh commanded that the midwives kill the Israelite baby boys. Moses' mother hid him in a basket and Pharaoh's daughter found him and raised him as her son. When he was an adult Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite so he fled to another country. God appeared to him in a burning bush and sent him to Egypt to rescue the Israelites. Moses was very reluctant but God said "I will be with you."

When Moses and his brother, Aaron, confronted Pharaoh and demanded that he let the Israelites go, he refused so God afflicted Egypt with ten plagues - river was turned to blood, frogs, lice, flies, disease that affected farm animals, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death of firstborn. Pharaoh was one stubborn dude but finally he relented and the Israelites left. Then Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued them. The Israelites were trapped by the Red Sea but God told Moses to hold his staff over the water and the sea parted so that they could safely cross over. The sea then closed over the Egyptian army. Long story short, the Israelites were disobedient so they wandered around the desert for 40 years. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.

So what does this mean for us? God called Moses but he didn't think he was qualified and came up with all kinds of excuses. Sometimes God tells us to do something and we don't think we're the right person for the job and come up with all sorts of excuses. But God promised to be with Moses and he promises to be with us too. 

Life Lesson: God chooses the weak and humble and enables them with his strength and wisdom.