Hey Friends…
I wonder if you’re up for turning the page. Not just in our teaching--we’re moving this week from the “bad news” of Romans chapters 1 and 2 into the good news of chapters 3 and 4—but also in the specifics of your personal life. Do you want to turn the page into an entirely new way of living? It is absolutely possible, and the Word of the Lord revealed in Romans 3 will unlock it for us. But there is a reason very few of us have turned this page just yet. I’ll tell you more about it in Deeper Thoughts below… But first…we’ve got several exciting things happening the next few weeks at Mt. Hope: · Ladies: NEXT Saturday, February 24 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., we will be creating “Baskets of Love” to share with those in need—for welcome, caregiving, well-wishing, or simply encouraging. Click here for more info and to RSVP! · Men: Let’s not get left behind by our God-seeking women. It’s time for us to step up into a focused set of challenges to follow Jesus Christ with passion and power. TWO Saturdays from now—March 2 at 8:30 a.m.—join us for a men’s ministry kick off breakfast sure to harden our arteries and soften our hearts before the Lord. Click here for details and to RSVP (required)! · Mark your calendars for a power-filled Palm Sunday celebration on Sunday, March 24. We will be sharing in a life-altering testimony and baptism you will not want to miss, followed by a yummy and joyful fellowship luncheon right after church. More details to come! · Coming Soon: an all-day Saturday event this April for prayer, discussion, and teaching with Chris Campbell to discover our Freedom in Christ. We will discover with certainty our fullest identity in Christ and absolute freedom from that which has kept us from that fullness. More details to come! · On a personal note: Sherri and I are going to take a much-needed rest break this coming week. We will be entirely “unplugged” and unreachable from Monday through Saturday, February 19-24. For any needs that arise during that time, our Elder Team will be available to pray, encourage, care for, and support you. Please contact Kristie Zoller at [email protected] or 703-999-3156 (c) to reach the Elder Team. OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who prefer to stay stuck right where you are. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… May I have your permission to be a little punchy…or perhaps better phrased “a little direct” with you? Thank you. Here we go: I am amazed at how much we complain about the negative circumstances and conditions in our life, but then we do not take the necessary steps to make an actual positive change. Ouch. Read that a second time, will you? Notice I very intentionally use the words “we” and “our”, as I see this same maddening pattern in my life just as much as I do in yours. I bumble along sometimes for months or even years in unhealthy and painful situations that I actually know how to fix, but I just don’t fix them. I’ve known for years that I need to lose a little bit of weight. My doctor tells me--and so do my eyeballs—that I’m carrying about two dozen more pounds than I should. I know exactly what to do: eat better, exercise, and sleep right. Check. But do I do it? I’ve complained for months about my stress levels and over-scaled pace of life. I know specifically what to do: make hard decisions and draw boundaries to my schedule, reduce my expectations, and take intentional sabbath every week. Check. But do I do it? I wish I had more vibrant intimacy with God. I’ve tasted seasons of the overwhelming presence of God where joy, peace, clarity, and hope were unmistakably real. And I know precisely what to do to stay in that place: be in His Word every single day and lay before Him in surrendering prayer. Check. But do I do it? You? You with me in this? If you are a follower of Jesus Christ who has paid any attention to your favorite Bible teachers, you--along with me—know precisely how and what to surrender to God. We often claim we have no idea how to break through to God. But I’d like to challenge that: We’ve been taught this clearly. Perhaps the real problem is that we do not like what the scriptures reveal must be done to break through to God. As a result, we simply do not actively surrender. Why? It’s almost as if we prefer the stalemate of a defeated life. I know that’s probably a bit of an overstatement, but you gave me permission a moment ago to be a little punchy. If we indeed know what to do to have freedom and joy in our lives, why do we not do it? What do we gain from staying stuck? There is, of course, the stability of the familiar, even if it’s a negative familiarity. And there’s the comfort we find in whatever habit we have chosen to medicate our pain (food, drink, smoke, social media, addiction, or [fill in the blank]…). If we’re super honest, there’s even a bit of an empowering energy to self-pity or pouting before God that He hasn’t stepped up to fix us instantaneously. But God wants so much more for us. We want it too, but its elusiveness may have more to do with subconsciously choosing to stay stuck than actually being stuck. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that we are saved by God’s mercy and grace—not by anything we do. We are rescued by God not because we stopped sinning or because we stepped up to do the things we know to do. The “good news” (Greek meaning of the word “Gospel”) of Romans 1:16-17 and 3:21-24 is that we are given a righteousness that is from God, not ourselves. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are “God’s workmanship”—His artwork—“created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” According to this Word of revelation, we cannot create this new life. God must birth into us something new, by His workmanship, by His Holy Spirit quickening (bringing to life) our spirit. The word “righteousness” simply means that things are right: things are as they should be. And we are given this from God. You want to turn the page away from things that are not as they should be? You want to turn the page to all the fullness of what God can do for you and me? You want God to birth something brand new in you that creates life “as it should be?” Then we need to look intently at God’s promise and His process as we continue our 20-week journey through the Book of Romans—“Uncharted Territory: Taking Life Where You’ve Never Been.” We need to discover what God does within us and what is our part to step up and actualize the change. There is a freedom, fullness, abundance, and joy waiting just on the next page if we will see it, choose it, and turn the page to it. Mmmmm…. This is going to be good!! 10:00 a.m. Sunday in-person (rocks!) or online livestream (decent…just not as fun as in-person!). Carefully read Romans 3 & 4 before Sunday. Can’t wait… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend
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