Whew! This winter has been and continues to be a
bear for us. The past few days have been
much better and closer to normal and for that I am thankful. Several up in the country are sick with
various ailments and viruses. Maybe you
have been sick too. If so, hang in
there. March is just around the corner. Then, the buttercups, spring flowers, and
other foliage will be shooting up through the formerly winter-chilled
soil. Spring is my favorite time of the
year, I think. Of course, every season
has its own beauty and adventures. Can
you do anything to make your body stronger against sickness and disease? Are you getting enough rest? What about exercise? Are you moving as much as you should? Have you thought about your diet? I’m not talking about weight loss
necessarily. I am talking about eating foods
that are healthy and nutritious. What about
your spiritual life, your heart, your soul?
Sin causes so much trouble for us all.
Sin can weigh on our minds and negatively affect how we feel about life
and living. Sin makes us sick too,
sin-sick. Jesus Christ, the Son of God offers salvation
to anyone who comes to Him by grace through faith. Forgiveness is such a wonderful gift from
God. We talk about salvation in Christ
and many other life-changing principles from the Bible at every meeting of the
Enola Church of Christ. There is a group
of Christians who meet together every Sunday, Sunday evening, Wednesday
evening, and at other times during the week for Bible study, worship, and
fellowship up in the country in Enola, Arkansas. We call ourselves the Enola Church of
Christ. This is not a denominational name,
but a Bible name (Romans 16:16), a name that the apostle Paul used in his
letter to Christians at Rome. We are
simply the church: people called out of sin into salvation, of: belonging to,
Christ: Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the one and only Savior of the world,
the church of Christ. We meet on Sunday
at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and on Wednesday evening at 7:00. Our ladies meet every Monday evening at 6:30
for Ladies’ Bible Study. The church is overseen
by an eldership, just like the churches you read about in the New
Testament. We also have deacons who work
in various capacities so that all we do is done decently and in order (1 Corinthians
14:50). The church of Christ at Enola is
blessed. I am so glad to be the
evangelist who stands before this great congregation each week to preach. I am so glad to work and worship with such at
wonderful loving group of Christians. We
would love to have you come and see the goodness of the Lord up in the country.
Our Sunday morning
sermon series continues this week with Lesson One in the series “Where is the
Love?” We will be looking at six myths
when it comes to love. Think about
it. Is the following statements
true? If God really loved me, He would
want me to be happy. Well, what does “happy”
mean? Does “happy” mean: I will never have to face any troubles. I will never be sad. I will never be faced with sickness and
disease, disappointment, discouragement, depression, or death. People will always like me. Anything I need or want will be mine when I
need it or want it. Are you
kidding? Thinking like this is silly and
sad. Facing troubles makes us
stronger. When we’re stronger, we’re
happier. So happiness comes as a result
of facing and overcoming the things mentioned above. Some people will like us and some won’t. Our purpose is not pleasing people, but
pleasing God. I want to be happy. I must understand that happiness; true
happiness will be mine for eternity only after this life in heaven. We can do this.
Our Sunday evening
series is entitled “Expecting the Impossible – Diligence without Love.” Jesus spoke about the storms of life in
Matthew 7. How can we face the rain
(culture), the flood (crises), and the wind (change) day after day without
love? Answer: We can’t.
With love all things are possible.
Also, in life we are faced with the devil’s tricks, temptations, and the
cares of life, the deceitfulness of riches, and life’s pleasures that seek to
choke out God’s word in our lives. Jesus
spoke about this in His Parable of the Sower, the Seed, and the Soil in Luke
8. Love is our greatest motive and our
greatest weapon.
I hope you
have a good week. Proverbs 3 is
certainly a great chapter for life. Hope
to see you soon.
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