ou probably noticed the big yellow busses trolling the streets and back roads again. School is back. The brief summer we all enjoyed has given way once again to lives that are full of schedules, classes, and books. Even if you aren't directly involved, you know someone who is. In some grades, children will come back to school noticeably larger than they were when they left last spring. We expect that to happen because it is normal. It is also normal to grow in knowledge of and obedience to Christ if you are a Christian. Can you look at your relationship with Him and see growth from where you were last spring? If you can see it, thank God for it and keep it up. If you can't, or things have gone down hill, make a change. Something is wrong. It's not normal in the body of Christ for things not to grow.

Last Sunday at Hillside we looked at God's relationship with His people in the book of Malachi. The majority had drifted far from God and were violating their covenant with Him. A group of the faithful remained, however, and God said that He would make them His and restore them to Him. This attitude of God's that is so clearly displayed over and over in Scripture gets by us sometimes. Even Christians can see themselves as estranged from God somehow. We forget that He is the one who refuses to leave us in the "Lost and Found" of life. Jesus' parable of the "Ninety Nine" clearly shows that He is seeking us, and that He will carry us back to safety Himself rejoicing.

What a Savior!