We were blessed with several children in attendance Sunday morning. When it was time to collect the mission offering, we had lots of helpers. I just want to say thanks to all you young workers for the Lord. May God bless you. It was so good to have Sister Maryann and Brother Tony's family with us and Sean and his family. It was a blessed day.
The songs of the morning were so spirit-filled. Brother Tony Garret sang, "What Else Could He Do." Sisters Joyce, Louine and Linda sang, "Precious Memories." Songs are surely a ministry that touches the hearts of many.
Pastor gave us a word about what we should do to define where we actually are in our Christian life. We must search ourselves to find what is missing in our relationship with the Lord. To help explain the word Christian, Pastor reminded us that the C means Christ-like. This is what God expects of us. Are we committed to being a Christian or are we slacking in our dedication to the Holy ways of the word of God?
The second letter of this word is H and refers to Hope. Jesus said in Romans 8:24-26, "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope." In other words, if you hope for an answer to prayer you must trust the Lord that in faith it will come to pass according to his will. Verse 26 explains that we do not always know what to pray for but the spirit makes intercession on our behalf.
In our walk with the Lord, we cannot sit idle but must move forward with a true commitment to our heavenly Father. If we live a committed life, we will have power to overcome the trials of this life.
James 4:7 tells us to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from us. Verse 8 goes on to say that if we draw nigh unto God, he will draw nigh to us. You see, if we make the move to get closer to the Lord, he will never leave us hanging. He is always there to meet us halfway or more than halfway. His love is unconditional if we just trust and obey his commandments. There is an unseen hand reaching to the lost and hurting. It is a hand of mercy and will not fail you. We have a promise in Ephesians 3:16-20 that God will grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your heart by faith; that being rooted and grounded in love. God will grant to us far above all that we ask or think.
In Ephesians 4:22-24, we are told to put off the old way of life which is corrupt and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. We are to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. This new way of life is a whole different message and I pray that Pastor will soon teach us the depth of that life of true holiness.
Again in 2 Corinthians 5:17, we find that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. What we need to understand with this being said is that when we give our heart to Jesus, we cannot continue in our old ways and expect to obtain eternal life in heaven. The choice is ours to make.
In closing, Pastor asked if we felt we needed more hope and faith in our lives. Many hands went up to show that we all need more of God and to be completely committed to the ways of a Christian life.
We invite you to come worship with us at the Cove Mission of Hope in Lanagan, Mo. We are the church at the top of the hill with the steeple pointing souls to our Savior. Services are Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., with Bible study at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. Until then, may God bless and keep you is our prayer.
Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 02/13/2020