God promised me something...

Hey friends…
 
For you. It was quite specific. Distinct. Good. But just a tad costly… well, it’s frankly on the discount table, but you’ll still have to pony up a little. But if you do, God promised me something that I am certain you will like. Want to know what it is? I’ll tell you down in Deeper Thoughts below…
 
But first… a few important reminders:
 
·      Hang around after church NEXT Sunday, January 12, to see the first draft of our building expansion plans. We’ll show you the architect’s ideas, get your feedback, and talk about next steps. 11:40-ish until whenever (not super long).
 
·      Plan 30 minutes on Saturday January 18 sometime between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. to come pray with us at our next prayer vigil, with a worship night that evening. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could get 100 Mt. Hope folks to stop by the church throughout the day and pray with us for a half hour or so? Please carve out the time! We need the Body of Christ together to seek Him for our future!
 
·      New small group about marriage: NEXT Friday Night, January 10, 6:30 p.m. at the church, David and Lynn Eisele launch a seven-week small group called “You and Me Together, a study in Christ-centered marriage. This is for marrieds and singles, young and old! Use your marriage and life to show others what love is, to build each other up, support one another in your callings, and keep one another spiritually on-track. Click here to let us know you’re interested!
 
·      Ladies: Sandra Cravens and the Uruguay mission team are collecting items to take to the Uruguayan missionaries and church leaders that they will be serving. As you clean out your closets this holiday season, we are looking for brand-new or “like new” women’s clothing items of ALL sizes; accessories (jewelry, scarves, etc…); and unopened toiletries. Bring these to the BLUE room at church by January 26.
 
OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who prefer to avoid anything God might have to say. BUT…
 
Some Deeper Thoughts…
 
I realize that “God spoke something to me” can be a bit intimidating. Perhaps even somewhat manipulative—I mean, how do you argue or push back on something that “Almighty God hath said?”
 
For many people, they can’t say that God has ever spoken anything to them. They’re not even sure what that would be like, so their visualization of it can often quickly pivot to something more grandiose than it really is. Or they could—and perhaps should—have a serious case of skepticism whenever someone says, “God told me this for you.”
 
So, those caveats acknowledged, would you allow me to tell you that “God told me something for you?”
 
It was about four weeks ago. The impression was distinct. It was not audible, but it was a clear gut impression deep in my spirit. I wrote it down. Here it is:
 
Oh… wait… let me set one important stage, and then I’ll tell you what He said.
 
This Sunday, we start a new teaching series where we will be walking chapter-by-chapter through the Gospel of Mark to learn everything we can about Jesus. Each week, we’ll be mapping out five short readings from each chapter that you can read along with us. We’ll provide you a direction to pray. We’ll have a daily six-minute video (Monday through Friday) for you to come with me while I do my own reading and prayer. Most of our small groups will be reading the same chapter each week. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we all soaked in the same stories of Jesus over the course of the week, and then we gathered on Sundays to do a deeper dive into that same text? Wouldn’t we really know Jesus by the end of those sixteen weeks?
 
“OK… C’mon Chris, get on with it. I’m about to click out of this email. What did God say already??”

Here goes. A very specific word from the Lord for you and for me—and you be the judge. Does it seem like this might be from God?
 
Ready?
 
“If you will be faithful to give God twelve minutes of focused attention in the Word each day, and if you will not miss a single day for the next 16 weeks, God will do a work in your heart. The Word of God will become a light and a lifeline to you in ways you cannot begin to imagine.
 
“You never miss a day of personal hygiene. You never miss a day of eating meals. And if you ever do, it haunts you all day long. Both take only about 12 minutes. Beloved, the Lord says to us, ‘Do not miss the cleansing and feeding that is found in God’s Word. Ever.’”
 
Wait… um… did I tell you all this already? Seems like I might have told you about this word from the Lord just a few Fridays ago. Ooops… or… should I say “good?” Yep, let’s go with good. This one is worth repeating because it is truly a promise of power.
 
“Powered by Jesus: Living the Abundant Spirit-filled Life” we are calling this new winter teaching series. If we want the power of Jesus in our lives, empowered by him for truly abundant living, then we need to follow his lead on how to get there.
 
Here’s what Jesus did: Mark 1:35: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
 
Will you follow him with this? It doesn’t have to be before dark. It doesn’t even have to be in the morning, though both of those are excellent ideas for how to lock in your day with Jesus. But it does need to be consistent.
 
Lock it on top of a specific thing you already do every single day. Commit to twelve minutes and attach it to that thing—getting ready in the morning; or eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner; or coffee break at work; or commuting to or from work, school, the gym, the store, etc. (sit in the parking lot for 12 minutes with Jesus). Find something you do every day and lock Jesus onto that one thing. Every. Single. Day.
 
Twelve minutes to abundance. Five days a week. Sixteen weeks. That’s eighty times. If you will be faithful and not miss a single day, then God will do a work in your heart. The Word of God will become a light and a lifeline to you.
 
You in? When do you start? On Monday? Good. I’ll have all the tools and details waiting for you this Sunday morning. If you can’t be there this week, pull it up online afterwards. And, just for good measure, I’ll drop a note in your email inbox early Monday morning.
 
Here we go… let’s follow Jesus together!!
 
Much love to you all… see you Sunday! Can’t wait!!
 
Chris Eads
Mt. Hope Pastor
Friend